Shadows - 7/52

Shadows - 7/52*

Lately I've been doing a lot of reading about lighting with off-camera flash, so this was a bit of an experiment.  The flash was positioned to the left behind a plant, which created all the shadows  Also, I just can't resist the oppertunity to highlight my dog's blue eyes.

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*Ok, I know we went from 6/52 to 10/52 to 7/52.  Maybe counting just isn't my thing...  Actually, it's because I'm a bad blogger and I've gotten a few weeks behind.  This week should be the 10th week and I really wanted to post the Mardi Gras photo this week.  So that's why that one got posted out of order.  Look for a few weeks with two "52 weeks" posts!

Phenobarb Recall

I just came across this recall and figured I'd pass it along in case there are any other epi dog owners who read this blog.

Mislabled Phenobarbitol Recalled

The affected lots were distributed nationwide to retail and wholesale pharmacies between Sept. 21 and Dec. 29, 2010.

So the wrong medications were distributed in September and a recall was issued in February?  WTF?  I'm so angry right now.  Whatever happened to quality control?  I don't believe Iris has taken any of the recalled drugs.  The Pb I have right now is from a different manufacturer than the one affected by the recall, and Iris usually gets 30mg tabs (the recall is for 32.4mg tabs).  She hasn't had 32.4mg tabs in quite a long time.

I just think it's unbelievable how long it took them to issue a recall.  I get Iris' prescription refilled every 30 days.  Any medication she took in September is long gone by now.  I'm pretty sure I'd have noticed something was VERY wrong as soon as she started taking the wrong medication, but would anyone have figured out it was because the drug was mislabeled?

Blue Dog - 10/52

In honor of Mardi Gras, the red dog has decided to be a blue dog for the day.

Blue Dog - 10/52

And in case you'd like to see the actual blue dog, check out this blog post from artist George Rodrigue's wife.  Happy Mardi Gras!

Not the Best Morning

Three seizures for the red dog isn't exactly how I wanted to wake up this morning. Yuck. Each seizure lasted a little longer than is typical for Iris - about 1.5 to 2 min each (she's normally about 1 min). The good news is that she only went about 5 min between seizures, which means we're probably done for the day. When she's going about an hr between seizures, then we're in for a bad day.

All things considered, 15 1/2 weeks between seizures isn't bad. Far longer than I ever thought she'd go. Prior to this, she was going about 4 weeks between seizures.

A Dog's Life - 6/52

 A Dog's Life - 6/52

I'm not sure Iris quite understands that she's actually a dog.  Iris often sleeps on the couch, with her head on the pillow.  At night, she always sleeps on the bed (which is funny because for the first two years I had her, she completely refused to sleep on the bed).  The other night, she woke up in the middle of the night and started scratching.  I rolled over and nudged her since she has a tendency to scratch herself raw when her allergies act up.  Iris indignantly hopped off the bed.  I could hear her moving around in the dark looking for a place to settle down.  Then very slowly, she crept back on the bed.  And stood there.  Staring at me.  As if I wouldn't notice her getting back on the bed as long as she did it slowly?  I told her she could lie down, and she very happily settled back down on the bed for the rest of the night

I was thinking about it the next day, and I'm pretty sure she got back on the bed because she couldn't figure out where dogs are supposed to sleep if they're not sleeping on the bed.  Spoiled much?

Will Work for Food - 5/52

Dogs in the kitchen while I'm cooking is a huge pet peeve of mine.  I just don't enjoy having to fight with the dogs for foot room while I'm getting food ready.  To keep the peace, Iris is trained to stay out of the kitchen while I'm in there unless I invite her in.  She can sit the doorway and watch, but she has to stay out.  If she's already in there (or in there uninvited), I can tell her "out," and she'll go sit in the doorway.  When I was living with my dad, all three dogs were pretty good about staying out of the kitchen.

While I was visiting my dad for the holidays, I was in the kitchen helping my sister clean up.  My dad's house has a much larger kitchen than my condo, but the large kitchen very quickly fills up with seven people and three dogs in the house.  Without really thinking about it or even looking at the dogs, I said "Out."  Iris immediately went and sat in the doorway just outside of the kitchen.  The boys continued looking for crumbs on the floor, so my sister turned to me and said "Show off."

Just so that no one thinks my dog is a perfect angel, she regularly rebels against the "no dogs in the kitchen" rule with just one front paw.

Will Work for Food - 5/52

GSDs?

Does anyone know of a good German Shepherd breeder?  I have a friend who grew up with GSDs and is looking for a puppy.  I prefer my Shepherds to be the crazy red merle variety, so I don't actually know any good GSD breeders.

Anyone out there know of any GSD breeders?  All my friend is really looking for is a healthy pet and he really loved the GSDs he grew up with.