Sunday, October 31, 2010

Tiny Tennis

While Coulee was off fetching (and doing her neurotic sniffing), I broke out my mini tennis ball for Lacey.


To say that she liked it would be a huge understatement.


She just mouthed it over and over again.


If I asked nicely she would give it to me so that I could throw it back to her.


And then she just flaunted that she had it again.


She probably spent 3 solid minutes staying in one place entertaining herself (and me!).


Is she getting cuter every day, or is it just me?

Strike a Pose

They did this on their own, with absolutely no coaxing from me. (Lacey looks like a giant in this picture, trust me she isn't as big as this makes her appear)


Look!  They are touching!


Maybe one day they'll actually snuggle!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Zisc Love

Lacey likes the little one, just as much as the big one.




She still carries it folded like a taco, but not quite as often.

Coulee

Can you all guess why we named her Coulee?  She's a perfect colour match!



Friday, October 29, 2010

Friday Funny


Happy Birthday Little One!  Thanks for always making me smile.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The Wee One

Don't you just want to squish her?


She's just so stinking cute!


Wheee!

Limp Free


I had a change of plans and decided to try and make Coulee's limp appear so I could take her to the vet and have something to show.  So off we went to the dog park with a new toy.  She was soooo happy.  She ran, and ran, and ran and ran.  And didn't limp once!


Not sure if it is better, or if we are just "between episodes" again.  But I'm convinced it isn't an injury - I can't imagine that she wouldn't have reinjured it today with all the running that she did. If it does show back up, we'll go to the vet and get some tests done.  Regardless, I think I'll keep her on the glucosamine, it can't hurt.


I do know one thing for sure today after today's walk... Winter is on it's way!

Monday, October 25, 2010

The Limp

Coulee's limp is really more like a hitch.  That is, if it even exists!  Sometimes I think I see it and then seconds later I don't.  I'm not sure if I am imagining things or if her gait was never as smooth as I think it was.  It just seems off... sometimes.  Sigh.

I can see her leash walks are starting to not work. And by work, I mean enough exercise to keep the edge off her.  We just got back from one and she is all over Lacey.  When she is in this mood, it isn't so much play as bullying.  It is usually the sign I use to get off my butt and give them a run. When I don't work in the mornings, I can usually last until about 9 a.m. before the bad behaviour starts.

But technically she's already had that run already, it just wasn't actually a run.

Thanks for all your suggestions!  I looked at her toenails - great idea!  They are all perfect.  :(  I'm not sure about a disease from ticks.  Where we live, Lyme's isn't an issue but I know the ticks are carriers in the mountains and we did go into these areas a few times this summer.  I never saw a single tick on either the girls or us this summer.  But that doesn't mean there wasn't one.  I'll definitely look into this.

I am most worried that it is a strain or sprain.  (Well that is not true, I'm most worried that it is bone cancer but I think that is over reacting.... but I still can't stop thinking about it).  If it is a strain or sprain, there isn't any point in going to the vet because I know what they are going to say.  Rest it.  And I'm doing that - to the best of my ability.  My sanity needs some relief though, so we are still going out walking.

I'm going to give it another week and see what the reduced activity and glucosamine does and then go from there.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

How to Keep the Toy

Boone really enjoyed his off leash run yesterday. He figured out a system to make sure that he was always the one to get the toy.


According to Boone there are just a few things you need to do to be successful.

Tip 1: Out run your competition.


Tip 2: Be sure to gloat that you have it and they don't.


Tip 3: Give them the evil eye when they try and steal it from you.


Ooops!  Tip 3 doesn't always appear to work.  You may want to skip Tip 3 and move directly to Tip 4.


Tip 4:  Look fierce when they try and steal the toy.


Tip 5: Encourage the competition to take each other out.


Tip 6: Never, ever let go.


Tip 7: Leave anyone faster than you at home.


Happy Fetching!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

That Kind of Morning



I hope it turns into that kind of day.

Friday, October 22, 2010

The Leash Project

Coulee has been randomly, and sporadically limping or hitching on and off now for a few weeks.  I'm not sure what it is.  We've found her worrying at one of her paws, but can't find anything there.  At one point she yelped, held up her paw and wouldn't put it down for a few hours but then she was instantly fine again.  A week or so went by before we saw any hint or soreness again.

So I'm trying two things.

First up - the dreaded leash walks.

I hate leash walks.  Hate, hate, hate them.  I find them mind-numbingly boring. Coulee and Lacey both feed off each other and become lunging, barking maniacs at everything they see, so I have to walk them separately which doubles my boredom.  While together they are a nightmare, alone they are pretty decent on the leash.  Although I did have a mini-meltdown on Lacey today.

I must have told her 50 times in 5 minutes to stop pulling on the leash and every 3 seconds she would be out at the end again.  She isn't stupid.  She knows what I want.  It only takes a "uh uh" or "ehem" to get her back in place.  But I had to "ehem" 50 times in 5 minutes.  If I kept up a verbal diarrhea of "good girl, what a good girl, that's it" she wouldn't pull, but the moment I stopped talking she be out in front again.  Oh and I was rewarding the good behaviour with cookies too.  She couldn't hold a heel for 5 seconds, never mind 5 minutes. Hell, I would have settled for 20 seconds! I'm not sure what she wasn't getting - or maybe it was me that wasn't getting it. I finally gave her a stern jerk on the leash.  She came running for a hug, which I dropped to the ground to receive, and we were fine from then on in.  Apparently she didn't think I really meant it until then and I didn't know what else to do aside from unclipping the leash and letting her just walk sweetly behind me like she does at the dog park.  Seriously, she has the best off leash heel ever - without even asking, she just falls in place behind us on the path and putters along in our wake. I've never had her do this while wearing a leash.

Coulee was good today. She also has a habit of walking at the end of the leash with just a slight tug the entire time.  Seriously drives me batty.  She isn't going any faster way out in front than she is at my side, yet she insists on doing it, even though the nose harness can't be comfortable.  A couple of sudden halts were all that were needed to get her to loosen up the leash a bit though.  That and cookies every time she came back to heel without me asking.

My other complaint about leash walks is that the girls are still feeling rambunctious!  30 minutes on a leash at a brisk pace is a far cry from 45+ minutes of full out running (well Coulee is running, Lacey is usually just puttering) at the dog park.

My goal is to do leash walks for two weeks before heading back to the park.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it.  I'm only at day 2.  On the bright side, I'm walking faster and farther than I normally do!  It is amazing how much a camera slows you down.

My other limping "fix" is to get Coulee started on Glucosamine.  It can't hurt and for some dogs it seems to do wonders.  Hopefully we'll see some improvements. It will be hard to tell though as she might just be in between limping episodes.  That and I don't know what, if anything is actually wrong.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

A Wrestling Match

I took this yesterday with my phone of the girls wrestling in the backyard.

I love it when they have relatively balanced play.  I thought it was funny that at the end when I said "Alright" to get Coulee to stop sniffing Lacey, they both took that as a sign that play should end and they both came running over to see what we were going to do instead.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Ear Hair


Coulee thinks crazy ear hair is just part of her charm.  I'm actually shocked she escaped a weekend at Jo's house without a trim!

A Sure Thing


I'm really not sure how she could miss!


But apparently it isn't hard.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Best Friends


Or maybe not...


Who says dogs' faces aren't expressive?  LOL

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Grandpa Time

There were peals of laughter coming from the living room all weekend.  And in the center of it all was Dad.  As you can tell, he likes being a Grandpa.










Wednesday, October 13, 2010

iPhones

We showed the girls our iPhones....


They were instantly hooked.  :)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Fort Steele

This Thanksgiving, Marlin and I headed off to Cranbrook to visit and relax.  We spent Sunday at Fort Steele.  It was the first time I had been there and it was a lot of fun.

We took some family photos...



We posed in front of cheesy signs.  How perfect is it that there was a government building for Marlin and a photography one for me?



The government building had the jail...


... and some pretty blatant propaganda.


We made some rope.


We met some interesting characters.


We studied the map to figure out where we had to go to get our free lunch!  :)


We saw turkeys that had survived, at least until Christmas!


We smiled for the camera...


... some more willingly than others. ;)


We resisted parting with technology.


We laughed at the lessons on the school chalk board.


We made friends with the locals.


We panned for gold.


We practiced new skills.


But best of all, we spent time with family and had a great time!  I'd highly recommend Fort Steele to those of you who have never been.  It was fun for all ages.