Something Fishy

While we were away at Seven Oaks Ranch last weekend, after a couple days there, I noticed that Cabana was scratching herself a LOT. She began chewing her paws frantically, stopping mid-step to scratch her belly with her back paws, and thumping the floor loudly while trying to scratch her front legs with her back legs. I had never seen Cabana scratch herself this much and with such vigor and intensity.

I immediately thought the water in the pond was the culprit. I had hosed Cabana off after she had been in the water, but I hadn't given her a full-blown bath. Thankfully, I brought doggy shampoo with me, so I gave her a thorough bath. But still the itching continued.

The second day there, I took Cabana to a dog park in the area. It was a very nice park, fully fenced, well maintained, with friendly dogs and people. But Cabana would not play.

In fact, at one point, every dog in the park came up to her, almost surrounding her, and she barked at them! It was like they were asking her what her problem was, and she was telling them to go away and leave her alone. Cabana has gotten more selective about who she wants to play with, preferring familiar dogs that she's known for a while. But I still felt that her behavior was quite unusual.

Finally, it occurred to me what was causing her itching and her anti-social behavior. The new treats that I had been giving her so generously!! They have mussels in them, an ingredient Cabana hasn't had before. I should have clued in much quicker, since last month, I had stopped giving her salmon kibble, due to itchy paws. Maybe Cabana is allergic to seafood in general. I still think Ziwi Peak is a high quality brand, but we'll avoid the fishy varieties.

I bought Cabana some Benadryl and have been giving it to her for the past 3 days. The itching has subsided somewhat, but the effects of the allergy are still lingering. I'm amazed at how long it's taking the mussels to leave her system. Hopefully, she won't be uncomfortable for too much longer.

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Weekend Getaway

I just had a weekend getaway at my favorite spot in the world, Seven Oaks Ranch. I had some projects to work on there, and since my older daughter's school is not too far away, she came along to keep me company. And lucky Cabana got to come, too. Seven Oaks is a magnificent, dog-friendly vacation rental home, but the part I love best is the 350 private acres it sits upon. Each time I go there, the more familiar it becomes, and the more I enjoy it.

Usually on our hikes there, Cabana sticks to the path because there are so many tall, prickly weeds off-trail, which Miss Dainty doesn't care for. But this time, so close to the end of winter, the weeds haven't grown in just yet, making the grass much more tempting for Cabana to meander through.

Cabana's recall is okay--I'd give her a "B" if I were grading her. She usually comes when I call her, but sometimes, it takes her a while to finish whatever she's sniffing first. For example, I knew she wasn't going to come until she had finished sniffing this deer carcass. I had seen the same carcass when we were hiking there back in January, so I wasn't too worried about Cabana finding any tantalizing morsels. I figured anything even slightly tasty had been pinched long ago.

But I had also armed myself with a new bag of treats for the trip--Ziwi Peaks' Premium Venison and Mussel Treats. I happily and generously rewarded Cabana for checking in with me every so often and for staying in my line of sight. With so much open space, I enjoy giving Cabana the freedom to explore and run, while balancing that with her safety and my peace of mind.

The trail dips low through a grove of trees where there's a big pond. When we've been here in the summer, I haven't let Cabana swim. Too murky and nasty, plus the threat of poison oak. But this time, recent rains meant the pond was pretty clean, and it's too early in the year for poison oak.


(Video of Cabana skirting around the edge of the pond.)

Of course, Cabana doesn't swim. As a water dog, she gets a C-. She only skirts the edges and gallops through the deeper parts. That's okay, whatever makes her happy--that sure looks like a smile to me.

I wish my photos could convey the beauty and vastness of this place! Sure, places like Yosemite and the Grand Canyon and Maui might be more awe-inspiring, but they're also crawling with humanity--you have to share the beauty with hordes of people at every turn! At Seven Oaks, the only other human I've ever crossed paths with is my husband when he's out for his morning run. It is such a luxury to have this much nature all to myself.

Or almost to myself--sharing it with Cabana is even better than having it to myself. She waits for me at the top of each crest and then stays close for the downhill stretches, seeming to want to make sure I don't fall (which has happened on occasion). As a hiking companion, Cabana gets an "A++"!

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Treasure Island

Despite having lived in the San Francisco Bay area for over 20 years, I had never been to Treasure Island until today. My older daughter and I, along with Cabana, braved the rain-soaked roads to see if we could find any treasures at the dog-friendly Treasure Island Flea Market.

Cabana wore her yellow raincoat, for protection from the elements and for looking cute (more for the latter than the former). Nesquik was at the event, giving away free chocolate milk. Too bad Cabana can't have a taste, but she sure matches the truck, down to the black line along the bottom. Except that Cabana hasn't been side-swiped, which is more than I can say about the truck.

The rain didn't keep too many people away. The historic World's Fair building was packed, making shopping, especially with a 55-pound dog, a bit of a challenge. Here, Cabana seems to be looking around to make sure no one is going to step on her tail.

Outside, the booths were much less congested, and we were able to shop our socks off. The socks were a great deal, and my daughter and I each bought 4 pair. (After seeing these photos, I realize more than ever that Cabana's raincoat is too small for her. See her scruff bulging out the top? I recently bought some fabric to make her a better one, but we've had so little rain until now. Once I make the new raincoat, we'll likely have clear skies for months.)

Two of my serious sock selections are made of the softest organic cotton, mmmmm. The other two, I couldn't resist--how can I call myself a dog-lover and not have at least a couple pairs of dog-themed socks? I guess it's true what they say about one man's treasure....

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Two More Pet Portraits from Crusty Bug

My daughter's latest artistic creations. I'm know I'm biased, but I think they're pretty fabulous. These lovely dogs are Mollie Jo and Bobo. Mollie Jo was the Best in Show winner of Mango Minster this year, and my daughter was gracious enough to contribute her talents as a grand prize.

If you'd like your own pet portrait, click here.

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A Job at the Library

When Cabana became a therapy dog last year, our first choice (or at least my first choice) was to work at the local library where Cabana could be a reading buddy for children. There were no openings there at the time, but just last week, we were asked to take a regular shift on Tuesday afternoons.

For a bit of practice and to keep her from being overly excited on our first official shift of work, in an effort to be all organized and prepared, I took Cabana to the library a few days before. She did a great job and was, surprisingly, very calm. She sat obediently and allowed the children's librarian to pet her. We walked easily through the stacks, and she behaved like she'd been there a million times before! Piece of cake!

Then, yesterday, we went back for the "real thing". And this time, for whatever reason, Cabana was UBER excited! So much for the practice and trying to think ahead...sigh. It's true that there were more children in the area than previously, but there had been children there on the practice visit, too. Who knows why, but the energy level was just different. After trying to jump all over the librarian and a few other adults, Cabana contained herself. Thankfully, she doesn't ever jump on children (only because they're already at her level, I don't think it's due to any great obedience on her part). She settled down very nicely on the "reading blankie" I made for this purpose, and we had about 6-7 kids read to her.

I had a great time. The kids were so adorable, and they seemed to think Cabana was adorable, too. We're looking forward to going back next Tuesday.

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Deb's Dog and a Tickhead

Deb is a realtor that I met at the dog park. She's a lot of fun, always talking loudly and gesticulating and yelling at her dogs. When my husband came to the dog park with me the other day, I introduced Deb as our new realtor--not that we're looking to buy or sell a house right now! But if we ever do, Deb is our gal.

I took these photos of Deb's dogs a couple weeks ago, just for fun. I'm so pleased with how they came out that I decided to post them.

Sadie is a BALL DOG. Yes, those words need to be capitalized where Sadie is concerned.

This is Sammie, or Sam-Sam. She's a feisty cairn terrier who likes to jump up on people, but if you try to pet her, she runs away. A couple weeks ago, though, I managed to get a hold of her and gave her a quick little deep tissue massage. Now, she no longer runs away from me. Just call me Magic Fingers.

Here's Katie, an adolescent Brittany Spaniel. I see that teenaged defiance in her eyes, don't you?

I couldn't decide which photo I liked better, so I decided to post both.

And here, in non-sequitur fashion, is the top of Cabana's head. Around Christmas, Cabana got bitten by a tick (even though she gets Frontline every month, how disconcerting!). I didn't remove it very well, so the head of the tick stayed embedded for a few days, until it finally fell out. But it left this little bald patch that seems to be taking forever to fill in! When will it finally grow back?! Until it does, my husband's new endearing name for Cabana is "Tickhead". Lovely.

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A Visit from Bodhi

Oh dear, over a week since my last post. Don't you hate it when life gets too busy to blog?

Today, we got to have Bodhi come for a visit. Bodhi is a 2-year old Blue Picardy Spaniel and a favorite friend of Cabana's at the dog park. I love how he lays with his paws crossed, so dapper.

Next month, we've offered to keep Bodhi while his owners are away for a few days. Because Bodhi has never been exposed to homes other than his own, we decided it would be a good idea to have Bodhi over for an hour or two in preparation for his real sleepover.

Bodhi was a bit nervous at first, running to every door and window, looking for his hu-mom after she dropped him off, but he settled down after 15 minutes.

I had shut all the bedroom doors upstairs, so I could keep a better eye on Bodhi's whereabouts. But at one point, he ran upstairs and managed to pushed open the door to my older daughter's room. Suddenly, I heard him barking loudly, so I went up to see what was going on. Turns out that Bodhi was scared of the stuffed bear on my daughter's bed. I held it out to him to show him it was a lifeless toy, but he wouldn't come any closer to investigate until I asked Cabana to come and give it a sniff. After he saw Cabana's fearless behavior, he finally realized that Freddy, with his missing eyes and torn-up nose and who used to belong to my husband when he was a child, is relatively harmless.

In the photos, it looks like Cabana can barely tolerate Bodhi! But he really is one of her best friends at the dog park. Maybe she was puzzled by his nervous energy at our house. They played with each other a little bit, but not as much as I had anticipated. The funny thing is, when Bodhi's hu-mom came back for him, he suddenly became his old rambunctious self, going into full play mode, happy and comfortable with his owner present. It can be hard for a dog who is under-exposed to new situations, so I'm glad we got to take it slow with this practice visit. I think he'll do even better the next time.

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