divasdogs

good dog

2008-06-23T23:45:00.009-04:00

I don't know if it's a sign of good parenting, dumb luck or she's smart, but Bongo walks like a dream on a leash. Really. This 10 month young, 75 pounds of energy and fur took to walking on a leash as if she was born for it.

Simon worked with her for 30 minutes about two months ago on how a dog should walk on a leash. Bongo has been out at least a dozen times since then and has not forgotten her manners.

Last week we took her around the Back Bay in Portland. She just kept walking next to us; the entire three and a half miles. Never missed a step.

She has a very proud walk. Her tail is up (wagging/swaying) and ears are back.

My favorite thing she does while walking is look up at you. You look down at her, and she'll look up as if to say, "Is this right?".

Yes, Bongo, you're a good dog.

And then there were 4

2008-06-20T16:35:00.001-04:00

We are back down to a four animal household (3 dogs, 1 cat).

Click here to read the tribute I wrote about Bucket on one of my other blogs.

amusing

2008-02-27T03:33:00.002-05:00

This is one of the first Bongo/Fannie interactions.

see what I mean

2008-02-27T03:27:00.007-05:00

Bongo's growth stages

10/14/07: the day she came home

11/15/07

2/26/08: 6 months

6 months young

2008-02-26T22:17:00.004-05:00

Bongo is six months old today. I can hardly believe it.

She's amazing. Always happy and very affectionate. Almost as tall as Sunny and weighs at least 60 pounds.

Her crate training wasn't even training. The first night we put her in there she didn't make a peep. I checked on her a few times because I thought it just couldn't be that easy. But it really was!

She tends to pal around with Sunny the most. They can spend 20 minutes playing tug-of-war with just about any toy.

Gozer and Bucket also play with Bongo. I don't know if her relentless persistence wore them down or they really just wanted to play; maybe a little of both.

One of the silliest games she plays we call uber-tag. She runs a loop in our family room and will run by or jump over each dog and use the sofa as a turnaround platform.

She still tries, almost daily and without success, to get Fannie the cat to play with her.

Bongo is definitely finding her own way in our household and it's fun to see what she'll do next.

the latest

2007-11-04T10:31:00.000-05:00

Hmmm....

That's what Bongo looks like today. Somehow our puppy has turned into a little dog.

Bongo went to the vet last Monday and weighed in at 17 pounds, 3 ounces. That means she gained six and a half pounds in three weeks. Thank goodness that growth rate will not continue in that proportion.

Her puppy teeth are still very sharp.

This is why we call them "shark teeth".

Sunny and Bongo have started to play together and it's fun to watch them.

Potty training is going well; only a few accidents in the last couple of weeks. She does whine when she needs to go out. The other day I was upstairs and heard her crying downstairs and when I went to check on her, she was sitting by the door. She just needed someone to let her out. What a smart girl! ;)

This week we're working on her crate training.

introducing...

2007-10-24T13:11:00.000-04:00

BONGO!!

Yup, that's her name.

Plucked out of thin air after many attempts to decide what she looks like.

Updated pictures coming soon.

life with puppy

2007-10-19T09:16:00.000-04:00

"What was I thinking?"

This is the statement I have muttered to myself at least ten times since the puppy's arrival on Sunday. Usually it's when a sharp little tooth sinks into my skin. Or when she's chewing on my hair.

The good news is that I have said aloud at least 50 times, "She's great and I'm glad we adopted her".

The Three Graces seem to accept that this tiny creature is here to stay. But they haven't engaged in playing with her. I didn't think Gozer would, on account of not being able to see the pup, but I thought Sunny might chase her around a bit. Bucket never really played with Sunny or Gozer, so I didn't have any expectations with the puppy. Time will tell.

The cat seems to be doing okay, she understands that apparently the little thing is here to stay.

figuring it out

2007-10-16T10:02:00.000-04:00

Where do I start?

We still don't have a name, so, for writing purposes, she's still puppy.

The puppy is adjusting nicely to her new home.

She wants to play with the other dogs but they don't know what to make of the little and small creature.

Sunny likes all the new puppy toys. As a responsible Aunty, she's tried each one after I've given it to the puppy to make sure it's okay. So far, so good.

I think she gravitates to Gozer because she resembles her mom, at least in color. She climbs over Gozer and lies next to her when we're all watching TV at night.

Bucket has had to point out a couple of things you don't try with the alpha dog. During dinnertime the first night, the puppy went up to Bucket's bowl while she was eating. Bucket promptly, with a quick snap towards the puppy, let her know that type of behavior is completely unacceptable . The puppy retreated (I had to remind myself not to interfere and that this is how dogs work it all out). Proving she got the hint, she watched Bucket eat from a few feet away on the second night.

She had her first interaction with our cat, Fannie, today. (Now keep in mind, Fannie knows about the puppy. She has carefully avoided her the last couple of days.) The puppy and I were playing, then she tried to engage Sunny in play. When Sunny didn't engage, the puppy noticed the cat a few feet away. Now I don't know if she knows Fannie is a different species or just thought, "Hey, someone more my size".

The puppy walked toward Fannie and when she got within "striking distance", Fannie gave the puppy a hiss and a whap on the head with her paw. Puppy responded with a yelp and retreat. Fannie stayed and the puppy just sat back and stared at her. The puppy was walking toward Fannie again and then something changed her mind and she came back to me.

Potty training is going well; I just need to remember, now means now. No time to get your coat on.

The Arrival

2007-10-14T16:07:00.000-04:00

It's official; we're back to a four dog household.

Simon and I brought the puppy home today.

She's seven weeks old and weighs 10 pounds.

She can climb stairs (sort of) and her teeth are very sharp.

Most of all, she's adorable and fuzzy.

The Three Graces seem to be okay with the new household member.

They are very curious and she loves to follow them around.

We still haven't decided on a name. Look for that announcement in the next week or so as we get to know her personality.

arrival date

2007-10-11T13:39:00.000-04:00

I found out yesterday that the puppy will be coming home this Sunday.
Yippee!!
I better catch up on my sleep now before she arrives.
Still deciding on a name.

more pics from the first meeting

2007-10-04T09:23:00.000-04:00

Here are some more pictures from the first meeting this past Sunday.

Sunny

2007-09-30T20:06:00.000-04:00

I don't want any of the Three Graces to feel neglected, so here's a picture of the beautiful Sunny from an outing this past May.

Introduction

2007-09-30T19:33:00.001-04:00

Wanna play?

Who are you?

Today we introduced Ellie to the Three Graces.

Everything went well and we'll have a few more short visits with the puppy at home before she takes up permanent residence with us in three weeks.

"All this socializing wears me out!"

How Gozer spends time

2007-09-28T12:01:00.000-04:00

Gozer likes to spend her time in our recliner.

I like that she found a use for the ottoman.

4 weeks old

2007-09-28T11:50:00.001-04:00

Four weeks old with proud new papa!!

a new family member

2007-09-22T10:48:00.000-04:00

Last week I fell in love.
I couldn't help myself.
I mean, just look at her.
She goes by Ellie right now.
She's 3 weeks old in this picture.
Ellie will join our household at the end of October.

Good dogs

2007-02-19T18:24:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I got them to sit long enough to snap a pic.

Bucket loves snow

2007-02-19T18:11:00.000-05:00

Nothing like a Sunday romp in the snow.

Scare

2006-10-12T15:36:00.000-04:00

Whew. We can breathe sighs of relief today.
We had a little scare with Bucket last week.

Simon noticed Bucket had a funny looking mammory gland early last week. When I checked it out on Tuesday I got worried. It felt weird and I knew we needed a trip to the vet.

I saw the vet (thank you, Louise) on Thursday and we scheduled surgery for Friday. Bucket did not get spayed until she was 5 (when she was "rescued") and that meant we could be in for trouble (apparently if a dog gets spayed before her first Heat, she reduces her chance of developing mammory cancer by 99%). But we wouldn't know until the mass was removed and biopsied.

It wasn't the surgery that worried me, it was waiting for results. I hoped for the best but could only imagine the worst.

Today we got her results. And breathed sighs of relief. The tumor was NOT malignant. It is considered pre-cancerous. That means other growths will likely occur and will need to be removed. It also means we need to give her a thorough check at home once a week. But it's not Cancer and that's great news.

I need to add that Bucket's been a champ the past week wearing the lampshade. She eats, drinks water and goes outside with it on. She figured out how to climb on the furniture and go up and down the stairs while wearing it. The only down side is that I hear her moving around in the middle of the night when she's brushing up against the furniture. A small price to pay for her healing.

Ariel

2006-10-11T10:21:00.000-04:00

This cute thing was called Ariel.
She was Simon's parents little doggie for 10 years.
And ours for almost 3 years.

When we moved to Maine in October 2003 his parents were moving into a condominium that didn't allow them to have a dog. We said we'd take her. Now you may think this is really no big deal. And it didn't end up being one. But you need to understand a few things about Ariel.

She was used to being the only dog in a household. She barked at any car that came into their driveway like it was Judas himself. Simon's mom couldn't use the weedwacker without putting Ariel in a contained area. She did not like other dogs.

We introduced Ariel to our 3 Graces during our second day at our new house. We thought the sooner the better. Simon picked her up from boarding and brought her directly to her new home.

I thought that Sunny was going to be the toughest introduction. If any argument was going to take place it would be between Sunny and Ariel. So Sunny would be last.

The Gentle Giant, Gozer, was first. We know she doesn't have a mean bone in her body and would not retaliate in any way. Simon waited outside with Ariel and I brought Gozer out of the house. When Gozer got close, Ariel lunged at her. Simon immediately corrected her with a forceful pull on her collar. Simon then started walking around the house with Ariel on one side and Gozer on the other when I went to get Bucket.

When Ariel lunged for Bucket she got a different reaction. Bucket lunged back and made contact. Thereby letting Ariel know that Bucket was the Alpha dog. By the time I introduced Sunny you would have thought Ariel had always been around other dogs.

I brought Ariel into the house. Let her smell the nooks and crannies. Showed her it was okay to jump on the bed. And believe it or not, she settled down.

There was a couple of scuffles involving food. Ariel promptly learned she could not go up to another dog's bowl when they were eating and try to eat from their bowl.

Her mannerisms were so different from the 3 Graces. I attributed that to the Terrier in her. She needed her own space. Gozer, Sunny and Bucket would sleep in our room at night and Ariel would sleep in Simon's office. If we were downstairs watching TV at night, she'd go upstairs for the peace and quiet.

She was used to being outside for short blocks of time. Gozer, Sunny and Bucket go outside, do their business then come back in. Ariel needed to patrol the land. So we left her out. The first Winter with us she figured out that when she was ready to come in she needed to climb the back steps and paw at the sliding glass door.

Ariel's behavior slightly changed this past Winter. She was never a very big eater, but she seemed to eat even less. She started to spend more time by herself. She urinated a few times in the house (thank goodness she always choose the kitchen linolium, bathroom rug or bathroom tile).

The newest habit that was irksome at first then turned into a game was "find the turd". Ariel would just drop turds. There was no rhyme or reason. Often it happened when she had just come back in the house from patrolling the land. We joked that her turds were so solid you could just pick them up and pop in your pocket until you got to the trash bin.

I knew the end was near when she wandered off our property in early May (I'll write that story in another posting). She was never the same when she was back home, safe and sound, sixteen hours after wandering off. Her spunk was gone, though she did still play "find the turd". She was eating even less than she did in the Winter.

I say it was her way of letting us know that her time had come to make the journey to the "rainbow highway in the sky". A term of friend of ours uses for animal "heaven". He says that all dogs and cats go to the rainbow highway and get to play all day and sleep all night.

We took her to our vet on June 1st. This is the first dog I've seen "put to sleep". The vet gives two injections. The first is a heavy sedative to calm the dog and basically knock them out. A lot of different things can happen before the second shot that deals the "final blow".

After Ariel received her first shot she had an adrenaline rush that had her uber alert and pacing for about sixty seconds. Then when she was slowing down, Simon laid her on her side. We told her to relax and said our goodbye. Immediately after receiving the second shot, Ariel gave us a BIG yawn (the vet said she's never seen that in her 20+ years of practice) that made the three of us smile.

Oh Ariel, doing it YOUR way until the end.

We miss you doggie.

The Three Graces

2006-10-11T10:00:00.000-04:00

Bucket, Gozer and Sunny

June 2006

My brother-in-law, Matt, nicknamed our dogs "The Three Graces" a few years ago.

Each one has a unique personality.

Bucket is the oldest at 11. She arrived on Simon's doorstep in Chicago as a foster dog (his eleventh and last) through Midwest Lab Rescue in April 2000. She's the Alpha Dog. She has an uncanny self confidence.

Gozer is about 10 1/2. She also arrived on Simon's Chicago doorstop as a foster dog (his fifth) through MLRR in July 1999. She's the nervous one in the group. We think this has something to do with her abandonment by a previous owner.

Sunny will be 10 in November. I adopted her from PAWS Chicago in May 2000. She's the comic relief. And the charmer.

Simon once said their personalities are summed up with how they feel about a toy in their possession. Bucket loves the chase; Sunny likes to own it; Gozer is nervous with ownership of a possession.

Man and dog

2006-10-10T22:33:00.000-04:00

This is my wonderful husband, Simon, and our beautiful Chocolate Labrador Retreiver, Gozer.

Gozer is approximately 10 1/2 years young (she's a rescue, so that's our best guess). A couple of years ago she got diabetes. She was overweight at that time and lost 20 pounds in the 6 months following diagnosis. With 2 shots of vetsulin (yep, you guessed it, insulin for animals) a day we've managed to keep her high blood sugar at bay. She's managed to keep all the extra weight off.
The worse effect of the diabetes is vision loss. We think she can see outlines of shapes but probably not much else. She navigates the stairs in and around our house without any problems. She does not bump into furniture. She can't see food if you hold it in front of her, but she sure can smell it. Her hearing and smelling have definitely helped to compensate for the vision loss.