Lady is Back!

We were very, very excited when at 10 pm last night a delayed Lady walked through the door. Then we remembered we were kind of mad at her and gave her the cold shoulder.

Lady had a wonderful time at her conference. She is tired but happy.

We had a wonderful time without her. The Man did a good job at keeping us busy. He said we were very good while Lady was away.

It might take us the rest of the week to fully catch up/get back into our routine.

Have a great day!

Mischief Monday - The Fence that Just Appeared

Recently, after a walk in the woods, the Man was throwing the ball for Phod down our private road. The ball rolled under the horse fence and of course Phod went with it.

"Man, we have a problem, a fence has appeared."

With some coaxing Phod went back to where he went under and with some help came out. He was a little confused but happy he had his ball. 

This kong rope toy has been in this tree on the road for months. It is really stuck. We have had some very windy days and yet it has not budged! 

Be Safe

We would like to express our sincere sympathy goes out to the 6 families in Langley B.C. whose dogs lives were cut short. For those of you who may not have heard this story, a dog walker has been accused of leading to the dogs death by leaving them in a hot car. You can read the story here.  It is such a tragic accident.

I found this reminder online and am sharing it!

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If you haven't heard, there is a great auction going on to help The Baby. You can click here to learn more.

We will be off the grid until next week as Lady goes to Chicago for a conference. Lady hopes to use some of her spare time to catch up with all our friends (she has been crazy busy trying to get ready to be away for the weekend). She does have free wifi in her hotel!

We wish all our American friend's a wonderful Memorial Day!

Be Safe everyone! 

Wordless Wednesday - Sun Protection is a Must

How the Day Actual Went

I got to sleep in until 7:30ish. I took the dogs for a walk around the property, fed them, took them out again and then sat down to get some work done. I needed to get a couple hours done.

Hailey scratched at the door for like 30 minutes while I was working and Man was still sleeping, as she didn't think she had enough of a walk. Often on weekends I schedule the walk for later in the day, but my girl likes her schedule. Since she was scratching so much I locked her in my office with me, where she paced and sighed.

At 10:30 I was done work, Man was up and Hailey went out again.

They both settled for a while and stayed inside while we did the yard work we can't do with the dogs outside (like cut the lawn). Then they went out, Hailey tied to her tree, Phod roaming around and they spent another hour outside while we did some more stuff around the yard. Phod was super and stayed in the yard while we were working.

Next, we headed to the lake for a swim. We got dragged there. We ran into Ghost and Shadow again. Ghost was great, did his sniff and went home. Shadow was not so good. He stole Phod's toy, which Man got away and then he left. Then he came back and got the toy again and wouldn't let go. While Man was trying to get it from him, Shadow started to growl so Phod raced over to protect the Man and Phod and Shadow had words. It was a little scary but no one was hurt. We decided beach time was over. Phod didn't like that I was holding the toy and not throwing it, so he kept jumping up on me and hurt me. We got dragged home.

We had a few hours peace.

The evening the dogs were out a whole bunch, but Hailey kept asking. She didn't enjoy having bug spray on her but the bugs seemed to stop.  We decided to eat our dinner on the back deck for the first time of the year, leaving the dogs inside. It was relaxing the first 10 minutes until Hailey decided she needed to be out and she started scratching the door, and she scratched and scratched for 20 minutes until we came in.

Our plan was to have a little bonfire last night. the Man went out and got it going while I was getting ready to go out. I tired to sneak out, but Hailey got free. She was a great girl and just ran to Man. I got her leash and she sat by the fire for a bit.

I then brought the dogs back in as they don't sit well by the fire. Stupid me didn't make sure the leash drawer was closed and this happened:

Someone chewed the coupler apart in the 30 minutes we were outside. I would like to point out that we came in as soon as the fireworks started because we knew this would cause Hailey to panic and we were hoping to end our weekend on a good note.  Sigh!

Not as relaxing as my dream date with my pups, but at least it wasn't boring!

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We visited many of your dates yesterday but didn't comment. Some great dates. Thanks Sarge for organizing this!

Date Day

Sarge is hosting a Blogville Date day. I have no idea how to photoshop so I decided I would write the perfect day I would have with my pups.

On my perfect dog day:

The dogs would let me sleep in. They would wake up and not be desperate to go outside so we could spend some time snuggling in bed. Then we would get up and go for a long walk in the woods. There would be no pulling or tangling. It would be a relaxing. If we saw evil Red John Squirrel, they wouldn't jump or freak out, we would just keep walking nicely.

After a nice long relaxing walk, the pups would be busy with their puzzle toys while I sit and drink a warm cup of tea. The tea would be warm the entire time I drink it, and not once during my drinking would there be scratching at the door or bugging for belly rubs.

Next on the day, would be bake a bone time. They can supervise as I make batches of cookies. While each batch was cooking, I would have the time to leisurely read all the blogs I love.

Once the cookies were cooked, we would do some training time. Everyone would have their listening ears on and wouldn't get so excited they didn't hear what I was saying.

Later in the afternoon we would go down to the beach. On the walk there, we would all be calm and there would be no pulling. Phod would have a great time swimming and fetching. Lee would love to putter around the beach and trying to catch the waves.

After dinner, we would spend a quite night on the couch, cuddling and watching TV or a movie. During the climax of the film, no one would scratch at the door. If there are dogs in the show, no one will freak out and bark and bark and bark.

Then it would be off to bed, for a good night sleep.

That would be my perfect date with my dogs.

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To our Canadian Friends:

Happy Victoria Day! 

Black and White Sunday - That's a Wrap

On our first walk of the year through the bush behind our house, the pups, who were coupled together, got wrapped around a tree. I just waited them out and my smart girl figured out how to get out of it!

Catch Up Saturday - a More Normal Week

Last week felt more normal, although I am still behind on life and am desperately trying to catch up before my trip to Chicago this coming week!

We are all happy to report that the Man is all better. He was back to work last week, he is eating like normal. He is a little fatigued by the end of the day, but overall he is all better.

Hailey has had a very good week. We had some serious rain and while she was nervous (and couldn't settle and kept us up a lot of Thursday night), when she was alone, no destruction!

Celebrating
Thank you all for the Mother's Day wishes and Aunt C says thank you for all the birthday and anniversary wishes. I love that picture of Aunt C and Lee too, it shows how much Lee loves her Aunt C.

One thing people may not know about me, is I am a planner. I like things to go according to my plan A, B, or C (I usually have many plans to help plan for the unexpected). I CAN roll with things that are unexpected, but I hate it. Half the stress for me when the Man was sick, wasn't his health (although I was concerned), it was my week not going as planned LOL!

We are also impressed at how well the cats and dogs get along. The cats have been tolerating dogs of some sort for about 12 years (they have had some practice).

Remembering
One of the biggest drawbacks to loving, is that we have to learn to say goodbye. The scars on our hearts, remind us of how lucky we were to love so deeply.

We got Mail
For those of you who may be interested in learning more about K9 Kelp (it is a Canadian company), you can visit their site at: http://www.k9kelp.ca. We have noticed some bugs the last few days, so will be able to talk about how it works as an insect repellant. It does seem to be doing a nice job at keeping the dog smell sound down now that it is very wet out. I am also happy to report that putting it on the dogs is going much better, they don't love it, but don't look terrified!

A Comfy Nap
Lee sleeps like this a lot, so it must be comfy. I think she likes it because she hardly has to move if she hears things on the TV that need to be checked out.

The Beach is Back 
The lake is still very, very cold, but that doesn't bother Phod. Hailey is not a swimmer, she will go in to her "knees" and she loves to snap at the waves. Lady and Man were very proud of us for our polite manners with the neighbours. We don't see many dogs in our daily lives, so we don't get a lot of practice being social.

We don't like the litter
The lesson is that change is not good and I need to listen to my old cats. Given the amount of $ I spend on extras for the dogs, buying more expensive litter for the cats is within the budget (and isn't the place to go cheep!)


Have a great weekend!

Feline Friday - We don't like that litter

For years we used Maxx Cat, cat litter. Then several people suggest that the Costco litter (which is a fraction of the price) was awesome, so we thought we would try it. We gave it a good try and the cats let us know they didn't like it. Even when we scooped it every day, someone would pee on the floor beside it. At first we weren't sure if this was just related to the litter. Nin has always been one to occasionally pee on the floor. Also, we wondered if some of it had to do with age. At 19 and 18.5 respectively, we understand that these things may happen. The only way to know for sure was to switch back. So we did. Peeing on the floor decreased (hardly happens at all now). Clearly the cats have spoken, we are back to Maxx Cat.

(Also I found the Costco brand litter stuck to their paws more and ended up all over the house. Since the switch back I am not vacuuming up as much litter in other rooms of the house).

Bagheera: "I like what I like and I don't want things to change."

The Beach is Back

There was ice on the lake until April 28th this year, so Zaphod had been a full 6 months without a swim. He was one happy, happy boy on Sunday, when we made the first trip to the lake.

Running down the hill to jump in!

Swimming

Happy boy waiting for another throw

We ran into some friends. Ghost is our neighbour (in the red) and his foster brother Shadow (in black).
Remember how last time we saw Shadow he was aggressive, well this time no problems!
Shadow is waiting to go to his new home in Newfoundland. We wish him luck! 

Hailey checking Shadow out

Hailey telling Shadow secrets

Phod and Ghost chatting

Lady was nervous as Shadow wanted Phod's toy and Phod can be a little possessive.
However, she is happy to report that when Shadow took it (and ran home with it and we had to go get it), Phod  only looked for it. 

Wordless Wednesday - A Comfy Nap

We Got Mail - Part 2

A week and a half ago, we also received a price from the gang at Love is Being Owned by a Husky. Lady was very excited to get to try out the K9 Kelp products. How did we feel about it - well a picture is worth a thousand words . . . . .

"Put the trigger down and walk away."

This is the pose that let's you know Lee is very, very unhappy and nervous. 

Phod's face after I had to coax him out of his hiding place.

Lady thinks it is ridiculous that we were so nervous about the following:

This is the one the Lady is most excited about. It says it is a natural insect repellent. Soon it is going to be black fly and mosquito season and will get to test the claim. Lady thinks it smells nice and she likes the idea of a conditioning spritz because some of us are not bath-able. 

Have tried this a little on Lee's paws that are very dry after a long winter. 

Lee checking it out. 

And a little something for the Lady.

While the dogs were reluctant at first (they do not like to play beauty parlour), once we got putting these things on, they were fine. I am sure as we use them more, they will become less nervous. New things are always a little scary in this house!

Thanks so much to Love is Being Owned by a Husky Lady can't wait to use these more! 

Remembering

Today is a day of remembering in our house.

Today would have have been Gemini's 9th Adoption Day.

Today is 4 years since Loki died.

We remember them with a mix of smiles and sorrow, laughter and tears.

Gemini and Loki, best friends

A favourite Loki moment:
Once while visiting my parents, he ran away to the neighbours. As I was calling him, he clearly went and hid so I wouldn't find him! What a monkey!

A favourite Gemini moment:
Gemi was a fairly obedient girl, although she had her own speed, extra slow, or "Gemini speed". When we put her in agility she did all the tasks but at the slowest speed anyone had ever seen. When on an off leash walk, she would get further and further behind.

Black and White - Celebrating and Catching Up

Yesterday I was exhausted and maybe a little cranky and really did nothing but let my body rest after the craziness of last week. Because of this we are a day late saying:


Happy Birthday Aunt C! 

Today is also Aunt C and Uncle D's 1st wedding anniversary. So happy anniversary to them!


Lady would also like to send a big Happy Mother's Day to Grammie!

Now the catch up part:

Man is on the mend. His gut is pain free, but he is still not eating a lot and he is weak. Lady thinks her exhaustion is a thing of the past and plans to spend today catching up on life. Again thank you all for your love and healing vibes, it was much appreciated.

Project Hailey:
Last week didn't quite go as planned. She got lots of walks and exercise that way, but I admit to being too exhausted to do the extra training. I am not beating myself up about it, as last week was unusual in many ways. I am just proud of how well the pups did early in the week when we totally challenged their schedules. No messes or destruction! What I did was enough for those days. This week, Project Lee, should go better, knock on wood!

Tour of Our Yard:
We are very blessed to have such a cool yard. The house was built by a 20 some year old mason, who had planned to live here forever but once he was a father he decided this wasn't the house or location for that. When a brick mason builds a house, the stone work is extra beautiful.
Our morning big walk is usually done down the road. Our after breakfast walks and evening walks are usually done around the property. Lady says soon the evening one may be done to the lake! Paws Crossed!

We Got Mail 1
We are very happy with these great rope toys. They are holding up well. Thanks for the tip about washing them, Lady hadn't thought about that yet! We checked with the sender and everything that was suppose to be in the package was, so we know Canada Post didn't keep anything, even if they played with it all!

An update:
Nin and Lee are good friends now. Lee sometimes tries and plays a little rough for our almost 19 year old cat, but he does play back. They often sleep together too. We are lucky that the dogs and cats get along so well!

An Update

The Man is feeling a bit better (or at least he is having moments of feeling a bit better). The Lady is holding it together and is very much looking forward to the weekend when she can relax and catch up with everyone (she really has missed you all).

A little Flashback Friday too - Nin and Lee, taken about a month after Lee came to live with us.

We Got Mail - part 1

Mail 1: It was a complete and special surprise that our Twitter pals @Kenzie_and_Troy (follow them if you don't already), send us a pay it forward gift. Lady briefly met Kenzie and the people at Pet Expo in Ottawa last November. They were kind enough to send us not 1, but 2 special rope toys. We love them! Thanks Kenzie and Troy!

Canada Post was kind enough to open the package for us, this is how it arrived!

Here is one of them on the chair to show how pawsome it is

Phod checking it out

Phod tugs while Lee cheers him on

We are trying to keep one on each floor of the house to assure we get lots of play time with them. They are great and strong. Thanks again Kenzie and Troy!

Come back next Tuesday to find out about Mail 2!

Almost Wordless Wednesday - The Flash

First, the Man and the Lady would like to thank everyone for their love and support yesterday. It was much appreciated. You all rock! 

We are happy to report that after 48 hours in the hospital, our Man was released. He is 87 million times better. The doctors "guess" that all of this was caused by a virus that caused inflammation and he should just keep getting better and better. He is excited to be eating things like toast and jello. Lady is happy not to be dealing with stupid hospitals.

Thanks again!

Our Yard - A Tour

Before our scheduled post a message from the Lady:

We are going to be off the grid for a few days. Our scheduled posts will come up, but we won't be around. See the Man was admitted to the hospital last night after 24 hours in the ER. He has some sort of bowel obstruction. They don't know much else yet, but now that he is out of the ER things will hopefully be sorted out. Please send some POTP to our Man.

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People have asked, so we thought we would share some pictures of our back and side yard - the bush parts. We own 3 acres.

In previous pictures, when you have seen fairly flat grass, that is our front yard and a little to the side.

This is going down the far left (when looking at the house, the road behind you) side of the yard

The Hydro pole is about the back of the yard (there is nothing but bush behind us, so we can walk on that to). This is looking right after you come down where Lee was in the picture before. 

Here we are at the back left corner looking up to the hose

Another look up behind the house. At the top of this hill is where the grass is. That is the cleared part of the yard.

Instead of going up the hill to the house you can continue through the bush to the right of the house

This is towards the right most edge of the yard. There is one lot between us and the 'main' road, which is currently empty but was recently purchased so a house may go there. This is Man walking toward our private road. Our plan, if it ever starts raining is to cut some nicer paths in this. 

From the edge of the yard looking at the house. The brown roof is ours and the green is our neighbours. 

That is a little tour to show you what our yard is like. Hope you enjoyed it!

Mischief Monday - Hope to reduce this with Project Hailey

I am calling it Project Hailey. It is my attempt to work extra had with Hailey to help her with her issues. The issues I am hoping to address are her anxiety and her pulling on walk. These are things that are always on the back burner but I am kicking it up a notch because Hailey's anxiety increases over the spring through the fall and in the fall she is going to be spending some time with Grammie and the Big Guy while we are traveling.

The Project so far contains the following pieces.

1) Increase Lee's exercise (physical and mental). We have been having our big walks even though it has been raining every day. I got myself a fantastic rain coat to make this better. We are also doing more walks in the woods (tomorrow we will share our yard). I am also working on ways to build commands in these walks. Things like climbing the picnic table. In general, we are just trying to be outside more! And of course working on training in the house.

2) Walking nicely. I am experimenting with getting her to walk better. I bought an Outward Hound hands free leash to make our walks nicer. The issue was when not in her harness, she pulled so hard she broke it (it is fixable fortunately).

The view when she is pulling of the harness

The harness we have she can step out of, which isn't safe, so then I had to buy another harness. I got a Lupine no pull harness. This harness is excellent. So excellent, I have ordered Phod one (with Hailey not ripping my arm off, I didn't notice how much Phod does pull). I have yet to try the new harness on the hands free leash. We are trying one thing at a time. I hope these things will help make her a better walker so my parents to hate me the whole time I am away!

Lee modelling the new harness, and yes I got one that was the same pattern as her collar!

We will keep working on Project Hailey and hopefully help get our girl into the best place she can be.