Ring around the face

Cavaliers have long floppy ears that dangle almost to the floor when they’re standing. Their ears usually get into their food and then get wet when they drink from the water bowl. Kinda messy.

With our previous Cavalier, we used a makeshift clip to tie his ears back, above the head. Ugly, but got the job done. With Kelly, we’ve recently decided to tie a bandana around his ears so it looks a bit more civilized. After all, Cavaliers are supposed to look regal, chic etc. Turns out these headbands have a special name–they’re called snoods. Quite a few breeds of dogs use these snoods. We just didn’t want to go out to get her a snood now because she’s going to outgrow it in months.

It isn't a bandana .. it's a cravat

Now, however, the problem is Kelly really gets into her food and gets her whole head into the bowl. Actually, it’s not a bowl but a ramekin because all the bowls we have are for a larger size dog and the ramekin is ideal. Anyway, Kelly puts her whole head into the ramekin AND the food that gets onto the rim of the ramekin makes an impression on her face–a ring around the face much as you’d expect the milk stain you see around kids’ mouths in the milk ads on tv.

The ring around the face is just hilarious! Kelly’s licking her lips after the meal and we’re rolling around the room from uncontrollable laughter because there’s this light brown ring around her face.

Toys

Bouncing monster

Thank goodness for toys. Our old Cavalier we adopted at 6 had a very serious personality & never found any use for them. Kelly though is rambunctious and energetic, and always thinking about what else she can chew. Enter .. the toys.

We got this rubbery green ball that bounces & she went wild the 1st time she experienced the “monster.” She barked, with a playful tease, that now often turns into a high pitched shriek or yelp. She lowers her front shoulders, bends at the knees and positions herself to pounce on the monster. She’ll retreat a little, then approach from another side. She’ll repeat these teasing, pouncing & prowling activities for a long time. I think the biggest thrill or new experience she has is in the bouncing that she’s never seen before. What a monster!

Mischevious

First visit to the vet

Today (Sat) was our first visit to the vet together. She was a little timid & really nervous even as we stepped out of the car. There must be some universal odor about vets that humans cannot detect but dogs just know when they’re approaching a vet.

All vet clinics look different from the outside and I can’t smell anything unusual. Maybe it’s the cleaning solutions they use that gets dogs intimidated. I should walk Kelly by a doctor’s or dentist’s office to see if they have the same effect.

Another thought is the sounds that might be coming from vets that frighten others. Maybe it’s the shrieking of those already in the clinic that can be heard by other dogs but not humans. I wonder if it’s the same as we approach an interrogation center.

After the initial fright & nervous shivering, the doctor gave Kelly a couple of shots & an examination. She passed with flying colors & left us to face the music.  Dr C gave us a few “tips” on how to avoid accidents (yup, we had to admit to it).  More on that lecture another day.

Anyway, Kelly gained 1.1 lbs in 3 weeks and is now 4.6 lbs.

Gorgeous sunshine today

Everyone went out to enjoy the sun today, after a full night’s sleep last night. Kelly slept thru the night until 6:30am, what a relief. BUT, she had four accidents in the 1st 4 hours awake–thanks to our complacent leadership. Now, we’re back on the once-an-hour shift.

Good sunlight means good photos too. More in Gallery …

Must I really go in now?

More photos

Click on Gallery on the right navigation bar (under the More About Kelly section) for more photos.

Encounter with the robot

Overcoming the robot

Kelly’s first encounter with our iRobot (http://www.irobot.com/) actually happened yesterday, but today she spent a little more time with the robot.

We use the iRobot to do the simple basic vacuuming around the house, and now especially helpful because Kelly drops her fur everywhere.

Anyway, yesterday she saw the robot while it was moving about cleaning the room. Kelly has quite apprehensive. She stopped dead in her tracks to follow the robot across the room. Sometimes she’d run & hide under a chair; other times she followed the robot. Other times, she’d back up slowly. This event left her a little unsure about what to make of it. Should is be feared,  was it a member of the family, or is it something to avoid or ignore?

Today, she felt more confident because the machine was switched off & was being charged. Kelly approached the robot cautiously, then climbed on top to check it out. It didn’t move or bite back, so she continued. As far as she could tell, it resembled any other piece of furniture. Ahhh, she could even bite it like the legs of chairs & tables! It was quiet & didn’t make any sounds.  Come to think of it, she probably made some new meaning of the event … the robot is another source of entertainment and not to be feared. It was much like the other toys to be chewed.  She chewed away until I had to pull her away. Kelly’s probably thinking, “if I can’t have new toys then I’ll just make one up.” That’s what we do with new events — if we don’t know what it means, we’ll make it up.

All quiet

It’s not often that I’m up at 6am, but then again not often that I was also up at 2 and 5am as well. But, that’s why there’s legislation to provide for paternity leave. Unfortunately, the unemployed are not a protected class–we just have to stay up and do chores through the day.

Fortunately, Kelly is quite exhausted too. A brisk morning air blew into both our faces at 6. She got energized and I felt shivers down my spine. She was bouncing off the walls energized to start the day but I was just wasted.

Here are some tips for those of you who have to endure this hardship:

1. Avoid staring at others thinking you’re waiting for a question or an instruction at the end of a long stream of noises. The noises are people talking to you. And, they finished asking you the question 2 minutes ago. You just need to catch up.

2. Nod your head constantly. Agree. Say yes many times if necessary to reinforce the idea that you’re listening.  The word “no” should be struck from your vocabulary. It is ALWAYS better to ask forgiveness than … (I forgot)

3. This agreement does not always work. Rule 3: open-ended questions should not result in a yes response. For example, “Do you want rice or noodles?” is not a question you can respond with “yes.” The safe answer to these questions is, “what do you think?” Or, look busy and say, “yup, anything’s fine.”

4. Admit that you’re tired and get an afternoon nap. The severe consequence if you do not get rest is you’ll behave like the dog. They’re always up way past bedtime, eyes mostly closed, and shaking their heads violently every few seconds to stay awake.

5. Another possible consequence is falling off the chair. I suggest you don’t moan or grunt or say “ouch” etc. Pick something off the ground and ask loudly, “who dropped this …?”

Ohhh, was I talking about myself? How rude? I really meant Kelly had a  hard time staying up today & I was trying to train her.

First day in new home

Kelly found way too many new smells, textures, things, … It didn’t take us too long to get our cameras out & started shooting away. Kelly is quite photogenic & a willing model. The flash doesn’t seem to bother her.

After we put the cameras down for a little rest, she decided it was her turn to take photos too. She picked the point & shoot camera to use because it has this long string strap. She might be going through some teething itch and the string was just the thing that attracted her.  Good thing the toy carrot, her new favorite, was too good to ignore.

Canon point-and-shoot

Preparing …

Last week we were at PetSmart to pick up some odds & ends: a hairbrush, harness, a pad or sleeping mat (?) for the bottom of the carrier crate & some fabric toys. The week before we had searched through some boxes of old things &  dug up a box of towels, nail clippers, leashes (4 but you can never have too many!), collars (but they’re too big for a puppy), and a toy cube that rolls around & drops out kibbles randomly. Albie (our previous Cavalier could not get enough of that toy). We had also found a flea brush and some stainless steel feeding bowls.

Today, I picked up some 2.5 oz bottles of Gerber beef from the baby food aisle.  It was a row of about 50 feet worth of shelves stocked full of processed baby food. The bottles I bought contain beef, water & starch. And, they also contain some lemon juice concentrate to maintain a natural color. What is the natural color of beef? Anyway, the amazing thing (but I already knew that) is that the whole aisle contains all manner of overcooked food that we (I?) should have been able to make from more healthy ingredients with little imagination.

Hello world!

Welcome to k9 Kelly and WordPress.com. We’re quite excited about bringing Kelly home from her mother on Sunday.