Stella Passes Her Last Test

It was earlier than I wanted it to be for a Saturday morning but it seems to be the norm lately ... woken at 5:30am by one or more of the hounds wanting to go outside. Of course since I am the designated doorman for them, they have to wake me up. This time, as I found out after it happened, a large bloodhound paw stepped on my ankle ... that woke me up.

By the time I had figured out what was going on ... one certain bloodhound was standing over me and staring down at me inches from my face. What??? Stella had jumped up on the bed, stepping on my ankle, and I guess needed to get outside pretty quick. It wasn't just her. She had also woken the other 3 hounds and now it was a joint effort ... it was time to get up with the clock saying 5:18am.


Outside we went ... it is beautiful that time of day, only today there was a slight drizzle. That's hard for me to say being a lifetime "night person". Yes, once again Stella goes sprinting into the field, as does Sadie. Heidi heads for her spot in front and Winston has his in the back. This wasn't the test that Stella passed, she already had yesterday by coming back to the house when she was finished, instead of running away following her nose.

No, today her final test was ... THUNDER.

Later Saturday Afternoon - Sun Is Out

That was part of her bio when I decided to bring her home to "the tropics". She had separation anxiety and was afraid of thunder. Well this morning not soon after the first cup of coffee was started, a nice loud piece of thunder passed through a little before 6:30am. My very first basset hound, Harry, was terrified of thunder and storms so I know what the worst looks like.

Stella didn't even pant in fear. She didn't whine, She didn't sprint all over the house trying to find a place to get out. She laid down behind my desk chair like she does every time I am on the computer (too much lately) and went to sleep.

There were more claps of thunder, some of it just faintly rolling in the background, but the loudest noise in the house at that time was Stella's stomach was growling as if she needed to be fed 7 hours early.

Stella and Winston found the wet tall grass very tasty so they added some to their diet for the day. The only thing Sadie wanted to do was get back inside the house. She wasn't interested in the dark overcast skies.

Sadie In The Lead

As far as the separation anxiety, I also have seen the extreme side of that when Sadie was a puppy. Stella shows none of those extremes while I have been gone. Of course she is now in a good sized room with three other hounds that are all free to walk, lay, sleep where they want, as is Stella. That probably makes a huge difference in her history of having separation anxiety.

It's another weekend full of college and pro football. The rain is scheduled for this morning but I can also see we are not getting much rain, nothing like the radar shows. That rain will be gone by late morning with a clear day afterword.

Here are some photos taken later Saturday afternoon as we took a break from football between games and prepared for the the daily dog walk.

Heidi is showing more energy lately. That's a good sign that she is feeling better. I have to thank a blog reader along with a local friend, both suggesting soaking Heidi in Epsom Salts for her skin issues.

Winston was back to his old self by last night. He wanted up on the couch and slept most of the night next to Stella and I while I watched a college football game and the Reds baseball game in Milwaukee.

Sadie is just Sadie. She spends most of her time at night in two different places. She either sleeps under the coffee table or takes the "big man's" chair. One thing I have noticed these past three weeks since I changed her dog food ... she no longer comes to get me, frantic to get outside ... frantic is the correct word to use. She would then sprint to the field and start chewing grass, or hay. I can only think it had something to do with the food I was feeding her before this month.

Reading some other blogs, some are seeing snow in the mountains, some are wrapping up their travel plans for the winter and have set their departure dates while others are stationary but have the ability to change locations since their homes are RVs. It will be interesting to see if the El Nino forecast will be accurate.

We will enjoy the next ten days or so with highs in the upper 70's, maybe a couple days in the low 80's ... that's some nice weather and the good thing is, it is just outside the door. I would be willing to trade a mountain for that corn field across the highway though.

That's about all that took place from "the tropics" of Southern Indiana on Saturday.

A Low Energy Day - Winston's Belly Ache

He's Not Feeling Well Today

I woke up in the dark to the sound of a dog vomiting, never a good thing but that's part of hound dogs ownership. I was hoping I could step out of bed, hit the light switch on the wall without stepping in it. It was a success. Sorry to gross you out so fast on this post. It was Winston. Nothing major, no mucus, no blood, just his lunch from the previous day ... and thankfully strange ... no smell.

An no, the hounds don't chew every piece of kibble. :)

So at 5:35am, we all cruised outside to a cool breeze, no stars in the sky and dark. Stella passed a major test at this time. Not really thinking and still somewhat asleep, I went back inside to clean up the mess (Bounty Towels are the best) and failed to put Stella on the tether. She was free to do roam outside wherever she wanted ... in the dark. All three hounds normally go out just long enough to dump their tanks on their first trip of the day.

Stella was great though and by the time I finished the clean up inside, Stella and Sadie were standing at the door outside looking inside. Winston was right behind them. .... Heidi??? You should know by now that Heidi isn't getting up at 5:35am for nobody, nor for any reason. She loves to sleep late.

As it has happened a lot since getting Stella not quite 3 weeks ago, I've been staying up after they go outside, even when it's 5:45am at times. Coffee works soon after so all is good.

With the morning being overcast with a feel of rain in the air, the hounds didn't do much when they went outside for their daylight trip. Winston of course was moving slow but seemed okay. Once it was nearing lunch time, Sadie made sure I was aware it was after 1pm and Heidi was right there behind her barking for food. It's amazing how energetic she can be when any kind of food is involved.

Stella and Winston Planning Their Day

Back At The Scene Of Yesterday's Crime

Check To See If I Can See Her - Wanting To Roll On The Ground Again - Didn't Happen

No playing today among the hounds. After sleeping most of the morning, once the sun came out and they were fed, they still did not have a lot of energy. As you can see from the photos there wasn't a lot going on with them. Heidi in fact only came out long enough to pee and then sprinted for the house, I guess she wasn't in the mood for getting her picture taken today. After all, she was actually laying the grass in the backyard yesterday, what more should I expect.

Still Under The Weather at 1:30PM

I Think We Declare That's Stella's Spot

A Little Bit Of Sun Will Get Him Feeling Better

I am trying something else for Heidi's skin condition. I know looking back through this blog we have tried different things over the past year, along with vet treatments and none of them have really worked. Based on some recommendations I am trying some new Probiotics for Heidi. The information says it will take almost 5 weeks before any noticeable changes will take place. 100% Money Back Guarantee, NO FISH this time, and so far after two half doses to start ... no signs of any diarrhea, like the Seacure gave her.

I guess we will see how she is looking around the end of October for some major progress. A friend of mine with a past working experience in the medical field and has rescued a lot of dogs/cats etc thinks this will be very good for her. She is feeling better though the past few days. Yesterday she went outside every time the other hounds did, which she hasn't done in a very long time.

Heidi's Epsom Salt soaks will continue, in fact one is planned for either later today or early Saturday morning.

Winston had his lunch and guzzled a lot of filtered water ... no issues and has been "sleeping it off" most of the day. In fact all four hounds have been "sleeping it off" every since they had lunch. What a life eh?

Here Winston, Sadie and Stella are enjoying some after lunch sunshine.

I am sitting on my couch last night enjoying the NFL game when my iPhone beeps with a message that someone has left a comment on my blog. If you remember I changed the comment setting for ALL readers to comment just yesterday.

THEY DIDN'T WAIT LONG ... to get back to spamming me. I read the poorly written english email that is the comment and toward the end of the email was a link to an Arabic website that I did NOT open. At the next commercial during the game I went to the computer, opened up my blog settings and changed it back to NO Anonymous commenters.

The comment was in the Spam Folder of Comments on the Blogger Dashboard, so Blogger worked correctly.

CAMERA NEWS: I know it's only been a few days ago since I did the Firmware update and an update for the Lenses ... but so far every time I wanted to take a photo, the camera has worked without any problems. It didn't matter if it was daytime, nighttime, low light, sunshine or shadows ... it is working perfectly. (Knock on wood). Thanks to Flowergirl for the suggestion of updating the firmware.

Winston is back to normal as I finish this post. He just had some filtered water, wagged his tail when I asked him if he wanted to go outside, came back inside rolled onto his back and growled to himself ... so all seems good in Winston's World.

It's another lazy day here in "the tropics" ... not a lot going on.

Some Answers To Email Questions

Last night sometime I thought I'd write today's post with all the answers I promised yesterday, in advance. I started writing on Microsoft Word but it became so detailed with a lot of repeated information from past blog posts that it ended up being 7 pages long and over 3,000 words.

Much too large to post as a blog. I hope today's writing will be shorter, but you know how it is when I start rambling.



I have changed the comment setting so anonymous readers can comment now. Due to all the spam I turned that option off months ago but will now monitor comments on posts over 7 days old. So comment away.

Winston Acting As Referee

Short Rest Period

Back At It After A Short Break

This morning I thought I'd answer a lot of those questions asked in the many emails I've been getting recently about the blog. Some of this will explain what the plans are for the regular blog readers that don't know the history of the blog. I am going to try to explain in outline format. I am also going to include photos of the hounds today like usual but keep in mind that my blog post today is mostly about the "whys" and "RVs", so the photos will have nothing to do with the subject matter.

I might have to write this in bits and pieces today because Sadie has started the day off by rolling in something in the field around 7:30am that really stinks!!! You know, the bloodhound that hates having her nails trimmed and even hates the word "bath" more than anything. They found something here but when I looked around that area, I saw nothing nor smelled anything.

Unless I can find a solution on the internet, she will be getting a bath outside later today when it's sunny and in the 80's. I can tell today could be really interesting. I need more coffee first.

Here are some of the questions I've been receiving by email. Some I answered by replying to their email but there got to be so many emails I decided to post the answers in a blog post.

1. What happened to your RV plans and traveling?

Really nothing has changed except the season. If you look on the blog archive on the right sidebar, each period of the year has very similar actions. I really like the fall in "the tropics" therefore the urge to travel is very small if any at all. So it's just that time of year right now.

The new bloodhound that brings the hound total to four has nothing to do with lack of travel plans or travel posts. Over the past four years of reading forums, reading blogs, looking at RVs, sitting in and test driving RVs and even buying a Class C so it could sit for the winter ... I realized some things:

• The best travel for the hounds and I would be in a Class A with slides.
• To buy a Class A I would have to sell my house.
• A Class A with a toad is not possible with either of the two vehicles I have and like.
• The Mini Cooper is an automatic so it would need to be towed in a trailer.
• The Toyota FJ is an automatic and still cannot be towed wheels down as a manual.
• I prefer to be off the grid as much as possible w/solar power.
• I'm not a fan of staying in RV parks or campgrounds.
• I want to go where a Class A, a Class C and even a trailer at times cannot go.
• The FJ limits my trailer size to small and smaller.
• I'd prefer a bare bones designed 6x12 cargo trailer to be used more as a hard shell tent rather than a customized trailer.
• I have no plans to trade or sell the Toyota FJ
• I can still travel with 4 hounds like I did with 3 hounds in June 2015.

As you know I was about to leave again last July when Heidi had blood in her stool on the morning I was headed to REI to buy a roof top carrier for more storage that would free up space in the back of the FJ. It wasn't her skin the vet was concerned about but her loss of weight in the last 9-10 months of 12-13 lbs and 7 of those lost were after April. She wanted me to keep Heidi at home to observe for 30 days. The blood tests showed nothing was wrong. Was it stress?

During that first week of waiting I came down with some severe off and on tooth/jaw pain, that later resulted in a root canal and a crown. Also forest fires started around that time at Glacier NP, the place we were heading. After that the whole west, including Seattle was facing 100° temps on a daily basis. Needless to say, my urge to travel in August disappeared, the AC was feeling pretty good here in "the tropics" ... the hounds had no complaints.

I also found during the month of June and early July as I was completing my house "to do" list, it was a house that I wanted to keep instead of sell and relocate. A four year watchful eye on real estate prices, plus email notices when houses were available in my price range also played a factor in the decision not to sell. I am at the point in my life I am use to not having a mortgage and don't really want one.

I lived 10 years across the street from the beach in southern California and another 10 years in the beautiful land of the San Juan Islands NW of Seattle. Add in a ski season in Breckenridge CO .. all those locations gave me a taste of living out west.

I miss the mountains so close to where I lived in Whidbey Island, along with the water just a few blocks away. I don't miss the rain though. There are many things I love about the west in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado and that's why it's so tempting to move every year.

I still have plans to travel, even with 4 hounds this time. That traveling might not take place until the temps drop to the 30's here in "the tropics" and for sure it will not happen until Heidi is in better physical shape with her skin issues and gains her weight back.

2. WHY did you get another dog???   (very very popular question these past 18 days)

Before deciding to go get Stella I asked myself a million times WHY do I want another dog? Some friends said I was crazy ... others would say "two bloodhounds?" and then go into hysterical laughter.

• She needed a home.
• She needed someone that was familiar with the bloodhound breed ... I am.
• I could guarantee that she would never end up in a shelter ... ever.
• I had been wanting another hound for Sadie, one that was her size, her personality ... one basset was too small and the other too old to fill that position.
• I know I can still travel with 4 hounds instead of 3. She loves to ride and is laid back.

3.  Will this blog ever be about RVing and Travel or is it going to be just about your hounds?

• From Day 1 in October 2011 the blog has been about RVs and Hounds
• I wrote about everything I found with different RVs I had looked at.
• I wrote about the short trip we traveled in June 2015 and the trip in September 2013.
• The current domain has been renewed and will stay the same.
• The blog title will stay the same and the word RV will not be taken off.
• When I am at home, the blog will be like it has been recently and in the past.
• When I travel I will blog and post photos of those times, although it might depend on internet access for when I can publish those blog posts with photos.

I am sure I've lost a few readers recently when I started blogging about pulling weeds in the driveway and a lot of daily photos of the hounds that are taken no further than the backyard. I've gained some new regular readers because they love the hounds, their photos and even what they are doing every day. Some probably left when they thought I wasn't serious about traveling.

All of that is okay. I have also left blogs that left me bored or from a lack of interest.

I started this blog as a journal to document what I found in my RV and RV lifestyle research. I had no idea I would have people interested in that. I wasn't planning on a lot of traffic or a list of followers. It was basically started as a reference point for my fading memory. Later on I could document my travels online instead of a hand written journal like I did in 1976 riding my bicycle cross country.

Over time I have built up a few informative posts about different RVs, and trailers I had looked at. I documented and photographed my repair on the Class C that was just sitting here in the backyard when oil started leaking like the fountain of youth.

After 4 years and 200,000 page views, which really isn't many compared to other bloggers, the #1 topic or subject searched and the largest number of visits to this blog are people looking for information on the Lil Snoozy Trailer that I almost bought in September of 2013. No other topic even comes a close second. That's another reason I keep the "RV" in the domain and blog title ... an RV reference.

I've spilled my guts at times about what I was thinking, thus sending some regular readers on a roller coaster of shock and awe .... with the number of times I had changed my mind about rigs or plans. In all of that rambling, a few have emailed thanking me for answering some questions they had. It's pure insanity but this blog has helped a few with information or photos of what they were looking for online.

A Breakfast Of Dirt

What Is That I Smell ... I Think I'll Go Roll In It

Summary

I'll continue to blog about what is happening at the time I am writing. Just like life, things are in constant change and so is the direction of any blog I guess. I really enjoy taking photos of things I am blogging about.

As far as traveling ... I think I have learned some of the following things during the last 4 years:

• I like the "comforts" of home maybe more than the "hassles" of traveling. 
• I like the planning and driving more than "sitting" somewhere. 
• I love the scenery out west along with the Fall and Spring in "the tropics"
• Long hot showers at home are better than a shower with a baby wipe or wash cloth.
• Although the hounds most likely only want food, some activity and companionship with their owner.
• They sure seem to enjoy laying on their couch or bed more than in a Class C or a tent. Who knows? Maybe they really don't care either way.
• All I know, are the sounds I heard them making as we were driving up the driveway in June 2015 after traveling for only a week. 
• Or the way they acted when I opened the door of the house ... it sure did look like they did care where they were.
• My hounds drink a LOT of water in a day. I'd have to carry a ton of it to boondock more than a week, including the water for me.
• The urge to travel will never leave me alone.
• With me it IS a seasonal urge.
• It could turn into something longer or permanent in the future depending what life brings.
• If I never traveled a single mile due to bad health ... I'd still be happy with the places I've been and the things I've done. If it ended tomorrow I'd have no regrets.
• I don't expect any kind of large amounts of money to drop in my lap.
• I can afford one or the other but not both.  (RV or House)
• I can afford the house and a small trailer though.
• Big rigs cost more to use and more to repair ... money that I don't have for that.
• Unless I would sell my house.
• I am a sports addict and love football and college basketball 
• Those are not the reasons I am housebound ... really.
• I could watch as many games with a portable Directv dish or even now on my computer, anywhere anytime when traveling.
• I have wondered at times if all of this started because I read about Glenn (tosimplify.net) on Yahoo Business one Friday at work when I was bored out of my mind. 
• Was "dreaming" of traveling full-time just a way of escaping a job that I was beginning to dislike more and more each day?

I'm done for today. This is too long but should give those that asked questions some answers, those that were wondering some answers and some a confirmation of what they were thinking.

Now, to the internet to find the easiest way to get that smell off of Sadie or what to bathe her in that will work .... she simply stinks right now!!!  LOL

The Hounds Get Their Food Supply Restocked

After seeing the change in Winston and Sadie's coat, no itching and a lot less shedding ... I bought another 33# bag of Fromm Senior & Reduced Activity (non affiliate link) dog food today. With traffic, a stop to refill the Mini Cooper S with fuel and the distance, it was almost two hours round trip. By the time I returned home the hounds were anxious to eat. Stella had made no attempts to escape the bedroom but I did see where she stood on her back legs to see out the windows.

When I made the switch to this Fromm food eighteen days ago, I was wanting to change the food of Winston and Sadie to a lower fat or what most companies call a "Senior" blend. Sadie needs to lose some weight and I thought feeling her this food instead of cutting her portions of the other food would work out better.

This summer, along with a lot of other bloodhound owners, there has been more shedding than normal. I just figured it was the extreme heat. Winston was shedding more than normal also and both hounds were itching more than they had previously. With half a bag gone I started noticing that Sadie was no longer sprinting outside at 10pm every night to eat grass. Neither hound was itching as much if at all and my vacuum was showing a lot less shedding was taking place.

Stella arrived a few days after I started this food. She had and still has a great coat, no shedding and made the immediate switch to the Fromm food from her previous food without any digestion issues.

This morning I was close to moving to the Earthborn Weight Management food since Heidi is having great results on their Meadow Prairie blend but when you are feeding around 80# of dog food a month, a difference of 5# in bag size makes a big difference. Fromm has a 33# bag, Earthborn's largest bag is 28#. I'll do a little more cost analysis later to find out which is the best deal. Both foods are great dog food. Both companies use USA ingredients and is produced at their own plants.

With a short trip outside this morning, my trip to Bloomington to buy food and a siesta for all of us this afternoon ... not a lot got done. Nor was anything planned but restocking their food supply. It was a successful day in the life of a retiree.

Sadie

Stella must like the Fromm food a lot with Duck being the #1 ingredient because she still is trying to "flip up" and open a locked lid on the dog food container. She finds it hard to understand her failed attempts, but she is persistent.

Stella

After downloading the photos after taking them this morning I noticed that Heidi's front paws hasn't looked this good since last December. Even her rear legs were not red and I still can see hair coming in thicker on places the vet said not to expect any hair to come back. She is on her 8th day where the food #1 ingredient is Lamb after switching it from Bison. Both blends worked well but I have to wonder if the change in the protein source is the cause for improvement. She has not had any Epsom Salt soaks in the tub this week.

If you remember or you can see past photos under the label on the right called "Heidi's Treatment", that part of her shoulder in back where the white hair is growing back was almost all raw skin and at times had the "elephant skin" look to it.

Also her legs and paws were red, inflamed and at times chewed raw. It might be just one of her better days but at least I will be able to tell what may make it flare back up.

Winston still continues to stretch his diet by eating that fine grade dirt from what the moles push up through the grass. I'm not sure what the attraction is but if he likes it that much, he's been doing it for weeks, I'm not going to stop him. In the photo below you can see some of the dirt residue under his nose.

The hounds played a little this morning when they first went out but nothing like Monday where they were doing all out sprints in the field. At 6 and 7 years old they may have over extended themselves in the aerobic department.

It was a pretty laid back day here in "the tropics" ... just the way we like them.

Stella

Sadie

Sadie

I think it shows that Stella is pretty happy with the fresh cut yard and some afternoon sunshine. I am still amazed how fast I was able to let her off leash (except on the walk) and how she recognizes her new name and will come when that name is called.

Also there have been plenty of chances for dogs fighting with the change in seating at times, or a bone that was never shared until now, including a water bowl of Sadie's that she would lay beside to guard against any basset hound infiltrations. They have their own water bowl in a different room because of Sadie. There have never been any fights over that water in the past 7 years and the past 17 days that Stella has been a resident here.

All seem to get along ... Heidi did bark at Stella this morning to let her know the couch was her's during the daylight hours.

For those that have been emailing the past few weeks asking about my travel plans, rving, the change in my blog, etc ... I am going to post answers to your emails in tomorrow's post along with some other thoughts. Photos of the hounds will also be included throughout the blog post although they might not be part of the subject matter.

This time of year is beautiful in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana.