Life has been eventful

Yesterday was Flying Night.

The plan had been to leave Linus at home. Going out to the field would be a big much for him plus it would give my joints & Einstein a break. Unfortunately I didn’t get home until ½ hour before we had to leave. So, Linus came with us.

I had stopped at Petsmart on the way home & bought a Gentle Leader head collar. I LOVE THIS COLLAR!!!!!! Linus can’t drag & pull on the leash all the time. (see photo)

It’s easier for me to correct his behavior through the leash. My joints love this collar too.

He got in the car easily by jumping up once he saw Einstein get in. He was fine during the drive. He was not happy when we got to the field & we met our 3 friends. The noise of the electric motors didn’t seem to bother him as much as the people.
We went on a short walk while Chris unloaded the car (Sneaky of me.). He tried to lunge & discovered the new collar. He did not like it. He would walk & pull, get a tug on the leash, and then shake his head or paw at the collar or try to rub it off in the grass. He did get the nose loop pushed up over his eyes. The fitting video said to keep it loose enough that it could reach the fleshy part of his nose. Basset hounds have a very long nose so evidently it needed to be tightened a bit.
The collar itself doesn’t bother him. He was good as gold while I fitted it on him. He ate some food & got something to drink while he was wearing it. He just doesn’t like it pulling on him.
We got to the relaxed stage of the walk a lot quicker. Einstein was on his flexi. He seemed to enjoy zooming out past Linus. Linus didn’t seem to like it as much. After a short spin we were back at the field.
Linus let everyone pet him. Bruce made sure that Einstein didn’t feel slighted by petting him first. Einstein pretty much has everyone trained that they have to come over & pet him. Glen liked the fact that Linus didn’t try to give him kisses like Einstein does.
Linus was pretty scared so I pulled him up onto my lap. Einstein showed his superiority by jumping up on the table & hanging over my shoulder.



I’m sure that violates all kinds of things in Cesar’s book but I don’t really care. Einstein is not a domineering dog. We call him our Zeta dog. Since he’s been showing Linus that he’s the top dog, we started calling him our Alpha Zeta dog.
A guy came by to talk & fussed over Einstein for several minutes. Einstein was thrilled. Linus thought about jumping off my lap & hiding under the table.

I even got to fly. Chris got my plane in the air.



Then I handed him Linus’ leash & he handed me the transmitter. I had a great flight. Chris sat on the ground with Linus. He wound up pulling him into his lap. Linus’ poor little heart was beating really fast. He did great though. A lot better than I thought he would.

He conked out on Einstein’s back for the trip back. Einstein didn’t seem to mind.



Hopefully that will continue to be the case. With Einstein & Darwin, Darwin didn’t like Einstein to be that close to him. We joked that Darwin was saying “Mom! Dad! He’s touching me! Make him stop! He’s touching me!” like a little kid. We had to make room for Einstein on the back seat & then make a place for Darwin to crawl onto in the back to get away from him.

On to today.
Chris got up first this morning. When I came downstairs, Linus was on the couch. I heard whining & looked to see Linus hopping up to catch sight of me over the back of the couch. He’d whine when he saw me. It was really cute. I went & sat next to him and he shoved his head into my lap. He’s such a sweetie dog.

The morning walk went so much better with the head collar. He’s starting to get more used to it. He also is walking with his head up more. A neighbor & his dog scared him but his reaction is getting less & less extreme.

This afternoon was his first appt at Angel Vet. Like a complete doofus, I left the sheet with all of the detailed list of medical care that he had received from the Flower Mound Humane Society on the coffee table. Duh! I’ll fax it to them tomorrow. He was pretty scared. I kept him on my lap while we waited. When he had to be weighed he curled up in the corner of the big scale trying to hide. Everyone at the vet thought he was sweet & cute. They’re always so nice and understanding. Almost everyone asked how I was doing since Panda had died. They’re great people. If you need a vet, this is the best place!
Dr. Slough (Panda’s vet) saw Linus. He said that Linus was in great shape. He did have a yeast infection in his ears (Yes Mom - he needs ear drops twice a day! Aren't you thrilled?) but that’s common to bassets. I clean Einstein’s every week to prevent that. He had lost 7 lbs since the FMHS had weighed him. Dr. Slough was surprised at that & had him reweighed but it was still 40 lbs. He said that Linus was at a good weight so he doesn’t need that much fattening up. He encouraged me to bring Linus’ food out where he is to encourage him to eat. I probably don’t need to shove it under his nose like I have been but within sight would be good. Dr Slough was kind enough to visit with me about Panda and we had a nice chat about the medical advances for renal failure in cats & dogs. I checked out & paid & started to leave. I had another Duh! Moment and turned around to get him microchipped. That was the #1 reason I had taken him in today. Duh! The #2 reason was so that he would have been seen at Angel Vet in case Mom needed to take him in while we were gone. So, he’s microchipped. (They checked to see if he already had one but he didn’t.) After all of the money I dropped there (6 months of Interceptor & Frontline plus the ear infection medicine & the chip), he’s officially a Vanderbilt. He’s stuck with us now.
He kept climbing into this little alcove by the checkout desk that held 3 safety cones for when they mop the floor. He was so cute. I know he was really scared though but that was the last thing before we left.

Once we get the rabies certificate, I’ll get his city license so he’ll be a legal resident.

He’s crashed on the love seat resting up from his stressful day.