The Ice Cream Social

One Stop Pet Stop had an ice cream social to which Mollie was invited. She selected "Apple & Cheddar" frozen yogurt. Within seconds she "woofed" it down. Needless to say, we bought her a supply to keep in the freezer.

Mollie & Baila Playing - Parts Two and Three

Here are two more videos of the girls playing.

Part Two

Part Three

Mollie and Baila-- Good Friends

Hard to believe that it's been a month that Baila has been staying with us. Mollie and Baila have become good friends. They enjoy taking walks together and playing. You can check out a short video at on You Tube.

Now that I figured out that I can take movies with my digital camera, more will follow.

It's very cute when Mollie tries to get on Baila's back. She will also climb on the table to be at the same height. Baila sometimes gets down on the floor to be on the same level as Mollie.

Health note... this week we took Mollie to the vet because Jessica noticed some green goop in her eye. Turns out that she had conjunctivitis. You can read about conjunctivitis in dogs here.

Then, we noticed that Baila was rubbing her eye and had some goop in it. Turns out that she has allergies. So, both are getting eye drops for the week. Happy to report that after two days, Mollie and Baila no longer have "pink" eyes.

Mollie's Has a House Guest

This week, Rabbi Heyn brought his ten-year old golden retriever, Bayla, to stay at our house for a few weeks. We've had many discussions about Mollie's supposed need for another dog and thought this would be a good test.

As expected, Mollie is very protective. She constantly barks at Bayla and basically drives Bayla to find a quiet space downstairs. Whenever we pet Bayla, Mollie comes over to be petted too. In fact, if we show any attention to Bayla, Mollie immediately starts begging for attention.

For me the challenge is adjusting to a larger dog. For example, it seems as if Mollie could take a bath in Bayla's water dish. As you can see from the photo, Bayla's tail completely blots out Mollie!

I took Mollie and Bayla on my daily 3-mile walk. Having Mollie pull me on my right side and Bayla pull me on my left gave me a really good idea about what it was like to be stage coach driver.

However, by the time we got to the end of the road, the two of them were walking in step. In fact, it was the best walking I've seen Mollie do. Mollie kept trying to engage Bayla but Bayla seemed only interested in walking.

Of course, Vermont living is quite an adjustment for Bayla. After all, she just arrived from Ohio and her master, Rabbi Heyn, wasn't around. She's smelling everything and stares at the horses and cows. But, she seems to be unaffected.

I am hoping that tomorrow Mollie will realize that Bayla will be around for awhile. So far, it's fun having them both around.

Feel down? It may be better to talk to the dog

Many married couples say they share their troubles with their pet, poll finds

By SUE MANNING

Associated Press Writer

The Associated Press

updated 9:23 a.m. ET, Wed., April 28, 2010

LOS ANGELES - Husbands, if you end up in the doghouse, consider it a promotion.

A third of pet-owning married women said their pets are better listeners than their husbands, according to an Associated Press-Petside.com poll released Wednesday. Eighteen percent of pet-owning married men said their pets are better listeners than their wives.

Christina Holmdahl, 40, talks all the time to her cat, two dogs or three horses — about her husband, naturally.

"Whoever happens to be with me when I'm rambling," said Holmdahl, who's stationed with her husband at Fort Stewart in Georgia. "A lot of times, I'm just venting about work or complaining about the husband."

She thinks everyone should have a pet to talk to like her horse, Whistle, who's been with her since she was 19.

"We all say things we don't mean when we are upset about stuff," she said. "When we have time to talk it out and rationalize it, we can think about it better and we can calm down and see both sides better."

It would be a toss-up whether Bill Rothschild would take a problem to his wife of 19 years or the animal he considers a pet — a palm-sized crayfish named Cray Aiken. His daughter brought it home four years ago at the end of a second grade science project.

Rothschild, 44, of Granite Springs, N.Y., considers Cray a better listener than his wife, "absolutely. She doesn't listen worth anything." He doesn't get much feedback from the crustacean, but it's been a different story over the years with family dogs and cats.

"You definitely feel much more comfortable sharing your problems with them," he said. "A little lick from a big dog can go a long way."

Overall, about one in 10 pet owners said they would talk their troubles over with their pets.

‘The dog doesn't have an opinion’
The AP-Petside.com poll also found that most people believe their pets are stable and seldom struggle with depression. Just 5 percent of all pet owners said they had taken an animal to a veterinarian or pet psychologist because it seemed down in the dumps. Even fewer said they'd ever given antidepressants to a pet.

But they weren't opposed to the idea: 18 percent of those polled said they were at least somewhat likely to take a pet to a vet or pet psychologist if it was dejected.

When pets become the therapists, the dogs have it. Twenty-five percent of dog owners said their canines listened better than a spouse, while only 14 percent of cat owners chose the feline.

Ron Farber, 55, of Hoxie, Kan., said it's easier to talk to his dog Buddy than his wife because "the dog doesn't have an opinion."

"I think better out loud. He doesn't care what you say or do. He looks at you, pays attention, you walk through the problem in your mind and eventually, the answer comes. It's not as easy when other people are offering opinions," he said.

Farber would take Buddy to a vet if he needed help, but "I doubt there's a dog psychologist within 300 miles."

A pet psychologist is also called a veterinary behaviorist. Veterinarian Karen Sueda, whose office is at the VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital is one of 50 certified by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Most of her canine patients have problems with aggression and anxiety, while her cats' biggest problem is failure to use a litter box, she said.

Karen Manderbachs, 38, has tried drugs for her dog Kensey, a Shiba Inu who is afraid of thunder. "She sits and full body-shakes. She tries to climb the walls, will hide behind the couch. She gets frantic."

But the first time, the pill didn't take effect in time. The next, "she was so out of it, I couldn't do it again."

Without thunder, Kensey is fine and listens with the other pets — three dogs and a cat — as Manderbachs talks.

The dogs seldom react, "but if I'm upset, if I cry, they will hover around and try, in their own way, to make it better," said the 38-year-old from Rocky Mount, N.C.

Sueda, the veterinary behaviorist, said she thinks everyone talks to their animals.

"Pets are great because they provide us with unconditional support. They never talk back, never give us the wrong opinion and they are always there for us," she said. "As much as we love our spouses or significant others, sometimes they are not there, sometimes they have their own thoughts about how we should deal with situations. And sometimes, especially when it's a husband or male significant other, they want to solve the problem rather than just listening to the problem."

The AP-Petside.com Poll was conducted April 7-12, 2010, and involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,112 pet owners nationwide. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36823014/ns/health-pet_health/

Mollie Update

I can't believe that I haven't written about Mollie for three months. Each day is an adventure with her. She has become such a part of our family and a truly loving dog. She constantly wants our attention and will quickly grab (and run) anything that she can. We have chased her up and down stairs in our attempts to retrieve a napkin, sock, pen or bra. She is also a great watch dog; ever vigilant to movement outside our home. One of her favorite positions is to stand on the settee and look out the window. Now that spring has arrived in Vermont, we are looking forward to long walks. In fact, last week we climbed Black Mountain. She had a wonderful time with all the outdoor smells. Speaking of smells, Yael and Jessica decided it was time for her first real bath. I am not sure if she enjoyed it but, for the most part, she stayed still.

Mollie is Feisty

Thanks to Lorraine and Jacque, we think we have discovered Mollie's breed. She appears to be a feist dog, a wonderful breed of dog that has been around for hundreds of years in America. They're very well-known in the rural South, (i.e. Mollie was born in Kentucky) where they've always been prized for their excellent hunting skills.

The more I researched the breed, the more I am convinced that Mollie is a Feist. [NOTE: I am posting a photo of a Feist dog albeit not as cute as Mollie]. For example, I discovered that Feists have lots of energy, but around the home they aren’t likely to bounce off the walls—in fact, they are more than happy to cuddle on the couch.

Like Mollie, Feists have gentle, adaptable personalities, and they know when to adjust the energy level. Their solid terrier genes can make them slightly territorial, but they are generally good with new people. However, they do have nose when it comes to intruders—they will bark and alert the family if they sense a threat.

Because we love Mollie it really doesn't matter what she is but it's still interesting to know.

Happy New Year, Mollie

We spent a quiet New Year's Eve at home with Mollie. She has really grown in the last six months and is a real joy to have around. However, she constantly wants attention. When I am on the computer she will nudge me with her nose or bite on my fingers until I play with her. She'll bring out all her toys to find the one that I will play "fetch." She's gotten really good at catching her green rubber ball in the air. Mollie is always searching for anything she either eat or chew. A piece of paper within her reach is automatically gone. This week I got a $5 coupon from the pet store so I bought her another bully stick. It kept her busy for about six hours. While I shopping at the supermarket, I noticed bully sticks that were only 6 inches long and cost considerably less. So, today she got one of those. It kept her busy for about an hour. I looked at the ingredients and found it was pure steer pizzle. A quick google search revealed that pizzle is another word for penis. Oh well it sounds disgusting but she enjoys it.

Yael and I took Mollie for a New Year's Day walk. It was the usual three mile route. Mollie remembers where all her animal friends live. She likes to stop by the horses. When we arrive, they always come over. They just stare at each other. Mollie just takes them in without barking.