Lagan turns 5 years old

Lagan celebrated his fifth birthday on January 11th. We didn’t do anything special for it. We just had a good time together as usual. He is doing well considering his age. He still enjoys playing with Farset, just not as often as he did before.

Whew! I Made It through the Holidays and Farset Going through Her First Heat

It has been a long holiday season. Not only have I been really busy with pet sitting (a good thing), Farset went into heat for the first time. She went into heat on December 11th which was the day before the guild Christmas party at my house. I had planned on taking her to doggie daycare that day, but I couldn’t do that with her in heat. So I was really stressed out at the party.

It was really poor timing. Farset would have to go into heat right before Christmas and I was booked absolutely solid from Dec 21 – Jan 2. It was her first heat, so it has been a real learning experience for both of us.

I had been waiting to buy anything until she had either finished growing or went into heat for the first time. After cruising the web, I ordered a pair of Fancy Nancy’s Dog Panties. There is a picture above. Now I just need to get a few more pairs before the next time she goes into heat.

http://www.fancynancys.com/

Dogs are in season for about 21 days, but it may be for even longer. It is not advised to breed a dog during their first heat. You shouldn’t breed an Irish Wolfhound girl before she is 2 years old. Most dog breeds go into heat twice a year.

Since Lagan is intact too, I had to keep her and Lagan separate while she was in heat. Fortunately, only Lagan was interested in her. She wasn’t interested in him. She also seemed to have an internal calendar, so she basically went out of heat in almost exactly 21 days. Yea!

The only reason they are both intact is because to show dogs in conformation, they have to intact. The idea is that you want to improve the breed. So for now, Lagan and Farset are intact. If I get to a point where I decide that I am not going to show Lagan anymore, I’ll have him neutered. As an intact male, he is at higher risk for prostate problems or testicular cancer.

Farset and Lagan and Me

Here is a photo of me with Lagan and Farset. The photo was taken by my DH.

keeping busy with work (& a little handspindling)

I've been keeping busy with pet sitting (with a little hand spindling, too). Thanksgiving is a busy time of year as you imagine. This year is mostly cat sitting. It is kind of interesting how every year is different.

If you want more timely updates, look at my facebook updates. I update it a little more frequently.

Farset is now 13 months old. She is doing the obnoxious, adolescent thing right now. She is very mouthy and chews up a number of things including some felted slippers that I made (from knitty.com http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter02/PATTfuzzyfeet.html). My sister gave me a beautiful merino sweater that had been accidently washed and dried. It is now tiny, so I gave it to Farset as a chew toy. She has really enjoyed it. It is now missing a significant number of pieces.

Farset is now up to 155 pounds. Even Lagan didn't weight that much at her age. I figure that she is going to be bigger than he is. As it is, her rear end is taller than his is. I expect that she will be taller than he is.

I've been hand spindling (using a hand spindle) the merino fiber that I created at the end of Deb Menz's color class. I've spindled all of it. I am in the process of plying it now. It is primarily purple. I've been really pleased with how it is turning out.

Thinking of you.

I am going on vacation!!

I can't wait. I am going on vacation on Saturday. It will be the first real vacation I've been on since this time last year. I will be following my DH around while he participates in Cycle North Carolina. He will be cycling from Black Mountain to Oak Island.

Next week I will be driving up to the Poconos for SOAR 2008. I can't wait to have a whole week devoted to spinning. I am bummed out that Heather Ordover (of Craftlit fame) will not be coming this year, but I am looking forward to getting away.

I was able to find a great person to help me out. Not only is she going to take care of my dog walks while I am out of town, she is going to take care of my dogs and my other dog sitting jobs. I have someone else taking care of my cat sitting jobs. I've been busy enough to need help even after I get back. I feel very fortunate to find good people to help me out.

Both have their own pet related businesses.

My dog walk and dog sitting person is: Ruth Jones
Her website is: www.alloverart.net
She create pet portraits

My cat sitting person is: Sue King
Her website is: www.companionchi.com
She performs pet massage, the Healing touch, quantum healing, Reiki, and teaches classes
Both have their own businesses

Farset is now 11 months old

Farset is now 11 months old. She still weighs about 150.4 pounds.

She has been eating like there is no tomorrow. She has been eating even more than Lagan ever did.
Currently gets fed two times a day:
- 5 to 6 cups of dry food (I have changed her food to a higher calorie food to cut down on the fiber – cuts down on the amount of poop)
- 1/2 can of canned food
- 1/2 pound of 4% cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup of canned green beans

This is on top of treats and occasionally stealing some of Lagan’s or Murphy’s food. We’ve been going through a 30 pound bag every week and a half. It has become very expensive.

Lagan’s prescription Duck & Potato food is now selling for $91 for a 32 pound bag. He goes through a bag in about 3 weeks. I spend a lot on pet food.

Farset is now 10 months old

Farset turned 10 months old on Thursday. We celebrated by going to the vet. She and Lagan have been having diarrhea, so I wanted to get it checked out. So we all went. Farset is now up to 131.5 pounds. Lagan weighed in at 179.3 pounds.

Their diarrhea could be due to something in the natural pool at the bottom of the driveway. They both drink out of it after we have gone on a walk up and down our driveway. I collected samples of their poop to bring into the vet’s office and had intended to bring in a sample of the water too. It didn’t happen. The poop is still in bags on the front porch. I’ll dispose of them later today.

Farset has also been eating unripe blueberries. We have about 5 blueberry bushes in our front yard. I think that Farset can find the ripe ones by smell, but winds up eating unripe ones by mistake. She can’t smell and pick at the same time. She is good about not eating the leaves amazingly enough.

I’ve been working really hard lately. It is great that I have been getting a lot of calls about pet sitting this summer. It has been keeping me busy. As I keep saying (and not doing), I really need to find a couple of people to give me some assistance.