Click here for the slideshow.

I am the wrong person to ask about the various flea and tick products. Rarely do I see either on my grooming clients. Tick season isn’t very long. Fleas usually don’t do well in Colorado’s dry climate. Add the altitude I’m at and…well, it’s just ‘bug friendly’. So, those of you in Minnesota, what do you do for flea and tick control? Or heartworms? Rick and Sharlee asked me about heartworm preventative, which they gave to their previous Apso, Jenny.

Here’s Susan’s post:

On Friday all four dogs went to the groomer.  I was pleased that Kathy
felt that both Sammy and Raji were no longer overweight.  She cautioned
me not to let Rinchen get any thinner, which surprised me a bit, because
he hasn’t actually been on any diet;  in retrospect, though, although I
give him more food than I give the other three, he has definitely gotten
less treats than he once did, so maybe he really has gotten thinner. 
Anyway, I’m giving him a few more bits of kibble with his evening meal
and slipping him a treat or two when no one else is watching.

That was the good news.  The bad news was that Raji had a tick over her
eye;  looked like it had been there for about a day.  Now, my dogs don’t
go anywhere except on my own property anymore, so I had been having them
on Advantage only.  Advantage kills fleas but not ticks.  Kathy seemed
to think that our tick season here was about to be over and that I could
chance sticking with Advantage for the next 6 months or so, then switch
to Advantix in November.  Sounded fine to me.  BUT Saturday morning I
went to remove a bit of debris on Rinchen’s face, and  — it was a
tick.  Yuckerooo!!!!!!  Anyway, I dashed off to the vet’s office and
spent $135.00 for two months worth of Advantix for the four dogs.

But the whole issue of fleas and ticks and seasons and toxicity still
has me tormented.  Kathy says we have seasons for both;  the vet says
they are both here year round; last year I almost lost all four dogs to
what was suspected to be a “bad” or “bootleg” dosage of Frontline.

So, what’s a girl to do?  Advantage, Advantix, Frontline, Revolution
have all been suggested and/or are used by folks I know.  What else can
you tell me?

I received several things today, Mother’s Day, which I’m sharing below.

I’ve been playing with slideshows this weekend. They would add a nice dimension to the blog, another dynamic piece. PhotoShop Elements makes it easy enough to create a slideshow; it’s file size, quality and length of load time that I’m experimenting with. Eventually I’ll get it all figured out, in the meantime come along on my learning curve! You’ll just have to be patient and allow the slideshows to go through that buffering process - whatever that is! - that computers do.

Damon’s slideshow.

Echo, Whisper and SiKu’s slideshow.

Ginny wrote…

Happy Mother’s Day !

I thought about it this morning and not only are you Nate’s Mother, but you have been “The Mother” of all those Lhasa Apso’s for these many years.

Here’s Kathy’s Pete (litterbrother to Ginny’s Moonie). I love how Kathy photographed Pete next to Lhasa Lore.

Because of your dreams,
I was born!
Thanks Mom!
Sweet Pete

And Alma sent this. Isn’t the photo great!

Yesterday Echo went to her new home. I met Rick and Sharlee years ago. Their poodle Amos was a client at The Plush Poodle in Aurora, which was owned by Mary and where I worked. Mary had Mop-C’s puppies with her one day, a day Rick and Sharlee brought Amos in for grooming. They came with one dog and went home with two! Fleetwood Max. Little Max is the white puppy with the young woman in these photos. In fact, Rick took those photos. After Little Max died, Jenny became part of their family for 17 years, until this past November when she was euthanized. Rick and Sharlee had a request when they purchased Jenny. They wanted me to be her groomer. For those 17 years we met at my grooming shop about every six weeks on Saturday, which is not a day I usually work. Jenny was the reason for Denver Dog Saturday.

Eventually Sarah’s Vivian (littermate to C’est La Vie, Camron, Tambo and Ian) became part of Denver Dog Saturday. Sarah and I have made various arrangements since last November, but I know she’s going to be glad to hear Denver Dog Saturday is back on the schedule.

When Rick and Sharlee were ready for another Apso, I presented them with several options. I was delighted their first choice was to consider a female Gompa puppy. We had a three-way phone call to discuss what that meant…having a litter for the Gompa Lhasa Apso Preservation Program. Yesterday, Echo went to her new home.

Here’s a photo, along with a comment from Echo.

My own Word Play on this very silly theatrical production.

Spam. Spamanot. Shirley’s post was not spam. Yet, there it sat since April 24. The spam filter for the blog does an amazing job…usually. Browsing through my own version of Spamalot (which isn’t very silly at all), I discovered Shirley’s comment on ‘:A first…’ having to do with Chandra and her (keep your fingers crossed!!) dual sired litter. My heart did a flip flop. Shirley had been to the blog! Cool! Drat! Her comment didn’t show up! So here it is, along with my apologies for not visiting my own Spamalot more often. Sorry Shirley! Please come back now and again!

Hmmm a dual sired litter. There was a time (and probably still with many) when that would not be news you would share. Some would register the litter from the male they thought ‘most likely’, or not registered at all. But it is a tantalizing concept–double breeding. If sperm from both males take, you get an idea of variations in the offspring due to the different sires. And if there should be a large litter with good representation from each sire, what knowledge to be gained with just the one pregnancy. I must say it does intrigue me. I do wonder, though, even with DNA testing to sort out the kids, what our governing canine orgs might say/do with a breeder that clearly repeated this dilemma. After all, accidents happen, and the DNA is a great tool for ascertaining the “guilty” party, but to purposely double breed a bitch with the hope of getting offspring from both might be a concept the CKC and/or AKC have trouble accepting.

Vickie forwarded this link. It is worth a read. I particularly like the closing paragraph, especially the last sentence!

It’s possible to be a decent human being without signing a save-the-chickens petition. And kindness to animals – actual flesh-and-blood creatures – is a good thing. Volunteer at your local shelter. Adopt a cat. Get your dog spayed or neutered. Feed your fish. But recognize that extending human “rights” to animals is a truly crazy notion. It’s possible to be so open-minded that your brain falls out.

This morning I woke up to lightening quietly illuminating the sky. Carol loves lightening and thunderstorms. She sits in front of her large bedroom window, which offers a much larger view of the sky than any window in my house, and takes it all in. It reminds her of the storms back in Iowa. I used to like lightening storms, but not anymore. So many fires are caused by lightening strikes. It is a natural part of the ecosystem in a coniferous forest, which is, of course were I live.

It rained a little. The air is fresh and crisp. The ground hasn’t yet taken on that look of spring, but it’s getting there. Finally!

Sorting, sifting, still..I came upon this photo of my dad in a letter he’d sent. If you look closely in the upper left hand corner, you will see Frosty Morning in Nebraska. In the lower left hand corner, there’s a small amount of blue which was the window trim around the bay window in the kitchen. Like Carol enjoying Nature’s view out her window, many hours were - and still are - wiled away in front of that bay window. Frosty Morning in Nebraska was done looking out that window.

Coming up, this summer, on my 55th birthday, I got a chukle out of the back of the photo..

My dad died the following year after a five year battle with cancer. The kitchen (and the entire farmhouse) has been redone by my sister Lori and her husband Ron. Rick built the new kitchen cabinets. The bay window remains. Here’s me and Kelly wiling away more hours in front of that same window.

Sifting…still…through memorabilia, photos and ephemera. While I’m enjoying my class, it really has taken up a lot of my time. Stacy, our instructor, said it would, so I was forewarned. I am determined to stay on top of assignments and complete the course!

My mentor was Mr. Ferguson. He was one of the last Dog Men, managed a successful Pug kennel in my hometown. That kennel was located at 13 Valley View Heights. I thought that was the coolest address! It sat on top of a hill on the then-outskirts of town. He, himself, bred German Shorthair Pointers. Click on the following to read the entire article…

Yesterday, Rick and I spent the afternoon with Chris and Herman. She’s doing great! For some time she’s been meaning to share the following clipped from a magazine. I love this kennel!

To see the above photos in a larger format…

Yesterday, while Julie was showing dogs in Milwaukee, Eli and I took a trip to the barn.  A long-time client of mine, LA, invited me to bring Eli to see her vet, Dr. Debra Mayo. One of LA’s Newfoundlands, Bow, battles allergies year-round. He is kept relatively comfortable with injections, now and again, from Dr. Mayo. LA exhibits and breeds Arabian horses. Dr. Mayo was coming to LA’s barn Friday to ultrasound Wild Lily, checking to see if she was pregnant. She could give Eli a ‘cocktail’ then.

Eli’s year-round itching began to intensify the beginning of April. This year the results came fast. He developed a large hot spot under his chin, where the tags from his collar hang. His ears were swollen, inflamed. He was miserable…as miserable as a big-hearted, happy-go-lucky dog can be. I applied topical hydro-cortisone cream, which provided immediate relief. His ears calmed down. The hot spot disappeared. The scratching continued. He looks like an old moth-eaten sweater.

Wanting to provide some relief for Eli, I took LA up on her offer Tuesday to ask Dr. Mayo to bring a ‘cocktail’ for Eli on Friday. I almost decided against going during the next couple of days. Eli’s scratching has subsided a bit. I really, really wanted a day at home, a day where I didn’t have to be anywhere, go anywhere. I’m not fond of big-gun drugs, which the cocktail was most certain to be made of.

Early Thursday morning, lying in bed in that mid-way state between wakefulness and sleep, the subject floated in my mind. Dr. Mayo is a vet, a vet that has a large horse clientele. LA has invited me to her barn before, but I’ve never gone. I’d like to meet some of the horses I’ve heard about over the years. I’d like to see Bow and Arrow on their turf. This vet might be Old School. This vet may practice the Art of Diagnosis. It wouldn’t hurt to establish a relationship with another Old School vet. They’re becoming fewer and farther between. What did I have to lose but time? 

I loaded up Eli - almost as big as horse - and drove to LA’s barn. Click here if you’re interested in the specifics of Eli’s treatment. I liked Dr. Mayo. Years ago she worked with Doug, my new vet. Their philosophies are similar. She commented that a teacher in vet school told her to remember that veterinary medicine is based on Science and that there’s an Art to Diagnosis. Yes! Yes!

Over the years, I have transitioned from believing in only western medicine to incorporating complimentary and alternative methods for myself and the dogs under my care. I know from personal experience the benefits of massage therapy and chiropractic adjustment. Our bodies - human and canine - are programmed to heal. Jason, my chiropractor, shared his opinion about drugs. It made sense to me, so I’m sharing it with you. Drugs are beneficial if they help the body return to normal.

In addition to the cocktail - indeed consisting of a short-acting steroid and a long-acting steroid - Dr. Mayo prescribed an antihistamine to be used as needed, down the road. I like her. I’m certain I’ll use her again. I like having two - TWO!! - vets I’m comfortable with. Wow! A year ago I felt desperate about being able to afford and provide appropriate care for my dogs. Now I have two vets!!

See Damon’s slideshow.