Cybi 1 - Cone of Shame...1/2

Trying to keep a collie "quiet" is like trying to plait sand. Within 12 hours of his op, Cybi was trying to play with Daisy and I'd had to resort to shutting them in different rooms to try to stop them charging about together.

Yesterday evening, I took my eyes off Cybi for a few minutes to make a cup of tea, and heard a "thump...crack" from the living room. Went rushing back in, to find that he had managed to take a chunk out of his collar - I assume by enthusiastically head butting something, but I have no idea.

Dim, but so happy!

Which then got progressively worse over the next few hours...

Until eventually he was pretty much just wearing a sheet of plastic round his neck.  I popped him in to the vets this morning to have them check his stitches and get another collar on him. He was not amused.

The cone of shame

Cybi was neutered today, poor boy, and is currently wobbling his way around the house looking a little bit sorry for himself. He recovered well but is having a bit of a whinge now that he's coming round.

Note the glazed expression, and the very unhappy tail. He always carries his tail low, especially when he's thinking (unlike Daisy who just wags hers regardless of what she's doing or where she is) but I don't think he could get his tail any further between his legs at this point. I know it's the right thing to do, especially as I would never breed from him, but I can't help but feel guilty when I'm presented with that sad little face.

A fortunate break

Having complained previously about the difficulty of getting Cybi's harness on him before a walk, it was actually a relief when he squirmed around so much while I was putting it on him that he managed to break a bit of it. Obviously breakage isn't ideal, except that it's freed up the clip.

Where previously the harness would only loosen by the different between when it was fastened and when it was unfastened, it'll now open completely. And as a consequence, it's MUCH easier to get on and off. So much so, that I've completely revised my opinion on whether I'd have another - it's basically removed all the bad points (except the initial adjustment, but I'll overlook that), leaving only a really well made, apparently comfortable, effective harness. I might have to do a spot of cutting off and melting the strap that can now hang free to keep it out of the way, but what could possibly go wrong with that?!?

Dog Show washout

Daisy, Cybi and I were supposed to be going to our first dog show today, but sadly Hurricane Bertha (or the remnants thereof) put paid to that, and the event was cancelled. We went for a long walk instead in the rain instead. My plan was to go along an old railway not far from the house - the rationale being that it's quite sheltered at the start as it runs in a culvert with heavy tree cover, and hopefully the conditions would have improved a little before we got to the more exposed path.

It was a fine plan, as these things so often are, but failed utterly to take account of the fact that the sheltered area at the start in the culvert is lower than the surrounding area - that being the point of a culvert. And there was a *lot* of ground water run off, and an awful lot of rain. Consequently the early part of our walk was more like wading through a river than having a nice sheltered stroll. Daisy loved it and happily splooshed around in the water. She seems to enjoy being as deep in water as she can get without having to swim, so was playing in the bits that came up to her chest. Cybi, on the other hand, hates water with a passion. He won't even get his toes wet unless there is no other alternative, so he was not having fun. So much so that I took pity on him, and actually carried him through the worst bit. Sadly no photographic evidence of this, but the absurdity of the situation didn't escape me as I lugged the great lump up the path.

We had a nice walk after that - I'd gone all out on the waterproofing and was glad I was wearing my drizabone jacket and waterproof trousers along with the wellies. But the rain didn't stop the whole time we were out and I eventually decided that we should turn back in case the water in the culvert was still going up. Which it was, and while we weren't in any danger (at worst case we could have worked our way along one of the sides, or left the path completely and walked through one of the estates that sits adjacent to the path of the railway) we had a couple of exciting moments on the way back. Daisy underestimated the strength of the water running down into the culvert and I lost her temporarily (she rapidly reappeared, barking her head off and with no ill effects whatsoever) and poor Cybi did his best to walk through the water where there was no alternative, but eventually got to chest deep and just froze. I ended up going back for him, picking him up out of the water and carrying him back to dry land. He's not usually a nervous little dog, but I didn't see any reason to traumatise him by making him walk through the water if it was scaring him. The downside to carrying him was that our combined weight made me sink just that bit further into the sand of the path, which meant the water got above welly height. Urgh. So the tail end of our walk included me squelching and complaining about my cold feet, while the pups shook themselves enthusiastically every few steps to try not to get any more waterlogged.

Needless to say the rain stopped as soon as we arrived back at the front door, and the sun came out. But we had fun anyway...

Cybi's Hurtta Harness

The Oldies Club (a wonderful charity, highlighting older dogs looking for new homes) recently did a fundraising "harness grab", during which there were lots of Hurtta harnesses available at a discount. There wasn't a "Y" harness available in Cybi's size but I did manage to get my hands on an 80cm Padded Pro in an interesting shade of lime green.

We've spent the last few days trying it out.

The good: Any concerns I had about the harness moving on the dog are completely unfounded, and it does a good job of distributing the pressure across his chest if Cybi pulls. As with when I tried a harness on Daisy, he instantly started to behave himself on a lead, stopped pulling out in front of me,  and walked nicely. I'm not sure if I've just got two dogs that are sensitive to pressure on their necks, or if it's typical that dogs pull less against a collar than they do a harness.

The point of attachment to the lead is actually a ring that can float freely along the strap on the dog's back. That doesn't seem like such a big deal until you've got two excited dogs bouncing about, both on leads and both wearing harnesses. Having a single (static) point of attachment means that the lead gets wrapped around the dog as soon as the dog changes direction, whereas having that float increases the amount the dog has to turn before the lead begins to tangle. Obviously it doesn't remove the wrap problem completely as the attachment point is still behind the dog and won't spin (compared to a collar moving on a dog's neck so that the point of attachment to the lead is always closest to the person holding the other end) but it does help somewhat.

Floating ring on the strap on the left (Hurtta), static ring on the right (Perfect Fit)

The colour is actually really cool. I was dubious, as off the dog the colour is pretty hideous, but once he's wearing it it works on his black coat, and it stands out and is highly visible. The reflective taping is also very effective in twilight and later as it catches car headlights well. The harness is made from slightly padded material, and while it isn't fleece, and the straps aren't so wide as on Daisy's harness, I would have no concerns about chafing if he wore it for a long time. The belly band stays pretty secure, and gives enough clearance behind the armpits that there's no worry about it ending up under Cybi's forelegs.

The not so good:
Putting is on is a colossal, enormous pain. The single clip doesn't undo completely (it just "loosens"), so putting the thing on in the first place requires an obliging dog and a certain degree of dexterity. The dog has to be ok with having his forelegs threaded through a strap into place, and the smaller the dog around the girth, the tighter the harness is adjusted and the less space there is to get the dog's legs through. Cybi is slight for a collie, and just sat there in bemusement as I manhandled his legs into position, involving quite a tight bend at the knee.

Even once unclipped, it still only gives an extra couple of inches of wiggle room to put the harness on the dog

Adjusting it to fit causes the invention of new swear words. I can see why the adjustment needs to be as it is, but it sure isn't easy to get right. It's not possible on the dog (this may be because the harness was brand new and stiff, but that'll be true of most people buying harnesses), so you have to try it, take it off, curse your way through adjusting the belly band tightness by moving the position of the clip buckle, put it back on the dog and repeat as needed. Though once it's done, it's hopefully done forever.

So would I buy another one? At this point, probably not. I'm planning to have Daisy and Cybi try working trials at some point, as I love the balance between obedience, agility and independent working in the scent exercises, and I suspect the Hurtta harness will be great for use while tracking because the dog can work into the chest strap. But for every day going for a walk, not having to manhandle the dog into the harness at the start and end wins, and so I'll most likely revert to plan "A" and acquire a second Perfect Fit. Or possibly look at the Hurtta Y harness - if the clips undo completely it stays in contention, but if there's any dog limbo involved then not so much.

Grooming glove as floor cleaner?

My poor little vacuum cleaner has been teetering under the onslaught for some time, and has finally given up. I think the unique combination of my long hair, Cybi's mid-length, coarse hair, and Daisy's shorter, fine hair creates a mat on the carpet which then requires high power, very effective filtering and extreme resistance to blockage to overcome. My vac, which did a cracking job pre dog, has none of these things, and is additionally hampered by an awkward bend in the tube which is very prone to clogging.

I managed to ignore the blackening carpet for a good couple of weeks, but I did eventually crack - once there was no evidence that the carpet was in fact blue I figured it was probably time to do something about it. Buying a new vacuum cleaner isn't on the available list of options right now, as it's going to have to be a super powerful, pet hair resistant big thing, which basically = expensive. While buying dog food, I noticed this - the CarPet Pet Hair Remover. I figured for a fiver it was worth a go, while the state of my carpet was driving me to distraction, and the reviews were pretty good. Then I spotted that it was basically the same thing in a square as the Mikki Grooming Glove I'd bought for Daisy is in a glove.

So I figured while I was waiting for the delivery, I'd have a go at the floor with the grooming glove.

What a success. Labour intensive for sure (you're effectively grooming the entire surface of the floor with a pad the size of your hand), but it's got the hair up brilliantly. I suspect the novelty of having to clean my living room floor by hand will wear off remarkably quickly, but for now I'm just appreciating the fact that my carpet is unarguably blue, even if only until the next time the dogs decide they have to have wrestling practice in my living room.

Before and after getting at the floor with the grooming glove. Quite the change!

On to the Bronze

Daisy passed her Puppy Foundation course, and is now onto the Bronze Good Citizen course. I'm so proud.

It might not seem like a huge deal to most people, but given her iffy start (her foster mum said of her "Who'd have thought she was once a little Irish stray with no hope at all" when she saw her a few months ago), every time we get through a milestone like this, however small, it just reinforces how far she has come.