What We Have Been Up To Lately

It just occurred to me that I have been quiet on the blog recently. It's not on purpose, just life has been going by so quickly that I haven't had the time or energy to write. We have been doing mundane things like work (a heck of a lot of it), training and hanging out as a family. But the last two weeks have been busy and here's why.

Last Monday Zach noticed Trinity asking to go to the bathroom a lot, then urinating multiple times outside. Of course this is nothing new and I made a vet appointment for the next day. Sure enough she has yet another UTI. The Doctor examined her, he told us her vulva doesn't stick out like a normal female dogs does, hers goes inside towards her bladder. This makes contracting UTI's easy. The good news is that considering how much it goes back in, she keeps herself clean pretty well. The infections will continue, but having one every six months isn't that bad. She was on antibiotics for two weeks and its all cleared up now. Trinity never lost her spunk, or energy, and was still able to train with no issues. These will continue, I just hope that she doesn't have to be on antibiotics prophylacticly.

Then, last Thursday we noticed Star's right eye draining and had shut closed due to the drainage. I cleaned and flushed it with eye drops that day, but the drainage was still there so we brought her in for a visit. He tested her retina for scratches and, luckily, it was negative. We got antibiotic drops to give her three times a day for a week. They worked so well that her eye was cleared up after being on them for two days. But he still wanted to see her for a follow up. He was pleased to see the eye cleared and we went out of there with no further orders. We didn't find any scratches near the eye so we are not sure how it happened.

Then, last Wednesday day Miss. Kylie was lethargic and not moving like herself. No  running, jumping, or any butt wiggles when I came home and she was just acting pathetic. She also had some abdomen spasms and favoring her back when walking. I, of course, got really nervous so we brought her to the vet that night. She was so nervous in there and it recently occurred to me that she has never been to the vet (since being rescued) for anything but a sick check up. Not to mention that the last time she was there she was put under. The doctor checked her out and told us she just hurt her back. She was prescribed NSAID pain relievers and a muscle relaxer. She felt great the next afternoon and greeted me at the door with butt wiggles.We were supposed to keep her as calm as possible, but when Kylie feels good she wiggles all over the place.

 No needless to say, we had four unexpected vet appointments with in two weeks. I asked them if they give out discounts if you bring in more than three pets in one week and they were nice enough to discount Kylie's appointment. But now you know why I have been working so many hours. My pets seem to want to keep the veterinarian office in business and I don't care, as long as my kids are healthy!

What We Got For Christmas: Leash Silhouettes

Since adopting Trinity we have bought many things for her from custom collars to many types of leashes. For the longest time we have been hanging her things in a bag on our coat hanger. This Christmas I decided that both dogs need their own leash holders for their many accessories. I was looking for something unique and custom fit for both dogs. Rama's mom from Raising Rama posted a picture of her custom made leash hangers from Artisan Metal Shop. All of a sudden I heard angels singing (well maybe not but you get the idea) and I said, 'That's just what I've been looking for!' I decided back in November that those were just the right gifts for the girls for Christmas.

Artisan Metal Shop has many custom made metal art work to choose from. Their dog silhouette options are numerous. Looking through them I noticed that. being my dog's are mixed breeds, the body frames were not exactly what we think their breeds are. It took me a while to figure out which breed best fits thier body frame. For Trinity I decided on the Pointer silhouette and for Kylie I went with the Manchester Terrier silhouette.

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They are very well made, not to heavy and easy to hang. Our house does not have very much room in the entry way so we hung them in the basement hallway. I definitely recommend them for any pet owner.

Bloopers!

Tomorrow we will show you our family's official holiday picture but today you get the behind the scenes of the pictures that did not quite look right on a card. Enjoy!

Setting up the camera

Still setting up the camera

We weren't ready yet

Kylie hopped out of her sweater

My oh-no-im-not-ready-for-the-picture-yet smile

Off center

Kylie really loves her daddy

I thought making a noise would get the dogs to look at the camera.  Trinity didn't know it was coming from me.

Almost there!

 

Wordless Wednesday: Kylie the Anti Santa's Helper

Santa's Little Helper decided to unwrap some of our presents last week. I spent all day friday buying & wrapping presents and on Sunday, Kylie decided she didn't want to wait a week to open the gifts. Apparently she really liked our nephews gifts cause all of his were unwrapped. Of course Trinity really can't resist peer pressure cause she joined in on the action to, which is odd cause she never did that last year. But no pictures from it cause I was really upset by it. So here's a picture of Kylie in her new pajamas!

Kylie Gets Some Training

Trinity an Kylie are both very different dogs not only in breed but personality as well. When we first adopted Trinity I began her training almost as soon as possible. I had a lot of time to train her throughout the day and bring her to class. I loved it and the training world was a big eye opener into how my dog acted.

"If I stand here like this I'm the same size as Trinity!"

Once we adopted Kylie I knew I wanted to train her as soon as possible but unfortunately her illness has prevented us in going to training classes. So for right now I have been attempting to train loose leash walking and very basic obedience. Being a small dog (only 15lbs) I hadn't really attempted to do this with her. I think I did what many owners of small dogs do, slapped a harness on her and let her pull me to where she wanted to go. I never even realized she was doing it half the time because she's so tiny that her pulling is nothing compared to Trinity who is 65lbs. When we first adopted her I told myself that I would not be that small dog owner and let her get away with things that I don't let Trinity get away with. For the most part I had not except the leash walking.

"I'm so small I sometimes think I'm a cat."

So, I decided to go for a walk with her. I did what I had been taught last year and brought my clicker and a handful of treats. I told myself again not to let her pull me and to attempt to get her to walk by my side. I started off by clicking her for looking at me then delivered the treat on my left side. I was so amazed by this. I used to think small dog's were harder to train than large dogs (yes I know how narrow-minded that is). She's doing so well at this. She now knows when she hits the end of the leash she needs to come back to me. I'm working on duration with eye contact and keeping her at my side instead of in front of me. I also love that she takes treats outside on walks. Trinity never did that. She only likes treats given to her in a building or in our backyard this makes walking difficult for us.

"No matter what you think this is very comfortable."

Kylie is doing very well with this. I've been trying my best to walk her when I have a day off from work and when it's not dark and super cold. Where I live there are no street lights and Kylie gets so cold at night. We are going to start basic obedience after the holidays I'm ready to get her going and learn how to train her to her own specific needs.

Have you allowed certain behaviors in one dog and not in the other? Are your dog's training styles different?

Happy Blog-o-versary!

Today is our anniversary of starting our blog! Yay to me for actually continuing with something and not abandoning it after a few months. I have really been enjoying blogging about my animals. It's really cool that people actually follow me and read this (Thanks followers!). I love reading all your blog's as well and seeing about how everyone's lives are different with their dogs but somehow still alike. Some blogs I follow are about dog training, others are about dog fostering and some are about daily lives with their dogs. I get to see how everyones lives are different from geographically where we live, to how we live, weather it be in the city, country or suburbs. Everyones dogs are different, breeds and personalities. We are also different from one another but yet we all have one thing in common, we all love our dogs a lot!

But mostly what I like is blogging about activities I have done with Trinity and seeing how far she has progressed within the last year and a half. I frequently look back at all my blog posts about what we were doing at the time and seeing what has changed about her. I love this time in our lives and I love expressing my thoughts on the blog.

One thing has changed though and that's the addition of Kylie. I look forward to blogging about her and what I have planned for her training. She doesn't know it yet but she will be getting her little behind into training and possibly agility??? I hope so, cause someone doesn't want to do it with me. I'm not naming any names but she's short, fuzzy and has a tri-colored coat. ;)

Thank you again for your continued support as we continue down our strange path we call our lives!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

We hope you all enjoy your halloween and get lots of candy! Be greedy and don't share with your pups. Trinity and Kylie will be trick-or-treating with their cousins.

The 'Doggy Capturer'

This week I took my niece out for a little girls day. We were driving in the car when we saw a white heating companies van. She thought this was the animal control van and exclaimed, "Oh no. It's the doggy capturer!" I, being the crazy dog aunt I am, asked her what a 'doggy capturer' is. She told me it was a 'guy who go's around stealing dog's'. I decided to take the time to explain to her what the animal control officer actually does, in descriptions a four year old can understand. I said, "He's a person who works for the town picking up dogs and cats that have been lost or no one wanted anymore. Then he brings them to the shelter to be found by thier mom's and dad's or to be adopted into new homes" I have told her about how we should always get our new pets from the animal shelter or rescue group (she calls it the 'rescue shelter') but she didn't seem to understand what it meant by no one wanting an animal anymore. I then told her about how Kylie was found on the side of the road and that someone didn't want her anymore. She said, "No one wanted her anymore? Why would someone not want Kylie anymore?" I decided not to say how crule people can be and that sometimes people do not want to make a lifetime commitment to an animal so it's eisier to drop them off to fend for themselves. I just told her that we need to make sure we love our animals and never give up on them. 

Why would anyone not want this love bug?

It's never to early to educate children on the good and the bad side of animal ownership. I also don't understand why someone would drop off thier dog on the side of the road. All I know is that she's in our family and we will never give up on her. We promise!

Why Do All The Sick Animals Come To Our House?

 It's been over a two months since we adopted Kylie from P.S I Love You and we have had some health issues with her. The day after we adopted her she started coughing in the middle of the night. She was hacking so much that I panicked and called Zach's brother and dad to go to our house and check on her while I was at work. I was so afraid that she was going to choke to death. She was still coughing so we went to the vet that night for a check up.



The vet wasn't sure what it was and explained to us about her possibly having kennel cough. She sent us home with antibiotics and an order for plenty of TLC. The cough was improving for a week but the next Friday night she was coughing non stop for 15 minuets at a time. So, the next day we brought her back to the vet. The doctor discussed with us the possibility of having lung worm or breathing issues. She told us we could possibly have to do a chest x-ray and a trans-treachial wash of her throat to determine what she had. But we could not do an x-ray that day because she was so nervous that she would have to be restrained down to get it or be sedated which you can't do until shes off antibiotics for 5 days. So we went home with an increase in her antibiotic and a cough suppressant. The cough medicine worked really well. She became more active, she was starting wrestling matches with Trinity and could do it for 10 minuets with out going into a coughing fit. So, we decided not to do the treacheal wash and held off on the X-ray for a few weeks.

She didn't need the cough medicine for a few weeks but last week her coughing became worse and she had one a day. I made an appointment for her on Saturday for a chest X-ray. We saw several things on it. One being a pellet in her muscle on her left side. Where she was dumped in Arkansas people frequently shot dogs for sport. I had hoped she hadn't been there to long to get shot but apparently she had been. It's not hurting her so were going to monitor it for now. It also showed a lot of busy activity in her lung fields. Shes not sure if it is 1) chronic bronchitis 2) athsma or 3) lung worm. We sent the X-ray out to the radiologist for a through examination and see what they suggest we do. But for now we are keeping up with the cough suppressant and monitoring her breathing. I just want her to get better and know what's going on in her little body.

Wordless Wednesday: Creepy Dog

Trinity looks like shes stalking Kylie here. 

Kylie's First Family Outing

Last week we went to Zach's grandpas cornerstone setting ceremony. As I have said before, his grandparents were in a house fire back in January where they lost everything. His grandma was in the hospital for 5 months. But she's one persistent woman, made it through and is home doing wonderfully. Now they have to rebuild their home. The foundation is set and the masons gave his grandpa a plaque to set into it.

I had to get this picture!

This was also an occasion for Kylie, because this was her first time at a family gathering. Trinity has been to many family parties and even was at their house for Christmas last year. I was nervous that Kylie wouldn't react right. She's a little skittish around new situations and I didn't want to overwhelm her with new faces in a new setting. But, of course, she surprised me and did really well. She let people pet her head and didn't try to move away and most importantly didn't growl when someone came near me while I was holding her. She stayed calm throughout the ceremony and only barked once.

Kylie in her 'ascot'. It's just Trinity's bandana that looks huge on her. She looks like a little old lady.

Trinity, on the other hand was a little hyper but laid down and was calm when I needed her to be. But then again she's they hyper one out of the two.

Our first, somewhat, family photo with Kylie!

It was really warm out. Both girls drank plenty of fluids and I kept wetting their bandanas throughout the day. We had a good time seeing our family and our girls enjoyed being apart of the festivities.

Wordless Wednesday

Do you instagram? Well we do to! Follow us at endlesscharm917 for more silly updates from us!

Video Friday: Kylie Vs. Trinity

I'm sure many of you are wondering how Trinity's handeling being a new sister. Well I can happily say that she is doing great with it. The first day we brought Kylie home, Trinity wanted to play with her. I'm very happy that Kylie does not want to play all the time like Trinity does because I would be breaking out wrestling matches all day. But here is a video of them playing one late night. Enjoy your weekend...

I think Trinity likes her. Kylie gets to stay :)

Wordless Wednesday

Kylie, hanging out with her Auntie.

Kylie's Rescue Story

Now that Kylie has been officially introduced to the blogging community I figure now is as good a time to tell you her story. She is from Arkansas and was rescued by Darlene from P.S I Love You Animal Rescue, the same rescue Trinity came from. Here is the Facebook post that she wrote a week after rescuing her.  (Little Bit is Kylie and Annabell was the dog she was found with)

Ok I went to visit the two abandoned dogs that begged me to take them Friday while I was out at the lake looking for the year old pup Daisy, with her paw hurt...didn't find her but two other dogs were dumped and in very sad shape. A thunder storm was coming...though scared they reached out to trust the only people who were there...took food from my hand and because I had no place to take them, started to leave, to regroup and think about how we might help them...someone said they would give food to them....but they started whining and begging to get into the van. Dog down there do not last a week. Lil Bit shook so hard, had a cherry eye and was dirty...Annabelle though collie Shepard mix, her white hair was completely grey...and I thought her eyes too...but with a bath..she is totally gorgeous. Though she is missing much of her back side hair from worms and itching..and a tummy bug that pretty much made her loose a lot of weight. She is 56 lbs and should be almost 70. What could I do...15 minutes before the vet closes...has apt for the other dog I couldn't find, 17 minutes away...and two dogs getting ready to lay flat on gravel like sitting ducks waiting to be shot, hurting and scared, whimpering to be saved....was it my responsibility...no, was it my problem, only if I wanted to sleep that night without regrets..and that is what I thought of....will I be able to sleep tonight knowing what I turned my back on. So I did it...called the vet and boarded them....They have been at the vets all weekend...had the total work up, spay and shots and a bath...and look what treasures that are waiting for someone to foster until adoption. NOW....I need one or two people to give these sweeties a few days to relax at someones home..they love outside..not sure if the collie would jump a small fence...if someone has a privacy fence or kennel they could board the dogs in for a little while...I have people who are willing to help..but no one can at the moment with dogs getting ready to transport, and everyone full. They are not happy at the vets...they don't know why they are there...they only get to be on leash for a few minutes outside and no running around playing..they were even separated in two compartments so they cant be together...but now that they are on the mend they can be..but its tight and dark in there...PLEASE help me...I know I was suppose to pick them up...help them and get them adopted...there is a wonderful home out there that I will find a match for.

I never saw this status update but I am so thankful that she didn't leave them their. Something was telling her to take them and that everything would be ok. We believe she is around 3 years old, so I have made her Birthday June 1, 2009 three years to the day she was rescued and in honor of the day her new life began.

Thank you so much Darlene. We all love what you do. You have a big heart. Zach, Kylie, and I are thankful for what you have done for her.

Remember When I said....

Remember that time I said, "Small dog? Why don't you just get a cat?"

Well, prepare for me to put my foot in my mouth cause guess what I just adopted?? :D :D

 

This is Kylie she's a Chihuahua, Boston Terrier, Whippet mix. She's small (only 13lbs!) she's a lap dog, she's quite, she's rescued (more about her story later!) but most importantly she's all ours. No more wandering the streets for this pup. She's home for good.

She's my little love bug!