Mom's Sick

We tried some of our best Sheltie nursing tricks yesterday, but Mom still went to bed saying her head hurt and she was too tired to stay awake. We tried all our best doggie remedies, cold noses to sooth her head, snuggling with her, the toy test to see how sick she was, poking her to check her breathing. Daddy said she was better this morning, but not to bother her.

We were prepared for a dull day when noises burst outside. Our friend is getting some work done on his fence and Mommy declared she could not sleep and so what Sheltie medicine could not accomplish a Lab fence did. Mommy is up!!!!

She does not seem nearly as excited as we are though.

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Wordless Wednesday

Easter with Shelties

Bailey is used to the craziness of holidays here, but Katy is slowly working through her first experiences with the changes that occur each time the dates occur.

The dogs were thrilled to get new bones and Katy finally has her own mini squirrel house puzzle toy. This quickly became a score point. One would grab the house, sit down, and chew on the bone. The other would then plot to steal the house. This continued for a good bit of Easter morning.

Katy was thrilled with a rawhide football. She quickly claimed this and took off with it. This is only the second item she has claimed and refused to yield to Bailey. I think it is a sign she is getting more confident.

Bailey was only interested in his rawhide baseball when Katy threatened to steal it. His focus was on the circle bones. He tried to eat one while covering the other one with his body. In many respects they do remind me of human siblings with the way they try to hoard the toys.

When guests arrived, Katy began her circle around our hallways that join our downstairs area. Bailey turned on his charm in an attempt to get as much attention as possible. Our neighbors were hosting Easter egg hunts, which had both dogs excited and wanting to participate. By the end of the night, Katy finally approached one of the younger relatives to her delight and finally allowed her access. Bailey was disgusted as he had worked the crowd all day and all Katy had to do to get attention was to ignore everyone.

I was pleased to see her make this breakthrough. It is the best she has done with family at the house. Sometimes it is easy to focus only on where she needs to go. This Easter reminded us of how far she has come.

Bailey Demonstrates His Frisbee Skills

Katy has it all wrong. I work hard at my skills and I have tried to help her develop her talents, too. It is not my fault, she is afraid of being hit by balls and Frisbees. I have certainly taken my share of missed catches hitting me.

Mom and Dad never bought me specialized balls and Frisbees. They won't let me even play with Katy's special toys. She is allowed to grab mine, though.

I am glad she has learned to play catch with the ball. It has made playing outdoors more fun. If she can catch a Frisbee, it will be even more fun.

Katy Learns to Play Frisbee

Let's face it Bailey is the show off in the family. While I can run faster, he jumps higher and manages to catch balls and Frisbees high in the air.

I am not crazy about these objects flying at my head. He leaps up like without any hesitation. Mom and Dad seemed convinced this Frisbee thing is important. They even bought me a smaller frisbee so it would be easier for me to catch it. This one is softer, more jelly like than Bailey's Frisbee.

Bailey tried to teach me to pick up the Frisbee. Then he started stealing my Frisbee when I did not grab it fast enough.

I am still not sure why this Frisbee thing is so important, but I am working on learning. Bailey is not going to get all the attention.

The Camera Strikes Again

"Katy, what was that sound?"

"Hey, where did that camera come from?"

Are we not entitled to any privacy? This is exhausting. We have got to find them something else to keep them entertained.

Tasty Paws Excursion

There is a right way and a wrong way to eat doggy ice cream. Bailey was introduced to doggy ice cream at play group as a puppy. During the summer we give it to him as an occcasional treat.

Bailey demonstrates the appropriate method of eating doggy ice cream.

Katy's reaction was unexpected.

Like Bailey she received her ice cream in a dish. For some reason she grabbed the chunk of ice cream and ran under the kitchen table. She resisted all urges to come out and eat the ice cream from the bowl. Eventually we moved her ice cream outside and she was happy to eat the ice cream on the porch.

The First Spring Walk of the Season

Bailey and my husband used to walk year round at least once daily. Since Katy has joined us the walks have dropped off. Katy needs leash practice and Bailey has hated leaving Katy behind.

Katy has walking outings with her friends during playgroup. However, my husband and I have only taken her to the Vet and for a few shopping trips to Petco and Petsmart. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, Katy is not thrilled with shopping. We have determined Katy would be an Internet shopper if given the choice. While she likes getting bones and toys, the shopping experience is not one she enjoys. Bailey enjoys getting out, meeting people, and getting to see all the products available.

Katy loves playing in the backyard. She has speed and turns Bailey has never had. Watching her get up to speed and cut her turns sharply is amazing to watch. We have not been concerned about her getting enough exercise. However, we would like her to be leash trained and more comfortable in public.

Saturday the weather was warmer and after an afternoon of yard work, my husband decided to take the two of them for a walk. Bailey was thrilled. He loves the exercise and social aspects of a neighborhood walk. Katy enjoyed the time with my husband, but she was overwhelmed by experience. While she walked, she pressed close to my husband the entire trip.

Our hope is if the weather stays nice, there will be more opportunities for her and Bailey to get out and practice walking together. She has learned to enjoy experiences that previously terrified her. My hope is that being in public will be one of them.

Dog Names

When you get a puppy, naming a dog is generally the choice of the owner. Everyone has a different approach to naming and teaching the dog to respond to the name.

When you bring home a rescue dog, deciding to keep or change the name is a different issue. Bailey was a puppy when we got him, but he already responded to his name. At the time, we did not think much about the name. We have since learned it is a name given to both males and females. However, it does appear that the name is more commonly used as a female than male name. It is also a very common Sheltie name. I find many Sheltie owners with Baileys. Since Bailey responded to his name and we had no issues with the name, we chose to keep it.

Katy had a much longer name that she refused to answer to when we met her at her foster home. The only word she responded to was "cookie" and it was becoming her default name. I will not offend anyone by discussing her given name. I just found it too long and awkward for a dog that at two clearly did not recognize the name as hers. After talking to the foster Mom, we decided to look for hard "C" names that would trigger the response cookie did without naming her cookie. We went through a list of short hard "C" names and Katy was the one that drew the most response.

It amazes me what time and attention can do for a smart Sheltie. I suspect she did not hear her name much in the two years prior to arriving at her foster home. However, she quickly learned to respond to her new name when we brought her home and used it frequently. She had no problem distinguishing between her name and Bailey's name. Her resilience continues to amaze me.

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Disappointed Red Sox Fans

Bailey and Katy love watching sports with my husband. As the Red Sox season opened, they eagerly found their spots to watch the games. Bailey settles on the couch on his Patriots blanket. Katy watches from the front of the couch.

They actually do seem to be focused on the game. However, I think their excitement is primarily based on how happy or frustrated my husband is with the state of the game. The opening of the season has not been a happy one for the dogs. They are hoping the Yankees series will change the pace of the game.

Peanut Butter Pills

Growing up giving the dogs pills was as much punishment for the owner as the dog. The dogs were as creative at hiding the pills we thought they had swallowed as we were at hiding the food we hated from our parents.

When we took Bailey to the vet, she introduced us to a simple method for giving pills, peanut butter. Bailey and now Katy both love peanut butter. We smear a little on the pill and they think they are being spoiled rotten. We keep a separate jar and brand of peanut butter to avoid any chance of cross contamination between dog medication and human consumption of peanut butter. This was a personal choice.

The little things make life easier.

Signs of Spring

Our weather has been crazy, but the perennials have been pushing forward with their efforts to claim spring. Bailey and Katy are going to have to get used to new boundaries. I noticed Bailey napping in a sunny spot yesterday. It just happened to be one of my flower gardens. Katy and Bailey have been using the back vegetable gardens as highways in their squirrel hunts. We are going to have to work on establishing boundaries.

I hate to resort to fencing. In the past, Bailey has been trainable. We will have to see if the two of them can learn to respect the gardens.

Sheltie Ice Cubes

Thankfully, the snow melted fairly quickly over the weekend with some warm sunny weekend weather. Bailey and Katy insisted on playing with Bailey's new outdoor birthday toys.

Since his puppy days, Bailey has always had a challenge staying hydrated. Katy has no problem diving into the water bowl. The woman that runs their doggy daycare gave us a hint that works well for Bailey, ice cubes. For some reason Bailey loves ice cubes. We take them outside, place them on the porch and Bailey treats them like cold bones. He considers them a great challenge. Since it was warm last weekend, it seemed like a great time to introduce Katy to the tradition. Bailey dived into the ice cube pile. Katy touched one cautiously and then turned up her princess snout at the idea of an ice bone. Bailey looked at her as if she was missing a steak dinner. We tried convincing her to try one, but she refused. Bailey cleaned up the pile without any help.

It is good to know Bailey's summer hydration trick still works. It will be interesting to see if Katy's competitive nature gets her engaged in trying the treat.

The Snow Angels Attack Katy

We used to joke about snow angels throwing snowballs at us from the trees when I was a child. When we walked home from school, there were large trees that would drop snow on us as they shed snow. We would laugh when another snow angel attacked us.

As you can see from this older winter picture, we have trees in our backyard that are perfect for snow angel attacks. Bailey has learned to be wary, but Katy was under full assault after the April Fool's storm. She was convinced it must be a squirrel or bird attack. Nothing Bailey did would convince her that all she need do was move from underneath the tree to avoid the attack.

Bailey finally gave up and snacked on his snow cookies. Katy is starting to rethink this snow-whispering thing. We may have her ready for spring.

Snakes in the Grass Puzzle Toy

We were looking for puzzle toys for Bailey's birthday. He had an odd reaction to Kyjen PP01056 Hide-A-Squirrel Pet Toy, Large that he had received earlier. Instead of wanting to get the squirrels out of the house. He fought hard to get them in the house. When we removed one to try to get him to play with us, he stubbornly tried to push the squirrel back into the tree stump. To keep us from pulling the squirrels out, he would pick up the tree and carry it off. He does occasionally take one out to play with, but for the most part, he likes to keep the squirrels in the trees. This seems to mirror his real life ambitions. He has no issue with the squirrels in the tree. However, when they get on the ground or his fence, they must be herded back to the trees.

The Kyjen Snakes in the Grass Puzzle Plush Interactive Dog Toy had some added benefits. Two of the snakes are attached and only one can be removed. This means Katy and Bailey can play with the toy. So far, Bailey is not letting Katy near his new toy. He picks it up and carries it off when it appears interest is shown. However, the attached snakes would give Katy something to grab and that would provide her with a shot at playing with the toy.

We had to use some treats to get Bailey engaged with this toy. I guess snakes do not provide the same natural interest as squirrels. Once he found the treats, he has become very possessive of his snake house. Perhaps Katy will have a chance to play with him and the toy soon.

Doggie Daycare

I started going while Mom was still teaching. Dad would drop me off in the car every morning and Mom and Dad would pick me up after work. Puppy care is so awesome. Not like the kennel at all. Kennel is not cool. Big, loud, scary, no game time, cages, not cool. Daycare is awesome.

Mom has all these funny names for it puppy care, camp, school, and each time it is something new. All I know is that when Mom started working on the computer instead of in that brick building with kids, I stopped playing every day and now go about once every week with Dad and Katy in the car to meet my friends.

Bailey is the star of playgroup. Everybody loves Bailey. I am not so keen on this doggie group thing. I am used to being by myself and it is hard to deal with all these dogs all day. I do have a few new friends and the lady is REALLY nice. She gives cookies and she gets the other dogs to play with me when I am left alone. I like the games she teaches us. I can run really fast, faster than Bailey, so I know I will get good at them.

I heard something disturbing the other day. Bailey said that sometimes he sleeps there when Mom and Dad are away. He hates the kennel we had to stay at when I had fleas and the house got fixed. He said he had to sleep there once and it was scary. He says sleeping at daycare is like having a big doggy sleepover. I am not sure I would like a sleepover, but Bailey says it is not so bad. I did not think the kennel was so bad, but Bailey was really scared when we were there. So, I guess staying at daycare must be fun.

My favorite part is when Dad comes to pick us up. He is so silly. He gets as excited as Bailey when he sees us. He is so happy when we bark when we see him. He seems sad if we do not notice him.

Katy, it is my turn to talk. What do mean a squirrel? Sorry have to go squirrel patrol.

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Sheltie Snow Dance Rewarded

I thought we were making real progress towards spring. The dogs seemed resigned and even enjoying the chance to play outdoors in the grass. Then it snowed yesterday and the dogs could not get enough. I hope that this will be the last of their snow cookies.

I was actually hoping we the last of the snow would melt and we could get outside to work in the gardens. I was planning to take pictures of our crocuses and other perennials emerging. I was also hoping to get the vegetable gardens ready for our spring planting.

Spring planting will have to wait as the dogs get another chance to enjoy the snow.

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Bailey Protects Katy

Saturday we went shopping for Bailey's birthday. We visited several of the local pet stores to get the best selection and price on the items we were looking to buy.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog Bailey loves to shop. Katy would much rather shop from home if the option was available.

I grew up with four older brothers and at times Katy and Bailey's relationship makes me laugh. It does remind me of that big brother to little sister relationship I remember. Bailey and Katy are both loyal and annoyed by one another at times. However, nobody gets between them. Bailey may tease his younger housemate, but nobody picks on Katy.

Bailey and Katy have both benefited from the stores that allow pets. Katy has developed better social skills in her outings. Bailey loves the interactions with humans and dogs. I like meeting other pet owners and find most are responsible about handling their dogs in tight quarters and potentially challenging situations.

The larger dogs usually are more cause for concern than the smaller dogs as they tend to be harder to avoid. Yesterday, Katy realized the smaller ones can be intimidating and Bailey came to her rescue. Bailey and my husband had fallen behind in an aisle as they were checking out some items of interest. Katy and I were moving ahead. I wanted to price a few items. A small white powder puff proceeded to jump out at Katy and lunge at her. Bailey quickly moved up the aisle and put himself between Katy and the powder puff. As the powder puff tried to get around Bailey, he looked like a basketball player using defensive moves to block it from getting at Katy. The minute Bailey arrived on the scene Katy dived under Bailey's stomach.

If Katy had not been so scared, it would have been the sweetest moment I have observed between them. He might steal her toys, but nobody messes with Katy, but him. Bailey never showed his teeth or any aggressive moves. He just kept blocking the dog from approaching Katy. I slowly moved the two dogs back and the dog's owner finally retrieved her dog stating she is not normally aggressive.

Katy pressed up close to Bailey for the rest of the trip and Bailey showed no signs of leaving her side.

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Happy St. Patrick's Day from Bailey and Katy

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

This is such a fun holiday. Mom and Dad play our favorite music. We love Celtic Woman, Celtic Thunder, and have recently gotten hooked on the High Kings. Dad always plays the CD's in the car on the way to playgroup. We love it when he puts the DVD's on the TV and we can sit in our favorite spots and fall asleep to the music. These DVD's are so much better than the scary stuff Mom likes to watch.

The bears Mom has out as decorations are a bit freaky. They are almost as tall as we are and they are not real. We keep poking them to check, but they are still fake. What is the significance of bears for St. Patrick's Day? There were other bears there for Valentine's Day and then they switched. We are very confused.

The Snow Gives Way To Land

As I mentioned in an earlier blog Katy and Bailey are struggling with the change from snow to mud. This will be Katy's first spring with us, but Bailey has had a few transitions. He loves the snow packs and he loves the summer grass. He is no fan of the spring rains and mud. Katy is showing no signs of enjoying the transition either. They are both clinging to the last bits of snow.

Soon this will only be a fond memory of winter play.

I suspect they will find plenty to entertain them this summer. The squirrels are already emerging and the chases have begun. While they will regret the loss of snow, they will find other amusements.

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