Krispy Kreme's Third Anniversary

Lest there's any confusion, Krispy is seven years young, but she's only been with me for the past three.

She made a big impression on her first day by bolting under my brother's yard gate within the first half hour I had her. More on that in our first post at this sporadic blog.

Thankfully my spry long dog no longer expresses interest in making a fast getaway. She loves her garden time and is an avid sunbather.

You can see in these pics how much her coat has improved too over the years. The shot of her in the sidebar at right was taken less than a week after I got her. And I knew her coat would get much richer (and ears looking longer) with a much better diet than she'd been eating.

I had just finished snapping a series of pics of those nice irises when my four-legged sweetie stepped into the frame for her share of the attention. Given the difficulty at times of getting good shots (what with all that walking up to the lens and sticking her nose in it from time to time), I was happy she'd learned to pose like a pro.

It's true that she runs off to the backyard from time to time to bark loudly (her version of loud) at the neighbor's dogs on the other side of the fence. But most of the time she likes to stick fairly close by in the front yard. Nothing like a patch of warm concrete to get a dachshund to stretch out on it.

She wanted to make sure I got all the requisite profile shots. Yes, yes, turn to the left, Miss Kreme!

Of course, for an angle at her level it requires a bit of contortionist bending to get the lens down to a foot off the ground. (That's what CrossFit class is for with all those low squats!)

And what would it be like without the need for a bit of stretching and scratching with those stretchy back legs?

Happy Third Anniversary, Krispy Kreme, for being the most awesome Wine Country Dachshund!

The Birthday Girl Hits 7!

If some of the words come out funny, it's because Krispy Kreme is draped over my left hand as I type. My long, little girl is seven years old today!

With the continuing downpour (okay, heavy dew) she's not too keen on much outdoor time. She stares at it in a bit of surprise that we actually have some rain. (Left hand now released from pillow duties!...only momentarily -- just long enough to type that sentence!)

Emily is much the same. She stares at the rain coming down as if she's on another planet. And then it's, "Let me out!" and "Let me in!" Rinse. Repeat.

Today I shall miss Krispy's usual exuberance for the out of doors. Yesterday when we went out she demonstrated her tremendous acrobatic skills by leaping from the top of the stoop to the patio and repeating this with the steps to the driveway, circling a fast-as-ever lap around the sideyard garden. "Take me out! Take me out!"

You'd think with all that enthusiasm she would be tugging at the leash for a long walk. But, noooooooooooo! Like a girl, she's all hurry up and wait! Walk fast and then sit the butt down not to budge an inch! (Sigh.)

If I want a serious walk, I generally have to carry her to the furthest point, and then she's willing to walk/trot the return. But not in the other direction....

A week or so ago Miss Krispy Kreme gave the neighbors (and myself) quite a fright. Evidently I'd forgotten to lock one of the doors when I went to meet a client. Krispy, not understanding the size of the world, managed to spring the door open, leap the fence, and went looking for me on the Streets of Napa.

Fortunately, my very kind neighbors, David, Patty and Yvette, took to the streets to chase her down (or rather, coax her home). But as they all mentioned, Krispy is quite the speed demon. Thankfully, they managed to steer her back up the street and into the house before I even knew she'd had an adventure. (I got home within another fifteen minutes.)

She was rather subdued for the next several days likely mulling over the sagacity of surfing the Streets of Napa. And I, being completely mortified at such a negligent error in forgetting to lock the door, have been diligently checking the deadbolt every time I leave the house.

There will be some special treat a bit later today. I think she's earned it! And she'll have plenty more lap-time opportunity as I crank away at my desk.

Happy Birthday, Miss Kreme!

Krispy - The Outdoor Girl

Krispy’s first summer was fraught with concern last year about her desire to “bust loose.” That was then, this is now. Having gotten the Krispized fence in place (and clearly doing its job), we are both decidedly more comfortable with her outdoor time. If she had her way she’d be outside from dawn to midnight. But that’s a little too extensive for me. Can you tell from her expression?

Then there’s that look she gets when she suspects I’m going to pick her up to bring her inside. See:

It turns into an expression of “I think I’ll move away so you can’t reach me.”

And if she does wiggle away too far, she has excellent hiding spots that are exceedingly difficult for me to reach her. But it’s rare she actually hides from me. Ninety-nine percent of the time when I call her outside she comes running like she’s running the Preakness at top speed. It’s quite impressive to watch. One day I’ll get a picture of it, but it’ll be a complete blur without a stop-motion camera!

As soon as the neighbor boy gets out his basketball, Krispy is off on a barking jag. This isn’t too bad for anyone since her vocal chords were clipped by the breeder, but I always worry, so I bring her in the house when they’re shooting hoops.

She’s also learned to jump up on my swiveling armchair in front of the living room window to view what’s outside (usually me!). During these times when she wants out or is waiting for me to come in the house she does a lovely job of adding doggie nose marks to the living room window and the glass in my French doors. You know a dachshund lives here because all the marks on the glass are no higher than 12” to 18” off the floor!

While Mr. Quincy was here visiting recently there was a rare moment when he didn’t object to sharing the sofa space with Emily. Amazingly they maintained the lion lying down with the lambs pose for quite some time, allowing me to slip off the couch for my camera.

You may be wondering where there was room for me, but they did a nice job of squashing together so there was room for me. Quincy is a bit hard to see here since it was so dark, but he’s on the left.

I suspect Mr. Q introduced Krispy to yet another fine tradition in dachshund-dom: the dig. She wasn’t a digger when I got her, but it’s sure in their genes, no doubt. It started at first with hiding under foliage without too much actual earth digging. Quincy, on the other hand, can be fond of the dig as entertainment.

Krispy graduated to minor digs in the garden, which didn’t bother me too much, as I could easily fill in. She seemed to like the holes as cool spaces to lie down in on hot days. She didn’t dig up or destroy plants or flowers, so I gave her lots of leeway.

Recently, during another Quincy visit, she found a new place at the bottom of one of my olive trees to put her paws and claws to work. Quincy helped a bit, but it was mainly her effort. Take a look:

You can see how deep it is from her completely submerged rear end as she dug out the front of the hole.

Then she had to get a better working angle.

And finally…rest. So much work digging these holes!

I have since refilled this hole twice. I suspect I’ll have to do the same at least twice more before the rains put a halt to her efforts! The neighboring Euonymus and Kapphir lily plants can’t be too happy. But their roots should recover over the winter.

Unfortunately, during the winter a certain sunbather will have to give up her warm spot out front. It will be much too cold for this activity:

Happy (Belated) Anniversary, Krispy Kreme!

It’s been a bit more than a year now, Memorial Day Weekend 2009, since Krispy joined the family. And what a transformation! She loves the outdoors, and I no longer feel the panic that she might disappear…permanently…when she’s playing in the yard. Oh, yes, she still loves to search out the cat poop, that much is clear on her breath sometimes when she returns to see me. She’s a total sweetheart, though. Completely affectionate.

There are new quirks that have turned up more recently: Given her dis-ease with all manner of artificial noises (commercial vehicle ‘back up’ beeping; Clint Eastwood’s spurs dinging when he walks in Two Mules for Sister Sara; cell phone beeps indicating the battery needs re-charging), I was a bit surprised to discover she’s equally freaked out by the sound of the dishwasher running. This is more evident if I forget and accidentally run it on delayed timer so that it starts running at 2 a.m. Krispy proceeds to wake up and then run up and down her ramp and across the bed at a fast pace until the cycle is over and quiet. Nothing I can do will calm her. (Note to self: No delayed time runs on the D/W!)

Krispy has taken Good Manners class three times now, but she’s still quite uncomfortable around all other dogs except Quincy. Guess we’ll be going back for more sessions in the future….

And, of course, right now we’re fully into ‘burr’ season. With her coat now completely grown out since she’s been on a much healthier diet this past year, she is a magnet for all manner of dead vegetation in the neighborhood. Fortunately, she’s rather patient about allowing me to pick out the twigs, grass bits and burrs from her tail, leg ‘feathers’ and ear fur.

Her days are filled with fun and enjoyment since the weather is so nice. She’s able to spend most days out in the yard, snoozing on the patio, on the grass or in her outdoor crate while I watch her from my desk. One of her favorite yard activities is racing around the house at top speed along the paths, showing off her lightning speed.

There are many more stories, but I think it’s pretty clear from my posts that finding time for frequent blog entries is few and far inbetween. I’ll save other stories for another day. But it goes without saying (though I will), Krispy Kreme has been the most delightful addition to the family this past year and brings immeasurable joy to my days!

The Cat that (Almost) Swallowed the Housefinch

On this lovely, beautiful day Emily decided to show off her triumph and waltzed in through the open French doors to show me. She had a housefinch in her jaws. Still alive, unharmed, but caught.

I admonished Emily for bringing the bird into the house. (She was taking it off to the bedrooms. Great, just what I need: a panicked bird flitting around my bedroom!) She didn't hear me.

She returned a minute or so later with the bird still in her jaws, and I asked her to take it outside. (I was trying to get some work done!) She opened her mouth to say something and the bird flew out...into my office. Feathers everywhere!

The bird thrashed around the room while I tried to subdue Emily. At first the bird in its diminished capacity flit around low to the floor, allowing Emily within close proximity. Then she found the rail with the halogen lights and had a private perch. Then she spotted a window and promptly flew right into it. More feathers exploded around the room. Emily jumped across surfaces she doesn't ordinarily attempt to use, while I attempted to detour her away from the increasingly panicked bird.

I came to the rapid conclusion that I wasn't going to be able to direct the bird out the open doorway until I had Emily out of the way, so I hauled her off to the pantry and closed the door. She wasn't happy.

The bird, on the other hand, had taken sanctuary on the floor, behind a cabinet and partially behind my portfolio case leaning against the wall. I retrieved oven mitts in the event the bird thrashed in my hands (and I've heard it's healthier for the bird so it won't pick up pathogens on my hands). I tucked hands in and around the feet of the cabinetry she was hiding behind.

Surprisingly she was subdued and presumable exhausted and disoriented. I picked her up and carried her out into the sun, placing her on my fence by a hummingbird feeder. After I stepped away to decrease her panic, I realized I should probably have chosen someplace under a bush. But I had thought as soon as I got her outside she would fly away. But she remained shell-shocked (or rather, Emily-shocked) for several minutes. When I stepped outside to check on her, still sitting on the fence, she immediately flew off. Good for her!

That Darn Cat! Now I have feathers everywhere!

It's Raining! It's Pouring! Why Do I Have to Wear This Coat?

I had thought I'd already posted these pics here, but I forgot after I posted them on Facebook a week ago. Here is Miss Krispy Kreme in her lovely Burberry Coat for the rain:

This photo was not taken today as it poured and poured today. I got Miss KK to model her hand-me-down (from Quincy) coat on a nice, sunny day a few weeks ago. Here's another view:

At first she found the coat a bit awkward. It's a bit large and the portion around her shoulders hangs low hitting her legs. She thought it made it difficult to go up and down steps, but she's since decided she can maneuver without help up and down the stairs while wearing the coat. And since dachshunds really don't seem too fond of rain, this is a big help when it's coming down by the bucket-load.

Today we discovered a new Krispy Idiosyncrasy. (There are so many!) With pouring rain from dawn until after 4pm, we had no choice but to take care of business while the water streamed down from the sky. As we walked out and got closer and closer to the street where she prefers to explore, roll in the grass and do her business, she stopped in her tracks to study the new sight in front of her that was perplexing:

Our neighbor had attached purple balloons, which were waving wildly in the wind and rain, to the street sign post for their engagement party. The balloons were batting about in the winter weather which Krispy found to be most confusing. She couldn't tell if they were animate or inanimate objects. She kept pacing side to side trying to make out this curious vision. It was a bit like the vacuum cleaner or lawn mower effect: Were they friend or foe? Ultimately I convinced her to walk the other way down the sidewalk as we were getting drenched and I wasn't seeing any action on the purpose for our walk.

Who knew balloons would provoke such a reaction?! Thankfully, on balloonless days that are dry, she gets to enjoy the yard a bit more. Here is one of her favorite spots:

This corner is closest to the neighbor who plays basketball and other people action, so she's frequently running back and forth barking, trying to create quite a row from her post. Thus, she's managed to displace a large portion of the mulch, exposing the irrigation line. But she loves it there, so I let it be. When it's quiet, she'll nap there, all well with the world.

Happy Birthday, Krispy!

Do you like my Snuggie? Do you really like my Snuggie?

Krispy did really well at Good Manners class today. We even got a couple of "downs" today (with assists). And she didn't completely freak out at the windshield wipers on the way there (as the storm was fierce!).

Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

It's My Birthday - I'm Five! Let Me Shout that I'm Five!

Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi! "What's that black thing in front of your face?" "Can I play with it?" "Walk with me! Faster!"

Miss Krispy Kreme turns five years old January 20! What a cute girl. All enthusiasm and affection.

We'll be at "Good Manners" class first thing in the morning. She can't quite understand "down" -- she's already so close to the ground, seems silly to get closer! Strange thing is she does it automatically each time she's waiting to have her harness put on her. But try it with a treat, lowering it to the ground from a "sit." She just doesn't get it and up pops her fanny as she pursues the treat.

Latest quirk: Besides great fear of windshield wipers (a phobia discovered as the rainy season began here), her latest phobia is Fear of Frogs Croaking. Yup. I don't know the technical name for this serious disorder, but the sounds of the frogs going into their song in the evenings in the pond out back really freaks her out. Now, she doesn't react the same way as she does to the basketball bouncing or a beeping cell phone or smoke detector. She's just disconcerted and paces a bit. If she feels really bad, she'll crawl under my dresser.

I was so happy that Krispy and Quincy provided me with a second opportunity to document their shared bed use. This is the smallest one. There's hardly room for one of them in this bed, let alone two mini-doxies! I found them a few days earlier (but, alas, sans camera opportunity) in Quincy's favorite bed -- the blue one, a bit larger, easily shared by two. They looked so cute together. Here Krispy doesn't really fit, butt hanging out and all, but it is sweet.

Oops! It really is too small for both of us! "What is that black thing in front of your face?" Krispy queries upon rising from her repose.

A great irony of the "bed" thing is that she didn't like any of them for many, many months. Now that Quincy's visiting and uses beds all the time, she likes them. She uses the one in the bedroom and the one in the office.

The view I see most often on our walks. First, both Krispy and Quincy compete heavily for the right to squeeze out the front door first...literally squeezing between furniture and door opening. The tail wagging is a dead giveaway here; they are both blissful at the opportunity for a romp outside. (Recently this has been curtailed since Krispy made a daring, non-Stalig 17-style escape briefly -- in front of my eyes -- with the intention of attacking Tyler, the basketball shooting neighbor. Huge heart attack later, pre-fence repair, they are restricted to the indoors until the storms are over and fence repaired.)

Happy Birthday, Miss Krispy Kreme! You've become quite the little lady of the house.

Kisses for Krispy Kreme...Not!

Just 'cuz they roughly look like the size and shape of a dog treat doesn't mean they actually are! Sooooooo, one hundred-odd dollars later, Krispy is a bit lethargic (from the meds) and my wallet is thinner, all because someone went hunting in a very unusual place and found a leftover, open bag of Kisses from Halloween. (Sigh.) This was so NOT how I intended to spend a chunk of my busy Monday afternoon...but I did. Krispy was most cooperative.

I had gone off to the grocery store for a half hour and left her to roam the house freely. If I'm gone longer, I confine her to the bedroom so she can feel completely safe and snug. Big mistake!

I got home approximately forty minutes later to find Krispy Kreme in her usual, excited mood, happy to see me. I began unloading the first bag of groceries while I let her frolic between the front yard (which she loves) and in the house by me in the kitchen. When I brought in the next load of groceries and moved one item out of the kitchen, I noticed the telltale ripped bag of Kisses on the floor. (The teeth marks are a dead giveaway.) And as a general rule, I never leave any food on or near the floor for the Little Princess to consume on her own time. OK, occasionally I forget to take up the cat's food, and Krispy may eat it. But most of the time she only goes after her own food.

At first, marginal panic: 'How much chocolate did she eat?!' I counted out the remaining pieces and my memory of what had been left in the bag. Then I gathered the tiny bits remaining on the floor. Putting on my best Sherlock Holmes deerstalker hat, I examined the remaining bit of foil wrapping, chocolate bits and plastic wrap. Hmmmmm. Looked like she got part of one and most of another -- including the single almond inside and the white "Hershey's" flag streamer. Maybe not so devilishly toxic in such a small quantity. Hmmmm.

I called the vet, and after some discussion I agreed to bring Krispy in for monitoring and perhaps de-toxing. So now here we are a couple of hours later. She's sleeping under the file cabinet having been de-puked (not much, it turned out) and given active charcoal to attract the remaining chocolate in her system. Needless to say, the remaining Hershey's Kisses are now moved far, far away from anything she can reach.

Idiosyncrasies

Since I last posted Krispy has shown more and more of her personality. When left at home and I return from errands, she loves to greet me from the sofa near the front door with her little tail wagging. Very cute.

Since she’s quite the agile jumper, she loves hopping (with no effort!) onto the sofa and sometimes up onto the sofa back or table behind it. (This is discouraged! Too far from the ground – a dachshund’s natural territory!) She also continues to be quite a good hider. Since she’s frightened of loud noises (read: basketball bouncing noises across the street), she finds one of her safe places when she’s uncomfortable. Her #1 choice is the dirty laundry basket under my bed. Other favorites include under the dresser, in her crate, under the file cabinet. Here’s one of her favorite outdoor hiding spots:

Thankfully she’s gotten very good and coming right away when I call her from wherever she’s hidden herself in the yard. She knows now I begin to panic if I don’t see her right away. Often she’s out there eating the cat poop. Not particularly attractive. But obviously she considers it gourmet dining. (The joys of having feral cats in the neighborhood and Emily to keep providing “fertilizer” for the yard!)

Krispy’s most recent quirk to appear is fear of windshield wipers. We’ve had the first of our heavy rains. And she wanted to go out for her (nearly) daily car ride. (I am ridiculously indulgent!) And so I put her in her car seat. I turned on the wipers as I was backing out of the driveway and she nearly jumped out of her seat (to which she was tethered) to get away from the moving arms. Okaaaaaaaaaaaay, perhaps we will only use the ‘intermittent’ setting today…. This will take more practice. So I wonder what idiosyncrasy will show itself next?

Getting Good Manners

Krispy is on week #3 of Good Manners class. It is full of challenges. To start with she has no interest in treats as a motivator to follow commands. She ignores them when I hold them directly in front of her nose. She has yet to take even one during class, but she will take a few if she’s hungry when we practice…sometimes…. Second, she’s progressively less terrified by the other dogs in class with each session. She shook like a leaf through most of the first group class and always kept an eye on the exit, which she pulled hard towards most of the session. She isn’t the smallest one, but she’s definitely the shortest in the group. (The “down” command is completely foreign to her, and I can commiserate. I mean, really, she’s already down close to the ground! Why would she want to get closer?) And “sit” is hit and miss. Sometimes she will and sometimes she won’t. But this week she was a bit calmer with the classmates being in the same room with her. So we are making a bit of progress. And she always does well with the “Come” command since she wants to be near me. She even held her seat quite well for “Stay” as I walked around her.

The bottom line is that I think she’s very distracted by all the noises, people and dogs swirling around her in the foreign location. But she’ll have to get used to that. And she’s quite responsive of many of the commands (or does them on her own without command) on her own time. I think the biggest hurdle is translation: She’s bright and gets what she’s supposed to do instinctively. But now she has to translate what she knows to match the language of commands, which is very complicated to her. One day the switch will go on and she’ll get it all like Star Trek’s universal translator.

Roll, Roll, Roll in the Hay!

Krispy Kreme seems happiest while enjoying a good roll...in the grass, that is. Sorry, no video equipment for full documentation of this pleasurable pursuit. But you'll get the idea below.

"Roll, roll! Roll in the hay!"

Krispy's fondness for rolling always makes me think of Teri Garr's bit from Young Frankenstein. I have yet to figure out how to post .wav files here on the blog, but you can hear her line (and many other famous lines from Mel Brooks' fabulous movie) here: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/4159/. (You'll have to scroll down through the files (alphabetical) to roll-in.wav to run the sound byte.)

Repeat steps 1. through 3. again...and again...and again....
I think I've got it now! Just once more to the other side again!

Ooooooooooooooo! This rolling stuff is just great.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, there's just nothing better than a good roll!
Mmmmmmmmm, this is sooooooooo relaxing!

I Love My New Collar!

Do you like my new collar?

I really loooooooove my new collar!

Do you really, really like my new collar?

Baby On Board!

Krispy came through her whole conehead ordeal with flying colors. There were only the first few days I really had to be concerned about her chewing or gnawing away at her stitches and staples during which she could have ripped open the incisions. After that Mother Nature seemed to have done her job. Krispy pretty much lost interest in them and didn’t mind the discomfort. She was even in and out of the vet’s office in the blink of an eye when it came time to remove the staples altogether. She must be quite cooperative with the staff! (The stitches were of the dissolving type and have slowly melted away.)

Only a day after the staples were removed Krispy got to go on a big adventure: She got to go on a long drive to the Vallejo Ferry Terminal to meet visiting family. She had expressed a great deal of interest during the past few weeks in the car – specifically, she seemed to want to go on car rides. She would actually go to the garage door and paw at it. When I relented and opened the garage door, she’d go to the passenger door, wanting to get inside. Very clear. So Ginny’s old car seat was dusted off and put into the car for Krispy’s use. This activity was very exciting for Krispy, getting to watch the scenery go by at high speed.

Now Krispy’s enjoying her new activity (car rides are frequently requested in the usual manner when she goes out) and along comes a boatload of visiting family. And she hasn’t been too keen on strangers from the get-go. But I’d done a lot of advance prep, talking to her about who was coming to visit and how long they would be staying. So she took to the extended crowd very well – even when she had to do it at my brother’s house for the large, party gatherings. Upon arrival she’d usually make a beeline to return to my car. But if she had a nice spot that was hers – under my chair, or behind me on a chair – she could relax and be comfortable not showing signs of anxiety. Here she is resting on the divan:

She looks a bit anxious, and she did get a bit freaked out from time to time. The biggest problem with photographing your own dog is that they have absolutely no understanding of the importance of pretending the camera isn’t there. As soon as she’d see me with the camera or come back from another room with it, she’d come running to see me. Thus, she’d completely wreck the candid composition I was trying to capture of her. *Sigh* Here’s a good example:

I wanted to get another angle of her relaxing on the sofa, but something else grabbed her attention and she stood up, ready to jump off the sofa. (Oh, no! Dachshunds shouldn’t jump off sofas! Yeah, right…. Like I can stop her every single time for the next dozen years!) Once she was looking over the back of the sofa towards the front door. (I was carrying a load of things out to my car.) I told her clearly (she understands English, right?) that I was coming back in to get her and not to worry. Well, before I could even turn ninety degrees to go out she’d leaped off the back of the sofa to chase after me. Well, guess a change in strategy was necessary. Needless to say, she went out to the car in the first armload – not the last one!

Krispy the Konehead

Krispy got her tubes tied on Monday (among other minor procedures). She did well but was groggy the remainder of the day. The doctor warned that she’d be instinctively trying to scratch the itches of the stitches and staples on her belly. (No luck getting them to do these serious underbelly procedures via the back of her neck where she can’t reach to scratch!) Sure enough, when I turned around for just a moment, Miss K was all teeth at work on the temporary staples. Grrrrrrrrrrr! I neatly flipped her over (gently) and swabbed away with hydrogen peroxide to clean up the irritated tissue. Where did I put that cone?

There’s nothing quite like the feel-bad status of the family dog to make you give up on those set-in-stone rules. OK, she can sleep in the bed while she’s in recovery. After all, if she stays in her crate, with the cone on, she’ll be banging against the sides of the crate all night trying to get it off so she can scratch the itch. I'd never get any sleep. So for purely self-preservation reasoning, I opted to let Krispy spend her first night in bed. And she did just fine. No attempts (that I can remember) to lick or chew the incisions. No middle-of-the-night wandering or restlessness.

On Tuesday it really sunk in that I was going to need to change my plans for the week. Although Krispy didn’t need 24/7 attention, she was not to be trusted not to pick at the incisions. I did not want a visit to the vet to re-do stitches or staples! Having located the cone Monday evening, I now had to find an appropriate collar on which to attach it. With great difficultly I slipped it on Krispy, trying not to jostle her too much less than 24 hours after surgery. I fastened the buckle and stood back. Krispy looked as if I just made her life twice as miserable. What was this giant thing I attached to her head? How could I? It’s heavy. I can’t move my head properly!

I was attempting a dry run to see if I was going to be able to make a run to the grocery store. She moved around the office floor awkwardly, as if I’d just attached a ten pound weight to her head. She was very discombobulated! To make matters worse, the weirdness of the cone put her into a bit of a panic attack as she worked feverishly to remove it. I found out quickly I hadn’t tightened the collar well enough since she proceed to pull it over and off her head. Oh, well.

With one dry run of Krispy the Konehead down – none too successful—I opted to wait until she’d calmed down before trying Konehead 2.0. And to make matters worse, on Krispy’s first full day home from the hospital, she had no interest in food or drink and remained fairly groggy (except when suited up with La Kone). I waited another day before attempting a grocery store run when I could Konehead and Krate her.

The best sign was when she consented to eat a full meal late Tuesday night. On Wednesday she was rebounding. Her energy was returning, and she started to gingerly test out the front stoop stairs by herself. There remained minor attempts to lick or chew at her stitches, but most of the time she was good at refraining from the gnaw.

The bulk of each day was spent with Krispy in my lap from morning to evening. This was and is a bit trying on the leg muscles, requiring shifting my four-legged lap warmer from one side to another when one or the other hip or knee gets sore. Why don’t dogs know their butts are sliding off your lap? Can’t they feel they aren’t there a hundred percent? Is it because dachshunds are so long? Is the message not getting from the back end – so far away – up to the brain? I shifted her again so I didn’t have to squeeze my knees together to keep her in place….

Further Konehead attempts were met with better results but also posed new problems. Krispy was a like a broken bobble-head. Most often the cone dragged on the floor when she walked. And then she’d run into something (a little peripheral vision problems with this thing) and get stuck. The cone’s bottom edge got stuck under a table leg. She got stuck against the coffee table. Against the door jamb of the bedroom. Under the bed. And against the side of the crate. She was flummoxed to be sure!

On Thursday she got a slightly better handle on using the cone. She looked more like a functional bobble-head when she trotted towards me with the cone swinging from side to side in her gait. She almost had it down to a science…until its edge caught on another piece of furniture. Phoom! Then she was unexpectedly stopped in her tracks. I guess dogs really aren’t set up well to adjust their spatial relationship thinking for the completely different size of a cone. The problem would repeat, but she didn’t recognize it or make any effort to learn how to correct it.

It’s another five to eight days before the stitches and staples come out, so more cone-time will be in order. In the meantime, it’s a lot of lap time. But as each day passes, the incisions heal better and better so I have less worry about having to start over from torn (or chewed) stitches. And with family visiting over the weekend, there will be more eyes to help watch Krispy the Konehead keep away from the licking and chewing activities that are…inappropriate. Take a look.