Friday, February 27, 2009

Otto seen him!

Scout catching some warm rays!


My husband has been secretly thinking to himself, "why the hell does doesn't she write something about my dog? Why is everything about Otto...Otto this...Otto that... Otto ...Otto, Otto, Otto!!! I think secretly he would like to have this blog devoted to his black lab Scout.


True, I seldom mention our black lab Scout. He is a wonderful dog. He is 10 1/2 years old and a true gentleman. He epitomizes the breed. He is loyal, easy, loving, needy and kind. If you asked Scout to "sit and stay" one time... say for 3 days or so.... he would. If you got lost in the wilderness and you were alone with just Scout and whispered, "Scout, lie down next to me to keep me warm and don't leave," he would do just that. He pauses in our driveway every morning, waiting for an invitation to walk with us. He is obedient and he is tolerant. He doesn't require a leash when outside, he has no ambition to ever leave your comfortable heel. He could be a poster child for the perfect Lab. Scout is a very nice, handsome, well footed, black Labrador from Champion Canadian parents.


zzzzzzzzzzzzz....yawn....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...


About 4 1/2 years ago, while making a cup of coffee a man came behind me in our kitchen...shortly thereafter I decided that I didn't need a nice, needy and highly food motivated animal, I needed protection. It wasn't Scouts fault, he doesn't have a mean or aggressive bone in his big fat head.


Enter Otto.


Otto isn't at all like Scout. Otto is affectionate but only on his very own terms and only to the people and animals that he chooses. He is independent in his thinking and isn't needy in the least except for the basics. He is never motivated by food from a stranger nor will he accept it. Good boy.

True, I clean his teeth, trim his nails, bathe him, feed him and pretty much cater to his every need and he barely acknowledges me. Also true that Otto would never retrieve anything unless he wanted to retrieve it. He would with 100% certainty leave me if he could get off of his leash if an attractive squirrel crossed our path. If I was lost in the woods he would not stay like ol' trusty Scout, no way, Otto would be like Elsa, born free to roam and eat deer poop. He might come back but the jury is still out.

But...if you are alone in the house and going downstairs in the dark, he will do a complete recon with just a quick whistle.

and he hears things before they happen...because Otto (like other Anatolians) has remarkable senses.

and if the doorbell rings .....Otto will answer first, insistent that he position himself between me and the door...he is no welcome wagon.

and even when he is in sleeping coma, paws up on my pillow..he has one eye open.

and above all else in our house, Otto has my back.

I was going to only write about Scout but even thinking about my Otto, my naughty bundle of joy, just takes me over!








Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Otto is going Holistic!

Yesterday I received an email from a woman who believes in holistic solutions to allergies and other ailments. I went to the Internet to investigate her suggestion of "Traditional Tibetan Healing remedies for modern ailments." She suggested that Otto try "Tibetan Allergy Support" ($33.00/60 pills) which as she claims "will help the root causes of why the body is having reactions in the first place by helping to rebalance the immune and adrenal systems." She went on to suggest Tibetan Kidney support...another $33.00, some Beta Sitosterol...another $21.00 and lastly, Xanthium....for 20 bucks.

Ohmmm ....Otto might be going Holistic but my husband will be going Ballistic! I think I better just try one bottle of the Allergy stuff.

I appreciate her taking the time to help us come up with remedies. I mean, nothing has helped either of us. Both of our allergies are just terrible and meds from any Doctor or from any over the counter prescription really offer minimal temporary relief so at this point our downside is nil...

www.tibetanherbs.com/allergysupport.html

I got a kick out of some of the testimonals. They are a far cry from the Mayo Clinic!

It might be of note that I don't even pause to look at the organic section of our market..and those bins of open grains and granola where little dirty hands have helped themselves on an hourly basis, I would rather starve to death...

But...all that negative thinking... well it is soon to be in the past. The cheeseheads are going to Tibetan meds!

I will try not to be alarmed that both Otto and I are going to be taking the same pills... comprised of things that I can't pronounce nor have I ever heard of...

Punica granatum -
Angelica archangelica -
Elletaria cardamomum -
Piper longum -
Tribulus terrestris -
Crocus sativus -
Mirabilis himalaica -

Who knows, maybe, just maybe there is some truth in all this holistic organic stuff. I am going to purchase one bottle and give it a whirl.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Full of Sheep

It would appear that my life revolves around Otto. He touches my heart every time he shoves his favorite toy "Moo" into my rear end...his attempt to be playful or his hint that I am resembling a Moo myself in the rear...So much of my day is consumed thinking about his needs and his happiness that sometimes it occurs to me that he is no longer just a dog, he is a mystical being that is somehow dictating the way that I live, where I go, whom I speak to and what I speak about.

Take for example my mother who passed away in October. I was estranged from her and her second husband for years and I was comfortable with that. When I learned that she was in the final stages of her life in the hospice ward my husband became insistent that I call her. He wouldn't let up. I thought about it and put my guilt meter on fast forward to the "what if's" and agreed that possibly it might be better to drop the dime then not...so with a sweaty hand and a shot of scotch I called her room. The endless ringing was enough to make me terminal ill. She answered on about the 12th ring with a voice I knew I would never hear again. I identified myself and immediately told her how sorry I was that she was so sick. I could hear her trying to reposition herself to sit up.....silence and heavy breathing...and I wished I had made the shot a large double.

....and then in a fairly clear but heavy voice she said, "Tell me about the dog." I said, "Mom, his name is Otto, he an Anatolian Shepherd Dog from Turkey. He is bred for livestock protection and guardianship. He looks just like Mort." (Mother adored Mort. He was a huge great dane/shepherd mix dog that found us in Connecticut when I was about 16 years old. I found an old picture of Mort and Shotzie, our German Shepherd.


33 years ago, Mort greeted my first official "date" at the door by ripping his shirt at the neck ....which was subsequently the end of the date and soon the end of Mort.)

Fast forward to Ottoland...

I said to mother, "Otto is very protective and watches over me like I am his flock " and with that my mother said " That's because he knows you are full of sheep." We both laughed for the first time in so many years and through her rattle I heard her say, "Call means the world to me."

Click...

I don't think the whole conversation lasted more then a minute yet as corny as it sounds it covered a lifetime for both of us.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Otto Madoff with my money!

It seems that everyone you meet is talking about how lousy the economy is. Everyone in our house has cut spending back dramatically, everyone except Otto that is. Best I can tell, he is having Salmon Fumé for breakfast and dinner!


Otto's allergies have once again flared beyond the tolerable zone and both he and I are desperate to find a proper solution. I have eliminated milkbones (heaven forbid a dog should have a MILKBONE with all their horrible additives...regardless that they have been the reward of every long lived dog that I have ever had...I have eliminated dairy since cheese might be the new poison.. I have dosed him like a junkie full of Benadryl, I have hosed his eyes with Neo-Poly-Dex, bathed him daily with relief baths and have contributed to my Vet's retirement plan at the expense of my own this year...all attempts sadly providing only temporary relief to Otto.


So now at the on going request of his breeder, I have agreed to start him on his third round of new food, a grain free food. She suggested that I switch from the Holistic Chicken food made up of hand raised organic, free roaming little peckers (for $48.00 a bag) ...over to a top quality brand called "Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Canine Formula."

Top ingredients are as follows: Salmon, ocean fish meal, sweet potatoes, potatoes, canola oil, salmon meal, smoked salmon, etc..


You know you are in trouble when the dog food that you are buying is football field away from where everyone else is shopping.... a solid 12 aisles away from the "Purina One" which so successfully nourished my last three dogs till they were each about 122 years old. Otto's new dining pleasure is located in the only aisle where the sales people seem to be... next to the tiny $7.95/bag of hand rolled, grain free, organic, sun ripened, sweet potato treats (which I also purchased.)

Otto's new smoked salmon dinner has far better ingredients then any meal that I have eaten since the stock market went south. To make matters worse I had to listen to my husband complain for the 35 minute ride home about how ridiculous feeding a dog a grain free diet was...and how stupid it was that he couldn't eat milkbones...and how expensive it was that Otto now had to eat salmon...and how totally lame the whole anatolian world was..blah blah...blah. I stopped listening and began wondering if Otto's new diet was going to make him thirsty. Smoked salmon makes me very thirsty.




Time will tell. I will slowly mix the old food with the new and commence the process of eliminating any type of grains, dairy, meat and chicken from his diet hopefully within two weeks.... The testimonials are inspiring about going to a grain free diet especially for a dog with chronic allergies.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Anatolian Shepherd Dog

Last night Otto and I tuned in to watch the working group at the Westminster Kennel Show. On their website, the Anatolian Shepherd Dog is described as" an ancient breed (4,000 to 6,000 years old) from Turkey / Asia Minor that has been and is still used primarily as a livestock guardian worldwide. This is a true "thinking" dog, independent and capable of evaluating a situation to determine the appropriate response. They are highly intelligent, large, extremely fast and agile, powerful, determined, instinctively protective of their charges and very territorial. A "formal introduction" is necessary before tolerating strangers. They make an excellent companion with proper socialization and obedience training, as well as an owner who is always in charge."

Some other choice comments that I found on other websites describe traits that seem a bit more accurate to me:

They tend to bark at night and some like to dig.

They are intelligent and can learn quickly but might choose not to obey. Possessive and very independent, these are not the most obedient of dogs and are very strong minded and willful.

He will get up about every one to one and a half hours and circle the inner area, checking everything, and then lie back down in a new place. The dog quickly knows the usual activity and people moving in and out of its area. As long as nothing unusual occurs or appears, he will lie around doing nothing. (for hours and hours!)


and then there is Otto...

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Translating Otto


Translated: I am going to kill you, blind or not!

Thursday, January 1, 2009