Turkish Dogs - particularly Anatolian Shepherd Dogs

Past couple of weeks have been rough ones with a most gawd awful flu, worse than any I've ever had in my life. Still out of breath a lot and coughing - symptoms that are unusual for me, but I'm slowing coming back to life and don't feel so much like I've been hit by a truck or as though I've just had another aortic dissection! :(

Molly is doing very well and fitting in with our girls. She and Coco are good playmates.

We made great progress on food. Molly didn't like Kirkland or Costco, nor Diamond's Chicken and Rice at all (these are all probably essentially the same formula by the same maker), but she snarfs up Pedigree Mealtime without any show of pickiness. So she's put on weight and looks really nice.

She's very bouncy and playful, sometimes more than I'd like! When she's excited, she'll dash at me and bounce her front paws playfully off my chest. Now I can't handle that since I have to lean on a walker to stay upright, but her joy is contagious and I don't scold. She is learning more self control and when she remembers herself, she's very gentle indeed. :)

She spends the nights in the Magnum kennel and is allowed out during the day. She is often so excited to be let out, she bounces around with her paws up against the kennel, standing on her hind feet and dancing around. oi! So to start getting a handle on that, I would just turn and look away from her until she put paws back on the ground, then I unlatch the kennel door and let her out. She quickly realized that waiting with feet on the ground gets her the freedom she wants. Then I upped the ante... she would have to sit with her butt on the ground for a few seconds befor she got her freedom. She's a quick study and has this figured out now. I'm pleased. :)

The moment she gets out, she politely sniffs Ruya and Coco, then sprints out to go pee and make a poop. At some point, her body language invites Coco to chase and play. And then they are off! LOL. Ruya sometimes joins them but Ruya tends to stick near me if I seem to need her help. What a sweetie she is.

Now, take a look at the clipper cut pattern on Molly's back.
Isn't that odd? Clipper tracks are still fairly visible right along the spine.

Anyway, as you can see, she is filling out and looks quite nice. :)
My Anatolians are usually kept about this trim so there is a distinct waistline right behind the rib cage.

While being sick has been no fun, I am so glad that the dogs are always such good company. I sometimes would get outside for just a short bit before the chills would knock me down again, and Ruya would sit on the glider with me and snuggle up good and close. :)

On other miscellanea, just say no to the Chinese menu of cooked dog paws and no to their hackers too. Better news is that the mass killing of dogs that was scheduled for dogs of Kashmir, India has been "suspended". I'm skeptical about how they would know which dogs are rabid as rabies usually has to be tested in a lab, using the decapitated head of the animal in question. We have rescue groups in the USA that import pets to be sold from shelters, and occasionally these imported animals are vectors for disease untypical in the American stray dog population, including some dogs that are actually rabid - so obviously it is not so easy to tell. :(

Labels: Molly