Khors Update

 Hey Everyone. 
We're two weeks short of 2 months of having Khors with us.  It's been ...easy.  

When we first agreed to bring another rescue in, I took a lot of my grief and used it to focus on getting this dog.   When we did finally bring him home, I didn't know what to do or feel about him. 
I had focused so much on getting him, I hadn't considered what to do or I would react once he's home. 

Khors though has made the process easy.  From moment one he's been a happy-silly puppy.  
Everything indicates he was someone's pet. First of all he had a collar on when he was rescued. Although he had been a stray for a little while, he was someone's dog. 
He's completely at ease with humans and other dogs. He was housetrained & he has basic manners.

The biggest issue was that he was a puppy with a lot of energy.  The first two weeks were rough as he was so full of energy & we were unable to let him expend it the way he needed to.   Between the extra energy & the newness of the situation, he & Peryn did have a few altercations.  
Peryn was very leery of him & kept his distance. 

It took about 5 days before Ziva realized she could play with him the way she wanted.  Lada is indifferent. 
Rich began walking him (& Ziva /Peryn) twice a day to help expend some of the energy.  It really wasn't helping, Khors is essentially a puppy.   Once he had his check-up & was given the OK to be "released" from the constraints of only playing in the basement, he was able to go to daycare-he blossomed big time. 

He LOVES daycare. He has a buddy he plays & runs around with. He loves the farm. He absolutely loves the pond-splashing in it.   Running around the pond at full speed.   He & Ziva will run around the farm for a bit.    

All this to say, now that he's got a regular outlet to his boundless energy, he's used to the routines, & he knows his place-- he is a WELCOME addition to the Pack & the family. 

He is a huge sweetheart. He loves his Momma & Papa.  He loves his siblings, especially Ziva.  Ziva absolutely loves her baby brother.  He's her playmate (ironically while typing this, they got into it).

He loves playing with Peryn & Lada with the herding ball. He loves chasing tennis balls from the blaster. He loves tug with me or Ziva. He loves toys, especially the squeaky ones.   He LOVES the toys I specifically get him.  He has a green Dodo that I gave him, that he's treasures. Today I added to it with a carrot.  He loves it very much.  

He still has a lot of energy, but he's more under control. He knows the boundaries (with the help of the invisible fence).  He's protective of the house. He patrols via the window & back door. 

Our biggest issue is the occasional "acting out" towards Peryn & today Ziva.   Peryn's fear of him is definitely gone. He's now taken it upon himself to tease him like he used to tease Volos. Taking Khors toys & standing above him to taunt him.

He doesn't have the quirkiness of Volos. You know, Volos & his obsession of collecting all the toys at the bottom of the stairs. Volos & his box obsession.  Volos was a character & his antics made everyone love watching his antics. 

Khors is a bit of a clown, but I haven't found his "voice" yet. 

So essentially, between not knowing his voice, his personality not being as quirky as Volos, & Momma's sadness, there won't be a lot of vids.    We're still working on figuring each out. 

But know he's settling in & he's a stereotypical dog.

		2

Welcome to September.

 Thursday 9/1/2022  11:02 AM

Right now, as I should be focused on work related things, I am having to listen to Ms Ziva whine. She has whined all morning.    
Why you ask?  Because she wants to P L A Y in the basement.   Tuesday's & Thursday's are their day home.   She is not a fan of this.    So I have to deal with the pouting.    It is irritating.

In a perfect world, she would go to daycare EVERY day. However we are not made of money nor is it growing on trees, so she has to live with it.  

Speaking of, since I don't remember nor do I re-read a lot of what I wrote I may repeat. The decision was made that Peryn will be getting some time away from daycare.  We still plan to send him on Monday's when his favorite human outside of family works.   However between his reluctance to go, his not really getting play in, & financially--we're going to hold off.     
We're hoping to see if it recharges him or if he's just better off home with Volos. The two of them are something else. 

Additionally, I've noticed the past week that he's not been into playing in the basement as much. HE wants to go down with all of them. He runs down there as with the rest of the gang. He just no longer is staying down there.   When I (or anyone) begins to play fetch with the ball blaster, he has stopped participating. He has gone upstairs & tends to stay up there the whole time.   
BUT....if you touch his herding ball, he comes flying down the stairs.  He prefers to play with that lately.

However if we move the play outside, oh he's involved in the fetching of the ball.  I don't use the blaster, I use the Chuck It.      
He's still ALL about trying to get me to play fetch upstairs as well.        Don't know what's going on there. 

The dogs hair broke our vacuum.   That's right ..broke it.   The thing just burnt out.   Had to buy a replacement.  That was a dilemma. We loved the Shark that we had.   I was debating if needing such a great vacuum was necessary as Clancy (our robot vac) does a nightly maintenance sweep of the house.   However once you start comparing features like the Bagless container, hepa filter, & great reviews on it for suction & such... I bit the bullet & spent the $ on a great product.   I of course saw that it had a 5 year limited warranty only AFTER it went to the garbage....    SO yeah---won't be making THAT mistake again. 

ITs a losing battle with these shed monsters.  Ziva's hair comes off of her from just lying on the floor. Clumps of her everywhere she lays.   

So we're approaching my luchtime-7 minutes away.  I can tell you that they will begin getting up from their naps & getting riled up shortly.  They know my schedule.  I plan to make my sandwich & head down to play with these guys.....    

Thanks for checking in.

August 26

 Let's start this off with 

Been a busy week. For Momma at least.  Had my 1st Lumbar RFA on Wed, so I have been taking it easy.

The pups do try to keep me busy.   Volos, ever my constant companion, keeps me company throughout the day.  He makes me laugh because he's such a silly boy. 

I think after next week, I am going to begin keeping Peryn home regularly as well.   He pretty much only lives to play fetch & I don't think he is getting much of that at daycare.    That & we need to tighten the purse strings for a bit.  Daycare is NOT cheap.    

Honestly I think he'll be better off. Lately he does NOT like getting up & going when Rich calls for daycare.   Rich has to call him many times and when Peryn gets up, it is reluctantly.   So we'll see how that goes when the time comes. 

Peryn is still retaining the A**H*** title.  This dude is seriously the biggest jerk.  I mean, it's part of his personality, so it's "cute" when you apply it to him...but he really is a jerk to his siblings.   He's been instigating with Volos more. He's snapped at Ziva a few times & even was a bit of a jerk to Lada.   

Ziva had her annual exam last week.   She's 77# & very lean.  The good news is that the vet thinks she's very healthy.  So no worries about heart murmurs.   She's very active at daycare & eats so there are no worries.  I did want to get some meat on her so the vet suggested a new food.   We only feed it to her as the last time we did food like this for the others, they gained weight.    We'll keep you posted

Lada is Lada. Loves her whole family. loves her Momma. Loves playing fetch. We got her a bunch of balls (see video) to make up for all the balls that Peryn crushes, Ziva tears apart, & Volos steals & occasionally tears up.    

I will need to take Volos back in, now that his regular vet is back, to have her look at the bumps I am concerned with.  I fear another surgery is in the future.  
Overall he is doing really well mentally & physically, I just worry as Berner's are prone to disease & illness, hence their 8-10 average life span.  He's going to be 8.

Not much else I can think of, just leaving you with some pics of the crew

quick update

 We were notified that we were not chosen.  We are sad as we really think she would have been a great addition, but they had to go with what is best for her.

We're still very much on the look out for a young female Berner to adopt...shrugs... who knows.

Pupdate: March 4-8 2020

It's March already!   Time is sure flying fast.    Let's get on with the Pupdate as there is much to discuss.
Lada is doing much better. Took a few days to relax before she started acting like her old self.   She's been doing much much better.  I don't know what exactly was wrong (a virus?), but she's back to her cute little hyper self.  

Lada helping me pick up groceries

   She went for follow up blood work yesterday and we're waiting for the results to see if the liver#s were related to her illness or indicative of another issue.

She's even more comfortable around Volos. She snapped at him when he attempted to get cuddles from me.  No one-- Nothing touches her Mommy.  I am HERS!  She was polite and allowed him to get in cuddles the past month, but no more.   

She ignores him mostly except for when it is time for sharing me.---There is NO SHARING.  She's actually been clingier since this incident.   She definitely is keeping an eye on Mommy.

He's shown some interest in her--sniffing at her when she's near, but he's not initiated any contact--kind of.

Who's in charge?

Peryn-- has been his typical self.  Wants to play ball. Wants to play with Volos when he gets excited and runs while outside.   He's also been more affectionate.  Now that there is competition, he comes for more hugs and kisses than he ever has before.   

He really wants Volos to play and I want that too.   I'm hoping one day soon I can report that. In the meantime  Peryn is still his intense self and would love nothing more to play with his ball or burger..and just fetch.  Dude is definitely high strung. 

Lada & Athena 

Athena-- Athena is Athena.  Her back legs are, pardon the pun, on their last legs. She's struggling more and more on her hind legs.     She is still doing well in the cart, so it's not the end yet.     This disease is horrible though. Watching her waste away and not being able to be independent much anymore.       She really is still so bony to touch.   I give her as much love as I can. She still craves the affection and still barks when the dogs play.  So the Athena we know and love is still in there.

Again, the 2 of them

Taking her outside to use the bathroom is a chore.  Her legs are locked forward and crossed. It is a real struggle to pull them back and separate them.   It is putting a crimp in getting her to use the bathroom outside because she tries not to go while her tail is in the way or she's sitting down. 

However that's exactly what happens.      It's frustrating as we get her situated and 1 bump or movement and her legs are back to their normal position.   Holding her up by the handle with one hand while fighting her legs with the other is hard on the back.   

She's still quite mentally engaged. Barks ANYTIME anyone is having fun without her.  She had her time at day care on Friday and she was beat afterwards.   Slept hard, but she's over it and is very alert.  

We have started using the diapers we bought a bit ago on her.  it's been a bit of a necessity as of late, so on they go.  She's been really good with them on, but we're using them for the days she won't be good.



Volos-- So much to say.  Let's start with the biggest. HE BARKED!!!!  Thursday after work while sitting in my office, the window was open to let some fresh air in. Lada began barking, which started Athena and then Peryn. Out of nowhere a new bark sounded.   I thought I was hearing things and turned to watch and he opened his mouth and barked again.   It made me happy.   He then barked on Friday morning.   Lada was chasing a toy that I was throwing for her and it was annoying him so he barked at her.    

He also got a harness this week.   Freaked him out when I showed it to him because he had no clue what it was.  Once I calmed him down & put it on him--he looked handsome and walks better in the harness than when the leash was clipped to the collar.

Car rides!!

He's definitely more affectionate and interacts with the family more.   He has his moments where he still hangs out in his room--but he is expanding his terrain. 

Training him--that's still on hold. He's not focused enough or relaxed enough to attempt to teach him his basics.    He does know his schedule and his yard boundaries though.   

I get much more hug and cuddle time out of him.    I'm hoping to work our way to when he'll lie down next to me and cuddle.         

Volos & Lada waiting for Daddy to come in

He would prefer to just hang outside in the cool air

Mommy trying hard to get a pic of me

Volos, Athena & Lada

VOLOS- 1 MONTH

While we have sad news with Athena, we have encouraging news regarding Mr Volos.

Such a handsome boy

Last I wrote, he was treating me like persona non grata.   I don't know what changed or what happened, but that was totally eliminated and he's .....more open!

Throughout all of this, he's remained loving and cuddly in the foyer and outside. In the morning when I wake up to let the out and feed them, but it was every other moment where he would avoid me.

I first noticed it on what would have been my Dad's 75th birthday, the first birthday without him.   We were all sitting in the living room and he came in, went into his crate and hung out with us.   He was in no hurry to leave and it made me happy.   

I had decided I wasn't going to push him and would "ignore" him when he walked by or anything --allow him to have his space.  

Wednesday or Thursday after work he came into MY OFFICE and wanted to be petted. THen..... he laid down in here!    

hanging in the living room

Friday he was a different dog. He was more open and loving. He willing comes to me and while I was working, he laid down RIGHT NEXT TO MY DESK CHAIR while I worked.   

He comes out of his room more and spends more time with the pack.   He is more adventurous in his moving around the house.   Outside he is extremely playful and happy.  He likes to circle the house on nicer days.  He's even laid down at the table when we at the last few days.

Yesterday was a huge day.  First Rich moved his crate from the living room to the bedroom.  We'd eventually like him to sleep in the bedroom with us, but we won't push it.  
Even though his crate was gone, he still likes to lie where it was in the living room.  So he doesn't need the "safety" of the crate to be with us. 

Hanging withe the siblings

Every year for Rich's birthday he has a few friends over and they play various board games. We had 3 of his friends over and were sitting at the table.   Volos sat at one of his friends legs and proceeded to get loved on for quite awhile.   When that was over, Volos laid down underneath the table.  We had 3 strangers over and he stayed with us and was so chill. 


Now I took him on a car ride on Wed when I went to pick up Lada & Peryn from play care.   Afterwards we stopped at a friend's house. She's met him before and has always been my dogs favorite person (Duchess loved her).  She came out and began loving on Lada & Peryn. Volos moved away from the window and would not come near her. Nor would he look at her.    I've noticed in "confined" spaces he's not as open to meeting others.

Btothers

We took him to PetCo yesterday to get his name tag made.  He was interested in saying hello to all the doggies--but he's calm about it.  He's very curious and loving.   

He also went to the vet yesterday for a follow up on his wounds from the surgery. They're healing quite nicely. 
We saw another Berner when we arrived, but they were too far down the parking lot to talk to.  They saw us too and were checking Volos out.     Such a handsome devel.

LOVES DADDY

So this week we had some positive progression.  I know there is a chance for some backward steps, but I'm going to try and remain positive.     

Loves his car rides

Why I hate Tuesdays & Thursdays.

This is mostly since moving to this home.  At the old house, we had back stairs & a patio. I could let them out to go crazy and I could keep an eye on them from in the house--away from them.

Since moving to this house, Tuesdays and Thursdays ...I dread them with a passion and here is why....

Tuesdays and Thursdays I work in the office, so the dogs are left home all day.  All four of them (whether it had been Duchess or Volos in the mix-doesn't matter) are here and await for me in the foyer. Peryn & Lada usually do not go to play care these days.

This house the foyer is wide open and room for all of them to be there to greet me.    At first, this is a happy thing-all of them so excited to see me. All of them wanting my attention.   But here is the reality of things.    

Peryn & Lada --they are Australian Cattle Dogs. These are working dogs that need to burn off energy every day.   They cannot be left alone to do nothing day in and out because they will wreck havoc on your home and life.     

However in this case, they are now wound up and super excited to see me.   Peryn will get up on his hind legs to greet me and I'll love on him for a few seconds. 
Lada on the other hand, no she cannot just be a normal dog wanting attention, no. She's Lada. She jumps and jumps and jumps up on me trying to get into my arms.   She's INSANE until I catch her and then try to calm her as she assaults me with kisses.

Meanwhile Volos is doing a little jig because he too is happy to se me.   He's trying to get in to rub up against me-trying to find a space in between the overly excited cattle dogs. 

While all this is going on, we have Athena stuck in one of her 2 beds (one in my office or one in the living room) barking up up a storm because she's stuck and she wants up.

I try to make my way to her and lift her behind up and we move to the door.  I then open the front door and the 3 mobile ones scamper out and I follow behind with Athena...who may or may not be peeing as we go.

We make our way to the grass and then I have to unpretzel Athena's legs.  The disease causes her legs to stiffen and cross underneath her.  It's a fight some days to straighten them out , pull them back along with her hips.  We try to place her on her feet, but sometimes it's actually her feet knuckled under.  

If we're lucky, she'll stay on her feet and move on her own. However, if she didn't leave a present on her bed she will collapse because she needs to go #2 and the strain on her back muscles is too much for her to hold herself up.   We then have to hold her in such a way that she is able to release. 

Meanwhile, the other 3 are off doing any of these activities: wiggling on their backs, going to the bathroom, sniffing up a storm, bothering walkers on the path or trying to get Volos to play or me to play with one of the numerous balls they have out there.

Next we try to corral them all back inside--probably needing to assist Athena back onto her feet.  We try to keep her moving of her own devices as much as possible.  

Once we all are in, I shut the door and immediately have Peryn & Lada jumping on the basement door wanting to go down.    I open the door and they fly downstairs to unleash mayhem on the ball and the basement. 

Either Athena moves herself to a bed or I do and Volos and his wiggle butt try to get some loving from me.   

Now I have a moment to use the restroom and Lada comes flying back upstairs to check on me and make sure I am not loving on Volos.

Once I'm done, I head over to the dog bowls to refill the water (because heaven forbid they drink from the gravity water bowl) and fill the food bowl.     We have an open food bowl policy in this house.   Each dog is pretty awesome at letting the others eat by themselves.     

Today I tried to sit down, but Lada is jumping up with her demanding kisses (those that know Lada know how physical of an exercise this is trying to stop her), Athena is whining and starting to bark because she hears Peryn going nuts in the basement. 

Volos is pacing because he wants my attention, but Lada is preventing him from getting close.   I move over by Athena and now Volos is getting his attention and now I've set off the jealous little girl who is trying to push her way in front of him so I will pay attention to her.   Athena is still barking...Peryn is barking and going to town on the herding ball and I just want to sit and relax.  

If Athena left any presents while we were gone, now is when I would clean it up.

FINALLY I give in and place Athena in her cart. Lada gets super excited and we all make our way downstairs--except Volos who doesn't do stairs.   

I let Athena go, then Peryn and Lada go insane with the ball and I try to head up to the top of the stairs to sit with Volos --who really really is starting to look like he wants to join them or at least see what the fuss is about.  

Now because they no longer have an audience, Peryn & Lada come to the bottom of the stairs, see I am there and proceed to just stop what they were doing.  Lada has to run upstairs to interupt Volos' attention time.   Athena is barking because she wants to chase her siblings who are no longer playing with the ball.   

Eventually this leads to me going downstairs to sit so they can continue with their insanity.   Volos is pacing and going to the top of the stairs because he's curious.   Now the dog who could herd that ball all night by himself is getting stuck in places that require Mommy to assist.   When this happens all action stops and Athena is there barking. 

After 15 minutes of this start and stop action I say "ENOUGH" and we all head upstairs and back out the front door for another outing.   

Meanwhile, I leave the front door open when we do this so those who finish first can head inside.   IN this case, they have and you can hear the dog and his ball in the basement all the way in the front of the house.

At this time, it's usually time to start dinner.  They tend to back off while I do this. Peryn is usually in the basement with his ball and Lada may or may not join them . 

As I finish with dinner, Rich is walking in the door from work. If there is 10 mins or so left before I'm completely done, he takes Peryn & Volos on a walk.  This is to allow them some bonding time and to make sure Volos goes #2 if he didn't any of the 2 previous times.    

By this time, it's usually after 6:30.   I now have about an hour and a half before I head to bed.     It is during this time that anything I did not get to do prior is done.

IF Athena did not go downstairs earlier--she would now.   The days when she goes in the afternoon, I get a bit of time in the evening.   

I also have to do the after clean up inspection to make sure Rich didn't miss anything during his clean up (Guess what--he often does!)

This or some variation of this is my Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and evenings. I love my fur kids, but they are too much some days.     

The days I run late or make a stop after work are even worse......    

So if you ever think of getting a Cattle Dog-- you better have time to exercise them or play with them. 

I will admit in the summer/spring is easier as we head into the back yard. I sit down and play with the chuck it.   A win-win for us all.

Pupdate October 17

Athena has been officially diagnosed with DM.
We had to take her in the other day. In her impatienc , she tore part of her skin off when removing her wrap.
Met with the new vet and he immediately knew that it was DM.

Right now our focus is on healing her law and avoiding infection, as it's pretty nasty.
Otherwise, Athena is still her normal loving life self.

Vroom vroom

Having a blast 

Sleeping peacefully.

The others are the same. Loving that sissy is back at play care every once in a while.

Just some random pics

Monitoring the trail 

Taking a break 

Cooling off 

Beautiful 

A dog and his ball

So handsome 

Zzzzzzz

Sweet dreams 

Visit from the bff

He knows he's cute