Akayla is a Central Asian Shepherd, technically called a Central Asian Ovtcharka. Here's an excerpt from United Kennel Club's breed standard (the breed is not yet recognized by AKC): History For thousands of years, large, heavily-built dogs with cropped ears and tails have been used by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia to protect livestock from predators and other property from thieves. The breed developed as a result of rather harsh natural selection. The climate in the countries where the Central Asian Shepherd Dog developed ranges from hot and dry, to bitterly cold and windy. Only the hardiest of pups survived and only those with strong guarding instincts were allowed to stay with the flocks. Working Central Asian Shepherd Dogs are still found today in Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kirgyzstan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The breed is still very rare in the United States. General Appearance The Central Asian Shepherd Dog is a dog of great size with massive bone structure and powerful muscles. The body is slightly longer than tall. The head is massive. Ears are normally cropped close to the head but are naturally small, drop, and set low on the head. The tail is high set and thick at the base, and when undocked, hangs down to the hock with a sickle shape. Two coat lengths are accepted, but all are double-coated and thick. Gender differences are well expressed in this breed. Males are more massive and powerful; females are smaller and lighter in build. Dogs should be presented in hard, muscular condition. The Central Asian Shepherd Dog should be evaluated as a working livestock guardian dog, and exaggerations or faults should be penalized in proportion to how much they interfere with the dog's ability to work. Honorable scars resulting from field work are not to be penalized. And a little from another web site: Central Asian Shepherd dogs are said to be the oldest known group of dogs in existence today. Dating back over 5,000 years as per artifacts found in native lands. Unlike most breeds today, they are not man made or created by any specific reason or country. They were created by the climate and culture of a uncivilized time long forgot. You will find different breed types depending on the terrain from the mountains of Mongolia to the deserts of the Kara Kum. Their history is merged with the civilization of man and their timeline can be found by tracing the history of the ancient silk route. To understand their past history you must understand a time when surviving one day against extreme climates, predators now extinct and invading tribes was a goal not easily done. Today you will find Nomadic tribes using this pedigree groups of dogs to guard what they hold sacred: their family and their ancient form of transportation, be it camel or horses. Wrongly classified as traditional livestock guardians, they are territorial guardians bred to guard people and their possessions. They seek out human attention, thus bonding with their humans first and the flock second. They guard what ever is placed in their perceived territory. Superb pack oriented predator control dog; a cat in dog's clothing; X-large not giant but agile; problem solving, smart, attentive and affectionate; naturally protective of all they call their own. ----------------- Thanks for the additional encouragement! So far the process has been fun. I can see what you mean about the therapy going both ways. It's been interesting watching Akayla learn to respond to me instead of my husband. I think I'll take her to the park today and see if she'll take any treats from me. We need to practice "heeling."

Shirley, I read your post just now while eating oat bran. LOL Usually I cook it in a bowl in the microwave, sometimes adding raisins before cooking. Sometimes I add a sprinkle of cinnamon. Occasionally I stir in some applesauce after cooking. Tonight I was eating it uncooked, mixed with wheat germ and some raisins and walnuts, and sweetened slightly with one drop of stevia. Cooked or uncooked, I eat it with soymilk. Actually, oat bran is very much on my mind right now because I have to launder a shirt and shorts that are covered with it. I fell down my porch steps this evening while holding a bowl of cooked oat bran and soymilk, and it got all over me--hair, arms, clothes. What a mess. I don't know how it happened. My DS was right there, and he doesn't know how it happened either. I'm just glad I didn't reinjure my bad knee. Anyway, I didn't get to eat any of it, so that's why I was eating it uncooked a little later.

viral or not, you can treat the symptoms? Why wouldn't someone do that? Because most of the OTC cold meds don't really do much if at all. It's over-medicating that is pointless.The exception would be to take specific one ingredient relief for various symptoms. Aspirin or the like for fever/pain. Guaifenesin to break up mucus. (it will work on thick mucus anywhere, not just lungs, your body doesn't care). I don't see how Airborn is still on the market. I guess only because it really can't be regulated like real drugs since the scammers market it as a supplement. Hiowever it's real danger is it's vitamin A content. Take too much of that snake oil and you can exchange your cold for something far more detrimental. From WEB MD Vitamin A is LIKELY SAFE for most people when taken by mouth or given as a shot into the muscle in amounts less than 10,000 units daily. Vitamin A is POSSBILY UNSAFE when taken by mouth in high doses. Some scientific research suggests that higher doses might increase the risk of osteoporosis and hip fracture, particularly in older people. Adults who eat low-fat dairy products, which are fortified with vitamin A, and a lot of fruits and vegetables usually do not need vitamin A supplements or multivitamins that contain vitamin A. Long-term use of large amounts of vitamin A might cause serious side effects including fatigue, irritability, mental changes, anorexia, stomach discomfort, nausea, vomiting, mild fever, excessive sweating, and many other side effects. In women who have passed menopause, taking too much vitamin A can increase the risk of osteoporosis and hip fracture. There is growing concern that taking high doses of antioxidant supplements such as vitamin A might do more harm than good. Some research shows that taking high doses of vitamin A supplements might increase the chance of death from all causes and possibly other serious side effects.

My jewelry was locked in a locked jewelry drawer along with our passports. My meds I put at the back of the lower cabinet in the vanity. I keep all my meds, except the weekly ones in plastic zip lock bags, so I just threw the weeklies in with those. Someone would have to bend down, and look to the back of the vanity cabinet to find them. We took our phones, iPads, and my handbag. All the dog's stuff got shoved under the bed and her bowls were shoved to the back of the sink cabinet behind the dish detergent. The big thing is that anything I was afraid might "walk away" in terms of knick knacks, etc I removed to a storage locker before putting the house on the market. About the only thing that could have possibly "walked away" were a pair of hand made wood salt and pepper mills that were on our counter. LOL.