Oh my Dog! My Poor Lawn!

Gabe loves grass.  He loves to lie in it; he loves to eat it; he loves to dig holes in it; to get at the succulent (I'm assuming?) grass roots.  Archie doesn't have the same love affair with grass but he likes to play on it.  If the ground is a little soft, when he and Gabe run around on it, the flip of little clods of sod.  Not good.  For the most part, the boys are not allowed on the lawn in the summer.  The yard is plenty big without having to use that area.

However, occasionally, especially when it's hot and the ground is hard, I'll let the dogs on it for a bit.  And then Gabe, for one, really goes to town.

Sunday Sleepies

Yes, we have ruff life.

Dog Days of Summer

If Gabe were human, he wouldn't be one of those guys at the park, tossing a frisbee around, nor one of the guys at the beach, catching a wave.  No, I firmly believe he would be one of those guys chilling in an Adirondack chair in his back yard, cold beer in hand.

Stay cool!

Propagating an Archie Tree

Yes, that's my Boo, curled up in a hole he dug himself in one of my planter barrels.  There was nothing planted in it, but there is now!  Looking forward to my harvest of wee Archies.

It's a bird; it's a plane, it's ...

a hot-air balloon!  And pretty freaky to Gabe n Arch.  When they notice a hot-air balloon in the sky, they always make a fuss.  I'd like to know what goes on in their little beagle brains when they spot them.

Mother's Day at the Dog Park

My children wear fur. If something makes them happy, I'll likely be happy too. I couldn't think of a better way to spend Mother's Day than a trip to the dog park - our first in months, since I broke my ankle.

Pre-broken-ankle, we would circle the park four times in about 50 minutes. Today, we managed two circles. It was lovely out there in the sunshine, though, and I think we were all happy to have the time together. Apologies for the hazy pictures - I didn't take my camera, so these are off my blackberry.

Lulu's family says ...

Lulu is usually a happy go lucky beagle. She doesn't have any health issues, she's up to date on her shots and she's very smart. She is a great dog ... She loves being outside, rolling in the grass and running around the yard. She loves to play fetch but sometimes gets so excited she forgets to return with the ball! Her favorite toy is a toy dolpin, she always has to have it with her when they relax on their couch. She might possibly roam in a new area since it would be unfamiliar, but has always been good walking off leash with us when we go for walks in the country. She is housetrained, crate trained and knows many commands and some signs. She is a calm eater, and has no allergies that we know of. She is easy to take for walks as she is great on her leash and is great around other dogs.

We have 3 young (under 2) nephews in town and she is great with them. They have pulled her tail and stuck their fingers in her nose and she has never reacted towards them. We also have a cat, who gets along great with both of the dogs and Lulu and her enjoy snuggling on the couch. Our cat had kittens this past fall and Lulu was great with the kittens, they would play with little balls together and lay together for naps. It was very cute.
Now to find a foster family for this girl, on her way to her forever home ...

Foster Home for Lulu

Beagle Paws is looking for a foster home in Saskatchewan for Lulu.  Beagle Paws is a rescue based in Newfoundland that operates nationally.  Archie is a Beagle Paws dog; and we shared our home with a Beagle Paws foster a few years ago (so glad you found your forever home, Annie girlie!).

To find out more about what's involved with being a foster family, please visit the Beagle Paws foster page.  (Bonus points for you if you know which of the beagles on that page is our very own Gabe-o!)  If you have more questions about Lulu, ask away, and I'll do my best to answer.

Takin' Care of Mama

I broke my ankle on March 5.  I was carrying a basket of laundry down the basement stairs and slipped.  I landed on my butt and slid the rest of the way down sitting up - with my right leg horked up in an inverted v-shape.  Bouncing down, I was looking at it and thinking, "This can't be good."  I fractured my fibula in two places, chipped a piece of bone off my tibia, and dislocated my ankle.  The dislocation was popped back into place several hours later (while I was gratefully under sedation).  A week later, I had surgery to afix a plate and 6 screws on one of the fractures; and to sort of meld the other fracture together with a 7th screw.  For three weeks, I wore a "splint" - a partial plaster cast on the back and sides of my leg, wrapped over with cotton gauze.  I now have a fiberglass cast (a lovely royal blue) for 5 weeks.

Archie has been particularly careful to give my poor leg a lot of extra love.

The Path Less Taken

Is this another reason why I should be called a "crazy dog parent"?  Or do lots of people do this?

I shovel paths throughout the yard for the dogs in the winter.  The dogs are so short, it's easy for them to end up belly deep in snow.  When it's "warmer" (-12C/10F or warmer), they're not too picky about having to wallow in the snow; and they often have fun frollicking in it.  But when it's cold, (-20C/-4F or colder), it's hard for them to be out there, and I imagine having your legs totally immersed in snow just makes it that much colder.  So, I shovel for them.  They can make it to a pee spot, sniff around, or even chase each other through the "maze" for a few minutes.  They tend to stick pretty close to the paths when it's cold. I do think they appreciate it.

Beagles and Boots

It has been cold here for the past 10 days or so.  In Saskatoon, it's not unusual for our temperatures to dip below -30C (-22F) in January.  Our daily lows haven't been quite that cold, but it's just not warming up much during the day.  Our daily highs have been hovering around -25C (-13).  Not freezing by Saskatchewan standards, but still pretty darn cold.

Gabe's arthritis seems to be bothering him more than usual lately.  I suspect it's because his glucosamine supplements haven't been particularly regular.  He's been on antibiotics for the past 3 weeks to deal with a bleeding peptic ulcer.  One pill at 7:30am; one at 8:00am; three at 8:00pm.  Because of this, I haven't been mixing glucosamine into his breakfast, as it's just too many meds.

So, out came the boots!  I ordered them a few years ago, actually, but I gave up on trying to get Gabe (or Arch, for that matter) to wear them.  The first time, I struggled to get all four boots on Gabe and then let him go outside.  He went raving bananas.  There are lots of funny videos on youtube of dogs trying out boots for the first time.  Gabe didn't just walk funny.  He was tearing around like his feet were on fire.  He eventually managed to work all 4 boots free, lost in the snow drifts.  Yay.

This time, I was smarter.  One boot at a time.  Still, as you can see, the boys weren't crazy about having to actually stand in them.

Gabe's been wearing his one boot outside each time we go, for the past 5 days or so.  He's doing pretty good with it, but still isn't confident about getting back up the 2 steps to the door.  I wish they had better traction on the bottom, but I don't know what to do about that.  It's made a noticeable difference in how long he can tolerate the cold, so we're going to keep trucking on with this. 

Both boys have Muttluks - Gabe's have a smooth leather sole; Archie's have a suede sole.  Other than the traction issue, I really like these.  I like how the shaft is fitted - I've seen some that make a sort of upside down open umbrella shape at the ankle; snow can pool in around the ankle that way.  I also appreciate how long the shaft is - extra warmth right up to their knees!

Sunday Sleepies

Is there anything cuter than a sleeping puppy?

Do you know, I "fell in love" with Archie watching him sleep.  Both my boys are rescues and although they were cute little beagles from the get go, I didn't tumble for either on day one.  I don't remember the moment with Gabe.  It took awhile with him, as he was a little aggressive as a pup.  I do remember the moment with Archie, though.  He was such a Mexican jumping bean, but when he finally settles down to sleep, he's so small and soft and vulnerable.  Looking at those little lashes, who can blame me?