I miss....

I miss my wonderful Sophie...even after these years.

Sophie the best dog ever!

Sophie is so awesome. She will never be forgotten!

Today she went to her new home on 400 acres in Twin Falls Idaho. She will have some Australian Shepherd friends and another Anatolian!

We have wanted to move for over a year to a small ranch somewhere. I work for Disney, so finding a rural place is not very easy. I have to be near the city. We thought we'd have plenty of space on an acre in South Jordan for Sophie to run and play...and guard. But an acre doesn't do this breed any justice. They need a few acres. Not to mention that our rural over the years have slowly become urban. Neighbors moving in and not wanting the country life that we wanted when we first moved here. So neighbors start complaining...first its roosters, then its flies, then its dogs barking....and it never ends.

We were getting tired of the pressure and stress, so we felt that Sophie needed to go to a bigger home. We are so happy to have found a rancher in Idaho. I trust that she will have a wonderful life on his ranch.

We are sad to see her go, but it is best for her at this time. I wish things were different. I loved that dog so much. She is my best friend.

I will miss you Sophie.

One day, if we ever find that special ranch, maybe I will have another Anatolian. But this time, I'll take two...so they can have a friend for life.

Yee haw.....


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is Sophie's bio.

She was born Born -  MAY 2008 at Clear Creek Kennel  in Alabama (Jim Simmons)

Arrived via plane to SLC – June 2008

 

Commands that she knows and understands: (still can be stubborn)

-          Sit

-          Come

-          Lay down

-          No pull (when she wants to pull you on the leash)

-          Paw (when you want her to move her big paw off your foot, or lift it if she is tangled)

-          Gimmie 5

-          Shake

-          Bang! (point at her and she’ll fall)

-          Water

-          Supper

-          Treat

-          No bite (when she gets too playful and wants to playfully nibble your hand)

-          No bark

-          It’s okay (when someone walks by, or when she is introduced)

-          Move

-          Stop

-          Go get it

-          No tip (she likes to tip her bowl over when she eats. It drives me crazy!)

-          Down

-          No

-          Potty

She will let you lay on her, tickle her, hold her face, look at her teeth, bathe her (not very fond of a bath).

She likes to play, and she can play rough. She will play for a few minutes, and decide to guard instead.

She likes to find the highest point in the yard so she can scope out the neighborhood.

She loves a rub down…when you rub her all over her shoulders and neck.

She has been around my 5 kids her whole life. She has been socialized around animals, dogs, and humans. However, you will still need to be cautious when introducing her to anyone.  We haven’t had problems with her being with other dogs. (We have a small teacup Yorkie and they get along fine) We have dog sat for neighbors with multiple Golden Retrievers, a Sheltie, a shitzu, and they had a blast.

She has been mostly around chickens, pheasants, ducks, and rabbits. In the past, she has been around goats, cows, horses. I would suggest slowly acclimating her to any animal.

The ducks are her best friends. She gets massaged by their beaks…but they also get to eat all her food.
Sophie is a pure bred and is intact.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Jersey Giant Chickens

Ok...so I never gave an update on our New Jersey Giants.

(This is what the chickens look like)

The New Jersey Giants are beautiful birds. The have a green sheen on their feathers and beautful brown eyes. I actually liked the hens a lot. They were very sweet.

Not only do these chickens eat a TON.....they are huge. I had 25 of them and was buying at least one 50 bag of feed each week. (Probably more like 1.5 bags.)
They eat so much. The eggs are actually really small. I was really surprised considering how big these chickens are. Anyway, I noticed that after I started putting them outside that the rooster was awesome at protecting them. It was cool to watch. At night he would corral all his lady hens in, and he would stand guard. Nothing....and I mean...NOTHING...scrared that rooster. Not even Sophie. His lady hens were very safe under his watchful eye.

Soon, the rooster got bigger...and bigger....in fact, we named him, "The Black Knight". We called his brood, "The Harem of Hens". The ladies were big, but he was twice as big. He always stood guard like a junkyard dog.

...and then he got mean. I am not kidding when I say that I feared for my life with that bad boy. I kept trying to remind him, that I was his friend and that I took care of him and his lovely harem....but he didn't care. He wanted no part of my nice-ness.
He wanted to kill me.

Once, when I went out to feed, he came after me....I realized that I was wearing a bright red shirt. Duh. He must have thought I was trying to be a matador..and he was the raging bull.
Man, I ran. I probably screamed like a girl. I barely escaped.

I started to rethink these chickens. They weren't worth having a mean rooster around. Do I butcher him and keep his lovely hens?..It didn't seem right. I think we had the chickens for almost 2 years before I had enough of his mean-ness.

So, the meaner he got by the day, the more determined I was to have him gone. My kids wouldn't even go near him. We would walk friends out and stand by the fence to prove that he was a maniac killer rooster. And yes, it only took a second for them to believe me.

Its funny, cuz I have had lots of roosters, but never had one this crazy. And it didn't matter that I was so dang nice to that basta...I mean fellow. Once, we had a Red rooster that got mean. He jumped up on my son's shirt, clawed into his chest and kept his claws dug in while he grabbed his face and was pecking him. I immediatleg grabbed that pecker neck by his scrawny neck and walked him over to a cardboard box. That was the last we saw of him. I took him out to an old field and let him go. I let the foxes take care of him.

When Black Knight's spurs reached about 4 inches, I knew his time had come. He was either dinner, or he was going to terrorize someone elses backyard. I actually found a farmer, who wanted the whole bunch. I warned him over and over that his life was at stake, but he still wanted that mean ol' rooster and his harem of hens.....so I gave them to him. We had to use a fishing net (fabric net..not plastic netting) to catch him...We were scared to death.
I knew I could't miss.
I shoulda got it on film. It was epic.
Someone was looking out for me cuz I got him at my first try.

We were in awe as we studied up close those deadly spurs. Ooooooooooo.
They would look awesome mounted on the wall next to some deer antlers.

So, that was the end of The Black Knight and His Harem Of Hens. We'll surely never forget them.

That same week, I went out and got some sebrights (those roosters are pretty mean for a small bird too), and I got a few Leghorns. They are as sweet as can be.

yee haw.

Yee Haw

Howdy.

Sophie and I have been trying a few new things lately. I am trying to teach her when not to bark, and when to bark. It's not very easy. I wish that I had a cat or two while she was growing up because they seem to make her bark the most. I get cats and stray/ unleashed dogs wandering in my yard all the time.
Anyway, I am pretty sure that Sophie knows what a cat is. I just have to convince her that they aren't a threat. I'll keep working with her.

One thing that she does that I love, is that when we walk, I am always on alert noticing who is around me. Joggers, walkers, dogs, dog walkers, etc. Since Sophie is so busy sniffing around, if I see someone approaching, I basically say, "Sophie, no bark". She will always look up to see what I am referring to. She just stays calm as the jogger runs by, or the walker walks by. It is really cool.

We have been loving the weather. We have only seen about 1 snow storm...it snowed 10 inches, but other than that, its been low 60's and 50's. We can't complain about that.

I bought a new tether for Sophie. It's 30 feet. It's actually a plastic coated wire. I've never used one. I guess I'll find out if I like it.

We had a neighbor's dog that we watched for 7 or 8 days. It was a small sheltie. Sophie loved having her around. It was fun to watch them play and chase each other. Sophie gets along with nearly every dog I introduce her to. One time, there was a german weimaraner that came by...that was the only dog I 'ver ever seen Sophie not like. I'm not sure what bugged her, but it wasn't good. Our neighbor's daughter brings her german shepherd around and Sophie likes him alot too. We also have a tea cup yorkie, and Sophie likes to hang out with her. I have to be careful though because Sophie is so big, but she actually does awesome with her.

Sophie needs a bath this week. I better get it done while the weather is good. I love it when Sophie gets a bath. Her coat is all grizzly and rough looking like a bear and she looks so cool.
I will be posting some pics...and probably some videos soon.

yee haw.

Sophie

I have had Sophie nearly 5 years (in april). She has been such an awesome dog. If I could change something about her, it might be her super loud bark...but it's not her fault. We live in a neighborhood where most have large lots (an acre or two), and people walk by more than I would like. Sophie barks at them as she is supposed to. She also will bark at cats who decide to wander into my yard.

We have received a few complaints over the years and try hard to minimize her barking....but how can you keep an anatolian from doing what she is meant to do. Guard and Bark (alarm).
It is very frustrating. So much so that we are planning to move, but it is going slower than we had hoped....which leads us to our recent complaint of excessive barking. If I get another, I will be in court with a very large fine. We are so frustrated. We try to minimize her barking, but I work during the day which makes it impossible to stop. ....It doesn't help when other dogs enjoy coming into my yard, and those pesky cats. Arggghhhhhhh. It makes us crazy.

Well, today, I got another complaint. (same person) Yesterday, Sophie was barking a lot due to some loose dogs. Sure enough, I got a note again about her excessive barking. (at least it wasn't a ticket). Now I am forced to sell Sophie. There are no other options at this point. We would love for her to go to a farm somewhere.

Most inquiries I have had are in southern Utah. I also had some interested parties in Idaho and Washington. One guy even wanted her to be his house dog where there is no yard. I told him no.

Its painful to have to let her go, but its better to let her go, then to see her go to the kennel where they would most likely put her down since she has a record (the firework incident). Arghhhh.

Howdy

Well, I thought I'd give a Sophie update. Everything ended up working out with our firework incident. We had a visit from animal control and we explained our side. The officer did have to report the incident, but the couple that Sophie was barking at didn't want to press charges. They said that they were more scared and started than anything...and maybe they even over-reacted a bit. I don't blame them. Sophie is a big dog with a big bark. She could easily take on a wolf or mountain lion if she had to.

Sophie has been so playful lately. She loves the cooler fall weather and wants to be more active. Tonight as we walked, I saw a woman riding a bike towards us. I told Sophie that is was okay and not to bark. (she hadn't noticed her just yet) The lady got closer, Sophie looked up and wanted to woof, but didn't. I love when she listens.

She broke through her teather a couple months ago. I haven't bought a replacement. I can tell she misses hanging out while I worked the garden. Sorry Soph....not til I get another teather.

The weather has been warm all week. High 70's. We should get in the 50's by the weekend.

I hope for a loooong fall...but it looks like it will be cold....and some are predicting a cold, white, snowy, winter. Yuck.

sad sad sad

well..its been a while since I posted. Life has just been busy.
Sophie has grown alot and continues to be an amazing guard-dog...
However...
Last night something went terribly went wrong outside our back door.

Being near the 4th of July, there are alot of fireworks going off at night. Sophie doesn't really like the noise and whimpers a little because she gets scared. I usually bring Sophie in around 8 pm or so each night...but since it is so hot, and it doesn't get dark until 9:30pm, I have been waiting a little longer.

Last night, around 9:45pm, as I was laying down, I was thinking that I need to bring Sophie inside. Around 10 pm I heard a bark and a scream. I immediately ran to the backyard within seconds thinking that another dog must be in my yard and Sophie is barking at it....but I suddenly realized that she was on the other side of our house and she was somehow outside of her kennel. I came running to her on one side of the street as she barked at a male and female couple across the street. I was being cussed at and yelled at by the couple who were apparently on a late night walk. They were yelling and claimed that Sophie attacked them.

First of all, Sophie was outside her kennel and on the street. Yes...that was an apparent problem off the bat. Second, I couldn't figure how she got out because she is never out unless she is with me on a leash. But here I was getting cussed at by a frantic couple claiming that Sophie bit and attacked them. I was very startled because Sophie has never bit anyone...ever. She may bark a loud bark, but she has never bit anything but a beef bone. I was trying to make sense of everything. "She attacked and bit you?" I asked in disbelief.

Sure enough, the man did have a small puncture wound on his knee, and there was a little blood. They were scared and quite shaken up ...as they should be. Sophie is big, and if I encountered a big dog and a loud bark, I would take defense against her too. But he did say, "she got what she deserved", and that he "got her real good". So apparently he got a few good licks in.

I tried to talk to them and ask what happened. I couldn't understand and tried to get specifics. In between cussing me and the dog out in front of all my kids, they just said that Sophie attacked and bit him...but I have no specifics...where, how, what exactly happened????I apologized profusely and asked to exchange information. I said that this has never happened before, and that Sophie is never out of her kennel without me. They wouldn't even talk to me they were so upset. I don't blame them.
I didn't get names, or any info. He just said he would be reporting it. Then they left.

We were stunned and horrified. How did Sophie get out? We had some neighbor kids playing by her kennel earlier and I assumed that maybe they unlatched her kennel somehow. We were all sick to our stomach as we walked back to the house. Sophie was even limping a bit.

I put her away and went to the kennel to investigate just how she got out. The door was latched. I checked all sides of the kennel and found a small 10x 10 hole that she peeled back from the chain link. I couldn't even believe that she managed to squeeze that enormous body through that small hole...but how else could you explain it? Wow.....if only I brought her in earlier.

We checked Sophie out. She seemed a bit shaken too. She seemed a little hurt too. I looked at her teeth and claws but couldn't see much. Boy, I wish she could talk so I could get some answers. Did she really attack him? Did she really come across the street and aggressively bite him? Did she bark and he was in fear so he made the first move and then she bit? Was it her paw that punctured him or her tooth? I have no clue. All these questions and more kept going through my mind.
The whole thing lasted about 45 seconds. Sophie wasn't even barking when we came out trying to talk to the couple. I have so many unanswered questions.

I figured that she was spooked by the neighbors fireworks and managed to peel the chain link and came out of the kennel an was probably sniffing around the house (as she usually does when I am walking her.)  Then she must have encountered the couple as they walked down the street.

I didn't go in to work today and mended the fence. Sophie seemed sad and far away. She didn't bark hardly at all. I wondered if she is hurt too? I waited all day to hear from the animal control but never did. I have no idea what will happen. We are extremely sorry that this even happened and would like to work it out...but we don't know what the couple will do. We don't even know where they live. Will this get ugly and go to court? Will they pursue other avenues to have the dog destroyed? We have no idea what to expect.

I wish our world was one where we could talk and work things out without lawyers and insurance companies. We are extremely responsible dog owners....but it doesn't matter. It only needs to happen once....and something like this could happen to anyone.

I guess we'll have to wait and see....

sad sad sad

hot summer days......

Its been over a year since I posted!

wow.

update:

It's hot......really hot.

Summer was late this year so I wont complain. We had an extra long, wet spring. The mountains are still covered in snowpack...worrisome for flooding...but nice.

Sophie is doing well. She is in heat currently.
I write that here so I can keep track.

She was getting really skinng a month back. I was pretty worried, but I mixed some dried with that wet Pedigree stuff and now she seems to be fine.

Sophie does well with our birds...a little rough but she does pretty good.

I had to get a bark collar....neighbors complained, so I had no choice.

arghhhh...maybe until we move to a ranch.



Yee Haw!

Howdy

I haven't posted for a while....we're still around...just busy.

I can't believe that Sophie will be 2 years old this April.
How time flies.

There isn't a whole lot to report. It's been really cold here in Utah, near zero degrees at night, so I have had Sophie sleep in our adjoining atrium. She seems to like it.
It's definately warmer than being out with the birds.

We have had a few skunk problems over the past few months. A fox has been terrorizing our neighborhood and taking chickens left and right. One neighbor lost 17 chickens this year.
I have never had an issue with my birds....probably because of Sophie and the fact that I
have them all pretty well secured.

I am getting a shipment of New Jersey Giants from MacMurray Hatchery in a few weeks.
They are a larger chicken. (they can get up to 13 pounds)
We'll see how that works soon enough.

I would still like to meet fellow Utahn's who have an anatolian. ANYONE?

Yee Haw!

YEE HAW!

Summer is always busy around my house. I take Sophie out to the "pit" a couple times a week for a good run. She loves it. (although there are a couple of noisy dogs that pester her from behind a fence.)

Sophie did something amazing the other day. Now, you know ASD's are tough and all powerful. Well, Sophie snapped her tether leash. I couldn't believe it. It literally snapped.
I had to buy a new one. (consider that it is 9 months old leash...so there is a little wear on it).
But, nevertheless, she is one powerful dog!

I am training Sophie with our ducks to be gentle. She hangs out with the ducks all day (in an adjoining kennel) and doesn't seem to mind them, however, she gets a little excited when I put them together and immediatley smothers them. Feathers go flying. My meanest duck is the guinea pig for this experiment. heh heh....she never hurts them....just a little rough tho.

yee haw!

Sophie-lic-ious

Howdy.

The other night Sophie and I were hanging out. It was around 9 pm and I usually walk her around the house for 15 minutes or so before I lock her up for the night. Well, she saw a cat and took off like a bullet. Unfortunately, I didn't have a tight grip on my 15 foot leash and while she took off, I got a major rope burn.
I couldn't be mad at her, because it was my fault for not having the leash tight around my hand/fist.
I learned that lesson.

Then, last night we were hanging out and she did the same thing toward a roller blader dude. He came out of nowhere.
Luckily, I had her tight, but man, it scared me to think of what she would do if she got loose and took off like that.... (I don't actually think that she would actually hurt someone... she is just doing what she does...and that is gaurd)

Sophie is in heat again. I wasn't expecting her to go into heat until August....but I wonder if this is an every 3 month thing? I will be finding out.

yee haw.

Now that....

Now that Sophie is a year old, I will stop posting by weeks. I just thought it would be cool to keep a log about her first year and how she has grown.
We definately love her very much.

It has been raining, but otherwise, the weather has been fantastic. Cool 60's by day...and cooler 40's at night. This is my kind of weather.

Sophie continues to dig her little cavern beneath her dog house. I will let her keep it as long as the house is stable. Otherwise, it may need to be filled. I'll be keeping my eye on that.

Sophie has done really well with her new routine. (transitioned to more of an outdoor dog). She seems to bark more since she is now outside...and her bark is so dang loud...it dwarfs any other barking in the neighborhood.

I have learned that Sophie has a sensitive stomach when it comes to seasonings. Especially Montreal Steak Seasoning. Every time I give her a piece of meat with this seasoning, she vomits it back up. So I try to save her a cleaner piece.

I worry that Sophie needs a buddy. Okay, so she has the chickens, ducks and pheasants...but I would love to see her with another Anatolian companion.

yee haw.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sophie!!!!!!!!

April 20th was Sophie's bday.

We didn't do much. She got a big juicy "fresh" ham bone.
Its so weird to think that we have had her for nearly 1 year now.
Time sure does fly by...

yee haw.

Recent pics April-2009

Here are some pics of Sophie. She has a chubby little friend who is a French Bulldog named, Jasmine. Sophie hates her bath. (as you can see in the pix) I bathe her in a very large horse trough that I bought at IFA for around $65. I am also enclosing pics of the wild ducks that come every year to our yard. They usually hang out for a few weeks then leave.

enjoy!!!!

yee haw

Sophie: 53 Weeks

Man, time is going by. Sophie is 1 year old in two days!
She has been a great dog. I have really loved having her around.

Yesterday she was a little rambunctious. I was trying to comb her and she was giving me fits.
She wouldn't sit still. I have realized that since she has been outside for the past 2 months, she needs a reintroduction to manners. I know, it's all my fault and I need to be better.

We have some annual ducks that show up and visit us each year. They hang out for a week or two and then disappear until next spring. Sophie is very curious about them and desperately wants to say hello. But they won't have anything to do with her. ha.

Ok. Here is a plug. I went to a pet store and saw a video about a grooming brush called the "Furminator". The images were unreal because they showed a dog sitting next to a pile of hair that was combed out by the Furminator. Almost too good to believe. And I noticed the price tag at $40...so its not cheap. I held off buying one at that price.

I got home and checked around. Most prices were within $30 -40 price range. Then I checked Amazon and found a new large brush for $25....and free shipping. So I bought one to "try". (yes..i was a little skeptical)
I got it in the mail yesterday and tried it out on Sophie. I couldn't believe the amount of hair that came out of her coat. I am serious...the pile astounded me. It is exactly like the images in the brochure and video. I kept wondering if there was a razor in the comb....I was also concerned about it pulling the hair...but I tried and tested it on a few things...including me...and it doesn't hurt....and it doesnt seem to be a razor. The comb has small metal teeth that extract the hair. And it makes mounds of piles of hair. All I can say is wow. It really does work.

yee haw.

Rain

It has been raining all day. I look at Sophie out in the rain, and she looks miserable.
I cant bring her in cuz she is all muddy. Dang.

I feel bad for her. At least she has her dog house.

yee haw

Sophie: 52 Weeks

I bought Sophie a huge rawhide yesterday and couldn't believe that she nearly ate the whole thing ina an hour or so. It makes me a little nervous that she can eat that hard stuff. I am sure it wasn't easy going in....and going out could be a near death experience for her. I sure hope not!

I am a little disappointed in her chewing habits. I mean, I know dogs need to chew, but she chews up her blankets, carpet in her kennel, dog house etc. I try to make her beds comfy....but if she wont leave them alone and intact, then she gets to sleep on the cold hard floor. You would hope that a dog would "get it". arghhh.

I have been looking into whether we would ever breed Sophie...but although pups would be a wonderful experience...(oooohhh soooo fun!) I think that we would have a much better dog if we had her spayed.
She is a little too rough with the girls in my house and sometimes, its not cool when she shows her strength when my girls are helping dad out with chores and they get splashed with mud, or clothes get torn up with her strong claws. My daughter was helping me the other day and Sophie jumped up in excitement and clawed her down the face...it wasn't bleeding....but it's still not cool to do that. My wife was really mad and there wasn't much I could do but be grateful that she didn't scratch out an eye.

So, needless to say.....I have seriously been thinking about having her spayed . When Oakley the Golden Retriever stayed with us, I realized why he was so good and well behaved. It was because he was neutered. I think that having a good dog is worth more than having one litter of pups....at least in the long run.

I think it would be really good to get Sophie a companion. Especially after seeing her love being with Oakley and having so much fun with him. I have heard that a male/ female mix is much better than a female/ female mix. I guess we will have to see.

yee haw....

more

Sophie: 50 and 51 weeks

Sophie has been a handful lately. She has decided to dig a hole under her doghouse. (it sits on a pallet) Its pretty deep. I keep wondering how deep she will want to go. She can currently fits nearly her whole body in it.
She had a friend over for the weekend. He is a Golden Retriever named Oakley. (he is neutered) They had a blast together, I love it when she gets to socialize with other dogs.
She loves it too.

We have had snow the past couple of weeks, but today was like 75 degrees. We are also getting alot of rain. Spring is still here, i think.

yee haw,

Sophie: 48 and 49 Weeks

Spring is here and it is so beautiful.
It has been fun to watch Sophie running around in the fields. She is such a powerful dog.
You can just see the muscle and strength in her stride. She is amazing.

I am looking for more Utah Anatolian owners to correspond with. I don't know many here that own an Anatolian....and the vets rarely see this kind of breed. (as they have said to me)

Sophie is registered with the AKC and has a great blood line. The only thing I have left to do is get her xrays on her hips. Then we will know if she will be good to breed down the road....however, we will wait another year at least. (and see what is happening in our CRAZY economy...I am teaching Sophie to hate politics and ALL politicians..ha!)

Our ducks have loved eating Sophies puppy ch0w and won't stay out of it....and she is just too nice to let them help themselves.

We will probably start seeing our golden pheasants lay some eggs in the coming weeks. We are hoping to get more than last years hatch.

see ya,
yee haw,

Sophie: 47 Weeks

Sophie made me laugh last night. I had a big piece of french bread that I stuck in my coat pocket.
I wondered if she would even notice. I took her on her walk and she kept sniffing around...she knew I had something...and she took no time in finding it. It cracked me up.

I am pretty sure we made it through her first "heat" experience. I guess we get to look forward to it again come August...

We should be done with the snow and are welcoming beautiful spring weather.
I am sure Sophie will be anxious to start playing in her favorite large field again now that the snow is gone.

I really enjoyed hanging out with Sophie last night. It was such a cool, peaceful night. We just sat under the stars and I gave her a rubdown. She loved it....
She is such a good dog.
I definately want to breed her in another year or so. We will need to get her hips xray'd to see if she has any problems....I suspect she won't. She is a beautiful dog.
I will have to post some new pics.

yee haw...

BIG Anatolian

Look at this big dawg.
cool huh?

I found this pic on the web....he looks like he would make a great gaurd dog.

Sophie: 45 and 46 Weeks

Sophie is still in heat. It's going on 4 weeks. We have worked through this fairly well. Our schedule is working out much better.

I hope to have another fence up by summer. It will give Sophie a larger space to run. I also am planning on a spot for a large garden this year.

Sophie is a beautiful dog. We are very happy with her. She loves hanging out with our ducks. They love to comb through her fur with their bills. Its a fast vibrating feeling and you can tell she likes it.

I haven't seen much difference in her weight or height. She seems to be at her peak...I guess.

Yee Haw.

Sophie: 44 Weeks

Sophie is still in heat. It has been 2 weeks now. She isn't bleeding as much, so maybe only a few days left.

This experience has actually been good for us. Sophie was getting pretty spoiled and hated going into her crate at all.
I stopped putting her in her crate at night so she could hang out in the kitchen. Sounds like a good plan. But I didn't realize that she would never go back inside. Well, we can't have a spoiled dog because sometimes she really needs to be in there. (being unruly, guests with small children, after a bath, etc) It got to the point that when I put her in her crate, she would whine, yelp, cry, and pant heavily so that slobber was dripping everywhere.

Since she has been in heat, she has been kept outside in her large kennel. I bring her from there into a smaller crate around 9pm at night and will let her back out by 6:15am the following morning. At first she hated the crate. She whined and cried. But after a few nights she has adjusted. Now she is fine. (she still reluctantly goes in after I coax her a couple times.) So, this has been good to reintroduce her to the crate.

The snow is nearly gone and spring is around the corner.

yee haw

Sophie: 43 Weeks

Howdy.

Well, Sophie is in HEAT. I really wasn't expecting this for another 2 months and to be honest, it caught me a little off guard. I had done some research and knew what to expect, although I have never dealt with a non-spayed female before. This is a very new experience for us all.

I went and bought doggie diapers....but they don't fit. Arghh. They are even Xtra large. I have kept her outside in her kennel during the day, and have her put in an inside kennel at night. She isn't adjusting very well. I feel so bad for her because she loves being around the family. And this has really messed up our routine. Normally she will lounge around in our kitchen and hang out near a warm vent. We all feel safe with her in the house....But since she is bleeding, I have had to keep her outside.

It hasn't been easy on any of us. Hopefully, we only have another week or so to go.

Sophie:41 and 42 weeks

I better get my groove back on.
I am getting behind in posting again.

Sophie has decided that she needs to chew the corner roof of her doghouse. Man, that is frustrating...especially after making it so nice for her. arghhhhh.
I have heard that bitter apple spray works to keep dogs from chewing....not sure but I'll check into it.

Sophie changed a lot in the past couple of weeks. I have noticed that her diet has changed. She won't eat her 3 cups in the morning and will normally eat it at night. Then when she is finished, I will give her 3-4 cups more and sometimes she will eat, but sometimes not. It has also affected her bathroom habits. She will go # 1 for me at night and in the mornings, but won't go #2 unless it is in the middle of the day. Oh well. As long as I know she is eating.

She has also become more alert. She will bark if someone is outside the back door, and she will bark at things we have no idea of why she is barking. This is new to us because she has been so quiet.

We have taught her lots of new tricks such as jump, lay down, sit, stay, come, up, and my kids taught that when they say bang, she falls to the ground like she is dead. Really. I didn't believe it til I saw it. Its really comical.

Sophie sheds a lot. My wife doesn't like that part of having a dog too much.

She loves the snow and will play for hours in the cold. Sometimes she acts like she doesn't want to come into the house.

I will get some more pics posted.

yee haw

Sophie: 40 Weeks!

I am way behind in writing.
I need to catch up for 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 weeks....

I will try to catch up.

Sophie seems to be thinning a bit. She hasn't beefed up like I thought she would by now. She is eating once a day, but I leave the food out all day for her to eat at her convenience.
I noticed that a few weeks ago she seemed to be really hungry, so I started feeding her 8 cups a day. But that has tapered a bit.

Sophie wants to be wherever I am. Sometimes, I need my space, which can get irritating cuz Sophie likes to be curled up at my feet. One day I will trip on her and break my neck.

We bought her a big doghouse and painted it "Barn Red". She seems to like it. I even layed carpet for her to keep warm and comfy.

I gave her some de-wormer from IFA the other day. She had a worm in her vomit the other day. How in the world do you get rid of those stinkin worms? Man, its frustrating. I read that some breeders swear by ivermectin capsules that is used for cattle and horses....I am a little skeptical in giving something I am not sure about that might affect my dog. But, I would like to know she is 100% free from those worms. ugh.

That's about all I can remember at the moment. I'll try to keep consistent again.

Yee Haw!

Sophie: 32, 33, and 34 weeks!

Its been 3 weeks since I posted.
Not a whole lot to report.

Sophie is still growing a little. Mostly in weight. I would guess she is near 90 pounds.
Dang, it's cold lately. This arctic air is chilling to the bone.
Sophie has loved the snow. She acts like a little kid. It's pretty funny to watch her.

I picked up a dog-house for Sophie up in Clearfield last Friday evening. It measues approx 4 feet X 4 feet. It has a large entrance and should be perfect for Sophie. I will paint it and put some carpet in it sometime this week if it stops snowing. I will also use a wood sealer to make it last longer. I paid $60 for it and its never been used. I felt like it was a bargain.

It looks like the dry patchy areas have cleared up. I hope so. I never did use the other 2 treatments of ProMeris. I just didn't want to take the chance after reading all the horror stories on the internet.

Sophie did a "naughty naughty" the other day. We made steak fajitas for supper. My daughter was coming home from college for her Christmas (yes, I said, "CHRISTmas" ) break and we saved her a plate on the table. Well, it must have been too tempting for Sophie because she decided to help herself to the steak. I scolded her and sent her to her crate and locked it.
She decided to get me back by releasing a large doo doo pile in her crate...so I guess she got the last laugh.

yee haw...

p.s. It isn't much fun to clean out a large mess in a large crate...too much reaching....watch where you place your hands....don't lose your balance....yeaaach.......yes, I bet it was a funny sight to see.

Bad dog!

Sophie's favorite spot...

Some more

More pics

Sophie loves hanging out in the grass.
What a cutie!