Midnight Blues

Or, more accurately, 0130 Blues.

Storms rolled across the DelMarVa peninsula lasst night. Guess who lost her furry mind..? If you guessed the 7-stone walking carpet, you called it right!

So, once again, I woke to nigh-on 100 pounds of Shiloh Shepherd, standing on my face as she tried to climb to safety. It's a sign of something, not sure what, that I wasn't any more than mildly annoyed - Mostly just resigned. I mean, whattayagonnado..? At least she doesn't go wild and tear the house apart, nor does she make desperate attempts to escape teh house - No, she merely turns into an anxious mountain-climbing spelunker. Yup - Climb any high spot she can find, looking for a hole to crawl into. Would be entertaining if she weren't so distressed. And, of course, it never occurs to her, whilst in this state, to simply go to her crate. I have to herd her into it, instead. Once she's in, however, she's suddenly fine.

Go figure.

Once I had Dakota settled, I was allowed to go back to sleep - I found a muddy paw print on my face this morning though, when I went to brush my teeth.

Yeah - That much dog, all perched on my face in the wee hours of the morning.

Surprise!

Dakota doesn't like the basement

New washer and drier delivered and set up yesterday.

Suka spent the afternoon announcing the arrivals and departures of workers and equipment in various levels of anxiety. Clearly, removing stuff was bad, but bringing stuff in, while not bad per se, still needed an announcement. Ah, and disassembling bits of the house (popping a door off its hinges) falls under the heading of HIGHLY suspicious activity.

Dakota watched things quietly, and was generally a very good girl, though she did cause the workers sore necks as they swiveled their heads to keep an eye on her. They should've been watching Suka, instead!

Suka suspiciously eyeballed the new appliances once they were set up, but Dakota simply would NOT come down into the basement. She lay at the top of the stairs, paws over the edge, and moaned at me as I made adjustments and test-ran the new hardware (all under Suka's watchful eye), but she would not take even a single step down the stairs. Even the cat supervised a bit, lurking in the rafters and playing 'Basement Cat.'

Dakota was simply having none of it.

I guess Suka's found a Dakota-refuge, if she wants one. Too bad, too, 'cause the basement is the coolest place in the house, come summer (even with central air!).

Ressurection

This has been lying dormant. I haven't forgotten, just haven't had much to say that wasn't already being said over at Suka's Place.

Dakota has long settled into the family as a beloved member. She's got her odd little quirks and behaviors, and is known as a consummate Toast Thief. She's also been known to solve rather complicated problems to get her schnozz into a can of bacon grease. :)

Generally, my wife claims Dakota as 'her' dog - Jenn has the 'calm down a distressed dog' magic, and she loves Dakota to the point of distraction. Lin also has a serious love-on for Dakota, but Ian is a bit intimidated still - Not that he actually fears her intent, but rather that he fears her enthusiasm and occasional clumsy moment. When Dakota gets heedlessly excited, she can knock poor Ian ass-over-teakettle with a single mis-placed tail wag.

Dakota still doesn't really 'do' long stairs. She sits on the step, backwards, then walks her front paws up to the step she's sitting on. Then she'll stand up, and sit back down on the next higher step. Repeat as-needed until stairs are scaled. It's silly-looking as hell, but faster than you'd think. Whatever - She manages the stairs in her own way, and that's that. Short stairs, OTOH, she generally has no issues with, though she sometimes forgets which hind foot to put where.

Suka and Dakota have a complicated relationship. Suka doesn't really approve of Dakota, but generally tollerates her well, excepting when Dakota crosses one of Suka's numerous invisible rules. Then, Suka will get all huffy, and make faces, and generally throw her (fairly minor) weight around. Dakota will turn away, sit down, groom, or otherwise engage in distance-increasing behaviors until Suka gets bored, or decides that she's got her message across. Once Suka runs out of steam (or, more usually, gets called on being a rude little punk by one of the humans), Dakota goes back to doing what she'd started. Dakota generally yields dominance to Suka, and follows her about (especially when stressed). However, she doesn't let Suka go too far in being pushy - When Suka crosses one of Dakota's lines, Dakota will thump her a good one. Then it's back to business as usual. Dakota definately relies on Suka outside and off our land, and at the same time, is highly protective of Suka.

Case in point: Last night, I had The Girls at the vet for checkup and immunization updates. Suka was generally being a stress-puppy; whining, squeaking, and panting heavily. When Suka was taken to the back for a blood draw, Dakota hit the door to the treatment area HARD. Dakota normally doesn't jump up, but last night, her head was six feet off the ground as she took a run at that door! Deciding that she couldn't batter the door open, she was reduced to sniffing and nudging at the cracks until her Suka was brought back to her. Once Suka was back, all was well again.


Speaking of Vets, Dakota is still doing very well, though the doc did notice some loosness developing in her hips from last examination. Considering that over this last winter, she also gained a bit of weight, I suspect it's from not getting enough exercise, or is at least exacerbated by that lack. What with the weather and all, she's not the only one needing a bit of toning up! We'll be taking action on that, now that the weather has started to turn.

Such a life...

Dakota is doing well. Very well. :)

I'm not doing entirely so well, though... Family issues (no, no one is getting divorced!), and work... I'm responsible for items that could literally cost my company a billion US Dollars, if I were to fail. Plus my job. ;) Family comes first, but clearly, the job is running a close second. :p

When I have time, I'll add more. Until then, just know that I have my nose to the grindstone and, to a degree, my back to the wall.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

OK, so what do we have?

Dakota and Suka did not get along well at first. I've discovered that Suka can be a bit of an asshole at times, and she's definately the dominant dog of the two. She will try resource guarding, and she will try bullying, and she's gotten in Dakota's face more than a few times. Dokata is a kind and forgiving soul, and will put up with some crap, but only to a certain point. Then she holds her ground. Or pushes back. I've been working on Suka - If I wish to avoid an all-out Donnybrook, I have to watch Suka closely, and step on her whenever she gets out of line. Well, that's my job, so that's what I do. And sometimes, Dakota gets a little pushy, and has to be reminded of her manners, too. No problem - That's what I do. Long story short, the two are not bosum buddies, but they get along in a live-and-let-live manner, though I have to keep up the maintenance on the behaviors, to ensure things stay that way.

Dakota has my wife utterly wrapped around her paw, which is remarkable. My wife, the 'I don't like dogs' person, is captivated by Dakota. My wife, the 'I don't like BIG dogs' person, adores Dakota. And the feeling is mutual. Dakota will prance up to my wife, lower her head, and tuck it up under my wife's arm, leaning in for a snuggle. She'll dance for my wife, and do the characteristic Shiloh 'wookie talk' to her, and sit at her feet, happy in the close, comfortable presence of my wife. :-) Oh, Dakota loves me, too. And my daughter (and to a lesser extent, my son), but Jenn is 'first among equals' to Dakota.

We take the dogs for walks down Main Street in town, and that's the place that Suka and Dakota get along best. I take Suka, and Jenn takes Dakota, and suddenly, they're companions - shoulder-to-shoulder in comfortable peace. Suka always drew some comment - she's a lovely dog - but Dakota is a literal traffic-stopper. She's magnificent. And people see that - They'll stop, roll down their windows to ask about her, they'll walk up and adress themselves to her, too. Never mind the people at the other end of the leash; it's Dakota they want to talk to! :-p I've handed out a lot of informational tri-folds! :-D

OK, enough for the moment. More later, with pictures.

It's Alive!

Bwa-hahahahaha..!


Oh, wait... This isn't a Frankensteinian monster. Well, it might be monsterous, but it in no way involves resurrecting the dead. Or maybe it does.
:-p :-D


So, what are we doing here? Oh, yeah - talking about ISSR Shiloh Shepherd dogs. One very specific dog, in particular - Dakota.

Dakota stretching her legs

Dakota's a long, long way from where she started. She's found a home where she's happy and loved. She's settled in, if not exactly without some rough spots, but settled in none-the-less, and has utterly wrapped my wife around her... Uh, Paw, I guess. ;-)

There's much more to cover, of course, but I'm not up for that this instant. More later, when the kids are in bed. :-D

It's been a while...

It's been a long while.

Not sorry, either. I've been busy with Suka ( http://sukasplace.blogspot.com/ ), and life, and there's been very little happening here.

That's changing.
Up to my usual tricks again - I'm taking in an ISSR Shiloh, one in need of a good home, because where she is, they're not able to care for her much longer. Her owner, a Licensed Breeder, passed away, and there's basically no support left for the dogs of her kennel. One, Cain (Acer/GEM '08), is expected to be going to live with a family near Vanessa D., of Guardian Kennels ( http://www.guardiankennels.ca/ ). The other, Dakota, is coming to live with me. :-)

Dakota is a five year old female, neutered (so my breeding plans stay on hold for now!), and is a registered Therapy Dog with St. John Ambulance. St. John Ambulance is descended from the remnants of the Knights Hospitaler, and does good work all over the world. Unfortunately, they don't operate much in the US, so I'll need to find another group to sponser Dakota and myself, but I've long wanted to do Animal Assisted Therapy work, and Dakota is opening that door for me!

Plans for getting Dakota from her home in Winnipeg to her new home in Delaware have been a challenge, but the very good Shiloh people from Shiloh Shepherd Friends have bent over backwards, and we've got a relay running down into North Dakota, over into Minnesota, through Wisconsin, cutting south through Illinois past Chicago, across the tops of Indiana and Ohio, and then the length of Pennsylvania and into Delaware! Whew! What a ride! But we've got experts on each stage, and it all meshes.

Why, you may ask, aren't you flying her? Good question. Domestically, within the US, I could get her to me for as little as US$400, not counting travel crate. Travel crate for a full-grown ISSR Shiloh would be around US$180. But the nearest US facility that flies pets to the Philly area is Minneapolis - So there'd still be a lengthy drive involved. But why not Fly her across international borders, from Winnipeg, so to avoid the drive? Minimum of US$1800! Why the jump in costs? Because the TSA (Travel Security Administration) has, for whatever reason they feel valid, decreed that all unacompanied pets crossing the US borders by air must be shipped via a "Pet Forwarding Service." The cheapest was US$1800, and the price went up rapidly from there! That's something like three times the total cost of running her cross-country! And the travel times are comparable, once you include security and layovers!

So, it's a-road-trippin' we go.
Next Friday night, I start on my way to Toledo, which is where I'll pick up Dakota, and bring her the rest of the way home. It's been an interesting challenge to pull this together, but with good help and good hearts, nearly anything is possible.

We got the red carpet out for ya, Dakota!