Hoss' Ear Dilema

Our puppy Hoss is now just over 9 months old, he's a big boy and still growing. One small concern has been that he has a floppy ear. This is probably partly because he is still growing but also because some German Shepherd have floppy ears, even though the preference is for pointed ears that stand straight up. Now just a disclaimer, I love him no matter what his ear look like, he is such a sweet guy and we have bonded very tightly, so whatever the outcome I will love him the same. That being said, every week when we go to our dog training class, the trainer always talks to us about the ears as does the vet tech that is there and everyone else. So this week, I went to the breeders website and found out that although they breed for the stand up ears, 1 in 75 dogs end up with the flops. They had remedies but they are only successful if done early in the development. Month 9 is the break point, so we are trying to do everything we can to help Hoss have perfect ears. The remedies are as follows:

The problem seems to stem from the fact that when dogs are growing, calcium is pulled from places like the ears to other places, like teeth and bones. It affect large breeds mostly and large males. You can almost watch Hoss grow. So we start with...

1. Beef bones, real ones. We get these from our local butcher and he loves them.
2. Good (aka expensive) dog food formulated especially for large breed dogs.
3. Calcium supplements, I drove all over looking for Knox gelatin capsules only to learn they don't make them any more, so tonight we disguised Tums and fed him a few, they are high in calcium.
4. This is where it gets interesting, bonding pipe insulation (the stuff they put around your plumbing to keep it from freezing) to the inside of his ears with surgical glue.

This is what it looked like at our house tonight and believe me, he wasn't happy as you can tell from the last picture, don't know whether he was ignoring me or if he was just tuckered from chewing his big bone to shreds. Either way, he looks like a man tonight, think Rin Tin Tin. I'll keep ya posted on whether we can keep the dang stuff glued to his ears long enough (at least 10 days) to give him an ear up.

The reward, a big cow bone!

The "bad" stuff, the adhesive and the stuff that sticks to the inside of his ears.

Pretty much done with me, I hope he will forgive me for this...

New Orleans, Again!

On my walk this morning...2 great places...

The corner of Royal and Saint Ann (love that!), this is where I found the great fortune teller a few years back, she's still here, so I will probably pay her another visit while I'm in town. She was amazingly accurate, and where better than the Voodoo capital...

This seemed like a great little place for a fun business, I would love to have the experience of living in the French Quarter for just a little while, Karen, are you up for it?

Stay tuned, more to come...

The "Dad" Adventure

Last weekend was pretty intense, Dad had been building a workshop with the help of friends, relatives and neighbors. On Thursday he was getting ready to put some boards up so he could finish the roof. My big bro Dan had just been by and told dad to call when he was ready so Dan could come and help him...famous last words - "we can do this" and attempt to do it they did...Dad and his neighbor Kent decided to just climb up the ladders with the board and somewhere in that plan something went horribly wrong. The board shifted, the ladders wriggled and they both fell. Dad got the worst of it hitting the concrete, the ladder falling on top of him and the board hitting him in the forehead. 30 something stitches later....

The call I got was that dad was in an ambulance, possible broken neck, almost decapitated, not looking good. I dusted off my frequent flier miles, hoped a United flight and got to Las Vegas and then Hurricane as quick as I could. Along the way, the news got better, no broken bones, no concussion, sending him home to heal. I arrived around 9:00 p.m. to an exhausted and worried mom, an ashen and pretty lifeless pa.

I spent the night and I don't think any of us slept much, every time dad made a sound, we were right there checking on him. It was miraculous though how quickly he bounced back. By the time I left on Sunday, he was up and around, eating, joking and pretty much being dad.

The blessings were that he wasn't hurt more than he was, that the neighbor wasn't hurt and is also doing well. That all 3 of my brothers plus some neighbors came together and finished the roof and that I got to spend some time just me and my pa, talking about life in general and what should be important. I am one grateful daughter for blessings that continue to be poured out on my parents of health and well being. Cats have nothing on my dad. And yes, I totally rocked his cinnamon roll recipe for him!