On My List Of Favorites

Last Sunday was a lazy day, even for Theo, my usual early riser.  It was the first day in I don't know how long that I turned off my alarm and let myself sleep as late as Theo let me.  To my surprise, it was until past 8:00am!  It felt soooo nice.  Theo needed the extra sleep time too, I think.  He had been very lethargic in the mornings the last few weeks.  Not in a "OMG, what's wrong with him!?" way, but in a "we've been uber-busy!" way.  The sleep obviously did him good because he was crazy energetic when he emerged from his crate Sunday morning.  It was hilarious!

The first thing he went for was my head.  Of course, he couldn't reach it, so I obliged him by laying down on the floor. Then the barrage began!  He did the putting his chin on my shoulder thing (which I love love love because it is sort of, kind of, not really snugly behavior!), he tried to pull my hair tie out, he nipped my ears (in the completely gentle, playful way), and of course, there was oodles of adorable play-growling.  I was eating it up!  We didn't end up going on our run until almost 9am because I didn't know how to end the play session.  It was so much fun! You know what really drives him crazy?  Blowing on his face when he's trying to own me.  Gets him riled up every time.

Arriving In Style

Has anyone heard of PetAirways?  Apparently they are a pet-only airline, where your pet rides in the main cabin of the plane, rather than the cargo area.  It's definitely an interesting concept, but I wonder what the main differences between the main cabin and the cargo area would be on a plane that is just for pets.  Obviously the cabin is not going to be equiped with reclining seats and a convenient reading light for Theo's leisure.  But temperature sound control would be a definite plus.

Would I do it?  Probably not.  But I think it's a really neat idea, and a decidedly better option that cargo shipping your pup.  Plus, I think it's neat that you can track your puppy's progress.

Flights start in July.  Would anybody consider PetAirways for their pet traveling needs?

Only 8

I've been tagged with the following blog game by Infrared Goggles.  Here it goes!

8 Things I am Looking Forward to
1…..Being an aunt!
2…..Watching Theo grow up.
3…..Getting in shape (it's a wip at the moment).
4…..Retirement.
5…..Seeing Wicked this summer.
6…..More hikes with Theo and Husband.
7…..The dog beach!
8…..Getting old.


8 Things I Did Yesterday
1…..Went and had high tea with friends.  Yum! 
2…..Jogged with Theo in the morning.
3…..Ate a huge dinner that wasn't even that great. *sigh*
4…..Attempted to walk off said huge dinner, but Theo couldn't keep up, so I had to slow down.
5…..Vegged on the couch and watched a movie.
6…..Read a couple chapters of East of Eden and wrote down a passage I really liked in Chapter 7.
7…..Slept in until 8am!  That's a rarity for me.
8…..Played lots of fetch with Theo (yes, I really am a terribly uninteresting person, I know).


8 Things I Wish I Could do
1…..Sing.
2…..Write.
3…..Shrink (vertically as well as horizontally).
4.....Win the lottery.
5.....Move to Oregon.
6…..Have a house with enough land for lots of animals.
7…..Function normally with only a few hours of sleep each night.
8…..Give world peace.


8 Shows I Enjoy (DVR)
1…..Lost
2…..My Boys
3…..Battlestar Galactica (*sniff*)
4…..Survivor
5…..Good Eats
6…..Family Guy
7.....Damages
8…..Top Chef


8 Fur People I tag
1…..Lindsey at Frankenstein
2…..Kelly at Corgi Butts
3…..Lynn at Craft Stew
4…..Ivy at The Senakams + 1 (twice tagged!)
5…..Jenna at Corgi Pants (twice tagged!)
6…..Betty at...Oh snap!  Where did her blog go?
7…..Philip the Corgi
8…..Manda Girl at A day in the life of our pugs

You Left Me!

A bit delayed, but how was everyone's Easter/Passover?  Husband and I went to Reno for the weekend.  Since we were only there two days, we decided to forgo the 20 hours of driving and just fly, meaning we had to board Theo.  It ended up being 4 days of boarding for him because we dropped him off Friday morning (for doggy daycare and boarding in the evening), and weren't able to pick him up until Monday because they were closed for Easter (but yes, still taking care of the animals).  And since we were working Monday, we just did the usual doggy daycare and picking him up after work.  

When I finally got him back Monday evening, he was pretty pissed at me.  He had a "you left me!" look on his face the whole way home.  He didn't want to be touched, he didn't want to even be around me.  He pretty much just curled up and went to sleep in another room after we got home.  Husband had to go out of town for work Monday morning, so it was just the two of us.  Thankfully, he got over it by morning.  He was his usual peppy self, and when Husband came home Tuesday night, he was happy again.  Pehw!  Ok, maybe boarding isn't as painless as we thought.  Heh.

We had some friends over for dinner on Saturday night.  Theo was in heaven.  Not one, but three people willing to play fetch with him!  Oh my goodness!  My friend Mouth was there, and he is Theo's shining star.  He just adores him.  During dinner I found out why.  Mouth kept feeding him!  No wonder!  Hehe.  Stop trying to buy my puppy's love!  It totally works, you know.  

Summer is officially here.  It seems we're skipping straight past Spring this year.  That means it's already too hot to go outside in the middle of the day.  It was in the 90s yesterday!  I'm a little bummed because I don't think we got out enough while the weather was good.  Hopefully we'll get a couple more weekends of cool days before Summer totally sets in. *fingers crossed*

Something In The Air

Rex is long gone (since last Friday), and Theo couldn't be happier.  He was Mr. Grumpy Pants pretty much 24/7 while Rex was here, and when he left, Theo was so relieved.  Hehe.  I guess we'll be keeping him an only puppy for a while.  I couldn't really blame him when Rex took to stealing whatever toy Theo was playing with and laying his body over it so Theo couldn't get to it.  What an instigator!  

I, on the other hand, was sad to see Rex go.  I liked having a dog who was cuddly, who would nudge my hand when I stopped petting him, who would roll over for belly rubs.  He was a total sweetheart.  But I do acknowledge that his rock-hard nails did cause quite a few gauges in our new hardwood floors.  And running a mile with him just didn't wear Rex out like it does with Theo.  But that's ok.  He's a good dog and Husband's parents are lucky to have him.

I think our runs together (Theo, Rex, and I) summed up these two nicely.  Theo would run at full speed, going as fast as the collar choking him around his neck would let him.  Whenever Rex would come up to close behind him, Theo would turn his head and growl at him as if to say "I'm in the front here mister, get in line!"  Rex would very diplomatically run right behind Theo and at my side.  When I stopped to pick up poop or had to slow to a walk for a short break, Rex would slow and match my pace.  Theo, as usually, would still try to run.  What a goof!

As I said, everything is back to normal.  Theo had his agility class last night.  As my trainer said, there was definitely something in the air last night.  All the dogs were just crazy hyper and all seemed to have selective hearing.  Even the trainer's dog (she always uses one of her dogs to run the course first so we can see what she means when she tells us the order) kept running off to do his own thing.  And I'd never seen a Greyhound really let loose and run before!  Man she was fast!  And Theo, of course, was pretty much how he is every week, only this week the other dogs matched his 'tude.  

Theo seems to have decided that I am not a necessary part of the agility class.  Last night after the trainer had her dog run a course, it was Theo's turn.  As soon as I let him off leash he started running it!  Who needs a human to tell a dog what to do when said dog can just watch and do by example?  Makes sense to me.  

We'll be boarding Theo for the weekend while we're in Reno for Seder.  We decided not to spend 20 hours in the car for just a couple days visit.  My mom sounded relieved since Theo's last visit resulted in a carpet cleaning.   I guess she should be grateful Theo is better behaved (and by that I mean crate trained and with softer nails, of course).  Carpet cleaning is better than carpet replacement.  Heh.  Anyway, he'll be staying at the place we take him for doggy daycare, so I know he'll be fine.  It's going to be so strange to be without a dog for 3 days!  I keep thinking to myself things like, "Oh, I have to remember to bring food for Theo when we go up to Reno...oh that's right, he's not coming with us."  It's weird! 

...And The Destruction Begins

Husband and I have always counted ourselves lucky that Theo was such a nondestructive dog. We were prepared for a dog that would chew on the walls and claw at the furniture, but we lucked out and got a dog that would rather verbalize his need for attention than show it. Rex is apparently not that way. Let me just say that I in no way blame Rex for the damage that I am going to tell you about because dogs are dogs. And by that I mean, they act a certain way for a certain reason, not because they're vindictive or mean, but because in their minds, what they are doing makes sense to them. You can't reason with a dog, you just have to work to find common ground.

So we took Husband's parents out to dinner last night for his mom's 60th birthday (seriously, she looks late 40s at most!). We left the dogs home by themselves. We left Theo in the loft, as usual. Husband's parents decided that they would put Rex in our guest room (the bedroom they are staying in). This sounded like a fine idea. The room is a good size and has all their stuff in it that smells like them. Only I didn't know at the time that Rex has abandonment issues, and issues with being locked in rooms (they think one of his previous owners used to lock him in a bathroom because they say he won't go in any bathroom). In hindsight, the loft would have been a better spot. We could have rigged something to keep the dogs separated if need be (though I'm sure they would have been fine together). The loft is open. Rather than being locked in a room, Rex would have felt merely confined. But that's not what we did, and Rex was not happy with that decision.

When we got home I knew there was something wrong when I glanced at the bottom of the bedroom door and saw there was no longer carpet under it. That's right. Rex, in his frenzied attempt to escape his imprisonment, tore up all the carpet in front of the door, including the pad underneath. Really, this wasn't Rex's fault. I'm not mad because I know it was an accident and it's not like he did anything that isn't fixable. I was glad Husband felt the same way. After learning more about Rex's history, I feel bad for him, and happy that he's with people who will make sure he has a good life from now on.

Husband also told me yesterday that apparently Rex has a compulsive water drinking problem. He will drink and drink and drink until he throws up. I've never heard of that before! I'm used to Theo, who will only go near his water bowl maybe 2 or 3 times over the course of a day. Heh.

I'm still loving having Rex in the house. He is still a wonderful dog with a wonderful personality. His only flaw is that he loves too much! Hehe. Did I mention when I throw my arms up in the air, Rex will jump up and throw his huge, long legs on me to give me a hug? It is wonderful.