The Battle - Vizsla Allergies

The battle continues ... Ralphie's skin allergies seem to be getting worse.  I'm sure the dog park doesn't help.  I can see he's so annoyed with the bugs flying around him at the park.  I'm really having second thoughts about the dog park, at least until the humidity decreases.   Today we went to the dog park and Ralphie really didn't play with the other dogs.  He chased after the ball a few times, played frisbee for a short time and he was ready to go home.  Maybe it was the hot weather, maybe the bugs, or just not in the mood for the other dogs...after about 45 minutes he was ready to go.

I now have Ralphie on antibiotics and giving him baths with a medicated shampoo.  I really need to get rid of his bumps and hair loss.  My homemade bug repellent will be ready to use this weekend. The herbs have been marinating in apple cider vinegar for the past two weeks and should be the answer in keeping the bugs away from Ralphie.

We'll beat this ... yes, we will beat this...bumps or no bumps, my Ralphie is as handsome as can be. Love him.

Palmetto Bug Hunter

Boy-oh-boy, what a night last night.  I'm in a sound deep sleep, sweet dreams dancing in my head.  Ralphie sleeps in my bed as well (spoiled).  Around 2:30am Ralphie hops up in a sit-up position.  I wake up..."what's wrong Ralphie?"  His eyes wide open, ears all perky, staring at the wall.  

There it is...scary, big, ugly, and who knows how it got in the house and in MY bedroom...

A HUGE PALMETTO BUG!!!

Ralphie saw this gross creature crawling on the wall and as you would think my bedroom became a hunting field at 2:30am.  We both hopped out of the bed...yes, we're going to get this nasty thing who's intrude on OUR territory.  I grab my slipper, Ralphie at my side and swat.  Darn I missed it.  The bug jumped and scattered fast, another swat.  Oh my gosh, I missed it again!!!  This time the bug darted under the bed.  Ralphie is trying to scoot his 66 pound body under the bed to do his thing...hunt this critter down.  All I see is his butt wiggling, sticking out from under the bed.  I grab a broom to try to scare this bug out from under the bed so either Ralphie can pounce on it or me give it another final swat.  Now it's 3am...no bug in sight...it's in hiding and ALIVE!  

We gave up our hunt.  Ralphie had no problem falling back to sleep.  He just jumped back on the bed, scooted under the covers, and started snoring away.  Me...well that's a different story...I'm wide awake, wondering where did that disgusting bug go?  Now it's 3:30am.  I snuck out of bed quietly, grab the pet-friendly bug spray and sprayed away...under the bed, along the base boards, in the bathroom, in the laundry room, in the kitchen, in the garage. 

Then back to bed and I finally fell asleep.

Did I find a dead palmetto bug this morning?  Nope!!  Hopefully a dead bug will turn up soon (sigh).  But I am so proud of Ralphie to wake me up when he saw something strange that didn't belong in the house.  That's a sure sign he's a good watch dog ... protecting his mama.

Love My V

Gosh, I love my Ralphie!!

Ralphie making himself cozy on top of me!

...always needs to be close to me.

Sleepy Ralphie 

...just about ready to doze off...sweet dreams my baby.

Gosh I love him!!

Update on "The Herder"

An early post I wrote about "The Herder" ... Ralphie's annoying friend at the dog park who is fixated on him and aggressively humps him.   Well it's been a work in progress for The Herder's owner...actually it's been grueling for both dogs.  The Herder seems he's just unable to stay away from Ralphie and Ralphie has been getting quite annoyed with him.  I just cringe when I see that dog in the park...makes playtime so not fun.

I'm happy to say finally it was a great day for The Herder and Ralphie.  The Herder purchased a training collar, aka vibrate/shock collar a couple of days ago.  The owner said he's been working with his pup using the training collar minimally in the vibrate mode.  It was like a miracle today.  The Herder was like a totally different dog.  Today The Herder and Ralphie played so nice...no humping, no aggressiveness, no launching his whole body on Ralphie...he was perfect.  Actually they both played fetch with the ball so nicely getting great exercise.  There was no need to activate the collar.  It's amazing how a well-behaved dog becomes so much more attractive and lovable.  I really enjoyed him today.

I never had a good opinion of those training collars.  But I guess with good research and using the collar properly, it really does help severe behavior problems.  Seeing is believing.

Vizsla Insect Allergies

You can tell it's the peak of summertime by just looking at Ralphie's back.  He has bumps and little bald spots along his back.  He's definitely a bug magnet at the dog park.  At first I thought he had an allergy from the chlorine in the pool but now I'm thinking its those annoying bugs of FL!

I've been spraying Ralphie and myself with deet bug repellant before going to the dog park.  My son questioned isn't spraying such chemical on a dog not good.  So I began to do my googling on deet ... NO it's not good for dogs and humans.  Truly, is any foreign chemical good for anyone??!!  Shame on me for not doing my research before using it on my boy.

There are tons of different homemade bug repellant recipes on the internet.  The following recipe is a heavy-duty healthy insect repellant that I'll be making today.  Sounds like it'll be stinky but so is the deet stuff.  I'm sure once the vinegar dries the smell will go away.  Here's the recipe...

Inset Repellant

• 1 32 ounce bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 TBSP each of dried Sage, Rosemary, Lavender, Thyme and Mint
• Quart size glass jar with airtight lid
• Put the vinegar and dried herbs into large glass jar.
• Seal tightly and store on counter.  Shake well each day for 2-3 weeks.
• After 2-3 weeks, strain the herbs out and store in spray bottles in fridge.
• To use on skin, dilute to half with water in a spray bottle.

You can see the little bumps and tiny bald spots on Ralphie's back in this picture

I also found this great blog entry worth reading.  It's amazing how valuable and useful lemons can be.  Check this out...

http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com/2013/01/lemon-safe-natural-misquito-repellent.html

I will be at the open air market today buying a big bag of lemons!!!

Big Boy Ralphie

Ralphie is creeping up on 2 years old soon and it's amazing how he has grown up...not just in size but mentally.  He's quite a big boy now.

I've noticed his behavior has changed.  Of course we all know puppies are frisky, quite naughty at times, and simply a handful.   Ralphie has become very loyal to me.  He listens to my commands.  He's tamer.  He really tries to please me.  He's by my side all the time.  When we're relaxing, he has to be touching me, whether it's his whole body on top of me or his head on my shoulder or simply a paw on my arm.  I can actually leave him uncrated now, which I am so happy about.  I know crate training is the best training, but I just hated crating him when I wasn't home.  Now he's free ... he has the whole house.  He's able to sleep on my bed, sit on the sofa, go anywhere in the house, but guess what ... he stays in his crate with the door wide open!!  It's his cave, his little home, his domain.   I am quite proud of my boy.

Loyalty ... yes, Ralphie is my best friend.  I feel he's the most loyal pet I've ever had.  He's so attached  to me as I am to him.  Looking back at my first entries in this blog, I was contemplating if I should get a Vizsla...was the timing right? do I have the time? can I still handle a high-energy dog at this stage of my life? So many questions popped in my head plus I was discouraged by many people not to get a puppy.  Oh My Gosh, how happy I am to do what my gut told me to do.  And here is Ralphie...who I could never live without.  He has my heart. 100% plus more.

Fourth of July - 2014

Happy Birthday America!!

Well the 4th of July celebration is done and over ... well at least until round 2 tonight.  Ralphie does NOT like fireworks.  My baby was on my lap the whole night although he wasn't shaking like last 4th of July.  He refused to go potty outside the entire night, so he went to bed without his 11pm pee time.  I can't believe he didn't budge the whole night.  This morning he darted for that door to go outside and boy did he go.  LOL

I may consider buying him a Thundershirt for next year.  I understand it works, but knowing Ralphie whether he's wearing a Thundershirt or not, he'll still want to be on my lap!  LOL

Last evening..."Please protect me Mama!"

"My mama keeps me nice and safe." Zzzzzz