FLUFF AND STUFF

after giving winnie a bath a few weeks ago she was shedding and had mats of fluff that came off of her if you touched her. since she will not let us brush her i took her to be groomed. this is really scary for me since the last attempt at getting her groomed ended with her being bald. not short hair i mean no hair at all. this time i took her to petsmart and she got a bath, blow dry, brusing and a trim. not only was she a good girl the entire time but she let the groomer brush her and she loved it. now she is soft and fluffy and looks like a show dog. best part i vacuumed sat and there was no hair covering the floor less than an hour later. i will be going back again next spring for the same thing. it was worth every penny and so much easier.

ebony evovling

ebony is one funny little dog. she sleeps between hubby and i every night. will get into a running mode and just go for 15-20 minutes at full speed all over the yard. she chases bugs, ests bird seed and idolizies winnie. she wrestles with leo which tires both of them out and leo rarely chases tigger now. that makes tigger a happy cat. we are still working on the pottying outside. when we watch her and take her out a lot she does well when we don't she has accidents but it is a work in progress. she also loves toys she carries them around and loves them all so there are usually dog toys everywhere. she also went through a short and quickly stopped by us phase of biting our feet in bed. nothing like trying to fall asleep or being asleep and having little teeth chomping on your toes. we are also working on going out on a leash and riding in the car. we want her to be comfortable going for rides and not just to the vet. this has worked well for winnie she will happily hop in the car anytime with no trama. ebony and winnie got baths last weekend. ebony was a bit scared at first then calmed down and was good. winnie decided to shock me. usually it is tough to get her in the tub. first we have to fill the tub when she is out back, bring her in and take her for a short walk out front on the leash and bring her in and straight to the tub. last weekend i filled the tub and got her leash on and she ran straight to the bathroom room pawed the door to get in and walked right over to the tub and looked at me like hurry up. she went right in no fuss or snapping and happily let me give her a bath. she hopped out got dried off and happily got a treat. she is now soft and fluffy and shedding like crazy. once the last of the dreard locks she gets after her bath come out maybe we will try cutting her hair.

A LITTLE BIT EXCITED

last night winnie finally did the doggy handshake with ebony. yes after over 3 weeks with ebony in the house winnie finally sniffed her butt. this is a giant step in the right direction. this means she is finally accepting that ebony is here to stay and she needs to be friends. now if we can convince ebony to paw the door to go out and not pee on the floor we will have it made.

obsession

chickie has always been obsessed with going outside. it is a constant game of where is chickie quick go outside before she escapes. now leo is obsessed. he tries to claw his way under the door and has escaped 5 or 6 times in the last 2 days. chickie runs out to the grass and munches. leo runs out and ebony tackles him, beats him up and pins him to the ground if he gets outside. at least ebony stops him before he can get outside of the yard. winnie is no help. last night and this morning i put a harness on leo and took him outside. we went over to the grass and he had a snack. hopefully this new urge to escape will wane and we won't have to play the chase the cat game everyday until cold weather returns.

2 weeks and alittle barking

ebony has been with us for 2 weeks winnie is getting good with her and the cats aren't sure what to make of her. this morning she decided that it is ok to bark. up until now we have only heard a few little yips. this morning we got full out barking. of course hubby worked last night and only got a few hours of sleep and ebony decided this morning to bark. not the soft little yips not just one bark but full out barking. funny part is the bark itself. it is so not the sound you would think this tiny up til now queit puppy would make. no she has a deep loud bark that makes us laugh because it doesn't sound like something so small should be able to make that much noise. winnie and the cats just sat on the floor and stared at ebony bouncing around chasing her tail and barking. then they all left the room. ebony is trying so hard to make friends hopefully one of the other animals will play with her soon.

EBONY

we finally agreed on the name ebony for the puppy. she is such a sweet heart. winnie is still getting used to the puppy and learning to be nice. winnie has nipped her twice once on the ear and once on the tail. sunday went better. i kept ebony on a leash in the kitchen with me while i worked and winnie was in and out all day. both got praise and attention and winnie got carrots when she was good. we are working on reinforcing winnie's training while the puppy is learning which should help as well.

sweet little puppy

we got a puppy last night. so far the cats are curious and winnie is not. it will take a few days for everyone to acclimate and then the fun will begin. for now we are trying to get to know our new girl and figure out a name. picture s coming soon

make that ornery little dog

hubby took winnie with him today to the spca. there were 2 dogs there we wanted to meet and let her meet as well. both were a no go. she did not like the one and barely toterated the other. so we are now thinking puppy. what an ornery dog we have.

sad little winnie

winnie is missing her buddy. she sits in the yard staring off in the distance making the occasional bark. she is waiting for gracie. it is so sad. as much as i wanted to wait at first to get another dog it looks like we will keep searching in hopes of finding her a friend. now the trick will be finding a dog that she gets along with and who likes cats. tricky indeed.

frustration

hubby wants to get another dog. he went to the spca near our house and saw 1 dog he really liked. so we got the paperwork we needed and took winnie off to possibly meet a new friend. unfortunately hubby didn't put a hold on the dog and someone adopted her before we got there. we looked at a few dogs but none we liked are good with cats. so we are back to looking. hopefully we will find just the right dog to join out family it just may take few trips to the spcas in the local area and nearby counties.

the bitter sweet sound of silence

that is what i hear when i enter my house now. bitter sweet silence. winnie was trained as a puppy to not bark when we come in the door. even with gracie around if she was barking it was at gracie not us. as much as the barking could get on your nerves at times the silence that greets me when i walk in the door now takes getting use to again. i have forgotten what it was like before animals. being able to walk in the door with no greeting, barking or tripping. no one demanding attention or food or to go out. i love the greeting i get from the crew now but miss gracie's bark and excitement in some ways. she was a great watch dog. you could not walk or drive by with out her leting you know and if someone pulled in the drive or came to the door well invest in earplugs. winnie barks at the mailman and anyone at the door but she will never be as hyper and aware as gracie was. we miss her dearly.

gracie angel

love you and miss you gracie. may 8th 2003 - march 22 2013

a taste of spring

last weekend was awesome. we had weather in the 60's and i took advantage. windows were opened and the doggies and i went walking in the park. i am hoping the chilly blast this week goes away again before the coming weekend so we can go to the park again. winie barks at everyone but knows the rules and walks right next to me and while we need to stop and move to the side when others are passing us. she sits and is getting better about not barking or growling. gracie is terrible to walk with i stepped on her feet many times since she wants to zig zag everywhere and not walk where she belongs. while she doesn't bark she requires more correction while we walk. my legs were sore monday and the arm holding gracies leash. oh well here's to spring weather and more walks. maybe when my niece and nephew are at there mom's on the weekend they will join me in the park for walks and playtime.

update

leo went right back to chasing the girls once he healed. chickie will play with him and has him convinced to play nice. tigger still growls. it is getting better but that means tigger hides more and comes out to play and eat when he is locked up. we have started to hit him with water from a spray bottle to stop him from bugging tigger and that is begining to work. he sees the bottle and runs away or he gets squirted. she has been coming out more now when we are home since we keep him away from her. nothing else is going on. got through christmas and the winter birthdays are almost done now all that is left is toughing it out until the weather warms up. come on spring