We Are Stylish

Last week I was awarded the Stylish Blogger Award by This is Lauren (and Greyhounds!).  I've seen some of these blog awards but this is the first time my blog has received one, so I'm pretty excited.  Thanks to Lauren and Bernie!

To accept the award I have to give eight facts about myself and then pass the award on to eight other blogs.  So, here we go.

1.  My first dog was a Doberman, Bandit, that we had when I was a kid.  I did a lot of hiking/walking with him too.  I once told him "sick um" when some kids where bullying me (we were in my fenced yard and the kids on the other side), he scared them away.  :-)

2.  My first cats were Siamese, Tom and Molly.  Tom would sleep with me and sometimes I'd wake up with him laying across my neck.

3.  After having short hair for well over 10 years I'm letting it grow and it's a little past my shoulders now.

4.  Zephyr was the first dog I had as an adult and the first dog I've trained.  Poor boy!

5.  I've never been to Europe, but hope I get there one day.

6.  I've been to Australia three times, and hope I get to go back someday.

7.  I'd like to live somewhere else besides Arizona someday.

8.  I really like ice cream.

Here are the eight + 1 blogs that I'm giving the Stylish Blogger Award to.

1.  Graceful Greyhounds
2.  The 'splorin" Wolfies
3.  Aragon Greyhounds
4.  Jet's Furkid Palace
5.  Never Say Never Greyhounds
6.  A Dog's Journey
7.  Sweetheart's Story
8.  A Dog Blog
9.  Tales and Tails

Zephyr Has Been Sick

 Here's Astro comforting poor Zephyr when he was sick this weekend.

Get ready, this is a wordy long one.  When I got home from work on Friday Zephyr was sick.  He came to greet me but he was hunched over, looked upset, and didn't want Astro to bother him.  His eyes definitely didn't look right, a little cloudy and not as open, and he was a little shaky.  I let him outside and he went potty but it was obvious that something was wrong.  Since Astro was excited and kept wanting to play I decided to take Zephyr for a walk around the roads so I could see what was going on.  He was walking okay but mostly a lot more subdued than usual, only few times of picking up the pace.  When we got home he again didn't want Astro to bother him and really didn't want him around his face.  I took his temperature and it was a high, 102.5 to 103.

So, I called the vet's office.  They asked what was going on and I explained.  They asked if he was eating, I said he had in the morning.  It was late in the afternoon, almost 5, but I said I was going to bring him in.  Then while I was getting him ready I decided to see if he would take a chicken treat and he did.  So, now the second guessing begins.  I called the vet's office back and told them that he seemed to be eating and that I would just wait until the morning to bring him in.  I was having a hard time deciding since I knew it was the end of their day and I didn't really know if this was an emergency.  After watching him for a little bit more, I decide to call the vet's again.  My poor veterinarian and her staff, I'm pretty sure they think I'm a nut sometimes.  But, I also think they are used to me because I have been seeing the same veterinarian for almost 20 years and she has always had the same main office manager.  This is who I talked to the third time I called and she helped me feel a little more comfortable and also reminded me that I could always call their emergency number if things changed.

Okay, I am just going to admit it right here, I get really, really, really upset when there's something wrong with one of my animals.  It's probably fair to say that, although I do well when it comes to taking care of them when they are sick, etc., when I am left to sit and think about what's causing them to be sick and wonder about what's going to happen, I tend to over exaggerate and make myself really upset.  So, in the course of the evening I had considered the following as causes of Zephyr's illness.  First was antifreeze poisoning and kidney failure because maybe he licked some on the road when we went out for our walk Wednesday.  You would think that the fact that he ate his dinner Friday night would make me feel better, but that just made me consider this second option, his eyes and ears were hurting because he had a brain tumor.  Third was one of the cats scratched his eyes and that's why they were hurting and not right.  That one actually seemed to calm me down because it seemed the worst out of my three main choices.  Notice how I don't even consider that maybe he just got into something that has made him sick or that he might have a virus?  What a nut. 

So, we make it through the night and I actually slept some, but Zephyr is not any better in the morning.  He went potty and I was able to get a stool sample.  Another good sign was he didn't really have diarrhea, pretty normal with a little soft.  And off to the vet's we go.  When we get there he has a 103.5 temperature.  She presses all over, on his head too, and he only has a little discomfort in his belly.  But, he is clearly not feeling well and is shaking some.  She gave him an injection of Baytril to get him started on antibiotics right away.  While we were waiting for the fecal results I walked him around outside.  He did well, but he did have a small amount of diarrhea.  After a little while my veterinarian came out and said that his stool had a lot of long chains of bacteria.  She didn't say exactly what kind, but that it wasn't the kind that comes from eating dead things.  So, this is the suspected cause of the fever and him not feeling well.  I asked about his head and she said he could have a headache, maybe from the fever.  This all makes sense, and is much better than all of my ideas.  So, I am much relieved and with more Baytril and something else that I can't pronounce for possible parasites, we head home.

To give Zephyr a chance to rest I decided to go back to town and take Astro because he was quite full of energy and ready to play.  When we got home in the afternoon Zephyr seemed to feel a little better, but he still had a temperature of about 102.5.  He did eat when we first came home from the vet's and I fed him again in the afternoon.  Things were going well until later that night.  Zephyr was sleeping next to me on the couch.  When he went to rollover on his back and turn his head upside down he yelped and went back to his side.  This got me all upset again.  I had also noticed that he was doing more of this snorting, not really sneezing, more like a snorting like something was in his nose.  When I pressed all around his head it didn't bother him, but then I noticed that it also hurt him when he tried to shake his head.  It occurred to me that his head might hurt because he had a fever.  I mean back in December I had a fever of only about 100 for a day and I felt horrible, achy all over, including ears, and a headache.  But, of course I also considered other things like the brain tumor and now also the possibility of him having something like a foxtail in nose.  He hadn't had any discharge from his eyes or nose though.  Later, a friend also mentioned Valley Fever, but he doesn't really seem to show those symptoms either.  Valley Fever is common in the more arid desert areas of AZ like Phoenix.  We don't go to those types of areas much, but of course he has visited.  Needless to say I managed to get myself all worked up again.  I ended up giving him a Rimadyl in hope that it might help with his pain.

So, off to bed we went and Zephyr slept with me most of the night.  I heard him doing the snorting once during the night.  Toward the morning he jumped off the bed and then later he jumped back up.  I noticed that he seemed to have good energy when he jumped.  When I got up he was sound asleep and I didn't want to bother him.  He's not really much of a morning dog anyway.  But after awhile I had to see how he was doing so I went and woke him up.  He walked down the hall and by the time he got to the back door he was wagging his tail.  My heart cheered up a little.  When I let him out I could tell he had more energy.  Then he saw a raven and chased it and the heavy weight lifted and I was so happy.  He was wagging his tail and shaking his head a little without much pain.  When he and Astro got back to the deck we had a little celebration play.  After going in I took his temperature and it was down to about 101 or less.  He ate some breakfast and then went back to sleep.  He was definitely feeling better and later when a friend stopped by he was happy to see her and bouncing around.

Astro and I went to agility practice during the day and when we got home Zephyr was doing well.  Last night, while he was on the couch, he rolled over on to his back with upside down head with no problems.  Today and tonight he is still doing a lot better.  I have noticed that his eyes and ears are still a bit sensitive and his temperature is about 101.5, he is also still doing the snorting thing sometimes.  His appetite is good.  I'm hoping the ears and head sensitivity and snorting will go away as he continues on the antibiotics.  But if it's still going on tomorrow night I'll be calling the vet's again on Wednesday.  Otherwise, he is feeling so much better, and therefore, so am I.  It was rough though.  This is the first time one of my dogs has been sick and had a fever.  I could just really tell how bad he was feeling and it made me feel horrible.  I can't imagine how those with human kids handle it when they get sick with things, especially for the first time.

Woods Canyon Hike

Hi! Hi!  This is Zephyr!  And this is Astro!  We are so excited to tell you about a hike through Woods Canyon that Mom took us on way back in January on Presidents' Day.  Can you believe she didn't share this earlier?  We have hijacked her computer in the middle of the night to ensure that you all get to see this great place.  You are lucky anyways because, let's face it, everyone knows that the humans' senses are not as keen as the canines'.  So, even though she does her best, Mom leaves out some of the best things about our hikes.  Look at that nice soft reddish dirt!  We loved it because it smelled so good and different types of plants grew here that smelled really good.  This was one of our favorite hikes yet!

We just loved this hike in Woods Canyon!  It was the first time we had been there, even Mom.  Even though it was a holiday we only passed a couple people and that was at the beginning of the hike.  The day was warm and dry.  Only nice soft fresh smelling dirt under out feet, no cold icy snow.  The air was full of fresh new scents.  OMG, we were in heaven hunting around all day!  And, listen to this, there were cows on the trail!!  That's right, Live Loose COWS right on the trail right in front of us!!!!  Holy Cow!!!  (Hee, Hee, Hee, we are so funny)  Unfortunately, Mom had us on leash the whole hike so we was not able to go a-cow-coursin.  Yea, this is Zephyr here, I went a-cow-coursin once and it was pretty fun, but cows are slow so I had to run in circles around them.  Mom said I was trying to herd them, but that I didn't do a great job.  I said I heard them just fine, but they must not have heard me when I told them to run as fast as they can so we could race.

Look at all those bushes and trees.  You just know there are bunnies in there, and birds, and COWS!!  And, if they weren't there when we checked, they had been there, and we were on their trail the whole day.  It was fun because even though Mom wouldn't let us off leash she still let us roam and follow the scent tracks.  She said she'd never seen us hunting around so much and she really wants to try tracking with us now.  We say, Duh Mom, to be a good hound you have to use your nose too.

Let us tell you a little more about those Cows.  We had been on alert for a while because the the cow scent had reached our noses a long time before.  Mom had seen some cow pies and hoof prints so she knew cows had been in the area, she just didn't know how close they were to us.  We were strolling along the trail in an area that had lots of bushes and trees.  The ground was soft and a little damp in some areas.  Astro and I were out ahead of Mom on our Flexi's zig-zagging back and forth across the trail investigating everything.  All of a sudden as we came around a corner there they were, two COWS standing on the trail about 50 feet in front of us!!  At first we froze for a second or two.  Then I came to my senses and told Astro that we needed to let our prey drive loose.  We started bouncing and pulling and barking.  We kept looking at Mom and asking why in the world was she not letting us go?  She was not moved and did not let us go a-cow-coursin.  :-(  She did have to do some rearranging though.  The cows were not leaving the trail, they just looked at us.  So, Mom put one of us on each side of her and held our collars as we slowly walked toward the cows.  Mom had to lean back to help keep us controlled.  The cows were stubborn and just walked along the trail in front of us for a while and then they went off in to the trees.  We tried to follow them, but Mom wouldn't let us.  Big Bummer!  We continued on the trail and now we were on hyper-alert, checking every side track, every bush, and every tree.  And then, Holy Cow, there were more Cows on the trail!  Hee, Hee, Hee, Hee, Hee, it gives us the giggles as we think of them now!  OMG, it was so awesome!  The cows are so slow and we are so fast, if only we could have chased them!  Mom just told us in her Mom Voice, "This is exactly why you two are not allowed off leash in areas that we are not familiar with".  "Blah-Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah",  Whatever, so lame. 

Here I am showing Astro how to hunt using your eyes, ears, and nose.  As his big brother I feel that it's my job to make sure he learns how to be a proper hound.  If you click on the picture twice you'll be able to see that I was in perfect hunting position.  My body was still, my nose was taking in all the scents, my ears were perked to take in all the sounds, and most importantly my eyes were focused on the distant trees and bushes where I knew my prey was hiding.  There were birds everywhere here.  Quail on the ground, Dove on the ground and in trees, and lots of other little birds.  And, of course, COWS!  I was so excited I nearly went into a point!

Okay, let's take a break from the Cows.  You have to forgive Zephyr he gets really excited about those kinds of things.  Now, I, Astro, will demonstrate how all you hounds can get yourselves a lookin and smellin super fine for days to come after your hike.  This is especially helpful if there is a special someone you are trying to impress.  First, you need to dig up some nice soft fresh dirt.  Try digging in a few places to find the best dirt that is full of the most scent and is really sticky.  A note on proper digging position, your rear needs to be up high relative to your front to get the best leverage for digging and throwing dirt.  Also, try rolling and rubbing in the dirt to see how good it smells and how well it sticks to you.

Once you find some super great dirt you really need to get down in it and rub it all over your body, but especially all over your muzzle, cheeks, neck, and forehead.  It's even better if the dirt is mud!!  Look closely at the picture above, click twice for an up close view.  Notice how my body is positioned to allow me to put lots of pressure on my face as I rub back and forth, back and forth, in this fresh mud that was next to the creek.  Also, notice that the dirt is not just on my face, I've rubbed it all down my neck and I've made sure to get it on my chest, front paws and arms, and back feet.  And, look very closely at my eyes, this is the best part!  While you are doing this rubbing, you will get the most fantastic feeling throughout your body that for a little while you forget everything, just like when you are chasing a bunny.

Here is the fabulous finished product!  Isn't it Great!?  Notice how I use the two layer method.  My first layer appears lighter but is really pressed all through my fur down to my skin.  The second layer is heavier and concentrated around my nose and chin.  Mmmm, so yummy.  I could smell it for days afterward.  Heaven!

Strong smells came from all kinds of places along the trail.  We take turns investigating the small areas that only one of us can fit in.  Hiking is so fun because we get to climb on all kinds of rocks.  Here I was checking out a good smell around some rocks and bushes.  Luckily, it was January and we didn't have to worry about Rattlesnakes.  We have never seen a Rattlesnake and Mom says we probably never will because she won't take us hiking in areas where they live in the summer.  Oh, Oh, Zephyr here, that's not true.  I did see a Rattlesnake once!!  It was a few years ago when Mom and I were hiking in the forest near our house.  We were going down the trail and all of a sudden we heard the rattle, "SSHHZZZ"!  I was out ahead of Mom about 10ft on my Flexi.  We look to the right and see this very angry snake at the bottom of a pine tree.  Fast as lightening, Mom pulls me to the left and I was like "No problem I don't want anything to do with that crazy thing!"  Mom said that was the first Rattlesnake she had seen here and she's lived here 20 years.  Luckily they are Timber Rattlesnakes up here and they are less aggressive and poisonous.  But, that one was really angry, and we never even got closer than about 3 or 4 feet.

The creek going through Woods Canyon is called Dry Beaver Creek.  It wasn't dry though, it had lots of water because of snow melting up higher.  There are cactus here and Astro got one spine in his nose that Mom had to help him get out.  Yea, I didn't like it, the spine was right on the tip of my nose and it wouldn't come off when I swiped it with my paw.  Well Astro, at least it wasn't like my cactus incident.

The water was really deep and rushing in the creek.  It was so loud sometimes that was all we could hear.  Mom likes to take lots of pictures of us.  She'll pose us and make us do stays and we usually don't mind.  Don't I have the cutest look on my face?  I was so happy to be out on this hike with Mom and Astro.

We got to play in the water too, climbing on the creek rocks is so fun.  The water was nice and cool and fresh.  During the summer this creek totally dries up.  That was hard to believe since in some places it was really deep and moving fast.  Mom wouldn't let us go in the water at some spots because it was so deep and fast and she didn't want us to go out too far and get pushed out by the water.  She worries about things like that.

Zephyr was really exploring around the water and I just decided to follow him because he always finds the best stuff.  This spot was nice because the creek bottom was soft and only had small rocks under the water so it was easier for us to walk around.  We found a couple good sticks, some stinky piles of leaves, and we climbed up and over lots of rocks.  It was also good for us to cool off in because we were gettin warm in the balmy temperatures of almost 60.

We went about 6 miles on our hike and we didn't even get to the end.  We think we are going to get to go back soon, maybe with our friends Friday and Linus.  That will be so fun!  When we got back to our car we got to have some special snacks before we drove home.  Yummy!  And then we slept all the way home.

When we are sleeping after a good hike it is the best.  We are so tired and happy that every muscle in our body relaxes.  Mom says she can even see it in our faces.  Also, we get to dream about the day and it's like we are still there having a grand day out hiking.

We hope you enjoyed our hiking story, it took us over a week to get it finished.  We almost got busted one night too.  Zephyr got up in the middle of the night once and Mom heard him while he was turning the computer on!  Yea, I had to quick jump in the big chair and look all innocent like "Oh, I just want to sleep out here for awhile, he, he".  But geesh, someone had to do it, Mom certainly wasn't getting it done.

Beaver Creek Hike

Along the Beaver Creek Trail

We've had some nice weekends with above normal temperatures in the past month, so I've been able to go on a few nice hikes south of Flagstaff kind of near the Sedona area.  The temperatures down there were in the upper 50's to 60's, so it was really nice.  The first part of the trail is along a road that is only used by the Forest Service or U.S. Geological Survey to reach a gauging station.  The road parallels the creek and there are many spots where you can reach the creek along the road.  The boys and I were so happy to be walking on warm dry dirt rather than cold icy snow.

Zephyr cools off in chilly water from snow melt.

After walking about 2.5 miles back there is a nice area with a big pool.  There was a lot of water in the creek from snow melt higher up and I thought the water would have been pretty cold.  So, I was a little surprised when Zephyr and Astro went right in the water.

Astro is still hesitant about going in deep water, he'll only go up to a few inches past his chest, and he hasn't swam yet.  That will be a goal for this coming summer.

After cooling off in the water they tend to get spunky and start zipping through the trees.  It seems like most of the time Zephyr chases Astro, and Astro does a great job of keeping Zephyr on his toes with fast turns.

This spot is a favorite because it also has a sandy beach.  The trail keeps going for many miles and it's a popular backpacking hike.  Further up the canyon gets narrower and there are lots of pools that you have to swim through to keep going.  We did this hike back in January, but there have been a few other nice weekends and we've been able to get out since then.  We are supposed to get more snow this weekend, so probably no hiking.  But, maybe the boys will get to play in some fresh snow?

Wordless Wednesday - Balance Beam - Updated

Annie needed a little help down.  As far as I know this was the first time she was up there.  Early in the morning I heard a crash and bang.  I just thought "Oh those cats must have knocked something over".  When she wasn't there for breakfast I called her and this is where she was.  I'm not sure if she was on the "beam" the whole time or if she jumped to the back window sill too.  She had to have made a big jump to get up there, I was impressed.

Many years ago, over 15, I woke in the middle of the night to my bed shaking, closet doors rattling, and a rumbling sound.  Again, I thought something like "Those cats are crazy, running around shaking the house".  Soon I realized it was an earthquake.  ;-)  I was a geology student after all.  It was my first earthquake, a little over a 5, and I was really excited.