would you believe more doggie drama?

emma is pathologically afraid of thunderstorms. it's crazy. her whole body shakes violently, her tongue hangs out and she pants and drools, she slides into a crack in her favorite chair and sinks in as deep as she can. she is essentially a catatonic (no pun intended), in some sort of doggie shock. she doesn't get destructive or try to dig through the carpet or anything, but her heart races so fast that it makes me worried.

my "wholistic" dog journal claimed that melatonin would lessen the symptoms if given before the storm or when the symptoms first began. even though the storm was basically over, i got some and gave it to her anyway as the freak outs last ususally long after the storm has passed. i gave her the recommended dosage before i left for school. the storm started back and the melatonin was apparently no help according to walter.

i don't know what else to do. the only other suggestion was to get a tape of thunderstorms and condition her out of the fear. thing is, i don't think it's just the noise. it's like she can feel the storm, the barometric pressure drop, the electricity in the air. she looks nervous when she sees tv thunderstorms, but figures out pretty quickly that it's not the real thing. so what do i do? i mean, if we ever move to seattle we're screwed. (w reminds me that it's also not just the thunder, but the rain that gets to her as well).

pop quiz, hotshot:

two dogs in the living room.

one plate on the table with the onions you removed from your dinner.

now that plate is empty.

WHO ATE THE ONIONS?!?

well, i couldn't be sure so i had to induce vomiting in both dogs. actually, i was pretty sure it ws emma as she was by the plate licking her lips, but i gave her the peroxide and she threw up a little and no onions. so i freaked and yanked bella into the kitchen and gave her some too. then emma erupted like vesuvius. the vesuvius of gross onion muck.

emma owes bella an apology.

for my friend with the new puppy, a public service announcement. the following people foods, in addition to the well known chocolate, are deadly to dogs:
onions, garlic, macadamia nuts, grapes, raisins, mushrooms, and sugarless candies or gum containing xylitol.

i reckon it takes a lot less of these things for a super small dog, so you have to be careful. should your dog consume any of this stuff, you should induce vomiting ASAP. the way to do it is to give them hydrogen peroxide, a little at a time, until they yak. it's easier to do this if you have one of those syringes like you use to irrigate your gaping molar holes after wisdon tooth surgery. i use one i got to give my cat some medicine. they totally hate it and fight you, but again, smaller dog = smaller fight.