Tear Stains

Emme, like many white dogs, has tear stains under her eyes. Emme has only mild tear staining at the inner corner of her eye and the amount of tear staining often has more to do with genetics than anything else. One of Emme's parents gets stains only in the corner of her eyes and the other does not tear stain at all, which may be why Emme has only mild tear staining. These stains come from a number of different causes: dye in dog food, excess iron in the water, allergies, and are only a cosmetic problem. Many articles state that the most common cause of tear stains is excess tearing. The wet face hair is an excellent breeding ground for bacteria and the most common yeast infection, Ptyrosporin or Red Yeast. Although most dogs can have this tear staining problem, it is most noticeable in white dogs such as Bichons and Maltese. In dogs with darker colored hair, the staining may be present, but may not be noticeable.

In an article about tear stains from the Bichon Frise Club of America, they recommend a few solutions. I have tried them all, with little success: feeding only good quality dog food, not giving treats with dye in them, keeping the hair around the eyes clipped short, keeping the area under the eyes clean and dry and using commercial preparations for tear removal. I bought a product called Tear Stain Removal from the pet store and put that on the stains with a cotton ball. It really made little difference. On the recommendation of our breeder, with the endorsement of our veterinarian, I have used a powdered antibiotic, Tylan, given in tiny amounts mixed in peanut butter and reduced over a few weeks. This helped reduce, but not eliminate, the staining. I have talked with the Emme's vet and her groomer, but they have no additional suggestions.

My best remedy is to wash Emme's eyes daily with a washcloth dipped in warm water with a little tearless puppy shampoo. Sometimes, there is a gummy mucus at the corner of her eye that I wash off; other times there is no substance that I can see. I then rinse her eyes with clear water and dry with a towel.

The tear stains don't bother Emme at all but I don't like them. I wish they were not there at all, but I do my best to keep them to a minimum.

A Tree Skirt is Just Another Quilt

Emme has paid little attention to the Christmas decorations we are putting up except for the Christmas tree skirt. As soon as the skirt was laid down, Emme had to go over to investigate it. She was sure it was just another quilt put on the floor for her to enjoy. It didn't take long until she was lying on top of the tree skirt. She didn't mess with the tree or the ornaments. Just laid down on the tree skirt. A little later, she carried over Big Mama Gorilla and settled down with it for a nice long cuddle. I think Emme likes Christmas.

Rudy the Tree Dog

The past few days, we have been putting up Christmas decorations and Rudy has decided that his role this Christmas is "Tree Dog."

We have up three trees: a table top feather tree in the kitchen and two large trees, one in the family room and one in between the dining and living rooms. Rudy ignores the small tree in the kitchen but he is making a habit of lying next to one or the other of the two large trees. He doesn't touch the tree or the decorations under them or the ornaments handing on them. He just lies down right next to one of the trees. He kind of looks like an LL Bean ad. Just lies there and looks cute. He is our best Christmas decoration.

So Smart it is Scary

Emme is sometimes so smart it is scary. A few days ago we were getting ready to crate the dogs before we left the house. We put both dogs outside for one last "hurry up" and got out our coats. Ken, without saying a word, went to the treat jar to get a biscuit for each of the dogs. By then, both Rudy and Emme had figured out what was going on without anyone saying "nighty-nite" or "crate," both words we use when we are putting the dogs in the crates. The dogs just figured out what we were doing by the sequence of activities. Both dogs dashed for the family room and their crates. Rudy got into his crate, but the door to Emme's crate was blocked by some boxes of Christmas tree ornaments that had been pushed there. Knowing that she needed to get into the crate before she got her treat, Emme dashed into Rudy's crate with him. If her crate was unavailable, she was going into some crate to get that biscuit. Ken went over to Rudy's crate, discovered both dogs inside, moved the boxes and opened Emme's door and relocated Emme to her crate. What smart dogs! Emme knew she needed to be in a crate to get a treat and when hers was not available, she did the next best thing and bunked with Rudy. Sometimes it is scary to know how they figure things out.

Emme Makes a Friend

Emme is not used to being around small children. Unfortunately, most of the members of our family are long past their pre-school years. Over the Thanksgiving weekend when my nephew's family came to visit, Emme got to play with the two little boys.

At first, Emme was very nervous around the children. Whenever they moved, Emme backed off and barked. She spent some time in her crate for time-out the first evening they were here because she just couldn't settle down. After the newness wore off and Emme was allowed out of her crate, she was very interested in the boys. She wanted to investigate how they smelled and what they would do. With Caleb, Emme mostly smelled every part of him: his hands, his feet, his bottom, his face, his ears. She also stayed near when he ate cereal to see if she could get any droppings.

With Joshua it was a different matter. She and Joshua made friends. Joshua quickly learned that he had to approach Emme quietly and slowly so she didn't get frightened. As soon as he started doing this, Emme warmed up to him. She loved to be near him and he loved to pet Emme. I think both of them enjoyed the experience. If Emme were making a Christmas list, I think it would include one or two little boys. They make excellent dog toys.

Training Pays Off

This Thanksgiving our nephew, his wife and their two boys visited us for the weekend. The first night they were here, we sat down for dinner. All of us were at the dining room table, eating dinner, and the adults were talking and visiting. Suddenly I realized that Caleb who is 15 months old was feeding Rudy pieces of cereal from his tray. Caleb would pick up an individual piece of dry cereal and feed it to Rudy. I was not happy that Rudy was eating from the table, but I was delighted that all the time we spent teaching Rudy to eat gently from our fingers was paying off. Rudy would put his huge mouth up to Caleb's fingers and gently eat one piece of cereal from his tiny fingers. Thank heavens for lessons learned.

Carpet

Ken has been teaching Emme and Rudy to lie on the rug when someone comes to the door. This is so important because both dogs go wild when the door bell rings. They must think it is some special delivery of dog toys for them. They rush to the door and bark frantically. It makes it difficult to talk to someone at the door, sign for a package, or send a political candidate on his/her way.

Ken has been teaching the dogs to go to the rug in the living room and lie down. He says "Carpet" and has them lie down. They are not crazy about the idea, but they are getting the hang of it. We practice when no one is at the door and the dogs are outstanding then. They lie on the rug and wait semi-patiently. When there is actually someone at the door, they are less successful. Although both dogs will lie down on the rug at the command, when there is actually someone at the door, they sometimes can't wait to see who it is and they get up and dash to the door. This makes a slow process to answer the door, but we are getting there.

Update on Rudy's Health

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog entry about Rudy and his continuing health troubles. He has made significant progress so it is time for an update.

He continues to take Cyclosporine daily and this is making a major positive impact on his health. The most visible is his coat. He is growing hair, lots and lots of it. It is dark and wavy and shiny, so different from his previous coat that was light in color, dry looking and very sparse. He even has hair on his chest and is regrowing hair in his many bald spots. Eric and Katherine visited recently and said that Rudy looks like a different dog. When he goes to the vet, they ooh and ahh over his coat. He looks good.

He is completely off the Prednisone which was doing so much damage to his system. He even had to have some teeth pulled during the summer because the Prednisone was eating away at the enamel. Recent blood tests show that his adrenal glands are working and there is no sign of the Cushing's disease.

He is going up the steps to the second floor with more frequency. He used to come upstairs with us all the time when we went upstairs to change clothes. He was a frequent visitor in my sewing room. All that changed when he was at his worse in the summer. In the last few weeks, he sometimes climbs the steps to be with us upstairs. He is still reluctant to climb up the stairs from the basement, although he dashes down them every chance he gets.

He is eating well and sometimes plays fetch. It is not like "old times" but he does sometimes chase and return a ball. He seems to have more energy and zest than he did this spring and summer.

He was back to the vet's yesterday because we have noticed a strong smell coming from his body that we thought might be the beginning of another yeast infection. The vet said that the smell is coming from his mouth and his feet. The Cyclosporine is causing on-going stomach distress, so she is prescribing Pepcid AC before his medication to help with this. This should also stop some of the excess drooling which is coming from the upset stomach. She also said that Rudy has an infection between his toes which causes the scent glands that are located there to produce so much odor. So he is back on Cephalexin for the infection and a spray between his toes twice a day. This should take care of the infection and the smell. Hopefully the spray will work because the next step would be returning him to a low dose of Prednisone, which of course we don't want to do.

Calendar Girl

Although Emme is not "Miss February," her parents and relatives are the February photo on Dick Goddard's 2008 Weather Calendar. Many months ago, Darlene, Emme's breeder, was contacted by Dick Goddard, the weather man at Channel 8, to have her dogs photographed and included in an upcoming calendar. Dick Goddard is heavy into animal issues, animal safety, and rescue groups. It is a natural that his annual calendar would include pets.

A photographer was sent to Darlene's house to get a photo of all twelve of her Bichons. The photographer shot pictures of the entire process and many of the "in progress" pictures are shown on the February page along with the final photograph. It is nothing short of a miracle that Darlene, her family and the photographer got all twelve dogs to sit still for the photo. I can't do that with two dogs of my own.

The calendar is now on sale for $2.99 at Discount Drug Mart.

Let's Play

Emme, like many puppies, does a "play bow" when she wants to play. She puts her chest on the floor and lifts her bottom up in the air. She has done this since she was little.

Recently, she has created another sign when she wants to play. She scratches with her back legs. She looks at you with a gleam in her eyes and scratches her back legs out from her body. I don't know where this behavior came from or if other dogs do it as well. But I do know that it means "Let's play." She couldn't be more clear if she could say the words.

He Eats First

Emme has a rule at mealtimes: Rudy eats first. Emme will not eat her meal until Rudy is completely finished. When I put Emme's bowl of kibble on the floor, she sniffs it and maybe eats a kibble or two. Then she walks over to the waiting rug and lies down while Rudy eats. After Rudy is completely done, Ken gives him his thyroid medicine in a piece of cheese. Emme gets up and goes to the kitchen because she gets a tiny piece of sympathy cheese. Only after she has eaten that, does she go back to her meal. Then she eats a much as she decides she needs from her bowl. Usually she eats much less at breakfast, but often finishes the whole portion at the evening meal.

I don't know why she made up this rule or what it means to her, but she follows it consistently. Only when Rudy is finished, does Emme eat her meal.

He Won't Eat That

We feed both dogs at the same time at meal times and Rudy always gets done first, by far. He bolts down his meal and then comes to lie down near Emme's bowl. He has a rule for himself. If Emme knocks any pieces of kibble out of his bowl, Rudy will eat it, but he never eats out of Emme's bowl. He is a voracious eater, but he knows that Emme's bowl is off limits and he never touches it.

Until last weekend. Rudy finished his meal and then came over to lie down next to Emme's bowl. Emme was wandering around the kitchen eating a kibble at a time and deciding if she were finished eating. Eric and Katherine were visiting and we were not paying close attention to Rudy. I told them that we did not need to worry about Emme's meal; Rudy would not touch it. A minute later, I saw Rudy begin to inhale Emme's food. I guess I need to amend Rudy's rule: he won't eat Emme's food from the bowl if he knows I am watching him. When no body is paying attention, the rules don't apply.

Eats Like a Chickadee

At the lake we often watch the birds who visit our yard. We have a feeder that Ken made which he fills with various bird seeds. This attracts many kinds of birds including cardinals, blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees, doves and wood peckers. We love to watch the chickadees eat because they take one seed at a time and then fly back to a tree limb to eat it. When they are done with that seed they return and get another. This goes on for a long time until they are done with their meal. We have often said that the chickadees expend so much energy eating when they fly back and forth taking one seed at a time. It would be so much more efficient if they just sat on the feeder and ate their seeds.

Well, we have a puppy who eats like a chickadee. Emme will take one kibble, walk to the waiting rug, eat the kibble and then return for another. She does a lot of walking during a meal. It is not very efficient, but it is Emme's way. Like a chickadee.

A New Friend

We met our grand-dog Lolly this weekend for the first time. Eric was in town for the Buckeye Book Fair and Katherine and Lolly came with him to spend the weekend. Lolly and Emme are almost the same size and they had a fun and exhausting few days. They both wanted to play and they spent much of the weekend dashing around the house playing "You Chase Me; I'll Chase You." Rudy spent most of the weekend watching from the sidelines while the puppies played. He seemed to be overwhelmed by their speed and exuberance and was not usually interested in joining in their games.

Being with a dog of their own size was a new experience for both Emme and Lolly and they were testing the boundaries: How hard can I run; how rough can I play; what is this thing I am playing with? Periodically Lolly went back into her crate to chill out or Emme retreated into Ken's arms for a rest. All in all, it was a great visit and a wonderful opportunity to see Lolly while she is still a puppy. What a cutie!

Puppy Magnet

Quilts are puppy magnets. Everytime Emme sees a quilt, she has to run to jump on it and lie down. If I am reading on the couch in the family room and cover myself with a quilt, Emme is immediately next to me cuddling down on the quilt. If I am in my recliner chair in the living room, watching TV, and I cover my legs with a lap quilt, Emme dashes across the room and jumps on top of my legs and settles down for a long rest. After a period of time, my legs fall asleep with the sweet warmth and weight of her body, but often I don't move her. It is just so nice to have her cuddled on top of me. If I pick up a quilt to fold it, Emme will jump on the end of the quilt that is lying on the floor. It makes folding up and putting away a quilt much more difficult. Yesterday I was showing Ken a quilt that I had finished and as soon as I opened it up and the end of it fell on the floor, Emme was on top of it. Puppy Magnet.

Keep Away

Emme loves routine. One of the things she always does after we eat a meal is go up to Ken and whine to be picked up. He holds her in both arms against his chest, facing his left side. The first thing Emme does when she gets in his arms is reach up and lick his ear. After that, she starts licking his fingers and wrist. Only after a little licking does she settle down to rest in his arms. She usually stays there for ten minutes or more as Ken and I continue conversation. Emme often falls asleep in his arms.

Lately she has added a new step to this routine. Before she lets Ken pick her up, she plays "Keep Away." She whines to be picked up and as Ken leans down to pick her up, she slides away, just beyond reach. Then she will come closer to his chair, let him pet her with his fingers, but just as he reaches to pick her up, she dashes across the room. Then she comes back, whines, and lies down on the rug. Ken pets her and she lies on her side. As soon as he goes to pick her up, again she runs away. After playing this game a few times, it is time for some real loving so she sits still for Ken to pick her up. Then it is lick the ear, lick the fingers and settle down for a nap. Just when we think we have Emme all figured out, she does something new, like play Keep Away. It keeps us on our toes.