Chew on this ...

What do you do if your dog gets into your glassmaking supplies?

I'm currently dog-sitting for my ex-neighbor's two dogs, both of whom get along really well with Mr. Justin Wigglebutt, my rescue whatsit. Justin sleeps in his (open) crate in the study, because I can trust him not to chew the books on the lower bookcase shelves. Milo and Diamond sleep in the kitchen; although that's where my workbench is, neither dog has ever shown any sign of pulling things off the table. Until night before last, when Milo decided to take a taste of my workbench. I woke up to find Val Cox' Frit Secrets in a pile of gleefully ripped pages, along with parts of Passing the Flame and two half-packages of silver and gold leaf. Most alarmingly, there were chewed plastic bottles of frit, ripped sacks of shards, and loose shards and frit strewn all through the debris.

First of all, don't panic, but assess the situation as calmly as you can. Remember that most glass shatters at an angle that is more likely to pass safely through the intestine than ground glass or thin pieces, like shards. The larger the frit is the safer you are. After my first flush of sheer panic, I looked carefully at Milo; Diamond does not have a history of ripping things up, but Milo does. No blood on his gums, no glass or frit in the pads of his paws. I looked for the icky stuff--there was no diarrhea or bloody stool, and no blood around his anus. Given that what looked like all the frit was on the floor or still caught in the container, I was most worried about his involuntarily swallowing a piece or two, not a whole lot.

My second step was to call the emergency vet for advice, while pulling out some bread slices. Why bread? Bread is an old home remedy for any animal that's swallowed something sharp, such as bone fragments. It can coat the bone and help it pass safely through the intestine. The emergency vet confirmed that, and also said that unless the glass had lead in it, it would not show up on an x-ray. I did a fast Internet search and found the answers inconclusive. The vet didn't think there would be enough in Milo's system, so she told me to do the things I had already done--feed him bread (the other two were happy, because what you give to one ... ), and watch his behavior and his stools, and bring him in if he began to show blood, to vomit, or just to become lethargic.

Milo was wrestling with Justin, and clearly hadn't a care in the world. *I* was a nervous wreck. On my way to visit Art of the Firebird to pick up her unwanted dog crate (I could have put Milo in Justin's crate, but he does like to den in it, and AoF wants to get rid of the crate ASAP anyway) I called Milo's human to see if he wanted me to take any additional action, and to give him a heads-up about the situation. He said no, no emergency X-Ray in case; he agreed with me that it was unlikely that Milo had really *eaten* any of the glass, let alone enough of the glass to possibly show on an X-ray *if* there was lead in it.

Last night Milo slept, most reluctantly, in his new "box," which will be his permanent bedroom whenever he comes to stay with me. Diamond usually dens with him, but this time she stayed in the kitchen, and Justin slept in his blanket-covered crate. As you can see from the pictures, taken this afternoon, Milo is happy, healthy, and active (he's the littlest one; Diamond is the middle-sized Pit bull, and Justin is the largest Lab/Spitz). His only ocmplaint is that he had to sleep in a crate, rather than rrrrripping into things, eating more frit, and getting more bread.

But if you work with glass, and have dogs, I offer you both this cautionary tale and this medical method.

Hiatus II

I can be an idiot.

Last week classes started, and I was busy prepping -- it's a busy time of year. I still have a large custom order to finish for Karen Thomas. Furthermore, I visit my sister twice a year, and I have no clue about how Draco the Dane would react to another canine--he loves Jet, the fawn, but he's getting jealous, too. I didn't do any research into the different dogs available in the area. I just passed by the Atlanta Canine Adoption Project who were camped out at a local PetSmart and ... came home with Justin.

He's about a year and a quarter old, and is pretty good with Their Feline Majesties (i.e. interested but willing to ignore). He's pretty quiet around the house and is housebroken, and has the beginnings of leash-training. We're discussing 1) where dogs may and may not put their paws (not the counter, table, couch, or my shoulders ... unless I have given him the "HUG!" signal), 2) the fact that well-mannered dogs SIT when their leash goes on and again when it goes off, and that well-mannered dogs SIT when getting a treat,
3) the fact that human beings do not want dogs in their laps when eating or doing other things, and that, when RUDE, dogs need to give the human about 2 feet of space by going off and lying down.

The cats are still unsure, but Justin pretty much ignores them if they ignore him. Bella is wandering around the house, and Molly has come out onto the bed, but Min still hides under the bed except when Justin is in the kitchen or crated for the night.
(He's still young enough that chewing could be a temptation!) It's clear that he has never been socialized well--he is extremely timid in new situations, he's desperately afraid of new people in general and more so when they are in a group, and he's got a touch of separation anxiety. Poor guy, he doesn't even know how to play! (He's learning fast.) The rescue organization folks have clearly done some preliminary training with him, but that's all, and the woman at PetSmart said she had had to leave him crated for ten hours at a clip.
I'm not pushing the crate; he will den in it, but is afraid when the door closes--so I am slowly acclimating him to it in ten minute chunks, and in the meanwhile am leaving him in my kitchen when I go to work or out. I am a decent dog trainer, but I am saving up to go to basic obedience classes with Justin, simply to aid with socialization, AND to speed up the training process somewhat by checking my own consistency and tone; it's been a while since I have done this!

Despite Justin's fears, though, he isn't a fear-biter--I have tested him carefully!--and has a good temperament. In situations that are unfamiliar but *like* places he knows--like at the vet's, surprisingly--he isn't nearly as scared and he warms up to people fast. The vet was impressed and allowed as how I have a pretty good dog here.

Justin's a real snuggle-bug, with soft fur. Like all shepherd mixes, he sheds like whoa, and I have to sweep every day! He also needs a LONG walk, which is good for my general level of ... err ... fluffiness. In fact, that was one reason for getting a young dog who needed walks, even though I am so busy--just as I train HIM to behave, he trains ME into consistent exercise. For him, food and affection are motivators. For me, NOT having my house torn up by a bored, hyper dog is a serious motivator!

Will he remain "Justin"? Dunno. It seems to fit, but not quite. He will let me know what his name will be--after all, every dog I have ever had has gone through a series of names and nicknames as our relationship has evolved. As for his breed, he seems to be a lab/Shepherd mix with a touch of spitz. A friend has suggested that his breed is "Justin-other Dog," and another friend, observing his ability to eel slowly up onto furniture (where he does not belong!), suggested "Black Eeler" as a breed name. Another friend from Australia has said that he's just a plain old kelpie, and suggested "Black Kelpie Digger" as a name. Any suggestions?

Frit Beads

A much better day at the torch, although I didn't update yesterday as promised. Yesterday I straightened up the house, and then collected my neighbor's dogs for a week-long stay, much to the disgust of my Quality Control Inspectors. They see a dreary week of living under my bed during the days; I know that they'll be used to the dogs within three days. Plus Milo, the puppy, and Diamond, the two year old, are both crate-trained and sleep at night in their boxes (much to THEIR disgust, as they are used to sleeping in their owner's room). Then I had a lovely dinner with a friend whom I haven't seen for a long while. We had chickpea tomato soup, and talked, and garlic bread (we both share the idea that if there aren't at least four cloves of garlic per meal that there's something wrong!), and salad, and blueberries and cream for dessert.

Anyway, I did some plain frit beads, and had a more productive day. First I started testing a frit blend developed by my sister, who sells frit and beads on ETSY as Iron Mountain Jewelry and That Frit Girl. It's a lovely bluegreen. Maybe Mountainside as a name? I don't know. Anyway, in the picture from left to right there's the frit on Moretti white, on Moretti light ivory, on clear, on white with silver, on white and swirled, and on white, encased. The encased bead cracked, but I don't know if it was the frit or if it was the wrong COE clear. I want to do one of my Kalera Long and Lean series ... which I need a name for. Some shards of cobalt would look great with this frit as a base.

Then I did some plain sprees in a frit called "Aphrodisiac," on sky blue for a base, with tiny flat-leaved flowers.
Those went fast and were fun to do. I swirled the frit because I was afraid the frit blotches would compete with the plain flowers. On balance I think I'd leave them be next time. It made a nice, straightforward set that went pretty quickly. I actually made eight beads, but one chipped when I was cleaning it, and one I hadn't firepolished well enough.

Finally I tried Copper Green and Purple frit, which came out beautifully. I thought something was missing, though -- a texture or interest point -- so I added a layer of fine silver foil, and that got the look I was hoping for.

This morning I have to grade papers in earnest--in an eight-week semester the chore never ends, not if you want to be responsible and give regular feedback so students can grow. Maybe I can torch this evening.

Meanwhile, the canines are barking at my neighbors, and it is time to bring them in!

In memoriam

I had to have Piglet, my handicapable Welsh Corgi, put to sleep this morning.

We had a scare in March, and I thought I'd lose him then. But he perked back up again. However, he's been sleeping and dozing more and more. He had a last good weekend while I was at the Charleston show, with Dogmaw's dogs, Ammie and Dozer. But by Saturday there was no way I could sit him that he wasn't inflaming a pressure sore, and he had picked up the worst case of maggots I had ever seen (and I've dealt with them before). The maggots just blossomed on Saturday, and I alternated between picking maggots and thinking about my syllabus. This had happened last year too, and I kept him dry--once the maggots are picked off (yes, ewwww!)he's fine, and they do debride any infected wounds. I planned to call the vet on Monday and get some antibiotics, and all would be well.

But the maggots kept multiplying; the two times he had them before I could remove them all in a few sessions with the clippers and haemostats. By Sunday afternoon they had moved into healthy skin, and started digging, and Piglet stopped being able to sit up on his own--I think he had a small stroke, for he just rolled over, always on the right side (that leg had been weak for a while). There were just too many problems, all at once, and he was no longer a happy dog.

So it was well time.

So he's back with his momma Eilonwy and sister Arrow in the corgipack, and he's running around with my mother and herding all of our past cats and anything else he can see.

The house seems very empty and VERY quiet.