Falling asleep on the couch

So I fell asleep on the couch after being exhausted all day and all of a sudden my hip felt heavy and I couldn't move. Immediately I start to panic,  am I having a stroke ,am I having a heart attack , am I paralyzed??? so i force myself to wake up and I look down and there was my beloved dog lying across me hugging me, fast asleep, it was so sweet that i left my body stay numb as not to disturb him I love my Buckeye

Happy Holidays!!!

Happy National Dog Day!!

Happy National Dog Day from Buckeye & JellyBean!!  May your day be filled with unconditional love and slobbery doggie kisses!!!

My sister's expressive Frenchie!!!

My Sisters Expressive Frenchie!

My sister has a French bulldog named Bosco that has many human like qualities to the point that he makes you self-conscious wondering just what he is thinking when he stares at you with not so much as a blink. Bosco is brindle colored so sometimes he blends in with my sisters brown furniture especially the leather couch and it can lead to some mistaken surprises.

So one day while visiting I was sitting on the couch watching TV. Bosco was sitting in the recliner right next to the couch.   Well – he is brown, the chair is brown, the couch is brown and so is the cover she has tossed over the chair – you can probably see where this is going…..   Well I was getting up off the couch and missed a step, and I started to fall. I caught myself but as I was falling right at Bosco – that dogs eyes got so wide they looked like saucers, almost bugging out of his head. And when his eyes couldn’t get any wider his mouth popped open wide and I could swear I heard that dog take a deep GASP!!!!!    I immediately started to laugh thinking that he was thinking “OMG don’t you fall on me as his life passed before his eyes!!!!” No I never fell on him, but I did laugh like crazy as he jumped off the chair, and followed me to get a dog treat for the trauma he just survived.

The water dish splash game

THE WATER DISH SPLASH

Just when you think everything is finally going smoothly your dogs correct you to never let your guard down.  JellyBean has come around to start listening and going outside to the bathroom without having accidents in the house – so I am trusting her more and more and she is out of the kennel most of the time now.

She has however come up with something none of my other dogs have ever done before.  She likes to splash in the water bowl. I correct her when I catch her doing it but sometimes she is a little sneak.

On one occasion I had just filled the water bowl and I see JellyBean run over to it , stick her front paws in the bowl and act like she was digging a hole in the back yard. Within seconds this little 4-pound dog emptied the entire bowl splashing water all over the place.  The little cute doggie mat under the bowl was completely soaked and had to be removed. I had to wash the dog bowl because it was cloudy from whatever dirt she had on her paws.

I just told her no. picked up the bowl, emptied it in the bathroom sink and then went to get a mop to clean up the room.  I finally get everything all cleaned up and dried. I put the doggie matt (cloth) into the washing machine and grabbed a bath towel in the mean time to put under the freshly filled water bowl.

I walk into the other room to start the washing machine and I hear all this splashing sounds!!  I was like you gotta be kidding me – I ran over just in time to see JellyBean again with her paws in the bowl this time splashing the water all over the towel and the wall.  Needless to say I was not a happy camper. I yelled at her NO!!! and I moved the water dish off the towel and moved the towel to the sink so it didn’t drip all over the place. I mean it was positively soaked to the point I could have wrung the water by twisting it.  I grabbed a different towel and started wiping down my walls so there wouldn’t be any damage from the water. I take that towel plus the soaked one in the sink and put it in the washing machine with the doggie mat and I return to the room to again replace the water dish with clean water and a towel underneath.  

Unfortunately I didn’t get that far, as the little brat had emptied what ever water must have still been in the bowl onto my bare tile floors  I never saw the water till it was too late and my legs did the Scooby doo shuffle underneath me. I did some crazy dance that my body wasn’t prepared for before I crashed down to the floor right into the water.  Now my pants were soaked, but I was grateful I didn’t break any bones during the fall. I was also glad I didn’t land on JellyBean and squash her – at first I was getting really upset but then here comes JellyBean – little miss happy go lucky innocent puppy dog – who just hops up onto my lap where I sat with her tail wagging furiously and kisses me in the face.   I just started laughing (probably getting hysterical) and realized this was just one more adventure in having a clueless puppy dog.

On a side note – I bought a large rubber mat that you would put shoes and boots in that has a 2” rim around the entire mat – I put the water bowl in the middle of it – and it solved all the problems – guess it wasn’t fun for JellyBean anymore if there wasn’t any mess anymore. She hasn’t splashed in the water bowl since!!

JEALOUS OF THE NEW PUPPY

JEALOUS OF THE NEW PUPPY

Anyone who thinks dogs don’t have feelings, just doesn’t understand how similar they are to children.  

I have been working very hard to potty training new puppy JellyBean to go outside to do her business.  I have been making progress but still have to be the sideline coach, motivator and cheerleader.

I am delighted that she has finally started to get the idea. And this morning I had her outside with Buckeye in the backyard to go for their morning bathroom time.

I got excited when JellyBean first went pee pee very quickly. So I encourage her saying “yayyyyyyy JellyBean” now go poop, and hurry up (so she doesn’t take forever).  Low and behold she walks over squats and is in the middle of pooping- I am cheering her on “good dog, yay JellyBean, Good Girl!!” Well apparently Buckeye was not pleased 1 - that I was giving her so much attention and 2- where was all his applause he pooped and peed right away.   

So to show me his displeasure, while JellyBean is still in the middle of her poop – Buckeye casually walks over to her, lifts his leg and pees all over her.  I mean she was drenched in pee. Poor dog is squinting as it rained down on her head but she continued till her poop was out – I yelled at Buckeye that he was bad and what the hell was he thinking – but the dang dog just smiled at me since he apparently was very pleased with his accomplishment.    

I grabbed JellyBean up and quickly brought her inside to the bath tub and clean her off – then she got treats for being so good.   Buckeye still seemed pleased with himself. Damn Dog! I still love him but seriously!

The New Fence

 The New Fence

My house is surrounded by hedges on three sides.  Since the association would not allow me to have the hedges I wanted (ficus),  I had to go with something called Viburnum.  It’s just as nice as ficus but doesn’t kill the water systems. It also doesn’t grow as think or as low to the ground which is what I wanted in the first place.

My back yard faces other homes back yards and I rather have my privacy, plus I couldn’t afford the $40,000 for the only type of fence that the home owners association would allow. Someone remind me if I ever move never ever to get into a house that has a home owner association in it.  For the few good things they provide are not worth the headache and condo commando mentality the rest of it causes.

Anyway, It took six years for the viburnum hedge to grow in thick. The only problem is it didn’t stay very short to the ground there are holes and large pockets that the dogs just run through,  but I can’t fit through to follow (note to self – start a diet soon!). 

Buckeye never runs away – always comes back after removing the squirrels from his yard (Mr. Protector).

So I come up with the brilliant idea of what about one of those critter fences. The little green ones that are more of a mesh, that blend in with the hedges so they are undetectable yet would keep my dogs from running full speed through the hedge to chase the squirrels and bunnies. Not to mention they are much more affordable (not cheap but affordable).

 

It takes me three days, with lots of help to meticulously install the 3 foot mesh through the entire hedges and yard.  The mesh is pulled very tight and adhered with zip ties to stakes in the ground and set back into the hedges so they are practically invisible.  I am hot, sweaty, my back is killing me and I’m totally exhausted.  But I am proud of the accomplishment and know this will stop the neighbors from complaining about the dogs running through to the other side (although I am sure they will find something else to complain about).

So, now comes the big test. I let Buckeye out. He spots the invasive squirrel and runs after it. The squirrel, apparently watching me the entire weekend install the fence,  knows about it, so he goes up and scrambles over the hedge. Buck who also had been watching me all weekend obviously didn’t make the connection and ran head first, full force into the fence.  The poor dog bounced off the fence and rolled backwards.  I would have felt really bad because he let out a yelp and actually was about to laugh when he shook his head (I guess to shake himself back some composure). He then took three steps backwards and ran as fast as he could towards the hedges again – I winced thinking oh no he is going to get hurt trying to bulldoze the fence (which never budged) and then he sprang into the air like a deer and sailed through the hedges about six inches over where the three foot fence ended.

 

I was both impressed and really ticked off that all my work didn’t stop him.

On a side note I think he was just trying to show me that he was once again smarter than I am, because he only went over the new fence that one time and now respects it as a boundary and doesn’t cross it.

Now he just runs around to the front of the house, where there isn’t a fence and gave the neighbors something new to complain about……….I am trying to save for the association specific gates to enclose the front of the house.