Wednesday, August 24, 2011

The Sweater....

A few years ago when I was visiting my family in NJ/NY for Christmas, I found this great sweater at the Eddie Bauer outlet while shopping with my sister.  It's a light weight, yet warm sweater with wintery designs on it.  I could grab it to go out to the store or wear it to work in the cool mornings or, on a walk with my Foxy boy.

I had always hung this sweater on the wonderful hooks Husband hung in the entryway.  Mr. Fox, in all his nutjobness, has pulled on the jackets, including my sweater, so hard that the hooks were pulled right out of the wall.  Mr. Fox did this THREE times!! Crackpot dog!  Since it's summer, I haven't been wearing jackets and I had stashed them all in one of the closets.  Today, I grabbed my Eddie Bauer sweater and went out the door to my training, where the air conditioning made for a cold room, but I was ready! 

I had noticed a small hole in the hood and thought to myself, 'Oh, how cute, a hole from where Fox pulled it off the hook.'  Imagine my surprise, and everyone else who was with me, when I put my sweater on and saw this:


Boy did we have a good laugh over that!!  Of course someone said they would get rid of that dog, but I just love him to bits!!  He's got personality!  Yep, just enough to help me declutter my house and closets!!

Monday, August 22, 2011

In the Driver's Seat


Mr. Fox loves a car ride.  He willingly jumps in the car to anywhere.  We went to a park in Redondo Beach to play when I took this picture.  You can see Foxy doesn’t like to ride as the passenger.  He wants to be where the action is taking place.  So he made his way onto my lap in the driver’s seat and then sat there with his paws on my legs and the door.  This was fine until his paw pushed the driver’s side window button and the window went down.  Apparently the window lock button doesn’t lock the driver’s window!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Emailing Dog?

I saw this email to my mother in my mailbox.  I think he may be gifted - he can type!!
Hi Grandma!!!
I loooove mommy's side of the bed!  She is the best to snuggle with!  That boy wants to love me and pick me up but he doesn't know how and I have to make a funny noise to let him know.  He still doesn't get it.  I loooooove my walks too!  I am a crazy ass on the leash when we first go out the gate and then all the way around the corner past the house with the barky dogs.  I don't care how much that thing on my neck chokes me!  I need help.  Mommy says I have issues :/  I don't know what that means but I don't think it's good.  Can I tell you a secret???  Mommy makes me my very own food!  I hate that canned shit and mommy even sits with me sometimes so I eat.  Probably because of my 'issues'?  I like to chase Shaggy because he lets me catch him and sit on his back.  He makes a noise but I don't care; he's a little bigger than me so maybe if I do this I can show him I'm the top dog!  I am sooo happy mommy saved me because I had to hunt for food on the street and now my old instincts come back when I search through balled up napkins and tissues for crumbs.  But I'm really happy because I have a good place to sleep, food and water when I want it, treats and lots of love.  I hope I meet you soon because I hear you're the best dog lover ever even though mommy always says you'll be appalled when you see me on the leash!  I love you grandma!
Love,
Your Eighth Grandson,
Mr. Fox

Monday, August 8, 2011

The Things You Do

You chase your tail....  poor demented soul.

You make looooong pees before you go to bed and look at me while you're doing it as if to say, 'aaahhh, that feels good!'

You steal paper, any kind of paper: napkins, paper towels, writing paper, wrappers and boxes things came in.  While doing this you look at me with a mischievous look and then run.

You've learned what drop it means and obey reluctantly.  I think you do it just for the treat!

You eat toys - thank you so much as I've been able to throw many away!  Your favorite are Jenga blocks.

You lay in my lap any chance you get.

You love to lick our toes and Daddy hates it but I kinda like it.  Little T loves that you lick his hands as it makes him feel loved.

You follow me into the bathroom and then bark because I closed the door.  Don't you know I need some privacy?

You bark and pull like a total nut job very badly during the first block of our walk.  It is very embarrassing, very.  You don't stop even when I spray you with water or tell you to be quiet.  You get a little better along the way and are the best walker on the way back.

You scare the other dogs.  You met a sweet little chihuahua being walked by a cute little teenager and instead of nicely sniffing her you jumped up and barked in her face.  She wanted no part of you and backed away.  This is not the way to make friends little boy.

You tolerate Little T and all of his, um... tortuous loving.

You pee on everything on our walk even when you have no pee left! 

You finally make normal poops that are not mushy but your farts could kill someone!  I have to google 'how to get rid of dog farts' and see what I get!

You growl like you're going to bite Daddy if he tries to take you off the bed when you're lying in it with me.  Such a protective puppy.

You like to sleep under the covers with me by my feet.

You are soooo cute when you're asleep!

You give me your belly, the minute I say, 'How's the puuuuuuppyyyy?' in my baby voice.  So cute this is!

Your ears go back when you're happy and want some loving.

You swim in the pool, although only to get out as fast as you can.  Then you run around the pool over and over barking madly at anyone who is in the pool.
 
You've sneaked out of the yard a few times but you always come back.  In fact, you did it while I was typing this and you were barking at the bad neighbor down the street.  Thankfully you came as soon as I called you.  It's always our fault-you went out with Daddy and he thought you were right behind him this morning.  Now I'm sure the police will arrive and give me an off leash ticket.  Ugh...

You are a very neat doggy and I'm a little worried about what grandma is going to say when she meets you.  I can hear the comments now:  'Why couldn't you get a dog like Sylvia or Dakota?  They're such nice dogs.'  She will be appalled by the way you walk on the leash.  She used to obedience train her dogs and they were good!  You, not so much but we love you anyway!!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Only the Best...

Of friends could even begin to tolerate Mr. Fox peeing in her house!!!

You read that right folks.  I took Mr. Fox over to see my friend and his friend Sylvia.  Well, Sylvie once again, put Mr. Fox in his place, forcefully and repeatedly!!  It really is something to see a little toy poodle tell off Foxy!  I guess he'd had it and decided to pee on the coffee table.  OMG!!!  Are you kidding me?  He did it right in front of us, as we sat on the sofa talking!!  How freakin' embarrassing!!  Then there was cleaning....



About an hour later all of us made our way to another room where the dog antics continued and then I heard this from one of my friend's kids, "Mom, I see water on the floor by the chair and it looks yellow, I think it's pee."  WHAT!!??  You rotten dog!  You peed on my friend's chair!!!  I put his nose in it and there was more cleaning.  So embarrassing....



But.. Look at the fun the dogs had chasing each other.  Notice at about 7 seconds, Fox looks at the camera like, 'Oooo, an audience.'

He is so bad, yet I love him so. 

Oh Mr. Fox, we laughed so hard at you and you didn't even realize it you crazy pup.


Thursday, July 21, 2011

Fox-Aversary

Mr. Fox has been with us four whole months!!  He certainly has come a long way.

Then:  He ran back and forth from the front door to the back door over and over and over for about 3 weeks.
Now:  He lays happily, in my lap mostly, or on the sofa or on any soft pillow he finds.

Notice the bone he's holding in his paws.

Then:  He would try to run out the door to escape as soon as it was opened.
Now:  He sits and sadly watches the door close or he will run out the gate and right into the car if we are going for a ride.

Then:  He was impossible on the leash.  I could hardly walk him without him trying to attack everything, and I mean everything, including the wind, as we walked.
Now:  He is a nutjob as we walk out the door and to the corner - he has to make it past the dogs next door that bark and the dogs at the house on the corner that bark.  I'm giving him treats for good behavior and it's helped.  By the end of the walk he's a more normal dog.

Then:  He didn't know about belly or ear rubs.
Now:  He happily flops on his back for a good belly rub - he seems to like those better than the ear rubs.

Then:  He wouldn't sit still for a picture.
Now:  Well, it's better....
 Then
 Now - in the bathroom with me!

Then:  He would just wander aimlessly around the house.
Now:  He follows me everywhere, even the bathroom! 

We love you, you little nut dog!! 

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Cleanliness??

It's the second week of July currently but before school was out Mr. Fox took it upon himself to fix up the living room as only he could.

One late afternoon I was driving home at about 4:30 pm, which is the time I normally come home to Foxy, I was talking to Husband on the phone about our dinner plans for that night.  He suggested that we meet at Denny's for dinner.  Great idea!  I didn't have to cook - woo hoo!!  I got Little T and we all had a nice dinner.  Of course this would mean getting home to Mr. Fox about an hour later than normal.  Hmmmm......

As we finished our meal, Husband said to me, "I have a surprise for you when you get home."  "Oooo, what?"  I replied.  "Cleanliness!" he said.  Apparently Husband had one of his guys vacuum and pick up the clutter in the living room.  I was so happy my guy did this for me.  Imagine my surprise when I opened the door and saw this:


Apparently Mr. Asshole, uh Mr. Fox, decided to redecorate and/or mess up the place that Husband so proudly had cleaned.  I let out a very loud audible gasp when I saw this.  Husband was right behind me in his truck so I waited and opened the door for him so he could have the same effect.  Husband was not happy and we found both of ourselves saying 'Baaaaadd Dooooggg!'

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Puppy Playdate

 
Meet Sylvia aka Sylvie.  She is my dear friend's dog - a 5 lb Toy Poodle.  At my friend's suggestion we got these two mutts together.  I have seen Sylvie on a walk before and she also acts like she is going to attack and kill other dogs.  So we both thought there might be a lot of flying fur by the end of our adventure.

The playdate went well overall.  The dogs met in my house and Mr. Fox did a lot of sniffing, while little Sylvie put Mr. Fox in his place, with very ferocious sounding yaps right in his face!  It was really funny to see this little dog, one third his weight tell him just how it was going to be!  Girl Power!!!  

We walked the dogs and kids over to the park and the dogs really did pretty well, with the exception of their leashes getting tangled a few times.  

Once at the park you can see how interested in each other they acted.  Notice the new leash for Foxy?  Yeah, that's number 5 - he chewed all the others.  Anyhow, the dogs were really good and if Mr. Fox over stepped his bounds Sylvie let him know it in a big way.  She was definitely the alpha in this duo! 

I think the funniest moment came once we got back to my house and we sat on the couch and Sylvie placed her self right in between my friend and I.  Mr. Fox looked and looked for a way up and onto one of our laps but she was not having it - she yapped in his face and gave it to him good, as if to say "HEY, these are BOTH my people and I am not sharing!"  It was very cute.  Them chasing each other around the coffee table before that was equally funny!

On a side note, this was Fox's second time at the playground in Wilson Park.  The first time he literally scared all the people away with all of his endless barking at things like... the wind... leaves... and well anything.  This time he was much, much better and nobody left!  He went nuts barking at a guy on a big tractor lawn mower so I walked him over to it and let him sniff it - then he was fine.  He sure has come a long way.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

I'm a Sicko

Why?  Why, you ask?  Because I have decided to make this freaking dog his own food!!! Yes, I am going to cook up some meat and rice and veggies and keep it in the fridge and heat it up and feed it to his crazy ass.  Did I ever once make Little T homemade baby food? NO!  But then again, they don't put weird by products in baby food right?  Ok, I feel better now...

It's not just the ingredients that motivates me to make him his own food, it's his poo.  Shit, his poo... is mushy and one day it came out like raspberry jam and I had to run to the vet to find out his intestines were irritated.  Sometimes, he has doggarhea.  Poor thing.  Did I mention the farts that could knock you unconscious?  Oh geez, I thought baby poo was bad.  Fox farts are much worse.  Enough bathroom talk.

Fox eats so many non food items that I figure I can give him all the help he can get by giving him good food.  Yesterday he threw up little blue bits and as I said what the hell are these, Little T told me Mr. Fox had eaten some little blue flying discs from party favors.  Oye vey...  This dog eats A LOT of stuff.  He will tear up a stuffed animal if we let him and eat the stuffing, which worries me because I once saw on t.v. a dog who ate too much stuffed animal stuffing and needed expensive surgery.  I can't afford that!  No stuffed toys, a clean floor, and homemade food and hopefully things will come out normal. 

And for your final laugh of the night....  I found Mr. Fox standing on the kitchen counter today.  Don't ask me how the hell he got up there because I have no idea!  There was a lot of screaming 'BAAAAAD DOG' on my part.

Lifesaver

Each day Little T swims I put Mr. Fox in the pool and each time I put him a little farther from the steps so he has to swim.  I did it again today.  He doesn't really like it.  He barks like mad at me when he gets out.  I turned around at some point and found him laying in this tube.  Perhaps he figures he's going to need it at some point!  Mind you, it is only recently that I can get pictures of this dog because he has only just stopped moving sooooo excessively.  Don't get me wrong, he's hyper as can be but at least I can get a picture.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Crate Tales

Mr. Fox came to our home already crate trained.  He happily went in the crate every night to sleep and stayed in there all night long.  Until.....  Mr. Sap, uh, I mean my husband, got to feeling guilty and bad for the dog because he was in a cage all night.

One night Husband got up around 2 am for some water and said hello to the dog.  NO!! What was he thinking!! Damn dog woke up and barked until I, yes I, not Husband got up and let him out to pee.  I put him back in the crate but he wasn't having that.  Lots of barking.  Lots.  Next thing I know the dog is in the bed... with his back pushed up against mine.  Of course this came after much walking all over the bed in an attempt to find the right spot.  Oh puppy....  

I slept like crap but the dog was happy.  Husband was exhausted and needed a nap the next day.  I am convinced men are the weaker sex.

One night I went to bed before Husband - very rare - and when I got up in the morning I saw that Fox was never put in his crate.  Ugh.  Here we go - I train the animal, Husband detrains, this happens with Little T too, so I wasn't surprised.  This not going into the crate continued for a good week with things going further south each day.  The dog had to be in our room, on our bed, sleeping with us.  Again after much running around the calm bed first.  Did I mention all the hissing that took place first because the cats were pissed off that the dog had taken their place? 

Thinking I could just leave him out of our room, I would let Mr. Fox fall asleep on the couch and then sneak off to be at 11:30pm.  Then the barking would start and the scratching at the door and if we didn't open it fast enough he'd pee right at the bottom of the door.  Damn dog really is a spiteful cat in disguise!!  Needless to say, now that I am off on summer vacation the dog is back in the crate and I only had to come out and sleep on the couch twice to keep him company.  Now he's back on track, in the crate, all night, no problem.  Thanks for small miracles!

Swimming!

A couple of weeks ago we put Fox in the pool to see if he could swim.  Like a trooper and in true doggy fashion, he dog paddled right to the steps and walked out.  We did this two or three times and felt comfortable that he could swim.

Well... a week later I went out to the store for a few hours.  When I came home, I saw Little T sitting on the living room floor alone.  I asked him where daddy was - laying down - ugh.  If you know my husband, you know this is no surprise as he loves to sleep and figures Little T can take care of himself because that's what his parents made him do.  Anyway....  my next question was 'where's the dog?'  Little T says he doesn't know and at the same time I notice the sliding door is open and the pool water is moving.  So I went outside to find poor Mr. Fox clinging to the side of the pool for dear life.  Poor pup must have fallen in the deep end and couldn't see the steps because they were blocked by floating things and just hung on.  I pulled him out and dried him off and he went back to his normal crazy ass self.

And this is where I say, WTF is wrong with men!!! Holy crap!! IF a woman/mother were to lay down while her kid was watching cartoons it would be in the same room and she wouldn't fall asleep so she could hear if some being needed her AND she would close the door so nobody could fall in the pool!! Asshole!!

Having said that, Husband does have redeeming qualities.  Here is one in the following photo - my power washed and painted back of the house.  The paint was left over from one his jobs and yes, we are can only do one side at a time!  Hence why my blog is about the dog and not my imperfect family! Plus I think the dog is far more entertaining than we will ever be.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

April 5, 2011

Mr. Fox has just plopped himself on the couch with me.  Last night I got an amazing cuddle from him.  He laid on his back with his paws up and I rubbed his belly and we fell asleep like that, with him in the crook of my arm.  Poor baby had to go in the crate when I woke up at midnight. 

He has been having lots of fun chewing our stuff despite the abundance of toys. We give him bones and he hides them in the corners of the couch cushions.  Stuff he has chewed: one of my shoes; various ziploc bags containing things; one of Little T's Indiana Jones guys; two rolls of toilet paper he got from the bathroom (our roll holder is broken so it sits on the floor); a container of baby wipes, also stolen from the bathroom; a collar; two harnesses and a leash that I let Little T play with.  I may have left something out! 

I got him a HALT-I.  It's this thing that goes over his nose and snaps behind his ears and it's supposed to be the humane way to stop pulling on the leash.  It's helped but he hates it and tries to get it off by rubbing his head on the grass.  It also attaches to his collar so it he does manage to get it off he's still attached to the leash.  Little T has informed me of the times Mr. Fox has gotten away from Husband: twice out the front door and one of those times Husband had to chase him down the street and twice at the park but Husband grabbed the leash quickly.  Today I came home and the dog wasn't here.  I called Husband and found out he had taken Fox to go pick up Little T at camp.  When they came home and he saw me, he ran right from the truck to me all waggy and cute.

I think/hope he is the most excited to see me in the morning.  He goes nuts and needs lots of rubbing and petting.  Fox was not happy to smell that little puppy MaryAnne had in her room.  I held it a little bit.  She is the total opposite of this guy and truthfully if she came along before this guy I'd have taken her.  She's calm, a girl, small and did I say calm?  I mentioned her to Husband and he said he's not switching dogs.  I keep feeling like giving him an out and of course he asks me if I'm the one that wants the out.  Honestly, the other one will probably be an easier dog, but I'm in love already.  How could I give this guy up? How did your niece do it? I don't think I could ever be a foster dog mommy because I would fall in love too easily.  If I didn't have Husband to control me, I would consider having two, but I think it would bother Mr. Fox too much.  Speaking of which he peed on my curtains twice and on the kitchen trash a few times too.

He and Shaggy seem to co-exist ok.  One time Shaggy was sleeping on top of a dresser we have in the living room and Mr. Fox laid down right underneath him on the floor.  I will give them both treats in the kitchen at the same time.  Sometimes they both get cat treats and sometimes they both get dog treats and like them all.  Scooby hisses anytime he sees the dog and keeps to himself in the bedroom.  Shaggy will still hiss and swat but he seems to just be letting the dog know he's the alpha in this house!

In the time I've typed this email he's gotten up off the couch to run outside and howl at the sirens, brought me one of Husband's shoes (right on top of the couch) and gotten one of his bones out of the corner of the couch chewed it for a few minutes, then stopped that to thoroughly lick my feet and when Shaggy came and sat down in the living room he tried to get the cat to play with him.  Shaggy hissed.  I imagine in cat language he was telling Mr. Fox to leave him the fuck alone and stay away from his mommy.  Shaggy hasn't slept with me in two or three nights.  All in all he's a sweet pup.

And now you can sleep tonight!

Impressions from March 29, 2011

I know you are dying to know how your little furry friend is....

He is so cute.  He comes over to us and gives us little hugs.  He rubs the side of his body onto ours and leans into us while we pet him.  Soooo cute.  Tonight he jumped on the couch and gave Husband a cuddle and then took a toy up and laid in my lap until Little T came around caused him to move.  When I put him in his crate the other night I gave him three cookies (my name for dog biscuits) and he took each one separately and put it down next to him and then ate them when he had them all.  He didn't just gobble each one as I handed it to him.  We got him rawhide bones and he takes them and hides them, like he's burying them!  He put one inside a bag I have Little T's nebulizer in and he then pushed the bone down with his nose! 

Sometimes though, he is not so cute.... Today he peed on my curtains.  I opened the sliding door to let him out and he ran out, peed on the plant, ran in and peed on the curtain.  I don't know if he forgot he was inside because he never did that before.  I told him he was a baaaad dog and naughty.  He got that sheepish, 'oh, shit, I'm sorry' look on his face and his body kept wagging because he was so happy we were awake and it was morning.  He also seems to find something to chew while we are at work.  One day Little T left out a bag of cotton balls he was doing crafts with and they were chewed up and today he chewed up the plastic bag the newspaper was in.  I'm wondering if this is why he had diarrhea today. 

We went for our usual walk to pick up Little T and I have been using the retractable leash on the afternoon walk.  I'm wondering if it is too much for him.  Too much stimuli, you know.  He is like a crazy dog.  People look at him.  The other dogs look at him.  He's like that wild kid in your class that stands out.... Anyway.... At night I take him out on the regular 6 ft nylon leash and he seems to walk better.  I may switch.  I took him to the park again and let the 23ft of leash out so he get out some of his energy.  Poor dog was nuts with the smells.  And tonight when we went for the nightly walk he seemed surprised when I turned around to go home.  He looked at me like, 'that's it?'  That surprised me because the nightly walk has always been a short one.  I have been walking the same route everyday and that's the way he naturally goes now, which I think is good.  Our first Scottie, Robbie, got out once and he ran right to my neighbor's house around the block.  We were good friends with them and their dog!! 

Dog vs. Cat
I swear Shaggy, the alpha cat, doesn't care as much about that dog as he did about the kitten that adopted us.  He slapped that kitten's face every day!  A couple of times Fox came into the bedroom and jumped on the bed while the cat was laying on it and there was no drama.  Tonight I let Shaggy into the living room and he walked around while Mr. Fox sniffed his butt in a very dog like fashion.  The cat just walked around with the dog at his butt!!! Then Foxy kept sniffing Shaggy and acting like he wanted to play and he'd bark on and off.  A few times Shaggy hissed at him but that was it.  Shaggy found the highest spot and hung out there! Just like with Little T, he would move juuuust out of reach! 

I love that crazy pup!

Who's Really In Charge Here? (From 3/26/11)

Nani,
Here is your daily update!

Mr. Fox is calming down a bit.  The adventures were light today.  In the morning Mr. Fox ran in and out of the back yard until we went to Target to buy snacks for the T-Ball game (I was snack mom this week).  How could I leave the little dog home?  It wasn't hot out and was cloudy, so I figured he would be ok in the car while we shopped a little.  He saw our shoes go on and he was so excited so I took him in the car and off we went.   We left him in the car with the sun roof cracked and when we got back he was fine.  Of course we bought him more treats even after Husband came home with some rawhide things last night.  Oh, and some new dry food.  His poo is soft.  It comes out in logs but is mushy.  I only know this because I am one of those people who picks it up with a plastic bag and tosses it out.  Anyway, I got some Beneful in pouches, it's dry food with a few moist things in it.  I gave him half a packet and he ate it.  It's the first dry food he ate for me.  He didn't even eat the one you guys sent with him.  Husband gave him a packet of the moist Pedigree for dinner. 

We went to TBall where I saw a big sign that said 'NO Dogs', among NO other things.  I don't know why I didn't see it last time, but anyway, being the rule follower, I put him in the car.  He was ok.  When we got home I took him for a little walk and he pooped.  I have a cold so Husband let me take a big nap and the dog hung around with him and Little T in the living room.  We just ate a frozen pizza and Mr. Fox was right there begging for food and trying to get it off the coffee table.  Yes, we eat in the living room. 

Dog vs Cat
This morning, Mr. Fox discovered the cat door when he was in the back yard.  He came in the bedroom, where the cats live.  Who knows where Scooby was, but Shaggy was right there.  He gave Mr. Fox a big hiss, a swipe that seemed to be one of those 'I missed you on purpose' ones and then chased the dog into the corner where he cowered.  OMG!  Why am I not surprised the cat is in charge?  Shaggy is the alpha in this house!  Dopey Dog, as I like to affectionately call him, did it again! And the same thing happened again!  Of course we saved him and a few minutes ago the two were walking around the living room together.  Fox is still here, I just saw the bedroom door is closed, so I guess the cat is back in there. 

Mr. Fox has also enjoyed tearing up our lacy, sheer curtain that is behind our thick curtains on the sliding door.   Tonight Little T discovered the joys of having a brother.  I kept telling him they ruin your toys.  He found out the hard way when he picked up his SpongeBob watch (one from Burger King) off the floor and discovered that the dog had chewed the band off.  Poor kid was sad.  Husband told him he had to be careful about where he leaves his things because the dog might chew it and he gave Little T a big hug. 

In a little while, I'll take him for his nightly walk/poo and pee on any and every thing he can and then he'll crate up and go nahnny (that's what we Italians call sleep to our kids).

Good Nahnny to you!

More First Impressions

Here's another email I sent to Mr. Fox's fairy Godmother - more to follow.

Dear Nani,
We are on a schedule - I take Fox out in the backyard every morning and he pees.  Husband takes him for a short walk after taking Little T to school.  I go work and the poor dog barks because he wants to come with me.  When I come home I take him for a walk to get Little T from school or after school program, depending on the day.  Today, I took the dog to Torrance Park and he could not get enough of all the smells!  O.M.G.!  This poor dog was so overwhelmed, he did not know which way to turn to find the next spot to pee/mark.  He didn't even have any pee left!!!  At one point, he pulled so hard that he pulled the retractable leash right out of my hand - I panicked internally but he came to me and on we went.  We got Little T and walked home.  He was tired but ran right in to the water bowl and took a big drink.  I fed him dinner and cooked dinner with him hovering around.  Then we ate and Husband didn't want him begging so he put Mr. Fox into the crate.  He didn't like that, but we told him to be quiet and no talking and he got better.  When we were done we let him out and gave him a piece of our steak.  And then ......

Husband let the cats out of our bedroom! Shaggy, my baby, and a cat who takes no shit, looked at the dog.  The dog looked at Shaggy.  Shaggy took a spot on top of a dresser we have in the living room-one of Shaggy's favorite spots. Fox didn't really seem to care too much about the cat.  By the way, Scooby, Shaggy's twin, was hiding somewhere!  Fox kept doing his, run back and forth thing. He went between the living room and playing with Little T in his room, but at one point he came over to the dresser.  I kept telling him 'No, the cat will scratch you.'  But he went over and got up on his hind legs a little and Shaggy hissed and took a swipe at him.  Shaggy missed and Fox ran.  Then Fox did the cutest thing.  He got on the couch next to me and started licking my arm, while I was petting Shaggy with the other hand.  He would lick me and look at Shaggy as if to say, 'See, I like her too.  See, I'm ok because I like your person.'  It was really funny.  Maybe I am reading way too much into this, but I think this dog is smart and was trying to ingratiate himself with the cat through me!  They hung out the rest of the night with no problem.  Shaggy just looked at Fox leerily all night, but tolerated him.  Of course I told my Shaggy, that he was still the Alpha and not to worry.  I also told the dog that Shaggy was the Alpha and he should get used to it!  I know, I'm nuts.  We went out for our nightly walk and he pooed, came in, got a treat, and is now in his crate sleeping.  Cute puppy.

Oh yeah, after dinner Husband had a little talk with Mr. Fox.  He took the dog's face up to his and asked him if he wanted to stay and if he liked it here.  I asked Husband if he wanted to keep the dog and he said, 'well you guys like him'  I asked Husband what he wanted, not what he thought we wanted and he said, he wanted to keep the dog.  He likes him and thinks it's very cute they way he trots around the house. 

Also, when I came home, the sliding door was open to the back.  Husband said he left it open and the dog was going in and out all day with him.  We did that tonight too.  He would go out and come back over and over.  This made me feel good.  He's not trying to get away.  He is a sweet little doggie, completely nuts and the dog that everyone looks at because of how hyper he is, but sweet.

Tomorrow - T-ball game!! He will like that!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Impressions from March 23, 2011

Our boy is doing well.  He seems a little calmer today.  Husband took him out to a customer's house yesterday and came home telling me the dog was a pain in the ass; that he's a mellow guy and the dog is very hyper.  I was a little worried, but he said he's ok with the dog.  It upset me. Then Little T was playing and getting the dog all riled up and I was worried about Husband and his noise issues. Anyway... 

Today he was a very cute puppy and when he came out of his crate he just wanted to be loved up.  I did that and then let him out in the backyard and he turned at the door and looked at me like, 'Hey, aren't you coming?' I went out with him and he peed.  I fed him his breakfast and then he was really excited when he saw me put on my shoes.  Poor thing doesn't realize he doesn't get to come with me in the morning.  He barked when I left.  

When I got home it was raining, but he is now in the habit of going for a proper leash walk when I get home so off we went and he doesn't care about the rain one bit.  We walked and got Little T from his after school program and then walked back, all in the rain.  He got dinner and then the financial guys came over and he let them pet him and all and was a very good boy the whole time.   I'm falling for him.  I'm trying not to, just in case, but he is sweet.  I caught him laying on Little T 's bed a few times. He likes it in there.  What a sweet doggy!

First Impressions....

This is an excerpt from one of the emails I sent to Nani about Mr. Fox during the first week we had him.  At the time, we were testing him out and deciding if we would keep the kooky dog, and we did!

3/21/11
The humping has begun!  Yes, it has... He humped the cat bed we tried to get him sleep in and now he is chewing and throwing around the pillow that goes inside it.  We can't afford hundreds of dollars for neutering so if you have any recommendations for a low cost place, let me know.  I'm going to call my vet tomorrow.  

When I came home I asked Bruce how the day went with the dog and he was in 'work mode' so he didn't have much to say other than they went for a walk and the dog pooped.  Oh, and the new harness got chewed through.  So, I went out to PetSmart with the dog, dumb me, and I proceeded to try harnesses on the very, very, very wiggly, excited dog.  Very comical, very.  Mr. Fox was actually turning around in my arms.  My black fleece hoodie was covered in fox colored fur, but I got a harness on him and made the cashier just scan the dog! I also got a choke collar.  All of our dogs wore them and this one he has not gotten off.  Phew.  

Then I walked to the dog to get Little T at his after school club.  The dog had a lovely walk and pooped and seemed tired by the time we got home but he wanted to play ball in the living room, so we did that.  Then Little T threw his toys around for him.  He hovered around me as I cooked dinner and when Husband finally emerged from his office he picked up the dog like it was his baby and he and Little T discussed keeping him.  I love his little expressive eyes.  I have a feeling he is some kind of working breed.  He points, you know, picks up a paw when he sees something.  

As far as I'm concerned, I'm keeping him.  I worry about Husband because he is, 'delicate', as my mother likes to say.  Too many things bug him - I had to stop playing ball because the ball squeaker was too much.  Oye.....   Oh, and Fox likes our shoes.  I found one of mine in another room!
 

Thursday, June 2, 2011

In the Beginning

During the first days and weeks we had Mr. Fox I sent Nani, his fairy Godmother or Dogmother, an email each day to let her know how he was doing and adjusting.  She is the biggest dog lover I know.  Perhaps even a bigger one than my mother.  I'm going to use those emails to go back and remember how he was. 

One of the first 'fun' experiences I had with the dog was going to the pets store - O.M.G!  What was I thinking taking this super hyper, wild dog and my 6 yr old to the pet store?!  I know what I was thinking, "Wow, now I'm one of those people who get to walk their sweet dog lazily through the pet store." Fat chance!  We walked in with Mr. Fox wearing a borrowed harness from Nani and a puppy leash that was looped onto the hoop on the harness, if that makes sense.  I had the leash loop wrapped twice around my wrist and with all of his pulling I think the circulation stopped on my right arm for a while.  Picture that crazy ass dog in the pet store that is totally ill mannered - that was Fox.  Holy Shit!! He barked like he was going to kill people, he got up on his hind legs like a meerkat and walked, no, excuse me, pulled me with me pulling back and this is how we went through the store.  Mind you, I also had my son with me who talked non-stop the entire time.  Being in the honeymoon phase, I thought, 'wow, this is fun.'  We talked to a great staff person who helped us get him a crate, a black collar, a retractable leash, some more food, treats and of course Little T. (my son) insisted HIS dog needed lots of toys.  Well over a hundred dollars later we went home.  I told Husband it was all on sale.... :)
  
Knowing he was a dog needing a lot of exercise I vowed to make sure he was walked twice a day.  We got him on Friday March 18th not the 11th like I thought and so on Saturday I got up and walked the dog.  Holy crap!!  The dog was nuts!!  Nuts like in the store nuts, running up on his hind legs if he could to every tree, telephone pole, bush, trash can and any other place he thought needed smelling and marking.  The entire way, I yelled 'No!', 'Don't do that!', 'That's not nice!' and while I was doing that, people were looking at me.  Seriously, three months later we are still looked at and the looks people give us range from "Holy shit, get it away from me" to "Ha, look at that poor woman with the crazy dog."  I gotta tell you, though, I love him to bits.  This is how Mr. Fox looked after spending his first night with us.  By the way, that pretty blue harness is gone, he chewed it off that very day.



I really have a soft spot for my little Fox because as I told Little T, he wasn't loved the right way when he was a puppy.  He's about a year old according to his foster mommy.  This reminds me very much of my husband who also wasn't loved the right way as a young pup and has spent his whole life dealing with it in some way.  I don't know why people get pets if they can't give them all they need?  Mr. Fox's ears were very badly bitten up with fly bites when we got him and three months later, they are finally gone.  I've heard that they get those when they are tied up and left in filth.  Poor little boy.  He didn't know what it was to have his ears or belly rubbed.  What dog doesn't like that?  I had to show him it felt good and now he likes it.  So, he's nuts, but he has an excuse! 

This is a picture of Fox sleeping with Little T last night.  What a difference a good home makes.


I'm enjoying writing about my new little buddy.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Our New Crazy Pup

I know most people write blogs about their families and kids, and I have those, but a few months ago my husband and I decided to take in a wayward stray dog found roaming the streets of Carson.  We, and when I say we, I mean I, were thinking we'd get a dog this summer because as a teacher I have the summer off and I could be home with a new puppy or dog and get our 7 yr old son used to having a dog.

One day I saw a post on Facebook from one of our most dog loving teachers, Nani, she said he looked like he just crossed the border from TJ!  I passed it by but then it came back again with a caption saying the 13.5 lb dog needed a home by April 6th because his foster mom, Nani's niece, was going on vacation.  I showed my husband his picture and told him to ask his customers if they wanted the little guy.  He looked at me and said, "Oh, he's little, maybe we can try him out."  That was all I needed to hear.  Knowing my husband, I needed to act quickly before he changed his mind.  

I believe it was March 11th, a Friday, when Nani's niece brought the dog to my classroom at the end of the school day so I could take him home.  His foster mom told us, he was VERY hyper and boy was she right!  I got him in the car and drove home with him going nuts walking around the seat, wanting to be in my lap, jumping, moving and jumping some more.  I walked him over to the school to pick up my son from his after school program and show him the dog.  He didn't know - it was a complete surprise to him.  He was very happy!  We all walked home together.  I will talk more about the walks in another post - they're a trip!!

Our new little pup spent the evening pacing the house, front door to back door, over, and over and over and over until it was time to get in his crate and sleep for the night.  As this little guy walked around the house, we all decided that he looked exactly like a little red fox and so we decided to name him Mr. Fox.  He is also known as Foxy, Fox, Dopey Dog and Mr. Nutjob!  But I must say... we love him and all his craziness so much!