I have been sick for the last 4 days. sick, sick, sick. I'm sick of being sick. Never thought I would get tired of sleeping in and laying on the couch all day watching Netflix, but yeah....sick of being sick.
I also haven't had any voice for 4 days - it's starting to come back today, so the dogs have been getting used to a lot of silent hand signals. Tibby has been a very good nurse, she sleeps on my chest and keeps me warm. Although, maybe she's sleeping on me because I'm laying in her spot on the couch....
Dhali is good at making me keep alert. He LOVES used Kleenex. It has to be used. Yuck. I know. If he hears me blow my nose, he comes running from any where in the house and dives with a open mouth full of teeth at my face. He's trying to get the Kleenex, I know, but still it's scary to see that many teeth coming for your face. So I have learned to do covert nose blowing and fast, then hide the Kleenex.
Tibby is also obsessed with used Kleenex, but she is sneakier. I'll wake up to find a fluffy dog laying across my chest and picking my pockets for used Kleenex (where I have hidden them from Dhali).
I will admit in my feverish haze the Kleenex stealing does make me feel a little bit like a celebrity.
Look at this handsome little guy! 6 months ago today Dhali was born. Happy 6 months to his 4 brothers and 1 sister!
Every day I feel lucky to have him. Thank you Cyndi and Linda for letting me take this little guy home.
He is perfect! Before I brought him home I worried about silly things - potty training, crate training, getting him to play with me. I shouldn't have worried! He hasn't had any trouble with anything! Sure there were a few nights when I thought he would never be crate trained, but now it's not even an issue. He stays in his crate for up to 8 hours and hasn't had an accident yet. He is completely potty trained. Except of course he thinks that he can only go potty in the back yard! Which is silly, but works OK. I never worry about him having an accident, because I know he will wait until we get home! He even waits to potty after we come home from a walk.
Dhali first 'do! Now why aren't there any boy style hair ties???? :P
Every day he gets cuter and more handsome. I'm not sure how he does it, but every day - CUTER!!
He likes to sleep! He's slept loose in the bedroom for about 2 months now...maybe longer! He doesn't get into mischief and doesn't wake me up (unlike another TT I could name Tibby). He will sleep for 10 hours or until I decide to get up. He likes to snuggle and cuddle. He's a little sweetie.
He loves to look out the window and keep watch on the neighborhood.
He has a great attitude. Even and balanced.
Did I mention that he likes to sleep?!? Well, after a lot of exercise running around playing that's what a smart puppy should do!
He LOVES water! He plays with water everyday.
He loves bully sticks! And he is strong enough to take them away from Tibby. Although, he's not always brave enough to keep them. Then he starts barking. He's a barker!
Most of all he is a funny, happy boy. I can't wait to spend the next 19.5 years with him!
I sometimes search craigslist for used agility equipment. Once I *almost* got a bunch of jumps, but someone beat me to them. Today I found a dog. He is so beautiful! Check it out - black standard poodle http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/wan/3351392472.html
Not sure what the owner means by, "He went through the tunnel immediately then ran up the ladder and jumped over the gate. He's a natural." He jumped over the gate? Hmm...isn't he beautiful though??? Wow! Anyone need me to foster him??? LOL!
After re-reading the post a few times I think what they want is someone to train and compete with their dog for free. Yeah. I wish someone would do that with my dogs too....no wait! I don't! That's the whole point, in my opinion, doing something fun WITH your dog.
The big excitement this week? The bones my Dad brought back from the 2 deer he shot. He was up north visiting my uncle. He also brought back some antlers, but I think they may be a little too hard for my pups to chew on. He cut up the bones and antlers into smaller pieces for me, but I think if he could split the antlers the dogs might like them better.
I keep the bones in the freezer and the dogs get to chew on them when they are in their crates. I have started making them go into their crates when I eat dinner or have people come over. Tibby is such a beggar with other people. With me she knows it doesn't work, BUT Dhali is a super big beggar to me, so into the crates with raw, meaty bones. I haven't heard too many complaints. Except Dhali who, at first, whines and paces around his crate with the bone in his mouth. Then he settles down and chews it.
Right now Dhali is sleeping on the back of the couch, with his head on my shoulder, breathing onto my neck. Sweet puppy!
I feed them both dinner in their crates too. Dhali tends to steal Tibby's food. He has a funny habit where he with 'bury' his food. If there are toys or bedding in the crate he will pile them on top of his bowl, until the bowl is covered. It's very cute and funny to watch. I'm not sure if he is saving it for later or telling me that he is done eating? But it's cute.
Tibby stayed in her crate (her's is actually the one on the right) for FOUR hours while I was AT WORK. WOW! That's the longest she has ever stayed in a crate. It was on Wed. I came home from work for lunch and after going potty she went into her crate, so I gave her a frozen bone to chew on. When it was time for me to go back to work, she wouldn't get out of the crate or trade me for the bone, so I had to leave her in the crate. I couldn't let her walk around the house with a big raw bone. She likes to sleep in my bed - eww.
When I came home I parked in the driveway and listened to see if I could hear any barking. Nope. All was quiet. She was a little stressed when she got out of the crate, but not too bad. I wish I could watch a video of it to see what she did.
Dhali lost another tooth - woohoo! Now it will only cost me $50 to get the other 2 removed! We were playing and he was tugging on a toy, running through the tunnel, etc. I noticed some blood smeared on the tunnel's tag and some on his foot. Checked his mouth - yup, tooth on the bottom was gone. The next day I found the tooth - white carpet, white tooth - really hard to find it! It was jagged, like it had snapped off, but the hole in his mouth where it used to be looks ok, so I guess it came out the right way.
This above picture is what happens when you say you don't want to eat a frozen chicken wing, but your little brother loves chomping on frozen chicken wings. You get to watch him eat his chicken wing.
This week I have been playing phone tag with the Veterinary Behavioral Science dept. at the U of M. Tibby got a referral and I wanted to make an appt. The first message they left me said they were booked until the end of Feb. When I finally got someone to call me back again, because they were either busy or it wasn't their business hours (I even got up early and called them once at 7am, because a receptionist told me that was a good time to find them) they had booked all of Feb. and the first appt. was March 13th. Lucky 13?
So I filled out and emailed back all the paper work. I had to pick Tibby's 3 issues. Barking/screaming/lunging at people and dogs is #1. Tibby now has the reputation as the 'mean dog' in the neighborhood. Fear of new things and men was #2 and restlessness at night was #3.
The hardest part to write was the what are your goals for this visit: What questions would you liked answered - How can I make Tibby happy?
Possibly because we finally got our appt. time Tibby decided that she wanted to play today and do agility. See below for proof (also cute Dhali)
Same puppy and same crate, just a few months, but what a difference!
Dhali can still fit into his baby crate, but it is a TIGHT squeeze! So cute! He thought it was a good trick and kept doing it all night. I finally had to lure him out of it and take the crate out to the garage, because he was sure that I was going to give him more treats for squeezing into the little crate.
Right now running into his crate is his favorite 'trick'. Whenever he is hungry or smells something tasty he runs to his crate and sits against the back wall....waiting...and hoping.
Dhali squeezing into his baby crate - the crate I brought him home in when he was 8 weeks old. That was only 17 weeks ago! July to November - that went by fast.
2 TTs with me in the middle! Best snuggley sandwich ever
I took Dhali to his first conformation drop in class tonight. It went pretty well :) Everyone was very helpful and gave me lots of tips. Sometimes conflicting tips, but it was the thought that counts, right? It took Dhali a while to warm up, but by the end of the hour (which went by VERY fast) he was a cocky little guy and gaiting very nicely. I think with a few clicker sessions we will have this conformation thing down. It was nice to get a lot of turns practicing.
One lady was nice enough to let me borrow one of her leashes, but we still don't have a show lead!
It might take some practice to get the right speed. Too fast and Dhali jumps and bites the lead. Too slow and Dhali jumps and bites the lead. Hmmmm :P
The only draw back to the class? It's a 1 1/2 hour drive one way. If anyone ever accuses me of NOT being dog crazy I will have this proof. I drive all over the country for my babies.
Enjoy these snuggling puppy pictures! Not at all related to this post!
I took Catty, Tibby and Dhali to the vet this morning. First I just brought Catty into the office. Again we had to wait FOREVER. Glad I just brought her and had the other 2 wait in the car. It's weird the way we treat cats and dogs differently. Dogs are expected to just deal with strange situations/new places and cats are expected to be freaked out and scared. Why can't dogs get scared? They do obviously. Humans just have much higher standards for dogs, I guess.
So Catty gained some weight! Yay! She is now 7.3 lbs. That's her average weight, so good. Now my Mom can stop worrying that she is starving to death. You really can NOT make a cat eat. They do what they want. At least Catty does what she wants.
Catty also got some topical wormer (I don't think she has ever been wormed and she catches/eats little animals all the time) and 2 shots - rabies and leukemia.
Tibby was next. I took Catty out to the car and brought Tibby in really fast, so she didn't have time to even think about what was going on. She was too nervous to take any treats during her exam and she peed on the exam table. She really doesn't ever have any fun at the vet. First, she had her eyes looked at. She has these strange white marks across the pupil on her eyes. They look like white milky oily circles. That's the best description I can give you. I've tried to take a picture of them, but they are on the surface of her eye, so they don't show up. The vet wasn't worried about them and said her eyes looked fine. Next was the anal glands. Tibby has a lot of trouble with her anal glads - they bug her. The vet remembered that Tibby tried to bite her last time....
And I asked for a referral to a veterinary behaviorist. The vet had offered the referral a few months ago, but I have been debating taking her. Yesterday Tibby was especially weird - alarm barking/freaked out by a coat, yes a blue coat, so extra scary. We'll see what the behaviorist thinks.
She weighed 23.9 pounds.
Again I took her out to the car really fast, so she didn't have to look at anyone or see anything scary.
Dhali was next. He weighs 18.6. He was a good boy. Didn't like the vet looking in his ears or mouth, but willing to eat treats and do tricks. He got his final parvo vaccine. The vet still wants me to get Dhali neutered asap. They even sent me a coupon for $15 off the surgery, but I have to get it done before the end of December. She also said his canines that haven't fallen out might need to be surgically removed. They gave me an estimate for the neuter + tooth removal = $263. If his teeth fall out that will save me $75! Let's go play some tug and loosen up those teeth! LOL!
We played a little 'look at that' when another dog came into the reception area while I was waiting to pay. It works really well! I still don't know if I'm playing it correctly, but it was effective at keeping him from staring at the lady sitting in the chairs and the woman waiting with her cat at the desk. It helps that he is so willing to work.
Overheard while we were waiting: Woman dropping her cat off to have its claws removed, "Does she really need pain medication?"
Vet tech, "Well, they have to remove past the first bone on each joint, so yes she does need pain medication. It's actually a very painful operation. And the meds. will cost $20."
Cat's owner, "Hmm, really?"
Uh, yeah lady! How would you like to have the tips of each of your fingers cut off.....without pain medication???
Some tricks that we have been working on. Just Dhali. The first video is from the beg. of last month and the last one is from a week or so ago. Look at how big he is now!!! I want to <squeeze> him he's so cute!
I have a bad habit of training WAY too long with him. Bad momma. He is just so willing to work for a long time and I lose track of the time. I never had that problem with Tibby! She would just walk away. Which I am learning, thank you Leslie McDevitt, isn't such a bad thing to do.
The Drama! He has the holee roller, he loses the holle roller and he sees the holee roller with another. Will he ever get his holee roller back? Should be a Lifetime movie.
I had these big plans to take Dhali to a handling class tonight. We got all loaded up and hit the road. I'm not sure what happened, but I couldn't find the place! I had the address in my GPS, but it took me to a residential area. It was probably right there, but it's pitch black by 6pm and I couldn't see anything that looked like the right place. Or even a driveway or any lights......it was SO DARK! I drove around a little bit trying to see if I could find a sign or something, but nothing. Then I got on the wrong road and almost drove to Loretta's! LOL! I was really lost. I hate my GPS. I swear it is trying to kill me by taking me on the most round about way to get to my destination.
All was not lost though, I went to Chipotle for dinner and took Dhali to Petsmart. I had a $5 giftcard from filling out a survey, so I bought the pups a few new toys and Catty got some treats. I don't write a lot about Catty, because she's a cat and doesn't do too much. She's getting older and has decided that the only thing she wants to eat are a certain type of treats. So I bought her 2 big bags.
When I checked out the girl asked me if I had a dog and a cat. At first I couldn't figure out why, but then I realized that I was buying a bunch of cat toys and cat treats. Yes, I have 2 catdogs and a full breed cat. The 99 cent furry mouse was a big hit with the pups. Tibby LOVES it. It is her precious. Dhali chewed its head off. I also bought a blue holee roller. I was hoping this would end the fighting over the red one. I stick little pieces of chicken jerky in them and the dogs try and try to get the treats out. The final toy is a big purple jingle ball. It's a cat toy too and Dhali has been chewing on it, but so far it has held up. I wish someone would design some dog toys that my dogs would like. Durable, but not THAT durable. Softer and with jingle bells. Then I wouldn't have to buy cat toys for them! They have almost every toy that Petsmart sells in their toy box, but there are only a very few that they actually like. I'm getting better at figuring out what it is that they like in a toy.
Dhali was a good boy in Petsmart. I think it must be one of the most difficult places to visit with a dog. First of all, to a dog, it must reek of dog pee. Dhali sniffed every single end cap, post and crack in the floor. Hmmm, wonder why he did that? Then it smells of every delicious cat and dog food and treats and raw hide, ect. Then it smells like mouse, rat, birds, rabbits.... There is music and announcements in a man's voice at random times about sales that are going on. The floor is super slippery. There are walls with an overwhelming array of everything that a dog could imagine blocking their view. People and dogs suddenly appear from behind these walls. For a dog it is a weird, weird place.
My favorite parts were when we played a couple times. Just silly wrestling with my hands and Dhali jumping and being funny. It just showed me that he was feeling pretty comfortable and let him get rid of some stress. He liked it. Chased after me down the aisle. Then we played around with the big crates in the back of the store a couple of different times. Dhali was very happy to jump in and out of the crates for treats. Considering the huge level of distractions in the store he did really good.
Dhali with the mouse tail hanging out of his mouth.
Tibby with the mouse. Her precious. She's hiding underneath a chair so it doesn't get stolen.
Today is the day, 2 years ago, when I finally got up the courage to write the first Just A Pup post and ask the great big internet world for HELP!
Here is the first post: #1 post a call for help. I felt a lot more desperate than that post sounds, even though it sounds pretty desperate.
At the time I had a puppy that tried to run away from me to any stranger she saw. Lunged at other dogs. Lunged at cars. Chased the cat endlessly. Barked at other dogs. Was terrified of manhole covers in the road. Kept me up all night long. Pulled on the leash like a monster, even though we had been through obedience classes and used a gentle leader,halti, harness, ect., ect. Tried to jump up on anyone that stopped to pet her. Wasn't interested in hanging out near me - I had her leashed to me (slept with a leash tied to my arm for a long time). Was not even 10% potty trained - even though I spent hours and hours outside with her waiting for her to potty and had her attached to me with a leash when we were inside. Sometimes ate her food, but mostly didn't want to. Flipped out if I tried to brush her - screaming, lots of screaming. Was terrified of being crated. Barked and threw a fit (drool all over the windows - see no crating above) if I left her in the car for a second. Wouldn't settle - ever. Learned something, knew how to do it, would ignore me if I asked her to do it. WOULD NOT COME WHEN CALLED. Peed on the floor- after we had been outside for hours. I would take her for miles and miles of off leash hiking and she would run and run - then go home and keep me up all night bouncing off the walls. Family and friends refused to come over because she was so hyper.
So yeah.
2 years ago I was tired, my house was getting trashed and I was having to decide between human friends and my new puppy. We all know the puppy won, but it was a struggle at the time.
2 years later what do I have? A dog that is reactive to strangers, hates men, reactive to other dogs, will still run away if given the chance, but might not run too far, is afraid of a million things, keeps me up at night asking to go outside for no reason, still blows me off when asked to come, sometimes eats, sometimes doesn't, freaks out when I leave her in the car, sometimes ignores me when I ask her to do something.
But I also have a friend that has traveled all over the state with me, chooses me as her only person, ignores guests when they come over, snuggles with me at night, is potty trained!, can be left at home during a work day and she is calm, gives the best welcome home kisses and cuddles, can be groomed for hours and hours without a complaint, follows me around closing doors - hoping for string cheese, put up with me when I was learning how to groom a TT and all the lessons, classes, events and seminars I've made her go to. Other people may not be able to see it, but Tibby is a loyal dog. She loves me with all my faults and I love her even when she makes me cry. I think she is beautiful and perfect and it frustrates me that other people can't see how wonderful she is. She has taught me and humbled me. I love her. Only because, I chose her and she's mine. She chose me and I'm hers. Through the good times and the bad times, in sickness and in health - she's stuck with me :)
Now I remember why I remodeled the basement - winter is nasty. It's dark, all the time. It's wet, all the time. It's cold and wet and dark. I would like to see the sun again! It's dark when I go to work and dark when I get home and then it gets darker. It has rained/drizzled for days and days. I can't remember how long! That's a long time.
So it was good to get out of the house tonight with Dhali and go shopping at Runnings again. We just wandered around and eventually bought some puppy food which conveniently was both on sale and something I needed to get. Dhali was good, which I sort of just expect from him now. He got to meet some people, a man and woman that asked to pet him. He was soooo good. He sits right down and snuggles up to them and then he wanted them to rub his belly. He thought the man's cowboy boots smelled really, really good. LOL! The check out girl remembered him from one of his first visits when he was a puppy. They are pretty nice to us there :) Some of the customers are surprised to see a dog in the store - I had one weird reaction from a woman when Dhali was a tiny baby and I was carrying him, but the store employees are all pretty relaxed about seeing us in the store.
It was nice to be able to walk around in the light and not be rained on. I am starting to feel like I live in a dark shoe box with two furry WWF fighters. Bitey games are fun, but not when they go on for hours. If you have somewhere to take your dog weekly and train - well you are lucky! It's going to be a long winter of cabin fever for us.
In Runnings we did some 'look at that' Control Unleashed sort of stuff. I don't really understand the whole game, but Dhali was looking at weird stuff and then I would say, 'yes!' and give him a treat. Then he was offering looking at weird stuff (tractor parts, chicken feeders, hoses, other farm stuff that I don't recognize) to get his treat, so I think he is starting to understand the game. We've worked on the beginning steps at home, which are sort of boring and Dhali gets too into it and wants to run at the object or do something like hit it with his paw.
I made the mistake of wandering into the brush department. Dhali LOVES brushes, brooms, sweepers, anything with bristles. He was trying to pick out his favorite one and then he found one he liked and tried to carry it away! I would have bought it, but it was almost $20 and he has a ton of toys already. I would like to find a cheaper one, that he likes, to use as a playtime/training toy. Also, a smaller one would be good too :P
One thing that is good about the rain and mud - Dhali has learned to wait. I taught him the same way I taught Tibby (and she has a pretty good wait). After he gets his paws washed off in the bathtub I let him jump out and then I dry him off. Then he has to wait while I open the door, shut off the light, walk out of the door and walk around the corner. Then I come back and release him with 'okay'. He runs out of the bathroom like a shot! Very cute. We worked up to all those steps - he gets his feet washed a lot, so lots of practice! The next step is to lengthen the time I'm out of sight and then I come back and leave and come back and leave - 'ya know proofing stuff. He's generalized this to other things too - like waiting while Catty drinks her milk snack and then getting released to clean up after her.
I was drying his feet tonight after a wash off and a tooth popped out of his mouth! It was a big side tooth. It just shot right out on to the floor! His canines are still all there and I wish they would fall out already! They look so weird. He doesn't seem to be bothered by his teeth at all - chews bully sticks, bites on Tibby and tugs the same. I try to be careful when we are playing that the toy doesn't get caught on his teeth. I don't want him to stop tugging or associate pain with tugging!
Happy Rad Tech week! I celebrated with my co-workers today and we had a potluck. I brought Cha Siu Bao - Chinese barbecued pork. It cooked slowly all last night and the puppies thought they needed to check on it multiple times during the night. I swear, Dhali woke me up and I let him out of the bedroom and he ran directly to the oven and stared at it. I also made the regular recipe for the buns, but I pretzel-ized them. OMG! I love pretzel buns now and they are so easy to make!
This time next month we will be getting ready for Dhali's first real dog show! Very exciting! If you are in St. Cloud Dec. 8th or 9th come and visit us!
Just a few cute things that I want to remember. I'm trying a new thing - cooking once and freezing meals for the month. Today was shopping and prep work and tomorrow is the cooking day. Dhali is my little helper. He likes to sit next to me and try little bits of things. Tonight he tried - carrot, celery, red pepper, zucchini, kale, cauliflower, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese and romano cheese. He's not as crazy for cheese as Tibby is. He would rather have cauliflower or zucchini.
At one point I was getting some plastic wrap out of the cupboard and I left the door open. He closed it for me! I think that's the first time he has ever offered something like that :)
Where was Tibby during this food fest? She was/is sleeping outside on the deck. Weirdo. Yes, there is a dog bed on the deck, but it is cold and raining outside. To each there own, I guess. And where is Dhali? Sleeping right next to me. He likes to be within arm's reach, because I reach over and pet him. Yes, he likes to be petted! So nice to be able to pet my dog.
Dhali's mouth is crazy right now. His big canines are growing in and his baby teeth are not falling out! They refuse to go! I know that at least one of his back teeth has fallen out, because I stepped on it. OUCH! Very sharp. 3 prongs - stuck into my foot. Ow.
I was complaining about his sharp little canines and now he not only has them he has added 4 more. omg. It has to hurt -right? He doesn't seem to act any different. Tugs and plays the same.
Cheese!
He also has ONE itty bitty baby tooth in the front that is still hanging on. Can you see it? It's a little snaggle tooth on the bottom row, right side. Right next to his lovely SETS of canines.
Independent, curious, highly intelligent,clever, mischievous, precocious, strong-minded, playful. Collected from various sources:
1 -Stubbornness. Tibetan Terriers have an independent mind of their own and can be stubborn and manipulative. You must show them, through absolute consistency, that you mean what you say.
2-Suspiciousness or timidity when not socialized enough.
3-"Separation anxiety" (destructiveness and barking) when left alone too much.
4-Lively and playful at times, yet also calm and low-key.
5-Makes a good watchdog but is not aggressive with people.
6-Most are amiable with other animals, though perhaps a bit bossy.
7- The Tibetan Terrier is very stubborn in general and must be shown from Day One that you are in control.
8-An athletic and agile sure-footed climber, and a clever problem-solver who often uses his paws with great adeptness to open doors and hold toys.
9- 1/3 Dog + 1/3 Cat + 1/3 Teenager = 1 Tibetan Terrier
10-Tibetan Terriers are family-oriented: they love to play games and participate in activities with their people.
Patience and a sense of humor are musts for the people of a Tibetan Terrier.
