wink wink, nudge nudge

Bella in a winker. It is one of her hidden talents. The other day, Scott and I were in the living room discussing what we were going to do and whether we were going to take the dogs. Bella was staring at us intently. Scott said, "If you can understand what we are saying, wink." She did.


We are still waiting to discover Lulu's talents. In the running so far are: being ridiculously cute, not having an accident for six days straight (always six, NEVER seven) and bugging the bejesus out of Bella.

Bella may lose her Huskaroo modeling contract

Bella has been battling a weight issue for a while, about 3 years. About 3 weeks ago, at her vet appointment, she got on a scale for the first time in those few years. Like any reasonable girl, she loathes scales and has just refused to get on one so I just guessed her weight. I always said about 85 pounds. This time the vet tech lifted her onto the scale and I about fell over when the scale said 99 pounds!!!!

Over the years we have tried everything to get the weight off and nothing has worked. We even went as far as hiring a "doggy personal trainer." She already had a fabulous dog walker but this guy ran with the dogs. If you look at the website you'll see photos of him running with groups of dogs. What you won't see is a photo of Bella. Why? He probably forgot to pick her up that day (and several others).

We tried different foods, reduced the amount she was eating, got her thyroid tested, exercised her more, but still nothing. When she was boarding with her breeder I got an email (on vacation) calling me an irresponsible pet owner. I know she had Bella's best interest at heart, but I was crushed as I live for this dog and was trying everything I knew to get the weight off.

So fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and I finally decided that I was going to try the raw diet for her. I am not really into handling raw meat, even for my dinner, so I chose the "cheaters" raw diet which is already made up and frozen into patties for you. In the first 2 weeks she lost 3.5 lbs and I am thrilled. I am starting to see a difference and there is a definite increase in her energy level. I personally don't care what she looks like but I want her to be healthy and live forever like she promised me she would do.




Not a very good before picture but you get the idea. Also, my car is NOT emerald green. I know it looks emerald green but I really wouldn't buy an emerald green car. Not that there is anything wrong with it.

Dear Lulu

Dear Lulu,

I was just wondering if you could give me a little insight into why the idea of going potty outside is such a complicated concept to grasp. Sometimes it seems as though you have mastered it and I get really excited only to be let down again and again. Why do you take this joy from me?

And yesterday, could you please explain yesterday? The back door is open, you go outside and do your business then decide halfway through to come back in and finish inside. Is it the rug? I know the rug is ugly. I do not need a reminder of actual fecal matter on it to convince me of what you think of it. I agree.

If you could, please try and remember that an open door means that it is quite possible to walk through it and go potty in the yard. Going near the door is not quite what we are looking for. I know that you are very busy and have a lot on your plate but if you could just give this matter a bit of attention it would be greatly appreciated.

Yours truly,

Kelli

Note to my husband...

Dear Scott,
Is this allowed? I came out from my shower and this is what I found. I know that she is not allowed on the leather couch and she is allowed on the sunroom couch but we have never discussed chairs.
Please advise,
Kelli

It's 9 am. Do you know where your dog is?

Well if your dog happens to be Bella and it is a rainy morning I can tell you where she is. Hiding under a blanket pretending not to exist so that no one makes her go outside where it is, God forbid, WET.

Lulu just went in and started barking at her. This could be good. :-)

Enough.

It is unbelievably humid here today so I decided to take the girls on a hike near the water. We went to Bull Creek where there is a large, shallow area that dogs wade and play in. Most Ridgebacks are not especially fond of water and Bella is no exception. She will get her paws wet but that is about it. 

We were wading around and everybody was ooh-ing and aah-ing about the cute puppy. Then the cute puppy (Lulu) decides she is going to take a swim. Full on, doggy-paddling swim. It was pretty darn cute and all the people were clapping and showering her with attention. At this point Bella had enough. She had been standing on the sidelines watching and, after Lulu's ovation, she, I kid you not, gave me an "Really, I have had just about enough of this" look and trotted down the trail towards the car, which was not exactly close.

Bella is not what I would consider an independent dog. She is my side-kick and sticks pretty darn close. I figured she was just around the corner but when I went to the trail she was just trotting down it with no intention of coming back. I rounded Lulu up and headed after Bella and her wounded pride.

Bella has been an only-dog for 4 1/2 years. She is used to being showered with attention and adoration. She is a very pretty dog and is used to being told so often. Since the arrival of Lulu Bella has certainly had to take a back seat to her, which she has done very gracefully and without complaint. I'm sure hearing how cute and darling and sweet the puppy is all the time wears on her last nerve and, for those of you who think that she doesn't know what they are saying, you would be mistaken.

Bella has made me proud of what a good big sister she is. She doesn't complain when she gets accosted by puppy teeth at 7 am, not when Lulu follows her EVERYWHERE so she can't even do her business in private, not even when Crazypants tries to steal her food. She is truly a good, good girl and I can only hope that Lulu grows up to be like Bella.

Why I want to be more like my dog.

The Guru

I had an epiphany yesterday. Bella, Lulu, and I went for a little hike at Turkey Creek. It was perfect weather, not too hot, not too cold, with Bella and Lulu running through the trees playing chase. At one point they were a bit far back so I called them to come. I turned around and saw Lulu, not running towards me but HAULING as fast as she could with her little puppy run, mouth hanging open. That is when I got it.

Lulu knows how to live life. Everything she does, she does with extreme enthusiasm. She wakes up, albeit a bit too early for my taste, incredible ready and eager to start the day. She races out of her crate, down the hall, and out the door to go potty then back to the kitchen for breakfast. She literally LEAPS for joy with all four paws off the ground while waiting for her breakfast. We tell her to stop but I am not sure she is physically, or maybe mentally, able to. While she eats her breakfast her tail is going back and forth so hard and fast it is amazing it doesn't throw her off balance.

Then it is time to play. Whether it be with Bella or some poor stuffed thing about to meet it's demise, she goes at it with gusto. She will go all the way down the hallway so that she can turn around and run as fast as she can down the hallway to project herself into the air and onto poor Bella. Then she will try to get onto the couch but, instead of trying to push off with her back legs, she jumps off all four legs sending her straight up and not quite making it to her intended target. That is how she is, all day, everyday. She is like a party waiting to happen. I'm pretty sure that no one has ever said that about me.

Watching her yesterday, chasing Bella around the trees, with no real chance of catching her but not caring one bit, I realized that I really do want to be more like Lulu.

So there it is. Life lessons from a 14 week old puppy who seems to have mastered the secret to happiness. I'll take that. Happily.

Sneak Peak- Organic Bed

This is a first-round sample for my new organic dog bed. It has inside-out seams and I'm really happy with how it turned out and pretty proud of my new silk screening skills. Now off to LA to find the perfect fabric.

A very popular pillow

I had an 18" dog bed made as a sample not realizing that it was way too small for any sort of "real" dog. The only dog that would fit on it was one of those mini dogs that seem to function more as accessories than dogs and rarely are seen sitting in the corner on a dog bed.

When Lulu came home she was 12 pounds and, voila, fit perfectly on the pillow. For about a week. Even though she doesn't really fit on the pillow anymore, she still uses it quite a bit. This is not, by the way, out of necessity, as there are at least 5 large beds spread throughout our not very large house.
(Sidenote- The sweater was a moment of weakness. She was so tiny and it was really cold that day and she looked pretty cute)

Well yesterday I was working on the computer and Bella was feeling a bit vulnerable after being clocked in the eye full force with a Chuck-It (those plastic things used to throw tennis balls for the non-athletic types). So I turn around and she is sitting on top of the mini-pillow with her not exactly small rear end barely fitting on the pillow. Then she decided to lay down and take a nap on the mini-pillow.

I love that dog. :-)

Stop and smell (or eat) the bluebonnets

Bluebonnet season is in full force here and Lulu met her first bluebonnets the other day. She gave them a good whiff... then chowed them.