Pictures that make me smile

This is one of my favorite pictures of Hero because it reminds me so much of an Elle Wilson painting!

Don't believe me? Go to:

http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=greytart&cart_id=9341778.74170&product_name=Dignity&return_page=&user-id=&password=&exchange=&exact_match=exact

Don't you just love the expression on Pepsi's face?

How could anyone be mad at that face?

The crazy pup gets a straight jacket

As has been alluded to before in this blog , our terrier/beagle mix named Pepsi is nuts. No need to candy-coat it.
We have been through Bark Busters as well as the local Petco obedience classes. She can: sit, stay, lay down, come, heel, beg, cover her nose with her paw, and play dead- all on command- as long as there are no unfamiliar people or canines in the vicinity.
Regardless of all the throwing of small bits of chain, and growls of bah, ehh, etc (oh, and use of the spray bottle too). She continues to charge the door, barking like a maniac, whenever anyone knocks or rings the doorbell. (Of course given the opportunity to actually greet the person she quickly accepts them, (people- NOT dogs). The same goes for walks on the leash.
Unfortunately all the reassuring in the world (to the people not her) doesn't cut it with the deliverymen and repairmen. She has been prescribed drugs by our vet, and we have tried those plug in pheromone emitters, in hopes of taking "the edge" off. We have walked her while wearing a cloth muzzle (her not us) but she scratched and pawed at her face until it was raw and bleeding. So, now I have found a new product to try-

Yes, it does say "end thunderstorm fear" which she does NOT have at all- she will happily sleep through thunderstorms, fireworks, etc. But it also says to lessen aggression, so hey- I will give it a go...

Pepsi "stylin" in her new "anxiety wrap"
So, of course everyone comes home and says "Oh, Pepsi has a new coat, She looks so cute, but does she like it? Will she wear it?" that sort of thing.
The last being a fair question because past coats have fared only as well as the muzzle- and were quickly chewed up/ removed. I pulled out the package to show them the claims that come with this new improved jacket- and it is immediately dubbed "Pepsi's Straight jacket"
Well, she seems to wear it happily enough which is a step in the right direction- if nothing else it is a coat she will be willing to wear in the cold weather. As far as actually "calming" her, I will keep you posted.

Out with the Old

Time to put away the champagne and give the ol' blog a new look for the new year.
Alaina says the bit of lace at the top of the blog reminds her of lingerie. (Teenagers can find "innuendos" everywhere and anywhere, can't they?).
That's ok though, just the slightest peek of girlyness (girlyness?- does that count as a word Addie??) suits me just fine. Before all hints of the holiday season are put away- here is a picture of Will wearing his "glasses" for New Years Eve.

And here are the pups snuggling on the couch. Pepsi still pretends that she despises Hero, but we find them hanging out like this almost every day now. (Sorry Pepsi no one is buying your act anymore).
I've got to find a way to add some extra octane (and/or caffiene) to this Blog, I only had 1 comment (God bless you -Zan) on my last post. I guess you were all asleep before you reached the end...

Warning:

This Blog may be used as a non-addictive sleep aid in people over 18 years of age. Do not read this blog while driving or operating large machinery.

Ok- so I have not written a real post since December 28th. I say "real" because while photo tag is fun, it does not consist of much serious writing, (right, -serious was probably not the best choice of words). Anyway, I tried to write a post for New Years Day- even down loaded some photos and everything, but I often have to unplug my laptop in order to follow Will (2 1/2 yrs.) around the house- and lately my battery has been giving up even quicker than I do...

The pictures I had downloaded for said unsuccessful post are as follows-

The common denominator in all these photos is my 16 year old nephew Michael. He came to visit us from North Carolina for the week between Christmas and New Years. I thank my sister Marie and b-i-l Joe for sharing him with us. As you can tell, he is great with the kids and the hounds. He can come stay with us anytime, though (my 5 kids + my son's girlfriend + an extra 16 year old bottomless pit- I mean, boy = NO FOOD IN THE HOUSE (sorry didn't mean to shout :-) Michael was able to come visit us because his older brother John was passing through, literally- On his way, to visit his girlfriend's family, who also happen to live in Virginia. At least he did slow the car down before throwing Michael out....JK

This is the ONLY picture I have of John. (Does this picture=1000 words??)

One more topic I want to touch upon before bringing this ramble to a close. Has anyone out there seen the movie Marley and Me? I went to see it with Alaina, this past Saturday. Personally, I loved it. It was marred a little for Alaina by the fact that she has actually read (maybe "memorized" is closer to accurate) the book. I didn't know that the fact that I have not been able to read anything longer than a recipe in 2 years could work to my benefit. Also, I am probably not the harshest critic being that the last movie I saw at an actual "movie theater" was "Finding Nemo".

I actually read a review that called it "mean spirited". What??

Personally, I found it very real.

For those of us who know that life is messy: that people do get dissatisfied, Couples do fight, dogs do pee in the house, (and in PETCO ;-),(but we love them anyway), raising kids is hard, (but we love them anyway), And yes, death is the inevitable end to all our stories... I think it is a movie worth seeing, even if Marley was not a greyhound.

Asleep yet?

Photo tag

Zan of Sirius Sighthounds tagged me for photo tag. As I understand it, I am supposed to post the 6th picture of my 6th folder and give a brief description:

This is a picture of all my kids (those with fur and those without), taken on our front lawn about 2 or 3 months ago.

Now, I am supposed tag 6 other bloggers so I tag:

Stowe and Maria of Halfway Home Hounds

BrittBeah of Learning about life with greys

Poolie of Nuttin but hound dogs

Scott from Beau and Belle

The Bellagreyhound

and

Murphyslaw

Sending an S.O.S to the world.

Does Hero look adequately ashamed?

Ok, so maybe S.O.S was a bit strong- though the poor Petco employees might feel that "Save Our Store" is completely applicable.

It's More like STP - Stop the Pee.

Anyway, I know there is a wealth of greyhound experience to be tapped out there and I would prefer a "flood" of information to the flood we experienced Saturday (see previous post).

Hero has not had any "accidents" in our house since the first week he arrived 4 months ago. So it's not exactly an "indoor" potty training problem. It's a PETCO- potty training problem. The funny thing is that he honestly is NOT a big "marker"- magic or otherwise - (sorry).

A couple of people have suggested that it maybe a sign that he was "stressed". If so, how does one go about desensitizing Hero without inducing some sort of ptsd (post-tinkle stress disorder) in all the employees of Petco?

Looking forward to your advice.

Putting the "P" in Petco.

Did you all get your 10% off coupons from Petco in the mail?

Well I did, and being that we needed filters for the aquarium's pump, and fish oil for the dogs, I figured there is no time like the present.

So after a good 20 minute romp in the backyard, off to Petco we go- Alaina (my 14 year old/ easily embarrassed daughter), Will (the 2 year old), Hero and I. (A motley crew to be sure). Now, I have taken Hero to Petco a couple times before, and he did lift his leg on a display (once) so I requested for Alaina to walk him around outside first. He watered one tree, and simply sniffed another, thus she decided that he was "done" and brought him inside. Now I DID ask her if she wanted responsibility for Hero or for Will, but she decided walking around Petco with a cool looking greyhound was better than chasing a hyperactive 2 year old- normally a safe bet---but not this time.

She caught up with me, and whispered "Hero just peed a huge puddle in one of the aisles".- Being that I believe in teaching my children to take responsibility and never to just walk away from a problem- I told her- "there are towels and cleaning spray at the end of some of the aisles- go clean it up!" Dutifully, she grabbed a handful of paper towels and returned to the scene of the crime. Now I have to admit, the next part I am reporting from her point of view because I was busy trying to keep Will from grabbing fish out of the fish tanks with his bare hands.

Alaina claims that she was pushing the paper towels around with her shoe (which happened to be very muddy from our romp outside)- thus just sort of smearing mud and pee all over the aisle. When a family came in the door and said something to the effect of "That's a big dog- and OH MY GOSH that's a lot of PEE!" This called sufficient attention to that aisle that 2 Petco workers came to her and said-"the mop will be here soon." To which my honor student daughter replies-"UHHH"- but continues to push the paper towels with her foot. So, they tried again, saying- "you don't have to do that, you know- the mop will be here soon". She finally decided to walk off, and ducked into the dog toy aisle at which time Hero felt it was time to make another puddle. I told her, "it's obviously time to take Hero out of the store". As she was heading for the door, another Petco worker stopped to admire Hero, and say what "a cool dog" he was. Alaina later commented that she was afraid Hero was going to pee on his leg- in which case she would have to throw paper towels at his legs, and tell him "Don't worry, the mop will be here soon".

No, we were not banned forever from the store, They do not even have our pictures posted on their wall of shame. But I don't think Hero is ready for indoor "Meet and Greets" yet.

And the next time Alaina mentions that she is "bored" I am definitely going to offer her a trip to Petco.