Tag Archives: Australian Cattle Dog

Fan Mail

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Email received today:

Dearest Pongo,

I want you to know you are a very handsome C.D.

However, beyond that you are spoiled rotten!
In fact, my daughter even told me that in her next life she is coming back as you!

I used to think I was an OK mom but how can I measure up?  I think your mom and dad need to
rethink your college funds!

-S

Dear Miss S-

Thank you very much.  I should let you know though, it is very hard being so cute because I want to be so BAD…chasing kitties, eating rocks, barking at those 4-legged subordinate beings that walk by the house, and trying to out smart my Mama and Papa!  My motto in life is: I do what I want!

I think your daughter would have a good life here with my Mama and Papa. Tell her that if she does come back as a Cattle Dog, to milk it for all they got!

College fund?  I don’t need no stinkin’ college–I’m a Cattle Dog!  Plus, I think my Mama and Papa are broke from all the trips to the vet because I keep eating those hard, yet very tasty grey things.

Herd On,
Pongo

Hard To Believe…They’ve Seen Worse!

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To our horror, Pongo has found a new use for the basket muzzle he wears during recess at doggie daycare: a poop grater.  Yes, he is now smashing the front of his muzzle down into his doggie friend’s poop, or maybe even his own, and coming up with a poop smeared muzzle.  Maybe he’s found a new way to entertain himself but personally, I think it’s an act of rebellion: he’s going to make sure others pay for him having to wear this embarrassing contraption.

Poor Miss Janelle, his teacher today, ended up with poop streaked pants from Pongo’s antics.  And while I screeched “GROSS!” when the staff told me of his repulsive adventure today, they just laughed and replied…”We’ve seen worse.”

Here’s Pongo after a day of keeping his daycare teachers on their toes.  If he’s this worn out, I can’t even imagine how they’re feeling!

Teenage Tyrant

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December 23rd, to the day, Pongo turned his listening ears off and transformed into a I’m-going-to-do-the-opposite-of-everything-you-say 18 month old tyrant.  He has been testing, testing, testing.  I think he has spent more time in time-out the past couple of days than he has since he was a young pup.  We’ve been warned about the terror of raising a teenage Cattle Dog: it’s a battle of the wills.  Don’t worry though…we WILL win.

Along with dealing with our oppositional and rebellious Cattle Dog, we are also trying to stay one step ahead of him in deterring his rock eating and keeping him safe.  We’ve resorted to a basket muzzle now, during outdoor recess, at doggie daycare.  He’s only worn it one day but so far so good.

Bless the Dog Tired Doggie Daycare staff–they had to put up with Pongo’a teenage antics, plus manage the basket muzzle on Friday.

Dem Bones

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I’ve never been one to feed our dogs raw bones.  They gross me out!  And as a vegetarian, I’m really not wanting to touch nasty, slimy bones (you should see me trying to cook Steve’s meaty dinner–LONG wooden spoons to mix up his hamburgers.  Yes, I’m a very good wife!).  I realize bones are what their ancestors eat out in the wild.  But, the horror stories of bones splintering, dogs needing surgery to remove bone shards deterred me from buying them bones.  We do allow the dogs to gnaw on deer or elk antlers but they lose interest in those rather quickly.

The bone issue came to a head, when the vet recommended we feed Reid raw bones to help clean her teeth.  Because of her age, we were all worried about putting her under to have her teeth cleaned.  So, off I went in search of raw bones.  I was not too thrilled about having to go to a meat market like Mr. Prime Beef to find raw bones.  Luckily, when we were shopping at my all time favorite store Alaska Mill and Feed, we ran across a refrigerator full of raw bones!

The dogs get to gnaw on a frozen, raw bone for 15-20 minutes every now and then as a special treat.  Reid is gung-ho for about 5 minutes and then gives up; I have a feeling her teeth hurt her.  Poor baby.  We do keep a good eye on our wild man, Pongo when he’s chewing on his bone.  We never know what kind of stunt he might pull: try to swallow the whole thing out of bone-induced ecstasy?!?

To view on YouTube click HERE.

Transitions

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Winter Solstice.

A day of celebration here in Alaska when our sacred light begins its return.  It seems a little backwards that we celebrate Winter solstice but each small increment of increasing light brings us closer and closer to Summer.  That is until we hit the dreaded June 21st-Summer Solstice.  But that’s another blog, for another day.

Cha-Ching!

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We made it through a weekend without spending time in Pet Emergency.  That’s definitely something to celebrate because I can’t even imagine going through 3 weeks of surgery recovery again!

When Pongo was out of commission recovering from his rock extraction abdominal surgery, trying to figure out how to entertain him was a massive task.  He was not allowed to go for walks the first week and the other two recovery weeks were supposed to be “subdued.”  Fortunately, he wasn’t itching to be super active.  What he was needing more than anything was mental stimulation.  We had to keep him mentally tired or he would find his own ways to entertain himself, which most often was pummeling the kitties.

We found a couple games that did the job quite nicely.  Plus, I knew I had to get these games because there were Cattle Dogs used to advertise both of the games!   The Bob-A-Lot Interactive Toy for Dogs (thanks for the suggestion, Miss Kari) and Dog Casino were life savers while Pongo was recuperating.

To view on YouTube click HERE.

Rock Band of Shame

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Poor Pongo.  He just can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to being humiliated.  First, it was the Cone and Collar of Shame. Then, it was the Donut of Shame.  Now, he’s sporting the Rock Band of Shame.  Since Pongo has developed a taste for rocks, doggie daycare is helping out by having Pongo wear the Rock Band of Shame while outside at recess. I’m hoping just the embarrassment of having to wear the band around his doggie friends will be enough to deter him from eating rocks again.  I highly doubt it though!

Rock Eating Dingo

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While sitting at Pet Emergency yet again, we came across this picture of a Dingo in National Geographic.  It could totally be Pongo–just a lankier version of Pongo.

By the way, Pongo seems to be faring well after eating another 4 rocks: two larger ones he regurgitated and 2 smaller ones he was able to pass.  I just don’t know what we are going to do with this dog, except maybe make him wear the Hannibal Lecter mask while outside!