Wordless Wednesday #12 - Adrift

Monday Mischief #10 - What does the dog(s) say?

The pups went to a Halloween party at a pet store Sunday. We haven't finished their costumes so Onyxx wore a red tie and Mr. N wore his costume for last year. They each did a trick for one of the employees. Mr. N danced which is his default move when he sees food and Onyxx sat. I got to spin the wheel to determine their prize. They both won toys. Onyxx picked out a moon squeaky and Mr. N got a ghost toy.

Between Mr. N who was overly stimulated and barky and Onyxx who found a box full of treat samples under a table, I had my hands full. So no pictures from the party. I've added a few from last year.

Dogfish? From last year.

The pet store brought in a pet psychic to do short readings for the customers. One of the employees approached us to see if we wanted to do a reading and I said sure. I wouldn't pay to do a reading but it is fun.

She told us that Mr. N knows how cute he is (!) and he is pretty happy. He likes Onyxx a lot but found our foster of a day to be very annoying. He wants Onyxx to stay so we don't have more fosters. The psychic said that was strategic of him. Who knew he had cat-like deviousness?

He doesn't want cats in the house (probably doesn't want the competition!). He prefers people to dogs (which is true) but he was also demanding attention from her so there is that. The psychic also said he is smart and opinionated. She said pets appreciate being informed and if we're going on a vacation or other big events, we should tell him a couple of days in advance so he knows.

I iz a cat?

As for Onyxx, she said he knows that we're not keeping him but that he likes it here. Also he doesn't like being in limbo and wants a good home of his own. She did say we could manage two dogs but not three. Managing Onyxx is not the problem however!

Onyxx is very sweet and he generally is a pretty easy dog. However, Mr. N isn't. He is high maintenance. As the boyfriend says, two Onyxxes is less work than one Mr. N.

Also I'm hoping to do therapy work with the next dog (which probably won't happen for five years or more) and neither Mr. N or Onyxx have the temperament for it.

After the reading, Mr. N was getting a little loud so he went to go wait in the car. I took Onyxx back and we looked around the store (so many cute sweaters) and bought some treats and left.

I took Onyxx to Petsmart afterwards. The other volunteers all admired his tie and his new tricks. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to attract much interest. One woman asked about him but the rescue director suggested another dog who is known to be cat-friendly (she has several cats). She also thinks Onyxx should go to a home with another small dog which I agree with. He loves to play.

There are over ten pages of Chihuahuas in Portland on Petfinder. There are four Yorkies (and their mixes). It's hard for an all-black Chihuahua to get noticed. Even the woman at the (human) Halloween party who had a Chihuahua herself spent five minutes talking about Mr. N and how cute he was before noticing Onyxx and commenting that he is mellow. I would like to point out that Mr. N was throwing a fit because her off-leash Chihuahua came running up to us and was in his face while Onyxx barely twitched. It's like Mr. N is getting rewarded for his misbehavior!

So I'm sitting with Mr. N in my lap trying to quiet him down and she is just standing there asking questions about Mr. N. Poor Onyxx.

Mr. N almost always gets noticed first. Part of it is sheer personality. He is not shy about demanding attention. This is a dog that jumped/climbed four feet (four times his height) to get to two men to demand pets. And as previously mentioned, knows how cute he is and is not afraid to flaunt it. Onyxx is a little shy around new people and situations.

Mr. N and one of his new fans.

I also think Mr. N has more flashy looks. He's not merle or anything but he is parti-colored and basically looks like a stuffed animal come to life. Maybe black dog syndrome is also affecting Onyxx?

Any ideas on what I can do to make Onyxx more noticeable? Several pet stores have shared him on their Facebook pages and he wears his adoption vest and bright colors when we go out. He's also increasing his repertoire of tricks. He knows how to high five now.

BW Sunday #11 - Guardian Lion

FitDog Friday #10 - It's a Beautiful Week in the Neighborhood

I've written before how the dog(s) are included in the majority of my activities for mental stimulation and socialization and because I like having them around. This week we:

Went to the park because I wanted to get some shots of the dogs against the fall foliage.  

We had an encounter with an off-leash dog in the park that almost ended badly. An ill-mannered cyclist had his Lab off-leash and the dog almost knocked me and the dogs over. Me falling on the dogs = not pretty.I tell myself that they (people who allow their dogs to roam rampant) will get their comeuppance one day and come back in the next life as reactive dogs. Or cicadas.

This is the best photo I managed to get of Onyxx. The leaves fascinated him and he refused to cooperate for photos.

On the way back, we ran into a boot camp in the park. No doga though. Mr. N was not impressed.

The pups also accompanied me to a trip to SCRAP, an arts supply store that sells reused arts and craft materials. I picked up some stuff for their Halloween costumes. Onyxx was very good and didn't make a peep or stir from the cart. As for Mr. N...  

The boys continued their regular routine of chase and wrestle and added a new routine of tug. They both love that toy. Plus it has six legs so more things to put in their mouths. Can anyone guess what it is?

We had some people over to carve pumpkins and Onyxx supervised.

Aside from that, Onyxx met some children who came over and helped work on his socialization. Mr. N likes children if they give him treats. Sometimes the children try to eat his treats!

As well as a Halloween party for humans. Onyxx did very well and ignored the children running around and the treat tables (of course if he could reach that would be a different story).

We also had a play date with She Speaks Bark and her dog Scooter. We were horrible bloggers though and completely forgot to take pictures. Next time!

This weekend: Onyxx goes to Petsmart for adoption day. Possibly a Halloween party at a pet store if time allows.

What have you and your dogs been up to this week? Any fun weekend plans?

Wordless Wednesday #11 - Pumpkin Inspector

Tuesday's Tails: Adopt Onyxx!

I am currently fostering Onyxx and he is a sweet little dog. He is housebroken, leash trained and (mostly) crate trained. He squeaks for the first five minutes or so then settles down. He has almost mastered "sit" and we're working on "down" right now. 

He is a little shy around new people/situations but warms up to them eventually. He's met a friend of mine for short periods (five minutes or so) and by the third time, he wanted to sit in her lap.

He loves playing tug with squeaky toys and he and Mr. N wrestle and chase each other around the house. 

Onyxx's Petfinder ad (Portland, OR): 

Onyxx is a super sweet 5lb long haired Chihuahua who came from a home where he was very much neglected. He was infested with fleas and was missing most of the hair around his eyes, on his back, his hind legs and tail (see pic). Once we treated him for fleas and started him on some good quality food, it didn't take long for his coat to grow back long and beautiful. Now, he's so handsome! Onyxx is very friendly and playful with other small dogs, as soon as he knows they are safe. He is nervous around small children. He loves to play with toys just like a puppy. What a sweetie!
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/27582157/

World of Octobers

We took advantage of the fair weather and traipsed around town this weekend and finally acquired a pumpkin among other things.

The Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden is a sight to be seen when the flowers are in full bloom but it has a certain charm during the fall season as well. Aside from our little group, everyone else seemed to be a photographer or was getting their picture taken. 

The dogs enjoyed wandering around and sniffing about. Our foster dog was a little afraid of the ducks and geese and carefully avoided them. He seems to have no prey drive whatsoever. He barely even glances at the cats and squirrels we encounter on walks. 

Mr. N? His terrier brain went into overload. Not to the point of diving after them (he is opposed to getting wet) but on land, he wanted to chase them very badly. One goose hissed at him and far from being afraid, I think it amped him up even more. No survival instinct, I tell you. 

There's a footpath across one of the ponds and Mr. N fell in the middle while we were crossing. It wasn't deep at all so he just got his legs wet but he wasn't happy at all about the "bath." 

Afterwards, we strolled around the nearby college campus. The dogs had a lot of fun frolicking on the grass and leaves. Then we went to the pet store where (with another gift certificate) the dogs got treats, a sweater and a jacket. 

I was thinking about how Onyxx owns nothing in this world. I know dogs don't really care about worldly possessions but it just seemed a little sad. Now he has a coat of his own that he can take to his next home. 

I think I may have to exchange the red sweater though. It's Mr. N's usual size in that brand so I didn't bother trying it on him but it seems a little short both in length and girth. 

On Sunday, we finally went to go pick out a pumpkin on Sauvie Island with some friends. It was way more crowded than we anticipated (it was foggy when we set out) but we didn't have to wait too long for a parking space. Once the rest of the group finished paying for their atrocious coffee, we headed over to the hayrides. The dogs seemed a little hesitant at first but got used to the motion. Onyxx seemed to enjoy it more but he also enjoys window watching in the car.

There were a lot of rotten pumpkins out on the field and of course the dogs wanted to inspect all of them. After trudging across a field, we located a suitable pumpkin in the next field and headed back. Only this time, the boyfriend was lugging a pumpkin so I was in charge of both dogs. 

He somehow found a seat on the crowded hayride and told us he would meet us back at the entrance. I reminded him that on the Titanic, the women and children went first and he just laughed and waved. 

Lugging two dogs is significantly more work than just one. The dogs got to sit on a hay bale of their own next to me as both of them wouldn't fit on my lap on the next hayride. Mr. N made friends with the woman behind us and used her for balance. Mr. N's former foster calls him charismatic and she's right. 

Did anyone else do any autumnal activities this weekend?

BW Sunday #10 - Touched with Sunshine

FitDog Friday #9 - Thing One and Thing Two

Between the two dogs, it's like having Animal Planet on full-time. The boys seem to have boundless energy for wrestling and chasing each other around the couch. It's a good thing they're as small as they are or they would be knocking things over left and right. They run full tilt and body slam each other.

Nowhere is safe from their antics. They wrestle on the couch, on the floor, on my lap and pretty much any surface that will hold them. I just make sure I'm standing (or sitting still) so I don't step on either of them. Onyxx is the better wrestler but Mr. N is faster and has better stamina. I'm starting to wonder if Mr. N should get some extra calories to make up for all the cardio he is doing.

In between bouts of wrestling...

They've also been getting two walks a day. Their walking pace is about the same but walking two males means that they want to mark everything including where the other one just went. Sometimes I'll take just Mr. N for a training walk and alone time.

You know it's a good walk when you come back full of burrs.

Onyxx is proving to be a good walker and he doesn't care about squirrels or cats. Very easy to walk for the most part. Sometimes if he sees a strange man walking, he'll give a warning bark but he is quickly shushed.

Those of you with multiple dogs, do you use a coupler? And do you walk the dogs together or separately?

Wordless Wednesday #10 - Down the Rabbit Hole

*For the record, this photo resulted in a gift certificate to a pet store. Cuteness does take you places!





Monday Mischief #8 - New Addition

Meet our new foster dog: Onyxx. He's a five-year-old long-haired Chihuahua. We've only had him for less than a day but he seems sweet if a little shy. So far the biggest problem we've had with him is that he keeps trying to sneak into the kitchen.

He ran away from his home and was picked up by a stray by the county before the rescue took him in. His previous home had a passel of children who most likely didn't treat him very well (we were told he is not fond of children) and he was utterly flea-infested. To the point of losing large clumps of hair in spots. He was recently adopted but returned after two days after the adopter realized she didn't have time for a dog after all.

Intially, we had taken home a different foster dog but we ended up having to take him back. We live in a condo (with carpet!) and he is a crate barker and excitement urinator. None of us got much sleep due to his barking. We were told he intially protests being in the crate then quiets down. Not in our house!

The rescue only had him for a few days so they were still sorting out his personality and behavior. He is very people-oriented and constantly wanted to be in someone's lap or next to them. Very pushy though and no training whatsoever. Mr. N flatly refused to be in the same room with him unless there was a food bribe involved. 

We felt horrible giving him up after a day but we were all sleep deprived, getting peed on and our neighbors were going to throw a fit (can't blame them) if we had him any longer. I think he is a dog that is going to need a house and yard with no close neighbors. 

I hope Mr. N adapts soon. He and Onyxx played chase for a little bit but for the most part he has been keeping out of their way. He keeps looking at me like "why have you unleashed these demon dogs into my house? What did I ever do to deserve this? I try so hard to be a good dog!" 

BW Sunday #9 - Collection

FitDog Friday #8 - Frantic

Forgive the short post today. It looks like we may be taking in a foster dog this weekend and we're also planning on a visit to the Pet Expo.

I'm still trying to figure out logistics. Where are we going to fit a crate in the bedroom? When are we going to find the time to dog-proof our house? How am I going to juggle separate walks? How is Mr. N going to feel about his only dog status being usurped?

Wordless Wednesday #9 - On Top of the World

Monday Mischief #7 - Oblivious Human

I was cleaning up around the house when Mr. N started acting like he wanted something. He usually stares at you intensely and sometimes makes little whining noises. He had been taken out two hours ago so I figured he wanted another snack and I told him no. He wandered off and I started the dishes.

I finished and looked around for Mr. N. I didn't see him in any of his usual spots: his bed by the bookshelf, the couch or our bed. I wondered if he was feeling sick and hiding in a corner.

Finally, I spotted him waiting patiently by the front door for me to notice him. He decided the oblivious human needed a more obvious signal. I took him out and gave him a treat for being good. And obvious!

Who says small dogs can't be housebroken?
*He is housebroken and has been for years. The humans just needed a little help.

BW Sunday #8 - Good Night. Sleep Tight.