Fuzzy Logic

Over the past few days,  I’ve seen a lot of discussion on several boards, blogs and social networking sites about people having or adding multiple dogs to their homes.  We have a rule.  No more animals than hands. (LOL!)

I was asked if having 3 dogs is more work than 2.

I thought about it for a minute and as much as I hate to admit it, for me, I think 2 is substantially easier.  But maybe my perspective is skewed.  My dogs are HUGE by most standards and do take up a lot of space.  Targ, who we lost in September was the biggest..  175lbs of beastie who usually chose to plow over things than move around them.   You know, things like people and furniture?  Yeah.

So I asked Shel what she thought and her impression was that sure it’s easier but not substantially so.

I suppose you have to look at the way we have “chores” split up.

She primarily does:

• Feedings (which is no easy feat.  We feed raw and she does most of the prep. work)
• Vet runs since her schedule is more flexible than mine.
• Afternoon Walks

I primarily do:

• Medications (I have a knack)
• Toenails (same kinda knack)
• Ear cleanings (ditto above)
• Morning Walks

Of course, there are more things.. but these are the biggest ones that I can think of.

Now, consider Targ.. the big guy.. the big guy with bigger toenails and more medications and was a BIG slug on our walks.

My morning used to go something like this:

• Wipe Targs face
• Dispense two different kinds of eyedrops in Targ’s eyes
• Check his ears for goo
• Walkies.  Sometimes I could go two rounds..  Qor and Targ liked to go together and then I’d walk Qay.  Sometimes I did three walks.  Targ was very.. um.. casual about his.. one would say we went on a “saunter” except for the last leg where he would RUN to the house so he could have breakfast.

Afternoon walks were easier because, well lots of times Targ didn’t want to go.  So he’d enjoy a few moments of peace without the girls harranging him.

Targ had some MAJOR toenails.. they were as thick as my pinky, but he was a GOOD boy about the dremel.  Mostly.

Targ would sometimes wake up shaking his head if his allergies were bad and I’d sit up with him, rubbing his ears.. forgoing my own sleep until the benedryl took effect and he could settle in again.

Targ was the KING of Drool..  and puddles.. whenever he would take a drink, he’d leave a trail three feet long of water and drool on the floor.

Targ hated having his ears cleaned.. he would cry and cower and hide.. and then freak out after they were done..  a good 20 minutes of full on panic.  (yes, we had the vet check and make sure there was nothing wrong with his ear canal)

Targ was a lot of work.. I did it all willingly and with love.   But to be brutally honest, I don’t miss the extra work.  I miss the Big Guy like you wouldn’t believe and I’d gladly do it all again every day for the rest of my life if that was what was required.. but..

The girls are easy (and portable).  Qor has some occassional skin issues and right now they both need nails done.. but for some reason, doing two sets of nails seems easier than three.

We never planned on having three dogs.  The Universe  jumped in there and said “HEY! have one more!”

You all don’t know the story of how we ended up with two puppies at once.. and I don’t think I ever blogged about how difficult it was at the time because I was trying to get people to trust me…  you know that whole business building thing.

Do YOU think more than two dogs is a lot more work?  (Hint: there is a poll in the sidebar)

I’d love to hear your thinking on this, so I can share it with the person who asked me what I thought.  Like I sai, my perception might be skewed!

Tags: animal care, Multiple Dog Household, Targ

When I started this blog three or so years ago, my intention was to promote my animal communication/holistic health business.

Last year, I stopped doing communication sessions for various reasons. I also was frustrated with people asking for advice for their dogs when they didn’t really mean it and I watched those dogs suffer for it.. simple things that should have been easy to fix, you know with a visit to the VET! but I digress.

This past year, my blog has been more about me and my dogs and less about holistic and complementary care.

This past week:

• Two people have asked me about raw feeding
• Someone asked me about bullmastiffs for their house
• I have had two people bringing up “odd” things happening in their houses. (Spirit Energy)
• Three people asked me about holistic alternatives to treat chronic issues

Maybe it’s time to get back to my roots?

Please send snow…..

We has none.

KThxBai,

Qor and Qay

I have been accused of being.. um.. a dog nut.  I’m not into performance as much as having fun, but I am obsessive about what my dogs eat, what their health is like and yes I’m obsessive about their poo.  My house is FOR my dogs.  I just happen to live there and help run the pack.  The couch is fair game (as long as I’m not on it).  The dogs come snuggle with me in the morning (and push me to get up for a walk!)

There is a futon mattress taking up my living room floor.  I’m practicing my kata in the breezeway. 

I don’t have a kitchen table because then there wouldn’t be room for the feeding stations.

Yeah.. it’s a dogs house.  I have no human children and don’t plan on it.  I can’t crate human children and leave the house.  (Don’t give me the argument that I can’t stay out too late without stressing out my dogs routine.. their routine keeps me sane… as well as gets me out of dinner parties with people I don’t like, mmmkay?)

Shel reads pscyhology today via feed reader.  She forwarded this post on to me.  It takes a while to load, so be patient. 

The gist… in response to his article about Michael Vick, he got a ton of comments.  And it prompted this post: is a dogs life worth more than a humans? 

” [....]  we humans, a single species among millions, consume about 40 percent of Earth’s primary productivity, 40 percent of all there is. This simple number may explain why the current extinction rate is 1,000 times that which existed before human domination of the planet. We 6 billion have simply stolen the food, the rich among us a lot more than others.”

And more:

So do I think that a dog’s life is worth more than a humans? I think that no dog has ever, intentionally, for reasons of selfish greed, destroyed their home like we have ours. I think that yes, there are way too many people on the planet, and while I’m not advocating mass euthanasia (though mandatory birth control sounds pretty good to me), I think before we start saying humans are worth more than dogs, we need to examine exactly what we have contributed to the quality of life for all species on this planet, not just our own.

Read the Full Article here: Psychology Today

Tags: crazy dog person, Michael Vick, psychology

Due to the kindness of one person and her family.

Jessica lives in Texas and one day in October, she found Theresa (shown above) wandering about on her property. Theresa was starving and obviously pregnant. Jessica and her family helped her inside and took care of her.

That alone is amazing.

They fed Theresa, (I suggested the Satin Balls recipe that I got from Lora at It’s The Dogs Life to give her a boost!) and cared for her while she prepared to give birth.

Shortly after, Theresa delivered TWELVE puppies. (unfortunately, two little ones didn’t make it) This photo is hard to look at because of poor Theresa still recovering from her ordeal, but I had to look. I had to know if the puppies and Theresa were okay.

Now weeks later, Theresa is doing much better.

And so are the puppies

Oh did I mention that Jessica was not only able but willing to take these dogs in just after getting a new puppy for her family? Yes, she’s now caring for Theresa, 10 puppies and her puppy and her adult dog.

To read more about this amazing story (and some fun stuff about Jessica and her family) check out her blog at http://weavingrainbow.com/HSblog/ and her fiber/pattern/yarn store at http://weavingrainbow.com/