My, What Big Teeth You Have!

Impressive, no? The scary photo above was taken as he was getting a belly rub from one of the kids last night. He's really a puddy tat for the most part. I love my doggie. German Shepherds rule!

Friday Doggie/Farm Blogging

YAY It's Friday!!!!

I think I'll start this post off with an ode to how much I love my dog. He's the best. Everyday he does something that makes me think that human genes have been placed somewhere in the German Shepherd mix. Except...sometimes he seems smarter than any human I know.



Yesterday was somewhat crazy around here. Both of the kids made it home from visiting with friends. The whole time they were gone Snoot paced between their rooms so much that he wore a groove in the carpet. He is an unhappy camper when his entire pack is not assembled in one place when he thinks they should be. He is so sweet and a little sad when he goes to the kids rooms, sticks his head in, looks around and then comes back to find me with the, "Okay mom so where are my pack-mates?" question in his eyes.

Needless to say he was super excited to have them both back in the house yesterday. They had to pass a sniff test though. Snoot loves to sniff and both places the kids had been had dogs, cats and one place even had a goat. He had a grand time giving Bell a good sniffing. He literally starts at one foot and covers almost every inch of ones body with his nose. Up one side and down the other. He'll stop when he gets to something interesting and you can almost see him thinking..."that's goat, this one's chicken, ack! cat, another dog, a strange person....ummmm I like that goat one...smells tasty."

At some point last night I noticed his water dish was empty. I was busy with something and told one of the kids to get him some water. I then promptly forgot about it assuming that one of them had taken care of it. Then last night around 10 as I was just about to slip into unconsciousness I hear this loud rushing, gushing water sound....like a water main had burst. My husband and I jumped up out of the bed to discover the source and we discovered Snoot with his front paws on the toilet lid staring inside the tank on back.

See, trailer toilets are notorious for being ill-made and the one in our bathroom has a float that you have to jam something under so it doesn't run all the time. We use a red coke cap and just leave the back of the tank off instead of removing and replacing it every time. The dog has seen me move that cap numerous times a day, has investigated the noise of the rushing water and last night when no one got him a fresh bowl he took matters into his own snout, marched into the bathroom, dislodged the bottle cap with his nose and when we discovered him he was waiting patiently for the water to rise to the level where he could get it. Now that's a damn smart dog.

I get so tickled at him and am so amazed by him. He understood the principal of that little red cap stopping the water. He remembered it from the times he has seen me do it and when he needed water he went there and deliberately moved the cap to make the water come in. He understands concepts and that just blows my mind. He remembers concepts and events from earlier and stores them away in that broad skull of his for future reference. Sometimes his intelligence is down right scary.

He is such an amazing creature, just full of love for his family, he's especially fond of his mommy....trials me like a shadow every second that he is loose in the house...a for-real security dog just by his nature...I didn't train him to do that....where I go he goes also. He gives hugs. Yesterday he came over to love on me just because he likes to and even my husband (who is real jealous of the dog) was moved when he saw the dog hug me and give my arm a hundred sweet little kisses. He's as gentle as a lamb with those he loves.....but woe be unto those he does not know or any fool who might try and hurt his family. If he wasn't my dog I would not get anywhere near him for he is very powerful and frightening to behold.

For any readers thinking of getting a dog please consider a German Shepherd. You'll not find a more loyal and worthy companion, protector of home and family and absolute clown. Be prepared for a dog with very high energy levels that are total attention feinds. Above all remember that these dogs do not do well with multiple owners. They suffer from severe seperation anxiety and usually have a hard time adapting to new owners. If you cannot commit to about 13 years of your life caring for one then please choose another breed.

That's my ode to my Snoot...the best dog ever.

Here are some more pics of my garden.

The canteloupe has suddenly gone crazy...which is great because I could live off the stuff.


Some pretty maters that will be ready in no time. I wish they would hurry because I can't remember the last time I had a tomato that actually tasted like a tomato.


These are my amazing spaghetti squash plants. Looks like I will have a super harvest of this yummy veggie.





Malabar Spinach


Red Zinnia


It looks like it might rain today which would make my plants and my water bill very happy....but I ain't holding my breath.

Hope y'all have a great weekend and please come to the Town Hall meeting tomorrow where Senator Jeff Sessions, Congressman Artur Davis, my good friend Dr. Ralph Hendrix and some folks from the ACLU will be discussing the disparities in sentencing between crack-cocaine and powder cocaine. A must attend for anyone interested in drug policy reform.

Friday Farm Blogging

Since I now have chickens and a garden to go with my dog and cats what was formerly Friday Doggie Blogging will now become Friday Farm Blogging. Each week when time permits I will post pictures of my garden progress, my spoiled rotten pal Saul, the German Shepherd (more commonly referred to as Mr. Snoot), my baby chickens and who knows what else.

These first two photos are of a massive fire near Goodwater, AL, which is just down the road from me. I have no idea what was burning. I hope no one was hurt.




The 'mater patch'


A closeup of an individual mater...the white blobs are where sevin dust met dew



The Squash and Cauliflower Patch


Squash


Cauliflower


Squash I am growing in a container


The Girls

I had forgotten how fast chickens grow. Most of the girls have lots of their first real feathers. The look kinda nappy headed and fuzzy on their necks and heads.








And finally some shots of Mr. Snoot on one of his daily romps through the woods.






I am looking forward to eating some garden fresh veggies this year. This weekend we are planting greenbeans, lima beans, okra and field corn. I still have to get some peppers of various kinds, cucumbers, watermelons and canteloupe. I have onions, peanuts, raspberries and grapes I need to get set out as well. I think the gardening I did last weekend is what messed up my back. I still have no idea what is wrong with it due to having to see Dr. Roach (of all the names) again yesterday. He treated the pain but made no effort to find out what is causing it. I have an appointment with a orthopedic specialist next week. Hopefully we can get to the root of the problem and begin working on a solution.

I hope y'all have a great weekend.

In the Woods

I've taken to morning walks in the woods with Saul, my German Shepherd puppy. In an effort to make sure he gets all the exercise he needs I let him off leash in the awesome woods that make up most of my property. Some mornings, like this one, make me appreciate how magnificent it is to be alive and aware. Everything is the most brilliant shade of green, the animals are out going about their business, the flowers are blooming and the sunshine is golden.





There is one spot in the woods that has always been my favorite. It has two huge rocks that are rounded and worn on top. They have indentions in them that almost look like butt prints and the sit rather well, as rocks go. These rocks are surrounded by beech, oak, cedar, pine, lots of dogwood and other trees making it very shady and pleasant. Saul and I troop out there every morning and I turn him loose to romp until his heart is content. There are trails all along our property border that my husband made and we have worn into the ground over the years. Since I got Saul back in December we have walked those trails almost daily. He loves to sniff his border and patrolling just comes naturally to him. When I turn him loose he makes three or four circuits of the property border and then romps around off trail for a little while just exploring and investigating things that smell interesting.



The cats occasionally sneak out close to us in the woods. This morning the most daring kitty we have and the one I am most fond of, Frances, almost got gobbled up by Mr. Snoot. It was close. He (Frances) snuck out in the woods and waited just a little too long before darting away once he was spotted. It is almost like playing Chicken. He also made the strategic mistake of not hiding in close proximity to a tree. The only thing that saved him from being sampled by Mr. Snoot was a big old cedar tree that had very low hanging branches. He managed to buy a second when Saul had to go around instead of under and that was all that saved him. I don't know that Saul would actually eat or kill the cat. He got in the house recently and Saul was millimeters from him and could have eaten him at any time, but only helped him find the door back out. He didn't snap, but he sure was excited.

Frances the cat, and yes his eyes are really that fascinating shade of crystal blue.

There is a wide variety of wildlife on the property. We have a regular herd of deer that come through about every day, turkey's, armadillo's, possum's, racoon's, three or four different kinds of owl's from all the hooting that goes on early in the morning, frogs, lizards, turtles, hawks and squirrels. We also have a pair of pileated wood-peckers.



These birds are huge...almost the size of a small game hen. I remember the first time I saw one here. It must have been 8 years or more ago. I was amazed then as I am now every time I see one. They are awesome. Out in the woods every morning I can hear them hammering away. It blends in with the tweeting chorus of other winged critters very well. It is neat how the hammering of the woodpecker echos through the forest.

Here are some random shots from my garden.

Friday Doggie Blogging

Saul about to pounce his new red ball. Wook at those sweet ears!

Happy Friday Everyone!!!

Since it is Friday that also means it is Doggie Blogging Day and there is lots to tell in the Adventures of Saul Nall this week.

Last week I ordered a pinch collar for Saul. I hadn't wanted to use a pinch collar but Saul has gotten so big and strong I can no longer control him on a walk. I am a large girl, very stout but that damn dog simply has his way with me every time we go out the door. Last weekend as I was bringing him back in from a walk he jerked coming in the door and made me fall. It was very wet and I slipped and hit my left knee on the bottom of the door frame. My knee is solid black now and hurts like a bastard.

The next day his pinch collar arrived. It is an ABSOLUTE DREAM! No more lunging after the cats, dragging me through briars or generally making the walk unpleasant. No more jumping me either, which he has a bad habit of doing very unexpectedly. Every shirt I own now has a signature muddy paw print dead center.
Oh my goodness yes...the pinch collar makes him act like a perfect gentleman, he walks in heel, holds his head up high and does exactly what I tell him to do. To everyone out there who has a big, stubborn dog but hesitated using a pinch collar because they look mean.....GET ONE! Pinch collars are not mean. They only pinch if you make it pinch during a correction or if the dog darts out to the end of the leash. Saul did that....once....and hasn't done it again.

Last week I mentioned that Saul had a rash all over and was going to see the vet and be groomed on Monday. What a time we had! We arrive at the vet's office early and are the first ones there. We walk in and sit down. The receptionist comes out of the back and is greeted with a huge growl from Saul. He backed up against the wall and rumbled. Lots of bass. She came closer to him and he backed up farther. I was petting him and trying to calm him down. I told the receptionist that he was only a puppy and not really mean. She asked what our appointment was for and I told her a grooming and a check on his rash. Turns out she was the groomer and was, shall we say, less than thrilled by Saul's reaction to her. She called the vet who was not in yet and told him about Saul growling at her and that she needed him to come in. After she got off the phone she made a couple of offhand remarks about there only being one doggie dryer working that day and that she was grooming by herself and could I stay and help.

It was clear that she was scared to death of Saul and so I told her I would just bring him back another day for grooming if she would show me how to clip his nails, which were as sharp as cats claws. She agreed and looked very relieved. I thought it would be a bad idea to leave him with someone he clearly was not comfortable with. He would pick up on her fear and that could get ugly. I don't think people who are afraid of big dogs (especially when they are puppies) should work in a vets office. That seems like a bad career choice. She said, "You should socialize him a lot so he doesn't growl at strangers." I responded, "I want him to growl at strangers....that is why I got him."

The last time I took him in there were two young girls running the office and assisting the vet. They were both Shepherd owners and Saul took right to them. No growling, no backing away. He acted like he had known them all of his life. They also showed no fear of him.

Saul and I went into the exam room to wait for the vet. One of the young girls that was there last time came bursting into the room and Saul never flinched. In fact, when she said, 'Hello' his tail started wagging and he ran right over to her. I think any hesitance on the part of whomever is meeting Saul is what sets him off. When the doc came in he showed no fear or aggression.

I explained what was going on with the rash and was informed that they would need to sedate him and take scrapings from some of the bumps. The doctor said he wanted to be sure it wasn't some sort of weird mange that is incurable. It's fucked up how they sucker you into stuff like that. I fell for it because I love my dog and want to make sure he doesn't have incurable mange. He said he had to sedate Saul because scraping involved using a scapel to scrape all the way down til blood rises to the surface and that he knew Saul would not appreciate that very much at all if awake. He loaded a hypo up with a dose for a 60 pound dog (Saul is well over 60 pounds but their scales were broken) handed me a muzzle and shot my puppy full of dope. He said he would be back in 10 minutes to get started.


Yeah I know I need to vacuum!

Ten minutes later Saul was still up. A little sleepy and wobbly but no where near sedated enough to be scraped. The doc loaded up another needle and shot him directly in the vein. It was amusing to watch Saul's eyes get red and begin to droop. Even funnier when he tried to lift his head and couldn't when someone came in the door. He lost his cookies to the Nth degree and konked out.

During the procedure the vet looked at Saul's file and asked me about Alabamians for Compassionate Care. "What is Alabamians for Compassionate Care? Do you do hospice work?" I told him that ACC is a grassroots group pushinig a medical marijuana bill in the legislature. He said, "That's wonderful. I support that. Sick people should certainly be allowed to have it." This lead to a discussion about the drug war overall and I learned that he is also against the drug war. He told me that ten years ago he would have completely disagreed with me. But then the town where he lives hired a police officer who he became friends with and this officer told him one day that if the government really wanted to win the drug war then they would legalilze and regulate drugs and take all of the proceeds from the black market. He said he thought about it for a while, did some research and came to that same conclusion.

During this conversation the receptionist that Saul has such a problem with came in and got into the conversation. We were talking about pot being legal for anyone 18 and over. She said she thought it should never be legal because of all of the brain cells it kills. I told her that actually marijuana and prozac are the only two drugs know that enable brain cell genesis....meaning it helps you to grow new brain cells. The vet interjected and said that alcohol causes far greater damage and yet it is legal. She the said yea but pot makes people go crazy. I told her that I have been smoking since the age of 12 and that I just ran for Governor of Alabama in the last election. I am far from stupid or crazy. She then said, "I have a brother that got hooked on that mess and it ruined his life." The vet said he didn't believe it was pot that ruined his life. I asked her if she thought everyone who used a substance should be jailed because a few may have a problem with that substance and asked her why she believed in the drug war and prohibition because it obviously didn't save her brother. She didn't answer.

I dropped the conversation at that point. I knew it was pointless in that setting to challenge her way of thinking about marijuana and its connection to whatever happened to her brother. I strongly suspect that it was the laws regaring marijuana that led to his demise. But that was another topic for another day.

Anyway...Saul does not have some weird form of mange. He has food allergies. We are terrible about feeding him what we eat and something didn't agree with him. The vet changed the food from Purina Large Breed Puppy Chow to something called IVD made out of whitefish and potatoes. A 20 lb. bag of it cost me $50. OUCH! Saul seems to really love the food. Hell, we don't even get whitefish at my house. That is some good eating...and for a dog no less. I can guarantee you that as soon as this bag is gone he will be going back to puppy chow. I don't think he was allergic to his dog food but to the table food he had been getting. So we have cut out the table food and his rash has cleared up. I can't afford $50 for a bag of dog food that doesn't make my dog shit gold turds.

The vet also put Saul on steroids for a couple of weeks to help reduce the swelling associated with the rash. Just recently my husband and son have been on steroids and they were both very aggressivea and amped up almost like they were on speed......exceptthey ate like hogs. Saul has reacted the same way. Very agressive and snappy during play. He also barks at me when I do not respond to him immediately. He is hyper, eating like a hog (neat vet trick to give him steroids and incredibly expensive dog food at the same time) and has to go to the bathroom four times as much as he did before he started taking them. I'll be glad when he is done and I can get my sweet, laid back dog back.

I had to leave Saul for a few hours at the vets office. He didn't think it was a good idea to turn me loose with a dog that was totally konked out. So we hauled him out to a cage to let him sleep it off. I think he was the happiest dog on earth when I came back to get him. He was really groggy but he came charging out of that cage like something was after him. He even let the receptionist he doesn't like love on him some.

I let my guard down after we got home and I was bringing him inside. He was on his leash and regular collar and still very groggy and wobbly so my grip on the leash was lax. Hell, he could hardly walk and I didn't think he was capable of going after a cat. I was wrong. We came around the corner and there was a cat that wouldn't move. Before I knew it Saul had struck like lightning, closed his mouth over the cat's entire body, got the daylights scratched out of him for his effort, let go and ended up with a mouthful of tickly cat fur. The cat is fine, by the way...no damage done. I think she will move her dumbass next time Saul comes around the corner.

A blur of motion.

The rest of the day and night my puppy was pitiful. His eyes were blood red, he couldn't walk right, kept stepping in his food and water bowls and wanted me to be touching some part of him at all times. I wound up sitting in the floor with his sleeping head in my lap for a few hours. I brought up emotions I haven't felt since my kids were lap babies.

Until next time Saul says, 'GRRRRRRRRRRR'