Woooooooo scary

Couple of things I've noticed about myself:

1) I like to run around and chase cats when they are outside, but inside I could care less if they are there.

2) I was overjoyed to learn there is a name for the mysterious condition I now know is called "Frito Feet".

3) Pop seems to spend an awful lot of time looking at the English Bulldog rescue site. He is looking for a brother, I just know it!

4) I learned how to open the gate at the dog park all by myself. Lovely.

5) They closed the city's largest dog daycare without notice and this means Daddy would have to commute and hour to and from the house even before work to take me to the next closest on. What the heck am I supposed to do all winter NOW?!

6) We are going APPLE PICKING on Sunday. Did you hear that?! APPLES. They have WHOLE TREES of them. wOOt!
Why do we not live there?

(Last time I went, I got scared of the horses on the hayride. Pop reminded me that not many dogs are allowed on hayrides).

With bulldogs, we don't go on assumptions...

You might think that because I spent the entire week with Daddy home all day (he's been sick) that my behavior might be a bit different.

Nope!

Though I did spent large proportions of the day on the couch, snoozing under a blanket, I was pretty much par for the course in every other area of behavior.

1) Bathtime last night was met with ambivalence. At least, that is until Pop pointed his finger at the floor and made direct eye contact. For some reason, I respond to that more than asking. The most amusing part is that though I hate getting into the bath, I LOVE being clean. I jumped and wiggled and just generally ran around as

2) I have BAD tail fits during the night. We clean 3x per day. If I wake up at all during the night, I'm guaranteed to notice it and jump out of bed as if to say "hey, peeps, I'm not getting back in there. it smells"

3) Someone in the neighborhood threw rotten food onto their lawn on the other side of the fence, so of course I have to be asked to leave it alone. After being told "no", I then will take off around the corner of the house and get a big mouthful of potting soil. It's like "you want to see bad? rotten food ain't bad - I'm gonna eat DIRT." I only do this when I am not on the leash.

4) I find that I am better-behaved the more routine a day I have.

That said, the rest of the time I am a cuddly little angel. Especially if you're eating an apple.

Most Shocking...

When I visit my grandma, I go nose to nose with her rescued Papillon. This dog is DOMINANT! She sits in her chair, high above, and growls and growls.

Anyway, when Grans first got this dog, she used to leave, um, presents under the dining room table. Lots of them. Since the carpet is an eggplant color, Grans didn't find them right away. Well, last time I visited, for the very first time I "marked" over where she had left the presents, because apparently I could still smell them and I go wherever I've smelled that someone else has gone. In a million years I have never gone indoors, never ever...but this is the first time.

I have done it twice - once on that carpet and another time on a blanket where the Papillon likes to stake out the kitchen...and Daddy and Pop don't know why. It may be a dominance thing, and of course I had to sit quietly in the foyer by myself while they figured out what to do about it, but from reading the message boards the answer is that I now can't be left alone to explore at Gran's. Ugh.

I am a perfect angel at home. I even get up during the night and sit waiting for a baby wipe if Im not feeling fresh. Though I am not altogether happy with the idea of the cleaning, I guess I'm letting Dad know I need it to be done.

Note from Pop:
I guess daycare is now out of the question. Oh boy.

Meow

I have lately developed an obsessive curiousity about what might be under the wicker settee on the patio. I believe a cat to have regularly slept under there during the worst of the snowstorms, and there are several cats in our neighborhood who do not have homes.

Every time we go outside I make Dad lift up the settee and explain to me that there is nothing under it. Only then can I successfully pee and do my regular yard investigation.

Pop is a bit different. The first thing he says when we go outside is "no kitty". Of course, I still look around for them, but...perhaps not so much.

You know, though...people in our neighborhood aren't really all that considerate, and I think Pop has figured out that someone other than me has been using the yard as a bathroom. Hence the extra sniffing and the excitement about "who could that be?". We have noticed one rather barky chihuahua and also a yorkie in the area, so...hmm.

I'm doing pretty well with learning to give up my toys. In fact, it's a nonissue now. Yay!

My family wants to move to a warmer climate. This grey dreary raw weather...who'd miss it? Not me! I want to roll in the grass all year!

Ah, there's nothing like Home for the Holidays

I got:
1) a sweater from santa
2) new boots from santa
3) big teethy rings to play tug from pop
4) a cool nylabone from dad
5) a massage from pop
6) a snack of roasted goose and greenbeans from bri and meg!

I am spoiled so rotten. Hee hee hee. Both parents are exhausted...so...as luck would have it we've all been sleeping in since Xmas. I am ALL for sleeping in.

Daddy is on a new schedule now, so it looks like I may be going to day care a couple of days per week. The whole concept makes Papa very nervous, because "no one takes care of her like we do". He wonders about other dogs, and he wonders about rambunctiousness. Then again, my pawrents probably contribute to my neuroses by spoiling me.

After all, Pop asks me everyday if I am happy. I have just one answer to that question: do you have a cookie?

I'm 4 Now!

I turned 4 on Saturday!

I got three new toys: A squishy baby, Shaky Rings, and a new bone! Daddy took me to the park to play, and afterward, Papa brought a special merrick dinner for me.

I am lucky, I am spoiled, I slept in on Sunday, and I am 4 now!!!!!

Thanksgivin'

1. I'm thankful that I'm now allowed on the sofa.
2. I'm thankful for Royal Canin and Eagle Pack holistic doggy food!
3. I'm thankful for my comfy bed and all my sleeping bags.
4. I'm thankful someone is teaching me to be friends with other doggies.
5. I'm thankful for my Daddy and Papa.
6. I'm thankful for rides in the car to visit Mima and Cappy.
7. I'm thankful for chicken and french fries!

Where's Dad?

The house has been quiet lately. Daddy is putting in 60-hour weeks, which I definitely notice. Sometimes I go stand in his parking spot and act like there should be a car there. I like that car because, unlike the Volvo, my bum doesn't slide around on the seat. In the Volvo, I sit in the front so I don't slide around.

Last night I was very affectionate. I like the down blankets that have arrived from Eddie Bauer, so if anyone has one of those, I'll hang out on the sofa with them. Papa was tired, so he watched 4 hours of Ghosthunters on SciFi and I snuggled alongside. I'm getting better about snuggling. It's a trust thing.

Papa got a new digital camera and he chases me around the house with it. Unfortunately, as soon as he points it at me I get excited. I think it's maybe a toy? He has to put it on the "sport" setting so it doesn't come out blurry. And, as a result, he has a few decent pics and about three thousands pictures of me taking off to go find my fleece baby, which is what I do when I get wound up.

Speaking of getting wound up, I have trouble with my back legs sometimes. They hurt me. I am not allowed to jump on anything, for any reason, and I have stairs to get on and off the couch and a stepstool for the car.

I am calm, cool, and collected for my tail and wrinkle cleanings these days. I still don't enjoy it, but at least I don't run away. I now know "ok wash your face" and I know the difference between "feet" and "shake". I know "no pull" and "heel", and I do my bully best with it. "No pull" is for when we're going in or out a door on a leash. "Heel" is for when we walk.

Papa should not talk on the phone when he walks me. You see, if he does, I am in danger of discovering things like discarded Wendy's cups with Frostie still in the bottom. I have never actually seen him fast enough to get it before I do, but he did...and, what do I know? Frostie is like ice cream.

Mmmm. Ice cream.

I am strong, I am invincible, I am woofin'...

I was so excited to go to the park yesterday. There were so many people out with their dogs!

I think I took more interest in the people than the dogs. The little girl running around with the giant stick in her hand, hootin' n hollerin'...woo hoo! That's my kinda girl!

Plus, people have treats. Other dogs don't usually have treats to give out. Bleh.

Then we went home and I boned up on my longing looks, which is what I do when my parents eat Indian food. Well, okay, I do that when they eat any food at all. Even though I'm eating the best my parents can get!

(Eh...there's always room for more)

Love to all,
M.

Got tagged

Promised I would pass along:

Blue, a black and white Siberian Husky (4 year old male, brown eyes, micro
chipped) has been missing since May 8, 2007 from Brighton, MI.
Dogster page: http://www.dogster.com/dogs/620507
Website : http://whereisblue.com
E-mail: inform@whereisblue.com
Telephone: (313) 550-6095
Reward offered for his return, no questions asked.
Permission and gratitude for cross posting. Thank you!

Ah, on to other things.

We received our Malaseb products from Revival Animal Health. Flush and shampoo. We used them last night for her bath, and it was amazing how well it worked. It smells sort of weird, like doggy-medication-y, but the flush did a wonderful job on her tail pocket and she didn't fuss AT ALL last night after her bath, which meant it wasn't irritated. AWESOME.

I also used the flush to give a light wipe to her 'undercarriage'. I believe this will help with the road rash she gets from motoring around in the yard and getting wet from grass. She discovered a dead animal in the bushes, also, and has been obsessed with that location ever since. Sniff, sniff, sniff. Ugh. I had to burn leaves over the area to help disguise what she must smell.

Too bad my nose is in full-on allergy alert...