Doggie Pool Day!

Today we went to the local community pool because they having a dog day since the regular pool season had ended.  It's an easy way for the city to make some money before closing the pools.  Ever since Labor Day weekend when Red took a dip in the pond, I've been wanting to take her to the pool to see if Labor Day wasn't a fluke.  Well, it took her about 0.5 ms to race to the pool and take a flying leap once she was unleashed.  I guess she does like the water.  What she didn't like was that she couldn't get out of the pool.  She took about 3 more dips in the pool throughout the hour we were there.  Egg Roll, on the other hand, was not having any of it.  She would follow me around the pool for little walks, but would not go in.  I placed her in the wading pool and she just scrambled to get out.  Here are some pictures I took while we were there:

Egg Roll, Red, and a malamute ambushing a poor dachshund that just came in 

Egg Roll letting the dachshund that she was boss at this pool 

Red testing the water 

Red saying hello to another dog in the pool 

Egg Roll not getting into the pool 

Red's butt.  The majority of my pictures looked like this. 

Red's butt again 

The hubster, Egg Roll, and Red

We left after an hour because Red was not playing nicely with the other dogs.  I'm glad we went early when there were less dogs and people around.  I think it's too much for Red.  Egg Roll was also being a queen biatch at the end too.  She took her place on the hubster's leg and proceeded to bark from her position at each and every dog that walked by.  The hubster said that Egg was starting shit with the Malamute and Red came back to the table to save her.  I hope that's the truth to why we had to leave the pool early.  I hope Egg appreciates how much her little sister cares about her.  Both dogs were sufficiently tuckered out by the time we got home.

Crippled Dog

I swear if a stranger saw Egg Roll when she just had her cone taken off, they'd think that she had no use of her front legs.  She just pushes her head along the ground using her back legs.  It's the oddest looking thing.  She rubs her greasy, stinky little head everywhere.

Tagg - the pet tracker

I think I need one or two of these.  It's a Tagg pet tracker which allows you to track your dog with this GPS collar.  After a few of Red's unauthorized outings, I'm wondering if a system like this would bring me peace of mind with Red.  It wouldn't make the event of losing her less traumatic, but recovering her would hopefully be easier and less stressful.  Of course, she could still be hit by a car or attacked by a raccoon, but at least, we'd be able to find her.

It sounds pretty neat, but it hasn't been out on the market.  They are currently taking pre-orders.  The system comes with a tracker, docking station, clips, power kit, and one year of service for $200.  Each additional collar is $140.  This is recommended for dogs over 10 lbs (which Red and Egg Roll both are).  Subscription fees are $5 a month after the one year period is over.  The trackers come in white, gray, pink, and blue.

It's a bit pricey, but I'm tempted to try it for Red.  I couldn't put a price on my furry little family members.  Now to see what the hubster says about it.

Red, the Run Away Dog

I almost lost Red this morning... again.  I wouldn't say she was trying to run away, she was just exploring all that wonderful area that is beyond the reach of her leash.  I was so upset when she took off.  I think I was crying as I was chasing after her, screaming her name at 7:00 am.  So how did it happen?

I woke up and brushed my teeth like every other morning.  I picked up Egg Roll and walked out of the bedroom.  Egg Roll has been having issues with wanting to go out in the morning and getting leashed up.  She's ended up with a few accidents and I did not have the time or patience with her, so I picked her up.  I leashed her up and put her on the floor.  I grabbed Red's leash and opened the door.  Did you see that step I missed there?  Yep, I didn't leash up Red.

So Red has a sixth sense and she knows when she's not leashed up.  She takes off across the driveway and across the street.  This has happened before.  There is some wooded area past the next row of houses and I was afraid she'd go in there and never come out.  On the other side of the woods is an apartment complex, so she could really have gotten lost of confused.

I drop Egg Roll's lease (potentially losing both dogs, but Egg Roll is usually pretty good and stays put) and I take off after Red.  She decides to hang a left and run along the grassy area between the houses and woods.  That's a good thing, but she keeps stopping, laying down like she wants me to catch her, and when I am close enough, takes off like a bat out of hell.  This happens a few times and I lose sight of her a few times as she keeps running away from me.  She takes a right turn back into our community and I follow after her.  LUCKILY, one of our neighbors is getting ready to leave for work and is in her garage with the door open.  Red being Red can't resist and stops to say hello.  This is where I catch up with her.

I apologize profusely for the neighbor as Red jumps up onto this poor woman.  Red also decides she wants to go to work with this woman and jumps in her car.  All the woman is saying is "Not in the car!  Not in the car!"    Omg, I feel terrible.  I lease up Red and run back home.  Now that I'm typing this, I hope the woman doesn't report me to the condo association for not having my dog leashed up.  I mean it was a mistake, but Red did go into her car and she was kind of elderly and you know how some elderly people can get.

So that is my story about how Red tried to run away... again.  This was the most upset I've ever been about a run away.  I don't know if I can take her to PA for Thanksgiving and let my aunt watch over her.  What if she tries to run away again?  I'll be an hour away in NJ at my cousins....

Hello, my name is

Sucker!

Red performed a bait and switch "sit and flop" on the hubster. It was textbook.

If you don't know what a sit and flop is, it's when Red walks up to you and sits down waiting for pets. At the last moment when you reach down, she flops on her back and waits for belly rubs. You're already three quarters of the way down, so you end up reaching further to give her belly rubs.

Dog pictures of the day

The girls are back! Yay! We missed you guys!

My baby girl

Poor Egg Roll has the worst allergies in the summer. We make her wear a tshirt and sometimes a cone so she doesn't scratch her armpits raw and eat all the fur off her paws. We call her chicken feet when the latter happens. Lately, she's been completely miserable and she shows it. She won't come up and give us snuggles. She just lays there and stares at you with laser beams. I'm sorry that silly tshirt in the summer is for your own good. You'll thank me one of these days!

So I've been missing the Egg Roll love. The stinky kisses, the cuddles, just all the QT we used to spend together. Well this morning gives me hope!  I got up all bleary eyed and running a smidge late because I didn't set my alarm clock the night before.  I'm peeing and guess who comes up and rubs up against my leg and sits in between my legs?  Egg Roll!  Yes, a little weird while I'm peeing, but I'll take it.  I reach down to pet her and give her lots of praise.

She watches me brush my teeth and wash my face like usual.  We head out to the front door together and she is very lively and dare I say happy!  She was so cute.  I give her even more praise.  Do I get my little puppy back?  Probably not.  Just a rare good mood for her until her allergies kick into full gear again.  I'll take it.  I hope being boarded next week doesn't make her miserable.  I can't wait for the first frost so her allergies go away.  Poor puppy.

*Sigh*

Source: Pioneer Woman

This makes me smile and wish I had a Basset Hound again.

Vail Farmer's Market

On Sunday after our last game, two of my teammates and I ventured out into Vail Village to visit the farmer's market.  It was a gorgeous day like all the others we had spent there.  We spent an hour or so wondering the market which was filled with all sorts of vendors.

This one was a favorite:

I got a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting.  It was delicious.

I also got one of these as a snack for during our bike ride:

Two butter cookies with raspberry jam in the middle.  It was also quite delicious.

One of the great things that I loved about the farmer's market aside from being able to see some local wares was the number of dogs that were there.  I love dogs and I wanted to run up and pet every single one.  I think I would scare the locals, so instead I took pictures of every dog I could.

Golden doodles are VERY popular here.  I think I saw at least 4 different ones in five days!  So many dogs!  I wish Egg Roll and Red could have joined in the festivities.  After walking through the market, we hopped onto our bikes, headed back to the lodge to get Caroline's wallet, and then headed up the mountain to start our biking adventure!

Poor Doggies

I  just got a call from the hubster and he informed me that the smoke detector in our bedroom is low on batteries and is beeping.  The problem is he can't reach it using the step ladder we currently own.  So he has to go out and  a real ladder (which we have been meaning to do on Black Friday, but never have the motivation to actually get up early for a ladder and then we do go out, they are sold out!)

Anyway, the dogs are apparently very afraid of the beeping smoke detector.  So afraid in fact, that Egg Roll will not get off of the hubster's lap and Red is hiding under the futon in the office.  Even worse is while the hubster tried to put the girls in their cages while he went out to get the ladder, he tried to give them a treat to help calm them down.  Egg Roll took the treat in her mouth and then dropped it when she heard the beep!  Egg Roll refuse food!@!?!@  Unbelievable!  I hope the hubster gets the ladder and changes the battery soon for our dogs' sake.

I miss Jomer

Jomer was my very first dog.  A big beautiful Basset Hound.  He was a stinky little sucker, but I loved him.  He passed away a month after I moved out to Ohio.  I don't think I've ever cried so much in my life.  Shortly after Jomer passed, I got Egg Roll and I fell in love all over again.  I renewed my love for Bassets while reading Pioneer Woman.  She posts pictures of her Basset Charlie and her most recent addition, Walter.  It really makes me wish I had a house with an enclosed yard so I could have 10 dogs.  She recently made a post about 50 Bassets Running and I had click the link.  Here is one of the pictures that most reminds me of Jomer.

Source: 50 Bassets Running

Of course, I don't think Jomer ever ran in his lifetime.  I do feel I wasn't the best parent for Jomer and that my mom did the majority of work.  My whole family misses him.  I think he was the first pet that was treated as part of the family.  I have many fond memories of Jomer and wish that Egg Roll and Red could have their older brother.

Ugly Red

Ok, Red isn't really ugly. She's very cute, but I call her the ugly dog whenever she scrapes up her nose, and her beautiful black nose is marred by this red/pink/white spot. The reason she scrapes up her nose is that she has really bad separation anxiety. The first time she muffed up her nose she scraped it on her travel kennel and ripped a giant hole in it. A few times she scrapes it up when she's trying to hide a bone in a couch or futon that has no cracks. Well, she did it again this morning. She freaked out this morning or something and scraped up her nose so bad. The sheet that wraps around her pillow was covered in blood. There was so much blood that when it dried, the sheet was stiff.

So now I have an ugly Red for at least a month. The hubster thinks I'm mean for calling her ugly, but she doesn't know what I'm saying. I'm sure she can infer from my tone that I'm mocking her and her nose. Is it a leap to say that my dog can infer?

Me and My Niece

I love Red!

I woke up from a nap to this:

Dog pictures of the day

I love this commercial

I love my dogs because... Part I

1. Egg Roll always waits for me to get into bed before scurrying around the bed and up the dog stairs.
2. Red always sits on the edge of the bed and watches me get ready for bed every night.
3. Red has paw beards.
4. Red always has a smile for you.
5. Egg Roll always has a snuggle for you.
6. Red grumbles when she sleeps.
7. Red takes 10 minutes to get comfortable on the futon, then gets up 30 seconds later to follow me into the bedroom.
8. Egg Roll makes ewok noises when she does her downward facing dog.
9. Red is Swedish and Egg Roll is Mexican
10. Red sleeps in the most random places
11. Egg Roll sits in my lap when the hubster and I fight because she knows it calms me down.
12. Egg Roll only allows you to carry her one way.  This way also results in you carrying her like a servant would carry its owner.
13. Red only poops when she is off balance.

Towels and Red

Red has this uncanny ability to sense when a wet towel has been placed or fallen onto the floor.  She makes a bee line to the towel to investigate and then proceeds to rub her entire body onto the towel.  It's like the scent of Garnier Nuctris shampoo and Oil of Olay Body Wash is just disgusting to her and she has to disguise those scents with her own wonderful fragrance.  It's so funny to watch her.  Just another reason to love my dogs.

Dog picture of the day

This is what happens when I'm away. Someone thinks they can just take over my side of the bed and my pillow! Someone is gonna get a rude awakening when I get home.

What a con artist!

Red can go from sad to glad faster than Egg Roll can snatch a sandwich off the hubster's desk.

Here she is this morning. These were taken moments apart.

Sad

Glad