:Echo
Posted: May 25, 2008 Filed under: Gompa Lhasa Apsos Leave a commentRick and Sharlee set up Echo’s area exactly like I recommended. Note the ex-pen surrounding the crate. Echo has two places to snooze; a bed inside the crate and a blanket right outside the crate. Her water dish is also right outside the crate. At the far end of the pen, not shown in this photo, is a puppy piddle pad.
This set-up provides three distinct areas. Sleeping. Drinking/eating. Potty. My puppies are exposed to this concept from the time they’re born. As the puppies grow, so does the area. At first the mother and puppies are in an airline crate (without the door, usually without the top), inside a 2×3 puppy playpen which sits in a corner in the bathroom. When the mother is ready to demote herself from her 24/7 job to…say 23/7…I set up a 2×4 in the same corner, adding another bed just outside the airline crate. Food and water are always available. When the new family outgrows this set-up, I move them to the end of the hallway, which is easily blocked off with ex-pens panels. The entire area is lined with newspaper, with the exception of the area with bedding, food and water. Over the next weeks, I make the newspaper area smaller and smaller, working towards the end opposite their bed, food and water. When the puppies have outgrown this, I make a similar, larger set-up in the basement. That area has light coming in large size windows on three sides, along with a window in the door. Think walk-out basement. The puppies come upstairs in the evening and weekends; again in the same area. At this point, they’re pretty good about finding the newspaper and are allowed more freedom in the house. I’m able to expand this freedom, this envelope, slowly first allowing them access to the bathroom, then the library, then the entire hallway, then the kitchen. And finally the entire house, which takes constant supervision. Right Vickie?!
Looks like one of Rick and Sharlee’s cats likes the set-up too! This photo they titled Sleepover.
And face to face…
Learning the stairs…which took 5 minutes!
Echo’s world has definitely expanded. As has her siblings’ world. Yesterday they made the big move to The Kennel. Gasp! Not the kennel! <g>
Siku and Whisper, in the past week or so, showed plenty of signs they were ready for the big move. Yesterday morning I prepared a kennel run, between the Girl Group and Edmund. The spaces in the fencing are 1″ wide and 2″ tall. For added insurance, I have temporarily snapped ex-pen panels to that fencing. When the kennel settles back down, current dogs accepting the newcomers as permanent residents the ex-pen panels will come down. And the puppies will be rotated between the Girls and the Boys when outside. Full integration will have occurred. At least until it’s time to separate the puppies or Whisper goes to her home.
Right now, even as I type, the puppies’ door is open, allowing them access to their outside run. It’s a whole new Big Dog world!
:Wild eyed…sent by Vickie
Posted: May 25, 2008 Filed under: Lotsa Lhasa Info Leave a commentVickie wrote: Given the experience with Panchen, thought you’d find this of interest. The clinic it references is about 2 miles northeast of my house …
Read Wild eyed at The Reporter-Herald
:Seth
Posted: May 24, 2008 Filed under: Apso Aficionados, FFT Lhasa Apsos 5 CommentsCaroline sent an update on Seth, which I’ve placed below his latest photo. Seth sons and daughters include Roman, Roadie, Willis, Tango, Saul, Ethan, Ruby and Chloe. I delight in his great-granddaughter Jill’s antics daily.
I love lots of things about cyberspace, including this blog. Remember Ma Bell’s slogan, Reach Out and Touch Someone? That’s what the blog, the website means to me. It’s such a cool way to stay connected, including with people that have given the gift of a Forever Home to one or more of our dogs. Sometimes, though, what’s shot through cyberspace by perfect strangers tears my heart. I’m not sure about my purpose in sharing the following, especially in a post about Seth… Perhaps because this update is an example that dogs that have been under my care don’t have issues with human attachment?? Perhaps to repair my heart??
Well, here it is…
You mention that the dogs get plenty of human contact, but all I see
on your photos are dogs in kennels. This is hardly an ideal set-up
for dogs who attach themselves strongly to human beings.
I assume that they see a fair bit of you, and the show ring, though
the latter is pretty artificial for socialization purposes.
You write that you are interested in genetics and as a biologist I am
interested in what you might term behavioral genetics:
What is your program of testing the extraordinary ability to remember
visitors that Tibetan Lhasa Apsos exhibit?
And promoting the human attachment?
Ouch!
:Saving on gas
Posted: May 23, 2008 Filed under: DRambles on Black Mountain | Tags: Debby Rothman Leave a commentYesterday I received an email from Ceese…one of those forwards actually. The very kind of thing I was writing about yesterday, the blurriness of copyright in cyberspace. Saving on Gas was intended to make the cyberspace rounds, so I post without compunction. There’s great tips from someone-in-know about how to get the most from your gasoline buck.
Speaking of gas and bucks… Ah! You knew I’d have something else to say! I drove a 1963 Ford Futura until Rick and I married. Orville Falcon was his name. Orville wasn’t just a Ford Falcon. He was a fancy Falcon, complete with chrome detail that qualified him to be a Futura. He had a three-on-the tree, red interior and cost $200 used. Orville knew the way to dog shows. Once every week or so, I’d pull into Ralph McCain’s Conoco station and buy $1.00 worth of gas. Gas was usually 23 cents a gallon, but once in a while would drop to 19 cents a gallon. A gas station attendant pumped the gas, checked the oil and cleaned the windshield. The really cute attendant once told me if I pulled in and and said fill-er-up, he’d buy me a steak dinner. Never did do that…probably never had enough money to fill-er-up.
A few weeks ago, sorting and sifting for that Library of Memories class, I came upon a group of photos in an envelope. The first photo I pulled out was significant in a totally different way than expected when the photo was taken. I noticed the price of gas immediately. And started drooling! Then I wondered why on earth there was a photo of a gas sign. The price of gas would have held no significance at the time. The sign is like lots of other gas signs. What was its significance?
As I flipped through the rest of photos, I knew. See the cloud in the background? That’s not a cloud. That’s smoke from the Black Mountain Fire. This photo was taken the beginning of May 2002. Black Mountain Fire. We live on Black Mountain. That fire is the reason I’m an Animal Evac Volunteer, but that’s a story for another day.
I am going to change the way I keep my car filled, which I’ve bolded below. The major thing I’m going to do is buy gas from companies that don’t import Middle Eastern oil. Conoco’s on that list, the list that doesn’t import Middle Eastern oil. Whoops! Am I letting my political beliefs be known?! Where I come from people don’t talk about politics. Or religion. Maybe that’s why I moved away! Orville Falcon and I left Nebraska and headed west over 30 years ago…probably on a full tank of Conoco gas.
TIPS ON PUMPING GAS
I don’t know what you guys are paying for gasoline…. but here in
California we are paying up to $3.75 to $4.10 per gallon. My line of
work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to
get more of your money’s worth for every gallon:l
Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA, we
deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.
One day is diesel, the next day is jet fuel and gasoline, regular and
premium grades. We have 34 storage tanks here with a total capacity of
16,800,000 gallons.
Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the
ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations
have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder< BR> the
ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline
expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening….your gallon is
not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity
and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and
other petroleum products plays an important role.
A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the
service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.
When you’re filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a
fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has 3 stages: low,
middle, and high. You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing
the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the
pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of
the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being
sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you’re getting
less worth for your money.
One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF
FULL. The reason for this is the more gas you have in your tank the
less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you
can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof.
This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere,
so it minimizes the evaporation.
Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is
temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact
amount. Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the
storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up; most likely the
gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you
might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.
WHERE TO BUY USA GAS – THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ ON:
Gas rationing in the 80’s worked even though we grumbled about it. It
might even be good for us!
The Saudis are boycotting American goods. We should return the favor.
An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS. Every time you fill up
the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi
Arabia. Just buy from gas companies that don’t import their oil from
the Saudis. I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil
companies are the best to buy gas
from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil.
Companies that import Middle Eastern oil:
Shell……………………… 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco……… 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil………….. 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway… 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco……………………….62,231,000 barrels
Citgo gas is from South America, from a Dictator who hates our president.
Companies that DO NOT import Middle Eastern oil:
Sunoco……………0 barrels
Conoco……………0 barrels
Sinclair……………0 barrels
BP/Phillips……….0 barrels
Hess……………….0 barrels
ARC0………………0 barrels
If you go to Sunoco.com, you will get a list of the station locations
near you.
All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and
each is required to state where they get their oil and how much they
are importing.
:Camelot! Camelot!
Posted: May 22, 2008 Filed under: Apso Aficionados 2 CommentsI know it sounds a bit bizarre! Pieces of that song have been floating around in my mind since reading email late last night, after arriving home from a training session with Animal Evac Volunteers. The rain may never fall till after sundown – which is just what Roadie would prefer. In short, there’s simply not a more congenial spot for happily-ever-aftering than here in Camelot. I would prefer the blog not get spammed.
Camelot! Camelot!
I know it sounds a bit bizarre,
But in Camelot, Camelot
That’s how conditions are.
The rain may never fall till after sundown.
By eight, the morning fog must disappear.
In short, there’s simply not
A more congenial spot
For happily-ever-aftering than here
In Camelot.
That album – Camelot – still sits in a box in my basement. Rick and I sometimes discuss getting a turntable for our old music. His collection, before we met, was what you’d expect from a child (rather, adolescent) of the sixties. Mine varied from…well, Camelot to Neil Young’s Harvest to Frank Zappa. After all, what else would one expect from someone whose first three music purchases – 45s, none-the-less – were Downtown, Green Berets and Summer in the City.
Richard Harris was King Author in the version I had. I was a huge fan of Richard Harris. A Man Called Horse came out several years after he starred in the film Camelot. And then, how could I forget him singing MacAurthur’s Park, from the album A Tramp Shining?! Which, is also still in my basement. In high school one of our teachers had a lesson designed about MacAuthur’sPark. I remember – possibly incorrectly – being the kid in class that knew the song. Discussion ensued around the meaning. I said it was about dying love, dead love.
Just now I googled it. Ain’t cyberspace grand! Here’s something I found:
According to Shiloh Noone, author of Seekers Guide To The Rhythm Of Yesteryear, Webb’s original lyrics mention that the cake was laced with hashish, but this was left out due to legalities. Shiloh adds: “I approached Richard Harris in 1978 in Stellenbosch Lanzerac Hotel South Africa where he was relaxing with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor on the porch after a shoot for the soundtrack The Wild Geese. I approached him directly and said what was the cake that melted in the park, Richard Burton looked at Harris pissed out of his mind and said, ‘Oh it’s for you Richard he’s not interested in us darling’… while Elizabeth almost missed her mouth when she brought the cigarette to her lips. They were all heavily under the whisky, Richard Harris looked at me and said… ‘the death of a hippy my boy, the death of a hippy just look at us.'”
Sorry. The above is a small glimpse at what it’s like inside my mind. I start with one idea that sorta ties in two things on my mind…and then I’m off on a tangent about some small irrelevant piece.
Roadie. Alma’s Roadie doesn’t like to get his feet wet, which presents a problem when it’s raining. Here’s what she wrote: He will not wet outside when it is raining, he prefers my wooden floor. I have washed with the Miracle solution, but he will still wet. When I let him out he will sniff awhile and then come and sit by the door and look at me as if to say I already wet, and I will go and look and sure enough he has wet on the floor. I think he knows when it is damp outside or is raining outside.
My solution would be to put him in a crate if he doesn’t potty outside and give him another chance in an hour or so. Repeat until he goes potty, then he can come out of the crate. Any other ideas? Vickie, you’ve mentioned Ali doesn’t like getting her feet wet. How have you dealt with it?
The second thing in my head is the blog, the content of the blog and, comments – especially SPAM comments – that appear on the blog that I don’t like. There was one yesterday some of you may have seen. I have removed it. Not only was it sent once, it was sent twice. It may have been sent more than that, but the blog’s spam blocker caught it. The technology behind that particular piece of spam intrigues me because it was an editorial about the current Rabies research, which somehow made it to this blog. How? Most likely, the author is very blog savvy and able to ‘comment’ without actually posting on each and every blog where the topic of Rabies legislation and research have been discussed.
Another thing I removed several months ago had to do with ‘permission’. This is another bizarre topic, greatly clouded by the internet. We all share stuff that could/should/would be considered copyrighted. Those fun jokes. Funny photos. Remember the photos of the mountain lions I shared a few months back? As I wrote, those photos were taken near my shop in downtown Evergreen. I received them from a friend. She got them in an email from a friend of a friend of a friend of a. You know how that goes. You probably get one or two a day the very same way. There was no information on the photographer. I had no way to contact that person, so I threw caution to the wind and posted them. Lo and behold, months later an irritated mother commented on the blog about those photos being used without permission. Of course, I immediately sent her a private email, explaining what happened and letting her know the post using those photos had been removed. She thanked me for responding promptly and said, of course, I could use the photos as long as I gave her 15 year old son photographer-wanna-be son credit. That’s fair enough, but what she didn’t realize is she tapped a huge parenting nerve!! 15 years old? Were his fingers broken? Never do for your kid what s/he can do for himself. That post, those photos remain in my draft file, not posted on the blog.
I have rarely removed anything posted on the blog. I do feel like it’s my front porch. I love that people participate on the blog. It’s not my intention to edit comments and remove the ‘flavor’ of the blog. But, it’s grand being Queen of the Blog. I don’t like something? Zap! It’s gone. If only real life were that easy! Ah! Camelot!
Camelot! Camelot!
I know it sounds a bit bizarre,
But in Camelot, Camelot
That’s how conditions are.
The rain may never fall till after sundown.
By eight, the morning fog must disappear.
In short, there’s simply not
A more congenial spot
For happily-ever-aftering than here
In Camelot.
Kunza at FleetFire Timbers 