Out with Bob at sunrise. Deer everywhere. He's kept on his lead. Sophie heads off with 'the font' for a power walk round the lake.
At the cafe under the arcades they're selling calendars for the homeless. The cover picture looks familiar.
Some of the hellebores survive the PON's enthusiastic gardening skills. Others don't.
The PON duo remain in fine form. Woe betide any passing tractors. Bob is as lean as he should be. Despite a reduction in her portions Sophie becomes ever more curvaceous. She is a great believer in what might politely be described as 'recycling'. Pineapple added to her ( or Bob's ) kibbles has not done the trick. Any other suggestions ?
17 comments:
You bought a calendar, of course?
Hard to know hope to help Sophie stop gaining too may curves. It seems she gets plenty of exercise and you obviously try to limit her intake. Bertie says she is gorgeous and what's the problem?
Cheers! Gail.
Bertie - Sophie is delighted to hear that she looks gorgeous. However, if I told you she now weighs 25 kilos would you still think the same ? Exercise, quarter rations, you name it. All have been tried. She just searches around for anything else to eat.
Our girl Labrador was a great one for "recycling" - we tried pineapple unsuccessfully, and a suggestion, in desperation, of liberally dosing any offending "matter"(dead birds a firm favourite) with Tobasco sauce. This worked well until the little darling acquired a taste for that too! Unfortunately (according to my dog book) Sophie does what she does, because she likes it ! However she should grow out of it in time - our Lab. did.
We very much enjoy Bob and Sophie's adventures, Angus, and are pleased to know that someone else is out dog walking at the crack of dawn! We are always very interested to read about life in deepest France, from just "down the road" in (not very) sunny Spain.
If SOPHIE's habit of 'recycling' means what I think it does (I think it does!) - then these two articles on the subject may help:
http://www.thebalancedcanine.com/how-stop-your-dog-from-eating-poo/
http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/dogs-eating-stool-coprophagia
Tabasco we've not tried. You can be sure she'd quickly acquire a taste for it like yours did too !
Bob on his stool always brings a smile.
As do the muddy boots that the two PONs seem to acquire within minutes of being washed!
Yes they do look familiar. I love the paw on the head.
25 kilos. That's one more than Merlin, young Sophie and you only have little legs!
Bitter Apple (spray) is a taste deterrent that I used when Merlin once had a hot-spot.
x
We had this "recycle issue" with a previous lab, we think he might have picked this up while being boarded. There were some expensive powders the vet offered, but the best bet was picking up fast. (I know this will be harder with 2 dogs and a large area!) Good Luck, this was a tough issue for us for about 2 years ... then Barney outgrew it.
I love the paw on the head pose, I bet that calendar is a success, very cute
Just a thought...are Sophie's worm meds up to date?...I know you look after her extremely well, but sometimes the internal parasites consume all the food that Sophie eats and then she is always hungry thus foraging for more food to eat....maybe a stronger dose of worm meds to take care of any strays and all will be well again.
Thanks. We'll speak to the vet to see if we should change/supplement the worming tablets.
Picking up fast is a good remedy. Unfortunately our 'success' rate on dark mornings/evenings on ground covered with leaves is less than optimal.
Sophie finds Bitter Apple irresistible.
Mud is clearly a PON colour.
Our Willow is a big fan of recycling. And she's not particular. She will recycle the other dog's presents, our cats too if she gets into the litter box. Rather gross. Pineapple did not work for her. She's now 12, still does it but less so. Our vet said its just the way she is. So, we have accepted it but keep close eye on her.
Stella just loves dog food and could never get filled up, so I switched her to a no grain dog food (whitefish and sweet potato), then added very small amounts of salmon oil to this twice a day. Amazing difference! She has much more energy and seems very satisfied with her morning/evening feeding. She looks like she has lost weight and she is much perkier (she is about 9 years old.) We'll know when we visit the VET!
Jo and Stella
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