Bad Momma

Volos hates unknown sounds.  Beeps! Bells! Any electronic sound.  Freaks him out big time. 

Back in 2020 we had a power outage that lasted awhile.  The alarm beeps when it goes to back up battery. It beeps continuously to remind you that it is on battery.     

He started getting all freaked out and trying to hide.   So I decided to take him on a drive around to get out of the house.    

Unfortunately, this outage went awhile, so by the time we got home the Carbon Monoxide detector --which has a vocal alarm-- started going off.   Around this time, power was restored. That CO alarm was setting off the house alarm.  It was then triggering the house monitoring alarm, so it was a big loop of noise.  
Poor dog nearly lost his marbles.

We won't discuss the time I set off the smoke detector while cooking.  That was another trauma in Volos' eyes.

So today we had our work in-person Holiday Outing.  I left the boys for a bit to go be around people I used to see daily, but no longer did.   
When I leave the house I have 2 different alarms I can set.   The one is for when we have the dogs with us and one without.  The difference is the motion sensors. (See where this is going?)

So I arrive at the place and we sit down & start catching up.  Phone starts ringing.  I see it's the alarm company and RIGHT AWAY I know my mistake. 

I'm not worried that they're calling me or anything. No. I know that back at home the alarm is sounding and the boys are alone, already anxious, driving poor Volos to madness.   

I feel so horrible for that. My poor boy --on his GOTCHA Day/Birthday--- has to deal with that alarm. 

Last night wasn't any better.   There was a bad storm that came through.  Deep long rumbles leading up to it--that went on forever.  Then the lighting, thunder, & rain.   
While I love having Volos in my lap, a frantic-terrified Volos is NOT gentle. 

After I got home today I had to turn on all the lights because he ALWAYS leaves me something to clean up when he's not had a good time at home alone.   

So that's what is going on as I type, I'm letting the enzyme cleaner soak into the stain to remove it easier. 

Right now he's pretty happy. I took them to the basement when I got home. Then we went on a car ride to PetSmart to spend their gift card. He got himself another toy.

Peryn got one as well, but we all know that Volos doesn't believe toys are for anyone else but him.

As I mentioned, it's Volos' Gotcha Day, which we use to serve as his birthday.  He's been with us 3 years. It feels so much longer....   But based on what they told us when we adopted him, he turns 8 today.   
So Happy 8th Birthday Volos!!!

Pupdate#1- Ziva

 She's home!    She's ...a puppy therefore a handful.

We picked her up before noon on Wed the 28th.  In the 10 days since we last saw her, she'd grown quite a bit.   All that was left was Rixie (Red).   Christine, the breeder, kept her so Rosie has at least one of her puppies.   
Rosie....omg Rosie.  This beautiful dog just killed me.  She walked us to our car when we went to leave.  She said Goodbye to Ziva ... ugh.

Ziva..... Well She is LOVING her new home.  She is loving the other dogs--however the same cannot be said for them. They're either ignoring her or running from her.   Right now they want nothing to do with her.   I am sure that will change...we'll have to document that.  

She is a handful.  Puppies...yeah... I knew there was a reason I wasn't in a hurry to get another.   Trying to keep on top of her on getting her to go out.   She's so much like Volos & just plain stubborn.    But for the most part she cooperates 75% of the time.

She came alive yesterday after the kids came home from daycare.  She really loves watching them, chasing them & following them.       We have to keep a watch on how they react to her.   We're allowing normal correction "barks/nips". Like she bit Lada on the tail & Lada nipped hard at her. We'll allow that. But when they do it because she's near or wants me, we're shutting that down.

Peryn is still obsessed with getting Volos to play with him and he has a willing participant right there with him... It'll take time. 

Volos--- yeah. He's not a fan. He runs from her.  His first instinct is to snap & we're getting on them for that, so he just avoids her.   

Peryn & Volos however are trying hard to get into her pen as she has toys. Toys they do not have access to.  It's funny & annoying. 

Lada.  This was the one we knew would have issues.   Unless you've seen an ACD attached to it's owner...it's difficult to really imagine just how possessive they are.  Possessive and protective.  I have to keep reminding myself to pay attention to Lada as she is not handling it well.  

First night home I had Ziva in bed with me a bit before I put her in the pen for the night.   ALL 3 dogs left me in the room.   

This NEVER EVER HAPPENS unless they are going outside.  Lada NEVER abandons me in bed.   Volos--is hit or miss when Rich isn't home (he wasn't).   Peryn--Peryn is like Lada.  The only difference is Lada sleeps on my pillow at my head.    THEY LEFT ME because she was there.

We've had her now for 4 days & I just adore this puppy. She's pretty chill for the most part. Nothing like the psychos were.   She's all about sleeping, cuddles, & playing.  

Things of note: 

She disappeared on us and it turns out she went behind the couch and ended up passing out.   

She just about lets anyone hold her.  She doesn't squirm or try to jump down.  She's CHILL.

She was chill at the vet, when we had my Mom's family over, just pretty much chill.     

Wed -Friday she slept in a pen, but she was put into a crate last night for the first time with us.   She whines a bit, but for the most part settles down to sleep. 

Took her to the vet on Friday.   Here's the summary:

She's currently 21.6# at 9 weeks.  The heart murmur that she was diagnosed with from the breeder's vet isn't as bad as originally thought. It may clear up on its own.
She has a yeast infection in both ears, so she's on meds for that. We take her back in 2 weeks for her next set of shots.  

Belated: Happy Gotcha Day Peryn

Five years ago on the 6th we brought home this adorable puppy.    Oh How I miss this crazy little guy.  We now have a neurotic 5 year old obsessed with balls, playing with Volos, and is rather particular in being touched. 

He will let you know when he wants affection and that usually involves him walking on  you some way. 

Everyone...let's wish Peryn a happy gotcha day

Happy Birthday/Gotcha Day Volos!!

Birthday Boy

Happy gotcha day volos

 It's been over a month since I last posted.  It's been a bit crazy--and when it isn't I don't feel like posting.  

So today is Volos' Gotcha Day and since we don't know his birthday, it's also designated his 6th birthday.  
He has come a long way.    

A year ago we brought home this big ball of fur that stayed in his crate and occasionally made an appearance.  He preferred to show his affection when he was outside vs inside.  It took MANY weeks before we heard him bark. 

He'd flinch if we moved too fast or made any loud noises. He'd run to his crate anytime he was caught off guard.      

I was upset he'd leave the room when I'd enter.  I didn't think I'd ever be able to have a cuddle bug. 

Times certainly have changed.   Now this pup is a big barking goofball.

His wounds have slowly closed/scarred over.   The skin still needs to heal, but we don't have any issues or worries about him getting infections or bleeding to death.    HE returned to day care two weeks ago.   It was time.

He didn't beg to go in each morning, but it was obvious over time that he missed his siblings.  He became a bit "antagonistic" the last week.  He started with Peryn several evenings after they got back home from day care.      Near the time they usually would come home, he'd wander to the door and patiently wait for them to come home.   Once the door opened he and Peryn would fly downstairs to start their routine.  

The evening after his return to day care, it was so obvious he was happy. His whole being just shined with happiness.     He prefers being with his pack and vice versa.

I missed posting about Peryn's birthday on Jan 3. He turned 5.  I can't believe my baby boy is growing up.      So as it stands today Volos is 6, Peryn is 5 and Lada is 4.     

Over Christmas the boys got to meet their cousin Ricky. Lada has met him before as she's my Tenn Co-pilot.  Gramma & Uncle Davey came up to spend Christmas with us and Ricky tagged along.   We celebrated Ricky's birthday while they were here.    My brother went all out for his "baby".

Fighting over Gramma

For my Mom's gift this year, I had family portraits taken. This did include the pups.  they turned out quite well if I don't say so myself.  the lovely brittaney brandt photography took the photos .   

The pups were the easiest part of the whole process.   the humans had a little difficulty understanding directions!

Christmas brought snow! Ricky wasn't too fond of it, but my pack thoroughly enjoyed having snow to leap through.  

Don't really have much else to tell you regarding these crazy pups, so i guess we'll just leave you with a few more photos.

VOLOS

RICKY, THE BDAY BOY

PERYN

LADA

https://www.brittaneybrandtphotography.com/

The hardest part #1 The way things were...

APRIL 6 2020--  Athena's Gotcha Day-- 6 YEARS

Cuddling with Daddy-Day1

Anyone who has followed this blog for sometime has been here for the ups and downs with Athena.   This sweet girl had a cruddy life prior to us and we did our best to love her and give her happiness.   I'd like to think we succeeded.


Her Degenerative Myelopathy has been an unfair -hideous circumstance in this beautiful girl's life.   

How she looked first week with us

After bringing Athena home, she was a very loving and sweet dog. She longed for cuddles and affection.   As she became more confident in our house she blossomed.

She loved playing with other dogs. Her greatest joy was playing with Duchess, MasterChief, Barkley, and then Bridger.   She absolutely loved going to dog parks.

She could run around barking at other dogs, chasing them, corralling young /small dogs, and getting pets from the humans.      

Running at the park

It was at these dog parks that we also got to see the walks she was getting had strengthened her legs. Where she once fell behind, she now was running among the pack. 

She was nicknamed "Referee" because she would often get in between fighting and play fighting dogs.  Barking her way in to break it up.

Barking. EVERY emotion had a noise. Barking was her favorite form of expressing those emotions.  Gun shots from the gun range--BARKING.  Squirrels running by--BARKING.  Other dogs being walked--BARKING.  Happiness at playing with the other dogs--BARKING.      

Enjoying the run

I nicknamed her Ms Barks-A-Lot  or Barky Bark and the Furry Bunch. 

I LOVE THIS PLACE

One area that never changed in all her time with us is her reaction to food.   She would eat almost ANYTHING given to her.  She would snarl and bark at any dog that came near.  She loves her food and she does not share. EVER. This is one aspect that even today she has.   Don't come near her food or treats. She growls and snaps at the other dogs.





Athena really is a pack dog. That became apparent with Peryn and then Lada. She adored playing with them.   Where Duchess had a rough and tumble play style, Athena was more light wrestling.    She was very particular about which dogs she did this with.


In all her time with us, the ONLY dogs she ever played with were : Duchess, Master Chief, Barkley, Bridger, Peryn, & Lada.      AT dog parks she was a run and chase dog.   At home where she was most comfortable, she played with those she adored.
***BFF***BFF***BFF***BFF***BFF***BFF***BFF***BFF***BFF***

Playing with Bridger & MC

Playing with the BFFs

She lives for this.

push push push

Even in the snow

Her most favorite BFF

She loved to get up on the couch and snuggle in next to 

SHE LOVES HER DADDY

you.  For a long while, after work that was our routine.  I'd come home, let them out and then she'd climb up on the couch next to me and cuddle into me.   It was part of my wind-down.

When she wasn't out playing, her favorite thing was her spot. We placed an ottoman in my office and she would climb up on top and lay there. She'd either sleep or watch the neighborhood and bark.    

HER SPOT

This was her spot while we were at work or just out.  If I worked from home, she was there.   The window sill was dirty from her chin. The wall was scratched from her nails...  This was Athena's thing.  

If we weren't upstairs, she was either on the ottoman at the back window--looking out for either creatures or her BFF- MC.

When I would open the front door to let light or air in, she and Duchess would be right there.... watching and barking at EVERYTHING.  

Watching the neighborhood

Napping

Back Window

Enjoying the beautfiul weather

During the summer she loved to lay outside and enjoy the weather. She and Duchess could be outside forever soaking up the sun.

I'm surprised my neighbors didn't kill us for the amount of barking she would do and things beyond our sight.
 Our neighbor Sarah would joke "Oh was that a blade of grass?? BARK BARK BARK"


If she wasn't tied up and she saw someone walking...she had to run after them to say hello.  Even better if they were walking a dog.   

After getting Peryn and Lada, her most favorite thing in the world was to run back and forth with them as they played with their balls.  She didn't have to actually push the ball or chase the ball. She was happiest just running with them.

Rocky!

Toys.  She was particular with toys. She liked the floppy stuffed animal types. The types you could shake and pull out the stuffing. She had a racoon (several actually) and an elephant.  She loved to just nip at it at times.

Duchess had her toys and Athena had hers.  She loved it to the point she would sleep with it.  She was such a happy girl and enjoyed EVERYTHING.
She treasured her toys when she wasn't ripping them apart.  She would be gentle with them in between the tearing apart. Even the tearing apart was gentle.
  

She wasn't gentle with her "roll hides" .   She LOVED these things and would just go to town on them.    Gnaw gnaw gnaw.

 She was never a fan of sleeping in the bed with us.  She preferred dog beds on the floor next to us. At times she would even head to her perch and sleep in there. 
After moving a chair up to the bedroom, next to the bed (for us to sleep in when sick), that became HER bed.  

Her Bed/Throne

Every night she would climb up in bed and sleep.

She was NOT a morning dog. When it came to getting up and letting them outside, she often chose to stay in bed.  I would often bring her her morning treats to her bed because she was NOT getting up.    She loved to sleep in.

She had to be with the pack.   If Rich was in his office, Duchess would often be on the bed in there. Athena would jump up along with her and they would lie there until Rich was done or Mommy did something more important.

early AM photo  ZZZZ

For a long stretch of time, we would take the dogs to the dog park weekly.   Athena was NEVER an easy traveler.   She would whine and moan the whole ride. Barking as we neared the park.    Running free with her siblings or other dogs was what she lived for.

She loved our neighbors.  Some more than others, but she loved getting attention and affection from them.  We had friends from the dog parks whom she loved as well. She had to run up to them when she saw them and get some loving.

Athena's unbridled joy of life was something that always made me smile.   Whatever horrendous things that happened to her prior to her prior to us --were forgotten.   This girl loved everything.  She was truly an in the moment dog.

She came to us via a shared post. She had the most adorable photo ever. I loved it and showed it to Rich.  He saw it and said "I WANT HER."  I didn't even know if she was up for adoption, I just thought she was adorable.  Turns out she was up for adoption AND she was only a few hours away.

on the A Frame

We knew she had some health issues prior to picking her up and that was ok.   We didn't realize there were additional issues until we brought her home (go back to April 2014 posts).   She then began to bloom as we nursed her physical issues.   

Walking with Daddy

June 12,2016

Hey! Thanks for checking in.

just chillin

The pups are doing well.   Actually, right now Athena is a bit off.
Last night Mommy had a bunch of girlfriends over and she was in the middle of all the craziness.   I think it took a lot out of her. Today she's been dragging.   Hopefully she'll be up and at 'em tomorrow.

Peryn....Well, the day after the last post we attended his first Husky Meet.   For those new readers who are saying "But he's not a Husky",, you are sort of correct. He's an "honorary" husky. His big sis Duchess is half husky and we belong to a wonderful group called N.O.H.M.E.   We went to their May meet, which was also Peryn's first REAL forray into a busy dog park.   Crazy huskies everywhere and he was in LOOOOOVVVEEEE.  Never seen a dog so happy.  

Thanks to all his practice with his big sisters, he wasn't too fearful of all the big dogs. He's a little cautious when meeting a new dog, but he'll still play.  Thank goodness!

He's gone to the dog park several times since being cleared and clearly loves it.  Many love him as well with him being a puppy and a Cattle Dog at that.  You don't see many ACDs around here, so it's a novelty to many.

Peryn & Breck 

Today he went to a mini-puppy meet with the NOHME group. He has one husky that he's played with several times now, Apollo.  They played for quite a bit today. While Peryn isn't knocked out, he is rather 'chill', which is unusual for him.

He loved my get together last night. So many women, so little time.    LOL.

He's getting to be such a handsome pup. He's 35+ lbs of energy.  He loves life...Such a happy little guy and so friendly.  I adore my little boy.

I'm really anxious to find out how big he's going to get.  I know his parents were in the 45 lb range, but it doesn't necessarily mean he'll be that exactly.    I want him to grow a little bit, he's still too small and sneaky...

Right in the middle of things

Duchess...... well in 2 days we are celebrating her Gotcha Day.   3 years with us. So much has happened in that time.   The face of the family has changed drastically.

At the time we had Galen and Sheba. They were 14 and 13 respectively. We knew Galen was deteriorating and that Sheba would NOT handle the loss well. She had never been an only dog and Galen was her bonded brother and best friend.    

TO prep for that time we decided to get an older dog (non puppy) to help ease the loss when the time came.
We were looking for a calm dog that would not be too energetic with our old fogey's.

Duchess (w/Athena) and her "people'

Along comes a forwarded post on FB about a "german shepherd" mix. I call for a meet & sniff. Took Galen & Sheba to meet the dog.   Fell in love with her on the spot. Came by 4 days later to pick her up and take her home.

She was wonderful with them and did the job when Galen left us 7 months later.

Oooh. Cool my tootsies

She is very smart, house-trained, and knew all her commands.

Duchess at the 5/29 Meet

While she's not an overtly affectionate dog, she does love us.  
It was quite a surprise when we did the DNA test to get back that she was not even shepherd-She was half boxer and half husky.   Once we knew what to look for we can't believe we didn't see it earlier.    There is no doubts in our mind now that she is indeed a "boxsky".

I wish I knew how old she really was, but I'm also fine with not knowing "how much time" I may have left.   I love this girl and she is my baby.

I'm going to leave some photos here of Duchess in celebration of her Gotcha Day.   If you'd like to see newer pics of the pups, check out the New Photos page.