Thankful: My Only Man of the Hour

It's hard to believe that exactly a week from today will be Thanksgiving Day. When November 1st came, the end of the month seemed so far a way, and yet here we are, almost at the end.

As is my habit, starting today I will begin a countdown of the things I'm most grateful for, from the mundane to the hugely important. Given my current computer situation, the next seven days of posts may be a little less detailed than normal, but hey, a little is better than nothing at all, right?

Right.

So today, I am thnakful for my man of the hour. Actually my man of any hour. The guy who, my sister informed me today, started looking for me 5 minutes at a time out of the blinds in our living room when it got to be past the time I normally come home.

My cuddle buddy, pillow, wordless comedian, daily alarm clock, perfect listener, unrepentant kisser, and the best friend any single gal could have...ladies and gentlemen of blog land...today I am thankful for my doggie companion Mr. Oliver!

To him I dedicate this blusey ballad sung by Ms. Norah Jones, who is also a fellow dog lover.
Listen to the lyrics...hysterically cute and SO perfect!

A Thief Amongst Us

It's been quite some time since I've written about my beloved little dog, Oliver. Some of you may have been wondering whether he still exists. I'm happy to inform you that he is alive and well and up to his usual shenanigans. His usual shenanigans being the theft of anything made of paper. Or terry cloth. Or nylon.

My bed sits pretty high above the ground and my dear little Oliver's favorite past time seems to be rooting through the garbage in my bathroom, or my sister's bathroom and pulling out tissues and other artifacts and then running as fast as he can to the safe zone underneath my bed. The safe zone is dead center, where he is exactly out of my arm's reach. He has perfected this skill.

So today as I was tidying up around the apartment, I decided that I would get a broom and push out all of the artifacts that he has so lovingly collected over the last few weeks. This was what resulted...

As you can see this is an assortment of tissues, napkins, a soap box, a knee high stocking, candy wrappers, and who knows what else. This was spread out underneath my queen sized bed. Ri-dic-u-lous! And the worst part is that he KNOWS he's wrong! LoL. That's why as soon as I hear him rummaging through the garbage can and say sternly, "Oliver!" the rummaging promptly stops and I hear the clicking of doggy toenails high-tailing it across the tile in the bathroom, scurrying as fast they can to safety underneath the bed where he can chew in peace on his new found treasure.

Hard to believe that this angelic looking little dog could wreak the havoc you saw in the picture above. Haha!

And In Other News...

Busy, busy busy. So much to think about, so much to do, yet so little time to do it. The 30th of this month will begin one of the busiest weeks of my year as our church has its annual summer convention. I have been asked to step into a new role in ministering with the kid's program and I'm working like a dog trying to get everything just right....prayers would be much appreciated Blog Land! I love kids...it is when they are at this vulnerable and malleable time in their lives that they are most receptive to the message of Jesus and His great Love for them. I'm hoping and praying that God will give me the words to speak and that His Love will shine through me to His precious little ones. 


In other wonderland news....well...there is nothing new lol. 


Work is still long. The kids are still a little crazy. They make me more than a little insane each day. My dog has separation anxiety from the long hours. The money is still fabulous. My sister deserted me for a condo on the beach in Florida for the week. I still believe I live a charmed life. I love it. I love Jesus more everyday! 


That's the report for today...!

Old Dog...New Tricks

One of my new year's resolutions was to be a better pet owner. 


When I first got Oliver, 3 years ago, I was a dedicated mommy. I took him to the vet to get his shots regularly and enrolled him in a puppy obedience training course. During that time, I wasn't working, so until he was about 6 months old, I was home with him all the time. We worked on sit/stay, come, down, and leave it on a regular basis. He learned how to walk on a leash the proper way. 


But that ladies and gentlemen of the world, was 3 years ago...and a lot has happened in that time. Oliver no longer demands as much attention and is finally house trained and knows, in general, what behaviors are acceptable and are not. Because of my fluctuating financial status over the last 2 years, I have slipped in making sure that his medical needs are attended to...I decided it was time to do better. So, today, we made the first trip to the vet since 2010. 


Courtesy Pedicure: $0.00
Full Physical Exam/Office Visit: $38.75
Corona Virus Vaccine: $19.50
Rabies Vaccine: $16.20
Fecal Exam: $16.80
Heartworm/Lyme/E.Canis Test: 32.60
HeartGuard Plus: 6.97


Grand Total? $130.52


*Sigh* Ouch. Well, you know that old quote, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."


So now that he's all squared away in the medical department, we are now addressing the behavioral aspect. The top issue is that he thinks he is the Alpha dog in the house. Well...he thinks that because, in reality, he is. I can blame no one but myself because I've enabled his behavior. 


My problem, and many other dog owner's problems, is that we tend to humanize our dogs. Treating them as our babies because it fulfills us emotionally, all the while forgetting that this dog is a creature with instinctual needs that must be met. 


Dogs are pack animals. That is their God given nature, and in a pack there is only 1 leader...the Alpha. He leads and the pack follows. When we first began training Oliver, we used Cesar's Way. Cesar Millan is a famous dog psychologist, also known as the Dog Whisperer. Cesar's way is based upon the notion that the human, must be the pack leader, or else your little precious poochie will be running the house before you know it. 


You may be asking, "well, how do I know if my dog is exhibiting dominating behavior?"


Here are some signs:
Stubbornness
Pushing a toy into you or your hand in order to get you to play with them
Sitting in high places and looking down on everything
Barking or whining at humans
High pitched screams in protest of something the dog does not wish to do
Persistence about walking in front of a human when on a leash
Persistence about going through doorways first
Not listening to known commands
Standing proud on a human lap


You may be thinking, "Oh, those are just cute little quirks dogs have." Uh, would you be saying that if you have a big rottweiler, and he pulls you down the street every time he's on the leash? The fact is that we have to stop relating to our dogs on a human level. They are NOT people! Don't mistake me, I'm not saying that in order to establish dominance that you have to be mean to your dog. What I am saying, however, is that just as a dog in the wild has respect for their pack Alpha, they should also have the same respect for you. Firmness, consistency, confidence, patience, and love are the keys to having a dog who is a happy member(not leader) of your family pack. 


If you're interested in learning more about dog psychology and learning how to better manage your dog's behavior, below are some links you might find helpful.


It's never to late for an old dog to learn some new tricks!

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/articles/dominatebehaviorsdogs.htm

http://www.cesarsway.com/

Waiting for Me

My darling sister has a penchant for leaving our patio blinds open at night...when the lights are on in the living room and kitchen. 


I guess you can probably imagine what that means.


 Yes, that's right. The whole world can see into our living room, dining room, and kitchen. 


Obviously, this doesn't bother her at all, but I definitely have a problem with the occupants of our apartment complex viewing me in my jammies and head scarf. Ha. 


Anyways. As I drove up the street that leads to the parking lot in front of our building, the first thing to catch my eye was, of course, our living room. 


I rolled my eyes. I mean really...it's like fighting a losing battle.  


As I pulled into a parking space, my eyes rose to our patio window. Just barely visible was a little head. I chuckled to myself. An uninformed passerby may have just assumed that the brown blob was a piece of furniture, but it was, in fact Oliver, my mini dachshund. As I got out of the car, I saw him rise to a standing position. As I walked toward the stairwell,  he turned away from the patio door. By the time I had turned my key in the lock and pushed the door open, Ollie was there... tail wagging, with that happy doggy look on his face that can only be described as a grin. 


That welcome home was worth every minute of the year that it took to house train him. 


Don't get me wrong. He still drives me crazy with his incessant chewing. His thievery of my unmentionables and socks. His barking at anything that moves when we're outside. The way he pretends he doesn't know what the words "come here" or "get down" or "stop" mean. His stubbornness.


All that notwithstanding, he is a good dog and sweet natured. He loves to be with people and loves when people come to our house to visit. If he's sitting by you, he has to be touching you. At this very moment he's literally laying on my feet. Ha. 


I'm sure he didn't spend the entire 8 hours that I was at work sitting by the patio waiting for me to come home...but it was definitely nice to know that he was there waiting for me when I did. 


As corny as it may sound, that wagging tail and doggy grin pretty much made my night. 

Whoever said money can't buy happiness, forgot about little puppies.

-Gene Hill

The Dachshund Chronicles: Part 2

He gets underfoot in the kitchen. I've almost broken an ankle trying to avoid rupturing his spleen. He steals my underwear, socks, and scarves from my closet, and then hides under the bed where he can chew them to shreds incognito(or so he thinks). He eats entire toilet paper rolls, leaving the house covered in shreds of paper. He thinks my house guests are there solely to play with him.

Yes, world...I am talking about my dog.

Some days we have a love/hate relationship. On the day when everything at work has gone completely wrong, and I come home to find something in shreds or a puddle of pee on the floor, I want to hang a sign from my balcony that says, " Free Miniature Dachshund. I'll pay YOU to take him off my hands."

There is a quote that says, " Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole". I am not one of those dog owners who dresses my dog up to take him out for a walk, or feeds him gourmet pet food that costs more than my groceries do in a week. I bathe and groom him myself. I buy him perhaps one new toy a month. Although he has an immaculate pedigree, I do not show him in dog shows. To me he is simply my Oliver.

As a single woman, I definitely have my lonely days. And it is those times, when having someone, even if it is a dog, greet you at the door that is heart warming and special. Did I mention he gives hugs? Seriously. My routine after work is to take Ollie out, throw one of his toys around with him for a while, and then sit on the couch to read emails, check snail mail, etc...generally unwinding from the work day. As I sit there, Oliver will hop up on to the couch beside me, at first, and then after about 30seconds he will crawl into my lap, raise up on his hind legs as he places his 2 front paws on my shoulders, and nuzzles his little head into the crook of my neck. And there he will sit, for as long as feels I need it. I've laughed into his fur, as well as cried.

Yes, he requires a lot of work. At times, especially during the house training process, I felt as though I had acquired a 2 year old child instead of a pet. He slept a lot during the day, and kept me up with his  barking at night, and he rrelieved himself whenever and wherever he felt the need. Oh yes, he's grown past that puppy stage, but he still has his moments that completely enrage me...but on the whole...he's a good dog...the most attentive listener, the best secret keeper, and a constant friend.

It's the little in things life, World, that makes this crazy thing called life a little more bearable.

The Dachshund Chronicles

Yesterday as I was preparing to leave my apartment, I decided to put a fresh garbage bag in our nearly overflowing garbage can. (SN: I think we need to buy a new one altogether, the current can has a strange odor that, so far, even bleach hasn't been able to conquer.) Sitting next to the door leading out of the apartment were a banker box, filled with left over Christmas wrapping paper, and a garbage bag containing what I think was an assortment of clothes and trash. Let me just say that my Little(sister, yes I call her that even though she's 20), had put this bag in front of the door 3 days before, and had proceeded to go past it about 50 times a day without taking it to the compactor. So, being fed up, I decided to take it out myself.

Wearing my huge winter coat, my purse on my arm,  2 garbage bags and a banker box in my hands, I struggled to get the door open. I sat some of the things down on the floor, repositioned my purse, and picked them up again, as my dog, Oliver, danced around my feet, and generally got in my way. As I got everything together, and at last opened the door, Ollie shot out of it before I even realized what had happened. He flew down the stairs and around the corner of the apartment building. I dropped my purse, the box and the bags, and ran down as fast as I could. My neighbor had gotten out of his car just in time to see Ollie go by in a red blur. " I think he's in Indianapolis by now" he said. Funny guy. 

I looked toward the end of the building and there was Oliver...still running and barking like a crazy dog the whole time. Everyone who was outside stopped and turned to look to see what all the commotion was . I stood in one spot and yelled for Oliver to come( I have learned the pointlessness of chasing after him...he thinks it's a game). At last he stopped barking and ran back in my direction. I reached out to grab him as he ran by me but my hand merely grazed his tail, fortunately, it was enough to slow him down. I took a lunge forward and grabbed him. "Caught ya!"

We made our way back up the stairs, waded through the box, it's lid now scattered across the landing, the hastily thrown down garbage bags, and my purse. I yelled, "Bad dog!", gave his nose a few swats, and then put him in his kennel, his roaming privileges for the afternoon revoked. 

I re-gathered the garbage and put it into the car. As I sat there trying to catch my breath, I couldn't help but start to giggle. Oliver had simply gone insane for a few minutes. I mean, wouldn't we all love to be allowed the luxury to do that? Go running in reckless abandon down the street, screaming incoherently along the way? Teehee. With that thought in mind, I couldn't stay mad at my little Doxie for long. Just another day in the life!

My Oliver(he's a miniature long-haired dachshund).