Using the kit Angels Among Us by Dancing Princess Designs sold at GoDigitalScrapbooking!

The Wood Pile

Dad loves to chop wood and stack it up in perfect rows, all the same size. I have to admit that it's a good-looking pile of wood that he has! As with all manual labor, it's more fun to do with a little help, so when he comes home with load of wood, I usually go over for an hour or two and give him a hand with some of the lifting and carrying to the pile.

Today we worked in unseasonal weather with pockets of rain for about an hour. I took Cooter and Isabelle with me so they could run around and sniff and get out of the house for a bit. With the rain, it was cool, but it was also wet. We got through it pretty quickly, though, so overall it was still a good day!

Cooter's version:
I got to pee in new places and was recognized for my studliness and ability to strut. Yep *sniff/snort*, I'm da man!

Isabelle's version:
Oh my God, was this day EVER going to END? They just kept walking and working and bending and tossing, and there were NO laps to sit in. I couldn't even go lay in the grass because it was WET. I finally had to ask mom to open the car door so that I could sit and watch from someplace comfortable. And it interrupted my beauty sleep.

Takeover

The full story is somewhere in this blog (try key words for storytime, Isabelle, or Ellie Mae), but this page's journaling talks about when Isabelle was having a false pregnancy and tried to take over Ellie's litter! Int he end, Ellie, won, but welcomed Isabelle's help feeding and caring for the little ones.

RIP Coconut Jar

This morning it became apparent that it was time to put our friend, the Coconut Oil Jar, to rest. This jar has been one of our best friends during it's time here with us.

Our relationship started with an innocent comment or a link somewhere to the benefits of coconut oil. What? An anti-biotic and anti-fungal all in one? I was sure we could use some of this for something or another. I bought a jar on faith that it would be used and find its purpose.

Well, it found many purposes. The first of note was Gator's tearstains. After learning that tearstains were a sign of candida, an internal bacterial imbalance, I began to do what I could to restore the proper bacterial balance and used the coconut oil externally on the tearstains. It worked like a champ! The first application would soften the brown areas and make them very easy to remove in subsequent applications.

From there, we moved to putting it on hotspots, or other dry, patchy areas of skin. Occassionally it would find its way to a dry nose or a scrape or two.

But no matter where the oil was used, the dogs' favorite use was as a treat. Whenever the Jar was pulled out, everyone would gather around for a fingernail full of the fluffy white stuff. It quickly became one of their alltime favorites.

It wasn't long before the Jar taught them other things. Like how to steal it, even though it was far too big for a pug to carry. Then they learned how to remove the srew-top lid which truly resolved the carrying issue now that they could simply grab the rim of the Jar.

After learning how to remove the lid, it wound up on my bed mysteriously missing coconut oil down to the depth of a pug tongue. With getting past that hurdle, it lasted for quite some time afterwards since I was the only one who could reach down deep enough to get out more oil. It didn't prevent them from carrying it around and stealing it from each other. Finding the coconut jar was a chore at times, but fortunately the majority of the time it would end up back on the bed before I needed it again.

The Jar was one of their best friends. They didn't get depressed or give up in frustration that they couldn't reach the oil. No, they carried it around with awe and respect. The possessor would laud it over the have-nots. It would inspire a rousing game of chase. And they would lovingly and gently chew all around the rim of the plastic jar to the point where it was hopeless to ever reconsider putting the lid back on.

Yes, it was a beloved member of the family. Recently, though, we have been scraping bottom. Just yesterday they all got treats of coconut oil as they sat around me with bright and excited eyes. I figured it would only last a couple more days, so imagine my surprise when I woke this morning to find the jar absolutely empty.

It seems in a farewell to our family, it gave them one last lesson on life. Use your paw to get to the bottom. One of my beautiful, intelligent companions has figured out how to use her paw to scrape the bottom of the coconut jar to retrieve the last tasty morsels.

Farewell, our friend. May you find yourself recycled into the plastic of your dreams.

Splash Day at the Dog Park

Today was one of the bestest days, ever!!! The new city pool splash park teamed up with the dog park and they had a dog splash day now that the pool has closed down for the season. Truth be told, I didn't make it to the park during its inaugural year as a human to swim, but now that I've been there, I'm very impressed.

The lucky candidates to go with me today were Isabelle, Rizzo, and Rizzo's pup, Kentucky Lilly. Lilly, being only 8 weeks old, and one of the cutest pugs EVER, stole the show. She worked the crowd, following this person, chasing that dog, getting total strangers to ensure her every need was met. She could spot a "rescuer" from across the water park and make a beeline for him/her and give them the "help me, help me" look and they would sweep her up in arms full of cuddles. If I was following her, she barely knew I was there, but if I wanted someone to watch her while I went to do something, she was right behind me with them chasing saying "I tried to pick her up!!" Goofy puppy.

Rizzo was the first to try the water. They have a wonderful little ramp-type area. Humans weren't supposed to be in the pool with the dogs, but several were breaking the rules, so I went in to my ankles with her. She wanted so badly to be brave, but she ended up putting her front paws up on the back of the legs and slowly we waded out together, with her on my leg the whole time. She did ok, though, and kind of swam back a few strokes till she realized she could actually walk back out. Isabelle didn't go out that far, but she did get wet. When we started off for another area, Rizzo lost me in the crowd and ran out into the water searching for me. She found herself in way too deep in a circle of women and she was on her back legs pirouetting. They thought it was cute, but I knew she was panicking. As soon as I saw her go out, I started after her, so as soon as I was within ear range, I was asking people to pick her up. They did, thank goodness. She was in no real danger since she could still stand on her back legs, but she was definitely worried, and didn't really want to go back in the water after that, even though it turns out she's a fine swimmer!! She might have gotten over it if we had been able to stay out there with them for any length of time, but I was trying to be as good as possible for the sake of the health department :)

We continued on around the complex and watched the big, brave dogs. Their owners were throwing all sorts of things as the dogs fearlessly threw themselves into the deep end and gleefully retrieved whatever object it was. They would shake off so much water that it would drench Lilly - lol. She didn't care for that...

On the backside of the pool, where it was deeper, I tried to see if they would like to walk out onto a step where it was shallow and (for the moment) no other dogs. The adults weren't very interested, but Lilly fell into the pool. I immediately reached to drag her back out, but to my surprise, she was swimming very well. She was panicked, but she was swimming. So I held my hand over her till she got to the edge (about 4 inches and 8 puppy paddle strokes) and then lifted her out. Hoping that she would realize that she can swim and that she was ok. Well, she was pretty miffed about the whole thing. First the big dogs shaking on her, then getting her feet wet, and now her whole body??? Where was a rescuer when she needed one? Obviously this isn't what the princess had in mind.

We got to see lots and lots of other dogs. Some of our favorites were the 14-month old springer spaniel siblings, an awesome cutie scottie terrier named Duncan, a 5-month old puppy dachsund who tried really hard to keep up with everyone who ran by, a gorgeous german shepherd who enlisted me to throw his ball into the water, some beautiful golden retrievers, and many others I'm forgetting at the moment. We had a really wonderful time. The girls were totally exhausted after our 2 hour excursion and they settled into deep naps on the way home. And with all the excitement, I forgot to take pictures :( But Lilly kept me very busy with her antics and her frolicking. You just never knew which direction she was going in next. A representative from the dog park asked if she could take a pic for their web page, though. If I find it later, I'll scarf it and post it here for you all!

First real day out for Ellie's boys

We've been dabbling with the good weather. Some time on the porch, in the yard and in the gravel (introducing to different textures/surfaces), but today was our first all out big day out. It was gorgeous, the sun was shining, and it probably hit pretty near 70 degrees. Our first stop was an oil change where the boys got proper admiration. The next stop was the reservoir. We weren't near the water, but we had fun in the grass. The adults got a full out run in GREAT BIG circles and got to stretch their legs good. We took pictures until the batteries in my camera died, which unfortunately wasn't very long. Here's a shot of Isabelle followed by Ellie and Jolene in one of their big circles.



Hey - where did my brothers go??



I was starting to edit this next picture, went into the other room to check on supper, and the dogs jumped up on the desk to see what they were missing out on and found the shortcut key for changing the picture to black and white on the keyboard. I kind of liked the effect, so I kept it :)



Geesh... there she is with that camera AGAIN...



The boys romped, played, bit my toes, ate some grass, sniffed some smells, ran in and out of the crate, and had a blast. These boys might be total angels, but even I was pleasantly surprised when they voluntarily all climbed back into the crate at the same time I was ready to pack up and go home. Talk about SMART DOGS!!




Then we went to Mom's house and took a nap. Both me and the dogs! After our nap, we visited the neighbors where the dogs met a pug outside their pack, got lots and lots of hugs and kisses, and were introduced to another toddler. They had an absolute blast, tails wagging full on the whole time. They even managed to steal a bone or two away from the adults. Yes, they were quite proud of themselves and strutted to show it.

It was a great first outing for the boys and I'm so proud of them. They were a little timid at times, but by and large they handled the big old world like pros. It helped having the moms there. Their next outing will have a little time with mom and a little time with just me. We try to give them new exposures and experiences a little at a time so that they know they are safe even if the whole pack isn't there. We eventually wean them down to some one-on-one time and some alone time to help them adjust in a familiar setting before going to a new home.

Boys peeking out of the crate

What a difference two and a half weeks make!

Ellie and Isabelle have found their happy medium. Ellie has regained control of her babies and Isabelle is the faithful and much needed assistant. The girls are working together and even giving each other kisses while the puppies are feeding. It's nice to all be on the same page again!

Tiki's puppy is thriving, but she's so much more tiny than the boys! You can see her as the speck in the picture. But the boys are so fat and happy that the little girl can crawl circles around them right now! I had to get the boys out on the bed and make them do laps for their milk - lol. They'd head for the teat and I'd put them back on the other side of the bed. It was most unfair, to be sure, but they are walking much better and are more lively and rambunctious. In fact, I heard the first bark yesterday. Two of the boys were playing and one of them told the other what was what! Very bossy!

Daisy made me feel better tonight. She was sitting on the floor barking at an unknown threat. Then I figured it out - she barked at the featherduster!!! Hahahaha... she was just trying to make me not feel so stupid ;)

The featherduster and the coup

Ellie's boys are 3 weeks old now and they are so incredibly cute!!! But man are they fat. And I do mean FAT!! I knew that they'd be getting extra milk since there were only 3, but we've had to take the boys out and literally exercise them and make them work for their food to keep them moving around.

Well, the mystery of why they are so big has been solved. Isabelle was going through a false pregnancy and she would watch over the boys when Ellie went out to go potty or went to get a bite to eat. She faithfully sat by the whelping pen, staring adoringly at her charges and chasing away any other dogs who tried to sneak a sniff of the little fuzzies. But then watching turned to active participation. Before we knew it, Isabelle was jumping into the pen with the pups and feeding them EVEN MORE!! Holy cow, it's no wonder we can barely see their legs.

However, feeding the pups has kicked in Izzy's maternal drive. So after working with the three milk-bearing females yesterday to get one of them to permanently adopt Tiki's (with no success), I finally gave in and we're back to the bottle. I was tired and needed a good night's sleep. But at midnight, Izzy decided to stage a coup to take charge of Ellie's pups. I was wakened by growls and posturing. Amazingly, Izzy won and she stayed in the crate with the pups as Ellie slept by my head and stared longingly at the whelping pen with a big sigh. I told her to enjoy the break and I'd take care of it in the morning. After a few more skirmishes that night, Ellie managed to gain control of the whelping pen, but Izzy jumped in after her. There they were, two mommas and 3 babies, all squished into the pen. So I brought Izzy to work with me to give poor Ellie a break. Those crazy girls!

Between their skirmishes and the little one's feedings, I don't think I got much sleep last night. So this morning as I walked through the house with closed eyes, I walked by a chair with a big black feather duster in it and I patted its head, thinking it was a pug. The next step is the loony bin!

Petunia's pug puppies at 6 weeks and counting!

Six weeks is a wonderful, magical age. The puppies are absolutely enchanting!
My voice is associated with food, so they all come running when I call them. But still, when I sing "where are my puffalumpies?" and they all stumble over themselves in a rush to get to me, with their little miniature puffy noises, it still warms my heart!
They are starting to get more and more individual time. I've been taking them into the other room one at a time to help them with their security when they leave the pack. Let them know it's ok to be indendent for gradually increasing amounts of time. They're having fun investigating new surroundings and already, they understand that the pug with the coolest toy wins and have found some interesting things to call toys.
For those of you with multiple pugs, you know exactly what I mean. Next to humans, having the coolest toy is the best thing in the world. Especially if it's light enough to be both larger than the dog and still able to carry it around like tupperware bowls.
Pugs often have a fear of stairs and young Isabella was very agile. She could run up and down then with no hesitation. Then she discovered the little girl's room with barbie doll toys. What a glorious day! For weeks, Isabella would sneak down one barbie related toy at a time (until they were discovered and confiscated), and was the queen of the cool toys. Her cunning ability has earned her a permanent high ranking in the pack.