Sept 19 2022

Walked both boys on Friday.   It was a mess at the start.  Volos hasn't been walked in eons, so he had to "stop and smell the roses" aka stop every 3 feet to sniff & mark.

Peryn being Peryn would nip at Volos if he got too close, mark over Volos' mark, & just was an ornery jerk.    Near the end of the walk it seemed like they were chilling out and we had a good end to it. 

I walked Lada on Saturday.  Not happening again for a bit. She's too hyper at the start. Having to sniff everything --pulling on my leash.  Once we hit the trail, she was pretty freaking good.  However, not a fan of the start of the walk.   

Today after work, I made a 2nd attempt with the boys.  Yeah, not going to walk them together.  Volos likes to take his time to sniff & mark.  Peryn has to "keep him in check".   When another dog started barking at us, Peryn snapped at Volos.   
Peryn does this with all the dogs when a situation may turn into them "reacting". He shuts them down before it can happen. Problem is, they don't always plan to react. Then Peryn is just being a jerk.

i'm going to start walking Volos separately since Peryn gets to walk with us when we walk together.

Sept 16 2022

Earlier this week, Peryn did something so ...Peryn...and I was going to do a typical Peryn is a Jerk/A-H entry. 
I of course have since forgot what it was that he did.   He does so many jerky things.  I've come to the conclusion that he will never be a warm & cuddly dude. 
He's only affectionate when he is a)really really happy or b) when he wants something (after I tell him NO when he wants to play fetch).
Then something happens that shows me he loves me more than anything. 

Recently I have been able to begin walking again.  I had had to quit as it was excruciatingly painful.  I had had to quit walking dogs almost 10 years ago because if I couldn't swing my arms, walking was painful.  Which eventually even that wasn't helping.

I had a procedure that has made walking an attainable goal again.  Last night walking with Rich, he had Ziva & Peryn with him as he usually does, we noticed Peryn was staying close to me. 
He would hold back & walk near my side. Rich handed over the leash & we completed the walk with me holding Peryn's leash & Peryn walking by my side. 
it was awesome. He is the perfect walking partner & it's like he knew I needed him right there. 
so I am going to be BOLD.   I am going to be CRAZY. I am going to be STUPID.    as soon as I get off work in 11 mins, I am going to attempt to walk.....BOTH BOYS.

Yep.  I have both boys home again.  I know Per will be fine.   Volos....that's the wildcard.   I don't know how he'll walk...so we will soon find out. 
Will it be: 
a) he'll quit on me half a block down?
b) he'll get into it with Peryn
c)he'll be all over the place making walking a chore?

I have not walked Volos on a leash since 2020, shortly after we got him.   So this will be interesting.
Fingers X'd.

The Dog Report: May 28

The Dog Report

Duchess: That little rat continues to try and steal "MY" attention, "MY" food, and "MY" bed.   Why did they bring him to live with us?  He annoys me.
OK, he's not all bad.  He's fun to wrestle with. One of the only few who like to play like I like to play.  It's pretty cool.
I am however making sure I secure my spot in bed.  I'm so sweet and cuddly at night.   I take the premium spots and he has to work to get in a cuddle.   he he.

ZZZZZZ

Something is going on. Daddy has been walking us everyday after work for weeks.  We haven't walked in days.  We haven't been to the park in days......why??  Then again it's like really super hot here.   I go outside and run and run and run around and then poof! I have to lay down.  I can't do anymore.

So, I had this awesome bed that I liked to lay on. No one could reach me, well until Peryn began to jump and make it.  It was really high and comfy. Then one day they came and took my bed!   They being those people who come with the guy that looks and smells like Daddy and those kids and OH! That nice Stacey that is nice to me.      But they TOOK MY BED.

Mommy got another that wasn't the same, but I can adapt.   THe thing that sucked is it was shorter and so HE has no problems getting on it. Athena can jump on it too.  sigh.
THEN Mommy moved it.  She had to move it and now .....oh my world is falling apart.

It's right by the windows.  So yay-I get to lay and look out. BUT  and it's a big one.  HE is always on it too AND Athena jumps on it all the time to get to her bed at the other window.   SIgh.    I miss having my own stuff.


Athena: Daddee loves me! He was home yesterday and we sat and cuddled and it was really awesome.  I love my Daddee.   My baby brother is fun to play with but he won't leave me alone on the stairs. I go up the stairs and he has to chew on me. I go down the stairs and he chews on me.   I can't play on the stairs!!
The weather has been awesome. It's that weather where I can sit outside in the shade all day and just watch.  There is so much happening out there.  There are animals I need to chase and there is noises from the back part that I need to bark at.  Oh!  And there is machine things on the other side of the grass and trees...and people.. I mean there is so much for me to watch!!!

The bed

I feel bad that I haven't played with MC & Bridger for a long while but Peryn just takes up so much of my play time.     A few times recently we went to the park and Peryn and I had so much fun running around the grassy field.  It so cool.   Sometimes all 3 of us run together.  It is really cool.  
Daddee was walking us a lot but hasn't the past few days. It's ok, I think my Daddee is tired and needs his rest.   I want my Daddy safe and healthy.   I can live without a few days walk.  

Mommy moved the bed that was Duchess'  Now I can choose to lay on it or my other bed.   It does make it difficult to get to my spot, but at least I have choices.

Ok, let me be honest....Peryn is a cool kid.   I don't like when he makes Mommy or Daddee mad---and they call his name ALL the time.   He made Mommy REALLY mad when she discovered he'd been eating on the bed. The corners are chewed up ..she was not happy.  But Mommy doesn't yell at him ....only when she catches him. She told Daddee there was no point since he did it and they didn't catch him.

 

Peryn:   Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi.    Who are you? Where are you at?  Can I kiss you...oh....squirrel!   no really...I have a bunch of them. They are all these little squeakie things that goes in this tree trunk thingy.  OOh my wood thing.    Mommy said it was a hanger or soemthing at one time but I call it my Wood thing.    Did you know I'm getting bigger?   I'm going to be THIS MANY ....oh you can't see that?? sorry.....Mommy said I am going to be a 5 month old big boy!   SOoo cool.

Me and one of my squirrels!

So I'm s'posed to tell you about things I like.   I like ....lots of stuff.   Let's see I like to play with the things that hold our food and water.  When they're empty, they look all lonely so I take them with me and we play around . I like the things mommy moves across the floor.....I love to jump on them. I like anything I find really. If it's on the floor, I play with it.     OH! I love to play fetch......love love love it.   Only inside of course.  At the park or outside...too much other cool stuff to do.  I like the doggies next door.. I like humans.   I like....Mommy. I really really like my mommy. She lets me play on her and land on her and jump on her and lay on her.  She's just the bestest thing in the world. Daddee is awesome too. He takes me on these really cool walks.  I never walk with the sisters which makes me sad...but I do get to go with Daddy around our house area.  

I like the wet dirty stuff-mom calls it mud- that I find at the park. Did you know you can dive into it?

HI!!

Uhm. I really really like people and dogs and treats and bottles and squeakies and beds and furniture and shoes.....love shoes.     I like lots. I like Mrs Lissette and Daniel and Master Chief.   I see them lots. I also like Bridger too.   I don't get to play so much with him since he's further down and I can't reach him.   Let's see ......Well............oh look! String!!

Mommy's Turn:

Things are going well. Peryn is growing so big.  He's about 32 lbs of fur.  His nails were Ninja like knives (we call him a Ninja) and he was marking me up pretty badly.  The number of large scratches and times he's drawn blood were getting ridiculous.  We had them trimmed and he's now just bearable.  He really does like to be around me. He uses me as a launch pad, landing pad, wrestling mat and his favorite thing to do is climb all over me when I'm in bed.

Mommy! Get up!

Oh HI there!!

And I mean he gets on top of me and walks across me.
A few times he's even lept off the chair arm and landed hard on me.   NOT FUN!  I'm posting a pic of what he did to me the other morning that we were able to catch on camera. Mind you this is a regular thing.
This morning he nearly choked me when he chose to lie across my throat.

He's been cleared for dog Park play.  We took him twice to the local park to get him used to playing with other dogs.   It was a let down as none of the dogs really liked to play.  Tomorrow however is a Husky meet. The first one we can attend since adopting the kid.   It's at their favorite pakr (the one we've gone to many times because usually no one is there).  So that will help him with his comfort.  This is is first foray into some REAL dog play.  

Depending on the dogs he meets he'll either dive right in to running and wrestling or he'll get all nervous and try to hide from them.   I'm not too worried, his big sisters are good at keeping an eye on him.

Tell you more about it later....

Taking a break

Love this place

Mud. Mud. Mud.

11 Weeks in.......

Today, April 23

I wish I could remember every thing he's done since we last blogged.   It's just been really crazy.  
I can tell you that we've started taking him to a dog park with the girls.  This place has been empty every time we've gone since day 1.

Knowing that, we've taken the 3 to the park.  It's been a joy to watch him run free and play with his sisters.  We took them earlier today.   Additionally he was up early and playing with Duchess for about 3 hours on and off this morning.   Thanks to all that, he's a pooped pup.   It's a nice little break from him.

Daddy has been taking them on walks lately. He takes the girls first and comes back to take Peryn.   It's great as it burns a lot of his energy. When he comes back, we just do a few rounds of fetch and soon he's calmer.    His walks have been getting longer and longer.

He's jumping on the higher bed now.  Athena can't even do that.  Duchess is no longer alone up there. It doesn't matter any ways as the bed is going bye bye tomorrow.   Duchess will not like that one bit.
The office is also the guest room and unfortunately the bed is too big for both my desk and a queen sized bed.   We'll need to look for something smaller.

Duchess and Peryn at the park

The girls are doing fine.   They tolerate their brother most days.   He is a handful and tends to bug them at moments when they're not having it. They put him in his place though.

He's holding it a lot longer.   Our friend who lets him out during the middle of the day was on vacation this past week.  We both had to be at work and that's about 9 hours in the crate.   Each time it was bone dry.   This dog can hold it almost all night and most ogrf the day, but can spend 30 mins outside and come back in to pee in the middle of the floor! I don't get it.

He's got the commands I taught him down now.  He finally FINALLY does paw.   Working with him on Stay & Come.     .......

He's grown so much.  It's like you close your eyes and boom! he's taller/longer.   He's now over 25 lbs.   He was under 9lbs when we brought him home 11 weeks ago.

Buddies

As of today he's also micro-chipped.  I want to make sure i get my baby back.......
Which leads me to this train of thought..
It is absolutely amazing how many people are taken with him.   Rich tells me every time he walks him someone stops him to ask about Peryn. It happened twice today when I went in to have him chipped.  

As a avid dog lover, I was aware of an Australian Cattle Dog/Blue Heeler. When we went to pick him up, it was not a surprise about seeing the breed.   However I'd say almost 98% of the people we've come in contact with or who have seen his picture always ask what he is.  
I posed this question to the online group I belong to and it was mixed. Those down in Texas, where there are ranches galore, know the breed well. Actually most areas where there are farms or ranches with cattle or flocks to be herded, know of the breed.  The rest say they have the same reactions.

Duchess

I was used to the questions about Duchess, but now we get to deal with them about Peryn. In fact, at the drive through today someone was insanely curious about Duchess and then when they saw Peryn, they asked about him as well.   Poor Athena. Looking like the German Shepherd that you are doesn't make people ask about her.

Life is busy with 3 dogs again, but it's been pretty good.  Our only complaints is the chewing on EVERYTHING and the ninja poops.  Otherwise they are a great bunch that I adore.

Oh and MY complaint is Duchess and Peryn feel the need to wrestle on top of me. If they don't start there, they end there. My thighs are bruised up. My lower legs, which are extremely sensitive to begin with , are scratched up.  I have teeth marks from where they go to "bite" at each other and miss, getting me in the mean time.

Double Trouble

It was cute at first, no longer.  I dread and hate it. Even when I get out of the way, Peryn finds me and then uses me as a launch pad to dive at his sister.
It's irritating.

Well, I'll let you enjoy the pics of the pups....












On a sad note, four years ago I lost my little clown.  We said goodbye to my little buddy Goldberg. The first of my kiddos to leave me and the worst as it was so unexpected.   Here's a moment for my little BUG.

Guess who's getting big?

Hello!  Thanks for checking back on the puppies.

We had a quiet weekend. Athena pulled a muscle in her leg, so we kept Peryn off of her until she had a chance to rest and heal.

Peryn's doing quite well. He's holding it longer and longer as each day goes by. He's been given the privilege of sleeping outside the crate on the weekends. He usually curls up in between us at our head/shoulder level.    He's quite the cuddler.

He's making strides in his training. He's mastered sit, lay down, off, up, and FINALLY after weeks and weeks of training, he finally does PAW!    

Some of the other commands that we've worked with, but need more time with: Leave It, Stay, and Come.    

We'll work our way up to the bigger ones a little later.
He LOVES LOVES LOVES to play fetch.   I can't wait to be able to take him to the park where he'll have more room to play.

Duchess and Peryn have a love-hate relationship. She loves playing with him and being near him, but at the same time she is ridiculously jealous of him. ANYTIME he gives and gets affection, she's there to "play".  She starts by pushing him around.        She better pay attention, he's getting bigger.

Duchess has become more affectionate since Peryn's arrival. That's not to say she's all cuddly and all that. No, she's just less likely to go off on her own. She cuddles closer to us in bed.   It's the little things.

Athena must like him. She sometimes gives up playing with Boyfriend and Bestie to come back and play with Peryn.  He adores her as well.    
They all make a good team.

Another new thing is their walks. The weather has gotten better and Daddy has been taking them for walks in shifts.  The girls first and then Peryn. Peryn gets a longer walk because he has more energy to burn.
Mommy will join them as soon as the weather turns a bit warmer.   It's very difficult to move at times.   The knee is pretty bad and has NOT stopped hurting since the winter.  
We shall see.

Duchess

Athena

Peryn!

Long time.....

Hi! 
Sorry it's been awhile. 
So much has been happening, time got away from us.

First off, Athena Update.

Athena is doing VERY well. She's quite happy and healthy.  She LOVES her life.  Her life includes walks with her sister (s), trips to the dog park (2-3 times a week), and just a general appreciation of life.

She is very well loved.  She's still the sweetest thing and still incredibly cuddly.  Her Daddy & I love her to pieces. 

Our only concerns are she is a little bit territorial with the food bowl and treats.  She growls at Sheba often when she wanders to close.  We've done all we can & still continue to correct that when we can.

Additionally, she's a barker.  An annoying barker.  Good thing our neighbors love us otherwise, she'd get us in trouble.   I've nicknamed her Barky Barky & the Furry Bunch or Sir Barks A lot.   We are addressing this and working on reigning it in. A definite work in progress.

I will upload photos later today. They're either on my phone or tablet and I prefer to write this on my laptop.  I need to download those photos to share.  I'll be generous with the photos when I do.


Secondly, I'm going to rename the blog.  The first part will always be about Athena from the time we rescued her to now.  From this point on, it's going to be about Duchess and Athena.  The two of them are cohorts and deserve their spotlight.  Plus it's going to be more fun.


So when you come back in a few (days? weeks?) Don't be thrown when the name is new and Athena is no longer the sole focus. Besides, two dogs instead of one? Winner!

Thank you for all those who cared enough to follow Athena's adoption and rehabilitation.  WHICH reminds me...back to Athena...


Item#3...
Her healing/rehab.
It looks as those the patch of missing fur is permanent.  That's ok. It's not really noticeable.  It is much healthier and 'black' like the rest of her affected areas are.  It's part of who she is and we really do not get questioned on it.    She is no longer on meds other than Fish Oil.  Her coat is gorgeous. She is so shiny and soft.  A big furry sweetheart.

Her back legs are strengthened. She jumps more easily and runs all over.  She has an awkward gait, but it's just who she is now.   She doesn't appear to have the normal strength in her back legs that a normal dog (gsd) would, but she is stronger than she was.

We're headed to the dog park in a few. It is by far her most favorite place. She gets so excited when we get there. She never stops the whole time.  It's really a joy to see.


Here's one pic of her, her sister, Duchess, & Daddy from July.  I will add more later on when we're back.

Thanks for checking in on her.