Saturday, September 28, 2013

Pinterested?!


Hey Guyzzzzzz!
Mom started a Pinterest account!  Her page is crocker87.  Naturally, there will be pics of us, pics of other cute things, pics and recipes for food, dog training stuff, and more!


Licks & Wags,
Elsie

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Setter Saturday

I've finally started expanding Elsie's world.  First up was the pet store trip.  Yesterday was Home Depot, one of our favorite non-doggy errands.

We actually had an important mission at the store.  Our vinyl picket gate is broken--has been broken since we bought the house.  That was fine until a couple weeks ago, some neighbors' damn cat started coming over to drink from our pond.  Now, I like cats.  I do.  I've got three little kittens I'm fostering right now.

But this guy a) pisses Champ off big time and b) has a questionable skin condition going on--could be fleas/flea allergies since he's wearing an [old] flea collar, could be mange, could just be allergies, but I don't wanna test these theories out.  I've been the neighborhood bitch chasing him off, but he just does not belong here.  I wish his owners would a) take him inside--winter's comin' and all-- b) treat him properly for fleas and get him some damn meds for his skin infection and c) provide him with some fresh water which he's clearly lacking.

Okay, so I didn't mean to rant on about that.  But anyways, the point being, Elsie and I needed to go get some pvc/plastic suitable adhesive to put the gate back together.  We got the glue.  Now I just need to commit to a house project that I've only managed to put off for two years. Woops.

Here are some photos of Else at Home Depot.  She did awesome.  There were two other dogs there, and while I'm not 100% sure she actually saw them since I was proactive about changing routes (no silly treat bag on me yesterday), if she did see them, she didn't react!  Probably a fluke, I know, but I'll take it!

Standing nicely!

Watching the bees.  Stung at least twice in the last month and still hasn't learned.


Doing some attention exercises while we waited for assistance inside.


On another note, I took Sophie to the farmers' market this morning.  No pics, but I do have to share what she did.  Now, understand, Sophie is my easiest, least-crazy dog to take out and about.  Kids, people reaching to pet her without asking, no problem.  Walking reasonably on a leash, no problem.  Dogs barking at her, no problem.  Standing at my side while I'm doing something, usually no problem.

Well, right after I bought my eggs at a small rancher's stand, the vendor went to grab the dog bones out of the freezer for me to look at.  I honestly don't know if Sophie heard me talk about dog bones and just got excited or what went through her head.  But as soon as he turned around, she tried to leap right up onto his table-acting-as-counter!  WTH?!  She was in her Hurtta harness and her leash was fairly short (to keep her a bit of a distance from the booth to begin with), so I was able to stop her mid air.  In the process of landing, though, her front paw caught on his booth sign (the flexible/tarp-like fabric sign)--no damage, but I did apologize to him and say that she tried to take it out.  He just laughed.

And he wasn't the only one laughing.  Not me. Two groups who had been walking by behind us saw her in action and actually paused to laugh, in good fun, I'm sure.  But sheesh.  Did she have to go and act like she's a wild child just then?  Way to make an impression, Missy.  Sigh.  My crazies.

Anyways, aside from that, she acted like a proper lady, got lots of compliments, and enjoyed her walk.  Afterwards, we stopped by the pet store, where again, she was a proper lady and decided she was just too good for a treat that the employees offered her....


So that's all for tonight!  Thanks for stopping by!
Champ's Mom and her crazies


Tuesday, September 17, 2013

[My] Kittens

I still have the dumped kittens!  They're now about nine weeks old.  Cute and funny pretty much sums them up.  

And mischievous.  I upgraded them to an ex-pen, with some free time in the whole room, and well, I guess they liked freedom too much and started climbing out of the pen.  I swapped out the sheet that was covering it for some much more tightly secured weed barrier fabric (all I had on hand), which has been working for almost 24 hours!  We'll see how long it takes for them to figure it out....

Yesterday, we finally had our intake appointment at Salem Friends of Felines, one of the no-kill cat rescues in the area.  I will continue to foster them until they are adopted or until a regular foster for them opens up.  I have to admit, I got a little separation anxiety when they were in the back getting their health/intake stuff done.

Today, I wrote their bios and [tried] to take photos of them.  Kittens are even more difficult to photograph with a slow cell camera than dogs!  Much more difficult!  Hence the blur....  Plus, they didn't want to cooperate much and stay put in front of the pretty pillows in the only good/mediocre lighting in this room....  Anyways, here they are!

Teegan!



Phoebe!



Zoey!



They're getting so big!  I want to keep them all.  

(Don't worry, Mom, I won't!  I don't need to add Crazy Cat Lady to my title....)


Have a great day!
Dog Mom

Monday, September 16, 2013

I See Water!

Bark! Bark!  BARK!

I don't know how many of my fellow pups know this, but where there is water, there HAS to be birds.  I'm sure of it.  In fact, when my mom tried to take me on a leisurely stroll around her campus yesterday, it was Game On for me (Dog Mom here: read: Game Over for me) once I saw the creek that weaves through it.
I know I embarrassed Mom.  It's just that it is so hard to remember my training when I think there are birds around.  Loose leash walking?  Forgot all about it.  Woops.  I wanted in the water, that's all.  Too much to ask?  Apparently it was because Mom only let me step in and refused to take my leash off!  What, did she think I would just take off and go hunting in the middle of the city?!  BOL... yeah, she was probably right.

But I was right when I assumed there would be birds.  It took awhile of trying to drag my mom here and there (especially cuz she kept pausing and going backwards until I let up on the damn leash), but eventually I did find ducks!  And squirrels!

Poor Mom.  She didn't enjoy our walk at all.  I had a good time, though, and that's really all that matters.


Paws out,
Champ

Dog Mom here again: The most ridiculous thing is that Champ has been to the campus multiple times before and never ever looked like such an untrained brat!  He's usually fairly reasonable when I take him on outings! But nooooo, not this time.  Murphy's Law would have it, too, that there were quite a few people milling about while I had try to refocus him practically every step we took.... 

I'll admit I was at the end of my leash and didn't do much in the way of training games this time.  I should have just turned around and given up about a couple dozen times, but I just kept hoping it would get better....  Oh how wrong I was.

Thank dog I'm at that point in life where I can not worry about what others are thinking and focus on being a dog freak trying to manage her freak dog.  

At least I got these pretty nice photos of him.... 


Pre-creek/duck/squirrel-sightings at the water fountain.

I will sit on the fountain's ledge, I will not look at you!

Aaaaarrrrf!  The CREEK!  Where are the birds?!

Post-creek/duck/squirrel-sightings.  Yep, I'm a little tired now.

And that tongue fit neatly back in my mouth, how 'bout that!  Now someone wipe that slobber off of me!

Never mind, I'll just pant and froth some more....   Oh the stress of having to sit still when there are squirrels running amuck.....




Alfie's Blog

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Elsie... full of surprises

Howdy!

I finally took Elsie to the pet store for the first time today.  Crazy, I know, that I've had her over nine months and haven't done so before.  I guess I was just worried about her looking like a freak... a trait for which my dogs are known.  /cringe/  When I got her, she was a horrible leash puller, but we've been working on that.  What we haven't been working on are her issues with unknown dogs when she's on a leash.  Fail.  Elsie has made small improvements just from the walks we go on, but I haven't focused on it like I have with Champ.

So... I've been hesitant to take her to public places where we will likely encounter dogs.  I decided she needed an outing today, though, and brought her along to the pet store for treats and to get breakfast (for me).  It's a medium sized local pet store that we go to frequently.  Fortunate for me, unfortunate for my wallet, it's about two minutes from my house.  I figured if there was a dog in there, I could just take her back to the car, but as it was, there were only a few customers inside, all sans dogs.

Oh my gosh... all that intro, just to say she did great!  She sniffed around but kept on a loose leash the whole time.  I should add we didn't even have her front clip harness on!  She was sporting her new Hurtta Lifeguard Padded Y.  (As an aside, I need to post a pic of her in it!  I never jumped for pink before--for me or the dogs--but I have to say, I love, love, love, these pink harnesses on the girls.)

Anyways, we even got a compliment by a customer on how when trained she was. :)  Win!  I was so pleased over all at how well she did in the store, and I enjoyed watching having this new experience.  I'm looking forward to taking her for more fun trips.

Now... I guess we better get to work on making her less unhappy about other dogs being around!


Have a great weekend!
Elsie's Mom

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Errands and Hiking!

It's a Sophie Setter Day!

Running errands with Mom last Friday!  I got to go into a couple pet stores while Mom hunted for the Spindrift Super Strong Max Walker Lead (see below) and Lowes.

(Blurry, but the best Mom's lame-ass smartphone could get.)
It's me with my new hiking bud, Cricket!  I've never met her before this hike on Sunday, but Champ had tricks class with her and told me she is awesome!  I agree!  By the way, this was a post-wedding hike with her newlywed parents!  Mom went to their beautiful wedding yesterday on Saturday, at Beazell Memorial Forest, and guess what! Cricket was the Flower Dog!

At the base of Shellburg Falls... I really wanted to swim!

On a log overlooking the pools.

Mom made me stand on a rock ledge.  I refused to pose any better than this!  And yep, I was a bit winded!

Our hiking group underneath the falls.  Cricket is way over at the far left, but it's hard to see her.

And the actual Shellburg Falls from under that ledge above.  There wasn't much water, but it was still pretty!  We hiked for about an hour and a half or so longer, but Mom gave up on her camera phone.  It was really fun, though!  I especially loved watching Cricket kill a garter snake!  She meant business!


Thanks for stopping by!
Kisses,
Sophie


Thursday, September 5, 2013

Surprise Thunderstorm = Bad Night

I'm really too tired to be blogging right now, but I just have to tell you about how Elsie ruined my night of sleep!

Mom took us to bed at 11.  Elsie and Sophie went in their crates, and I slept with Mom as usual (although she's threatening to start rotating).

Elsie started pawing at her crate at about 11:30, but Mom was fast asleep.  I tried to tell her to shut up by barking and growling at her.  Yes, I meant business.  Then, can you imagine the nerve--Mom told ME to be quiet!  She obviously didn't know what was going on.

Midnight comes and Elsie starts fussing again.  Needy.  Mom got grumpy, too, and finally told her to be quiet.  Elsie did not listen, of course.  Mom wondered if she had to go to the bathroom, so she begrudgingly got out of bed and went outside with us.  Elsie went #1 but that was it.  She was panting, so Mom took her to the water bowl.  Problem solved?  Nope.

Elsie was put back in her crate.  In a matter of minutes she started up again.  Mom tried to wait her out.  Fail.  Mom took her out again and tethered her to the dining room table where her dog bed is.  Finally!  Quiet!  For maybe 20 minutes.  Then Elsie started knocking stuff over and jumping around.  Back into her crate she went.  More whining, more scratching at the door, more growling by me telling her to knock that shit off, more of Mom trying to wait her out.  At this point, Mom started crying because she was so tired and frustrated after about an hour.

Mom decided to try sleeping out on the couch and turned a loud fan on by her to fade out Elsie's tail beating her crate.  Sophie started barking.  Great.

Half an hour later, Mom sucked it up, decided to quit being selfish.  Of course, the whole time, she knew something was wrong because Elsie does not normally do stuff like this at night.  But she didn't know what was wrong and just didn't see getting any sleep if she didn't try comforting her.  Clearly, waiting it out was not going to work.

So... she sat by the crate and started petting Elsie.  She noticed she was drooling and panting again, so she took her out and got her more water.  Then they sat on the sofa, but Elsie wouldn't settle.  They did a training session, which was great to refocus her, but at 1:30ish in the morning, there was only so much training Mom was up for.

I'm quite bitter about what happened next.  Mom took Elsie up on the bed with us.  I dunno if you know this, but I have a bit of an RG issue with space when it comes to other dogs.  FYI, that's pretty much my bed.  Mom slept between us and had Elsie on a short leash wrapped around her wrist, naively thinking she would be able to sleep.  Surprise.  Elsie wouldn't settle for more than half an hour.

And that's when Mom saw lightning flash and heard very loud thunder.  Duh.  A storm had been brewing.  Humans are so slow....  That's also when Elsie starting shaking and rattling.  I almost felt sorry for her.  (Dog Mom here: I definitely felt sorry for her.  Fail on my part.)  Comforting wasn't helping, so even though Mom realized Elsie was afraid of thunderstorms (our first one here), she made a slightly selfish choice again.

Benedryl.

Yes.  She drugged her.  Now, I'm not gonna judge.  She didn't know Elsie had this fear, she didn't know there was a storm coming, and she didn't know how she'd ever get any sleep last night and make it to school this morning if she didn't sedate her.

Elsie is still wearing my Thundershirt today.


Once she gave her just 25mgs of Benedryl, she wrapped her up in my Thundershirt, put her back in her crate, covered the crate with a blanket, and put the loud fan next to her to muffle the storm.  And then she waited.  I had to remind Elsie to be quiet a couple more times, but eventually, there was quiet.  I dunno if the storm ended, if the Thundershirt helped, or if the Benedryl sedated her, but we got to sleep for a whoppin' four-five hours after that.

Mom had better check the forecast.  I do NOT want any repeats of last night.

I'm going to go nap now.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

100th Post!

We're

So

Excited...

...that we made it to 100!

Happy Wordless Wednesday!
Champ, Sophie, and Elsie




Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Tuesday Already?

Mom took Sophie to the pet store to help her pick out some treats for us!  Woof!

They did something they don't do often: buy a brand they've never heard of.  /sound doomsday effects/

Get in ma belly, Raw Naturals!



Raw Naturals are made by Gimborn, which makes some other pretty popular freeze dried treats, but Mom didn't know that when she bought these....  She was sold on those purdy vegetables and nice blurbs about the qualities of the foods.  Good job, Marketers!

Here's the general description:
"Pro Treat Raw Naturals combines the goodness of whole meats, vegetables and fruits into a healthy, all natural treat that dogs are certain to love. Only the best ingredients are used at the peak of freshness. These treats do not contain any fillers or artficial ingredients. All ingredients are carefully selected, blended and freeze dried to perfection. Some ingredients include Real Beef with Berries and Flaxseed plus other fresh fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, salmon oil, blueberries, ginger and parsley. Made in the USA."

Here are some of the blurbs on the package (they picked the "Real Turkey with Berries & Flaxseed flavor):
All Natural Treats with Added Vitamins & Minerals
Real Turkey
Blueberries & Cranberries for Antioxidant Protection
Flaxseed for Healthy Heart, Skin, and Coat
Grain Free
No Artificial Preservatives
Wheat, Corn & Soy Free
No Added Sugar
No Wheat Gluten

Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein 40% min, Crude Fat 20% min, Crude Fiber 5% max, and Moisture 5% max.

Ingredients: Turkey, turkey hearts, turkey liver, romaine lettuce, watermelon, apples, carrots, egg, flaxseed, salmon oil, apple cider vinegar, blueberries, cranberries, inulin, dried kelp meal, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, dried ginger, dried parsley, dried garlic, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, mixed tocopherols (as preservative), rosemary extract, Vitamin E supplement, Vitamin D3 supplement.

Aaaaaaand, it's made in the US!

Not bad, I think.

Oh, how do they taste?  Well... one word:

YUM.

Okay, to be honest, we aren't picky, and we do generally love novel treats.  But I don't think the tastiness will wear off anytime soon!  Mom likes that they aren't overwhelmingly smelly, but we think they smell great!


Have Nomsful Tasty Tuesday!


Monday, September 2, 2013

Somethings gonna give....

And it better not be this blog!

Seriously, Mom, pick up the slack!  I know, I know... school started last week, we had Grandma down this weekend (miss you already!), there are three kittens trying to hog your attention (successfully), and on it goes.  But you promised to dedicate a decent chunk of your time to honor me, your Brat of Brats.  I better see some better effort from you and SOON.


Love always,
Champ


See what she wasted time on last Friday?  Ridiculous.