Two nights ago I dosed the dogs with K9 Advantix - spring is coming and I want to keep all nasty ticks and fleas away. Now Advantix is dangerous to cats, but my vet told me when we got it that we just need to seperate the dogs from the cats overnight after dosing the dogs. Me being the paranoid person that I am I’m keeping them seperated for two full days. We’re letting them in the same room together, but absolutely NO wrestling.

And Merlin I think is about to burst because of it. He’s had no good wrestle with Zoe in two days. He’s going psycho this morning, viciously attacking Den’s boot as he’s trying to put it on. Now both cats are running like elephants up and down the hallway… I can hear their little paws thundering on the hard wood.

I really never worried about the Advantix when it was just Zeeke and Jo. Even when Zoe was added. But now with Merlin and Zoe… ech. Makes me think I should switch to something else. But only Advantix repells fleas, and we KNOW it works so VERY well (not a tick in the 2-3 years since we started using it - and we live in the woods where there are most definitely ticks). I think I might talk to the vet again and check again how long advantix is dangerous to cats after applying. If it’s for sure only like one day then it’s not a huge issue.

Because of the different various issues the dogs have - you know the combos that work and don’t work, etc - we play musical doors all evening. The dogs like to spend some time together, and sometimes Zeeke behaves and sometimes he doesn’t. But, Jo won’t come in the room if Zeeke is in here. Plus, whether or not Zeeke is around, I can’t leave the bedroom door open if I’m in here because I don’t like letting Zoe wander into unoccupied rooms due to her occassional accident on my area carpet. Zeeke gets put in Den’s office to spend time with him and get him out of my hair, but then Den complains because his office overheats when the door is closed.

It’s a mess, I tell you. I’ve decided we need to get babygates - the kind that swing open - for both the office door and the bedroom door… and one to replace the kitchen gate wouldn’t be bad either. That way we could actually keep the dogs where they’re supposed to be and stop them from destroying things without locking the cat out (Merlin likes to come and go in both rooms to visit with us) and without suffocating Den in the heat. I think it’s a great idea. Unfortunately gates cost money and that, well, that could be a problem.

But it’s a nice thought. And a very good plan.

Today I got an email from Zoe’s sister’s adoptive parents! They sent along a little movie of Schatsie, and hopefully will be sending some photos my way too. The two dogs look very different - Schatsie has a white body with some dark spots, with a dark head - but the head and build is very similar. She said Schatsie too is around 30lbs, and has a big fluffy tail. Schatsie, unlike Zoe, doesn’t have any fear issues… they said she’s very friendly, no behavioral problems at all. Which only reinforces my opinion that the pups were NOT abused, Zoe’s just hardwired this way. Oh well, I love her just the way she is. Anyways, it’s just really neat to see how Zoe’s sister is doing. Sometimes I would think about her.

Oh by the way - I did a group weigh-in on our new digital scale the other day.
Zoe: 31.8 lbs
Jo: 11.2 lbs
Merlin: 11.8 lbs

Yeesh, no wonder Merlin has been feeling heavy lately!

Yesterday I had a bit of time between when I finished work and when I had to pick hubby up from work so I came home first to let the dogs out. When he called for me to come get him I decided to take miss Zoe with me. I snapped on her leash and walked out the door with her, then dropped her leash and walked to the truck. I called her over. She came, though hesitantly - and with a little bit of encouraging she jumped into the truck. All without me touching her leash! That’s a first for her.

Though she did spend the entire car ride sitting in the middle of the cargo area, shivering (she couldn’t get close to the seats because of some stuff that was back there). I think I need to make some kind of closed “cave” box back there for her to hide in for trips. It might make her feel a little more secure for car rides.

Dog Dayz of Summer, August 19-20, Stephentown, NY

I am really really excited about this!! There’s workships; demos for agility, frisbee, flyball; vendors for all sorts of doggy things; a swimming pond; a bake sale; a raffle… oh it sounds like so much fun. It’s a weekend deal, and it’s a little drive for us so I think we’ll stay overnight. Our first camping trip with the dogs! Woo hoo!!

I’m having a heck of a time deciding on a collar to buy Zoe. I’ve decided I’m going to splurge a little and get her a really nice one for her birthday (May 27th!), but I can’t decide if I should get a martingale collar for her (since I still don’t have one yet - yeah, yeah, I know), or a new flat collar she can wear 24/7 with her tags on it. On one hand she needs a martingale, and since she’d only be wearing it for walks it would stay clean. On the other hand, she wouldn’t be wearing it very often at all, and I would like to see it! Any advice? (I’ve read that you shouldn’t leave a martingale collar on all the time, as it can get caught and choke them - which seems odd to me, since the point of the collar is to tighten but NOT choke them.)

Here are my choices:

Martingale collar:

Buckle collar:

Personally I think the martingale has the better color for her. And either way I think I’m going with the brass metal and definitely 1″ width. She’s wearing 3/4″ width collar right now and I worry that 1″ will be too much, but I think it’ll be okay.

I also really want to get this collar for Oreo:

It’s just a matter of finding the money for it. But I need to do it soon, as I’m visiting her in June!

The other day I saw two or three men standing in the backyard, not of the house directly across from us but a few down from that. Three dogs were running around the backyard. There was no fence, but the dogs nor the people seemed perturbed by this. I know the dog that lives at that house, his name is “Jack” - Zoe and I met him once, months ago, when his owner was taking him for a walk. Zoe wasn’t impressed.

As I watched the men stand around and throw balls for their dogs I said to Zoe, “See now if you weren’t such a wussy, I’d take you over to play with them.” And I thought to myself, and if Zeeke wasn’t guaranteed to take off, he’d love to play with other dogs. Maybe when we get a fence we can invite some neighbor dogs over to play, Zeeke would enjoy that. (Zoe wouldn’t so much.)

But it was nice to see neighbors interacting in a friendly manner, and letting their dogs socialize. The more I see of other people - “normal” families with dogs, who don’t haunt dog forums and read dog training books for fun - the more I realize that most people do just fine with their family dogs. Of course, they tend to be breeds like labs and retrievers, not border collies or german shepherds. But still. It raises my faith in humans.

The other day, I tried to teach Zoe “paw.” She got very confused about what I was asking her to do, she kept getting up and trying to lick my face (I think she thought I was upset? Or else she was just apoligising for not knowing? Not sure.). As well, Zeeke was right beside us, and he got so agitated that I kept saying “paw” that he lifted his.. and thunked her in the head. (Apparently her head was closest.) lol After prancing around whining for a bit she pawed at me - purely by accident, but I praised the HECK out of her. She was very excited. I tried again, again she whined and pranced, again she pawed me, again I praised and praised her.

So today, the kids have their rawhides, but Zoe seems a little antsy. Den and I give her pats and kisses and just generally fawn over her. But she’s still sitting there looking at me. So I put my hand down and say, “paw!” She gets up, and stares at my hand. I say again, “Paw!” and she smacked my hand with her paw! I told her with a good, smart, wonderful puppy she is, then got Den to turn around and watch. “Paw!” She smacked my hand again. By golly I think she’s got it!! (And she’s very excited about this. She loves the praise, and she seems happy she knows what I ask.)

The dogs have decided it’s about high time to drive mommy and daddy crazy. By eating the paper towel (pictured), peeing on the couch, destroying slippers, fighting loudly all the time, chasing the cat… I mean, really, what haven’t they done?

Zoe’s having accidents all the time now. We’re tightening up her “leash”, so to speak, always watching. And yet, just now, as I’m typing this, she pees again. What happened to letting me know when she had to go? How can she just “unlearn” all of that? Sigh.

It’s so nice to be able to lay in bed with Zoe beside me - she has a rawhide piece and is happily and enthusiastically chewing the heck out of it. I’m grateful she’s easily occupied.

Zoe has earned the nickname “mountain goat.” Why? Because she likes to climb on top of you. When Den and I are in bed, or I’m laying on the couch, she constantly climbs up to sit on your back or chest or hip, or whatever is pointed up. Today she started sitting on the back of the couch. Sometimes she does it because she wants a better vantage point, sometimes she does it to get in close to lick you to death, and she also does it when she’s scared. Every day when Den comes home, he freaks her out - she doesn’t know who’s stomping up the front steps and banging the door open, so she runs over and hurls herself on top of me, sometimes buried behind my back. Then she recognizes him and climbs up onto my shoulder and head, wagging her tail. Good thing she’s still pretty light!

Her new favorite toy is the beaver hand-puppet. I didn’t know it was a hand-puppet when I bought it, but it turns out to be a great idea; she won’t bite hands, but she sure as heck will bite a beaver! She’s pretty vicious, actually, you have to be careful she doesn’t chomp too hard, since she doesn’t know it’s you. But it’s one of her favorite games - us smacking her head and paws with the beaver-hand, and she just lights into it, growling like a wicked little thing. If you put the beaver on your hand when she’s not nearby, and show her, she launches herself across the room to get at it. It’s really quite funny.

Sorry for no pictures lately - all my cameras went dead. Digital will be back in action tomorrow, we got more batteries.