dog – Page 30

Cone Free

After a week of house rest Ellie is doing much better. She’s finished her meds, the plastic cone has come off, and she resumed her walks a couple of days ago. The vet wants us to hold off a bit on allowing her to run or play rough, which means hedgehog time has been curtailed except for times like these when she lays on her back and waits for me to wrestle it from her mouth (these pictures are from before she hurt her leg).

Ellie is very anxious to be active again. While I was watching football the other day and working on my laptop, somehow baby hedgehog kept landing on my keyboard. I’d look over at Ellie and she had a look that said “I don’t know how that got that there, but since it is, let’s play!”. I’d get her to lay down with it, but a short while later hedgehog was back on my keyboard. The battle went on and on until I eventually put hedgehog in the closet.

Soon, Ellie, soon.

Radio Free Ellie

The riverdog came tumbling down,
Now a cone adorns her crown.

Ellie’s training has advanced far enough that this summer I’ve been letting her off-leash in appropriate areas. One of our favorite things to do is to head to nearby Kelley Point Park, where the Willamette River gently flows into the Columbia. There are a number of places along the trail with beach access, so Ellie can (dog) paddle the rivers that Lewis & Clark once paddled.

The last few visits I’ve brought a tennis ball and our riverdog just loves to chase it, either in the shallow water next to the beach or out into the deeper water where she can swim. We weren’t able to go a week ago because of a Hempfest (she’s already got a permanent case of the munchies), but this past Sunday we took advantage of the lovely afternoon for another visit. After about an hour of play, she came up limp so I decided it was a good time to head home. She does this whenever her foot lands on something unexpected so I wasn’t concerned, she was soon walking normally on the path back to the car and played vigorously in the evening.

By morning however she was limping noticeably and constantly licking her paw. My wife took her to the vet and it looks like she may have rather painfully sprained her ankle, she’s on painkillers and has to wear this cone to keep her from licking the troublesome paw.

Ellie joins some fine company of pets in cones, Templeton wore a similar hard plastic one while Emma’s was flexible cloth. This picture exaggerates the size of the cone, it doesn’t stick out much farther than her nose, but it reminded me of a radio transmitter, sending out Radio Free Ellie on all channels.

Look Out Hedgehog, There’s a New Hedgehog in Town

We bought first one hedgehog, then another, but never bothered to check if they were male or female. And so it came to pass that we now have four hedgehogs, the two adults plus two new babies.

One of the babies is stretched out like a dachshund, which is not so much a natural condition in hedgehogs as much as a result of what happens when a 70 lb. dog is constantly chomping down on you. The other hedgehog is normally shaped, just smaller than the adults, and is Ellie’s new favorite to the point that she won’t play with the others. The baby hedgehog fits more easily in her mouth, allowing her to squeak it mercilessly without interrupting her play.

A Question for You Ellie

Ellie you say that hedgehog loves you as evidenced by how often it stays with you, but would it stay if you weren’t chomping on its head?

I’m sorry Ellie, I’m sorry! Of course hedgehog loves you, it does it does. Please don’t look at me with those sad puppy-dog eyes!

There’s my happy girl! That’s better … wait, Ellie, why is hedgehog running away?

Dogs & Typography

I’ve been trying to write a description of Ellie to go along with this picture but it keeps coming out wrong. She’s obviously a black lab, but whenever I type it out she comes across as huge and gray with big floppy ears and large white tusks. I couldn’t figure out why, then it dawned on me: I was writing with an Ellie font!

Free Range Ellies

We’ve made some big progress on the Ellie front over the past couple of weeks — we’ve started giving her occasional free reign in the off-leash section of the park just a hop-skip-and-jump from our home. We leave her leash attached to make it easier to corral her when necessary, as she sometimes gets rather excited and her ears stop working. For a dog her size, she runs really fast and can overwhelm smaller dogs or run into stationary dogs or people.

But it’s still a big step forward, it wasn’t that long ago that we weren’t sure she’d ever be allowed off-leash, even for a moment. She got loose once in the early days and had no concept of the danger of streets or cars, and wasn’t coming back when called. We’ve been working hard on her stopping and waiting for permission to cross the street, and on her learning to heel and to come. She’s gotten good enough (when treats are proffered, of course) that we let her have some play time when we’re comfortable with the other dogs (and owners) who are around.

Pout All You Want Ellie, You Can’t Get in the Cat Tree

A forlorn Ellie watches Sam and Emma play in the cat tree. She often relaxes this way with her front legs splayed wide. Don’t feel too sorry for her, she got some gifts from the pet store as well.

Little Sam & Big Ellie

Ellie knows the bed is hers but apparently is willing to share.

Sam and Emma had been snuggling on the dog bed until Emma got up to curl up in one of the warm beds. That left little Sam all alone circle sleeping in the middle of the bed when Ellie came into my office. She sleeps on the bed frequently but rather than force Sam off, she lay down beside him with only her head resting on the bed.

What a sweetheart!

Trouble, 12 O’Clock High

“I see you up there little hawk and I’m sure you’re mighty hungry, but know this: you come for my hedgehog, you come for me. My name is Ellie!”

This picture is for my wife who loves Ellie’s soft, floppy ears. I forget what drew Ellie to attention, probably a bird outside or little Sam jumping onto the windowsill, but for a split second she raised her head (and ears) before resuming the serious business of squeaking her hedgehog.

I love this dog.

Some Toys Should Come with a Warning

A few months back my wife picked up this hedgehog from Plush Puppies for our dog Ellie. If you bite its head it squeaks (who wouldn’t?), it grunts when you bite its hindquarters, and it even rattles when you shake it all about.

My advice to Plush Puppies? Put a warning label on your toy!

Something like:

Warning: After she plays with hedgehog, your dog will abandon all other toys. When you throw dear old goose, her first and favorite toy, she will look at you like you just stepped off the moon. Rabbit had a brief moment in the sun but no more. Poor mallard and pheasant never had a chance. It’s all hedgehog, all the time.

I have to say I’m surprised by how much she loves it. Goose was such a natural fit, it squeaks easily — Ellie has turned carry-and-squeak into an art form — and is the sort of quarry for which retrievers were bred. The round shape of the hedgehog makes it harder for her to carry and squeak at the same time, she often has to stop and place it on the ground for a proper squeaking before continuing. And I doubt very much that a dog has ever retrieved a hedgehog in real life.

But whatever it is, the hedgehog has it.