When I got home from work last evening I took the pups out for some circle running on the neighbour’s hill. Poodles tend to run in circles, or maybe all dogs do, I have no frame of reference other than my guys, all I know is that the four of them speed around and around, ears flying in the wind.
We exercised and threw ball and they played games of chase…all the pent of energy of a day home alone melting away in the warm, afternoon breeze.
Then we went inside for a drink and that’s when I first I noticed that Jake was acting funny. He was panting and tried to hide behind me on the chair. I was giving them a chicken handout and usually he’s the greedy one but now he wouldn’t take the food at all. Alarms starting going off, my baby was sick! I pick him up and he’s shaking like a leaf and I know you aren’t supposed to coddle that kind of behavior or you can teach the pup to be neurotic so I put him down and tried to distract him from whatever might be bugging him. I didn't realize at the time that "bugging" couldn't be closer to the truth.
Not knowing for sure what was the matter and him not being able to tell me, I considered a call to the vet. After hours isn’t cheap but money isn’t a factor when it comes to the pooches, I’m prepared to remortgage my house if need be, but I like to examine and work the situation in my head first to make sure I’m not wasting my money and their time. I tried to stay calm....panic is not an option as they smell that and it makes any situation worse.
I got out the dust mop as that usually drives all four of them crazy and I hoped it would distract him and take him out of his head, but he just looked on as the rest lost their minds. Then he went over to the door and sat on the mat, pleading with his eyes to go outside. So we sat on the back deck and he cuddled next to me and seemed okay. We sat there awhile pondering life and the beauty of the day then went back inside. The shaking and panting started up again. I took him upstairs and put him on the bathroom vanity for a thorough examination thinking maybe he played too hard and got injured but all bone and muscles checked without any whimpering. I did notice he stopped panting and shaking. So I checked his gums, he even took some water and then we went back downstairs.
So, I put my Sherlock hat on and looked up some of the causes of shaking and panting on the internet. Heart was listed so I listened with my stethoscope but all was normal. Toxins sounded scary but he’d ingested nothing as I watch them when they’re outside and don’t let them eat things I’m not sure off. I'd ruled out injury and there hadn’t been anything frightening, not that I knew of. I thought a massage might calm him down so I placed him on his back and rubbed his little belly which he seemed to respond too. After he was relaxed I was feeling confident the incident was over.....until a housefly buzzed by. Jake immediately jumps up and hides behind me, starting up the panting and the shaking all over again. I thought it was weird but dismissed the bug as a coincidence.
So I went out to the kitchen and Jake followed me. All of a sudden a low flyer buzzed by and he ducked as if a kamikaze pilot had zeroed in on him. He scrunched down low and look absolutely petrified. The clues were undeniable so I had to deduce a fly had terrorized my pup. That’s when I noticed there seemed to be a load of bot flies in the house. I don’t know where they came from because I take the garbage out each morning on the way to the car but regardless, there was about 30 -40 of them on the windows in the living room clinging to the last of the day’s sun.
I got out the swatter and started the annihilation. All the dogs headed for the upstairs not too happy with the swatting. The flies were a bit sluggish so most were direct hits but there were times when they outsmarted me so it was like playing Whack-A-Mole. The darn things fly backwards from a sitting position and have eyes in the back of their head that see the world 360*.
By now the sun had gone down so I knew the trick; turned out all the lights except one area so they would pool there and pick them off like sitting ducks. They seek light, so are easy to corral and picked off in a smaller space. It was whack, wipe and wash. I lost count as the bodies racked up. I used Kleenex to pick up the carnage. Then I had to wash the kill site with soapy water, cleaning the evidence as if a crime had taken place, like a serial killer hiding his tracks. I now sport a new hat, I'm a serial bug killer!
Being inundated with blot flies seems to happen yearly about this time. So, mystery solved on the Jake shake! Something must have happened while I was at work. Maybe one landed on his nose. Or maybe he pounced on one and got buzzed at. Scary noise for a little guy. Hopefully I eradicated the problem but I might have to take him to work with me tomorrow. I can’t have the little guy afraid of his own house if more get in somehow. He’s sitting on my lap now, fed and content that the house is quiet again. I just love when they need their mom, pressing themselves tight to you for protection. No better feeling in the world than being needed.
So the serial killer reference reminds me that I promised myself to dedicate all my undivided attention to the shop for the summer months and once fall hit, I would then pick up writing on my novel and get it ready to send to the women who offered to help with the editing. I'm telling you this because I won’t be blogging on Saturday’ for a while, dedicating the weekends to my book. Truthfully, Saturdays are so busy there isn't time to get upstairs to post it anyway, such as today...it's 4:00...the first break I've had all day!
The goal is to have the book printed before February so there’s a lot to do. It might be an unrealistic time frame, but that’s my goal so we’ll see how far I get. So from now on I'll blog Monday to Friday unless something really juicy happens that I just can’t wait to share.
We exercised and threw ball and they played games of chase…all the pent of energy of a day home alone melting away in the warm, afternoon breeze.
Then we went inside for a drink and that’s when I first I noticed that Jake was acting funny. He was panting and tried to hide behind me on the chair. I was giving them a chicken handout and usually he’s the greedy one but now he wouldn’t take the food at all. Alarms starting going off, my baby was sick! I pick him up and he’s shaking like a leaf and I know you aren’t supposed to coddle that kind of behavior or you can teach the pup to be neurotic so I put him down and tried to distract him from whatever might be bugging him. I didn't realize at the time that "bugging" couldn't be closer to the truth.
Not knowing for sure what was the matter and him not being able to tell me, I considered a call to the vet. After hours isn’t cheap but money isn’t a factor when it comes to the pooches, I’m prepared to remortgage my house if need be, but I like to examine and work the situation in my head first to make sure I’m not wasting my money and their time. I tried to stay calm....panic is not an option as they smell that and it makes any situation worse.
I got out the dust mop as that usually drives all four of them crazy and I hoped it would distract him and take him out of his head, but he just looked on as the rest lost their minds. Then he went over to the door and sat on the mat, pleading with his eyes to go outside. So we sat on the back deck and he cuddled next to me and seemed okay. We sat there awhile pondering life and the beauty of the day then went back inside. The shaking and panting started up again. I took him upstairs and put him on the bathroom vanity for a thorough examination thinking maybe he played too hard and got injured but all bone and muscles checked without any whimpering. I did notice he stopped panting and shaking. So I checked his gums, he even took some water and then we went back downstairs.
So, I put my Sherlock hat on and looked up some of the causes of shaking and panting on the internet. Heart was listed so I listened with my stethoscope but all was normal. Toxins sounded scary but he’d ingested nothing as I watch them when they’re outside and don’t let them eat things I’m not sure off. I'd ruled out injury and there hadn’t been anything frightening, not that I knew of. I thought a massage might calm him down so I placed him on his back and rubbed his little belly which he seemed to respond too. After he was relaxed I was feeling confident the incident was over.....until a housefly buzzed by. Jake immediately jumps up and hides behind me, starting up the panting and the shaking all over again. I thought it was weird but dismissed the bug as a coincidence.
So I went out to the kitchen and Jake followed me. All of a sudden a low flyer buzzed by and he ducked as if a kamikaze pilot had zeroed in on him. He scrunched down low and look absolutely petrified. The clues were undeniable so I had to deduce a fly had terrorized my pup. That’s when I noticed there seemed to be a load of bot flies in the house. I don’t know where they came from because I take the garbage out each morning on the way to the car but regardless, there was about 30 -40 of them on the windows in the living room clinging to the last of the day’s sun.
I got out the swatter and started the annihilation. All the dogs headed for the upstairs not too happy with the swatting. The flies were a bit sluggish so most were direct hits but there were times when they outsmarted me so it was like playing Whack-A-Mole. The darn things fly backwards from a sitting position and have eyes in the back of their head that see the world 360*.
By now the sun had gone down so I knew the trick; turned out all the lights except one area so they would pool there and pick them off like sitting ducks. They seek light, so are easy to corral and picked off in a smaller space. It was whack, wipe and wash. I lost count as the bodies racked up. I used Kleenex to pick up the carnage. Then I had to wash the kill site with soapy water, cleaning the evidence as if a crime had taken place, like a serial killer hiding his tracks. I now sport a new hat, I'm a serial bug killer!
Being inundated with blot flies seems to happen yearly about this time. So, mystery solved on the Jake shake! Something must have happened while I was at work. Maybe one landed on his nose. Or maybe he pounced on one and got buzzed at. Scary noise for a little guy. Hopefully I eradicated the problem but I might have to take him to work with me tomorrow. I can’t have the little guy afraid of his own house if more get in somehow. He’s sitting on my lap now, fed and content that the house is quiet again. I just love when they need their mom, pressing themselves tight to you for protection. No better feeling in the world than being needed.
So the serial killer reference reminds me that I promised myself to dedicate all my undivided attention to the shop for the summer months and once fall hit, I would then pick up writing on my novel and get it ready to send to the women who offered to help with the editing. I'm telling you this because I won’t be blogging on Saturday’ for a while, dedicating the weekends to my book. Truthfully, Saturdays are so busy there isn't time to get upstairs to post it anyway, such as today...it's 4:00...the first break I've had all day!
The goal is to have the book printed before February so there’s a lot to do. It might be an unrealistic time frame, but that’s my goal so we’ll see how far I get. So from now on I'll blog Monday to Friday unless something really juicy happens that I just can’t wait to share.
RSS Feed
