the baby bird will be 3 years old any day now. i know it may be confusing that i call my dog tenzin lama a "the baby bird" but if you knew him, things would be very clear. first of all, he has an extra long snout that has always reminded me of a beak. secondly he loves to watch birds, his peeps [yeah that was kinda lame]. he spends hours on the balcony watching birds (& the occasional cat) on rooftops or trees. he is keen on squirrels as well but these he likes to actually chase. tenzin just loves to look at the birds. unless of course there is a gaggle of birds then he must run & bark & scare them away. otherwise he likes to watch them from the shadows, behind bushes, trees or standing still with one of his front paws up as if he is pointing. tenzin, like his 12 brothers & sisters, is a mix of german shepherd & airedale terrier. unlike his siblings, he has the funniest beard to contrast his smooth coat although it is a bit on the tufty side. it seems like the undercoat but without a top coat. thank goodness too! i checked on how much it costs to "blow out" coats for airedales & other dogs & it is a pretty penny. he is taller & longer than machiavelli. almost a whole head taller when they are sitting side by side. he is slick & on the svelte side. this is by design. when i adopted tenzin, he was a wee slip of a 5 month old puppy, very shy but loving. he spent his first month in his special place in the kitchen while he got accustomed to things (i.e. machiavelli). he'd always do this sweet thing where he looks like he is hiding his face behind his giganamous paws (kind of a peek-a-boo), he still does this! but i noticed immediately that he was a bit creaky on the 4 floor walk up. in checking it out at the vets as well checking in with the other owners of his siblings, i found that he has genetic hip dysplasia. so i researched like crazy & came to these conclusions which are paramount to my happy tenzin lama:
(1) he must be kept very light as to avoid extra weight on his hind legs
(2) absolutely no surgery, if we must we will go the acupuncture route
(3) daily doses of omega 3, 6, 9 &/or cold water fish oils
now some dogs have insatiable appetites & surely tenzin is one of those dogs. he needs to eat too because his daily exercise/walks borders on 3 hours a day, not to mention the at-home play every day. so i feed him & machiavelli a combination of dry dog food (inova/california naturals) & people food. the result: both of my dogs are very trim, although tenzin certainly gets way too many comments from people about how skinny he is. our vet is amazed at how lean tenzin is. it's a lot of great fun & time spent walking around the hood, playing fetch with frisbee, ball or stick & general rough-housing. having an active older dog also helps.
our lifestyle will help tenzin in the later years when arthritis sets in. he will have less weight to carry. at some point, i suppose i may have to move out of the top floors of buildings. but in the meantime, the run up the 4 steep flights of stairs is a breeze!
maybe a birthday party is in order. dogs love to have their friends over & good weather appears to be here. what better use of the steel-fenced balcony than a bunch of rough-housing dogs. the last 2 years harriet z. the wonderful woman who rescued tenzin & his brood have invited all the pups & their owners to a birthday party. they were known as the redhook sugar factory dogs. it was a wonderful opportunity for owners to meet & for the puppies to know each other. they really play differently with their blood kin! it is a pleasure to watch them interact together & to learn about each puppy & the similarities with personalities, habits & sadly the genetic issues. tenzin is a very lucky bird indeed! to have his brother at home & his blood brothers once a year or so!
(1) he must be kept very light as to avoid extra weight on his hind legs
(2) absolutely no surgery, if we must we will go the acupuncture route
(3) daily doses of omega 3, 6, 9 &/or cold water fish oils
now some dogs have insatiable appetites & surely tenzin is one of those dogs. he needs to eat too because his daily exercise/walks borders on 3 hours a day, not to mention the at-home play every day. so i feed him & machiavelli a combination of dry dog food (inova/california naturals) & people food. the result: both of my dogs are very trim, although tenzin certainly gets way too many comments from people about how skinny he is. our vet is amazed at how lean tenzin is. it's a lot of great fun & time spent walking around the hood, playing fetch with frisbee, ball or stick & general rough-housing. having an active older dog also helps.
our lifestyle will help tenzin in the later years when arthritis sets in. he will have less weight to carry. at some point, i suppose i may have to move out of the top floors of buildings. but in the meantime, the run up the 4 steep flights of stairs is a breeze!
maybe a birthday party is in order. dogs love to have their friends over & good weather appears to be here. what better use of the steel-fenced balcony than a bunch of rough-housing dogs. the last 2 years harriet z. the wonderful woman who rescued tenzin & his brood have invited all the pups & their owners to a birthday party. they were known as the redhook sugar factory dogs. it was a wonderful opportunity for owners to meet & for the puppies to know each other. they really play differently with their blood kin! it is a pleasure to watch them interact together & to learn about each puppy & the similarities with personalities, habits & sadly the genetic issues. tenzin is a very lucky bird indeed! to have his brother at home & his blood brothers once a year or so!
No comments:
Post a Comment