Christmas lights

Viewing the light displays at the Sandcastle on Kiawah Island at Christmastime.

C'mon down and see us

Nothing like a warm welcome into town.

Better pizza

Making better pizza is a journey rather than a destination.  One of my correspondents recommends a pizza stone of steel!

- A 1/2" thick piece of A36 steel cut to fit on your home oven rack is better than any pizza stone.  Preheat for 1 hr at max temp your oven will do.  Most fabricators will do this for you.  Just make sure you wash the hell out of it before first use.

- All pizza/bread doughs using commercial yeasts (dry instant yeast, dry active yeast, fresh cake yeast) are MUCH better (tasting and handling) if you do a day (or more) retarded fermentation in the fridge.  You'll need to cut down the amount of yeast used and take the dough out of the fridge a couple of hours before use.

I've used mine for a few years now and haven't seasoned it.  However, it is VERY dry here in Denver, as I'm sure you know.  Obviously, seasoning wouldn't hurt.

I'm not a steel industry guy, but have practiced environmental engineering for 30 odd years, so I'm a bit paranoid.  I think all flat top grills are A36 steel, so no worries there.  I did the following when I got my piece from the fabricator:

- made sure there was no slag left (knocked off any loose sh$t)
- Washed/scrubbed it in the sink with detergent until a white cloth came up clean
- put it in the oven @ 550F for an hour figuring that would burn off an[y] volatiles

So far so good.  My piece weighs about 32 lbs.  If I were to do it again, I'd cut the piece in half perpendicular to its long axis.  It would be much easier to deal with in two 15 lb pieces!

JM Cremps, a store for boys

Oh, sure, too late for Christmas this year, but here is a store worthy of your consideration.  JM Cremps claims to be "the boy's adventure store."  Gear includes walkie-talkies, scout knives, flashlights, tents, and everything a kid might ever want for a day of adventure.

  

Christmastime is here

Charlie Brown: Isn’t there anyone, who knows what Christmas is all about?!

Linus: Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights please?

And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them! And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings o great joy, which shall be to all my people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men.

That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Last minute shopping

Wild colors at the sporting goods store herald cruise season for people who cruise to emerald isles, which probably exclude those with silly spaniels.

  Larsen mugs for the camera below the purple and blue golf shirts.  

South Fork

A correspondent sent the following note to me:

Had a great time at South Fork Hunting Preserve’s first Continental Pheasant Shoot couple of weeks ago, and quail hunt afterwards.

South Fork Hunting Preserve is in Danielsville, Ga, which is northwest of Athens, Ga about  17 miles from Bowman and 78 miles from north Atlanta.

 

 

Twenty something

I ran the sweet and biddable Zelda at the Cocker Spaniel Hunt Test and earned her twentieth Master leg and my first.  I don't know if we qualified for an Advanced Master leg, but I intend to find out.

In the field, Zelda bounded downfield following a well-worn path.  I called her back and when she got about 3 yards away, I cast her to my left, downwind, so that when I pipped her to a turn, her nose picked up the scent in the crossing wind.  She established a nice pattern and flushed a fly-away.  I was asked to pip her back and I did so.  They tossed a bird for her, and, of course, she was stead, and the princess brought the bird back.

On the hunt dead, Zelda went far into the wind (again, to my right).  Another dog had explored this end of the field so there may have been scent there.  I let Zelda get way too far off and in an latch ditch effort I hit the whistle long and loud and yelled at her to sit.  With exaggerated semephoric signalling, I gave her the "over" command, and got her facing the bird, though upwind from it.  Zelda trotted along the treeline and found the bird and brought it back with her slow, royal retrieve.

On the water blind, Cathy told me to be sure that Zelda had no opportunity to run the bank.  I was ready to really push her out, but Zelda went into the lake with no undue encouragement, hit the opposite bank just downwind from bird and so found it immediately and swam back.

The water retrieve was equally uneventful as the dog swam out, grabbed the bird, and swam back without any fooling with the semi-submerged log or other distractions.

I loved how Zelda worked for me.  That's my girl!

Frank and Zelda show off their Master Hunter rosette at the Cocker Spaniel Hunt Test December 8, 2013.

A healthy dog with a sore back

A joyful early Christmas gift was Dr. Michelle's opinion that Larsen was a healthy dog with a sore back.  Dr. Michelle thought that the x-rays looked ok.  There were two maybe iffy spots where the disc could be smushed, but the indications were not alarming.

This diagnosis is far beyond the expectations that I'd set for myself when I saw that dog in pain.

Dr. Michelle recognized that Larsen is a bit long in the loin.  While that grants him flexibility in the rear end, a long loin also puts more pressure on some of those vertebrae and makes him more prone to back injury.

I'm not sure what the next steps are, but I think they involve mild exercise with no twists or turns rather than complete bedrest and another round of accupuncture/chiropractic manipulation.  I'll take Larsen back to Dr. Michelle next week for further evaluation and work and maybe some instructions on how to Larsen back to top shape without setbacks.  Although Larsen is not ready for the field, he may be a candidate for a shorter hike on the carriage path at Lake Alatoona and possibly a swim.

 



 Accupuncture designed to reduce muscular tension.

What's wrong with this picture?

T-Gate, Hartsfield Airport, Atlanta, Ga.

Hint: It's not the tea containers on the lower left that say "sweet," "sweeter," and "sweetest".

Thanksgiving pies

Mom made at least half-a-dozen pies for the 30+ people at Thanksgiving this year.  As pretty as this cherry pie is, you know that it did not last long.

Winchester

Winchester is a Beetle x Reba English Cocker.  Beetle and Reba are extraordinary field dogs.  Both hunt in beautiful patterns with a minimum of handling.  I can't wait to watch Winchester shoot-em-up.

Vickie shows off her new puppy, Winchester.

Spine tingling

Larsen is heading to Dr. Michelle's chiropractor clinic to see if there is anything we can do in addition to the pills and rest to get him back in the game.  Backs are tricky.  I understand that there are no guarantees, but we are in the early innings and I'm hopeful that he will fully recover.

Update

My vet's ears must have been burning because I got a call and a report.

• Blood looks good.  Chemistry, liver, kidneys look good.  
• CBC white blood cells slightly elevated at 1,111
• This can be caused by stress
• Could be allergy
• Or parasites.
• Fecal test last May was negative, so probably not parasites.  Probably stress or allergy.
• Thyroid normal
• Non-sterile urinalysis showed:
• Concentrated sample
• 1+protein
• Protein generally is not desired in urine.
• But it could be caused by the fact that the sample was concentrated.
• Specific gravity was about 10.40, which is near the top (10.50) of the normal range.
• Normally we would look no further but given his lack of energy, he may have a urinary tract infection.  It is possibly an issue.

Next steps: A sterile urinary sample.  This is done by flipping the dog on his back, taking an ultrasound to locate the bladder, and sticking a needle into the bladder to draw a sample.

Vet also said that there is a combo test for tick-borne diseases for $104.40.  This test will provide indications of IGC antibodies activity.  If it is positive, we will start Larsen on doxycycline.  If we start on the regime, we should know after the first few doses whether this is in fact the issue because he will start to recover right away.

No update

The 4:45 vet visit produced some blood work and more hypotheses.  I got some Tramadol for the leg injury.  The blood work and urinalysis should tell us whether the big organs are working.  This morning, I gave permission to do a tick titer to look for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.

Larsen's appetite is good.  He's drinking water.  He can't rear back on his hind legs and so he climbs stairs like an old man.  His gait is good, with no indication of pain or limping.  His energy level is low.  

Mystery

It's not clear whether Larsen has one or two ailments.  On Sunday, he stopped mid-walk and sat.  I knew by his look that he hurt.  We eased our way back to the car and went home.  He stood around roach-backed and did not want to walk.  His appetite and energy were very low.  I poked and prodded everything and found no tender spots (lip licking or turning his head toward me).  I smelled his breath for any decay (stomach ache) or metallic (poison) smell but found nothing.

My initial conclusion was physical: a pull or twist to the right rear leg based on his stretching and his unwillingness to hop onto the couch.

Monday at the vets produced nothing but watchfulness.  We did no bloodwork.  Stools firm and no vomiting so probably no intestinal blockage.  He was de-hydrated, based on stickiness of his gums, so I forced Pedialyte into him (poured it down his throat from a Coke bottle).

On Tuesday, Larsen seemed more lively.  However, I noticed that he would not grab cheese from my lips because doing so would cause him to rear back on his hind legs and he did not want to do this.  He ate and, at dinner time, had a huge drink to the relief of Aki and me.

On Wednesday, after a walk, he spit up.  Stools a little loose.  But the walk otherwise was energetic, but deliberately short.  Then, at home, I set him in the back yard to chase a squirrel.  He took off, leaped onto some round rocks and twisted his right rear leg.

That hurt.  He cried and ran around like it really, really hurt.  I caught up to him and just soothed him.  Carried him into the house.

Questions: Was this a re-injury of something done on our walk on Sunday?  Was the initial injury on Friday in the metropark?  Is there something internal going on as well?

Vet appointment today at 4:45.

Larsen does his best to hide in the exam room.

Hiking the Emerald Necklace

Dave, Meg, Aki, and I hiked the Emerald Necklace Metropark trail near Boston Mills in Northeastern Ohio with Trigger and Larsen on Thanksgiving.  Trigger is Dave's son Geoff's Britt.  There was a lot of red and white flashing by on the snow-filled trail, and happy, tired dogs afterward.

Larsen enjoys the snow-filled wood.

Bird day

Went through quite a few birds in practice today, on this weekend before Thanksgiving.  I saw where Larsen was on the curve, which is to say really at the beginning.  Kind of surprising that he was so far back.  But we have a new approach that might help with the control and then one can always hope for rapid progression once the learning kicks in.

Place board training

Trainer Joe DeMarkis confesses to a revelation: obedience training has direct applicability to a field dog. This might be obvious, or it might not, but if it is true it opens the door to many training activities that those who live in cities and suburbs can do on a weeknight without benefit of birds or firearms.

One of these revelations is the so-called place board.  Joe says that dogs are place-oriented and that generalizations come hard.  Train the dog to understand that his place is on the place board, and then advance to more challenging scenarios.

The place board can be as simple as a repurposed Welcome mat, but ideally, it is raised off the ground.  This gives the dog bit of a feeling of not being fully in control (you are!) and it also makes it more convenient to work with smaller dogs.  In the photo below, Larsen is on a place board that is raised about an inch, but other place boards are about a foot or so from the ground.  The place board must be stable so that the dog is not fearful of the wobbling.

Introduce the dog to the place board by leading him or her onto it and commanding a sit.  Treat liberally.  Over time, you will get the dog to go to the place board on command.  Once this is reliably accomplished, you can have the dog retrieve items and return to the place board.

What a great way to improve the beautiful spaniel retrieve to hand!

 Larsen demonstrates his place board.

Pickup dog

The hunt test proceeded as anticipated, but not as hoped for in that Larsen showed no signs of slowing on the flush.  I'm facing a decision.  Shall I continue to try to get the dog study to the flush, or simply let him be a Senior Hunter and have fun and success in the field?

On the positive side, Larsen was tasked with being pick-up dog.  This is the trusty dog that swims the pond to gather in the bird that another dog has refused to retrieve.  It is a left-handed compliment since the pickup dog is one no longer in contention, but it is a compliment nonetheless because you want a steady dog that fetches birds expeditiously and without drama.