Tornado Warning....

There was a tornado warning where I live.

This is what it meant to me and Little Man:

Our humans' cell phones kept making loud beeping sounds, even when we were walking.

Our afternoon walk was not fun, I kept smelling something odd in the air.  Auntie was walking me since the Big Guy hurt his knee (he took Little Man since he walks slower).  However, I did not want to stay out too long.  MomMom eventually followed us in her car, but we were 5 houses down from where we live so I just ran to the house.  The wind was really strong, and the lights flickered in the house a few times.  Auntie lit the nice smelling candle and then got a flashlight to be safe.  I decided since we were inside it was time to take a nap.

I was really glad we were inside, because the rain was really bad.  MomMom, the Big Guy, and Auntie said it was actually hail.  I don't know what that is and it looked and sounded like rain.

I kept a steady watch on the backyard to make sure the trees didn't fall over, because it was windy. Thunder can sound scary, but Auntie pet my back and told me she was here and she would protect me.  I acted brave for her.  Then it was all over, the rain stopped, the thunder stopped, the sky turned blue, and the phones stopped making those annoying beeping sounds.  Mom came home and all was right with the world.

I got some pizza crust for dinner, I like pizza.

Today's lesson: Severe Weather alerts mean annoying sounds from the cell phones and snuggles with my humans while I watch the backyard to make sure it is safe.

Little Man and I are still sleepy from doing the quick walk before the storm came.  He is too tired to jump up on the couch or make the snuggle ball 'just right'.  The Big Guy is on the couch with his leg elevated to help his knee, he really hurt it the other day :(

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 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.

When it rains....we don't poop

Our humans have been trying to get us to go out and poop all afternoon, in the middle of a terrible rainstorm.  Let me explain something about my brother, Little Man, and I.  WE DO NOT WANT TO GO OUTSIDE AND POOP IN THE RAIN!

See this picture, we would have loved to stay like this all afternoon.  We like snow it is fun to play in the snow, but not in the rain (it is too much like a bath or shower).  Plus when it rains we get sleepy, so why would we want to go outside to poop.  The Big Guy laid down on the couch and watched movies all day, apparently The Godfather Epic was on and he watched that. Little Man and I go to the bottom of the stairs of the porch and then take a few steps and pee then run back inside.  Little Man fell over tonight trying to run back inside.
Those cute raincoats Mom got us, don't cover us completely cover us so we don't like to stick our butts out in the downpour to poop.  I don't understand why our humans haven't figured this out yet.  we spent all afternoon running away from the door, and they keep trying.

We now share the couch

I know I started out as the youngest of the four, Mom and Dad had two cats and Little Man before I came into the picture, but for the five weeks before they all moved in with MomMom, the Big Guy, and Auntie I was the only one here.  I had full run of the house, and still do, and had a specific routine for the day and places that I liked to sleep.  One of those places was on the couch next to the Big Guy.

See, didn't we look comfortable?  Now Little Man seems to have taken that spot.  At first I felt slighted, I mean that was my spot and I thought the Big Guy stopped liking me.

With Little Man taking my spot I spent serious time on my window bench, looking at the world and trying to figure out what to do.  It took me some time, but today we figured it out.  When Auntie came home she found me on one side of the Big Guy and Little Man on the other.  I jumped off and ran to greet her before she could get a picture.  My new place to sleep was only slightly different than the one prior to everyone showing up.

I have also found that a surprising benefit of Little Man being here is that I get more walks.  The Big Guy takes Little Man and I out for a half loop of the development, because that is all Little Man can do with his arthritis and tiny legs.  Then I get a full loop, that is like one and a half walks for me :)  

We each get to use the extendable leashes when the Big Guy walks us, mom and dad use the 6 foot leashes.

With the melting snow on my multiple walks today I got mud all over my belly I was told it is a good thing the groomer is coming tomorrow.  I wonder if I can convince my humans to not send me to the groomers but to buy some tools and groom me themselves?  Auntie helped me search Amazon and I found some stuff mom and dad could buy to groom me instead of putting me in a car and taking me to a groomer.

     

We have DEER!!!!!!!!!

I have seen deer before in through the window and once I saw one while walking with the Big Guy.  Tonight it was so amazing I saw 5 deer just run out from the stream beside our house cross the street and then into the trees on the other side of the road.  I froze for a moment, I was only 10 yards away maybe less and they were so close, what should I do?  Of course my response was to run after them!
Sadly, Auntie said no she was not going into the woods so we could not follow them.  I told her she was mean and kept pulling on the leash to chase them. (picture from previous walk)

It was at the end of our walk and we were so close when they jumped out of the trees I could smell them, see them, hear them, and I wanted to play with them.  Auntie was mean and we stayed out of the woods, but she did let me go over to the trees the deer came out of and spend some serious time sniffing the air and trees.  I loved it, but after what Auntie said was enough time (it wasn't for me) we went inside because she was getting cold.
I ran inside and told Little Man, who had been sleeping, and the Big Guy all about the deer we saw on the walk.
After I told them all about this Little Man decided he needed to go back to sleep and curled back up with the Big Guy.  I usually sleep there, but lately those two have gotten close and snuggle, I am not sure how I feel about that yet.

After I wore myself telling those two about the deer, Auntie misunderstood one of my thoughts and said yes it was time to brush my teeth.  I do not love this, but I love that Auntie gives me a special goodie afterwards.  I have started liking the taste more and I don't hide my face anymore.  Unfortunately, Auntie has taken this to mean that she can spend more time brushing my teeth.  I love her, but she doesn't have to stick the toothbrush into my mouth so much.

I think I should have a Fitbit

I am not sure what a Fitbit is, but I think I should have one.
Auntie and MomMom each have one and they do these Challenges.  I love it when this happens, because then I get more walks.  However, today it was too much, Auntie wore my butt off.  I was so exhausted at dinner I could barely keep my head up.

Auntie had me walk not only in our neighborhood, but she walked me to the pharmacy to get her allergy medicine.  I wish I had know we would be leaving the development, because then I would have saved some of my pee.  This neighborhood has tons of dogs and I had to mark trees, sign posts, mailboxes, and random locations those dog use so they would know I visited.  It was hard work, I ended up having to do a BoomBoom to help me mark.  All of this in the snow and ice, my feet were very cold, but smelling this new area was totally worth cold feet.  When we got home Auntie let me take a nap, but apparently she needed more steps so she made me go out for another long walk, OK she asked if I wanted to go and I jumped with excitement.  But let's be honest, asking me if I want to go on a walk is like asking the Pope if he is Catholic, the answer is always yes.  I thought we would be going back to the pharmacy, but Auntie just did a loop around the neighborhood, thankfully :)

When MomMom got home claimed she needed steps, I thought I was going to have to outside in the cold, so I tried to hide in my snuggle bed.

Then MomMom and Auntie started pacing all around the kitchen and the family room.  I don't understand my humans.  Auntie said she would not fall behind MomMom which is why she joined in.  I really don't get my humans, but they are my family and they love me very much.  I don't know what a Fitbit Challenge are, but I think if I got a fitbit I could totally blow MomMom and Auntie out of the water with how many steps I take.  But, then I might now get as many walks, so I'll just stick with getting extra walks and napping in my snuggle bed when my humans pace around the house to get extra steps in.
   

Different voices

My humans have different voices when they pretend to talk for me, and honestly none of them are correct.
Tonight while walking my dad did what he thinks his voice for me would sound like.  Mom said it sounded like a cross between a military Drill Sargent and a valley girl.  I don't have the mean personality to pull that off.
"We all did good night walkies, this was good.  We stayed together everyone dropped a duecey and we can sleep now."
Mom's voice for me was a total valley girl, just because I lived in L.A. doesn't mean that I am a valley girl.
"This was like totally fun, we can like do the walk tomorrow."
MomMom's voice for me was too much of a baby, I may be 4 year old, but I grew out of the toddler voice.
"Walkies is good, we can do more, let's go again. Why no?"
Auntie had a cross between a Southern Belle and a Valley Girl, there might be some southern girl in me, but really there is no Valley Girl.
"The walk was totally awesome, 2 miles is like nothing I can like walk double this.  The wind had some great smells, can we stay out so I can just sniff the wind?"

The picture above is me staring at them as they all did their version of my voice when we got inside from our evening walk.

My humans are odd, none of them nailed my voice but all of them know I love them and spending time with them.  If someone could explain to me why my Auntie and MomMom were talking about needing more steps for a challenge that would be great.  I want them to do more challenges, because it means my walks are longer or I get more of them when they need more steps.  I just don't know how to get them to do more challenges.

Daisy Log - smelling the air

My Auntie does not understand the joy of just smelling the cool, slightly chilly, January air.  I slept late and missed my Auntie going to work, so when she got home from teaching today I went nuts with celebrating her return.  She took my enthusiasm to mean I needed a walk, which I am always up for.  The Big Guy joined us on the walk - this was slightly confusing.  All my humans have different rules when we walk and when two or more go together it gets confusing on whose rules apply.  I stopped and smelled several important marking spots in the neighborhood.  When we got home, I had to have my teeth brushed, I have learned to like it.  The toothpaste my Auntie uses isn't that bad, she got it from the vet it tastes like chicken. CET Oral Hygiene Kit  I roll over on my belly before I give my Auntie my teeth so I get a belly-rub before my teeth are brushed and then I get a special treat a Milk-Bone Brushing Chews Daily Dental Small/Medium Dog Treats, 5.5 Ounce afterwards.
Then I went outside, I tried to take my KONG Sitting Frog Dog Toy, Small, Green outside with me, but I wasn't allowed.  When I was outside I found the perfect spot in the yard to smell the air.  I was able to stay still and enjoy the smell from all over the yard in just this one spot.  After about ten minutes my Auntie got nervous and came and made me go inside.  Now I am taking a nap, because after all that smelling I am exhausted.  Why don't humans understand how just smelling the air is important?  I think that humans should stop and smell the air more often.

Product Brag

I want to brag about the extendable leash.  It is fun for me to be able to wander a little closer to the tree line when we walk and my Auntie doesn't have to leave the sidewalk.  I am good girl and listen so my Auntie lets me use it when we walk.  I think all doggies should be allowed to use an extendable leash if they are in an area that has trees and grass and sidewalks.

Playpens

My Aunt has been writing my daily logs while my mom and dad came to NC from CA. They are here now and my aunt is being kind enough to keep writing my daily story. Today, my older brother a Toy Rat Terrier was put in a playpen when everyone left.  I still have free range of the house, but he is starting to not be able to control when he pees and poops so he was put in a nice playpen.

I thought it was mean, but Little Man had toys, a bed, a blanket, and got some goodies.  He was his barking self, but enjoyed it.  Sadly, he proved why he needed the playpen when he peed and pooped in there right after he had come in from outside where he had peed :(  He was not too bothered by it, and ate his good pushed the blanket to where he wanted then fell asleep on it.  He was able to see my sleeping spot on the floor, and when he woke up I was able to kiss him.  Little Man was able to kiss me back and then went back to sleep.  I watched for a few minutes and then went and fell asleep on the couch.
I got to go on my normal walk today, dad took me instead of the Big Guy (grandpa).  It was his first time taking me since he moved in last night.  I got to show him the neighborhood, it was lots of fun.  We didn't see any of the other dogs in the neighborhood for me to introduce him to, but there is time.  Auntie took me for my afternoon walk after she walked Little Man.  This was a great walk  I got to walk with the Toy Poodle three doors down.  We like each other and got to spend time catching up.
Apparently her human has been putting a fleece jacket on her because she was so cold this past week, she claims it helped her stay warm for her mile walks.  There was a nice one that didn't look too silly and the Velcro made it easy to put on.

My aunt was nice and didn't embarrass me too badly, she got me a pink raincoat with reflective tape on it.  It kept me dry when the rain was really heavy, and I couldn't hold it any longer.

When we finished our walk, my Auntie sat down and let me cuddle with her on the couch while she watched a Jaws marathon.  I don't fully understand TV but apparently she enjoys the bad special effects of these movies.
When my dad got back he had new car, it smelled kind of funny so I jumped in and then right back out.  I was told it is new car smell, it doesn't smell right.



Human note: the playpen idea allows for the dogs to see each other, smell each other, and offer a bigger area for Little Man to play in than a crate.  If you have a dog who is not able to control their pee/poop and don't want to crate them every time you leave the house this might be something for you to consider.  A tarp underneath means that you can wipe away any pee/poop that might be done.  A fluffy fleece blanket to lay and walk on can also be thrown in the wash when there is an accident, as well as a bed that can be put in the wash is a great option.   I put some links to reasonably priced supplies for these items below.