I think the dog has allergies. No, he’s not sneezing, but he is scratching.
He had an appointment at the vet a couple of days ago–hundreds of dollars’ worth of fun. He was due for his shots anyway, so I figured since he was scratching, I’d get something for fleas and ticks. No evidence of them before or since, but that was the logical place to start.
Yesterday, I put the stuff on the back of his neck to kill whatever he might have picked up.
Today, he seems to be itchier than ever.
Question is, what could he be allergic to that is new? What plants are in my garden this year that weren’t last year? Worst case scenario: it’s not a plant at all.
I haven’t looked up the facts, so I don’t really know if they can affect dogs, but there’s a new tick in these parts that, if you’re bitten, can make you allergic to meat.
What do you feed a dog that’s allergic to meat?
Sure, he loves cheese. But I can’t imagine what an entire meal of it would do to his insides.
Do I not let him down from the table until he’s eaten his veggies?
We all know what grass does to dogs, but what about broccoli?
So I’m hoping the itching will stop–that the skin problems are just bites that haven’t healed yet.
Updates to come.
EDIT: So you don’t feel bad for Winston: the Lone Star tick–the one responsible for meat allergies–can bite dogs, but the poison it carries only affects humans.
Verily, I say I really get myself into some messes. Like, I don’t think about what my own Saturday posts are going to look like. If you’re looking at this post and thinking, “Why the hell would I hire an editor who starts a sentence with an adverb … especially one like ‘verily,'” know that the prompt made me do it!
Yes, it’s my prompt.
I blame it on lack of coffee.
So, would you look at that! It’s Saturday already! The plan at this point is to take Alex to a movie today–either “The Kid Who Would Be King” or “A Dog’s Way Home.” I’m waiting for Alex to decide. I don’t particularly want to see either of them, but you do these sorts of things for your kids. Especially when they let you sleep in ’til 9:30. Aside from when they woke you up just to tell you they’re awake. It was still dark. I have no idea what time it was, but I told him to leave me alone and go downstairs, which he did.
Maybe he’ll sleep through the movie. I might too. We’ll have popcorn, so we’ll be sure to look “into it.”
At the moment I’m dying for my second cup of coffee. The dog is curled up in a ball on the loveseat beside me
and the kid is watching something that’s got him screaming and clapping. His laptop is turned the other way, so I don’t know what it is.
And me? I’m sitting here typing out whatever emerges from my under-caffeinated brain.
I have three dogs. One is a good sized mixed breed who is getting on in years (13). The other two are small breeds who are about two years old. All of the dogs I’ve had through out my life have always stayed (adequate shelter provided) and enjoyed being outside.
With the addition of the two younger dogs, so began a new experience with small breeds who are not as tough when it comes to outside weather elements. With these two I had to invest in a metal crate so that they could be brought into the house during the cold winter months. They aren’t the best trained dogs, but they do alright.
So this morning I let them out for about an hour. They started running to the door and when I went outside they decided to come in. I put them into their crate and they proceeded to…
When I posted the prompt last night for “zoomie,” brought to us by the lovely Bee (click here for her zoomie post), I did an obligatory check in the dictionary. It was as I thought — not there.
So I checked Google and discovered it’s the most awesome and appropriate word for what a dog does when it zooms around with excitement. I think the only dog I’ve ever had who didn’t do it indoors (thank goodness) was my Saint Bernard, George.
I was a bit zoomie myself as a child. I loved running. I wish I still loved it, but years of childhood exposure to second-hand smoke finished my lungs off. I have no doubt I’d be a runner otherwise.
Today, I’ve been zooming here and there for Alex’s sake. Yet another snow day. I’m hoping to be able to visit my mother in the hospital tomorrow. If it’s another snow day, I may just run away from home.
As a tribute to Dan Antion, our outgoing-badge designer and guy who can’t write a one-liner to save his life, my own One-Liner Wednesday is going to go a bit long.
I was sitting on the couch tonight, minding my own business, when Winston started to whine. I looked up and saw him sitting in the middle of the floor looking down at nothing.
“What is it?” I asked him.
He gave me a pained look as if to say, If I could talk, I wouldn’t be sitting here crying.
So I went over to see what he was whining at. There was still nothing.
I asked him again, “What is it?”
And that’s when he pointed to something with his nose. I bent down to get a closer look, and low and behold there was an ant. It was a fair-sized one, and it was still very much alive.
I praised Winston for letting me know we had a bug in the house, and I went to get a tissue to scoop it up and get rid of it.
Why he didn’t just step on it or eat it I have no idea. But he did tell me about it.
Good dog, Winston!
Winston, my pointer-outer/smart dog/scaredy cat.
Cheers to Dan for his lovely badge! We’ll miss it! Thank you, Mr. Antion!
#1linerWeds badge by Dan Antion
If you would like to participate in this prompt, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a pingback, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.
NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a pingback from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.
Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”
The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:
1. Make it one sentence.
2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.
3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.
4. Add our very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!
My best friend, John, found the perfect toy for Winston, my beagle-bassett cross.
Toy bottles of wine, just like Mommy loves (though Mommy’s wine isn’t a toy … don’t touch Mommy’s wine!!)
With a picture of a Winston-like dog, with Winston’s name
Winston loves his wine!! (And Mommy loves hers too.)
If you would like to participate in this prompt, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a pingback, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.
NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a pingback from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.
Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”
The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:
1. Make it one sentence.
2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.
3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.
4. Add our very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!
Now he’s just a big, lovable lump.
I know you’ve probably seen these pictures before. The prompt was just an excuse to show them again.
lindaghill.com 