Word Verification Enabled

Some idiot has been spamming my posts. I was hoping it would go away, but it didn't, so I've had to enable word verification. I'm very annoyed by this because I hate word verification. I think it's a pain in the butt, and never thought it needed. Why does some jack arses always have to ruin it for everyone?

Fresh New Attitude

So Theo has been on his new Deli Fresh diet for 3 weeks now, and the change has been unreal. We buy the slice and serve logs (we've tried both the turkey and chicken flavors, which are actually very similar, and Theo of course loves both), slice up about 1/3 of a pound twice a day, cut it into pieces, throw it in his bowl, and that's it! No cooking chicken, no cooking rice, no chopping vegetables, no shopping for multivitamins online because the pet stores for some reason never seem to carry anything that's not for joint health. It's fast, it's easy, and the price isn't that bad. Our local Petco sells it for $15/6lb log. We feed Theo ~2/3 lb per day, so it lasts about a week. $15 a week on food, while definitely not as cheap as kibble, by no means breaks my bank. Especially after seeing his reaction to it.

What I like about this food is that it's the closest thing to real whole food I've found (minus real whole food, of course). When you slice into it you see the bits of carrots and rice. It's the color of chicken, it smells like chicken, it feels like chicken, though processed. It's plainly clear that this is real food that's been cooked and then tightly packed into the log form, rather than torched and compressed like charcoal, a la kibble. I feel like I'm feeding my dog real food which makes me feel good.

Then there was Theo's reaction to the food. I wish I could somehow convey how dramatic the change was. Husband, Mr. I don't want to pay that much for food we can make ourselves, was 100% convinced after observing Theo on this diet for a week. No complaints. No hesitation about going back and buying more. Phew! It wasn't just the extra energy. And Theo had a ton of extra energy. (For about a week there our nightly walks turned into nightly runs. He had so much extra energy to burn that he would just run run run! Good thing I'm in shape!) It was his attitude. He was happy. He was cuddling with us, something he never does. He'd let me pet him whenever I wanted, something he never ever ever does! He was playing by himself, something he never does. And his facial expressions always held a smile.

He's since calmed down a bit. He's back to walking on our walks. And he only cuddles when we're eating. But that pep in his step is still there. There's no doubt it was the switch in food. So, of course, I would recommend Deli Fresh to anyone, and I'm heartily grateful it was recommended to me! (Thanks Philip's owner!)

As random aside: apparently Theo loves Golden Spoon frozen yogurt as much as I do. They have a pumpkin pie flavor this month that is so fantastic Husband and I got a quart of it on Halloween (they were having a special for $5, ooooh yeah!). Theo was eying my bowl big time when I was having some last night, so when I was finished, I put the bowl on the floor to let him have the melty bits. Now, if you'll recall, Theo is a big fat chicken who is scared of dishware. Usually when we try this, he backs away and looks longingly but warily at it. This time after his usual initial hesitation, he went for it! That's how badly he wanted some. I can't say I blame him. That pumpkin pie flavor is darn good! Too good, in fact! I've never eaten this much frozen yogurt in my life!

And in other Theo's exciting life news, we actually made it to the dog park, yeesh, two weekends ago. Man, it's been awhile since I updated, huh? In my defense, I was in St. Louis last week. Anyway, it had been forever since we had seen our other Corgi friends and Theo was very excited. I tried taking him to the dog park a few weeks ago, and he had none of it. He just laid there and looked bored. But with his Corgi friends around, he actually played a little bit! It's crazy, I know.

Of course, the picture here is not Theo playing. That's Theo bullying Philip. As I've said before, Theo is usually sweet and submissive with other dogs, but when he encounters a more submissive dog, sometimes he becomes a real bully. Philip is one such pup. It doesn't help that he's so people friendly. Every time I tried to take his picture, Philip would run up and wedge his head between my face and the camera as if to say "Nevermind pictures when you could be petting me!" I am more in love with that dog every time I see him. Yeah, that could be why Theo doesn't let him get anywhere near me. Heh. Fortunately, Philip has the most easy going personality of any living creature I've ever seen. So he's totally unphased make these kinds of faces at him. I wouldn't be so unphased. That's for sure. You can view the rest of the mini meetup photos here. I haven't had a chance to upload them all, but that's most of 'em.

Have you heard about the new dog flu virus that's going around: H3N8? Apparently it's serious enough that my doggy daycare is requiring Theo to be vaccinated by next week. That was fast! I don't even get myself vaccinated for flus. Yet another way in which Theo is better treated than his owners. Hehe. Is anyone else getting their little ones vaccinated?

Quality Time With Julo

I'm taking a page out of Kelly's book blog. For her hundredth post, she came out from behind the camera/computer and told us all about her. I liked the idea, so I'll spend a post talking a bit about me. Hey! Where are you going? Come on, this will be fun!

...

Oh wait, I forgot I'm incredibly boring. Ummm....

Did you know I have a food blog? Well ok, it's called Hell on Needles because it was originally going to be a blog about my crafting (knitting and crocheting, mostly), with occasional posts about my adventures in the kitchen. And then I kind of had a lifestyle change. I brought home Theo, for one. As a puppy he demanded so much attention (ok, he still demands just as much attention, I've just learned to say no from time to time ;p), I never got very far in any of my projects. And then I started exercising and losing weight, and cooking and losing weight, and baking, and, well that didn't help the weight loss so much. I've lost 65 pounds since the start of the year from just boring old diet and exercise. And that's diet as in watching what I eat, not a fad diet. No, sir, those don't work for me. It was a lot of hard work, and it took a lot of time. All of my free time in fact. And as a result, I've become a bit food-obsessed. In a good way, I think! I started off a terrible cook, and now I think I've gotten pretty good! I eat all kinds of foods I never did before. And I only eat out once or twice a week, whereas before it was once or twice a day! I wanted a way to capture all the food I make because my memory is terrible and I fall into ruts quite easily. I try to post every week the food I've made (I spend pretty much all day Sunday cooking and baking food for the entire week. That's just what works for me. I've never minded leftovers.), and what I thought of each recipe. That way I can go back 6 months from now and dust off some of the older favorites. That kind of thing. Sometimes I even post my own recipes! It's rare, but I'm starting to break out of my mold and do it more and more. If you're interested, follow me!

I run. A lot. I used to do it 6 days a week, which was fine when I was only running 1-2 miles. But now I run 3.5-4 miles, and my legs just can't take that every day. So I've been cross training with some swimming and the elliptical machine. I used to hate running. I was that kid in high school who only ran the straight parts of the track during our once/year physical fitness test. I think my time was like 14:something minutes. 3 weeks ago I ran 5 miles in 40:44. To the people who say "I'm just not a runner", I say "That's a cop out!" If I can do it, so can everyone else, because I was the lamest of the lame less than a year ago. Also, I'm currently on the lookout for a good "skin-firming" lotion because my loose skin is grossing me out.

You know if there's a TMI in sight, I'm going for it, right?

I'm an engineer. This job, this industry, like so many things in my life, just kind of fell into my lap when I was at the right place at the right time. It's a bit of a struggle, but right now I'm just glad to have a job. I was un-laid off a few weeks ago, so I'll be employed for a little while longer yet. It will most likely be a temporary save, so I'm still looking for other opportunities. It's a terrible time to be looking for the type of job I'm looking for in my area. Voluntary unemployment is my ultimate dream, while involuntary unemployment is my greatest fear. That and spiders. I am constantly fighting the urge to bury my head in the sand and wait for it to all go away. Also, engineers are such a pain in the butt! A bunch of type-A socially inept good ol' boys. It can be very trying at times.

Like Kelly, I also enjoy wine. And even though I really don't know much about it, it's my drink of choice. When I drink it, I either say "Mmmm, this is delicious. I love wine! Winey, wine, wine!", or "Ew, this is undrinkable swill! Time to braise some potatoes!" I get totally overwhelmed by the options out there, and usually chicken out and just stick to the wines I know. But Husband and I have been trying to branch out and try something new now and then. My current go-to wine is the Root:1 Cabernet. It's less than $10 at Costco, and I think it's just fantastic wine for everyday. I should try more Chilean wines. Anyone have any suggestions for wines they like?

Also, good wine, good cheese, and fresh bread. 'Nuff said. This kind of happiness really can pull me out of any funk. Husband has used to before, very successfully.

I'm going to be an aunt any day now! My sister is ready to pop her little Bagel bun out of the oven hopefully in another week or two. She's my only sibling and this is her first child, so the whole family is extremely excited. She's having a boy, and we call him Bagel (it's a long story that would reveal all to clearly how insane we all are, so we just won't go there), though when he comes out I hear we'll be calling him Nate. Awww. I can't wait to spoil him rotten, and I'm already thinking about how many trips cross country (she lives on the East Coast) I'll be able to make without breaking the bank.

Is it weird that when typing up my steam of consciousness I went with "comes out" instead of "born"?

It's my dream to live in the Pacific Northwest. I dream of the lush greenery of Oregon and the homey feel I get when I read blogs from people who live there. It's my kinda place. I loved Seattle the last few times I briefly visited, which is saying something because I usually hate big cities. They're ugly and dirty. Seattle is gorgeous. But I must admit sometimes I'm afraid of how I would do there. I live in the most temperate climate in the US, and I still run my space heater at work (what? They over-AC!). Though I think as long as we could afford to heat/cool our house and proper outerwear, we would be fine. Unfortunately, both Husband and I seem to be far too chicken to make the leap.

We remodeled our kitchen last year. It was the second most stressful thing I've ever done, I think. It wasn't a good experience. We haven't been in a rush to hire anyone to work on the house since.

Before

After

Though I do like the way it turned out. Much more me. I wanted a darker, earthier green on the walls, but Husband was afraid of it "darkening the room". *Snort* I wish I knew how to do more myself, but I am decidedly not handy.

I love Family Guy. Sure, the new episodes are a bit preachy, but who watches that show for the plot? I have been known to laugh so hard I cried while recalling a particular quote from that show. We all need a reminder not to take ourselves too seriously sometimes.

When my mom, my sister and I get together, sometimes hysterical laughter over something completely inane ensues. Usually there's crying and wheezing involved. Sometimes both. We're a crazy family, but we have fun. Sometimes I think it could make a good book, but then I remember I can't write, or even remember most things. Ah well.

Wow, are you still reading this? You didn't fall asleep? Most people agree that I'm a terribly boring person. A homebody with no real hobbies. It often makes for forced small talk and awkward conversation (thus further encouraging my homebody status). I don't really care if other people think I'm boring, since I don't think that. I like my life. I enjoy the things I do. I'm simple. Nothing wrong with that. So thanks for reading. I hope I didn't bore you too much, and now you know more about the woman behind the blog.

And because I can't just let it go without mentioning the little goober, I'll also mention that it looks like Theo will be dressing up as a disgruntled Petco customer for Halloween. I went there last weekend (that would be two whole weeks before Halloween) looking for a Halloween costume for Theo. And you know what? They were out! Sold out. The chick at the register was completely rude, and acted like I was daft for even asking if they would be getting more in stock. I didn't realize it was something I needed to get a mad rush on. So Theo will just be Theo, unless I can find something at Target this weekend (assuming I have time to get to Target, which I don't have high hopes for). Neither Husband nor Theo were particularly broken up about this fact. Also, my mom will be glad I'm not practicing animal cruelty.

And we still have firm poops on the booty front.

Not The Pink Stuff!

The only liquid "medication" I've given to Theo before last week was children's benedryl. Since it's made for kids, they added enough sugar to it to make it perfectly palatable for Theo's consumption. In other words, I could get him to drink it right out of the little cup. Pepto bismol? Not so. I've never taken the pink stuff myself, but apparently it tastes nasty enough that even Theo won't go near it. Poor guy. As part of his tummy upset regimen we were instructed to give him a few tablespoons of pepto bismol every day. I only lasted two. I think the picture to the left clearly spells out why.

First off, the only liquid medication syringe at my disposal only holds about 1/16 of a teaspoon at a time. Which means to give him 2 tablespoons in one sitting, took about 30 million little syringe shots. Needless to say, Theo and I both tired of it very quickly. I have since purchased a much much bigger syringe. Also, Theo kept trying to spit it out (see picture), which not only led to doggy spittle all over my hands (see picture), but also to a very pink dog (see picture). Not to mention a pink me. You can't see it in this picture because I look nice and covered with that paper towel, but my entire arm (my favorite sweater!) is covered in pink doggy spittle. Ew.

So it begs the question, did it work? Why, yes! It did! This was the same disastrous evening where Theo decided to upchuck his new "easy on his stomach" food (the I/D). Perhaps because his stomach was already upset. I think it was in protest to the slop. After the upchucking, Theo was mopey and obviously not feeling that great. I eventually wrestled enough of the pink stuff in him, and 5 minutes later he was back to his normal self: wanting to play fetch and eat. After the second day he obviously didn't even need it, so I figured I wouldn't even bother putting us both through the stress.

Where was Husband during this whole debacle? Well since I'm in the photo (like the fun I had with pixelation?), I'll give you one guess. Yep. While I was juggling a stubborn bratty puppy, cleaning up dog vomit, and getting covered in pink goop, Husband was snapping pictures. I guess I should be thankful, otherwise we wouldn't have a remembrance of this extra fun event! *sigh*

On the food front, I convinced Husband to do a trial run with Deli Fresh. From what I've gathered, their slice and serve logs are basically whole ingredients that are gently cooked (as in, cooked enough that their not raw, but not so much that all the nutrients are killed. So like people food rather than kibble). It's sold in the refrigerated section of my local big-name pet store. Unfortunately, they don't carry it at the smaller specialty pet stores I prefer to frequent. Oh well. I'm really liking this stuff so far because it feels like I'm just feeding him regular pre-cooked food. You can even identify ingredients like brown rice and carrots, and it smells like chicken. And you can't beat the convenience! Also, I feel like I'm feeding him a more complete diet. It has all the vitamins and nutrients that he needs added to it in the correct balance to keep him healthy, which was something that always kept me a bit worried with the diet I was feeding him. At my local store it was $15 for an 8lb log, which should last about 8-10 days. So about $45/month. No bad at all! Considering how much time I'm saving by not having to constantly be cooking chicken and chopping fruits and vegetables and cooking rice, I'm thinking this might be a permanent thing.

Oh, and Theo's health issues? Ok, it's kind of a long story. Do you need a bathroom break? Maybe a glass of water? Better get it now. We won't be having an intermission. Also, the rest of this post is mainly going to talk about poop, so the faint hearted should just stop reading now. Seriously.

Ok, so about 2 months ago we noticed Theo's poops were consistently soft. Not runny, not like diarrhea. Just soft. All the time. It wasn't anything to cause alarm, but I started restricting his diet to clear it up. I started by taking him off the kibble. Maybe it was just a bad batch. Then I took him off dairy. Then I added pumpkin. Nothing changed. Next to go were the fruits and veggies, leaving just the bland chicken and rice. Nothing changed, leading me to think it wasn't an issue with his food. This was over the course of several weeks. Then I got a postcard in the mail telling me it was time for one of Theo's vaccination shots. I figured while I was at the vet, I would have them look him over to see if they could shed any light on the issue.

$200 later I was sent home with some anti-diarrhetic (flagyl, I believe it's called) pills for the soft poops, and some probiotics for his digestion. They also did a fecal analysis that came back negative. He was on the meds for a week, and they seemed to clear things right up. Almost immediately his poops were hard. I remember scooping up the first hard poop, shoving it in Husband's face and saying "It's FIRM!" It's amazing how caught up you get about poop when you're a dog owner. And it's rather embarrassing how much it comes up in conversation with other dog owners. Sorry neighbors, for constantly steering the direction of the conversation to poop! After the week on meds things went back to normal. I reintroduced Theo slowly to his more regular diet, and his poops stayed good. I should also mention that through this whole process his appetite and energy level never changed. Other than soft poops he never had any other visible symptoms.

Then a few weeks later Theo's doggy daycare called to tell me Theo was having major diarrhea. I told my boss "I gotta leave early. My kid is sick at daycare." Just for effect. It was fun. It was a Friday evening. Theo had diarrhea (and I wish there was a worse term for what kind of diarrhea he had because I feel like diarrhea just doesn't cut it here) until we took him to the vet that Monday morning. Probably about every 2-3 hours he had to go, and usually felt like he had to go every hour. That includes the middle of the night. Husband and I had to take turns taking him outside every couple of hours. 3 nights in a row was brutal. Yes, I know we're not ready for kids. I'm fine with getting up once. Twice was a bit torturous. By the third time I was fed up enough to wake up Husband and make him do it. Hehe.

As I said, it wasn't just diarrhea. It was soup. It came with a complement of squirty noises. Lots of doggy wipes were involved. Theo had the most adorable embarrassed-looking face every time he went. But other than that, no change in his demeanor. He would be playing fetch out in the backyard, same as always, and suddenly stop and run off for the occasional pit stop. It was rather hilarious, actually.

So that Monday morning Husband took him back to the vet. You already mostly know how it turned out. Even though he told them Theo was on a chicken and rice diet, they insisted on pushing their swill on him. And the same exact meds as before. And another fecal test, which of course came back negative. The meds suppress his symptoms, but they made no effort to diagnose him. Why was he having the issue in the first place? I have to think it's related to the soft poops from the last few months. They apparently just shrugged it off and said he had probably "gotten into something". First off, he didn't. I watch that dog like a hawk. And second, what could he have possibly gotten into that would cause that level of diarrhea for 4 days?! Honestly, it never showed any signs of improving the entire weekend. When we took him to the vet, whatever was bothering his system was still bothering him.

The meds have suppressed the issue, so we're just going to wait and see. If it's something like an infection or some other issue that hasn't already cleared up on its own, it'll rear it's ugly head again. And when it does, we'll be ready. To take him to a new vet. Hooray!

In the meantime we're looking into pet insurance. Because really, I wasn't convinced, but I think in the long run it'll be worth it. Anyone have insurance with a company other than VPI? Just curious, since VPI seems to be what everyone has.

And that's the saga of Theo's poop troubles! My intestinally-challenged little troublemaker. Did you survive? Should I say diarrhea one more time just in case I didn't already offend you with the frequency of its use? Naw, I wouldn't do that. I'm classy like that.

Inedible

If you read this blog, know Theo, or own a Corgi yourself, chances are you'll understand the gravity of the statement I am about to make. I found a food Theo won't eat.

OMG!!! No wai!

Way. There's kind of a long story there, and there's a ton of stuff I need to post about and haven't had time. Soon! But I couldn't wait to tell you that my dog - Yes, the one who will eat anything edible (including dried up crunchy worms, a delicacy!). The one who I have yet to find a food he won't eat, including all manner or grain, vegetable (even brussells sprouts!), and fruit. The one who prefers real food, but eats his kibble like a trooper and without complaint. The one who instinctively stays away from all things non-edible, like tree seeds, rocks, bark, and uncooked lentils that I've spilled all over the kitchen floor (because I'm me, and that is my life). Yes, that one. - He won't eat the Science Diet I/D dry food.

This is the stuff that you're supposed to give your dog when he has an upset tummy. This is the stuff that, while supposedly easy on their system, also has a first ingredient of corn. There's also soy. This is also the stuff my vet pressured my husband into buying after he told them we've been feeding Theo chicken and rice. A ten pound bag of it. A month's supply, supposedly. How is it that chicken meal and rice processed heavily (to the point where all the nutrients are cooked out of it) with corn, soy, and other fillers that are hard to digest are better for my dog's digestive system than fully cooked chicken breast and brown rice?

Aside: My old professor who I talk to on Facebook says that most vets don't take classes on canine nutrition in veterinary school. I told her that I had never taken a class on canine nutrition either. I do, however, possess enough common sense to work it out for myself. What can I conclude, except that my vet does not possess common sense?

In other news, I will now be finding a new vet.

Anyway, this 10lb bag of processed disgustingness? Money down the drain. Theo took one look at his food bowl last night and gave me a look that very clearly said "Seriously? This is my dinner? How am I supposed to eat this!?" He picked up a few bites, but they mostly ended up on the floor next to his food bowl. After a couple of attempts he just walked away. He walked away with all the food still in the bowl! And then he upchucked. Yeap. He had a look of pure misery on his face. From the upchucking or the ingestion of that swill, I don't know.

About an hour and 2TB of pepto bismol later (OMG, is that ever another story! And with pictures! Ooooh, I hope I have time to post about that this week!), Theo was back to his normal self. And he happily downed the chicken and rice we gave him. No issues. Seriously, he went from pathetically run down to normal Theo in less than 5 minutes. It was kind of amazing. We were ready to throw the I/D in the trash, but I had a thought this morning. What if his disdain for the kibble was due to the fact that he wasn't feeling well? Had we let our preconceived notions of the crap food lead us to conclude the upchucking was a result of the food rather than the other way around? So I gave him another bowl for breakfast. I got another one of those looks. But this time he powered through a few bites. And then he left his food bowl when Husband sat down to eat his breakfast. He left his food bowl with food still in it in the hopes of scrounging a morsel or two from the floor around Husband's feet. This is about as unlike Theo as you can get. It really is a testament to how nasty that stuff is. Eventually I mixed in some chicken and rice just to get him to finish eating.

And now I'm left with a dilemma. Do I chuck the bag of vet-prescribed disgustingness? Or do I continue to mix crap food with real food? That good ol' common sense I was talking about tells me I should just nix the crap food, but the goody two-shoes rule-follower in me says I should try and stick with what the vet says since Theo wasn't getting better on chicken and rice. *sigh* What to do?

More on Theo's tummy woes later. Nothing serious, so no cause for worries. Unless you're worried about me getting my uninterrupted 6-7 hours of sleep every night, in which case, be very worried.

Calendar Link Correction

I am S-M-R-T. I didn't realize there were two links to the Corgi Blogs Calendar. The one I linked in my last post was for the personalized calendar, should you want to change the size, background color, etc. of the calendar. The good ol' Kelly-made calendar is actually here, and for $5 less! But not to worry, the $5 going to Corgi Rescue still applies. Phew! The world makes sense again. I apologize if my link led anyone astray. Apparently I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached. Put the keys in the bowl!*

I think somewhere along the way I broke Theo. I've mentioned before that he's not really into playing with other dogs. At most usually he'll just bark at other dogs while they play. Husband took Theo to the dog park yesterday, and as usual, while he enjoyed himself immensely, he didn't exactly get tuckered out and wanted to play as soon as he got home. I guess I should count myself lucky that he didn't fall asleep this time. And how does Theo want to play? By jumping on my head and nibbling my ears, of course! Ya know, dog play! But he won't dog play with other dogs... Hmm... I'm just not sure how this happened. *sigh*

*10 points if you know that reference!

Mr. January

It is unpardonable how much I've been neglecting poor Theo Theo's poor blog of late. I never even bothered to post that Kelly, our favorite Corgi-owned Corgi-merch extraordinaire at Corgi Butts ran a calendar contest for those of us crazies with Corgi blogs. And wouldn't you know it, Theo is Mr. January! Yay! The picture that was chosen (out of the 6 or so I submitted) was during a little photo op I had with him in Reno last Christmas (pictured right). That's right, one of the pictures I never bothered uploading, or even pulling off of my camera until recently. Whoops! It's almost next Christmas already! Heh. So I'll be uploading a bunch of new pictures of Theo hopefully sometime in the near future.

I almost didn't make it into the calendar at all, thanks to my procrastinating ways! Ok, well actually Husband was 100% hogging the laptop until very very recently, and then I was way busy with other things, etc. Kelly's last call post the other day was just the kick in the pants I needed to hunker down and find some pics! And thankfully she was very forgiving of my pacific timezone timing. Heh. A whopping $5 per calendar goes to Corgi Rescue, so get your 2010 Corgi Blogs Calendar here! Attention family, I'm buying you one already so don't even think about it unless you want two!. ;p

In other Theo news, Theo has been channeling my lazy bum-ness himself lately. He's really taken a liking to the dark hallway by the garage door. He usually takes a small after dinner nap there before our nightly walk. Some nights he's not so excited about the walk, and he gives me this look when I ask him if he's ready to go. I think he's saying "Go ahead and go on without me tonight, Mommy. *yawn*"

I had some minor concerns about his health over the last few months, so I took him to the vet a few weeks ago. Not to get TMI on you, but his poops haven't been too happy. No full on diarrhea, but just a bit soft, consistently, for too long of a period. I tried altering his diet in every way possible, eliminating ingredients one at a time, and nothing changed. So the vet put him on probiotics. You know, like Activia? I was skeptical, but they actually worked like a dream. One week with some good bacteria in his system seemed to do the trick. The other concern is a small growth on the side of his tummy. It's a hard lump that popped up recently. The vet just said to keep an eye on it and bring him back if it grows, but since he's only a year and a half old, he really doubted it was anything to cause concern. I don't like that my puppy already has lumps growing. I'll have to keep a close eye on him!

Other than that, Mr. January has been a dream!

It's High Time

We were in Reno this week visiting my parents. In a plan only my mother could come up with, we drove up to Reno last Friday. Saturday morning Husband and I flew from Reno up to Seattle to spend the weekend with Husband's parents and some extended family for the Labor Day weekend. Monday we flew back to Reno and spent the rest of the week with my parents. We're leaving tomorrow morning after the balloon festival. My mom came up with it when I was trying to work out visiting them and Husband's parents in the same time period without boarding Theo a lot.

So my parents dog-sat for us while we were in Seattle. I was worried because Theo is my baby! But I wasn't worried because while my parents have never had a dog while I was alive, they have both been dog owners in the past. They knew what they were doing. And Theo was definitely a happy dog while I was gone. He loves my dad. My mom said, while I was gone, when she would let Theo out of his crate, and he would go lay down in front of their bedroom door and wait for my dad to get up. So funny.

This area has coyotes, so we had to be very careful while walking him at night. It was uneventful for the most part, but there were a few incidents. One night we heard 4 or 5 coyotes all howling and having a gay old time. I didn't stick around to find out what they were so excited about, just in case Theo was what they had their eyes on. He does look like a super-sized bunny, their main staple, after all! And last night Theo almost walked right over a scorpion. My parents said they've never seen a scorpion here, so of course, I found one. Heh.

I think Theo is going to be sad to leave tomorrow, especially since there's a very long car ride involved!

Happy September everyone!

PS: I know I've been blogging a lot about agility. I believe last I updated, I said that we were taking a break from agility. I meant for it to just be one session...but I found out last week that I'm getting laid off from my job. Boo! I know. D: So we'll be cutting back on things like agility classes starting now, and doggy daycare if I don't find another job before my 60 days is up. Wish me luck because I know Theo will definitely miss his doggy daycare buddies!

No Suds

Here is a sage tip from my many years year of dog owning experience: when giving your dog a bath, it's important to have dog shampoo on hand.

Yesterday I was about 10 seconds from dropping Theo into the tub and dousing him with water when I realized I had used up the last of his shampoo the last bath and had negelected to buy more. He was literally dangling over the tub. Phew! I almost had to deal with a wet, dirty dog!

And a heath tip you all probably already know, but never use human shampoo on a dog. That was Husband's suggestion when I told him Theo's bath would have to wait another week. I set him straight.

Cuddly

Last night I cuddled with Theo. I picked him up and held him in my lap, and he put his head down on my leg and rested quietly while I gently pet him. This may sound like a completely normal interaction for a person and his/her dog, but I don't have just any dog. I have Theo. Mr. 2 foot rule. He doesn't do laps. He doesn't do petting. He certainly doesn't reward you with cuddles when you have the audacity to lift his tushy off the ground. So what, you may ask, was the matter with him? Oh, I may have forgotten to mention that his head was swollen up like the Pillsbury dough boy at the time. Yeah, that might have had something to do with it.

You may recall this same exact thing happened almost this exact time last year. It was not a doggy daycare day, so when I got home I took him out to go potty and play some fetch. He was fine during this period. After about 5 minutes we went back inside to play some more fetch. He was fine during this period. After about 30 minutes Husband came home with dinner. Theo was very interested in the food, as per usual. I fed him his dinner, and Husband and I ate ours (Rubio's, yum!). It was about this time I noticed Theo's face looking ever slightly so puffy, and his behavior being ever so slightly different. Over the next 15 minutes or so he puffed up like a balloon. He went from being happy to miserable. Queue the lap time with mommy. He was in dire need of some comfort, poor thing.

I don't know what the heck happened to him. He ate the same food he always eats, we went only so far as the backyard for 5 minutes. He didn't seem to have any bee strings or obvious punctures or pains. I checked his feet, his muzzle, his legs. It was obviously a reaction of some kind, so I broke out the children's Benedryl. Remembering my mistake last time of not giving him enough, I gave him 3 teaspoons this time. After about 10 minutes the swelling went down considerably, but he was still pretty swollen, so after another 20 minutes I gave him 2 teaspoons more. That did it. His face went back to being ever slightly so puffy. Husband also decided that he felt a little hot, so we gave him some crushed ice, which he couldn't seem to get enough of. I think that may have helped with the swelling a bit too. His energy came back with a vengeance. He was playing fetch non-stop, so we figured it was safe to walk him. He did great. No issues. We put him to bed, and hoped he'd be okay in the morning.

This morning I woke up and checked on Theo. He looked fine. I couldn't tell if there was still that small amount of swelling because he was still in his crate, but there was no obvious swelling. I went for my run (Theo doesn't like to come running with me anymore. He prefers to run at night, apparently, but that's another post), I came home and let him out of his crate. He still looked fine. Maybe the tiniest hint of swelling, but I think I was mostly just being paranoid. I played a little fetch with him, then went on to do more exercising. While I was exercising, I noticed Theo being very restless. He went from laying next to the sofa, to on top of the sofa, to the foot of the sofa in the other room, the the top of that sofa, etc. Usually he just runs upstairs and hangs out on his bed until he hears me preparing his breakfast. So obviously, something was still wrong with him. Then the swelling began again. This time it was his eye and cheek that swelled. I tell you, it would have been hilarious if he didn't look so dang miserable.

He was still very willing to eat, but he had no interest in crushed ice this time. I gave him the last of the children's Benedryl, which was only 2 teaspoons. It helped, but he was still pretty swollen while Husband and I were getting dressed for work and discussing what to do. I asked Husband to take him to the vet, even though last time they charged us $300, for what was basically just a shot of concentrated Benedryl. Theo was obviously uncomfortable, so I figured I would just pay for the drugs.

$130 later (woohoo! Half the cost this time around!) Theo got his shot and we got some anti-inflamatory pills, including enough to last us until when this happens again next year. Hopefully when I pick him up at doggy daycare today he'll be his normal skinny-faced self. Poor thing.

What keeps happening? We have no clue, and neither does the vet. I noticed when his face swelled this morning that it started on his muzzle, and it looked like a bump or two formed before the rest of his face swelled. I would guess it's a bug bite of some kind that his system just really doesn't like. I'm going to wash his bedding tonight, in case there's a spider hiding in there or something. *shudder!*

I'm trying to look on the bright side of things. At least I got to cuddle my dog last night!

And no, I didn't take any pictures. I would have...I was just too busy being an over-worrying puppy mama. By the time I thought to take any the swelling was mostly gone. Maybe next time.

Not Mommy Socialized?

When Theo was a puppy, he got picked on sometimes by the older, wiser dogs. In other words, he got his nose chomped a few times for being a young whipper-snapper, which is the doggy equivalent of saying "get off my lawn!" Now that Theo is the ripe old age of 19 months, he's been displaying some crotchety tendencies of his own.

Let me start off by telling you something about Theo I don't think I've shared before. It's never quite come up, but Theo is a ridiculously submissive dog. Greeting a dog goes something like this: Theo sees dog and ears-back-nub-wiggling ensues. Theo and new dog meet nose to nose for about half a second before Theo rolls onto his back and spreads his legs wide for maximum goods exposure. After new dog is properly acquainted with Theo's scent, Theo will then, if permitted by the other dog, take a brief sniff of his own before either continuing to be submissive by licking the other dog's muzzle, or finally initiating a wee-bit of head jumping. Sometimes Theo will just stay on his back the entire time, even if the other dog is trying to initiate play. Either way, Theo always has an adorable look on his face that says "I'm totally non-threatening, I just want you to love me." Thankfully, he's not submissive to the point where he's scared oruncomfortable. He doesn't do submissive peeing and he never looks stressed out. As long as the dog isn't super dominant, he enjoys the encounter.

Of course, none of that applies to puppies. Theo was bullied as a puppy, so of course, now that he's big and threatening himself, he feels it's his turn to show the puppies their place.

Now, let me tell you about Fireball. He is a new puppy (~8 months old, I think) who was just adopted by someone in the neighborhood (this person already owns a dog of similar breed named Snowball, who Theo's age). I've come across Fireball while walking Theo three times this last week. Fireball is freaking adorable! He's one of those indistinguishable white, fluff dogs (usually some Poodle, Maltese, Bichon mix). He loves everyone. He loves to be pet, he loves to put your fingers in his mouth (but completely gentle), and he loves to jump all over you. He also likes to jump all over other dogs.

Theo does not like Fireball. Snowball he has no problems with. They've played together several times with no incident. Fireball, however, is a puppy. A peon. Not only does Theo growl at Fireball...he bares his teeth, very ferociously. He even snapped at him! He basically did every kind of dominant behavior you can think of, just short of straight peeing on him (which I wouldn't have put past him, given time). I was not pleased. Besides the fact that it's horribly embarrassing for my dog to be snapping at the sweetest dog on Earth, and besides the fact that it's not a behavior I will put up with for one minute...it means I can't play with Fireball! Who gets the short end of that stick? Moi!

On our second meeting, Fireball was learning not to jump all over Theo, and Theo was learning to let Fireball give him submissive kisses without snapping at him. Everything looked like they might, maybe, in time, get along. Then I reached out to pet Fireball. Oh my, was that a bad idea! Theo went ballistic! You know, in his adorable, ridiculous, Corgi way. Meeting over, we were on our way. No fair! I want to pet the puppy!

The experience made me realize that while Theo has always been well socialized with other dogs (puppy classes, doggy daycare 2-3 times a week, dog park visits, etc.), he's not necessarily well socialized when it comes to sharing Mommy. He has never liked it when I give another dog attention (though usually if there's another owner there to give him attention, he doesn't care as much), but since he's usually submissive, he doesn't raise a stink. He just gives me a pathetic look that says "how could you?" But since Theo takes the dominant role with puppies like Fireball, he has no problem telling them to back off of his Mommy in a very rude manner. I wonder, is that something dogs can get over with time and practice? Or should I count myself lucky that, thanks to his chicken-like ways, I'm able to pet other dogs at all?

As a hilarious aside, have you ever seen a 150lb Malamute act possessive with his owner? Sanook, whom I've mentioned before, does not approve of all the love his owner gives Theo (which is a lot, Theo eats this guy up with a spoon!) when we see each other, so he's taken to positioning his (humongous!) body between them and then leaning into his owner, causing him to either get up or fall over. Hehe. Oh the things you can do when you're 150lbs.

Plum Tuckered

I hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July! Mine was fantastic. We had some friends over for the greatest feast of all time a BBQ. We don't host many get-togethers at our house because of various reasons, mostly involving laziness busyness and my neuroses about cooking for other people and hosting in general, so Theo doesn't often have people play-dates. Oh boy, does that dog love having strange new people in the house to play fetch with him. Theo painted them all as suckers within minutes and their arrival, and between my four friends that were over, I think Theo managed to spend only a few minutes of the entire evening not running after a thrown toy.

I could tell he was at the point of poop-xaustion when, as soon as the front door was closed behind my departing friends, Theo literally collapsed where he was standing. One minute he was booty-wiggling them goodbye, and the next he was flat-backed on the floor, conked out. Husband and I enjoyed closing the evening with a good chuckle.

Then yesterday, Husband and I were feeling the aftermath of eating our weight in food the day before (not to mention the second round of pigging out that happened that day as well), so we decided to take a long waddle walk around the surrounding neighborhoods. That's right, we actually ventured out of the complex. It's something we tried for the first time last week and it was marvelous! Theo had a blast marking all new spots. I don't know how far we walked, or how long we walked (since I forgot to check the time when we left), but it felt like about 4 or 5 miles. Even though we stopped frequently for water and pee breaks (Husband and I, obviously, only partook in the water breaks), Theo was so pooped, he did the collapsing on spot thing again as soon as we stopped to open the front gate to our yard. He plopped right down, and when I told him to go in the house after Husband had opened the front door, he gave me the dirtiest "you want me to move?" look he's ever given me. Hehe. He even stayed lying down while I gave him his after-walk treats (he usually likes to lessen the time it takes to get a treat into his mouth by meeting me halfway). What a drama queen!

Looks like I did a pretty good job of tuckering him out this weekend, eh?

We Were On A Break!

I've been meaning to post about this for a few weeks now, but I wasn't truly decided until yesterday. Theo and I are taking a break from agility class. Theo, of course, will not approve. But I need one. I was beginning to dread Wednesday nights, and the whole point of the classes was to be a night of fun for both of us. Well they're not for me lately, so on a break is where we are.

On class nights, my evening goes something like this. I pick up Theo at doggy daycare, then walk him around for 30 minutes because there's a half hour gap between when doggy daycare closes and when class starts. I'm ok with this because Theo has so much energy, he could use the walk. I usually get lots of strange looks from the people who live in the neighborhood I walk in because they're private streets, and no one recognizes me. One day I was sitting down on the curb feeding Theo his dinner (since there's not time to go home first, I bring a bag of kibble) and some guy driving by actually stopped and asked if I needed help with something. Either I looked like I was in distress, or I looked like I was up to no good. Don't know which. ;p When it's time for class, I take Theo to get a drink of water, then take him around as many obstacles as we can get to for a warm up. Really, I'm just trying to get rid of more puppy energy.

When class starts, that's when Theo's barking begins. I have to hold his leash tight because the sneaky devil will lunge forward at any moment when he decides he just has to be there on the course, showing them all how it's done. If I give him a constant stream of treats for an hour, he will be quiet, but since I won't give him that many treats, I have to endure a lot of very loud barking. It's ear-splitting, really. Sometimes I try and pick him up to make him stay quiet. Lately, he's start clawing at my neck like a cat when I do this. He stops barking, but starts whining, sounding like a piglet getting Chinese water torture. Usually people start looking at me funny, wondering what the heck I'm doing to him. It's embarrassing. Sometimes I just let him bark, and my trainer comments (and by comments, I mean she not-so-subtly tells me to shut my dog up).

When it's finally Theo's turn to run a course, I let him off leash. Usually he dashes to the course with enthusiasm, and runs over any obstacle he can find. After a good minute of calling him to our starting point, he finally mossies over. It takes another minute at least to get him to actually sit down (asking him to sit usually results in him backing up 3 feet with lots of barking in between), and another minute to get to my starting spot while getting him to stay seated. Oh, by the way, usually the other people have completed running the entire course in this amount of time. When I'm in the right spot, I tell him to go over the first obstacle. Sometimes he decides to just go around the obstacle, the little bastard. When that happens, we have to spend another 3 minutes getting back into position. When he misses his contacts, I make him go back and do it again. Usually after 3 or 4 tries, I just pretend he hit them. He's so fast, that he's usually gone 3 obstacles ahead while I'm still telling him to go over the first one. He's great at keeping an eye on me, but he doesn't do so well with the listening.

Did I mention the barking? He barks the whole time he runs a course. It's because he's excited. He wants to let everyone know how awesome and excited he is. Too bad he's usually too busy barking to listen to me. Our exchange usually goes something like this: Me, pointing to jump, "Theo, jump!" Theo, standing in front of jump, looking at me, "bark! bark! bark!" Me, pointing to the jump, "Theo, JUMP!" Theo, after he's gone around the jump, then jumped over it backwards, "bark! bark! bark!" If it weren't so frustrating, it would be, without a doubt, absolutely hilarious. Usually while there's steam coming out of my ears, the entire class is in stitches. It almost seems like an old-style comedy routine.

I could live with the humiliation except apparently Theo is a little too excitable. My trainer told me the last class of the last session that Theo was launching himself into the A-frame too hard, and she was afraid he was going to hurt his shoulders. He's such a boy! She actually suggested we go back to beginning agility to work on his contacts. Beginning agility! After 3 classes of advanced! Heck no! Beginning agility was boring even when we were beginners! I'm sure we could have worked something else out, but I was down-right insulted at the suggestion.

I was so frustrated after that class that I was ready to give up agility all together. But then I remembered how much Theo loves it. He's only that big of a pain because he has so much fun, he just can't contain himself. He is a Corgi after all. They do all things all out, right? And then the woman who runs the doggy daycare (who also helps teach the agility class) told me very emphatically that Theo is an agility prodigy. He is really good at it and he loves it. He has no fear on any of the obstacles, and he's faster than the wind. If he could just focus (I took this to mean if he had a better handler), he could be really great. How could I cut him off after that? I can't. And I won't.

But that said, I do still need a break. In another 7-8 weeks, another class will start up. I think I've convinced Husband to start coming with me to class. I'm hoping he'll give handling a try. Husband has 10 times my patience, and he's wicked smart, so I'm convinced he could be a really good handler for Theo. And if not, maybe he can at least help me with keeping Theo quiet!

The woman who runs the doggy daycare also suggested I put agility equipment in the backyard for Theo to play around on. Her reasoning was that he'll be less psychotic in class if he can play on similar equipment at home. Two problems with that: first, money does not grow out of my bum, and second, my backyard is made of concrete. Otherwise, it's a great idea. Anyone want to buy me agility equipment? Ho-hum.

Corgi Stuff Giveaway

No sorry, it's not I who is giving Corgi paraphernalia away. For that kind of awesomeness you'll have to check out Gibson's blog, Corgi Butts. In honor of turning one year old, Kelly is giving away credits for her store. How cool! I haven't gotten anything Corgi-related since my dad sent me a "Corgis for Obama" magnet. I wouldn't mind a "Corgi Agility" tshirt, or an "I love Corgi butts: license plate frame. Wish me luck! I never win these things.

You'd Never Catch A Corgi With This

I know I haven't blogged for a month (edit: make that a month and a half! Oh my! Did I mention I'm totally important at work lately and have a million people annoying me with a million things all day? I do...). I've already been properly chastised by my mother. You can blame my laptop-hogging husband. But never mind that! Have you seen this? Um, probably not, since it's not a Corgi blog. But you must go to that link and see this hound dog sleep its way through food morsels! It's hilarious! I had to share the cuteness immediately.

Would that actually work with any of your Corgis (or other dogs, I don't discriminate)? I know for Theo it never would. He doesn't sleep that soundly, ever. If I walk near him when he's sleeping, he wakes up. If I take a picture of him while he's sleeping, he wakes up. If I'm rummaging through the fridge to get food to even try this trick while he's sleeping, he wakes up and comes running. But man, it would be funny if I could try this on him.

In other Theo news, we went to the local dog park yesterday for a mini meetup with a few Corgi owners in the area. It was sunny, but by no means scorching. This was by far the most hilarious meetup I've been to. They finally added additional benches to the park (previously, there was one per pen, right by the entrance), so we all huddled at the far end of the pen around a bench in the shade. All the Corgis (about 8 of them), cuddled right up to us people-folk, and didn't do much besides chase off any non-Corgis looking for trouble. Seriously. Other people were commenting about the Corgi-club in the back that wasn't allowing non-Corgis to join. It was pretty funny. There was one Beagle who kept trying to come and say hello, and every time there were 2 or 3 Corgis that would chase him away. Theo, of course, didn't have anything to do with such anti-social behavior. He was too busy being glued to me (giving me dirty looks when I was giving love to the other Corgis), or glued to the girl who snuck in treats (he loooooves her...can't understand why...). About an hour in I looked over and Theo was curled up beside me on the bench in the shade about 2 seconds from falling asleep! My dog fell asleep at the dog park! What a dork!

It was definitely the most sedate group of Corgis I've ever seen. It was nice and peaceful. Not exactly the point of taking your dog to the dog park, but oh well. It was a nice afternoon in the sun, surrounded by dogs. I can't complain. Of course, as I predicted, once we got home, Theo was a bundle of fetching energy. Oiy.

There's one thing I just don't understand about Theo. He goes head over heels when we arrive at the dog park. He cries and whines with excitement when we pull into the parking lot. He shoots into my lap the minute I put the car in park. We pulls me the whole way until we get to the pen. And then once we're in...plop. He just chills. After about 90 minutes yesterday I asked Theo "are you ready to go home?" He popped up, eyes alight with excitement, and started barking. Everyone agreed it was definitely a "yes". He even got indignant with me when I stopped to talk to a person while we were leaving. Why does he get so excited to come and then want nothing but to go home? I'll never understand, but in the mean time, he's darn cute!

(By the way, mom. I know you like regular updates on your grand-puppy, but I also have another blog I update weekly. I know it's not exactly your thing, but I talk about you sometimes on that one too.)

Baby Love

Ivy's baby-centric blog reminded me about this baby I've been meaning to blog about!  No, this is not an "I'm pregnant!" announcement (seriously, everyone is pregnant right now, right?).  There's a couple in my agility class who have the most adorable baby they bring with them to class every week.  I bad at guessing baby ages, but she's just starting to talk (as in, mumble unintelligible words) and she can't walk yet, if that helps.  This little girl loves Theo.  Seriously, she cannot get enough of him.  Out of the 10 or so dogs in class, including her own two dogs, she only has eyes for Theo.  She likes to yell "Doggie!" and reach her arms out to Theo with a big fat smile on her face. It's the most precious thing ever.  

Of course, Theo loves babies right back.  If he sees a stroller while we're out walking, he will do nothing but stare until the kid inside is out of site.  Even when he was a nippy little puppy, he was always so gentle with kids.  He's not usually satisfied until their faces are properly covered with a coating of his protective doggy slobber, including meeting after meeting with the baby in my agility class.   Her mother will always set her down to say hello to Theo, and Theo always proceeds to cover her with kisses.  I always expect her to start freaking out and crying because the big furry beast is trying to eat her, but this kid has no fear!  She always just laughs and smiles and tries to turn her head away (the way most dog lovers tend to react to kisses).  A dog person this kid will certainly be.

How are your Corgis with kids?  I'm curious what Theo's reaction will be when we start having our own kids.  Will it be a wonderful joy, or just another intruder?  Hehe.

On My List Of Favorites

Last Sunday was a lazy day, even for Theo, my usual early riser.  It was the first day in I don't know how long that I turned off my alarm and let myself sleep as late as Theo let me.  To my surprise, it was until past 8:00am!  It felt soooo nice.  Theo needed the extra sleep time too, I think.  He had been very lethargic in the mornings the last few weeks.  Not in a "OMG, what's wrong with him!?" way, but in a "we've been uber-busy!" way.  The sleep obviously did him good because he was crazy energetic when he emerged from his crate Sunday morning.  It was hilarious!

The first thing he went for was my head.  Of course, he couldn't reach it, so I obliged him by laying down on the floor. Then the barrage began!  He did the putting his chin on my shoulder thing (which I love love love because it is sort of, kind of, not really snugly behavior!), he tried to pull my hair tie out, he nipped my ears (in the completely gentle, playful way), and of course, there was oodles of adorable play-growling.  I was eating it up!  We didn't end up going on our run until almost 9am because I didn't know how to end the play session.  It was so much fun! You know what really drives him crazy?  Blowing on his face when he's trying to own me.  Gets him riled up every time.

Arriving In Style

Has anyone heard of PetAirways?  Apparently they are a pet-only airline, where your pet rides in the main cabin of the plane, rather than the cargo area.  It's definitely an interesting concept, but I wonder what the main differences between the main cabin and the cargo area would be on a plane that is just for pets.  Obviously the cabin is not going to be equiped with reclining seats and a convenient reading light for Theo's leisure.  But temperature sound control would be a definite plus.

Would I do it?  Probably not.  But I think it's a really neat idea, and a decidedly better option that cargo shipping your pup.  Plus, I think it's neat that you can track your puppy's progress.

Flights start in July.  Would anybody consider PetAirways for their pet traveling needs?

Only 8

I've been tagged with the following blog game by Infrared Goggles.  Here it goes!

8 Things I am Looking Forward to
1…..Being an aunt!
2…..Watching Theo grow up.
3…..Getting in shape (it's a wip at the moment).
4…..Retirement.
5…..Seeing Wicked this summer.
6…..More hikes with Theo and Husband.
7…..The dog beach!
8…..Getting old.


8 Things I Did Yesterday
1…..Went and had high tea with friends.  Yum! 
2…..Jogged with Theo in the morning.
3…..Ate a huge dinner that wasn't even that great. *sigh*
4…..Attempted to walk off said huge dinner, but Theo couldn't keep up, so I had to slow down.
5…..Vegged on the couch and watched a movie.
6…..Read a couple chapters of East of Eden and wrote down a passage I really liked in Chapter 7.
7…..Slept in until 8am!  That's a rarity for me.
8…..Played lots of fetch with Theo (yes, I really am a terribly uninteresting person, I know).


8 Things I Wish I Could do
1…..Sing.
2…..Write.
3…..Shrink (vertically as well as horizontally).
4.....Win the lottery.
5.....Move to Oregon.
6…..Have a house with enough land for lots of animals.
7…..Function normally with only a few hours of sleep each night.
8…..Give world peace.


8 Shows I Enjoy (DVR)
1…..Lost
2…..My Boys
3…..Battlestar Galactica (*sniff*)
4…..Survivor
5…..Good Eats
6…..Family Guy
7.....Damages
8…..Top Chef


8 Fur People I tag
1…..Lindsey at Frankenstein
2…..Kelly at Corgi Butts
3…..Lynn at Craft Stew
4…..Ivy at The Senakams + 1 (twice tagged!)
5…..Jenna at Corgi Pants (twice tagged!)
6…..Betty at...Oh snap!  Where did her blog go?
7…..Philip the Corgi
8…..Manda Girl at A day in the life of our pugs

You Left Me!

A bit delayed, but how was everyone's Easter/Passover?  Husband and I went to Reno for the weekend.  Since we were only there two days, we decided to forgo the 20 hours of driving and just fly, meaning we had to board Theo.  It ended up being 4 days of boarding for him because we dropped him off Friday morning (for doggy daycare and boarding in the evening), and weren't able to pick him up until Monday because they were closed for Easter (but yes, still taking care of the animals).  And since we were working Monday, we just did the usual doggy daycare and picking him up after work.  

When I finally got him back Monday evening, he was pretty pissed at me.  He had a "you left me!" look on his face the whole way home.  He didn't want to be touched, he didn't want to even be around me.  He pretty much just curled up and went to sleep in another room after we got home.  Husband had to go out of town for work Monday morning, so it was just the two of us.  Thankfully, he got over it by morning.  He was his usual peppy self, and when Husband came home Tuesday night, he was happy again.  Pehw!  Ok, maybe boarding isn't as painless as we thought.  Heh.

We had some friends over for dinner on Saturday night.  Theo was in heaven.  Not one, but three people willing to play fetch with him!  Oh my goodness!  My friend Mouth was there, and he is Theo's shining star.  He just adores him.  During dinner I found out why.  Mouth kept feeding him!  No wonder!  Hehe.  Stop trying to buy my puppy's love!  It totally works, you know.  

Summer is officially here.  It seems we're skipping straight past Spring this year.  That means it's already too hot to go outside in the middle of the day.  It was in the 90s yesterday!  I'm a little bummed because I don't think we got out enough while the weather was good.  Hopefully we'll get a couple more weekends of cool days before Summer totally sets in. *fingers crossed*

Something In The Air

Rex is long gone (since last Friday), and Theo couldn't be happier.  He was Mr. Grumpy Pants pretty much 24/7 while Rex was here, and when he left, Theo was so relieved.  Hehe.  I guess we'll be keeping him an only puppy for a while.  I couldn't really blame him when Rex took to stealing whatever toy Theo was playing with and laying his body over it so Theo couldn't get to it.  What an instigator!  

I, on the other hand, was sad to see Rex go.  I liked having a dog who was cuddly, who would nudge my hand when I stopped petting him, who would roll over for belly rubs.  He was a total sweetheart.  But I do acknowledge that his rock-hard nails did cause quite a few gauges in our new hardwood floors.  And running a mile with him just didn't wear Rex out like it does with Theo.  But that's ok.  He's a good dog and Husband's parents are lucky to have him.

I think our runs together (Theo, Rex, and I) summed up these two nicely.  Theo would run at full speed, going as fast as the collar choking him around his neck would let him.  Whenever Rex would come up to close behind him, Theo would turn his head and growl at him as if to say "I'm in the front here mister, get in line!"  Rex would very diplomatically run right behind Theo and at my side.  When I stopped to pick up poop or had to slow to a walk for a short break, Rex would slow and match my pace.  Theo, as usually, would still try to run.  What a goof!

As I said, everything is back to normal.  Theo had his agility class last night.  As my trainer said, there was definitely something in the air last night.  All the dogs were just crazy hyper and all seemed to have selective hearing.  Even the trainer's dog (she always uses one of her dogs to run the course first so we can see what she means when she tells us the order) kept running off to do his own thing.  And I'd never seen a Greyhound really let loose and run before!  Man she was fast!  And Theo, of course, was pretty much how he is every week, only this week the other dogs matched his 'tude.  

Theo seems to have decided that I am not a necessary part of the agility class.  Last night after the trainer had her dog run a course, it was Theo's turn.  As soon as I let him off leash he started running it!  Who needs a human to tell a dog what to do when said dog can just watch and do by example?  Makes sense to me.  

We'll be boarding Theo for the weekend while we're in Reno for Seder.  We decided not to spend 20 hours in the car for just a couple days visit.  My mom sounded relieved since Theo's last visit resulted in a carpet cleaning.   I guess she should be grateful Theo is better behaved (and by that I mean crate trained and with softer nails, of course).  Carpet cleaning is better than carpet replacement.  Heh.  Anyway, he'll be staying at the place we take him for doggy daycare, so I know he'll be fine.  It's going to be so strange to be without a dog for 3 days!  I keep thinking to myself things like, "Oh, I have to remember to bring food for Theo when we go up to Reno...oh that's right, he's not coming with us."  It's weird! 

...And The Destruction Begins

Husband and I have always counted ourselves lucky that Theo was such a nondestructive dog.  We were prepared for a dog that would chew on the walls and claw at the furniture, but we lucked out and got a dog that would rather verbalize his need for attention than show it.  Rex is apparently not that way.  Let me just say that I in no way blame Rex for the damage that I am going to tell you about, because I think it could have easily been avoided with a bit of sensible pondering.

So we took Husband's parents out to dinner last night for his mom's 60th birthday (seriously, she looks late 40s at most!). We left the dogs home by themselves.  We left Theo in the loft, as usual.  Husband's parents decided that they would put Rex in our guest room (the bedroom they are staying in).  This sounded like a fine idea.  The room is a good size and has all their stuff in it that smells like them.  Of course, I didn't know that Rex has abandonment issues, and issues with being locked in rooms (they think one of his previous owners used to lock him in a bathroom because they say he won't go in any bathroom).  Of course, had I know that, I would have suggested that they keep Rex in the loft as well.  We could have rigged something to keep the dogs separated if that's what they were worried about (though I think they would have been fine together).  The loft is open.  Rather than being locked in a room, Rex would have felt merely confined.  However, Husband's parents decided not to confide this valuable information in us before we left, and I assume they were simply hoping for the best.

Their hopes were not realized.  When we got home I knew there was something wrong when I glanced at the bottom of the bedroom door and saw there was no longer carpet under it.  That's right.  Rex, in his frenzied attempt to escape his imprisonment, tore up all the carpet in front of the door, including the pad underneath.  Husband's dad then attempted to punish Rex by telling him what a bad dog he was in a harsh tone.  Thankfully Husband stepped in and told his dad that reprimanding him after the fact wasn't going to do anything, and he would be better to just leave him alone.  And I was glad he said something because, really, this wasn't Rex's fault.  I'm not really mad either way because I know it was an accident and it's not like he did anything that isn't fixable, but if anyone is to blame, it's Husband's parents.  They should have known better.

Husband also told me yesterday that apparently Rex has a compulsive water drinking problem.  He will drink and drink and drink until he throws up.  I've never heard of that before!  I'm used to Theo, who will only go near his water bowl maybe 2 or 3 times over the course of a day.  Heh.

I'm still loving having Rex in the house.  He is still a wonderful dog with a wonderful personality.  His only flaw is that he loves too much!  Hehe.  Did I mention when I throw my arms up in the air, Rex will jump up and throw his huge, long legs on me to give me a hug?  It is wonderful.

There's A New Dog In Town...

...and his name is Rex, and I love him!

Husband's parents are staying with us for the week and they brought their new dog, Rex.  They think he's a Texas Heeler, though only because of pictures they've seen (he's a rescue) .  He pretty much looks just like the dog in the first picture if you follow the link, only black instead of brown.  He is the sweetest dog ever!  He's a year and a half and very playful.  He gives kisses, loves belly rubs, and didn't meet a single one of Theo's toys that he didn't like.  I'm considering never letting him leave.

I wasn't at home when they were first introduced, but I'm told that when they first met, outside our house and away from the yard, Theo reacted to Rex as he does most dogs.  He sniffed and kissed and showed him his butt.  But once Rex came in the house with us, he was a little perturbed.  Understandably, he didn't understand why the intruder had followed him home.  That's how he seemed to regard Rex for the most part, an intruder.  When I came home, he was mostly ignoring him, except to growl at him when he came near the toy he was playing with.  But I'm told they had quite the play session in the backyard before I got home, and I did see a lot of head jumping and ear biting after dinner.  

Rex is so sweet tempered that he's kind of perfect for Theo.  Theo starts off nice and playful, but he often lets things get out of hand.  I noticed while they were playing that Theo's usual play-growling would turn into real growling, and he would start getting a little nasty, but Rex was all over it.  When Theo got out of hand, he would just get out of his way and let him calm down a bit before he came back for more.  Even though he's much bigger than Theo, he played very gently with him.  He even let Theo tackle him to the ground and have his ears for an evening snack!  And Rex was loving every minute of it.  If we get a second dog (eventually), I'll definitely have to find a Rex.

Of course fetch got a little interesting.  When Theo wants to play fetch, he wants to play with a specific toy.  If he brings you a penguin, he wants you to throw the penguin.  If you throw the tribble instead, he's just going to sit there and look at the penguin and then look at you as if to say "No, throw this one, you idiot!"  Rex is not so picky.  This is both a good and bad thing.  It's good because I could get him to play with whatever I wanted.  It's bad because when I would throw Theo's penguin, Rex would run after it as well, which would cause Theo to growl and Rex to be out of luck.  I, in my infinite wisdom, devised a way that both dogs could play fetch without someone getting a bloody nose.  I sat in the middle of the room.  I had Rex give me a non-penguin toy and threw that in one direction.  He went after it.  Since it wasn't the penguin, Theo did not.  Then I threw Theo's penguin the other direction, and since Rex was busy with another toy, Theo could fetch it in peace.  When they both came back, I did the same thing again, and when I stuck to that order, the fetch session worked out quite nicely. 

Meal times are also interesting.  I wasn't there, but I hear there were some words spoken between the dogs during an attempted feeding.  Husband should have known better, really.  The only thing that gets Theo full on aggressive is food competition.  So for dinner and breakfast this morning we made sure to feed them separately.  So far so good.  Though Rex eats painfully slow.

I'm looking forward to a whole week with a dog I can love on with no 2-foot rules!

The Houseguest And The A-Frame

My sister came to stay for a visit last weekend and Theo was just in heaven.  She was just getting over a cold and Theo just loves snuggling with the infirm.   She got to see what I mean when I talk about Theo snuggling my legs.  It's great, isn't it?  She also got to see that I am not exaggerating when I say he gets a bit psycho on our runs in the morning.  He was definitely a little bummed to see her go, but luckily he perked back up in time for agility this week.

It was my first time in the more advanced class.  By the end of it I learned that Theo is ready, but I still need a lot of work.  Theo is just a lot of handle.  He get so excited in class that he barks pretty much for the entire hour straight.  Then, when it's his turn to run the course, he won't calm down enough to even sit down and wait for me to give him the command to run it!  It's pretty cute.  He's so excited, in fact, that he runs the entire course at full speed.  Full Corgi speed is quite fast (compared to my oh so slow human speed), and I'm supposed to keep up with him!  When he would miss a jump or run past the a-frame, it was because I wasn't keeping in front of him to direct him to the next obstacle.  My trainer (and the rest of the class) kept yelling "run, [julo], run!" Phew!  It's so much pressure on me!  Thankfully the other students are nice and encouraging, rather than judging, so I try not to feel too self concious.  I always got a round of applause when I could finally rein in Theo's enthusiam enough to finish a couse.

Also, Theo's taken to making up his own courses.  He pretty much starts as soon as I take his leash off, then he just runs and jumps over whatever suits him, then once I can finally get him back to the starting point, we can begin "my course".  It's hilarious.  I told him "teeter" at one point last night.  He ran past the teeter, over the a-frame, back the other way over the a-frame, then over the teeter.  As my trainer said, he just needed a little a-frame for courage.  Hehe.  

One of the other students was nice enough to break out her tools and tighten up the teeter totter.  Last class Theo was terrified of it, but now that it's nice and stiff, he likes it a lot better.  That's good to know.  If he ever starts getting iffy with it again, I can just suggest she tighten it back up again.  Of course, it's so tight right now that I actually have to help push it down because Theo is too light to move it. 

It's really great to see how excited Theo gets running the courses.  He is definitely having the time of his life.  I think we'll have to keep doing agility for quite some time.  I've even piqued Husband's interest with my descriptions of Theo's crazy behavior.  He might actually come watch one of these nights.

Late Night Agility

How is it the middle of March and I haven't posted yet this month?  Man, I am still out of it.

The biggest Theo news I have is he started the next agility class last night.  The place I take him for training originally only had 2 agility classes: agility 1 and agility 2.  And people could just take 2 over and over again.  Well apparently the class got so big, the trainer decided to split the class and make an agility 3.  Since Theo had already gone through agility 2 once, the trainer graduated him to 3 last night.  What's that mean?  Well probably nothing except that now class is at 8:30pm!  Ugh, that's going to be rough.

Basically, it's a big pain for the trainer to pull out all the agility equipment and set it up every week, so she's not willing to do it more than 1 night a week.  That means she has to fit 3 agility classes into one evening, thus the late hour.  I wouldn't mind except it means driving all the way down there to pick Theo up from doggy day care, then driving home for like an hour, and then turning around and driving back.  I would just hang out and walk around, but an hours is a long time to kill and there's really nothing in the area worth walking to.  It's really not a very nice neighborhood.  It's not unsafe, just loud, smelly, and busy.

I'm a little nervous about agility 3 because it means I'm in the class with the people who have been doing this class for years and their dogs are just amazing.  Theo is still pretty terrible.  He gets so excited to be running the obstacles, that he runs past half of them.  And I don't think he'll ever quite get the hang of the weave poles.  Heh.

There's one dog, Princess, who does the cutest thing.  When she's all done with the course her owner throws his hands up and waves them around, and Princess hops up on her hind legs, and dances around with her front paws in the airs.  It's the cutest thing!  It's a fun way to celebrate without using a treat.  I don't think I could ever get Theo accept a treat substitute celebration.

I Don't Know How I Did It, But It Sure Is Awesome

Somewhere along the way in Theo's potty training, I managed to teach him a very effective way of letting us know he needs to go outside to potty.  Or maybe he taught us...I'm never quite sure.  Anyway, as I've often mentioned, Theo is a bit of a crybaby.  Crying is his go-to method for telling us he wants something, and it can be hard to distinguish what he's whining about since he's pretty darn needy and usually downright demanding.  If we took him outside every time he cried, we would probably decide to just leave him out there after a day or so.  So when Theo is insistently crying Husband and I will ask in a clear voice "Theo do you need to go out?"  If yes, he always gives an adorable emphatic bark (with full on "do my bidding" eye contact).  If no, then he just silently pouts because you're standing there asking questions and not seeing to the needs he is crying about.  We always make sure to ask a couple of times because sometimes he needs to go out, but for whatever reason didn't feel like responding the first time we asked (probably because he got distracted by something shiny).  

I am so happy we have this system worked out because this way we're both happy.  Theo doesn't have to bounce up and down uncomfortably in a corner, holding his knees together because he has to go and no one will take him out, and I don't have to neurotically wonder every 30 minutes whether he's going to have an accident in the house if I don't take him outside.

Now this isn't full-proof.  Sometimes Theo will "say" he has to go, when really he just wants to go outside and play fetch with the tennis ball in the backyard.  Sometimes he'll say he has to go because he knows it'll get me off my butt and he has a better chance of enticing to a game of fetch (it's always about the darn fetch with that boy), but I'd say at least 8 times out of 10 it results in a successful pee.  I'll take it!

How did we teach him this?  I have no freaking clue.  But we definitely have taken steps to make sure we don't mess it up.  First off, we don't ever use the word "out" with him unless we're talking about pottying.  I'll say outside if necessary, but usually if I'm referring to going outside I'll just mention the activity we're about to do.  For example, when we're about to go on a walk, I'll say "Let's go for a walk!" rather than "Let's go out!".  Second, the minute we're outside after he's proclaimed he needs to go out, I tell him to make his business so it's clear why we're there.   Theo won't go in the backyard anymore.  I played too much fetch with him out there and now it's officially living space.  So when I take him out to go, I snap on his collar and leash and walk him across the street and wait for business to happen.  If it does, it does, if it doesn't, it doesn't.  Oh well, false alarm.  Sometimes I'll fetch play with him after, otherwise back in the house we go.  But if I ask if he needs to go out and he says yes, then across the street we go.  I think that really helps reinforce what I'm asking.

There have been times that I've wondered if Theo actually understands what I'm asking him, or whether he's just responding to my tone of voice.  I've actually tested it a few times.  I'd say "Theo, do you need to go [some random one-syllable word not rhymning with out in any way]?"  Nothing.  That dog knows what I'm asking, and he's darn smart about it.   

New Friends

Bailey the Beagle's owner the other day asked me if there were certain breeds that Theo tended to get or not get along with (apparently Bailey has a complete disdain for all things Poodle).  I had never quite thought of it that way, but yes, there definitely are!  Theo is a lover, so he likes most dogs, but I will say if he's not a fan, then the dog is probably either a Lab or a Boxer.  I think Labs are a bit too exurberant for Theo's taste.  There's a lab the same age as Theo named Max that we often see on our walks in the evening.  Despite the fact that he's played with Max on several occasions when they were younger, and they've smelled each other on dozens of times, somewhere along the way Theo decided he didn't like Max.  Now whenever Max comes bounding up to him to say hello, Theo snaps and growls at him.  I think he's afraid he's going to get stepped on.  Max isn't exactly a graceful dog, and he's big.  As for the Boxers, I have no idea why, but whenever he comes across a Boxer it's all snapping and growling again.  I think, like Labs, he's just afraid of getting pummled.    Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, such as the Lab that lives next door to my parents in Reno.  He was mellow and gentle enough that Theo tolerated him.  I wouldn't say he has a problem with big dogs in general because there are several big dogs we know that he's fine with.  For instance, Theo just loves Sanook, the 150lb Malamute that we often encounter on our walks.  A gentler giant I've never seen.  

While Theo mostly likes all dogs there are definitely breeds that Theo likes more than others.   Of course, that would be the herding breeds.  It's amazing how herding breeds really seem to prefer each other!  Obviously, Theo likes other Corgis best, but after that I definitely think Australian Shepherds are his next preference.  They have such a sweet and playful temper that Theo just eats up.  He hadn't really played with any Border Collies until recently, so I wasn't sure what he thought of them.  Of course, now I know that he loves them too.  A neighbor of mine just rescued one a few weeks ago named Brody and they are becoming fast friends.  Theo even jumped on Brody's head a few times the night before last.  I haven't seen him do that to any dog besides another Corgi in a long time.

Has anyone else noticed this?  Are there any breeds your dog doesn't take to or any that they can't get enough of?

She Blogs!

Wow, so much for taking a week off!  It's February!  Egads!

Well I knew it had been way too long since I had updated my blog when my mom called asking if I was ever going to update again.  I didn't even know she read it!  Hi Mom!

I have to admit, part of the reason behind the silence is...well...we really haven't been that interesting lately!  We've fallen into a pattern that I have been loving, but it's nothing really to stop the presses for.  There has been lots of morning jogs and evening walks, still a heinous amount of fetch, and even some cuddling thrown in.  But between this cold and rainy winter and my serious homebody tendencies, we haven't gotten out much since Reno.  Here's a bit of an overview of the last few weeks.

First, Theo is still loving agility class.  I got to work with him off leash a bit and he did amazing!  He flew over all the jumps without being hindered by the fear that he would run out of slack on the leash mid-jump.  Where most of the dogs take a leasurely pace going over the obstacles, Theo races!  My trainer is always telling me to run and keep up with him.  He's a fast little devil!  He still hates the teeter totter, but I've gotten him to do it a couple of times.  Like all the other dogs, he treats the yellow area (that's the area at the beginning and end of some of the obstacles, like the A-frame, that the dog is supposed to have two paws touch or it's a penalty) like it's made of acid.

I cracked the whole class up last week trying to get Theo to do the weave poles off-leash.  He was all over the place, going through every pole out of any kind of order, trying to figure out what I wanted so I could give him the treat I was holding.  Hehe.  I finally gave up because he was being too ridiculous.  He's going for class clown.  He really impressed me by always staying with me and responding to my commands.  When we are done with a course, he always makes his way back to our seat without taunting the other dogs still on-leash.  What a gentleman.  I spend the 30 minutes between when doggy daycare closes and when class starts walking him around so he's not quite so hopped up doing class.  That has helped a lot with the barking, but I still have to hold him in my lap for most of class to keep him quiet.   I think we have one or two classes left, but I'm definitely going to repeat the class as long we we're having so much fun.

We've gotten into a nice routine at home.  I've been running with him in the mornings.  He's still nuts about it.  He tries to run full speed the whole way, refusing to slow down to my speed.  So basically he kind of strangles himself.   I can't figure out why he's so intent on it, but I've been trying to work up to running faster so I can give him a bit of a break.   Any command I give him those 10 minutes is basically useless because he won't listen to a word I say.  If I slow down to a walk, he still tries to run...the whole way.  Sometimes my arm is sore from holding on to the leash so hard.  But on our evening walks he's an angel.  He heels great and listens to all my commands, so I try not to give him too hard of a time on our runs, since it's obviously something beyond just teenage disobedience.  

I've been walking farther and faster!  Thanks to a handy iphone app (love it!), I know that we've been walking just about 2 miles a night.  Plus I always run around with him in the little park in our complex so he has a chance to really stretch his legs.  Lately he prefers me to chase him, rather than him herding me.   I can tell when he's tired because he runs in very small circles, rather than all over the place.  Hehe.

Unfortunately, the rain has gotten in the way of a few of our walks and runs the last few weeks.  Don't get me wrong, I love the rain, but I've gotten so used to all the exercise that I feel terrible when I can't do it!  Hehe.  When it's only lightly sprinkling I'll throw on Theo's jacket and drag him along with me anyway.  He really hates the rain, but he doesn't usually complain once we're walking.

I've really been loving our peaceful evenings together.  Usually after our walk I'll curl up in the comfy armchair with a book, and play a little fetch with Theo.  Thanks to our longer walks, the fetch sessions don't last nearly as long.  Usually after just a few minutes he'll be off chewing an antler, and before long he'll jump up on the ottoman and fall asleep on my feet or leaning against my legs.  He's gotten much more cuddly in his teenage years.  I'm totally loving it!

So there's boring old me and our boring old routine.  It may make you fall asleep at your computer, but it makes me happy.

Theo really has been an angel for the most part lately.  We're still leaving him home two days a week while we're at work, and that's usually the only time he really does anything troublesome - not that I blame him at all.  Some days I'll come home to find bits of cardboard everywhere because he got bored and chewed up one of the boxes storing junk in the loft.  Husband was annoyed by it at first, but I told him that if chewing up an old cardboard box is the worst destruction we get, then we're lucky and he's still awesome.  Husband readily agreed.  Last week he had an accident, and again Husband was annoyed.  I asked him if Theo had done his business before he left for work that morning and he said he Theo wouldn't go.  Well it turns out lazy Husband wouldn't walk Theo to the bushes across the street (that's the place he likes to go), and just waited around in the backyard for him to go (he rarely will go in the backyard anymore - it's living space!).  So since Theo hadn't gone all morning, of course he had an accident after being home alone all day!  I scolded Husband instead of Theo for that one. 

I hope everyone's dogs are being little angels too!

Theo The Recluse

No wait...that's me!  Sorry for being so quite these last few weeks.  I think I've just been quiet in general.  Husband said I've been acting more "independent" lately. I think that means I've just needed a lot of me time lately.  I still do, but how can I not keep the world posted on my little star?  So back to Theo.   

The teenager is in full swing!  He has had quite a few days the last few weeks of being a total butthead.  You know, selective hearing, super pushy, defying authority; the usual bit.  Other days he's his usual angel self.  I can't wait until we're past it, that's for sure.  Running with him in the mornings has been quite a challenge.  He absolutely will not run next to me anymore.  Right out of the gate he bolts at full speed and will not stop no matter what speed I am running/walking, no matter how much is strangles him.  No matter how much training I do with him to change this, he will not stop.  I'm completely perplexed as to what to do about this.  Of course, it's not all the time, or on all walks, just in the mornings when we run.  I don't want to give up running (I'm finally getting some endurance!), but it frustrates me to no end every single morning.

His energy level is insane.  He hasn't been sleeping on my feet so much anymore.  That would involve sitting still for too long.  Instead he just wants to play catch/fetch all the time, or chew on his antler.  But I long ago was resigned to my fate as toy thrower, so that's fine.   I'm still feeding him more than the average Corgi and he's still staying stick skinny, so I think that's just the look he'll be sporting for awhile.  While at the dog park with him last week we saw another Corgi that was very fat with a shorter body (he was also 10 years older).  A woman asked the other Corgi's owner what breed of dog she had.  A few minutes later she asked what breed Theo was.  When I told her they were both Corgis she looked at me in disbelief.  "Those two dogs are the same breed?"  Hehe.  I am still laughing about it.  I guess people really aren't used to seeing Corgis that aren't chubby.

In other Theo news, he started his second agility class last night!  I'm really excited for this one.  We're still not running full courses yet, but we got to do some great jump exercises (including a double jump!) and eventually we'll get to work off leash.  It's a lot more serious than the first class.  The first class was very "hey, let's play on some equipment!".  This class there is a lot more handler training as well as dog training.  I don't like feeling quite so on the spot, but Theo being such a star makes me feel much better.

I never did pull those snow pictures off of my camera.  I know, I'm such a slacker.  I can tell you all about Theo's snow jacket I ended up buying him at the last minute. It's this one here.  I liked it because it looked longer than the average doggy coat.  Also, Husband wanted one that fully closed at the bottom, rather than just a band, so his tummy stayed warm.  Sizing was key and very tricky.  I used their sizing chart and measured the appropriate measurements on Theo.  Of course, all his measurements pointed toward a medium, except his big neck, which fit with a large.  I didn't want to choke him, and I figured too large is better than too small, so I opted for the large.  It turned out to be the perfect fit, so I don't know how much I trust their sizing chart.  If I had bought the medium it would have been way too small (even though they list Corgis as being a size medium on the sizing chart!).  And since Theo is so skinny I'm really surprised it was so tight.  Maybe the average Corgi would even be better with an extra large?  That's a crazy thought.  Heh.   I also liked the jacket because it comes with a hood.  I figure since Theo's main complain about the rain is that he doesn't like it hitting his head, the jacket should help.   Oh, and because I know you're curious, the jacket was the perfect length in that he protected his full tummy area, but he was still able to pee in it without hitting any material. 

Ironically enough, my sister emailed me halfway through writing this post asking why I haven't been posting.  Here you go sheshe!

Still Here, Mostly Sleeping

Phew!  It feels weird to have gone so long without posting!  We're still here.  I had a 2 week vacation from work and everything just kind of hit me...the stress of the year.  I ended up basically catatonic during that time.  Ok, not really, but I'm sure I wasn't great company (sorry mom!).  I collapsed on the couch under my favorite blanket and a book and just read or slept the day away.  Every day.  For 2 weeks.  Basically.

Ok, we did go up to Reno for 5 days to visit my parents, but we still didn't do much.  My poor mom.  She was visibly frustrated by my and Husband's complete lack of motivation to do much of anything.   It was partially brought on by the fact that I couldn't really stomach food for the first week.  Don't know why, I just never felt hungry, and felt sick every time I tried to eat.  After we got home I vegged some more.  Now that I'm back at work, I'm wishing I was still at home vegging.  I may be addicted.  

Anyway, that's why I've been MIA for 2 weeks.  But enough about me.  The little booger was a total trouble maker the first week, and a total angel the second week for the most part.  

Let's start with Reno.  Theo loved it.  He was so excited, the first thing he did when we got into my parents' house was poop in their bedroom.  Awesome.  It snowed all of Christmas day. Theo loved playing in the snow.  He liked running around plowing it with his chest and then flinging himself over it with his bunny legs.  It was adorable to watch.  The neighbor's golden lab kept coming over to play.  At one point Theo wandered over to their backyard and wouldn't come back, even after calling him for 10 minutes straight.  He would look right at me, and then wander away.  Ugh.  He got in trouble BIG TIME for that.  The neighbors ended up seeing him in their backyard and letting him in their house.  I ended up having to trudge through the snow and icy road over to their house to go and get him ("Excuse me, may I please have my horribly rude dog back?"  Hehe.  They obviously loved him and didn't want to give him back.).  Booger indeed.  Husband and I tried to take him snow shoeing with us, but he wouldn't come with us.  He just sat by the back door and cried.  I think he was afraid of the big scary shoes.  He was great in the car, no incidents.

The next week, while I was even more catatonic than I was in Reno, Theo was pretty much glued to me.  Husband got food poisoning or the stomach flu or something so he was stuck in bed for most of the week, so it was just Theo and me.  I was perfectly willing to play endless fetch with him while permanently glued to the couch, but he wasn't interested for the most part.  He seemed to pick up perfectly on my apathetic mood and just chilled on the couch with me most of the time.  Not only did he sleep all week on the couch with me, he slept on me!  The 2 foot rule was temporarily suspended and I was even allowed to pet him at times while he slept.  It was crazy.  In that time of close quarters, I also learned the difference between Theo's 3 major whines: Mommy I need to pee, Mommy I want you to get off the couch and come over here and play with me, and Mommy I need you to come and get my toy that rolled under the couch.  The latter of the 3 is a ridiculously adorable quiet whine that is possibly the most pathetic sound you've ever heard.  Of course, it would have to be in order to get me up and in the other room every 3 minutes to get his ball he couldn't seem to keep from rolling under the couch.  Of course, now that we're back to our normal schedule, the 2 foot rule suspension has been lifted and we're back to our normal interactions.  It was nice while it lasted.

Well it's a new year.  2008 was year zero, the puppy year.  I think I'll call year 1 and maybe beyond "adolescence" because, really, he's just not a puppy anymore.  He's a troublesome little teenager.  My wonderful troublesome littler teenager.  I loved year zero, and I'm sure I'll love year one as well.

Happy New Year everyone!