The nice people at Pup-peroni had a photo booth promotion at Sandcastle & emailed me this picture of Lola & I. She's a riot!

Merlin looks pretty cool cruisin' too. Debby was off to the side playing in the tumbleweeds.

Lola & I went to Sandcastle's Last Splash of Summer w/ our friends Debby & Merlin. Getting her into the park was a bit of a challenge b/c she was very worked up and barking & lunging at every dog in site. Had I been by myself, I would have taken a long time making it to the front gate by backing her up when she flew into a fit. This is very effective for her, but takes time & I didn't want to hold Debby & Merlin up.

Lola was a bit hesitant and basically hung around in the water up to her elbows for a while. She eventually got a little brave & started to swim.

You really can't tell in this picture, but she did NOT like swimming. She actually panicked and tried to crawl on top of another dog. I stayed close to her & pulled her off him & she then tried to crawl up my body. Our swimming was done for the day after that as she wouldn't even go into 3 inches of water.



She did enjoy a yummy Frosty Paws after the swim.



And then she jumped in the trunk when we got back to the car. She was ready to go home.

Lola has a tumor on her toe. I noticed when she came in from outside last night that she had a large red bump on her back right foot. After concluding that she didn't have a broken toe (my first thought), I thought perhaps she got bit by something. It was a large, raised, red sore that can only be described as a raspberry w/ fur on it. She wasn't limping or favoring at all so I decided to wait & call the vet the next day.

Dr. Fitzgerald knew what it was right away (although she did entertain my thought that it was a bug bite after my eyes became the size of pieplates when she said the word "tumor"). The exact diagnosis is Canine Cutaneous Histiocytoma (Wow that sounds scary! For more info, see http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1676). Apparently it's pretty common and appears in only a day or two. The tumor is benign & should disappear on it's own, but if she's chewing it or it becomes a problem for her, they want to remove it. Let's hope it goes away soon b/c she does not like the spray I have to apply 2-3 per day.

Poor little toe!

Well, we're all settled back into our routine and Lola is B-A-D bad!! She's lost the concept of being housetrained (she peed in my shoe & has pooped in the house multiple times). She has also completely lost all concept of LLW ~sigh~. I tried to take her on a walk & wanted to murder her after 15 minutes. She was failing around at the end of the leash like a fish. None of my old tricks worked. Back to the drawing board. I just need to start back at the beginning and take it slow.

Penny fortunately has not lost the concept & we had a wonderful walk around the neighborhood complete with lots & lots of attention and zero pulling. We even passed 3 different dogs w/o one single outburst. That's my girl. I did have my treats & clicker w/ me as I was unsure if she'd have forgotten all of our hard work. It was a good move on my part b/c I rewarded a lot of attention & loose leash at the beginning & then phased them out by the end of the walk.

Sherman was very happy to be back to securing the neighborhood. He's getting very good at automatically stopping at intersections & while I still have to cue him to sit, he does it w/in a split second of asking.

We picked Lola up from Camp on the way home from the airport. Sherman & Penny aren't getting picked up till the following day, so Lola will be an only dog for 24 hours or so. She was so pooped she didn't really seemed to phased. She seemed to have a great time at Camp and was very excited to see us.

I took advantage of an extra day off work & took her out to North Park again. She had an absolute blast & ran her little butt off. She is great with all of the other dogs (a welcome change from S&P) and makes a point to always check in with me.

After she was good & tired, I went out to my Mom's to pick up Sherman. He was bouncing & wiggling around like a little puppy. Apparently he was miserable in the basement (a huge Duh??!! moment for me...Sherman was petrified of our basement & wouldn't step foot in it for the first 3 months we had him) so my Mom moved him to the garage where he was happy as a clam. I really think he liked the peace & quiet. He really only slept there & stayed there while they were at work...other than that he was pretty busy. He went to the park 3 times, to see my Grandpap, laid in the sun & "hunted" while my Mom & Carl worked in the yard. But he seemed pretty happy to be going home.

Penny apparently also had a great time. So much so that she seemed rather depressed to be away from her buddy Baron. She got to show off the "snarl & snort" for her Grandpa Don & played musical pots w/ her roomates. She seemed more happy to see Sherman than Lola, but happiest to see me & Scotty the most.

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.

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!!

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...

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.

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.

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...

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...

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.

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.

"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 ...

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.

Sherman & I had a sleepover at my Mom's house tonight. She is keeping him while we are on vacation and I just wanted to make sure he'd be OK w/ her cats. They have been harassed by Kevin's Golden, Shamus and Mom is a bit leary about having dogs in the house w/ them. Sherman was pretty good. Movement causes the need to chase but he's pretty good with Leave It and I kept a leash on him the whole time. They shouldn't have a problem with him.

We went to visit my Grandparents and Sherman proved what a great therapy dog he'd be. He's very calm, doesn't jump, parks himself right next to you for rubs. He showed off a little w/ some of his tricks...high 5, lay down, "spring" (where he jumps up to a sit from a down), speak. Everyone was very impressed. We'll probably go for the TDI later this year. I think I'm gonna enroll him in Shelley's CGC class starting at the end of September.

It really sucks when you finally have to admit to yourself your dog is getting old. 3 different Vets at my Practice have estimated Sherman to be anywhere from 9 - 12 as of today. I like to think of him as 6...the BCHS said he was a year when we adopted him & that will be 5 years next week.

But if I'm gonna be honest with myself...I have to face facts. He is closer to 10ish. He's a spry 10ish...but his age is starting to show. He's slow getting up from laying down. He tires after about 20 minutes on a walk. He's good for about 5 minutes of playtime till he gets bored & goes to rest.

I told Sherman he had to live to be at least 20...so we have another 10 or so years ahead of us. But at what price?


He still loves a good hike in the woods & as long as he's able...we'll go. We'll just keep the hikes short.

What a doll! Love the jowly lips!

It continues to be HOT...Shermie gets his 20 minute walk around the block b/c he's such a good boy...

But the girls continue to be in Boot Camp.

Loose Leash all the time. Penny is WAY too smart for her own good & this is a piece of cake for her. Lola is taking some time & is still a bit reactive...so we're working when there aren't a whole lot of people around & I'm making a HUGE deal when she doesn't react to the normal "spooky" stuff...people, dogs, cats, trucks, motorcycles, bikes, etc. It's becoming less & less & I think we're almost home free...

They are so damned cute when they're pooped! Lola loves to lay on the tile in the bathroom...

& Penny's favorite spot is on the deck...

I bought these chicken feet from Hare Today and they've been in my freezer for a couple months. I finally brought a bag out today for the dogs & let me tell you...they are repulsive!

Lola thinks they're Deeelicious!