For the first time since we've moved out to the east coast, we're going away on vacation and will have to leave our dogs behind. When we lived in California, we simply dropped Loki off at his breeder's. This gave us great comfort. Not only was our breeder obviously familiar with the breed and dogs, but she also had some emotional attachment to Loki. Now on the east coast, we don't have her as an option. And we are noticeably more anxious about leaving them behind.
Our first and best solution was to have my sister house sit for us, but unfortunately, she has a life. Our second solution, which was what we decided upon, was to hire our dog sitter. We had hired her from time to time for just mid-day trips. This is the first time we'll be using her for a vacation. She'll be coming three times a day for them. I think that keeping them at home is better than kenneling them, but they will be dreadfully lacking in human companionship. Poor pups. As a testament to my anxiety, I wrote up a two page document detailing all my instructions for the dogs. I had already told her all of that information in person, but I wrote it all up anyways.
I hope they will be okay without us for a week.
No more apple pie
On Saturday, we invited a couple to watch the Michigan v. Illinois football game with us. They brought a beautiful and delicious apple pie, homemade from apples that they picked themselves. Yummy!
On Sunday, about a quarter of the remaining pie was sitting on the table. We left to go grocery shopping, and when we returned...
On Sunday, about a quarter of the remaining pie was sitting on the table. We left to go grocery shopping, and when we returned...
...there was no more apple pie.
Allergy Evidence
Juju is apparently still having allergy issues. She has these tiny scabs in a bunch of places. Now that she's shedding, the scabs come off with her fur.
We don't know what's causing her allergies. We originally guessed that it was chicken. But she has now been on fish for the past few weeks, and her condition isn't improving. It's possible that she has seasonal allergies. I know that we definitely did not see this the last time she shed in the spring. I'm afraid to furminate her this time around, because doing so will pull out all these scabs. And that seems like it would definitely hurt her.
Poor Jujube.
We don't know what's causing her allergies. We originally guessed that it was chicken. But she has now been on fish for the past few weeks, and her condition isn't improving. It's possible that she has seasonal allergies. I know that we definitely did not see this the last time she shed in the spring. I'm afraid to furminate her this time around, because doing so will pull out all these scabs. And that seems like it would definitely hurt her.
Poor Jujube.
The problem with some visitors
Being social and having lots of visitors has been great for Loki. As I previously reported, he's now really wonderful and friendly with all our human guests. The dogs are great. They aren't the problem. Sometimes it's the visitors who are the problem.
This past weekend, we had a very upsetting incident, when one of our visitors left the front door open for too long and Jujube escaped. I was upstairs in the bedroom at the time. I looked out the window just to to see her bolt across the street and out of sight. We live in a townhouse community, so the street she crossed is residential and fairly safe. But there is only a short a brick wall that separates our townhouse community from a very busy street with a speed limit of 45 mph.
Jujube ran past the townhouse buildings across the street from us. To me, it felt like she was gone was forever. But I suppose in reality it must not have been that long, for by the time I got dressed and put my sneakers on, someone already had scooped her up and she was on her way back to us.
Needless to say, I was furious at this visitor's carelessness, and greatly upset by the whole incident. Dogs are simple. Humans on the other hand can be so difficult.
This past weekend, we had a very upsetting incident, when one of our visitors left the front door open for too long and Jujube escaped. I was upstairs in the bedroom at the time. I looked out the window just to to see her bolt across the street and out of sight. We live in a townhouse community, so the street she crossed is residential and fairly safe. But there is only a short a brick wall that separates our townhouse community from a very busy street with a speed limit of 45 mph.
Jujube ran past the townhouse buildings across the street from us. To me, it felt like she was gone was forever. But I suppose in reality it must not have been that long, for by the time I got dressed and put my sneakers on, someone already had scooped her up and she was on her way back to us.
Needless to say, I was furious at this visitor's carelessness, and greatly upset by the whole incident. Dogs are simple. Humans on the other hand can be so difficult.
Adventures in Uncrating
In the dead of the night during one of our early days with Jujube, sometime between last January and April, Loki and Jujube got into a fight. Both Yun and I were sound asleep when it happened. Since that incident, we kept both of them crated at night.
We put Loki in the wire crate and Jujube in the plastic one.
Now, because the two of them have been behaving pretty well (only one fight) since we hired our behaviorist in May, I figured that they have displayed sufficient good behavior to warrant trials in being uncrated at night.
Jujube always sleeps in our bed. Always. There's no keeping her off of the bed. She's very persistent. Even if you constantly tell her to get off, she'll sneak back on after you've gone to sleep. Loki, on the other hand, sleeps everywhere. Sometimes, he'll sleep in his crate:
Sometimes he'll sleep in Jujube's crate:
Sometimes he'll sleep on the bed:
Apparently he thinks all sleeping spots belong to him.
Most nights, Jujube sleeps in between Yun and me by our feet, and Loki picks one of the two crates to sleep in. Loki only sleeps in the bed if one of us humans isn't there to claim our spot. He doesn't join the crowd if there are two humans and a dog already on the bed.
In the past couple days, I have been sick, and spent most of my day in bed. Just me and two dogs: one on each side of me. This has given me greater insight into the world of my two dogs. If Jujube is on the bed first, then there are no issues with Loki getting in bed. However, if Loki is on the bed first, then he sometimes growls at her when she tries to jump on the bed. Ah, but like I said before, Juju is very persistent. She will not be deterred from getting in bed. What does our smart little lady do when Loki growls? She climbs into bed under the covers. Yes, she uses her muzzle and burrows her way onto the bed. Once she settles down, no one would ever know she was there. Amazingly, her technique works! Loki's not smart enough to figure out her sneaky antics.
Lastly, here's a picture of our peaceful pair:
We put Loki in the wire crate and Jujube in the plastic one.
Now, because the two of them have been behaving pretty well (only one fight) since we hired our behaviorist in May, I figured that they have displayed sufficient good behavior to warrant trials in being uncrated at night.
Jujube always sleeps in our bed. Always. There's no keeping her off of the bed. She's very persistent. Even if you constantly tell her to get off, she'll sneak back on after you've gone to sleep. Loki, on the other hand, sleeps everywhere. Sometimes, he'll sleep in his crate:
Sometimes he'll sleep in Jujube's crate:
Sometimes he'll sleep on the bed:
Apparently he thinks all sleeping spots belong to him.
Most nights, Jujube sleeps in between Yun and me by our feet, and Loki picks one of the two crates to sleep in. Loki only sleeps in the bed if one of us humans isn't there to claim our spot. He doesn't join the crowd if there are two humans and a dog already on the bed.
In the past couple days, I have been sick, and spent most of my day in bed. Just me and two dogs: one on each side of me. This has given me greater insight into the world of my two dogs. If Jujube is on the bed first, then there are no issues with Loki getting in bed. However, if Loki is on the bed first, then he sometimes growls at her when she tries to jump on the bed. Ah, but like I said before, Juju is very persistent. She will not be deterred from getting in bed. What does our smart little lady do when Loki growls? She climbs into bed under the covers. Yes, she uses her muzzle and burrows her way onto the bed. Once she settles down, no one would ever know she was there. Amazingly, her technique works! Loki's not smart enough to figure out her sneaky antics.
Lastly, here's a picture of our peaceful pair:
Impossible to find poop
Autumn + rain = many falling leaves
So it's really, really, really hard to find poop to pick up in our little backyard.
So it's really, really, really hard to find poop to pick up in our little backyard.
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