Thursday, July 10, 2008

Waterwall

"Mighty windy out here today."


It does crazy things to The Flamboyance (tm). It's like the gossamer tendrils of young love.


So high winds mean high waves. For the first time in a long time, we had

WATERWALL

There's a dog in that there waterwall, btw. It sounds like this: "AAAGGGHHH!!!!"

Poor Piper. The waves just chewed her up and spit her out.

*Glub*glub*glub*

At least she went in! Tweed is just a garden variety chickenshit. He refuses to go in the big waves since the big Waterwall Washout of '07.

He pretends like he's thinking about braving the surf ...

And then he puts on a little dance of bravado for the crowds ...

But ultimately, he just runs like stink in the other direction, and waits for his ball to wash up on the sand.

I didn't even take The Wootie Toy out of the plastic bag. I know he won't jump in those waves, another casualty of the '07 Waterwall Washout. Instead, he found a playmate.


A very cute playmate. I believe it was another borderjack, like Tempus. Unlike Tempus however, this one didn't make me break out into a cold sweat.

She's pretty cute, no?



Every day, pretty much, we go to the beach or the park. And while we are there, Sport does this:

And sometimes he does this:

At 16 years old, he is not exactly a high maintenance dog. Except when it comes to eating. Sport says that pretty well all food sucks. Sometimes he will deign to ingest some raw food, or some cleverly marketed kibbles, so that I stop nagging at him, but for the most part he has to be force fed. Which, btw, he isn't all that happy about, but like everything else, he tolerates without complaint.

Even without complaint, he is good at making his feelings obvious:

Before I put the kibbles there, he looked like this:

When I told Tweed he could not have any of the kibbles, he looked like this:

When I told Noodles he couldn't have any kibbles, he ignored me, and helped himself anyway. At least he had the decency to be quasi-sneaky about it.

Sport is a great old dog. Unless you are another dog, he is very good natured. He likes all people and the cat may as well not exist. He tries really hard to please. I wish he would eat though. I understand that sometimes old dogs just lose their appetites, kind of like people. And then again, it could be something more sinister as well. But either way, I'll keep trying to get food into him and maybe he will put on a little weight. It's hard to tell from the photos, but he really is disgustingly thin. And I'm not letting him go down without a fight!


25 comments:

truemobile said...

Sport looks amazing at 16. Your post just made a good day even better. Thanks for your sharing and lifting up my heart strings!

I think all who read your posts are all blessed by you, and your amazing spirit.

Tristan and Braun said...

Have to agree with truemobile on that one. Sport is a real sweetie. I hope his hunger strike ain't anymore more than that. A strike. The bag of old bones should wise up and know what's good for him. Colorful kibbles do not cut it, old gun. Trust the Food Lady. There's a reason why she's called that. And why there's a "tm" with it. :)

Anonymous said...

How about cooking for him to eat instead? Maybe the smell will entice him. Lew Olson has some yumlicious balanced recipes here - http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/category/cooked-diet/

The Border Collies said...

"How about cooking for him to eat instead?"

Just for the record - Sport does not eat people food. Sport does not eat anything. He sometimes eats some raw, and sometimes eats some grain-free kibbles. But most of the time, these things need to be put into his mouth. I am force feeding him boiled chicken and sweet potatoes several times a day, in addition to feeding him raw, canned cat and dog food and kibbles whenever I can entice him to eat. All of it must come from my fingers or a spoon. It's very time consuming and kinda frustrating!

Anonymous said...

nothing to say about Sport (though he should really not be so demanding about being hand fed)...I'm still stuck on the gossamer tendrils of young love?!?

but back to Sport...a couple weeks ago I pulled the same trick on my own food lady...I thought I could feign a little ennui so that she got down on hand and knee to make me eat meat. Maybe Sport is pulling the same trick.

Anonymous said...

You're moving to WHERE? For, like, how long? Did I miss something? Blogs that drop cryptic hints are worse than no blogs at all...or would be if they didn't have consistently outstanding photography on display.

Oh, hi Sport! Be a nice fellow and nibble an extra large helping of dinner from Food Lady's fingers tonight, would you? She deserves it...and you NEED it, dude.

The Border Collies said...

"I'm still stuck on the gossamer tendrils of young love?!?"

What can I say? Sometimes I suffer from a but of ennui myself.

The Border Collies said...

"You're moving to WHERE? For, like, how long?"

Well I WAS going to move to insanedogowner's guest house because she said I could, but then she rescinded the offer when I sang the "PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME" song and made it stick in her head. Apparently, I crossed a very personal line for her. *shrug* Guess I'm stuck here for a while longer.

Aren't YOU moving somewhere yet, "Alaska?"

Tristan and Braun said...

"All of it must come from my fingers or a spoon. It's very time consuming and kinda frustrating!"

- Sigh. Know what you mean. Had the same experience before with another dog. And that time, we had an entire tanker of medication to follow up with that little spoon of food. Was a horrendous time. Thankfully we got through that. And thankfully he got all fixed up. Nothing short of a miracle. Looking back, it's all worth it. Looking at it then, only frustration.

You'll be alright, Food Lady. Ain't called the Food Lady-tm'ed for nothing. :)

Anonymous said...

I think of getting old (and sick)dogs to eat as "priming the pump" - finding something they will eat, if only to lick your fingers, so they remember that food is good. I sat in a kennel and fed a sick little girl soupy rice and chicken from my fingers for days until she finally started to eat. It sounds like you are doing that - just keep trying. You never know what may trigger his taste buds or memory of food. Maybe even peanut butter (w/o the jelly). Wishing for this lovely old guy. He is lucky to have found you.

Anonymous said...

Now that I have successfully infected someone else with the ear worm, maybe (maybe) I will rescind the ban on it. I can see your joy in it...

So...you can still move here ( we have a great river and rock to take air pics of the Amazing Woo as well as a beach) and I will cook what I did for my 16 year old when she wouldn't eat: a beef stew with carrots and green beans and rice.

PEANUT BUTTER (JELLY TIME!)

See? I am almost over it.

Rossie said...

Piper being eaten by the water...amazing picture.

Buzz will eat almost anything if you make him earn it. He's all "damn it, if I did a one-minute stay for this is must be fantastic and therefore I will eat it! Con mucho gusto!"

Anonymous said...

What about maybe making the chicken and sweet taters into a really foul smoothie? Maybe his old fella grinners don't feel so hot and he needs a special Food Lady Smoothie to make life wonderful. :-)

Did you get my email?

The Border Collies said...

"So...you can still move here"

Yay! I'm moving to ... where do you live??

Tonight Sport decided he really liked liver brownies. It was a last ditch effort to reward him for putting up with being dosed with Benadryl (hot spots) and Pepto (in case he is nauseous) and he ate like 9 pieces of it. The other dogs were incredulous (those are soooo not for giving away) but maybe he will eat liver if I cook him liver.

Oh I am already gagging; I hate the smell of cooking liver as much as the smell of baking potatoes.

*shakes fist at Sport*

*goes out to buy great quantities of liver*

The Border Collies said...

"What about maybe making the chicken and sweet taters into a really foul smoothie?"

'Tis already a smoothie. How else can I pour it down his throat?

Did you get my email?

No?

Anonymous said...

"Yay! I'm moving to ... where do you live??"

Santa Barbara, CA

Most of the time it doesn't suck here. Except for the fire we are currently having but really...it's pretty darn nice. Most of the time :-)

When will you arrive??? Oso could use another old guy to hang out with. And teach him to eat. Oso will eat ANYTHING ANYTIME ANYWHERE.

Anonymous said...

OMG!! I just looked at the Waterwall Washout of '07. I am impressed Woo even goes NEAR the water anymore. Jay-sus!!!!!

Must be some Aussie in him :-)

citydog said...

So my weapon of choice for getting oldies and/or sickies to eat is chicken pot pie from the local supermarket's hot food section. It's magic (and after a couple of days of it I can get them on something else by slowly mixing it in). Even my vet has been recommending it.

Worth a try? No liver stench to deal with...

Biggie-Z said...

Biggie will barely swim - and he's supposed to be FEARLESS. He just acts like he CHOOSES to wade. So waterwall and waves? So not my dog.

Sport does look amazing at 16. Liver is a big favorite around here, too (raw or cooked, blech). Also raw salmon. Salmon heads seem to be a new messy favorite. Good luck, and here's hoping it's just nervousness that's causing a temporary loss of appetite. In the last few months of his life, our old dog (16) was also drinking a doggie version of Ensure. (or maybe we just gave him Ensure, I can't remember)

Love, love, love the pictures!

Fenway said...

Waterwall pics are terrific! I took my Border Collie puppy to the beach for the first time and finally coaxed him into the waves. He learned there's more to 'em than herding the shorebreak.

Check out the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z1Loj4dJK0

You are not called Food Lady for nothing! I coaxed my old guy during his last months with cheesy omelets with hidden vitamin powder inside. All fed from fingers. These are the little tendernesses you will always remember.

You are Sports St. Food Lady!

Stephanie said...

Is poor Mr. Sport not a fan of other dogs, or does he mostly just ignore them?

I am sure you'll find a way to convince him to eat!

Unknown said...

That first picture of Woo reacting to the wind is absolutely priceless! What an expression ....
Thanks for making my day (again)

Anonymous said...

I know you've gotten, like, a zillion suggestions on what Sport might find tempting, but I thought I'd make it a zillion and one. Our vet's suggestion, which has never yet failed, was to cook some rice with chicken broth instead of water. It's our foolproof "get-the-old-lady-to-eat-again" trick. (And it doesn't smell nearly as bad as liver.)

Anonymous said...

biggie-z suggested raw salmon - I thought raw salmon was bad for dogs. There are parasites that can cause poisoning in dogs. You probably know this, Food Lady, but it worried me. It sounds like such a good thing to give to a dog and it isn't. Hope the boy starts eating soon.

The Border Collies said...

Actually raw salmon and herring are mainstays of our diet here at 3WaaW. The parasite found in raw salmon, known as "fluke" is reliably killed in the freezing process, which is why we can eat sashimi safely :)

Regardless, Sporticus does not deign to eat fish, raw or cooked. He thinks that's gross. The ONLY thing he likes reliably, is boiled liver. Srsly. So he gets a variety of foods with boiled liver in it, so he has to eat the foods to get the liver. Tonight I force fed him 40mls of "Boost", 6 tablespoons of boiled chicken and yam slushee and then he willingly ate a couple hundred grams of raw chicken with chunks of liver in them. That is the most I have ever seen him eat!!