This is from about a week ago. This is a typical morningwhen I can be home to have a casual breakfast, just me and the boys.
And...just in case you didn't know. We have videos up on our own little channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCorgiMomma?feature=mhum
If you haven't seen it, you should see our helicopter fun videos. It's a hoot and a holler!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Snowy Walks
This winter we have not been hit with snow nearly as hard as last year. The South and East Coast got it this year! We have still had some snow, and as expected Norman loves it just as much, if not more than Sammy. You would think they are snow dogs! We have more had just constant super cold temperatures. Hence, no snow; too cold. Surprisingly, Norman is like a super dog, and handles the zero/subzero temps infinately better than Sammy. Sammy gets just outside the door, wind hits him, and he turns back to inside without pottying. Norman, well he...he just bounds out like it's 70 and beautiful. He still bounces around outside and tries to tackle Sammy (Sammy does NOT appreciate!). In particular, I enjoy Sammy's leg hobble to the snow.
Sammy demands his privacy when pottying. He is weird. Sammy can't just potty anywhere (less I remind you of our last apartment, getting a ground level to make it easy; then he wouldn't potty anywhere on that side of the building) but only has a couple locations acceptable. And these locations are fairly off the beaten path, and really kinda suck since they are where the wind blows strong and piles up the snow, currently half way up my shin. Norman, just goes when he gets out the door, then plays the rest of the time outside.
Although the cold doesn't phase them much, it does me. I am much more of a chicken. Their walks have decreased so much, that for a few weeks we didn't have any but around the complex! It was cold. We had a couple days with the windchill -35. I thought my nose would fall off. So once the temp was above freezing, I braved taking them for a couple walks.
The first was very short, but they had a fantastic time. And even met another dog. I talked my mom into a short walk around the pond 5 or 6 blocks down the road. Sammy started with my mom, and Sammy loved it. Rather than Erik and I just stopping til he calms down and walks nicely, she tries to keep up and let him have fun. Later, we switched and Norman got to have that fun adventure. It was a beautiful evening (looks, temperature was only nice relative to the previous days) and I was able to snap a couple photos.
This walk only made me want to take them on another. Sammy loves his walks. He loves sniffing and meeting other dogs and people. He comes home with the biggest smile on his face, you would think he got a bowl of peanut butter, bacon and cheese. Norman had gone on a couple walks in November, but he was less than 3 months old, so the walks wore him out fast. Now, barely slows him down, but he was able to enjoy the smells, sights, sounds, probably tastes, and everything else dogs love about their walks. So that weekend, we took the boys to one of our favorite walks, Memorial and Elmwood Parks. We went into the creek a little and got some fun photos.
Sammy demands his privacy when pottying. He is weird. Sammy can't just potty anywhere (less I remind you of our last apartment, getting a ground level to make it easy; then he wouldn't potty anywhere on that side of the building) but only has a couple locations acceptable. And these locations are fairly off the beaten path, and really kinda suck since they are where the wind blows strong and piles up the snow, currently half way up my shin. Norman, just goes when he gets out the door, then plays the rest of the time outside.
Although the cold doesn't phase them much, it does me. I am much more of a chicken. Their walks have decreased so much, that for a few weeks we didn't have any but around the complex! It was cold. We had a couple days with the windchill -35. I thought my nose would fall off. So once the temp was above freezing, I braved taking them for a couple walks.
The first was very short, but they had a fantastic time. And even met another dog. I talked my mom into a short walk around the pond 5 or 6 blocks down the road. Sammy started with my mom, and Sammy loved it. Rather than Erik and I just stopping til he calms down and walks nicely, she tries to keep up and let him have fun. Later, we switched and Norman got to have that fun adventure. It was a beautiful evening (looks, temperature was only nice relative to the previous days) and I was able to snap a couple photos.
This walk only made me want to take them on another. Sammy loves his walks. He loves sniffing and meeting other dogs and people. He comes home with the biggest smile on his face, you would think he got a bowl of peanut butter, bacon and cheese. Norman had gone on a couple walks in November, but he was less than 3 months old, so the walks wore him out fast. Now, barely slows him down, but he was able to enjoy the smells, sights, sounds, probably tastes, and everything else dogs love about their walks. So that weekend, we took the boys to one of our favorite walks, Memorial and Elmwood Parks. We went into the creek a little and got some fun photos.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Momma!!! Momma!!! Mommm... ....oops....
Norman is just more than 5 months. He is overall potty trained. However, sometimes it sneaks up on him. And it is such a surprise, it's really cute. For example he was so excited for his dinner he waas bouncing around. Once the bowl hit the floor his mouth was smashed the bottom. Not too many bites in, I look over and he has a yellow puddle growing around him. Sammy notices, and he doesn't want anything to do with something that would disappoint us, so he swivels around his food bowl to position his body as far away from Norman as he could, while still chowing down. I jump up to grab towels, and suddenly Norman notices and he stops, looks at me and goes to town on his food. He keeps his body on the opposite side of the bowl as me as he continued to eat faster than I have seen any dog eat before. Once he finished, he bolted to the bedroom and hid under the bed. Sammy finished his bowl and went to the couch.
Norman doesn't have too many problems like this. Maybe one every week to two weeks depending upon what kind of commotion is going on. Earlier this week was another one of these instances. I came home from work. Erik was home and studying at the dining room table. The boys appeared to have been sleeping. Sammy jumped off the couch to say hi while yawning. And Norman bounded over with semi drowsy eyes.
I took off my coat and threw down my purse and gave them hugs. Took them to the couch so I could have one boy on each side. As I am petting them and asking Erik about his day, my leg starts to feel some warmth. I look down and I see a yellow river going down the couch into my leg. I yell, "Norman, Norman, Norman!!" and jump up to get towels. Norman looks down, looks up and runs to the bedroom to hid under the bed. Sammy looks over, and he gets down and goes to the corner of the living room and watches with his ears down.
We take rags to the excess urine and then strip the material off the couch cusion and immediately put in into the washer. Then we both laughed. And, I was happy that Norman was so happy to see me that he pottied! I told Sammy he was a good boy, then tried to coax Norman out from under the bed. After a couple minutes, he came out. He got his belly wiped off and both we outside to potty. We came back in and immediatley those two stinker butts curled up on the missing cushion.
The material had to be air fluff dry to keep from shrinking, so it took like a day of drying, and all is good! Until then, the boys enjoyed napping there. Almost seemed sad they would have a cushion back. And there is no trace of urine.
Norman doesn't have too many problems like this. Maybe one every week to two weeks depending upon what kind of commotion is going on. Earlier this week was another one of these instances. I came home from work. Erik was home and studying at the dining room table. The boys appeared to have been sleeping. Sammy jumped off the couch to say hi while yawning. And Norman bounded over with semi drowsy eyes.
I took off my coat and threw down my purse and gave them hugs. Took them to the couch so I could have one boy on each side. As I am petting them and asking Erik about his day, my leg starts to feel some warmth. I look down and I see a yellow river going down the couch into my leg. I yell, "Norman, Norman, Norman!!" and jump up to get towels. Norman looks down, looks up and runs to the bedroom to hid under the bed. Sammy looks over, and he gets down and goes to the corner of the living room and watches with his ears down.
We take rags to the excess urine and then strip the material off the couch cusion and immediately put in into the washer. Then we both laughed. And, I was happy that Norman was so happy to see me that he pottied! I told Sammy he was a good boy, then tried to coax Norman out from under the bed. After a couple minutes, he came out. He got his belly wiped off and both we outside to potty. We came back in and immediatley those two stinker butts curled up on the missing cushion.
The material had to be air fluff dry to keep from shrinking, so it took like a day of drying, and all is good! Until then, the boys enjoyed napping there. Almost seemed sad they would have a cushion back. And there is no trace of urine.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Long Hiatus
We have been on a long hiatus for a while. For a wide range of reasons. December was a crazy month of holidays, family, potty training, travelling and me having less and less of the computer while Erik was getting ready for finals.
I had great plans of capturing Norman's first Christmas, as well as our first Christmas as a family of four and having this wonderful comback story to our page. However our Christmas was not anything worth cataloging. In fact it was the reason I have not blogged since.
Our Christmas plans were easy. Erik finished his finals on the Friday a week before Christmas. That weekend I helped my grandparents wrap their 20 something presents for the family, finish wrapping our presesnts (Norman opened many presents, which ended with them being in a box in the closet until last minute), getting enough doggie supplies (food, treats, thing for norman to chew on, bags, etc) to last til after Christmas, and everything else we needed to do to spend 5 days on the road. We both worked quite a bit since we both took 6 days off for the holidays. Monday night we got the car ready, so after Erik finished with work on Tuesday, we would hit the road his parents' in Axtell, NE. We planned on being there until Christmas day morning when we would hit the road in the very early AM to go to my family lunch/dinner in Arlington, NE. And finish the night at my other grandparents in North Omaha before getting home for me to start work at 4 am on the 26th. This meant we had to pack EVERYTHING for EVERY Christmas. All the holdiay clothes, all the holiday shoes, all the presents...everything.
Sammy started to get anxiety when we began packing that much stuff, and even more when we went to bed without all of it! Norman was oblivious. Sammy and Norman have very different personalities. In many, ...most ways, they compliment each other with their personalities. Sammy is extremely people orientated. He still has some pet shop dog in him. His main objective is to please us and get every person he can come in contact with to love him. He takes treats at petstores, and set them on my feet so he can have his cookie, and get some petting, too. This made potty training and learning sit and don't chew that and all those puppy things really easy. Basically no work. (Which is a big part of why we got Norman while Sammy was still only a year and a half old.) However this keeps Sammy's awareness intensly heightened when we are not home. Leaving home is an open opportunity to meet people, get love and participate in the great big world. He is like a kid that can't miss anything. He will avoid napping, eating...and anything else he precieves to distract him from the big, fun world. Which can make travelling and extended time away from home difficult. Sammy is also quite protective. He has also become protective over his little brother. At this point, Norman also appreciated it. Norman would walk behind Sammy. Sammy took this timid sign to the next level. No one or nothing could get to Norman before Sammy sniffed it and gave his ok. Also leading into his mediating nature. Sammy almost can't handle conflict. Even at the dogpark, if he sensed two dogs unhappy with each other, he runs over and stands in the middle and tries to fix it. Sammy also applies this with people and even between Norman and us. If Norman is getting in trouble for pottying or scratching at the carpet or biting, Sammy comes over and tries to stand between us and whines (since his need for love from us dominates his protecting his brother). He senses tension between people, whether it's at the petstore, just us disagreeing or playfighting, it doesn't matter, it's just upsetting for him.
Norman on the other hand, is more of a true puppy. Although he loves both Erik & I, and everyone else he has met, Sammy is his world. He wants to please Sammy more than us. When he is being disciplined, he looks in Sammy's direction, especially when we first brought him home. It is something we have been working on, and have done fairly well at, just to 100%. I call Sammy our peoples' dog and Norman a dog's dog. Norman was lucky enough to be with lots of dogs and other animals (even if not directly) before coming to our home. Then when coming here, he has come into a family that had a dog in the house, as well as in families with many dogs. Our apartment complex has many dogs of many sizes which keeps him in contact with other dogs. Sammy more often goes to the owner, while Norman goes to the dog. Norman always feels comfortable. While Sammy becomes relaxed and himself at home, Norman's home is the whole world. What you see is what you get with him. He is not any more hyper or jumpy or lovey on walks, in the car, at the dogpark, at pet stores, or at other people's homes than at our home. Norman can take a nap whenever, where ever. He doesn't lower his eating, if anything, he eats more. Norman manages to find extra treats almost anywhere he goes. At the vet, he found the treat jar right away and managed to get into it while the vet was explaining his shots to us without anyone noticing. Then remembered where it was at for every vet visit after. Norman is inquisitive. He is very curious, and finds all sorts of fun when no one is watching his every move. One thing never changes, though. Norman always looks to Sammy for guidance, or finds some kind of solitude or enjoyment away from all the action.
These two became best buddies, brothers and equal mischevious playmates very quickly. They were inseperable by the time Christmas came. We were pleased with this since they were going to have alot on their plate. More than that though, I was worried they were going to need it to survive Axtell. Which I was right.
For Axtell, there were going to be 8 people (Erik's parents, Erik's older brother and his wife, Erik's younger sister and her finacee, and us), 5 dogs (Erik's parents' dog, Shithead, an older Shar Pei, a BF of Sammy's; Erik's brother's dog, Bella, an older big black lab; Erik's sister's dog, Max, an Australian cattle dog 4 months younger than Sammy/just over a year older than Norman; Sammy and Norman) and 1 cat (Sneezy, a farm cat). They had all met before, but never been together, all 5 of them. Max is a very smart and energetic dog that is extremely good at getting others to play. Something that makes interactions between him and Sammy interesting. Sammy is slowing down. He is getting lazier and lazier by the day. Max is about the opposite. Norman at this point still took many naps and was very small so could hide for his puppy naps. Sammy, would not hide. He doesn't want to miss anything. Sammy and Max are two teenage doggies, 4 months apart, both ready to be alpha male at this neutral enviornment. Well, fairly neutral. Sammy has been there many, many time. Max, not til just a couple weeks before. Sammy has laid down his scent and made his mark there many times, and I think felt it was more his than Max's. Sammy knows all the cool places to go, where to chase rabbits, where to find food and Sneezy, he knows the lay of the land. He also had a little brother to protect now. Max plays extremely rough. He jumps on Sammy, stands on top of him so Sammy can't stand up, snaps towards him to instigate play, and will throw his arms around like a boxer. If that isn't enough to drive Sammy crazy, Max also jumps on both Erik and I (more me than Erik) constantly. Max is a good dog, just a little much for our lifestyle as Sammy gets older and his hip displacia becomes more apparent. Max is also very smart and knows how Sammy can't stand to say "NO" to playing. Sammy can't stand to miss a thing. In previous experiences, Sammy and Max have been pulled apart a few times. Sammy pulls Max down by the excess skin around his face and hold him down. Max has snapped at Sammy a few times and Sammy has gotten a cut near his eye with some blood before. Needless to say, this was a very nervewracking trip for me. I was extremly anxious and hesitant for Christmas for months. All of which heightened when we got Norman.
When we first got there, Norman was awestrucken by Shithead and Bella. Norman still had some fear of big dogs when he first saw them. Until this trip, everytime we saw a big dog, Norman just stopped, pottied on the ground, and hid behind Sammy til he felt safe. Then he was fine, but not til after Sammy started to play with his buddies. Sammy never had this fear, he always jumped in, so Norman's reaction always made me giggle. The four of them had fun running around outside, well mostly Sammy and Norman. The girls were not as playful but could be baited into a little playing here and there. We were all sitting together watching a movie when Max arrived, which instantly changed the feeling in the air. I'm sure I was not helpful since my concern had to have been evident to Sammy.
They played some that night and overall it was ok. Norman mostly just stayed away from Max at first, and Sammy and Max played for a little while. The next morning, Sammy woke up limping. Their intensity was instant. This was the 23rd. It was a very long day. The morning was rough and by noon I was trying to separate Sammy and Norman from Max with almost no success. Us girls left for a shopping trip for a couple hours in the early afternoon, and when I came back everything had been a disaster.
Family dynamics left people in tense situations with a cloud above the air sucking out the oxygen. And Sammy came running to me like he did when we first brought him home. He hadn't looked at me that needy in longer than I could really care to remember. He ran to me and jumped up and did a light scratch on my leg to tell me he wanted me to hold him. At that exact moment Max jumped on me and Sammy and left a scratch on me while Sammy snarled as much as he could. I held him for a couple minutes then showed my purchases to Erik with Sammy constantly asking me to hold him. Norman was no where to be found. I asked Erik, and he had no idea. Norman was hiding under a table curled up in a ball sleeping. I tried to pull him out, and he made it quite clear he wasn't coming out. Sammy and I sat in a chair and he buried his head into my armpit while Max sat at my feet sparatically whining and wagging his tail not leaving. Sammy was completely limp, like a 1 year old after a long day of playing. While I was sitting there, Erik's dad told me that he was an aggressive dog. I said something along the lines that he tends to hold his own when he needs to. He told me no, that he was an aggressive dog which would be too bad and Norman, who appeared to be a good dog, would probably pick that up and be aggressive, too.
With emotions I am unable to describe, I fought Max to stand up and carried Sammy up to our room with Max on my heels. I shoo-ed Max out of our room and laid on the bed with Sammy and began crying instantly. Knowing that Erik was having his own stuff going on I texted my mom and got lots of venting out. Sammy passed out on the bed and didn't move. It didn't occur to me to check him out, which I probably should have. A while later, Erik came to find me to tell me it was getting close to dinner time, in which case he heard the whole story. We went downstairs to take Sammy out, but Sammy was having a hard time standing. We realized his front paw was swollen and his hip/back leg on the same side was extremely stiff and he was limping heavily on. Instandly bringing me back to tears. We carried Sammy outside and found Norman in a hiding spot and took the two out by themselves. Sammy was barely able to walk and made it a few steps into the grass to go to the bathroom and that was it. Erik's dad had apologized for upsetting me and we ate dinner.
The rest of the night we had both the boys on our laps. Both tensing and jumping up everytime they heard the jingle of Max's collar. Both unable to completely calm down until we took them into the bedroom. Sammy got some of Shithead's arthritis medicine which helped the swelling go down by the next morning, which came way too soon. Erik & I had a hard time sleeping, so we both were exhausted for Christmas Eve. Family dynamics led to an interesting breakfast, where afterward everyone split up and almost went to their own corners. Erik, Sammy, Norman & I went to our room. Erik & I took turns sitting with them while the other took the shower. However, neither Sammy & Norman could sleep. Every noise made them jump awake. But resting was still better than the alternative. Erik wanted to leave after dinner, like his sister, so he had us get ready just in case. Eventually, I convinced him to stay so we could get a good start on the next day. But the day definately fought back.
In vain, I tried to keep my boys separeted from Max. Since Norman had the ability to hide when he was intimidated or to separate from Max, I kept a closer eye on Sammy. This led to new problems I was not equipped to hand myself. Over the course of these two days, Norman had been pinned twice, both of which seemed to be his fault. Once when he was playing with Max. Norman was around 13 or 14 lbs at this time. Sammy and Norman play wrestle and tug of war often, and Sammy is extremely gentle with Norman. Norman was playing tug of war with Max, and Max pulled hard enough Norman fell into Max, near Max's private area, so Max went for him and pinned him. Norman should have known not to do that at shy of 4 months, I guess. The other time, while the turkey was being cut, Norman was given a teeny little taste. As Norman put his nose to the ground to eat it, he was pinned again by Max. Which should have been expected and ok, since it was over food. Norman became more and more dependant on Sammy, and Sammy will never back down for Norman, so every little noise or anything both Sammy and Norman were involved together. Erik & I had to become a team to, in my mind, keep our boys safe. All day I felt like one of the parents you see or hear about on TV or at the park constantly counting their kids to make sure they are there and safe. Literally if one of us went to the bathroom, the other was notified.
Family dynamics were much greater that day, to the point I thought it was a good day. But everytime something about dogs came up, our dogs who together didn't total the weight of any one other dog, were the scapegoats. They were the trouble makers, they were aggressive, they were the bad dogs. An instant end to fun and happy feelings the rest of Christmas. Something Sammy really seemed to pick up on and watch people interactions.
Christmas morning, we got up early and left. We got the boys into the car and they were home. They passed out before we even got the car started. They were together and could relax without missing anything or worried about how they would awaken.
Unfortnately we still had 2 more Christmas' that day. They were good. The boys got stockings from my mom and presents at my grandparent's. At my grandparent's they were teamed with 2 basset hounds, Ralphie and Lola, and a poodle, Merry (she was a Christmas dog, and my twin cousins named her). Ralphie and Lola are two awesome bassets that Sammy had met before. They are two rescues. Ralphie has anxiety around lots of people, noise and commotion and has some medicine from the vet to help him in such situations as giant family get togethers. Ralphie and Norman were instantly bonded. They were out scouting for food around the house and yard. They stuck together and did their own thing away from everyone else. Lola has not been arond dogs much before being adopted by my aunt and is uninviting at first meeting. Sammy however, can see the possibility. It took alot of Sammy quielty following, but the previous time had Lola sad when Sammy wasn't right by her and she sought him out a couple times. Lola had to re-warm up to Sammy, but it didn't take long, then those two were buddies. Both of which Merry followed and somewhat annoyed both of them. But both Sammy and Norman had a fantastic time and got lots of yummy yummy treats given to them. Which was the best way to end Christmas.
To the boys, however, Christmas wasn't over. Sammy still got baby asprin to help him get up and move around after sleeping all night. Both were obviously relaxed to be home, but after the first couple days and they were re-rested, they we unable to sleep through any noise. They were jumpy, constantly, for a few weeks. When the boys got their bath (they were smell-lly!) I found their sides and neck and even one of Sammy's paws had many scabs on them. Something that just put me back into tears that they had endured even more than I had thought. Norman hid behind Sammy at the sight of any dog for the next week. Sammy has yet for any dog to meet Norman before meeting him. My cousins came to town right at New Year's for a late Christmas with my grandparents and us, and they brought Eva, their dog. Sammy and Eva hit it off instantly when they met. They were sad without each other, so we were excited to get them back together. All three ran and ran, and played and played for a couple hours. It hit a dramatic end, however.
Norman became very tired and laid down to take a nap. Eva was going to try just once more to get him to play. As all dogs do, she put her forearms down and wagged her tail. Norman didn't budge. Eva then picked up a front paw and went to nudge Norman. Instantly, before I even could comprehend what was happening, Norman got up and squealed as though he had been hurt, barked back and whimpered, like a puppy does to his mom, while running to Sammy, and climbed over Sammy's back to get behind him, the most honest display of fear I think I have ever seen. Sammy, without a single thought, was up and snarled. Eva came closer, not understanding, just wanting to play, and Sammy ended up snapping at her. He didn't pin her, but probably would have if I hadn't been close enough to pull him off, while Norman jumped on me.
This was a real awakening that Christmas was going to have some lasting effects. I was considering putting them into doggie classes just to have them meet new dogs in a controlled enviornment to see reactions and work on them. No classes were starting for a few weeks, so I considered the "bring home doggie trainers" the humane society has. But they are extremely expensive. For the time being, we were going to try to work with them on our own. Try to make sure they didn't have any interactions that were too bold. I was very nervous about anything with them, and really had no idea what to do, but knew they couldn't even get comfortable at home yet. It was definatley going to be a slow baby step process, which is how we ended up on our long hiatus.
They are doing much better. We have not been in too much contact with dogs though. Only while on their leashes. But they are happy to meet other dogs, Norman doesn't even potty anymore. He even tried to play with a giant black lab at the vet, while he was there by himself. Sammy has seemed to change from a puppy to an adult over this trip. He doesn't seem as free spirited, and seems to smile a lot less. He is sleeping more, slowing chasing Norman and overall much more lax. Norman is still able to bring out the puppy in him, and Sammy gets more and more smiley every week. Norman seems mostly over the experience, but I haven't taken the dogs to the dogpark because you never know who you will meet, I don't know what will spark them to be scared again, and it's too big to be unsure.
Over the last couple of months, they are just amazing dogs. I don't see aggressiveness at all. Sammy is assertive and likes to be apart of it all, still. They are still the best of friends. They lay down together, they share bones and toys, they wrestle and chase each other, they are great together. It seems as thought they would have no idea how to be apart now. Exactly what we wanted. However, Erik & I are not over Christmas, yet. This blog is may be (big maybe) the third or fourth time I have even laid out our Christmas experience. At this point, I never want them to go through this again. I want them there. I haven't spent any day without seeing them. They travel with us, everything and I can't imagine spending a holiday without them. But after this past Christmas, I feel like I have been selfish. Sure, they want to be there, but they would be healthier, safer, and probably happier staying with my mom while we make these holiday trips. And such, I don't see them ever being in this situation again. At this point, I am going to try to keep them separated from Max and family get-togethers, but I don't know how long that will last. I also know that I still have hurt feeling about it all, and will still need to go day by day and holdiay by holiday.
But I am pleased to say that they do play nicely, sleep through all the little noises (and some big ones) and have healed, mostly. I also hope to get more blogs out, when I can snag the computer, to be more updated in their fun. It should be somewhat easier since I got a promotion at the beginning of the year and have a normal Monday thru Friday job, starting at 7 am, and make my schedule from there. The boys are very happy with this change, too!
I had great plans of capturing Norman's first Christmas, as well as our first Christmas as a family of four and having this wonderful comback story to our page. However our Christmas was not anything worth cataloging. In fact it was the reason I have not blogged since.
Our Christmas plans were easy. Erik finished his finals on the Friday a week before Christmas. That weekend I helped my grandparents wrap their 20 something presents for the family, finish wrapping our presesnts (Norman opened many presents, which ended with them being in a box in the closet until last minute), getting enough doggie supplies (food, treats, thing for norman to chew on, bags, etc) to last til after Christmas, and everything else we needed to do to spend 5 days on the road. We both worked quite a bit since we both took 6 days off for the holidays. Monday night we got the car ready, so after Erik finished with work on Tuesday, we would hit the road his parents' in Axtell, NE. We planned on being there until Christmas day morning when we would hit the road in the very early AM to go to my family lunch/dinner in Arlington, NE. And finish the night at my other grandparents in North Omaha before getting home for me to start work at 4 am on the 26th. This meant we had to pack EVERYTHING for EVERY Christmas. All the holdiay clothes, all the holiday shoes, all the presents...everything.
Sammy started to get anxiety when we began packing that much stuff, and even more when we went to bed without all of it! Norman was oblivious. Sammy and Norman have very different personalities. In many, ...most ways, they compliment each other with their personalities. Sammy is extremely people orientated. He still has some pet shop dog in him. His main objective is to please us and get every person he can come in contact with to love him. He takes treats at petstores, and set them on my feet so he can have his cookie, and get some petting, too. This made potty training and learning sit and don't chew that and all those puppy things really easy. Basically no work. (Which is a big part of why we got Norman while Sammy was still only a year and a half old.) However this keeps Sammy's awareness intensly heightened when we are not home. Leaving home is an open opportunity to meet people, get love and participate in the great big world. He is like a kid that can't miss anything. He will avoid napping, eating...and anything else he precieves to distract him from the big, fun world. Which can make travelling and extended time away from home difficult. Sammy is also quite protective. He has also become protective over his little brother. At this point, Norman also appreciated it. Norman would walk behind Sammy. Sammy took this timid sign to the next level. No one or nothing could get to Norman before Sammy sniffed it and gave his ok. Also leading into his mediating nature. Sammy almost can't handle conflict. Even at the dogpark, if he sensed two dogs unhappy with each other, he runs over and stands in the middle and tries to fix it. Sammy also applies this with people and even between Norman and us. If Norman is getting in trouble for pottying or scratching at the carpet or biting, Sammy comes over and tries to stand between us and whines (since his need for love from us dominates his protecting his brother). He senses tension between people, whether it's at the petstore, just us disagreeing or playfighting, it doesn't matter, it's just upsetting for him.
Norman on the other hand, is more of a true puppy. Although he loves both Erik & I, and everyone else he has met, Sammy is his world. He wants to please Sammy more than us. When he is being disciplined, he looks in Sammy's direction, especially when we first brought him home. It is something we have been working on, and have done fairly well at, just to 100%. I call Sammy our peoples' dog and Norman a dog's dog. Norman was lucky enough to be with lots of dogs and other animals (even if not directly) before coming to our home. Then when coming here, he has come into a family that had a dog in the house, as well as in families with many dogs. Our apartment complex has many dogs of many sizes which keeps him in contact with other dogs. Sammy more often goes to the owner, while Norman goes to the dog. Norman always feels comfortable. While Sammy becomes relaxed and himself at home, Norman's home is the whole world. What you see is what you get with him. He is not any more hyper or jumpy or lovey on walks, in the car, at the dogpark, at pet stores, or at other people's homes than at our home. Norman can take a nap whenever, where ever. He doesn't lower his eating, if anything, he eats more. Norman manages to find extra treats almost anywhere he goes. At the vet, he found the treat jar right away and managed to get into it while the vet was explaining his shots to us without anyone noticing. Then remembered where it was at for every vet visit after. Norman is inquisitive. He is very curious, and finds all sorts of fun when no one is watching his every move. One thing never changes, though. Norman always looks to Sammy for guidance, or finds some kind of solitude or enjoyment away from all the action.
These two became best buddies, brothers and equal mischevious playmates very quickly. They were inseperable by the time Christmas came. We were pleased with this since they were going to have alot on their plate. More than that though, I was worried they were going to need it to survive Axtell. Which I was right.
For Axtell, there were going to be 8 people (Erik's parents, Erik's older brother and his wife, Erik's younger sister and her finacee, and us), 5 dogs (Erik's parents' dog, Shithead, an older Shar Pei, a BF of Sammy's; Erik's brother's dog, Bella, an older big black lab; Erik's sister's dog, Max, an Australian cattle dog 4 months younger than Sammy/just over a year older than Norman; Sammy and Norman) and 1 cat (Sneezy, a farm cat). They had all met before, but never been together, all 5 of them. Max is a very smart and energetic dog that is extremely good at getting others to play. Something that makes interactions between him and Sammy interesting. Sammy is slowing down. He is getting lazier and lazier by the day. Max is about the opposite. Norman at this point still took many naps and was very small so could hide for his puppy naps. Sammy, would not hide. He doesn't want to miss anything. Sammy and Max are two teenage doggies, 4 months apart, both ready to be alpha male at this neutral enviornment. Well, fairly neutral. Sammy has been there many, many time. Max, not til just a couple weeks before. Sammy has laid down his scent and made his mark there many times, and I think felt it was more his than Max's. Sammy knows all the cool places to go, where to chase rabbits, where to find food and Sneezy, he knows the lay of the land. He also had a little brother to protect now. Max plays extremely rough. He jumps on Sammy, stands on top of him so Sammy can't stand up, snaps towards him to instigate play, and will throw his arms around like a boxer. If that isn't enough to drive Sammy crazy, Max also jumps on both Erik and I (more me than Erik) constantly. Max is a good dog, just a little much for our lifestyle as Sammy gets older and his hip displacia becomes more apparent. Max is also very smart and knows how Sammy can't stand to say "NO" to playing. Sammy can't stand to miss a thing. In previous experiences, Sammy and Max have been pulled apart a few times. Sammy pulls Max down by the excess skin around his face and hold him down. Max has snapped at Sammy a few times and Sammy has gotten a cut near his eye with some blood before. Needless to say, this was a very nervewracking trip for me. I was extremly anxious and hesitant for Christmas for months. All of which heightened when we got Norman.
When we first got there, Norman was awestrucken by Shithead and Bella. Norman still had some fear of big dogs when he first saw them. Until this trip, everytime we saw a big dog, Norman just stopped, pottied on the ground, and hid behind Sammy til he felt safe. Then he was fine, but not til after Sammy started to play with his buddies. Sammy never had this fear, he always jumped in, so Norman's reaction always made me giggle. The four of them had fun running around outside, well mostly Sammy and Norman. The girls were not as playful but could be baited into a little playing here and there. We were all sitting together watching a movie when Max arrived, which instantly changed the feeling in the air. I'm sure I was not helpful since my concern had to have been evident to Sammy.
They played some that night and overall it was ok. Norman mostly just stayed away from Max at first, and Sammy and Max played for a little while. The next morning, Sammy woke up limping. Their intensity was instant. This was the 23rd. It was a very long day. The morning was rough and by noon I was trying to separate Sammy and Norman from Max with almost no success. Us girls left for a shopping trip for a couple hours in the early afternoon, and when I came back everything had been a disaster.
Family dynamics left people in tense situations with a cloud above the air sucking out the oxygen. And Sammy came running to me like he did when we first brought him home. He hadn't looked at me that needy in longer than I could really care to remember. He ran to me and jumped up and did a light scratch on my leg to tell me he wanted me to hold him. At that exact moment Max jumped on me and Sammy and left a scratch on me while Sammy snarled as much as he could. I held him for a couple minutes then showed my purchases to Erik with Sammy constantly asking me to hold him. Norman was no where to be found. I asked Erik, and he had no idea. Norman was hiding under a table curled up in a ball sleeping. I tried to pull him out, and he made it quite clear he wasn't coming out. Sammy and I sat in a chair and he buried his head into my armpit while Max sat at my feet sparatically whining and wagging his tail not leaving. Sammy was completely limp, like a 1 year old after a long day of playing. While I was sitting there, Erik's dad told me that he was an aggressive dog. I said something along the lines that he tends to hold his own when he needs to. He told me no, that he was an aggressive dog which would be too bad and Norman, who appeared to be a good dog, would probably pick that up and be aggressive, too.
With emotions I am unable to describe, I fought Max to stand up and carried Sammy up to our room with Max on my heels. I shoo-ed Max out of our room and laid on the bed with Sammy and began crying instantly. Knowing that Erik was having his own stuff going on I texted my mom and got lots of venting out. Sammy passed out on the bed and didn't move. It didn't occur to me to check him out, which I probably should have. A while later, Erik came to find me to tell me it was getting close to dinner time, in which case he heard the whole story. We went downstairs to take Sammy out, but Sammy was having a hard time standing. We realized his front paw was swollen and his hip/back leg on the same side was extremely stiff and he was limping heavily on. Instandly bringing me back to tears. We carried Sammy outside and found Norman in a hiding spot and took the two out by themselves. Sammy was barely able to walk and made it a few steps into the grass to go to the bathroom and that was it. Erik's dad had apologized for upsetting me and we ate dinner.
The rest of the night we had both the boys on our laps. Both tensing and jumping up everytime they heard the jingle of Max's collar. Both unable to completely calm down until we took them into the bedroom. Sammy got some of Shithead's arthritis medicine which helped the swelling go down by the next morning, which came way too soon. Erik & I had a hard time sleeping, so we both were exhausted for Christmas Eve. Family dynamics led to an interesting breakfast, where afterward everyone split up and almost went to their own corners. Erik, Sammy, Norman & I went to our room. Erik & I took turns sitting with them while the other took the shower. However, neither Sammy & Norman could sleep. Every noise made them jump awake. But resting was still better than the alternative. Erik wanted to leave after dinner, like his sister, so he had us get ready just in case. Eventually, I convinced him to stay so we could get a good start on the next day. But the day definately fought back.
In vain, I tried to keep my boys separeted from Max. Since Norman had the ability to hide when he was intimidated or to separate from Max, I kept a closer eye on Sammy. This led to new problems I was not equipped to hand myself. Over the course of these two days, Norman had been pinned twice, both of which seemed to be his fault. Once when he was playing with Max. Norman was around 13 or 14 lbs at this time. Sammy and Norman play wrestle and tug of war often, and Sammy is extremely gentle with Norman. Norman was playing tug of war with Max, and Max pulled hard enough Norman fell into Max, near Max's private area, so Max went for him and pinned him. Norman should have known not to do that at shy of 4 months, I guess. The other time, while the turkey was being cut, Norman was given a teeny little taste. As Norman put his nose to the ground to eat it, he was pinned again by Max. Which should have been expected and ok, since it was over food. Norman became more and more dependant on Sammy, and Sammy will never back down for Norman, so every little noise or anything both Sammy and Norman were involved together. Erik & I had to become a team to, in my mind, keep our boys safe. All day I felt like one of the parents you see or hear about on TV or at the park constantly counting their kids to make sure they are there and safe. Literally if one of us went to the bathroom, the other was notified.
Family dynamics were much greater that day, to the point I thought it was a good day. But everytime something about dogs came up, our dogs who together didn't total the weight of any one other dog, were the scapegoats. They were the trouble makers, they were aggressive, they were the bad dogs. An instant end to fun and happy feelings the rest of Christmas. Something Sammy really seemed to pick up on and watch people interactions.
Christmas morning, we got up early and left. We got the boys into the car and they were home. They passed out before we even got the car started. They were together and could relax without missing anything or worried about how they would awaken.
Unfortnately we still had 2 more Christmas' that day. They were good. The boys got stockings from my mom and presents at my grandparent's. At my grandparent's they were teamed with 2 basset hounds, Ralphie and Lola, and a poodle, Merry (she was a Christmas dog, and my twin cousins named her). Ralphie and Lola are two awesome bassets that Sammy had met before. They are two rescues. Ralphie has anxiety around lots of people, noise and commotion and has some medicine from the vet to help him in such situations as giant family get togethers. Ralphie and Norman were instantly bonded. They were out scouting for food around the house and yard. They stuck together and did their own thing away from everyone else. Lola has not been arond dogs much before being adopted by my aunt and is uninviting at first meeting. Sammy however, can see the possibility. It took alot of Sammy quielty following, but the previous time had Lola sad when Sammy wasn't right by her and she sought him out a couple times. Lola had to re-warm up to Sammy, but it didn't take long, then those two were buddies. Both of which Merry followed and somewhat annoyed both of them. But both Sammy and Norman had a fantastic time and got lots of yummy yummy treats given to them. Which was the best way to end Christmas.
To the boys, however, Christmas wasn't over. Sammy still got baby asprin to help him get up and move around after sleeping all night. Both were obviously relaxed to be home, but after the first couple days and they were re-rested, they we unable to sleep through any noise. They were jumpy, constantly, for a few weeks. When the boys got their bath (they were smell-lly!) I found their sides and neck and even one of Sammy's paws had many scabs on them. Something that just put me back into tears that they had endured even more than I had thought. Norman hid behind Sammy at the sight of any dog for the next week. Sammy has yet for any dog to meet Norman before meeting him. My cousins came to town right at New Year's for a late Christmas with my grandparents and us, and they brought Eva, their dog. Sammy and Eva hit it off instantly when they met. They were sad without each other, so we were excited to get them back together. All three ran and ran, and played and played for a couple hours. It hit a dramatic end, however.
Norman became very tired and laid down to take a nap. Eva was going to try just once more to get him to play. As all dogs do, she put her forearms down and wagged her tail. Norman didn't budge. Eva then picked up a front paw and went to nudge Norman. Instantly, before I even could comprehend what was happening, Norman got up and squealed as though he had been hurt, barked back and whimpered, like a puppy does to his mom, while running to Sammy, and climbed over Sammy's back to get behind him, the most honest display of fear I think I have ever seen. Sammy, without a single thought, was up and snarled. Eva came closer, not understanding, just wanting to play, and Sammy ended up snapping at her. He didn't pin her, but probably would have if I hadn't been close enough to pull him off, while Norman jumped on me.
This was a real awakening that Christmas was going to have some lasting effects. I was considering putting them into doggie classes just to have them meet new dogs in a controlled enviornment to see reactions and work on them. No classes were starting for a few weeks, so I considered the "bring home doggie trainers" the humane society has. But they are extremely expensive. For the time being, we were going to try to work with them on our own. Try to make sure they didn't have any interactions that were too bold. I was very nervous about anything with them, and really had no idea what to do, but knew they couldn't even get comfortable at home yet. It was definatley going to be a slow baby step process, which is how we ended up on our long hiatus.
They are doing much better. We have not been in too much contact with dogs though. Only while on their leashes. But they are happy to meet other dogs, Norman doesn't even potty anymore. He even tried to play with a giant black lab at the vet, while he was there by himself. Sammy has seemed to change from a puppy to an adult over this trip. He doesn't seem as free spirited, and seems to smile a lot less. He is sleeping more, slowing chasing Norman and overall much more lax. Norman is still able to bring out the puppy in him, and Sammy gets more and more smiley every week. Norman seems mostly over the experience, but I haven't taken the dogs to the dogpark because you never know who you will meet, I don't know what will spark them to be scared again, and it's too big to be unsure.
Over the last couple of months, they are just amazing dogs. I don't see aggressiveness at all. Sammy is assertive and likes to be apart of it all, still. They are still the best of friends. They lay down together, they share bones and toys, they wrestle and chase each other, they are great together. It seems as thought they would have no idea how to be apart now. Exactly what we wanted. However, Erik & I are not over Christmas, yet. This blog is may be (big maybe) the third or fourth time I have even laid out our Christmas experience. At this point, I never want them to go through this again. I want them there. I haven't spent any day without seeing them. They travel with us, everything and I can't imagine spending a holiday without them. But after this past Christmas, I feel like I have been selfish. Sure, they want to be there, but they would be healthier, safer, and probably happier staying with my mom while we make these holiday trips. And such, I don't see them ever being in this situation again. At this point, I am going to try to keep them separated from Max and family get-togethers, but I don't know how long that will last. I also know that I still have hurt feeling about it all, and will still need to go day by day and holdiay by holiday.
But I am pleased to say that they do play nicely, sleep through all the little noises (and some big ones) and have healed, mostly. I also hope to get more blogs out, when I can snag the computer, to be more updated in their fun. It should be somewhat easier since I got a promotion at the beginning of the year and have a normal Monday thru Friday job, starting at 7 am, and make my schedule from there. The boys are very happy with this change, too!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Posers
Sammy is quite the little poser. And I don't mean this in that mean insult way. In fact it's a good way, mostly. Sammy has learned, over his fourteen months with us (almost), that the camera is a necessary evil. Maybe not even evil. I'm not entirely sure how he feels about it, just that it is necessary. And once he hears the noise of the camera, all things hault and he becames, Sammy, picture perfect dog. He is still gorgeous and sweet and an all around amazing dog when the camera is off, but once that sound is made, he may as well jump into a phone booth (if there were any left) and show off his "S."
Sammy sits with the smile on his face looking at (usually me) whoever has that camera. Often right at my feet, he knows that's his slimming angle:
And this is immediate. He just gets right into poser mode. This makes my job really easy alot of times. Except when I'm trying to caputre a more free spirited Sammy. I can't get him and Norman FRAPPING on the video cam, since he hears the noise and comes right to me. I also have a terrible time getting any pictures of the two boys curled up together, or near each other since that noise goes and Sammy goes right to attention, often between Norman and me. Not entirely sure if this is because he wants the attention, or is protecting Norman.
The great thing about having two dogs, is the older dog is so much more efficent in training the little guy than any human could ever be. Sorry Ceaser, It's Me or the Dog lady, and the rest of the career dog trainers. And lets face it, Sammy was a freak accident for the almighty dog maker. He never chewed on anything he wasn't supposed to (except the occassional platic bottle if it was left out), only once got into Erik's backpack and made himself sick from trail mix, was a sinch to potty train, slept through the night starting night one, liked to sleep in during the day, likes baths, eats to his own hunger (doesn't gobble down everything, skips meals if he isn't hungry), intuitively knew to never beg from the table, plays with all dogs at the dogpark (& super sweet and protecting with puppies), loves carrides, let me dress him up for holidays, lets me hold him on his back like a baby, dance with him, & give little kids high fives with his paw as well as hugs, never snipped at ankles, ...just an all around amazing dog. Our battles are cats, barking and not letting us get too high (stand on chairs) or work out! Seriously, we were so lucky. Sammy didn't have to rely on being the world's cutest and sweetest dog to cover up chewing the couch or coffee table (NORMAN!) or make us put our shoes away everytime. Nope, just got to be a bonus for him! And now that is Norman's teacher!
If Sammy hadn't been such an easy puppy, and wonderful, we probably wouldn't be on number two yet. But since he was, we felt confident in bringing home Norman. Which has been just amazing. Norman, however, is that silly puppy. He has had a number of accidents. We have our good days and our bad days. Mostly good though. He is learning how to tell us he has to potty right now. Norman sleeps through the night for the most part, but has gotten up twice in the middle of the night. Norman, unlike Sammy, is a morning dog. Mostly because his normal day routine is to eat no later than 630am. I have to work at 600am most days, so I am up 445-515am. He gets to potty and run around with me while Sammy stays in bed with Erik (still not a morning dog). Erik usually gets up between 6 and 7 depending on his classes for the day. First thing he does, feed the pups. This is a wonderful system until we have a day to sleep in (Saturday) in which case Norman can hardly make it til 700am. If we are lucky. Sammy always took this opportunity to catch up on his z's ('cause he was missing so many day to day, lol) and just eat whenever he got up. No biggie. Breakfast was becoming more and more of a lunch or late lunch meal for him anyway. Norman wasn't an instant people dog either. Well, he was, just not like Sammy. We were Sammy's whole world. He waited in that pet shop 3 months for a family, and he wasn't gonna let it go. He loved us, and wanted to be with us and please us from the moment we got in that little room to meet him. Instant family. Norman was blessed to be in a happy home with lots of dogs and other animals not at all sad or alone. Norman loved us, and would give us our proper attention, but took more of an affection to Sammy. He wanted Sammy to love him. He wanted to have Sammy take care of him. Which is only natural for any puppy. Norman has grown to understand how the family works in the last three weeks, and becomes more and more loving toward us. Wanting to please us more and more, and still Sammy, too.
Sammy has been able to help us train Norman in so many ways. Sammy herds Norman to what he is supposed to do. Norman sees Sammy's reaction to a word or phrase and tries to do the same thing. Norman now understands "potty," "dinner," "hungry?" "sit," "dance" and is learning what car ride entails. Right now he knows to be excited. More to the point of this blog, Norman is learning to be a little poser. Norman would NOT stay still for photos. He was making photographing him quite difficult. Norman is learning how to sit for them, and looks toward Sammy to then look at the camera like Sammy is. Norman is also catching on to go right to attention when Sammy does, when the camera makes it's start up click and tone. Soon he will be doing it on his own, I bet.
Two little posers!
But we were able to get a couple photos out of this new revelation of Norman's.
Brothers:
The boys with my mom
Family Shots:
I'm excited for when Sammy can teach Norman how to smile!! Those will be beautiful pictures!
Sammy sits with the smile on his face looking at (usually me) whoever has that camera. Often right at my feet, he knows that's his slimming angle:
And this is immediate. He just gets right into poser mode. This makes my job really easy alot of times. Except when I'm trying to caputre a more free spirited Sammy. I can't get him and Norman FRAPPING on the video cam, since he hears the noise and comes right to me. I also have a terrible time getting any pictures of the two boys curled up together, or near each other since that noise goes and Sammy goes right to attention, often between Norman and me. Not entirely sure if this is because he wants the attention, or is protecting Norman.
The great thing about having two dogs, is the older dog is so much more efficent in training the little guy than any human could ever be. Sorry Ceaser, It's Me or the Dog lady, and the rest of the career dog trainers. And lets face it, Sammy was a freak accident for the almighty dog maker. He never chewed on anything he wasn't supposed to (except the occassional platic bottle if it was left out), only once got into Erik's backpack and made himself sick from trail mix, was a sinch to potty train, slept through the night starting night one, liked to sleep in during the day, likes baths, eats to his own hunger (doesn't gobble down everything, skips meals if he isn't hungry), intuitively knew to never beg from the table, plays with all dogs at the dogpark (& super sweet and protecting with puppies), loves carrides, let me dress him up for holidays, lets me hold him on his back like a baby, dance with him, & give little kids high fives with his paw as well as hugs, never snipped at ankles, ...just an all around amazing dog. Our battles are cats, barking and not letting us get too high (stand on chairs) or work out! Seriously, we were so lucky. Sammy didn't have to rely on being the world's cutest and sweetest dog to cover up chewing the couch or coffee table (NORMAN!) or make us put our shoes away everytime. Nope, just got to be a bonus for him! And now that is Norman's teacher!
If Sammy hadn't been such an easy puppy, and wonderful, we probably wouldn't be on number two yet. But since he was, we felt confident in bringing home Norman. Which has been just amazing. Norman, however, is that silly puppy. He has had a number of accidents. We have our good days and our bad days. Mostly good though. He is learning how to tell us he has to potty right now. Norman sleeps through the night for the most part, but has gotten up twice in the middle of the night. Norman, unlike Sammy, is a morning dog. Mostly because his normal day routine is to eat no later than 630am. I have to work at 600am most days, so I am up 445-515am. He gets to potty and run around with me while Sammy stays in bed with Erik (still not a morning dog). Erik usually gets up between 6 and 7 depending on his classes for the day. First thing he does, feed the pups. This is a wonderful system until we have a day to sleep in (Saturday) in which case Norman can hardly make it til 700am. If we are lucky. Sammy always took this opportunity to catch up on his z's ('cause he was missing so many day to day, lol) and just eat whenever he got up. No biggie. Breakfast was becoming more and more of a lunch or late lunch meal for him anyway. Norman wasn't an instant people dog either. Well, he was, just not like Sammy. We were Sammy's whole world. He waited in that pet shop 3 months for a family, and he wasn't gonna let it go. He loved us, and wanted to be with us and please us from the moment we got in that little room to meet him. Instant family. Norman was blessed to be in a happy home with lots of dogs and other animals not at all sad or alone. Norman loved us, and would give us our proper attention, but took more of an affection to Sammy. He wanted Sammy to love him. He wanted to have Sammy take care of him. Which is only natural for any puppy. Norman has grown to understand how the family works in the last three weeks, and becomes more and more loving toward us. Wanting to please us more and more, and still Sammy, too.
Sammy has been able to help us train Norman in so many ways. Sammy herds Norman to what he is supposed to do. Norman sees Sammy's reaction to a word or phrase and tries to do the same thing. Norman now understands "potty," "dinner," "hungry?" "sit," "dance" and is learning what car ride entails. Right now he knows to be excited. More to the point of this blog, Norman is learning to be a little poser. Norman would NOT stay still for photos. He was making photographing him quite difficult. Norman is learning how to sit for them, and looks toward Sammy to then look at the camera like Sammy is. Norman is also catching on to go right to attention when Sammy does, when the camera makes it's start up click and tone. Soon he will be doing it on his own, I bet.
Two little posers!
But we were able to get a couple photos out of this new revelation of Norman's.
Brothers:
The boys with my mom
Family Shots:
I'm excited for when Sammy can teach Norman how to smile!! Those will be beautiful pictures!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Momma Does Love Us!
Friday night, after we both got off of work, Erik and I went out to a semi-nice dinner. Just the two of us. It was really fun and we had a great time. But there is very little that can upset two corgis more than their people leaving 15 minutes after getting home from being gone ALL day. Especially when 10 of those minutes are wasted on a potty walk!
After being gone for a whole hour and a half, we finally came back to the neglected doggies. Sammy tried to give us the cold shoulder. Not only is he too much of a people dog, too much of a lover to succeed at this, but Norman was way too estatic to see us. Sammy quickly got jealous of all the attention Norman was giving us and got in return. Norman gave my whole face a fresh licking. Just to say, "I love you! Oh, and you're mine!"
All that affection works up quite the appetite for two neglected pups, too! So while Erik took them out, I got their dinner ready. A quite delightful dinner. With an extra special candy cane cookie from Just Dogs gourmet shop! They even smelled good to us!
And by the end, I think they forgot we left them for a whole hour and a half!
After being gone for a whole hour and a half, we finally came back to the neglected doggies. Sammy tried to give us the cold shoulder. Not only is he too much of a people dog, too much of a lover to succeed at this, but Norman was way too estatic to see us. Sammy quickly got jealous of all the attention Norman was giving us and got in return. Norman gave my whole face a fresh licking. Just to say, "I love you! Oh, and you're mine!"
All that affection works up quite the appetite for two neglected pups, too! So while Erik took them out, I got their dinner ready. A quite delightful dinner. With an extra special candy cane cookie from Just Dogs gourmet shop! They even smelled good to us!
And by the end, I think they forgot we left them for a whole hour and a half!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
We're Back...Again!
Thank you all for still being our readers! We are very sorry we have not checked in for some time. This week I got sick, with what we assume to be some kind of flu. Not the typical, can barely get out of bed, wake up three days later flu; but enough that I really didn't feel like doing anything but cuddling with my boys for four days til the fever would break! Not that they wanted to lay around for 4 days. Sammy was great, as usual. He has always had that super sense of know when anything was off-center. He tends to go to cling mode at the first sign of tilting. He was ok curling up with me. Norman wasn't quite sure what was up. All else fails, play. Sammy gets annoyed with this. So...Sammy tries to herd him into what Sammy believes to be the proper procedure when Mom is down. Norman of course sees this as, "yay, Sammy play!" This irritates Sammy so Sammy hasta run him down. Norman wins. Plus, Sammy really enjoys this...so Norman gets the double win and Sammy wins, too. The two run laps and circles, tug of war, who can keep the bone the longest...and other corgi games. Norman tires out and ends up on my belly. Sammy just couldn't handle the heat (I couldn't get warm and had the heater blarring!) Poor Sammy, that's where he wanted in the first place. But we end up in bed, and Sammy is definately king of that realm, though Norman is beginning to raise a coup!
Life with Norman has been fantastic. We are nearing the three week mark. But really, that doesn't seem like long enough. Almost seems like we have always had both of these boys. Plus, to see how big he has gotten...wow, has to be more than a measly 21 days, right! I really don't think one would know what to do without the other now. They are definately bonded. They are, for sure, brothers!
Norman has hit alot of firsts already. Kind of sad to think that most of them are over. We have done the first stairs:
our first walk:
our first brother cuddle:
our first perfect photo:
our first team up, using each other's strengths, for the common goal of food!
our first roadtrip (excluding coming home):
and I saved the best (photo op first) for last....
our first bath!
Norman freaked out! Did NOT like! I put both in the bath together, assuming that would help. Sammy is a weird dog. He is just fine with baths. In fact, seems to enjoys them. Doesn't really enjoy the water pouring on him, or getting his face or ears clean, and hates getting his teeth brushed, but takes it like a champ. Always turns his head asking when asking if it's bath time. And once he's done....he goes for the strut around the apartment, gotta show everyone how handsome he is all clean! I had this huge hope that his calmness would help Norman through his first bath. I knew there was no way I would have two in a row ok with baths! Although we did get two in a row that slept through through the night on night one! (*Big giant YES! motion*) Norman was so distraught, there is a chance he forgot that Sammy was there!
Norman was instantly in a panic when the first paw hit the water. He went for getting out. No matter what it took. Sammy seemed confused by all this. He watched, in what looked like a state of confusion! If Sammy could raise his brow, he would have. He backed up, and after a couple minutes of Norman's constant panic and trying to climb up my arms (without any forward progress, but scratches none the less) Sammy just sat down in the back of the tub. Seriously, what dog does that? Norman calmed enough for me to get the bath done. Or good enough. It was a good first bath, not perfect.
He did find Sammy's very favorite part of the bath experience to also be worthwhile! The yummy, good bath treat! We were lucky to have had Erik's sister and mom over just before, and they brought awesome treats from the Three Dog Bakery.
And if I'm not mistaken, it really helped! Bath number two, after road trip number one, went a million times easier. Not quite great, but so much better. I also had a heart to heart with him, telling him he had to get over it, it's a big part of his new little world! I love my babies clean! ...maybe that's what did the trick!
Life with Norman has been fantastic. We are nearing the three week mark. But really, that doesn't seem like long enough. Almost seems like we have always had both of these boys. Plus, to see how big he has gotten...wow, has to be more than a measly 21 days, right! I really don't think one would know what to do without the other now. They are definately bonded. They are, for sure, brothers!
Norman has hit alot of firsts already. Kind of sad to think that most of them are over. We have done the first stairs:
our first walk:
our first brother cuddle:
our first perfect photo:
our first team up, using each other's strengths, for the common goal of food!
our first roadtrip (excluding coming home):
and I saved the best (photo op first) for last....
our first bath!
Norman freaked out! Did NOT like! I put both in the bath together, assuming that would help. Sammy is a weird dog. He is just fine with baths. In fact, seems to enjoys them. Doesn't really enjoy the water pouring on him, or getting his face or ears clean, and hates getting his teeth brushed, but takes it like a champ. Always turns his head asking when asking if it's bath time. And once he's done....he goes for the strut around the apartment, gotta show everyone how handsome he is all clean! I had this huge hope that his calmness would help Norman through his first bath. I knew there was no way I would have two in a row ok with baths! Although we did get two in a row that slept through through the night on night one! (*Big giant YES! motion*) Norman was so distraught, there is a chance he forgot that Sammy was there!
Norman was instantly in a panic when the first paw hit the water. He went for getting out. No matter what it took. Sammy seemed confused by all this. He watched, in what looked like a state of confusion! If Sammy could raise his brow, he would have. He backed up, and after a couple minutes of Norman's constant panic and trying to climb up my arms (without any forward progress, but scratches none the less) Sammy just sat down in the back of the tub. Seriously, what dog does that? Norman calmed enough for me to get the bath done. Or good enough. It was a good first bath, not perfect.
He did find Sammy's very favorite part of the bath experience to also be worthwhile! The yummy, good bath treat! We were lucky to have had Erik's sister and mom over just before, and they brought awesome treats from the Three Dog Bakery.
And if I'm not mistaken, it really helped! Bath number two, after road trip number one, went a million times easier. Not quite great, but so much better. I also had a heart to heart with him, telling him he had to get over it, it's a big part of his new little world! I love my babies clean! ...maybe that's what did the trick!
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