Picky, Picky

Emme and Rudy both like carrots, but both of them are very picky about how they are served. Neither of them will eat regular carrots with the skin on. Both of them only like the baby carrots that are pre-peeled.

When we first got Rudy, we gave him a whole carrot. He was underwhelmed. This dog, who gulps down anything put in front of him, chewed half-heartedly on the carrot for a minute or two and then left the little chewed pieces and the rest of the carrot on the floor. No thanks.

A few weeks ago, I was serving baby carrots for lunch for Ken and me and after lunch, I gave one to each of the dogs. Voila! A great treat. Both of them ate up the baby carrots. This adds to our list of treats: rice and lamb kibble bits, ice cubes, and now baby carrots. We avoid wheat and beef because of Rudy's allergies. After both dogs were enjoying the baby carrots for a few weeks, I tried whole carrots again. I gave each of them a whole carrot I had in the refrigerator. Neither dog would eat it. They only want pre-peeled baby carrots. Picky, picky.

The Little Tennis Ball

Emme has a few tiny tennis balls that she plays with. The regular size ones are hard for her to handle but these little ones are perfect. They are about the size of a ping-pong ball but are made like tennis balls. She will spend a great deal of time pushing the ball around the floor and then hiding it under a cabinet or stool.

She plays with the ball almost like a kitten plays. She will bat the ball around the room and chase it. She pounces on it and shakes and chews it. Sometimes she will get it in her mouth and throw it up in the air and then run after it. Outside, she likes to run after the ball, but she still doesn't get the fetch game. She just runs to the ball and then stands still near it and looks around the back yard.

She is entertained by the ball and she is certainly entertainment for us.

Up on the Bed

Although both Emme and Rudy sleep in our bedroom, neither sleeps on our bed. Rudy sleeps on the rug on one side or the other of our bed and Emme sleeps in a crate along one wall. Neither has ever been up on our bed, that is until last weekend. I was in my sewing room after I had gotten dressed and made the bed and Ken was taking a shower. When he got out of the shower, Ken noticed that the top of the bed looked unmade. The bedspread had been pulled down and a little white puppy was resting happily in between our pillows. Ken called me to come look and Emme just stayed there, happy as can be. After Ken and I both stopped laughing, I told Emme "Off" and put her on the floor. She figured that the top of the bed was a good place to be and immediately jumped back up on the bed again and I took her off a second time. She hasn't tried that again, but every time I go into the bedroom, I check to see if we have a visitor on our pillows.

The Emme Song

Ken and Emme have a game that involves the "Emme song." Ken goes up to Emme and very quietly begins to sing a sort of tuneless song that goes: "Emme, Emme, Emme, Emme, Emme, Emme, Emme, Emme, Emme, Emme." You get the picture. The words are always the same. The tune is whatever comes to mind. She just melts into the floor and Ken picks her up and continues to sing quietly. Emme just lies in his arms, sometimes on her back which she usually resists, and enjoys the attention and petting. I think that Ken singing the Emme song is a favorite part of Emme's day.

On the Shelf

We have a wicker table on the porch that has a shelf underneath. It is kind of awkward and out of the way and we have never found a use for that shelf, until now. Emme has discovered it and it is her favorite place on the porch. She started playing on it in the fall and forgot about it during the winter when we were not spending much time on the porch. She has rediscovered it this spring. It is a favorite spot to hide when I want to put on her collar and leash to go outside. It is a great place to take a ball or toy because Rudy can't get to it. It is a good resting place for catching her breath after running around the porch. It must be a special hiding place because she loves to go there. If Emme goes out to the porch and we can't see her, she is usually on the shelf.

Photo Album Now Available

Google has added a feature that creates a web photo album of all the pictures used in a blog. They are just beginning this and not all of the photos have been added but more will be added in the near future. I am going through the album and deleting duplicate photos and adding some captions.

I have added a link to that photo album on the Pupdate page. If you look on the right side of the page, under the list of archived blog entries, you will see a link to the Pupdate Photo Album. If you click on the picture of Emme, you will go to the album. In it will be stored all the pictures used in the blog entries.

A Visit to the Beauty Shop

Emme went to the groomer yesterday morning. Either I am getting better at saying how I want Emme cut, or the groomer is getting more used to cutting her, but I think I am liking the results better each time. I tell the groomer to cut her in a "puppy cut" about a half inch long and to cut the hair away from her eyes. This has resulted in a better cut that seems to last five or six weeks. The groomer also takes care of her ears and cuts her nails. Each time I have taken Emme, I am nervous about the experience, but I think both Emme and I are getting more comfortable with the process.

Each morning, I wash Emme's face, especially her eyes, and her paws. Then I brush and comb her. I give her a bath every week or so. That seems to take care of things in between groomer visits. Bichons have high maintenance coats but I think we are getting the hang of it all.

Changes in Morning Routines

Our morning routine has changed again. Ken and Rudy still get up first, about 5:30 or 6:00. Emme seems to know that she and I get to sleep in for another half hour or so. I wonder how she knows that. She just does. She never makes a fuss to get up with Ken and Rudy. She just waits until it is our turn. Ken and Rudy make waking up sounds, use the bathroom and go downstairs and Emme waits patiently in her crate. It makes it so much nicer when we get up in shifts. Less confusion and less excitement. Rudy has already gone outside to do his business and the coffee is made by the time we come downstairs.

After Ken and Rudy go downstairs, Emme and I sleep a little longer and then get up about 6:00 or 6:30. She waits until I wake up, turn on the bedroom light and get out of bed and then she begins to whimper with excitement. When Ken goes downstairs, he pushes the bedroom door shut, but does not latch it. Rudy never comes upstairs until I turn on the light and get up. He could come up and push the door open at any time, but he waits until he hears me getting up. When I open Emme's crate and go into the bathroom, Rudy dashes up the stairs to liberate Emme and to say good morning to me. Emme flys down the stairs to find Ken and Rudy visits with me until I go downstairs. How does he know that he is not to come upstairs into the bedroom until I get up? How does he know to wait? These dogs are so smart it is scary.

Monkey See; Monkey Do

Emme has always been a licker. She licks our hands for minutes on end even though I know that they have nothing on them. They must taste like us and she loves to lick.

Rudy never licked us until we got Emme. Now he occasionally licks our hands. He must have observed Emme doing it and decided that it looked like fun. Monkey see. Monkey do. Yesterday afternoon he decided that my left hand was a tasty treat. I was sitting on the couch petting him and he decided to lick my hand. He licked for minutes as I laughed. I wonder what else they will teach each other.

A Quiet Day

Yesterday was a quiet day. Emme and Rudy seemed to need to rest up from their visit to Doggy Sleepaway Camp. They were like Velcro and stuck close all day. Ken spent the day with his parents in Barberton and the dogs were like a second skin on me. Every where I went, the dogs were sure to go. It was a rainy, gloomy day and they both were very low energy. It was nice to have them home.

Doggy Sleepaway Camp

Emme has returned from her first experience at Doggy Sleepaway Camp, our term for the kennel. She and Rudy both went to Brigadoon Kennel here in town on Friday afternoon before we left for Hosta College in Piqua, Ohio. They stayed until Monday morning. They were there for St. Patrick's Day but we got no reports of green dog food or wild parties. I hope at least they learned a few campfire songs.

Emme seems to have suffered no ill consequences from her stay at camp. She was wild when we picked her up and wiggled and licked all the way home. And yes, they both sang the "Home Song" as we got near home.

As soon as we got home, both dogs had to go outside and take care of business, multiple times. When we got back inside, they were interested in toys: Emme got one of the really big lovies and Rudy got his rubber chicken. After a few minutes playing, they attached themselves to us like Velcro. Emme helped me sort laundry and Rudy laid on the rug outside Ken's office. They haven't left our sides all morning.

It is nice to have them back. On Sunday night when we got home, the house was too quiet. Now things are back to normal. Good.

Singing the "Home Song"

Emme loves to ride in the car and when we return home, she sings the "Home Song." This is something she has learned from Rudy. Rudy can recognize when we are near our house. I don't know if it is the sound of the road on Oak Hill, or passing Parkview School, or what, but he knows that we are near home. He moves to the left side of the car and helps the car go faster by pushing his head as far forward as he can over Ken's left shoulder. Then he begins to sing. It is sometimes a howl, sometimes a whine, occasionally a bark or two. We call it his "home song." He is so excited to get home. Emme is picking up on his excitement. As soon as we get on Greensview Drive, she props her little front feet on the dash board and starts to whine. She continues to "sing" as we drive up the street and only stops when we are in the garage. We must be a strange sight as we come down the street. Two singing dogs and two laughing adults.

Taking a Walk

Today we have a few inches of snow outside on top of a layer of ice from freezing rain. The past few days have been like spring. Today is definitely winter. In the past few days when the weather was nicer, I was trying to walk Emme on the leash every day. We started learning this in the late fall, but it got cold and nasty and we haven't walked for a while. She is getting the hang of things but still has a way to go.

It is easier, however, to teach a ten pound dog to walk on a leash than an 80 pound dog. When we got Rudy, he did not walk well on a leash. We tried teaching him to heel, but it was physically demanding and every walk was a work out. In frustration I went to the pet store and bought a Gentle Leader for him. This is a head collar that stops dogs from pulling. It was like magic. After about the first few minutes on the leash, he looked like the training DVD that came with the Gentle Leader. I came home from the first walk with the Gentle Leader and told Ken that I was going to add the company to our Christmas card list and send them a card every year. I was just so grateful. The leader makes all the difference in the world in walking Rudy.

I don't think I will have to buy a Gentle Leader for Emme. I just need to continue to walk her and I think we will work things out. We just need to get back to that spring weather.

"Nose"

Emme has a new game she likes to play: "Nose." When we come down the stairs from the second floor, she likes to stop on the landing to chat. This has evolved into a game of "Nose." She lies down on the landing and I go two steps down and sit on the stair tread so our faces are on the same level. She likes me to put my face close to hers, almost nose to nose and then to talk to her. She lies still and licks at my breath. I tell her what a good girl she is and how smart and sweet she is. One of these times, she is going to lick my mouth and that will be the end of the game. Dog lips, phooey. Then we will have to create a new game.

That Tongue

Emme has the longest tongue. Sometimes we give Emme and Rudy peanut butter inside a hollow bone. They love peanut butter and know the word. If we want to keep it a secret, we call it "PB." It won't be long before they learn to spell it as well. They spend a great deal of time licking the peanut butter out of the inside of the bone. Once we noticed that Emme's tongue was longer than the bone and we could see her moving it in and out of the end of the bone. It looked like a little creature with a mind of its own. For such a little dog, she has a huge tongue.

The Waiting Chair

In the morning, when we take showers and get dressed, Rudy and Emme come upstairs with us. Emme has decided that the burgundy chair nearest the closet is her "waiting chair." She hops up on the chair and patiently waits. She never gets up on the chair on the other side of the table. She never gets up on this chair other than when we are in the shower and getting dressed. This is not the waiting spot in the evening when we change to pajamas. It isn't the spot to wait while I make the bed. This is only the waiting chair when we are in the shower and getting dressed in the morning. Talk about routines. She has ways that things are done and she follows the rules.

I Want What Rudy Has

Emme's favorite toy is whatever Rudy is playing with. It doesn't matter how many toys are available, the one Emme wants is the one in Rudy's mouth. With a half dozen bones on the rug, only the one that Rudy is chewing is the one that Emme has to have. With multiple big, soft lovies lying around, Emme only wants the one Rudy is cuddling. With many balls available, only the one Rudy is chasing is the good one. Rudy must feel like every big brother or big sister in the world, trying to defend his possessions from a younger sibling. Emme only wants what Rudy has.

Little Miss Sunshine

Recently, my sister-in-law Linda sent me photographs of spring-flowering trees in Texas. Eric emailed me that the National Park Service is predicting that the cherry blossoms will open April 1-7 in Washington, DC. And in Ohio it is winter, at least until yesterday. We had a warm sunny day with temperatures in the 50's and it was wonderful. We went for walks. We spent some time on the porch after lunch. I read, Rudy slept, and Emme watched every squirrel, bird and dry leaf that moved in the back yard and barked at most of them.

Emme loves the sunshine. While Rudy seeks out the coldest places: the ceramic tile in the front hall, the porch floor, snow banks, and mud puddles, Emme looks for patches of sunshine. Whenever there is a spot of sunshine on the floor, Emme finds it and lies down. She may be as happy as I am that spring is finally coming.

Naptime

After lunch, Emme and I often go into the family room and nap. I lie down on the couch with a book and Emme climbs up beside me to rest. Recently, she has connected lunch with nap and while we eat at the kitchen table, she dashes into the family room and jumps on the couch. She knows what comes next and is getting a head start on the nap.

The NPR Dog

Every morning after breakfast, Emme and I go into the laundry room for a clean up. The first thing I do is turn on the radio to Morning Edition on National Public Radio. As an aside, my son Eric, is the Director of Programming and Acquisitions for NPR. Then I spread a white towel on top of the dryer to create a grooming table. I fill two bowls: one with water and puppy shampoo and the other with rinse water. I wash Emme's face and paws and then I brush her coat. All the time we are cleaning up, we listen to "Morning Edition". I bet Emme is the only puppy who can recognize Renee Montagne's voice.

My Potty Buddy

Emme has developed a new habit. Every time I go into the bathroom, she comes along. If she is another room and she hears me opening the bathroom door, she comes running. I guess she must think that if I watch her do her business, the least she can do is do the same for me. I think the real reason is that if I am sitting down, I am a captive audience for petting. She comes over and waits to be petted while I am otherwise occupied. I have tried shutting the door and although we have doors that close, they don't latch securely and a good push with a curious puppy nose can usually dislodge the latch. She happily comes in and visits and gets petted. Strange.

Hans, You're Fired

When Emme was younger, she always started her day by climbing on Ken's lab for a massage. She loved spending time with "Hans, the Massage Guy" and would sit there for 10 minutes or so while I went upstairs and brushed my teeth and washed my face. Then I would come downstairs and we would play awhile before breakfast.

Now all that is changed and Hans is no longer the most important thing as soon as Emme wakes up. She will come over and jump on Ken's lap but then she usually has to start "wrassling" with Ken and chewing his hands, and trying to pull a tissue out of his bathrobe pocket, and jumping on Rudy, and buzz bombing a toy, and running up the stairs to see what I am doing, and dashing back down the stairs again to start everything all over. Long gone is the quiet early morning cuddle and massage. Later in the day, she is more than content to sit quietly with Ken, after breakfast, or while he is at his computer, or when he is watching TV but she isn't into quiet first thing in the morning. There are too many wonderful things to do as soon as she gets up.

Sewing is So Exhausting

Sewing is just so exhausting. Emme spends many hours upstairs in my sewing room with me. As soon as she goes into the room, she has to patrol the room to see what has changed since the last time she was there. She especially looks for small scraps of fabric that have fallen to the floor. She has discovered that they make extremely good puppy chewing gum. When I discover that she is chewing fabric, I tell her "Drop it." I might as well be speaking Swahili because she acts like she has never heard that command before. She clamps her jaws together and it is all I can do to pry open her mouth and retrieve a small wad of well chewed fabric.

She plays awhile with one of the many toys we keep upstairs and then it is nap time. She rolls over on her side and falls fast asleep. A favorite location is right under my sewing machine. This makes it difficult, but not impossible, to get to the foot pedal. Other times I can find her under my desk, next to my computer table or anywhere on the floor that looks good to her. Sewing must wear her out, because she naps a lot in the sewing room.

No Fetch Gene

Emme doesn't have a fetch gene in her body. Every morning Ken goes outside to play fetch with Rudy. The entire time, Emme watches from the kitchen and whines and wiggles. She is so excited and wants to be outside playing. After he is done playing with Rudy, Ken takes Emme outside with her little fetch toy. He has been doing this for weeks but Emme still doesn't get it. She can't wait to get outside but once she is outside, she does everything except fetch. Ken throws the toy. Emme walks over somewhere near it and sniffs and investigates the yard. Ken patiently picks up the toy, gets Emme's attention and throws the toy another 10 feet. She wanders over near it, etc, etc, etc. At the end of the "game" she will pick up the toy and carry it into the house. If she ever gets the game of fetch it will only because of Ken's patient instruction. She certainly doesn't do it naturally. She has a cuddle gene. It is so natural for her to go up to a person to cuddle up and get petted. She does not have a fetch gene.

Stiff Arms

Sometimes when we pick up Emme she gets "stiff arms." She sits on our lap and locks her front legs stiff and straight as if she is saying, you can pet me, but I am not going to lie down and relax. Of course, after a few minutes of petting, she melts down into our lap and usually falls asleep. Somehow it must be a matter of honor, not to give in too easily. First she has to have stiff arms, and then she relaxes.

I Like to Lick

Emme loves to lick our hands. When we come back from G and G at Angies, Emme will sit on my lap and lick my hands as we drive home. When we eat, I use a knife and fork, so I know that I don't have spaghetti and salad on my fingers. I don't know what she is licking. I must smell like an Italian restaurant and she is licking at the smell.

Often in the morning after we are finished with our breakfast, Ken picks up Emme and holds her as he sits in his chair at the dining room table. Invariably, she will lick his fingers, hands and wrists for minutes at a time. Who knows what she is licking off but it seems to be important to her.

Eight Months Old

Emme is eight months old today. She is moving on too quickly toward adulthood. She is beginning to have some adult dog food each day. We started with one piece of the adult dog food on top of her puppy food. It was like the cherry on the top of an ice cream sundae. She ate that immediately and over time we have upped the adult dog food to about 12-15 pieces. She eats those first and quickly. They seem to be a special treat for her. We are in no hurry to change over to adult food, but when the time comes, I know she will have no trouble.

In March Emme will be kenneled for the first time. In a few weeks we are going to Hosta College in Piqua and will spend an additional night in Columbus on the way home. Both dogs have a reservation at Brigadoon. Rudy has been there previously, but it will be the first time Emme has gone to "puppy sleep away camp." She is growing up.