Boarding

With Ishi's mundan and first visit to her paternal grandparents coming up next month, we need to make arrangements for Nero's care while we are away. Normally, we would have left him with my parents, but they too are travelling with us. Hence, it is to the boarding kennel for Nero. He has already spent some time in Kennel1, a dog boarding farmhouse, 3 years back. But he was much younger then, and we weren't sure how he would take to it now.

So today, we visited the Kennel again. He seemed to recognize the place. We decided to leave him there for the day and let him get used to staying there. When we left, I saw him sitting in his good boy pose in the fenced enclosure, whining behind us..and it broke my heart. I'm missing him so much...:( I know its good for him, he needs to get used to an alternative whenever we are out of town, and also get socialized with other dogs. But I MISS him! I know he'll be fine, but I can't stop worrying..hoping he is alright, having fun, not missing us, making friends - human and canine alike. Sigh!

Its getting hot in here...

Spring is in the air...actually it went from cold to hot in a blink of an eye! Hot days make Nero lazy. But more than the heat, its the wind thats driving him nuts! Even a soft breeze, if our verandah doors are left open, creates wind tunnels in the house and totally freaks him out. Ahh Nero, the list of things that scare you keeps growing..:( What ARE we to do with you!!!!

I'm feeling laaazyy..

..and so is Nero!

Its been a year since the last post. Since then, Nero has unflinchingly stayed by my side through a difficult pregnancy and 6 months of bedrest and now has a new addition to his pack - Baby girl Saisha (Ishi)! And since I'm feeling lazy, here is a copy of Nero-Ishi relations to date from Saisha's Blog!


We had all wondered about Nero's (our dog) reaction to Ishi. While we let him smell her discarded clothes to get her used to her smell, we didn't let him sniff her or actively introduce her. The plan was that she would seamlessly join the family without any fanfare (well for Nero at least! :) )

So everything was kept as normal. He still slept on the floor in the same room with us, while Ishi slept on the bed. After a couple of weeks, we got our heirloom cot for her and fitted it next to the bed, without removing his crate/den. He made his cosy sleep spot under her cot!

The first few days, when she cried, he would come up the side of the bed to investigate. Later (and till date) he ignores her. As Ishi grew a bit bigger, we started taking her to our daybed on the lounge where Nero is also allowed to climb on bed. Soon they were sleeping side by side, separated by a mountain of cushions! Of course all under supervision. Neither of them currently seem to be concerned with the other right now! They'd be lying side by side, Nero deaf to any wailing, Ishi largely ignoring any loud woofing! Often, when I feed Ishi, Nero will lie on/near my legs, separated by a quilt/cushion barrier, like a nice warm hot water bottle! And given the winter we've been having, his warmth is very welcome!

They both get their own times with Mommy and Daddy, who have ambitious future plans of taking them for walks together, once the weather gets a bit warmer!

Modelling

Nero is sooo photographic! Hubby has a new passion - photography. And guess who his showstopper is!

We put him on a diet last month after his doc said he was getting too fat. He's responded nicely and is looking all nice and lean again. All healthy except dandruffy. Its been really cold lately so he's always in his t-shirt (+ coat for walks and sometimes at night). All those clothes are giving him dandruff .

He's taken to sleeping in the lounge room bed and looks sooo pained when we wake him up when we retire for the night to our bedroom. He has to be coaxed with treats (rub it against his mouth till he opens it to eat it, let him lick it, then take it away into the bedroom. Then leave the door open and avoid all eye contact till he hops off the bed in a pained manner, shakes himself and condescends to come into the bedroom!). Lately, its been so cold, we've been thinking its better to leave him sleeping on the bed than forcing him to come into the bedroom and sleep on the floor (or on his rugs rather). The bed is cosier, and he is particularly fond on curling up on the quilt on the bed! While this is fine, its a pain for us in the morning, and he is up at 6am (brrr) and whining and scratching on the bedroom door! Well lets try it for a few days and see how it works out. More my hubby's problem anyway since he is the early riser and the morning walker. Tee hee hee hee :)

Pea Pods

Nero has a new love - pea pods. He had been staying with my mother, and she gave him some shelled pods to eat. He loved them! Of course he only like the crunchy green ones, not the old white speckled ones. And the odd pea falling his way is yummy too! Peas on earth goodwill for man!!

Bedrest and a sedentary life

I have been put on bedrest for medical reasons and am getting a dose of Nero's days. Sleeping/ Lying down all day is something most people would envy. But it must be one of the most boring things in creation!! No wonder Nero is so thrilled when hubby comes back home in the evenings.

Though I must say he (nero) is far better and organised at resting than I am. He has his rest areas well marked out - some for total inaccessibility for humans (under the lounge bed), others for when he needs a cool space (main bedroom corners), sunny spots in the verandah and part sentry spots (under the living room sofa) where he can keep track of activities in the house/ has a clear view of the kitchen doorway/ is next to the main house door to bark at visitors). He has the household daily routine pretty much figured out as well. Morning time - wake hubby, walk, do his business outside, eat, check on me, see hubby off. Mid morning, bask in the sun or retire to semi sentry spot when house gets cleaned, bark at doorbell ringers, come out to investigate if anyone enters or remains at the door for longer than usual. Lunchtime - hunt me out, get his tidbits, go back to sentry spot or lounge. Early evening, remain in lounge sleeping, or unearth uneaten bones/ toys and look for ppl to play with. Late evening, take up position in front of main door waiting for hubby, fawn all over him, shadow him till walktime, go for walk. Night - eat, wait for us to eat, gets more tidbits, lie down with us, watch tv and go to sleep. A place and a time for everything, forever ready for a game or a nap.

I do think he is getting far too sedentary, though how much is truth and how much is my own frustration with bedrest is difficult to distinguish. With winter setting in and days getting shorter, his walks are getting shorter too. But I have plans for him. Just lemme get over this confinement. (cue evil laugh)mwah mwah mwah!!!!!

Of spas, pigs and rainy weather

Life has been generally quite chilled out for Nero lately. He made friends with our new maid, got his second year booster vaccines and got pampered at a doggy spa!

Here is Nero sitting in the tub at the doggy spa.


The owner/handler was Nero's old friend (he used to work with Nero's vet before opening his own store). Nero was put into a tub and given a good scrubbing! He was as good as gold when my hubby wasn't around, but as soon as he returned, Nero started getting naughty. The shower was fine but nail clipping...ugh! He hates getting his nails clipped. Finally, he made so much fuss that any thought of clipping one of his front paws had to be abandoned! Still 3 paws out of 4 ain't too bad!

Apart from that, life has been just peachy with lots of fun and naps...especially with his li'l piggy!


The only dark cloud on the horizon are the monsoon clouds. Nero hates it when it rains. He gets sooo scared, gets into a corner and tries to dig through the tiled floor. Even biscuits and treats get ignored! Poor baby. The funny thing is, he has no problem with the rain when he is outside! He will happily walk, frolic and get wet in the rain. But inside the house, as the barometer drops, so does his tail. Aww baby! Come to mama!