Hiking with dogs - some important stuff to think about

I love taking my dogs and going for a hike. It's unlike a walk in two ways, it usually allows me to let them run off lead, and it is often 'out in nature' as much as I can get in a big city. I imagine that many people would enjoy this, and I always encourage people to get out there and walk more often, especially with dogs in tow. They need more exercise than we think, and more mental stimulation too, and a good hike meets both of those demands.

Plus, you get to take wonderful pictures.

Isn't she just beautiful? It was a cloudy day, that one, which makes for the most marvelous soft light.

I digress.

Picking up a lead and a collar, some poopie bags, and heading off on a neigbourhood walk is easy. There's very little preparation to be done. A hike, however, needs a little more thought. Let's look at some of those things:

1. Good dog kit.
A collar is mostly ok for neighbourhood walks, given that your dog is not much of a puller or not a type of dog susceptible to tracheal collapse. For a hike, though, you may need to hoist your dog bodily up a cliff, rapidly pick them up out of harm's way, or rescue them from a river. A good harness, one that is study, lightweight and neither chafes nor interferes with your dog's natural movement is the way to go. The Julius K9 harnesses are really neat (Talos is wearing one in the picture above), having a handle and space for some doggie back packs, but any sturdy H-harness works well too, though they do tend to wear away some hair at the very base of their rib cage. I've found, for the terrain we tend to hike through, that fabric harnesses pick up too many burrs and seeds and get scratchy very quickly (poor dogs!). This may well differ in your area. I don't much like step-in harnesses, they tend to catch my dog in the armpit which affects their gait.

In the picture above, you can see my preferred hiking kit - collar and leather h-harness. Having clearly marked and readable tags on your dog is a very, very good idea, and forms part of what I would consider good dog kit.
In colder climates, good dog kit may extend to include a coat or booties. Even mid winter it's never cold enough to warrant clothing on a dog while active, so I know pretty much nothing about what makes good active cold weather gear.

2. Good human kit.
Don't underestimate the value of a good, comfortable backpack that has enough space for all your things (in my case, this would include my camera) and a little spare, in case you need to pop a dog in there. Well, if you have bigger dogs, maybe not that last one. Additionally, take some time to think about your leads. You will want something that does not cause rope burn if you end up walking with dogs on lead for hours (you just might). Leather or soft rope leads are best, in my experience. A good hat, and some good, comfortable hiking boots with proper ankle support are good ideas too!

3. A good emergency plan.
If something happens in the suburbs or on a city block, you have many people around you that could help, and often, veterinary care nearby too. If something happens on a hill somewhere, though, it's not so easy. This teeny tiny emergency kit is a super idea:
Be Prepared: A Tiny First Aid Kit for Hiking With Dogs
Another thing to think about is what you'll do if your dog is so badly injured it needs carrying. Mostly this won't be an issue, unless you have a 50 kilogram plus big dog, or are physically unable to carry a pet. Having a working phone and someone to call for help is a very good idea, as is knowing where you are (or, more relevant, how others can get to your location).

4. Enough water.
This is perhaps less of an issue if you hike in an area with abundant clean water sources to drink from. In SA, though, it's hot and it's dry, and what water is available is usually not drinkable. Pack enough water for you and your dogs. In my case, an hour's walk in hot weather on a dry, dusty hillside sees me carrying about three liters of water. Half of that will go to me, and half to the dogs, more or less. I have a light plastic bowl for them to drink out of - collapsible silicone bowls are awesome for drinking water.
As an aside, knowing the signs of impending heatstroke is a good idea too.

This here pug is too hot, and needs to cool down. Shade, and water both to drink and to wet her with is called for. Look at that tongue - the bright pink, cup-shaped tongue is the key.

5. Pest control.
Where we walk, we encounter lots of ticks. Where you walk, it might be mosquitoes bearing heartworm, or snails bearing bilharzia, or leeches. Either way, you need to be ready. I apply some bug repellant to my legs, and both my dogs are treated with a topical spot-on treatment every four weeks.

6. A good recall.
Perhaps that's phrasing it a bit lightly. A really, really solid recall that will not let you down when your dog sees a zebra or a fieldmouse over there and wants to go eat it, but is likely to get killed if they try. This is the dealbreaker of off-lead hiking, if your dog does not come back, you will be without your dog very quickly, and very few dogs could survive on their own in the wilderness.
So practice, practice, practice. :)

Now go! Explore the wild places with your pooches!

Treats: Bacon, liver and cheese, oh my!

I, Talos, do not aprove of this message. I
am not getting too many treats! Outrageous!

I train with treats. Especially when we're learning new things, or practicing something in a new location, or working on short behaviours, or practicing good manners near people, or... well, I train with treats a lot. There's pretty much always a something something in my pocket.

I also have teeny, tiny little dogs. Itty bitty pooches that both of them, really, really love food.

Here we have the crux of the matter. Treats are easy. Anything your dog likes is a good treat. My list is long and varied, for the one it's mostly meat, for the other, fruits, some veggies and cheese is definitely also there.

Also easy is making your treats tiny. It's necessary to have them teeny tiny, because it's so easy to feed a small dog into rotundness.

But even so, I've noticed a distinct softness about the waistline of my pug. She's up 500 grams from where she was.

We have been training a lot, mind you. But I need to be careful! 500 grams on her is a 10 % weight gain.

So, some ideas for ways to stretch your daily treat allowance:

1. Use their food for treats.
Easier said than done, sometimes, but this is the best way to get more training bang for less calories. You can absolutely cut kibble into smaller bits. If you feed a canned food or a minced raw, it's slightly less gross if you have the food a bit frozen. If you feed prey model raw... well, I guess you could still chop it up, but that kinda defeats the purpose?

2. Pick low calorie treats.
Sometimes this is bad - paper is low calorie, but is definitely not good for you. That said, there are great low calorie treat options. Bits of fresh apple, dried lung of any animal and carrot cubes are three low calorie suggestions that most dogs will like. Putting a tiny bit of 'bad stuff' into lots of low calorie stuff also works - a tiny bit of peanut butter in apple puree makes a tempting treat for dogs who don't like apple, but do like peanut butter (it even gets my two eating cucumber, which is pretty much water in terms of calories!).

3. Use different kinds of rewards.
Throwing a ball or offering a tug is a great alternative reward, building motivation and a relationship with you also. Plus, it's exercise, which your doggy can do with more of, I promise. The downside - not all dogs are toy motivated (not all are food motivated either, but then a discussion of treats is not relevant in the first place). You can build toy drive, but it takes time. It also takes time to reward with a toy. I can feed a treat a second (or more) during some training. You cannot play a game of fetch in that amount of time. So, this is great for rewarding behaviour chains, but not so good for rewarding a quick "101 things to do with a box".

4. Cut the treats even smaller.
If you're like me, then you prefer breakable treats that you tear pieces of as you go (chicken, both boiled or dried, is just super for this!). This means your treat sizes are already pretty small. But make an effort to give smaller treats, the reward is the same for your dog, and you are less likely to stray, like me, into feeding your dog too much.

Whatever you do, remember that treats are food too, and that it's all too easy to feed a tiny dog too much. Plan your treats like you plan their meals - weigh them, and know how much you give them.

Your dog is fat

I need to get something off my chest.

It's not something we like to talk about. But it's time.

Your dog, it's fat.

It's not 'just a Bulldog', if you cannot feel the ribs, if there is no waist and no tuck up from the side. It's fat. It can't breathe, it overheats faster... your dog is fat.

It's not a snuggly Labrador if it has a giant pocket of fat over its shoulders and in front by its chest. It puts strain on its joints, leading to faster hip degeneration and earlier old age problems. Your dog is fat.

It's not a cute Pug with puggy rolls if it is cylindrical. I don't care what the breed standard says, or what your expectations are. I don't care if the vet tells you your dog is healthy, trust me, they've either gotten used to seeing fat, fat, fat walk through their door so much so that they only really note horrible obesity, or they're too scared to tell you. Your dog is fat.

There's a secret behind all of this. You control all their food. Absolutely every bite that goes into that dog's mouth  -  it's on you. Your dog is fat... because you made it fat.

And the health problems that goes with a fat dog? It's on you too. Sore hips, faster arthritis, heart problems, overheating ... It's on you.

I'm sick of seeing dogs that are fat. Because it's on you. Because you're hurting your dog.

Food is not love. It's part of an expression of love, sure. But so much that you hurt them? That's not love.

I'll let you in on a secret - those images? I just googled 'bulldog', 'labrador' and 'pug'. No qualifier. These are what we think these dogs should look like. And you know what? They're all too fat.

Enough with this.

Put your hands on your dog. Can you feel their ribs, easily, like you can feel the bones on the back of your hand? Good - your dog is not fat. But you can't, can you?

Look at your dog. Can you see a waist? A nice tuck up from the side? Good, your dog is not fat... but again, this is not what you see, is it?

Your dog is fat... and it's on you.

On rituals and familiarity

whee... anthropology post time. If you're looking for doggy things, move along.

Rituals are peculiar things. On the one hand, they can be extremely mundane. Brushing your teeth, for example, is a thing that, aside from a practical function, for many persons serve as the preparation for sleep, or relaxation, or make them ready for the start of their day. I'm oversimplifying, but yeah, brushing your teeth is pretty much as mundane as it gets, yet it can be considered a ritual. On the other hand, you get the large, society-organising, mind shifting, world altering rituals. This is the inauguration of a president, or the human sacrifice that marks the end of one era and the beginning of the next in many South American societies. The removal of a heart and the resulting death of a person is considered pretty foreign to our understanding of the world, and is seriously overdramatised and made into a spectacle by Hollywood (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, anyone?).

Yet, just this morning, I attended such a ritual. It was a brain, and not a heart, but I feel like I'm splitting hairs in this case. Let me describe it to you:

Before the brain-ritual can begin, the ceremonial priests undergo extensive preparation. They are ritually clothed in garb that is never present outside of these rituals. The garb is loose, unflattering clothing that would be closest to sleepwear, and would accordingly be considered inappropriate to wear anywhere else. The garb is usually all of one colour, green, blue or white being typical, though brown is not unheard of. They cover their feet in special coverings in order to keep the outside world and all of its contaminating elements out of the ritual space, and also to keep the ritual space separate from the everyday, outside world. These are not shoes, and would not provide any protection to their feet from physical dangers like thorns or stones - they serve no purpose aside from maintaining and isolating the purity of the ritual space in this society. They also cover their heads in a similar manner to the way they cover their feet. This masks any hairstyle they may be wearing. In fact, the ceremonial garb seems to deliberately depersonalise the ceremonial priest - he or she is merely a symbol of being someone with the knowledge and necessary training to carry out this ritual, and his or her individuality is entirely irrelevant to the situation.

Once appropriately garbed and hooded, they proceed to clense their hands. They have special liquids that they apply and a strictly ritualised manner in which they apply this liquid. This is considered so important that even though the ritual is very harmful to their skin, over time resulting in very dry, cracked skin that can be fairly painful to live with, they do this every time and with great precision. Special circular motions and interlocking of finger digits are concluded by a long and careful rinsing process. Once done, these hands may now not touch anything in the ordinary, everyday world. They are carefully covered in purpose made gloves, gloves which are typically also worn only during rituals such as these.

I, as an observer occupying that peculiar space between a knowledgeable person and a layperson, was allowed to observe this process through a special screen. My knowledge comes from my experience as an anthropologist, but does not grant me the privileges of a fully fledged initiate into the ceremonial priesthood - something which takes roughly ten years to achieve, though initiates start practicing this ceremony from their second or third year. 

The priest enters the ceremonial area, and finds a human brain laid out on an altar for him. Priests are often male, though women are not excluded from becoming such priests. The brain has been carefully prepared by initiates. The skull was carefully sawed open, the brain stem severed, and the brain itself anointed, oiled and perfumed to make it into a ceremonial object. On special side-tables alongside the altar are various implements. A long bladed knife, various hooks and pins, and an assortment of what looks to be tweezers are laid out in neat rows. These implements, like the tables and altar, have all been ritually heated and anointed with alcoholic substances in preparation.

The brain is ritually sourced. Sometimes, a person willingly donates their body for this kind of ritual dismemberment. This is quite rare, though, and is socially a little frowned upon. More usually, the brain is taken from someone killed violently, often by the rapid impact of a big object to their body at high speed. This body is then not claimed or identified by anyone, which signals its availability for use in this ritual. Often, these bodies come from the least of society, the poorest, those with few social connections, people who will not be missed.

For the next hour or more, I truly lost track of time, the priest spoke a special language as he carefully cut the brain into ever smaller pieces, sometimes following along with the curved grey matter, at other times cutting through it. The special language is never spoken outside of the ritual context or the training therefore, lest it lose its power. It is made up of ancient languages of people that the priests consider their forebears, even though it is nearly impossible that they are actually genetically related to people who spoke those languages thousands of years ago. As he speaks, he names each piece of the brain with a word of power, that imbues that section with meaning and power that is only meaningful and powerful to the initiates of the priesthood, but that nonetheless leave the audience with a sense of awe and power.

The ritual is repeated, again and again, with no purpose outside of naming the parts and practicing the skills needed to perform the ritual itself. 

Finally, the ritual concludes with clapping of hands as a show of appreciation for the work done by the priest, and much admiration is expressed for the straightness of his cuts and his ability to remember and recite the ceremonial names of each part. 

What I was in fact watching was not some obscure tribal ritual, but a dissection of a brain by an anatomy expert. This ritual, that I have made seem somewhat strange, is in fact a perfectly ordinary teaching tool for making doctors and neuro-scientists - highly valued and powerful experts in their own context. 

Why did I make this seem so strange? Anthropology typically seeks to make the strange seem normal. In that way, it is a very powerful tool with which to fight prejudice (witchcraft is not foolish or superstition, in fact, it explains unfortunate events quite well, and even gives you some sense of control over them - see this PDF article by Evans Pritchard). But in an interesting twist of fighting prejudice, anthropology can also make the normal seem strange, by couching it in the narrative style usually reserved for practices we would find abnormal, worthy of condemnation. I'm not trying to say that dissections are worthy of condemnation, definitely not. I am trying to point out how very weird our medical science is. How very powerful our doctors and other medical people are, that they can take body parts from people and display them, anonymously and with great ceremony, to other experts. 

These body parts, depersonalised, unnamed, disconnected from a person, is entirely foreign to nearly anyone's experience after dying - most are carefully placed in caskets, celebrated and buried, with a marker indicating who they were and how long they lived. If the cadaver was donated, there may well be such a marker for the person, but donations are rare (and no wonder). Part of the reason for this rarity, is of course, a culturally-mediated conviction that bodies must be whole to be able to be resurrected upon the return of the messiah, but part of it is also that few people want to be made into such a specimen after death. Mostly, it's an unnamed and unclaimed corpse as a result of a road accident (which we have way too many of). The end of that corpse is being burned up with medical waste in a fire, or at best, remaining forever more in a jar of formaldehyde. 

Looking away from this spectacle once you've been invited in is frowned upon as unscientific (I am such a charlatan, this sort of thing makes me very queasy). Being a person of science makes you one of the most powerful people in today's world - like the priests of the Christian medieval world, they literally decide what is true and what is not, what can, and cannot, be known, or acted upon, or changed. 

I'm not trying to condemn. I'm trying to ask a question. Is this right? Is this fair? Is this, really, how we want to decide what is real, what is worth knowing and acting upon? 

Person whose brain I saw dissected today, I'll remember you. If nothing else, I can do that much. I'll remember you as a human, who lived, laughed, cried, spoke and made a difference to those around you. You were more than an amygdala oblongata and a pons, more valuable than a list of terms. Your contribution to medical science may be questionable, but I hope you teach students what they need to learn to practice medicine, and that in their practice they heal people.

Chronic pain and what you can do about it.

It's one of those things that most doggy people will have to deal with eventually: chronic pain. Either from arthritis, or hip dysplasia, or simply weary old dog bodies, or, as is the case here, from an accident that left lasting damage.

Chronic pain in dogs, like in humans, can either be a constant factor or it can come and go, be better and worse over time. Sadly, just like in humans once again, there are things you can do to make it better, but rarely things you can do to fix it completely. You can manage it, though, and by taking an active role in pain management, you can improve your dogs quality of life quite a bit.

With that in mind, here is a list of things you can do to help manage pain:

1. See your vet.

Dogs are stoic creatures, and especially old dogs often have their quiet, reserved habits attributed to being old, in stead of to being in pain. This puts the onus on us to make sure what we're seeing is in fact old dog (or calm dog) behaviour, and not behaviour that signals "I'm in pain". It's like the vet joke about tooth and gum disease in dogs - the main symptom is none at all.

In Talos's case, times when she is in more pain are marked by her disappearing for stretches of time. Not exactly the easiest marker to spot, since she alternates being out of sight with being on my lap, very close to me. She also sleeps more, is less playful, and is much quieter. Our vet (and other professionals) recommended we keep a journal, this has been absolutely crucial in figuring out a pain scale, with which I can assess when we're at crisis level and need to go see the vet, when I can just medicate at home, and when she's sore, but it's not yet time to medicate.

When you suspect you're dealing with pain, go see your vet.

2. Medication

This is, for many reasons, a tricky one. You don't want to dope your dog. Many painkillers over time cause liver damage, or stomach upset. That said, having a supply of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (or whatever is most relevant to your dogs type of pain) that your dog both tolerates well, and is effective, is worth its weight in gold. Some dogs will need a pill every day, especially if they have the kind of chronic pain that stays constant throughout. Others, like Talos, will need a pill during a bad spell.

We use Rimadyl  - not necessarily the best choice. But, since we only need it infrequently, it is readily available and reasonably inexpensive, Talos tolerates it well and it relieves her pain, this is our choice. It is well worth reading your medication's information leaflet. Here is the one for Rimadyl:
https://www.rimadyl.com/other-links

3. Exercise

It may sound weird to recommend exercise for pain, since usually the advice is to rest. However, especially joint pain from joints that are surrounded by muscle can be kept at bay by having exactly those muscles strong and capable of supporting the joint. This is not as easy as it sounds, however, given that your pooch is likely to be compensating for pain by avoiding the use of that (or those) joints. Also, given that your dog is in pain, and that your dog is compensating for this in various ways, the injury risk is actually quite high. If you have one available, I encourage you too consult with a doggy physiotherapist or other doggy exercise specialist to help you make, stick to and frequently evaluate an exercise plan. We have a three pronged approach, using swimming, slow, controlled leash walks, and specific exercises that if you blink, you'd think are tricks.

For swimming, we go to a fantastic hydrotherapy place where we both swim in the conventional way (into the pool you go, little pug) and walk in an underwater treadmill. As a first line of defense against muscle atrophy, this is perfect. Her weight is supported, so she can safely use the full range of motion in her limbs against a resisting force (water) that really gets those muscles working. Swimming works all her muscles, especially the core (they actually have to use their core muscles to keep their bums from sinking - good swimmers have good core muscle strength, and one of the things that makes many pugs such poor swimmers are just plain old weak muscles).  In both cases, the dogs are closely supervised and their progress is tracked and recorded.

At first, Talos did not swim very well. She's gotten much better, considerably less splashing!

Slow, controlled leash walks we do in the neighbourhood in the mornings. 30 minutes of slow, close heelwork. It can be very boring, but it can also be a lot of fun if you put some energy into it. We criss cross the roads, turning every which way, weaving around decorative lawn boulders, turning both with us in sync, or with me and dog turning in opposite directions. I add in spins (see below) and various sits/downs/stands. I heel with her on the left and right of me. Generally, I do my best to keep her engaged and happy, and generally, I succeed. Half her breakfast she earns on these walks. The benefit of slow walking is that it makes them use all four of their limbs more evenly than they do if they're at a faster pace, plus it encourages good use of the entire range of motion available to them. It really builds muscle and muscle control where those have been lost. In the interest of full disclosure, this is also the thing we cut out when Talos is having a more sore period.

Lastly, the 'tricks' we do. Some of these are stretches. Leg tucked up against her body, in full extension forward, down and back. A 'bow' stretch. A 'reach up as high as you can' stretch, for her core. We do some balance work, on a balance ball or, at hydrotherapy, on a boogie board in the pool. Both of those she enjoys. We do 'doggy pushups' sit-down-sit-down-sit-down repeat (if they keep their bum stable, this exercises their forelegs). You can do 'doggy butt-ups' too, bow-down-bow-down-bow repeat, but we're still learning bow, so we're not there yet. Give paw is a great way to get your dog weight shifting, as long as you include all four paws. Our front-right paw is super good at targeting all sorts of things... our front left paw is getting there (my girl is rather right-pawed). Our back paws... yeah. Once she realises they exist and can move independently we'll get to working on her picking them up. Lastly, we do slow, controlled spins. 'Sit pretty' or 'beg' (whatever you call the meerkat sit, where they sit on their haunches) is another really great core muscle workout, but we cannot do this one. These things are done under the recommendation of a physio - I am not suggesting a workout for anyone else.

4. Alternative therapies

We make use of a few alternative therapies to help with pain. I say 'alternative' therapy in the sense that some vets (or doctors) would only consider medication or surgery true therapies. Many of these have good research backing up their efficacy, some have hearsay only. But heck, my dog is sore, if it actually helps, onwards!

Massage, cold laser, acupuncture, chiropractics, and hot and cold therapies are what is available in our area. We have good experience with all of them aside from chiropractics, which I have not yet been able to overcome my skepticism of and actually try. A lot of research shows chiropractics does more harm than good, especially over time, and there is little support for their 'alignment' ideas of bodies, but I have to immediately veto this with the hundreds upon hundreds of dogs who have  gotten help from chiropractors. Massage is something you can learn to do at home, it stimulates blood flow and makes everything loose. Cold laser helps with pain. Acupuncture (or more accurately, dry needle, my skepticism is with me always) has seriously helped us. Talos lies down on the mat, and relaxes as the needles go in. Afterwards, there's a spring in her step and a lightness to her bearing that we only see otherwise on really good days. She's also more active, and the improvement lasts for a few days at least.

Talos at the vet, getting acupuncture. 

Hot and cold is another thing we do nearly daily. An ice pack in the morning, a hot pack in the evening. They numb pain, stimulate blood flow, and are easy to do (and can do no harm).

5. Supplements

This is another grey area. We give a joint supplement, chondroitin, glucosamine, MSM. Research here is dodgy. Some say it works, others say under double blind tests no difference can be seen in comparison with a placebo. We take this supplement because our specialists say we should, and I have not seen a difference on it (but maybe there would be one if I stopped it and found out). I've put our older dog on this same supplement, hoping that it might help with arthritis down the line  -  she currently has no issues. I am not ashamed to say that while I try my best to research these things, I also succumb to my fair share of 'try and hope'.

Another supplement often recommended is coconut oil  -  it has anti-inflammatory properties and is good for the skin/coat. And it feels nice. And tastes nice. Much love for coconut oil here.

 Spirulina has shown some promise as an alternative protein and as a supplement too.

Then there's the great mess of quackery that is also variously expensive, like 'stempets' (which we're finishing a bottle of, because some people swear it's miraculous... I've seen none of that, but I've also seen none of the bad side effects other people have ... and there's perhaps some case to be made for cyanobacteria as a supplement ... maybe). Of these, there are hundreds. I'm trying to keep an open mind. So many of my doggy friends have had results with some of these, but if you look online, so many have had bad side effects... most therapy people have some types that they prefer. That's probably the place to start.

There's also joint soup, which is rich in glucosamine/chondroitin too:
http://www.cookevet.com/2012/02/10/make-your-own-glucosaminechondroitin-tendonligament-soup-for-dogs-cats-people/

All that said, a good multi-vitamin, the best diet you can manage (which is probably not for sale at your vet's office... just saying) and nutritious treats (not the flour-and-flavourant biscuits that some people seem to think is a good idea, and probably not spray cheese or peanut butter either) will all make a difference to quality of life, if not to pain management directly.

Saturday Limerick: Pug life

Cute face, cute curl and fawn fur.

Food and treats come and go in a blur.

But oh, so much strife:

She didn't choose the pug life, 

The pug life, it chose her!

Saturday limerick: Classical conditioning

Once these two nutters

Did not act like civilised mutters

When the other was near

Food especially was dear.

Peace through peanut butter!

Saturday Limerick: The Hoodie (two versions)

Most think my little pug

is a delightful little bug.

Mostly that's true of my pup

Until she puts her hood up.

Suddenly my cutie's a thug! 

+ + +

Once upon a time

A pug with a gangsta rhyme

Put up her hood

and gave everyone 'tude

"bitch, I'm out to do crime!"

Saturday Limerick - Bee Sting

"Get it out, get it out, get it out!"

A clear message from her little snout

But if I touch that paw

That she holds near her jaw

My finger I will be without!

Do dogs self-medicate?

Last night, around three am, Talos suddenly got up, and asked to be let outside. I figured she might want to go use the bathroom, usually she uses her litter box, but she has not done so in a couple of days. This could mean one of two things, either she has not pooped, or she's been pooping outside. If she has not pooped, it would make sense for her to need to go at an odd time.

This was not the case, however. Once outside, she proceeded to eat grass. Huge mouthfuls of it. Grabbed it and mowed it like a horse. Kept it up for about five minutes, then came back inside.

She repeated this a number of times, I watched her for the entire time for the first four or so, then I pretty much let her out, checked that she was doing the same thing, and went back to bed leaving her to her grazing.

I expected her to throw up, but she did not. I expected poop this morning, but there has been none. That's not so much the topic of this post, however (don't worry, her behaviour is otherwise perfectly normal, wolfs down her food, plays, walks, naps on my lap and we've taken some 'move yer bowls' action. If there's no poop by tomorrow we're headed for the vet!)

What this has me wondering is if dogs have the ability to self medicate. I know they eat grass occasionally anyway, but many people have a similar story where their dog eats grass seemingly to get their bowels a-moving, or to induce vomiting. Basically, it looks like they're taking a laxative to feel better.

This is pretty much right up there with anthropomorphising your dog, as bad as seeing the 'guilt' in their eyes when they've done something bad (it's all in out heads, by the way, they're not feeling guilty at all). Most dogs will nibble on grass, and some seem to really love it, especially fresh young shoots. It's hard to argue that this nibbling has much to do with inducing vomiting or bowel movements, given that after their graze, they have perfectly normal digestion related events. It would be an entirely reasonable supposition that their grazing when they're feeling less than optimal is just ordinary grazing that we now take note of because of our heightened observation of our unwell furry buddy.

But that does not quite cover what I saw last night. That nearly desperate ripping out of the poor lawn and gulping it down looks nothing like the dainty sampling of leaves she does ordinarily. It also does not cover other pet owner's experiences, which seems to hint, like I'm thinking, that dogs do indeed have some sense of which plants (or minerals, many dogs eat clay occasionally) have what effect on their systems, and use them to effect changes in their bodies. Zoopharmacognosy is the official term.

The evidence is hardly clear on the matter, but it seems there may be a case for it. It is well documented that animals make 'choices' regarding foodstuffs that do indeed relate in some way to their physical state. Especially interesting to me is how other mammals than us humans also sometimes get it wrong, and ingest substances that harm them in association with a certain physical condition. I mean, we know how very many of our 'folk' medications turn out to be duds, despite people having sworn by them for hundreds of years, and even our contemporary biomedicine gets it wrong all too often (pills for depression being a big one, often being only as effective as a placebo in long term studies - here's an interesting article) . It's quite cool then to see that it's a feature of animals to 'get it wrong' sometimes. To me, at least.

Here are some additional articles, if you're interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoopharmacognosy
http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2012/10/zoopharmacognosy-do-animals-self-medicate/
http://pacificcrestpethealth.com/blogs/?p=68

Saturday Limerick - Counterpart

At class you are such a princess
Your charms are nearly limitless
But deep in your heart
lives your true counterpart
she'd rather run like a loon than impress

My dog can bite off your finger.

Wow, what a title. Just to catch everyone up, I'm talking about Talos here. Talos the pug. Kira could do it too, but people are less surprised by a terrier mix's ability to bite.

Intimidated yet?

Equally, no one would be surprised if I made that comment about a large dog, like a boerboel or a german shepherd dog. But I've watched my pug systematically work her way right through a pork shoulder bone, leaving only a tiny stump of the thickest part. Gruesome, sure, but what I'm hoping to illustrate here is that pork bones and human bones are nearly identical in size and density. Chicken feet are not that different from my fingers, and those don't even need a systematic approach.

She could bite my finger off of my hand.

Now why does this matter?

Am I warning everyone out there about my massively dangerous pug? No. The thought that Talos is an aggressive dog is laughable. The odds that she'd ever bite anyone is pretty much zero. Even Kira, who guards resources, is extremely unlikely to be labelled a dangerous dog by anyone.

But the fact remains that my dog could do this. And if my small pug, with her tiny teeth and tiny jaws can do this, every dog can do this.

That's why I chose such a dramatic title. All dogs are capable of doing serious damage with their jaws. The fact that they don't, given that we barely teach them the skills they need to navigate their lives, barely give them enough time and attention, and probably the worst offence, barely understand their body language is an absolute testament to their patience and endurance. That said, statistically 50% of kids in the US will be bitten by dogs before they're 12. Half of all kids - and guys, this is not a case of Americans being daft. It's not so different in the UK, one in six hospital admissions of kids are due to dog bites. Here, our stats are not so nicely collated in easy to digest articles (google the two mentioned above and you'll see what I mean), but I feel pretty safe in saying they're much the same.

My dogs are good dogs, safe dogs, family dogs. But almost all dog bites come from good dogs, safe dogs, family dogs (luckily these bites are almost always very minor - fatal bites, by contrast, tend to come from dogs kept in the yard or on a chain). I know the power of those jaws, and I know that humans generally suck about being sensible with dogs. Especially little humans, who have even smaller fingers than me, and tend to keep their faces at dog's eye level too. We have to do more to protect people, but especially kids, from dog bites. We owe it to our dogs to not put them in a position where they finally choose to use their teeth, and we owe it to everyone else out there to keep our dogs out of such a situation.

With that in mind, I want to make some commitments.

1. I commit to only letting my dogs around kids if I am fully capable of supervising them.
2. I commit to allowing my dogs a safe, secure space that they can go hide in should they need to, where no one will bother them, not even me.
3. I commit to learning to read, and to respecting my dog's body language. This includes removing them from a situation where they are scared or overwhelmed, even if it ends my fun.

Join me?

Saturday Limerick - Heart

There's a science and an art

to the chambers of my heart

You posed in the sunset

like a sculptor's statuette

Is like Cupid's arrow straight to the mark

I don't much like the flow of this one.

I really want to get this one right,

though, but it just doesn't fit right.

If anyone has any suggestions, they'd

be greatly appreciated.

Saturday Limerick - Still

Stillness is a word
that I once preferred
Over noise and whatnot
Then, I got this little tot
now stillness is naughty confirmed!

Saturday Limerick - Paws

I have a soft spot for my cushion

At night it's my head's main mission

To simply lie down

and rest my crown

Not tonight, there's a two-paws addition!

Saturday Limerick - Kisses

My heart fills when you run to be
Near me, in stead of to be free
But I heard you munching
In the bushes on something
No! Away! No poop kisses for me!

The Bee

There is something very, very cute about a dog standing knee deep in wildflowers.

Of course, it's also pretty much a matter of time before the dog knee deep in wildflowers encounters a bee. Prevention might be best, keeping them out of the flowers, but no one can watch their dog 100% of the time, and many dogs enjoy chasing these buzzy things that move in such a tantalising way ...

Which explains why most bee stings are to the dog's face.

Luckily, compared to a bee to the face, Kira just stepped on one.

Front left paw, poor girl. Second toe. I was woefully unprepared for any kind of accident (time to figure out a small, very portable emergency kit!). Kira, in turn, is not a big fan of having her feet messed with, and she's not shy with her teeth. 15 minutes of arguing to get the stinger out. Half an hour later, she was walking around, and another 15 minutes or so and she was running and playing happily.

Well, so that no one else has to be quite as unprepared as I was, here are some steps to take in case of a bee sting:

1. Be prepared. Get some anti-histamines from your vet, and keep a tweezer in your wallet.

2. Remove the stinger with tweezers, or, lacking that most useful tool, scrape it off with a card or a twig. Keep the card (twig) flat against the skin, and scrape to remove the stinger. Tucking your dog's head between your legs can help make an impromptu bite shield for your hands.

3. If you have clean water, washing the sting site helps make sure the stinger is out and helps prevent infection.

4. If there is swelling, give your dog the anti-histamine, and head home. Apply a cold compress to the area. If there is severe swelling, or any sign of breathing difficulty, go straight to the vet.

5. Once home, a baking soda poultice can help reduce minor swelling. Mix baking soda with just enough water to make a thick paste and use a wrap or a bandage to keep it on. Again, severe swelling warrants an emergency vet trip.

6. Monitor for the next 24 hours, at the first signs of respiratory distress, or if the swelling is not reduced, or if the swelling gets worse, head for the vet. You can repeat the cold compress as necessary.

Kira's foot still itched until late that night, but the next day, all swelling was gone, and she was not worrying it any more. She is luckily not allergic, had she been, we would not have waited out the worst of it in the park.

Saturday Limerick - What I see.

Shiny black doggy near me

With eyes bright and fur silky

Why do you smile

With such knowing guile?

Is that shreds of my book that I see?

In defense of the poorly bred pug

This gets a bit ranty... if you're not in that kind of mood, maybe stop reading when the pictures stop, ok?

As some of you may have noticed, Talos is a pug.

Her parents were pugs, and their parents were pugs, back for generations and generations. It's pugs pretty much all the way down.

She is a well trained pug.

She is a fit and in shape pug.

She is a happy pug.

Most importantly, though, she is a very, very loved pug.

She is also a poorly bred pug. By the pug breed standard, her legs and her back, proportional to her torso, are far too long. Her chest is not deep or broad enough. Her wrinkles are not pronounced enough. Her tail does not curl enough, nor is it set nice and high on her back. Her colour is less than great. She is too small over all, not big enough in absolute size, not wide enough, in a word, not as cobby as she should be had we been aiming for a well bred pug's appearance. She has an under bite too, just to round out this list.

She is definitely absolutely devoted to humans and food, rules the household, and is loving to a fault, like pugs should be. She is absolutely brilliant, which I myself think is also puggish, though many are said to be more beauty than brains. She is cautious of new people and new situations despite our best efforts at socialisation - not a puggish trait. She is energetic, and though she is still very young (19 months old), I suspect she won't slow down terribly much more than she is now until she is much older - this is also not a typically puggish trait.

Now, for the point of this navel gaze - the fact that she is not a 'well bred' pug by KUSA standards does not make her any less worthy as a dog. Insisting that the only pug that is worthy of being called a true pug, a typey pug, has a very narrowly defined set of pug attributes is perfectly fine. I am quite happy to have Talos recognised as a poorly bred pug by those standards. Making these evaluations on what a pug should look like is perfectly fine. After all, this is crucial to maintaining different dog breeds. But, that should never be a judgement on her value as a dog. An arbitrary standard of beauty should not be a reason to abandon, or to make unwanted, dogs like Talos - who, while perhaps not a standard pug, is a pretty darn amazing little creature.

Tracheal collapse - or, skip the collar and use a harness.

The trachea, or wind pipe, of a dog, is a semi-rigid structure help open by c-shaped rings of cartilage, connected with a soft membrane, making a circle. Normally, the trachea is circular. Good breathing, facilitated by a healthy trachea (among other things, of course) is important not just for oxygen in the case of a dog, but also for keeping cool - they don't sweat, aside from their nose and the pads of their feet, so cool air in and hot air out as they breathe helps them regulate their temperature. It also helps evaporation off the surface of their tongue, another essential cooling mechanism.

Amongst dogs, but especially toy breed dogs, you get a condition known as tracheal collapse. This includes pugs, who are quite vulnerable to this condition                                   . This is where the cartilage of the trachea has weakened enough that it does not remain circular, but in stead closes in on itself. In milder cases, it presents as a honking, dry cough, gagging and difficulty breathing. In more severe cases, a collapsed trachea can lead to severe respiratory distress and death (or a trip to the ER vet, and a night in an oxygen cage). Milder cases may have a relatively minor effect on quality of life - playing might have to be limited, and in extreme temperatures, your dog will have to stay in the cool, calm house. Severe cases can leave a dog pretty much perpetually crate bound. The condition is progressive, but progression can be managed.

We're not exactly sure what causes tracheal collapse, but heart issues, obesity, intubation, allergies, poor dental hygiene, the presence of a smoker in the household and respiratory infections are all associated with the condition.

There is little by way of treatment for tracheal collapse. Anti-inflammatory medications often help limit the swelling that accompanies tracheal collapse, which makes it all so much worse. Steroids can help for much the same reason. Limiting their exercise, and crucially, keeping them on the thin side of normal also helps.  Having a home oxygen tank can really save you in a crucial moment. Elevating their food/water bowls so they need not lower their heads, providing a cushion  for them to sleep on so they can keep their heads up at night and never leaving them alone (so that you don't miss a dangerous collapse episode) all helps to keep them going.

Surgically, a trachea can be tied back to keep it circular. Plastic rings are placed around the trachea, and the trachea is sutured to the rings. This treatment is often a lifesaver, but afterwards, the dogs are not like normal dogs (it's not a cure). Added to this, that when things do go wrong, they go very, very wrong.

There's also a procedure where a stent is placed along the trachea, a technique that seems to have positive outcomes too. The stents have a tendency to fail over time, and then need replacing.

Sometimes, a tracheotomy is done to 'bypass' the tracheal collapse by making a breathing hole in their throat. This requires that the dog be hand fed, to prevent food getting into their airways. The hole needs to be cleaned, since the cold air directly into the lungs leads to some mucus formation. The hole sometimes heals up too small, requiring a repeat surgery. This surgery is not always successful, is rarely recommended, and only sometimes gives satisfactory results.

Now, let me be clear, as far as I know, there has been no systematic, long term research showing that a collar causes tracheal collapse. It is common advice to recommend a collar be replaced with a harness once tracheal collapse has been diagnosed, and it is common advice to encourage small breed dog owners to use a harness, not a collar. There has also been some cases where use of a choke chain (oh, pardon me, euphemistically a 'slip collar' or a 'training collar') has lead to tracheal collapse - though many people would justifiably argue that this is misuse of a choke chain.

But, bare with me here. Let's look at those symptoms again:

• honking cough
• gagging
• choking
• difficulty breathing

People with dogs who really, really pull - tell me, do these sound familiar at all? I'd bet they do! I've seen many dogs pulling along, honking like a goose, gagging, choking... now tell me, is their trachea under some distress or not?

And tell me, how does cartilage heal? (the answer is very slowly, and often imperfectly unless carefully managed) Do you think repeated pressure on a trachea could lead to damage?

And the last question - given that we have harnesses that put no, or much, much less pressure on the trachea than collars, is it worth the risk?

If you have a small dog, or a heavy puller, just don't take the risk. At least, that's what I think. You get superb tools to teach a dog not to pull without jerking their throats or their necks. You get easy to use training methods that do the same.

Here is a good article on tracheal collapse from the Journal of Veterinary Clinics of North America, volume 30, issue 6, November 2000:
http://www.2ndchance.info/dxme-BreathsPerMin-Johnson2000.pdf

As a final word, if you have a source for me that investigates collar use and tracheal collapse, I would greatly appreciate the reference.

Saturday Limerick - Smug Pug!

For the next couple of weeks, I'll post a limerick inspired by Talos or Kira on a Saturday. Hopefully they amuse :)

Currently there is a pug
with that special look on her mug
That spells certain doom
for those in the room
Farting sure makes a pug smug!

Cute puppies - don't get one.

Puppies are cute. Adorable, actually. Look at that face. That little pawsie. And aw, biting my toes!

Here are some more adorable puppies, not mine, not my pictures, but adorable:

Lookit the little great dane nosey-wosey!

An itty-bitty-pitty!

and... aw, a husky. Everyone's favourite with those blue eyes.

Why we find them cute is easy enough to understand. Most mammals are, by the nature of their hormones, bound to like baby mammals. Yep, scientifically, you think they're cute because your body thinks it's a baby, and you're wired to want to care for babies. (Seriously, don't take my word for it, here's a linky)

But, and I hope this is obvious, getting something because your hormones are screaming at you that it's a baby and you want to protect it and keep it safe is a pretty stupid thing to do. This is true of human babies (but thank the lucky stars our hormones do that, since babies really try their parents' patience), but it is especially true of puppies (or kitties, or bunnies, or fishies, or any animal that will be dependent on your benevolence and care for the duration of its life).

The thing is, that cute puppy grows really quickly. By five months, your adorable puppy is teething with all its might, and that little bite to your toe is now a needle-fanged piranha preventing you from walking barefoot, in socks, or even with loose laces. It's all fair game. Sure, it ends in a couple months, even if you teach them nothing (but teaching them helps a lot! ... oh, and is actually really important to avoid bite risk in the future ... another linky for you!).

By 8 months, we have entered adolescence, were their brain melts and runs out their ears. You, and your interests, take a second seat. That puppy that always came when you called is now running across the busy street at full tilt chasing a kid on a skateboard - something Fufu (what do you name bassets nowadays? Captain America? Bruce Wayne? I digress) has never done before. This is when you usually discover a new fitness regime, and either grow a patience muscle the size of a theoretical Olympic athlete specialised in the patience event or buy a crate (or toss the dog outside for the rest of its life, sigh).

As adolescence wanes (which, for small dogs, takes a couple months. For big dogs, you're in for another year or even two) and your dog takes on a young adult's persona, things become easier. Well, sort of. Did you get a husky? Congratulations on your running partner. An hour or more, a day, every day. Sound good? Awesome! You are one in a million people (I over exaggerate, but I am honestly frustrated by this) who actually got a dog you can adequately care for.

Every dog, even a pug (perhaps, especially a pug) needs 30 minutes of intense cardio, two to three times a week. Heck, you do too, but you're considered a human, and so can decide for yourself how much you care about your own health. This can be a rowdy game of tug, fetch or flirt-pole chasing. This can be swimming, or sprinting, or zoomies. This can be anything, as long as that heart rate gets up there and stays up there. Strong bones, strong muscles, and a happier dog. Some really athletic dogs (australian cattle dogs, collies, pitt bulls, huskies ... most working dogs would fall into this category) will need much, much more than this. I'm pretty sure Aussies can do this all day and still be ready for more.

This has not yet occupied your pet's mind. Yes, your dog has a brain, and in some cases, they may even be smarter than you. I know Talos has me outsmarted often, and her brain is the size of two thumbs squished together. Take that, ego!

One of the easiest ways to occupy their minds is to take them for a walk. New sights, but most importantly, new smells, really gets them thinking. With smaller, less fit dogs, this walk can sometimes provide enough exercise too - given a good hour and a daily frequency. With bigger dogs, and more athletic dogs, it won't.  Other ideas include nose-work, training, puzzles, climbing (both a physical and a mental challenge - "find a way up this boulder, Piddles"! (Piddles is, of course, a rottweiller. Maybe 'Mayhem' or 'G.I. Joe' would be better?)

That was the fun part. Your pup will need bathing (if you're me, this is weekly), nail clips (this should be weekly, and yes, dog owner over there that hasn't done it in a couple months, I'm looking at you!), parasite protection both internal and external, both manual (tick removal is fun, yo...) and chemical. They will need specialised care according to their breed (wrinkle wipes, face wipes, butt squeezies (sigh, alright, emptying anal sacs) ear cleanings, paw cleanings, fur brushings, and so on). They will need food, and it will cost more than you thought to get them the even moderately good stuff (which you really should. The bad stuff is really, really bad). They will need to go to the vet. They won't like it, they will be harder to manage than you could ever have imagined, and all your training will fail and fail and fail before you succeed. Vet bills will be astronomical.

Then there's the sad part. Your pup will get old. They'll need your care in the last years of their life. The fun stuff slowly shrinks and is replaced by sleep. They will get old, and fragile.
Dumping them in the pound is never an option simply because they are old. There are always better alternatives, even putting them to sleep (which will happen anyway in the pound, just with your dog scared, lonely and abandoned).

I think we should sell puppies with old dog faces. Here! Get this adorable dog! He adores humans but has a death wish around big dogs, pees pretty much where he likes (including women's legs), barks at things that don't exist, can't hear, can't see very well, and is likely a little demented. He has a dodgy hip and he really can't walk half a block before you'll need to carry him. He will love you more than you can ever understand, and you will never be the same as before he came. Dog pictured may take over 13 years of dedicated assembly.

The pug life!

Hello everyone, Talos here! Nina here too, we're co-writing.

Today, I want to tell you about a typical day in my life. It starts, like any good day, in a nice warm bed, with a faithful warm human placed next to me.

Don't you dare believe that she makes getting up easy. As you sit up to try and escape her warm, fuzzy clutches, she shifts her position and puts her paws around you to try and keep you down. Eventually, though, we manage to escape the pug's ridiculously soft and snuggly warmth, and get dressed for the day.

After letting them get my breakfast ready while I snooze in the warm bed, I get up and eat my portion - which I'll have you know is perpetually too small. I forgive them this indiscretion, though, (just barely, the looks you get when that bowl is empty!) because after this, I settle down on my softer human's lap for my morning nap. She makes soothing clickety-click sounds while the laptop hums soothingly, and I just drift away. Sometimes she struggles with something, and I help her by bashing on the keyboard a bit until the computer goes 'beeeeeeep'. That means it's fixed!

Talos occupies my left elbow crook. This is her elbow, she has claimed it, and I have simply learnt to type from a new position. It no longer gets stiff or sore like it used to. Takes about six months for a human to fully adjust, I guess. Oh, and yes, she does honestly sometimes bash the keyboard. And yes, it does make programs crash. BSOD... her middle name, perhaps? On the plus side, I've developed great saving habits.

Not long after morning nap, the daily ritual of cruelty happens. My human sits there, and eats delicious food, while I have to stare and watch. It's inhumane! Inhumane, I tell you!

Lunch. It's called lunch. Which you don't get, because two meals (and a million treats in between) gives you enough food to remain at a good weight. I get lunch because you tire my arm out, and I need the boost mid-day.

I don't tire your arm out! I barely weigh anything - and whose fault is that? Oh, wait, you said treats!


TREATS!

Into my mouth! NOW!

Ok, ok, I'll settle for playtime.  Afternoons are all about my playtime, yes? Wait a minute, why am I asking? Human, play time! Let's go!

We do some training during 'playtime' too, at the moment it's front crosses and learning to weave with a channel. 

After afternoon playtime it's walkies! I love walkies :)

Then, dinner and sleep, and I get to do it all over again!

Cold day

It's an unusually cold winters day today. Not unusual for winter, there's a few like this every year, but this is not every-day kind of winter cold, it's cold-front-passing-over winter cold.

... and the cold makes me silly. Which I take out on my dogs. So, in stead of their harnesses for our walk tonight, they wore ...

Their dresses!

Talos in pink.

Kira in purple.

That is all! :D

P.S.
Keep your doggies warm on these chilly days, especially the little ones and the old ones - their ability to regulate their own body temperature is limited. I mean, you don't need a frilly dress and all that (even though they are awesome, and yes, a boy dog can absolutely wear frills!), but a blankie and a hot water bottle goes a long way.

Spotted... The South African Wild-Pug

Day 1
Today, we set off on the greatest adventure of our lives! We have set up camp out in Faerie Glen Nature reserve, in the capital city of South Africa, one of the few remaining natural areas where we might find the South African wild-pug. Pugs are by no measure endangered locally, but most are domesticated lap warmers and bed-pugs, bearing little resemblance to their wild cousins. Or so I've heard! I cannot wait to see one.

...

Day 14
A hair! We think we've found a pug hair. Just one, though, which is suspicious. We've sent it off to the lab for confirmation. Oh, how I hope!

...

Day 35
With it's wild ranges increasingly threatened by rapid urbanisation that is so characteristic of developing countries, our odds of spotting the South African wild-pug was bleak from the start. The lure of warm houses with ready food supplies has decimated wild-pug numbers. But it's been more than a month, and so far, not even a hair has been found. Yes, the lab results are back... it was a cat hair. This is so disheartening. The wild-pug sheds profusely, using this abundance of hair to mark their territory. This is unique among wild domestic canids. Surely there should be some sign by now?
We will persevere, even though I am demotivated. At least our pug-sniffing hound, chosen for her curly tail, which should be a sign of solidarity to the wild pug, seems content.

These hills are made for the delight of small dogs, that much is obvious.

Day 36

We have changed tactics. We have decided, against our better moral judgement, that we shall use food to lure a wild pug to us. Yes, we are risking further reducing the wild population, but what choice do we have? We must study them somehow.

Day 36 - mid day
What a success! It had barely warmed up from the frosty winter morning when suddenly, we spotted it!

Approaching from the tall grass, cautiously. The majestic African Wild-Pug.

After scenting the food, it came running along the beaten down grass path where we set up camp.

It ate, and ate, and ate! You would not believe it! We got so close to it too! Close enough to see it's a female. We've decided to call it 'Specimen Alpha'.
When Specimen Alpha had eaten all the food, she took one look at us, peed on the boots of our expedition leader, and disappeared into the grass from where she came.
We will leave out food again tomorrow.

Day 37
Before we got a chance to set out food this morning, our pug-sniffing hound found her scent. Is it a risk to follow this trail? Will the wild-pug disappear if we come near its lair?

We followed, carrying food (the banana was eaten first yesterday, so we're taking extra of that). Hopefully, bearing gifts will put Specimen Alpha at ease.

Day 38
The trail is much longer than we anticipated. The wild-pug's speed and agility are noteworthy. We're still heading into the hills, pug-sniffing hound leading us as quickly as we can follow.

We are not small, agile dogs. We stomp along the rocky outcrop, we stumble on the loose rocks. We have none of the grace and poise of a wild pug.

Day 39
Just as we thought our pug-sniffing hound was leading us on a wild-goose chase, because yet another day what coming to an end, what appeared between the rocks but Specimen Alpha?!

She seems perfectly adapted to her environment. Even the light seems to converge to accentuate her best features.

Her legs are lean and long, her tail curled just like our pug-sniffer. Her teeth are white, her under-bite noticeable, and her eyes dark, like molten chocolate. Her ears are black, and seem to change form from moment to moment. She ate the bananas with great enthusiasm. She seems smaller and more timid than domesticated specimens.

The sun was setting, though, so we had to turn back much sooner than we would have liked. Our pug-sniffing hound seemed to know something before we did. She kept smiling at us.

We tried to say goodbye to Specimen Alpha, truly we did.

But she simply followed us.

So, we gave up. What can we learn from wild pug behaviour, other than a very large preference for human foods over what they can find in nature? Off we went into the sunset, now with one more member in our expedition. Was this the last wild pug? As she sleeps on my lap, I almost find myself hoping so. Truly, these dogs should be around humans. We are simply happier with them around.