Young Canine American chooses Easter over July 4th

Dr. Davida Roof of Blythewood Animal Hospital makes Jake feel comfortable for his visit to the vet. I know it is July, and we have just finished celebrating Independence Day, but the Chi (our chihuahua) boycotts July Fourth choosing to spend the evening in the dark recesses of her lair under the sofa far from pops and bangs of the fireworks she loathes. Fireworks do not seem to bother Jake, our new Aussie puppy who appears to have his holidays a bit confused….

Easter Puppy

My mom used to teach preschool children with hearing loss. She left the classroom several years ago and, consequently, we have some interesting things around the house still in bags and boxes waiting to be sorted and pitched or put into storage.

Jake is a very curious fellow and delights in sniffing through the house for new treasures. About a week ago, he apparently sniffed out a caché of plastic Easter eggs because nearly every time we look up these days he can be seen trotting through the living room with half of a plastic Easter egg in his mouth, covering his own small liver colored nose with what looks like a brightly colored huge clown nose.

Dr. Davida Roof of Blythewood Animal Hospital makes Jake feel comfortable on one of his first visits to the vet. Unlike the Easter Bunny who hides intact eggs full of treats for little ones to find, the Easter Aussie leaves empty halves of plastic eggs all over the house and retrieves them once in awhile when he feels the rest of the pack needs a little comic relief.

Piggy Puppies

The Chi, though no longer a pup, loves to wallow in all things stinky on her infrequent trips to the yard. The Aussie is not typically a wallower unless there is mud involved. Then the pig in him really emerges. Jake has become Dad's yard buddy. He doesn't help with the task at hand, but he is good company. Dad recently decided to wash the cars in the yard, and Jake decided to check things out. He objected strongly when Dad squirted him with the hose until he realized that the water and the wet Aussie, when combined with the bare spots in the yard, yielded mud. This puppy loves mud. The next thing Dad knew Jake had made himself a nice little mud puddle adjacent to the car washing area and was wallowing shamelessly. When Dad was done washing the cars, he had another dirty job…hauling a mud encrusted red puppy downstairs into the dog sink for a thorough washing.

Furmination

Unlike poodles, both Chihuahuas and Aussies shed continually. We were having trouble keeping ahead of the shedding and often left home looking like some furry Wookie. The dogs are not fond of the grooming brushes we own and would head up under the nearest substantial piece of furniture whenever a human with a brush appeared.

A friend of my dad's suggested we buy a Furminator. We were skeptical and didn't do so right away but finally gave in and bought one to try. As soon as the dogs realized this brush didn't scratch or pull like the other brushes, they submitted willingly to furmination. You'd have thought they were at the doggie spa as they lay decadently sprawled out for the process. Now, both the human and Canine members of our pack are much less furry.

The Puppy Charmer

New puppies require frequent vet trips to keep up to date with their shots and various other issues. For Jake, these frequent trips to the vet come with real perks. He gets a protracted car ride, which he loves. The staff knows him on sight and greets him enthusiastically by name. Dr. Roof is an ardent dog lover and always hugs him, plays with him, and makes a fuss over him. Best of all…she gives good treats to good little puppies who cooperate well for their visits. That Dr. Roof is quite a charmer.

All in all Jake seems to think that a trip to the vet is all in good fun. I sure hope he continues to think so because I suspect he will be a big fellow, and it would likely be quite a job hauling him in if he decided to resist.

That's it from our pack this month, but I am sure there will be more canine adventures to regale you with later because the canine members of our pack continue to bring interesting adventures.