old dog - NEW TRICK

Our dog is twelve.  It's a good age for a dog. For a Staffordshire Bull Terrier it is the expected life span.  Our boy, Rufous, was born 10th March 2001.  Over the last few years we've noticed his face whiten and his daytime naps grow longer but his enthusiasm for life and for people has not diminished. One vet called him 'the perpetual puppy'.  

I am truly amazed and blessed by the relationship we have with this dog. He certainly was sent to us by God, not only to fill our empty nest but to bring us closer to each other and aware of God in our lives. He has given purpose to our days and something special in common with a host of other people. It's something I never expected.

Big R and his brothers had dogs and in my family we grew up with dogs and cats and goats.  In my younger years my nomadic lifestyle was not suitable for pets but after settling down and having children the first of several cats came in our family.  We did without dogs and horses and the begged for donkey, and managed with cats, guinea pigs, many, many mice, fish and a pretty yellow bird. 

Rufous at 12 weeks

But, children left home, the cat died and bird moved on.  In 2001 my daughter, married with a six year old, was breeding a pair of Staffies. I liked the dogs who were both very vocal and started thinking about a new pet for Big R and me.  After a visit with my sister, who had a sweet little white female poodle, I decided we should definitely have a dog - in my mind was a little lap dog like my sister's Annabelle, and so ...... we ended up with a boisterous, rough and tumble, noisy, grinning, hyperactive male Staffordshire Bull Terrier in our house.  

Rufous was the runt of the third litter, the last to find a home but later rejected because of a small spot of skin infection.  My daughter asked if we would like to have him.  Being the pup left behind he was sharing a bed with our grand-daughter and still in training with his parents - a good start for the pup about to move into our lives.

Rufous the pup and mother Coco

He was three months old when he came to live with us, though we did have a few visits from Rufous and his mother Coco to ease him in. He still associates  himself with the various arms of the family, recognising names, cars and who is on the phone. We are all part of his pack.  

Rufous is brindle in colour, like his father Suede, and apparently a throwback to some English Stafford ancestors as his legs and nose are a little too long.  I looked up the official dog descriptions and was able to tick all the boxes for him as, apparently, there are about five different Staffie body types.

We soon found he was pretty smart - unless distracted - movement always takes his attention. He quickly learnt to obey the commands of sit, down, off, wait, don't touch and walk. His favourite activity was running, though often it was more like flying because his legs didn't seem to touch the ground.  He could jump too, bouncing from sit to waist high in a flash.   A description of Staffie qualities includes - adapts well to living inside the house, is friendly to a fault and adored by the owners and we found that to be true.  He is amazing and we love him. 

Happy, happy, happy

As he got older Rufous was happy to be at work on our small organic ginger farm - his work was watching out for kookaburras and guarding whatever patch of land was being ploughed, planted or weeded.  He is always the first to volunteer for a ride in the car and even loves outings to the vet. 

Rufous knows how to be happy. Every morning he is delighted to see us and greets us with a dog bow and a smile and we get a big welcome home if we've been out.  He gives a nod of appreciation when I put his dinner down and he shows his pleasure if cooked sweet potato is served with the meat and kibble.  He now responds to so many words it's hard to keep count.  He also communicates with anyone who understands his body language of ear, eye and tail movements.  We have a 'treat' cupboard and if Rufous thinks he deserves a reward he'll bark and run to the cupboard - where he waits. When he gets the dog biscuit or liver treat or dental bone, he takes it away to eat.

Rufous lives with us, in the house.  He has a dog crate with a bed but prefers the couch.  He eats in the kitchen, sleeps in our bedroom, in the bed if it's very cold, and lets us know if he needs to go out.  He is a gentleman who never disturbs a sleeping person and is able to respect a human's personal space - unless he is hungry and his dinner is late.   He does not make a mess, has only been destructive when left alone and bored - separation anxiety - our fault every time as all he needs is a good  run in the morning and he'll sleep all day while we are at work.  Heaven for Rufous is to be with his favourite people in the car or on the couch or in the paddock.

Mouthing

There are lots of stories I could, and will tell about Rufous and how he helps us to solve problems and makes up games. So, the new trick?  Well, two annoying habits he has are jumping up on people and also mouthing ... grabbing someone's hand in his teeth. Both scary for visitors but he means no harm - it's his way of showing affection and getting attention but it can make the arrival of visitors a nightmare of people squealing and shouting orders and dog barks.  So, what to do with an old dog and a bad habit?  Rufous had an idea himself. One day a visitor arrived, I told him very firmly to be a good dog and so did the visitor. He pricked up his ears at 'good dog' and looked at the treat cupboard. Good idea.  Now when a visitor arrives he gets to run out and sniff their legs and ankles while they are given a treat for him. He takes it back to his crate to eat and often dozes off there. 

Waiting for them to come home

I started to write that Rufous has always had good health and then remembered a few brushes with poison cane toads, blocked anal glands requiring annual vet attention, a run in with feral dogs resulting in a nasty gash and antibiotics, a tooth cracked and split to the gum line, from his love of chewing sticks and logs - he needed an anaesthetic to fix that.  He gets a fungal thing between the toes, various stomach and digestive ailments and can't eat bones. Attacks of pancreatitis took us to the emergency vet in the middle of a dark night, in the rain, twice, and he is now on a low fat diet.  He needed sedation to fix two split claws, is often bitten by the ants he likes to eat and once he tried to swallow a bee and was stung inside his cheek. There were expensive bouts of fleas, three or four warty lumps removed, dozens of ticks that we removed at home and an assortment of sores he fixed himself, by licking. I'm sure I've forgotten a few other ailments and accidents, but he never complains and he usually co-operates with treatments.

Over several years a lump grew up on the left side of his nose.  It was diagnosed as a Mast cell tumour. This is an unpredictable cancer. Surgery, chemo and 'two years left if he's lucky' were mentioned.  We put him on a homeopathic remedy and decided not to interfere with it but, while under anaesthetic to have a grass seed removed from his bottom lip - they cut off the whole lip - the tumour was also removed, taking half his nose.  He seems to manage alright with an open nostril - but don't stand too close if he sneezes.  

Half his nose is gone
but he still reads his doggy news on the wind

Early in 2012 we noticed Rufous limping badly.  We knew he had arthritis in both hips but this turned out to be a damaged knee. Too much running and bouncing.  In March he had surgery to re-align the knee. The operation required a veterinary specialist and three months convalescence with no jumping or running or chasing kookaburras and wallabies.  That was hard.  Nine months later, in December that year, the other knee went and during that operation, by the same veterinary specialist, they noticed what is possibly three more Mast cell tumours on his legs and body.  We have not made any decision about those yet, but .....

Living with Rufous these past 12 years has been an absolute joy.  He has taught us things about unconditional love, about forgiveness and about how we should treat other people. He loves life with passion, enjoys communicating with us, is rarely demanding but stands up for himself when necessary. Sometimes he is our baby and at other times he's like a wise old man.

If only we could all live like dogs we'd be a much happier species. 

Happy Birthday Rufous

have a great day

  

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There is a comments facility below for your comments and your dog stories - 
but it's not like facebook, there is a process to keep the spammers and hackers out.  

Click comment, 

type in the box and then 

select from the drop down menu for your identity (anonymous is fine if you aren't on google) and then click publish - but that's not the end .....

you will be asked to 
retype some numbers and letters into another little box, it's not the easiest thing to do, but if you get it wrong you get a second turn.... like a game.  

Once you've done it you'll find it easier the next time, 
and I will reply to your message so it's worth it....     (doggy smiley face)

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instructions for SURVIVING THE FOREST

Bush Turkey chick

Living on the edge of our sub tropical forest is interesting and fun if you follow a few simple tips I've gathered - from very personal experience.  

In the forest:  Keep to the cleared tracks and wear solid shoes.  It's helpful to carry a large stick for support over rough patches and to chase away nasties.  Expect it to be very humid in the forest.

Rain: If it starts to rain, as it often does these days, get in close to the trees to stay dry - but once the rain stops get away from the trees because the water you were sheltering from will be running down the leaves and raining onto the ground. If you have bare feet or wear thongs (like I do)  in very wet weather, keep an eye out for leaches - if one latches on to you do not pull it but pour salt over it until it falls off - they inject an anticoagulant so eat green salad leaves to stop the bleeding.  Expect itching for weeks from a leach bite.

Insects:  After rain be prepared for mosquitoes.  Don't put fingers into crevices or even the letter box without checking for spiders. Spiders really do eat insects so leave them alone unless you are in danger.  Stay indoors during dawn and dusk to avoid the midges that come out of the trees - a midge bite will itch for a week. If you see a mud sculptured wasp nest on the house or a tree, do not poke it with a stick.  Bright coloured caterpillars will hang in large bunches from three branches and tree trunks - don't touch them, some have spikes or stingers.  If bees get into the wall of the house call for help to smoke them out. Carefully handle wet cardboard and paper mulch that could be hosting white ants - they bite.  Bull ants sting and only an ice pack will ease the pain.  Ticks drop from trees, float on the wind or crawl onto you from something else. The sooner you get them off the better. We all have our own technique for removing ticks, some say to kill it with insect repellent first and that also reduces the inflammation and itching - which can last for weeks.

Wind:  When the weather has been very dry and then suddenly windy stay away from the tall trees to avoid falling branches and sticks - they come down with great force and spear into the ground so deep it's hard to get them out and heavy branches crash to the ground and shatter.  If an ant nest or a wasp nest falls from a tree, probably from very high up, don't touch it until it's been on the ground for a few days and definitely empty. If an egg falls from a nest and does not break do not pick it up - even if the parents can't get it they could be upset if you touch it. 

Sticks: If collecting wood for the fire it's best to stay on the path, especially if you are wearing thongs, like I do. Before picking up an old looking stick or log check for white ants - they bite.  When clearing the letter box,  also check the track the postman uses on his motorbike and clear away any sticks that will be in his path - if he's annoyed the letters won't get pushed right into the slot.

Reptiles: Do not casually pick up black plastic or sheets of ply or tin lying on the ground - snakes love to lie under these in the sun. If you find creamy white rubbery eggs in the ground, don't pick them up and certainly do not give them to your young niece and nephew to play with - they could be snake eggs.  If you find a snake skin, the snake is gone.  If you startle a goanna don't stand still, run away - it might mistake you for a tree and run up your leg. Geckos are lovely and keep the house free of insects so don't let the dog bite their heads off.

Odd sounds : a loud scratching could a bush turkey covering his egg mound, a small brown bird delousing trees by pecking insects from cracks in the bark, or a goanna (monitor lizard) zapping around a tree trunk so you can't see him. A lion roar or deep bear growl at night could be koalas mating.  All our birds sound odd to overseas visitors - they don't tweet or sing, they squawk and screech and chortle and scream.

Kookaburra

 Birds:  Kookaburras and bush turkeys have very strong, hard beaks so hand feeding them is not a good idea and if you leave food out and then forget to do it again they will remind you to the point of bullying. It's best to throw fruit or vegetable scraps into the bush for them to find. Don't chase baby bush turkeys even if they are cute - every other creature wants to eat them and it's amazing so many survive the stress. Kookaburras know how to tease dogs by flying low over the paddock. Do not stand under a tree where a Kookaburra is sitting and definitely do not look up - you can find a Kookaburra nest by the white droppings down the tree trunk and on the ground.

Toads:  Do not go near toads, their skin is coated with poison, they also squirt poison when threatened, aiming for the eyes - this can kill a small dog by causing heart failure. Toads have an odd sense of direction and don't always hop away from you when startled, sometimes they hop towards you - eeek.  If a dog gets a toad it will spit it out because it tastes bad, but if you see white foam forming around the dog's mouth it is the poison at work -  hold the dogs mouth open and use a hose to wash the mouth out so the foam and water wash through the mouth and out the other side, not down the dog's throat - wear gloves if you have cuts on your hands to protect yourself - this usually seems to occur in the middle of a very dark and rainy night. 

Animals:  You cannot cuddle a possum.  If you leave food for possums they like carrots and apple slices, but keep feeding away from the house and not always in the same place.  Wallabies come out to feed and drink at dusk - avoid frightening them if possible because you could cause them to be without water or food for days.  Echidnas curl up into a ball if you disturb them and stay that way for a very long time and miss out on their dinner.

Water:  Water dragons live in the overhanging branches and will dive into the water when you come close - they don't like people but love showing off.  If you go into the dam or the creek be prepared to sink to the knees in the soft mud and to come out sticky - swimming won't be enjoyable and you'll need a shower to get rid of the smell. Don't disturb the reeds, they keep toads out of the dam.  Ducks don't like dogs.  Always put a long stick in any tub or bucket of water that has high sides, so birds drinking or bathing can get out.

When the Eastern Yellow Robin arrives winter is close

An echidna digging for ants under tree roots, at night

... now you can enjoy your bush walk.

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There is a comments facility below for your comments and your stories - 
BUT it's not like facebook, there is a process to keep the spammers and hackers out.  

Click comment, 

type in the box and then 

select from the drop down menu for your identity (anonymous is fine if you aren't on google) and then click publish - but that's not the end .....

you will be asked to 
retype some numbers and letters into another little box, it's not the easiest thing to do, but if you get it wrong you get a second turn.... like a game.  

Once you've done it you'll find it easier the next time, 
and I will reply to your message so it's worth it....   (happy smiley face)

smelling the COLOUR

Here on the Sunshine Coast the first day of autumn doesn't have the effect it might in other climates.  Most people think autumn - 'colour' - leaves changing - cool nights.  Usually summer continues for us until the equinox, around the 21st/22nd and then we notice a difference in temperature and change from singlet to tee shirt, sandals to joggers. Most trees are evergreens so leaves drop all year round. It will be harder to notice a change this year as we've had rain, rain, rain and now new growth.  Autumn colour for us today is bright, wet green.

This year on the 1st March I coloured my hair. I have done it before - about 30 or 40 years ago, but had forgotten how messy it can be. Half way through the phone rang, so my colouring was done one handed while I chatted to my beautiful 18 year old granddaugher.

When I was 18 we all coloured our hair with magic silver white, 3 drops turned grandmother's white hair mauve or 20 drops put purple highlights into my long dark hair. No smell and it started washing out immediately.  Over the yearsI did a few home colours, because it made my hair thicker, but mainly went for those wiggly perms that were so popular in the 70's and 80's. 

Years later I chopped off the long hair to make a new start after divorce and realised that while limp long hair has a cool hippy look, limp short hair needs help. Putting colour in gave it body and as my hair seems to bleach with any treatment, I had dark brown with burgundy fading to light reddish streaks over three months - and that was good value - I thought.

Kids leaving home meant I could afford a hairdresser and discovered foils and re-discovered what fun it is sitting around for 45 mins while the stuff works on the hair.  It's a lucky dip as to who the company will be but it's a great way to get to know people in the community you may not meet otherwise.  We've always had half a dozen hair dressers in town, they seem to open and close and change owners and I've tried them all at times and heard many secrets.  I had one experience that still leaves me in disbelief.

I was in the chair and half way into the half head of foils when a man walked in the door. He rattled keys loudly in the air and strode through the salon to the back room. The owner, who was doing my hair, turned and followed him. There was another hairdresser working on another client and a third customer waiting for foils to 'cook'.  They all seemed to know each other well.  The owner and the man came back through the salon, out the front door and went up the street without saying a word.  I sat in the chair, half wrapped, waiting. 

After about 5mins the other hairdresser said to me, "She's just gone to drive her husband to the airport, she won't be long". 

What?  The airport was 20 minutes away!  Half an hour if I was driving.  She was going to drive him there and come back BEFORE finishing my hair!! I'd have one side done and the other side raw! That was hoping it was the local airport and not Brisbane which would take about 90 mins each way. No one else in the room seemed to think it was strange.

She did come back, 45 mins later, removed my foils and put in others, so I did double time in the chair.  I didn't go back there because I didn't know how to be with those people.

But the smell of salon hair dye is not quite the same as the dye you use at home - the strong whiff of ammonia that makes you gasp when you open the bottle, that wet perm/dye odour under the shower for the first few week, the feel of the hair, thickened by the treatment, like grasping a wet sheep skin - and the smell is ..... chemical, and not pleasant, but for me it stirred some very pleasant memories. Memory episodes they are called. I opened the bottle of dye and suddenly was back in Di's family room eating scones from the pool table.

During those kids-in little-school years I was part of the best ladies church group in the world, with an incredible group of women/girls.  It was a wonderfully mixed group with an age range of early 20s up to 60+, girls having babies to grandmothers.  Over several years, through  changes in venue and leadership the group varied from straight bible study to mostly social, from learning life skills to pure hands on helping each other.  Ladies came into the group and left for various reasons, leaving behind their stories and hearts. At different times we had very new Christians and the well seasoned, people with skills to share, ladies who struggled speaking English, some with very unusual backgrounds - all with one thing in common - we wanted to know more about our chosen faith and we wanted to share it. 

Ann and Diane from that group could even be reading this now. Remember those years we met at Dorothy's house and the meetings went on all day. Drop the kids off at school and go to Dots for a morning of singing and discussion, shared lunch and an afternoon of craft or other activities.  When the plums were falling in the streets we'd make plum jam and chutney in Dot's tiny kitchen.  We crocheted and knitted squares to be sewn into cot blankets for the local children's home or babies of bible college students.  We taught each other first aid and swapped recipes, helped care for Gloria's kids when she went to hospital, made soft toys, bed pillows and scrappy patchwork. 

The following year at Robyn's we had guest speakers and discussions on gardening and tupperware parties, organised shopping trips and hiking excursions.  We made bread and turned to wholemeal and soy.  Meetings at Diane's house, in that huge family room, we took turns with the message - Diane shared Handel's Messiah with us and for my turn I talked about meekness, using Clark Kent as an example.

After lunch we'd chat while little kids played under the table and we'd take turns to perm or dye each other's hair. Olga, was always ready to perm a head. She made the yummiest hungarian walnut and honey scrolls - out of the oven and straight onto a plate for us to have with coffee. Olga grew garlic and helped her husband mix concrete for their stone walls, and showed me how concrete blocks work and my house today is concrete block. All these memories came back today when I opened the bottle of hair dye. That sting of ammonia made me blink but inside it was the smell or Olga's walnut scrolls and her garlic, the sound of Diane's music, the taste of Ann's stew, the plum jam and the almost blind lady who said she hadn't been aware of how important it was to memorise the address of scriptures .....

When you think about it, we don't have actual names for most of the smells we experience, we call them by the things they are 'like' or the memories they bring - wet dog, old socks, the grass after rain. Science tells me my emotions are stirred by the fact that my olfactory bulb, the seat of smell in the brain, is placed next to my hippocampus, the primary brain nucleus for memories, as a sort of accident but I think it's by design, a special little gift for us that is beyond words.

Wherever you are, girls of KCF, you taught me so much about sharing and relationship, and understanding each other.  I've never found what we had again, though I've tried. Here in the sunshine state everyone is too busy to sit and talk regularly and make new friends. Maybe it was that damp and misty Leura weather that drove us to huddle together with mugs of hot tea or soup, in sisterhood.  I'd like the opportunity to give that whole experience to others, if it were possible.  We had family, sisters called together by God and I miss you all. I love the girls you were back then and hope those of you who are still around are still blessed and blessing others in the autumn of your lives. 

Yes, once again I've written too much - if you get this far, thank you for reading.

UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU SAY

Have you ever noticed that some people speak in code?  And, others speak in riddles?  I'm not talking about what I call 'in-speak', language used within industry such as a salesman calling a sold car a 'spot'.  Some people are just difficult to understand because of vague references or confused meanings. 

It could be geographical, even within Australia.  I know one family from Victoria who use 'sayings' so strange to me that I was surprised to find that they were really old sayings with meanings - though maybe the meaning applied today doesn't have much to do with the original.

The one that really bothered me was - playing ducks and drakes.  The meaning I get from the way I've heard it used seems to be - to play games and make a mess of things.  So ... to the search engine.

The first known reference in print to playing duck and drakes was in 1585 when it was described as; "A kind of sport or play with an oister shell or stone throwne into the water, and making circles yer it sinke, etc.  It is called a ducke and a drake, and a halfe-penie cake."

Ducks and drakes was the name given to the game of tossing flat, smooth stones across the surface of water  so they skip - commonly called stone skipping or stone skimming today.  To play ducks and drakes with your money is to throw it away, just as if you used coins instead of stones to play the game.

There are references to 'make ducks and drakes' rather than 'play ducks and drakes', which could mean the ripples on the water made by waterfowl.   An example from a play in 1626;   "The poorest ship-boy Might on the Thames make duckes and drakes with pieces Of eight fetchd out of Spayne."

So, to spend one’s time playing ducks and drakes is to waste one’s money and time in idle pleasure; to spend foolishly or recklessly; to throw one's money away  or, to make ducks and drakes of your time or money.  And over years the meaning changed to unreliable and reckless or 'to play fast and loose' which itself means inconstant and unreliable. 

Way back in the 14th century 'Fast-and-loose' was a cheating game played with a stick and a leather strap.  The game was set up in the market place. The strap is folded in half and wound into a coil to form what looks like two identical loops in the centre.   Players are challenged to put the stick into the true centre loop so that when the ends are pulled the stick is held fast by the strap. Bets are laid and the strap pulled. As the operator can change how the ends are pulled the strap falls away loose and the player never wins.  So I suppose that means you'll never win playing fast and loose.

Later on the game was played with a loop or string.  It had a variety of names including; 'Pricking the Garter', 'The Strap' and 'The Australian Belt'. You can see a modern version, played with a looped chain, here - http://revision3.com/scamschool/fastandloose

The other saying this family used a lot had to do with pushing a rope across the stage but the meaning to that is very vague except that it originally had to do with ropes and rigging on a ship. When theatres deveoped to include scenery and raised curtains the old ship riggers were employed to rig and operate the curtains etc and so their seafaring language transferred to land.  I suppose pushing a rope across a stage is not an easy thing to do.

But right now I'm thinking of the cat's cradle we played with wool.........

We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.