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.