KiKi

Kiki is a ragdoll kitt-EH that came in the other day for her checkup.   Her Mom says that Kiki knows that she is a pretty cat.  She'll sit and admire herself in the mirror for long periods of time.

  I can't fault her for that. 

I would too, Kiki, if I had those blue eyes.  I would too.

Latest Photos and New Video of Jimmy

I took new photos and a video of Jimmy today.  He is making progress and seems to relax a little when the leash is hooked to his collar for some reason.  Don't know why.  Perhaps he was tethered in a yard or something.   Over the past few days, I've followed a routine with him.  He likes sitting on the left side of his cage,  then I make him move to  the right, and then sitting in the front of his cage with the door open.  He looks at the floor, and smells in its direction as if he is thinking about getting out.   Yesterday, he got out and remained calm, so we tried again today.   He was a little more reluctant to step out of the cage today, so I had to insist that he try.  

He also ate some canned food while out of the cage, and this was the first time we tried this.   Here is his video below.




 The whole set of photos are here at Flickr.

Photos of Lucky

Lucky was harassing a client and patient in the exam room today, sitting in the chair, growling at them.  Sunlight was streaming through the doorway, and after the client and patient left, I snapped a few photos.  These were all straight out of the camera- I didn't do anything fancy with editing or photoshop.   I love how dramatic this photo turned out.

If you want to view the whole set of 9,  go here to the album on google plus.

English Shepherd Puppies

These guys came in for their puppy vaccinations about 2 weeks ago.  8 of them.

 

Jimmy Gets out of His Cage on a Leash

Yes, that is correct.  We weren't sure what to expect, and so I wasn't planning on having my camera in the kennel with Bert and him out of the cage.  But Jimmy did so well, the first time,  that I decided to shoot the video below.  And it didn't go as smoothly as the first, as Bert started barking and growling at him,  but he did well.  I was quite proud of him.  We might try outside in a day or two. 

But first, let's back up to the end of last week-

You've seen Jimmy eating out of people's hands, and eating out of his bowl, if it was placed in the back of his cage. So last Wednesday, no one was here but me, so I decided to try and coax him into eating out of the bowl, when it was up near the front of the cage, with me sitting close by.  He was reluctant to do that and that was one thing we've been working on for the past few days.

Last Thursday, he had a visitor, and he was less scared than Ginger.  Jimmy came up to the front of the cage, sniffed her hand through the door.  He seemed to be more concerned with what else was going on in the kennel, than the new person being there.   I was quite surprised. Shocked actually.  Because a few days before, when he had another visitor, he did his "I see dead people" thing from the corner.

We also moved Bert next door as Jimmy seemed interested in the other dogs.  This was also on Thursday, I think.   We were also able to slip a collar on him.  You can see it in this video -



So when I got back home from a family Christmas function yesterday afternoon, I hooked a chain leash on Jimmy's collar, and he didn't freak out about it. He let me pull him around the cage and ate with it hanging from his collar. So today I decided to try him out of his cage, with Bert on a leash as well. Thinking that would make Jimmy less anxious. We moved Rosie as we knew she would be barking. But things didn't go as planned. Jimmy was slightly interested in Bert, but Bert wasn't very supportive. He wanted to growl at Jimmy, and act liked he wanted to start a fight, so Bert had to go back in the cage, and Jimmy got out by himself. And that seemed to be a better arrangement from Jimmy. Jimmy did really well with just me in the kennel and him walking in front of the other dog's cages. Initially I wasn't gonna film this, as I didn't want my camera in the kennel area with Jimmy and Bert out. But he did so well, that I asked Carrie to videotape Jimmy with my camera. Things didn't go as smooth the second time, but he still did good. My camera was cold from being in the truck all night, so the lens kept fogging up. You see Carrie wiping it off a few times. Bert was fine in his cage the first time, but when the camera was rolling, he started growling and barking and wouldn't stop.  I could tell it was bothering Jimmy. In the beginning, you can see him hanging his head out of the cage with the door open. This is really what he was most comfortable with. So I made him get out of his cage. You'll notice that he tries to go behind or under the cages. But he sat in front of Bert's cage for a few seconds, and then I got him to walk down in front of the cages of Daisy, Ginger, and Tasha, a patient who is boarding. Then we went back,and he was happy to get back in his cage. Didn't have to ask him twice. He did try to chew on the leash one little time, but I thought he did quite well. The leash doesn't seem to bother him as much as being outside of his cage. I thought it might be the other way around.



Next time, we'll try this without Bert or Rosie in the back. And in a day or so, if he seems up for it, we might go to the outside door, and see if he wants to try and go out.

Happy Friday Everyone.

Everyone enjoy your weekend.  I am off to gorge myself at a family Christmas function tomorrow. I was fasting between 9 am and 1 pm today in preparation.

Here's a little Holiday cheer for ya.

Bert Reindeer

Rosie Reindeer

The Latest with Jimmy and the Crew

Y'all saw the video early last week where Jimmy seemed to be less nervous and moving around more in his cage.  That was Monday or Tuesday, I think.   Well, Thursday morning, Rosie walked over in front of Jimmy's cage and Jimmy started whining and seemed interested in her.

So that afternoon, when Bert came in from his walk, Jimmy had left an elephant size pile of poop in his cage, and Bert sashayed over to see what was going on. This was the first tail wag we had seen from Jimmy.




So yesterday afternoon, when Bert came in from his walk, I tried to get another video of Jimmy and Bert hanging out together.  Jimmy seems to like Bert the best.  Then Rosie.  Then Daisy and Ginger who are about equal, and they don't give him much thought.   Tried being the keyword here. You see. . .  Bert knew there was a partial bowl of food sitting in the tube. And he is doing everything to get to it-  all under and behind me off camera.  So you can see, and mostly hear, Jimmy barking at Bert acting like a nut.






Bert was rolling in the grass today . . . . .



Bert had new photos taken last Thursday-  in this flickr set. 
Rosie had new photos made yesterday- here in her set.  

And I think that gets you caught back up to date. :) 

Jimmy Has a Breakthrough

This video of Jimmy was shot today.  Up until now, he would let you pet him, but he was rather reluctant about it.  Up against the wall, one side mostly, maybe the top of his head.   You could coax him out of the corner with food.  

Lifted from the video

The cages in the kennel are 12-16 inches up off the floor.  So if one is hosing under the cage, he doesn't like that too much either, and will walk to the front of the cage, sniff your hand if it is on the cage door.  His pen is 4 foot deep, and about 3 foot wide.  So even if one is standing in the opening, there can be a rather large opening between the bottom of the door, and cage floor.  Sometimes he notices it a little too much, or he starts looking above you  if you are sitting on the edge of the cage.  Like he is contemplating something, an escape plan. 

I was doing a Holiday Market over the weekend, so I would walk and feed everyone in the morning, and rush back after dark to walk everyone again.  Bert and me, Ginger, Daisy, and me, or Rosie and me. In the dark like in The Blair Witch Project. In the woods.  With a flashlight. So I didn't have much time to spend handfeeding Jimmy. I would put food in his cage, and clean up poop later. 

Sometimes he lays at the front of the cage, or standing, looking out, seeing what is going on as Bert, Rosie and Ginger go in and out.  But usually he would move to the back of his cage if you went to open the door, put food in, change his water, etc.

So yesterday, Jimmy was laying at the front of his cage up next to the door. With his head pointing towards the hinges.  If I open the door and put my arm in to touch him, I am actually petting him from behind.  Carrie went to hand feed him his canned food, and noticed that he wouldn't move from the door.  And he was not that interested in his food at the moment.  So I went back there and I could crack the cage door and pet him all over.  Both sides. Left and right. Top of his head.   I am not sure if he got more trusing, or something spooked him worse than we do (like the washing machine or dryer), etc.  Perhaps a little of both.

A little later I got him to eat his food, and could pet him in the middle of his cage.

Today he did the same thing.  First thing this morning, he had lots of poop all over, so I had to pick it up,  scrub and hose off the cage floor, and squeegee it dry.  At one point, I had my hand under his neck, on his chest to keep him from lunging towards the open door.  And another time, I actually was holding him by the scruff of his neck.  He didn't seem to freak out at either one.

In the video below, you notice he is looking at the crack at the bottom of the cage, putting his nose there, or is doing it on the side, where I am squatted down.   I am being careful that he doesn't try to push the door open any further. 



I was quite pleased and surprised at how he reacted. At some point I am going to try and get a collar on him, something that he can't slip out of.  And then try him on a chain leash or something that he can't chew through in 2 bites.  I think he has learned a little from watching Bert, Rosie, and Ginger.   There are some subtle changes that you probably can't see very well on his video. But go back and watch him last week. I think you can see what I am talking about. 

Jimmy sees Dead People

Yes, I think that is correct.  Jimmy is like that kid in the movie,  The Sixth Sense, "I see dead people."

He'll be doing better, and then something spooks him-  the lights flicker, a chainsaw cranks up 150 yards down the road, a fly buzzes by, etc.  It is like 2 steps forward, and then sometimes 1,2, or 3 steps backwards.   I shot this video of him eating yesterday.  It took 3 and 1/2 hours to upload to Youtube.  (You're welcome, lol)    He was more relaxed than last week.  All of our holiday boarders have gone home, so it's just him, Bert, Rosie, Ginger and Daisy in the kennel.

I kept moving the food around the pen to give him to move out of the corner.  If he heard, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner." He would volunteer.  He lurves the corner.   You would think he only has 2 legs, on one side, to look at him, as that is all you ever see. 

So I am moving food left to right, front to back, from my hand, from the floor, etc. to get him to move.  Notice he gets up and stands to eat.  This is about the 2nd day we've seen this- he is less crouched, so I think that is a good sign.



I also have been leaving a towel in his cage, up at the very front, to encourage him to lay up there.  Last night he pooped and urinated all over it.  Maybe the dead people said to, I don't know.


Yesterday I also got this little video of Rosie and Ginger walking around outside.  Not much of Rosie as I cut out the part where she gets excited and starts jumping all over people.  She needs a little work on her manners.  You can see a difference in Ginger from her earlier videos.  I was walking her yesterday afternoon . . . she was right behind me, . . .I stepped over a down tree branch, and my heel accidently hit her in the chin.  She yelped as if it was totally my fault and on purpose. 




Ginger stopped for a rest by a tree on her walk.

 

I love this photo.

 I think that rad scar above her eye is here to stay.   She'll be the envy of all the other children on the playground.