# Orchid Dog in Training



## Mrs. Paph (Jan 11, 2010)

I just had to share some pics of my Samoyed puppy Kody (Kodiak) - aka Orchid Dog in Training!  It takes me almost twice as long to water my plants now, with half the time spent making sure he doesn't need to be let outside or pulled back just before biting an orchid, but he's getting better now about laying down and waiting quietly while I water 


 


8 weeks - little white marshmallow dog :rollhappy:



 


16 weeks - chilling in the 'sun' from my main plant stand


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## likespaphs (Jan 11, 2010)

super cute!


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## NYEric (Jan 11, 2010)

QT Thanx for sharing.


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## nikv (Jan 11, 2010)

Cute! Those shelves aren't nearly full enough. oke:


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## Hera (Jan 11, 2010)

nikv said:


> Cute! Those shelves aren't nearly full enough. oke:



I agree, you have good lighting and way too many spaces. 

The dog is a doll!!!!


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## Ernie (Jan 11, 2010)

Cute!

You need some more plants to fill those shelves!  

-Ernie


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## nikv (Jan 11, 2010)

So is your doggy a Paph Pooch?


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## SlipperFan (Jan 11, 2010)

Interesting -- in the top picture, the puppy looks tiny. But in the second one, he looks fairly big.


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## ncart (Jan 11, 2010)

He is soooooooooooooooo cute.


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## Mrs. Paph (Jan 11, 2010)

Thanks  He's cute And he doesn't trigger my allergies like many breeds/mixes do, so he's the perfect dog for me! Everyone with allergies is different, but I've also found that the smaller but similar American Eskimo breed doesn't bother me either. Something about the proteins in their dander is different, which is also thought to be responsible for the fact that they don't have the usual 'wet dog' smell, so that's another bonus!
And yes, I know, Way too many spaces on the shelves...I'm really trying to save and plan for the future when I can get a greenhouse, so I'm pretty selective about what Paphs I choose! I also tell myself I'm keeping the obsession somewhat under control by concentrating on Paphs, but now that I'm down south and found so many things that can be virtually thrown outside for the summer and ignored, I'm ending up with more 'other' orchids too! Oops  And I'm close to a local orchid society now too, so that should take care of the open spaces pretty quickly - but feel free to send me your best divisions if you want to help me fill them up faster! LOL


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## Mrs. Paph (Jan 11, 2010)

Dot - the ad from the photo hosting site gets in the way a bit, but under that I did label the photo, and he's 2 months in the 1st one, and 4 months in the 2nd  He's 17 weeks now, and 24 pounds when I weighed him today. Based on his parents, he'll probably get to 45-55lbs. when full grown.


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## etex (Jan 12, 2010)

Your puppy is a doll!
What lights are you using? Your light set up looks great!


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## Lanmark (Jan 12, 2010)

Pets are great! Your dog is adorable! I agree: you need more plants on your stand! 

My cat has actually finally decided to leave my orchids alone. It's a miracle! :drool: For seven years I've kept a constant supply of oat/barley/wheat grass growing for her. I keep at least two and sometimes three pots in rotation, so there's always more grass sprouting up. She eats it like a cow :rollhappy: but up until a few months ago she would still chomp on the orchids if given the chance. I don't know what's changed, but I'm grateful she's stopped. She still eats the grass, though.


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## NYEric (Jan 12, 2010)

OMG! If I had a cat and it did that I'd end up w/ a new hat!


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## Lanmark (Jan 12, 2010)

NYEric said:


> OMG! If I had a cat and it did that I'd end up w/ a new hat!



:rollhappy:

I learned very quickly to keep her separated from the orchids.


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## SlipperFan (Jan 12, 2010)

Mrs. Paph said:


> Dot - the ad from the photo hosting site gets in the way a bit, but under that I did label the photo, and he's 2 months in the 1st one, and 4 months in the 2nd  He's 17 weeks now, and 24 pounds when I weighed him today. Based on his parents, he'll probably get to 45-55lbs. when full grown.



Ok -- that explains a lot!


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## Mrs. Paph (Jan 18, 2010)

Diane, I use 40W 'sunshine' tubes (not to be confused with the Plant/Aquarium lights that put out more heat). There are a couple different brands that make full spectrum lights that list all the same specs on the packaging (and measure the same with my light meter), so I buy whatever happens to be cheaper at Home Depot or Lowes at the time I need to swap out the bulbs. The key thing that I look for is that they say they provide the full spectrum of light - that way I don't have to keep track of mixing both cool and warm bulbs, and the plants and blooms appear the same color that they do outside in natural light.


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## nikv (Jan 18, 2010)

So have you trained yoru dog to fetch your slippers yet?


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## Mrs. Paph (Feb 23, 2010)

*Photo update & strange plant issue (non-orchid!)*

Here's a more recent pic of Kody! It snowed Valentines Day morning, so I had to photograph my little snow puppy in action! 



He's still behaving around my orchids when I take him in the room with me, but he has a strange obsession with one of my outdoor plants - lemon balm. I made the mistake of rubbing the plant and then putting him near it to smell it when he was still a tiny pup, and now I caught him rummaging through it this afternoon! It's still mostly dormant and covered with old leaves, but he goes over to the plant repeatedly and grabs dried up chunks off of it  Other than me not being pleased about him disturbing it, does anyone know if lemon balm is something that would be bad for a dog if I can't get him to leave it alone??? I looked through a couple lists of plants dangerous to domestic animals and didn't see it, so maybe it's fine and it'll just give him lemon breath?


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## Hera (Feb 23, 2010)

That's no dog, that's a stuffed animal. Too cute!!


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## SlipperFan (Feb 23, 2010)

Really nice-looking pooch! I like his curly tail.


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## goldenrose (Feb 24, 2010)

Mrs. Paph said:


> ...... does anyone know if lemon balm is something that would be bad for a dog if I can't get him to leave it alone??? I looked through a couple lists of plants dangerous to domestic animals and didn't see it, so maybe it's fine and it'll just give him lemon breath?


Non toxic but could cause dermal irritation. Generally used to treat digestive & respiratory complaints of nervous origin......
so what are you feeding this dog & what stress are you putting him thru! oke:


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## NYEric (Feb 24, 2010)

nice dog.


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## Candace (Feb 24, 2010)

He's squishable.


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## Mrs. Paph (Feb 25, 2010)

lol, thanks for the info on lemon balm's uses. Somehow I don't think he's self-medicating for stress...unless he understands quite a bit of English, in which case he probably heard me on the phone that day, scheduling him at the vet to get neutered now that he's 6 months! :rollhappy:


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## Bolero (Feb 25, 2010)

Samoyed's are beautiful dogs - very cute.


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## streetmorrisart (Feb 25, 2010)

Hera said:


> That's no dog, that's a stuffed animal. Too cute!!



My response exactly--I've never owned a dog, but I love this breed.


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