Aspen the Yorkie

Okay, now that I have your attention, yes, I did chase a bear this summer, and I’m alive to tell you about it.  The only problem is that we can’t really PROVE it because my owners were in such a panic there was no way they were going to grab a camera to take pictures.

Here’s how it happened.  One morning, bright and early, we went outside for my usual time of wandering around the yard, chasing a squirrel or cat, and taking care of other business dogs take care of first thing in the morning.  My owner’s son heard a sound just around at the side of the house…and so did I.  He ran to go look…and so did I.  Up in the tree near where we usually have the bird feeder hanging (bears LOVE bird seed) there was a medium sized bear, and I ran for it, barking, which scared it down from the tree and then it ran up to the road and across…I ran right behind, very close, with my owner screaming and running after me yelling -  “ASPEN, STOP! STOP!”.  I did stop at the end of the yard, and was feeling pretty proud of my accomplishment!  But since, I keep hearing the owners tell my story and say “all that bear had to do was turn around and take one swipe and Aspen would have been a goner”.  And now, they are overly cautious when they take me out, which I don’t like, but they say it will keep me alive.

There have been a LOT of bears on our property this year.  Here’s one picture of a bear about the same size as the one that I chased, going in the same direction, so you get an idea of what happened…this one is moving slowly, though, it’s hot, and her cubs were following along behind here, they are in other pictures at Daily Photos by Claudia (she tries to do them daily, but is a little behind:-)

Please read copyright information at Daily Photos by Claudia, this isn’t the best picture because we enlarged it, but it’s okay to use as long as it’s not changed and credit is given to my owner.

As a Yorkie, I can tell you having Pancreatitis is not fun…it hurts…and it’s kept me from wanting to blog for a long time, but I’m feeling great now, back to pestering my owner regularly, and now she appreciates it because it means I’m feeling good>:-)<

I am hoping that I went through might help other Yorkie friends out there.

Over the years, I’ve been getting (sorry, this is yucky) diarrhea a lot easier than I used to depending upon what I eat.  So my owner has been doing all kinds of things to take things out of my diet, and carefully add new things, very gradually, that’s what you have to do when you’re changing foods with a Yorkie.

One day a month or so ago, I got really bad, and we went to the Vet.  We’ve done that before, but this time, the did a blood test for Pancreatitis, and I came up as having it.  There are really no medications for this, but they did treat it in almost the same way as they did a year ago in January, 2009, and then we just had to watch and see.

Here’s some things my owner did wrong (I forgive her) and what the doctor had us do:

• My owner gave me Chicken Livers the night before, you would think that wouldn’t bother me, but it’s very rich and high in cholesterol.  When I was younger, I could handle more foods than I can now.
• The next day I had VERY yellow diarrhea, and was throwing up, also yellow, and walked around with my back kind of hunched and head down because it hurt inside. So we made an appointment with the Veterinarian.  So important if you think something serious is wrong.
• The vet gave me subcutaneous (I think that’s the word) fluids, they put a lot of water just under my skin with a needle to help with dehydration since….
• I wasn’t allowed to drink or eat anything for 24 hours!!!  But it wasn’t that bad, I wasn’t feeling well at all so not very hungry, and if I did eat was in pain.
• I was given 1/4 of a 10mg Pepcid A/C tablet on an empty stomach in the afternoon a 1/2-1 hours before when I would have had my dinner, then every 24 hours for a week before my evening meal. The veterinarian had us add another week on because I still wasn’t quite right after a week. After finding that to be a battle (I hate taking pills), and after I had started eating again, my owner added it to just a tiny bit of chicken breast so I wouldn’t notice it, then gave me the rest of my meal later.
• I had to eat several small meals a day of white rice (or I like Gerber’s baby flaked rice…just about a tablespoon mixed in with the cut up chicken with a little water added) and chicken breast, morning, mid morning, noon, mid afternoon, and dinner time, about 2 tablespoons of food each time until I got better.

I finally did get better, then there was the quest to find the right food for me, that’s another story that we’ll share with you in our next post.

It’s good to feel good again!

Housebreaking me was a challenge for my owners, I am not an easy breed to train…but when I learn something, I really learn it. Even though I wasn’t the easiest housebreaking puppy, I do something that a lot of other dogs don’t…I’ll “go” on command, but it took a long time for us to learn this (my owners and I) together.

Since we didn’t have an indoor dog potty, the owners used what they called “wee-wee pads” for a while that were scented in a way that was supposed to make me use the pad…or so they thought. I think the thing that confused me the most was that we didn’t do the same thing every time…it was always something different.

First they are trying to get me to go outside, then inside on pads, then outside again. When they were training me either there weren’t dog potties, or we didn’t know about a dog potty that could be used inside as part of my training.

My owners think that because I’m small, and as long as I go where I’m trained to inside, it’s not a bad thing, and they think that for people with small dogs that live in apartments, or in the city, an indoor dog potty may make life easier for all involved, and could be used all the time if it’s something that’s easy to clean.

I’m writing as myself today…not for Aspen…but about her.  She has been such a wonderful companion for over 11 years now, and is beginning to show her age.  She recently seems to have difficulty seeing, and other signs that remind me that I need to give her extra loving for all that she has given to me.

She isn’t as lively as she used to be, because it is hard for her to see…I just took her out for a walk, and not that far ahead of us was a cat…usually she would have gone crazy with barking and excitement, it took her a while to even notice the cat.

She sleeps more, and is always happy to have a belly rub, a back massage, and her treats, they are a special delight…something my husband gives her each night after we have dinner.

Here are just a few of the pleasures Aspen gives us:

Unconditional love, and devotion.

All that loving is healthy for you, yes, petting your dog, having their companionship, can help calm you…stroking their fur is good for them and good for you…Aspen loves to snuggle and loves her tummy rubs.

Aspen is great company when no one else is around…of course she likes all of us to be there…we are her “pack” after all.

Aspen listens to everything we say, as if she understands…and I think she does understand…a lot more than we may give her credit for. When everyone is out during the day, she is always there with a listening ear.

Aspen gets me outdoors to walk on days when I may want to just stay inside. I love walking, but some days just don’t feel like making the effort, her companionship makes it more enjoyable. We both get some exercise when we walk.

Aspen makes me feel safe when my husband has to travel, which is rare, but happens occasionally. She will bark if she hears ANYTHING, and this brings a sense of security…no barking, all is well.

I guess I’m feeling a little sentimental today, realizing that she’s an older girl now, and more delicate than she used to be. Just hope I can give her all she deserves for the joy that she has given us over the years since that March day when I watched her birth.

Love your dogs, treat them like part of the family, that’s what they are.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Woodstream. All opinions are 100% mine.

We have a lot of wild animals around here, just today my owners and I were out on the deck watching a pair of beavers as they seem to be starting to build a den off our property in the lake. It’s interesting to watch, the very first time in 26 years of living here that my owners have seen beavers in our lake.

Then there are the raccoons. They are having their babies now, and are very noisy at night when the babies are being raised. There are also bears around here now, so my owners have to be careful about letting me out at night.

The raccoons like to knock over our garbage cans, so do the bears, and sometimes it’s tempting to want to trap the raccoons, but I think you’d be surprised to hear what animals are giving us the most trouble right now….they are Ferrel cats. There are at least 6 of them hanging around. Our animal control in Town makes us catch them and then they will take them, so we need to use a Havahart Easy Set Large Animal Trap to capture them, if they will go into the trap. The only other animals that are sometimes a problem, especially when we start to hear them chewing on the wood of our house like they are trying to get in, are the squirrels, this is when a Havahart Easy Set Small Animal Trap is a handy thing to have around.

We hope we won’t have to use any traps, but if we need to find information and help in knowing what to do, we can visit Animal Trapping Tips and read their helpful ideas.

We love animals, and don’t want them to be harmed, even if they are a pain sometimes…and I sure do love barking at them, and chasing squirrels whenever I get the chance.