Skywatch Friday

This dark cloud moving across our sky was not a tease but brought some welcomed rain.  Not much rain, mind you, but 2/10's of an inch.  Every drop counts in a Texas August.

Go here for skies around the world.

Until next time, God bless.

A Friendly

A "friendly" in the big garden.

Until next time, God bless.

Therapy Dog Training, Part III

Today was our first field trip to the Stonebridge Health Center.  One of the  Stay N Play ladies' mother is at Stonebridge and a willing trouper in the therapy dog training.

We are getting the dogs use to the new smells, sounds, and activity before going into the health center.  Betty in purple is a dog lover, willing trouper, and is petting Zimi Run. 

Luc and me after about a 30 minute calm down phase.  He gets so excited that it takes about 20-30 minutes for him to not be in overdrive.  I used his ball to wear him down a bit and discovered that I need to pack handiwipes on the next field trip.   In addition, I'm going to try a "gentle leader" to see if it will aid in his remaining calm and sensible when we first arrive someplace.  If the "gentle leader" works,  I'll go back to the regular leash.   

 We are inside Stonebridge!  I was very nervous about what Luc might do; however, he did pretty well.  He wants to kiss any and everyone.  So, this week's homework is to teach him to kiss on invitation only and to not kiss indiscriminately.  Melany, the Golden Retriever, gets excited too but seems to be more predictable than Luc. 

This is Darla, Zimi Run, and Betty.  Zimi is an old hand at this sort of outing.  She has been visiting Betty regularly for some time and has all the therapy dog behaviors down pat.  But, in order to become a certified therapy dog, Zimi must pass the Canine Good Citizen test.  Greyhounds do not like to sit; they stand or lay down.  As mentioned last week, the American Kennel Club does not make any special exceptions for breeds or handicaps.  Darla is working with Zimi to get her to sit; and once accomplished, Zimi will pass the CGC test and then go on to become a certified therapy dog.   Each therapy dog organization has its own rules and tests.  This training is a prep course so the dogs can pass the organization's criteria --- hopefully.  :D

Until next time, God bless.

Pets & Their Allergies

I've got to write about this company because its products have helped Luc tremendously.  When I run across something that solves a worrisome problem, I like to share it with the world.  :D

A little background:  Luc has had stomach problems ever since I got him at 6 weeks old.  He threw up quite a bit no matter what dog food he was on.  His coat was very dull and tarter collected on his teeth at an alarming rate when compared to Maggie.  One of his litter mates died before he was a year old of a twisted stomach.  After several rounds to the vet and mucho dollars, I did a net search and found Nzymes.   While whatever the vet prescribed seemed to help for a time, Luc would start throwing up again and I kept noticing how dull his coat was.  I kept a pretty close watch on him and knew he was not getting into something that would upset his stomach.  I thought what the heck, these products couldn't do any worse than the prescribed ones from the vet. 

First I read the testimonials.  Then, I called Nzymes to discuss what products I should order and ordered what they recommended.  It cost less than a trip to the vet.  As long as Luc stays on the Ox-e-drops, the Antioxidant treats, and the probotics, Luc throws up rarely and his coat shines. Probotics alone does not do the trick -- I've tried.  When I don't stay with the Nzymes, he throws up regularly and his coat gets dull.  The sheen in his coat was a real surprise.  I hadn't expected it.

He was off the treats and Ox-e-drops for about 6 months when I reordered a month or six weeks ago.  It is amazing -- he is back to rarely throwing up and the shine in his coat is really coming back.  I'd forgotten just how glistening his coat becomes when on this Nzymes regimen.

Look how his face and ears shine.

You can see how healthy his coat is.  No doubt Luc's coat health is an indication of his overall health and he very rarely throws up.  Now I do have him on a prescription dog food, but he started throwing up again after about 6 months of being on the food which is why I reordered from Nzymes.

Now why am I writing about this?  Because most of us have pets and many pets have some kind of allergy or allergies.  Thought you might wants to investigate a product that might help.  In addition, I can vouch that the testimonies are real because the company called to ask for before and after pictures along with whatever my experience was with their product.  Since Luc's problem was his stomach, I didn't think there could be much for a before and after; however, I probably should have taken them up on it except I do not have a before photo targeting his coat. 

Anyway, if your pet has health problems, check out Nzymes.  Read the testimonies.  Call them to explain the problems.  They really want to help. 

Until next time, God bless.

Securing the Garden

If you've been following the garden entries, you know that I've been increasing the security of the big garden.  First to go up was the initial fence on two sides since on one side of the garden was a standing shed and on the other side a hay pen with 6' iron panels lined with 4" x 4" x 5' goat and barbed wire fencing.  When 5 or 6 cantaloupes were eaten or nibbled on, I added a more secure fencing over the hay pen side.  When 3, 4, 5 more cantaloupes were ruined, I added lumber to the side gap on the gates and plugged the bottoms with old landscaping timbers and rocks.  When more cantaloupes were ruined, I strung ropes across the 4' gates to increase that gap to 6 feet just in case deer were the culprits.  When more cantaloupes were ruined I plugged a hole in the shed with chicken wire -- someone (hubby) got too close to the shed while mowing with the tractor.  Oops!

This is a picture of only one ruined cantaloupe, taken this morning, but have had at least 3 more ruined since the last security measure.

Do you know that I have yet to get one thing out of this garden?  Not one thing!  All the corn was ruined by caterpillars and aphids. I am desperate.  I bought 150 feet of a 24 inch wide chicken wire to cover the bottom 2 feet of the 20' x 6', 4x4, welded wire panels.  As of this moment, I've covered 32' with close to 80'+ to go. 

The watermelons are untouched but not yet ready to be picked.  I've counted about 8 cantaloupes in various stages of size development which remain untouched.  The question is:  Do you think I'll ever get something out of this garden for the table?  lol  With each passing day, my admiration for those pioneers settling this country grows when thinking what I've had to do to get something from garden to table.  If I were a pioneer, I'd be starving.  Thank you, Lord, for grocery stores. 

For the record, I've been surfing the web for wildlife cameras.  I am soooooo close to ordering one, maybe two. Of course, the garden raids are pushing to urgency; however, I've wanted one for a long time.  I'll probably be surprised at just what roams around here at night besides the deer, rabbits, foxes, and skunks.   After using the camera to discover what is raiding the garden, I could move the camera(s) to the more secluded areas of our property which is where one might find/see something unusual.  No doubt we have raccoons, opossums, and coyotes. It would be thrilling to find bobcats and possibly a cougar.  Errrr, finding a cougar might be alarming. :D Cougars are known to travel long distances in their territory, like 600 miles.  There have been sightings but not recently as far as I know. 

Until next time, God bless.

Straight Out Of The Camera Sunday

It is Straight Out of the Camera Sunday again, a meme of Murrieta 365.  There are two rules:  1) photo must be taken by you and 2) no tweaking.

This sunflower bloomed on the wrong side of the fence:  a few hours after taking the photo, it was gone.  I noticed a couple of deer 20 or 30 feet from the fence as I walked out to the garden.  A snack, maybe? Next year, sunflowers will be planted a foot or two away from the fence.  lol  If you look close, you'll see a bumblebee hard at work and some kind of yucky bug near the center. 

For more SOOC, click here.

Until next time, God bless.

Eureka! Luc Passed

Eureka!  Luc passed the Canine Good Citizen test.  It was a bit iffy; but, thankfully, we first did a practice test  which gave me more time to work on the two items on which he did not do so well.  He would not stay seated when the "friendly" stranger came up and when he was being petted.  While one of the other dogs was going through the test, another classmate and I worked on it.  Luc passed on the "real" test.  The object of the Canine Good Citizen program is to have mannerly dogs in public, at home, and be a citizen-in-good standing in the community.

This is Laura, our trainer.  Laura put her heart into it and really went the extra mile to work with us and the dogs.  Our classes went longer than an hour and Laura even scheduled an extra class to prepare us and the dogs for the Canine Good Citizen's test. 

Betty, left, is one of the co-owners of Stay N Play Pet Ranch, and Lynn, right, was the "friendly" stranger. The orange cones in the background mark the stations for the ten test items.

Lynn, left, and Charlotte, co-owner of Stay N Play Pet Ranch.  Charlotte participated in Item 8, Reaction to Another Dog.  This is where two handlers meet, shake hands, and the dogs should show no more than a casual interest in each other.  It was no easy feat for Luc to accomplish but he did.

This is Darla and Zimi Run, a greyhound rescue.  Zimi Run ran in Orlando, FL, and is presently staying at Stay N Play until she is adopted out.  She did not pass because it is extremely difficult for greyhounds to sit.  Greyhounds either stand or lay down.  AKA gives no special considerations for breeds or handicaps.  All ten items must be passed before the CGC certification is given.  If interested in getting a Canine Good Citizen's certificate, check out the American Kennel Club website.

Nicole, left, and Melany, right, were also classmates.  Melany passed her test too!  Congratulations to both of you.  Melany is a real sweetheart and quite vocal if you do not give her attention.  She will scrunch up her mouth and bark a time or two to show her displeasure if ignored.  However, fortunately she did not do it during the test. lol  I did not think to ask but that might have prevented her from becoming certified.  Luc had his own behaviors to resist during the testing that would have prevented him from being certified.

Instant visible proof that Luc is certified.  There is some paperwork from the AKC that needs to be filled out and filed certifying that he passed the CGC test. 

The last three classes are field trips to various places, a senior citizens home for instance.  I'll find out more next week.  But, I must say that Luc is very tired when we come home from training.  Maggie wants to play, but Luc lets her know with a couple of barks that he wants to be left alone.  He either crashes onto the tile floor and/or heads for our bed.  We don't hear much from him the rest of the evening. 

I also want to take this opportunity to sing the praises of Stay N Play Pet Ranch.  Both Betty and Charlotte have created a wonderful kennel.  In addition to the training fields, there are some walking trails on the grounds.  Lynn, our "friendly stranger" manages the kennels.  You can tell she is very caring and knowledgeable; in fact, all the people working at Stay N Play are.  

More next week on the second phase of the Therapy Dog training; but until then, God bless.