2006 in Doggy Details
Moving a kennel around the block can be disruptive to training, breeding, showing -- heck, it even messes up invitations to judge at so much as a fun match! But moving to Europe has provided some special challenges.
The dogs are doing well here in Vilseck. The yard, although spacious, is not big enough to suffice for running a pack. Fortunately, just outside the back gate is an open field with miles of running room and beyond that is forrest, with a few miles more. It is all very hilly and provides a great work out for man and beast.
There have been few learning curves. One wake-up call came in the form of my only neighboring family. They are Nigerian. He is an Army physician, married, with three or four children. His mother-in-law is also in residence. He is a pleasant enough man and obviously very patient. His wife epitomizes Shakespeare's Shrew, though I doubt she can be Tamed. She is afraid of dogs -- any size, at all times.
I get the idea that when one is afraid of dogs there is no reasonable way to discuss approaching or petting one -- it's just not a happening thing. And then there is Gaza. Now joined by her friend Samoa (a Mango son who came here in Januay this year when life in NM didn't work out well enough). Gaza and Samoa are two dogs on the prowl -- constantly. It wouldn't matter if Yellowstone National Park was their kennel run, there would still be greener grass and more fun to be found on the other side. In this case the other side is the neighbor's yard and the fun is the neighbor's children. Both Gaza and Samoa love children. So when they hear the kids racing and screaming around on the other side of the hedge, well... there ain't no stopping them.
I have reinforced the fenceline using tent stakes, garden stakes, piles of dog poop, large rocks, rolls of wire fencing, piles of cutgrass, hex signs, whatever I can find. Still, it's a long fence line and they are tenacious dogs.
When they get out I am usually aware of their absence within minutes. I immediately get them out of the neighbor's yard, endure a bit of her cussing and screaming at me in the process and then I fix the hole. She calls the Military Police. It's almost like a dance -- I just wish I was leading! 'Cause she is stepping on my toes in a big way!
I can't really say how many times the Military Police and I have chatted. Sometimes they are polite and reasonable, sometimes they are into power play mode -- though they have no jurisdiction here. Recently Mrs. Neighbor has upped the ante and started calling the German Police. They have a bit more bite. Still, in July I hope to have the entire fenceline pulled down and replaced with 2 meter-high fence set into a 30 cm concrete footer. That will resolve the dogs getting out. But I don't have a solution to the other side of the fence problems. I call the MPs myself about the time all the screaming gets to death threats -- not to me -- to each other, or when the kids are getting switched. And there is an education to be had watching the ladies of the household do their laundry in scrub tubs on the back porch. Germany has some top-of-the-line energy-efficient washing machines provided to us at government expense so I don't quite understand that dynamic.
Coming from New Mexico the dogs had very few problems with diseases or parasites. There was a heartworm problem, but of course there are also preventatives. Some other worms, but keeping a clean kennel solves that for the most part too. The dogs didn't have fleas or ticks, no biting flies. A little dry skin now and then, but that was about it. Not so here. The lush, green land abounds with little buggers waiting to get into feed. The dogs are living on grass for the first time in their lives and have to be constantly checked for ticks. The critters are so small when they first jump on I can only spot them against the white coats of the dogs' ruffs. Shampoos and any other chemicals on the market don't seem to have the necessary killing power, so it's digging through the coat of every dog at least once a day that keeps them from becoming anemic. Occassionally one will get by and grow to about 9mm in size before dropping off. They look a bit like black pearls, so that is what I call them. Quite disgusting though! I wouldn't want a string of them! One phenomenom I have noticed is that ticks who attach on Gaza's head don't seem to grow. Lack of blood there, which I presume is related to a lack of brains! Perhaps that's not fair, but it is funny.
Intestinal worms are a problem here. I took Gaza in for a routine checkup and was astounded to find her a bit loaded with round worms, pin worms, and even a tape worm. Naturally all dogs were treated and will be again in 6 weeks.
Skin allergies are cropping up as we get into our second year here. A mix of conditioning baths, lots of grooming, slathering on leave-in conditioner, feeding Derm Caps with dinner, and an occasional steroid shot when things get too itchy to stand on four feet, have all kept the problem under control. But the maintenance is constant, with the Aussies suffering more than the Border Colies.
A sudden change of plans took over kennel life in December. I received orders back to the states mid-month, with less than two weeks to get the house organized and packed out again. Then there was the issue of shipping eight dogs! Fortunately I had people here about to fly west so I loaded them up with three and four dogs apiece and the shipping went very smoothly.
Gaza was pregnant when she flew back to the US, but since she is an experienced jet-setting dog, everything went just fine. She whelped three big pups on Christmas Eve. Naturally yule names were required so we have Track (from the Polar Express) Trinity and Twinkle.
Only Spice is still here in Germany with me. As the New Year approaches we will make a last trip to Prague and then spend a few days in France before flying to Ohio in early January.
