The Road Most Traveled by "Sea Dog"

Leopold, Leo for short  lives by the sea shore, as a matter of fact he lives right on the harbor. A little history about Leo. He is a black and tan Min Pin, 1 year old who yes came from a pet store. But his owner saw fit to provide Leo with the best opportunity to overcome the first 4 months of his miserable life and he has made great strides. He is amazingly smart. It doesn't take him long to pick up on stuff. Good and bad. if I ever got a little dog it would be a Leo dog. He's got a big dog personality in a compact little body.
A few weeks ago I took to bringing Leo home after a day of daycare. It is about an 8 mile drive to his house.  I find the first view of the water and boats and the smell of the sea  almost as good as a cocktail at the end of the day.
The first few trips were uneventful. But last week as soon as we turned into his drive way Leo let out a little..."Hey everyone I'm home". He did it all three days!
Now people will tell you all the time about how their dogs hear the car when their owner turns into their street, or their dog sees a familiar landmarks and starts getting excited. I know my dogs can be returning from a dog show sound asleep and as soon as I turn into our road up their heads pop. So I got to thinking.
How did Leo know he was home. He couldn't see out the windows because he was in his carrier on the front seat  with his seat belt attached. Unlike an owners car his house wasn't making any noise. Could he sense the amount of time in the car? Did he feel the car climb up the incline to his house? How did he know?
And then last Friday evening it dawned on me as I gulped in the unmistakable smell of a low tide and heard the sailboat lanyards lightly clinking on the masts. Leo who's hearing and sense of smell was a hundred times better than mine knew he was home by the smell of the sea.

The Cast Iron Stomach...

One of my dogs will puke at least once a week. I spend a lot of money on dog food and despite that my dogs prefer crap they find on their travels. I tell people all the time I wonder why I bother to buy good quality food when they prefer dirt and grass.

Not having the double stomach like most grazing animals the grass always finds itself back in the yard. And as I write I hear that well known sound and sure enough  Tipper just deposited a big pile of food on the rug.

So when Margaux's owner told me she had been puking once or twice a week for the past few months it didn't seem to be too much of a concern to me especially when she also mentions that she chews and eats everything she can find. Typical of a puppy and a lab. But her owner had decided to bring her to the vets. Margaux was diagnosed as probably being allergic to her food. Her food was changed and she was no longer puking. Seemed as though the vet was right.

Now I love my vet dearly but having multiple dogs it needs to be serious before I pick up the phone.

Being in dogs for multiple decades I trust my instincts when it come to a vet visit.

If a dog is limping but will put weight on a limb, I check the paw and put the dog on crate rest and leash walks.

If a dog has diarrhea and no fever I rest the gut for 24 hours and start a meal of oatmeal and chicken. Some people like the hamburg and rice but I prefer the oatmeal. if there's anything in the stomach it seems to bind to the oatmeal.

Same goes for vomiting.

For simple cuts and punctures, cleaning the wound , some antibiotic cream and just watching the wound usually does the trick.

Fevers, not drinking or eating, lethargy (after all the saying sick as a dog has some merit) and we are in the car.

Sunday morning rolled around and Margaux puked. Being a long time student of poop and puke I was intrigued by the small little currents in her puke. On further investigation I realized they were tiny pieces of black plastic. The same plastic that her crate tray was made of. The same crate tray that she has been snacking on for months. Her owner has purchased a new crate with a metal tray which hasn't arrived yet but I'm betting on Margaux being allergic to her crate tray rather than her food!