Sometimes the only thing for it is pulling weeds!

Thursday morning was a bit on the "exciting" side in Emberville.  Mildly, mind you, not as in total emergency.

Let us begin with "I slept well".  That's always a good start to the day.  I did the cat chores, then I let Ember out.  

I fed her "chow" when she first came out of the crate.  She was plenty hungry, having last eaten her supper around 3:30 - 4:00 p.m., before Alicia came over.  I gave her a "last call" about 8 p.m., so the bathroom needs hadn't kicked in just yet.

I put down kibble after she finished the 1/2 can, and she indicated "out", so we went out in the 5:30 a.m. darkness.  I could tell that she did her business and approximately where in the yard.  It is one of the most pleasant times of the day, in terms of temperature, and the moon and stars are out, so we stayed outside for a while.

Then I had this bright idea to go hunting for that plop in the dark with my phone flashlight.  OK, you experienced dog people, you can see it coming now.  In my hunt, I managed to put my foot in it.  Literally.  Squish!

Shined the flashlight down, and my eyes and nose confirmed it.  There was still enough solid left on the ground for me to do my best to pick it up and discard it in a poo bag.  Which I did.  With my brain trying to figure out "what do I do next".  Wiped the foot on the grass, best can do, but you all know running shoes have lots of nooks and crannies in the soles.

The plan became:  entice the dog into her X-Pen inside and change shoes, setting the offending one in the garage for later cleaning.  Here comes the excitement.  I started executing this plan.  There was an old pair of now dried shoes in the garage, and I put them on.

But Ember has a long memory.  When I let her out of the X-Pen and she saw those shoes on my feet?  She did what she used to do whenever I would change shoes or pants or put on a jacket or sweatshirt!  

This is the first rip she put in the shoe.  

Then when I told her "We don't chew on Mommy" and tried to show her it was me, she moved her mouth to my pantleg, then gradually up, eventually lightly holding onto my hands.

What to do?  I opted for "show her this is Mommy"!  I reached down and untied the shoe, then removed my foot from it.

She dashed off into the X-Pen with the shoe in her mouth.  I closed the gate and calmly decided to just clean up the blue shoe right now and let her have the older shoe.

Sigh.  

Once I was back in the blue shoes, the chewing on feet was over and done with.  We did not go on a leash walk Thursday morning.  We did go play chase the ball in the backyard.  We played a little bit of tug, too.  And inside we played a bit of "ItsYerChoice" with cheese.

By the time my breakfast was interrupted two or three times to distract Ember from the stair-step, and she was behaving well and put down for puppy nap #1, there was nothing for it but to go pull weeds (top photo), put away the toys, and consign the now unusable right shoe to the garbage.

Sigh.

Clearly, we still have work to do with desensitizing Ember to mom changing apparel!

Life is still good.  Spark on!

Emberville and Dad Day

One of those "geeky" things I keep track of:  today I reached the number of days since my birth that my dad reached on the day he passed, back in 1999.  Some folks may consider that a bit on the morbid side, but I don't.  I can now say I have outlived the lifelines of both my mother and my father.  And while they might not have lived as many days, they certainly had full and meaningful lives.

Having adopted Ember, I have a new chapter / mission, to ensure she has a good timeline of her own.

As I was eating my breakfast, I saw her quietly chewing on her purple hippo and could not resist.  I have so many pictures of Ember!

Shortly after I snapped this photo, the little one got bored and started to sniff and paw at the foot of the stairs carpet.  Yeah, the last step that is not protected by the "gate".

I called her name, and she came right to me.  I gave her the special recall treat, then I let her outside for a sniff, then back in while I prepped her Kong for puppy nap #1.  

I interrupted my breakfast to save my carpet.

Speaking of rescuing things, I broke the zipper on the Schitty Kit this morning.  Ember and I are hard on things.  I've always been hard on things.  I remember my mother commenting on how hard I was on my shoes as a child.

Sewing kit to the rescue.  I put the zipper back together while Ember napped. I stitched up the end of it. It works again.  I ordered another Schitty Kit.  It is just too useful.  Ember had already done a number on the mesh, as well, so it is only a matter of time before this item wears out.

Between the puppy naps, a new package arrived at my door.  It came in a long tube.  It may be a while before I'm ready to give this one a try.  But until then, this giant cardboard roll is making a fine "destructo-toy" for Ember.

Alicia came over at her usual time and she did hold Ember for a couple of "restrained recalls" but, seriously, Ember had already had her supper by then and it was hot outside.

So we put her to bed and sister-chatted in the human part of the house.

Life is good.  Spark on!

The Spirit of Ollie

 

Sunday is a good day for honoring the spirit of Ollie.  Ollie was a lineated parakeet, who lived a brief life with my son's in-laws.  He was pampered and loved by these two retirees.  He rode Bob's leg as an elevator.  He dipped his crackers in Donna's water glass.  He watched bird videos on their phones, and mimicked the calls he heard, both on the videos and in the world around him.  He learned new songs from my daughter-in-law's cockatiels.  He even seemed to like it when I would whistle to him at family gatherings.  He will be missed.  Interestingly, a young Cardinal has been hanging around my house and my neighbor's the past week or so, and I have dubbed this bird "the spirit of Ollie".

ItsYerChoice and the Band-Aids

This morning a lightbulb went off in my brain about how to approach the Band-Aid stripping that Ember had been doing of late.  While I do consider it a clever thing, it's not a behavior I wish to encourage.  She had been doing it particularly during the ItsYerChoice game, when I was focusing on whether to close the hand holding the treats and ignoring unwanted efforts on her part, but she seemed to have concluded that some of that behavior was a precursor to getting down to the business of earning the treats.  Maybe she even thought it was part of what she needed to do.

Unfortunately, I can't read the puppy's mind.  But I can control the resources.  My first effort was to change hands and close the left hand around the treats.  She still tried to strip the bandage on my left arm.  She ignored the closed hand.  So I put the treats back in the bowl and put the bowl in the cupboard.

I waited a few minutes, then tried again.  Same thing, she went for the bandage.  Same thing, I put the bowl away again.  

Third time's a charm.  When I got the bowl out a few minutes later, for the third time, Ember planted her bum on the floor with her nose a good foot away from my treat-holding hand.  She got right down to business, ignoring the distraction of the bandages, and earned every treat I had allotted to the session.  We shall see if this "sticks" or if I have to repeat the lesson tomorrow.

Lunch with "the kids"

It was a last-minute decision, but since my son's friend had connected with the car through me, I accepted the invitation to "stop by" where they were meeting for lunch and share a slice of their artisan pizza.  Yum!  

He purchased my niece's car, and now should be about halfway across Iowa on the way home.  He brought his partner along, but she doesn't drive a stick shift, so he is handling all the driving.  I heard a few stories I hadn't before, both from my son, and from his friend.

A very pleasant interlude in the day.  I tucked Ember into the big crate for puppy nap #2 while I went.

Hottest day of the week

It got up to 102℉.  When I got home from the luncheon, I let Ember outside, for the usual reasons.  She is a smart cookie.  She knows that water comes from the hose.  She picked it up by the end and shook it to try to make the water come out.

I obliged by turning it on, which made a little puddle in the grass that she played with for a while.  I got out the puppy pools, and tried to run some water into them, but Ember would have none of that game.  She wanted to drag those things around on the patio and the grass.  She even dragged one of them under the deck.

In any case, we had no leash walk today, due to harness behavior and heat.  But we did get a couple of good training sessions in for ItsYerChoice, Collar Grab game, and a solo recall, but not the restrained kind.

And we kept working on the "hot spot" training, too.  For supper, I tried out canned food for her for the first time.  As expected, she liked it and gobbled it right up.  I only fed her half the can, because... transitions in diet should be gradual.

On the biting front:

Only one new bandage today, on a finger, as it happens.  It was clearly an "oops", a collision of a tooth on my finger as my hand was holding a ball, not an intentional bite.  

My skin is still 71 years old, and I still bleed easily.  No surprise there.  But I'm calling it an optimistic day.  

The week ahead leads into the Labor Day weekend.  How did that happen?  The year is just flying by!  In September I have an eye appointment and a dental appointment, and toward the end, the plan is for Carl to come stay while the kids travel to a wedding in Kansas.

The kids will be having one of their grill outs next Sunday.  Ember and Carl will have their first play session since they both got off of "restricted activity".  

Ember will have her puppy class on Friday.  I am debating with myself about whether to schedule another private trainer session for her before that, so I can get some more restrained recall assistance. 

Life is good. Spark on!

Saturday adventures or not

 

Let us begin with the glory of sunrise, over the neighbor's roof.  Ember had slept through the night.  I was still holding out hope for the lake outing with Carl, his paw-rents, and the other side grand-paw-rents.  I mainly wanted to give Donna and Bob a hug over their lost birdie.

The Prisoner was in fine fettle, having spent the night inside, and ready for his own outdoor adventures.

He's alert, keeping an eye on the sliding glass door to the deck, lest Ember decide to "come say hi".  Ember, in fact, has grown leaps and bounds in the area of "let the kitty get away".  We don't see the big "grooming" sessions anymore.  I don't know how much of this is Prisoner getting his licks in, how much it is Ember knowing Mom will defend the cat, and how much of it is she's just learned it's not all that exciting.  She will still chase him up onto the rail, but then she lets him be.

Ember, meanwhile, was examining the reconfiguration of a "gate" at the bottom of the stairs.  She quickly figured out the towel situation, managed to slide the gate section enough to retrieve a towel, and of course it all fell apart.  While she cooled her heels outside for a bit, I got some empty milk containers from the recycle bin and used them where the towels had been.  This lasted even less time than the towels.

The milk containers became chew toys in short order.  But she did not violate the gate.  My next configuration involved lashing the one end of the "gate" to the newel post with the 18 foot long line. Might as well use it for something, right?

In any case, I don't remember the exact order of events related to the reconfiguration and my thoughts about going on our usual morning walk.  But Ember did not wish to cooperate with getting her harness on.  I was "done" with dealing with teeth and decided to play "ItsYerChoice" for the harness.  You don't want the harness on?  OK, you have chosen NOT to go for a neighborhood walk.

Instead, I took her out in the backyard for games of ball-toss and a little bit of tug with the air-bumper.  She got her exercise, then was wiped out and ready to nap by 8 a.m.  This was about the time (a little before) we would have to leave for the lake adventure.

Given the behavior, I decided to forego the lake trip.  I messaged my DIL that we weren't coming and why.  Secondary, I think since this is Carl's first off leash outing since his injury 3 weeks ago, he really doesn't need Ember distracting him from his own fun.  

I chose instead to reconfigure the X-Pen to protect the rest of the furniture and give Ember a more open "play area".  One that I can gate off when needed.  Here she is, chilling in it, with the "door" removed.

Note the big crate is inside the X-Pen.  She seemed quite content after her nap to chew on her chew sticks inside the pen.  I left it open to let her adjust to it, and when it came time for puppy nap #2, I put her to bed in the big crate, inside the pen.

But before we got to this point... I got a text message from my youngest sister.  Typically, there was no forewarning:  "Just an FYI, I am in Lincoln.  Would love to meet Ember if we can figure out a time that works."  This is my extroverted youngest sister's style.  Very opportunistic, not a plan ahead kind of gal.  Often when she shows up, I'm already fully committed or fully exhausted, one or the other.

Today, I welcomed it.  Ember loves having people come and fawn over her, and I'd just deprived her of the opportunity of a lake trip (although she didn't know that).  I texted back that anytime between then and noon would be fine for a visit.

Thankfully, my family are big on making dogs keep their paws on the ground to get attention.  Jen (sister) also helped me with a few restrained recalls, some of which turned into tug games or fetch games.  I still need to find a more consistent way to deliver the layered training that is supposed to be part of the purpose of this game.

Ember slipped a tooth off the toy and got my hand, so the game ended with me bandaging up again.  She's starting to understand that tooth on mommy in tug ends the game, so I could tell it was not intentional.  I can tell she's being more careful, but she still sometimes has those "oopsies".

We came back in and demonstrated the IYC game with cheese.  Jen told of the therapy dog at her workplace whose handler can put a treat on her nose.  The dog then flips the treat up on cue and catches it in the air.  Awesome, but we are not at that level.  Yet.  Maybe someday.  Or maybe not.  

Jen looked into Ember's eyes and saw some of what I see:  a dog who really wants to be a good dog, just still figuring out all the rules.

I got caught up on family happening... and sis left to go visit her youngest son and his girlfriend at their new apartment.  Always good to get sister-hugs.

Ember and I had our lunch salads, and now she's down for puppy nap #2.  You know, we really needed a quiet day today!

Life is good. Spark on!

Mommy needs a nap, too.

Tuesday was a trainer day for me.  Ember was 11 days post-op and doing very well.  

Tuesday morning's walk was 3/4 of a mile.  We're getting closer to the distances we were walking pre-op.  I think the longest we went was 1.19 miles, toward the end of July.Today we played two rounds of "ItsYerChoice", one with the banana after my workout with the trainer, the other after puppy nap #2 with chicken livers.  Ember ate both breakfast and supper from my hand, but she accepted regular kibble.  In between she spilled the leftover breakfast kibble all over the floor, when I set down her lunch "salad".  It surprised us both!  Later I picked up all the spilled kibble and put it inside the bigger crate.  

Having determined I was trying to move too fast to the "puppy gated community" thing, I am taking that effort more slowly.  Preserve the furniture, even though it is awkward for me, living, for a while.

In the afternoon, I dropped the leash in the backyard (still attached to Ember, but it's just following her around the yard).  I played the first round of ball chasing with her since the surgery.  She was panting after... we have to take this a little slowly, too, to get her into condition.  I am thinking that at some point I'm going to have to wean her off the whipped cream lure for crate time.  My putting medium value treats and kibble into the big crate is part of this attempt.

A couple of nights I had skipped the "last call" outing because Ember was asleep when I went down to put in my eye drops.  It is clear that she can handle the longish overnight time in the crate.  

But that "last call" is like a special bonding thing.  I didn't think I wanted to cease doing it.

Consequently, I went down in the 7 p.m. hour on Tuesday to let her out.  While we were out in the back yard, she came into the reward zone off my right hip, so I gave treats. I was thrilled. She repeated this behavior throughout the back yard as I walked, but when she started playing with the garbage can and I kept walking, it triggered another biting incident.  When I tried the protocol "freeze", she bit my legs, instead of my hands.  When I tried to stroke her, calm her down, get her to let my hands go?  Only partial success.  When I protected the hands by wrapping my arms around my body to "make myself a tree", she went after the legs.

I finally ended up tossing "search" treats to distract her so I could get myself inside and close the sliding door.  I washed and bandaged my hands and observed the blood had smeared onto my shirt when I wrapped my arms around my torso.  Once I was patched up, I let Ember back inside. She was all appeasement face. I was pouty.  

Susan says analyze and make a plan for what you would do to make sure this doesn't happen again.  What could I have done differently?  I could have not been in a hurry to head back inside.  I could have let her take her time in the yard, let her keep playing with the garbage can as reinforcement for walking in the reward zone, until she got whatever energy she needed to expend used up.   

Wednesday report

We had rain overnight.  I snuck down at 3:45 a.m. to turn off the sprinklers that were scheduled to start at 4 a.m.  Then I went back to bed.  I have been shorter on the sleep hours the past week, and felt I needed it.  I had put out a rain gauge on the deck last night after putting Ember to bed, and it had half an inch in it when I got up late and went downstairs about 6 a.m.

A biting episode almost straight out of the crate today.  Tuesday night I had been wearing pajama pants (sweats) when I went down for "last call".  Wednesday morning, I had on a pair of fresh jeans.  I started to connect dots with the triggers of changing to shorts from earlier in July.  I vocalized better Wednesday morning, with a loud "Ouch!" in a higher pitch, so it would sound more like a puppy's yelp.  Ember seemed to go "heads up" when I did that, and we got past the bitey episode.  

I got her outside to take care of business, and then started the Jewish mama "eat, eat your breakfast" drill.  You have to eat at least enough breakfast to satisfy mommy before we can go for walkies!

Then there was the first walk of the morning.  Started out with her digging at "her" anthill.  I figured we might be safe, since it was muddy.  Surely the ants would not be so attractive.  I can hear you laughing on the other side of the screen.  I was wrong.

Then we got to not quite the halfway point of the walk when she saw an aluminum can before I did.  I was not fast enough to stop her from picking it up.  It was one of those mini-soda cans, and she started heading toward home, reversing direction, prancing proudly with her prize.  She stopped after two houses and settled down to destroy it.  Tossing "search" treats did not distract her.  Offering "cookie" with a collar grab did not work.  I decided to save this battle for another day and started picking off the fragments she had already chewed off, and gingerly placing them in my back pockets, avoiding cutting myself on their edges.  Eventually we got past that delay, and got home, about the same time spent as a normal morning walk, but less distance.

Some photos from Wednesday morning.  Cat watch, from two angles.

I would like to mention some of the positives, even while I've been whining about progress we aren't yet making.  With our exercises asking her to strengthen self-discipline, Ember is choosing not to charge at the cat.

However, she does still put her paws up for a better look.

This paws up "looky-loo" isn't just about the cat, it's everywhere.  See what's on the window ledge?  Is that a tennis ball?

Ember likes "big toys" like the empty garbage can (yes, this is the same one from several weeks back in the last teething period).  She also likes grabbing the end of the garden hose and dragging it up or down the deck stairs.

As Susan would say, the more I learn, the smarter my dog becomes.

Life is good.  Spark on!

Too much, too fast!

Oy, what a day!  Or two!  I am a poor, deprived puppy.  I have a hu-mom who escalates training too quickly, because she's learning new stuff.  Too many new things being introduced at once... like that snaky-legged tripod that came in a package on Monday afternoon.

This on top of Mom starting to video our training sessions.  Speaking of which, the training sessions are new.  Mom keeps grabbing my collar and giving me treats.  Not that I mind getting extra treats!

Monday morning during my puppy nap, the CAT came upstairs and flounced around the house and mom didn't even come downstairs when I barked and whined about it.

When she *did* come down, the cat came with her, and she let him outside before she let me out to chase him!

I almost had her convinced to leave food down for me all the time, and today, after hooking up with that online trainer, she stopped doing that.  I gobbled down my supper when she finally put it down at 3:30 p.m.  Even to get her to do that, I had to nibble on her ankles to remind her how hungry I was.

Can I get a trade-in?

Signed,

Ember

P.S. Life is still good.  And I really don't want to trade in my hu-mom!  After all, Mom did save us from that bat on Tuesday when it came up through the garbage disposal... how did it get in there, anyway?  Spark on!

In a two animal household

In safe places, both of them.

Ember knows that she must "let the kitty go".  Some days this message is stronger than others, and I do keep a wary eye on their interactions, for sure.  The past few days have unfolded much like this picture.  Ember shows interest in the kitty (who is on the other side of the door).  I open the lock, which alerts the kitty to get to high ground.  He heads that way.  I open the door a crack, exposing Ember's nose, and the cat completes his journey to a spot Ember cannot reach.

They remain within sight of each other, but Ember does not charge out the door or after the kitty.  Slowly, The Prisoner is winning this battle of "leave it" and Ember is winning the battle of impulse control.

This does not mean I'm going to stop watching over them carefully, at all.

A bright moon greeted us, pre-sunrise.  Sunrise has now retreated to 6:17 a.m.  "Dawn" is about half an hour before sunrise.  I have been trying to start our morning walkies at "quarter to sunrise".

Thursday morning's walk included some pets from a nice man getting into his truck to head for his work.  Ember got the zoomies!  I have no clue for sure as to what caused this particular episode... perhaps her harness got twisted and she was pinched when he bent down and stroked her?  Regardless, she calmed down and we made it home.  

We had a victory over the lawn sprinklers across the street today, walking by them while they were on.  When we got home, we had a brief game of fetch in the back yard for Ember to get a bit of running in.  She needs this faster-than-mom-can-go pace as part of her daily activity.

Another area of progress is playing tug with mom.  I've been using this as a distraction from messing with the slip covers and couch cushion.  First with the towel, and then with the long rope tug.  This morning, she got overexcited and her teeth hit my hand on the long rope tug, and I did just what the trainer said to do... called an end to that game.  For now.  And put the tug rope away.  But the couch remained "safe."

Ember got tired and went down for puppy nap #1 at 7:15 a.m.  This means she was in for 3 hours and 40 minutes by the time I went to my 10 a.m. workout, got home, and changed.  

It was already 86℉ when I got home, so the rest of the day it was short trips outside, fill the puppy pool, and short games of fetch.  We did go for a short second leash walk in the 3 p.m. hour, after puppy nap #2 when it was 94!  

Coming into the house with the AC regularly was a strategy for surviving the heat.  We chilled on the couch, with lots of pets, and she took naps, both in and outside of her "den". 

Summer is back!  It is nearly August, right?

Life is good.  Keep Sparking!

A chill Sunday, although it did get warm

Somebody is still recovering from her very active Saturday with Carl.  Here you see her chilling on the couch with her hu-mom, in front of the TV.  Not sure what that is on the screen.  I flipped around a lot.

We had a couple of very good leash-manners walks.  Mom went on a grocery run in between, where she once again spent more on the animals than on her own groceries.

I brought home another toy for Ember.  The receipt says it is a beaver, but it looked like a bunny to me when I picked it.  She has three "bunnies", now.

Left to right in order of acquisition, the "blanket" bunny came with Ember when she moved in with me, back in March.  The Blue Bunny was a new thing a couple of weeks ago, as I'm investing in toys that she can chew on instead of chewing on me or the furniture.  The one on the right is new today.  

Looking at it with the perspective of what it said on the receipt, I can force cast it as a beaver, but it still looks very "bunny" to me, except for the tail.  But that tail does not scream "beaver" to me either.

I let Ember nap outside the crate after walk #2, from about noon to 2, that's when the TV watching snap was taken.  In fact, I nodded off for a few minutes during that session.

But I needed to deal with trash bags, and that is something that historically Ember has been a pill around, so I tucked her in.  She didn't want to go, but she didn't put up much of a fight, either.  I'm thinking I need to get some laundry started, too.

When I let her out again, and we had another brief afternoon time of outside the crate.  She was calm and left the kitty alone even with the sliding door open and clear line of sight to kitty's perch.

We went out and played a bit of fetch, and she did her business, both kinds before coming back in.  

I cooked and ate my own supper while she chewed on a chew stick.  

Then this happened:  she went into her crate and pulled out the pupsicle, and brought it to me.  I looked at her:  "You want me to put a dollop of whipped cream on it?"

I did so, put it back in the way back of the crate, and she trotted right in, four paws and the tail.  She's a tired puppy and ready for routine to be observed!

Life is Good!

Keep on Sparking!

A busy Friday and a doggy Saturday

The plumbing inspector showed up as scheduled at 9 a.m.  He inspected both the shower conversion and the hot water heater installation.  He signed off on the shower, but found the gas line hookup for the hot water heater to be not up to code.  Therefore, I will have another visit coming from the plumber!  AND another inspection visit!

The bug guy arrived about 11 a.m., and quite proficiently 1) helped me lure Ember into her crate for puppy nap #2, 2) treated the inside of the house entirely, from basement to upper story, 3) treated the outside of the house, with special focus on the deck railing where those yellow jackets were harassing the animals.  He came back to the door afterward to let me know that there could be some yellow jackets come back to the nest over the next few hours, dying after the colony as a whole, since they were out foraging when he knocked the nest down and treated it.  "Keep the pets away for about 45 minutes if you can"... from the outside treatment.  The inside treatment is eco-friendly, and we had removed any pet food (human food too) and water from wherever was being treated.

The cement truck drove up in the early afternoon.

The work crew was clearly experienced with one another.  Each one took on his role with precision, right down to business.  Not a lot of talk.  It was like watching a ballet.

Then it was like icing a cake, smoothing everything out!

And in the end, it is out there drying and setting.  Keep the puppy paws away!

The water softener salt delivery brought up the rear, taking two bags from Sam, the first female tech I've had from this firm.  She did pamper Ember a bit while I signed off on the delivery.  I gave her treats with which to ply the pup.

Ember ran out of steam not too long after and went "to bed" in her crate at about 4:30 p.m. while I had my supper.

Saturday shuffle

Ember's morning walk was a bit on the short side, due to the early arrival time for Carl.  Both dogs were super excited about this visit, although they have no clue about time or anything of that nature.

My son, as he was leaving, both dogs rolling about having a blast, said, "This may be the first time he doesn't even notice I'm leaving!"  

Anyway, they wore each other out in short order, but Ember doesn't always realize when she's worn out.    

She was having nothing to do with the idea of going into the den.  Not even whipped cream and extra treats could outdo having a real live Carl to wrestle with!

Eventually, I shut Carl out in the back yard, on the deck, while I lured her into her crate for puppy nap #1, at about 8 a.m.

She fussed about her confinement longer than usual, but I just went about my business (like updating this blog entry).

 

I let Carl back in to chill on his own, with a treat.  Now I have to scoot, as Carl is barking.  Cross your fingers for us.

Life is Good.  Spark on!

 

A quiet Thursday

 

Look... the guys came to frame up the sidewalk for concrete Thursday afternoon.  Ember wanted to go out and "supervise" but this crew did not seem to welcome her presence, so we went back into the backyard and played a little fetch.

It looks very nice at this point, but it will look much better once the concrete is poured (hopefully tomorrow afternoon).

Friday is going to be a day of comings and goings here in Emberville.  We not only have the bug guys (scheduled for between 10 a.m. and noon), but also the plumbing inspector (scheduled for 9 a.m.) and a delivery of water softener salt, which is not scheduled, they just call when they are getting close to our neighborhood.

Saturday will be the big challenge of Carl arriving at 6:30 a.m. and staying until 6 p.m. while my son and his wife go to a funeral service several hours' drive away.  It will be a good solid test of our future hopes of having the dogs share quarters when one owner or the other has commitments or travel.

How two dogs with two separate sets of needs and rules will survive sharing one human... Ember normally takes 3 crate naps in a day... we shall see how that holds up under the temptation of having the big dog present.  Carl is used to being allowed pretty much free rein at Grandma's house but being handed the toys.  Ember now has her bin of always available toys, which Carl will clearly be able to find and nab, too.  So far in each of their shared visits they have not shown any signs of "resource guarding" as one online trainer I tune in to calls it.

Both have pretty good manners as far as letting me cook and waiting their turns for their share (I always make sure there is at least a little that is their share).  I'll see if they eat each other's dog food, etc. and if they are good at recognizing the need for a break in play and "go to your corner".  Carl doesn't have a "corner" at my house, but Ember definitely does (her den/crate).  Thank goodness I now have the fenced back yard available to separate the two if needed!

If necessary, plan B is to call in the reserves, in the form of my daughter in law's parents, who would willingly "dog-sit" Carl at his own house if things go South here.  I am hopeful that things will go well.  And I am really glad that my son will be able to attend this particular funeral.

If it turns out I don't have time to blog again until Sunday, well, I figure you'll all understand!

Life is good.  Spark on!

Saturday was even hotter

 And Sunday is predicted to be over 100 degrees Fahrenheit here.  It was already 88 before noon on Saturday.

I put the puppy pool on the shed pad in the far corner of the yard and dragged the hose out to fill it.

Ember had her own ideas, as labs are wont to do.  She had already gnawed holes in this pool, so when filled, it is leaking.  She lapped from within the pool, and lapped at the leaks, and lapped at the hose before I got it turned off, too.

But it was a good mental exercise for her, between puppy naps.  She took hold of the end of the hose and dragged it all the way to the deck, up the stairs, and into the house (until I put it back out and explained that puppy can come in, but hose cannot).

The hose's brief visit to "inside".

While Ember was snoozing puppy nap #1, I dashed out to Menard's and bought a new puppy pool.  It's hot pink.  

I also swung by the Humane Society to drop off some things I got from Chewy that weren't a good fit for Ember, but undoubtedly will come in handy for the pets in need at the shelter.

Ember wanted to go out the front door, on leash, and we went and visited with Susan, next door, who greeted and petted Ember.  She used to have a lab prior to the dog she has now.  A lot of folks who have had labs in the past and have fond memories of their former dogs make a big deal over my puppy, and she soaks it all in!

Later in the afternoon, we chilled on the couch together.  Moments like this are why one gets a dog, and they make up for the frustrating times when teething and miscommunication get in the way.  Nothing matches the love of a dog and his or her human!

Onward to Sunday, where it's predicted to top the century mark.  Ember got up in the 5 a.m. hour, we worked the treat/toy puzzle, got out on walk #1 at 5:57 a.m.  She was a bit intimidated by dogs barking from their balconies and fences, bit dogs she'd felt a little scare of before, but with treats, gentle talk, and patience we made it past those obstacles.  In the end, and elderly gentleman invited her for pets and treats.  He has a 12-year-old lab himself and his son walks the dog, as he is no longer able.  But little 5 1/2-month-old Ember, he was happy to greet!

When we got home, she went nuts over the dust mop, which I somehow rescued.  She got hold of the purple people eater (again) and I monitored her taking it apart while I cooked my own breakfast.  When she was safely back in her crate for puppy nap #1, I put the dust mop and the purple people eater back together and put them "away".  I'm trying to preserve the purple people eater for an experiment in cooperative play with Carl.

Anyway, time for a bit of a nap while she's napping!  Wish us well as the heat warning continues through Monday evening!

Life is good.  Spark on!

Some cool memories on a hot day

 

Y'all saw this one filled with "clear liquid" during my June preparations for medicalizing.  Today it's about five fluid ounces of diet caffeine free cola.  But I'm serving it to myself in my "Kevin memorial" wine glass, from the last race that we participated in on the same day:  he PR'd the marathon distance that day.  I just plodded through the half, being grateful that only 3 marathoners (who gave us both half the distance and a half hour head start) passed me before I crossed the finish line.

This was me.  It rained at the start and got warm as we ran.

Somewhere I have the photo of Kevin ringing the bell for his PR...

A-hah!  Here it is!  I took this photo.  He knew he was on PR pace as he came over the bridge to the finish line street, so that smile is his incredible joy in that accomplishment!

Friday "loose ends" of home improvement

Nate stopped by in the afternoon, fixed the gate post, reset the wobbly step, and added to the downspout extension on the other side of the house.  Still waiting on the sidewalk cement pouring, but for the most part going to call it "done".  The budget will not stand for anything more.  Have to save the emergency fund for a real emergency at this point!

Saturday morning report

I decided this is the day:  Ember must learn to accept me in shorts and not shred my leg skin!  So I braced myself and went downstairs.

She started to gnaw on the socks (ankles), yes, but I had treats ready, reminded her that this is mommy, the same mommy, I'm just dressed differently.  Mommy's the one who gives you treats and kibble, little one.

She was hungry this morning, so didn't have as much trouble getting her to eat before walkies.  We survived a Saturday morning walk in a humid 74 degree day.  On the minus side, she continued the destruction of the wingback chair, and got it down to the wood, removing a piece and exposing staples.  So, I let The Prisoner distract Ember on the deck while I cleaned up and removed the chair from my parlor.  It's now sitting in the garage and will go out with next week's trash.  I have determined it is not salvageable.  At least not within my own skill set.  Sigh.

I got to puppy nap #1 (she's in the crate).  Pray for our HOT weekend ahead, as we're predicted to be back in triple digits on Sunday.

Life may have its ups and downs, but Life is Good!  Spark on!

If you thought it was over, it was not!

 

Next phase of home improvements underway.  This is supposed to help with the drainage process.

There will be a "catch basin", and then a pipe out to the street, and the new sidewalk will be raised higher, so that it doesn't puddle there.

It's Wednesday.  While the workmen were digging the old sidewalk out, Ember and I went to puppy class.  Ember was into just lying there and watching, today.  Until "Puppy play time" and then she was all in.

One major advantage of puppy classes is the interaction with other puppy parents.  Swapping experiences, I discovered that the bleeding associated with teething is not an aberration, they saw it, too, those whose pups are a month or so older than Ember.

Ember got "in trouble" before puppy class, early in the morning, after our walk, for gnawing on the Wingback chair cushions again.  While she was in her "safe space" and I cleaned up, I took a bit of a reading break out on the paver patio and look who came to visit my quiet time!

The wingback chair has been stripped of its cushion, but the slipcover and pet protector put back on, in the hopes of deterring worse damage to the arms of it.

I have the cushion up in my room, along with a pillow that I had loosely been using to substitute for the first incursion into its innards, which was done by the "dog of my heart", Diamond, probably 15 or more years ago.  Ember has merely extended Diamond's efforts.

Another new toy distracts her for a while.  If I have to invest some bucks in toys to destroy while teething to save my furniture, so be it!

Ember went out with me to "supervise" the men at work.  She laid in the shade, watching.  So much more entertaining than being in the house, even though it is cooler there.  While doing so, she would lean up against my leg, which of course made me feel all melty and forgiving of anything she might do as a puppy.

Alicia came for her after-work visit and chat.  Ember was eating her supper and then clearly ready to go to bed, so I fixed her bedtime treat and put her away.  Alicia and I sat and chatted, letting the puppy settle herself in.

Mother nature proceeded to give us a little bit of rain Wednesday evening, and I gave Ember her "last call" around 8 p.m.  I went out to check on the work site after, and had to reset up one of the cones.  I also tested the "catch basin/pipe" by pouring the dehumidifier tank into it.  Woohoo!  It drained to the street!

Thursday's challenge?  Another trainer day for me, and the guys will be coming back to hopefully fix the wobbly step and the gate post.

Life is good.  Spark on!

Sunday for real today

 Holiday weeks always throw off my Monday to Friday meter.  This past week has seemed like it had Sunday the third, Sunday the fourth, Sunday the fifth, Sunday the sixth... and now it's Sunday the 7th which is "for real Sunday".  Hopefully tomorrow my meter will be reset to Monday!

Ember came out of her den a few minutes before 5 a.m., calm and peaceful of demeanor.  I had already escorted The Prisoner down to his luxury suite and fed him, emptied the dehumidifier, and in general followed the normal morning routine.  Ember and I went outside, she found the soggy tennis ball, and just laid on the patio for a bit before deciding to go do her business.  Then she came inside and started playing with Foxy the rope-centered toy while I fixed my coffee.

She even ate her breakfast without much prompting.  We went outside again, for a second pee, and she gnawed on a small branch for a bit.  At about quarter of six, her inner alarm went off and she knew it was almost time for her leash walk.  We came inside, and went through that entire protocol:  put on the harness (get treats), sat at the front door (treat), let mom have "her end of the leash", waited for mom to close and lock the door, and Ember was attentive the entire walk.  We did an "out and back" route, which is always deceptive in its length (to me).  But we were on sidewalks on blocks that Ember had not seen or sniffed before, so, extra enrichment!

The photo is of Ember a little after 7 a.m., snoozing in the arch between the living room and the dining room, with her towel for comfort..  I just left her there, have not put her into her den.  Her grooming drop off time is 9 a.m. and I'm plotting a grocery list for while she's there.  

She woke up a little after 8, and we toss the tennis balls a couple of times, but I tried to keep it sedate.  I dropped her with Tony the groomer at 9 a.m. and she greeted him with a full back end tail wag, both sides (which is dog body language says she's very happy to see him)!

While she was gone, I didn't run errands, not even the groceries I was starting to plot before she went.  I watched the House of the Dragon episode from last week and nibbled more of the banana bread than I normally allot.  Some with peanut butter.

About 11 a.m. I got the text message that she was ready, so I headed over, and she greeted me with the same whole back-end wag.  Can you honestly tell the difference?  My nose can... coconut scented shampoo.  Tony said she was very sweet the whole process.  I'm thinking a spa day every 6-8 weeks, for life?

She was wiped out and I let her just chill on the kitchen floor, after having gone out for a quick pee when we got home.  By the way, the first place she headed in the back yard?  The sandbox!

The rest of the afternoon was pretty quiet.  We did go out a couple of times to attempt to see if she needed to poo.  No dice on the poo, but she dutifully peed.  We took a second leash walk in the 2 p.m hour.  It was hot but not as beastly as week before last.  The fireworks debris has been redistributed and different bits appeal to the pup!  We played "chase the treat" around the block, almost the whole way.

She went into her crate with no arguments at 4:19 p.m.  I think she might have eaten 1/3 of her dinner before that.  I've kind of devolved into "free feeding" for her.  I put her meals down at specific times, but I leave it down and she eats when she's hungry.  Given the poo situation, I'll make a point to try an outside break before I bed down myself.

Anniversaries this week

28 years ago today, my mother died.  A year and a day later, Alicia's daughter was born.  49 years ago this coming Wednesday was when I became an Auntie for the first time, when my older sister gave birth.  Just goes to show how the cycles of time and life events blend into a tapestry over the years.

All told, Life is Good!  Spark on!