We have been played…

Tags

dogs, home, life, Vet

Well we were back at the Atlantic Veterinary College, AVC at UPEI with Nick and Nora for their annual shots and physical exam etc. Our Vet, Dr West is a charming man with years of experience. Because of the pandemic the protocol is for us to stay in the small parking lot of the college, the lot is surrounded by gardens with mature trees and you can enjoy a nice breeze in the shade. One garden is dedicated to poisonous plants. Nick and Nora were whisked inside by the nurse. Dr West came out a little later to tell us what was happening and while talking about the hounds, Dachshunds belong to the hound family,  he told us something we knew from having dogs for 30 years, that they (Nick and Nora) were playing us to get what they wanted.  Walt Disney lied, they are not all sweetness, they are mostly calculating.

Reesie Of Chicago and Bundnie of Cairo in Ottawa in 1995 in the Fall on our home deck.

Nora of Capena and Fantastico Nicky in Ottawa in 2013 in our den.

Our Dachshunds we learned are too clever for words and by constantly observing us they get to know which buttons to push to get a treat, we say Biscuit or wanting to be put up on the sofa, or wanting their blanket re-arranged so they can nestle, go out for a walk, they usually decide where we will go or a myriad of other demands. They are also punctual about meals 07:30am for breakfast and 5:00pm for dinner and do not forget. We get dirty looks and low growl if the service is not punctual. Walks at 10am and then at 2pm and 4pm finally at 9pm.

Right now it is a few minutes, 10 to be exact, before dinner and already Nicky is moaning as if in pain for his dinner. Nora simply let’s him do it but gives pleading looks. We also have a routine for breakfast which is always followed by a small piece of banana, after dinner a small piece of cheese usually gouda. At cocktail time as I reach for ice for drinks, they expect a sliver of ice each. Little rituals we cannot depart from.  If food is being prepared they are in the kitchen and will not be moved.

When it comes to their health, we do watch carefully, last Thursday night I spent 5 hours at the AVC but it was worth it and yesterday Dr West confirmed that Nora was better and this week she would make a full recovery. Nick got his shots and will have to return for teeth cleaning and so will she. Hopefully it is just a cleaning not extraction. Vet service in Canada is very expensive compared to elsewhere in the World.

Though they are cunning, they are also adorable and we created this situation by spoiling them and catering to their needs. They learn very quickly if food is involved and never forget. Will often remarks how they cannot remember commands unless their meal is being prepared. Nora also has the habit of listening to you as long as you are in sight, the minute your back is turned, she will revert to what she was doing completely forgetting whatever you said. If we scold her for something she takes this offended look. Our Bundnie who was a short hair Dachshund use to turn her back on us if displeased with us.

Now it is just past 10 pm and Nicky has been sleeping next to me in the living room, he suddenly wakes up, looks at me with his big eyes, I ask him if he wants to go sleep  or Do Do in French and he jumps down and runs to his kennel and blanket because he will get a treat. Nora follows this little manège and does not move from the sofa but she too will want a treat. When she finally goes to bed she will get another treat and Nicky will wake up just so he too can get an extra treat. How they can go from deep slumber to wakefulness in seconds is beyond my understanding.

So we will just have to live with it I suppose and think of ourselves as personal assistants to them. As long as they are in good health and happy that is all that matters.

 

 

 

Dachshund Philosophy

Tags

dogs, Food, humans, life, routine

We have had Dachshunds in our lives now for 30 years, they are a very smart breed of dogs and very perceptive. Of course we treat ours like our children and spoil them rotten. A dangerous thing to do with Dachshunds because they know what buttons to push to get what they want.

Our very first Dachshund was Bundnie a short hair female born at the French Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. She came into our lives probably too young but Bundnie had tons of character and lived to be 17 years old, travelling all the time around the world with us. She would pee on people’s shoes for any reasons, it was endearing and people loved her.

The second one Reese was a long hair Dachshunds. We met him in Chicago in 1993. Bundnie was not to please to see him and at first treated him as if he was a visitor and maybe he should leave. Reese was deaf and we discovered this late in his life. He was a beautiful sweet little dog , he too travelled with us and lived to be 16 years old.

When Reesie died in Rome on Boxing Day we were very sad, it was strange to be without his presence in the house. So a little over a year later, friends told us of this well known Veterinarian in Capena. Our friends lived just down the road from him in a rural setting which is the backdrop for Italian movies, making you want to buy a house in Italy.

On our first visit they did not have any litter but told us to return in February. We did and saw two litters, in one was this feisty little female pup and in the other this shy little male pup. Both were new born and if we were interested we would have to return in 6 to 7 weeks time. We came back and decided to take Nora and Nicky.

Through the years we have developed a routine with them. Routine is very important for any dog, always the same time for waking up, for meals, for walks, for play, etc.. It must never change because it makes them unhappy and you get problems. In our case, having Dachshunds means that they set the routine and you simply follow it. If you don’t they will let you know, no worries.

Unlike cats like Moose and Dudo, the famous duo who live on the Costa del Sol in Spain with fellow bloggers, and because they are cats are more independent minded, dogs need structure and routine. As our Vet told us, be careful with Dachshunds because they will always try to control the situation and see what are your weak points. So they can play on weakness to get more treats, food, etc.

Nicky per example has developed this mannerism of head movements to indicate what he wants. Nora has developed a language based on voice modulations, high, low, intermediate. Growls also which go from soft to plaintive to strong to loud, all depending on what she wants from you, it is quite the vocabulary.

Nicky has this way of whining for his dinner always at 5pm, no later!!! In the morning he wakes us up usually around 7:30am, one very loud and sharp bark, a short walk outside and then breakfast, then a snooze, a first of many during the day. Every morning I will sit in my chair in the living room to have my coffee and read the morning news. Nicky will immediately come and indicate by moving his head that he will sit next to me. I pick him up and he proceeds to fall asleep with me stroking his head and telling him he is a good boy. If for some reason I do not come to sit down, he will fetch me with much whining and head jerks towards the chair. If I do not follow his lead, there is much incomprehension. Same thing if we go for a walk, whereas Nora loves to walk and meet people, I mean people who give her treats, the others can go jump in the river. Like all the Public Works and Garden City employees, Nora loves them. The tourists depends on what kind. Nicky on the other hand is weary of people in general and he likes women more than men. Nicky can be funny on walks, either he leads you literally where he wants to go and come on lets go attitude or he simply sits down and nothing will move him. So we have to go home, unless of course I pick him up and walk him further along. He will give me this indignant look, as if to say “” what do you think you are doing”” .

Here is Nicky on his morning snooze beside me while I take my coffee. He loves this every morning, all snug and comfy. Thing is I cannot go anywhere and if I get up for whatever reason, he looks at me to call me back along the line; Hey you! come back here now. So it all boils down in a dachshund life, to sleep a lot (we are hounds), eat and don’t be shy about asking for that piece of cheese, carrot, celery, cucumber or steak or ham or … and enjoy the sunshine and a good rub and keep your human attendant on a short leash.

 

Another Birthday

Tags

11 yrs old, Birthday, Nicky, puppy

Festivities at our house never stop, any excuse is good to pop a cork of champagne and eat cake. So Sunday 23 February is our Nicky’s 11th Birthday. Nicky is very different from Nora in personality and temperament. He plays Mr Tough guy and he has a ferocious bark for a 12 lbs dog. but it is all show. He also thinks that he has to protect Nora from just about everything and Nora is annoyed by this and will beat him up.

Because his father was a European Champion Show dog, Nicky thinks he too is a show dog and for a WireHair Dachshund he has all the qualifications. Yes he is on the Catwalk of Life.

We call him Nicky Sunshine because he loves to lie in the Sun so much and just sleep, always looking for a ray of sunshine. Like in this photo above taken in Rome in our study on Via dei Villini, staring into the Sun.

He loves to sit with me and it is a routine with him, I have to sit and then he comes and sits beside me so he can get a cuddle. We do this in the morning and for sure at night after dinner. He also has the habit of going to bed at 10pm this is something we have never been able to figure out, how does he know the time? He does get a cookie before bed but then again he gets a cookie if he goes outside, etc. Habit I suppose. Same for his dinner always at 5pm and in the morning he use to get up at 7am but lately it is more like 7:30am. He has his own little routine and we are just the personal attendants.

Nicky in profile and Nora with her severe look.

Nicky resting again from his active hound life in the sunshine. He is a little monster when it comes to attention grabbing, constant whining until he gets what he wants, very stubborn, never forgets except for commands which he always looks puzzled when you order him about, you talking to me look.

We get so use to them in our lives, a constant presence. Happy Birthday Nicky. 

 

The parents

Tags

Capena, dogs, Italy, Wire hair

Today 19 February is Nora’s Birthday and I am posting photos of her parents.

Nora’s Mom named Lucy, she still lives at the Farm in Capena and is now 14 yrs old.

Nora’s Dad, named Monet, photo taken in March 2009.

Later this week we will have Nicky’s Birthday, his Father came from Budapest. As part of a breeding program for champion dogs.

The Birthday girl enjoying a bit of sunshine. 

 

390 BCE and roof repairs

Tags

390 BCE, dogs, Gaul, Geese, juno, Rome

What is the link between having your roof repaired and the sack of Rome by the Gauls in 390BCE you might ask. Well a lot I tell you.

Today the roofing company came to do maintenance work and replace the old roof on our house. Nora our little wire hair Dachshund is a hunting/tracking dog by nature and a guard dog by choice. She guards the house and her excellent sense of hearing and sight allows her to detect anything even if it is 600 feet away, nothing escapes her. She also has a very sharp sense of smell.

So with all the noise of the roofers she was distressed about the noise and all the people, warning us with her sharp high pitch hound bark of impending invaders, doom I tell you.

Nicky our male Dachshund well he just can’t snooze quietly with all this noise and that is annoying, no he won’t bark unless provoked. Nicky is a show dog with a long European pedigree, he is on the catwalk of life, paparazzi, gourmet biscuit for the idle dachshund. Let Nora do all the work I don’t need to get involved. His ancestors are Italian so no doubt they slept when during the night in 390 BCE the Gauls invaded Rome.

It was up to the Sacred Geese of Juno to sound the alarm. Had Nora been there she would have repulsed those uncouth Gauls back and off the Capitoline Hill.

Nora with her fierce look and Nicky in profile looking noble and aloof. Stranieri lascia Roma says Nora in her best Italian or Latin, Roma externi relinquo!

 

Ten years ago in Rome

Tags

Capena, Dr Massimo Buzzanca, Italy, Rome, Wire hair

Today on FB I had a reminder of 10 yrs ago, showing a photo of two little puppies about 6 weeks old.

The 26 April 2009 we drove to Capena which is 30 minutes North of Rome. It is pretty straight forward taking Via Nomentana going North from our house on Via Dei Villini and then joining the SS-4 which is the ancient Via Salaria (Salt Road) on the way we will past some interesting site like the old Rome Airport of the 1920’s Roma-Urbe and then joining the old Via Tiberina at Prima Porta and going North still until the round about second exit and Capena is just further down the road. At this point we are in the countryside and it is green and dotted with nice houses.  Our destination was the farm of Dr Massimo Buzzanca and his wife Tiziana.

Via Tiberina is a very ancient Roman road from 396 BC and don’t be surprise to see around Settebagni and Capena a lot of prostitutes all decked out sitting on a sofa by the side of the road. We would learn later that a lot of those prostitutes were in fact nuns trying to make ends meet. Many came to Italy from far away impoverished countries and the Cardinal who runs the convents for his National congregations often don’t have the money to supplement all the needs of their priests and nuns, so they get a night job. Pretty amazing because the Vatican does not help them financially. Prostitution is illegal in cities but not on the highway between towns. But I digress…

We had met them some months prior when Nicky and Nora were just a few days old. In Italy when you buy a pet they are microchipped by Law at the point of purchase and this being Italy, the government department responsible for the registration of all animals has forms to fill out and a few months down the road, you will have to go collect the formal registration etc. You cannot name your pet whatever name you choose this is Italy and Style comes into play, by Law letters are assigned to a group of days in the year and so in our case that day the letters were F and E. So Nicky was christened Fantastico Nicky and Nora, Eleonora di Capena.

Nicky and Nora are very different in character, Nicky is a week younger than Nora and he is a show dog by pedigree and family lineage. Nora is a tracking and hunting dog on her family lineage. Meaning that Nora has always been our guard dog and early warning system whereas Nicky is a beach boy loving the sunshine and going through life as if he is on a walkway with lots of paparazzi.

On the drive back, Will sat on the back seat with Nora and Nicky. Nora was nervous about leaving the farm and her relatives whereas Nicky whined non-stop in his little whiny puppy voice. We discovered quickly that we could not take them together to the Vet clinic. We could walk them together in Rome but once in Canada that became impossible.

Imagine 10 years already, how time flies.

This photo was taken in our den at home on Via dei Villini. Nicky is on the left. They do not have their signature collars yet sent to us as a gift by our friend Cecilia H.

 

Something I have seen

Tags

behaviour, bold, cute, dogs, puppies, sneaky

This photo made me laugh, typical Dachshund attitude, bold and forward. Bundnie use to do that all the time, Nora does it too. Nicky is more sneaky but always on the look out for an opportunity. Only Reesie did not do that, he was the quiet one.

In this photo, this little puppy is so cute you just cannot say a thing but smile.

 

Big adventures

Tags

AVC, Bundnie, Cairo, dogs, Nicky, Nora, Ottawa, Reese, UPEI, Vet

Having two dogs is like having two kids, same thing really, they have their little personalities and ways of doing things. Having lived with dogs in the house since 1990 we are use to them and how they are the presence in our lives. Our first two dachshunds, one short hair from Cairo and one long hair Chicago were family members and they travelled around the world with us. To this day we have fond memories of Bundnie and Reese and how they were more than just dogs.

Bundnie and Me on the terrace of my apartment in Cairo 1990.

Reesie and Bundnie on the deck at our home in Ottawa, 1993

Bundnie died at home of old age at 18 and Reese died in Rome at 17. A year later we were visiting a colleague of mine outside the City in Capena and her husband use to walk around the countryside and came upon the farm of Dr. Massimo Buzzanca and his wife Tiziana, both are well known in breeder of Wirehair Dachshund circles in Italy and their dogs are bred with other champion dogs in the EU.

Nicky and Nora are now 10 years old, yes it has been a decade since our time in Italy. Nora is older than Nicky by a week, they also have travelled with us not as much as Bundnie and Reese though.

Last week Nora had symptoms of what is very common in any aging Dachshund back weakness which can lead to paralysis. Unfortunately we know all too well what that means, we went through several back operations with Bundnie and Reese.

Nora always seem to get sick on a weekend which means that only the Animal Veterinary Clinic at the University of PEI is open, but since we are outside normal clinic hours, a special fee applies of $135. just to step in. They took good care of her, the AVC is a teaching hospital and they also take care of Farm animals and horses. So its complete kennel rest for her for a month and some medication.

Of course Mr Nicky also started to have what looked like a tooth problem, so we took him to our other Vet who is known in the region for specializing in dental work, even the AVC refers patients to him. Though in Nicky’s case it was not his teeth, I got a call from the clinic and was told that he had a growth under his tongue and it had to be removed pronto, could it be cancer? His teeth were fine. So it was sent for biopsy and about five days later we got the results, all benign, no problem. We also had another growth removed from his shoulder, it too was benign just fatty tissue.

Vet care in Canada is very expensive if compared to the USA. When we lived in Ottawa, some people took their dogs to the USA for treatment, the border is only 50km, away a short drive. We cannot do that here, the border with Maine is about 5 hours away through moose country not the thing to do in Winter on isolated highways.

This week we will return to the AVC for an assessment of Nora’s condition, though at the moment she is doing fine. Nicky is going back to have his shoulder stitches removed at the end of the month. At the moment he wears the cone, which he will not wear if going outside, he simply refuses to go out with it. He gives you that look and you know what it means.

Nora on her favourite sofa

Nicky stretched out and Nora on the cushion. 

 

Header, Dachshund through the Snow!

Tags

dachshunds

Well no snow yet here and it is very mild weather for a St-Nicholas Day 6 December in Ottawa, if only Winter could be like this, I would not complain.

Our Nicolas on his name day! 

 

This and that on a Sunday evening in Ottawa

Here are some photos of the last week around home.

Stilton and pear tarts, made 35 of them in a few minutes, a very easy recipe and everyone loved them, gone in a matter of minutes, great with a glass of wine.

Reflective pool in the Canadian Art Courtyard of the National Gallery of Canada. If you look through it below it is the group entrance courtyard of the museum, lots of play on light and reflection. The photo is taken from the second floor in the European gallery.

Nicky falling asleep, he just returned from the groomers and is exhausted. Got his cookie and now time for dodo.

Nicky and Nora enjoying their morning

Orchids, they are always in bloom, delicate and elegant 

Dad enjoying a piece of cake. Still traveling at 85.