Living with a Labrador

Brodie tends to get bored easily. In many ways he is an only child who wants the parents to provide constant entertainment. As Mark and I both have full time jobs and have to take care of our household it is difficult to provide Brodie 100% of the attention he craves. On Friday afternoon, Mark was mowing the lawns as part of our household duties. Brodie normally lays in the driveway keeping watch over this task. As soon as the mower is silent he grabs a ball and walks over to Mark for the empty-the-bag-of-grass-and-throw-the-ball-for-the-Labrador-break. This is their routine and it is cute to watch. As Mark moves from the front to the back lawns Brodie typically hangs out front yard for an extra minute or two making sure all is well in the ‘hood.

Brodie is a neutered male; there is no carnal desire in him to wander nor search for a mate. However, given his boredom that afternoon he decided to take himself for a walkabout. The typical path he takes on his walkabouts involves a trip to the neighborhood park; but he has on occasion found himself in someone else’s garage, someone else’s kitchen (that was embarrassing) and typically with a ball in his mouth looking for someone, anyone, to play with him. Most recently he was found by some young boys who brought him home, but were also willing to play ball with him for a while.

On Friday afternoon Mark realized Brodie was missing after he had moved onto the back lawn. He walked to the park; no Brodie. He continued walking up the block that runs parallel to our house, cause Brodie has been known head that direction if the park is empty. No luck!

What was worry is turning to anger – where is that damn dog?!

Mark turns the corner and sees a man walking a dog – oh good – Brodie. Soaking-ass-wet! Mark meets the guy on the street and leashes Brodie up and thanks the man profusely for finding & returning our dog. He tells Mark the story of picking up his kids from at in-home daycare in our neighborhood and while the kid pickup was in process a dog sprints down the side yard and jumps into a backyard pool! A few points here:

1. We don’t know these people, therefore Brodie doesn’t know this people
   
2. He has effectively broken-and-entered their backyard
   
3. He refused to get out of the pool
   

The dad/kid picker-upper/saint was a great thinker; he asked the daycare provider for a tennis ball. Yep – that did it. Brodie got out of her pool for a chance at a tennis ball. He has a Labrador also and speaks will-do-anything-for-a-ball language. Once he got Boo out of the pool he was able to read his tags and start walking him home. He relayed the full story to Mark and cracked up laughing – said it was to be understood a Labrador and water are like moths to a flame.

We are rightfully embarrassed now; and we owe this daycare provider a hostess gift for hosting our dog for a few minutes in her pool one Friday afternoon. I hope homemade cookies or brownies will do…I will have to whip up a batch or two when I get home in a few days. I cannot believe my dog is a criminal and perhaps worse, he is rude! You cannot jump into someone’s pool uninvited (after breaking into their yard). I also have to work with Mark on making sure Brodie is given the stay command when left unattended. Boo will do a down-stay; but only if told to do so. Next up – baking for the extended neighbors and training the husband to give the Labrador proper commands.

Brodie loves swimming (picture was taken as an invited guest in Mark & Leslie’s pool last summer)

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I’d been MIA from my home, husband, Labrador for 3 weeks; work mostly, some personal commitments, but I had just arrived home on a Friday night. The evening was fantastic, Mark grilled, we all ate outside on a warm evening, enjoyed a bottle of wine, recapped a few highlights of the week, ended up cuddling with Brodie on the outdoor sofa as the sky turned from dusk to dark and candles created the outdoor ambience & stillness we all craved. He definitely believes he is a lap-rador, so he was curled up on my lap, but also seemed to clearly understand that I needed logistics of getting my wine glass to my mouth periodically, so he allowed appropriate space for that activity. We were all three in our happy place; except for that smell. Only a whiff here and there, but what was it, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it? Finally my mind settled, everyone was happy, so don’t focus on the next days chores, which obviously involved a bath for this giant chocolate baby boy.

Sometimes, in the dead of sleep something happens in your brain – you solve problems, have a surreal dream, gain clarity that has evaded you for days. In my sleep that night I figured out where the smell was coming from; it wasn’t rocket science; what with all the head shaking, rattling of the tags attached to his collar, and the rolling motion he kept making with his head on the carpet. Brodie had an ear infection. Two of us woke up irritable that Saturday morning; the one with the ear infection and the one who diagnosed it.

First thing in the morning; ear cleaning and an apt with the vet to get the proper anti-fungal medications. I am not a trained veterinarian – so take this next set of advice as someone who has been a dog mom to 2 Labradors and handled a few ear infections in my day. Their ear flaps coupled with a tendency to love water (or in Brodie’s case, obsess over water) can lead to fluid accumulation or dampness in their ears which can turn to overactive yeast. Same thing that happens to children when their ear cannels are too small to allow for proper ventilation and yeast grows in those deep and dark crevices. For a Lab, sometimes it can be handled simply by proper care & cleaning of the ear. I was away from home for a while; so that is the excuse I am going to use. Typically I clean Brodie’s ears every week (along with his teeth); steps are easy to follow:

1. Grab some jumbo size cotton balls and a bottle of rubbing alcohol.
   
2. Barely moisten the cotton ball, just enough to grab dirt, but not ‘wet’ because you don’t want to leave any alcohol behind in the ear. It isn’t a liquid cleansing; it is primarily dry. Again, just enough liquid to have dirt adhere to the cotton ball.
   
3. I use rubbing alcohol because it dries FAST – and swimmers use it as an at home remedy for swimmers ear – because it draws out the moisture.
   
4. Using just your fingers (no crazy tools) swipe the cotton ball into the ear somewhat – cleaning all the nooks and crannies. Repeat this procedure using a clean cotton ball with mild wetness until the cotton ball is clean.
   
5. I do NOT go too deeply, I typically use my finger tips and if I pass my first knuckle I am at the limit. And I only go deeper if on repeat cotton balls the ear shows significant ick!
   
6. Brodie’s right ear is ALWAYS dirtier than his left – I don’t know why – it’s just his biology and anatomical make up that makes his right ear collect more ick than his left. For us, on a weekly basis, there is a 3:1 cotton ball ratio from the right ear to the left ear.
   
7. Keep going until the cotton ball comes out clean.
   
8. Never, ever, no matter what use a Q-tip or other sharp object.
   

This does not cause your dog pain, and Brodie actually has come to enjoy it. He always hangs his head when I call him into the bathroom; in his mind, bad things happen in a bathroom – ears, baths, teeth. He would prefer to stay a dirt devil until the end of time – but his momma won’t allow it. However, when he leaves the bathroom he has a spring in his step and as best I can tell a smile on his face with clean ears to take on the world – or in our case his backyard.

Because his case was already severe and he was uncomfortable we took him the vet, got an antifungal to place in his ear for 2 weeks. Symptoms you can look for in your dog:

• Excessive head shaking; as if there is something they can’t shake off
  
• Pawing at their ears or scratching as if there is something on their skin
  
• Rolling their heads (particularly their ears) on the carpet or other surface
  
• They won’t cry like a child; but you can sense when it’s time to settle down for the night and they can’t get into their routine because something is bothering them.
  

Two weeks later: Brodie is fine now; the shake, rattle & roll has stopped and his is back to normal. We are also back in line with the weekly ear cleaning, which he has a hate-love relationship with. Now to torture him with his teeth cleanings…

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