Two things......

 Let me describe the insanity that is going on in my home right now on this rainy Friday night.

Dogs went to day care today.  Approximately 9+ hours.    They come home and immediately want to begin playing.

After dinner, Peryn & Volos headed straight to the basement to play their little "games" or whatever it is they do..bark at one another. 

Lada--I bought a small shooter to use upstairs ( I got tired of touching wet balls).  Unfortunately it takes the small tennis balls.   SO we begin to play with that. She immediately loses one ball.  Finds the other and then Volos comes flying back upstairs because he's decided he LOVES this new blaster.   
So both of them are fighting for the balls.  He takes the one squeaky one and I find one of the originals that came with the blaster.

However this ball is dead. Broken open, felt peeling off, & the blaster will barely hold it.  SO begins the shooting of the orange "ball" that they fight over.  If Volos gets it, Lada then runs to the basement in search of the yellow squeaky one.   If Lada gets it, it's clash of the...errrrr it's a rumble.

Meanwhile, Peryn is in the basement doing....whatever...  I can't tell you what because he's not making a sound.   He's not rolling his herding ball nor is he holding a squeaky toy. So who the heck knows what he's doing.   

Lada comes back over to me, expecting me to shoot off a ball, but she's failed to bring me back one.   SO I have nothing to shoot....well I do but I don't want to open those balls yet.    We get up and go to look where one is. Volos is sitting there at the entrance of my office and just breathing hard staring at the steps....why? NO Clue.   
Lada then runs to the basement to look for the ball which is actually in Rich's office.   
More running around and I get the ball back.    
Shoot it off  and then nothing.   Silence.  I look down, Lada is waiting for me to shoot off a non-existent ball. I head to the foyer, at the bottom of the stairs, standing and looking up is Volos.  He comes flying upstairs and then Peryn pops his head around the corner to let me know he exists.

Currently all 3 are sitting around me in the living room. Peryn whining at me for....I have no idea.  Lada keeps pawing the blaster. Volos nudged the blaster.   I'm trying to tell them I need a ball to shoot.   They aren't getting it.....

Well, here we are 2 weeks since we said good-bye to Athena.   It was hard.  I miss that sweet girl.   She never deserved everything that happened to her.  However if a dog was going to get that crap, she would be the best candidate because she was just sooo happy.

Her last day

She didn't go down like Galen, Goldberg, or Duchess.  She struggled to breathe at the end.  It was a bit traumatic for me as it was very reminiscent of my father's passing.   
It's just hard.

We never realized how much of our lives was devoted to her.   I'll give you an overview. 

Waking up in the am, I would let the pups out to go bathroom. *IF* she was up, I'd have to go pick her up and carry her outside.  I'd have to stand out there and hold her rear up by the harness and wait for her to pee or poop.   Sometimes it was quick other times I would have to move her around to get the right "spot" in order for her to go.

I'd bring her back in and place her on the bed in either the living room or my office. It depended what time I got up (4 or 5) and what room I was in.  
If she had soiled the bed, I would have to go take care of that.    

I would then hand out their brush chews.    If I was in the living room, I would pick her up and carry her into my office.   If we were already there..no biggie.   

Rich would get up about 6:15 and come check on her status.   Sometimes we took her back out other times she was fine.   He would then go and prepare her morning pills.  

I would then get up and retrieve her bowl and fill it up with water and food.   
If the others were hyper and running around, Athena would be barking at them as they did so.  If not, they all laid there.. Usually Lada curled up beside Athena.

Eventually Rich would take the pups to day care and so would begin the day of Athena & I from home.   She would take naps, but darn if that girl did not have a 6th sense of my leaving the room.  I'd pop back in and there she was up awaiting for me.

Most days she was pretty chill. Other days she would we very agitated. It was on those days that I would take her out multiple times to make sure she went.  She HATED going and sitting in it.  

If I ever left the room for more that 10 minutes, she'd begin barking .  She wanted me to know she wanted to be with me.

Most of the time our days would be boring. WHen I went to lunch, I'd bring her in the living room while I made lunch in the kitchen.  I'd bring her back to the office when done. 

I'd get off work at 2:30 and once more we'd take a bathroom break.  I would then bring her back in to either the office , living room, or bedroom depending on what I had to do. 

A lot of times I'd get on the floor next to her and cuddle with her.   SHe loved being cuddled or hugged.  

On really nice days, I'd put her at the back door to watch people walk by.  She loved watching out the window. 

I'd start dinner and she would watch me from her bed.  WHen the other cames home she would get so happy. Oftentimes she'd lift her front up and swivel around to watch them come in. 

After diinner was her cuddle time with Daddy. Rich would get on the floor in front of the couch and just pet her. She loved to place her head on his leg.  The other crazies would run around and she would bark at them.  She loved her pack.

At 8 it'd be bedtime and we'd take her out one last time, she'd get her pills, and we'd set her up in bed. Her nighttime treat was ice cubes in her water. She loved to gnaw on them. 

Now often during all of this she would soil her bedding and we'd have to wash it.  SO there was an awful lot of bed changing. 

On non-daycare days I made it a habit to take them all out or down to the basement at lunch to let them play.  She'd get 20 mins of cart and running time.   Sometimes I couldn't do it and it would just be a change of rooms while I prepped lunch. 

AFTER work on non-day care days they definitely got Mommy time.  I'd take Athena out and when I brought her back in, put her in her cart. The dogs got excited because they knew that meant play time. Even Athena did. 

We'd either go outside or to the basement. There she would roll around chasing after Peryn & Lada with their ball.  If it was the basement, she would always pee while in her cart and I ended up cleaning up the floor while they played. 

She LIVED for this time.  SO depending on how she was feeling and what I had going on , we'd be down there for 45 mins to an hour and a half.  I may have had things to do, but I let them go.  I knew this wouldn't last long.  Athena playing with her siblings.   

I also used this time as a gauge on how her disease progressed.  
After play we'd come upstairs and I'd place her on the bed in the living room. 

The rest of the evening proceeded like day care days. 

Caring for her became such a part of our day to day life, we never realized just how much we did until we weren't doing it.   It felt wrong and empty at first. 

We're relieved that she's not miserable anymore and that we don't have to wash bedding day in and out, but I would happily put up with that to have her back with me---healthy at least.

The others? Now sure. It is only this week that Lada has gone back to lying on the beds where Athena laid.  She had avoided them since that day...so I don't know if that means she's accepted it & is coming to terms with it  or if I am reading too much into it. 

THank you for all the messages and gifts we received.  Each and every one meant the world to us.  That you guys know what she meant to us. 

So that's pretty much it for now.  The pack and their crazy antics and the hole that Athena left....... Until next time. 

See her spine? She lost so much muscle mass

Closer look at her spine. See her bald spot

May 2018--sorry we've been away!

HI!!!! Hi. Hi. Hi. HI!!!!   Thanks for checking in!  We're sooooooo happy you're here. Well I know I am.  For those of you who are new- I'm going to introduce me.  I'm Lada. I'm the youngest and happiest and the one who loves my Mommy the mostest. I have the bestest Mommy in the whole wide world. 

I have 2 big sisters and 1 big brother. I love my sissies and my big brother.    They are the funnest and awesomest brother and sisters any dog has ever had.

Uhmmm my Mommy says that I'm supposed to tell you all about what we've been doing in all these months and months.  My Mommy is the bestest person ever.

Duchess had an owwwie and had to go to the doctor and he got rid of it.  She was all whooo whooo and then she got better. She looks better now.

Many times a week Mommy takes us to play care. It's this awesome place with other doggies and these really awesome ladies who love on me ...well some of the time.

Also we all go to this big park that is just sooo awesome cause we gets to play with our ball. Peryn and I go all nuts-o.  We love it soo much and can't wait to get there. We know the way and we just get so so so happy.

Athena- i love my sister. She wasn't allowed to go with us to play care for a little while.  She was hurting and her leg bothered her.  She's feeling better and was at play care with us again. Yay.

Duchess tries to have fun without me when we're there.   I mean you can't have any fun without me. I get yelled at when I try to bug Duchess when she plays with her friends.   Why?  I"m fun.  I love my big sissy.

I have a pretty good life though. Me n Mommy go on car rides a lot. The really really really long type. We usually end up with Gwamma and Gwampa when we go on those rides.  I love Gwamma. Jack-my uncle is ok. Uncle Davey is cool. Gwampa ...makes me nervous. But we're getting better at coming to an understanding.

I have cool friends at play care and at home. There's Master Chief and Bridger. Then there are my hooman friends like Kara and Emily and Jennifer and Marlo.

And always Peryn is my best-est friend (after Mommy).   I love my Daddy too.   Don't get me wrong, after Mommy he's pretty darn awesome.

HI!! I'm back. Momma says I have a bad attention span.   This is ....Mommy says 3 ...This is taking me three days to write cause I have to keep my eye out on Momma. When momma leaves, I do too.

Today Momma took me to the store with her.  We went to that big place with all the stuff... I have been there a lot and they usually give me treats and love on me.

OH! OH! OH!. Mommy gots this machine for us. It throws balls.  IT's like the awesomest.  I stand right there and wait till I hear it get ready to throw the ball and then I catch it really quick.   Peryn gets mad cause he can't chase it then.    It really is awesome but takes forever between throwing balls. 

so anyways I think that's all ...if not I"m sure Momma will tell you all about it.

BYE BYE

 Hello Everyone.    Thanks to Lada for giving everyone a quick rundown. 

It's been a busy /crazy few months for both the humans and the canines. 
Let's begin with Ms Duchess..She continues to thrive. Playcare has done wonders and she is more interactive all around. 
She's still a bit stand offish in not wanting to give any affection, but she's willingly coming to get said affection.

She landed in the vet's office twice for injuries/surgery.   In January, Duchess was "sliced" on the side -in two places- by what we believe to be a frayed steel tie out cord.  She required stitches and had to take it easy for a bit. 

Her hair is still growing back from where they shaved it, but she's good to go otherwise.

In March, we had a skin tag that was growing by her eye removed.  She healed quickly from that and is her normal demanding self. 

She still has a thing for her Boyfriend Oscar and often plays with another dog Kavik (Husky--her peeps).  We really believe she's blossomed into a wonderful dog the past year and a half. 

She unfortunately still gets picked on quite a bit by her baby sister (Lada), sometime full on body slams, but she never bites her or hurts her.  She's a sweet soul and we both adore her. 

She's very demanding about getting treats. She expects them in the morning, when we come home, when we get up, and anytime we're in the kitchen.  She doesn't always get them, but she tries.

Sunbathing

She loves 2 of our neighbors..well 3.  She adores our neighbors Lissette and Mike. Anytime she's out she's always over trying to check out if they're out.  She will always say Hello. 
Then there's Kara. Duchess loves her (all the kids do).  She helps us out with checking in on them when our schedule gets wonky and she spoils them.   Therefore, they love her.

I see her age creeping up in small ways.  Her jumping up on things these days is more cautious. Her zoomies around the yard aren't really a thing anymore because of little sister, but when she's not around, Duchess tries to do them.

We started taking the kids to a  new dog park this year. Duchess loves it to death. It's large enough that she can do her perimeter sweep, run -run-run, and not be too bothered by other dogs.  She is a beautiful dog when she is there. Happy and free.    There is nothing like it.

She still loves to sunbathe and when I can, I make sure I let her out to do so.

Ms Athena

The whole reason this blog was even started.   For the most part, she is a happy dog.   Loves her pack and loves going to the park and day care.

However, her history and her age are catching up to her.
She frequently is over doing it or getting beat up.  Watching her limp or run awkwardly at the park is heartbreaking.
She tries so hard.

Recently she over did it at Play Care and a few days later we were at the park where her 2 younger siblings knocked her down.  Then she went down playing with other dogs.

We limited her activities for 2 weeks-which included not going to play care.  She healed and is back to having fun.

Now either she is ignoring me or she's starting to lose her hearing.   I have to nearly scream for her when she's outside.   Even in the house you need to speak loudly to her.   
She looks healthy and has a glow to her, so you can't tell how old she is other than watching her.

She really is a sweet and happy dog.   That being said, she's always been a barker.   She vocalizes her emotions and has since day one.  Whines and barks depending on the circumstances.
Lately it's all bark bark bark.   It is high pitched and annoying. She gets yelled at by her dad a lot because she just barks away and makes it difficult to have a conversation.   
And Lord if the little ones start playing with anything or anyone, the barking starts.   It is VERY VERY ANNOYING.

However she never takes our yelling at her to calm down to heart.   She just continues to be a happy girl.

The dog bed pictured was won in at a fundraiser.  ALL the dogs love it and they often lose their spot if they get up..but Athena enjoys it the most.  She will lie next to it if it is occupied.  In fact, she's on it as I type..

Peryn. Peryn. Peryn.   Lord do I love this boy.  He's such a handsome dude.   HOWEVER now that he's older, I can tell you more about his personality.

First, he's not overtly affectionate.  He does not want you to cuddle with him or pet him unless he deems it.   Its on HIS terms not yours.   We try to cuddle up with him when he's lying on the couch and he'll get up and leave.   However there are days where he will climb up on you and pin you there while he licks you to death.   Only then may you pet and cuddle.

His first love is his toys. Balls and tugs.   He will ignore food, dogs, and people if you have one of those items in your hand and are playing with him.     There are times at the dog park we won't bring one of his toys because we want him to play with other dogs.   He does like playing with other dogs, but he HAS TO have a ball in his mouth if he does.

He and Lada love to play with their herding ball at the dog park.  They go nuts with it.  They've destroyed all of our landscaping and landscaping lights playing with that dang ball.

We have a drawer of confiscated toys because he DOESN'T LET UP!!!!  Don't worry he has a tub full of more toys.  The little devil has even broken into drawers and storage cubes to pull out the new and unopened toys.   Dude is serious about his toys.

I finally took the plunge and purchased a automatic ball thrower.   HE LOVES IT.  Outside I got him to drop the ball into the machine after he returns from fetching it.   Inside he becomes an idiot and I am the one to load the balls. 

Lada loves it too.  She irritates him by staying right at the opening and getting the ball as soon as it comes out of the machine.

He still loves his family and kind of acts like the protector of the pack. He waits till they're all in or going up stairs or whatever they're doing as a pack.   He reminds me of Galen when he does that.

He definitely keeps Lada in line.  If he doesn't like what she's doing or we're yelling at her, he snaps at her to stop.

He and Lada are still BFFs.   Lada ADORES him.  He adores her.

 Here they are playing with his tether tug.   He loves that thing and has since he was a pup.
She won't touch it unless he's playing with it.

They do have a lot of fun together. 

He really is such a good dog. He's also extremely sensitive.  If I yell at him, he takes it to heart. If I yell at the other dogs, he takes it to heart.   He does not want to disappoint us and it breaks my heart when he gets bent out of shape when I'm yelling at another dog.

The other half -Lada.   As you read up there, Lada is a bit high-strung. She doesn't do anything in moderation.She is go-go-go-go. all the time.

I call her Psycho or Wild Child.  She has a big prey drive.   Where we used to allow her off leash so she could play with her neighbor pals, she's now on leash.   She tends to take off into the woods  and runs fast and wild.  She comes back muddy, wet, missing tags, etc... She ALWAYS comes back, but it's irritating when it's crappy out and we can't go after her. 

She does NOT like to be ignored and she DOES NOT like to share her Mommy....especially in bed. 

Peryn loves to climb up me when I'm in bed and lie right on top of me to lick me while I love on him.   Lada gets all up in arms and starts making these sounds--whiny low pitched sounds when this happens. Sometimes it's nothing more than the whining. Other times she will crawl in between him and my face to prevent him from getting any more loving.   Cracks me up.

She's now 25.5 lbs.   So she's grown a bit.  She's ALL muscle.   She defies gravity and she loves hard. She is a big brat to Duchess and her and Athena got their own bond.     She often will find a toy and play by herself and it looks like she's having a blast. 

She is a sweet girl , but again VERY HIGH STRUNG.  I've given up on training with her because she can not concentrate to do it. 
 

She's super stealthy, so she tends to sneak out when we aren't careful. 

She is a WONDERFUL travel companion and made several more trips to Tenn with me. When she's down there, she is the perfect dog.

She is a lot of work, but I adore her.
At play care she's made some new friends of her own size.   She looks like she's having a blast in all the pics they post.   Makes me happy.

So that's what's what with the pups.   Will have more pictures soon as we're heading to the 4th Annual Cattle Dog Campout and meet up!!