Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Play time on Camera Continued!

Ok, I'm posting two more videos. The first one is a bit on the long side and I think the shorter second one is cuter. So I'm introducing Project Platypus and Rainy Day Pumpkin Play. Enjoy!



Monday, October 12, 2009

Play Time!

At the same time everyday Hermione gets very playful, so I've taken to video taping her. I then tweak them on my computer. Enjoy! All music by Bond.



Monday, October 5, 2009

Happy Haloween!



Hi! Happy Halloween! Hermione has been preparing for the big day by playing with her stuffed jack-o-lantern toy, and by learning to wear her witches hat. Sorry for the quality of picture, I blame a wobbly cell phone.
Hermione had a fun summer complete with a trip to the beach. We stayed in a friends near the beach house whilst there so we had a nice quiet spot for her to play in. She thought the waves on the ocean were terrifying and even slipped her collar. A friendly beach lounger caught her though. On that same trip I learned that Hermione's fear of anything with wheels could actually be a good thing at times. We went in a convenience store very early in the morning and the small confines of the store ment we had to squeeze in about a 5 foot space between an open doughnut display case on my right, and a large rolling cart stuffed with fresh doughnuts on Hermione's left. The guy who was stocking the doughnuts looked wary of Hermione. In stead of lunging for the hot doughnuts like any other living creature would have, she pressed into me to get away from the cart! She was so busy staring at the wheels that the existence of the doughnuts was completely lost on her. The doughnut stocker's eyes almost popped out of his head he was so startled by her disinterest. I should have scolded her for leaning on me since letting a scared dog lean on you is just confirming and praising their fear, but I was too busy laughing.
In addition to working on the fear of wheels, we've also been working on curving her urge to be extremely rude to the cat. She had the unkind habit of charging at Sabrina whenever she entered the same room. After much scolding, and a few angry hisses, she seems to be over that compulsion.
Hermione's weight and disinterest in eating is starting to alarm me a little. She always eats something, but never finishes her bowl. I ordered her first guide dog harness a few days ago and while I was resuming her I looked at the breed standards. She's well over the minimum height, she's about 22 inches at the shoulder. But at the same time she is under the minimum weight. She is only 32 pounds. I'm wondering whether slipping her a bit of cat food during the day wouldn't fatten her up a bit. She never took to the 2 meals a day plan and preferred to fast than to eat for the 15 minutes that her bowl was given to her for. So I let her eat when she naturally wants to, at night. She always liked nibbling at night so I gave in and she gets her bowl in her cage all night long so at least she eats something now.
I ran into a problem the other day when I went to get her the guide dog version of the dog license. I was told that they couldn't register her as a guide dog unless I had documentation stating she was from a school who trained her. I'm working on getting opinions as to whether this requirment violates the ADA or not. According to the ADA, and I produced a copy of the law that I showed them there, no one is allowed to ask for proof. They may only ask " Is this a service dog? " and "What does it do to assist you?". So I'm working on building a case to confront them.

I'm also really excited, and confused, as to what her color is doing. She's started her coat change and there are silvery colored hairs cropping up on her back, but there are also almost solid white ones on her tail! She has a few cream colored ear hairs on the underside of her ears too. I haven't a clue what she'll turn out to be, but it's really exciting to guess.

Anyway, we hope you have a happy Halloween everyone! Bye!