I had put away all the bones my dogs had left lying around but I guess I missed one. Makena found it immediately and took it to her favorite crate to chew on. Their mom seemed to think that was OK so when she left I got out enough bones so that everyone could have one. I'm used to this family having dietary restrictions for their dogs but I guess things are a little more relaxed now.
Nickie has some eye problems and needs to have drops in them several times a day. I did the first drops a little while ago and it worked fairly well. She didn't like what I was doing but she thought the chunks of meat that she got afterward made it worthwhile. She'll object again next time, but when she gets a nice treat she'll probably decide not to struggle anymore. Maybe not, we'll see.
So far we haven't had much running and playing. Barking, yes. Nickie will hear something and bark, so Beau decides we have burglars and he barks. That makes the other dogs run outside and bark. Nobody's sure what they are barking at but since all the others are barking there certainly must be something for dogs to bark at. Eventually they all quit until Nickie hears something else. The neighborhood kids are playing out front so there's frequently something.
4:29 PM 8/9/2010
Poor Nickie.
She knew what was up this time when I get her ready for her afternoon eye drops. She wiggled and struggled but I'm a lot bigger and stronger than she is. After I did one eye she turned around and I was confused for a moment. Which eye did I just do? Neither one looked wetter. I turned her back to the original position and then I remembered. And I did the other eye and while she was thinking how mean I was I popped a treat into her mouth. Well, maybe I'm not so terrible after all.
They've had their dinner and they are sleeping it off. Nickie's eyes look very nice.
Tuesday -- 12:10 PM 8/10/2010
We had a quiet night and after breakfast Nickie had her eyedrops. We're getting pretty good at it.
They stayed home alone a couple of hours, then I came back to stay with them for several hours. I'lll be going out for a few more hours soon. Tuesdays are like that.
The noon eyedrops went well also.
6:15 PM 8/10/2010
The check engine light started showing on my car yesterday and I looked up the code. Seems it's a $600 problem with the transmission but it's under warranty. And today it started clunking into gear. So I can't put it off very long. Gotta take Nicki to the vet tomorrow afternoon. Hmmm. I think it's a several hour job. I'll call the dealer in the morning and see what they have to say. My neighbor can give me a ride if necessary.
So all's well, and Nickei's eyes are still looking good.
Wednesday -- 9:00 AM 8/11/2010
Makena didn't want to eat her breakfast this morning so I put it away for later. When I got back from the car dealer she was ready, as long as I didn't shut the door to her crate. That's OK, whatever works for her works for me.
Nickie and I are getting really good at doing her eye drops. she still resists, but she knows there's a treat at the end and she instantly forgets how mean I was.
So all's still fine around here. It's cool and overcast.
3:26 PM 8/11/2010
Some days are more interesting than others.
The car dealers service rep promised she'd either have my car back to me or give me a loaner in plenty of time to get Nickie to the vet for her 3 o'clock appointment. Silly me, I believed her. She seemed so nice.
When it started getting close to the last minute I started calling her and emailing her and I didn't get any response. Uh-oh. I asked a neighbor to give me a quick ride to the dealer and started being the squeaky wheel. It didn't take too long before I got someone to give me a rental car just to get rid of me.
I came home with the rental car with time to spare. I got out Nickie's leash and all four dogs went wild. ME! ME! Take me somewhere! I don't care where, anywhere will do.
I managed to get Makena into her crate and my two were a little easier to control. They helped me put Nickie's harness on, and once I had it on I figured I'd better just go, even though I was pretty sure it wasn't quite time yet. Off we went.
The place was closer than I thought so we were a full half hour early. We only had to wait about 10 minutes though. The vet looked at her eyes and put dye in them and looked some more. She said they were healing OK but they needed me to keep putting in the drops until Sunday. She said to watch for squinting and goop and rubbing, but otherwise not to worry much. She said Nickie still weighs the same as she did two years ago, but it would be nice if she'd lose about one pound. She tried to show me the unusual pigment in her retina but I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be seeing and I didn't see anything. Whatever, it wasn't good and if it gets worse it may indicate some sort of problem.
The car dealer just called, they have to special order the part they need, and I won't get my car back until probably Friday. That's OK, the rental works just fine.
Thursday -- 10:20 AM 8/12/2010
Another quiet morning. Nickie's eyes still look fine and everyone ate their breakfast. Makena had to wait a while and guard hers before she could actually eat it, but now it's gone and everyone's happy.
We're expecting Bosley to arrive soon and join our little pack of dogs. He's a sweet old guy and I'm sure he'll fit right in.
4:10 PM 8/12/2010
When Bosley arrived he and Makena started playing like they had never stopped. I didn't think there would be a chance they would remember each other after 2 years but it sure looked like they did. They romped and wrestled just like before.
When Bosley was done she ran happy circles around in the yard for a while.
Something strange with Nickie. She was lying beside me on the couch, working on a bone, when suddenly she shot up without a sound. Like she had levitated. she crashed into me, looked at me, looked at the bone, and got off the couch. Then she came back and looked closely at the bone like she was afraid of it. I'm guessing she poked herself with it. A few minutes later she came back to me and I looked in her mouth. Didn't see and broken teeth or stab wounds. Maybe just one of those mysteries we never figure out. She's been fine ever since.
When I did Nickies eyes this noon I forgot to have a treat ready for afterward. She let me know in no uncertain terms that she was expecting a treat and she deserved it and she wanted it right now. So we went into the kitchen and she had her treat. 4 pieces of her regular food.
Makena has brought in a nice branch and she's reducing it to tiny chips. No wonder her teeth are so pretty.
Friday the 13th -- 11:12 AM 8/13/2010
It's all happy here. Makena and Bosley are having a good time together and Nickie loves the bones she's been finding. There was one under the low couch that didn't look any better to me than any of the others but she insisted that she needed that very one so rather than let her dig a hole in my house I got it for her. She seems to think it's a wonderful bone. Whatever makes her happy.
She seems to look forward eagerly to her eye drops, even though she still won't sit still for them. She's so aware there's a treat at the end. Sometimes it's something special, usually it's just a few chunks of her regular food.
Saturday -- 1:02 PM 8/14/2010
Not much happening this morning. Sleeping dogs all over the place. Makena and Bosley have been having a good but quiet time together.
Makena has learned very good dog manners. When she's playing and her ball gets too close to a sleeping dog, or there's a sleeping dog where she wants to be, she'll stop her game and either tiptoe past or go do something else.
I was throwing the ball for her yesterday and Beau and Bosley decided to have their naps where they almost completely blocked her way. She had to crawl under the chair to get to the ball, then crawl under it again to bring it to me. Both old gentleman dogs like her a lot, but that doesn't mean she can step on them while they are napping.
Nickie's eyes still look just fine to me. I'll quit the drops tomorrow.
Sunday -- 4:37 PM 8/15/2010
Nothing interesting happening. We've just been lying around all day. Everyone's happy and healthy. Boring is good.
Monday -- 4:36 PM 8/16/2010
Well, it's been another quiet day. The dogs are all being good. All are eating well and all seem happy.
What more could anyone want?
Tuesday -- 11:55 AM 8/17/2010
Makena is such a character.
I left all three visiting dogs loose this morning while I went to the barn with my own dogs. Makena found a sock while we were gone and I think she spent the rest of the morning just waiting for me to come home so she could tease me with it.
She was really surprised when I didn't even seem to care that she had my sock. She followed me around, showing it to me. I went outside and she set it down on the ground, staying just close enough to grab it if I tried to get it. Nope, not interested. Finally we all came back into the house and I asked her for it. Hmmm. Well, OK, she gave it to me. Sorry I spoiled her little game. I guess she found it under the couch, or between the cushions.
She and Bosley both denied any knowledge about the stuffing that had come out of the pen pillow. It probably came out all by itself. Or maybe Nickie did it.
Nickie's eyes still look good and she's behaving herself.
Wednesday -- 7:37 AM 8/18/2010
last night Makena was messing with my shoe. She had her nose in it and she was pushing it around. I thought that was unusual but I just told her to stop and she did. Later I tried to slip my foot into that shoe and there was a ball in it. So that's what she was after. She's so good, she just abandoned the ball when I told her to.
Both dogs are doing fine, having a happy visit. They'll be so happy when their parents come for them this evening.
I had to leave a few minutes after they arrived, so I let them run and explore a few minutes, then tried to put them in crates.
I managed to grab Makena but Nickie was ready for a long game of catch the pug. So I fooled her and left her outside.
When I got home a few hours later she was waiting at the door.
It's been a quiet day with the girls mostly ignoring each other and ignoring the big dogs. Maybe when it gets cooler some chase games will break out.
Friday -- 4:36 PM 7/2/2010
I had to be out several hours in the morning so I left Nickie loose and put Makena in her crate. Nickie hadn't finished her breakfast but it was gone when I got home.
There's been a lot of napping going on, as well as some stick chewing. Boring is good.
They seem to take turns beside me on the couch. Nice dogs.
Saturday -- 4:24 PM 7/3/2010
A very quiet day today. My dogs and I went to the grocery store this morning and left the visitors in charge for maybe an hour. They took good care of things.
Other than that it's been just a matter of taking naps in various places, wandering around in the yard, barking at people who are so bold as to look over the back fence, and more napping.
And dinner, of course. Can't forget that. The dogs are sure to remind me if they think I may forget. This time at dinnertime I asked Makena to go into her crate and Nickie rushed and beat her to it.
(Move, Makena, I can't type with you in my face)
So I had to figure out how to get Nickie out while she was hiding behind Makena. We figured it out and Nickie rushed into her own crate and they waited eagerly for me to finish feeding the resident dogs and got to the important stuff.
So now dinner is done and Makena is parked beside me on the couch and Nickie is on the back of a chair, surveying her kingdom. All's well, everyonee's happy.
Tomorrow night the fireworks will go off. I know Nickie won't be too bothered. I've had her here through thunderstorms and she was fine so a little thing like fireworks is no big deal. I don't know how Makena will do but I suspect she'll be just fine, especially when she sees nobody else is scared.
Sunday -- 4:31 PM 7/4/2010
We've had another quiet day. Makena found a bone Starlight had hidden and they've all been taking turns working on it. It keeps them all busy and happy.
Their people will be coming for them in the morning. I'm sure they'll be happy to see their own family. They like us but they love thier own people.
An earlier visit:
Sunday -- 8:00 PM 3/14/2010
They've been here several hours now, and everything has been going just fine.
They spent the first hour wandering around the yard, making sure everything was as they left it. Then they came in and did some socializing.
Starlight said she didn't want to play with Makena, and that was OK. Makena had fun with Beau. They wrestled and growled and rolled around. Nickie thought that looked like fun so she joined in. Beau thought that was a good idea but she didn't last very long. She joined me on the couch and we watched them.
At dinnertime they were too excited to go into their crates to be fed. Nickie played "see how cute I am, you can't catch me" but I wouldn't play with her. I just asked Makena to go into her crate which she finally did.
Then Nickie decided to go into hers too and I fixed their dinners.
After dinner they went outside to play for a while.
They are being very good dogs. They both like to snuggle next to me on the couch.
Monday -- 1:48 PM 3/15/2010
They both slept quietly in their crates. Not a sound from either of them.
Makena said she didn't want her breakfast, thenkyouverymuch, so I set it aside for her. She decided about 15 minutes later that maybe she should eat it after all, and she did.
I went out for a couple hours in the morning and they waited patiently in their crates. What nice dogs. Now they are both on the couch with me, as they usually are.
Tuesday -- 5:45 PM 3/16/2010
They've been good dogs, and nothing exciting has happened.
When it's boring here it's hard to think of anything to report. Makena's so quick to catch the tennis ball I can't seem to throw it past her, no matter how hard I try. And she brings it back very politely.
When I need to go out for a few hours they wait quietly and patiently in their crates.
Wednesday -- 8:25 PM 3/17/2010
They went home happy.
An earlier visit:
Wednesday -- 3:03 PM 10/7/2009
Makena's here without her sister this time.
She was happy to arrive, greeted the resident dogs, went out to check out the backyard. It seemed fine.
She came in and tried to wrestle with Beau. He sort of ignored her so she climbed on him a bit then gave up.
After poking around for a while she settled down next to me on the couch. She's fast asleep.
7:05 PM 10/7/2009
What a nice dog she's getting to be.
She still has puppy mannerisms, so Beau still has to tolerate her attentions. But she's not nearly as persistent with him as she used to be. He likes her.
Starlight isn't so fond of her, but she has sense enough to leave Starlight alone most of the time.
At dinnertime I asked Makena to go into the
crate and she was about to when she noticed the other dogs frolicking and dancing in anticipation of their own dinners. She joined them. I called her and again tried to send her into the crate and again the others made such a fuss she had to join them. After the third attempt I told my dogs to sit by the doorway and they did. I turned to send Makena into the crate, and saw her sitting nicely behind me. What a good girl. She went into the crate as soon as I asked. Well maybe it took her a moment to think about it first.
She enjoyed her dinner of 1/3 my dogfood and 2/3 her dogfood.
Thursday -- 12:40 PM 10/8/2009
Didn't hear a peep out of her all night long and she ate her breakfast all up.
After a little over a half hour of playtime I put her back into the crate so I could go out for a few hours. Then out for more running and playing. She's asleep on the couch now. As usual.
6:46 PM 10/8/2009
It's been a peaceful day. She played with the other dogs quite a bit, and by herself or with me.
She's been spending most of her time with me, napping a lot.
It's getting close to bedtime, and she's resting up for it. She seems quite content.
Friday -- 12:41 PM 10/9/2009
Another quiet night and good breakfast.
After a couple hours of playtime she got to wait in the crate while my dogs and I went out to do some errands. Then more playtime. She was good about watching me have lunch on the couch and not bothering me.
Now she's fast asleep on the couch. As usual.
7:28 PM 10/9/2009
Makena and Beau are running and wrestling and romping in the dark in the living room. I was watching TV and didn't notice it was getting dark.
Starlight and I are staying out of the way so we don't get run over.
We've had a nice mostly quiet day. Makena has been bring in sticks to chew up. That's OK with me. When she goes home I can rake the house, then get out the shop-vac and it will be as good as new.
Saturday -- 7:50 AM 10/10/2009
Another quiet night and happy breakfast.
She's busy chewing on something. Not sure what it is, probably a kong. Whatever it is it seems to keep her happy.
6:21 PM 10/10/2009
Not much happening. The dogs have done some playing but they mostly just lie around being dogs.
Makena spends a lot of her time bringing things into the house and chewing them up. Sticks and branches and ropes.
Now that it's beginning to get dark they'll probably get more active. Then it will be bedtime.
Boring is good.
Sunday -- 7:20 AM 10/11/2009
Still boring. Still good.
Every morning Makena eats her breakfaast in her crate, then outside for a bathroom stop, then in for playing.
She has a favorite hunk of rope that she likes to chew on and play tug with. Don't know what's so special about that hunk of rope but all the dogs seem to love it. It started life as trim on a dogbed that's long gone.
She's been carrying it around and offering it to everyone for a game of tug. If she can't interest anyone she shakes it and whacks herself, or she'll just settle down with it for a chewing session.
She doesn't know yet, but we're expecting her people to come for her tonight. She'll be delighted to see them.
3:33 PM 10/11/2009
Poor dogs are convinced it's dinnertime. I was out for a couple of hours, got home a little before 3. They know it's dinnertime when I get home. They are convinced I've forgotten to feed them and they will worry about it until I remember.
I may give in and feed them early today. I can't stand the attention.
Other than that everything's fine. Makena's people got on their plane a while ago and will be here in a few hours.
An earlier visit:
Thursday -- 3:23 PM 8/20/2009
Here they are again, for a long weekend.
They came in and made themselves at home. The resident dogs greeted them and then went back to whatever they had been doing.
Nickie scouted around, then found a nice place for a nap.
Makena scouted around and found a bone I had missed when putting things away. She didn't want to let me have it, but she finally gave it to me. Good girl. She went outside and found another. And another. And another. Starlight's been burying them, and I guess Makena found the place she puts them. After arguing about the first one she politely gave me all the others.
Then she brought in a nice stick to chew on.
I had to take my dogs out for a short trip, so Beau could visit the vet, and I left Makena in a crate and Nickie loose. Everything was fine when we returned.
Makena brought me a ball to throw for her, so I sat on the couch and when she brought it I threw it. Then it bounced around and went into the crate next to the couch and for some reason Makena didn't want to go in and get it. I looked. Starlight was napping in the crate and Makena was too polite to disturb her. Good girl.
Friday -- 12:17 PM 8/21/2009
We had a nice quiet night, and they were eager for their breakfast this morning. We had about 45 minutes to play before I locked them back in the crates for a couple of hours. Now I don't have any more plans to go anyplace so they can run free the rest of the weekend. Except when the gardeners come, of course. I don't think I"ll let Makena eat the gardeners.
I have sleeping black dogs all over my house. That's nice.
7:21 PM 8/21/2009
They are having a good visit.
Nickie spends most of her time snugged up beside me.
Makena alternates between playing with various dogs, but most of her playing is with Beau. He isn't nearly as energetic as she is, so she occasionally takes a break from wrestling with him and runs huge circles or figure-eights in the yard.
She's brought in lots of sticks to chew on. She's swallowing a lot of the remnants, but most she scatters around. I don't mind.
Saturday -- 8:45 AM 8/22/2009
Another uneventful night.
Makena gobbled down her breakfast but Nickie had to wait until her crate door was open before she was ready to eat hers. Of course that meant all the others watched her intently as she ate, hoping there would be something left when she was done. There wasn't.
They ran and romped for a while, now they are having their morning naps.
Makena is so good at dog manners. She knows just how to get Beau to play with her, even when he really didn't want to, and when Starlight says no Makena immediately leaves her alone. Starlight isn't the playful puppy she was 5 years ago. No idea why.
My living room is getting its usual covering of chewed stick sawdust. When these guys go home I'll get out the shop-vac and it will be as good as new. Well, almost as good. New was a long time ago. Not much point in having new with so many visiting dogs around. Someday ...
Sunday -- 7:21 AM 8/23/2009
Another uneventful night.
After breakfast nobody seemed to want to play, so we're all in the living room settling down for our naps. Makena's messing with her right back foot. If she keeps it up I'll have to take a look and see if there's a problem. Most likely not.
5:02 PM 8/23/2009
Not much happening today. We've just been sitting or lying around all day. Once in a while I'll say "shall we go outside?" and they all leap to their feet and rush out with me.
At dinnertime they were all eager but Makena was too excited to go into her crate. She ran and tackled Beau, rushed around, poked her head into the crate and turned and ran. Finally she went into the crate and I was able to shut her door and get everybody's dinner.
So far so good. I still watch her most of the time, probably more than necessary. She's growing up into a very nice dog but I still have vivid memories of her puppyhood. I suppose it will take me a while to learn to trust her. That's OK.
Monday -- 12:39 PM 8/24/2009
Still nothing interesting happening. Both dogs are behaving themselves. I left them home in crates for a few hours this morning and they were waiting patiently when I got home.
I may head for the grocery store later, but other than that we'll just have a quiet day until their people come for them.
An earlier visit:
Wednesday -- 9:31 AM 6/17/2009
They're back!
They were both happy to come in. Nickie went out to the yard to explore and Makena stayed in the house until I let my two dogs out of their crate. They stay in the crate for the few minutes it takes for a dog to come in and look around.
So Makena started roughhousing with Beau while we talked, then when their dad started to leave Makena insisted on going with him. He went through the little gate and closed it behind him, and she flew over it. He hadn't yet opened the outside door, so she didn't get far. I held her collar as he went out. As soon as the door was shut behind him she forgot all about him.
I'm told Makena wasn't hungry this morning and didn't eat her breakfast. Her appetite seems fine now. Since she's been here she's eaten most of a tennis ball and she's now working on a stick she seems to have hidden under the couch last time she was here. I thought I had them all cleaned up. I suppose I should move the couch and look under it. No, I don't think so. Maybe later.
Nickie's in her usual place, snugged up beside me on the couch, And Makena and the stick are next to Nickie. All's well.
7:20 PM 6/17/2009
No more Mr. Nice Guy. Every time I turn my back on Makena she gets into something. We all go outside for a few minutes and I think I'm watching her, but then I hear a thump in the house and I see she's not with us anymore. And she has stolen something else from the table beside the couch. That's the only thing not completely puppy-proof, since I sit there and use the table a lot. Mostly she takes food wrappers or similar things, and runs and taunts me with them. This last time I almost caught her, and I smacked her a good one as she ran past me, and I locked her outside for a few minutes, then went outside and scolded her. I could tell by the way she behaved she's been scolded before. She was very sorry and promised to never do it again. Right.
So from now on, when I need to leave the room for just a moment, and she's fast asleep, I'm gonna wake her up and put her in a crate. She's cute, but she's not that cute. And if we all go outside I'll shut the door and block the dogdoor so she can't sneak in.
The other dogs were quite concerned that I may have lost my marbles. I'm usually pretty easy going, and there must be something seriously wrong to get me that upset. I assured them all that they weren't in any trouble and all was well. They bought it.
Other than that, everything's going fine. They have been having fun running and playing, and they ate all their dinner. I haven't put Makena's eye drops in yet. I'll do that soon.
Thursday -- 7:12 AM 6/18/2009
It took me four drops to get one in each of Makena's eyes last night. I should do better this morning now that I have it figured out.
We had a quiet night and a good breakfast. I'll let them play for about an hour, then I'll lock them in and go out to ride the horse. They can have a nice nap while they wait.
4:15 PM 6/18/2009
They had their nap, and when I got home with my dogs they were glad to see us. We all went outside to play, then in for another nap. I watered the yard this afternoon, and I was surprised that none of the dogs cared to play in the sprinkler. Starlight always used to love it, but I guess she's old and stodgy now. I assumed that Makena would want to play in the water since she's so much like Starlight at that age, but she didn't. Maybe she didn't know what it was?
It's dinnertime now, so I'll get to work.
Friday -- 9:03 AM 6/19/2009
Another peaceful quiet night, and a happy breakfast.
After breakfast the dogs had a good playtime, with Starlight and Makena chasing each other around the trees, with Nickie in hot pursuit. Once in a while they'd reverse course and Nickie would have to duck as they thundered past. Beau even ran with them for a minute.
They are all asleep now, but it's still unusually cool so I think I'll head outside again soon to see if they want to romp some more before it gets too warm.
5:30 PM 6/19/2009
It's been a nice day. Lots of running and playing, and all the growling has been in fun.
They are eating well and behaving as well as can be expected.
Nickie's been jumping at Beau and poor Beau doesn't know if he's being attacked, or what. He stands there for a minute, then he turns and walks away.
The activity level is rising, so I suppose I'll go out and encourage them to take their games outside. They have more fun outside, usually.
Saturday -- 7:34 AM 6/20/2009
Another quiet night and happy breakfast.
Makena brought in a branch about 18 inches long to chew on. Poor Starlight didn't know what to do. If it had been a little longer she would have retreated to a crate where she wouldn't get whacked, but it was right on the edge. When Makena brought it to her to play she got whacked and went outside. Makena dropped the stick and went out with her. I took that opportunity to break it into two smaller pieces.
When Makena came back in she took one of the smaller pieces and asked Nickie to play with her. They each took an end and pulled. Makena won, quickly.
Makena's surprisingly cooperative about accepting her eye drops. If only I weren't so clumsy we'd have a good thing going. I don't see anything wrong with her eyes but I generally do what I'm told.
Tomorrow I'll be leaving them home alone for several hours while I celebrate fathers day. They'll have several hours of playtime before I leave, so they'll be happy to nap while I'm gone.
Sunday -- 8:29 AM 6/21/2009
They had a good romp. I'm locking them up now and heading for Fathers Day celebration.
3:17 PM 6/21/2009
The trouble with leaving the dogs home is they think it's dinnertime when I return. Even if's 2 hours or more before dinner.
They were all happy to see me when I got home and they explained they were starving half to death. Right.
Since then they play and nap for a while, then check in with me again. Sure it's not dinnertime? I'm sure.
In less than an hour it really will be dinnertime, but I dunno if we can all wait that long. We'll try. Makena's eating lots of sticks, but I don't think there's much nourishment in them.
Monday -- 1:19 PM 6/22/2009
We've pretty much settled into a routine. Breakfast and medicines, playtime, naptime, then not much until later in the afternoon when it's playtime, dinnertime, playtime again, than bedtime.
Now we're in the "not much" part of the day, with Nickie beside me on the couch and Makena on the floor chewing on a stick.
7:15 PM 6/22/2009
It's playtime again. We had dinner and medicines and treats, and now Beau and Makena are outside doing something. Oops, no they are inside. Nope, Makena's outside. Nevermind, everyone's in again for a nap before the last playtime before bed.
It was fun last night, when Makena and Starlight were racing around the yard and Nickie was almost able to keep up with them. Beau and I just watched.
Tuesday -- 8:18 AM 6/23/2009
They played a switcheroo on me last night. After out bedtime outing Nickie marched herself into Makena's crate and settled down for the night. Hmmm. Then Makena came in and went to Nickie's crate. That was really strange. Not only were they in the wrong crates, they put themselves there without being told. Normally I have to tell them to go to bed.
I would have liked to let them stay where they were, and I considered it, but there are things on and around Nickie's crate that Makena would certainly have played with and damaged. So I dragged them both out and swapped them. They really didn't want to come out. Do you suppose they discussed it in advance and had it all planned? I didn't think they were that smart.
As usual this morning they had their breakfast then went outside to play. Now they are in for a while. I still need to do Makena's eye drops, then we can all have a nice nap.
Wednesday -- 8:35 AM 6/24/2009
There has been a three labrador tussle going on in my living room. All three rolling around, then one or more does a mad dash out through the back door and in through the dog door and the tussle continues. They just wore down, so it will be quiet for a while.
Makena encourages my older dogs to do a lot more playing than they'd probably do on their own. It's good for them.
5:21 PM 6/24/2009
I guess their family are flying home now. They'll be arriving late and tired, so they'll leave the dogs here one more night and pick them up in the morning. Then I can get busy and start getting ready to leave for my own vacation the next day.
It's all going relatively smoothly here. I've been doing a lot of watering and the dogs haven't been at all interested.
An earlier visit:
Wednesday -- 3:03 PM 5/13/2009
Here they are again. It just took a moment for all four dogs to reintroduce themselves. Now the girls are having a good time exploring and interacting nicely with the resident dogs.
So far so good.
7:51 PM 5/13/2009
It's interesting how easily they both settled back into the routine here. They spend quite a bit of time snuggled beside me on the couch, but they both feel free to go outside to play, or rest in one or another of the available sleeping places.
As it began to get dark they all went outside to run and play tag. That's the usual pattern around here.
Makena invited Starlight to chase her and Starlight said no thanks. Makena didn't give up, I guess, because I looked out the window a minute later and they were running together.
All is well.
Thursday -- 2:12 PM 5/14/2009
It was a quiet night, with only one disturbance. Makena used her big dog voice to announce that we had burglars. She was wrong, I'm sure, but the others all believed her and joined in. After I assured them the burglars were gone we all went back to bed.
After breakfast they ran and played for about an hour, then I put the visitors in their crates and went out with my dogs for a few hours.
Since then Makena has been reminding me why I don't want a puppy of my very own. As sweet as she is, she's gradually tearing up everything she encounters. She has brought in sticks and rocks and a hunk of baling twine, and she has them in small pieces all over the place. She found a nice tennis ball and she's been tearing off the fuzz. She's such a sweet thing, and she's not destroying anything I care about, so it's all OK.
Now that the day is old and warm the dogs are all asleep. This should last a few hours if nothing exciting happens. Then it will be dinnertime and playtime. And so it goes.
6:24 PM 5/14/2009
No problems.
They all went outside to get their pictures taken. Nothing good, but here they are anyhow.
Friday -- 10:18 AM 5/15/2009
Last night Beau and Makena ran and played and tussled and ran and played some more. When they did it again this morning I had my camera ready. Of course it takes the camera about 10 seconds to be ready to take the next picture, and the best moments seemed to happen right after I took a picture. Oh well.
Saturday -- 8:44 AM 5/16/2009
I don't know what that was that Makena ate. Or where she got it. I don't worry about the sticks she eats, since they are very soft wood and surely can't hurt her. But I couldn't identify this. She didn't help, either. I saw her chewing it up and I said, what's that you've got? and she picked it up and ran away. Wouldn't let me get anywhere near until she'd swallowed it.
When I ask my dogs what they have they bring it to me to look at. I guess it was foolish of me to ask her.
I didn't even sorta recognize it. Maybe it was something she found under the furniture, or the gardeners could have left it, or maybe it came in over the fence. She managed to swallow it fairly easily, so it probably won't hurt her. Possibly a candy bar still in its wrapper? Dunno.
7:33 PM 5/16/2009
We've had an active day. Makena has almost worn out all her playmates, although I can hear her and Beau playing as I write this.
She thinks I can't see her tearing out all the stuffing from the bed in the big pen. It keeps her happy and busy, and I was almost ready to throw that bed away. I've put its stuffing back about 5 times in the past year and the holes keep getting bigger. I have another bed in the garage, just waiting its turn.
She and Nickie were playing tag and landed on my laptop computer while I was trying to write a letter. Somehow they managed to step on the wrong combination of keys and locked up the machine. I had to unplug it and take out the battery to get it to reset itself.
Makena and Starlight were running through the house, in through the dogdoor and out through the back door, when Nickie decided to join them. She'd start out the back door behind them and as she got into the doorway they'd come in through the dogdoor and almost run her over as they went out through the door again.
Sunday -- 10:51 AM 5/17/2009
I think I figured out what it was Makena ate the other day. I saw her tear a piece of bark off a dead tree this morning and it looked a lot like what she ate. Since I didn't seem to care that she had it she brought it to me to throw for her.
Starlight will be so relieved when Makena goes home. Makena has started bringing in slats from a lattice and chasing Starlight with them. They start out about 5 feet long and Makena whacks all the dogs with them. She whacks me, too. Before long they get broken into much smaller pieces but Starlight still doesn't like them.
Starlight doesn't want to admit she's running away so she pretends she just wanted to get a drink. I've never seen her drink so much. Usually when we have visiting dogs I leave Starlight a way to retreat from the activity, but I couldn't think of a way Starlight could get away without letting Makena go there too.
Beau will be sad to see her go. He pretends he doesn't want to play but if she gives up on him he goes to her and asks her to play with him. He'll drop a tennis ball on her back and watch her try to catch it.
My house hasn't looked this bad since Starlight and Petey were pups.
6:07 PM 5/17/2009
The dogs are all wandering around wondering when they'll get their dinner. They are conveniently forgetting that they were fed 2 hours ago.
A lot of old tennis balls have come into the house from the backyard jungle. Some nice new ones came in too. I think they probably belonged to the neighbor, but after Makena is finished with them they probably won't want them back.
I used to return quite a few basketballs over the side fence, but recently it's been tennis balls. I think I still return most of them. My dogs aren't usually interested in them so I can return them in good condition.
Monday -- 6:04 AM 5/18/2009
We had a pretty good earthquake last night. When the dogs's people come home they just might find a few things fallen off shelves.
We barked and ran around excitedly, and went out to the backyard for a few minutes. It was all over very quickly. And then the phone started to ring. I was surprised when they said it was only a 5.0 and then they downgraded it to 4.7. It seemed stronger to me.
6:41 PM 5/18/2009
They got picked up a little while ago. I think their dad was impressed when he saw the shambles in the living room. I figure there's not much point in trying to clean up the mess while the puppy's here.
So now I can get out the rake and the shop-vac and get things cleaned up. No more dogs expected for a while. Vacation time.
An earlier visit:
Wednesday -- 12/10/2008
Makena came by herself today. Her sister Nickie got to stay with relatives. She's getting to be a big girl. Still a puppy, though.
She remembered to be polite to Beau, then she greeted Starlight carefully and Starlight welcomed her. The girls played tag in the yard for several minutes, then Makena jumped on me. That didn't turn out too well for her, and I don't think she'll do it again.
She's asleep beside me on the couch, seems quite happy.
Thursday -- 7:33 AM 12/11/2008
We had a relatively quiet night. Makena went into her crate nicely and settled down. The other dogs and I stayed in the living room with her for a while, then we went to bed. She made a few imaginitive mournful sounds, then went to sleep.
In the morning she didn't need to go out to pee. It was more important to romp and play. She didn't want her breakfast at first, but then after a couple of minutes she at it all gone. Good puppy.
After breakfast she went out to pee, then she found a nice tennis ball and took it to the couch and started to demolish it. She's so much like Starlight was at that age. Actually, Starlight still occasionally shreds tennis balls.
We'll hang around for about an hour, then I'll have to pop her back into the crate for a while. Then we will have the whole rest of the day and night together.
1:47 PM 12/11/2008
So far she's eaten half of a tennis ball, several sticks, and of course, two scoops of her dogfood.
She seems to be enjoying her visit. The resident dogs like her, and she likes them.
She prefers to spend most of her time with me, which usually means snugged up against me on the couch. I have the bedroom half of the house closed off so I don't have to puppy-proof it and I can keep an eye on her without following her around.
She went out to pick peaches from the peach tree like she did last time she was here, and she was quite puzzled that the tree wasn't there anymore. Even if it had been there it probably wouldn't have any peaches left in December.
I have improved the fence around my orange tree but if she decides she really wants to pick herself some green oranges it probably won't stop her. I'm hoping she just won't notice the oranges.
I noticed her right ear has a lot of dark wax. I cleaned out the outer ear, and at a brief look I'd say the ear needs some attention. Since she's just staying a few days I won't worry about it, but I'll keep an eye on it.
4:30 PM 12/11/2008
I'd almost forgotten how much trouble a puppy can get into, just by being a puppy.
I have a chew toy, shaped like a bone, with a hard knob at each end, and rubber covered middle. She managed to get one of the knobs off. It was small enough that she might be able to swallow it, and big enough to cause trouble if she did. So I took it away from her. Then she was able to get at the edge of the rubber covering and it just took her a few minutes to dismantle that. So I took it away too.
She found a nice chunk of knotted rope for tugging. I tugged it with her for a while, then she decided it would be more fun to get Starlight to tug with her. Starlight backed away and turned away and Makena didn't understand that she didn't want to play. When Starlight went into her crate Makena tried to go in with her. I managed to intercept her and shut the gate. I didn't latch it, so whenever Starlight's ready to come out she can just push it open. Meanwhile she won't be bothered for a while.
She showed the rope to Beau and he was happy to play with her. He has to be very careful because his natural inclination is to pull hard and growl when he plays tug. But that would scare the puppy. He has finally figured that out. So he pulled very gently and was careful not to growl. In fact he did it so gently the puppy didn't find it very much fun. She let him have it. He wandered off with it and took a little nap with it under his chin. She doesn't dare mess with him, so it will be there until he leaves.
It's getting dark and the dogs are all settling down for the night, even though it's still early.
Friday -- 7:53 AM 12/12/2008
We made it through another quiet night.
In the morning I gave Beau his breakfast in the spare bedroom, as usual, but Starlight wasn't around. She had gone outside. So I shut the door to the bedrooms and went to let Makena out and feed her. After a quick pee she came in and didn't want to eat her breakfast locked in her crate. So we compromised and she ate it with her crate door open.
I took Starlight into the bedrooms to let her eat and give Beau his second helping. Somewhere along the line I forgot to remember that I had left all the gates and doors open. I went into my bedroom for a moment, then I remembered. Beau was licking Makena's dish and she was off playing. So I don't know how much of her breakfast she actually ate. Most of it, for sure. Probably all of it. Beau always licks his dogdish carefully, then licks Starlight's, and then he comes out. So she had enough time to finish it.
I saw her eat more than half of it. So I won't worry. One more thing to remember not to forget next time. I always do things the same way so I don't get confused. Unless Starlight changes things, of course.
Makena and Beau had a wonderful wrestling match this morning. He's careful not to growl because that would scare her. He's a fine dog.
4:14 PM 12/12/2008
When a puppy runs across the keyboard of a laptop computer all sorts of interesting error messages happen. Do I really want to disable my mouse cursor? No, I guess not. Fortunately no permanent damage was done. She's sure quick.
She and Starlight have fun playing tag. They ran and ran like the wind this morning, then I locked the poor puppy in her crate for a couple of hours while I went out with my own two dogs. She was barking when we got home. I'm hoping she started barking when she heard the car arrive.
I had a 30 foot long rope on the little table in the backyard. She dragged it in this afternoon. It's good for tugging games. The short hunk or knotted rope is even better for tugging, and she can shake it and klonk herself with it too.
Beau wrestles very gently with her. I guess he remembers how small she used to be. He doesn't chase her though. She really wants him to.
She was leaping and cavorting a while ago and she did a huge sideways leap onto the couch. Problem was she forgot to pay attention to where the couch was. She landed in the air in front of it and crashed to the floor. Oops. No harm done. I didn't laugh.
When the gardeners arrived she was the first one to hear them and raise the alarm. She'll be a very good watchdog.
Saturday -- 7:50 AM 12/13/2008
Baby, It's cold outside!
It isn't raining but it's cloudy and damp. And cold. After a quick trip outside we all came in for our morning games. The house is full of dog toys. I don't really know where they all came from. I saw one of them emerge from behind the couch cushions, and the rope came in from the backyard table. So I guess I do know where they came from.
Last night puppy was playing in the pen, and accidentally pushed the gate shut. It just took her a moment to figure out how to get it open. She's smart. That's good and bad. She kept going in and out of the pen, and I finally went in to see what she was up to. The nice old dog bed that lives in the pen had a hole in it and she was happily pulling out the stuffing. I think I've probably repaired that bed for the last time. It has so many weak spots that as soon as a playful dog comes it gets shredded again. I haven't looked closely, so far I've just locked the gate. When I get around to it I'll see if it's worth mending one more time. I still have a few dogbeds stored away that are in better shape, I think.
Poor Starlight keeps getting prodded into playing with her. Starlight acts aloof and pretends not to notice the puppy, backing away and looking away. Eventually she relents and they play tag for a few minutes. Last time that happened Beau brought me the knotted rope and I threw it for him. She decided to leave Starlight and go take it from him so they played tug until he let her have it. She's sure getting a lot of mileage from the old nylabone.
She's doing really well with her socialization. She frequently annoys the grownup dogs, but she always stops or backs off before they get annoyed enough to dicipline her. Now that I think about it, she does the same with me. Just about the time I start getting tired of dealing with her she finds something else to do.
6:14 PM 12/13/2008
It was cold and windy today. The dogs played and played. I went out for a few hours this afternoon and left Makena home alone. She stayed in the crate like a good girl, and she was quiet when we returned.
She wanted to play with Beau this evening, but he was lying down. She approaches him by making herself small so she can come from below him. That's hard to do while he's lying down., Somehow she managed and he got up and wrestled with her.
Tomorrow morning Lexa will be joining us for a while. Lexa's a big bouvier. She was here when Makena visited as a small puppy. I don't imagine they'll remember each other. They didn't interact last time. Lexa takes a long time to make friends.
Maybe it will rain tomorrow.
Sunday -- 7:45 AM 12/14/2008
She likes ball point pens. The first one she ate I didn't know about until she appeared with just part of the inside. It took me a while to figure out what it was. The ink leaking out all over my hand was a good clue.
Then she snatched one off my living room table. I saw her with it and she ran. I almost had her cornered but she's awfully quick. She took it outside and demolished it, then brought the carcass in. I was able to get it away from her by distracting her with food.
Fortunately they were both cheap pens, and fortunately they don't seem to have hurt her. My TV remote vanished yesterday but I haven't seen any parts of it so I think I probably lost it without her help.
She's been spending the early morning playing with Beau. He really likes her. Starlight finds her a bit annoying.
6:16 PM 12/14/2008
She's gone home. My dogs were happy that I opened the door and let them have access to the other half of the house.
We have about 4 days until our next visitors arrive. I need to rake the living room and put away the things Makena has been playing with.
An earlier visit:
Thursday -- 1:14 PM 5/1/2008
Thursday -- 10:34 AM 8/14/2008
They are back. Makena's much bigger, of course. She's almost as tall as starlight, but much slimmer.
Puppies are so cute, and such a bother.
Makena's first thing was to jump on Starlight. Starlight said growl snarl and Makena backed right off and apologized. Then she jumped on Beau and he was too polite to snarl, so she kept at him until she got distracted.
Then she jumped on me. I was too surprised to do anything about it. From now on I'll be ready. Nobody jumps on Auntie Donna.
She ran and ran and ran for about 10 minutes, then it was time to lock her in and take my dogs with me for an outing. I put Makena in her crate and left Nickie loose in the house for a couple of hours. They were still here when we got home.
I let them loose and they both ran around for a few minutes, then Makena started messing with Beau. He knows he's supposed to be polite to visiting dogs, but she wouldn't leave him alone. He doesn't know how to growl snarl like Starlight does. He curls his lip and quietly grrrs and expects dogs to understand the message that they are going too far and they'd better stop.
Beau finally jumped on her and held her down, and I think even bit her a little. She held one front paw up for a minute like it was hurt, but she soon forgot about it. Beau put himself into his timeout crate and won't come out. I don't think she'll bother him any more.
She doesn't have the usual puppy mannerisms that protect pups from older dogs. If they do puppy face they can get away with almost anything. Makena doesn't do puppy face, so they treat her like a grown up and expect her to have grownup manners. Of course she doesn't, she's still a baby. She'll learn, though.
I rigged up a crate with a small opening for Nickie to escape to if all the big dogs get to be too much for her. I put her in it and she thought she had to stay there. Eventually I pulled her out and I'm not sure if she understands yet. She will soon. Makena can squeeze herself most of the way in so I should probably make the opening a little smaller. I'll get to that later.
Beau has been picking green peaches for the past week or two and Makena thinks they are fun to play with. She likes to play in my deep water bowls, too.
1:32 PM 8/14/2008
Makena had another lesson from Beau. I hope she learned something this time.
She ran up to him and started biting his lip. She figured if she can do that to Nickie she should be able to do it to Beau. He had other ideas.
He grabbed her by the lip and held on. She cried and pulled away. Fortunately he let her go.
He then put himself back in his timeout crate. He may stay there a long time. He knows he's supposed to be nice but some things are just too much to ask.
At first she didn't seem to have a mark on her but after a while I saw that a chunk of hair has been scraped off her face. The skin doesn't seem to be broken, and I'm almost certain the hair will grow back without leaving a mark. I'll put some antiseptic on it for a little while, but I don't really think it's necessary.
I sure hope she's learned to be polite with Beau now. If not I'll have to keep them separated for the rest of her visit. That wouldn't be nice for either of them. They'd have to take turns being in the pen.
I think it probably took this time. We'll see.
8:15 PM 8/14/2008
Things have gotten a lot quieter these past few hours.
Makena seems to have learned that Beau's not a toy. She still sees Nickie as a toy and drags her around by the collar and steals her collar and runs off with it. She wanted me to chase her for it but when she saw I wasn't interested in it she let me have it.
Nickie doesn't seem interested in staying in her crate where the big dogs can't get her. I'm not sure she understands the concept. I put her in there occasionally and she usually stays for a while.
The dogs all seem to be settling in for the night. Peace and quiet.
Friday -- 8:07 AM 8/15/2008
We made it through the night.
Makena slept in her crate, and after I spoke to her about the noise she was quiet the rest of the time.
Nickie slept with me until around 3AM when I couldn't stand the snoring anymore and popped her into the pug pen for the rest of the night. That woke Makena and started her yelping again for a few minutes, then all was peaceful until morning.
Nickie can't seem to understand the concept of a crate that she can get into and out of but the others can't. She still acts like she's locked in most of the time, but if there's something important she comes out. Then she isn't interested in going back in. But Makena bothers her a lot, and she seems to think there's nothing she can do about it.
For the moment I have Makena in the pen so Nickie can have some peace. A little later I'll put Nickie in her crate and let Makena out.
So far Makena's not bothering Beau, but I'm seeing her get bolder, and maybe she'll test him again. I hope not.
Rocky and Pete will be joining us tomorrow evening, and the commotion level will increase. We'll see how it goes.
1:39 PM 8/15/2008
Things are much more peaceful today.
Makena has been making submissive overtures to Beau, and he's mostly ignoring her. So far so good. If he barks at the outside sounds she gives him a wide berth. So she's giving him the respect he needs, and if things continue for a while he'll decide she's a good friend and all will be fine.
She's also leaving Nickie alone more now, so I can leave the whole gang of dogs loose at the same time and there aren't any conflicts.
She's checking out all the hiding places under and behind the furniture and finding thengs I don't want puppies to have. She's also findng lots of things puppies are welcome to have.
She's gonna be a very nice dog someday. She's very nice now, in fact, but puppies are difficult. Even nice ones.
Nickie has been spending most of the day asleep on the couch. Makena's alternating between napping and exploring.
6:28 PM 8/15/2008
It's been an interesting playful day.
Beau finally decided Makena's been submissive enough and now he's willing to play with her. She was so excited she ran and ran and came crashing into me as I sat here with my computer on my lap.
I just hope she doesn't overdo it and make him mad again. She's still being a bit careful with him so it will probably be OK. She's really rough with Nickie, and when Nickie tries to scold her and warn her off she thinks Nickie's playing with her and keeps it up. I think all her playing with little Nickie is why she has a problem relating to the bigger dogs. She doesn't understand that they are warning her off. That should be settled by the time her people come for her though. She'll be interacting with at least 5 big dogs during her visit and she'll learn a lot.
I thought Beau had gotten all the peaches he could reach by now, but she's brought in at least two new ones. I'm sure he can reach higher than she can, so I guess there were some he'd missed. She's also brought in a few branches and stripped off all the leaves and spread them around the living room.
Saturday -- 7:35 AM 8/16/2008
We made it through a very quiet night. Nickie got to stay out of the pugpen all night and cuddle with me. Either she didn't snore or I was able to sleep through it. I think she didn't snore. That seems unlikely, doesn't it.
Makena slept quietly in her crate and was eager for her breakfast in the morning.
Makena dragged in a chunk of rope and started chewing on it. It seems to be just right for chewing on. It's about 6 feet long with a knotted loop at each end. She drags it, shakes it, chews on it, and generally thinks it's the best toy she's ever seen.
She was chewing on a rock earlier today but mean old Auntie Donna took that away from her.
9:01 AM 8/16/2008
Poor Beau. He's very into dog manners, and one of the rules he lives by is that any puppy who uses puppy mannerisms is allowed to take liberties and use gentleman dogs as toys.
Instinct has returned to Makena, and she's doing puppy face. It's amazing to watch. Beau has to be sweet to her and even play with her. He isn't sure he likes it, but rules are rules.
Now that Makena remembers how puppies are supposed to act toward big dogs it will be interesting to see how she deals with Rocky and Pete when they arrive later today.
1:32 PM 8/16/2008
A lazy afternoon. It's warm and quiet and boring.
Makena keeps finding things in the yard and dragging them in to chew on. If they splinter into pieces a puppy can get hurt on I take them away, otherwise I just let her have them. Plastic pipe fittings splinter but plastic pipe doesn't. At least so far it hasn't.
We all had a nice nap and we're resting up for fun and frolic when the new dogs arrive in a few hours.
6:43 PM 8/16/2008
Well, that went as well as I could have hoped. Makena introduced herself politely to Rocky, and accepted Pete's invitation to play. Pete and Makena have been running and having a wonderful time. When Pete gets tired he lies down in the middle of the yard and Makena runs circles around him.
Rocky thinks she's OK, too. He just doesn't have as much energy as Pete.
Every few minutes they come in and get a drink and slobber water all over the floor. That's what I have all these towels for.
Sunday -- 8:33 AM 8/17/2008
Another quiet night, with Nickie sleeping on my bed and Makena in her crate.
In the morning they had their breakfast then Makena and Pete started romping. Every now and then Makena plays too roughly with Nickie and doesn't even notice when she tries to scold her. I intervene and Nickie seems to think that's just the way things are. Poor Nickie. She hasn't figured out that she can go into her crate and be safe. She'd rather be with me.
1:28 PM 8/17/2008
Puppies. My goodness.
I had forgotten all the mischief puppies can get into.
I've been keeping my two deep water bowls full since I have so many dogs here. Don't want to have them run dry. So when Makena stuck her paw into the bowl and pulled it over she released a lot of water.
Fortunately my stack of towels was just a few feet from the puddle, so I managed to contain it quickly.
I think it may have alarmed her enough that she won't do it again, since all at once water rushed all over her and I came running and yelling. I dragged her to her crate and shoved her in, then I set to cleaning up the mess.
The empty one will stay empty for a while, and when the full one gets down to a more reasonable level I'll keep it that way. I'll leave it just high enough that little Nickie can reach the water.
And her tummy had finally had enough of the sticks, bugs, green peaches, and whatever else she's been putting into it. Now that it's empty she can start filling it up again.
She's sleeping peacefully on the couch right now. She looks so sweet and innocent.
4:51 PM 8/17/2008
We've had our dinner and things are quieting down. Makena's taking turns playing with the big dogs, and now she has worn them all out and she has to play by herself for a while.
The remaining water bowl is getting low enough. I think I'll put the other one back and just replenish them several times a day, never very full, and put a low bowl in Nickie's crate where the others can't get at it to drink it dry.
I'm seeing toys I haven't seen for months, or even years. I don't know where Makena's finding them. I never go deep into the bushes, so I'm guessing that's where she finds them. Some of them are really dirty.
Monday -- 7:40 AM 8/18/2008
Another quiet peaceful night. I thought about putting Nickie in the pugpen where the snoring wouldn't bother me, but I guess I fell asleep before I got around to it.
This morning after breakfast I noticed Makena and Beau playing. She was lying on her back and he was poking her with his nose and making fake growling noises. He pretended to bite her legs. Both tails were wagging.
It looked like he had initiated the play, which seemed a bit out of character for him so I started watching more closely. She was doing it. It seems she has completely recovered the puppy instincts. Every time Beau would start losing interest she'd go back into puppy mode and make herself small and approach him from below. His instincts would then make him want to play with her.
When she got tired of playing with Beau she moved on to Petey. She treats him more like an equal, but she's a little more careful to show proper respect. Now that I think about it I remember noticing that Rocky was playing with her a little this morning. That had surprised me. She's really getting good.
She'll have another test in a few days when Quarterdeck arrives later this week. I'm sure she'll do fine.
Even though she has all the big dogs to play with I still have to rescue Nickie from her occasionally.
Tuesday -- 9:05 AM 8/19/2008
Everything's fine but I've been having problems with my internet connection, so no news just means I can't get to the site.
I can't believe all the stuff Makena's brought into the house in the past few days. Toys I haven't seen in years, a car windshield wiper (?) an old leash, branches and green peaches, ropes, and even pieces of an old abandoned watering system.
Years ago I tried to grow vegatables by the back door and I had a tiny black water hose from the corner of the garage to the back of the house. I've been meaning to get rid of it but I never quite got around to it. Now I guess I won't have to. She keeps bringing in pieces of it.
She brought her nice bed with her and this morning she began pulling the stuffing out of it. I picked up the stuffing and distracted her, and now she can't find the place the stuffing comes out of. I'm sure she'll find it again soon. Maybe I should take the bed away.
8:10 PM 8/19/2008
Things are going well.
Sally brought Chena the lab mix over to play this morning. Chena ran and played with the gang, and Makena got a bit too pushy with her. Makena got a scolding and a snarling, so she started being more polite. She learns fast.
They are working on the cable system in the neighborhood this week and next, so my phone and internet occasionally stop working. It's amazing how much it bothers me to be without them. So far the TV still works.
Wednesday -- 4:29 PM 8/20/2008
Not much of interest. Makena's getting on everyone's nerves, but she's a puppy so it's to be expected. Just about the time I decide to lock her up so we can all relax she gets sweet and nice and I relent.
This morning Beau was scratching his chin and she butted in and got snarled and snapped at. So she went to Petey to play with him instead.
I can't figure out if Nickie really likes it when Makena plays so rough with her or maybe she isn't smart enough to get out of the way. I let them play for a while until I get the idea Nickie wants out, then I separate them.
Nickie goes into her escape crate to get a drink but never to avoid Makena. Dunno what to think.
Thursday -- 8:41 AM 8/21/2008
I'm getting tired of having my cable come and go. When it's gone I have no TV, phone, or internet. For the moment it's back.
Makena's having fun with all her doggy friends. There are so many of them she doesn't wear out her welcome (very much) with any of them. Pete and ROcky will be going home in a few days and Quarterdeck will take their place. We'll see how that works.
Well, I've lost my connection again. I'll put this on the website as soon as I can.
Makena took Nickie's collar off again and ran with it. I'm not about to chase her for it, so I watched her chew on it for a while, then when she was distracted I snatched it from her and put it back on Nickie.
Makena sleeps quietly in her crate every night, and Nickie sleeps (relatively) quietly on my bed. If she snores I shove her over and that usually fixes it. If not I can always put her in the pugpen but I've only resorted to that once this visit.
I keep thinking I'm seeing little bloody cuts on the various dogs, then I realize it's just the red threads the puppy is scattering around from the old red and white leash she dragged in and chewed up.
Friday -- 12:03 PM 8/22/2008
I wonder what it looks like at their own house.
My living room floor has a shredded old red leash, a 7 foot rope, 3 1/2 kongs, many shredded branches and leaves, at least one plastic pipe, a 15 foot long garden hose, a towel, a dogbed and much of its stuffing, paper peeled from the label of a propane tank, bark peeled from a dead tree, rocks of various sizes, some peach pits.
And a happy puppy.
I keep taking rocks away from her, and she keeps bringing in new ones to chew on. Even if she breaks a tooth on a rock it's probably a puppy tooth, but I still don't want it to happen. And I suppose anything small enough for her to actually swallow is small enough to go all the way through, but I don't want that to happen either.
Rocky and Pete bring their toys and leashes in their tote bag, and I made the mistake of leaving it where Makena could manage to reach it. She grabbed it and ran outside with it, as the leashes started falling out and dragging. Poor Rocky and Pete thought that meant they were going somewhere, so they followed her. I tried to get the bag from her but that just made it more appealing to run with it. I picked up the leashes as they finally fell out.
When I finally caught up to her and got the bag she was happy to go on to some other mischief but Pete and Rocky are now waiting for their parents to come and get them. They know what it means when their bag comes out. I'm hoping they'll soon get distracted and forget to wait by the door.
A few minutes ago she was messing with Nickie and Nickie decided she'd had enough. Nickie snarled and snapped. That made Makena mad and she snarled and was about to beat up on little Nickie. Fortunately I was there to intervene before anybody got hurt.
4:09 PM 8/22/2008
When the lawnmowing guys came this afternoon I locked the dogdoor and Makena was really puzzled. She was sure it used to open when she asked it to.
Quarterdeck will be joining us in a few hours. This should be interesting.
7:22 PM 8/22/2008
Makena has a new best friend. She and Quarterdeck are running and wrestling and digging and having a wonderful time.
Saturday -- 9:21 AM 8/23/2008
We had a quiet night. People have a hard time believing me when I tell them how quiet it gets here at night. Dogs are pack animals, and when the leader of the pack goes to sleep the whole pack goes to sleep. And I'm the leader.
The puppy sleeps in her crate and all the others get to decide for themselves. I had 4 in my bedroom. I was awake around 4AM and I went to check on the ones who slept elsewhere. Starlight was on the chair next to the puppy's crate and QD was on the floor on the other side of the crate. They all seemed happy.
At 7 my alarm went off. The dogs in my room dashed out, eager for their breakfast. The dogs outside rushed in to make sure I got up and fed them. The puppy started barking.
So I put them all in their appointed places and got started feeding them. They all have different food and many have medicine in their food, so I have to be slow and deliberate in feeding them. It wouldn't be a good idea to give them someone else's medicine.
Rocky had gone outside when the alarm went off but I knew he'd show up for breakfast. And he did. After they were all fed I opened their gates and let them out as soon as they were finished. Rocky didn't eat his so I took it away and let him out. Then it was time to count the dogs. Seven. All accounted for.
Then we all went outside for poopy patrol. They are all finished and I've got it all picked up by 7:20. It takes a long time to get the whole gang ready for the day when there are so many.
Rocky decided he wanted his breakfast after all, so he ate it.
Then it's playtime. They romp and wrestle and chase each other until they collapse in a heap. And of course the puppy takes a long time to get tired. After a while she's the only one active.
Things are very quiet at the moment. Soon I'll go outside and they will all come with me. Then they will be ready to come into the house and be relatively quiet for most of the day. I'll wash QD's paws and hope they can stay clean for a while.
Sunday -- 7:13 AM 8/24/2008
Last night Nickie was snoring so I put her in the pugpen for the night. She seemed not to mind very much.
Rocky and Pete have gone home so there are only 5 dogs here at the moment. After 7, 5 seems like very few. It's interesting what a person can get used to.
Quarterdeck and Makena have been romping and having a good time this morning.
I picked up most of the junk in the house yesterday but it seems to have all returned. Why do I bother?
I put Makena's crate beside my gold chair, and Nickie has taken to hopping onto the chair, then using it to get onto the crate. She feels really important on the crate where she can look down on everyone. And the puppy can't reach her.
5:51 PM 8/24/2008
I noticed Makena's collar is getting small for her. She's growing fast. I lengthened it almost as far as it will go and it's still a little snug. I'll probably lengthen it the rest of the way soon, and hope it still works for her as long as she stays here. If not I have one that will probably fit her.
I have to drag her off the pug every now and then. When I can't keep a close eye on them I always put her in her crate. Much of the time they play nicely together, but Makena's so much bigger, and she has no idea that she needs to play gently with little dogs. I'm sure she'll be better when she grows up a bit.
Monday -- 12:28 PM 8/25/2008
I left the visiting dogs in crates for a couple of hours this morning and they were still there and happy to see us when we got home.
It's really hard to tell when Nickie wants to play with Makena and when she's just trying to defend herself. But a few minutes ago it was pretty evident that they were both having a good time. Nickie was on top, chewing on Makena's throat.
Makena just brought in a branch to chew on. That should keep her happily occupied for a while.
8:14 PM 8/25/2008
Another day comes to an end. So far so good.
Tuesday -- 8:27 AM 8/26/2008
Makena's a smart puppy.
I've been watching her play with and interact with the various big dogs. She's learned to treat them all differently, based on their attitude toward her.
When Pete was here she would throw herself at him, knowing he'd respond nicely, either playing with her or ignoring her. She gives Starlight a bit of space, because Starlight is offended by too much closeness.
After she introduced herself to Quarterdeck she learned he was nice but sometimes wanting to be left alone, so she approaches him politely. And Beau always needs to be aproached submissively at first, and then he's happy to play with her.
There was at least one time she was seriously getting on Beau's nerves, and he wasn't sure how to deal with her so he put himself into his timeout crate. That was hard for him because Starlight was napping in that crate and he doesn't disturb napping dogs. I noticed him wanting to go into the crate and I invited Starlight to come out. He went in and stayed a long time without being annoyed. The puppy still doesn't notice Beau's subtle hints.
6:17 PM 8/26/2008
I left Makena and Nickie in their crates a few hours this afternoon. When I got home I let them out and we all went to the backyard. Makena kept messing with Beau's face. She was doing it in a puppy way, and he was tolerating it as gentleman dogs are supposed to, but I could see he was getting annoyed, so I was glad when she finally got bored with him and went on to bother someone else.
We all came back in and we were sitting around. I didn't notice it but Beau and Makena had gone outside again. I figured it out when I heard YIKE YIKE! I went out to look and I saw Makena heading for the house, and Beau slinking along behind her. Obviously she'd gone back to annoying him and he finally got tired enough of it to let her have it. She's not at all hurt, and he only put himself in his crate for a couple of minutes this time.
Since then Makena's gotten herself snarled at by both Starlight and Nickie, and Quarterdeck has been playing happily with her. She's learning, but it does take time.
We're expecting her old playmate Bosley to join us tomorrow.
Wednesday -- 1:46 PM 8/27/2008
I think I'll let Nickie sleep in the pugpen from now on. This was the third time I found tiny poops in the guestroom in the morning, and this time there was also a wet spot. If it's too much trouble for her to go outside at night it's too much trouble for me to let her sleep with me. Sorry Nickie, but you brought it on yourself.
Makena's been dragging her around by the collar, and getting her teeth caught in Nickie's collar. I finally got smart and took Nickie's collar off. Now Makena can't choke her anymore.
Bosley was supposed to come today but he's delayed until tomorrow. I think Nickie will be glad to see him.
6:58 PM 8/27/2008
Well, that was exciting.
Last time I looked, maybe one minute before, Quarterdeck and Makena were wrestling and tugging on a rope. Then I heard growling that sounded like somebody was really mad. Nickie was attacking poor Starlight, who seemed bewildered. What did I do? I think what she probably did was be nearby when Makena messed with Nickie, and when Nickie retaliated she got the wrong dog. The two of them look very much alike.
Poor Starlight couldn't allow herself to be attacked, and retreating didn't seem to help. Nickie didn't stop. Finally Starlight got far enough away and the attack stopped. Fortunately there's not much damage a pug can do to an adult lab, and Starlight wasn't harmed. She was upset, though.
She needed to be comforted for a few minutes, then she went away. Beau even went into the pen to get away from all the excitement. They like excitement but they know they must tolerate a lot of nonsense from the visiting dogs without hurting them, so they have learned how to make themselves scarce.
Makena decided to jooin Beau in the pen which had me a little worried for a moment, but there wasn't any more excitement.
Now that it's over they are all resting quietly.
Thursday -- 12:20 PM 8/28/2008
They both slept in crates last night. How peaceful and quiet it was. Then out for 45 minutes for breakfast and outings.
Then I put them back in their crates for another couple of hours while I went out.
The dog bed in the crate has somehow become a pile of stuffing. It looks a lot like the bed Makena brought.
Bosley will be joining us in a couple of hours.
6:21 PM 8/28/2008
Bosley's been here a few hours and everyone likes him.
When Bosley and QD try to play Makena keeps getting in the middle and interfering. So far they are being polite and tolerating her, but they are getting tired of it. When they scold her she doesn't seem to notice.
And when Beau was trying to quietly play by himself she took his toys away. I interfered before he taught her another lesson. He was mad enough that he might have done something too severe. When she took his ball away he just went and got a chunk of rope, and when she grabbed the rope he growled like he really meant it. I sent him to his crate with the rope, then I put her in her crate and let him out.
I think She'll be spending a little more time in the crate for a while, so the big dogs can play occasionally without her help.
Nickie has figured out that her water is in her safety crate, but she still hasn't figured out that she can hide from the big dogs there. She spends almost all her time right beside me, wherever I happen to be.
All the stuffing from the bed in the pen is scattered around the pen, so for the moment I've got the gate shut. I need to go in there and pick up the pieces. Nickie and Makena found the tiny tear in the seat of my gold chair and started pulling out the stuffing. Makena ate one pretty good sized piece before I managed to stop them. Good thing my furniture is all second hand.
Friday -- 12:06 PM 8/29/2008
The girls are having a nice day.
They spent a couple of hours in their crates, then I took them outside to play for a few minutes. We came inside and Nickie plunked herself beside me on the couch.
Makena busied herself chasing the yellow labs around, reading my mail, including a nice catalog that she studied from cover to cover. Then she played quiet mouth games with Bosley for a while. Now she's asleep on the couch next to Nickie.
Saturday -- 9:06 AM 8/30/2008
I just noticed Makena's taller than Starlight. Wow. When she got here she was shorter than Starlight. I guess three weeks is a long time in the life of a growing puppy. Maybe when her parents come home they won't recognize her.
Nickie is getting harder for the big dogs to deal with. No matter how gentle they are with her she assumes they'll grab her and drag her around like Makena does, and she launches an attack toward them. So far they've just backed off and left her alone. Fortunately she doesn't seem to be able to hurt them. She just hurts their feelings and makes them not want to play with her.
Sometimes when she's going after Makena and snarling loudly the other dogs will come to see what's happening, and to help. She doesn't know they are on her side and she goes after them. It's nice that they don't take it personally, but I'd rather it didn't happen.
Sunday -- 7:46 AM 8/31/2008
My italian cypress trees have little pinecone looking things on them, and Makena's been picking them as bringing them into the house as toys. She stands way high on her tiptoes so she can reach the best ones. They are fun to throw and chase, and when they finally crumble into little pieces she can always go out and get another one.
I was told how much to feed the puppy, but I think that was based on how big she was when she arrived. It was 3 scoops in the morning and 2 scoops and a can in the evening. I'm now feeding her an extra scoop morning and evening, and she's still sleek and slim.
6:58 PM 8/31/2008
Nickie's asleep beside me on the couch, as usual. Makena's on the floor chewing on a pinecone, as usual.
Earlier this afternoon I heard a sound that was a lot like a dog peeing sound, but I didn't think it could possibly be that. The back door was open, and all the dogs had been out very recently. But I looked and discovered a puddle under Makena. She was standing there looking innocent. I hollered at her and showed it to her. She didn't seem impressed. I shoved her out the back door and she came right back in.
I put her and Nickie in their crates so I could open the garage door and get my pee sucking machine. Fortunately it still works, even though it makes a screeching noise. And fortunately I'll be able to have my carpet guy come next week when almost all the dogs are gone home.
Judging from the crunching sound, she may be chewing on a peach pit, not a pinecone. Whatever it is she's having a good time with it.
Monday -- 1:02 PM 9/1/2008
Makena just came in with a 3 foot long tree branch. Everything's fine. I'm glad her people are coming for her before her collar gets too tight for her. I've already extended it as far as it will go.
She's learning to be a retriever. She'll bring me a toy and hope I'll throw it for her. Soemtimes she grabs a toy she sees me throwing for someone else.
As usual, Nickie's asleep beside me.
Tuesday -- 10:44 AM 9/2/2008
Well, I guess I can't trust anyone. In the morning after breakfast I put the pup and the pug into pens and left the grownup yellow boys in charge. When my dogs and I got home we discovered the pillow that had been on the green couch was scattered all over the floor, with much of its stuffing out.
The yellow boys didn't know anything about how that could have happened. Yea, right. Probably the pup got out of the crate and did the damage, then locked herself back in.
I have too much stuff, and the dogs are gradually solving that for me. I've thrown away a dog bed and a couch cushion this week. If we can just make it through tomorrow most of these dogs will be gone and we'll be back to normal.
Wednesday -- 10:49 AM 9/3/2008
A happy quiet morning, so far. Makena's been playing nicely with the big yellow boys. She plays nicely with Nickie most of the time. She's been squeezing behind the couch and finding things I didn't know I'd lost.
I gave her the last can of dogfood last night, so for tonight it will be just dry. She won't even know the difference. And then their people will come for them.
gone home
An earlier visit:
Thursday -- 1:14 PM 5/1/2008
Nickie's back, and she brought her baby sister Makena. I don't think she knows how big that puppy's gonna get. She'll be one surprised little pug some day when she notices that the puppy's a labrador retriever.
The pup's only a couple months old and she's already bigger than Nickie.
There were four big dogs here to greet them when they arrived and it all went well.
The big dogs all seem to like the little dogs and tolerate their antics. It should be an interesting weekend.
4:52 PM 5/1/2008
What a nice puppy! I'm too old for puppies.
She's a lab for sure. One of the first things she did was try to swim in the water bowl and flood the kitchen floor. It's not the first time that's happened.
She helped Bosley work on his nice hole, with Nickie supervising. She played tug with the branches of one of my trees, and she's figured out how to get behind the couch where nobody else will fit.
Oh look, she even fits UNDER the couch.
She's friendly and self-confident. She's gonna be a really nice dog some day.
8:27 PM 5/1/2008
So many things for a puppy to learn.
Some things are good to chew on. But furniture, tapestries, screen doors, Aunties, some dogs, and other things aren't. Too bad puppies aren't good at generalizing. Just because some furniture isn't to be eaten doesn't mean other furniture isn't.
The big boy dogs love her and will let her do almost anything to them without complaint. The girl dogs aren't so nice. She was playing with Nickie and Nickie had finally had enough and laid into her. Puppy cried but Nickie didn't stop so I had to step in. Fortunately Nickie has a nice handle made of loose skin so I was able to lift her out of the fray.
Starlight growls when Makena gets on her nerves, and so far Lexa's just gone away. Beau and Bosley love to play with her and have her climb all over them.
We've had three accidents in the house already. I caught two of them in the act, but she didn't seem too impressed with my carrying on when I caught her. She goes outside on her own but she only seems to pee outside if I take her. Hmmm.
I hope Nickie has a place at home where she can go and the puppy can't follow her.
Friday -- 9:09 AM 5/2/2008
We had a quiet night. Nickie slept next to me and Makena was in her crate on the floor beside us. I was awake at 3AM so I took everyone out for a pee.
In the morning we had our breakfast, all uneventful.
I got a cute video of Makena playing with Bosley, and it's been uploading to youtube for the past 20 minutes or so. Dunno if it will ever get there, but if it does I'll link to it here. I uploaded it directly from the camera's memory chip which meant I couldn't use the camera to get a video of her when she was playing with Beau. I'm sure to get more chances.
6:43 PM 5/2/2008
Hightpoints of our day.
Nickie got her thumb caught in her collar tag. Mikena ate a bug. Mikena got caught peeing in the house.
I've learned that just because Makena has been playing outside I shouldn't assume she won't come into the house and pee. If she goes out on her own she doesn't pee. But if I go out with her she does. Very interesting.
Makena's a dear puppy. But she's still a puppy. Gotta be watched constantly. Lucky for her she's so cute and nice.
Saturday -- 7:45 AM 5/3/2008
A fairly quiet uneventful night and a good breakfast. I fed the puppy more than I was instructed, since she was so hungry. I hope I don't run out of puppy food before Monday. I'll do some measuring and figuring and add some of my own food to the mix if I need to.
It's sure easy to understand how it happens that well-intentioned people get a cute puppy with the plans to have it part of the family, and somehow it winds up as an outdoor dog, unhousetrained and with no manners. After a week or so of paying complete attention to a pup that pees in the house even when you're paying attention, and chews up the furniture, it sure seems easy to just put it in the yard and take a nap.
My house smells of puppy pee and I can't find the source. Don't worry, I'll find it eventually.
4:31 PM 5/3/2008
Well, before dinner I took Makena outside for a pee. Then after dinner I took her out and she peed again. So I let her in the house and watched her play. And pee.
My old pee sucker (carpet cleaning machine) started making bad squeeling noises a few weeks ago when I used it to clean up after a dog I was fostering. I didn't fix it or replace it because I decided not to foster any more unhousebroken dogs. Then Makena came along, after I had the carpet cleaned. Oh well.
I almost never go out at night, but tonight I'm having dinner with friends, so I'll leave the whole gang home alone. Since it's a night I'll leave them in crates and pens so they don't bother the neighbors.
Sunday -- 8:55 AM 5/4/2008
I think Nickie's enjoying her visit here because she gets a respite from the puppy. There are two dogs here, Beau and Bosley, who love to play with her, and Starlight and Lexa sometimes want to play with her. That leaves Nickie out. At first Nickie was pleased about it but yesterday she started inviting Makena to play with her. Not a lot, but some.
Makena's a nice smart puppy. It took her less than a day to learn not to bite me, and not much longer to have a pretty good idea of what she's not allowed to play with here. She sleeps quietly in her crate almost all night. She peed in the house again this morning, after two pee trips outside. But I guess nobody's perfect.
She has a really nice attitude. I like her a lot. I'll be glad when she goes home tomorrow though. When she comes next time I'm hoping she'll have figured out the houebreaking thing better.
She looks the same to me, but I'll bet her parents will notice how much she's grown in the days I've had her. Puppies grow fast.
11:48 AM 5/4/2008
I'm having flashbacks to when Starlight was a pup. My house looked just like this, with tree branches strewn around and chewed to splinters, and toys all over the place. She was a sweet puppy, just like Makena.
And when Petey and Starlight were pups and he came to stay with us the results were amazing. I think it's a very good thing that I like dogs. And puppies. And it's a very good thing that I don't have a puppy of my own.
Monday -- 8:17 AM 5/5/2008
What a nice morning. Bosley and Lexa went home so there's just my dogs here and the two little black ones.
All three labs are playing with a stuffed animal, tussling and growling and tearing out the stuffing. I got out my new camera to get a video of them but it turned itself off because its battery was dead. I guess I need to figure out what to do about that.
Now Starlight and Makena are tugging on a rope. Starlight could take it away from the puppy but she knows that would end the game so she lets the puppy win. Beau is busy tearing the nose off the toy teddy bear. Nickie and I are sitting together watching them.
Makena brought a soft toy and I'm keeping it for her to have at bedtime because the big dogs would have it in tatters within minutes if they got the chance.
We've gone about 24 hours without an accident in the house. Now that things are getting easy their people will be coming for them today.
8:57 AM 5/5/2008
OK, I put new batteries in the camera and I got a video lasting almost 5 minutes. I was gonna edit it down to the best couple of minutes but I decided to post the whole thing. I couldn't decide which parts to edit out. It will take a long time to upload, but once it's on youtube I'll put it here. And you'll understand why my house looks the way it does.
5:58 PM 5/5/2008
They went home a few hours ago. Boy is it quiet here.
