We are in the process of moving from a populated subdivision to the country with almost 6 acres. We began taking Jasmine with us on our trips up there so that she can start getting used to her new surroundings. But if the truth be told, it has been more so that I can get used to having a dog in the country. What do I mean by that you might ask. In the subdivision I am truly the one in control of Jazz. I decide when we walk, when she “relieves” herself, where she can roam (which is a very small area), and who she interacts with (basically no other dogs in the neighborhood as we all have our dogs leashed and behind fences). Living like this is for her safety I know; letting a dog roam in the suburbs is simply not an option for so many reasons.
So when we decided to move, my greatest fear was loosing her. What if she was wandering in our very large yard and never came back, would she really come when I called her even if I could not see her, would she just bark and bark to the dogs that wander next door, or would she chase and kill the cats that are around and on and on were my concerns.
The first week that she was there, it was during a week that I was going up by myself to paint and unpack some boxes, etc. Mike has raised many dogs but Jasmine is my first one that I have raised since a pup. I was not so confident in how things were going to go and not at all confident in her instincts and in our relationship with each other–I did not trust her and I was wondering if she trusted me.
By the end of the week, we BOTH had grown so much in our relationship, in our trust, in our enjoyment and in our sheer joy of living in the country. Jasmine, as you may have guessed, has enormous instinct that guides her around the property, back home, and also guides her relationships with the neighboring dogs. She runs, plays, wanders, and checks in frequently with me (which is rewarded with a Waggin’ Delights treat of course!). She has lost weight, she looks incredible and she is so social with others (people and animals). I have beamed with pride as she comes when I call, plays nicely with Macy (the dog) next door and goes outside, explores and comes back. She has even figured out how to open the back door on her own so if I am a little slow, she can still get back in if she would like. I feel like she is a happier dog. AND I have become so aware and appreciative of the instincts and behaviors of dogs when they are allowed to be dogs. Jasmine wants to please me and given the fact that I feed her she returns and comes time and time again.
When Mike came back the following weekend he could not believe how Jasmine and I were interacting with each other, how calm I was about giving up some control over her, and how she was simply thriving in her new found “dogness.” She loves to hang out with me even more now that she did before. Maybe it is because now she has more choices and so often she chooses me. When I am unboxing and running up and down the stairs a hundred times in a day, she is too. When I painted she hung out and watched but listened so well when I told her to not cross a certain point (didn’t need painted doggie paws!). While at the same time she runs and plays outside as if she cannot get enough–but comes back when called.
Do you have an experience to share on city vs. country or in giving up some control over your dog and how that turned out?
Next time I will share on her newfound dog friendships…
Here is some footage of Melissa from Dash of East getting ready for our photo shoot. If you watch closely you will see her pup trying out a Cinsational Apple Delight!
This was Jasmine’s first experience at the dog park. She has been to many parks and has been out and about, but always on a leash. I was not sure how she would react in this situation. She loved meeting Yesenia’s pups first outside of the doggie area. They had a little meet and greet and then we were on our way. When we entered the area for less than 50 pound friends and unleashed her you could tell that her wheels were turning in her little head. She wandered and sniffed and then laid down to catch some rays.
After much observing and a lot of thought, she suddenly realized that there were DOGS there and she was FREE of the leash! She popped up, did her downward facing dog stretch (always a prerequisite to fun) and started romping and running and having a blast. It was truly so fun to watch her absorb the info and then respond so jubilantly to what she had conquered!
She fit in well with all the dogs, greeted the new ones with sniff’s and a “come on in” attitude. She took breaks to just lay and watch and just like a toddler at the park, she would frequently come back to me as if to touch base and say “ok, you are still here; I will be back again in a bit”.
Jasmine gives Waggy World4 wags on a scale of 1 -5. They had a drinking faucet for her and her friends, lots of room to run in the sun or shade, benches for the doggie parents and just a great look with the wooden fence and a red fire hydrant for decor. She liked that the really big dogs were on the other side of the fence. And although she liked watching them through the fence to see what they were up to, she was glad to be with pups her size.
I took a business trip last week and Jasmine was home with Mike. Anytime someone is missing from the house, a different dynamic takes place. I love it when I come home and the greeting that ensues when I walk through the door. First the 1/2 jump up (she knows mommy doesn’t allow the jumping) then the whining, the wrapping around of her paws on me and then she collapses to the floor (knowing that I will bend down). In a very short moment she will be laying on the floor (to see if I will join) and then the roll over with full belly up just begging for a scratch, a rub down and some love. You would think she was totally ignored for an entire week!
What I love even more though is the little things that are our routine that I know have a different take on them when I am gone. She and I have developed great communication and ways that she tells me things. One of my favorites is when she wants a treat she comes up to me, sits and then taps her foot–as if she is spelling out treat with SOS. If you ignore this it will get more pronounced. Eye contact with her at this point brings a lick to the chops and then when I actually say “do you need a treat?”… she hops and does a little 1/2 circle kind of dance as she moves towards the treat jar.
There are a lot of our little routines that she kicks right into the first day that I am back and I love it. Those things are our dogspeak that we both miss when I am gone.
How about you? What do you notice when you return after begin away from your dog?
Being in a deep freeze in the south causes us pet owners to be concerned about the cold and our pets. Do we use booties and coats? Do our pups get cold like us? (after all they have a fur coat). Do some dogs react to differently to cold than others? There is a great article on WebMD regarding this. I highly encourage your taking a few moments to read about this topic–especially if you are in one of the 49 states that is in snow right now! Keep warm while waggin’!
The great snowstorm has hit the southeast. It is making the news so I am certain that this is not a groundbreaking statement. We were out of town for a few days and Jasmine was dropped off to her favorite home away from home–her doggie hotel. We always leave her at the same place if we need to leave without her; she is familiar with the folks there and knows the drill. We cannot pick her up on Sundays so when we arrived home on Sunday we stopped at the grocery, settled in and the plan was to get her on Monday morning.
Then the snow/ice hit. We did not leave for work and we were grateful for the grocery stop on Monday, BUT we could not get Jasmine. I waited until late in the day to call and say we could not come to get her. I kept hoping the weather would change as the day went on, but it did not. Safety officials are begging folks to stay off the road, so we are complying. BUT we miss our Jasmine. Last night both of us talked about it–missed her in the kitchen, in the family room, tucking her into her bed for the night. It is amazing the routines that revolve around your dog; and amazing also at the gap in your life when those routines are disrupted.
Today, we will again wait. It does not look promising. I wonder if Jazz knows we did not come on Monday like we said. Logically I know that she is fine-sleeping, eating, barking and playing. Logically I know she does not have a sense of time like I do. BUT in my heart I wish I could convey to her that I am coming as soon as I can and we will once again be playing with Mr. Squeaky, hanging out in the kitchen and jumping and licking.
Have you had a time apart from your pup unexpectedly?
Jasmine LOVES the snow and unfortunately does not get to see it so often here in the south. BUT given the opportunity at grams and gramps she cannot get enough.
Ice however is another story. We had an ice storm here this week. When Jasmine woke up I knew that I needed to wait a couple of hours before heading out with her. (Our house is up a steep drive and I knew that I would not make it.) So we took her to the back door to let her out. She approached the door with great excitement and was ready to make her run around the yard before halting to take care of “business.” BUT she had such a surprise—when her paws hit the back porch she wiped out totally! With a look of surprise and glancing at the deck as if it had betrayed her she shook herself off and promptly came back in. She decided, like I had that, that this could wait until things thawed.
How about your dog? Love snow? Cold? Sunshine? Let us know what weather makes your doggie wag with delight or grrrrooowww with despair.
Jasmine, our rescue Golden Chow really has a high value on order. She likes order in her home, order in her routine, order in her food, and order in what her people do. Needless to say, Christmas has put her in line for a dosage of Prozac.
First we rearrange the guest room and make it into a needed guest bedroom. There were all kinds of big things being moved in and around her guarded space. Then , we had to move some things out of the family room for our Christmas tree. Then, of course, we brought in this very large tree, right into the house. You could see the worried and puzzled look on her face. Her eyes were saying “oh my, oh my, the humans have gone over the edge, what is happening here!”.
Preparing for the outside decoration didn’t help matters. In the hallway that leads to her space and her trusted crate, I had 6 fifteen foot icecycle strings of lights plugged in and warming up. At this point, Jasmine was sure there was an invasion going on, and she would never be able to sleep in peace again.
Finally all the furniture found its correct place, and the large tree that was now very predominant in the family room standing tall and steady. As the major moving and rearranging came to a close, Jasmine began to settle a bit. But now she had to smell everything, and try to determine if all of these new and different things were friends or foes. As she moved about from one room to another with the nose in overdrive, you could see the wheels in her brain spinning feverishly. “Ok, looks like nothing is going to jump out and bite”, you could see her thinking.
Trimming the Christmas tree is a really fun and joyful time. I am always in amazement that the tree lights seem to work year after year, yet the outdoor lights barely make it through the holidays. When the tree ornaments are unboxed, it is like greeting old friends that you havn’t seen for a year. Jasmine didn’t share that nostalgia moment. More stuff, more disorder in her world, and another big thing thats blinks, reflects, and seems overpowering. She spent the entire time we trimmed the tree on her pillow in the office at the other side of the house. “Ahhhh, at last a room that has not been changed”, were the sugarplum thoughts running through her head as she lay on her pillow in the office.
When all the decorating was done, and all the new things sniffed out and passed her approval, Jasmine has again become calm and back in her routines. Although she was totally disrought during the decorating and rearranging, if her doggie friends were to stop by, I am sure she’d tell them it was HER idea, and doesn’t it look GREAT as she struts around Waggin’ Delightfully.
At the first of the month we give Jasmine her treatments to prevent heartworm and fleas. I know how important this is and is a cost of having a dog. I have always used the 1st as the day as it is easy to remember that way. Since I have done this for so long, it occurred to me that I do not even know the symptoms of heartworm. I take it for granted that she is protected against this and realize that I would not even recognize it if she was affected. I did a little research and found that some typical symptoms are:
Coughing
Reluctance to play (hard to detect if you have a quiet dog)
Lethargy
Rapid breathing
Weight loss
I encourage you to make sure you are treating your dog with preventive measures, but familiarize yourself with the signs also. It is a serious condition that you do not want to leave unnoticed. For more information on Heartworm symptoms read the post at dogster.com.
Our Dog, Jasmine, has learned many things, and we are sure she knows more than the 100 plus words that are claimed to be the extend of a dog’s vocabulary. It is interesting to see how she learns from repetitive actions. Some, of course, are carefully planned, like calling her to “come” produces the reward of a small treat. Some, however, have just happened, and then there are some that she has developed through her own observations.
Debbie (doggie mommy) has consistently taken Jasmine out in the back yard to run every time she hauls the kitchen trash out of the can and deposits it in our large trash container. So now, if Jasmine is in the kitchen, and one of us goes over to the kitchen trash and pulls out the bag, she jumps up and heads for the door. And the list goes on.
Jasmine has been crate trained since she was a pup. It is her space, her den, and she sleeps in it every day. However, she really doesn’t want to miss anything in the evenings so she is always with us, even at late hours. She has formed her own habit about going to bed in her crate. It is located in the family room, the same as our TV. In the evening, Debbie and I typically watch a program prior to going to our room. Jasmine will lay on the floor next to us – of course – and maybe snooze, maybe roll around looking for a pet or try to eek out a treat. It is a perfect “Norman Rockwell” family picture. However, as soon as the TV is clicked off, she pops up and goes straight into her crate. Doesn’t make any difference if it is 9:30PM or 2:00AM, that is the drill. Then as we are leaving the room, she rolls over and waits for the nightly belly rub. Many are the times I have said “That dog has us exactly where she wants us”.
They don’t tweet, they are not on “Facebook”, nor do they put their resumes out on “Linkedin”, but somehow, dogs seem to do social networking just fine, and way more personal. WIFI is not one of the built in features for dogs, but who can argue or miss that happy tail just Waggin’ Delightfully.
Our featured dog is Biko, a great “mutt” that is a mix of Golden Lab, Corgi and Chow. Biko is 4 years old and lives in Georgia. Biko loves playing with stuffed bunnies and a good game a tug of war is sure to bring a happy “grrrrroooowww”. Biko is a snuggler and passes the day by “running like a mad man and then napping hard.” Mom says that Biko’s eyebrows are so special and a little rub in the armpits will bring on a waggin’ tail!
