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Teased

2010-03-28T08:58:00.002-04:00

There was a squirrel encroaching upon Gretchen's domain.

Lucky bugger had two glass doors between him and imminent thrashing.

Too bad the floor didn't have the same protection.

- b

Nap Time

2010-03-07T18:25:00.002-05:00

We were all napping. Why not take advantage?

- b

Snowball Fetching

2010-02-25T15:34:00.002-05:00

She can do this all day.

- b

Opossum Kingdom

2010-02-19T00:54:00.003-05:00

Gretchen found a buddy today.

The opossum had been strolling along our property line previously this afternoon, which sent Gretchen into a tizzy running back and forth along the invisible fence line.

The closest it got was the compost bins (still on the other side of the invisible fence - yeah we're smart like that) when it decided it was time for dinner.

Our compost doesn't typically attract varmints, but with all the snow lately normal food options are hard to come by.

- b

Snow Day

2010-02-13T09:43:00.002-05:00

Gretchen playing in the snow after the storm Feb. 6th.

We were kind of worried with all the snow Gretchen wouldn't get enough exercise while we were taking care of the baby.

Luckily the snow was deep enough that wherever she tried to go, she had to jump; therefor, tiring herself out quite nicely.

Of course chasing some kicked snow didn't hurt either.

- b

Four to Six Months

2010-01-30T10:36:00.002-05:00

In the last 5 months, CJ's lost 5 pounds.

He's gotten very picky with his breakfast. Sometimes he'd eat some of it and sometimes he'd eat none of it. Dinner was always fine. Sometimes he'd even eat what was left from breakfast.

The Vet. recommended an abdominal ultrasound.

The ultrasound didn't reveal anything we didn't expect for a 14 year old dog, but it did put a timeline on things.

He's got a pretty aggressive tumor in his adrenal gland.

Luckily it's not causing him any pain - at least none that he's revealing.

- b

Cat Sitting

2010-01-29T07:50:00.002-05:00

The tenant had to go away for a few days, so we're cat sitting.

They're slowly adjusting to the new place. This one (I'll have to get their names) a little slower then the others.

The black one immediately became my new best friend (I'll have to get a picture), which is a hell of a lot more then Jen's cat has ever done with me.

- b

CJ's Birthday Hike

2010-01-17T07:59:00.005-05:00

Went for a short hike at Springton Manor Farm yesterday.

It was 50°F in January and Jen & the dogs needed some exercise.

It was also CJ's birthday. He's officially 14 years old, though he was running for treats like he was 12.

Gretchen spent most of the time on the leash. There were too many things for her to chase and Springton Manor Farm isn't really big enough to just let her chase.

- b

More Strange Behavior

2010-01-04T06:50:00.004-05:00

Gretchen and CJ both have their own beds. CJs bed is preferred by both of them. CJ won't go near Gretchen's.

Usually when Gretchen lays in CJs bed he walks around whining until Jen or I pull Gretchen off, so he can lay down.

These dogs hardly lay on the same couch together, so you can imagine my surprise when I came upstairs and found this.

Both of them on CJs bed!

Granted, CJ doesn't look very comfortable and is simply tolerating her presence, but I get the impression she was there first and he laid down anyway.

- b

CJ the Pedicurist

2010-01-03T09:28:00.002-05:00

CJ hates most interaction from Gretchen. If she walks near him with any kind of intent other then walking by, he's barking at her.

So we found this to be pretty strange.

And then the other paw

Yeah. Not all that exciting. We don't get a whole lot of action out of CJ (he'll be 14 in two weeks), so any recorded bit now will be nice later.

- b

Bah Humdog

2009-12-17T06:26:00.003-05:00

This is Gretchen's first time with a Christmas tree.

So far she seems to really like it.

She likes to eat the ornaments that is.

- b

The Cat Reads

2009-11-22T10:30:00.004-05:00

Or so she pretends.

- b

Infested

2009-11-17T21:38:00.001-05:00

Don't let the cuteness fool you. She's covered in ticks.

- b

Famished

2009-11-15T08:41:00.004-05:00

According to the feeding guidelines Gretchen, who's 60lbs., should be getting 2 1/2 cups of food per day.

According to Gretchen and her exercise regimen, she's actually getting a little over 4 cups of food per day.

She's eating what a dog twice her size should eat and still looks skinny.

- b

Bedtime

2009-11-07T08:33:00.002-05:00

What I see going to bed each night.

Jen keeps saying it's too cold at night and we need our heavier blanket, but with Gretchen the furnace laying against me I usually end up throwing the currently thin blanket off.

- b

Bad Dog

2009-11-05T08:25:00.002-05:00

So Gretchen's not in daycare anymore and I can't always get her out for a run. Occasionally we come home to find things like this.

Not a woobie by any means, but I did have that blanket since I was a freshmen in college.

- b

Nice Fall Hike

2009-10-31T13:12:00.004-04:00

Headed to Springton Manor Farm this morning for a hike. Everybody needed to get out.

CJ's been getting pretty stiff in his hind quarters. Nothing like running around the woods to loosen things up.

- b

Mmmmm Puke

2009-10-24T09:51:00.003-04:00

Not sure what happened, but as fast as Gretchen's breakfast went down it came back up again.

Applying something similar to the five second rule (not like the human rule where it's still good if on the floor for less then 5 seconds, but the dog one where it's still good if only in their belly less then 15 minutes or something.), we let her try again.

It was still crunchy.

It was appetizing enough that CJ wanted some.

This is a natural behavior for dogs. In the wild they're supposed to lick each others faces to stimulate regurgitation for a snack. Yick!

Anyway. It all worked out the second time around.

- b

Protector Against all Things Fuzzy

2009-10-18T18:32:00.004-04:00

Gretchen spent the day guarding the yard from terrorist squirrels.

She'd hang out in various strategic spots around the yard, waiting for one to cross her path.

Then strike with cruise missile precision chasing the furry critters back up the trees where they belong.

Of course such efforts required a lot of napping. Each stint of assaults required much rest.

- b

Dog Ride

2009-10-15T22:12:00.003-04:00

Sean and I did our first ride with both dogs (Gretchen and Yoshi).

Turned out better then either of us expected.

We've each successfully ridden with our dogs individually, but together made us nervous.

The way I described Gretchen's behavior was she just follows me. The way Sean described Yoshi was she stays out front.

The way it went down was I rode out front with Gretchen and Yoshi on my rear wheel and Sean taking up the rear.

It worked perfectly.

Occasionally Gretchen would show-off a bit and run next to me on single track trails (i.e very narrow trails), which she never does.

Yoshi was having a great time. When we stopped for water breaks, she'd run around in circles then back to Sean as if to tell him how much fun she was having.

Gretchen was like "Whatever. I do this all the time."

It was cool when we'd hit a field. The dogs would just take off chasing each other across the grass and into the night. It would get quiet as Sean and I peddled alone along the path in the grass, then suddenly crescendo with the sound of dog collars jingling when they came tearing by and heading off to a different corner of the field.

Hopefully we can get some kind of schedule together. I think we all could benefit from this being a regular thing.

- b

Gretchen Needs This

2009-10-15T21:52:00.002-04:00

Ultimate Harness

Ruff Wear makes awesome dog stuff.

- b

After Bath Dogs

2009-10-04T20:20:00.002-04:00

Dogs are nuts after they've had a bath.

- b

Well Kept Skunk

2009-09-20T20:22:00.002-04:00

Gretchen still smells like skunk.

Maybe tomorrow she'll roll in something different and have a whole new stink to bring home.

- b

No Daycare

2009-09-12T07:40:00.003-04:00

You may or may have not noticed, but Gretchen's gone two weeks without daycare.

Between a careful balance of taking her to the lake, walking her around the park behind our house, and/or her growing up, we've managed to exercise her anxieties enough to leave her home without chewing the place to pieces.

In the past we've had a rule of no more then two days between lots of exercise when leaving her home. When we couldn't exercise her, she'd go to daycare.

With daycare and exercise, she was never a horrible chewer, but without daycare would have been a different story.

Hopefully the trend continues.

- b