Mayday!

I've been running into a problem posting here, but I think I've figured it out. I re-uploaded the two posts below and they seem to be appearing OK now.

Welcome to May! I am SO glad to see spring, except for the "shower" part. The dogs are FEEEElthy, and even worse, they have these sticky seed pod thingys stuck to their coats, hundreds of them, and they take a really determined effort to pull them out. I think the dogs need to be Teflon coated.

Although Maggie, the Landseer, very seldom barks, Raven, the black Newf, kicks up a huge racket at everything: kids walking down the road, passing dogs, or just hearing other dogs bark. Her bark is, er, LOUD. So I got a "bark deterrent" collar that sprays citronella when she barks. So far it is working great, one little "woof" and then silence. I din't want to get a shock collar (I'm not sure it would even work with all that hair), and the "distracting noise" bark breaker I used years ago never did really work. Keeping my fingers crossed.

The dog I had years ago was a rescue Rhodesian Ridgeback, Simba, a lovely dog. He was big-- the size of a Great Dane, and we got him when he was 6 years old. He lived in the barn with the Newf we had then, and they were great company for each other. But Simba didn't like the horses, and he would stand inches from their faces and bark and bark. They are very tolerant, and just went on munching or dozing. But one day I heard Simba arfing away, then a yelp and ki-ying. I went out and here Blondie had kicked him, right in the head. (No horse shoes on). He was bleeding from the nose, and I took him immediately to the vet, who did x-rays and kept him overnight, but determined he was unhurt, and had just had his bell rung. When I took him home, Blondie was in front of the barn, and Simba swung a WIIIDE arc around her to get back in his doggy door into the barn. Blondie ignored him.

He never barked at the horses again.

(Here is where you must imagine a photo of Simba, which I cannot find ANYWHERE.)