Keep your hoe in check

Mom has been stressing out all week, I have been snuggled and cuddled a bunch.  Apparently. Mom and Dad are buying a house, my only must have is a fenced in yard with squirrels for me to chase, and a big window that let's the sunlight in for me to sleep in all day.  I have that now with MomMom and the Big Guy so my life is grand.  Auntie explained that when Mom and Dad get the new house I will not be living with her any more, that makes me sad (and Auntie sad ).  

Anyhow, with buying their first house Mom is having a ton of anxiety and stress about the process.  Dad told me they are going to buy a new house, Auntie explained that means the house has to be built so I stay with her for about 6 more months.  Mom and Dad have different checklist items that they want in the house.  Listening to them made Little Man and I sleepy.

Finally, I looked at Mom and gave her this advice, "Keep your hoe in check!"  I don't know what it means but I heard it before as advice and that with a kiss on the nose made her smile.  My job was done so I went back to sleep.

When we walk...

Today started out like a normal day.

Everyone got up, Auntie left, Dad left, Mom left, and MomMom left.  The Big Guy did his normal routine and we slept upstairs while he got ready for his day.  Then we went downstairs and played with the cats while he worked in his shop.  However, he left around the time we normally get our afternoon walk :(  This was heartbreaking, because not only did we not get our afternoon walk we were left alone.  Little Man and I ended up finding out normal spot to sleep when left alone.

Yup, that is me on the bed and Little Man on the floor.

Auntie was the first to get home and she snapped this picture, then started talking to MomMom who wasn't there (I don't get cell phones).  Apparently, they both feel that Little Man deserves a snuggle ball to sleep in, because he can't jump up on the bed.  After some discussion between Auntie, Mom, and MomMom it sounds like they will order the bed below for Little Man.

Auntie took us out for out afternoon walk, which is good because the Big Guy has been limping after he hurt his knee.

Auntie took both of out at the same time.  When this happens we always start out together, but my long legs mean we quickly separate.

Auntie managed to walk the both of us we me leading her in the middle and Little Man following behind.  I had to stop and wait a couple of time, but it was a great walking with her again.

When we got home the Big Guy had just pulled into the driveway so I tried to run to him, but Auntie and Little Man slowed me down.  It was a great day!

Auntie thinks more happened, but really Little Man and I just enjoyed sleeping in the sun today and going for a walk - I don't understand why humans think there is more to life than this, because this is what makes us dogs happy.

I am too tiny to deal with the cold

Little Man writing here - 

I don't like the cold, my little body has enough trouble staying warm, it was near impossible today in this frigid weather.

This morning I went outside for the morning out and I FROZE!

My paws got so cold and my little body just started shaking like crazy.

Auntie was nice and wrapped me up in a towel and snuggled with me.  It was warm and cozy so I took a nap, which made it hard for Auntie to study, but she managed.

Later, Mom decided to go out.  My sister and I ran upstairs and watched her leave and waited for her.

We didn't want to go back outside, but we didn't want Mom to leave either.  We were both confused about why she would go outside in the cold so we watched the door thinking she would come right back in.  But, she didn't come right back it was a long time of staring at the door.  We fell asleep and when she came back we were so excited that we forgot how cold it was and went outside to go potty.

I took three steps off the porch did my business and could not get back in fast enough.  My sister was able to stay out longer, her bigger size and thick coat of fur really helped her stay warm.

Auntie had to wrap me in a towel and hold me in her lap again.  MomMom took a picture.

I was shaking for several minutes after I finally warmed up I snuggled on the cough with the Big Guy.

If it stay this cold I want a heated blanket.

I am not a brave dog...

I am NOT a brave dog.

I never said I was!

I say this because while out walking today, I got scared by a leaf.

It was a big leaf, it was moving across the road towards me at a fast rate of speed and so I got spooked by it and growled at it.  When the leaf didn't stop moving and still was coming towards me, I jumped behind the Big Guy and did my scared posture.

Auntie was too busy laughing and saying that I should not be afraid of a leaf to take a picture.

I am not thrilled that she was laughing, but glad didn't get a picture of me hiding behind the Big Guy who was trying to tell me there was nothing to be afraid of and get me to stop crying.

Later in our walk I was told to try and rustle up some birds from the bushes.  Apparently, the Big Guy and Auntie were doing something called the Great Backyard Bird Count and wanted to see if they could spot some more birds.  I don't know why they think I am bird dog?

I mean really! I might be a hunting dog genetically, but I was scared of a leaf a block before this.

When we got back from our walk Little Man got a new tick and flea collar

This means I will probably be getting mine soon too, I think it is a nice accessory, and a must to keep me healthy.

When Our Humans Leave

Our humans left this morning, and we didn't realize that Auntie was here, so she got a first hand look at what Little Man and I do when people leave.  First, we bark at the door.  Next, we run around and look in all the rooms to see if someone stayed behind (that is how we found Auntie).  Finally we find a place to cuddle and fall asleep.  This morning it was on Auntie's bed while we waited for her to finish getting ready.

After Auntie was ready we moved downstairs and found nice spots on the couch that let the sun warm us as we napped.  Mom and Dad had taken us out for a walk before they left so we were tired.

Little Man decided to snuggle with Auntie.

I being a light sleeper decided that sleeping on the other couch was a better option.

Auntie was really nice and took us both for a walk, by herself, before she left for a birthday party.  She got the leashes for Little Man and I tangled once, but we will let that slide since it is when she was picking up poop and Little Man and I started sniffing and mailbox post.  After Auntie left Little Man and I ran around the house and then decided that sleeping on our dog beds in the family room was the best place to be.  Auntie came home and snapped a picture, because I didn't get out of bed fast enough...

...and I knew she was going to come and pet me.  Right after this I was jumping to try and kiss her.  My normal routine when someone comes home, is to run to the door and cry for kisses.  Little Man usually follows me, his eyesight is fading at 16 years old he usually follows me instead of leading the charge.  After crying for kisses I run to the door to see if I can get a walk.  Auntie took the bait this time :)  She walked Little Man and I together again, but only for a short walk so we could both pee and poop.  We ran out of poopy bags, so Auntie had to put a new roll on the leash when we got back home.  She told us not to poop again after we used two bags, that is all we normally use but I guess she thought she needed to say it to be safe. It was great, I was so excited that when we got back inside I played with my duck.

Auntie says I have no shame, because I roll over when playing with my duck so that I can get my belly rubbed.  Auntie being the best, rubbed my belly and took care of Little Man.  Little Man likes being wrapped up in a blanket and held, so she did that while rubbing my belly so that we would both be happy.

It was a hard day, with lots of walking.  Apparently Auntie and MomMom are doing that Fitbit Challenge thing again.  I love it when they do that on the weekends, but that means I get extra walks.

Grooming Day

It was grooming day today.  At first I thought I was being taken to a groomer, but nope Auntie has found a groomer that comes to us.  Which is great, because even with a Dog Anxiety Calming Wrap I completely panic in the car and cannot handle car rides at all.

This was a trip in December, and it didn't go well for me.  Thankfully Aussie Pet Mobile comes to the house.  The groomer was wonderful, I want to do a before and after photo.  This is a photo of me before the groomer came this morning.

You may not see much of a difference, but I smelled better (at least Mom, Dad, and Auntie said I did).  And this is me after the grooming, which took an hour.  My nails were clipped and filed, my ears were cleaned, and even my private area got a cleaning - I will not talk about that.  I got shampooed and rinsed several times.  The groomer, a very nice lady who also gave me treats, sang and danced with me the entire time.  I liked her she can cut my fur anytime she wants if she sings and dances with me.  The mud that was hard to get out of my fur and paws from all the melting snow and puddles that were created are all gone now.

I also got a very cute pink tie with hearts on it for Valentine's Day.  Auntie moved it to the side, because I kept trying to lick it.  Hey we all do strange things when we get nervous and right as I came inside, my older brother was handed off and went out the door.

In the middle of my panic of having Little Man separated from me I decided the only thing to do was sit and stare at the door from about 5 feet away.  I can tell you nothing scary or bad happened in the grooming van, other than getting wet, which I am not overly fond of, but I panicked about what it would be like for Little Man to be by himself with a stranger.  I was worried at first that I wouldn't be given back to my family, but I was able to see through the window that we didn't move.

I waited for about 30 minutes, which was less time than it took for me to be groomed, apparently him being smaller means it take less time to dry him and clean him.  Mom has washed him in the bathroom sink before, what can I say Little Man is small.  When he finally came back inside I was ready to jump all over him.  He smelled so good, we both did in fact.  Auntie said I almost smelled like a strawberry or her favorite shampoo.  Mom said Little Man looked GQ, what does that mean?

I laughed because he had a tie on, and Auntie had taken mine off.  However, Mom put it right back on so she could try and take pictures of us together, we weren't very cooperative.  Sorry, no picture of both of us in our Valentine's Day ties.

Grooming Day isn't so bad, we can do this again any time Auntie or Mom feels it is necessary.

Product Rave

Product Brag:
It has been a few days and the Belly Band has really helped Little Man to either not spite pee on the carpet & bed or control his bladder if he can't.
There are some really cute bands that Amazon has great designs.  If your male dog is in the senior phase of life and can't control his bladder or is doing spite pee indoors we really recommend these products.  In our situation Little Man has stopped peeing.  To prove that point we didn't put it back on right away when he came inside and he peed behind the couch.
If you don't like the design above here are some of the other cool designs we found on Amazon.