Rangoon's pawfile blog

We never cease to marvel at technical abilities of our alfa dogs and our pack leader (Shadowbobbi had to handle a lot of our problems) and Mr Khan probably has a diploma in diplomacy....

More over - all of them are handsome specimens, nice to look at (would be nicer still to sniff....)

with best woofs

Sherman, Saba, Grant

purrs from Rangoon

I took him to town for he should lear to move among people (not easy, he barked at some tiny child) and left Ture outside. When we came back, i let Saba out and Grant stayed with her in the garden. They didn't go far, for Ture sat on on the terrace, huddled in front of  one of the living room windows (shutter) - he did it so intently, that he even didn't react to Grant standing on hind feet and barking at him. So i knew, there must be a mouse, he brought from the garden. After a while the action moved into the corner of the terrace - the mouse must have ran for shelter among flower pots or under the broom - for Ture was extending his paw and looking for it. Grant, very interested, stood upright in the corner between terrace and the stairs.  Ture makes a decided move with his paw and the mouse is airborne for a moment  - he jumps after the rodent but the mouse falls dawn just in from of Grants big nose. Ture puts his head out, but it was to late. Grant caught the mouse and for a moment stood there with it in his mouth, the tail hanging between his teeth and a rather stupid mien - I ran out screaming - but he only gulped and  it was the end of the mouse.

Poor Ture was robbed of his morning work prize...

Lately, we let him come upstairs in the library for he was whining (poor little dog - with a box of toys). There we have two fur rugs, made by my mother-in-low years ago. I always thought it was a fake fur... Anyway, while arranging library I put them in places, where I thought, the cats or dogs would like to rest on something furry. Well, I was wrong, for once in place, Rangoon and Sherman sniffed at them and never wanted even to sit touch them. Saba ignored them. too. Now, Grants arrives in the library, looks around, first barks like crazy on a wooden crocodile standing on the book shelves and then disappears around the corner. I started reading news on the computer  and then my husband gallops upstairs and starts shouting. So, I jump up a mile: what is going on? Grant, hidden behind the corner and for once with no sound, was biting and shaking one of those rugs - already the floor was covered with bits of fur.

Then and there, my hubby told me the story:  My Mom-in-Law lived near a small town in Sweden where there was fur industry and they were producing also fur coats. She used to get the scraps from the tailor and made those rugs - they are real mink!

My dogs must be the only ones having mink rugs to sit on. (I 've never had a fur coat in mu life)

Was it a protest against animal cruelty?

There is no pic of Grants action against fur rugs - we were too busy rescuing them.

Today, I have good news - excellent news.

I made an appointment with a cardiologist  in an animal clinic  and went there this afternoon with Saba. For once she was not stressed.

She had been looked at from all sides, had an ECG,  ultrasound and an new radio on the spot. Her heart has a little unusual shape, but the guy says, it is often so with sportive dogs. Otherwise she is OK!!!

I was dancing on the parking lot!!

Saba was alway a sunny girl considering everydog as her friends. Courageous, too. Even if a dog would bark at her or snarl, she would dance around, sniff at the teeth showing creature and try to lick its nose. Which usually calmed the dog in question...

Now, last week,we had an adventure: had to go to the next town to buy bread (once a week our local store is closed) and, as usual took Saba (on leash)  with me to make a walk, for there are nice little street with little villas, mostly with hedges along the streets and behind  almost every hedge there is a dog to sniff at. With time we know some of them and always stop there to exchange doggie greetings. As we walked past one of them, where resides a little Chinese dog and a Great Dane, who always bark in bass, the Dane followed us on his side of the hedge (and a fence) and as we got to the corner, he suddenly emerged barking and jumped out on the street  aiming at Saba. And Saba, instead of playing her usual charm, just crouched down with her tail under. The dane sniffed her, stopped barking and let us go, trying to run in several directions at once.

So, I was not afraid anymore on account of Saba, but left with the problem, what to do with the dog - couldn't leave him on the street like that (but that's another story).

At the time I thought Saba clever - she knew what to do to save her hide (as I know now, that Dane had already attacked and bitten one labrador girl from the neighbourhood who wasn't willing to show submission).

But today we went to doggie school, where we had lesson with a baby lab, a new one, and a bulldog we know for some time and already had several lesson together, even on market day in town. The bulldog is a dog with a past and therefore a little nervous with a bit aggressive behavior but never harmed Saba. They even played together  supervised, of course). Today he wasn't very happy, for he was limping on one paw.

During a short break in exercising  he approached Saba and sniffed at her and then, suddenly he growled and jumped at her side with his teeth. And she, instead of jumping and running,as she did previously, just lied down - exactly like with the Great Dane.

She acted out of character... not my joyful, exuberant, courageous Saba.

Does it mean,that she feels herself not strong enough anymore to run? She could outrun that little bulldog with her hind legs in a pocket!

As it is, Saba's sport days are definitely over.

During the last weeks I noticed that she was often tired, refused to run and had some breathing trouble after exercise.

Today I took her to the vet.

I couldn't believe it: Saba is only 1,5 year old. But her heart is enlarged and the symptoms I noticed (after the sad experience with Shermans illness and death) are typical for DCM

(Dilated Cardio Myopaties)

We have found the list of dog breeds with those problems: Rhodesian Ridgeback is on the list. Unfortunately, our vet does not know the breed well (since it is rare in our region) and didn't find in the hurry any wider information about this prognostics for Ridgebacks.

So for now, she has to take some heart support medicine and we are out, looking for information about life prognostics for Ridgebacks with DCM.

Does anyone know, if there is any research done on  Ridgebacks -DCM on US Universities?

Our Apricot tree started blossoming - now we can be sure that spring has come at last. We spent the entire day in the garden, chasing each other, helping in the garden work and playing ball.

Only the ball playing had been filmed and we don't know how to put in in the pawfile.

Dad came home from work and opened the dining room for us. Mum was in the kitchen, preparing fruit salad and green salad with eggs, cheese and other stuff. Then she put everything on the table and phoned her father. Dad was frying shrimps. Then we heard some suspicious sound from the dining room and Dad ran in there. And he was thundering, shouting and then  I saw him dragging Grant out of the room and out into the garden, door firmly closed. 

Grant got up on the table, got into the salad and even began chewing the wooden fork that was in the bowl.

And I missed all that fun! could only listen to it (was closed in the living room, for we were jumping on each other and  moving the furniture in the process and got separated).

Saba