Fudge's Progress

Last week we told you about Fudge's visit to the dentist and how we have to work harder to keep his smile pretty. We're working on it. Saturday morning I didn't brush my teeth when I first got up. I fed the dogs and got them settled, then I called Fudge into the bathroom with me. I showed him my toothbrush and let him sniff it. Then I brushed my teeth while he watched.

Next I showed him his little toothbrush and I gave him a treat. Then I put toothpaste on his brush. He laid down on the floor and I sat on a little stool and we brushed his teeth. We made it fast, then he got another treat.

The next day we repeated the whole procedure.

On Monday morning he ran in and sat next  to me while I brushed my teeth. Then we did his. Today I brushed mine first thing. After breakfast Fudge and I went to the bathroom to brush his. He was very good and we took a lot more time and did a really good job. Then he got his treat and ran downstairs to show Rob his pretty teeth.

He thinks this is a special together time when he gets  lots of attention and a couple treats. I don't think he's crazy about the actual brushing, but he so enjoys the rest that he's being very good. Now I need to start this whole process with Sky.

The Blue Star

About a week ago when Samba and I were out late at night, she went sniffing around the yard and I looked up at the clear night sky. There just to the southeast of us was a bright blue star. It was beautiful and I watched it for a long time. The next night I looked up and there it was again shining with a bright blue glow. I didn't trust my eyes, so I went in and told Rob about it and asked him to come take a look. He confirmed that it was indeed blue.

I check for that star every evening now and when I heard yesterday that our friend Maggie had crossed the rainbow bridge, I knew that the blue star was there to guide her safely.

Now whenever I look up at our star, I smile because I see Maggie watching over us.

My New Year's Resolution

Today we had a visit to All Creatures, our animal clinic. Fudge had the stitches out of his head and his side. Both areas had healed well and his hair grows so fast that we had trouble finding the stitches.

Dr B has a couple of specialties. One is geriatric medicine, which comes in very handy with my aging pack, especially Morgan. The other is dentistry. His interest in dentistry is a mixed blessing for me. I'm often made to feel uncomfortable when shown a nasty tooth that needs more care. You see, I'm not very good about brushing my dogs' teeth. Every now and then I go on a binge and brush them all for a couple days till I get tired of wrestling with them, then I just let them go.

When Fudge had his surgery last week, he also had a dental cleaning. He has some problem areas and today I was handed a chart, instructions and a demonstration of how to apply fluoride to the chipped and broken teeth.

Fudge broke most of his front teeth in a collision with a table and though the pulp isn't exposed, they could be a bit sensitive. The weekly fluoride treatment will help protect him from pain.

So, my only New Year's resolution is to be better about taking care of doggie teeth. Fudge's little toothbrush and his vanilla almond toothpaste now reside in the bathroom with my brush and paste. When I brush my teeth each morning, Fudge will get his brushed, too.

We're determined that his next check up will be a good one. He'll keep his pretty smile and I won't feel guilty.

Cookies

Yesterday it rained all day, so we were stuck in the house. What's Noah waiting for?

It's probably the same thing Sky is waiting for.

I baked cookies from this book.

I made sugar cookies.

Unfortunately, these were cookies meant for humans, not dogs.

 I had to put them in bags and put them up high to keep them out of the paws of Samba and Noah, my worst counter surfers.

Does anyone know how to make black icing?

Morgan's Safe Spot

Morgan suffers from an anxiety disorder that causes her to act out. She jumps up on counters and into sinks. She turns the water on full blast and she knocks things off tables and desks. She races uncontrollably from room to room  trying to find a safe place to escape from the demons in her head.

For about five years now, we've been treating her with anti-anxiety drugs. It took us a while to find the right combination that worked for her, but now she takes a mixture of Clomicalm and Valium daily and is doing well.

Still there are certain times when outside forces cause problems for her, such as thunderstorms. Sometimes she squeezes behind furniture and has gotten stuck so that we have to move the furniture to get her out. Sometimes she tries to climb to the highest spot in the room, knocking things over and creating chaos.

The vet recommended finding her a safe spot to wait out the storm. We tried a crate, but that panicked her even more. We tried a box for her to curl up in with lots of blankets, but she tried climbing on top of it and fell off. We couldn't think of the right place to make her feel secure, but this weekend she found one. We had very noisy, strong winds last night and they were loud enough to wake me several times, but Morgan was fine in her new safe spot.

There's a corner in the living room where we pile the dog toys. They have access to them when they want to play, but they aren't strewn all over the house. I lost track of Morgan and went looking for her and this is where I found her. She was snoozing safe and comfortably with her fuzzy friends. She feels safe there and I know she isn't getting into a dangerous situation.

Morgan's is an extreme case, but but lots of dogs have noise phobias and we'd love to hear how you handle them with your dogs.

A Tale Of Two Days -Day 2

Hi again everybody. Now you're about to see how fast things can change. Today is Cheese Day. I hope you're all enjoying some of that most delicious food. But tomorrow is a day that we don't think deserves to be recognized. January 21st is Squirrel Appreciation Day. What!!! Who thought that up? Whoever came up with that day has one sick mind!

Squirrels come in a lot of flavors. Some are red, some are black and near here they have some white ones, but here at our house we have two flavors, gray....

and this mixed up red and gray one called a Fox-Squirrel. Don't try to confuse us, we know that's a squirrel in fox clothing.

Squirrels are mean creatures that like to torment dogs, and cats too, I think. They sit on the window ledge or the top of the fence or on low branches of the trees and make faces at us. If we try to ignore them like Mom tells us, then they yell bad words at us and call us names and sometimes throw things at us.

When we get a chance we chase them. The first time we caught one was before the pups were born. The stupid squirrel thought he'd walk across the yard while we were playing. Samba chased him back and forth across the yard till he got tired. All of a sudden he stopped running, stood up and grabbed his chest. Then he fell over,dead. Guess he was out of shape and had a heart attack. We all gathered around to look at him, but Mom took him away.

Lesson 1 - don't cross the dog yard unless you're in good shape.


The next time we caught a squirrel was just in the last year or two. We were playing in the yard and this dumb squirrel kept yelling bad things at Bailey. She tried to ignore him, so he came part way down the tree and called her a bad name. She just stood there and didn't do anything, so he came farther down the tree and just as he started to say something bad, she jumped up and grabbed him. Boy, he squealed like a little piggy. She brought him over to Mom and put him on the ground. He was so surprised that he just laid there blinking his eyes. He didn't know what hit him. Mom scooped him up in the poop scoop. He didn't like that at all and started yelling, but she heaved him over the fence. Guess we had the last laugh that time.

Lesson 2 - if you're busy talking trash,be sure you know where you are and who's listening.


We're not sure why Mom doesn't want us chasing these nasty creatures. As far as we can tell all they do is steal the bird food and chew on out deck.  

There's a smaller economy size that Mom calls a chipmunk, but we know that it's just a squirrel in disguise. Does he really think those racing stripes will fool us?

These guys live under a big heavy rock in the yard. All of us together can't move that rock, but Morgan knows he's there and Morgan is our best squirrel watcher. She thinks that after a lizard appetizer, a nice entree of racing stripe squirrel would be really tasty. My money's on Morgan.

So only 24 hours after one of the best days f the year, we have to endure a day especially set to appreciate squirrels. Life isn't fair.
 Till next time,your pal Fudge

A Tale Of Two Days - Day 1

Hello everybody, Fudge here to tell you a tale of two days. This is meant to demonstrate how much difference 24 hours can make.

January 20, that's tomorrow, is Cheese Day. Now there's a holiday we like to celebrate.

Just think about cheese. We like cheese that's round.

We like cheese that's square.

We like cheese that comes in wedges.

We even like cheese with holes in it.

We like it all by itself, just plain cheese. But Mom knows how to make other stuff with it, too, like sandwiches.

Or pizza.

Or mac and cheese, that's one of my favorites.

Sometimes in the evening we can get Mom to open a bag of these. Cheetos are one of the best forms of cheese.

What's your favorite way to eat cheese?

Be sure to remind you human tomorrow about CHEESE DAY and say that it's your duty to celebrate it.
Your Pal, Fudge

Fudge Has A Boo Boo

Last week I took Fudge to visit Dr B. He had his annual exam and bloodwork and got a few vaccinations. His exam was good and his blood was great, but there were a couple issues I needed to discuss with the doctor.

Fudge has been very hard on his teeth. He's broken most of the bottom teeth by hitting his mouth on tables and drawers. He has a couple teeth in the back that collect tartar more than the others. I'd also been watching what we thought was a sebaceous cyst on his head and a small ugly growth on his side.

This morning Fudge happily jumped into the car, not realizing what was coming. He was going to have a dental cleaning and growth removal surgery.

We picked him up about an hour ago and he staggered to the car, not looking anything like the happy little guy we dropped off this morning. He was still heavily under the influence of pain killers and only wanted to curl up and sleep.

His teeth are sparkly clean and he had some areas on his gums reshaped to prevent bacteria growth. He'll probably be eating soft foods for a few days.

The growth on his side was a small papilloma, but was shallow and easily removed with a local. He has one stitch in it. The growth on his head, however, was a surprise. Dr B thought it was a cyst, but when he made the incision, it turned out to be hard inside, not a cyst at all. He had to increase the size of the incision to remove the  whole growth and Fudge is sporting several stitches in his head. The news is still pretty good, he's pretty sure the growth was nothing to worry about, but we'll watch it to make sure it doesn't grow back. Meanwhile Fudge has a big bald spot on the top of his head.

Not to worry, it's only hair and these dogs really know how to grow hair.

He's Too Sexy For His Coat

Hi Everybody, it's me Fudge with some exciting news.

You all know what a handsome, smart and accomplished dude I am. I've been trying to think of ways to let the whole world know.  I considered my own TV show and magazine, but Mom told me I'd have to hire my own secretary to handle those. I expected her to do it, but she said she's too busy. Can you believe that?

I'd make a great cover boy or a super centerfold.

Anyway I've been thinking a lot about my chance for fame and then last week it happened. I got an email from a very nice lady in Portugal named Belinha. She is starting her own Zazzle store and wants me, Fudge, to be her model..

Of course I said yes and sent her a photo. Now you can go look at her blog and see ME. Her blog has a wonderful name, too. It's called A Portuguese Love. Isn't that a great name? It's almost as good as FUDGE'S BLOG. That may be next, who knows.

Be sure and check out the Zazzle Store. You'll see me on lots of items, like cards and notebooks and tote bags. Today Zazzle, tomorrow the world!
Your Pal, Fudge