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!

Happy 2nd birthday!

Nero turned 2 on May 14, 2009 and was thoroughly spoilt. He got his favorite boiled eggs for breakfast and dinner; a garfield squeaky toy; a ring toss toy; lots of bones and a starring role in a video! 

Here is the video.

Loldog

 

Nero debuts on ICHC with the following pictures.

Dognapped

Sadly, this is not another fun post on Nero sleeping. It is about the real thing.

Nero’s only friend in the neighborhood, Scooby, was stolen day before yesterday. We were completely shocked when our maid told us. Apparently, there were 3-4 people in a car, who stopped to talk to the boy who walks Scooby, lured Scooby (who loves to ride in cars) into the car and drove off!! In broad daylight! And on the same road that we walk Nero. Sometime back, I had posted a picture of a road lined with trees with yellow flowers…well about 10-20 meters down the road from that place was where this horrible crime was committed.

My heart goes out to Scooby and his family. Firstly, poor Scooby, caught with strangers, God only know how they would treat him. His walker and minder, had told us he was very finicky about eating, would only eat from his dish, and would eat specific food. We too noticed that he would never take biscuits from us, even while Nero would be all over us clamoring for one. I hope he is taken care of. And the poor family, who has had him for so many years. I cannot even begin to imagine how they must feel. I really hope the police are successful in getting him back.

Apart from being distressing, I also found it strange that Scooby would be stolen. Though a pure breed and not neutered, unlike Nero, he is not a champion specimen (or at least never looked like one to us). He is a pretty placid and quiet dog. Never reacted to Nero jumping all over him. Not aggressive or particularly energetic. A fairly staid, average-joe dog, going his own way in life. Not particularly young either…about 4-5 years old. In the same apartment block, there is another person who actually breeds Labradors. Now his dogs are glossy, perfectly conformed, and look champion material. Scooby, just looked like an average dog, affectionate, but not a breeder champion. Of course, this assumes he was stolen for breeding value. If he was stolen as simply a home/guard dog, well I don’t know what to comment except that if he went so willingly with strangers, he’d probably not make a good guard dog. Labradors aren’t really known for guard qualities, like say a German Shepherd anyway. And if it was for a more sinister reason….no I don’t think I even want to go there. He is such a sweet dog :(

He was the second of the three musketeers. While Nero was growing up, they were a trio of dogs who used to meet at the park in the evening. Pepsi, a 3 year old yellow female lab, Scooby and Nero. Pepsi moved away last year when her owner shifted house. Slowly the evening romps dwindled, till Scooby and Nero just met on the odd walks. But every time Nero saw Scooby, even at a distance, he was literally uncontrollable. Standing on his hind legs for a better look, straining to get near him, dragging us on his leash, uncaring of getting choked, jumping all over Scooby, doing mad jumps about him, running in and out entwining their leashes…and all the while Scooby would stand placidly and bear this hyperactive half-grown dog’s antics.

Scooby, our wishes are with you. May you stay safe and come back home soon.

Allergies and More

Nero had his vet visit today, where he was cleared of any suspected chest/ respiratory congestion or infection. He also did not hack or reverse sneeze today. A couple of times he seemed to start to,  but controlled it. His vet said it was probably a bronchial allergy. Ruled out kennel cough which was a relief. Since he hadn't had an episode of hacking or sneezing today, we decided not to give him the anti-histamine, but got a strip of Cetrizine home just in case. So its wait and watch for now. Meanwhile, his deworming tablet is due on March 14 (1 for 10kgs) so we got those too. Its a complete job to get him to take those...even with his feed!!

While walking through the market, we discovered that the vet's previous assistant had opened a pet grooming salon and shop nearby. Oooh! Last time hubby gave Nero a bath, they broke the hand-shower head! So this alternative looks good. Of course, hubby said he would miss their baths together....so we plan to make the salon visit a special treat (for both of them) for now, if at all! In any case, a good option to know and have in the neighbourhood :)