Halloween 2014

We only had two trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Disappointing, but it gave us plenty of time to torture-I mean dress up-the Rosendogs in their costumes. Enjoy!

Tip-a-Canoe and the Dogs Came Too

September was a blur. We took the boys floating early in the month. Lieu cried all 6.2 miles and Jason had to counter balance Speck the whole way. They used to float with us all the time but I don't think we'll be taking them again.

We've been trying to take Ray in the car on short trips. Now she loves to go and gets excited whenever we leave, unless we take one or more of the other dogs, then she throws a fit. One day we took her and Speck to the pet store, to get puppy cones at Andy's and for a walk on the greenway. She didn't quite make it, but we've had many shorter successes, all in good time. Ray also got to accompany Jason to my work picnic. She wouldn't let anyone pet her, but she loved walking around the park and didn't get upset with any other dogs.

I was 5 minutes from leaving for work one morning, getting ready in the bedroom with Ray laying on the bed, when I leaned over to give her some love. She jerked her head up, gave me a fat lip and knocked my bridge out. Luckily the dentist was able to get me right in.

We took Magi and Speck in for vaccinations. She's up to 54 lbs. and he's 23lbs. Magi didn't throw up on the trip, we're on a roll! Lieu's been to the vet twice-his first anal gland issue and to have a fatty tumor checked.

October brings Ray's birthday. I can hardly believe our Baby Ray is already a year old.

Her Rotteness Reigns Supreme

We've created a monster. These teenage months are going to wear us down as much as puppy hood did, the only difference is Ray moves faster now. She's still adorable and funny, and we could definitely have it much worse, but she's as obstinate as ever and has little interest in listening to, much less obeying, commands. Unless you're Magi...or Jason.

Magi has very little patience for Ray's antics. They're still buds and wrestle regularly, but Ray cow tows to Magi, even when she shouldn't or doesn't need to. Magi's gotten really bossy with everyone, including us when she thinks she can get away with it. The two of them keep the boys in check though. They won't put up with Lieu picking on Speck at all.

Ray's love-me-not behavior wouldn't matter if she hadn't decided she's Jason's dog. She loves, loves, loves her papa. She brings her toys to him to play (while refusing my offers to play), and tries to share by shoving them in his mouth, she snuggles with him in bed or on the couch and ignores me or jumps off. And now she cries when he leaves.

So I've decided to use Ray's fondness for Jason to teach her a new trick. I always wave goodbye to him from the dining room window and Ray has started standing at the window with me when he leaves. So I'm trying to teach her to wave at him by moving her paw up and down. She's not very patient so she usually runs off before he actually leaves, but I call her back and help her wave as I do. I'm pretty sure she tried to wave by herself today and even if it wasn't intentional, she's still getting the idea.

I'm also teaching her to catch treats in the air. We started with Cheetos, cause who doesn't love Cheetos!? Ray did great, Magi not so much. Magi just lets them bounce off her head and the floor, much like Betty used to do. And Specker is great at it too. Lieu didn't hear the commotion and slept through it all.

A word of warning should you ever visit the Animal House: Ray loves to stick her nose in your crotch and butt, and will happily lift your skirt, shorts to do so. She actually has to approach you to do so, the chances of which are fairly slim given her track record with people, but consider yourself warned all the same.

Belly Love and Other Topics

Ray is a belly whore. Betty was the original belly whore. Whenever you'd pet her, Betty would invariably roll on to her back so you can pet her stomach, and usually sooner than later. Most dogs like their bellies scratched, but these two would prefer it was all belly petting, all the time. Ray takes belly whoring to a new level as she throws herself on the floor at your feet as you're walking through the house. She's hard to resist, laying there wiggling her butt and wagging her stubby tale, but she's also a danger to our well being at times. But look how big she's getting! The first photo is from today and the other six months ago.

Ray gets to sleep on the floor in our room every night. She's becoming a pretty good watch dog and doesn't care to sleep on the bed or tear anything up, so we're happy to let her sleep outside her box. The best part--Sillybutt comes up for snuggle time before we go to sleep and when we wake up. The other Rosendogs aren't too happy about it but they also aren't content to sleep on the floor. I also started pulling a bed in for Lieu (Ray also if she wanted) a few nights a week, he gets some special treatment as our senior Rosendog. Like getting to drag our clothes around the house.

Magi's been getting her own special time. I've started painting her nails every week or so. She does really well through about three paws, then it's sometimes a struggle to finish.

I'd feel bad if I didn't mention Speck. We're trying to keep his annual summer allergy freak-out at bay with Benadryl. Luckily the weather has been much cooler than normal. 

Dog Treat: Smarties

Here are a couple of pups who are as talented as they are cute! The patience and time these owners and talented canines exhibit is impressive. Bravo!

I'm ready for an end to daily rain and muddy paws. The floors and my clothes can't take much more. If only I could train the Rosendogs to wipe their feet...and Ray to quit jumping on me.

Rosendog Family Field Trip

Very rarely do we take all four dogs anywhere together. A quick trip to Sonic for half-price shakes provided the opportunity to take the girls for a short trip with the boys as company so we loaded them all up and headed down the road. Everyone did really well! Ray had a blast hanging her head out the windows with the boys and looking at everything. Magi did pretty well too although she stuck it pretty close to us. But there was no crying or puking so I call it a win!

Ray brought a stick in yesterday through the dog door. I told her that sticks need to stay outside. She promptly went over, picked the stick up and headed back outside with it. I know she didn't understand everything I said, but Ray shows us everyday just what a smart dog she is.

Rosendog Athletic Department

Huge news! Ray caught the Frisbee twice tonight while I was playing with her. It's the first time she's caught it for either of us and two times no less! We were super excited!

Here's a video of one of our other athletes. Lieu loves to "play soccer" and will push a ball around the yard until he's about to collapse, so he doesn't get many opportunities.

Crate Chaos

Ray's grown so much that she's outgrown her crate. Since the Rosendogs have days when they spend a good chunk of time in their boxes, I like to make sure they're as comfortable as possible. I hated that Ray might be uncomfortable or even worse,  that it would stunt her growth!

I really like her current crate so I looked online and found that Amazon handled the larger ones. Sillybutt just keeps growing and she still has a ways to go before she grows into her feet and ears, so I opted to go up two crate sizes to give her plenty of room.

Ray's definitely got plenty of room.  The new cage is gigantic! We could fit a couple of Sillybutts in it. And it's not even the largest size available, can't imagine how big the next size is. We rearranged Rosendog Row to fit in and moved Speck's bedding into Ray's old box. He's gotten pretty tubby so he needs the extra space.

Bear in mind that each dog knows whose box is who's, the same way they do with their bowls. Complete chaos ensues now when it's time for the Rosendogs to go in their boxes. It should only last a day or so, but for now we get to spend an extra few minutes sorting everybody out as they all go in and out of the wrong box. Even Magi and Lieu which I find funny since nothing really changed for them. At least we started on Friday so we have the weekend to get everyone sorted out.

Ray Don't Care

"Ray don't care" pretty much sums up life at our house the past couple of months. And we expect to keep saying it regularly as our teenage terror of a puppy seems hellbent on continuing her current trends of disobedience and destruction.

You see those ears, right? Ray picks up every sound in a mile radius, I'm sure. So I know it's not her hearing when I call her to me from two feet away and she goes to Jason. She just doesn't care that I'm the one calling her.

The other day Jason found our little darling de-feathering our lonesome dove. She hadn't killed it mind you, just pinned it to the ground and proceeded to pull the feathers out of the poor thing's back. Jason was able to distract her away from it long enough for the dove to fly away. This dove has visited our yard regularly for several years and has no mate, so I'm very hopeful he has a full recovery.

That evening Ray punched Jason in the mouth after he made what we've started calling the crazy note while playing with her

Every Day's a Lesson

Our lanky stick eater.

You may recall me talking about how unique Ray is compared to other puppies we've raised, especially if unique means "exhibit every typical puppy behavior and then some." Suffice it to say that she has tested us in more ways than one.

Her post op recovery has been going really well. Ray has definitely recovered like a champ, so much so that she has developed what I believe is a seromas, a firm lump under her incision. They're caused by over activity following surgery and typically go down. According to one site, about five percent of post surgery pets experience seromas, so we feel privileged. In all seriousness though, I'm thankful that if she's going to have a complication, hopefully this is the worst of it.

I'm treating it with a warm compress a few times a day and trying even harder to subdue her rambunctious behavior. Luckily Ray's decided she likes the heat and has started exposing her belly to get more of the pad on her. Controlling her activity level is another story. She goes from one thing to another like a steam locomotive-from picking on the boys to wrestling with Magi and then on to chasing squirrels.

Last night Ray was rather sedate except for being excessively clingy and unable to get comfortable. It's nice to have some close contact with the typically standoffish Ray, but she was beside herself with worry if she wasn't on top of us. That would have been fine if she'd been able to sit still for longer than five seconds at a time.

Jason mentioned an incident involving the boys and "the can" and felt like she was still a little freaked out from the noise. It seems the evening's strange behavior could have been a combination of Ray being uncomfortable from the swelling and out of her gourd over whatever went on with the boys. Either way, hopefully this will be the extent of her post op complications and we can all get back to living free and easy very soon.

Lucha Libre por Peros

The Rosendogs are ready to rumble--Mexican wrestling style! Don't turn your back on these ferocious beasts, you're liable to regret it. Meet the All Bads:

Rowdy Ray

Mad Magi

Licky Lieu

Spazy Speck

You Win Some, You Lose Some

So that whole Pet Rider thing, just forget about it. I took Ray with me for a five minute trip down the road the other night and she put the Pet Rider through a good run. I was very disappointed that she was sick because it's looking more and more like her only car rides will be to the vet, and no offense Dr. Davis, but that's no fun! But I was pleased because the Pet Rider didn't let any of the mess, and it was bad, soak through to the seat.

I pulled the cover out of the car and threw it in the washer. It says on the box and the tag that it's machine washable, one of the benefits I mentioned previously. They should probably add "not recommended" after machine washable because while it didn't destroy the Pet Rider, it certainly compromised the integrity of the backing material as its now full of holes. Not sure that will do much to stop leakage. Disappointing but at least I have a fall back...and the receipt.

Speck's eye is looking good and all the Rosendogs are enjoying their almost daily walk. We've been adding distance as the temperatures have started getting warmer. Ray is doing even better with come but loves to bark at the neighbor dogs and is still munching the poo poo here and there. She's still a Sillybutt and wiggly as can be, you'd think she was 2 months instead of 5. She jumps like a jack rabbit, straight up in the air, but has yet to figure out how to jump on the bed. She's a hot mess, but makes me laugh every day. The Rosendogs are all playing together well now, as much as the boys know how to play with others. And I had to smile when I looked over the other night and they were all laying on the dog beds. I think Ray's starting to become comfortable with being a member of the family.

For the Joy of It

Because of the dogs joyfulness our own is increased. It is no small gift. It is not the least reason why we should honor as well as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born.

 -Mary Oliver,  "Dog Songs"

The Rosendogs bring immense joy to our lives and I am thankful for every day that I get to spend with them. I hope it brings you joy to read about their doggie lives on Ray of Life.

Sillybutt on Ice

If I haven't expressed how much Raylene likes the cold, let me just cover that now - my dog is a yeti. Ray LOVES cold weather, it seems like the colder the better. She wants to stay out and play long after everyone else has come in. It doesn't matter if the wind's blowing, it's dark or snowing, Ray's out there entertaining herself, or if she's lucky, playing with Magi.

The top of our backyard pond has frozen more than usual this winter due to the unseasonably cold weather we've been experiencing. Raylene can't get enough of the ice! We've given up trying to keep her off of it. She lays on it, leaps onto it and digs at it.

But her favorite thing is to frolic with sweet gum balls - yes, the pointy, brown, pain in the butt castoffs from my neighbor's sweet gum trees. Lieu loves to chew on them as well, but never have I seen him prance and dance with them the way Ray does, especially across the ice! It's absolutely magical to watch at night under the lights, but of course I couldn't get any video of that. Too bad the Olympic figure skating trials are already over, Ray would definitely take the gold!

I have visions of her falling through the ice and having to scoop her out or worse, but it's worth the worry to watch her have so much fun. Jason assures me that she's safe, the ice is plenty solid. And when it does start melting, he breaks it up to discourage Puppy Shackleton from exploring. Then she has a grand time trying to grab chunks of ice from the pond and running around the yard with it.

The pack and their people enjoyed a beautiful day in the backyard yesterday,  taking advantage of the 60 degree day among all of the bitterly cold ones. There was plenty of chase, wrestling and stick chewing to be had. Ray also worked on her tunnel to China in the digging pit and found her way to the top of the compost bin to bark at the neighborhood dogs. Such a busy, busy girl. I took advantage of the warm weather by giving the yard a thorough poop scooping. Such is the glamorous life of a super dog mom.

Lieu Teaches Ray About the Digging Pit

Lieu introduced Raylene to the joys of the digging pit. She took to it very quickly and seems to get a big kick out of it!

The dogs do actually dig in this space we've set aside for them. We have to remind them occasionally but the whole pack loves their pit. In case you were wondering how we made it, we churned up the dirt about 1 foot down, cleaned out the larger rocks and mixed a few bags of sand into the dirt.  It hardens but breaks up quite easily and makes for great digging.

Adventures in Puppydom

It's hard to believe that it's only been two weeks since Raylene Ray(Ray) Sillybutt G2 entered our life. It seems like we've already had a month of adventures together as everyday brings something new. Her Royal Puppiness is developing quite the personality and definitely likes to have things her way She's growing like crazy and we have to let her collar out a notch every 2-3 days. Here are some of the things we've learned or experienced this week:

1) If Ray is napping you will find her in one of two places -  under the dining room table or in between the couch and coffee table ottoman under our legs. She has to know where everyone is and what they are doing (a true heeler!) so the dining room allows her a good vantage point for action in the living room or kitchen. Ray only naps by the couch if we're watching TV and is very particular about the boys coming into "her" territory with "her" people. She doesn't really stretch out with the other dogs on the dog beds much and forget about snuggling up together for a nap! She gets very hot while she sleeps, we're guessing as a result from having spent her early days outside, so she seems to seek cooler spots. Ray's sleeping habits seem peculiar after moving beds to follow the sunbeams around the dining room for the boys.

2) Snuggling is not a high priority. Not only is Ray not interested in napping with us, she's not much interested in being held or sitting with you for more than about 5 seconds. When she's not eating or sleeping, it's go, go, go! And she's bouncing from one thing to another, much like your typical preschooler. We've been lucky and so far she hasn't destroyed anything important, sticking mostly to chewing on her toys, me, and a recent discovery, sticks!

3) Sticks go hand-in-hand with Ray's new favorite pastime, going outside. She, like Magi, has developed an obsession for the dogs behind us that they cannot see very well, but can certainly hear. Luckily it was nice this weekend so she could spend a lot of time outside, as she repeatedly told us she needed to be. We put a bell up for Lieu years ago when we were housebreaking him. He learned to ring that thing incessantly just so he could go outside, I can't imagine the constant ringing Ray would subject us to. Looking out the dinning room window is a good second to going outside if she has to settle.

4) Ray is learning to sit, walk on a leash and come. We've been trying to walk the whole pack every day if  weather allows so she's picking up the leash pretty well. Ray and I went to visit my folks this weekend and went on a short walk with my mom. She loves to meet new people and got to meet a family, including a dog and a little girl, on the Fassnight Greenway this weekend, too. Magi on the other hand does not enjoy meeting new people or dogs, but we keep trying.

5) Ray discovered the digging pit this weekend and had a great time excavating it with Lieu. Hope to have some video of that up soon. We don't expect to be able to keep her out of the pond this summer so combine that with the digging pit and I imagine we could have a hell of a mess on our hands.

6) Ray got her nails trimmed for the first time this weekend. Probably could have cut them a little shorter but played it safe, I cut one of Gypsy's nails too short once and she never forgave me. We've noticed some other insecurities so we sure don't want to develop any issues with nail trimming!

Puppydom, like childhood, is so short-lived, I know that this time of discovery and wonder will be over before we know it. I want to enjoy every bit of life that she brings to our world and love that I'll have Ray of Life to look back at this time in the years to come.