Doggie short list

Okay, I've done my research and then I did some more. I think I read the entirety of wikipedia and a couple of books I've borrowed from the library. Please see the book list on the side for the breed books that I've used. After much reading, and much compiling, and at least a little bit of confusion, here is the short list of breeds that I want to look at closer. Please note that none of these (except the rough collie) has been allergy tested against Nick.

I'm looking for a dog who has an upbeat personality, is affectionate, is attentive, and won't cost me a fortune at the groomers.

And the list is:

1. Collie (rough or smooth)

The collie still seems to be the perfect dog for me for this task. They are gentle, attentive, shed very little except when they blow their coat.

Downside: The are talky.

2. There are some ties here

Pudelpointer

Pretty much a poodle x Pointer that breeds true. He sheds very little and is willing and intelligent. But he was hard to find information on so I know very little about him. Makes me wonder if he is really rare.

Soft-coated wheaten terrier.

The only terrier to make it through. He is gentler and calmer than most of the rest. He's very affectionate.

Downside: There is a fair amount of upkeep on their coats. They need trimming at least every other month.

Curly coated retriever

He's got winning marks all over. His only one short fall is that I'm reading that they are not as long lived as dogs of the same size.

Flat coated retriever

My worry with this one is that he would be a shedding monster like a golden retriever is.

3. Some more ties

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

I may be falling for a pretty face. They are higher energy than the other retrievers.

Spinone Italiano

He's cute, isn't he. His hair isn't as soft as I would really like and I'm mildly worried about drool with that moustache of his.

Chesapeake Bay Retriever

Another retriever. Except this one has a naturally oily coat to help protect him from the freezing waters of Chesapeake Bay, where he was originally bred. With that, you don't want to be washing it too much because you'll wreck the coat. We want to be washing my dog often because of Nick's allergies

Samoyed

Another good one. I may rank him as a 2 actually. Nick thinks that there is a rumor that these dogs have a tendency to snap. I didn't read anything about it in my research. Maybe he's thinking of a toy breed that looks similar. I didn't research any toy breeds.

Keeshond

The smallest dog on my list. Another one that seems like he would be overall great.

Australian Shepard

Interesting tidbit: He isn't from Australia at all. I couldn't take him off my list even though I question his fit. He's a little bit higher energy than the other dogs I'm looking at.

And my runners up. They are good dogs and would be perfect except for the fact that they may run me into the ground with groomer bills. Really, if I had the extra $100 a month, I would rather get a car.

The Standard poodle

And the Portuguese Water Dog.

(All of these pictures are borrowed from other websites)

Side Effects

I'm so sick of the side effects that I'm getting from the medications I'm on. The dizziness which leads to nausea. The headaches that so easily become migraines. The lack of appetite or the tendency to binge on bad foodstuffs. The gross taste in my mouth from the sleeping pills I take when I can feel that my sleep is going off.

But right now it's the headache that I've had since last Thursday that keeps trying to morph into mini-migraines. And the dizziness that seems to be accompanying it if I'm standing still. I'm okay when I'm walking and mostly okay when I'm sitting.

We had dropped my antidepressant when I was coming down off of the manic episode to try and help bring it back to normal a little bit faster. And, as these things always seem to go, I was good for a couple of weeks and then I slipped past normal and started to get depressed. So I upped the celexa again. And then the headache started. What is the right answer? I'll yack with my doctor about it next time I see him. Maybe we need to change the antidepressant that we're using in the mix.

This is one of the reasons I want the dog. I want to be able to drop my med levels while still feeling safe. I would like to get off the antidepressants entirely. And the dog would be my great big behavioural clue. I wonder sometimes if I don't place too much hope in the dog on this topic.

Right now, I just want this headache to disappear.

Cat Training

Topic: Vacuum Cleaner

My cats have the greatest fear of the vacuum cleaner. They are typically okay when it's off although they will approach it like it's going to bite them. When it's on, they prefer to be in another room. I don't blame them; it's loud. But it's the way they exit that I'm trying to correct. They run like the devil is after them: close to the floor with the tail tucked.

Today's training exercise: When I was part way through vacuuming the house I turned it off and got out the bag of crunchies. Temptations are the treat of choice for these two. Especially Marissa, evidently. I then went and sat among the hoses and vacuum and such and waited, treat in hand, for them to approach. Yes. It's bribery. But they had to work through their fears to get there, which was the point of the exercise.

Sam approached first. He is generally the braver of the two. Marissa followed him to gain her crunchies as well. I was so proud of Sam. He got close enough to take a treat right off the vacuum. Marissa got pretty close as well. So I upped the ante: I turned the vacuum on. Both cats backed right off. But Marissa approached again. Sam wouldn't. Marissa, step by step, got right up to the vacuum and took a treat off of it while it was running. This was huge. The return air out of the machine was hitting her; it was loud; the treat was actually vibrating on the vacuum. But she took it. And then I tried to pat her. oops. She jumped right out of her skin. To try and end on a good note, I turned the vacuum cleaner off and managed to get her to take a treat off of the hose, but that was as close as she would come.

This is such a huge improvement over what it used to be. We've been working at it and hopefully it will get better. I don't need them to be in the same room as the vacuum but I need them to be more indifferent towards it.