I'm sitting here watching a recording of Ancients Behaving Badly. Quick description: historians and a psychiatrist discuss whether notable leaders of the ancient world were either psychopathic or goal driven killers. It's sensationalized by violent animated snippets of atrocious acts committed by the leaders in question.
Now I have always had an interest in this type of thing. My freshman year of college I took a class called "Masters of Power - 10 Ancient Lives" that studied the lives of several of the figures presented in the TV show. And I loved every minute of it. Such fascinating people with their grand ambitions and their determination to achieve them.
But I guess I'm not the only one in the room that's interested in powerful men, like Genghis Khan, that used violence and fear to rule their worlds. Because Lilah is lying on the floor and fixated on the TV, as if she's taking mental notes on how to conquer and rule. Or maybe she's just comparing her own mix of techniques that she uses to rule her domain...It's eerie.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Why, June Gloom? Why?!
Hello out there! I've been pretty busy these past few weeks, so sorry or the lack of updates. Just because I don't post, doesn't mean the dogs stop existing, right?
June gloom has been pretty bad here in SoCal. I remember that brief period of time where I attended summer school and volleyball camp during high school, June gloom usually burned off around 10:00 am. But lately it lasts well past noon. Even as I type up this post, it's still pretty gloomy.
But I didn't start this post to reminisce about my summer school days and how I hated them. Though it is reminding me and with this damn gloom, kind of depressing me...
I started this post to write about Lilah, who, because of the gloom, is still sleeping like it's early morning. I'm constantly mentioning Lilah's SAD or how she's like Superman and draws her power from the sun, but I'm telling you now, Lilah would not be my companion of choice for a nuclear winter. The two of us together in that situation, completely depressing. I mean, depressing on top of the fact that the world will be dying too. And you won't be able to read updates about Lilah and Ritter. So depressing.
June gloom, what are you doing hanging around in July anyway!
June gloom has been pretty bad here in SoCal. I remember that brief period of time where I attended summer school and volleyball camp during high school, June gloom usually burned off around 10:00 am. But lately it lasts well past noon. Even as I type up this post, it's still pretty gloomy.
But I didn't start this post to reminisce about my summer school days and how I hated them. Though it is reminding me and with this damn gloom, kind of depressing me...
I started this post to write about Lilah, who, because of the gloom, is still sleeping like it's early morning. I'm constantly mentioning Lilah's SAD or how she's like Superman and draws her power from the sun, but I'm telling you now, Lilah would not be my companion of choice for a nuclear winter. The two of us together in that situation, completely depressing. I mean, depressing on top of the fact that the world will be dying too. And you won't be able to read updates about Lilah and Ritter. So depressing.
June gloom, what are you doing hanging around in July anyway!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Phenylpropanalowhat?!
Lilah probably sees the doctor more frequently than me.
About a month ago, she went in to see the vet due to leaking. More specifically, she was suffering from incontinence. The vet diagnosed her with a weak bladder sphincter, which is more common in older female dogs (humans too, so I hear).
What followed for the next few days was a nightmare. They shaved the area around her delicate parts because she had some acid burn from the urine. That more than anything irritated her. Lilah was constantly squatting down and twisting to lick herself. That was the first problem.
What compounded the issue was the medicine doctor prescribed, phenylpropanalomine. I think I spelled that correctly. It's supposed to help keep the muscle contracted so urine doesn't leak out. But the dose was probably just too much because Lilah was only peeing once a day.
So we'd take Lilah out and she'd immediately sit down and lick herself. She was suffering from the acid burn, razor burn, and constant irritation from her licking along with her muscle being tightened. She was suffering and I was going crazy trying to get her to pee and worrying about her doing serious damage to herself by not peeing.
She also refused to leave the comfort of her rugs. She only drank if we brought her the water bowl. And she only ate from her rug while I hand fed her. My mom said she was able to feed her from Lilah's bowl, but not for me. Hand feeding only.
The next day was more of the same. At least she took the pills easily. Oh, and she wouldn't let us near to wipe her in order to help keep the inflammation and burning to a minimum.
Finally we smartened up (not as much as possible though, because we didn't call the vet), ceased the medicine, washed her back end, and put an e-collar on her. Luckily the one I had leftover from her spay surgery still fit.
Thankfully things got a little easier after that. The vet called to check in with us, pretty much called a spade a spade, and told us we were foolish for not calling him with our concerns. But still, it was pretty stressful week for all of us.
Oh, and she's still on the medication, though a greatly reduced dosage. I'm hoping that if we can just trim down her weight, her incontinence will magically go away. Otherwise it's phenylpropanalomine for life.
About a month ago, she went in to see the vet due to leaking. More specifically, she was suffering from incontinence. The vet diagnosed her with a weak bladder sphincter, which is more common in older female dogs (humans too, so I hear).
What followed for the next few days was a nightmare. They shaved the area around her delicate parts because she had some acid burn from the urine. That more than anything irritated her. Lilah was constantly squatting down and twisting to lick herself. That was the first problem.
What compounded the issue was the medicine doctor prescribed, phenylpropanalomine. I think I spelled that correctly. It's supposed to help keep the muscle contracted so urine doesn't leak out. But the dose was probably just too much because Lilah was only peeing once a day.
So we'd take Lilah out and she'd immediately sit down and lick herself. She was suffering from the acid burn, razor burn, and constant irritation from her licking along with her muscle being tightened. She was suffering and I was going crazy trying to get her to pee and worrying about her doing serious damage to herself by not peeing.
She also refused to leave the comfort of her rugs. She only drank if we brought her the water bowl. And she only ate from her rug while I hand fed her. My mom said she was able to feed her from Lilah's bowl, but not for me. Hand feeding only.
The next day was more of the same. At least she took the pills easily. Oh, and she wouldn't let us near to wipe her in order to help keep the inflammation and burning to a minimum.
Finally we smartened up (not as much as possible though, because we didn't call the vet), ceased the medicine, washed her back end, and put an e-collar on her. Luckily the one I had leftover from her spay surgery still fit.
Thankfully things got a little easier after that. The vet called to check in with us, pretty much called a spade a spade, and told us we were foolish for not calling him with our concerns. But still, it was pretty stressful week for all of us.
Oh, and she's still on the medication, though a greatly reduced dosage. I'm hoping that if we can just trim down her weight, her incontinence will magically go away. Otherwise it's phenylpropanalomine for life.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Sleepover Syndrome
I just spent the past half hour sitting on the cold hardwood floor with Lilah in my lap. Yes, really, at 3am in the morning.
Apparently, the neighborhood dogs decided to do that thing that often happens at sleepovers.
"Psst, hey, are you awake?"
And then they start talking despite people trying to get some much needed sleep.
It was like that tonight, except with dogs. First one dog started it right after midnight. Lilah replied with that kind of howly-not-quite-baying-but-annoying-nonetheless bark. That went on for about a half hour before the conversation died. Ten minutes later the other neighbor's dog barked and started the conversation again. However because he only barked once, I think it was more of a, "thank god they shut up," comment. Not smart on his part because Lilah proceeded to bark the night away. This kept on for three hours...I don't really know if it's a good thing that Lilah was at least inside, whereas the other dogs were in their yards.
After discovering how ineffective it was to yell at her, I finally gave in, changed out of my pjs, and headed downstairs.
The only solution was to sit with Lilah to calm her down and ensure that she most certainly didn't respond when the neighbor's dog barked, "is anyone still awake?" And pray that the chatty dog would fall asleep.
Apparently, the neighborhood dogs decided to do that thing that often happens at sleepovers.
"Psst, hey, are you awake?"
And then they start talking despite people trying to get some much needed sleep.
It was like that tonight, except with dogs. First one dog started it right after midnight. Lilah replied with that kind of howly-not-quite-baying-but-annoying-nonetheless bark. That went on for about a half hour before the conversation died. Ten minutes later the other neighbor's dog barked and started the conversation again. However because he only barked once, I think it was more of a, "thank god they shut up," comment. Not smart on his part because Lilah proceeded to bark the night away. This kept on for three hours...I don't really know if it's a good thing that Lilah was at least inside, whereas the other dogs were in their yards.
After discovering how ineffective it was to yell at her, I finally gave in, changed out of my pjs, and headed downstairs.
The only solution was to sit with Lilah to calm her down and ensure that she most certainly didn't respond when the neighbor's dog barked, "is anyone still awake?" And pray that the chatty dog would fall asleep.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Random Video Sharing
According to YouTube's statistics page, 60 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. Guess I better do my part and upload something as well.
So I present you with Lilah eating grass and Ritter not quite making his jump. They sound so exciting don't they!
I know it sounds dumb, but I'm transfixed by her chewing. I mean, just look at those pearly white teeth! Reminds me of a shark.
Ritter rarely makes mistakes when he jumps. Perhaps it was nerves from being filmed. But I do have to note that he did hurt his paw. He kind of scraped the back of the pad that's nearest the dewclaw. You can kind of see him holding it up at the end of the video. Aww, poor Ritter. We're sorry for laughing.
So I present you with Lilah eating grass and Ritter not quite making his jump. They sound so exciting don't they!
I know it sounds dumb, but I'm transfixed by her chewing. I mean, just look at those pearly white teeth! Reminds me of a shark.
Ritter rarely makes mistakes when he jumps. Perhaps it was nerves from being filmed. But I do have to note that he did hurt his paw. He kind of scraped the back of the pad that's nearest the dewclaw. You can kind of see him holding it up at the end of the video. Aww, poor Ritter. We're sorry for laughing.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Planting Crops
Seeing as how the weather has been particularly nice, we decided to do some maintenance on the garden as well as plant some new crops.
Of course, Lilah and Ritter were right there beside us. Helping at times, though also hindering.
In terms of digging, Ritter is more likely to dig a hole than Lilah. His technique is to use his two front paws at the same time to achieve a big scooping motion. I believe he works like that due to the fact that he's so strong. While this means he can create a pretty big hole, he can only do so in relatively soft dirt.
Lilah, having a smaller frame or stringier muscles, however you want to phrase it, digs using alternating paws with more of a scratching action. She works well against hard, compacted dirt or if you need to break the dense surface soil. "Dig" is also a command that she follows decently.
Watch as she decimates that dirt block!
However, for every good thing Lilah does, she evens her account by being bad. Potting plants around her can be dangerous. She once bit my aspiring sunflower in half. I was quite pissed. It's okay though, we've learned to adapt and pot at an elevated height where she can't so easily attack the plants.
But not like that will stop Lilah's devilish drive for mischief. Oh, you want to use that 55 gallon bag of potting soil? I'll just bite and rip a hole in it while you try to maneuver it! Ah, I see, you've smartly planted an empty seedling pot with the planted bell peppers to leave space for another bell pepper plant that you haven't bought yet. I'll just daintily lift it out and run around the yard with it! I'm actually quite surprised that she never runs off with our tools.
Sometimes I wish she wasn't so interested in what I'm doing. Why can't she be like Ritter and chilling in the shade while the humans work?
Of course, Lilah and Ritter were right there beside us. Helping at times, though also hindering.
In terms of digging, Ritter is more likely to dig a hole than Lilah. His technique is to use his two front paws at the same time to achieve a big scooping motion. I believe he works like that due to the fact that he's so strong. While this means he can create a pretty big hole, he can only do so in relatively soft dirt.
Lilah, having a smaller frame or stringier muscles, however you want to phrase it, digs using alternating paws with more of a scratching action. She works well against hard, compacted dirt or if you need to break the dense surface soil. "Dig" is also a command that she follows decently.
Watch as she decimates that dirt block!
However, for every good thing Lilah does, she evens her account by being bad. Potting plants around her can be dangerous. She once bit my aspiring sunflower in half. I was quite pissed. It's okay though, we've learned to adapt and pot at an elevated height where she can't so easily attack the plants.
But not like that will stop Lilah's devilish drive for mischief. Oh, you want to use that 55 gallon bag of potting soil? I'll just bite and rip a hole in it while you try to maneuver it! Ah, I see, you've smartly planted an empty seedling pot with the planted bell peppers to leave space for another bell pepper plant that you haven't bought yet. I'll just daintily lift it out and run around the yard with it! I'm actually quite surprised that she never runs off with our tools.
Sometimes I wish she wasn't so interested in what I'm doing. Why can't she be like Ritter and chilling in the shade while the humans work?
Monday, February 20, 2012
In Real Time
I'm sitting here watching Lilah and Ritter lazily wrestling on their rug and it's disgustingly cute. I don't have my camera nearby so you'll just have to make do with my live blogging. Okay, let's go!
They're both just lying on their rug next to each other. Aww, Lilah's licking Ritter's ear and face, which she sometimes does but more often than not Ritter doesn't allow. I don't know why but she really likes to lick his ears.
Oh, he's started trying to gnaw on her leg and she's swatting at his wedge-shaped head with her front paw. I don't know if he knows that Lilah doesn't like it when her paws are grabbed or if that's just his approach to play-fighting in general, but that's what he does.
Okay, now they both have their mouths open super wide like they're going to eat each others' head. But really they're just shoving their open mouths against each other. Man they remind me of hippos right about now. Also, I know from previous open mouth wrestling that Ritter can get his jaws around Lilah's noggin. And I'm pretty sure that Lilah's head could fit within Ritter's head, his is just that big and hers is just that small.
Interesting, both Lilah and Ritter haven't escalated the rough housing yet. They seem content to just lie about and shove their open maws at one another. By this point Ritter either gets completely annoyed and hops into the safety of his bed or Lilah stands up so she can get a better angle for slapping him with her paws.
Well, looks like they finished. Both still lying next to the other on their rug looking pleased with themselves. How peaceful.
Yes, I had nothing better to do than report this to you while it was happening.
They're both just lying on their rug next to each other. Aww, Lilah's licking Ritter's ear and face, which she sometimes does but more often than not Ritter doesn't allow. I don't know why but she really likes to lick his ears.
Oh, he's started trying to gnaw on her leg and she's swatting at his wedge-shaped head with her front paw. I don't know if he knows that Lilah doesn't like it when her paws are grabbed or if that's just his approach to play-fighting in general, but that's what he does.
Okay, now they both have their mouths open super wide like they're going to eat each others' head. But really they're just shoving their open mouths against each other. Man they remind me of hippos right about now. Also, I know from previous open mouth wrestling that Ritter can get his jaws around Lilah's noggin. And I'm pretty sure that Lilah's head could fit within Ritter's head, his is just that big and hers is just that small.
Interesting, both Lilah and Ritter haven't escalated the rough housing yet. They seem content to just lie about and shove their open maws at one another. By this point Ritter either gets completely annoyed and hops into the safety of his bed or Lilah stands up so she can get a better angle for slapping him with her paws.
Well, looks like they finished. Both still lying next to the other on their rug looking pleased with themselves. How peaceful.
Yes, I had nothing better to do than report this to you while it was happening.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Falling Off the Wagon
The other day I was carrying Lilah around the house for fun, like I do, and noticed that my arms were getting fatigued real fast. Now I know what you might be thinking, that the holidays were just a couple weeks ago and maybe I let myself enjoy all the celebratory food a bit too much. I bet you think that I also gave up on that typical "get in shape" resolution after only trying for a week.
All I have to say to you is how dare you! I weigh the same as always and I'm still regularly exercising. I think you need to point those beady, judging eyes towards another!
After a few minutes rest, I picked Lilah up again, climbed the stairs to the upstairs bathroom and stepped onto the scale. FORTY POUNDS!!! Lilah's normal weight should be closer to lower-mid thirties. When did that happen?! I mean, I did notice that Lilah's head looked smaller than usual in comparison to her body, but I thought it was just her fluffy winter coat.
I just had to share my new discovery with my mom. Immediately she looked away guiltily. Apparently she had been over-generous when feeding Lilah and very liberal with treats from the table. "They need the extra weight for winter," she tried to justify, which would be true if we lived in a harsher winter climate and the dogs lived in sheds out back...neither of which is true.
Whatever, it's easy enough to control Lilah's weight. Just revert back to her normal amount of food and cut back on the human food treats. Not a big deal, really. And of course, Ritter has to join along on the diet, because although I didn't weigh him, I'm sure he's in the same situation.
But I guess it was just too much for the dogs to handle. We woke up this morning to find an empty plastic container of Costco cookies on the floor and Lilah chomping down on one and crumbs in Ritter's bed. If you've ever been to Costco, you know that it wasn't just a dozen cookies in that container. And I'll tell you now that it had at least four good sized cookies in it the night before.
A big set back in their diets. Lilah and Ritter spent most of the day sleeping off their cookie binge.
All I have to say to you is how dare you! I weigh the same as always and I'm still regularly exercising. I think you need to point those beady, judging eyes towards another!
After a few minutes rest, I picked Lilah up again, climbed the stairs to the upstairs bathroom and stepped onto the scale. FORTY POUNDS!!! Lilah's normal weight should be closer to lower-mid thirties. When did that happen?! I mean, I did notice that Lilah's head looked smaller than usual in comparison to her body, but I thought it was just her fluffy winter coat.
I just had to share my new discovery with my mom. Immediately she looked away guiltily. Apparently she had been over-generous when feeding Lilah and very liberal with treats from the table. "They need the extra weight for winter," she tried to justify, which would be true if we lived in a harsher winter climate and the dogs lived in sheds out back...neither of which is true.
Whatever, it's easy enough to control Lilah's weight. Just revert back to her normal amount of food and cut back on the human food treats. Not a big deal, really. And of course, Ritter has to join along on the diet, because although I didn't weigh him, I'm sure he's in the same situation.
But I guess it was just too much for the dogs to handle. We woke up this morning to find an empty plastic container of Costco cookies on the floor and Lilah chomping down on one and crumbs in Ritter's bed. If you've ever been to Costco, you know that it wasn't just a dozen cookies in that container. And I'll tell you now that it had at least four good sized cookies in it the night before.
A big set back in their diets. Lilah and Ritter spent most of the day sleeping off their cookie binge.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Pictures!
So many pictures to catch up on.
I took some pictures of Lilah on her birthday. I wish that I could do something similar to that German Shepherd video of the time lapsed pictures. But I can't get Lilah to stay still long enough to get consistent pictures.
Isn't she pretty though at 3 years old?
Though I don't know why she usually looks so disapproving.
Lilah after enjoying some soccer. Normally after playing soccer her feet are completely covered in dirt.
And as promised, the Land's End dog coats!
Lilah looks good in green.
And Ritter looks stunning in teal.
And yes, that is my mom's slipper-clad foot in the background.
I took some pictures of Lilah on her birthday. I wish that I could do something similar to that German Shepherd video of the time lapsed pictures. But I can't get Lilah to stay still long enough to get consistent pictures.
Isn't she pretty though at 3 years old?
Though I don't know why she usually looks so disapproving.
Lilah after enjoying some soccer. Normally after playing soccer her feet are completely covered in dirt.
And as promised, the Land's End dog coats!
Lilah looks good in green.
And Ritter looks stunning in teal.
And yes, that is my mom's slipper-clad foot in the background.Saturday, January 7, 2012
Coats Arrived
After having returned the first set of coats for being too small (I couldn't even get Ritter's over his head), the new large sized coats arrived.
And I must say, they look pretty nice in terms of both color and design! Lilah agreed too because she let me put it on her without a fuss. Ritter on the other hand wasn't such a fan. He kept arching his back, took a few steps and then immediately sat down with his hunched back. Then he'd get up, take a few steps and sit back down again.
Even though we don't live in snow country, or wet country for that matter, I still liked the fact that these jackets/coats have a nice underbelly section for extra wetness protection and warmth. The fact that they have a water resistant outer shell is also a plus.
One issue though with the jacket is that the side straps that secure the belly panel are so long. I had to return the previous ones because I couldn't get the loop part of the velcro strap to reach the hook section. And now with these ones, the next size up, I find that there is a lot of excess loop section that just kind of dangles downwards. I wish there was a way to tuck them in so they wouldn't snag on anything.
Other than that, I think its a great coat for keeping a dog warm and/or dry.
And I must say, they look pretty nice in terms of both color and design! Lilah agreed too because she let me put it on her without a fuss. Ritter on the other hand wasn't such a fan. He kept arching his back, took a few steps and then immediately sat down with his hunched back. Then he'd get up, take a few steps and sit back down again.
Even though we don't live in snow country, or wet country for that matter, I still liked the fact that these jackets/coats have a nice underbelly section for extra wetness protection and warmth. The fact that they have a water resistant outer shell is also a plus.
One issue though with the jacket is that the side straps that secure the belly panel are so long. I had to return the previous ones because I couldn't get the loop part of the velcro strap to reach the hook section. And now with these ones, the next size up, I find that there is a lot of excess loop section that just kind of dangles downwards. I wish there was a way to tuck them in so they wouldn't snag on anything.
Other than that, I think its a great coat for keeping a dog warm and/or dry.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Another Birthday!
Happy birthday to Lilah this time!
When I woke up this morning and went downstairs to wish her happy birthday, Lilah seemed to just know it was a special day. She was excited and extra affectionate (somewhat rare for her), which was nice.
We pretty much just spent the day relaxing, soaking up the sun and playing some soccer in the backyard.
Still waiting on their coats though.
When I woke up this morning and went downstairs to wish her happy birthday, Lilah seemed to just know it was a special day. She was excited and extra affectionate (somewhat rare for her), which was nice.
We pretty much just spent the day relaxing, soaking up the sun and playing some soccer in the backyard.
Still waiting on their coats though.
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