Emma and the cone of shame

We've reveled in the delights of dog ownership, specifically-we've delighted in dog ownership of the right sort of dog...Emma is frankly, delightful- and as I've said before, practically perfect in every way. I've reveled/danced/gloated/done the llama-llama and now pay-back has come in spades. or spays, actually. This week we had Emma spayed.
The dancing is over. over, I tell ya.

We suffered through the first night, which was really hard on Emma and on us. I insisted on taking home pain medicine for a day or two for her, even after being assured by the lady at the vet clinic "dogs are more resistant to pain then we are"...um, I can't type out my response to that without probably offending some of my readers...It was very plain after I gave her the first dose of superfluous pain medicine, that relief visibly came calling.
Poor, poor doggy.

Enter the cone of shame.

They put it on at the vet office. Emma let the weight of it drop her head floor-wards, and then refused to move a muscle, the picture of fear and misery. We removed the cone of shame and put it away for another day. This worked out well, because she was in so much pain and misery that she didn't move much and so it wasn't needed. At 4 a.m exactly...ask me how I know...she perked up a bit. We instituted the cone of shame, and Emma had a panic attack. I didn't know dogs could have panic attacks, but that was what it looked like. She got up from her bed at one point, I assumed to move to her other bed, was still...and yet I heard panting, panting that got louder and faster until maybe 5 or 10 minutes later I turned on the light and discovered her standing, frozen next to her bed with her head down.

Exit the cone of shame.

So, I have to sleep, alert to sounds of licking...and if she goes outside, I have to follow to watch for said licking. And someone has to watch her all day.

I bought her a new, better cone of shame- this one is see-thru and not as long/tunnel-ish and easier to get on and off. Tried it out at bedtime, same, but slightly less panicky result...but still panicky. And she cried. Off came the cone of shame, gone went my sleep.

It's going to be a long 7 days.
Any advice?

Bird Dog

You might remember Emma-doodle, the wonder labradoodle... We approached getting a dog with much fear and trepidation...and somehow we ended up with a dog that is practically perfect in every way. I was half worried we would end up with a Marley.

She was practically perfect in every way, until this weekend when she realized her new large size could carry her through the garden fencing Sky put up to A) protect the garden from the hens and from Emma and B) to protect the hens from Emma.

Emma is a lover, not a fighter- and she has been very, very unsuccessful in convincing the cat to ever, ever play with her.

She's an optimist, and never gives up!

This weekend she decided the hens might make better play-mates...and she was partially right! They make a big show and hullabalu, and feathers fly everywhere...very, very exciting and amusing.

Me, I'm not amused so much.

today was spent trying to teach her to leave them alone.

I miss my quiet routine, we had a utopia here, I tell you,

a utopia. sniff. sob.

Practically Perfect in every way

I think we really lucked out in the dog department. She is such a delight, and very few faults. Okay, partly luck, and partly research. She's a labradoodle, we picked this breed because labs are known to be great family dogs, love children, are happy, love to play..tho they can get a little goofy and hard to control in the midst of a bout of excitement - so, in comes the standard poodle part...very smart, calm, quiet. The non-shedding was an added plus. Our Emma is actually more poodle, she has a labradoodle mom and a standard poodle dad.

what you get is Emma-doodle

who is doodle-icious.

okay, I'll stop....
But not before I leave you with this. This is my favorite part of her, except the nose. I can't decide if I like her big paddies or her big nose best. Right now, the paddies are winning.

cute-ness break

A brief time-out on account of severe cuteness. She arrived at our house on Sunday, and my life is now topsy-turvy...not that it wasn't really before...but now, you know...

I hearby christian thee; Emma-doodle
whose cuteness cannot be withstood.
amen

Catch-up post

oh, my! So many things are a happening here! This is a catch-up post of sorts.

First, we have moved from the position of considering getting a dog, to that of having placed a deposit on a soon-to-be born Labradoodle puppy. I am mostly very, very excited...but also a little bit anxious and a little bit not looking forward to house-training.

I predict that Oliver will be very, "put out"...when our new family addition arrives. I feel sort of bad for his position of absolute ignorance of the future.

And, what will the girls think?? I am sure they will have much to discuss.

Next, we are wading through curriculum changes and planning. Meg is starting Highschool next year, I'm suddenly very awake to the fact that I need a plan...Looks like it will be Sonlight, now the chore is to figure out which cores and in which order.

We are also likely looking at leaving the homeschool charter school program for Meg for High school and possibly enrolling her into a private Christian umbrella group. The new group has been chosen for the wider social and academic opportunities Meg will enjoy.

We are re-evaluating the many outside enrichment activities Meg participates in, big discussions about these- and we are looking at some outside science classes through a University program.

It's just all getting a little tooo serious

Josie is about to start fencing.

The garden is coming along nicely, we are enjoying Spring here.

and doggie makes 7

We are seriously thinking/talking about getting a dog. The kids are, of course, ecstatic. They have been begging for one for some time. We are in the research/try to take educated steps-phase, and so we are looking into lots of dog books. Growing up, I had several dogs in and out of our family life...so, I thought I knew a little something about dogs. Turns out, not! Here is something that I honestly did not know; many dogs need a basic level of exercise and for certain breeds-something that seems like 'work' to them. Having a good sized backyard does not satisfy the need for exercise/play (I thought it did...) Looking up information on each breed will offer you an idea of a minimum walking time-and if the dog gets less than this, they will act out their boredom by tearing apart your yard, barking, and doing other undesirable stuff. I really did not know that. I guess it is a good thing we are doing all this reading! Sky wants to take his time with this decision and be ready for the dog, if we do get one.

Great homeschooling opportunities here- Meg and Josie are spending a considerable amount of time researching breeds...topic report, anyone? A pro/con report? Or how about a persuasive essay? (Mom is just getting started...)

Unfortunately, the girls' passion for research is turning up lists of obscure/exotic breeds. Ones I have never heard of, infact. I had to break it to them that we need to look for more common breeds we could actually find in our area, and that wouldn't be really expensive because they are not common, and one we wouldn't have to pay airfare to ship...

On our list to go meet so far,:

Beagle
greyhound rescue
whippet
labradoodle
soft coated wheaten terrier