Stella Has Anxiety Attack 2nd Day In A Row

I am beginning to think the field across the highway will not be planted this year. I'd have to look back through my photos to see when the last time they did not plant anything.

I believe it's dry enough to get their equipment into that field but thunderstorms are forecasted for this afternoon. That will give me enough time to get all the outdoor stuff done and maybe even a short drive in the Z.

I was up way too early this morning, a few minutes after 5am. Instead of tv's and computers the past two days and nights, I've been reading books and that puts me in bed way before midnight. It's also nice to sleep all night instead of getting up numerous times. I know reading is much better than tv's and computers, especially before going to bed, yet I am also reading during the afternoons.

I stayed up this morning and woke the hounds up around 6am by just pouring their morning kibble into their stainless steel bowls ... they heard that behind a closed door and they were thrilled.

It looks like someone else is getting an early start on their day also.

To get you caught up and get my mind caught up, I guess I'll start with Wednesday morning. It was a 12 minute test for Stella and she failed again.

I was reading on the Z4 forum the other day that Country Mart gasoline was rated high and I have a station near me that I wanted to check out. This place has changed hands so many times that it may or may not have 91 octane gas. It was good to see they not only had 91 octane but with no ethanol.

So that was going to be my 12 minute test for Stella. Following my process of "lets she what she does in this situation" ... I did not close the window all the way but left a small window fan that goes across the width of the window and is locked in by the window frame sliding down on top of the fan.

Thinking now, I could have slid the storm window down behind it since it was just a test but I didn't think of that yesterday, so the window screen was behind the fan.

It was good to see as I drove up the driveway that Stella was nowhere to be seen. :)  I wanted to see what she had done so I walked around to the window to look in from the outside ... screen complete gone!!!! No fan visible. She stood on her back legs to look out the window at me so I could tell there was no way she could get out the window.

She tried to move the bed but I had blocked it with my locker full of camping stuff that sits about bed frame high. Otherwise she would have gotten out of the window again by getting on the bed.

The fan was okay but she had tore that out of the window. Then with her front paws had tore out the screened window all the way but the frame stayed inside the storm window this time.

I was not happy with her results. She had been great for 3 months when I was gone and even on Monday when I was gone for 4 hours. So, the only thing that has changed in our routine or life ... it has to be the new car.

How could that be? Contessa told me her two dogs can tell a difference in which car they are taking so it might be the sound of the car that is upsetting her.

I had an appointment in the afternoon and by the time I drove to and from, sat through the appointment, I was going to be gone almost 3 hours. That had "disaster" written all over it. Too hot to take her with me and leave her in the car even with the windows cracked open a few inches. It was 83°

So to see if it was the car ... before I left I shut both windows all the way, turned on the A/C for them. Then took the FJ to town and back. No damage. Then took the Z4 to town and back. No damage. Yet, the windows were closed completely.

I returned that afternoon a little over 2 hours. There wasn't any damage but the windows were closed. Last night I took a drive for about 45 minutes, leaving her in the same set up ... windows closed, bed blocked ... no damage.

So maybe ... just maybe ... she is back to being okay with me being gone. In the meantime I'll take a short drive today before it rains to see what she does. I have let the car idle with Stella outside so she can hear the sound. She just sat there staring at me and staring at the car with her eyes barely open.

I might have found though where all of this separation anxiety came from last night when I was talking to the original owner of Stella. The story about her background kind of changed a little from what I was told when I picked her up which to shows me how all this anxiety started.

The family moved from a farm to the city. I knew that but what I did not know, was there was a period of a year that Stella was left with a relative until they could find a house with a big backyard. She had lost her owner. I did not ask how often she went back to visit Stella.

Then a year later the original owner picks her up and takes her to the city with a fenced in yard ... but since she is an expert in escaping ... that is all she did every time they left her in the backyard while they were gone ... she escaped and tormented the neighbors.

Then Stella is given to a new owner that lives on a large farm, which is where I picked her up 7 months after she moves there, on August 30, 2015. So, in 6 years of her life she had moved 4 times and had 4 owners counting me. Seems obvious why she has separation anxiety doesn't it???

By yesterday afternoon Heidi was wanting to go on a walk again. She sprinted toward the field so fast I could barely catch her with the camera. From the very beginning the bugs, flies, gnats were out in full force ... simply miserable.

Let's just say that we didn't make it far on this walk before turning around and going back home. I wussed out. When I saw this bird jump from the tall grass in front of Sadie I thought there might be issues but nothing happened.

Heidi is off to a good start but the flies are bothering her along the way. Is it me or does it look like she has gained a little weight?

At this point in time, Heidi stops and doesn't move. I'm not sure what's going on and by the time I walk back to her, she turns and starts trotting for the house. That is when I decided we all go back together.

A few hours later, Sadie is still wanting to finish the walk so we decide to take an early evening walk. Heidi had a huge red rash on her stomach and legs ... her skin has really been looking better recently. When she didn't get off the couch but rolled onto her back to show me her stomach ... I'm serious ... the bloodhounds and I decided we would get the walk in.

Another day of walking in that tall grass and I found zero ticks on the hounds but I had a couple to pull off of me. So for a month the ticks disappeared from the hounds after giving them NexGard.

Since Stella was woke up about an hour earlier than her normal time, she was tired and not interested in getting any further away than the corner of the FJ. Her routine was off and she was more than happy to go back inside and continue her morning sleep.

All the storms are coming from the west and should be here later this afternoon but this was a morning photo looking NE. Maybe the storms will do their normal split at the state line and miss me by following the Ohio River and I-70. I can dream can't I?

It's hard for me to blog just a few days a week ... too many photos and too many stories.

Sunny this morning in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Heidi Comes To Get Me To Walk

After going to the door or coming to get me to let her out the door during Tuesday afternoon, it was a pleasant shock that around 6:40pm she came to my computer desk and kept bothering me ... I finally realized for the 4th time in the afternoon she wanted to go outside again.

Only this time she wanted to walk in the field for the first time in a month or so. That only happened after I would put her collar on with the leash and then lead her to the field to walk leash free.

Today was different. She headed directly to the field and didn't stop. At times the pace was slow with her leading and if I tried to walk around her she would run fast enough to stay ahead of me. I have no idea why she is feeling better or acting this way but I'm happy I am seeing her with more energy.

Sadie and Stella have been in their own little world today and one that I am thrilled about. It hasn't been a good day between me and them. I focused more on Heidi's walk and let them do what ever they wanted.

At this point in the walk I am still trying to figure out what made Heidi so motivated to get outside 4 different times this afternoon and go directly on the walk during that 4th time. The other 3 times she spent time by herself laying in the sunshine.

Sadie sprinted up to the first turn to join us but no sign of Stella.

Like Winston use to ... Heidi continues but only at her pace.

Any more air under that left ear and she might have gotten airborne.

Has to stop mid walk to get the fly off of her ... she hates flies and will chase them if she can see them, inside or out.

Looking back and over to my left ... there is no sign of Stella.

Then as I am taking this photo of who I think is Sadie ... that black in her tail proves it's Stella ... but where did she come from? I never saw her.

No matter what the bloodhounds are doing, Heidi walks non-stop at her pace, sniffing all the scents along the way.

It looks like rain is coming from the west ... but the radar disagrees.

Sadie and Stella decided to join us after we are almost home. Then disappeared again ... their theme of the day.

I had to look more than a few times at this photo but eventually saw Heidi ... can you?

By the time she hit the yard it was a quick trot to the house ... walk over ... a little water and back to sleep on the couch.

By Tuesday night we were prepared for 50% chance of rain every day from Tuesday night until Sunday. Do you like how I matched the house trim color to the car cover?  :)

Back to reading books here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Stella Escapes

It started like all the other days, nothing out of the norm. With rain predicted from Wednesday thru Saturday, I decided I was going to take my new toy out for a drive this morning plus stop for some fruit and veggies on the way back.

What I shock I was in for.

All the Kong balls and Kong bones are filled with treats, Heidi had run of the house while the two trouble makers get to stay together in the bedroom with the door shut. It was time for a road trip.

The sunshine was bright, the engine on the new toy was idling quiet, as I waited for the convertible top to open ... it was looking like a great morning for my 40 mile loop through the country, one that I use to drive when I had my other Z4.

I've had hounds for 29 straight years and I've never seen anything like it. Luckily no harm done, Stella is fine but you are not going to believe this story. I still can't believe it although after her anxiety attack last November when I was gone 12 hours, I thought there was a possibility ... a WILD possibility of this happening.

I always leave Sadie and Stella shut in the bedroom. Heidi gets the run of the house for her own protection. I caught both of them tormenting her once when I made a quick trip to the library and back. Why the bedroom and not some other room???  There is nothing in the bedroom that would bother me if it were totally destroyed. After what I saw last November when I was gone too long, total destruction by Stella is possible.

The other rooms have computers, tv's stereos, cameras, furniture and food ... all the important stuff in life. Clothes, bed and dresser can be replaced. I was gone over 4 hours Monday with zero damage. Plus, she has had months of a "hot streak" where nothing was damaged and there were no attempts of trying to dig her way out of the room.

I have two small windows in that bedroom where the window sill is 3'8" above the floor. Since one of those windows is above my bed and I don't want her jumping out of that window, I close all but 2" to let the air flow. My floor is hardwood, the bed frame has rollers that sit on rubber stops to prevent it from moving.

This time of year I have all my windows open with screens on the bottom half of the window. Those screens have two metal sliders that lock it into the storm window frames ... very hard to get out. The screen size is 16-1/2" tall and 33" wide.

Do you get the picture?

I leave this morning around 10:15am and return at 12:40pm, gone almost 2-1/2 hours. As I pull up to the house at the top of the driveway, Stella is sitting by the FJ with her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. She is hot because it's 80° or she has been running around looking for me ... or both ... but more than likely just sitting in the sun waiting for my return.

I don't know how long she was outside. I don't know where she went, even if she went anywhere outside the yard. I immediately glanced at the door and it's closed. I was pretty sure how she got out ... the WILD possibility had actually happened.

She had slide the bed still on those rubber stoppers over by the open window. While standing on the bed, she tore a hole in the screen probably 3"-4" in diameter. I had expected to see the whole screen tore out but instead she had gotten the screen out of the storm window even though it was locked in by two sliders. It was laying on the floor.

The corner of the bed had embedded paw prints but must have slide some away from the window when she jumped. I found the corner of the bed 3' from the wall at an angle. I don't know how long she was outside. I don't know where she went, even if she went anywhere.

The window space she crawled through is 16-1/2" tall, 33" wide. Her chest is approximately 13" deep. The window sill is 3'8" above the floor. Once out the window she was almost 5' above ground level.

I was thrilled, shocked, and confused when I saw her sitting there. With a high speed highway 100' down the hill, bad things are waiting to happen when hounds or any dogs are running loose in this neighborhood.

Needless to say she was happy to see it was me getting out of the car. I guess from now on that 2nd window will have to be closed down to the last 2" so they have air flow.

After all the excitement and then fed lunch, Heidi decided to spend time by herself in one of her favorite sun locations while the bloodhounds slept. I found a spare screen window to use until I replace the screen in the other window.

I grabbed my three books I got from the library Monday and spent the afternoon reading while all the hounds slept.

Never a dull moment with the hounds here in 'the tropics" of Southern Indiana.