Threes not a Crowd

Because of my so-so delinquent writing this title is almost a year old.

   Our newest pack member "Tootsie" has been with us over twelve months now. The six weeks of puppy training we started her on are all but a memory now. For us, and apparently for Tootsie too. She insists on being the centre of attention. All toys, bones, treats and in general anything a dog would like, by default, belongs to Tootsie. Ownership also extends to Luna and Molly. Should one or the other of them appear to be having too much fun or attention it is Tootsie's solemn duty to intervene and ensure she is not left out.

Three Stooges on the couch

   Unlike all the other dogs we have had, Tootsie does not seem to require seventeen or more hours of sleep. Luna and Molly religiously follow this long established sleep pattern while Tootsie roams around and tries to get anyones attention. When trying to attract human attention a cute little bark or growl are the preferred method. With Luna or Molly attention is gained by hair pulling or biting, this seems to result in the desired reaction.
    Now that we are three, "walking", has become a bit more of a challenge. No dog seems to want to go in the same direction at the same time. Result, braided leashes. To top it off Molly appears to have taken a dislike to everyone but immediate family.

Rare moment where all three are asleep at the same time.

Coming Soon: An Entire Season of Camping,

Twins

Do you remember the movie Twins with Arnold  Schwarzenegger and Danny Divito? Well, we have a retake of that show right in our back yard. Twins separated at birth, ultimately finding each other later in life. One raised in Kingston Ontario and the other on a tropical island somewhere in Quebec. Reunited in sunny Ottawa after a harrowing cross country trek. 

   As in the movie there is no doubt that these are not identical twins although the resemblance is uncanny. Strength of character as opposed to physical strength; it is difficult to tell the two appart. Inséparable since their reunion both are an ever present cataclysm in our lives. Unless they are asleep, which thank goodness is often there is a constant whirlwind of activity in whatever space they are occupying. 

  Watching from afar it appears the two have been best friends forever. Close up their friendship becomes clearly obvious. 

   Luna Kaldaun’s Bellatrix and LittleStar’s Molly Dream our very own dynamic duo. 

Whiney Crying Wolfhounds

    When i first saw a wolfhound i had visions of the show "Game of Thrones". Those monster dogs inspired fear in the toughest of men. Burning red eyes, steam coming from their mouths, savage teeth designed for rending flesh. This was a dog that could stand up to anything and force it to back down. The dog that makes you feel secure at night knowing it is downstairs guarding the house while you sleep.

    Well that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In the event of a break-in I suspect Luna would meet a stranger at the door and demand a belly rub before she let them proceed. These somewhat large fierce looking dogs are actually big babies in disguise. The greatest danger posed by our Luna is being stepped on and if you are short of stature there is a possibility of being crushed when she affectionately leans on you.

    To compound this extreme friendliness, for the last two weeks Luna has decided to add spontaneous whining to her daily ritual. Any time Luna was not the centre of attention she would quietly start baying, incrementally increasing the volume until a human came and gave her a belly rub or any attention at all. We  became concerned to the point that we called our breeder to make sure that this behaviour was not a sign of some odd wolfhound illness. To our relief we were informed it was likely due to heightened hormone levels from her last heat. Whooo, what a relief. 

    A odd side effect of the whining has been the Luna hunger strike. Luna has decided that eating is optional. We have now tried her on every thing a dog my like (Beef, liver, chicken even her original kibble). Each meal is a struggle to get her to consume enough to keep her healthy. She did seem to like a turkey neck but the second time we gave her one she looked at it like poison. 

   Luckily this weekend we went back to normal, eating, no more whining our regular old Luna is back.

   

Luna's Back

    After a long hiatus I am continuing Luna’s blog. I’m sure that her injury strongly influenced my desire to write (or rather not write). More bad news to go with Luna’s injury was the recent passing of our long time furry friend Pixie. She was with us for almost twelve years and succumbed to old age this summer. Like for most people the loss of a beloved pet was hard on us. Luna was also affected, regularly passing through the living room and checking all of Pixie’s favourite places. 

    At the end of August Luna received a new pack mate in the form of a Yorkshire Terrier named “Littlestar's Molly Dream” or Molly for short. As per wolfhound doctrine Luna has shed her puppy craziness and settled down to a life of quiet solitude. Typical Wolfhound behaviour consists of hanging around wherever the humans are in a totally relaxed manner. Enter twelve week old Molly. There is only one speed for an absolutely fearless Terrier. The Flash would have difficulty keeping up! To date Molly has demonstrated the ability to fly, disappear and seemingly levitate. 

    Luna has stoically accepted the new member of the family. Regardless of harassment, biting, barking and apparent boundless energy Luna remains calm. Every once in a while the inner play comes out in her and humans have to intervene to ensure Molly isn’t accidentally flattened.

    Now with her newly healed foreleg Luna is back on track for show training. On Tuesday evenings she participates at the dog ranch and by all accounts is improving weekly. In April we will put it to the test at the Champlain Dog Club in Petawawa. We finally received Molly’s papers so now she too has started show training. Although everything is completely new to her and she can be distracted by a blowing leaf, she is also showing signs of greatness.

Well thats my update for now more to follow next week.

    

    

Writing And Why

Not a lot of change with our Luna. Still on her restricted exercise and the sore on her leg hasn't changed. I keep thinking its looking better but i think I'm deceiving myself. 

Last week I took the A+ Eritting course at thé University of Ottawa. The professor is a brilliant woman, Melanie Sexton. 

To make up for the lack of Luna activity I will upload my storie from the class. Luna gets an honourable mention. The short story was titled "Where I Sit".

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The couch: the last stop of the day before we go to bed. The signal that everything is finished and we can put up our feet. IPad, laptop, headphones and tea cup are close at hand. Now, cherished time for ourselves.  Up go the feet, thankfully the old recliner is still working. All our worries temporarily slip away. 

  This old somewhat faded and lumpy couch that has seen the bottom everyone in the family is now mine alone. Or I thought it would be mine. Until, yes the dog has decided that this couch should now be hers. One hundred and thirty pounds of Wolfhound that slowly wiggles its way onto my couch. Is it me she wants to be close to or is it just the couch? Something tells me, to her, the soft lumps we are sitting on are more appealing than my undivided attention. 

   This couch has seen it all. Spills, stains, a lifetime of living and its threadbare upholstery continues to provide good service. This is where I sit.

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And some Luna and Pixie pictures. One antler and two sets of teeth.

Luna really wants her antler back.

Cone of Shame

Have you ever seen the pet protective collar for a wolfhound? No! Well if you closed off the small end and added a stick in the middle you would be able to use it as an umbrella. 
   Now that Luna has a sore on her leg we have to put it on her when she is alone in her enclosure. Actually, the collar is so big that Luna doesn't fit through the door of her pen with it on. At first she resisted us so strenuously when putting it on that we thought it would do her more harm than good. Now it still takes both of us to get it on her, but she has settled down enough so that it doesn't feel like a rodeo event.
   Luna has quickly learned a new word "cone". When hearing it she either heads for the couch or tries to make herself as small as possible

in her pen. This is ridiculous of course as there is no such thing as a small wolfhound.

Disaster plus four

It has been four weeks now since Luna's accident. With the exception of a limp that she just started showing she is back to her old self. The girl has to stay on her leash all the time or she would probably break both legs. We get her a new set of toys weekly so that she is distracted and has a bit of fun. The new snake we got her has actually managed to survive an entire day. Maybe this is a sign that the wallet drain will finally stop. Somehow though I doubt it. 

  This weekend we celebrated a birthday, Sue gained another year. Both Luna and Sue were completely surprised when Tiffany joined the pack for the weekend. A surprise visit and a surprise diner. Fun was had by all.

   Luna has now developed a sore on her leg that is resisting all our efforts to heal it. After great stress and what felt like a MMA fight we got the cone of shame on Luna so she couldn't get at her leg any longer. This seems to be helping but it is a slow process.