A few hours ago, I let Odie out of his crate and he zoomed past me, past the front yard/garage gate, and basically went around the perimeter of the house. While doing so, he stole a sponge that was about to be thrown. It used to be the dishwashing sponge, a small, round one, about 3 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick. Our house help was the one running after him as I dug through Odie's things to search for a squeaky toy to lure him back. Recall didn't do us good. Upon finding his Kong Wubba, I squeaked it multiple times and told him to get it. He ran very excitedly past the tile steps and made the huge leap to launch the game of tug! I saw his neck touch the floor on the way and was surprised to see that while tugging, his collar was around a foot away from us. Darn it! His only collar finally gave up.
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| I made Odie wear his harness while waiting for the temporary collar to arrive. I was telling him that he's a very naughty boy and that I'm worried about how the sponge incident would end. He responded by giving me this face. ARRRRRGH! |
So here I am doing exactly that. It's been nine hours since the incident and Odie is happy as a clam, showing zero signs of discomfort which is hopefully a good thing. I'm really just waiting for a sponge to come out of the other end. Yuck! Odie has eaten two cigarette butts and two Christmas bulbs and survived all four separate hullabaloos without having me bring him to an emergency vet. It's the first time he's eaten something pretty big though so I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that the sponge gets out of his system within the day. Funny how having a dog makes you do things you never imagined, like watching for objects in dog poop.
It's pretty interesting, though. I was telling Doc that I wasn't so sure how clean/dirty the sponge was (it's definitely gonna be dirty now!) and she told me that the soap and dirt doesn't matter as much, what's important is that Odie passes it. Weird how a dog's stomach is strong enough to handle dirt, but it can't tolerate food like grapes and chocolate. Sad how we can't share a jar of Nutella. Doc also told me that the contents of a dog's stomach go out on the other end every 10-12 hours. Gotta admit, it's quite fun to learn about how a dog's system works and how they behave and how we play a part in their health and behavior. Who knew I'd actually be interested in Science, right?! Good job, Doc and Odie!
About the collar, my sister was on the way home and stopped to do a bit of groceries. She also thought of getting a temporary collar because it's hard to put the harness on and take it off when Odie goes in and out of the crate. In the supermarket, she saw just two kinds of dog collars and zero leashes so she thought of just getting a collar to last until I go out and get a legit collar, or a Lupine (whichever comes first). The collar she got had no price tag so she proceeded to checkout without asking. To her surprise, the collar cost her Php400 and she didn't want to go through the fuss of returning so she paid for it and took it home. When she got home, she put the collar on Odie and told me the story. I got upset when I found out how much it was because oh my god, just a bit more and we could have gotten a Lupine! So yeah, I checked it out and ended up laughing so hard because NO SHIT, THE COLLAR HAS BLING BLING! I couldn't photograph the buckle but it's the most studded part of the entire thing! Can't wait til Odie gets to school on Saturday. The boys might tease him, but I've resolved to think of it as his way of promoting gender equality. NO H8, right?
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| Odie's new collar, in detail. So gay, just like mommy! |
Because yes, he broke his leash in class on Saturday. He was tethered to one of the posts in the court while Doc was telling me and May what to do as humans sitting in at the Basic Obedience (Beginners) class. A Belgian Malinois went in and Odie wanted to greet him, he made a huge leap forward, causing the leash to break! That was the only day I didn't bring any of his backup leashes. Good thing Doc had an extra leash or I would have been forced to just crate him for the rest of the class or just go home. It got us through the class, and his backup leashes at home are getting worn out so yes, it's time to get a legit leash.
That Saturday was also the class where Odie did a demo of tugging with teacher, and he got really excited (they were using his Kong Squiggles which is STILL his favorite toy) and he ended up biting teacher's hand. When Doc returned Odie to me, she told me that he bit her hand and I only processed the information after 30 seconds or so. I apologized and offered baby wipes to at least cleanse the wound but Doc declined and told me it's okay because she's had much worse. Still, I felt bad because Odie would usually cut and bruise no one else but me. This one happened to his teacher, in front of the class, while doing a demo. I made a mental note to always bring alcohol and a pack of band aids from now on. I hope Doc's hand is okay.
We've had a couple of misadventures in the span of less than a week! I don't know what's happening, if this is adolescence, or if I'm raising Odie the wrong way (I hope not). It's pretty stressful for me as a human, because while I am very good at handling nerves and showing a calm disposition amidst emotionally charged situations, I do have a tipping point, too. Besides, expenses like a new leash, new collar, and (again, I hope not) a trip to the vet are something I am prepared for, but I try my best to avoid them so that we could just happily go shopping for new toys and treats. But if all these things are necessary, ah well, we have no choice but to put one foot (and paw) in front of the other.
After all, Odie might be YOLO-ing, but I still love him too much.
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