5C's Que Pasa

Taken March 6th. All of our dachshunds  have often slept with their heads hanging over the edge of the bed.

This a a third bed ( the first being their crate ) that is in the sun for 4 hours or so during the day. The one on the left loves laying on the bottom of the window sill. As you can see they are going to be doing dogs.

Normal behaviour.

Carlie is so cute. All of these photos were taken March 6th.

Gosh the days are just flying by.  And the twins are looking less and less like twins. Carlie the dark one is longer and has larger bones while Ciela remains petite. Her tan makings are a different colour than her sisters. However they remain attached to each other. If one won’t eat then neither will the other. They won’t just eat out of their kibble bowl, they go back and forth between the two bowls.  Some days they eat a lot and other days very little.

The berries from our Mountain Ash are falling. I looked  it up and it can be poisonous to dogs so Colin is removing all the berries ( March 7 ). Sorry birdies.

They just love being outside and to run and run, chasing each other. Just a few days ago we had a low of -9C/15.8F followed by a high of 10C/50F all in one day. Fine during the day but cold at night.  They have been sleeping for 7 hours for three nights in a row but are back to just six hours. Pretty good for 10 weeks. They cry to wake us up so they can go out and do their business.  Colin takes them out while I put a towel and their bedding in the dryer. I greet them at the door with a large warm towel that they appreciate.  They are always shivering when they come back in. While I hold them Colin is layering their bed with warm covers.  They usually go back to sleep for almost an hour.  Needless to say they love to lay under the fireplace.  We are slowly developing some routines.

Last Monday, the 15th, they received their second set of shots. Did you know that very large puppies are given the same amount of vaccine as a tiny miniature doxie?  That is ” the law” according to the vet.  Of course our girls had a reaction.  They became very lethargic. They were not interested in food, nor playing ( which told us that this was serious ).  They just lay there and barely moved.  We called the vets office on Tuesday and they had us bring them in to check them over.  All appeared fine. It took about another 4 hours before they began to interact. By Tuesday evening they were back to normal. In all honesty, I quite enjoyed the quiet time despite being worried.

In  answer to a comment, yes our lake has melted. In the last post my blog text was current but the photos were behind.

Taken March 6th as the sun was going behind the mountain. You can see the beginning of the lake melt on the right with the clouds reflecting in the water.

Because it has been so cold at night it is taking longer for the lake to melt as it refreezes. Unusual to see ducks walking on the lake.

Sometines they will sleep separately in the same bed and occasionally in different beds. When really tired they will go into the crate.

I was going to show more lake photos but it looks like I haven’t edited any photos after March 9th.  Yes, I am far behind.  Oh well, c’est la vie!.

The green harness has been put to the side as it is too small ( Carlie is larger ) and we have a replacement that is too large ( same size ).

The lake began to melt very quickly last Saturday, the 13th. You can see the water to the top left is flying freely. I found these lake photos.  It was rather fascinating to actually watch the lake unthaw, hour by hour.

Jsut at the bottom of our steps we had ducks enjoying a swim.

Just a few hours later you can see how much more has melted. Thin ice on the right.

This fellow just could not wait to get out to the water. He worked hard to get through the thick icy sludge. His wife had to turn back, it was very difficult. At least he can say he was the first kayak on the lake this season.

The very next day, Sunday the 14th we had a free flowing lake.

The lake was still half frozen when we returned from Mexico last March and now it is melted earlier.  The water level is higher than normal for this time of year and there is some concern about flooding. There has been a record high snow pack level in the mountains that feeds into our lake. Meanwhile we just keep enjoying each day as it comes and that includes puppy kisses and face licks.

Best part of the day!

We are getting closer so please keep doing the right thing. Even if you have had your vaccine shot please keep wearing your mask and don’t forget to social distance.

Taken March 1.

Gosh some days are going by so swiftly. Some days we take hundreds of photos and other days only a few. I went back to March 1 and discovered so many photos that I had missed. Life just keeps happening and there is not enough time.  Puppy potty training is going very well. Most mistakes are because we missed the signals. They really do prefer to go out so it is almost a full-time job ( unless they are sleeping ) for one of us to be watching them.

Not supposed to be in the bedroom, the only room that has a carpet, but here they are discovering themselves in a mirror.

They share everything.

Colin’s puppy class with Carlie last Thursday ( March 11th ) was totally different than my class the night prior. There were seven dogs in the class including our girl.  However only one other dog was a puppy, about two weeks older than Carlie.  The rest were huge 5 and 6 month old dogs, a lab, a bouvier and an Irish setter and two medium sized but much older. The large dogs barked the entire class and Carlie whimpered the entire class. Colin says that at the end she was good and more used to the other dogs. The instructor was the same and the ‘lecture’ was similar but she did allow questions and the training session was just over ten minutes instead of less than five. Colin thought she was just okay. Yesterday our PetSmart had an electrical transformer problem and the building was evacuated. More than 24 hours later it remains closed.

Taken March 4th.

The wildlife is anxious for the lake to melt. First time seeing geese walk on the ice.

They love using the ramp that Colin built. Normally we take them out via the front door. The ramp is next to the patio door.

We try not to use it to much unless it is warm enough to leave the door open. The important thing is for them to know which door to run to go out to do potty.

I can’t remember if I told you but last Monday, the 8th, Colin took Carlie in to the vet at my request and sure enough she did have a mild ear yeast infection. Today both girls saw the vet for their second set of shots and the ear infection is gone.  They are in perfect health and did not even whimper one bit when they each received their injections.

Enjoying frozen beans from our garden. They really like them as well as carrots.

Sadly in other news, our good friends just down the road from us are in hospital with Covid.  It has a been busy week being a bit involved with that. The husband went in last Tuesday and his wife went in yesterday, Sunday morning and today she was moved to ICU. They are both holding their own thus far. I don’t know of anyone else who has been so diligent in wearing masks and staying home. In fact a few months ago they told another neighbour who was close to them, to please stop coming by as they knew she was going to other’s homes to play cards.

As you can see they are growing and starting to look like long dogs.

The twins are changing so much every day that we can’t keep up.  They are growing taller and hence can reach areas that are supposed to be out of bounds 🙁 Their individual personalities are emerging.  Fortunately they are sleeping six hours per night  😀  However the geese woke them up at 1:00 AM this morning so we are sleep deprived.

This was taken recently. They have done two walks, one with Colin and one with me. So fun to watch them walking, however sometimes they put on the brakes. But lots of ‘good girl’ gets them moving again.

It is after  9PM ( now 10 PM as I am proofing ) and I am writing this in the hopes that I soon may have dinner.  There are not enough hours in the day.  Of course it is time to start working on the company year end and I am being stretched in so many directions. Such as a puppy escaping her area just now and the chase is on. Time to hold them and settle them for the night. Back shortly. Now to add some photos and call it a night.  I need to go and do my exercises as well as make us some dinner ( eating as I proof )  and relax for a bit before we get our few hours of sleep.

They met four dogs and many humans on their walk today ( their first ever together walk ) and appeared to have a good time. They did start to whimper as the wind was cold so we went home. They were quieter today likely due to their vaccine shot this morning.

Yesterday was the first night of six puppy classes. I am going to the one hour 4PM class with Ciela on Wednesdays, the youngest by 90 minutes and the smallest. Colin is staring tonight, Thursday, with the 6:45PM class and with Carlie. I would rather not have to drive in the dark.  It is 6:40PM at this very moment and it is pitch black out there. We have separated the twins as with them being litter mates they are likely to want to just be together and not participate in the class. It is good to socialize them separately. They really prefer to be side by side most of the time, although when we walk ( carry them ) separately the other is quite content on her own.  Today Ciela played outside while Colin did chores while Carlie chose to come inside for a nap.  Of course when Ciela came in I kept her away from her sister as she would likely have started wrestling. It took about 5 minutes before she settled  and fell asleep herself. I then put her in a different bed than Carlie.

This is the medium size crate that we have used since day one with the girls.  We have always kept a heavy blanket all around it except for the entrance. They is how they drove home here with us and where they sleep at night.

Our large wire crate is perfect for the two of them but is a real pain to move and set up in the car. So I borrowed a dog crate for us to use this week for transport to puppy classes.

Meanwhile I ordered this crate from Amazon which we should get in the next few days. It is much more open for the dog and us seeing each other plus the top zips right open.

Colin totally cleaned and disinfected that first blue crate before I used it yesterday. I put in a layer of plastic garbage bag and two thick towels each folded in two. I allowed myself about an extra 15 minutes for the just in case scenarios to drive to the class. I had already driven myself to a medical appointment that morning so I was confident in my driving. We have been home from Mexico for almost a full year. Colin and I have always gone out together for errands and he has driven.  A few times last spring I did drive on my own to do some errands. However Colin really wanted to drive me about. He even would take me to my massage appointments and wait the full hour plus! He even wanted to drive me to the puppy class and stay in the Jeep with Carlie.  I said no, that I would be fine. Ha, little did I know.

Ciela started whining just as we left the park. As we approached the highway she was being rather vocal.  I tried putting my finger through the crate and could feel her licking me. Her cries became louder and louder and by the time I had driven to the far end of the lake along the highway, I could smell it. You guessed it 🙁 Wow very very stinky. I knew that I had to pull over but it was a few miles before I could turn off.  I stopped in a very safe place just off the highway. I came around to her side of the car and opened the crate.

What a mess 😥  She was at the back of the crate sitting in a bunch of poop 😯  So I reached in and dragged her out. Being as organized as I am I had paper towels and wet wipes for babies. Not enough as it turns out.  She had poop between her toe nails and as I kept cleaning there was even more.  Then I discovered that she had also vomited. I felt so bad for her, she was a mess from top to bottom. The crate was a disaster zone. Fortunately Colin had added a bunch of towels to the car.  So I cleaned her as best as I could.  I had you know what all over my hands and under my finger nails 😯  Thank goodness for all the hand sanitizer in the car.  So I transferred her to the the dog carry bag  which was also lined with a garbage bag and towels.  I managed to tie that in to the seat belt. I finally got back onto the highway and called Colin to let them know that I would be late to class.  Ciela started to whine again as we drove but I was in rush hour traffic and needed to concentrate. I kept pushing her head back into the carry bag. She finally fell asleep.  Once we arrived I discovered that she had vomited again. I didn’t have much more to clean her up with with but got the job done more or less. I found a clean towel to cover the bottom of  the carry bag and we went into the class.

There were only four in this particular class. I apologized for being late. I left Ciela in the bag and she promptly fell asleep for the entire class. What a waste of a class. It was a lecture that should have been given out ahead of time as a hand out. No questions were allowed nor answered. With five minutes left the instructor taught two key things, how to make eye contact and how to sit. Between her being with her back to me and everyone wearing a mask it was very difficult to hear her. So one very quick demonstration of each and that ended the class and my head was spinning. I did wake up Ciela who was still stressed from the drive to the class and she looked at me and and had no idea the que pasa of it all. Actually neither did I. So we are expected to have them walking on a leash by next class and know how to sit on command. I can’t even get her to wear her harness and move with it. However no questions allowed. Others asked if they could email in questions. No!! Hmm this class is costing us $129.00 per dog.

So we left the class and ran into another mom and pup. Her dog was also 9 weeks old. She indicated how upset she was with the class instructor. Nothing we could do. However I have decided to document the class and I will go to the head of PetSmart for all of BC with my complaints. This first class was a total waste of time. Tonight Colin is at the same class with the same instructor.  I can hardly wait to hear his thoughts.

Meanwhile outside the classroom Ciela got to meet Milou and they really liked each other.

Hopefully next week will be better.

Our home is a constant flurry of activity. Thanks to all who have left comments on the past few posts. I plan on getting back to answering all comments once again. Unless something unexpected happens 😯

Last Saturday was the day for my ailing iMac to have surgery including new implants.

All the removed parts.

Colin had the computer there exactly at 10AM when the repair shop opened. It was to be ready by 4PM when the place closed but when Colin asked to start it up and to check it all out there was a problem. It only showed half of the new RAM so Adrian had to take the computer entirely apart again. The RAM is behind the new hard drive so that had to come out as well. Once the RAM was removed and clicked back in, it all worked properly. Phew! The best news of all is that my computer is much faster then before.  I saved at least $2,000.00 before tax by doing this repair rather than purchasing a new machine.

The girls pretty much need to be touching when napping.

They are constantly on the move whether in their bed (s) or on our laps.

Don’t you just want to cuddle all that lovely chocolate?

Colin finally got the Jeep cleaned up after the trip to Alberta. It sparkle now.

These photos were taken a week ago and they have grown since them. Some days they are not interested in eating much and other days they can’t get enough kibble. Growth spurts? In the past week they have started jumping up and asking to be held. They are also learning to climb up onto my exercise machine. We have a row of wine boxes to block them from going into the living room area.  Well now they can almost climb over those. So Colin took our third x – pen and cut it up into smaller sections to block their path.  However now they use the bars to try and climb the fencing. If not sleeping they are in constant motion.  They want to explore everything and try to figure things out. Somehow they each ferreted an old piece of kibble ( from the last two girls, left four years ago ) that had been sitting under two different tall heavy pieces of furniture. So now of course they think that there are hidden snacks laying about.

Colin’s guitar stool is fair game.

Oh so yummy!

We first heard and then saw about eight trumpeter swans fly over at dusk yesterday. I had to run to get this photo. The swans are so majestic.

Many of my long time readers have heard about my dear friend Libby. I have known her for over 49 years. We met while we were in nursing school back in 1971. It was shortly after nursing school that it was discovered that Libby had MS.  That never stopped her as she remained fiercely independent. We have been in touch with each other ever since we graduated. In fact each time we travelled south we would stop and visit and again on our way home from Mexico. I have posted many photos of Libby over the years. The last time I saw Libby was in November, 2019. We had arrived in Lake Havasu, where she wintered. When I could not get her on the phone I knew that something was wrong and immediately called the hospital and discovered that she was a patient. She had just had a fall which resulted in significant injuries.  Colin and I spent the next few days helping to arrange for her medical flight back to Edmonton as well as advise some of her closer friends as to what had transpired. I also went through her home and managed to gather all that she needed as well as a few items she had forgotten. Sadly she had hoped for one more visit in Arizona to wrap up her affairs but that was not to be. In the end Libby succumbed to an aggressive cancer. I am feeling somewhat empty, just knowing that she is not there at the end of the phone. Fortunately she is reunited with her partner and her three service dogs and of course her parents.

These were my last two days with her, click here and here. Just re reading these past two posts have brought tears. Because of all of our mechanical problems we could not stay plus Libby was to be transferred back to Canada the next day. There was not much more we could do. Once back in Edmonton she was eventually put into a continuing care unit at the very hospital that we graduated from. Sadly she was unable to use her computer ( so she no longer was able read my blog  which she so enjoyed – she loved traveling with us via the internet ) nor was she able to dial a phone without someone helping her. Fortunately I had a long conversation with her a few weeks before she passed.

Libby you will be forever missed. I will see you again, oh what a reunion we will have. Love you.

Our last visit with her at her home in March of 2019. Yes those are tears on my eyes. It was always so difficult to say goodbye. We did get many of her favourite things into our RV to bring back to Edmonton for her. We each received a special memento from Libby that day that will be treasured. More photos of that visit on the March 26, 2019 post.