Doggy drugs

Guppy the wonder dog is now on phenobarbital for seizures. He's had a problem with what the vet thinks is a seizure disorder for some time, and on New Year's eve he had a recurrence. He ran around frantically licking the carpet and eating dust, dog hair, and fibers. When I took him outside he ate grass. I wound up putting him in our other dog's crate to keep him from eating anything hazardous, and little Ben slept in as travel crate.

A month ago a similar episode landed Guppy in the animal hospital. He had eaten some very unsuitable material during the night while we were asleep, including a small battery and some foam from his doggy bed. So now he's on medication. I hope this solves the problem.

---

Meanwhile, our cocker spaniel Ben still resists learning advanced social skills. He spends much of his time tied up or confined to a cage because he won't behave. When my sister was here, I let him greet her but he growled at her threateningly. And yesterday I had the idea of letting him run around the house wearing a muzzle so that he wouldn't eat every piece of paper within reach - newspapers are his favorite. Well, he ran around until he knocked over a lamp and then he pulled a sheet of pop paper out of a box, holding it under his chin while he tried to tear it. After that he attacked some decorations in the same way, and finally he got the muzzle off and tried to eat it. So I put him in his crate for a while.

Ben is cute and I feel kind of sorry for him, but we walk him 3 or 4 times a day so he's okay. I wish he would calm down and become a sweet companion like Guppy is.