Friday, November 20, 2009

Bogay Rummy (Toothless Rummy)

At the age of 15 and a half weeks, Rummy just became "Bogay". Bogay is a Teo Chew word, meaning toothless. Yup, my baby brother just lost his two front lower teeth.

For the last 2 weeks, Mum has been checking on this teeth and gums every single day. We knew his lower front 2 teeth were shaky, but then when he lost them, we didn't know. He may have swallowed his teeth when he was eating, or he may have dropped them chewing on toys. We don't know where he lost them.

Today, he dropped his two upper front teeth, and the new adult teeth are already starting to peak.


At night time, Mum rubs Bonjela onto his gums to sooth his pains, and he seems to like it. Stay tuned for more teeth losing and growing tales..

Hugs,
Kimi

Rummy's 15 Week Old photos

Kimi showing affection to Rummy by licking his forehead.

Rummy's ears got unglued, and they are setting slightly higher now. Mum will wait to see in 2 weeks if he will need them glued again. In the meantime, we're waiting for more fur to grow out on the sides of his head. That will give the glue something to grip on to, when we glue him again.

Rummy on a "Chill" pose


Handsome boy Rummy

Hugs,
Kimi

Our Phone Line got Cut & Rawfeeding Rummy

In a severe winter storm, our phone line got cut. That meant no Internet or Phone for a few days. Rob called the Phone Cable Guy and he came to remedy the situation.

Rummy and I watching over the repair process.

We were kept in the house, so that we wouldn't cause any interruption, but the great position of the dedicated canine couch afforded us the best views of the property, so we didn't mind at all being kept inside. The weather outside was yucky and miserable too. Rob and the Phone Cable Guy worked out in the grey cold weather. Didn't seem fun to me.

Rummy on his comfy perch


Rummy watching the humans work

He remains calm and at ease, despite a new human being in our yard. Excited barking behavior is not accepted in our household. He can observe and watch, as long as he behaves within the acceptable limit.




Brothers relaxing together on the dedicated canine couch.

Another thing that canines in our household is allowed to do is chew and munch on cardboard.
Instinctively, Rummy and I do not swallow the bits and pieces. We just love the cardboard center for toilet rolls, and kitchen rolls. We get them every time the humans change toilet rolls or kitchen rolls.
I don't know how Mum manages to train us not to swallow these things, perhaps it is mother nature, perhaps it is our instincts telling us these things can't be eaten, or it could also be that we are never hungry, and we have our fill to eat, and therefore, never feel the urge to swallow small items. Nonetheless, we are still supervised when we chew cardboard. It makes a mess, but Mum accepts that, and she throws away the bits and pieces later when we've lost interest.
Other than cardboard, Rummy goes and takes his food piece by piece out to the throw, and munches his raw meaty bones on the nice throw. This is acceptable behavior in our pack, and so he has time to slowly chew on his food and take his own sweet time.

Rummy munches and chows down on his raw meaty bones while relaxing with the family in the living room. Because he has his baby teeth, it takes Rummy a very long time to chew and finish all his food.

Munching on raw meaty bones is very healthy for the jaw development of a puppy. Studies have shown that the constant chewing on hard objects, like his raw meaty bones sends pleasure signals from the jaw into the brain and triggers canine relaxation and pleasure. There is a wonderful satisfaction in munching on your own solid food which gives immediate feedback to the teeth and gums. Also, it helps Rummy's development of his adult teeth. The tougher food massages his gums as he chews on his food, and helps stimulate healthy blood flow to the gums and as a result, promotes healthy growth of his adult teeth. The chewing action also strengthens his jaw muscles as he grows and develops his powerful jawline for his adult head, and helps with the correct structuring of his ear set. All in all, there are so many great reasons for rawfeeding a puppy. Finally, we are also meeting Rummy's instinctive need to chew, and what better way to teach a puppy what is acceptable to chew on, and what is not.

Hugs,
Kimi

Sir Rummy Humps-A-Lot

At the tender age of 14 weeks, Rummy's testosterone is coursing through his body. He started humping Barney in the middle of the living room, out of nowhere. We were all caught by surprise. Mum decided to let him hump Barney, as long as it wasn't too obsessive. Who would have thought? Rummy humping!!

I never humped a single thing in my whole short 4 years of life. I never humped toys, or towels or blankets before I got fixed. Nothing. In Rummy's case, no one taught him to do this, and he is probably just exploring his adolescence and letting nature take over. Mum debated about whether to allow this behavior, and decided to let nature win. Rummy wasn't hurting anyone, or offending other dogs or their owners, and this is normal behavior. As long as he wasn't humping any human leg, or me for that matter, then it is ok if he wants to hump Barney. Just because this act seems indecent to human social etiquette, doesn't mean it is indecent in canine social etiquette. Our rationale is, as long as Rummy does it to Barney or his own pillow, that is acceptable. All other living things is out of the question.

It is very humorous if we think about it. My baby brother, humping Barney. The sight is quite funny don't you think? Fortunately, he has jumped Barney only once, and he also did it to a pink dog pillow in Mum's study. He seems to like pink since the pillow is pink and Barney is pink.

Hugs,
Kimi

Tunneling in the Sunshine

While the sunshine is a rarity in the Seattle Fall and Winter, it comes every now and then and we seized the opportunity to play outside. Mum took out the blue tunnel so that we could play in the sun and the dry grass.
Rummy loves to run through the tunnel. He learned to run through the tunnel within 5 min of Mum introducing the tunnel to him. With Rob's help calling his name at the end of the other side, and Mum encouraging him to go through one end, Rummy learned that running through the tunnel is a fun thing to do. He got lots of praises when he ran through and had treats too, so he quickly associated the tunnel with good playtime.

Running through the tunnel helps to prepare him for future agility classes, and it helps him gain self confidence and spacial awareness. He also seems to understand that the tunnel is too small for me, and I can't go through, and he loves to get me to chase him and he runs into the tunnel to hide from me. He comes out the other end to bait me, and we have a lot of fun with it.
Rummy with my ball in his mouth, about to run into the tunnel again and keep the ball away from me

Oops, Rummy is making a fast escape!

As you can see, the tunnel also makes a great obstacle that he makes use of, to keep me running in circles after him.

Hey Rummy, give me my ball

Rummy play bows to me, with my ball in his mouth

Running through the tunnel with my ball

Yes finally, Mum makes Rummy give up the ball to her, and she tosses it into the air for me to do a "Catch". Catch is one of my favorite games to play.

Kimi

Yes, if you've noticed the empty patch on my back, I will tell you that I've just been handstripped by Mum. This is Stage 1 of the stripping process. It will be another 3 weeks before Stage 2 commences. I have become so shaggy and messy looking. Mum doesn't like me looking like a messy ewok. I am normally handstripped as you know, but the last time I was groomed, we were about to head to the Oregon Coast and to the ocean, and Mum clipped me so I couldn't hold so much sand in my fur. Now she has to "reset" my coat so that I can look optimally fantastic.

Rummy and Kimi
Mr Glued Ears


Jumping on the soft tunnel is also one fun game.

Arroooo Roo Roo Ar Roo Roo means give me my ball back

Mr Glued Ears tempts me with my ball to bait me to chase him

Running into the tunnel is fun


Later on, Rob and Mum started planting tulips in the yard to get them ready for Spring next year. He used a rotor tiller to help save time, and it made such a loud noise. It was good to expose Rummy to loud machines and he wasn't scared at all. It is very good to make him a fearless dog.
Rummy rolls in the grass in perfect bliss, while over looking Rob hard at work with the rotor tiller.

Dogs at play, human at work

As an Airedale, it is my job to supervise all human activity, and I make sure Rob hasn't missed a spot. I watch over him and give him moral support by following him around.

My furriness is overwhelming the features on my face. You can barely spot my eyes. Very soon, I'll have more fur stripped off too. The Fall season is nice only when the sun shines. The air is crisp, clean, clear and wonderful. We love being outside.

Mum cannot resist my deep brown eyes. You can see them best in the sunshine.

Rummy's side profile

Hugs,
Kimi