The Peas

These two are always cuddled up together. Instead of calling them my "kids" I've resorted to calling them my "peas"

They often sleep in the strangest of positions

But they are always together, always touching.

I think it's just the sweetest thing in the whole world. It makes even my frost-bitten heart melt.

Now what did I do with the other one? I swear there were three here at one point. . .

Photos In Response to Forum

My anger has subsided some from this morning's posts, so in all fun, here is photographic proof that Malinois are difficult to live with.

First, here is what a "normal" dog does on a day off:

And this is what a crazy mal with a screw loose does on his day off:

While one dog is happy to sleep away the day, the other is just waiting for his command to attack a man.

As far as those pit bulls go, here is one after he has eaten his owner and taken over her bed.

Laughable

I totally love this dog, but I can't help but laugh when I see this

Dave Mills did a wonderful job shooting him last weekend, but Sniper just isn't as graceful as Abby is when she jumps. He tries so hard to be a good dog, and he is, but he is still a big galoof most of the time. Here are some other photos from Dave last weekend

 You can tell he really wants to go, go go!

He takes off running much like a swimmer - one giant leap and he is off!

I really should stop making this dog do agility. You can see how miserable he is

Abby is such a weird dog

A while ago I wrote a post about how proud I was that Abby has become a dog. But the truth is that Abby has become a weird dog. It's true that she has many great dog-like qualities like sitting in my lap, giving kisses, doing the happy dance when I get home. But she also has some very strange qualities that I can't quite seem to figure out. A big one is her fascination with apples. This dog will dig through bags or my purse or anything that has an apple in it. And she will proceed to eat the entire un-cut apple. This dog only has a few teeth! It's absolutely bizarre that she can even eat the apple, but it's even weirder what she will do to get the apple. And I've honestly never seen a dog eat an apple the way people do. The other very odd thing that she does is going to sit in snipers crate! This is the dog that I can't crate because she screams and throws fits! But she has decided that she wants to sleep in snipers crate! Luckily he has decided that he wants to sleep on the chair, so I guess there is still plenty of room for everyone. . .

Abby is so weird and the longer I have her, the weirder she gets!

Family Photo - Lets Try This One More Time

My photo goal this year was to get a family photo with all the kids behaving themselves and looking at the camera. . .but sometimes I feel like I'm playing referee trying to keep the peace between the girls.



Pocket! Keep your tongue in your mouth!



Abby! Don't instigate! You girls better behave or I am going to separate you!



ABBY!!!! Leave. Your. Sister. Alone!



Thank you!

And poor Mole, such a good boy, gets so frazzled between my yelling at the girls and so desperately wanting the treat in my hand.



Sometimes I wonder if we are ever going to get a good photo. . .



Well, at least everyone is looking. . . even if no one is smiling. . .

Foto (My) Friday: A New Head

I collect heads. . . This is the newest one I received for watching a super easy and old dog that lives in the bedroom right next to mine.

Christmas Present: Family Foto Outtakes

ummm. . .this isn't going to be easy:


Well, at least we got everyone's head in:


Looks like Mole and Abby are trying to tell me something:


Let's try a different set up:


Pocket obviously hates this pose:



well, we still have a few weeks left before Christmas. We have plenty of time for more family photo fun.

If I Didn't Have A Dog

A friend forwarded this to me via email, but I don't generally like to forward forwards as some people don't like it. But I found this too funny not to share:

IF I DIDN'T HAVE A DOG

I could walk around the yard barefoot in safety.

My house could be carpeted instead of tiled and laminated.

All flat surfaces, clothing, furniture, and cars would be free of hair.

When the doorbell rings, it wouldn't sound like a kennel.

When the doorbell rings, I could get to the door without wading through fuzzy bodies who beat me there.

I could sit on the couch and my bed the way I wanted, with out taking into consideration how much space several fur bodies would need to get comfortable.

I would have money, and no guilt to go on a real vacation.

I would not be on a first-name basis with 6 veterinarians, as I put their yet unborn grand-kids through college.

The most used words in my vocabulary would not be: out, sit, down, come, no, stay, and leave it ALONE.

My house would not be cordoned off into zones with baby gates or barriers.

I would not talk 'baby talk'. 'Eat your din'. 'Yummy yummy for the tummy'...

My house would not look like a day care center, toys everywhere.

My pockets would not contain things like poop bags, treats and an extra leash.

I would no longer have to spell the words B-A-L-L,, W-A-L-K,, T-R-E-A-T,, O-U-T,, G-O,, R-I-D-E,, C-O-O-K-I-E

I would not have as many leaves INSIDE my house as outside.

I would not look strangely at people who think having ONE dog/cat ties them down too much.

I'd look forward to spring and the rainy season instead of dreading 'mud' season.

I would not have to answer the question 'Why do you have so many animals?' from people who will never have the joy in their lives of knowing they are loved unconditionally by someone as close to an ANGEL as they will ever get.

How EMPTY my life would be!!!

We're SO Boring Now!

I've almost completely stopped training Abby. I read this on another blogger's blog, and in some ways, it seems fitting:

EXCUSES
I cannot train my dog today,
the sky is overcast and gray,
the air's too damp, I've got a cramp,
and the dog's just eaten anyway.

Can't find the leash, got home too late,
I'm due somewhere tonight at eight.
I've got a rash, a gash and bumps,
Too tired now to get the jumps.

Traffic's made me tense and strained,
I have to lose this weight I've gained.
How can we work when it's just rained?

The dog's too hyper, my mood is blue,
I must be coming down with the flu,
I cough, I sneeze and wheeze and choke,
Darn! My only dumbbell broke!

Too cold outside - my feet are numb.
There's a sliver in my thumb.
The house needs cleaning, it's a sight.
I have to work overtime tonight.

I had a nap. Had company.
Lawrence Welk is on TV.
My toe is sore - it might be gout,
I think my hair is falling out.

I ate too much. My day's been rough.
I think my dog has had enough
Of this daily training grind,
we need some time off to unwind.

Author Unknown

It's been awhile since I've diligently trained Abby. I've come up with a hundred and one reasons not to: it's getting dark early, it's too cold, it rained again, it upsets the other dogs, I worked too late, etc. Reading that poem really cracked me up because I think that I have used every one of those recently. But the truth is that I just needed a break. Life has been crazy/hectic/stressful lately and something had to give. I figured that it was the kid's turn to take the back seat for awhile (both figuratively and literally)

For most of the year, my life revolves around dogs. If it's not my own, then it's a friend's or work's. I'm either driving to training classes, or watching a friend trial, or driving a dog to/from the shelter/vet hospital, etc. If I don't have one dog sitting on my lap, I have two. If I try to give them chewies to keep them calm for awhile, I end up playing playground police making sure that everyone stays happy with their own chewie. Everything, including my food, is covered in dog hair. My life doesn't feel like my own at times.

I need to feel like a person again. I need to pretend that my life revolves around me, and not the dogs. I need to find a hobby to keep my other hobby from taking over my life! I need a break from the constant go that is dogs. So, for a little while anyway, we are a "normal" dog family. The dogs are getting walks around the house instead of in the hills. They are getting cookies for "sitting" instead of "sit -down-stay-walk around". I'm trying to spend more time reading an actual book and less time reading dog blogs. It's tough, but I'm trying.

I know this won't last for long, as the dogs are already a bit antsy with this slower pace. And I'm sure I'll get bored quickly too. But we have no trials coming up any time soon, and if ever there was a good time to take a training break, now is the time. Since we aren't training as much, I'm blogging less and less. But hopefully I'll find more time to take pictures of the kids again and post those instead.

New Training Project

I have wanted a new portable dog water bottle for a long time. My old one is great, it's better than a lot of them on the market, but it's plastic and I don't trust plastic long term. I recently saw a super cool stainless steel water bottle for dogs. I loved the design and the durability of it, so I sent the info to a friend of mine who owns a holistic pet store to see what she thought. After a trip to a trade show, she brought this back:



It's not exactly the same thing, but it is pretty close - and I didn't have to pay shipping! The only draw back in this model is the licking-ball (I believe that's the technical term) that the dogs have to use to get the water out. For some, that wouldn't be a problem, but for my dogs, anything new has the potential to be a catastrophe. But because I already bought this, and because I love the idea so much, this wasn't allowed to become a catastrophe. I knew I had to come up with a creative way to get these kids to try this thing out. My great idea? PEANUT BUTTER!

Abby, being a little piggy, LOVED IT!



Mole liked the peanut butter, but wasn't too fond of the rolly-ball dishing out the peanut butter.



Pocket, hated it all. No surprise there.



This is going to be a bit of a project for awhile. I want to try the peanut butter for a few more days, then I will probably move to chicken stock, then eventually onto water. I want them to LOVE the thing before we try it on a walk. I don't want to risk my babies getting dehydrated because they are afraid of the ever-so-slight noise that the licky-ball makes when it is being turned over.

Bath Time

I've been doing a lot of cleaning around here lately - even the dogs didn't escape!

Poor mole is such a great dog. He doesn't complain about the bath, but you can tell he hates it. Now that he is getting older - and brushing is becoming uncomfortable, we will probably rely more on baths to remove the hair.


Abby is very good about baths too. I think part of it is because she got them weekly when I first got her. She had this disgusting habit of licking herself all night - and she would need to be bathed to prevent bacterial infections. She doesn't do it so much anymore, so her baths are less frequent. The latelst bath news is that Abby has settled down enough to take baths by herself! She no longer needs to take showers with mommy!


One little lady escaped the whole bath scene. Can you guess who?


It's ok, though. For some reason, she doesn't get as stinky as the rest of the crew.

I Totally Understand How She Feels

We Don't Need No Stinking Titles

I read this earlier this week on a blog that I frequent regularly:

" What Is A Title Really?" by Sandy Mowery

Not just a brag, not just a stepping stone to a higher Title, not just an adjunct to competitive scores.

A Title is a tribute to the dog that bears it, a way to honor the dog, an ultimate memorial. It will remain in the record and in the memory for about as long as anything in this world can remain. Few humans will do as well or better in that regard. And though the dog himself doesn't know or care that his achievements have been noted, a Title says many things in the world of humans, where such things count.
A Title says your dog was intelligent, and adaptable, and good-natured. It says that your dog loved you enough to do the things that please you, however crazy they may have sometimes seemed. And a Title says that you loved your dog, that you loved to spend time with him because he was a good dog, and that you believed in him enough to give him yet another chance when he failed, and that in the end your faith was justified.
A Title proves that your dog inspired you to have the special relationship enjoyed by so few; that in a world of disposable creatures, this dog with a Title was greatly loved, and loved greatly in return. And when that dear short life is over, the Title remains as a memorial of the finest kind, the best you can give to a deserving friend, volumes of praise in one small set of initials before or after the name.

A Title is nothing less than love and respect, given and received permanently.

When I first read this I agreed completely. A title is a tribute to a dog and to the relationship that you have with that dog. It means that your dog was smart and adaptable and loved you enough to work for you. It means that you loved your dog and believed in your dog enough to spend the time and money it takes to earn titles. These are the reasons that I want titles for my dogs. And the drive for titles is why I am carefully thinking about my next dog.

But as I thought about this more, I realized that this isn't always true. There are many people who have titles on their dogs who do not necessarily do it because they love their dog. They do it because they love the titles and what having dogs with titles means for them as individuals. I think that this is a minority in the competitive dog world, but these people do exist.

I think that people like me, with dogs like Abby, is the other argument to this article. I spent a lot of time and a lot of money working with Abby in agility and we have no titles to show for it. I am spending even more time, and even more money with Abby in Rally, and we may never get a title there either. This doesn't mean that I don't love Abby enough, or that I don't believe in her enough. It also doesn't mean that Abby isn't smart enough or adaptable enough. And it sure as hell doesn't mean that I haven't worked with her enough to get those letters.

Even though I know that having titles doesn't matter and it doesn't prove my love or dedication to my dog, I still want them. I want them because of what it means to other people. A title will go into a record book, one that no one ever reads, but it will be there. And it will show that this Italian Greyhound called Abby did something special. Few people will ever know exactly how special it is or how much we worked through to earn those letters, but I will know. And while I am proud of Abby almost every day, a title will not only prove that Abby can do something special, it will prove that together, we can do something special.

You know you live in CA when. . .

. . .when you buy hotdogs as treats for your dog and the cows were raised on an environmentally sustained ranch with no antibiotics, no hormones, and were grass fed. . .

The Gym Fixed My Dog

Seriously!

I write mostly how wonderful Abby is doing in training/trials, but I rarely write how difficult every day life with her truly is. For the most part, the difficulties have become routine and don't seem quite so bad. But whenever I mention them to someone they can't believe I live like that. But I look at it as not having much of a choice, so there is no point in constantly complaining about it.

One of the hardest things with living with Abby has been the lack of sleep. Abby does not sleep through the night. . .ever. We wake up at least once, usually twice, to go potty. It is tiring (literally) but I really can't complain because for the first few months, ok 9 months, that I had her, she wouldn't wake me up. She would just pee in the bed and go back to sleep. Trust me, it is way more tiring changing your sheets in the middle of the night than it is to walk the 20 feet to the door.

Recently, however, Abby has started sleeping through the night. . .every night!!!! The only change has been that I am now getting up earlier to go to the gym. I am not waking up at 1am like she used to, but I am usually up and out by around 6:30am. I wasn't sure how waking up early would work for me since I NEED my sleep and I hardly get enough of it as it is; but I am getting more sleep now than I have in the past two years! I'm really not sure how this is actually working, but I am going to keep my fingers crossed that it keeps up!

Story Of My Life

OK . . .so I broke down and joined FB again. . .

I have been missing out on so many great puppy photos and I just couldn't stop myself.

But, wouldn't you know, my account has technical difficulties. . .

Story of my life. . .

We'll see how long this account lasts. . .

Best Post Ever

If you aren't a regular follower of Phoenix and Jaime then you should be. A silly Mal and Beautiful Terv. . .what more could anyone hope for? How about the BEST POST EVER!!!!!

Those of us with dogs can relate completely. Those without dogs. . .I'm not even gonna go there. . .

My favorite part:

Time passes.
The puppy grows into a dog and takes our dreams with him.
Some dreams become reality, others not.
Goals are set, pursued, achieved,revised or abandoned.
We laugh and love and cry and learn.
We go places and discover things along the journey we never could have imagined.

This post says what I wish I could have said so eloquently. I often look around at my little pack and wonder how I got here with these dogs. But then I think about all that I have been able to do because of them, and I wouldn't have it any other way. If I wasn't "stuck" with a crazy Iggy, I never would have started agility or rally or met any of the wonderful people that I have met this past year. I'm not sure that it was worth all the pee and vomit I have had to clean up. . .ask me again in a few years. . .

Video Practice

Here is a quick video of Abby and I warming up at home. Try to ignore that cat pajama bottoms and the bath robe...

I should also mention that this is my first foray into video editing... and it is VERY rough... I was just trying to figure out how this whole thing worked!



Remember, you weren't laughing AT me, you were laughing WITH me... and, in this case, totally true

Why Not?

I will never understand why this is not acceptable.