Guess What?

Our fence is in! And not a moment too soon. It went in last week a day before Mr. Wild Dingo and I started our Cultural Training Program.  "Come again," you ask? Yes, that's right. Mr. Wild Dingo and I don't got no culture and we don't got no class. So we had to hire someone to teach us how to get some culture. More about the culture thing later. First the fence.

Pre-Fenced Yard.

Here I had the dogs on long lines so they could open up their legs a little.

It seemed harmless, until...

Juno rodeo-smack-downed Loki and had him tied up like a rodeo bull in 3 seconds. I think I found her new sport. She is eyeing those bulls on our walk with a glimmer in her eyes these days.

We also won't mention the 2 times Juno jumped off the unfenced retaining wall into the street with her 20 foot leash in tow. Ya, so long lines are not a sure thing for safety!

Fenced Yard

Well it cost twice as much as our crappy fence at home but in defense, it was much better made. The poles took 2 days to put in, then a 5-7 day wait period for the cement to dry. Then last Thursday, the fence wire went up within a day. Sometimes you get lucky with contractors I guess. Yet we can't get the gardener to come mow the lawn.

Loki marks the border of the "potty" part of the outside. The nice thing about not having the fence up right away is it was easy to teach the dogs where the potty was so that they don't use the entire yard. Since this part  of the lawn is quieter and is mostly weeds, we thought it would be the best place for their potty.

As you can see, we desperately needed a fence for the open areas of the hedge. On the other side of the hedge is a very busy road. I chose this location to live so we could be near town and lots of people and that meant being on a busy street.

Juno's already planning her husky escape route. This is the retaining wall area she leapt off (pre-fence) on a chase game with Loki. This street is not as busy, but there are houses with dogs and the busy street is quite close to this one. The fence doesn't quite go to the ground, so Mr. Wild Dingo and I will have to be creative to prevent digging. Though neither dog is meant to be outside unattended.

The day after the fence went in, Mr. Wild Dingo and I were stuck at home in "cultural training" and could not get out to take the dogs for a long walk. It was pouring anyway. That fence saved our butts as we could let them out to stretch their legs in between breaks.

Loki leaps for Joy as Juno is still looking for her escape route.

First smack down without the long lines.

"Oh my DAWG! I'm dying! You're killing me Princess!"
"Oh Swiss Cheeses! I didn't even touch you, you big pansy!"

"Dude! What did you have for dinner last night? "
"Oh my dawg, I'm so embarrassed!"

Juno enjoys patroling the paremeter and walks the long fence line each time she's out.

"Where oh, where could the nice French kitteh who visited our humble garden a few nights ago have gone? And why hasn't she been back to visit us?"

"Oh boy, if I stand here really still, maybe the French kitteh will come back."

Ya right Loki. Peut-être le chat gentil français n'aime pas le chien fort fou?

Loki is allergic to Switzerland.

Or that's what the vet suggested. As I type this, he is scratching his neck, again! He was up several nights in a row in a panic. We thought it was fleas but there was no evidence and Juno wasn't scratching and the scratching didn't go away after I reluctantly gave them Frontline. I found an English-speaking vet with a sense of humor within a 5-minute walk from our house. His colleague, a petite Swedish female, met us and while Loki was a polite gentleman and didn't bark once, she did seem a bit intimidated by him. She liked him enough when he tried to kiss and snuggle with her but suggested her partner handle him if he needed any "procedures!" Bien sur! He is Cujo the Cracker after all.

We think he's allergic to something in the environment, perhaps the grasses or something in the farms. He licks his paws and arms a lot and rolls around on the grass on his back. He also scratches his neck and licks his belly constantly. His skin is dry. She was happy to hear he was on a BARF diet (Raw Meaty Bones) --which is another post in itself about getting him to eat his Raw Meaty bones--but she feels its likely environmental and not from food and not mange/mites since he has no hot spots. So he's on a course of prednisone of 2 weeks and a high dose of omega 3 and 6 oils (Megaderm from Vibrac). He hasn't taken his regular dose of fish oil since we moved because I can't find any salmon oil here. Hopefully the prednisone will stop the itch and the oils will prevent him from reacting too severely in the future. It's a wait and see approach.

But seriously, Internet, the bigger issue is Loki, the Cracked-out Cujo on prednisone. Because he isn't cracked out enough? Heaven help the people of Morges!