GREETINGS FROM TOBY's HOUSEHOLD!
MAXMOM here...
DIARY EXTRACTS
Friday 16th March 2012
We have rats in the garden!
I think they've taken up residence in the large pile of wood cuttings behind the house (which is patiently waiting removal at some unknown day in the future). Toby and Tammy are loving this new intrigue - darting in and out of the foliage, through the flower beds and into the pile. RATS are their best! They emerge covered with leaves, mud and dust - as if they've won the jackpot. Dogs!!!
We take them to the park for a walk this evening. On arrival, Toby's long-standing 'fan' - the Border Collie, who has always hated him - notices his arrival and, from a distance, sprints straight at him and into him. Usually Toby gets such a fright and scurries off with his tail between his legs, but this time he's decided to stand his ground.
With hackles raised he challenges his opponent. To me it looks serious. The Border Collie snaps at him. Obviously he's had enough of these months of unprovoked onslaught. I need to get him away from the situation a.s.a.p but the Border Collie's owner is nowhere in sight. I am terrified that it will develop into a full blown fight.
It takes me 3 attempts before I am finally able to slip the lead over his head and restrain him. He's incredibly strong and powerful and I get really scared that he'll do damage. Luckily all is okay. Both dogs forget the incident and eventually run off happily. I don't forget and I can't curb my shaking. My fear of dog-fights gets worse every day.
Monday 19th March 2012
The Boss and I go to gym this evening and lock the dogs in the kitchen. On our return, we discover the newly laid 'Ant Trap' in shreds and Toby has a large piece in his mouth. He wags his tail in welcome. Panic stations! I message Darryl on my mobile. (Darryl is my wonderful, patient, generous 'on-call', veterinary advisor) who suggests that we take Toby to the emergency hospital a.s.a.p. ...
The Boss and I pile Toby into the car and, without clear directions, head towards Fourways. We have an 'idea' of where it is located but don't know exactly. A telephone call to Lorraine and Russell help establish the directions. Toby looks none the worse for wear, happily watching the world go by and barking at the motor-bikes.
The receptionist calmly marches him behind closed doors and I wonder how much this is going to cost us. Thankfully he's returned to the waiting area, almost straight away.
"ONE ant-trap, for such a large dog is probably okay," the vet has declared. "Just watch him."
Phew! Emergency averted.
Four hours later, Toby still has no side-effects. He snoozes happily in the corner of our bedroom. I think it's possible to close my eyes for the night too. (Thank goodness for friends like Darryl and Lorraine)
Tuesday 20th March 2012
Early morning. Toby welcomes in the day. Typically, the dogs wait at my bedside for their biscuits. Even more typically, one gets stuck in Tammy's palate. She spends the next five minutes sucking and licking with fervour - her snout pointed to the heavens in euphoria. "An endless biscuit," she's probably thinking.
Both Toby and Tammy sink to the floor (next to my bed) in the sure knowledge that the only thing that separates them from a second biscuit is....time. As if to remind me, Tammy starts sucking the carpet.
One pat and Toby's on my bed, on his back, with his paws pointed to the ceiling in glee. How can one not rub his fluffy tummy? His jowls droop and his pearly-whites grin at me from upside down. His heavy tail smooths my duvet as he waves it from side to side. I put my whole foot on his chest and dig my toes into his silky fur. He rolls closer - like the wave of a break-dancer. What a goofball!
There's never a dull moment in this household!
Sending lotsaluv
12 comments:
I think I would have fainted if I'd have seen the ant trap in my dog's mouth! Holy cow. Good think that nothing happened!
BTW, dogs posture all the time, Caryl. Your panic is what could actually begin an altercation even if none was intended. Calm, calm, calm, speak in a quiet, reassuring, low tone. Bet dear Toby and his Collie friend will be just fine. Collies generally aren't fighters or rabble rousers. Bet it's just a lot of posturing.
So pleased Toby is ok after his experience with the ant trap!
Love the fabulous photos of action in the pool.
Have a great week
Big Nose Pokes
The Thugletsx
Ah, life with dogs! So pleased that Toby is OK. In my experience, it's amazing what the canine stomach can cope with.
Please give Toby and extra fluffy tummy rub from Bertie and me.
Cheers,
Gail.
PS Bertie is asking can you please send some rats over to our house. He thinks they would be such fun.....
what a fab post!!! i especially loved the swimming pool picks, im hoping to get storm into diving in water eventually, it would be amazing to have a dock dog. i might just start at trying to get him to jump thru a hoop tho :) he is 1 next month and then we get to start agility, so excited!!!
Hi Caryl, I'm glad Toby's ok. Reminds me of when my Libby ate all of our kids' Valentine boxes of chocolates - no harm, and it's funny now but wasn't at the time. Your dogs sure do love the pool! My Callie loved the pool too. She would swim and swim until she was near exhaustion - we lifted her out but she would jump right back in. We no longer have a pool; the garden is there now. We are enjoying an early spring.
Hugs and blessings, Beth
Hi Maxmom, we understand your great and justified fear of a serious dog-fight. This is particularly a problem if the dog is unleashed and the owner (as usual) is nowhere in sight or just fluffs it all off as, "oh my dog just wants to play." One suggestion, is if you see the other dog approaching, throw a large handful of food directly at the other dog when it gets close to distract it while you pull Toby away. This might be enough to distract the other dog and give you an opportunity to get away. Ant traps...well I guess you'll need to try another approach. Glad everything worked out.
So glad everything turned out okay. Oh, my gosh I am loving that pool and waterfall, that is awesome. Sniffs, The HoundDogs
Great action shots. Blimey there realy is never a dull moment in your house..Great reading the diary though.. Hugss GJ xx
I worry a lot about my dogs getting into fights too. Chico is a very small dog and could easily be killed. He has no fear though and is very much a barker. Shiver, thankfully, does have fear so I'm not as scared about him getting into a fight.
I'm glad Toby's ok.
Oh gosh- glad the ant trap turned out to be okay.
Every little thing I find goes into my mouth, and I am almost 6 years old!
Moms are always in a panic.
Puppys sometimes are puppys forever.
love
tweedles
The ant trap sounds scary. I'm so glad that it turned out okay.
It seems that you are in quite a happy phase of life, which is wonderful to hear in your "voice".
It is indeed a very hard time here for me. I try to put my best thoughts into my blog, but as I'm sure you know, I am also having very very low points. I think back to your journey with Maxdog, and how easy it was to try to give you advice. I must say that taking that advice to my own heart is much harder. I've cried more tears in the past few days than in the past few years put together...
Hi Maxmom, sounds like a busy few days. How quiet our lives would be without dogs but I bet you wouldn't change a thing! I'm not sure what to do about the Border Collie thing. Possibly when you have arrived at the park and the dogs are happily playing you could approach the owner and ask her/his opinion on what you could do about the dogs and their behaviour when they first meet. I would tell him of your stress and that you are worried about the outcome if they become aggressive. Hopefully he would be happy to help find a solution. Take care Caryl. No worries, and love, Carol
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