Monte says, “They’re hands! I swear!” as he works on a nylabone
Monte at about 4 months
I’m at training for work this week and it involves some discussion of statistical methods. For a lot of people this is turbo boring. It’s a huge part of my work, and I love statistics. So much that I named my dog after a statistical method.
No, seriously.
My master’s thesis was on using an uncertainty analysis method to inform climate-related risk in hydraulic structure design… sounds boring. The actual title begins with the phrase “Monte Carlo Simulation…”
Some vets/kennels refer to the dog by name, as if he was a person. You may see a greyhound named Buster Smith or a Westie named Delilah Brown, and on vet bills and charts the dog has their people’s last name.
The first syllables of my last name sound a lot like “Carlo”. People generally miss the Monte Carlo phrase even when they say it out loud, but they groan if they figure it out.
The people I told in class only shook their heads.
Somehow Monte got this stick through the fence. It was resting peacefully in the neighbor’s yard, a good couple feet away from the fence. When my back was turned, he pulled it through and was running around with it.
It’s longer than him. And long dog is looooooooong.
Hipster corgi thinks your taste in kibble is too mainstream.
Well, I woke up in the middle of the night and inadvertently stumbled across my first tick of the year.
As a child whose parent has Lyme, this is like my worst nightmare. Well, to be fair, all bugs.
What’s annoying is I can even determine where it came from or if it just found its way into the house.
Curse you, Texas!
How do you guys prep for Spring/Summer? And do any of you Find it’s necessary to check the dogs after the dog park?
The Mississippi River valley is prime tick real estate as well, so we’re very proactive with Monte and have him on a complete flea-tick-other bug treatment year-round. Bathtime is a good time to check the dog over since you’re washing and rinsing them all over and can feel for the bugs. Ticks find their way in and it’s scary, but oftentimes they just hitched a ride and haven’t done anything else yet.
Taking the time to use the normal precautions for yourself if you go out (long pants, etc, I’m sure you know the drill) and checking yourself before you get in the house is a good thing.
There is a Lyme vaccine available for dogs (we did it for Monte) so even if the inadvertent tick does find its way on, there’s protection.
Other than that, all I can think to do is avoid tall grass and other tick hideouts, and do a quick checkover of the pup before you get in the house. It doesn’t have to be thorough, but the usual hiding spots (head neck and shoulders) are a good start.
Edit: Oh, and Monte’s medication is Advantix II. I read a lot of good reviews and it is generally vet-recommended.
Finally caught him doing this!
trampling the tulips.
There’s something on your nose…
(Somehow he got muddy on his paws, and the top of his nose, but nowhere else.)
Nostalgia.
I definitely miss how little he was and how soft his fur was, and how pink his little toes were.
I do not miss potty training or puppy teeth.
He’s just as curious today as he was when he was a puppy…. and he’s frighteningly smart.
Monte’s pretty awesome.
