Anna the dog

[NamPikToot]

She is cute, if she's that calm she may be a candidate to help Dan out with some of the acting duties, understudy if you will.

[Mendip]

^ That's a very good idea! Dan is nearly 14 and will have to think about retirement at some point.

If all goes well and she stays with us, Dan will probably be the main problem with integrating this little girl into the pack. Dan doesn't take well to other bitches whereas the three boys should be no problem at all.

Well... the two 'intact' ones will present their own problems of course...

[tomcat]

Well... the two 'intact' ones will present their own problems of course...

...indeed, the story of my dating life...

[Dillinger]

Dan is nearly 14 and will have to think about retirement at some point.

Marilyn it is then.



Nice to see her doing well good work.

[Mendip]

^ Nice pic, but that won't work mate... we've already got a chicken called Marion. That could get confusing.

[Mendip]

Today was as good as it gets in the puppy catching and rehoming game.

The five white puppies comprising the white mum's litter have almost definite homes. i was supposed to confirm gender, but the risk there is that after disturbing the litter too much, the mum may move them. So... after high level talks between meself and the gardener we decided to get them today. Three definite homes and two possible... have to go for it. A litter of five... we assumed 3 girls and 2 boys worst case... no-one wants the girls.

We waited until 10:20 when the daughter had a break in her online tuition, then off we went. In the gardener's van since my battery was flat... car not been used in a week during this lock down.

This is where the litter lives... those bright green leaves belong to the most God-awful thorn bushes I have ever been snagged on.



In we went... to be confronted by this.



Faark... this wasn't gonna be easy.

[Mendip]

Anyone who lives in Thailand will appreciate what this is like. The heat is so oppressive the sweat just pours off. I was absolutely fukked before we'd really got started. The thorns are absolute bastards and every time you move you get scratched, snagged and receive another splinter. After half an hour it was clear that this wouldn't be a quick operation. My daughter was due back home for her online Chinese class... but I thought it better for her to learn about saving puppies rather than caging, bludgeoning to death and eating them, so we all stayed to see the job through. Besides, she learnt a lot of new profanities, in Thai from the gardener and in English from me. I think she enjoyed it... official photographer and secateurs holder.



We had a breakthrough when the old crone living next to this thorn infested undergrowth started squawking to the gardener... she'd seen a puppy make a break for it which then just sat there in the open. Straight into the basket it went. One down... the remainder were a nightmare.

Here is an example of one capture...

You can see the bugger but just can't get there. Brambles, thorns, ants, and always wary that the pups will just scuttle off when you get close. When they get trapped in a dead end... then it's business.

Easy does it...



Tantalisingly close...



Got him! You gotta hold them tight or off they scuttle! Lock down moustache and beard, the least smelly T-shirt picked out of the washing basket this morning... that's what this isolation has done to me!



What a beauty, and as calm as anything! Maybe my new moustache frightened him!



After a while longer I caught one more... NPT, you will recognise a similarity with Yogi here. Yogi's dad is still roaming the area and obviously spreading his seed.



The gardener caught another, so that was four. Three boys and a girl, amazingly. The last pup was very difficult, mainly I think because he was so scared. I got my hand on him once but he wriggled away. The gardener also got a partial grip but got a nip for his effort and the pup escaped again. Eventually he went to ground and we just couldn't find him... yes, before getting bitten the gardener had confirmed another 'poo chai'. Four boys and a girl... bladdy unbelievably good luck, it usually goes the other way. The last litter was four girls and two boys.

So we went home to regroup. This didn't sit easy with me... ya can't leave one on it's own, but I was feeling faint from the heat and dehydration and me glasses were all wet with sweat and I couldn't see fuk all anyway.

So the four pups were brought home and Uncle Max welcomed them with great interest. He's been neutered and always shows a huge fondness for young puppies when they come to stay. Our two 'intact' boys not so.

[Mendip]

After lunch we left it a while, then went back to complete the unfinished business. I was hoping after a few hours the mum would have coaxed the pup back to the central area. And even writing that reminds me of how sorry I feel for the mum, losing her pups. But to get five off the street to good homes, there really is no choice. I do have regret though, poor thing.

Anyway, the wait produced results and when we returned the last puppy was back.



To cut a long story short we eventually trapped hm in a dead end and I pounced. He gave me a nasty little nip, but only because he was so frightened. I don't hold that against him, unless he has rabies in which case I'll be mightily pissed off!

And here he is, back home. Five out of five...what a result!



And a close up showing my puncture wound just below my index finger nail after he bit me... the bugger!



Five puppies in their new temporary home. Two boys together in the box...



And two more boys with their sister in the far corner... the only girl of the litter is centre of the pic, wedged in the corner, with the brown patch on her left eye.



Uncle Max was well happy!

[NamPikToot]

^ A great result again Mendip. Its weird how just the one pup came out Yogi ish. You've probably already thought of this but could you not take a sheppards crook or a bamboo pole with a slip knot to drag them nearer/out and or catch them.

[Mendip]

I have rarely seen a litter in such good condition. These puppies are only around six weeks old but big and fat... I guess the food we give the mum every night has paid dividends in the milk she's produced. I usually try and give them a wash when we get them home, but was too knackered today. I still wanted to get them out of the cage to apply flea powder and also to just show them how to lap milk and water, since these guys will only have fed from their mum's teats.

I also wanted them to tire themselves out running around the garden for a bit so they'll sleep tonight. Their cage is just underneath my bedroom window.

They all retreated to the far corner of the cage and I just couldn't reach. If ever you think the life of a puppy catcher and re-homer is easy... think again! I couldn't persuade the daughter to go in there, so what to do...







Do you ever have times when you think that your life hasn't turned out as you hoped...





I think I may have been crying here... nearly just stayed put...



But anyway... onwards and upwards! I eventually got meself out of there.



And it was all worth while. Look at this gorgeous little boy... my daughter's favourite!



And what better than to be dressed up in a towel while your brothers and sister are running around playing!



And good night guys! Their first ever sold food... it disappeared in seconds!



That's eleven puppies off the street and going to good homes in the last two weeks. To be honest I'm chuffed to fuk with that. With our little half starved puppy that turned up a couple of days ago, that makes twelve (if I can keep her)!

[Mendip]

^ A great result again Mendip. Its weird how just the one pup came out Yogi ish. You've probably already thought of this but could you not take a sheppards crook or a bamboo pole with a slip knot to drag them nearer/out and or catch them.

I haven't thought of that to be honest, but I think it's the way togo. The gardener is much more brutal then me when catching the puppies, but they seem to come to no harm. I'm just too soft with them.

As for the one Yogi-like pup, it just confirms for me that these litters can have multiple fathers. I've noticed it with many other litters as well. Yogi was the only one from his litter that looked remotely like 'Dad Yogi'.

[Neverna]

Good effort, Mendip! Well done.

The gardener caught another, so that was four. Three boys and a girl, amazingly. The last pup was very difficult, mainly I think because he was so scared. I got my hand on him once but he wriggled away. The gardener also got a partial grip but got a nip for his effort and the pup escaped again. Eventually he went to ground and we just couldn't find him... yes, before getting bitten the gardener had confirmed another 'poo chai'.

"Poo chai" usually refers to humans. For animals Thais usually use: dtua poo (ตัวผู้) for males and dtua mia (ตัวเมีย) for females. It's time your gardener did some online learning.

[Dillinger]

Nice looking pups.

where was the Mother during the dognapping?

Also, won't the still lactating Mother have a hormonal change and go straight back into heat after the trauma of losing her pups, much like Lionesses do when a new Lion comes along and kills or chases away the litter from the previous Lion?

By saving the whole litter and not getting the Mother spayed, surely you are actually increasing soi dog numbers up there and speeding up their birthrates?

[Mendip]

^ It's a difficult one... good points.

The mum was around and barked at us, but if I'd left it any longer the pups would get stronger and be impossible to catch, and the little nip I received would be a nasty bite. Also, within another month the mum would lose interest and the pups would start to starve without food handouts. I've seen whole litters die as adult dogs won't allow them food, and the pups are too afraid of humans to come close.

I've never known a lactating dog to come straight back into season, maybe that's just lions? Although in 6 to 8 months she surely will, along with her sister, the brown mum we took the six pups from. But they would anyway, without my intervention. In 6 to 8 months their female pups would also be mature and coming into season if they survived, and so it goes on.

It's not ideal... I just can't catch these two bitches for neutering, I wish I could. I have caught plenty of others and had them spayed. But at least doing this gets these pups off the street and gets the female puppies neutered.

I do feel very sorry for the mums though, but they're animals and bounce back fast. I think this is better than not acting, you have to have some compassion.

[tomcat]

It's not ideal... I just can't catch these two bitches for neutering, I wish I could. I have caught plenty of others and had them spayed. But at least doing this gets these pups off the street and gets the female puppies neutered.

...what's the cost of a neutering...assuming you're not doing it at home...

[Mendip]

^ 1000 Baht at a sypathetic vets so long as there's no overnight stays involved, although some 'posher' vets will charge up to 3000 Baht.

It's not the cost if neutering that's the problem, it's catching the damn things.

[Mendip]

It's busy here at the moment.

The litter of five spend their nights in the cage, and wreck it every night. For some strange reason Uncle Max jumped in to join them this morning. He loves puppies... it must be something to do with him being neutered. Maybe like the Eunuchs in the ancient Egyptian courts... I believe they were often used to look after children.



After getting Max out, an early morning pic... a more gorgeous litter you'd be hard pressed to find. Everyone on TeakDoor has missed out yet again, these are all going to the same home... a rice farm in Chaiyaphum. The wife came up trumps again and knows the son of the parents who work the farm. Nice people by all accounts... let's hope so. They'll be here until Sunday... just long enough for us to grow attached!



After a breakfast of chicken, beef mince sludge stuff and rice they spend the rest of the day wrecking the garden



Well... how do you wreck a lawn like that?

[Mendip]

Most of my work though is going into the starving puppy that turned up on Sunday, five days ago now.

She sleeps in the garage on her own to keep her away from our four resident adult dogs. She has a constant source of food in her Fray Bentos tin and Helge's viking helmet.

This morning something was different... she's usually hiding under the van when I go down to say good morning, but today she stayed in her box and, the photo doesn't really show it, but she was wagging her tail! The first time I've seen that tail wag since she arrived.



She spent yesterday out the front of our house, by the elephant chairs. I put her down there again, and her tail was still wagging!



Yesterday I started to introduce her to our dogs, one by one. She's not socialised at all and just looked at the ground and growled... obviously frightened of being attacked, which is probably all that she's been used to. Her growling in turn put our adult dogs on edge. So, slowly slowly...

Here she was with Max yesterday... looking at the ground and not interacting at all.



But then today I noticed her wagging her tail at one of the puppies and trying to make friends...



So I left them to it and carried on with stuff inside.

I went out later and she was gone... yesterday she didn't move an inch being too frightened to go investigating. I had a look for her and found her round the back, where our other dogs hang out. This was great news... she's finally finding some confidence.

My daughter was acting as chaperone while we introduced her to Tommy... and Yogi came to have a look.



Yogi had a good sniff... and she didn't growl! This was progress indeed.



The next challenge was the most important... Dan the matriarch needs to accept her or all is lost. So far so good. They were sitting by each other so I left them too it. I reckon this little girl will figure stuff out by her self.



Tonight she will sleep out the front in her box, beside the puppies. I can't trust letting her sleep with the adult dogs in the workshop yet, but I'm very optimistic she will be accepted and that will happen in a week or so.

She needs to learn that not every dog will attack her and not every human will shoo her away. She needs to know that it's OK to eat some food without another dog attacking her, and that other dogs can be friends, not only competitors. This will all take time. If she gets accepted she'll be bottom of the pack, but that's OK and how it works. Once she accepts that position she'll be safe.

In the meantime... the elephant in the house... will the Commandant give her go ahead and what will it cost...

[Headworx]

In the meantime... the elephant in the house... will the Commandant give her go ahead and what will it cost...

Just give her a slap on the bum, a wink, and tell her not to wear any rigging to bed tonight or you'll be ripping it off with your teeth.

[Loy Toy]

I remember the day I bought Bruno home to meet the 3 girls I have.

7 months old and he was already 3 times their size so they had no choice but to accept him.

[helge]

7 months old and he was already 3 times their size

If it was about size, Mendip wouldn't have problem

I'm looking forward to follow the newcomer's tale

[Mendip]

^ Tale or tail!



Boom boom!



A four weeks into isolation dog joke!

[Mendip]

Just give her a slap on the bum, a wink, and tell her not to wear any rigging to bed tonight or you'll be ripping it off with your teeth.

I'm gonna have to think hard about that...

[helge]

A four weeks into isolation dog joke!

Most people would have left it out

I did

You're done

[Mendip]

^ And I thought I was being clever...

That's a worry!