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On the road again

Ask Muddy Blog — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 23:53:00 GMT

We are on the road again, this time on our way to a "Pawty" hosted by Nancy Greene and her lovely Samoyed, Sammi Sue, in Conover, NC. Willie, Tarka and I have had a busy day: up before dawn, our usual romp in the park, breakfast and packing up the car, Willie's chiroractor visit, and a nearly 400 mile drive to Lexington, KY, where we met our friends Jeannee, Ali and Harley Brave.

Willie and Tarka were very excited while I was packing the car and kept a close eye (ear, in Willie's case) on me to make sure I didn't leave without them. Willie had his chiropractic appointment with Dr Hansen, who said his neck is much better than the last two visits since his surgery. We hopped right back in the car and were ready to leave Chicago at 10.30 a.m.

We had smooth travels despite quite a bit of construction along the way. The worst traffic slowdown was caused by a big garbage can that had apparently fallen off a truck and was littering (literally) the highway.

We had one walk at a rest stop near Columbus, IN in 95 degree temperatures. Tarka was bursting out of his skin with energy but Willie was melting in the heat, Me too.

We arrived at our La Quinta hotel after just over six hours of travel. Jeannee, Ali and Harley Brave were already there and had checked in to our very nice room. The hotel seems new and there is a convenient side entrance right by our room. And we're next door to the pool so probably won't bother anyone if .....I mean when ... there's any barking. Willie and Harley have already announced their presence.

Jeanne has leftover pizza from St Louis and I have some snack food after emptying my refrigerator into the cooler, so we're eating in tonight. And drinking wine.

The dogs have also had dinner and are relaxing; each of them has found a favorite spot in the room. Tarka is doing a little low growling when Harley gets too close to me. But overall they're getting along fine. How come Ali is the only one smiling below?

Tomorrow we drive south through Knoxville and then head east on I-40 to Conover. I remember a pretty drive through the mountains last year but through a torrential rainstorm which alarmed Willie. Hopefully we'll have clearer weather tomorrow so we can enjoy the view.

Copyright © Julia Henriques/AskMuddy

Blind Willie is always hungry

Ask Muddy Blog — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 21:20:00 GMT

Willie's weight has crept up on us. Although he is a big, tall, strong dog, and you can feel his ribs (through his massive coat!), his tummy is a bit fat and he is trying to lose a few pounds. Actually, that's a mis-statement: Willie himself is not trying at all. If it were up to him, there would be no restrictions on his food intake. So he is on a strict regime of only enough raw food to feed his ideal weight, which is probably about 75 lbs; he gets no treats, except for one daily nutraceutical "Sea Jerky" to help his arthritic knee.

He and Tarka both love the carnivore lifestyle and are on a raw meaty bones diet. They enjoy all kinds of exotic goodies, and a pig's foot, which is mostly bone, was a recent scrumptious dinner. Here's Willie enjoying his rather phallic looking meal.

Tarka is a much slower, pickier eater than Willie, and usually savors his dinner for 20 minutes or so, compared to Willie's two-minute crunch-and-gulp method. Though the aforementioned pig foot lasted him about half an hour, we'll have more of those please!

So, always hungry, Blind Willie finishes his meal, begs for more (but only gets eye drops), and starts patrolling the room for Tarka's food.

Most of the time Tarka defends his food vigorously, as you can hear in this video (listen for the ferocious growling coming from behind the table!). Sometimes Tarka is not ready to eat his food and he hides it under the removable pillow on his bed. Then he has to lie on it, because Willie knows about Tarka's secret pantry and will steal the food if Tarka is not vigilant. Willie is undeterred and tries to dig it out anyway, which prompts more growling from Tarka. Tarka has a few other hiding places, but he has to watch Willie carefully. If Willie gets too close, Tarka leaps up and charges at him, snarling. Willie responds with a big "woof" in self-defense, and continues sniffing quite happily. He may be completely blind, but he is not undetermined in his quest for sustenance - which is something to be grateful for, given that he was a stray in northern Wisconsin in February, and might not be alive today if he weren't so accomplished at sniffing out a meal.

Last night I roasted a turkey breast for the humans in the house, and afterwards let the two dogs lick the juices off the cutting board. Willie was flat out asleep at the time, but when I stuck the board in front of his nose he woke up and enthusiastically helped Tarka clean up. They are quite happy to share this kind of treat, and licked the board together. Tarka stopped as soon as the surface was clean. But Willie thought there was more flavor to be extracted from the wooden board, and though he was on his side, ready to go back to sleep, kept on licking for a few minutes more.

When he was done he simply stopped licking and went back to sleep right where he was, with his head on the board. And probably dreamed he was hunting wild turkeys.

Copyright © Julia Henriques/AskMuddy

Restraint

Ask Muddy Blog — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 04:40:00 GMT

Oh, and I did want to add that I exercised great restraint and did not purchase the whole pig's head. They did have one. Shh. Don't tell Willie and Tarka.

Copyright © Julia Henriques/AskMuddy

Carnivores' Delight

Ask Muddy Blog — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:43:00 GMT

Muddy started on a raw diet early in 2005 and flourished on it. From a dog who used to get diarrhea every few weeks, he became a dog who never again had an upset tummy for the remaining four and a half years of his life. Willie and Tarka went straight onto raw food as soon as they joined us and have both become strong, healthy dogs, having started out as parasite-ridden, undernourished strays.

Until recently, we've done this the convenient (though expensive way), feeding pre-packaged frozen raw dog food that provides a balanced meal. Our favorite food in this category is Rawthentic Pet. Rawthentic is made in Colorado, and we discovered it while on vacation in New Mexico earlier this year. It's very high quality food, and minimally processed so that it looks like what it is -- raw beef and salmon with a few other good ingredients mixed in. In fact, we liked it so much that we arranged for a shipment via freezer truck from Colorado, and Ask Muddy is now the only seller of this food in Chicago - probably in the Midwest, in fact!

Delicious as this food is, nothing quite matches the primal doggie experience of gnawing on a raw bone, and Willie and Tarka now eat raw bones at every meal, along with a smaller amount of Rawthentic. We buy whatever we can find at the grocery store at a reasonable price: chicken drumsticks, thighs, quarters, livers, necks; beef ribs and liver; pork neck bones and ribs; frozen catfish. They recently had turkey drumsticks for dinner, though I monitored them carefully as I was told that turkey drumsticks, unlike most other raw bones, can splinter. They survived to tell the tale, and here's the video to prove it.

Willie and Tarka love eating like this so much that we have decided to move toward the Raw Meaty Bone diet recommended by many canine nutrition experts (Willie and Tarka count themselves in this number, of course, though that wasn't what I meant!). And that means we need to add more variety to their diet. So today I was dispatched (that's what it felt like) on a hunting expedition to Chicago's meat packing district. Thanks to some prior online research, I easily found the Peoria Packing Butcher Shop at 1300 West Lake Street, and I also brought a fleece jacket which is essential if you're going to spend more than about two minutes in the store.

The shop is really a giant walk-in refrigerator with a large variety of meat products (and some fish) displayed on open counters. As you walk in, grab a shopping cart, put on a pair of disposable gloves, and pick out the meat you want. Here are some of the goodies I came home with.

On the left, whole oxtails: I cut these into about three pieces for freezing. Each piece will be a whole meal.
On the right, whole beef tongue, sliced and ready for freezing

Left - pigs' trotters. Right - pigs' snouts

On the left, turkey wings (bigger than they look!)
On the right, small chickens. These will be served in halves or quarters

Below left, pork belly with ribs (will be cut into portions before bagging and freezing)
On the right, beef neck bones. These seem more for "recreational chewing" as they are mostly bone and not much meat.

On the left, 1 lb of beef liver for under $2

On the right, Willie hopes for a handout during the cutting up and bagging process

And both dogs enjoyed their turkey wings for dinner tonight!

Next on the agenda: find suppliers of different meats. We're thinking rabbit, goat, venison, lamb, bison. We've also asked a fishmonger to save us salmon heads, and we'll be on the lookout for other oily fish like mackerel that W&T can eat whole and frozen. While other RMBs can be served thawed (though I usually give them frozen, or just slightly thawed), it's a good idea to serve fish frozen to make the meal last longer.

Another cat adventure

Ask Muddy Blog — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 17:39:00 GMT

It's so much fun being a dog with a strong prey drive. Not so much fun being the owner trying to hold onto 130 lbs of dog leaping in the air.

On our late night walk last night, Tarka suddenly started pulling us to a grassy area between two houses. Pretty soon Willie was onto the scent and pulling even harder (he is twice Tarka's size, after all). I couldn't see what they were after, but they were both extremely keen to run into the bushes and find whatever creature was in there. I managed to drag them away and we walked back to the front of the house. Then I saw a grey cat, trying to look invisible against the porch. Tarka started pulling forward, then leaping with all four paws about three feet in the air, turning to bite the leash that was holding him back, and making funny growling noises. Willie just pulled and wagged his tail, and of course, barked. They were quite a handful to hold onto. Luckily I have a low center of gravity or I'd have been flat on my face. Fortunately Marc was with us and I handed Willie's leash over to him. As Marc took the leash, he had no idea how hard Willie was pulling, and I watched him get dragged forward a few feet before he managed to dig in and hold Willie back.

We managed to drag them away, walking sideways down the street. And then the stupid cat followed us! There was another neighborhood cat who used to stalk Muddy sometimes. What is wrong with cats? Are they just teases? Did it not understand it was in some danger? I appreciate the vote of confidence, cat, but you apparently don't understand just how hard it is to keep these dogs away from you.

Now I understand the saying "curiosity killed the cat".

Copyright © Julia Henriques/AskMuddy

Cats and potatoes

Ask Muddy Blog — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:50:00 GMT

No photos to go with this story, unfortunately, as I was without camera or phone in the park this morning.

As usual, Willie and Tarka spent about 1-1/2 hours playing with their friends in nearby Portage Park. When it was time to go home, we started walking towards the parking lot. As we walk across the grass I usually leave them off-leash, and they're very good about sticking close to me. On one side of the area where the dogs play, there is a clump of trees. These are smallish trees, about 12-15 feet high, that have multiple small trunks that branch out from just above ground level - maybe River Birches? There are about six of them in quite a close group, and Willie and Tarka dashed over to chase some squirrels. It's a squirrel hunting paradise for dogs as the squirrels jump and run from one tree to another, just above the dogs' heads. Willie loves it and I think has some hope that a squirrel will fall out of a tree into his mouth.

As I continued walking past the trees and called the dogs (who ignored me), all of a sudden I realized the hunt was no longer about squirrels, but a white cat. The poor creature was sitting right between the trunks of one of the trees, only about six inches off the ground. Surprisingly, it was making no attempt to climb the tree, but was hissing and spitting at the dogs, and lashing out with its claws. Willie suddenly jumped away and came towards me with one eye closed. I was afraid he'd been scratched, but he opened it again in a few moments, so I don't think the claws actually made contact with the eyeball. I managed to get him leashed, and then tried to catch Tarka. Of course, that was hopeless because I was trying to hold Willie, straining at the leash, in one hand, while speedy Tarka was having way too much fun to be taken home. Tarka was bouncing all around the tree, play-bowing and barking at the cat - using a bark I've never heard from him before. Most of Tarka's barks are "I'm scared of you - go away" barks, when someone walks by the house or comes to the door, but this was a happy excitement bark, which was fun to hear, if I hadn't been so worried about the cat's safety.

But obedience training pays off sometimes. He wouldn't come when I called him, of course, and he kept jumping away from me when I tried to grab him. Usually if I walk away purposefully, and call him, he follows, but Willie and I walked halfway to the parking lot and Tarka was still hopping around the cat tree. Then something else occurred to me. We've been working quite a lot on basic commands, including "potatoes", which is Tarka's word for "sit (he's afraid of the word "sit"). So, not thinking for a moment it would work, I said "Tarka, potatoes". He amazed me by sitting right down and letting me walk up to him and put the leash on. I'm still stunned. What a good boy (sort of).

Of course I had to drag the two of them away - they walked sideways almost all the way back to the car. Tarka is still panting with excitement. Poor kitty was terrified . But really, what was it thinking, hanging out about 25 yards from an area where about 10 dogs were playing off leash? Oh. Probably hunting squirrels too.

Copyright © Julia Henriques/AskMuddy

Heading south

Ask Muddy Blog — Thu, 27 May 2010 19:59:00 GMT

This is the fifth Memorial Day weekend we've traveled to meet a group of friends at Apple Creek Inn in Isabella, MO. The Inn is run by our friends Bill and Ruth Holtorf, who are wonderful hosts, along with their Samoyeds Odeo and Phoebe, and Eskie Kia. The mainstays every year are Jeannee Brave with Ali and Harley, and Dottie Haley with Maggie. Some years other friends have joined us but this year it's back to the core group.

Isabella is very close to Arkansas, and the country around there is green, densely wooded, rolling hills. Muddy always had a great time at Apple Creek, playing in nearby Bull Shoals Lake, wandering around the Apple Creek property, snoozing in the shade, and most of all, sitting outside the restaurant waiting for Bill to emerge from the kitchen with raw sirloin handouts for the dogs! Last year Willie had his first Apple Creek experience and this year Tarka is the rookie.

This year, to break up the journey a bit, Willie, Tarka and I set out a couple of days early. Yesterday we left Chicago and drove to Kansas City, where we are spending two nights with Jeannee, Ali and Harley. Both Willie and Tarka enjoyed being here in February on the way to and from Taos, and we thought it was time we visited in better weather. We'll all drive down to Apple Creek on Friday.

We had an uneventful drive after hitting heavy traffic getting out of Chicago. At times we could see some storms in the distance but we had sun or light clouds all the way, and no rain. I-88 has absolutely NO rest stops (IDOT, we need at least one rest stop between Chicago and Iowa, please) so we took our usual walk and breakfast break at the DeKalb Oasis. Which is very poorly named as there isn't a tree anywhere in sight. There is quite a big expanse of grass though, so we managed to get a decent walk in. Tarka seemed to remember having been there before and was very excited.

Here's our car with the Ask Muddy advertising signs

Willie and Tarka enjoy their breakfast

Willie licks up every crumb....

..and then heads for Tarka's bowl in search of leftovers. Normal behavior for Willie.

We stopped again just before Des Moines and had a good walk in rather hot sunshine. After a while Willie found a patch of shade and plopped down for a rest.

The next few photos are a bit fuzzy as they're phone photos, which are just not very good quality.

Willie had a lovely roll in the grass, with a big smile on his face.

Today, Thursday, we had a very relaxing day here with the Braves. I didn't get many photos but Jeannee took a few of me in my pyjamas surrounded by white fluff (usually that means Harley in my lap, and a couple of the others asking for petting at the same time). Tarka, Willie and I had a couple of walks around the neighborhood, with only a couple of scary incidents for Tarka (some noisy roofers, and a little girl running towards us to grab her Dachshund). Jeannee and I did some joint dog-grooming which was quite an efficient way to do it - both tackling one dog at a time. In Ali's case that's because someone has to hold her down. She is not terribly cooperative. Her coat is just like Muddy's was - sticky, easily matted and tangled, and usually full of twigs, seeds, mulch and whatever else she's walked through or lain in. Tarka let Jeannee trim his toenails and brush his belly, and was quite relaxed about it, as long as I was sitting there with them.

We were disappointed that Tarka didn't run around with Harley, but Tarka is a stubborn little rascal and won't do it just because we and Harley suggest he should. He's the same at home in the park - some mornings he seems as if he's not in the mood for play, and then just when we've all stopped trying to persuade him to, off he goes on a mad run with some other dog. Usually about when it's time to go home. He'll probably do the same thing tomorrow morning just before we set off for Apple Creek, just like he did in February when we were here on the way back from Taos. He was quite playful though; he ran around a bit on his own and fetched a ball a few times.

Ali wandered around patroling the yard, again reminding me of Muddy; Jeannee and I think she is becoming more and more like him, and we really do think they may have been related. She is independent as he was....comes to say hello but then goes on her own way, doing what she would be doing if there were nobody else around.

Willie was also in a playful mood, and enjoyed
choosing a toy to chew on.

We had a visit from Ali and Harley's lovely dogsitters, Jim and Ruthie. They had heard a lot about Muddy, and were pleased to meet Willie and catch some glimpses of Tarka. He sat in his favorite safe spot here, between the sofa and the wall, but was curious enough to peep out at them. Jeannee and I also picked up her rental car: she didn't get a Subaru as someone had driven the one she booked into a lampost; they gave her a Hyundai Santa Fe which may be too high for Ali to jump into. Fortunately I have a set of folding steps with me which Ali can use to get in. She practiced once and did fine, though was a little disgruntled that Jeannee didn't take her for the promised ride once she got in the car.

Willie was happy with his polar bear choice.

Tomorrow morning we set off for Apple Creek. Bill has promised to have the burgers on the grill, and raw steak for the dogs, when we arrive for a late lunch.

The dogs have all put themselves to bed, and it's time for us to do the same.

Little Stinker

Ask Muddy Blog — Tue, 04 May 2010 22:06:00 GMT

We haven't done a blog entry for a while but this little adventure merits one, I think. Rascally wild boy Tarka outdid himself last Saturday.

The morning's fun was fairly benign and very amusing to watch. When we were in the park, he found what must have been an animal hole. He started pouncing like a coyote, digging frantically, and making funny little bark noises I've never heard before. Then he ran figure-eights around his hole like a lunatic. His friend Puddle the Great Pyrenees came to join in and pretty soon the two of them were rolling around wrestling in the hole. They had a wonderful time and both got covered in mud. That was what I call "good mud" - by which I mean the kind you can leave to dry, and brush out a couple of hours later. In the evening it was a different story.

We went out for an near-dusk walk at Prairie Wolf, which is a 40 acre off-leash dog exercise area about 20 miles north of Chicago. Perfect for Tarka who can run around hunting and tiring himself out (not) while Willie and I walk more sedately along the trails. At one point Tarka disappeared into some bushes for a while, and a few minutes later came running back to Willie and me, very happy with himself, and smelling foul. He had some kind of disgusting brown stuff ALL over his ruff and his face. Even Willie said "keep away from me".

Willie was having a drink of water (clean water that I brought with us) but Tarka wasn't thirsty. Or was he? The next thing I saw was Tarka drinking out of a black, slimy mudpit. He even ran through it - the dog who doesn't like to get wet. Then a few minutes later, while running (he barely even slowed down for this), he projectile-vomited what he had just drunk. On the whole I think it was a good thing that this stuff exited his body before it could do any damage.

Then he started rolling on the ground - maybe trying to remove some of the disgusting brown slime on his neck, or maybe trying to spread his delicious smell around the park some more. Meanwhile Willie was perfectly clean without a speck of mud anywhere on his body, just playing nicely with his pink squeaky ball. Though he was very interested in the smell and did go over to inspect the ground that Tarka had just rolled on.

So we had a half-hour ride back in the car with this stinker. I had the AC pointed right at my face. I thought poor Willie was probably suffocating in the back with Tarka, but then I saw him licking Tarka's neck. Willie likes to clean Tarka and I guess he was trying to help out. Or maybe he just thought it tasted good. Probably the latter, since we know Willie will eat anything. And we wonder why "we" get parasites.

Tarka had an emergency bath when we got home at 8 pm. So did the rugs in the car. So did I and everything I was wearing. He is clean and fluffy now, ready for his next thrilling adventure.

I wasn't sure what the brown slime was. At first I thought it was some kind of poop, but then when I opened up a can of green tripe for their dinner, it smelled the same. So then I thought it was it was a very rotten, dead animal. (You may ask, why were they having green tripe for dinner? Because Tarka, who along with Willie is a very good food scavenger, has managed to pick up hookworms, and has to take Panacur powder. He is very clever at finding medicine in his food so green tripe is the only thing that disguises it.)

Anyway, I have since been reliably informed by our friend, Mary Bowyer, that the offending substance was deer poop; actually, it was probably deer diarrhea, given how thickly it was spread. Lovely. Mary sent us a photo of her wild boy Taff, wearing exactly the same make-up. She had a half-mile walk home with him that day, and was not pleased. I still say that's better than sharing a car.

Tarka is just barely civilized. I think he may be part coyote. Really.

Photo of Taff courtesy of Mary Bowyer.

Last Day on the Road

Ask Muddy Blog — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:56:00 GMT

It's Tuesday and we made it home last night at about 7.10 pm. We awoke to a crisp, sunny, snowy day on Monday, and were glad to see the weather had improved. After breakfast I took the dogs out to the yard to see if Tarka could be encouraged to play with Harley. Almost as soon as we were outside, they started to run.

I also managed to get some video, which is posted on YouTube here. What a pity they didn't figure it out sooner - they had such fun tearing around together.

Ali was also flirting with Willie, trying to get him to play soccer. Eventually they sang a lovely duet together and we thought we were at the opera listening to Samuel Ramey and Kiri Te Kanawa.

I also like the photo below (even though I cut Willie's head off), with Ali and Harley talking away, trying their best to control Willie and Tarka.

Ali and Harley are such lovely dogs and I always enjoy spending time with them. You couldn't find a more affectionate dog than Harley, and he managed to oust Tarka from the sofa so that we could have a good cuddle on Sunday. I think Jeannee got some photos of that. He's a big talker and at mealtimes he really does sound as if he's saying "I want some".

Ali has looks and mannerisms that remind me more and more of Muddy, though I didn't get any really good photos of her.

After Jeannee helped me chip the ice off my car, and held onto me while I climbed onto the roof of my car to bang the cargo box closed (I'm sure that was quite an amusing sight for the neighbors to observe), we set off just after 10 am. I-435 and then I-35 out of Kansas City were clear, though I was alarmed to see two new incidents (it looked like the police had just arrived on the scene in both cases) of cars sliding off the road. The edges of both lanes were slushy/icy and I'm guessing they just meandered onto a slippery patch and slid off, but seeing them made me drive slowly and very carefully. All the way to Des Moines and beyond, we saw many cars, and one overturned truck, lying in the ditch or on the median, probably from the day before. Most of these had yellow police tape wrapped around them. The other alarming thing was the speed at which the trucks were passing me - I'd guess about 80 mph - as I chugged cautiously along, and the amount of filthy slush they sprayed on my windshield as they passed, temporarily blinding me even with wipers on the fast setting. The worst road conditions were in Missouri, where they hadn't done a very good job of getting both lanes cleared, so each lane was half covered in slush or ice. Once in Iowa we soon got onto dry pavement and made up some time.

We stopped at a couple of rest stops in Iowa and both were knee-deep in rather heavy, but pristine, untracked snow. Tarka was delighted to roll and leap about in it, while Willie and I trudged along behind trying to keep up. Once Willie realized he was in a fairly open space he ran through it too, and then I was the one trying to keep up with the two of them, and almost fell flat on my face a couple of times. I remembered there isn't a single rest stop on I-88 so we stopped at the last I-80 rest stop before Illinois for our last walk before getting home. I did get the boys a McDonalds cheeseburger for their lunchtime snack. That is a great treat for them, greeted with much tail-wagging and trying to snatch food out of my hands.

We were all happy to arrive home, and of course Marc was pleased to see us too. He had bought Starbucks Pumpkin Loaf for the boys, another favorite treat, and ordered Thai food for dinner for us two humans. I didn't feel tired driving but once I stopped I realized I was rather wiped out. We did have our traditional 10 pm walk and both Willie and Tarka relished being back in their neighborhood, sniffing all the familiar smells and trying to scavenge food in the alley. Apparently eating McDonalds and Starbucks goodies makes you more hungry, not less.

This morning they were both delighted to go to Portage Park for our usual morning romp with their friends, most of whom were there. It was a bright sunny morning, and both Willie and Tarka had lots of energy; Tarka especially needed to run around and was jumping and bouncing happily in the snow. Most of their usual friends were there: Oreo, Avia, Sandia, Scooter, Spike and Frankie.

We're going to get the car unloaded gradually over the course of the day, and probably take a nap at some point. Well, Willie and Tarka are already napping. These two photos remind me of the first entry on this blog, three weeks ago. I don't suppose I can count on them for much help with the unpacking and laundry. Sigh.

Sunday in the snow

Ask Muddy Blog — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:00:00 GMT

It’s another lazy Sunday, this one unplanned. We are in Kansas City with Jeannee, Ali and Harley Brave. We were supposed to drive the last leg of our trip home to Chicago today, but we awoke to freezing rain, news of cars sliding off the roads all over the area, and a big pink and white blob on the weather map all the way from here to Chicago. Chicago is under a winter storm watch, with as much as a foot of snow possible. So we have decided to play it safe, and are enjoying a relaxing day with the Braves and will wait until tomorrow to travel. We are so glad to be here with good friends and not in a crummy motel somewhere for 24 hours!

We haven’t posted any entries for a few days. Our last few days in Taos were lovely. Sandy and I had wonderful skiing, continuing our race practice, trying out some longer skis, and trying to improve our speed in preparation for the Nastar National Championships in Winter Park at the end of March. The dogs enjoyed their usual two long walks a day; after our morning walk, the boys would have breakfast and then Bogart and Tarka would play outside for a while; every now and then Tarka would come to the door to check on me, dash in happily wagging his tail, covered in snow, sagebrush and burrs, then dash out again to romp with his friend. Baggins and Bogart stay outside during the day when Sandy’s out - they’re good boys and stay on the property; Tarka very much wanted to stay out with the grownup dogs, but I wasn’t quite ready to trust him that much, so we had quite a performance every morning trying to trick him into coming back into the house before we left for skiing. Willie liked relaxing in the sun for a while but generally was more comfortable in the house.

On the right, a photo of Baggins and Bogart watching the Olympics. Apparently there was a drop of red wine on my camera lens.

Mary Sue, who had been walking the dogs at midday while I was skiing, wasn’t available after Monday. Sandy and I took Tuesday off skiing, so the dogs were with us all day, but on Wednesday and Thursday, Willie and Tarka were in the house all day; they did well, didn’t do any damage, and seemed fine when we got home. By the end of the trip, Tarka had got quite used to Sandy and was taking treats from her, even jumping up and down in front of her one day on a walk, looking for treats, and was much more comfortable accepting petting from her.

Traveling home. On Friday we set out (relatively!) early at 7.30 am for our 9-1/2 hour drive to Oklahoma City where we would spend the night with Penny, Mark, Evelyn and Pearl George. We had a little snow driving on route 518 out of Taos, but otherwise had clear weather all the way. The drive was pretty, but slow, until Mora and we enjoyed the scenery. We did see a very large, dead elk on the road, and, pulled off the road not far away, a very battered pick-up. I thought of calling the Georges and asking if they wanted elk steaks for dinner, but I didn’t think my Swiss Army Knife would make a very good butcher’s knife.

Once on I-40 travel was fast and we made good time until we were about half-an-hour away from the Georges, when Willie started whining and getting restless. I stopped at the next exit and got him out for a pee, which he definitely needed. Unfortunately I wasn’t vigilant enough and he started to get out of the car with his safety harness on, and must have tweaked something in the process: he was limping a little in front as we walked around the back of the gas station where we stopped. At the time I just though he’d stiffened up from being in the car all day. But when we started driving again, he became very distressed, whining and crying, and moving around every couple of minutes. I tried to console him by talking to him and reaching into the back with my right arm, but he was clearly suffering, and by the time we arrived at the Georges, I was very worried about him. He could barely walk when he got out of the car; we thought walking slowly around the yard might help him loosen up, but after a short time he just wanted to lie down. Once in the house he continued crying, sometimes wailing, in pain, and seemed disoriented, walking around the house as if looking for somewhere to lie down, but just kept moving slowly around. It seemed to me that he had some kind of structural injury, so I gave him two Tramadol to ease the pain. He wasn’t very interested in dinner which is especially worrying in an eating machine like Willie. He did lie down eventually, but a couple of hours later was still showing some discomfort, so we decided to take him to the vet. The Georges have been in OK City such a short time since their move from Virginia that they don’t have a regular vet yet, but Penny had received a recommendation of a 24 hour clinic, and very kindly drove us there in Mark’s van, which has no back seats and was very comfortable for Willie, and Tarka, who came too; the three of us sat together in the back. Everyone at the clinic was very kind, but they were busy and we had to wait a while to see the vet. Everybody was very friendly, including the other customers, most of whom admired Willie and Tarka and wanted to know all about them. I commented to Penny that people there were very chatty, and she said “that’s Oklahoma!”. Eventually the vet examined Willie, watched him walk down the hall (whileTarka waited with Penny) and did some range-of-motion tests. Willie resisted turning his head to the right, and ROM in his left front leg and shoulder was also limited; the diagnosis was a probable pinched nerve. They gave him a cortisone shot (Penny and I were amused at their rather half-hearted attempt to find a vein in Willie’s front leg - they quickly decided to give the shot subcutaneously instead) and Metacam for the next few days. We were both stunned at the bill - $101 for examination, cortisone shot and medication to go - which would have been $300 in Chicago or Virginia! It was a great relief to know Willie had nothing life-threatening, and by the time we got home he was already feeling better, carrying his tail higher and even wagging it. He had some dinner and immediately went to sleep in our bedroom. We kept the poor Georges up rather late and it was well after midnight when we all went to bed. Willie, Tarka and I all had a great night’s sleep in the very comfortable guest room.

Saturday morning was foggy, drizzly and cool. Willie was a little sleepy from the drugs, and was holding his head a little to the left; but his tail was wagging and he was doing his usual “I’m happy it’s morning” woo-wooing. He not only ate his breakfast greedily, but closely supervised Mark as he prepared Pearl and Evelyn’s breakfast. Pearl tried her best to get Tarka to play with her, using every trick she knew - play-bowing, flirting, jumping around him, and barking at him, but he was too distracted by being in a strange place, and though they looked a few times as if they were on the verge of play, he couldn’t quite let himself relax enough to participate. Evelyn was supervising Willie peeing. Look at that huge fenced yard the girls have to run around in.

I really enjoyed our visit with the Georges: besides being terrifically kind, generous hosts, Penny and Mark are both delightful people: they are warm, smart, and funny, and we found plenty of wide-ranging topics to talk about; I’d been disappointed we didn’t have more opportunity to talk at Sammie Sue’s Pawty last year, and it was wonderful to get to know both of them better; having done so, I really hope we’ll have more opportunities to spend time together in future. Mark admitted he comes to Chicago quite often but never leaves O’Hare Airport; we are only 10-15 minutes from there so I hope we can talk him into coming for dinner or to spend the night next time he’s in town. Unfortunately I took very few photos due to the distraction of Willie’s troubles, and I don’t have a single one of Mark.

And those girls.....what precious dogs! Evelyn is the prettiest Sammie ever. She has a sweet little stuffed animal face, and a round compact little body. She’s very sociable and sweet, obviously loved having guests (especially when she found that one of our bags presented an opportunity for treat-stealing!), and she also seemed quite taken with Willie. Pearl is also gorgeous; she has a longer body, a terrific coat (which is wavy at the back end), and is a bouncy, kiss-you-all-over, flirty girl, and remarkably well-behaved for a one-year old pup.

On the left, Queen Evelyn on her throne, and on the right, both girls together.

In the pose on the left, Mark said Pearl had expired because he hadn't fed her breakfast; and below, she is definitely asking Dad "where's the beef?" as she lies across the back of the leather sofa.

Below, Penny and Pearl show Willie the toy selection.

Above, Tarka was quite comfortable sitting near Penny, but was eyeing Mark warily.

We had a leisurely morning, including breakfast cooked by Mark, which was very welcome after our rather hurried pizza the night before when we were all fretting about Willie. Tarka sat near the table between Penny and me, and readily took several pieces of bread and sausage from her.

The boys and I left soon after noon; Mark drew me a map to get onto I-35 and we found it easily. I left there with over a quarter tank of gas and thought I’d stop once I got onto the interstate; but if you’re ever traveling north on I-35 out of Oklahoma City, I’d suggest filling up before you leave, as there are not many fuel stops once you’re on the road. My tank got extremely low and at one point I called Jeannee to say “if I run out of gas, it’s not my bloody fault”. She remembered that Dottie had had a similar problem driving up from Dallas, and Dottie and I commiserated when we spoke later on that afternoon. Anyway, we made it to the next gas station and all was well. It drizzled most of the afternoon, but temperatures were hovering around 31-32 degrees so I was watching for ice and snow at any minute. When I stopped again for gas (and a McDonalds cheeseburger for Willie and Tarka, which made them VERY happy dogs), as I opened my door there was a crunching and crackling, and a lump of ice fell on my head. The front of my car was almost completely encased in ice. About 20 miles outside Kansas City, the drizzle turned to snow and visibility became quite bad. Especially my personal visibility: after we got onto I-435 (with only about 9-10 miles left to travel), my wipers had so much ice on them that they weren’t doing a very good job, and ice was also building up on the windshield. I drove slowly to the State Line Road exit, and immediately pulled over to bang the ice off the wipers, and then I could see and was at Jeannee’s about 5 minutes later. I was glad I’d brought some lock de-icer, as I needed it to get into the cargo box. Both Tarka and Willie seemed to remember being here before and were quite excited when we arrived. And, of course, we got an extremely loud and enthusiastic welcome from Harley and Ali.

Jeannee made a delicious dinner of salad, orange roughy and asparagus, which Harley very badly wanted to share. Tarka was a little uncertain about all the talking, or perhaps thought he was protecting me, and gave a few little low growls at Harley. We did have a little leftover fish, so the lucky dogs had a treat after dinner.

We had a fantastic night’s sleep and Willie decided it was time for me to get up at about 7.45, probably because he heard Harley and Ali having breakfast.

None of the dogs (not even outdoor-loving Ali) really want to be outside in the freezing rain. Tarka did chase a tennis ball a couple of times and has been selecting toys and carrying them around the house, so is clearly feeling more relaxed, but he and Harley have yet to chase each other around the yard. He’s been lazing on the couch beside me, and seemed quite content to let Jeannee pet him a little while ago. He’s definitely gained some confidence from his Taos travels, though he still has a long way to go before he learns to trust humans more.

The weather is still making me glad we stayed here today. News reports show cars slipping all over the place; Jeannee’s yard is a crunchy mess of snow and ice, the trees are encased in ice, and so is my car. I can open the doors but will probably have quite a bit of work to do tomorrow with the scraper before I can see to drive; Jeannee and I chipped a bit of the ice off it but it will probably build up again before morning so it’s a bit of a pointless task at this stage. Jeannee pointed out I won’t have any trouble getting out of her driveway, as it’s downhill. It started snowing a little while ago and everything is turning white again.

On the right, Jeannee's chipping ice off the wing mirrors
for our margaritas.

And below, the ice build-up on the cargo box and rails of my car.

We did have a funny incident over the dogs' breakfast this morning. Ali and Harley had already eaten theirs, but were keen to help Willie and Tarka with theirs. I decided to put Willie and Tarka in the bedroom. As I walked down the hall with the two bowls, Tarka was jumping in front of me and I put his bowl down in front of him, and then Willie's just beside it, without really looking at Willie. I left them to it in the bedroom and closed the door. Jeannee said "where's Ali?", and I looked down the hall and saw Willie still making his way to the bedroom. Oops! How could I not tell the difference between Willie and Ali! So Ali got most of Willie's breakfast and I had to give him some extra. Willie and Tarka have been eating Rawthentic Pet raw food which is only available in Colorado and New Mexico, and Ali definitely approves of the beef and salmon flavor!

Copyright © Julia Henriques/AskMuddy

Hike to Kachina Peak (no dogs)

Ask Muddy Blog — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:04:00 GMT

It's a Taos rite of passage to hike to 12,500 foot Kachina Peak. The ski lifts only go to 11,800 feet, and there's much more great skiing available if you're willing to hike. Many good runs are available with about 15 minutes of hiking, but sometimes an expedition is called for, and that means the Peak. Sandy and I have both been up there before, and she wanted to do it again for her birthday yesterday. Our wonderful instructor Stuart was pleased to accompany us, though perhaps with some trepidation: he probably remembered that last time he ended up carrying my skis because I was so slow, and the Ski Patrol guys were trying to hurry us along. I'm pleased to say that this time I carried my own skis and was not far behind Sandy and Stuart, both of whom are much more used to the altitude than I am living in Chicago.

Initially you hike up from the top of the lift to the Ridge above. The photo below left shows the view from the Ridge and the hike ahead of us. After hiking up to the Ridge, you ski across the Ridge and then, annoyingly, lose altitude by skiing down through trees for a while; somewhere in there you take off your skis and start the main climb up to the Peak. The next few photos show us preparing to climb, while certain members of our party ham it up a bit for the camera.

At this point the serious climbing begins. Since we hadn't had fresh snow for a few days, our climb was made a little easier by the steps kicked by other people; but the steps are quite steep and in some cases a little slippery, so you have to tread quite carefully before moving each foot uphill. Also, your poles sink into the soft snow along the sides of the trail if you're not careful, so you really need to position them on firm snow to use them for balance.

I was glad I had my ski carrier with me so I could strap them on my back. It's much harder, and more uncomfortable, to carry skis on your shoulder as Stuart is doing, and then you only have one hand free to steady yourself with your poles.

We had a short rest on the way up, and of course, took a few more photos.

The hike continues beyond where Sandy is standing.

Below right, we admire Stuart's 60s shirt, which he's been wearing as long as we've been skiing with him (at least 15 years). One day, he'll probably be buried in it.

Time to continue our climb.

Eventually we arrived on the summit and spent some time up there admiring the spectacular 360 degree views and enjoying the peacefulness and solitude.

Although we appreciated the lack of people at the top, we were glad to find a Ski Patroler up there (patiently waiting for us to ski down so he could do the end of day "sweep" to make sure nobody was left on the mountain). Because, of course, we needed a good photo of the three of us together on the summit.

After we skied back down to the main ski slopes and considered where else we might ski for the rest of the afternoon, I complained that my calves were cramping and thought perhaps I had my boots too tight on the climb. But Sandy, ever-practical, and ever-ready to keep skiing, reminded me I hadn't eaten since breakfast, so I relaxed in the snow and ate an energy bar.

Energy bars work. I immediately felt better, and, even though our legs were tired, we skied a few more runs, including one of our favorites, El Funko, before ending our day back at the base of the mountain.

Later a few friends joined us to celebrate Sandy's birthday at Sabroso restaurant, near Arroyo Seco. We earned it!

Copyright © Julia Henriques/AskMuddy

New pig

Ask Muddy Blog — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:40:00 GMT

As some readers know, my father was a pig farmer and I have a lot of pigs around my house and yard. Sandy just bought me a lovely new one for my birthday and Christmas present. Nine-year old Sam cleverly named him PIGasus. Here he is. Pigasus will be traveling back to Chicago with us; I think we can fit him in front of the passenger seat.....or perhaps Willie and Tarka would like to share the back with him.

Relaxation Day

Ask Muddy Blog — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:10:00 GMT

Today Sandy and I have taken a day off skiing and are catching up on chores (laundry for me, and starting to get things ready to pack and leave on Friday). We slept in a little (after Sandy's birthday celebration dinner last night at Sabroso), then had a good walk with the dogs this morning. They all had to stay outside to let the mud dry off. Sandy has now gone into town with Baggins and Bogart to run some errands. I've just brushed Willie and Tarka, and now that they're clean, I invited them to come inside if they wanted. They replied that actually they prefer hanging out in the driveway keeping an eye on activities in the area. Sort of.

Yesterday Sandy and I earned our dinner by hiking to 12,481 foot Kachina Peak, and skiing down. My photos are not very good as my camera was apparently feeling the cold and is just showing ghostly images against a white background, so I'll post some of Sandy's pix when I get them from her.

Copyright © Julia Henriques/AskMuddy

Another Taos Sunday

Julia — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 03:22:00 GMT

It's been a busy week and I've been too tired from skiing, dog walking, and squeezing meals and the all-important post-skiing hot-tub session, to blog at night, so this is a catch-up entry summarizing the week.

The boys have done really well all week, considering they've never spent days without me before, and have never been walked by anyone but me since they lived with us. Mary Sue has walked them at midday every day. Initially she had trouble leashing Tarka to walk him, but after she took Willie out he understood that he wouldn't join the walk unless he let her leash him, so he cooperated. Then Willie decided he didn't really trust her to walk him, and put the brakes on. So Willie relaxed on the patio while Mary Sue and Tarka walked together. They're getting plenty of exercise with at least two hours of off-leash walking every day, anyway, so the lunchtime walks are just to give them a break in their otherwise boring day in the house, rather than because they need the exercise.

We had lots of new snow at the beginning of the week and the dogs loved it. So did we, because we didn't have to do Taos mud clean-up after every walk. Taos mud is red and sticky, and early evening walks usually mean quite a bit of work with the hose when we get home, even for Baggins and Bogart with their short hair. Willie and Tarka become two-tone, and they all get big clumps of dirt stuck in the hair between their pads.

Here's a photo of one of our snowy morning walks - me with all four dogs, and Tarka in the lead as usual. He loves to be out in front.

Topic detour: even though this is a dog blog, we do need a short skiing update. Sandy and I have had a wonderful week's skiing, with two feet of powder snow at the beginning of the week, which was heavenly. From Wednesday onwards we started focusing on race technique as today (Sunday) was the last day to qualify for the Nastar (amateur racing) championships (the Taos racecourse is closed on Mondays). We won't know for sure until Tuesday when the final qualification standings are published, but we believe we've both qualified in the Gold Division (divisions are Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum). We had lots of coaching from three different, top-class, instructors and are both racing faster and more consistently than last year.

Our lovely friend Susan Schneider and her nine-year old son Sam were delayed five hours flying out of Chicago in a 14-inch snowstorm on Tuesday night, so spent the night in Albuquerque and drove up to Taos on Wednesday. Unfortunately that meant they missed a day of skiing, but they're a wonderful addition to the household for a few days. Yesterday we had lunch with them and then took Sam for a run, including a little adventure on the racecourse, which he loved. Sadly they had to leave today, but at least they had uneventful travel and were safely back in Chicago on time.

Back to the dogs.......Tarka was a little anxious having so many people in the house, and stayed out of the way much of the time, but is gaining some confidence and has started taking treats from Sandy. He's quite content snoozing on my bed when he decides that there's too much activity in other parts of the house. Willie is very relaxed and doesn't even bother coming into the bedroom most nights, as he loves sleeping on the cool stone floor in the kitchen. He found some of the walks hard work initially, feeling his way along slightly uneven trails and through the sagebrush, but he has become very good at following behind me, and has learned when we're out on a wider dirt road that he can run along and even play with the other dogs a bit. He's even learned he has to duck down a little to get under a barbed wire fence that we cross every morning. He's sniffing more and not worrying about being a little way behind us. Here's a video with some clips from a couple of our Taos dog walks. You can see what fun Tarka is having being a Taos dog, gallivanting in the sagebrush with Baggins and Bogart. The scenery around here is so beautiful, especially in morning and evening light, as this late afternoon photo of Tarka and Bogart shows.

All four lucky dogs are getting bones nearly every night. As you can see, my bedroom has taken on the look of a dog kennel, and my bed is decidedly gritty, thanks to dried mud remnants on Tarka's belly falling off and somehow making their way under the duvet.

Yesterday we went back to the Gorge trail (where we walked the first day here). Here's Willie scurrying along towards Sandy, and of course we have to include a photo of the famous Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.

This afternoon Mary Sue gave both boys another healing touch treatment, and both are doing well. She does a lot of energy balancing work and Willie and Tarka have both progressed since their first sessions a week ago. Today Tarka really seemed to relish his treatment, and relaxed so much he rolled over on his back (languorously, not submissively!), inviting Mary Sue to rub his belly.

And, on a walk later today, Willie was fascinated to encounter a llama lying in its paddock; apparently it smelled quite interesting to him, and he took a lot of persuading to leave his new friend.

Tarka's still quite protective of our room, and occasionally charges Baggins or Bogart if they appear in the doorway. He stops immediately when I intervene, and looks quite sheepish. Fortunately, Baggins and Bogart take it very calmly, apparently understanding that it's all noise and probably fear-driven. This morning Tarka rushed at Bogart as he came into the room, but 15 seconds later the incident was forgotten and the two of them were rolling around on the floor play-chewing each other's heads. Just to be safe, if all four dogs are in the house without adult supervision, Tarka and Willie still stay in the bedroom with the baby gate closed. Otherwise they're all getting along extremely well, especially outside the house and on walks. Baggins the Protector even ran off a slightly aggressive dog that started to go after Tarka on a walk one morning, and Tarka seemed quite appreciative of his friend's help.

Busy Sunday in Taos

Ask Muddy Blog — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:15:00 GMT

We started our day at 6.30 am when Willie (who was too sleepy to pee before bed last night) needed to go out. It was just starting to get light. Tarka had a lovely hunt and within seconds was about three houses away, and of course ignored me when I called him. But when Willie and I went in the house he came back right away. Later Sandy and I took all four dogs on a wonderful hike called Vista Verde, above the Rio Grande Gorge. We did the same hike with Muddy last year, though the trail was a little long for him. It's fairly flat but had some rocky patches which Willie negotiated amazingly well with a little guidance from me. Tarka hunted and romped in the sagebrush the whole way along; at one point he and Bogart came tearing flat out past Willie and me, and because the trail was narrow at that point, had to leap over some bushes beside us, which they did easily. The view at the end of the trail was spectacular, even though Tarka gave me several heart attacks exploring the rocks right at the edge of the gorge. Sandy said I was being an overprotective mother. Willie could hear the river rushing far below, and, probably understanding he was near the edge of a big drop, tucked himself safely away behind a bench to rest.

We enjoyed the view (above photo) from the bench for a while and sipped green ginger tea that Sandy had thoughtfully brought (she rarely travels without a beverage). Tarka and Bogart spent the whole time running around the area, but checked back with us frequently. Tarka even took two treats from Sandy, which is definite progress.

At one point we heard a high-pitched cry and looked up to see a beautiful Red-Tailed Hawk flying across the canyon, and then his mate flew up to greet him. They treated us to a wonderful flying display right in front of us, both flying in unison, soaring, dancing, turning and banking alongside each other like planes in formation. What a magnificent sight.

There wasn't a lot of snow along the trail, but Tarka found a patch and had a lovely time rolling in it; then Bogart joined him for a little wrestling. Pity I cut Tarka's ears out of the shot.

On the way back down the trail, Tarka and Bogart played several chasing games, and at one point even Baggins and then Willie (who unfortunately tripped over a bush in his excitement) joined in. Rather a distant photo (due to the speed at which they were traveling), but you get the idea.

It's heartwarming to see Tarka's joy at running along as fast as he can on when he's on an off-leash hike like this. He explores quite far afield, often with Bogart, but comes dashing back to check on us quite often. Willie sweetly follows along in my tracks; he has to concentrate quite hard and it's not easy for him, but he seems to enjoy it despite the unfamiliar terrain. He enjoys stopping for a sniff occasionally, but you can tell he'd love to join in the running and exploration with the other dogs. If he senses he's in a fairly open area he'll pick up the pace a bit, but otherwise treads quite cautiously.

Once again all the dogs got incredibly muddy, and Willie and Tarka (especially Tarka) picked up quite a lot of burrs along the way.

On the way home we stopped at a boat launch area beside the river to get them cleaned off, but that was only partly successful. Willie was so tired he stayed in the car, Tarka did paddle a little and let me splash water on him to dilute the mud a bit (it was extremely cold), Bogart swam to fetch some sticks and Baggins stayed on dry land. Willie had to be hosed off at home. Tarka had to undergo quite a lot of burr removal (photo below right); he was very good about it, though he slightly objected to me having to remove half his tail.

Shortly after we got back, Mary Sue Comstock, who is a Healing Touch practitioner and is also going to walk Willie and Tarka at midday while we're skiing this week, came over to give both boys a treatment so that they would get to know her before she comes tomorrow. Willie absolutely relished it and relaxed thoroughly, letting out several loud sighs in the process. Tarka was unsure about having a stranger touch him, but he did relax after a few minutes. We had a practice walk down the driveway with Mary Sue having both boys on leash, and though they were initially uncertain, they did agree to walk with her -- at least with me walking alongside. In any event, they'll get plenty of exercise on their morning and evening walks, so if she has to do short walks with them at midday they'll be fine, but at least will have a bit of company to break up the day, and be able to go out and pee.

All the humans went out to see Avatar this evening; I left Willie and Tarka in my room with the baby gate closed. Baggins and Bogart usually stay in the garage with the door cracked so they can wander around outside. Willie and Tarka (probably Tarka) did manage to knock over a lamp and break a ceramic water jug, so the rule is that we now have to be sure to remove any breakables before leaving). When we got back they were very excited but no more so than when they're alone at home in Chicago. They feel pretty safe in this room with lots of familiar things from home around them.

All the dogs had bones tonight, and while there was quite a bit of bone stealing (both Willie and Tarka losing out to Baggins and Bogart), there was no squabbling. Tarka didn't charge anyone today, and in fact he and Bogart really seem to be cementing their friendship.

We'll be walking early tomorrow as it's a ski day. I'm slightly anxious about leaving them for the day, but I think they will settle once we've left, and Mary Sue will take good care of them when she comes.

Copyright © Julia Henriques/AskMuddy

Video of Tarka and Bogart playing

Ask Muddy Blog — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:13:00 GMT

I took some video of Tarka and Bogart playing today (with soundtrack and refereeing by Willie). Well, apparently I can't add video to the blog because I'm on a Mac.....so I uploaded it to YouTube and here's the link:

Tarka and Bogart playing

Copyright © Julia Henriques/AskMuddy

Tarka misbehaves a little

Ask Muddy Blog — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:23:00 GMT

Tarka is doing really well with Baggins and Bogart outside. But in the house things are a little different and he's slightly afraid of them. I think he's decided our bedroom is his safe zone, and he is a little defensive about the space. This afternoon he did something I've never seen him do before, and that was to display some fear aggression. On two separate occasions, first with Bogart, then with Baggins, he charged them, snarling and growling, when they came into the room. Bogart just left; Baggins answered back a little and Tarka backed off. No harm was done. Tarka's little heart was racing. I sat with him for a while to calm him, then invited Baggins back into the room. After a few minutes they were both snuggling with me together. Tarka had a good sniff of Baggins too, and they seemed OK. Bogart didn't want to come back in just then.

I decided to try the Anxiety Wrap on Tarka to see if it would make him feel more secure. I had put it on once before (just a few days before we left, as I had just ordered it) and he seemed miserable in it. This time he initially looked just as miserable, but then I took him outside; he soon forgot he had it on, and started looking much happier. Bogart, Baggins and Willie all came out too. Tarka went up to Bogart who growled gently at him. I brought a baby gate from home just in case there were any problems with the dogs getting along, and am going to put it up to provide Tarka with a space where he feels safe - and to avoid any mishaps when there are no adults around to supervise. As I was getting it out of the roof cargo box, I turned and saw Tarka and Bogart starting to play. They pranced around each other a little, then humped each other, then started play-wrestling and mouthing each other, and eventually running up and down the driveway. I took a little video which I'll attempt to post on here.

I think they're going to be fine, though Tarka's still a little wary of them in the house. Now Tarka chooses to be up on the bed when they're in the room, and at one point when all the dogs were snoozing in here, he suddenly launched himself off the bed and jumped on them (I'd say not in a particularly friendly way, though it was quite comical). They both looked a little surprised but didn't react badly. A little while later Bogart and Tarka went running outside together to scare off some ghosts they heard out there, and seemed quite happy together.

So we are just sorting out a few little differences - mainly Tarka's fear. Tomorrow he will have a Healing Touch treatment from a practitioner here who is also going to walk Willie and Tarka at midday while I'm skiing. Hopefully that will help him start to feel more confident too. Overall I think he's doing really well. It's his first road trip and he is a scared little guy who is completely out of his routine and away from his relatively new home.

Willie is just being Willie, going with the flow, trying to catch a nap or two, and staying out of trouble.

Copyright © Julia Henriques/AskMuddy

Morning hike

Julia — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:38:00 GMT

After our morning exploration, we came back inside to find the rest of the household up. Sandy and I took all four dogs to the Rio Grande Gorge for a hike. The Gorge is about 650 feet deep at that point (it's right beside the spectacular Rio Grande Gorge Bridge), so Sandy recommended I walk Tarka on leash to show him the edge, before letting him run around off leash. Rumor has it that rabbits run to the edge when dogs chase them, so it's a good idea to let dogs with a strong prey drive know when they ought to let the rabbit continue on its way. Tarka took in the drop, and stayed away from the edge except for one heart-stopping (for me) moment when he trotted happily toward it, then stopped to admire the view. Bogart also likes standing on the rocks gazing into the abyss. We weren't worried about Willie because he just obligingly follows us along the trail.

Tarka had a wonderful time hunting and running around with Bogart, and the two of them started chasing each other a little, so I think they will become good playmates while we're here. Baggins also loves hunting, but spent quite a bit of time walking along with the humans and Willie. It seemed to me he was trying to help Willie by showing him the way - or maybe he was just trying to make sure Willie didn't spend too much time alone with Sandy!

The dogs are taking their post-hike, post-breakfast nap and I may do the same! When we got in the car I think Willie and Tarka were settling down for another long day, so they were thrilled to stop after a 10 minute drive. Me too. It's nice not to be driving, and to have nothing scheduled for the day.

Copyright © Julia Henriques/AskMuddy

First morning in Taos

Julia — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:10:00 GMT

Willie and I had a pretty good night's sleep but Tarka was restless. He seems excited by his new surroundings, and was up playing part of the night (oh, to be so young again). At one point he came over to try to get me to join in, but when I suggested he go back to sleep he grabbed an old bone and chewed on it for a while.

We all woke up around 7.30 and went outside for a stroll. Chico, a neighbor's Springer Spaniel, was outside, and both Willie and Tarka enjoyed meeting him.

Tarka is in his element here, running around the property, marking every sagebrush bush, and finding out who's been here overnight. He's also quite bold about inspecting the adjoining properties -- not a respecter of boundaries!

Wilie is getting more comfortable outside and is getting quite good at maneuvering around the bushes, log piles and other obstacles. He also loves just lying in the snow.

We are in Taos!

Ask Muddy Blog — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 04:30:00 GMT

We had a lovely day today, with not too much driving. We went for a walk this morning around the area behind our motel, and when we walked back, Tarka and Willie stopped at the car and seemed to want to get in. I had planned to feed them, shower and have something to eat myself before leaving, but then it seemed easier to just pop them in the car, grab our stuff from the room and start driving. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were on the road at 8 am. Just after we started out we caught a glimpse of Pike's Peak in the distance. It always makes me happy to catch my first sight of mountains after months of flatland living, not to mention having driven across Kansas yesterday! Tarka enjoyed the trip today and was watching the scenery from the car windows. Bet that boy has never seen mountains before.

We got through Colorado Springs - rather inefficiently thanks to my not reading the directions, thinking that 24 would just run into I-25, but it wasn't quite that simple. Just before Pueblo we found a rest stop where we took a walk and the boys had breakfast. They were very avid sniffers on our walk - apparently Colorado critters leave good smells behind. Pretty driving through mountains after we turned off I-25 at Walsenburg, Coming into the small town of San Luis, I remembered enjoyed the sight of these willow cottonwoods when Muddy and I passed through last year, and stopped to take a photo from the car window. Pity about the prefab buildings in the background, but gorgeous trees.

Sandy had told us about a good area for a walk a couple of miles south of San Luis. We stopped beside a frozen reservoir covered in snow, and walked on the pretty trails there. Both dogs really seemed to love it. As soon as we got out of the car, Tarka started rolling delightedly in the snow, and Willie joined in with some encouraging woofs.

I kept Tarka on leash as he was looking very much as if he wanted to run around on the ice, and I wasn't sure it would be safe. But Willie did really well following along, and even forged ahead a couple of times to show us the way. Most of the time, Tarka likes being lead sled dog, though.

Lots of plant photos today....the chamisa and sagebrush lining the trail were so pretty that I had to include this shot.

We walked a couple of miles and would have done more except I had a nasty feeling I had forgotten to lock the car (I was wrong, but it would have been very annoying to lose skis, laptop, luggage - or dog toys!). Tarka felt like a real sled dog, and thought he might be in Alaska, looking over the frozen water.

We arrived in Taos at around 2 o'clock. Sandy was out, and the house was being cleaned, so Baggins and Bogart were outside. They were pleased to have visitors and greeted us enthusiastically; we spent a while wandering around together outside so the dogs could all get to know each other, and they all got along fine. Tarka used the car as his safe spot, and hopped back inside a few times when he heard or saw something that made him anxious.

The photo on the right below shows Baggins and Bogart looking on as Willie and Tarka have a wander around the property. We led Willie around the outside of the house to help him learn how to avoid running into the sagebrush, which is everywhere, of course.

Willie helped me unpack the car. What a good boy.

The four dogs and I went for a walk together, though Bogart decided to take a short cut home when we were walking back. But Baggins was very kind and, after a brief detour for a rabbit chase, made sure we knew the way. He is very sensitive and seemed to understand that Willie needed some help. He was very sweet with Tarka too. Bogart makes some strange vocalizations and neither Willie nor Tarka were quite sure what to make of his talking to them. It's mud season in Taos (check out Tarka and Willie's paws in the photos below) and we had to do some rinsing off when we got home.

Tarka has done very well with the humans tonight and even lay in the bedroom watching while Sandy made up the bed. He also seemed to like Beverly, another friend who is here visiting from Alaska, and sat with me quite close to her as we chatted.

After dinner he got a little scared by Bogart barking at something outside (there are coyotes in the area) and has taken up a cosy hiding place under the bed. Speaking of bed, we are ready for it after our day of fun (Willie is snoring already), so we'll say goodnight, with the promise of more fun in Taos tomorrow!