More trouble with Megan

I am getting pretty concerned about Megan. I’m not sure what to do.  We had two little girls over today – they came with Pam’s sister. We started out things slowly – with Meg on a leash. When she seemed calm, I let her off the leash. She was still calm. She approached Laura (Pam’s sister) and each of the girls calmly with a wagging tail. She accepted petting without any problem. Then out of nowhere she jumped up and nipped one of the girls on the cheek.  It was very strange. There was not growling or barking or baring of teeth. It was just a quick nip and then she got down right away. When we reprimanded her she ran straight to the door to go outside. Shelby was kind of jumping on her at the time and competing for the girls’ attention. Right now we’re thinking the only thing to do is not allow Megan around small children. This makes us kind of sad as it really limits what we can do with her. Is there hope for training her to be more accepting of children?

Megan and the big party

Didn't go so well, actually. Luckily it was a nice enough day that she could stay out in the backyard. The party was a selling party for food products so with the amount of samples sitting around the house, it was in our plan to have the dogs outside most of the time. We did let them in for short visits, however. Shelby did fairly well. It was clear she was a little spooked, however. Especially when she refused a treat and preferred - instead - to remain safely in her corner. Megan really surprised me as she became quite aggressive. Not to everyone, only to a couple of little girls who desperately wanted to play with her. She growled at them. When the girls repeatedly called Shelby and tried to pick her up, Megan snapped, growled viciously and lunged. I thought perhaps she was tired at being outside, so I brought her in. She seemed okay until one of the girls walked toward her and reached out to pet her. Then she did the lunging, snapping, FEROCIOUS growl again. She never bit anyone and she was calm with Pam and me and other adults. Megan is usually so easy going that this behavior shocked me. Luckily we don't have small children over much, but I hope I can do something about this behavior

The animals after the big party

Megan is getting lighter

I took Shelby to the vet on Friday for her lepto booster and heartworm test. Megan came along for company. I put her on the scale and she was down 1.2 kilos in a month. I sure wish I could lose weight like that. In other news, Megan's behavior on walks seems to be improving. I don't know if she was feeling crabby or what. She is going to the groomer tomorrow. Maybe that will help her feel better. It just occurred to me that Shelby doesn't really care about petting. She loves to cuddle and sit on laps, but she doesn't really seem to enjoy petting that much. Strange. Also, she has discovered she can jump up on our bed by herself so now it's up and down, up and down constantly. Dulcinea the cat isn't too happy about this development!! I finally had to throw out my favorite armchair because Shelby had torn it to shreds.

Megan is regressing

While going for a walk yesterday I realized that Megan is regressing. She used to be such a calm, gentle girl. Now she pulls on the leash (NEVER a problem in the past) and is aggressive toward other dogs. It used to be no problem for her to greet other dogs on a walk. Now she growls and snaps. Of course, I need to work with her more. I'm wondering if it has something to do with Shelby being along. Could she be protecting "her" puppy?

Incredible Shrinking Megan

It's been a long time, hasn't it...

On January 6 - the day before her birthday - I took Megan into the vet for her annual physical. The vet gave her a clean bill of health except for one thing - she's fat! That really didn't come as a surprise to me, but together we came up with a plan. Megan started eating Eukanaba Large Breed Weight Loss (she could have 4 cups and still have 250 discretionary calories), I cut way back on her dog treats and human food (I started feeding her things like fruit and veggies. Hardly anything she won't eat!) and NO MORE RAWHIDES. Monday I took her and Shelby in for their leptospirosis vaccines. Megan was down .8 kg. I think that's great in a month's time. Especially considering it's hard to get a lot of exercise this time of year. The vet thought it was good, too. She started at 30.6, weighs 29.8 now and the vet would like to see her around 25. Shelby weight 8.9 kg by the way. She has to go back in month to get her lepto booster. I may bring Megan in too just to get a weight. Even though bringing them in together is quite an adventure!

Shelby's latest thing is playing fetch. She loves it. I have never had a dog that actually likes this game. She will go get the ball and bring it back to me. She will even drop it at my feet, but only for a nanosecond. She wants to grab it right back if I try to pick it up. Speaking of Shelby, I am probably going to take her to obedience class beginning March 14. I have my doubts that she is very trainable - she doesn't listen well at all - but I'm certainly willing to give it a shot.

Exciting few hours

Came home last night to find Shelby had chewed through my laptop cord. Again. Guess I was pretty stupid to leave it out after she chewed through it the first time. I thought I had the cord tucked away so she couldn't get at it. I WAS WRONG.

We were packing lunches this morning and left some items sitting out on the stove while we were taking a hot tub on our all-weather porch (right next to the kitchen). When we came back in the house Megan came to the door right away but Shelby didn't and I thought she was being awfully quiet. Hmmm...I went into the living room and found her chewing on a plastic bag. It used to be on the stove filled with peanuts and raisins. I also found an empty packet of mini-cookies and a string cheese wrapper. While Shelby partook in the feast, she was most definitely not able to get things off the stove. Megan was her partner in crime!

Wait, that's not all! This morning we took the dogs for the walk. Megan is usually very calm but as we walked by our neighbor's house she was waiting in the driveway for us to pass with her very aggressive lab mix, Sophie. Sophie was her usual self - barking and lunging - so Megan decided this must be the way to behave. She pulled so energetically that she slipped her collar. Luckily, after that she was a good girl and sat when asked until we could put her collar back on. That's rather more excitement than we bargained for at 6:00 in the morning. Megan is probably getting a harness too although she doesn't need an Easy Walk like constant puller Shelby.

I was kind of annoyed at both the dogs this morning, but I guess they are still worth it!

Megan Jones and the Mystery of the Disappearing Greenies

Okay, for the second time I found a bag of emptied cat greenies in the "dog side" of the basement. The dog and cat sides are separated by a 41" high gate with a 7" door for the cat. The gate is securely fastened -- won't budge with repeated pushings by me. There is no way Megan can push her porky, furry 65 pound body through that cat door. Could she possibly be jumping the gate? I would be sincerely amazed if that were the case. Shelby could fit through the cat door but she is terrified of the stairs. So...after trying to find any way I could to blame began for the theft of the Greenies the only conclusion I could come to is that it was a cooperative effort. Dulcinea dragged the bag into that side of the basement and Megan finished them off. Also, the cat food itself was removed from its rightful place and dragged halfway across the room with the remaining food left intact. This hardly seems like the work of Megan who would have torn the bag to shreds after making sure there wasn't a crumb of food left in it. The next step is to secure the food and Greenies in some sort of container and see what happens. The adventures of having pets!

On another note, Shelby went to the vet this morning and her demodex and ear infection are gone. This is the first time she has ever been medicine free! She has an appointment for spaying on December 20th, which also happens to be her eight month birthday. I snapped a photo of her and Dulci sharing a chair which is on Picasa