Sunday, August 27, 2006




Scott & I took off for Mexico for 5 days. After a rocky few pre-vacation days (a leak in our main waterline & the threat of hurricane Ernesto), we ended up with a perfect trip. Great resort (Royal Solaris in Cancun), beautiful weather and lots of rest & relaxation.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

I ordered a bunch of stuff from a new place, http://www.k9rawdiet.com/ (thanks for the hot tip, Debby). I got bully sticks, achillies tendons, some liver treats and tracheas. Not only is the woman who runs the site fantastic (could be the best customer service I've ever dealt with online), but the quality of the products is amazing.

The bully sticks are huge & were only $4. And I've bought trachea before (aka Moo Tubes), but they were nothing like the ones I got at K9raw.



Thanks for some great products Mindy!!

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Lola had her first outting at North Park today. They have a wonderfully huge Off Leash Area for the dogs to run. I used to take Sherman & Penny there a lot but grew leary about moronic dog owners. So we went very early (8:00 am) hoping the idiots perferred to sleep late. Lola went alone as Penny's new found protective nature is more than I wanted to deal with.

Lola had a blast. She ran & ran and played & made lots of new friends. She's funny in that she's pretty independent & would run to the far end of the park all by herself. But she always came back when I called her. Good practice for us.

Here are some pictures of Penny & Sherman last summer when Debby & I went a few times...just to give you an idea of the size of this place.

Penny running...



Taking a rest...


Sherman just runs around & pees on stuff...

Saturday, August 19, 2006

When we were kicking around adding a 3rd dog, I decided I wanted to get another female as Sherman & Penny both seem to prefer females to males...Sherman in particular. I was given a lot of warnings about 2 females living together and the potential problems it can create (They call them Bitches for a reason). While appreciate all of the advice, things have gone well thus far...Penny & Lola adore each other.


I understand there could be problems once Lola hits her social maturity & I always on the lookout for warning signs. Penny has become very protective of her and I'm trying to get the point across to Penny that it's MY job to keep them all safe. Penny's trust in me is growing & I'm hoping things between my Boxer girls always stays as it is now.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

I love to see the fruits of my labor! Boot Camp has definately paid off for Penny. I took her & Sherman on their first joint walk in a long time. I did use the Easy Walk (which I'm now calling the Pull A Lot) at first and it sucked. So I put the lead on her collar & guess what...no pulling what-so-ever. She got to the end of the lead a couple of times & I gave her an "Eeeasy" and she slowed down. It was wonderful. AND...she came face to face w/ a cat and when I said "Leave it" she turned, looked at me, then kept going. I love it!

Lola is another story. She just isn't getting it. Well, that's not true...toward the end of our walk she was starting to get it. Her new thing is...she pulls, I stop, she sits. At the end of the tight leash. I'm gonna have to try a new approach.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Maybe they should be called "The Great Hunters of Jackman Avenue"...at least for Sherman & Penny. Only, their way of hunting is staring intensely up at the squirrel they have managed to run up the big tree in the yard. I tried to take a picture of it taunting them, but it was too high up.

"If we watch it long enough, it may just fall out of the tree...


Lola just prefers to dig...

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Shermie & I got up early to continue his Gotcha Day Celebration. It was actually cold in the woods, but perfect weather for him. We hiked about 1/2 hour & he had a blast.

Here he is kicking up his heels...

A well deserved drink at the of the trail...



Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Ahhh...this is what I've been waiting for. Glorious summer days. The temps have cooled to a comfortable 80ish and the humidity is much, much lower. I'm in heaven.

Lola & I went for a hike at Riverview. This was her first solo "big girl" hike...she went on one with me when she was about 4 1/2 months & has gone a couple of times with Penny & I. But when I take the dogs on a solo hike, I use a 16ft flexi to give them some room to move. Lola is a great hiking partner. I don't think she hit the end of the flexi once. She would get about 10 feet from me & then stop, turn & wait for me to catch up.

Once we hit the loop on the road, she did react to an Eskie across from us. I just kept backing up and using Penalty Yards and after 4 or 5 times, she gave up on the barkfest. We headed up a steep hill only to be met at the top by a guy & his beagle on the trail. The guy had no intention of stopping or moving aside...just kept on walking toward us. And although Lola saw them, she willingly walked off the trail w/ me, sat down & waited for them to pass. Nice!

We ran into 2 dogs off leash further down the trail. I yelled to the owners "Please call your dogs!" and they did. One listened and one kept coming toward us. The guy kept calling her but she was tuning him out. "Is she friendly?" I asked while I stepped in front of Lola and the guy said "Yes", although she didn't seem real thrilled w/ Lola wiggling around her. The guy leashed her up and they went on their merry way. I hate that. If I would have been w/ S&P & the dog would have charged up on them the same way, they would have flipped. I don't need to be worrying about other people's dogs. Just keep them on a leash...it is the law.

But the hike was lovely regardless. Lola had a great time & so did I.

Sunday, August 06, 2006

We had a little summertime celebration at Debby's in honor of her b-day. We did this a couple years ago & it was a lot of fun (although the attendees have greatly changed). Penny & Lola came with me as they have been around Debby's dogs a lot & love to be fawned over by absolutely everyone.

Penny started out the morning in a mood...it wasn't bad, just very clingy & needy. She was very anxious and whiny. Scott warned me that I should just leave her at home...but what does he know???

Apparently a lot b/c she was pretty snarky w/ the other dogs. She put up w/ Trent following her around and licking her...she never has a problem with this. And as soon as Lola arrived, he turned his attention to her...alternating mouth licking and guarding everything from ice cubes to potato chips to balls from her. Something didn't sit right with Penny & as soon as the first guest arrived, & she flew off the handle at Trent. The spat was quickly diffused but Penny was still stressed & Trent continued to snark at Lola, pinning her under a chair & giving her a nice big scratch on her face. I decided if I was going to have any fun, it would be in my best interest to take the girls home...which is what I did.

In hindsight, I think Penny is feeling the need to defend Lola. She's had two squabbles w/ Debby's dogs, one w/ Kera & now this one w/ Trent. Both occured in Lola's presence and while I don't recall Kera challenging Lola, she very well could have growled at her and Penny could have taken that as a threat. Same goes w/ Trent. There have never been any incidents (that I know of) w/ Penny & any of Debby's dogs when Lola is not around. They generally get along great.

The rest of the day was a lot of fun and I actually got in the pool this year! It was, after all, 95 in the shade!

The girls were back to their old relaxed selves once we got home.


Friday, August 04, 2006

"It is the right of every dog, to have one person who thinks they are the greatest dog on earth." - Sue Sternberg

OK...so my dogs have two people who think they're the greatest. We have the greatest Black dog



the greatest Brown dog...


and the greatest White dog ...

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

The sun keeps blazing & the humidity keeps holding steady. It's been in the 90s for 2 weeks and the heat index is over 100. No walks for anyone. The girls are getting antsy and bored. I can't say I blame them, but it's miserable outside. We keep the first floor cool w/ the AC so everyone's been stuck hanging out downstairs. Hopefully we'll get some relief soon so we can resume the neighborhood patrol.