Moving: With Dogs!

     In about a week, the Hubbs, Annie, Paul, and I will be moving!  We're only going about 50 miles, so it's not a huge move, however, it's still nuts!  Our square footage is being cut in half.  And, for the first time in years, we'll be living in an apartment.

Annie, nose on, ears off.  She'd be gone in 10 seconds.

     I've been reading back posts of Two Pitties in the City trying to "hack" how to live in a small place.  The dogs are loosing their dog room, and the Hubbs is loosing his "man cave."  We'll have about 700 square feet.

Paul may be nice and calm here, but all I need is a squirrel and we'd be in trouble.

     However, in all of this, I'm trying to figure out how to actually move with the dogs.  I realize the obvious: They will hop into the Prius and off we'll go!  However, with unloading the truck, the car, and moving everything in, I don't want to worry about one of them escaping and getting lost.
 
     Any one have any suggestions as to how to move Annie and Paul?

Paul

     I love lying in bed with Paul and Annie at my sides.  Especially in the summer with the windows open and a breeze blowing in.  Sometimes, it's the only way to handle Paul being close to us.  As he's gotten older (he's 9 now), Paul has developed a gas problem.

     The Hubbs calls them "silent assassins" because somehow, when he lets one loose, we don't hear them until it's too late.
     Typically, it goes something like this: we're lying in bed watching TV, and I suddenly smell "it."  I turn and look at the Hubbs, "Did you just let one loose?"
     "No.  Why?"
     "Give it a minute."
     Five seconds later, "Oh!  Woah!  Dude!"
     I start to chuckle at this point, because I'm no longer the only one who is dealing with this joy.  And then we both burst out laughing.  Paul usually pops his head up at this moment and smiles at us as if to say, "Hey, what's so funny?" I lean over out of bed and start petting him until he settles back down to his bed next to my side of the bed

Real Life: It's Not As Easy As We Make It Look

     The first month we had Paul, he ate through the car's seatbelt on the way to the dog park.  We got the $300 estimate, and decided not to repair the seat belt.  I told The Hubbs after he watched a winning football game and was drunk.

     Annie, for the first 2 years we had her, peed everywhere in the house and it smelled like dog urine year round.  I finally got to the point I just tour up all of the carpet in the house.  Luckily, we had 30 year old hardwood underneath.  Unluckily, she had already soaked it and it had warped in her 2 favorite pee places.
     I hate walking A&P at the same time on my own.  When I do, I've been bitten, dragged down with a concussion, and stopped by the police for raising "vicious dogs"
     Just tonight, I discovered Annie has been snacking on my leftovers that I left on the counter top.  I found the container in her room, empty.
     At different points in the past 7 years of dog ownership, we've contemplated getting rid of either Annie, Paul, or both.
     Why am I saying all of this?  What's the point in "airing my dirty laundry in public"?  For the same reason Marly and Me by John Grogan is one of my favorite books.  Marly is far from perfect.  At times, he's a holy terror.  But time and time again, the family can't help but love him.
     I can't help but love Annie and Paul, for all their good times and bad.  They are still my puppies, and now 7 years with them, I can't imagine my life without them.  To anyone reading this blog who has just adopted a new pet and is going through an adjustment period with them, remember this.  There are good times and bad, it won't always be easy, but good times will come.  You just have to hang on for them.

Woopps! We disappeared!

     Wow, yea, we disappeared there.  The last post on the blog is March 17th.  Where the heck have we been?  On a long strange trip, that's defiantly not as cool as the Grateful Dead would have you believe.

The day after out last post we were both running late this morning.  In an attempt to get a short walk in, the Hubbs took Annie and Paul out on retractible leashes for a quick romp in the yard.  Overnight, we thought it had rained. The Hubbs goes out the door, the door shuts, and I hear a strange noise.  I walked to the door to find the Hubbs lying on his back with blood coming from his mouth.  We thought it had rained, but it had iced.  The Hubbs hit the steps, his legs went out from under him, and he smacked his face on the steps.  I came out at the weird noise and slipped myself with a beautiful bruise on my backside.  We both missed a day of classes dealing with bruises, cuts, and the front steps winning a round.

     The rest of March dealing with the after effects of this: soar back, bruised ribs, stitch removal, and dealing with an idiot neurologist.  The steps defiantly won that round.  Luckily, the Hubbs glasses were ok.  

April, May, and June were spent with the Hubbs graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Masters in Financial Economics (So ridiculously proud of him for this) and job interviews.
 
  In July, we got the official job offer and we're excited to announce that we're moving!  Grant it, it's not far, but we now have to pack up the house and move into an apartment half the size.   I keep wishing I lived closer to 2 Pitties in the City just so we could hand off some of our furniture to A & E who just moved from an apartment to a house!

   So ready or not, here comes another ride on the roller coaster, hold on tight. 

Bedtime Stories for Puppies

     At 23:45, 1:00, and 2:30 the other night, Annie and Paul needed to go outside.  Not just to take care of business either, the last 2 trips seemed to just be for standing in the yard and smelling the cold front that was coming in.

     At 2:45, they came into our room and stared at me from the floor with waging tails.  I thought before they woke up The Hubbs, I should get them out of our room.  Out to the couch we went where I sat in the middle, Annie climbed up to my left and Paul to my right.  

And for about 20 minutes I sat there petting them, wishing I had a book of Dog Bed Time stories to read to them.  

Wednesday: Paul's close up

Paul's extreme close up.

Sunday with the Pups

     This was another weekend in the saga of the upset tummies.  Long story made very short, it was also a weekend of odd sleeping times for me.  Luckily, it was the weekend.  So, on Sunday, I spent several hours curled up in bed napping with the pups.

Working with Paul

I love days I get to work with Paul on behavior, today it was a teacher work day.

I'm staring at the hot dog mommy is holding.  I don't know why she's saying I'm a good boy, I just know there's hotdog here.  (HINT: look at the chicken bone on the sidewalk behind Paul)

Wordless Wednesday: Stubborn Pup!

     You know those times you want to come back into the house, grab your stuff for work, and head out the door, but the pup won't come inside so you can leave?  Yea, this is one of those times...

Oh, Paul......

     While Mr. B at Two Pitties in the City is afraid of cats, Paul thinks, "I can take 'em!"  Evidence of this can be found presently on my left wrist:

     By the way, Paul is presently nudging at it trying to get me to pet him with my left hand.  He hasn't figured out yet that trying to type with this thing is difficult enough without someone nudging it.  *sigh*

     So, the stray cat in our neighborhood, AKA, "Paul's Arch Enemy" was strolling through the neighbor's front yard on Saturday while I had Paul and Annie out for a bathroom break in the front yard.  Annie was done and part way in the house.  Paul was finishing up and about to come in when he spotted Purple.

     Off he went in pursuit of Purple with my arm attached to his leash.  Clearly, my wrist wasn't happy with Paul's idea.  In 10 days, I'll have my left arm back, in the mean time, as Myron Cope used to say, "Yoi!"

Bovine Paul

Bovine Paul (he likes to eat grass)

The Saga of the Itchy Annie: Flees

Monday Night

     On Monday, I had to go to my first training of the school year (CPI certified!).  By the time I got home that night, Annie had removed 2 square inches from her backside.  She's always been itchy since we first got her, but she's never removed her own fur.  Upon closer examination, we noticed a bug bite on her back.  I did our monthly treatment of K9 Advantix.  Benadryl and some calamine lotion was all we thought we needed to help Annie out.

    On Tuesday, I went in for my 2nd day of training and once again returned home to find Annie had taken another square inch of fur off her backside.  Now the anxiety set in hard core.  Benadryl had usually done the trick in the past for taking the edge off, but this was a new one on me.  I started the hardcore freak out of thinking of everything that could be wrong with my dog.  Mange, separation anxiety, flee infestation, and allergy testing started rolling in my head and into my search results, knowing we didn't have the money for anything major to treat.  Melvin's Mom calmed me by telling me stories of what she's had to do for Melvin.

Wednesday Morning.

     Wednesday morning, while lying in bed with Annie scratching her, I found another flee.  "Great!" I thought, "The flees are laughing at me!"  I quickly got Annie off of our bed, closed the door, and called the vet.  I only wanted to know if I put Advantix on Annie on Monday night, if it was too soon to do another round of it.  I only got half way through the question when Gina the receptionist/vet teck stopped me and said that they were being overrun by flees this year.  (If you live in Virginia, here's another reason to hate all of the rain.  The flees are having a field day right now!)  She said that there was a prescription for a pill that would kill the flees as soon as they bit Annie or Paul.  And for the same price I pay for their monthly does of Advantix!  Since we had been in for Paul's yearly exam just a few weeks ago, we didn't need an appointment!  The anxiety stopped and I started the search for how to get rid of flees.

     I started the cleaning process.  Dog blankets, linens, our bed stuff, area rugs, and anything else I could wash was tossed into the wash and then the dryer.  All mattresses and box springs have been encased in vinyl.  I vacuumed the couch, recliners, and office chair.  Anything that can't be washed that Annie and Paul adore has been double bagged and is now sitting in the garage for a month just waiting (dog beds too big to be washed, toys, and pillows).    Aunt Karen stopped by to confirm that it was a flee bite, and noticed that Annie had a bit of a rash where she was taking the fur out.  Annie's skin is actulay black and white spotted (think Dalmatian fur as her skin.) so trying to see any abnormalities on her skin can get tricky.

     When we went into the vet, I brought Annie and Paul along.  (Double trouble as they're called) Gina pulled up our charts, took out the meds and patiently waited while I pointed out the fur that Annie had removed and commented on how she had never done that.  I also commented how 3 tabs of Benadryl twice a day wasn't helping either.  Dr Bunting was consulted and Annie got a mini vet visit in the lobby (free!) along with a steroid/antihistamine combo prescription.  She also said to switch from Benadryl to Claritin.  (60lbs dog get's 10 mg once a day).  For the first time ever, we got out of the vet paying less than $100!

     We got home, dug 2 spoons into the peanut butter, broke down the Comfortis (the big pills above), added in a vitamin e supplement,  Annie got her new prescription and within 20 minutes, both were both fast asleep on the couch.  Annie snored blissfully.  It's now Friday, and for the most part, Annie hasn't itched since Wednesday.  She normally does the lizard Anne when she get's her back scratched.  That's not even happening now.  Slowly, the fur is starting to grow back in on her butt.  Life is returning to normal.

Wednesday: July 31st

Does anyone else's boy pup prescribe to the notion, "If it doesn't move first, pee on it!"?

True confessions: Paul isn't Paul's name

     Yep, you read right.  Paul isn't actually Paul.  In real life, his name is Paulie.  When we adopted him from the SPCA (here) his name was Paulie and it's what he answered to. (It's also what he still answers to)

     Why do I call him Paul in Blogville, though?  In Blogville, you don't actually hear me calling him to get a treat, or dinner, or to go for a walk.  When I say "Paulie" it sounds like I'm saying "Polly," and most people then start referring to Paul as "she."  I usually stop and correct anyone who calls him a her and point out that Annie is the girl wearing a pink collar and Paul is the boy with the blue collar.  (I'm not trying to prepetuate the stereotype, quite honestly that's the only reason they wear the colored collars they wear.)
     

Paul Shopped Til He Dropped

     Or at least that's what I joke about.  All honesty, we don't buy much when we go to the mall.  I have my few choice stores that I'm addicted to (Sur La Table, anyone?).  But beyond that, we tend to stop, stand and talk to the people who work in the stores.  (I've brought in cookies before for the workers for being so nice when I'm just standing there and clearly not buying anything.)  When Paul "assumes his position" in the heat and humidity of summer, I can't move far.

When I first showed these pics to the Hubbs, he thought the floors had been photo-shoped in.  They weren't.

Wordless Wednesday: May 8th

Can you spot Paul?

What to say?

     If you've read the blog for any length of time, you know I'm a public school teacher in Virginia.  If you look back to the story of how we got Paul, you'll see lots of references to the Michael Vick trial that was going on at the time.  While all of Paul's paperwork says "All American Mixed Breed" it takes one look at Paul to realize he's got some pitt bull in him.

     A few weeks ago, I was talking to one of my favorite students who owns a pitt bull and a doberman. He doesn't live in the nicest part of town, and I was afraid of what he was going to say when asked about taking care of the dogs.  I was totally relieved an proud to hear both of his dogs are fixed, up to date on rabies, and faithful house pets.  They live indoors.  And when asked about dog fighting, he said, "I ain't Michael Vick!  I don't want to hurt the pretty pitties!"  (Great way to end my last class on a Friday!).

     Why am I asking about dog fighting from one of my students?  While I don't teach in the exact area of the Bad Newz Kennels, I'm very close to it.  The Vick family has ties to some of the students in my building.  While all of my students see our family picture as the desktop of my computer, and I talk about owning a pitt bull and not fighting him openly, I don't know how much of it has hit home and clicked in the brains of these kids.
     I guess at the end of it all, what do I say to these kids who have ties to one of the most famous dog fighters in the country?  No one's ever come right out and asked, but still, I wonder, what do you say?

Upset Puppy Tummy

     A few weeks ago, we were dealing with upset stomaches.  Somewhere along the line, Paul picked up a stomach bug.  So far, he hasn't shared with Annie.  But for us, it's been a week of boiled chicken and rice.

I took this while cleaning out the crate outside.

The first time Paul had the stomach bug was a month after he joined our family.  How bad was it?  Bad enough it stained the carpet under the crates and we threw out everything in both crates.  (That's right, it was so bad it went out of Paul's create and into Annie's next to him!)  Paul did what I've learned is his standard response to not feeling well: went outside and dug a hole to lay in.  As The Hubbs said, he looked too pittiful to be mad at him.  Annie had a look on her face that said, "Get me away from him!"

     The vet was closed by the time we discovered all of this, and their Aunt Karen said to take up their food for the night, gave me over the phone instructions on how to make bland food, and calmed me down.  I had never dealt with a sick pup before and I was freaking out.  She pointed out that until that morning, he had had a normal appetite, he had gained a few pounds since coming home with us, and that this was probably a bug he had picked up somewhere.  She came over and hung out for a bit with us and said to just make a vet appointment for the next day.  I called in the sub, made the first apointment, packed both Annie and Paul into the car (share and share alike is what I feared) and headed in.
   
     Paul got antibiotics of some type and I got a hand written copy of the bland diet from our vet that I've stuck to ever since.  Any time someone has an upset tummy, we try a few days of the bland diet before I go charging into the vet.  If things haven't improved by day 3, we pack up and head in.  

Oh, tummy not happy

Warning: I'm not a vet, not by any stretch of the imagination.  This is just what works for us.

Dice up plain chicken and drop it into plain boiling water (don't add anything other than chicken and water).  Mix in plain white rice and wait for the rice to absorb the water.

Day 1:  1 table spoon of boiled chicken with plain rice 4 times a day.  (be prepared for the sad and hungry look.)

Day 2: 2 tablespoons of boiled chicken with plain rice 4 times a day.  (More of the sad and hungry look)

Day 3: 3 table spoons of boiled chicken with plain rice 4 times a day (Maybe the first day of "normal output")

Day 4: 4 table spoons of boiled chicken with plain rice 4 times a day.  Start adding in a few pieces of kibble with each serving (and by few I mean 5 or fewer pieces).

Day 5: 4 table spoons of boiled chicken with plain rice 4 times a day.  Add in a little more kibble.  Slowly shift your dog back to eating at their normal times/amounts.  IF at any point over these 5 days, the output goes back to upset tummy, it's back to the vet and day 1 of the food.

Like I said, I'm not a vet, but this has been what we've done for every upset tummy we've had since.  With in the first 2 days, usually things start looking and smelling much better.  

Wordless Wednesday: April 10th

Vintage Paul.

Spring Break: Paul's View

     I love spring break!  Mommy is home, and I get to snuggle with her!  She watches stuff on the silver box thing.  And I lay right nest next to her! 

     She decided to open the windows today, and it’s cold.  (Mommy says the house needs fresh air.)  So I’m nesting even closer.  Mommy covered me up in blankets and let me play submarine on the bed!    Here I am hiding under the blankets.  Can you find the Paulie?