Sebastian: My Life as a Doodle

Doodle on Patrol
Thurs, Apr 5, 2007 13:30

Well, it’s definitely true that Doods are a constant source of surprise! After nearly 5 years, Sebastian has developed a new skill.

We normally live in San Francisco and our house has a very small back yard. But, for the last few months, we’ve taken a winter house in Palm Springs, in the southern California desert. The place has a huge yard, with pool, surrounded by a 6 ft. block wall and a thick, 10ft. fichus hedge.

Sebastian has taken to patrolling the perimeter of the grounds, every evening, for nearly 2 hours. He paces around and around, carefully inspecting the top of the wall and pausing, every few feet, to thrust his head into the hedge and sniff.

Occasionally, if an unfortunate cat or bird should intrude, he goes into fits of barking and leaping.There is one cat, obviously a neighbors’, who takes great joy in sitting on the top of the wall and taunting poor Sebastian. Our Dood will do GIANT leaps, just barely missing the cat’s dangling tail, while the evil creature sits and smirks.

None of the usual inducements will deter Sebastian from his rounds. Treats are ignored. His cherished “blue ball,” (which, with Doodle Logic, is actually red . . . the real blue ball disappeared some time ago), goes unnoticed.

At first, we were worried that this was excessive behavior, perhaps motivated by boredom or by the high temperatures, during the day. But, when Sebastian finally returns from these duties, he always has an incredible smile on his face. We now think that he has a real chore to perform and takes great pride in being productive!

By the way, Sebastian has also discovered that sliding screen doors are a real menace to Doodles. Having never encountered one before, he hit one, at full speed, and went right through it. He was unhurt, but milked the incident for sympathy, for at least a half hour!

Anyone else have a “Doodle on Patrol”?

Please! Someone tell me NOT TO YELL at Sebastian!
Thurs, Nov 23, 2006 11:13

Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans!

I'm looking for some positive reinforcement here . . . This is the story.

We are having 10 relatives to our home, for Thanksgiving meal, and have been working for 3 days to clean the house and have everything ready. (Most of my aunts are in their 80's or 90', so they're not up to doing a big gathering themselves).

Yesterday, Sebastian and I ran all the errands - picking up our fresh Turkey, doing the shopping, running by Honey Baked Ham to get a pre-done ham, and so forth.

OK. This morning, when we woke up, we discovered the entire kitchen full of runny dog poop - a first - and Sebastian hiding in the bathtub. We were very worried, giving him yogurt to settle his stomach and lots of sympathy.

Just now, I took the Honey Baked Ham out of the fridge. When I unwrapped the bag, what do you think I found? There were only 2 pounds of a 12 pound ham left. The little brat had eaten the entire thing, when it was in the back of the Jeep yesterday.

I'm so mad that I want to yell at him for days, but I'm not sure he'd even remember what he did, at this point.

Anyone know how to stretch stuffing?

Happy Thanksgiving :(

A Serious Tribute
Never Posted to Chat

I’ve been debating about sharing this story with you, for over 4 months, and finally decided that, since EVERYTHING IS FINE NOW, our “extended Doodle family” may find inspiration and warmth in the incredible details. It is a serious story, so I apologize if it’s not in keeping with the lighter tone of Chit Chat.

We’ve known, of course, that our Sebastian is so very important in our lives but now realize that he may have joined our family for a larger purpose, as well.

It was 6:30am, on a Monday morning, last November. Scot was upstairs, making coffee, and I was in the shower, preparing for work, when I heard a big crash from the kitchen. I chuckled a bit, thinking I would finish my shower and then go upstairs to give Scot a hard time about dropping the coffee pot, or whatever other clumsiness he had experienced.

Within seconds, though, Sebastian started barking. He IS a bit of a barker, but there was something about this bark. I can’t really describe it, except to say that there was a tone of PANIC in his voice. He was clearly frantic, imploring . . . something I’d absolutely never, never heard before.

That bark made me throw on a robe and rush upstairs. Scot was lying on the floor, with no pulse and not breathing. Sebastian was standing over him, howling.

I’m not trained in CPR, but have watched enough TV to make a try at it. So, I started the process while dialing “911.” The paramedics arrived quickly, but it took 9 shocks to get his heart started again – 8 in the kitchen and another in the front garden, when he went back into cardiac arrest again while they were carrying him to the ambulance.

It turned out that Scot had a complete blockage of his right coronary artery and had surgery within an hour of the incident. (We live 2 blocks from one of the best coronary care hospitals in the US). He spent a week in ICU, but is 100% recovered now, with no ill after effects. We were partying on the beach, in Mexico, a few weeks later.

What was so shocking about all this is the Scot is only 37. Other than smoking, he has no risk factors . . . He’s been in prefect health - not overweight, has good blood pressure, doesn’t use drugs, eats well, etc. He’d had a top-notch physical 8 months earlier. There were no warning signs at all. Doctors speculate that there may have been a hereditary factor.

We are absolutely convinced that Scot owes his life to Sebastian. Had it not been for that panicked barking, I would have finished my shower and it would have been too late.

I guess there are a few messages here . . . Incredible thanks to the Australian breeders for creating these smart, intuitive creatures . . . the thought that dogs often bark for a reason and maybe we should listen to them . . . a reinforcement of the cliché that love given is love returned.

Thank you, Sebastian.

Here's what DIDN'T Work (LOL!)
Wed, Mar 15, 2006 11:23

Sebastian is a perfect dog, except for this barking thing.

We were told that we should train him by isolating him every time he barks. The trainer suggested putting him into a closet, (an uninteresting place), with the door closed and lights out, and the "no bark" command. Instead, we use the little toilet room, for the same purpose, as our closets are too full.

Anyway, here was the result. When Sebastian barks, and we say "NO BARK," he now runs immediately to the toilet and sits down. Sometimes, he will bark and then run to the toilet room on his own. It doesn't stop him from barking, though. All it does is make us laugh.

So, good luck! You might want to try the isolation thing, to see if it might work for you!