Oh, #%*@ Pictures

Taking dog pictures is no easy matter. I use a digital camera, which I love, but the shutter is very slow. In the time it takes to click, the dogs can easily turn their heads, move, or leave the photo completely. Then I say "Oh, %$#&" and line up another picture. For every good picture, I take six or ten shots. I can't imagine how professional photographers do it. I realize that they have more sophisticated equipment, but dogs move. It is not an easy job getting good pictures of them.

Two Different Sizes

Rudy seems to realize that Emme is smaller than he is and he plays with her accordingly. Emme weighs ten pounds and Rudy, almost 80. They love to each grab an end of a toy and to tug with each other. With the difference in their sizes, Rudy could easily fling Emme across the room. He doesn't do this, however. They tug and play growl at each other and Rudy pulls just hard enough to make a game and not hard enough to throw Emme around or even to get the toy away from her. It is amazing how much they figure out for themselves.

Rub my Belly

Emme loves to have her belly rubbed. She loves when we lean over and tickle her belly with our fingers. She loves having her belly rubbed with our toes when she lies down in front of our chairs. Actually Emme loves to be rubbed anywhere. She is just in love with touch.

I read a book about dogs recently that said that dogs love to be rubbed behind their ears and at the base of their tail. The book claimed, however, that dogs don't like to have their paws touched or rubbed. That is why many dogs don't like to have their nails clipped. Emme has never read that book. She loves to have every part of her body rubbed, even her paws. Often when she is sitting on my lap, I will rub her paws or hold one paw in my hand. She loves it. She is just a touchable little dog.

What's in a Name?

Sometimes I think we have mis-named Emme. She should be called "Timex" because she is such a good watch dog. She loves to sit on the back of the couch and survey the activity of the neighborhood. She does the rolling growl and barks to let us know everything that is happening within her eyesight.

In the evenings, Rudy usually lies down beside Ken's chair as we read or watch TV. He stays there until he has to go outside to take care of business. Then he comes an lays his head on my lap and looks beseechingly at me. I kid that I should be called "Charmin" because he comes to me when he has to go.

I believe that Rudy should have been named "Weather." We always say that you have to take the weather forecasts with a huge grain of salt because the people on the Weather Channel lie. They say "sun" and it rains. They predict rain and it is bone dry. Rudy lies, too. When he wants to go out to play, he will tell us he has to go outside to take care of business. He barks to go outside and we say "Do you have to hurry up?" He barks as if it is an emergency. We put the collar on to take him outside and he doesn't want to go. He wants to go out without the collar and leash to play ball. He lies to get us to the door.

Maybe instead of writing about Emme and Rudy, I should be writing about Timex and Weather.

Back to School

Emme is going back to school. Last night was the first night of a six week basic obedience class taught with clickers. It is being offered by the same woman who worked one-on-one with Emme this spring. It is being held at a local veterinary clinic. Owners of five dogs attended last night without our dogs for the introductory class. The dogs come with us next week. I am looking forward to giving Emme the opportunity to be around other dogs and people she does not know. I think that will do her good.

Tear Stains

Emme, like many white dogs, has red tear stains under her eyes. It is caused by a red yeast infection that thrives in the moist environment under a dog's eyes and is common in many dogs. It just shows up so much in white dogs. It does not hurt them, but it makes her look uncared for.

Emme did not have the staining when she was a little puppy but it began when she was teething. Since that time, although it gets better and then worse, she has had some staining under her eyes all the time. I haven't been successful in completely eliminating the stains. I have tried repeatedly washing under her eyes and drying the fur to keep the area clean and dry. I have made sure that she is not getting food or treats with artificial coloring. I have tried a preparation from the pet supply store that promises to get rid of tear stains and nothing has worked so far.

So now I am trying a powdered antibiotic from the livestock store. It was recommended by Emme's breeder and endorsed by our vet. She starts with two weeks of 1/8 teaspoon per day mixed with peanut butter to hide the taste. Then she goes on every other day for two weeks, followed by twice a week for two weeks and then once a week for a month. I hope this works. She is such a cutie that I would love to eliminate the tear stains.

A Trip to the Beauty Parlor

Emme went back to the groomer yesterday, or to the doggie beauty parlor, if you prefer. I asked the groomer to cut Emme's ears much shorter. When we went on vacation a few weeks ago, Emme spent ten days at the kennel and during that time, no one brushed her coat. I am not sure how one goes about boarding a dog with a high maintenance coat like a Bichon without problems. During our vacation, Emme's coat survived pretty well, but the fur on her ears really matted. I have spent the last month combing out her ears, undoing tangles, and cutting out the hopeless mats. I still had a few areas near the bottom of her ears that I could not untangle. So I requested yesterday that her ears be cut much shorter. Emme looks as cute as she can be but when she first comes back from the groomer, she looks so long and skinny with much of her fur gone. Ken thinks she looks like a white wiener dog. I think she looks like a hoagie with legs. But her coat and especially her ears are much shorter and she is tangle free. And she smells really good too.

Crocs are Great

Crocs are great shoes for taking Emme outside. They are water resistant and good for the times when I go out first thing in the morning and the grass is all wet, covered with dew. If I step in something I shouldn't, paper towels and a hose will take care of it.

I started taking Emme outside in the early fall in a pair of light blue beach crocs. These are the ones that have holes all over them. They were fine until the weather got colder. Then late night, early morning, and rain shower trips outside just got too cold as my toes got wet through the holes. At that point, I switched to a pair of closed navy blue crocs. They still have the clog styling, but there are no holes in the shoe. This worked until the temperature really dropped and it began to snow. When I went outside, I would get snow in the back of the shoes. So I switched to a pair of low Bean boots for the winter. As spring came back, I pulled out the navy clogs and now in the warm weather I am back into the beach clogs. Crocs are great dog-owner shoes.

Making the Bed

Emme spends time each night making her bed. She sleeps in a wire crate in our bedroom that contains a small fleece blanket and a bed pillow inside a plastic pillow protector and a cotton pillow case. Every night when we go to bed, we can hear her scratching and pushing the pillow and blanket around to get them in just the right places. Sometimes when we wake up, she is on top of the pillow. Other times, she is under the pillow. This is similar to her actions when we nap on the couch. She burrows under the throw pillows to make a little hidey place to nap. This must be what she is doing in her crate. I know it is not for warmth, because it is summer. It must be just some special puppy method of making her bed.

The Devil Made Me Do It

Sometimes Emme can be Rudy's best friend. Other times, she devils him to death. Last night was one of those times. Ken and I were trying to watch a movie from Netflix and Rudy picked up his really big lovie and settled down for a long session of loving it. Emme had other ideas. There were many other toys in the living room, but Emme would have none of those; only Rudy's really big lovie would do. Rudy would take the bear's head in his mouth and Emme would go down to the other end of the bear and begin pulling on its legs. Rudy would growl and Emme would stop, temporarily. Rudy would go back to loving the bear and Emme would start tugging again. I tried to give her another lovie but nothing else would do, only Rudy's bear. The loving, growling, and tugging continued for many minutes until Rudy got sick of it. Finally instead of growling at Emme, he barked as if he were saying: "Let go of this bear or I'm telling. Make her let go of this bear and get her away from here." Sometimes Emme is a sweet little angel; sometimes she acts like she is full of the devil. I guess this is what makes life interesting.

Yogurt is a Treat

We have just discovered that yogurt is a dog treat. Rudy has been having some medical problems and the vet suggested that we give him yogurt to help him with some of his digestive problems. So we went to the supermarket and bought a container of plain, unflavored yogurt. We give a half cup to Rudy and two tablespoons to Emme in little glass dishes. We hold the dishes while the dogs lap up the yogurt. Both of them love it. Who would have thought that yogurt was a dog treat?

Catch Me

Recently, Emme has created a new game, Catch Me. Unfortunately she plays it when I want her to come to me. I say "Emme, come" and Emme runs around the house like a crazy thing. Yesterday morning I was ready to groom her in the laundry room. Instead of coming to me when I called, she began dashing around the house with a silly puppy grin on her face. I refused to chase her but called her again more sternly. She continued to run around wanting to be chased. The next time she flew by, told her to sit and I scolded her. She was devastated and melted into a little heap on the floor. I picked her up; I washed her face and brushed her coat and we went on with the day. Later in the day, I wanted to take her outside to take care of business. I called, she ran around. Same solution: I waited until she dashed by, told her to sit and scolded her. She folded. I don't like this game. I don't like her to disobey me. I don't like to scold her. I can't wait until she tires of this game.

Home Alone

Ken and I have been talking about how nice it would be to have a pet sitter come to the house rather than kenneling the dogs when we were out of town. It would allow the dogs to be together, surrounded by familiar things. We wouldn't have to worry about them catching something from another dog. We would know everything about the environment they would be staying in.

The problem is that our dogs never have the free run of the house when we are not at home. At night, Emme sleeps in a crate in our bedroom and Rudy sleeps on the rug in our bedroom with the door shut. When we are gone during the day or evening, we put both dogs in individual crates in the family room, one on either side of the fireplace. We say, "It is time for nitey-nite in the crates" and both dogs dash for their crates (and the dog biscuit they get for going inside).

So we have been practicing letting the dogs be home alone but not in the crates. For the past week we have been leaving the dogs out when we run errands. I lock the back door, put up the baby gate to the second floor and then tell the dogs to "Guard the house" as we leave. I haven't left them alone for too long, a half hour one time, 45 minutes another. I don't know what they do when they are home alone. I've seen no evidence of mischief when I returned. They have learned a lot of things in the past. I am sure they can learn this too but it is a major change.

Emme, the Herder Dog

Every morning when we get dressed, Emme and Rudy follow Ken into the bedroom closet because they know that as soon as he gets dressed he will take them out to the backyard and play. A while ago, Rudy began a practice of "herding" Ken to make sure that he left the closet as quickly as possible. As soon as Ken tied his shoes and got up from the chair, Rudy would put his body behind Ken, in front of the chair, so he couldn't sit down again. He would then begin to gently push Ken toward the closet door. He was herding him out so Ken would take Rudy outside to play. Wouldn't you know that Emme is starting to do the same thing. Now Ken has two herders. There is no tarrying in the morning. It is get dressed and then go outside to play, quickly.

Big News, a New Family Member

Eric and Katherine, my son and daughter-in-law from Washington DC, are going to be puppy parents! They have been working with a breeder in Virginia, waiting for a female French Bulldog puppy. On Thursday the mother, pictured above, gave birth to a single red/brown puppy, a girl. This will be Eric and Katherine's pup, Lolly. Welcome to the family.

Lick, Lick, Lick

Emme is really in to licking. She loves to lick our hands, feet, knees, toes, elbows, anything she can reach.

Every morning after breakfast, she wants Ken to pick her up as we sit at the table. She then proceeds to lick his fingers over and over. I know he drinks his coffee out of a mug and eats his cereal with a spoon, so there is no food on his hands. It doesn't matter. Lick, lick, lick. After a period of time, Emme then stops licking and settles down for a rest in his arms.

When we ride in the car, she sits on my lap. At the beginning of the trip she has to lick my fingers and arms for a while before she settles down to nap for the rest of the trip.

Just try to read, lying on the couch, with bare feet and a puppy at your side. Emme immediately goes for the toes for a good long lick.

I don't know what we taste like, but for a puppy, it must be good.

Three Pups in a Wagon

This photo is of Emme and two siblings, taken just before we brought her home last September. Emme is on the far left and her brothers, Junior and Koda, are on her right. This picture of the three puppies in a wagon was taken by professional photographers John and Kim Tuesday, 338 Northeast Avenue, Tallmadge, OH 44278. (330) 633-9018. Their web site is http://www.tuesdayphoto.com/. John and Kim have had extensive experience in pet photography as well as wedding and senior photographs. If you are in the area and are interested in having some professional photos taken, you may want to contact them.

As long as today's blog entry is giving credit where credit is due, I wanted to list Emme's breeder contact information. The breeder is Darlene Dolan, from Starbucks Bichon Frises, 87 Minwood Avenue, Tallmadge OH 44278, (330)630-1184 and her email is starbucks-bichons@sbcglobal.net. Darlene has been friendly, honest and professional from the first letters we exchanged to the digital photos she sent of the puppy's first days and weeks to our periodic email conversations over the last year. She says however, that she always has more people on a waiting list than she has puppies. Her dogs are worth the wait. Look at Emme!

Do you know that clicking on any of the daily photos in the Pupdate will bring up an enlarged picture? If you haven't tried it yet, left click on the wagon photo to enlarge it. Then you can return to the blog by just clicking the back arrow in the upper left of your screen.

A Bichon Frise is Just the Right Size

A Bichon Frise is exactly the right size. Emme is large enough to be a sturdy little dog. She is not a fragile, tiny dog and she holds her own with all 80 pounds of Rudy. She is small enough that she is easy to pick up and hold in my arms. Emme is large enough that I can find a pile of her doodles in the grass. She is small enough that I can pick up these doodles in one tissue to dispose of them. Emme is large enough to take walks on the leash but she is small enough that she in not an awful handful as she learns to walk properly. Emme is large enough to play with almost all the toys that Rudy has. She is small enough that she can climb under the cabinet to grab a ball that has rolled under it. Emme is large enough to fill my lap. She is small enough that I can bathe her in the kitchen sink. It has a spray attachment and I can get her clean and rinsed easily. Emme is large enough that she can eat almost any food that I give her to taste. She is small enough that a bag of dog food lasts a long time. Emme is large enough that I don't worry about squishing her when she lies down with me for a nap. She is small enough that when she lies on my legs, I hardly feel her. Emme is large enough to go outside in really cold weather. She is small enough to ride in the car on my lap. Emme is just the right size.

Dog Cookies

I am a rather unenthusiastic cook and seldom bake anything. But I do occasionally bake dog cookies. Talk about spoiled. Emme and Rudy think I am a genius to be able to make such good cookies. I couldn't have a better audience.

The cookies are made from wheat and we limit the amount of wheat that Rudy gets, but I do give him one from time to time. The recipe makes a lot of cookies, but they seem to keep forever. I put them in a Ziplock bag in the bread basket on top of the refrigerator and use them only once or twice a week. I have two different cookie cutters, a larger one that I found in Berlin when I was shopping with my sister and a smaller one that was a Christmas gift from a family friend. Rudy get the big cookies and Emme the small ones, of course.

When the cookies are baking, Rudy sits in front of the oven and watches. While they are cooling on racks, he sits and watches them. We call it "Worshipping at the Altar of Cookie." Although he is big enough to reach up and take one of the cookies, he has never done that. He just waits and drools until I give him one. What a good dog.

Emme is overwhelmed with the cookies. She gets one and instead of eating it, she carries it around in her mouth for minutes looking for the perfect place to eat it. By that time, Rudy has devoured his and is sniffing around for Emme's cookie. She often will take her cookie up on the couch or in another room to eat it. Often she has to play with it, jumping and pouncing on the cookie before it is ready to be eaten. Although Rudy is interested, he has never taken Emme's cookie away from her.

I got the recipe from a weekly grocery ad a few years ago. It makes great dog cookies:

Cookies for your Dog

3/4 cup canned beef broth

1/3 cup margarine, melted

1/2 cup powdered milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1 egg, beaten

3 cups whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray, or line with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine broth and melted margarine. Stir in powdered milk, salt, sugar, and egg. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. On a floured surface, knead dough about 3 to 4 minutes. Dough will be very stiff. Pat or roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness and cut with cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 50 minutes. Allow cookies to cool and dry hard.

A Forever Puppy

Although Emme's first birthday has come and gone, we still continue to call her a "puppy." I think that with her playful nature, her look which has not changed appreciably since she was tiny, and the size difference between her and Rudy, she may be our "puppy" forever. That is just fine with me.

Remedial Nap

On many days, Emme and I carve out some time after lunch for a nap. I take my magazine or book and we go into the family room and lie down on the couch for about 45 minutes. I read, Emme naps, Rudy sleeps next to the couch, and all is right with the world. Some days there is not time for a nap and Emme misses it. On these days, later in the afternoon or evening, she will sometimes go into the family room all by herself and push the pillows around on the couch and lie down. It is like she didn't get a real nap and she is setting up a remedial nap to make up for it. Puppies know what is important.

He Loves Them Both

I've always wondered if Rudy had a favorite between the two really big bears. They both look so much alike that I was never sure if he favored one of them or loved both equally. Now the answer is in. He loves them both.

Because of the warm weather, we have a few toys on the porch for the dogs, of course. One of the toys is one of the really big bears. The other bear is still in the living room. And Rudy loves both of them. When he is on the porch, it is the porch lovie. When he is in the house, it is the living room lovie. Another mystery solved.

Dog Toys are Washable

I made an amazing discovery yesterday: many dog toys are machine washable. Some of the stuffies Emme and Rudy play with are disgusting, they are so covered and caked with dog spit and grime. Some of them are older than Emme because we bought them when we first got Rudy. Most of the tags say, "Surface washable only." I have tried washing just the outsides in the past with no success. I made up a pan of soapy water and scrubbed the outside of the toys with the soapy foam. The toys got wet, but not clean.

Finally yesterday I decided that some of the toys were so gross that they were better ruined than dirty. I selected some of the worst ones, recognizing that if they disintegrated into a pile of stuffing in the wash, I could live without them. I would rather go to the pet store and buy new ones, than continue to looks at the dirty ones. They were brown and stiff with grime. I picked up about six of the nastiest toys and put them in the washing machine with a low level of cold water and a small amount of regular laundry soap. I chose a short wash cycle and started the washer. Every few moments, I would go back to the laundry room and open the washer expecting to find a disaster. Nothing bad seemed to be happening.

At the end of the cycle, the toys were wet, clean and in one piece. So I figured maybe they could go into the dryer, too. I put the dryer on low heat and placed all the toys inside. Again, I kept checking frequently and every thing was going fine. I took the toys out of the dryer just before they were completely dry and let them sit on top of the dryer overnight. This morning, I gave a few of them to Emme and Rudy. They were delighted. I was delighted. I have already selected the next six toys to go into the washer later this weekend.

Laying Out a Quilt

While we were on vacation, I finished blocks for a new quilt. Because the quilt is large, 100 blocks, set in ten rows and ten columns, I needed to lay it out on the living room floor. Smaller projects, I can pin up on a design wall in my sewing room or lay out on top of a bed. This quilt is too large for that, so we needed to use the rug.

Emme and Rudy decided that we needed their help with the project. No sooner had we put one block on the floor, than both dogs were there to help. After a few blocks were laid down, Emme had to step on top of them and lie down. Of course, in doing that, she moved some of the blocks, so it was a constant task of laying down blocks and then rearranging blocks as Emme moved from place to place. Then Rudy decided to lie down on row one and two and proceed to lick the blocks. I don't know why.

We got both dogs off the blocks and continued to work. Emme returned with a lovie, the big mamma gorilla, and settled in for a long rest. Then Rudy got his stuffed jack and brought it to the quilt top. We shooed both dogs off the quilt blocks again and I held Emme in my arms for the remainder of the lay out process as Ken continued to follow the lay out diagram. One hundred blocks and a few frayed nerves later, we finished. Ken took both dogs out to the porch while I picked up and labeled the blocks so I could carry them upstairs to sew them together.

Everything is more difficult, but more fun, with a dog.

An Ill-fated Birthday

Emme's first birthday was a rather ill-fated affair. First we were on vacation and Emme was in the kennel on the actual day. Second, when we had her party, I gave Emme too much doggy ice cream and she suffered some digestive upset (which is all over now). And third, I bought two chew toys, one larger one in the above picture and another just a little bit smaller, that Emme was able to chew through before we went to bed on party day and which we returned. Some birthday.

The two new toys were marked as "durable chew toys" on the packaging. They looked like they would hold up well. Shortly after we finished partying, Emme grabbed the smaller one and ran to the rug in the living room. She sat down to chew on it and not more than a few minutes later, we noticed several little pieces of blue plastic on the rug. Emme had begun to chew on the rim of the toy and had chewed off about six pieces. The largest piece was about 1/4 inch by 3/4 long and the others were smaller than that. We picked up the pieces and took the toy away, only to discover a little later that she had chewed a piece off the larger toy. We haven't discovered that piece yet. It may show up in a doodle in the near future.

Yesterday we returned both toys. I purchased them from Petco and they were good about accepting them back. For a small dog, Emme is a powerful chewer. We have purchased some Kong toys which are billed as durable, but neither of the dogs like to chew on them. When we put peanut butter inside, both dogs will happily lick the peanut butter out of them. But as soon as they are empty, the dogs leave them alone. Neither Rudy or Emme has ever chewed on a Kong. I bought a tire made out of rubber but neither dog will chew on that. I am cautious about Nylabones because of some of the things I have read about dogs chewing chunks off the bones and swallowing them. I am similarly cautious about rawhide. There must be some other durable chew toy on the market that the dogs will like, but I haven't found one yet.

Both dogs like to chew on marrow bones but that is about it. We haven't yet found a durable chew toy.

Happy Birthday, Emme

We celebrated Emme's first birthday yesterday afternoon. The dogs had Frosty Paws ice cream, new toys and the adults had a bottle of plum wine. Emme got a new chew toy so of course Rudy got one too. We also bought a laser pointer and both dogs played Catch the Dot. Although both dogs played, it was Rudy who was most interested in the dot. He was like a dog possessed. He would chase the dot and when he got close, he would try to bite it. He was so funny and I think he really enjoyed it.

Everyone had a great time but we suffered some ill effects this morning, from the dog ice cream, not the wine. I gave both Emme and Rudy one of the Frosty Paws and I never gave a thought to the effect it might have on Emme's system. They both licked the little cups and enjoyed it immensely, but I think the portion was too large for Emme. This morning she had a very loose stool and I am sure that it was from the treat. She eats so little other than dry dog kibble. She gets tastes of various fruits and vegetables, a few puppy biscuits and ice cubes and that is about it. I didn't think that through carefully enough. We have two more cups of Frosty Paws in the carton and if I give it to Emme again, I will give her only a small portion.

Other than that one problem, all is well. Happy birthday, Emme.

Back to Normal

Emme and Rudy are back from the kennel and all is well. Both dogs needed to get a lovie first thing and lie on the rug and love it up. All afternoon and evening, they returned to the lovies, Rudy to the really big bear and Emme to a smaller brown teddy bear. That must have been something they really missed while they were away from home because they don't seem to be able to get enough of it.

They don't seem to have forgotten anything while they were gone. They fell back into all the familiar routines. They were ready for bed early, however. We were watching a DVD, Word Play, and every time we reached for the remote, both dogs were convinced that it was time for bed. This went on from about 8 o'clock until we actually went to bed.

Emme turned one while we were on vacation so we are going to have a belated birthday celebration later this week. I think I am going to buy some dog ice cream called "Frosty Paws." It is supposed to look like ice cream but contains no sugar so it is appropriate for dogs. That and a new toy should make an excellent birthday celebration.

A Week at the Ocean

Emme and Rudy have been to Puppy Sleep-Away Camp while we spent a week at the ocean. We can pick them up after 10:00 this morning. I can't wait to see them.