Pupdate April 18 2020

Pretty girl

There was no update last week.   What originally was going to be our saying Goodbye to Athena was put on hold.   Good news that she still has fight in her after having a couple bad weeks.   
She's had 2 good weeks so far. Even yesterday, while physically hard for her, she was still fighting.  

Her front legs slowly continue to decline.   It won't be too much longer before she can't hold herself up at all.  Not looking forward to that day.

But Athena fans, rest assured she's still with us and still playing with her siblings.

hangin in Momma's office

Peryn & Lada are doing well. Lada continues to bond & play with Volos.  Peryn & Volos continue to but heads. Peryn's been a bit of a butt head as of late with his siblings.   He also still loves heading downstairs to play with his herding ball.  He prefers us down there, but we are not necessary most days.

Lada has really blossomed as of late. She is the best little sister.  She loves on Athena quite often & cuddles with her on the bed in the office.  She plays with Volos often now too. The two of them get along well, which makes us happy.

Rough day

She's been much better than she was a month ago.   No more vomiting or lethargy.    She's been her happy little self.

I did notice that both Peryn & Lada were getting rather chunky in the middle.    All of my dogs have always been fit and healthy.  At first I chalked it up to their DNA as most ACDs tend to be stockier.     Then I realized Volos had filled out as well as Athena.  Athena's was wanted, the others not so much.
I had recently changed food (shortly before Duchess passed) in hopes that Duchess would like it.   Well, the rest of the dogs LOVED it.   So much so that they ate a lot of it and it was higher in calories/fat.     So back to the old stuff.   Need to trim these 2 up like they should be. 

VOLOS!
We have had a BUNCH of firsts to tell you about.    This guy has made great strides.  
 

At Daddy's feet

Dude has slept in our room, of course it was due to the storms, but he slept in our room.      He barks now.   He doesn't hesitate to be vocal when it warrants it.   The others barking- he joins in.  
Mommy down in the basement playing with the others, he barked from the top of the stairs.
Someone walking along the back trail, they all bark.     He doesn't over due it-thank goodness-- but he does let us hear his voice.

He has a favorite toy!    Since a few weeks in, he's taken to picking up things/toys and taking them with him.  He doesn't do much with them, but he does like picking up things.      

It was in Rich's office & occasionally when Volos was in there ready to get up, I would hear it make noise.   I thought it was a coincidence because it was right near where he laid.    Last week when she was done, moving onto another toy, Volos proceeded to roll it around, getting excited & proceeded to pick it up. He then carried it around in his mouth.   

His Ball

He's done this a number of times, getting really excited if someone rolls his ball.    He's adorable!

So for a long while when the ACDs get excited & fly down the stairs to the basement, Volos would run with them & stop at the top. He would excitedly wag his tail from the top of the stairs.   I knew eventually he'd get to the point where he would hate being left upstairs. 

Finally----the dude finally had enough.   This past week as I was downstairs with the pups & I started to hear his paws on the steps.   It went on for some time & before we knew it, he came excitedly around the corner to me.  
After seeing what all the fuss was about, he headed upstairs. Then not even 10 mins later, he was back down.      Now that he knows how to do stairs, he uses them.

The strength in his hind legs is building. He even got on his hindlegs to get to me sitting in the drivers seat after a shopping trip.   Dude is on a roll.

Hanging with Dad watching TV

He's out in the house with us 90% of the time.  Before we'd have to call him out to join us. He might stay with us, he might not.  He tends to be right in the middle of it with his siblings all the time now.   He's very much comfortable in his family.
He still LOVES car rides.  All he cares about it getting in the car, lying in the back seat, & sleeping.   He doesn't care about looking out the window or where we're going. That's all irrelevant.  He loves the car!   

In fact after driving around for a bit, after arriving home I left the car door open in the garage.  He stayed there until I eventually made him come back inside.    If he could, he'd stay in the car all the time I'm sure. 

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

As I mentioned earlier, he & Peryn are still 'at odds'.  They just have stand offs where neither will move & they just growl at one another. 

It's only escalated the one time, but I know another is coming.  I think if Volos would just give in & play with Peryn, most of the issues would disappear.   

We still have issues with Volos in spite of these great strides.  Trying to train him is turning out to be difficult.   He will not sit still or focus to try & teach him.     Raising a voice or trying to put his harness on leads to him "leaking'.    When he's outside he loves to visit the neighbors yards even though we've tried over & over to keep him in the yard. He'll listen & do what he's supposed to 9x, but the 10th he's off exploring. 

A big issue is that we do not have back stairs. Ideally we would let them out the back, watch them, & bring them back in.    No, we can't do that yet. We are in & out of the front door. He sees someone he wants to greet, forget it. 

Handsome!!

Another issue we had, but we've changed, was taking them ALL out at the same time.  Athena requires our focus so we may miss the cues he's about to explore.   We're now breaking up the outings to Athena only & the other 3 only.   

Peryn tries to reign him in. He will chase after him barking & nipping (doing what heelers do) trying to get him to come back home. 
We planned on getting Invisible Fence at this house, but had to put that on hold while we waited for the house next door to get built.  FINALLY 7 months later, it's started.     Coinciding with the Stimulus money, we've begun the process.     Another issue holding it up is the possible regrading of our yard.   In the back there is standing water that does not drain & little spots all over like that. Additionally there are spots where NOTHING grows. No grass, no weeds, nothing.        We need to find out when that can happen.   I was hoping they could do spots, but Rich wants them to do the whole thing.         

We're slowly getting there though!!

Who's a handsome boy?

Cheezburger!

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!!

Athena's Update

Hi. Today marks the 2 month mark that she's been with us. 
 
My only complaints:  she still urinates in the house and she barks...a lot.   Other than that she is absolutely wonderful still.   
 
Her surgery is scheduled for Thursday. Both she and her sister, Duchess, are going in. Duchess needs to have a small benign tumor removed.  So yay to that.
 
As far as the physical issues she had when we adopted her:
Both ears were infected. She had a yeast infection on her back & had a strip of hair gone. It was all scabbed over and white. 



First 5 mins we had her. 4/3



Underneath her she was all black. Her underside & her 'elbows'. She had loose skin where it appeared she was underfed.   Her teets were large & distended, possibly over bred.
 
Some pictures (found in an earlier post) for a reminder:

At home getting comfortable

First Hour

See the 'black' underneath her and on her elbows

A back view of the missing hair

 

Close up of her elbow

  



 

Another view of her elbows & her hanging skin underneath
 
 

 
 
 

Her 'hanging" skin & teets

 


Her Back



 So, here she is today. A healthy weight, the scabs gone, the black is slowly fading but it's still there.  Plus she's just happy.

 

Yum! I stole sissy's bone.

 

Filled out.  Nice size girl.

 






Another view of her.

 












 

Her Back today

Her elbow

 

Underneath

 

With Mommy!