Category: pets

The Airstream

On By stefrobrtsIn airstream, cats, mighty, pets2 Comments

We have a 1968 Airstream Caravel – that’s a 17ft trailer – which I restored myself over the last 5 years, with help from my friends in the Airstream community. It is my pride and joy, and we don’t get to use it as much as I’d like. All this winter weather is giving me cabin fever – I want to hook up and hit the road! So instead I went out and did some cleaning up, fixed a bad light switch, and just hung out inside with the dog for a bit, letting him get used to it while I read a magazine. He went camping with us a couple times last season, but he has a bit of separation anxiety, so I want him to learn it’s a safe place to be when we’re gone.

Since it’s only 17 ft long, the tour is short. There’s a kitchen down one side…

And a couch that folds out into a bed on the other (in Airstream-speak, that’s called a ‘gaucho’). The bathroom is in the back, and it’s full-service 🙂 That’s a requirement for me when we’re ‘camping’.

And there’s a dinette in the front which folds down into a bed as well, but we use the side bed. It’s actually nice and cozy inside, and never seems cramped. It’s small size is easy to tow and fits into any camping spot. We are forced to keep everything neat and orderly when travelling because there is no room for clutter inside.

Mighty followed me into the trailer, and then I left to play with the dog, and when I came back and opened the door she had a lot to say to me about forgetting her and leaving her locked in there all alone for TEN WHOLE MINUTES!!! Apparently it was quite traumatic. She may require therapy…

A tired dog is a good dog!

On By stefrobrtsIn barclay, pets1 Comment

Today we took barclay to the public dogpark in the afternoon. There was no one on the small dog side, but there were a couple nice older dogs on the big dog side, and their owner said they would be fine, and they greeted through the fence and seemed fine, so we took him over to the big dog side. They ran around and did great together, so that was good. Then another family showed up with kids and a young dog that was into fetching, and Barclay got to play with the kids and run around with that dog, and that was wearing him out pretty good. Then another family showed up with a young GSD that he has played with before, but last time she was on the big dog side and he was on the small dog side, and they just ran up and down the fenceline. She’s young, and a bit of a handful! They played chase and Barclay was loving that, running big circles, changing directions, zipping in and out, but of course she got a little too close and grabbed his tail and there was a big ‘yalp!’ out of Barclay. He was fine, but he ran back to us and hung out with the people. After that when he wanted to go play with her I’d call him back, and he’s getting really good at coming, even if there’s other dogs around, so that’s good. That GSD was just a bit too much dog for him! She has a bit of puppy rudeness still, and the other dogs didn’t mind putting her in her place when she got out of hand, but I didn’t want Barclay getting in the middle of that.

In the end he had a great time, all the dogs were nice, the people were nice, the kids had fun playing with him, and a fun time was had by all. And then when we came home he crashed and slept the rest of the evening 🙂

Eskimos are not always easy

On By stefrobrtsIn alki, barclay, pets3 Comments
Alki and Barclay

I was drawn to Eskimos because they are smart and beautiful, and very loving, but they are not ‘people pleasers’. They kind of do their own thing. Very independent. I have been working and working with Barclay’s training. I know it would go faster if he was a ‘pleaser’ but that’s just not how they are.

When I was a kid we had some great dogs that I loved dearly, and we never trained any of them. How did they turn out to be such great dogs? I have higher expectations for my dogs now. When I was a kid we never took dogs for walks, they never left the big backyard except to go to the vet or maybe on a family trip to the beach. You didn’t worry about socializing them with other dogs, or training them to walk nice on a leash, or crate training, or to come back when called. So dogs today get a richer, more stimulating lifestyle, but to do that they need to learn more skills than ever before.

Barclay disappointed me the other night when he refused to come off the couch in the living room and come to bed with the rest of the family, and when Dave went to get him Barclay started to bite down, a warning to leave him alone. His temperment is overall pretty docile and submissive. I think we just caught him at a time when he was sleepy and thought he’d see what he could get away with. Of course that’s completely unacceptable. We’ve been working on bite inhibition since he came home at 8 weeks, and he’s been very good and not shown any aggression since he outgrew the tantrum phase when he was tiny. We made him get up and come to bed anyway.

The next morning we began instituting the Nothing In Life Is Free program. I was hoping he could do without it, it’s a bit more of a hassle for us. Instead of walking by and seeing your dog laying there and giving them a pet, you’re supposed to call them to you and give them pets. Everything is on your terms, and the dog has to perform to get what he wants. Two days later and I’m already seeing progress. He’s more attentive and is doing better at coming when I call, and generally doing what is asked. Hopefully we can relax this as he improves.

Last night we were working through a new exercise in the Control Unleashed book – Go To Place. In this case it’s a bathmat, and I just let him figure out what I wanted, clicking when he got close. It was very cute to watch him figure out that he was getting clicked for stepping on the mat, then for laying on it. He was doing good at half laying on it, and I waited to click hoping if I held out he would shuffle and get the rest of his butt on it, and instead he rolled over on it! Just trying new things to see what works 🙂 Finally he did get completely on it, and got lots of rewards. Soon he didn’t want to get off the mat! It was a good exercise for him, and fun for both of us.

This morning…

On By stefrobrtsIn barclay, pets, snow1 Comment

This morning we woke up to a beautiful, sunny, blue-sky day…

And snow on the ground! Again? Really? I’ve never seen so much of the white stuff in a single winter!


Barclay thinks it’s great! We run around, finding the white lumps in the yard that cover his toys. He ran to the far end of the pasture and back to watch someone walking down the street (we don’t get a lot of pedestrians).

One of his very favorite toys is a soccer ball with straps around it so he can pick it up. I kick it for him and while he’s fetching it I get one of the other balls and kick that around, so he brings back the first ball and waits for me to kick the second one. This is a great way to wear him out! Plus he loves to grab the ball by the straps and swing that baby around!






If I do my job right, after our morning playtime we get to enjoy this for the next hour or so!

Barclay at the dog park!

On By stefrobrtsIn barclay, pets3 Comments


Saturday is dog park day! Because our local public dog park is usually full of HUGE dogs, and Barclay is medium sized at best, on Saturdays I like to take him to a private dog park at Woof World in Vancouver. This is a doggie daycare, and on Saturdays they open the facility as a dog park for $3 an hour. The owners are there watching what goes on so they can help spot any problems before they occur, and send anyone packing if they cause trouble. Barclay has the BEST time there, he loves playing with other dogs. It’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him. I love watching him communicate with other dogs, because they all speak the same dog language, and it’s just great to see him be himself and let it all hang out.

Lots of rolling around on the floor!

Lots of humping – both ends!

Lots of playing ‘chase me’ !

It’s clean and warm and safe, and we’ve had nothing but good experiences there! At the public dog park, we’ve either had no small dogs to play with, or the dogs on the big dog side are a bit too much for him. But he loves playing with smaller dogs, and is gentle even with tiny dogs, so the indoor park has been great for him! Not that they are all small dogs, there have been some big dogs there too, anything friendly is welcome. There is a boxer who he has played with the last couple times and they get on great!

Thanks to Kim at Woof World for the great pics!

Mouse

On By stefrobrtsIn cats, mouse, pets3 Comments

I went out this morning and after doing the morning chores I took nice headshots of all the animals so I could print them out along with their information to give to the rescue lady. Today is moving day for them. More on that later though.

Mouse was helping, and I snapped this nice picture of her in the morning light. She just about glows!


Mouse is having her 15 minutes of fame on Petduel.com where she is the worlds cutest pet for January 2009 thanks to a picture a friend submitted. Click through to see her in all her laid-back glory 🙂

Sweet Alki

On By stefrobrtsIn alki, pets1 Comment


Alki is still doing well, approaching two years since her cancer diagnosis, the beginning of that long adventure. She still takes medicines twice a day, and we check in with her oncologist monthly. She’s had some age related problems creeping up on her – dimming eyesight and not hearing well. Sometimes those are a blessing, because she doesn’t set off barking every time she hears the neighbor slam their car door – in fact she sleeps through most deliverymen now. I can clickertrain Barclay in the other room and she doesn’t hear it (which is good because otherwise she comes and demands treats). But we do have to be careful not to startle her when she’s sleeping. Usually a gentle touch wakes her up enough and she’ll roll over for a tummy rub. Dogs know the best things in life are free!

Pseudotropheus Estherae

On By stefrobrtsIn fish, pets, video1 Comment

These are p. estherae, also called Red Zebras or Cobalt Zebras, which as you can see is stretching it a bit in either direction. The red is not what I would call red, in fact I would call them yellow. I only have one blue male, and it is a pale blue. This is my 110g display tank in the living room. The amazing thing about these fish is that they are ALL estherae, despite the wild variations in color. If the solid yellow breed with the blue male, they will produce more solid yellow babies, and the dominant males eventually turn blue. In my tank there is only one yellow male dominant enough to show his blue colors.

If the blue male breeds with a yellow/black female, or a yellow/black male breeds with a yellow female, you get more yellow/black fish. And when the video swings over to the rocks you see some of the yellow/black babies hiding in the rocks. This type of fish is a mouthbrooder, so the mom will carry the eggs in her mouth until they hatch and the babies are ready to swim and feed on their own.

The dominant yellow/black male in the tank is most visible at the very end of the clip, and he stands out because he is BIG, and because in the dominant yellow/black fish, the black turns blue. So I have blue fish, yellow fish, yellow/black fish, and yellow/blue fish, and they are all the same type of fish – amazing!

http://i358.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid358.photobucket.com/albums/oo24/stefrobrts/MVI_0750.flv