{19aug2011: flashback Friday}

Darwin 8months old at the beach near Seaside, Oregon
Darwin 2years and 5months old at the beach in Pacific Beach, Washington


On a completely unrelated topic, I've started wogging (walking + running) with Darwin and am thinking about getting either a water bottle waist pack for me or a back pack that can hold water for Darwin. Anyone have any recommendations? So far we only go 2.5 miles, but I worry about her getting too hot. I plan our wogging route based on water stops we can make for her (pea patches - drink out of the water hose, park bathroom - drink out of the sink, and parks - drink from the water fountain) but that limits how far we go cause I dont want to go too far between water pit stops for her.

{19april2011: daycare update}

More updates on daycare!

Slowly but surely it seems like Darwin is settling into the daycare routine.

She is complacent walking in, but still a nut when it's time to leave.

A couple times Jason had noticed that when we picked her up she was panting a lot (probably some from nerves) and that her tongue seemed almost purple.

We were concerned that she wasn't potty-ing during the day (we don't think she'd go on the main play floor) and she wasn't drinking the water from the communal dish.

So we made arrangements for them to take her out for a potty break and give her a time out so she can drink water in a kennel.

It seems to have maybe helped a little as I caught her sniffing/almost playing with another dog and laying down on the floor again. Woo hoo!  Or maybe it's just that she's still tired from our 9 mile hike this weekend (post to come on that).




p.s. On another note, any advice on how to work with her reactivity to other dogs on leash? Sometimes she's fine, other times she barks/snarls at the other dog like she's out of control (Remi has been witness to it). We ran into a dog this weekend (a little Pomeranian) and she was fine greeting it (then it nipped at her and she was still fine). Then a few hours later we saw Friday and Friday's Aunty (Robin's mom's dog), Coco, and Darwin went crazy barking at Coco. So embarrassing.

{14jan2010: snowshoeing}

***Before we get to snowshoeing, I've got a question for you all. Darwin has a split ear tip (don't know if another dog nicked it or it just split from shaking her head so violently).  I took her to the vet yesterday (more on that in another post) and got a topical medicine for it. The thing is because she keeps shaking her head the split keeps opening up and bleeding everywhere.  I've been trying to tape/wrap her ears so they can stay still and heal, but all the methods I've tried have slid off.  I've tried gauze bandage strip, a bandana, and and ace bandage, but they all slip to the back of her head.  The vet tech said we could use a tube sock to tie her ears down, but I assume that will just slide off as well.  I'm going to run to the drug store at lunch and get liquid bandage and maybe a wider ace bandage... but I was wondering if anyone had tips on how to secure her ears down.  Thanks so much!!!

Now, onto snowshoeing!

Jason and I got snoewshoes for each other for Christmas and we finally broke them in the other weekend.  We received a book about snowshoeing locations in Washington and found the Lower Gold Creek Basin just east of Snoqualmie Pass.

View Larger Map

When we got there the lower part of the trail was full of families and kids sledding.  Darwin was super pumped to get out of the car and into the snow.  After passing the most crowded area we strapped on our snowshoes and proceeded up the mountain.  

There were quite a few other snowshoeing families that had their dogs along with them so we waited til we passed the more crowded spots and were further up before we let Dar off. 

The forest road we were walking on was pretty groomed so the snowshoes weren't really necessary, so Jason thought we should really get into it by going off the road and onto the soft powder.  Darwin was quick to follow him, but a little too quick as she kept stepping on the back of his snowshoes.

She'd try to run back over to me, but sink in the snow.

Of course all that off the beaten path romping resulted in a bunch of scrapes on Darwin's legs.  She left a blood trail again, though not as bad as on our Twin Falls hike.

So many pictures... this post will be continued!

{29june2010: park time}

I don't know if it's the acupuncture making Dar's qi (chi) flow or the cool temperatures we've been having but her energy level is OUT OF CONTROL.  Our hour plus long walks don't tire her out at all so I decided to take her to the dog park after work yesterday.
Westcrest park is a great one because it has the off leash play area and a trail that loops around so between play sessions we can walk the loop to rest her from playing and still get exercise.  (There are even trails outside of the off leash area, but we have yet to explore that part yet.)

Darwin was playing with this husky who decided to try and hump her... I told his owner she'd get him off, but his owner back there quickly put his leash on him and took him away.  I felt bad for him.




There was another Dane at the park too!  It's funny how quickly Darwin will run over to say hi to another Dane.  They played a quick game of bitey face (they look so ferocious), but Darwin got distracted by that little pug in the background who kept biting her ankles.  Each time she got bit she'd almost sit on the pug and the pug would keep going after her.  It was kind of funny, but I'm sure Darwin didn't think so so I took her away.


Even an hour and a half at the park, play time and walking four loops didn't tire her enough and she was up at 530 this morning wanting to get out and do something.

Thanks for all your suggestions on the fireworks + barking issue.  We ordered a Thundershirt to see if it will help.  Almost all the advice that was given was to ignore the barking and praise her when she stops.  But we can't just let her bark since we're in a small condo and her barks are really loud.  It's especially a problem if she barks late at night when our 3 year old neighbor is most likely in bed.  We've been working on our "no bark"/"shh" command, which works sometimes, but we still haven't perfected it.  She was barking this morning at some random noise outside, so after our "shh" or "look at me" commands weren't getting her attention I took her to the bathroom and put her in there for a bit (I was in there brushing my teeth) and we let her out after a while.  I've been watching a fair bit of It's Me or The Dog and Victoria seems to use the "removal" technique quite often (removing the dog to another room for a few seconds when they bark) and I think I'll be trying that out with Darwin, especially for her barks at random noises.

{28june2010: the crazies}

This weekend Darwin got to meet "the crazies" (my mom and two aunties).  My mom and Aunty S2 were visiting my Aunty S1 in Sacramento and the three of them decided to come and visit us for the weekend.  They got in Thursday afternoon, but we didn't have time for them to meet Darwin.  They spent Friday touring Seattle via The Ducks and browsing around Pikes Place Market.  They met up with Jason and I after work and we took them over to meet Darwin.
 
 
Darwin soon noticed Jason was carrying a bag from Beecher's Cheese and had to inspect it.

{mmm is that cheese I smell?!}
She also serenaded them with a round of "hello's".
 

She kept leaning on my mom, which my mom thought was hilarious as she almost fell over a few times.

Darwin kept whacking everyone with her excited tail (which hurts) and didn't like everyone laughing at her.

After the introductions were over we noticed blood all over my mom's pants.  We realized it was from Darwin's tail.  At some point the tip of Darwin's tail started bleeding (we aren't sure if she was gnawing on the tip of her tail right before we got home, because it seemed a bit bald, or if she just whacked it too hard on something) and with all her excited tail wags against everyone she got blood everywhere.  I took a picture of my mom's pants, but I don't think she'd like me to share that with everyone... hehehe.   
My mom and aunties were shocked at how big Darwin is... my Aunty S1 has a little collie and we've always grown up with 'poi' dogs (mixed breed dogs) or a Golden Retriever so a giant Dane was quite a size difference.  
On Saturday we decided to watch the USA vs Ghana game at our place.

After the game ended (poor USA) I took them upstairs to check out the view from the roof.

Darwin really seemed to like my mom and kept going over for some pets.

My mom thought it'd be fun to chase Darwin.


Then my mom tripped on the leg of a chair and took a slow motion tumble.

Can you see her?

It was the funniest thing.  Of course we all had to get a picture before helping her up.  She tried to blame it on Darwin (jokingly) but we all saw her fall on her own.
Darwin had a great time with her grandma and aunties and hopes they come back and visit her again soon!

On another note... 4th of July is coming up!  Last year Darwin was about 5 months old and cared less about the noise of the fireworks (there's the big fireworks show right over Lake Union, near our house).  This year Darwin is 17months old and this time she seems to care about the fireworks noise.  Someone set one off last night and Darwin kept barking at the noise.  I know there is that product out there the Thundershirt.  Has anyone used it?  I'm kind of hoping to not have to order something though (as it may not make it in time).  How do you all deal with fireworks and barking dogs?

{27may2010: Rain rain...}

Go away.  
It has been raining for almost two weeks straight.  This is stereotypical Seattle weather.... but it shouldn't be like this!  It's May not October!
Darwin hasn't had many outings because she HATES the rain (besides her gimpy butt keeps her activity levels restricted).  We have a coat for her which helps, but at the same time, you put it on her and suddenly her butt droops.  It's like her kryptonite.  I'll have to try and get video of it at some point cause it really is funny.  
Anyway, there was one day last week where the weather was decent after work so we went for a walk and stopped in a park where this little boy ran over to say hi to her.  I love when kids aren't afraid of her and want to say hi.  Most kids (or their parents) are terrified of her because of her size.  (BTW, I got a blatant "where's her saddle" comment last night while walking her... doesn't happen often, but when it does it so bugs me.)  So after he gave her a few pets and compared her to his dog (a black lab) we kept walking.  I got her to sit under a pretty tree for some pictures (taken with my phone).

As I moved to get a different angle Darwin decided she was done posing.

On another note.  Any advice on how to get Darwin to stop barking at other dogs when we're out walking?  She used to NEVER bark at other dogs, even if they were barking at her, she'd usually ignore other dogs.  But ever since her mystery injury and drug treatment she's a nut.  There's a big old greyhound that walks around the same time we do after work and on the same roads.  Darwin could care less about her before, but now she barks at this dog all the time.  It's so embarrassing and frustrating.  People are going to start thinking she's a mean, aggressive dog which she isn't... or she wasn't... she's just hurt and drugged.  Ugh.  I miss my carefree, hyper puppy!

{2may2010: side effects}

Darwin's on her weaning off period from the Prednisone and it can't go by faster.  Has anyone else had their dog on Prednisone?  The side effects of excessive thirst and hunger (equaling excessive peeing and pooping) has been annoying but easy enough to deal with.  The side effect of behavioral changes is another thing.  While the lethargy is worrisome because she's usually a very high energy gal, it's also been good keeping her inactive and resting.  The one behavioral side effect that I don't know how to deal with as well is her new aggression/anxiety she displays now.  Going on walks, she'll bark at people, dogs, anything.  We've been working on her "leave it" command trying to get her to ignore things and it's worked sometimes.  We've been working on her "no bark" command when we're inside and she hears any noise at all.  It's a work in progress, but she's been getting better at it.  
Tonight though, I took her out for a potty break and she was embarrassingly out of control.  As we were heading back in I noticed two ladies walking up the street with their two dogs, so I told Darwin "leave it" and tried to get her to stand to the side so they could pass.  Instead she started pulling me down the street barking at the dogs.  The two ladies understandably were scared of this giant barking, pulling dog and ran with their dogs across the street.  I want to say she was just barking and pulling to go play with the dogs, but I'm not positive and either way she shouldn't (and usually doesn't) behave like that.  I told her "no" and got her inside quickly and put her on timeout on her bed.  
What is the best way to deal with this behavior?  I read online that side effects like this will usually go away once the treatment is stopped, but we still have another two and a half weeks of one pill a day and another three weeks of one pill every other day.  So that's another five and a half weeks of crazy Darwin and I can't have her pulling me down the street barking like a madman.  
Grrr.  So frustrating.

{09feb2010: crackhead}

Darwin must be on crack.
Three hours at the park for her party on Sunday, and hour speed walk last night, and even play session in the garage, and yet all night she was a nut.
Here she is with her flamingo toy from Remi and her fancy new collar from Greenbelts on Etsy.

All night long she had to find the most squeaky toys she has and squeak them in our face.
She also did a round of zoomies and flipped her bed over (and its a heavy big round papasan cushion bed).
Maybe she should've been entered in the Insane Cracker Dog Terriers group in Mango Minster instead!


On another note, I have a question for all you more knowledgeable than me about training dogs.  What is the best way to help Darwin be less scared of things she's unfamiliar with.
Example one: I was taking her for one of our walks at night and we walked down a street we don't usually walk on, and in front of a row of townhouses was a big metal box of mailboxes.  She stopped a few houses down and was totally scared to continue walking towards it.  I tried to use treats to get her to keep walking and it eventually worked, but she hid on the side of me putting me between her and the scary mailboxes.
Example two: I was taking her for one of our walks last night and we walked down a street we don't usually walk on, and in one of the yards on one corner there was a big rock.  As we were in the middle of the street approaching it she stopped and bark, scaring me, and did the same thing of walking as far away from it as she could.
Is it just a matter of walking down those streets more often to get her used to it?
She seems to be a big panty at night especially.  Like people walking across the street, or boxes in front of someones house, or any random noise.
She also gets scared when other dogs bark at her... she's not really one to bark at other dogs, and when they bark at her, she jumps back and tries to hide.  Is that normal?!

{22nov2009: snow bunny}

We have an adventure planned for this upcoming Thanksgiving weekend so we wanted to test out Darwin's reaction to snow to get prepared.  We headed East on I90 towards Snoqualmie looking for a snowy area for Darwin to explore.  We had snow chain issues (why are chains so hard to put on?!) so didn't get to anywhere too snowy, but found a little rec area that had some slushy snow on the ground and figured it would be good enough for our little experiment.  We put on her coat and headed out to explore.  She was a little nervous about it at first, but soon was willing to check it out.  

She liked to find holes in the snow cover and stick her nose in it.

Soon we found a hill of dirt covered in snow and let her off leash to play on it.  She had a blast.  Zoomies all over the hill.  She was a total snow bunny.

We were relived that she actually enjoyed the snow, but decided to head out after a short time cause it was raining and getting cold.  
Since she only got a short time to romp, we headed over to Marymoor so she could get some real play time in.
As soon as we got there she found a 2 year old dane, Daisy, to play with and chase.

During our loop around the park she met this German Shepherd pup to play with.

On our way out, we met the cutest big 5.5month old European dane... can't remember his name, but he's a cutie!  At 5.5months he's almost as tall as Darwin, but a lot more stocky. 

As we were nearing the exit we passed an older brindle dane and found out she was 11.5 years old!  That's an old dane!  And she looked good for her age!  We hope Darwin lives a long life like that!


One thing I feel we need to work with Darwin on is her confidence.  She can be such a scaredy cat.  She's fine going up to random people to say hi when she wants to, but when people want to say hi to her, she sometimes gets scared and barks and backs away.  A lot of the time it's people with hats on that freak her out.  What's the best way to teach her these people aren't scary?  Last week when I took her to Marymoor, there was a guy in the grass throwing the ball for his dog and Darwin was scared of him.  Barked, whined, jumped around. I went over to stand by the guy to show her there wasn't anything to be scared of, and he tried to take off his hat and kneel down to say hi, but she would come close and then run off.  It was funny to the guy and I, but also frustrating.  It's worse when people want to say hi to her and she gets scared and barks because then they think she's mean and she's really not!  Advice?