How is everyone doing these days?

[D'Elle]

Hi. Just wondering how everyone is doing. I know we have people here from all over the world, and I am interested in finding out if people are OK and what life is like for you these days of  Pandemic. 

This is a very interesting time to be alive, but not something that anyone would choose.. Those of us who live through it will certainly never forget it. I hope all of you are staying safe and well, and I would like to hear from you. 

[Mark Billadeau]

Here in the Washington DC metro area we’re under stay at home orders; however, I am an essential employee and am driving into work several times a week.  Other than work we are limiting our trips off the farm.  At least we have acres to ourselves unlike many of my coworkers who live in apartments or townhomes closer to DC.

[Michael Parkey]

We are bored and anxious but otherwise OK.  One good thing in our suburban neighborhood is the greatly increased number of people and dogs out walking (while maintaining social distance).  Most dogs in our area are getting a lot more attention, including our own.  But if we go out of the neighborhood, many people are NOT practicing the recommendations from the CDC.  I fear that the pandemic will last longer than it must because people are not taking it seriously.

[Lawgirl]

I live in a country city in South Australia.  We have not been officially locked down in our state, unlike some others in Australia.  My OH and I are pretty much stay at home anyway, so we are making fewer grocery shopping trips, we still take the dogs to the sports park for a run, we still go for a walk in the morning, but now our morning coffees are takeaways only, our personal trainer is sending us programs to do at home, and we take our own dog water to the park so we don't touch anything.  Our state borders are closed (we live about 20 kilometres or 12.4 miles from the border with Victoria), but there are exclusions for near border communities.  We are also trying to support local businesses by ordering takeaway once a week, especially from businesses who are offering free food to people in need.

I am a family and criminal lawyer, so my work is still going.  Our office has locked its door to the public, and our appointments are phone/video only.  For me, it is still easier to be where my physical files are, and if I work from home, I will have to let my secretary go, so keeping the office open keeps her in work. 

All in all, my life is not so very different so far.  Four cases confirmed in my town, and my state has tested more people per head of population then any other state in Australia (helped by the fact that we are not one of the larger population states).  This is still only a bit over 1,600 tests per 100,000 people.  There hasn't really been evidence of community transmission here yet. 

My 16 year old niece had an interesting take on this - she pointed out that we are all primary sources for a pivotal time in history.  She then said that she is used to being taught history, not being part of it.

[Pcooran]

M wife and I are working from home with the kids being home schooled. Thor gets a run around the local oval, plus the. Reek. They’ve shut his dog park down for COVID which was his local hangout after training. He’s not happy, but He’ll have a buddy hopefully soon which will help with  the social stuff. 

[amc]

We're in a large rural county in the 'real' Northern California, bordering Oregon.  The county's population is about 44,000 and density is 6 persons per square mile.  We're out in the country, so like Mark, we have some room to stretch and work our dogs and care for our sheep.  We're blessed with a remarkable view of Mount Shasta to our southeast which keeps a lot of things in perspective.  Our governor took the lead on lockdown and so far, California's curve is fairly flat.  I am an essential worker for a Native American Tribe, so I go in to work 4 days a week.  Our medical and dental clinics have ramped up patient care via televideo and telephone conferencing and so far, we're doing fine.  There have only been about 80 tests performed in our county, with 3 positives so far.  One fear is that people from urban areas are starting to appear, probably in hopes of 'safety', and some residents are concerned that they might bring the virus, and/or stretch our limited health care resources.  We'll see how that plays out.  It does seem that community spirit has been strengthened, with many people offering to help elders, look out for one another, etc.  We do live in interesting times - I like Lawgirl's niece's take on it - we are making history!

[Mark Billadeau]

There are 54 positives and 2 deaths in the county where we live and 566 positives and 9 deaths in the county where I work.

[amc]

Wow, that seems like a lot, Mark!

[SS Cressa]

I’m working at home now. Been a little worried. I’m pretty stocked up though on food and paper products. I went back on Facebook after taking a 2 year hiatus. Trying to train the dogs more. On my breaks we do Kong’s or find treats. Also trying to do a deep spring cleaning. My dogs are going to be upset when time comes to go back to work. Trying not to focus on the negatives or the negative actions of other people. 
It is not letting me rotate the image but my new work arrangement now includes a back warmer. 

[aschlemm]

I am still working.  I'm a Vet Tech and live in Pennsylvania.  My rather small/rural county has almost 300 cases and 5 deaths.  I'm very concerned where they are coming from.  Our small "city"?  Nursing homes?  The Amish community?  No one knows.  We are under stay at home orders with only essential travel.  Yesterday, it was suggested we wear masks when out in public.

      Work is very stressful.  We no longer allow clients in the building except for euthanasias and one woman to visit her hospitalized cat.  People are crazy!!!!  Every time we have more restrictions placed on movement, the phone goes nuts!  People become convinced their pet needs something ASAP!!!!!  It is a lot of running in and out of the building with food/medications and pets!!!  Honestly, I think people are just crazy from being stuck at home and it is something they can do. 

     I'm still getting out and walking my dogs but that is concerning also as my hiking area is now getting a lot of attention and the people who are walking dogs have dogs that aren't well mannered at all!!  I'm driving farther to find unused areas.

     It is a very stressful mess.

    

[D'Elle]

I am pretty lucky because I don't live in town, but about 20 miles outside of town, and where I am people live on land of one to seven acres, so we are somewhat spread out. I have great neighbors who are friends, and we visit a bit while keeping our distance. Being a homebody and introvert, staying home is no hardship for me, and like all of you am spending more time with the dogs, who are happy about that. 

I go once every 10 days or so to town for just what I need in the way of fresh food. Some of the grocery store shelves here are  consistently empty when I go: no flour or sugar or yeast, little  canned food,  little frozen food, and so on. That's a new experience for me, for most Americans, but I remind myself each time that seeing shelves empty is normal for millions of people in the world, and as a young Syrian refugee I know recently pointed out, at least we are not getting bombs dropped on us as well. 

What really irritates me is that I go in to town and see cafes open (when all restaurants here are ordered to be closed except for take-out), and see many people failing to honor social distancing, not taking this thing seriously at all or not caring. Fine, if you personally want to die, I want to tell them. But how about thinking of others, and the fact that you can spread it without knowing.  How they can be like that is baffling to me.

I was experiencing a great deal of stress and anxiety for a while there, but seem to have settled in for the long haul and have the anxiety more or less under control, although it still flares up on occasion. I check the headlines every day to make sure I don't miss something vitally important, but am now limiting my exposure to the news and not reading everything.

I agree that it is very interesting to be living in these times, making whatever history this will turn out to be. I guess to some degree we are always a part of making history, if you think about it, but right now it is large and specific, something you know will be remembered and you can watch happening right in front of you.

Everyone stay safe out there.

 

[urge to herd]

I live in Sonoma County, about an hour north of San Francisco and about an hour from the Pacific. Quite close to where the first patient came off the cruise ship. My tiny town is suburban as all get out. County population is about 484,000. Confirmed cases of Covid 105, one death confirmed.

I'm mostly at home, infrequent trips to stores. My roommate works in automotive paint supplies, which is considered an essential industry, so he gets to go to work. I'm self-employed as a professional organizer. I've had no income since mid February when it all started to boil up. I'm devising some approaches to working with clients over the phone. No one else has any income, either, so we're all in the same boat. (unless they're already millionaires, it seems). Fortunately my ex is a generous soul (not a millionaire, but has great retirement income) and is contributing monies so I can pay rent and eat.

Governor Newsom ordered shelter in place on March 6th, I believe, the first or second state to do so. New York state was the other  early adopter. 

There are some beautiful walking paths within walking distance, (very handy!) Alas, it is pouring down rain today. California needs it, so I'm trying to not complain too much. Gibbs is delighted to have me home All The Time. If I could teach him to vacuum and fold laundry, I'd be delighted, too!

There are lines to stand in now, to get into stores. Waited 45 minutes a couple days ago to shop at Costco. The line at Trader Joe's that day was so long I gave up. Pizza is still being delivered, so roomie and I splurged yesterday evening. I had cold pizza for breakfast, one of my favorite things. 

I've talked to my sister in  Houston a couple times, the second time right after TX got a shelter in place order from their governor. My niece had to cancel her May wedding plans. I was going to go back for a visit, attend the wedding, and hang out w/Sis for a while. We'll do that later.

Good to read/hear from my border collie community. Keep healthy, stay safe. Thanks everyone for your updates.

Ruth & Gibbs

[Flora & Molly]

I’m a bit jealous of everyone who gets to spend more time with their dogs! 
I have had to bring my dog to my mother, because I don’t feel it is safe to take the elevator in my apartment building anymore. It’s not well ventilated and I’m pretty sure the cleaners no longer clean it. Plus people don’t really keep there distance. So I have to take the stairs and I live on the ninth floor. Not good for the doggy. 
Luckily we don’t have a full lockdown here in the Netherlands, so I can still visit her, keeping some distance from my mum. And we can go to stock work training once a week. But it is so very very quiet in the house.
In two weeks I’m moving, not great to have to do now, but it’s on the ground floor and really close to very nice hiking trails. Can’t wait to get Molly back. She’s looking out the window and waiting for me every day to come and take her home. Breaks my heart.

[D'Elle]

Aww. Poor Molly. Glad to hear that things will soon improve in your living situation, for both of you.

[JohnLloydJones]

I'm working from home -- been doing that for a couple of weeks before the state closed everything, which makes my two very happy. My wife, on the other hand is trapped in India -- also under lock down -- with little chance of travelling back for weeks, I guess. Video conferencing is the order of the day, both for work and family.

[GentleLake]

In my upstate NY county there are 83 confirmed cases, 68 active, 6 deaths and 9 ppl recovered as of today. More than neighboring, more rural counties, but way fewer that what they're experiencing downstate.

Everyone not considered an essential worker is supposedly on stay at home orders and non-essential travel except for food, prescription shopping. No gatherings of any size permitted, though neighbors on both sides of me have had ppl coming and going and one had a party last week. Parks are closed and police are beginning to levy fines b/c ppl are flocking to them.

Me? I'm high risk so I'm staying home except for curbside pickup for food and prescriptions. Everyone else may be blowing it off but I don't care risk it. Who'd take care of my dogs if I got sick? They, OTOH, seem to think my being home all day is just fine by them.

The biggest hardship for me right now is that I recently adopted another dog, a sweet 3-4 y.o. border collie confiscated from a hoarder for neglect. She's a 31 lb. peanut who absolutely adores people and holds no grudges, but needs a lot of socialization so she can learn to control her excitement when she meets new ppl. Guess that won't be happening for a while, so we're spending our time bonding. I wasn't enough of a reward to her to overcome the distraction of the other ppl at the class. She wanted everyone to love her. Her name is now Sunny . . . because it suits her.

[Lawgirl]

Oh my goodness GentleLake Sunny is so beautiful!  Bless you for rescuing her and wow, what a hardship to have time home to bond with her! I know being stuck at home is serious and not fun, but she has to lift your day!

[amc]

What a great name for a lovely dog!  Thank you for rescuing Sunny, and enjoy your time bonding.  More updates, please!

We'll also enjoy notes and pictures of your new digs, Flora & Molly!

Amy

[D'Elle]

Aww, Gentle Lake, she looks so sweet. I had a foster dog I named Sunny because once she got over her fear she was the happiest and sweetest dog ever. Almost broke my heart to let her be adopted. I would have kept her but for the fact that she dominated Jester, and it wasn't fair to him, who was with me first. I still think about her though.

I have been grateful daily that I live where I do, and have my dogs. Isolation on an acre of desert in a rural area with open land nearby is extremely different from being isolated in an apartment in a city. I am not confined at all because I am surrounded by space and only a few people live nearby. I feel so bad for those who are jammed into a small apartment....maybe with kids.....and people everywhere around them, above, below, out on the street.  And my dogs, as always, are my salvation. Every day they make me smile, even when I am feeling sad and down-hearted about what is happening to so many people all over the world.  I am incredibly fortunate.

[SS Cressa]

Sunny is adorable! 

[alligande]

Congratulations Gentle Lake on your new family member she looks adorable. 
 

We have been in lockdown for what seems for ever but is actually 4 weeks. I am in Mallorca, Spain and although the mainland has been hit hard particular Madrid and Barcelona the islands haven’t but we are all subject to the same conditions. Let’s just Spain has a very efficient police force and a lot of them, road blocks are a regular occurrence here at roundabouts and now there are more. The last two weeks everything but essential services ( basically supermarkets, pharmacies and essential repair services like plumbers) you can only have one person in a car, lots of restrictions and big hefty fines. 

The only reason to leave home is to go the supermarket and take the dog for a walk but that has now been restricted to about 50m just so the can relieve themselves. And the police have the power to hand out big fines up to 3000 euros. So for the last 2 weeks since they got strict  the dogs haven’t left home, we have enough space to entertain them and putting collars and leashes on them gets them excited and a quick pee on a tree on the sidewalk doesn’t do anything for them. I have become their entertainer, I feel like one of those people on a cruise ship except it’s for 2 border collies.

 

[geonni banner]

I have been sheltering in place since 2 weeks before they told us to.  Sugarfoot still goes out 3 times a week with her walker - to open space where there's few people to encounter.  Otherwise, it's a quiet, in-the-apartment life.  Not much different for an agoraphobic. No one in my building sick so far. 

Everybody stay safe!

[Duende]

On 4/11/2020 at 9:15 PM, alligande said:

Hi, I am on mainland Spain so have the same problems as you.  I have had my rescue, adult BC for only 4 months. I am very worried about the lack of exercise for him.  I am lucky because I have a small garden where we can play a bit of fetch and hiding things for him to find. I´d be really interested what you do with your two ans are they going nuts through lack of being able to run? Many thanks, and stay well and happy.
 

We have been in lockdown for what seems for ever but is actually 4 weeks. I am in Mallorca, Spain and although the mainland has been hit hard particular Madrid and Barcelona the islands haven’t but we are all subject to the same conditions. Let’s just Spain has a very efficient police force and a lot of them, road blocks are a regular occurrence here at roundabouts and now there are more. The last two weeks everything but essential services ( basically supermarkets, pharmacies and essential repair services like plumbers) you can only have one person in a car, lots of restrictions and big hefty fines. 

The only reason to leave home is to go the supermarket and take the dog for a walk but that has now been restricted to about 50m just so the can relieve themselves. And the police have the power to hand out big fines up to 3000 euros. So for the last 2 weeks since they got strict  the dogs haven’t left home, we have enough space to entertain them and putting collars and leashes on them gets them excited and a quick pee on a tree on the sidewalk doesn’t do anything for them. I have become their entertainer, I feel like one of those people on a cruise ship except it’s for 2 border collies.

 

 

[alligande]

The best thing you can do is brain games, lots of silly tricks. Your guy is only a baby so he doesn't need that much exercise. When my guys were pups they got their meals when training, they are both agility dogs so we are big on foundation work, learning where your feet are etc. You can get a lot of fun out of learning how to get in a box, learning to close a door the options are endless. As he is a baby he will be fine without the exercise, but make sure you expose him to all sorts of weird things, the vacum cleaning, weird noises on your phone, because you can't get him out to socialize, make sure he is getting lots of exposure at home. 

My boys are actually handling it well, my youngster is getting "depressed" for want of a better word, our days start with some canine fitness, we get some running by doing wraps around cones and practicing our agility handling on the roof, if I have time we will do another short session later. I am careful because this type of work can be intensive and it is easy to over do it and hurt them. When it was raining yesterday we went back to working on a trick that is our rainy day game and maybe one day will master. 

Hope that helps.

 

sorry I read that your dog was 4 months old not that you had had him for 4 months. Much of it still applies, 

check out this Facebook group, you will find all the basic exercises and skills for canine fitness. It was created by Dr Leslie Eide who is a specialised sports rehab professional, so everything is taught correctly.https://www.facebook.com/groups/2507428409524778/

[GentleLake]

10 hours ago, alligande said:

...Your guy is only a baby...

@alligande,

On 4/13/2020 at 6:22 AM, Duende said:

...I have had my rescue, adult BC for only 4 months...

Doesn't sound to me like Duende's dog is a puppy, so the exercise comment probably doesn't apply.

@Duende, congratulations on your new dog. What she said about brain games is still very relevant. Your adult dog will need some exercise but trick, obedience, agility and other types of training (like scent work) are all very mentally stimulating and can do a lot to tire a dog out. Since you've only had your dog for a short while, take this opportunity to train good manners and anything else  you can think of just to occupy his brain.

By the way, we love to see pictures here.