~What in the Hell?~

Sunday, March 21, 2010

~ It's Been A Week ~

Since my new overlords arrived.  

They have conveniently "forgotten" that they have been housebroken.  So I've had to remind them - which has been harder on me BY FAR than on them.  I just HATE putting them in their carriers and only taking them out to potty and walk.  But it has to be done.

I took them to the vet on Friday to get them a general baseline and to make sure neither of them had any UTI's or anything that would cause their incontinence.  Bella might have a UTI or a bladder infection.  The vet gave me some antibiotics for her and she seems to be doing better.  Tobs, the male, is just being (or trying to be) dominant and mark everything.  He needs to realize that I have the opposable thumb; therefore, I rule the house.

She is much younger than he is by about 5 years.  I figured she was younger since she is much more active but I didn't realize how much.  So she and I go for a brisk walk in the morning and evening while Tobs wanders in the yard.  Then we come back and pick him up and go for a more leisurely walk with him.  This seems to have helped her burn off her excess energy and should help me lose some weight (I hope).

He is not real happy about this arrangement but he usually doesn't realize we're gone until we get back.  Then he gets all mad and says, "woooo!" at me.  But he quickly gets over it when I tell him it's time to walk.  

This whole "re-potty training" has been a test of my patience (what little I have), to be sure.  I've taken to putting an overnight super maxi pad in his belly band since he seems to pee quarts (or at least he did).  Now that's he remembering he's housebroken, I don't need that large of a pad on him so far.  Hopefully he won't need to be reminded and I can put his belly band and super maxi's away.  But we'll see.

She seems to be "getting it" and will go outside if I leave the door open for her.  Overnight seems to be the issue now.  She didn't hit the potty pad last night so I again had to mop the kitchen and clean up after her this morning.  Ugh.

I'm not sure how they are going to be when I'm at work - I'll leave the pad out since the doggie door hasn't been installed yet.  I don't think she will take long to grasp the concept of the doggie door.  He shouldn't, either.

His problem is getting off of the porch.  The steps in and around this house are completely stupid.  Really steep and narrow so they are hard to navigate when you're a small dog.  I made them a little ramp off of the back porch and she will use it.  He doesn't like coming up it because the bottom half didn't have a grip on it.  Now it does so he should feel more secure on it.

I hope they continue to improve on their manners.  They don't chew or bark but the potty in the house is not cool.  I'd like to be able to keep them with me in the house without worrying and this "re-education" seems to be the only way I will be able to do that.  I just hate it but if it works then it's good.  

It just kills me to keep them confined to the kitchen while I read or watch TV or whatever.  It seems so cruel and it's not why I got them.  I wanted a lap dog like The Butter was.  To sit next to me and be petted.  Not to be locked in the kitchen.  But I can't do that until they remember how to potty outside.

So it's been stressful for ME.  The vet says it should only take 3 or so days to "re-educate" them and it seems to have worked thus far.  Tomorrow when I come home from work will be the real test.  If they used the pad or didn't go at all while I was at work then they will get to sit on the couch with me.  If not, then we will continue the banishment to the kitchen.  As much as it pains me.


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The Rogue Goddess saw shadows dancing at 7:33 PM

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

~ Dog Update ~

I picked up the dogs over the weekend.  It was quite a drive - rain, hail, dark of night - we pretty much hit it all.  The rain was coming down in sheets then it started hailing.  Seriously bogus.

But we arrived ok and picked up the dogs.  There are two of them - Tobias and Bella.  

Him - a one-eyed, three-toothed stoned jazz musician.

Her - a pretty, insecure princess who needs lots of attention.

He has taken to peeing all over everything so I've had to get him a belly band (as much as I absolutely HATE to do that - I can't have him pissing all over the house).

She will use the potty pad so there haven't been any issues like that with her.  

Her main thing is to whine and huff when I don't give her enough attention but I think she will get over that shortly once she understands WHEN it's time for attention and when it's time for me to do "Big Dog" things.

They have both decided that they like going for walks (I told them so!) and we have ventured out down the street and met some of the neighbors.  And when we come back from our walks, Big Dog eats something then feeds little dogs.

I have discovered that this makes them eat their own food instead of waiting for mine.  If I eat first THEN feed them, they realize they aren't getting anything else and will eat their food.  Hey, I'm not that difficult to train!

The flowers are starting to come up and I am glad.  There are a lot of daffodils around the house that I wasn't aware of before.  I'll have to mark them somehow so I don't inadvertently dig them up when I'm planting this summer.

I got the fence up.  It only took about 2 hours (the guy I had asked for an estimate wanted $500! And said it would take 6 hours.  Uh, no).  It wasn't hard.  The ground is so wet that driving the posts was really easy.  The hardest part was getting the fasteners on.  I still need to put in a gate but I figured WTF?  If I'm going to put in a gate, might as well make it an arbor gate so I can plant some roses around it!

It's in a great place in the yard to grow roses, too.  Right on the south side and maybe that will give me a "jumping off point" to start the rest of the yard (instead of just the perimeter of the yard).

Back to the dogs - I'm a little disappointed that neither one of them snore really loud.  I miss that from Molly.  

The first night I brought them home, I thought Tobs was dead.  Seriously.  He fell asleep next to me and didn't seem to move or breathe for like 20 minutes.  I picked him up and shook him a little bit (I was scared!)  He finally opened his one eye and was like "WTF lady?  I was asleep!"  Now that I know he sleeps like the dead, I don't bother him (altho I still check for his breathing because that is just scary to see him lay like that for so long!)

Bella has the most beautiful fur - it has the look and feel of fox.  The hair near her skin on her chest is black but the outer hair is white.  It's very unusual.  She also has red in her.  It's really unusual.  And she is just as soft as she can be - just like a fox.  If she didn't have the flat face, I would swear she was part fox.

He is a bit "touched" and will growl at chairs, bushes, flowers - whatever he feels like "talking to".  He's taken particular interest in a bale of straw the neighbor has set out.  It's weird and funny.  The only "thing" Bella talks to is me.  But that's ok.




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The Rogue Goddess saw shadows dancing at 8:10 PM

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

~ The Sun! ~

Has finally - FINALLY arrived!

Oh, how wonderful to see it!  I thought it had forsaken us forever!  

Now the snowdrops and the croci are coming up and I am glad of it.

I've been busily cleaning the flowerbeds and getting ready to plant all of the stuff I ordered.  On Sunday I cleaned out the gutters which really wasn't as big of a deal as everyone makes it out to be.  But then I have a small house!

I miss having The Butter outside with me.  She would usually sit and watch me dig in the yard or mow the grass or whatever I was doing outside.  When I would take a break and sit down, she'd wander over and want her belly or her ears scratched.  It was a good excuse to stop working for a while.  

Hopefully the new dogs will enjoy watching me dig in the yard as much as she did.  

I still need to clean out the herb garden.  The lavender looks like it made it thru the winter ok.  Not sure about anything else yet.  It doesn't look like any of the Lilies of the Valley that I transplanted made it which is bogus.  I think the soil might be too sweet for them.

The foxgloves and some of the ferns made it.  That stupid ass ivy that's taking over made it (despite my efforts to thwart it).  There are a bunch of daffodils coming up in the back yard.  I don't remember seeing them before and I *know* I didn't plant them but I'm not going to bother them.  I like them.

Stuff is growing in my WTF corner.  This was stuff I dug up when I moved in and I knew it was something but I wasn't sure what.  Or stuff I bogarted from Dad's garden and forgot what it was.  So we'll soon find out what it is!  I'm pretty sure there is one tulip there.  But that's all I can really make out right now.

Of course I put in a big fat order to several garden places.  We should be getting Delphiniums, sweet peas,  morning glories (you know these old things), clemantis (ditto), a bunch of herbs and roses.  Oh, my, yes!  Roses that smell like roses!  Mmmm - cabbage roses and Damask roses - oooo.  I already have places picked out for them.  The only problem is knowing when to stop!  

I even stole Dad's post hole digger for the task!  Well, I stole it for another task but I will still use it for this one.  It's quite handy, I must say.  And with the ground so wet, it's easy to use.

So I am very glad spring is finally showing her face.  I just wish The Butter could be here to enjoy it as well.  I may have other dogs, but she will always be The Butter.  Just like Wheezie will always be The Creature.  



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The Rogue Goddess saw shadows dancing at 7:25 PM

Thursday, March 04, 2010

~ Nearly a Month ~

has passed since my Butter died.  I'm getting better altho I still miss her terrribly.

Thank you, Patrick, for your kind words.  I do appreciate it.  It was harder than I had ever imagined and I never realized how much I looked forward to seeing that tail wag or taking her for a walk until she wasn't here anymore.  They really add so much to your life.

I have decided to adopt again and will obtain my new overlord(s) next week.  There will be two - male and female (both "fixed" and "older") so hopefully they can keep each other company while I'm at work.  Since they are older they should be pretty mellow.  Both need medications but I'm fine with that - the older ones with medical needs are usually the hardest to adopt out and Molly taught me that they are not much trouble at all.  I thought her allergies would be hard to deal with but they turned out not to be much of an issue.  

She had lost most of her fur from allergies when she was pulled out of the shelter and sent to the rescue.  When I got her, she still had a lot of scabs on her skin and her fur was quite thin all over.  But after about 3 months, her fur started to come in and by the summer she had the "feathers" on her legs like she was supposed to.  

I like to think she thrived under my care.  Her fur was nice and thick, she had stopped scratching her face and stopped chewing her feet and she didn't have any sores on her skin.  It really wasn't much "work" at all.  Just giving her good food, good water a medicated bath every week and some stability in her life seemed to do the trick.  

On paper, it sounded like work but it was a pittance compared to what I got in return.  I got to see her healthy and content.  Honestly - if I made her happy then it was all worth it.  

Admittedly, I'm a little anxious about the new dogs.  I was anxious when I bought Molly home as well.  Not only because of her allergy issues but because I wasn't sure I could be a good "big dog".  

Which is really the most important thing to them - you need to be the "big dog" and let them relax and be the "little dogs".  They want you to be the Big Dog to make them feel secure.   So I will need to put on my best Big Dog face when I pick them up and bring them home.

It will be hard for me because I will just want to scoop them up and kiss them all over their flat faces (after I get finished crying my eyes out, of course).  But I will need to restrain myself until they feel secure with me.  

I don't think I started scooping up Molly and kissing her until about 3-4 weeks after I brought her home.  And I remember the first time she licked me - I had picked her up and was carrying her through a snowdrift she had gotten stuck in and she just started licking my face.  That really tickled me.  It was like she had "adopted" me back.

Complete 90 degree turn - what I'm reading:

More gothic horror by Bram Stoker - The Mystery of the Sea.  I seem to be in the mood for the melodrama lately.  

I finished Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  It made me cry like a bitch, too.  The original movie was much more true to the book than I realized.  The movie also made me sad but the book had so much more agonizing detail (and that goth drama style) that I just outright cried when I read it.  

Why did I cry?  Because I felt sorry for the monster.  He didn't ask to be created and all he wanted was to be accepted but everyone was horrified by him.  The "monster" didn't want to be evil but felt compelled to turn against his creator in his agony of rejection and despair.  

Which leads me to my next selection (do we see a theme here?) Paradise Lost  by John Milton.  Never would I have willingly read this while in school.  NEVER.  Are you kidding me?  Elizabethan English?  Biblical poetry?  Come on, man!  Ew.

But Shelley's Frankenstein references Milton in so many ways I felt obliged to at least take a look at the original just to see it.  I figured since it was a "classic" I could get it for a couple of bucks and then just re-sell it after I'd flipped thru some pages.

Well, lo and behold I actually understood it!  I was astounded (and slightly horrified) to realize I could understand it and it made sense!  Oh, the humanity! 

No high school kid should ever be subjected to it, of course.  But as an adult with *ahem* several years of popular culture references (and lately the steady diet of gothic prose) I found it wasn't so awfully bad or obscure as I had feared.  

Now if I start to comprehend Melville then feel free to give me a good cyber-slap. That could mean only one thing - I'm seriously ill and delusional.



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The Rogue Goddess saw shadows dancing at 8:32 PM

~The Mighty Nephy~

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