Seeds are out ! ... and a few vacation pics

Hello again and blessings to you!

OK, so I've found the evidence of Tunda's plum eating spree. He's fine and he's passed the seeds through both ends! At least we know the seeds are not stuck inside and a tree won't grow in his stomach.

I have promised some pictures from my recent trip for some time now. Here are a few.

Enjoy and hope to see you again soon!

Pic 1. Sunrise over Gulf of Paria on the ferry from Trinidad to Tobago

Pic 2. Pigeon Point beach - Tobago

Pic. 3 Coconut trees in the breeze - Pigeon Point, Tobago

Pic 4. Parlatuvier Beach - Tobago

Newly acquired pass time and taste

Hello and welcome back!

Guess what's new. You can now subscribe to get updates of my blog delivered right to your inbox via email ! Just fill in your email address and click subscribe in the window provided. Happy reading!

Guess what's also new. The pack has developed a new hobby and taste. Yup! They have acquired a taste for tropical plums! They usually eat mangoes but never before plums. It is plum season here and our tree is laden with the fragrant purple plums that are both sweet and slightly tangy. It is the first mass bearing for the tree.

I love these plums and noticed the dogs enjoyed joining my harvest and would pluck the green ones off the low hanging branches and toss them aside. Idleness! This pass time was of course invented by Zeeks who is always looking for something to stimulate his intelligence. One day I decided to challenge him to catch the marble sized plums. So I threw one to him. He responded with precision and then spat it out. I threw another and again an excellent catch.

Then I squeezed one so he could taste the juice and again....excellent catch but this time he kept it in his mouth a while, bit down on it releasing more juice and seemed to like it. So he sucked on it, chewed the seed some more and to my surprise, peeled the skin and pulp off and spat out the seed. Spit it out! Good boy!

Queenie quickly picked up the rake and joined in the game and the feast. Tunda also joined in. They even started searching themselves for the fallen fruit. But alas, Tunda chewed on the plum for a while, turning it and sucking the juice. Then the chewing stopped ....and....Oh no! He swallowed the seed! He ate up to six plums, seed and all, despite my attempts to stop him. Right now I am a bit concerned that it may trouble his bowels and will have to become a stool inspector over the next few days. I hope he doesn't eat too much tonight!

Well that's all for now. Thanks for visiting and God bless........

From romper to rompee

The dynamics of the pack is interesting to watch. All this time Jiggy has been harassing the daylights out of her mother. Rushing at her, jumping on her, biting her scruff, grabbing and pulling her collar and generally being a nuisance trying to dominate. Queenie sometimes takes it, but sometimes she gives a stern bark and Jiggy backs off. Sometimes she has to get rough and snap and rush after Jiggy for her to stop.

Jiggy dare not try that with Tunda, her father, the mad one. Although he sometime humours her, he displays his annoyance when he's had enough. He warns her with a deep, continuous, disapproving growl till Jiggy stops the romping and cowers into a crawl position, licking him under the chin in apology. Zeeks tends to ignore her and move away. Jiggy however has met her match with Rebel. Only a year apart in age, they are both still very playful. But Rebel is very rough with his play. He doesn't realise his strength and size.

Now Jiggy has just come out of heat and her associated quarantine on the veranda. With freedom regained, she is allowed to join Rebel in the front yard. But she is having quite a hard time relaxing. Rebel does not give her a chance. Hmmm.....what goes around really comes around.

Rebel is doing the same thing Jiggy does to the others. But with his size and strength it is worse! He is behind her, running her down, leaping at her, jumping on her back, biting at her scruff and throwing her down. She rolls over to submit but Rebel continues the romping. She shrieks when he unintentionally hurts a soft spot. He just doesn't know when to quit.

Finally I call Jiggy back on the veranda to give her a break....but as soon as she gets in, there is Rebel right behind her squeezing through the gate. The two engage in a mad scamper of chase. Now cornering her, Rebel grabs Jiggy's collar as if to pull her up in the same way I pull him by his collar. So I grab his collar under the long, shaggy fur and calmly lead him away and put him out.

Had I not intervened, mummy Queenie would have jumped the fence separating back and front yards, and let Rebel have a piece of her mind. .....and surprisingly, he listens to Queenie's rebuffs !

Hopefully Rebel and Jiggy learn how to play without the wildness as they mature. And just maybe Jiggy will learn how not to behave! Meanwhile mummy Queenie remains the mediator, coming to Jiggy's rescue when she transforms from romper to rompee.

Back home and I missed the ordeal

Well here I am, back home after 3 fun-filled weeks in Trinidad & Tobago. Over the next few weeks I will share some pics from my trip.

While I was away reports are that all was not well with the Five-pack . The behaviour was not at all good, but to be fair it was not really their fault. There was accidental meeting between Rebel and the rest, which resulted on a wholescale attack on Rebel. Tunda, Zeeks and surprisingly Queenie turned on him for a foursome dog fight. Jiggy was no where to be seen, skillfully avoiding the confusion.

It all started with the meter man coming to read the electricity meter. Our helper Vee, who is normally very good with the dogs, called Rebel and Queenie onto the verandah so he could enter the yard safely. But she forgot to close the front door. Queenie, the escape artist that she is, quickly and quietly made her way through the house to the also open back door.

Well, Rebel decided that he would follow her! What transpired next must have been a blur of noise and action that only poor Vee was there to experience. I don't know who started it, but I can imagine the shock they all must have felt at the surprise meeting. From my own experience it is very difficult to stop the attacks even when separated by a chain link fence. So I knew Vee would have a hard time.

After filling and throwing a few pans of water at the rabble to no avail, Vee was finally able to grab Zeeks with two arms around his neck . Thinking it was Rebel, she tied him on a leash with relief that was short lived. She turned around only to see Tunda and Rebel still at it. Rolling through the grass they went, up and down the back yard, Tunda refusing to let go! Meanwhile Vee grabbed Queenie and ran her back through the house.

All this time Tunda and Rebel were still at it. Minutes must have seemed like hours. Eventually Vee said they got so tired they paused for a break and it was then she was able to grab Rebel and take him back through the house. By this time everyone was totally exhausted, including Vee, who was soaked with water from the futile attempts with the drinking pan. Rebel's exhaustion lasted for a few days well!

Vee checked out Zeeks and Rebel who seemed to get the worst of it and called the PL to let him know what happened. He was to check Tunda as Vee is afraid of Tunda. Although she knows him from puppy-hood, he barked at her when she came back to work ater 3 months of maternity leave. Since then she does not trust him.

There was no need for stitches. Zeeks got a few scratches, Rebel got puncture bites around his neck and ears, Queenie was OK and Tunda came through wihout a scratch. Rebel got a vet's visit, dressing with the magic purple Chlorotetracycline and Gentian Violet topical spray, precautionary screw worm powder, and some anti-biotic tablets.

By the time I got back there was little evidence of the ordeal. Luckily all's well that ends well. And poor Vee said she learned an important lesson - never again leave both the back and front doors open!!!