Summer Vacation, 2013

[DonD]

Had a condensation leak into the interior. Removed the cover, unbolted the AC, tipped it back on it's end and put in a new gasket/seal. No leaky no mo'   

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Thanks Don.  AC and its seal is only 2 years old.  The original one in the back never drips at all no matter how hot and humid it is outside, or what angle we are sitting at.  They don't make them like they used to!  The one in back is an 1989 Coleman Supermach.  Now I'm wishing I had had the front one repaired 2 years ago instead of replacing it with a new Coleman Mach.  I cleaned out the vent holes with pipe cleaners, and it still drips.  There is too much condensation too quickly for the water to escape the tiny drain lines before overflowing the shallow catch pan inside the unit.  Bad design.

The puppy is definitely settled in, and is now a little terrorist...lol!  And MAN are her little teeth sharp as needles!  She's keeping Barnabas on his toes, although she fears the kitty, which is just as well.

And she eats as much as Barnabas does, but 4 times a day instead of 2.  I think she grew another inch last night!  Her ears and paws certainly seem to have gotten bigger.

Okay...time to feed them breakfast before she eats the RV...lol!

Kev

[Stripe]

Kevin, I saw a butterfly yesterday along the shore of the Sound here (yellow monarch) and I thought I would convey Happy Fathers Day to you..

Oh yeah, and, TEETHING TIME IS COMING!! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! HIde all the leather and sneakers!

Fredric

[ClydesdaleKevin]

IS coming?   LMAO!!!  She's been teething since the day we got her.  She likes the Nylabone and the Nylabone pretzel we got her, and the rope toy...and of course my hands and anything else she can get to...thus we are keeping an eagle eye on her.

We decided to stay another week here at Beagle Bay RV Haven in Sarcoxie, MO...nice campground, great trails for the dogs, a swimming pool, and high speed internet, all for a very fair weekly rate.

So if anyone is in or near Missouri, come on down to visit!  We'll be leaving here next Sunday so we can get through St. Louis on a Sunday instead of a busy traffic day.  Which will put us in Illinois...which we won't be staying in for long.  Probably just overnight, then find a nice campground in Indiana.

Kev

[M & J]

Be sure to keep your personal protection devices in the coach while in Illinois Kevin. Illinois is not at all 2nd amendment friendly. No CCW statutes or recipricols for anything. Be very cautious while in that state sir.

[HandyDan]

I'll be at Scout Camp near Osceola for the next 10 days.  That isn't TOO far from Sarcoxie.  If I can break away I might just come visit.  I would like to see this new terrorist!  LOL

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I hear that Oldrockandroller!  That is why we won't be staying more than overnight in that Nazi state.  I don't want to give that state any more of my time or money that I absolutely have to.  All weaponry will be locked up and stowed away.

And Dan, it would be great to see ya again!  Let me know...maybe we'll throw some steaks on the grill or something.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

So I had quite the scare yesterday, that's for sure...although I wasn't scared at the time. 

While walking Barnabas on one of his solo walks around the pond, he went to sniff something in the high grass.  I thought nothing of it, since he has this thing for turtles, and there are a LOT of turtles here near the pond.  He's facinated by them, and likes to sniff at them and poke them with his nose.

Well.  This was no turtle!  It was a no crap 4 foot long Water Moccasin, in the flesh!  Almost black since it was an adult, and yep, slitted eyes and flat wedge shaped head.

It struck at Barnabas, who danced back JUST in time, and then tried to go after it.  My brave but dumb self pulled Barnabas back behind me, and got between him and the irritated viper.  In my slippers...my only weapon the plastic pooper scooper, which I shoved in the vipers face to keep it at bay.  It flickered its tongue at me, then slithered off into the high grass. 

Yep, I love my dogs!  Not my brightest move, but I certainly didn't want Barnabas getting bit!  I now carry one of my revolvers in my pocket when I walk the pups.  I really need to find some .38 Special snake shot!

As it was, I wasn't entirely sure he didn't get hit by the snake.  He didn't yelp, but it happened so fast I wasn't sure.  Patti and I checked him over thoroughly, and there were no puncture marks or blood anywhere on the front of him where the snake lunged, or any sign of pain or discomfort.  We checked him again this morning, and he's fine...no swelling anywhere or discomfort.  Whew!!!

I, the mighty warrior, protector of the K-9 Realm, wielding the almighty pooper scooper!   :)rotflmao

Yep...not a shred of fear...or common sense it seems...lmfao!!!

Funny how in Arizona I am always very alert walking the dogs, always on the lookout for desert snakes...and have yet to see any.  I let my guard down here in Missouri.  And it almost had tragic consequences.  Never again!

Today we are off to Joplin to the Walmart for more puppy food...she's already almost out of the cans of puppy Iams...and a side trip to Petsmart for some Frontline.  The ticks here are horrible!  And I just found out you can use Frontline on puppies as young as 8 weeks, so she's coming with us so they can weigh her and we can get the right dosage for the little bug.  Also going to get some for Barnabas as well to use in combination with his tick collar.  We might pick up a rug shampooer at Walmart while we are at it depending on cost and size of the things.  I actually have room to stow one now.

The adventures continue!!!

Kev

[joanfenn]

I think that I would back off too if someone waved a pooper scooper in my face. 

[pvoth1111]

Just so you know frontline  is real bad stuff...it doesn't repel pests it poisons the bug when it bites your pet....because the poison is in your pets blood its bad for their kidneys and liver.....I suppose using it once in a while might not be bad....I use "Best Yet"....its made from cedar oil....bugs stay away from it and it kills bad bugs on contact.....smells like cedar and your can spray it on carpet, furniture, pets and even you.

paul
 

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Hey Paul.  Been using Frontline on our pets since it came out years ago.  It actually poisons them as soon as they come in contact with your pet's fur.  They might bite the pet, but a lot of them will die before they get the chance.  And with tickbourne diseases, almost all of them are transfered hours after a tick digs in and starts feeding, not at the first bite.  Frontline and other topical tick remedies kill the ticks before they can transfer disease in most cases.  We applied it to the dogs and cat yesterday, and this morning they are already tick free.  Barnabas gets Trifexis, so we haven't used Frontline on him for a while, but even his veterinary tick collar wasn't doing the trick with all the ticks here in southern Missouri.  Fortunately there isn't any drug interaction between Trifexis and Frontline.  Karli won't be getting Trifexis until she is much older.  Until then she'll stay on a regiment of Frontline and Heartgard.  Any chemical can have negative side effects, but they are minimal compared to the gain with Frontline.  I am going to look for the elusive citronella dog collars I've read about but haven't seen anywhere.  They are supposed to help repel mosquitoes and fleas and ticks...just haven't seen them anywhere for purchase.

LOL Joan!  Ya think?  Water Moccasins are one thing ya'll don't have to worry about in Canada...although I'm sure you have your share of rattlesnakes.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Another minor change of plans.  We decided to leave on Saturday morning...and pick up I-70 in St. Louis, then I-57 N towards Chicago, and drive as far north towards Chicago on Saturday as we can...and camp overnight.  Then hit the road bright and early Sunday morning, pick up I-90/I-80 in Chicago on Sunday when the traffic is minimal, and drive straight through to Indiana.  That will put us a lot closer to Elkhart, Indiana, and also puts us right on I-80, which goes right through Ohio, Pennsylvania, and lands us pretty much right in Sussex, NJ where Patti's son lives, and only 18 miles away from the faire.  We'll stay at a nice RV park in Indiana close to Elkhart until our appointment on July 1st, then go right to Patti's son's house and stay in his driveway for a week until the faire campground opens.  I like this plan!

It also puts us a lot farther north out of fireant and poison spider and moccasin country, and where its relatively cooler and less humid.  Even the back AC unit started to drip, its so humid right now in southern Missouri!

Karli wasn't too happy about the car ride to PetSmart...she cried and whined every time a semi truck passed us on the highway.  But once we got there?  She was loving walking around the store and getting so much attention!  We didn't even have to go to Walmart.  They had the Iams puppy food right there, and they even had a Bissell spot rug shampooer at a good price, which we used when we got home and it works great.  Its a compact unit, but it works really well, has a lot of suction, and stows nicely under the dinette next to Patti's Dyson.

The car ride back was much more pleasant for Karli.  She figured out that car rides mean adventure, so she was fine on the drive back to camp, and ended up napping on the floor of the Jeep most of the way home.  Barnabas was VERY happy to see her when we got back!  He licked her on the nose and wagged his tail.  They both got toys, and we even picked up a little raincoat for Karli, which I'm sure she'll outgrow in no time.

Karli isn't completely housebroken, thus the shampooer, but she's getting there.  She does try to let us know, but her signals to us are subtle and don't help much when we are sleeping...although she does try to wake me up.  She woke me up twice last night to go out, and did her business outside.  I guess there was at least once when she couldn't wake me up though, and I had some rug cleaning to do this morning.

Hopefully she'll be fully housebroken by the time we get to NJ.  I plan on putting in new carpets and padding as soon as we get there.

I know it would be easier if we crate trained her, but I've never been an advocate of crate training, and GSDs pick things up quickly.  I'm just glad we were planning on changing out the carpet anyways...lol!

Today?  Just hanging out with Patti and the pups and cat.  Maybe get some reading done. 

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Karli has gained 4 pounds in less than a week...holy crap!

Her ears are up completely now, and I swear they grew!  She looks like a little fruit bat...lmao!!!





And I'm pretty sure her paws got bigger!




She's growing like a weed!

Kev

[tiinytina]

Kev,
    A. there is no place for a crate anyway in an RV...
    B. The RV is a big crate itself!  :)rotflmao

She's gotta pick up radio waves with those big ears.... toooo cute
Tina

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL!  I agree Tina.  Not a big fan of crate training anyways.  At least she gets off the bed to have her accidents when we aren't paying attention or are sleeping.  That is usually her cue...she'll whine a bit and run down the pet steps.  If you pick her up in time she'll go outside.

Her ears are getting HUGE!

Kev

[M & J]

She does look like a fruit bat. Now you need to teach her how to smile.

[joanfenn]

She is getting more lovely everyday.  And we don't have rattlesnakes up where we live, the mosquitoes carry them all off.

[Stripe]

My pet potty trick is taking them out 5 minutes after feeding, when they start doing their "business" I will pair a phrase with it, like "go potty" or "go stinks!" that way it builds an automatic potty schedule in their heads..

[joanfenn]

Can you just picture Fredric standing out there and saying "go stinks"?

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Someone might think he has PSD

[M & J]

Or, his pooch is in the coach and can't be seen. He's outside in plain view yelling it at what looks to be no one.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Good call, Fredric...that's exactly what we've been doing.  Of course, our catch phrase is "piddles and dumps."   :)rotflmao

About 5 minutes after she eats, I take her out on leash for "piddles and dumps", and then when she goes, I make a big fuss over it, "Good Karli, Good Girl!  Good piddles and dumps..." etc.  In a normal manly voice of course  W% .

She's doing great today with no accidents so far, and we've left her alone with Barnabas twice for a couple of hours at a time to use the pool.

Also found out today that you can give Heartgard to pups as young as 6 weeks old!  I called the Sarcoxie Animal Clinic, and you really have to love country vets!  They asked her age, and said she didn't need a heartworm test at 8 weeks old.  So they had me bring her in to weigh her, 12.6 lbs by the way...she was just over 8 lbs when we brought her home...checked the breeder's shot record to make sure nothing was missing...she's good until her 12 week boosters...and only charged us 7 bucks for the 2 Heartgard Plus pills, since they are ones for dogs up to 25 lbs, and they suspect she'll be over that by the time she takes her second pill in a month, and definitely her third pill the following month.  No office visit...nada!  Awesome!!!  Just 7 bucks!

So Karli is now protected from ticks, fleas, and heartworms...woohoo!!!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL oldrockandroller!  She does know how to smile:



Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Well, I'll be darned.  Looks like Karli and Sampson might eventually make friends after all.  These are unposed pictures of them sleeping next to each other.  They have a lot in common!





Granted, this is about as close as Sampson will let the puppy get to him before he bats the heck out of her, but its a start!

Karli is also a mighty huntress it seems.  Last night on one of her many potty runs, she snatched a great big grasshopper type bug out of the air and ate most of it before I get the rest of it out of her mouth.  She was very proud of herself!

Sampson happens to love eating grasshoppers too, so maybe they can find some common ground.

Our dear friend Arlene stopped by the campground yesterday for an overnight stay on her way to S.Dakota, and it was a nice visit.  She's a very nice woman...drives a late 90s Itasca Sunova. 

Today I have to epoxy a couple of broken fridge shelves back together...there is a reason I won't own a plastic gun  N:( ...and work on a few other little projects around the RV.  Other than that, its another relaxing vacation day.  Well...as relaxing as one can be with an 8 week old furry terrorist running around the rig. :)rotflmao

Kev

[M & J]

Kevin, we've just added a number of things in common to the list.
Added:
1. We have a Siamese. Her name is Samantha Jane.
2. I also, will never own or even look at a plastic gun.
3. Both our our girls (cats) sleep on the bed with us.