ETS

Escaped tongue syndrome, commonly known as ETS, has infected Bo this afternoon. :)

We had a pretty active day and both Bo and Bella were exhausted! I wanted them to be outside and enjoy the beautiful spring weather, but they decided they would enjoy it just as well behind closed eyelids. I spent a little bit of time with each pup giving ear rubs, pets and general loving. As I approached Bo, I saw his tongue just hanging all out, no shame. I started laughing so hard, I was sure he would have sucked it right back in, but no... he apparently wanted it out to tan. Good thing I had my camera on hand, I just had to share the laugh!

Snoozing, innocently enough

A quick peek...

I almost missed it

But there it is, for all the world to see

Full blown ETS. :D

Lounging by the pool

We got a pool! Well, not a big pool… or really even a people pool. We got a dog pool. Yes, I know, I spoil them, but this was so much fun for me that I can’t say it was just for them. We checked all over town looking for this simple little plastic pool, but I was surprised that only one place had them. Everywhere else had the inflatable pool, which would have been popped right away if I had gotten that type, so not an option. I somehow managed on getting this large pool into the back of my little 4 door and couldn't wait to get it home for the dogs to try out. It was a little gamble though because they are both quite repelled of water, but it was warm enough that I thought they just might give it a try. At first Bo put the brakes on when I was leading him to the water. His previous bath experiences were enough to shy him from any water. But once he got his toes in he was loving it! He sniffed it a little bit, and snagged a couple of sips

He took a couple of moments to get used to the temperature and shake off any loose drops that had gotten on him:

After he was ok with the temp of the water he started to settle in, doing circles to find the perfect spot:

And finally lying down:

When he finally got cool enough he jumped out to shake, and then got really squirrelly, taking off all over the yard running at full speed!

Bella Bean, never one to turn down a chase, took advantage of Bo’s spurt of energy:

Bo, still running:

Bella Close Behind:

After the big chase, Bo was ready for another dip in the pool (with his now big muddy paws). Bella Bean was a bit intrigued with the pool. What was it? Why was Bo laying almost completely submerged in it? Is it good to drink? So as Bo eased himself back into the water, Bella took little steps into the pool:

Even after he got out, she kept investigating

But alas, she didn’t trust the water enough to get all the way in, just splashing around in it.

I’m so happy that they are enjoying this and I look forward to summer when this will be a backyard necessity for greyhound fun!

Springtime!

Spring is finally coming around. The sun is out and the temperature is wonderful! I’m trying to keep us all outside to soak up as much sunshine as we can to make up for the long winter months we were holed up inside. A big misconception that I hear about greyhounds is that some people think they are high energy, highly active dogs. If someone can inform Bo and Bella of this fact… they will have their moments, but for the most part they want to be inside lying down on a big soft pillow. This means that the whole weekend that I made them stay outside with me they would run a little bit, then seek out any form of shade and crash out. And if I made any sudden movement towards the backdoor, both dogs were up and begging to go inside before I could tell them otherwise. Sheesh! But I did get a few cute “sunning outside” pictures of the both of them that I just had to share:

Bella looking divine:

And Bo happily rolling in the grass:

The spirit of Mr. Moose lives on...

Even with the untimely passing of Mr. Moose, he is anything but forgotten. If anything he may be a little more popular with the pups, (no awkward head to get in the way). This weekend was so pretty, I let them take out one stuffy of their choice to play with outside. Bella snagged Mr. Moose while Bo was still pondering his many choices… as soon as Bo noticed that Bella had the moose, the game was on. Bella letting the moose know who is boss

Bo running over to “reclaim” what he thinks is rightfully his

Bella losing the 1st round

She is keeping close just in case he tires of the stuffy

But no, he prances around showing off his prize.

Obedience classes

Jon and I have been teaching the puppers some things here and there, down... settle... outside... no eating off the counter... etc. But their recall is awful and there are some manners that leave much to be desired. So we decided that they needed some classes. Not only to teach them, but to teach us to teach them better. So far we have had one class and it was fun. We are trying to practice at home to instill some of the things that we are going through... and I think they are clicking inside their little heads.

Here we are in class, so excited to see all the other greyhounds!

The trainer teaching both Jon and Bella hoe to "come" when called...

And this is what she did when I called her to come to me today in the backyard!

Yea! they are learning something!

Moose Boleyn

*sigh* The carnage never ends. Just as we were getting over the loss of Mr. Penguin and dealing with Mr Hedgie's gaping wound (that although looks quite painful hasn't stopped him one bit... note to self... find that sewing kit), another tragedy struck the Peckham home. A beheading no less! Mr. Moose is a close second favorite stuffy of Bo. He just loves the big rattling stuffies. Unfortunately this means that his teeth and slobber are having a daily effect on the Moose's figure. The other factor that we need to take into consideration is that Bella Bean also favors this stuffy. He has long legs and a soft round middle (perfect size for the long greyhound snoots), so there is a lot of stealing and thrashing of our poor Mr. Moose since his arrival at Christmas. Well, it looks like this moose was a lot more delicate than it originally appeared to be (or my dogs are a lot harder on stuffies than I like to think), because I came home to the news that there is a beheading. Jon was playing with Bella and the moose when the fatal blow occured. Moose Boleyn, much loved, could not handle the Bo and Bella love and lost it's head. But there is a little bit of good news that comes out of this tragedy... the one stuffy has now become 2! Bo still carries the body around the house, while Bella Bean has become a big fan of it's head. So they are both able to continue their affection for their moose, at the same time with no compromise... well at least no compromise for them... Mr Moose was quite severely compromised! :D

Limping

Poor Bo Seeya has been limping. It started a few weeks ago, and we decided to wait and see how it worked out. Within a few days he was fine, so we chalked it up to overdoing himself. We have already spent 2 different occasions with both dogs where it turned out to be nothing... so we are a bit vet-shy. :) But then it came back, and a little worse. Instead of just limping, he was holding his left rear leg up completely. Baby aspirin wasn't helping, resting wasn't helping, so we decided he needed to get in. In the back of my mind I was rather worried... what if this was cancer? There has been so many stories I have heard of limping puppers having osteosarcoma (cancer) and needing to amputate or even losing their dogs from this that I was quite scared of the vet visit. Jon had the day off and was able to take him in and I was close to the phone to hear what was going on.

A Sprained Toe!

An office visit, 3 X-rays, and a lot of worrying later, we found out that there was nothing really wrong with him. Nothing broken and nothing suspicious. At least I can breathe again, but Bo and Bella are quite upset with the treatment the Vet prescribed. 4-6 weeks of limited activity. If we walk, they have to be short ones. NO running, which means that they will have to go outside separately to avoid zoomies and no dog park. We are all a little disappointed, The weather is finally picking up again and we can't all go out and play until he feels better. *sigh* BUT this is a very little inconvenience compared to what it could have been and we are so thankful that he isn't sick and we only have to pamper him a little extra for a few weeks.

Why Wisconsin, Why?

OK Wisconsin weather. Why must you torment us with a taste of Spring, then take it all back with freezing temps and more than a half foot of snow???

Bella: Hey, I thought we were done with this stuff!!

It just keeps on coming!

Bo: I thought you said Spring was finally here. Doesn't look like Spring to me.

Nope, definitely feels like Winter.

But as they say, wait 5 minutes (or in this case 3 days) and the weather will completely change. The big snow came Wednesday to Thursday. By this afternoon we were back in Spring-like temps (no complaints there). Jon and I took Bo and Bella to have their heart worm tests and then a quick spree in the downtown dog-park. And spent a little time in the backyard until the evening chill started to come in. I'm just hoping the next 5 minutes brings more Spring... or even better, Summer temps. We are done with snow... We are all getting a little softer around the edges and are looking forward to getting out more in the summer! :)

Bella running the perimeter of this newer to her dog park. She was even gentle with the little puppy that was playing in there too. Good Girl!!

Backyard afternoon fun... CATCH! Bo just watches, but Bella can't resist a chase... all blur. :)

Bella: Mama, I caught it!

Its so much fun to squeak it!

Here's looking for Spring! :D

EASTER!

Happy Easter... a little belated. I hope it was as fun and filled with love as ours was.We spent this Easter with my mom... and her newly adopted Chewey. She just adopted Chewey from her local Humane Society about a month ago, and I have been a little apprehensive introducing her pup with mine because she has an energetic little white fluffy. And I know full well that Bella Bean LOVES chasing little white fluffies. But there was no way I was going to leave my sweets dogs at home at Easter, and mom missed her "grand-dog" anyway. So I packed their beds, their muzzles, some treats, their leashes (no fenced in backyard) and we were off!

Bella is always super excited to go somewhere:

Meet Chewey, a Maltese/ bischon mix:

As predicted Bella was very excited to meet this white fluff of energy and the little energizer bunny was more than happy to have someone chase him (Bella was MORE than happy to oblige). Bo even got into the mix a few times, and he really isn't much of a chaser. After the initial hello and obligatory 15 minute race around the house, my 2 ran out of steam and started settling down a bit. I was so surprised that Bella really took a shine to this little guy and was so sweet with him. So gentle that the muzzle came off a lot sooner than Bo's did. He was being an old man, demanding his space with a growl whenever Chewey started getting too close. But no nipping, just letting him know where the boundaries were.

Saying HELLO!

CHASE ME!!!!

pooped already

Chewey: come on! One more chase?

Bella: Sorry little one, I need to compose myself for a minute

Chewy: how about a snuggle then?

Bella: I'm cool with that. Mom in the background: Awwwwwwwwwww!