Tag Archives: nature
8.14.12 Would You Like Cheese With That WHINE!
Sign repinned from lol
I am sooooooooo tired of Sofie’s whining. I have been making a study of this, and she even whines in her sleep. This must be a Sheltie trait. Never having a dog with this breed mix before, I am not sure, but I have never had such a big baby like Sofie Bear. So I decided to do some research. I went to “Sheltie Planet: Your Guide to Everything Shetland Sheepdog,” to find out if this is a breed problem. And, it sort of is. They say you should ask yourself these questions to try to figure out why she is whining:
– Is she in pain? NOPE
– Is she simply bored or lonely? Could be, but we could be in the middle of a major play session and she will whine (or maybe dog talk), so I will say, MAYBE.
– Is she afraid or anxious? I don’t think she is afraid, but anxious, well of that I am not sure? I don’t really see her as an anxious dog, but I have Lulu who is pretty high strung, so in comparison maybe I am missing something. I will have to think on this.
– Does she need to go outside? Well if she asks, I take her, but that is super rare.
Sofie is a very vigilant dog, she can hear a fox outside 200 feet away. She will bark at noises that we human’s just don’t hear, but I figure that is vigilance, not anxiety. Shelties are bred to guard the flock and warn when intruders are around, so it is in her DNA. I guess I am more tolerant than other people when it comes to innate traits. A dog is a dog and you have to allow them a bark or two or an occasional whine. Poor Sofie definitely has reasons to whine: (1) When she wants Nine to come out of the cat room and play with her; (2) When she wants Muffin to stop helping me make dinner, especially when it is the dog food kind; (3) When she wakes up and wants me to let her out of her kennel (but I can tell her to go back to sleep and most of the time she will), and, for sure; (4) When she wants a toy that Lulu has. The family says she whines all the time, but maybe I just don’t hear it. I have been told that she whines terribly when I leave, which is something I really need to figure out how to help her stop. The Sheltie website said basically to ignore the whining, but that sure doesn’t work around here. When she was a puppy I tried to give her positive reinforcement for not whining, but that was really hard, since it is not a predictable thing. A lot of times I think that Sofie is just dog talking to me though. She likes to sit there and have this whole conversation. I am not exactly sure what the story is about, but I know that she likes when I make eye contact and tilt my head as if listening. “Well, Sofie my love, would you like a little cheese with that whine?”
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
Monday’s Random Facts
Random facts: Sloths only poop once a week and have very bad eyesight. Their very soft hair grows in all directions because they are upwards as much as downwards.
by asirap
8.13.12 Hornero Nest Building
People are capturing the most incredible things on camera these days and are able to turn them into just such wonderful pieces of consumable art and information that travel thousands of miles around the globe in seconds thanks to the speed and technology of the internet.
For example this amazing series of photos of a Hornero bird building it’s nest from the LOL DAMN site. I could not find out who the original photographer was, but I thought that it was just something that must be shared. A private moment caught forever in pictures.
From Wikipedia I learned that “Horneros are brown birds with rather short tails and fairly long bills. They are known for building mud nests that resemble old wood-fired ovens (the Spanish word “hornero” comes from horno, meaning “oven”). They are from the family of birds called Furnariids, and while many of these types of birds have different nests, the hornero nest is the reason for the common name applied to the entire family; Ovenbirds (though unrelated to the Ovenbird, which is a parulid warbler). The size and exact shape of the hornero nest varies depending on the species. They generally lay 2–4 eggs, although the breeding behavior of the Bay Hornero is virtually unknown.
Adult horneros can frequently be seen sitting on top of their nest. They are generally noisy and all horneros are partially terrestrial, and commonly seen walking on the ground with a relatively up-right posture.
The Rufous Hornero is a national emblem of Argentina, one of the several countries it inhabits.”
I stay humbled to the fact that I can see a bird that lives (8394 km) 5216 miles away building it’s nest. How cool is that? I hope you enjoy the show as much as I did.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
8.6.12 You Know ‘The Look’
Have you ever sat there and looked at your child, or your lover, and just had this kind of stare that is just made up of pure love. You know that look; the one that says, no matter what happens at any other point in time, this point is perfect, and you are just the being that I want to be near. This is the look that I have for my daughter when she is just looking a certain way or doing something, that makes me feel warm and fuzzy and mommyish inside. That unconditional, no matter what, love and adoration. Well, that is how Louise and Sofie have been looking at me since I got home. I can not go anywhere without them of course attached to my side. But the looks… the I must be in your presence, you are the center of my being, kind of looks. Now, I really do not feel that I deserve this undying devotion. Come on, dogs, I just left you for 10 days, why aren’t you mad at me or something? Instead, they just want to kiss me and snuggle, and rub deep against me. There is so much that is said in a look. I think that is why the virtual world craves pictures so much. People really want to ‘look’ at things. They want to see the form and the movement. Even though we may be disconnected in space and time, beings want to look at each other. Ok, I know that people that do not have sight may not have this concept, but I bet (I don’t have anyone I can ask so I am guessing), that they have, in their own unsighted way, ‘the look’ that I am talking about. Come to think of it, Squash E Bear, when totally blind, used to tilt his head to me in that kind of ‘I love you and will follow you anywhere forever’ look. Look back at this picture of me, Lulu, and Squash and see if you don’t agree? I find it incredible that the animals can sit and stare at me that way. Noel does it too, but not Muffy, Kitty, or the others. Is it love? Is it obedience? Do animals look at each other that way? Do they stare at their young the way that I do mine? Sometimes, I guess I stare at the animals that way too. Like when I took this picture of Louise yesterday. She is watching Sofie on the other side of the deck with a rope toy. I was struck by her musculature, her calmness, and her beauty. I probably had ‘the look’ in my eyes when I took the shot. I guess maybe next time I will turn the camera around and see.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
8.5.12 Maddy & the Goat
I interrupt the daily zoo to bring you Madelyn Dawn, my most incredible 22 month old grandniece and the Goat. Children and animals have this unspoken way of understanding each other. I find it really interesting how animals know that young humans are different than older humans. Do they smell of innocence? Wonder? Newness? I love how this goat has focused in on her and it is as if they are having a secret moment. I observed once as Squash played with a little toddler who was positioned behind him and kept wanting to play with his tail (and what a beautiful furry tail it was). We were at a birthday party of a 5 year old, outside in a park and Squash did not know anyone. He laid in a down position, as he tended to do, and swished his tail one way, and the baby would reach, and then the other way, just as the child would grab for it. This went on for a really long time. The child was laughing and laughing. Coincidence, or thoughtful play, who knows? I believe that animals know that children are for playing. Hope you had fun feeding the goats, Maddy girl, sure looks like Nanny enjoyed meeting you.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
8.4.12 Noel Took Charge
Noel In Charge
The trouble with leaving Noel in charge of the zoo while I was gone, is that she actually took it very seriously. Here you see her taking over the dog bed in my office and forcing poor Louise to sleep on the floor. That is the trouble with animals of different species. They seem to boss each other around in funny ways. What I found really cute is that Louise actually listened to her and vacated the bed. Maybe it is an age before beauty thing; Lulu being the younger animal of course. I think that in my absence Noel was forced to deal with situations that she did not prefer; like having to be with people other than Mommy and actually being with the rest of the herd/pride. I noticed that she has been out more the last couple of days since I have been home. She was investigating ‘Syd,’ the platypus that I brought home from the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, for Peanut. Funny what happens to certain animals when you give then a sense of responsibility.
Maybe Noel will start being more social with the other animals now that she has been in the leadership role. I doubt it though. I do find it interesting that the dogs allowed Noel to be in their bed when they do not allow any other cats to even come close. They are really possessive about their spots usually. I have seen Sofie get extremely upset at Nine for trying to enter her kennel (she probably was protecting her lovey, Beaver, who was sleeping inside). The dynamics of my pack/pride are very interesting. When you change one thing, take out a member or add a member, even for a short time, the relationships seem to shift. Sometimes they come back to where they started, and sometimes, they don’t. I really hope the dogs don’t start standing on my desk and sleeping in Noel’s bed under the window. I don’t think I could deal with that.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
