Nana, the Other Fiber Source (a dog and fiber post)

I have a Briard and they are a lovely, if busy dog.  They also have this wonderful long fur and I have a thing for big fuzzy animals.  Unfortunately, it is possibly the all time worse choice for where I live.  Her fur is a velcro mat for every foxtail, cockaburr, corkscrew or miner's lice burr the grasses around here can produce.  Since she and I spend a great deal of time outside this is a problem.  One morning at the ranch equals 45 minutes of going through her feet and legs on top of the usual grooming requirements.  In addition, she really isn't a hot weather dog.  Consequently I took the desperate, radical step and had her sheared.

Before shearing

If you look closely you can see how she also collects twigs that have to be untangled from her furry feet.

After Shearing

She looks ridiculous - but she doesn't pant as much and after a morning at the barn she only required a quick foot check for foxtails and we both breathed easier. One of the side benefits of this shearing was a large zip lock bag of Nana hair and a book lent to me by the groomer.

 The guild heads to the 3rd annual Spindle Camp this June and I think it will be a perfect time to try spinning dog hair.  I wonder if I can get a nice scarf out of this and it is definitely time to get a pair of hand carders. 

As much as I love my furry dog and think she looks dumb naked, shearing may become an annual event unless I move to a much more friendly Briard environment.

Back to Nana

Nana at 3 months

Nana at 16 months

Nana is a 17 month old Briard,  she is currently doing fine, not having had a head shaking seizure since November 30th.  I keep thinking it is a deficit in the neurotransmitter dopamine.  I wish I had a neurological vet student in my pocket to study this.  Her seizures also seem to be food triggered. As long as I keep her food tightly regulated and consistent she seems to do just fine.

This first year of dog ownership has been roller coaster ride of new and exciting medical events.  Some expected, like being spayed, others well not so much. The Briard breed can be a handful. They are busy, smart, independent and inclined to think they can get back to you later.  It isn't that they don't love you, they just aren't the type of dog you micro-manage.  The border collie lives to be told what to do.  The Briard is the independent contactor.  "So you want me to take care of the sheep?"  "Got it......and don't tell me how to do my job and what are you still doing here, if I need you I'll let you know".   She still thinks it is an equal partnership and obedience is optional.  Thank goodness she is a slut for food - my secret weapon.

They say people are their dogs, after listening to my trainer (who has border collies) about what I needed to do with Nana after one particular difficult training session, I realized I wasn't a lot different.  "Let me think about that and I'll get back to you".  Can't fault the dog for a personality trait we both share - but it sure can be annoying.

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify....or NOT!!

Today in a fit of over enthusiasm I created a Facebook and a Blog for Nana.  Yes, I probably am "way over the top", but really it wasn't my idea.  Ok, that was a pretty poor excuse - but what a great way to go on and on about my dog.  But frankly, I've done easier things.  The Blog was easy to create and is currently a work in progress and I blatantly stole a post (with a few edits) from here to start.  The Facebook was a nightmare.  I created and deleted a couple of facebook pages and of course I had to create and delete a couple of emails that were linked to the facebook pages.  Deleted forever, does not mean deleted in cyber space I discovered.  I got so twisted around I'm hoping I remember what I finally ended up with as an email and login. 

As a goal of simplifying my life and I have definitely fallen off the wagon.

Find Nana on Facebook at Nana LeBriard

You can find Life with Nana at the following link.

http://thetawneytornado.blogspot.com/

Doggie Orthodontia Con't Or Why Nana is Chasing Her Tail

When Toys Were Still Allowed

Well it is Tuesday and the retainer is (as of this moment) still in her mouth. I have become her favorite chew toy in the process.  I am doing the best I can to keep her tired.  We walk and we walk and we walk on leash.  But I choose where we walk - no sticks, nothing that she might decide to bite. This entails doing laps around the local regional park which has a large population of geese.  Most of our walk is an attempt to make some kind of forward progression while not jumping on me, making wild grabs at my vest, or eating goose poop. I was shocked at how large a goose poop can be,  it is the size of a small dinner plate.  I, in desperation, bought a muzzle so that I can let her run on the back pasture at the barn. Put the muzzle on, let her run, take it off and hopefully have a tired puppy.  Yes, I am very conflicted at having bought a muzzle for a very sweet puppy.  Besides, it pushes all her hair up and I'm not sure she can see anything.  She is so desperate to chew on something that she has taken to whirling like a dervish in pursuit of her tail.  She hasn't mastered the art of not getting dizzy yet and falls over - but is up again to chase it in the other direction.  Briards are comical dogs and need things to do, she is a very busy girl and I am working hard to find things for her that don't entail biting me or anything else.  This is a very short term problem and I will know if this retainer is working on Friday - hopefully we will both survive until then.  Oh, and just as a side note most of my friends are laughing at me for having a dog with a retainer.

Doggie Orthodontia

Yesterday my dog went to the dentist and came home with a retainer in her mouth that she will have to wear, if she doesn't break it first, for the next couple of weeks.  If you have stopped laughing I will explain why she had to have a splint (retainer).  It wasn't for cosmetic reasons, it was strictly medical.  Her lower canines were coming in straight up and into the roof of her mouth.  She has a narrow lower jaw with a slight underbite.  Her adult canines came in on the inside of her baby canines.  For about a week she had double canines. Hmmm....this didn't look good, so I grabbed a friend, who conveniently is a vet, to look at her mouth.  Which is why I found myself with an immediate appointment with a doggie orthodontist.  And in the immortal words of that vet as we sat on the floor of the exam room with the patient "Your screwed, those canines are going to grow into the roof of her mouth causing holes which become vectors for infection and then we will have to file her adult canines down and risk of infection is........"  Damn.

So.....there is a narrow window of opportunity to intervene as the adult canines are coming in to get them to shift outward and not drill holes into the roof of my dogs mouth.  As my youngest daughter said this morning: "How do you end up with all these high maintenance pets?!?!"  She was laughing....as I tried to protest that I don't go out looking for them, how was I suppose to know that the rescue cat I adopted had thyroid disease and needed a compounded medicine from a little boutique pharmacy.  Once they are mine, they are mine and it is what it is.

But in the meantime it is awful.  No toys for Nana, nothing to chew on, her food has to be soaked to mush and I can give her Benadryl to try and calm her.  She is a very busy girl and I am trying to come up with alternatives during this next week that will keep her interest and her mouth empty.  Not easy when you are only 5 months old and you think everything belongs in the mouth.  I've explained it to her, but I just don't think she gets it.

The Tawny Tornado

My Life has been hijacked by a tawny tornado. Ok, that is my excuse for not posting in 4 months. I have no idea what happened to my sense of time or maybe I am just lazy. I do know that for the last 2 months I have been deep into puppy madness. I am owned now by a Briard, commonly described as “a heart wrapped in fur”. They fail to mention the teeth. At four and half months she can sit, down, shake, come, stand, and bite with enthusiasm. Vampire dog! For awhile I was thinking about getting stock in bandaid companies.


I have been fortunate to be able take her out the barn and walk a lower pasture. Three laps is about three miles. Nana does about four to five miles with all the running and zooming back and forth. That’s good for the morning, but doesn’t cover the afternoon exercise requirement. But we are working on it.

So now is the time for resolutions as we move back into the light and out of winter darkness. This will be the first year that I will be completely through with the messiness of divorce, court dates, and the expenses and paper work that comes with it all. Nana, the biting machine, was part of my commitment to building the life I wanted. So I am going to risk more, spend less, try to be a better friend, blog more (lucky you), and craft a life filled with laughter, love and simplicity. At least that is the plan, oh yes….and try and teach the tawny tornado that “bite me” is only an expression.