What a week

Boy, am I glad this week is basically over. The cold that started just after Thanksgiving got completely full-blown, so I've been sniffling/unable to breathe without nose spray, coughing in periodic fits, having massive headaches, etc. There was much Cancellation of Stuff.

Juno is a perfect dog to have around when you're sick. Okay, who am I kidding, she is a perfect dog to have around at any time ever. She just lies quietly next to wherever I am, for as long as I feel like being there. The past few days, Kaline has been doing basically the same thing! Only he lies on me, not next to me, usually. Yesterday I actually got both dogs to lie on the bed with me. I have a teeny bed, so it was a little crowded, but very warm.

Both dogs on the couch, be still my heart.

It's been storming a bit since Wednesday, so that hasn't helped the cold any. All the dogs have been miserable going out and having to be wet (raincoats only help so much). Poor Kay will stand and shiver whenever we have to stop. I am constructing his Official Cozy Horse Coat™ in my mind, trying to make it as warm as possible. Can't have it at least until after his birthday. And I may get him a Cloudchaser to go underneath it. Because I am insane, and my little dog is wimpy.

I've been experimenting with giving Kaline more access to rooms when we're home, meaning he and Juno are not closed into the kitchen/den with me. I keep everything upstairs closed, so he can't go into bedrooms and get shoes and socks to chew, but now he has access to the dining room and the living room downstairs where he and Juno like to wrestle. It's going okay, I think. We'll see how I feel a week from now, haha!

Kaline is close to giving himself a hot spot on his right front paw from obsessive licking. I got this spray called Bitter Lime to stop him licking. Well, he hates being sprayed with the stuff and will run away, but even if his paw is soaked in this nasty stuff (I got some on my hands, then nibbled a finger, and holy shit, EW) he will lick as though it tastes amazing. Gaaah. 

In addition to continuing to work on opening the fridge, I've been focusing on hold, out, and take it with Kaline. Whenever he gets annoying at night, I grab one of the few toys left to him (blue rubber bone, Nylabone, antler, cookie ball) and we practice hold and out for a few minutes. His hold is getting very nice; he'll hold whatever it is for a pretty long time, and all I have to do is stroke his chin every once in a while to remind him to keep his mouth closed. Anne doesn't want us to work on take it too much until his hold is solid, so we only do that a little bit.

Fridge work is highly amusing. Usually on the first try, Kaline just picks up the tug and then drops it. It takes him a little bit to actually get the fridge open. Once he does get it open that first time, though, it's like he wants to make sure that first part where he messes around ineffectually doesn't happen again. I'll leave with whatever I wanted out of the fridge, and Kaline will stay over there, yanking the fridge open dramatically, letting it close and yanking it open again. Of course, the next time the whole little drama plays out again, but I think it's getting progressively shorter. It cracks me up.

Also quite funny: When I ask Kaline to open the fridge, telling Juno to stay back a little bit; then he messes up and Juno walks in and takes the tug from him and pulls the fridge open. See how it's done, young man.

There's also been unpleasant drama in the service dog world. Dani Woodson, who I am acquainted with through a couple SD groups on Facebook, was kicked out of a Whataburger in Pensacola, FL, by a police officer who refused to enforce the laws (state and federal) protecting disabled people from being forced to leave because of their service dogs. She got the whole thing on video and it's gone pretty viral.

 

Of course, when something like this gets on the news, the Whataburger FB page and the Pensacola Police Department FB page, it brings out all the stupid people. Who say things like, "I wouldn't want to sit next to a stinky dog in a restaurant" or "How do you even know it's a service dog?" or "Well, they got their food, it's totally okay for them to be kicked out because they weren't denied service". So the SD community has been rebutting the idiots. I got in there last night for a while, and it was just sending my anxiety through the roof. I watch videos like this, I read things like that, and it's like that stuff is happening to me right now. 

And without being asked, Kaline just draped himself across my lap and went to sleep. I'm extra super in love with him lately.