petrichorpaws

[petrichorpaws]

#kaloo in his dreams #he wants to be thicc and full of food

[petrichorpaws]

If you could relive any of your memories, which would it be?

Going to a nearby state park with CJ and my first dog, Shuck.

#answered asks #ask me anything

[petrichorpaws]

29 and 30 for the soft asks

29. morning, afternoon, or night?

I appreciate them all for different reasons, but there's something about nighttime that I am especially drawn to. Late-night walks when no one is around. Spring peepers. Peaceful.

30. what reminds you of home (doesn't have to mean house... just things that remind you of the feeling of home)?

Fields surrounded by forest. Dandelions. Songbirds and spring peepers. Sunny days with a light breeze. Quiet nights shrouded in fog. Petrichor. Distant sounds of people going about their lives. Bright rooms and open space. The large huff dogs make as they wind down. Kaloo's whiskers brushing the back of my head from the backseat during a drive. The sound of my partner's laugh, and her quiet singing.

Thank you for these soft asks!

#answered asks #triangle dog #ask meme

[petrichorpaws]

There is ZERO information about Canadian Horses on this platform. It kind of makes my heart ache. I guess it’s my job to fix that. Here is a brief introduction. I’m quoting a website. I’ll do more personal blogging later on. This is just so everybody can get a feel for what the breed is about. This is my heart breed for equines.

✨Le Cheval Canadien/The Canadian Horse✨

“The Cheval Canadien is truly the unsung hero of North American horse breeds. The breed’s origins trace to 1665 when the first horses, likely from Normandy and Brittany, were sent to Canada by King Louis XIV of France. Over the next a century, a distinct breed developed from this founding stock. The fittest not only survived, but thrived despite harsh winters, hard work, and scarce feed, earning them the nickname “Le Petit Cheval de Fer” or “The Little Iron Horse.

A calm and willing disposition, excellent feet, stamina and strength, made it an ideal cavalry horse, and in the 1860s Canadians were sold by thousands to the U.S. Army to fight in the American Civil War. Americans eagerly bought up quality Canadian stallions to improve their own stock, and the Canadian Horse appears the early stud books of the Morgan, Standardbred, and Tennessee Walking Horse breeds. The Canadian Horse was threatened not only by exports, but by crossbreeding. By the close of the 19th century, Canadian officials recognized that the breed was in danger of being lost, and stepped in to develop breed standards and establish the first studbook.

Although these efforts resulted in a resurgence, the reprieve was temporary. Throughout the 1900s, as farms were mechanized, breed numbers diminished to the point to where it was virtually unknown outside of the province of Quebec. By the 1970s, only 400 registered Canadian Horses remained in existence, and less than five registrations were being recorded per year. Since that time, dedicated breeders have worked diligently to save the breed from extinction and to preserve the qualities of type, temperament, and hardiness that made the breed famous throughout North America 150 years ago.

The breed slowly made a comeback, hitting a population high of about 6000 horses in the early 2000s. Unfortunately with the economic downturn of 2008, it once again began dwindling and many larger and long-time breeders retired. Today the number of actively breeding mares is critically low, and only 100-150 new foals have been registered annually in recent years. This makes CHHAPS’ mission more important than ever.”

-All is quoted from https://chhaps.ca/about-the-breed/, our official breed organization website. It’s a helpful resource to showing you how the breed community works, and how you can support.

CHHAPS stands for “Canadian Horse Heritage and Preservation Society.” Although I don’t compete my horse anymore, and we haven’t been able to attend a lot of ambassador events (the sponsorship hasn’t been there since pre-Covid), I have renewed my membership every single year, and will continue to do so, even when he’s gone, to give support to the breed.

Since COVID began, numbers have plummeted, and are continuing to. Also there’s some “color breeding,” specifically trying to attain the palomino coat color, “INTENSE EYEROLL* happening within the breeding stock, not taking into account type/temperament/function/genetic diversity. It’s disgusting.

It costs $35. You DO NOT need to own a Canadian, or even ride horses, to support the breed. Heavily consider supporting ❤️

We also have a Canadian Horse-specific rescue organization too, “Canadian Horse Rescue and Re-Home Society.”

#check this out!!! I’m so so honored to know one #not dogs #canadian horse #horses

[petrichorpaws]

#raven #west siberian laika #kaloo #idi

[petrichorpaws]

check out these phalanges

#kaloo #idi #video

[petrichorpaws]

Now that his “puppy” tantrum is over, Nala is willing to be near him again.

Under the cut I’m putting more of a personal update:

Yesterday on the way to work, this happened…

It felt and sounded like when an airplane crash commences in a movie, it was terrible. We’re both okay though.

Tow and mechanic agree that some sort of ball joint (don’t judge me I’m not a car guy) came loose, crashing into and breaking the axel.

So here we are, without a car for a few days. Kaloo is upsetti he hasn’t gotten a chance to run proper this week, but I promise buddy - soon!

#kaloo #idi #nala #domestic shorthair #personal

[petrichorpaws]

“pack” is being treated like a dirty word nowadays, but how much harm does it have in casual circles, really?

I can’t imagine the average person saying loose, transitory associations as the basis of dog-dog proximity lol. At the same time, there are definitely dogs with a higher social drive that greatly benefit from being around other dogs, while others could go either way or prefer more alone time.

I’ll be honest, I don’t see Raven having any desire to stick alongside Kaloo if they were on their own. On the flip side, Kaloo would seek familiarity and follow her around lol. I could argue that it isn’t surprising with her breed having to fend for itself historically, and his being more reliably fed, but truthfully I think their social drive comes down to individuality.

While I don’t use the term pack to describe my dogs, I also don’t care if other people choose to. They aren’t literal pack hunters across the board like other species, but generally I can assume people are thinking of their dog’s inclination for social proximity -shrug-

Either way, I think it’s a really interesting topic!

There are some dog behavior folks that really like to press the "dogs aren't pack animals" thing, and I get it because they are fighting a lot of alpha theory bullshit on a regular basis. But my experience is also that dog social dogs do best when they are around other dogs they know well. For the past two weekends while I was house sitting, Ripley was at home without any dog-dog interactions and she seemed subdued and listless but perked up again as soon as they got home. I don't think every dog needs dog-dog interactions, but to say that they all don't need that is wrong in my observations.

#text #discussion

[petrichorpaws]

#aestethic #this is where I wanna be

[petrichorpaws]

inspired by boop day, reblog this post if its ok for people to send you random asks and interact on your posts with no judgement. i want to talk to people.

#always happy to chat! #text #not dogs

[petrichorpaws]

sighthounds: majestic

#kaloo #idi #sighthound

[petrichorpaws]

This noodle has made running four laps around the sun look easy-breezy.

For the past year alone, he has been my rock from not leaving my side during surgery recovery to teaching me some hard truths about my handling skills, to letting me cry into his fur when I needed it most. I’ve learned so much about training, emotions, and acceptance thanks to this dog.

I’m not getting to write this until midnight, but we didn’t do too much on Friday. It was extremely wet and windy, and noodle boy doesn’t enjoy the rain. Especially surprise downpours! We stopped at CJ’s work to visit coworkers and grab him some gifts: a fuzzy duck toy, a horse toy, a chew, “oreos” for dogs, and the pup-pie, of course.

This week he’s made a new friend, made strides in his confidence/security, shown us where he’s at emotionally, and made me laugh more times than I can count. I will always cherish how he melts into my touch, his head relaxing and his limbs sinking into me. Seeing him lean into others in his inner circle, asking for pets, and demanding their love gives me so much joy! I know he especially loved his ring-rib-rub from @bones-n-bookles today hahah.

It’s unlikely we’ll be trialing this year since I have my other foot surgery coming up and I’m starting school. What’s most important to me is spending time snuggling together, listening to the hum of the ceiling fan and the crickets in their tank. Hiking together surrounded by ferns, creeks, and trees full of hidden wonders. Soaking up the rays of the afternoon sun in the cool grass. Sharing ice cream together. These mean so much more to me than any competition could because it’s where our energies intertwine – we’re happiest together and that’s all I could ever ask for.

Thank you bubby for being my heart dog, for making me laugh and worry and reflect. For making me feel. I have so much more to learn from you and with you! Our journey is only beginning.

Here’s to many more laps around the sun, my boy!

PS – you may notice us calling him Kaloo now rather than Kalfu. After giving it time and thought, I know in my gut, my brain, and my heart that it’s inappropriate of me to have named my dog after a vodou lwa, a powerful one no less. It’s incredibly important to me that I am respectful and aware of my impacts, so the name change commences! Kaloo is a name for Abrus precatorius, otherwise known as rosary peas/jequirity/Indian licorice, etc. It has bright scarlet seeds that can be toxic when ingested but can help swelling topically. Its leaves may be steeped in tea to relieve coughing or sore throats but can be toxic if handled improperly. In other words: handle with care, much like him. Having a plant-based name feels fitting for him, a dog that connects me to the earth, and it’s very similar sounding to his previous name. I anticipate folks will be respectful of and celebrate this new name with us. 🙂

#kaloo #idi #BORKDAY #text post

[petrichorpaws]

#kaloo #idi #BORKDAY

[petrichorpaws]

Do you have a snoot noodle or other variation of sighthound? If yes, there’s new heart health research for the breed happening!

A researcher at Texas A&M whose work I’m familiar with is starting a new study looking at genetic factors contributing to heart disease in Borzoi and related breeds. They just put out a call for dog owners who are willing to submit saliva samples & (noodle) medical records. Studies like this need a big sample size! They’re accepting new sign-ups starting now until March 1, 2025, for dogs both in the US and internationally.

Let’s help make some science!

From the study page:

“Background and purpose

Recent research in Borzoi dogs has revealed that dogs of this breed experience sudden, unexplained death. About 85% of sudden, unexplained deaths in humans are linked to an underlying heart disease. Our existing research in Borzoi dogs has shown that they are predisposed to developing arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) and dilated cardiomyopathy (a heart muscle disease causing dilated heart chambers and weak pumping function).

Due to our documentation of the frequency of these conditions in Borzoi dogs, we seek to identify responsible genetic variations similar to what is seen in humans with electrical cardiac diseases that trigger arrhythmias and dilated cardiomyopathy.

The objective of our study is to identify genetic mutations associated with heart disease in Borzoi dogs and document their existence in other sighthound breeds.

What happens in this study

We are collecting saliva samples from both healthy Borzoi and Borzoi dogs affected with arrhythmias and/or dilated cardiomyopathy. We will also collect saliva samples from any other sighthound breeds.

We will extract DNA from these samples and perform genomic sequencing on a select number while retaining the remainder for further screening.By analyzing the sequencing data, we can compare the genes of healthy and affected Borzoi dogs and identify variants linked to their heart conditions. We will also compare the findings in Borzoi dogs to results from other sighthound breeds.

Pet owner responsibilities

A swab kit will be sent to you for at home use along with a link to an instructional video on how to properly obtain a swab of the mouth. The kit will contain equipment to collect the saliva swab, a history form for your pet, a client consent form and a shipping label to return samples to us.

Participation requirements

To participate, you must have a Borzoi dog or a sighthound breed that is either healthy or affected by arrhythmias and/or dilated cardiomyopathy. Pets may be any age or sex. Electronic or paper veterinary medical records will need to be provided.

Benefits and risks of participating

There is little to no risk for taking a brief swab of the mouth for saliva collection if procedures outlined in the video are followed. No individual genetic test results will be provided to study participants.

Compensation

There is no cost to the owner for participating in this study. No compensation will be provided.”

#science #sighthound #may do this with the noodle!

[petrichorpaws]

Kaloo 🤝 Nike

#second time meeting and he did phenomenal! #we did Dog Park TV -ish by having CJ in the field with Nike and her owner #he was curious but not over threshold #when in the field together he was a little unsure still and rude at parks but Nike is a great example of a Leonberger temperamentally #he quickly picked up on her being non threatening and thought she smelled exquisite LMAO #eventually he wanted to zoom with her but she was hot and tired so we ended it on a good note #on the walk out of the park he did a PLAY BOW so proud of this awkward noodle 😭🥺 #nike #leonberger #kaloo #idi

[petrichorpaws]

the most "fucking, fair enough i guess" response ive ever gotten to something i said was in the ER

me: hi, i need a rabies shot triage nurse: oh? why's that? me: i got bitten by a bat triage nurse: what were you doing that you got bitten by a bat at 3 in the morning? me: removing a bat from my bedroom

#not dogs #bats are v important but so is getting your rabies shots! #too bad we don’t get a tag like our pets #education

[petrichorpaws]

Good morning! Raven says ditch the to-do lists and planners. Instead, soak in the rays

#raven #west siberian laika