Who are your garden helpers?

I was wondering. Don't like to see that, it gives me shivers. I clean my dogs teeth myself. They have all been very good about it. I figure if I can clean mine I should be able to do theirs. The cat is rather reluctant but she gives in also.

i know what you mean. i am lazy with cleaning hers, altho she will let me. but i only have them done by the vet every two years or so vs every year due to the meds. however, toy dogs do get a lot of teeth problems if not kept up with.
i shall have to get on it, if you can do a cat i should be able to handle daisys!

Yes dogs rule, unless you have 4 cats that think otherwise and have the rule of the house and the yard.
Now in this pic Tilly is setting down ground rules.

My toy girls.

willowwind..love poodles. such nice dogs. grew up with poodles. love them.

tillysrat, your animals seem to be in total control of their domain..and loving it!...a

Rarejem get some Araconas they fly so dogs can't get them. Mine have survived the 2 others who could not fly. They are still flying well and laying eggs.

That clematis looks like angel wings on Daisy.

Here's Bug

Magic

Sahara

Vahna

And my old man, Nick

Beadmom... have been snickering all day about the goat picture! Couldn't wait to show it to my Mom tonight... she has the same garden cart, and neither of us knew it was a 3 goat cart! I would love to borrow your "not" helpers for a week or so to help me with my terrace! They could eat anything that they got there little teeth into. I spend at least three full days each spring tring to eradicate the blackberries, and they are always back by the end of the year. Have been seriously considering "rent-a-goat"!

JamesK... Having company is the most important part of helping in the garden, and Toddy is a sweetie! So hard when they get old, they are just as important as any member of the family. Sending healthy thoughts your way!

Clematisguru... Daisy is adorable, and I love the pic with the flower!

Tilly...Love the additional pics! Sammy was beautiful, and I'm sure is sorely missed, but it looks like you have a beautiful pack of fuzzies still to love you!

Willow...cleaning CAT teeth?!?! I still have scars on my arms from bathing kittens when we had a really bad flea year over 10 years ago. Can't imagine voluntarily putting my fingers close to their mouth when they are unhappy!!!! You are by far a braver soul that I!

Soferdig... Araconas are one of the reasons that I still yearn for chickens. When we got our flock? brood? clutch? of chicks when I was little, it was a mixed batch. We got 100 chicks, and there was a little of everything thrown in. I learned as a small girl which chickens to steer clear of when we collected eggs, and even though I am an animal lover to the end, I was always happy to chose the chicken that would make up that Sunday's dinner. (It would be the one that drew the most blood at egg collection time!) My favorite chicken was an Aracona named "Gray-Lady". She layed green eggs, and was as tame and loving as a chicken gets. I would even make new beds of grass and sit and play with her in the coop. My worst fear is the coyotes...do you think that they would be quick enough to avoid them? Can't remember if they roost in the trees at night or not.

And finally, Katie, I am glad you shared your kids as well! They are wonderful! What kind are they? I feel like I can recognize most dog breeds and I am at a loss. I liked the pics of all three, but my favorite is Bug...he looks like his legs are a mile long!

Katie, I was typing my LONG post and I missed your last two pics. You have a wolf pack too! Really cool!

James - Toddy is precious. And 19, good for her!! isn't that Isn't that 133 in human years. You have been doing something right. My Nick had a neck injury at about 5 that I thought would cut his life short. He has neck trouble and neurologic problems with his back legs, but is still hanging in there. He runs the house and still grabs his "bunny" to take to bed at night.

Everybody's pets are beautiful. There is something about gardeners - we seem to love our animal companions, as well.

My furry pack members are Silken Windhounds - skinny, with long legs and long faces. They're not an AKC breed, so you don't see them around much. They were originally bred from Long-haired Whippet (which we now know was Whippet x Sheltie) and Borzoi about 30 years ago and are now considered a "rare breed". Nick was my first dog and is Whippet. In his day, he was an awesome Frisbee dog. Well . . . except for the returning the Frisbee part. LOL

There is nothing stick around the house about these guys. One sight of small game and they're off. And Borzoi tend to roam as well. Even without the fact that they don't notice cars when they're on the chase, I'm totally paranoid about traps, coyotes, nails, etc. Of course, that's why I could never have barnyard animals, they'd all end up inside with me eventually. LOL

This is a picture of Vahna convaliscing at home after getting hit by a car. They shaved her belly so they could monitor the internal bleeding and then drew a line so they could tell whether it was increasing or decreasing day by day. It was touch and go there for awhile, but the ER did a fantastic job.

Oh, and here's the beauty of Bug (Jitterbug, actually). He is a master at making other dogs and people comfortable with him. He loves all other dogs, but he HATES coyotes. He's really my right-hand man and the pack leader - he's a benevolent leader in that he lets Nick run the show because he knows how to make me happy. He's a fine, fine companion and I get smiles from him every night. He even smiles at Panda at night when they have their nightly tete a tete; she grabs his head and grooms his ears. I really should take a camera to bed with me one night to capture that goofiness.

Katie---OMG his teeth look like dentures! That pic is awesome! The one of Vhana is heartbreaking.. I am glad to know that she is doing well now! When we look for dogs, we have to stay away from the roaming tendancies. We have no fences, and are lucky enough that our acerage is enough for ours to travel. The shorthairs are the worst we have for straying, as they have the same tendancy to chase prey until they catch it, but they still stay within reasonable boundries. Otherwise I would spend every day worrying myself sick! I love being able to let the kids run... I feel that it has added years to the life of several of our dogs. The dimension that the fur-faces add to our lives is irreplacable!

Oh, it's so true. Having always had hounds, it's amazing to me that there are dogs that stick around. I've been conditioned.

Isn't Bug's smile funny? He pulls his lips way up so you see his gums. Apparently Borzoi have a big smiling tendency. I was shocked when I first saw it as I had never seen a dog smile before.

Sahara is starting to smile, but hers is more of a Mona Lisa smile. She knows I like it, but she can't yet do it on command. It's so hilarious to watch her try . . .

Oh my goodness Katie, is that a recent photo of poor Vahna? Has she recovered or is she still convalescing? The poor dear!

Years ago, my old and late Bouvier, Nadia, had a minor brush with a car. Fortunately, the only injury was some torn pads on one foot, but I was still a wreck! It seemed like such a close call. I hope it wasn't too much of a trauma for both of you.

Here is my Scrappy, this was taken on our latest trip to Auntie Heidi's nursery. Scrappy just had to checkout the big kitty in her yard!

Miss Cleo Catra smelling the flowers in the kitchen. Her latest antic is trying to "sneak up" on the chickens. Boy does that ever cause a rucus!

Thanks, James. It was VERY traumatic - and I had just lost my job, my car had just blown a head gasket, my mother was convalescing from a serious illness, I had just gotten the puppy Sahara, and I still had many (10?) of the unadopted kittens from a colony of cats I had been trapping, spaying and releasing. It was a rough time and it was just me; good thing I was so busy. But that was 2006, so Vahna is old and gray (and still here) now.

I know it could have been much worse, though. After they'd stabilized her with meds and watched her for a week, they then went in to repair her pelvis. The hip joint couldn't hold the femur anymore, so they did a femoral head osteotomy to save her leg. It's a crazy concept. They just cut off the top of the bone and her soft tissues serves as a joint. She almost always uses the leg now and you wouldn't know the difference.

The good thing is that she doesn't try to get out of the fence at all now. The bad thing is that she didn't learn about cars. About a year ago the neighbor accidentally let her out of the yard and she promptly ran 1/4 mile up to the road and right across in front of a car. Some dogs won't ever get it.

People still race down that road (which has a 25 mph speed limit) without even thinking about the loose dogs, deer, etc. on it. And the person who hit Vahna didn't even stop, which still aggravates me. If they had, they could at least have checked her tags and called me. It's probably good that I'll never find out who it was.

The people at Access were awesome. And when we were leaving, a couple who had been visiting their elderly dog stopped me and said good bye to Vahna. It turns out that Vahna's cage was right by their dog's and they would comfort her as well as their pup when they were visiting. Good people.

Sorry for going on. I think this is the first chance I've actually had to emote about this.

Rach, I'm so glad you got a picture of Scrappy Doo with the scary creature. That's precious!

HUmmm so Katie, This is why you don;t have farm animals?

Ginger

One of my garden helpers is missing. Our beautiful cat Crookshanks. He was not in his bed at dinnertime last night, and this morning he is still gone. We adopted my daughter's cat over the weekend, until she moves back up here, and I can't help but wonder if that had something to do with it, even though Crookshanks lived in the garage with Cleo and the Admiral (the new cat) is inside. I cannot imagine what happened to him. He never left the yard to my knowledge. He was a docile and fairly lazy neutered male who seemed to live just to lie in the sun and be adored. I don't think he ever even killed a mouse, probaby due to the effort involved. Last time I saw him was dinnertime on Sunday when I brushed him and put food in his dish. I just don't know what to think. Naturally I've checked the humane society and craigslist to see if anyone reported finding him. I'll continue to check, but I have a bad feeling about this.
Here he is in happier days.

LOL LOL LOL Ginger, I can guarantee you that is EXACTLY why I myself don't have farm animals!

Pixy--Very sad to hear about your missing kitty. Crossing my fingers for you that he was just peeved about the newcommer and will be back soon! He sure is a beauty.

Even Bonnie would be very sad if her kitty went missing...

Raregem: what a good mommy. I bet she'd bite a person who messed with her 'baby'.

Like Polly (Polar Bear) and his baby.

Ginger

Here she is getting the full treatment.

Ginger

Beadmom, you are so right. That is exactly my problem. Hmmmm, I have reddish, extremely curly hair. Maybe it's Celtic thing. LOL

Don't lose hope, Melissa. I had to go find my cat, Panda, after six weeks, on the neighboring property. I think she just got tired of so many at my house and took off on her own. She hung out with the neighbors and I just happened to go over there and look for her. She came to me and I brought her home and now she's an indoor cat.

Love the picture of Bonnie and her kitty. I have lots of dog sleeping with cats and vice versa, but my dogs don't really feel protective of the cats, I don't think. As a matter of fact, I heard Sahara whimper last night. Went over there and saw that there was a cat in her crate with her - I think Gemini decided to hang out and lost her balance and accidentally poked Sahara. Poor dogs, the cats don't even respect their space.

love baby goat and white dog photos. if you have ever held a baby goat, you know how precious this is. dogs rule! goats rule!

Ginger, that is the sweetest picture. I love goats. What kind is that one?

Mellisa. I hope your kitty comes home. He looks like a lover. Here's hope for you....
My daughter lost a mustang horse in the forest on a camping trip (longer story)....7months later the Forest Service called her. " We found your horse..." After the first snow Elanna (horse) was to lazy to forage for food herself so she came to a ranch.....

Meanwhile.....Cassie got another horse. Now she has 2.

Mrs. Mort... That baby is a grade. Mostly Lamancha. She is registered "Native on Appearance" I think.

She is an adult now and Polly goes out, jumps the fence into the goat arena and plays with her.

Ginger

here's my buddy Willie that helps out...

Love all the pictures and the buddys. The black and white dogs in the snow is great. Bugs is a doll. Love the smile!

All of your good thoughts have paid off! I came home today to search for him because my dh just had a feeling he was somewhere on the property. I went out the back door and there he was sitting in the sun in a small garden underneath a window in the back. I've never seen him there before. Of course I was so excited I stepped over the small fence to pick him up. My dog got tangled in my legs and I went down, cat and all. He took off and I found him later in the garage with the other cat, where he belongs! What a wierd thing! He has never done that before at all. I do wonder if it's because of the new cat, even though the new cat has not ventured into the garage territory yet. We're letting him become accustomed to everything before putting him with the other cats, although he and Cleo have met and traded growls.
I could use some advice on how to introduce The Admiral to the other cats.

Side by side in cages?

Beth, I love Willie carrying the bucket. I hope he doesn't do that with your tools. LOL.

Melissa, this is such good news. The cold weather may have made him cranky and confused. Maybe he found a warm place last night and just couldn't bring himself to leave it.

The best thing to do for cat introductions is to physically separate them until they've had time to get accumstomed to one another's smells, etc. What you don't want is for them to see eachothers as strangers with whom they have to fight for territory. After awhile, they'll start to think they're in the same colony and then the territory issues will be to divide up the existing space as opposed to driving someone away.

Then, when they know eachother well enough not to be surprised and curiosity gets them, you can give them more opportunities to check eachother out.

Can you get an x-pen (exercised pen) to keep your daughter's kitty in except for supervised visits? That should help to give everybody a couple of weeks to get accustomed to one another. Petsmart has them (you can just put a piece of plywood on top. Feliway spray may help to relax them and lots of catnip is good, too, to keep them distracted and goofy.

http://pet-supplies.drsfostersmith.com/search?af=type%3Aproduct&view=grid&w=exercise%20pen&visitorID=&cartcount=0&wishcount=0&subtotal=0.00

Oh.. I love a happy ending!
Ginger