pondering a pup

not considering a cat.

I don't want to take over harry's thread!

I just got an email saying that my dear Riley barks too much to live in a condo ;_;

I am going to go to some adoption events tomorrow.

Bette will be at one
http://photos.petfinder.com/photos/US/VA/VA210/13063626/VA210.13063626-3-x.jpg

<3 !!!

i'm sure you'll find another pup to ponder

my co-worker recently got a puppy and she is totally freaking out about barking but she is a nervous nellie

the lady told me riley has 4 applications from single family homes... she is popular!

i am pushing bette off to tomorrow i think becuase i want to go meet petey:
http://pet-uploads.adoptapet.com/4/b/7/89853449.jpg

t. silaviver, my upstairs neighbors' stupid dog barks ALL the time and it is the most annoying thing, so i don't want to do that my neighbors. also s had a puggle once that barked like crazy and he felt horrible. i think they might be moving out (thank god, the dude also has a fondness for slamming all the doors whenever he goes in or out).

i go to this website a lot when i want to torture myself: http://www.norsled.org/

petey was not at the event :( but i talked to his foster mom who said that she would bring him up from tennessee next week if i am approved...

i met nina. she is a 6-month old puppy and needs probably more training than i have time for, but super cute:
http://pet-uploads.adoptapet.com/6/e/c/97089764.jpg

then i met lonzo. i fell in love with him, and some other people took him home as a foster. honestly, i think he liked me better. because when they were holding his leash he still would come over and put his head on me or lean against me. so sweet. he is WAY cuter than this picture.
http://pet-uploads.adoptapet.com/3/d/2/97570212.jpg

after that i went to my local shelter and met binji, a "boxer mix" that i think is more of a pitbull mix (i don't think i can have that):
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/598345_10151207830151589_1900017384_n.jpg

and onyx, a cane corso mix. she is a BIG girl, but super sweet. she was very hard to photograph:
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/397103_10151207830386589_648093355_n.jpg

the shelter doggies are so sad in their little pens :(
their adoption fee is also a lot less than most places and they come with 4 obedience classes... should i get a 100 lb dog y/n?

i talked to a lady at petsmart and have been doing research. it seems like, despite being lolhueg, the cane corso is an easily trainable and obedient dog... less hyper and more manageable than boxers. hmmm.

i love lolhueg dogs!

huge dogs are the best

what will be your situ when you get a dog? can you take your dog to work? dogsitter?

lolhueg dogs are my favorite kind. i will have to crate when i go to work w/a dogwalker coming mid-day. i am now working from home one day/week and s is off every other friday, so it wouldn't be 94/7 alone time.

i have been reading up on the cane corso and they seem really awesome.

i am also in contact w/ a foster lady about stripes, a dane/lab mix. i need to find out how energetic he is (if lab or dane part is more dominant) and whether he'd go nuts w/out a yard.
http://photos.petfinder.com/photos/US/VA/VA610/24874736/VA610.24874736-2-x.jpg

yeah we had a good talk with the norsled people and they were like, you don't always need a big yard, or any yard, which was good to hear. it's good that you're looking at rescue places who ~know~ the dogs bc they're fostered - stuff like the barking isn't always something you find out till you get the dog home.

my in-laws nutty dog was chosen bc she was the shyest, quietest, cuddliest pup at the shelter... then they got her home and she was CRAZY. she was so ADD all the time. lots of obedience training and stuff calmed her down and she is a really well behaved dog now.

i want this cutie

http://d1ihe8iurr5ss7.cloudfront.net/animals/fullsize/s1077a4931227m12969499.jpg

Cecil is, more than most huskies, clearly a person in a dog suit!On death row because he can climb a fence and he chases cats...where did they do their husky research? He is incredibly intelligent, and understands most of what he hears. He is extremely vocal; Cecil has opinions about everything, and wants to tell you (and everyone else within hearing) what he thinks! He is learning to be crate trained, and coming along nicely!
He has only half a tail (we think he was born that way) but it is adorable and almost always wagging. Cecil loves the dog park, gets along well with all other dogs and people; in fact, Cecil has so much love to give that he hardly knows what to do with himself.
His ONLY problem is that he has severe separation anxiety: he needs someone with him most of the time, and would be perfect for someone who is home most of the time or can have him at work. Cecil is almost unbelievably well behaved! He has never had an accident in the house, and when left alone indoors (otherwise he WILL escape) with another dog, has never destroyed anything!So, to recap, Cecil needs 3 things:
someone with him most of the time
secure yard (he can get out, anyway)
an affectionate, husky savvy human to live with (who will make him so happy he will not want to leave!).
At less than a year old, Cecil is very playful and shines with a doggy companion! But he will leave other dogs, a juicy bone or anything else to be with the human who he will love forever. He is waiting...

Awwwwwww

an emotionally needy dog is basically the perfect pet for ytth and me

everyone who wants one please hurry up and get a dog and then post frequently about its talents and foibles.

i barely slept last night because i was thinking about dogs!

stripes' foster mom says he'd be fine in a condo! i can go meet him in annapolis next saturday. omggggg i don't know if i can wait that long. fortunately i have a busy week.

http://photos.petfinder.com/photos/US/VA/VA610/24874736/VA610.24874736-1-x.jpg

also pls to suggest names for this one bc i think stripes is dumb.

He is happy to go for walks but also happy to lay around the house. He is a very sweet pretty laid back guy. Mostly he just wants to be with a person and would be happy anywhere he had someone to call his.

Stripes is a 9 month old Great Dane Boxer mix. He was rescued from a high kill shelter in Georgia, only minutes from being euthanized just for taking up a kennel. Stripes is a very large boy who just keeps growing. He probably has grown 4 inches from just the month we've had him. He's a very goofy boy who loves to bounce around and play. He loves everyone and everything.

his listing says dane/lab mix but i was thinking his face is not even remotely lab and most dane/lab mixes (labradanes!) are black. boxer makes a lot more sense (this mix is called boxane which is not nearly as cool a word as labradane).

OMG I am approved to take him home Saturday if the foster mom can get a neuter appt this week! WOAH /liveblogging

!!!

Xp to estela: be careful what you wish for - once we get a dog, that us gonna be all I care about! there will be photos on every thread!

that is the dearest wish of my heart.

Nooooo after arranging all the details and even talking to the vet who neutered him today, everything seemed set, but i just got news that his heartworm test came back positive :( i feel really bad but i don't think i can adopt a sick dog.

:( :( :(

i am actually really annoyed bc the foster mom told me he was heartworm negative. i don't know if she was just playing me or if he had been previously tested and negative (i read it can take a while to show up). ugh. now i feel like a jerk but honestly i wouldn't have gone this far if i'd known that from the start.

your'e not a jerk and I wouldn't take such a sick dog either, the stress and labour and expense are potentially horrendous. signed, avid dog lover

There's no point taking a sick dog if you can't afford it - you shouldn't feel bad.

my coworker's dog had heartworm when she adopted him. or has it? i think he's ok now but i'm not sure what it cost
i typed heartburn first

I could afford $300 but not $1000 and I hear it can fall anywhere in that range.

Guys this process is ridiculous. I feel kind of judged and exposed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/23/fashion/thursdaystyles/23pets.html

one rescue group required THREE references!!

I found an awesome boxer in a shelter near Richmond but there is an app for him already so I have to wait til Friday to see if they get him. Ugh.

http://pet-uploads.adoptapet.com/e/b/6/97852101.jpg%3F336w

Ugh

Oh and btw Riley is still up for adoption despite the woman telling me there were FOUR apps from single family homes for her. These rescue ppl are craaaaazy.

Lady posted her on Craigslist today even!!

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/pet/3447712801.html

they are one of the craziest bunches. i just watched a thing in court re: a lady who started as a cat rescuer but lost control and saw predictable results. then they requested that her address be shielded because of other crazies. i love animals but ugh

i just saw a dog outside my apt that i recognized and he was stopped and wouldn't walk with his owner and i sad are you being bad? and owner said lol we used to live here and i think he's confused. aww.

Awww!

I think it's so stupid that there are so many dogs that need homes and these people are like bogarting them!

In other news, I went to my sister's last night and her dog (a beautiful gap who is the sweetest ever) was attached to me the whole time. That only reinforced my idea that I should just dognap her (plot formed at thanksgiving). S is totally on board with this plan. Problem solved?

ugh autocorrect! Gsp (German shorthaired pointer), not gap!

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/196169_10151119931018414_1140537831_n.jpg

those are my favorite kind of dogs

I took a quiz yesterday about what kind of dog is right for you. I took it twice. Both times, gsp was the answer! And the runner up was always vizsla <3. But those breed rescue groups would never ever give me one bc I don't have a fenced yard.m

http://animal.discovery.com/breed-selector/dog-breeds.html

lol i got gsp too. with pointer and chesapeake bay retriever as runners up.

I was *so* close to possibly getting a dog tomorrow but now I haven't heard back from the lady re final approval!

I am going to go meet Brutus the boxer tomorrow as a backup?

If all that fails, there are some boxer/Pyrenees puppies and I might be able to adopt one but I'm not sure if im ready for that...

puppies are super hard work!!!

So Suzie the dog is coming to meet me this afternoon!

I am supposed to go see brutus but i kinda don't want to do all that driving (almost 2 hours each way) if Suzie would likely be coming home with me later. But i also don't wanna get burned so maybe i should just go.

was brutus's family 0hi0 st4te alumni?

I has a puppy!

ae<3, is it suzie? what breed is she?

i mean aw<3, i wasn't making a mild howling noise.

it is! but i am calling her basil.
she is a mix of some sort... some boxer and maybe lab?

basil!

i approve.

http://https%3A//lh6.googleusercontent.com/-MWxdt8vz8UI/UNY2VvPEI5I/AAAAAAAAD9U/gfKNlZcM3qU/s799/20121222_173037.jpg

oh that didn't work.

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/150967_10151217982281589_659603772_n.jpg

she actually just CHOSE to go sit in her crate like a good girl!

<3
she is gorgeous
how old is she?

7-8 monthsish.

thank you! she is sweeeet.

i'm so happy for you, what a great xmas gift.

thank you <3 it really is a great gift!

basil<3

great dog!

she is quite the tail wagger!

What a beauty! I love her white toes!

she is the cutest thing!! would just like to reiterate how insanely jealous i am!!

Aw, I know you will get yours soon!

Jaq, she also has the cutest little white stripe on top of her snout/nose <3

MORE PHOTOS!!!!!

lol it was hard to take good ones last night because my apt has lots of black furniture and low lighting and she is black!

she really loves the crate
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/425559_10151218692531589_1031292839_n.jpg

Omg I'm so in love with her

this is the 'god mom, stop taking pictures of me jeeeeze' face
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/12235_10151218700181589_564086566_n.jpg

she really needs a bath but she was spayed on the 15th and i think the incision needs to stay dry at least 10 days. hmm.

god these images are hueg. sorry!

super cuet nose stripe!!!! What a love!

<3

it seems to me we should be getting regular basil updates, but instead we are not getting any.

sorry! we have been very busy going back and forth to my sister's house (45 min each way ugh). finally having a quiet day.

she wasn't really into running around sister's yard on christmas and instead sat nicely for me to take this picture!
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/25023_10151222919866589_2096325533_n.jpg

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/553659_10151222923306589_1350593495_n.jpg

she is going to the vet on saturday to have her spaying stitches removed/examined. then i think she will be allowed to go to a dog park :)

she really loves her monkey (but she already killed the squeaker in his head)
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/68917_10151225626996589_46857643_n.jpg

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/36517_10151225618821589_314189098_n.jpg

she lusted after the christmas roast for hours
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/530302_10151225626936589_856145965_n.jpg

jaq, her pads are also really cool!
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/184475_10151225626941589_937776685_n.jpg

i hope this overload satisfies your update needs, estela. i promise to do better in the future.

btw, that woman was STILL posting Riley on craigslist as of yesterday! wth?!?!

cute puppy

ty!

thank you t<3, early impressions are that she is top notch with a desirable element of disgraceful.

i love the black/white color combination, it's just like my disgraceful cat

Basil is cuter than the other dogs you posted so I'm glad you ended up with her!

^^^

i wanna play with her ears, which is probably rude

her ears are awesome and she doesn't mind them being petted but I dunno how much ridiculousness she would tolerate.

This is one lovely pup - is she part exuberant monster and part drowsy lovelorn beggar?

yes! she lovvves to run and would chase after every squirrel she saw if i would let her. she had a blast playing with my sister's dog today, and was definitely displaying some alpha traits. but she also has a habit of whimpering and looking at you really manipulatively when she wants something. sometimes she just follows me around the house, she lovvvves belly rubs and is currently on the couch next to me snoring away <3

<3
next we have to find a puppy for smoove and a cat for mookie.

Yes!!!

i have now been told by about 6 people that basil looks like a dog named finn, yet we have never encountered finn himself! He seems to be quite popular. Where is this infamous dog?

basil went to the vet today and she was very good and she loved the doctor! stitches out! but she does seem to be allergic to something (she's been sneezing and her paws show signs of licking). vet suggests trying new food as it could be chicken :(

wellness food has been great for harry's skin and paws, he gets a mix of wet and dry food and he loves it better than anything else ever.

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/25023_10151222919866589_2096325533_n.jpg

i love this pic but feel that i am being judged as wanting

probably fair

it's time for an update.

pupdate por favor

i don't wanna jinx it but.................

it's maybe gonna happen?!?! LL is def swaying towards saying yes. she called ytth at work and talked his ear off for over an hour - her main concern is that we won't be able to spend enough time with a dog (lol!!!), i thought she was gonna be freaked about the garden and the hardwood floors, and her crazy allergies, but she is an animal lover and just wants to make sure we are fully prepared for the commitment. but she LOVES ytth so much, and of course he had great responses to all her concerns. she is also worried that if she says yes to us, she'll have to see yes to our neighbours, who she doesn't really like and who asked for a dog when they moved in 8 years ago.

she is gonna "sleep on it for a few days" but she said that talking to ytth had def swayed her towards our side.

KEEP ALL YOUR FINGERS CROSSED FOR US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

good luck!

i really really hope she says yes!

Everything crossed!!

Pupdate:
Basil is awesome and I love her so much! She started puppy class last week and she is the prettiest, most popular, best behaved girl in class. The other pup moms fawn over her. She learned shake and lay down really fast, but we are struggling a bit with the leash manners (she is easily distracted by squirrels, dogs, birds, buses, cars, people, etc. and pulllls a lot). She is also showing some weird behavior around s! She loves him but then sometimes she gets too excited and pees a tiny bit, usually when he first comes home. It is an excitement/submissive thing rather than a housebreaking thing...he needs to work on his approach to her maybe? I didn't even know this was a thing!

The other day we went for a meet and greet at the doggy daycare recommended by our new upstairs neighbor, who has a dog that basil gets along with like gangbusters. They only let her meet the other dogs for a few min and then they said she exhibited like every type of doggy behavior possible. Weird. Anyway, she is going on Thursday to see how it goes, and they have a webcam so I can check in on her. She loves the dog park and plays well with all the dogs there, from Rottweilers to pugs, so I don't know what was up with the amy are people. I think she just takes a few min to adjust to new environments and they didn't give her enough time? We'll see. I don't want them to reject her!

I have to go on a work trip next week and it's going to be so hard!

Also I think she is growing! It's hard to say bc I don't have a scale or measurements but she looks a little taller, and I think her face is starting to look a tiny bit re grown up? I could also be making it up.

*more grown up

:)

how much does day care cost?

we figure that we won't need it, bc atm i am only working 3 days p/wk, jordan can take pup at least 1 day a week to work, and poss my boss might let me bring a dog?? idk, she's weird and pass-agg so who knows. but the problem will be when ytth is out of town for work - i will have no way of getting pup to work with me since i don't drive (and it's 6 miles each way, which might be too long a walk for most dogs). even working the shortest day possible, pup would be home alone at least 7.5 hours. i guess we could hire a walker, but i'm uncomfortable giving my house key to a stranger.

cecil got adopted the other day which is :) but also :(

It is $30-35/day but she would probably go max twice a week, because I work from home one day and scott is off every other Friday and the others I can usually run home at lunch to walk her. Daycare is twice the cost of dog walker, but she gets an entire day of play instead of a thirty min walk. i think a dog could definitely manage for 7.5 hours. I just make sure to fit in lots of exercise and activities to keep her mentally stimulated. but yeah, you feel guilty. Next week when I go away she is going to boarding because s leaves at 6 and gets home at 5 and that would not work, esp since he'd have to get up at like 415 to feed/walk her. At least at boarding she gets an indoor/outdoor kennel and attn from the staff.

I am so worried she's gonna hate me when I come back, or have terrible separation issues (she does howl sometimes when I leave, but not always. Weird.).

tbf i haven't seen you in quite a long time but am still fond of u

/no howl

Aw thanks. Daycare webcam is addicting! Not a very productive day at work...

Basil is completely wasted after her day! They said she was a little shy at first but then really enjoyed playing with the other dogs :)

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/424463_10151256494841589_1095385450_n.jpg

she is such a find.

I taught her roll over in about three tries today!

also:
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/582500_10151258128291589_1918533601_n.jpg

Basil was not very happy when s picked her up from boarding last night and she went to the bathroom a lottt. I think she had been holding it in protest and finally relaxed when he came to get her :( apparently she has slept all day and i hope she is not too irritated with me when/if i get home!

more pix pls

this taxi driver when i arrived in dublin was telling me about his untrainable boxer puppy and he said, 'he's as daft as a brush, we should have called him basil,' and then he said, 'basil brush was a puppet on an old english tv show,' and i said, 'i know, we used to watch that in nz, i loved him,' and then i said, 'ha ha boom boom,' which was what basil brush always said after he cracked a terrible joke and the driver was pleased in a nostalgic way and then i said, 'my friend just got a very clever dog and she has named her basil,' and the driver looked skeptical and changed the subject to oscar wilde.

My landlord's idea of ”a few days” appears to be vastly different from mine - it's been ELEVEN DAYS!!!

the good news is that my boss, despite being an asshole most of the time, said that I can totally bring a dog to work.

oh yay<3

Hooray! Good luck!

Miss basil is snoooozing up a storm today but she did wake me up to go out at 630. I think she is happy I am home and not too angry with me :)

puppy bol

puppybl

peepup patel

pup fiction

Puppy has pink eye :( apparently sending doggies to daycare is like sending kiddies to daycare O_o

aww

peepup patel

loool

i love to look at this dog. i love tuxedoed animals.

it's been more than 3 weeks and still no answer :/

basil is soooooooooo pretty! i <3 her

Why is she toying with you?? I've half a mind to call her myself and tell her how much that house needs a dog!

Last night I let b sleep in the room instead of her crate (on dog bed, no human bed for her!) and she was a pro - no noise or accidents all night, and she let me sleep til 15 min before alarm went off.

she called tonight. it's a big fat NO.

sadface.jpeg forever

sorry smoovy

this makes me mad.

sorry justin3<3

Awww, so sorry :(

we are incredibly, inconsolably bummed out

now we have to get super serious about buying a house, bc not having a dog is NOT AN OPTION!!!!!

oh the best part:

she was going to say yes, but decided to "sit with the decision for a week, to see how it felt" and then she decided that she just couldn't deal with the stress of worrying about us owning a dog, because she doesn't think we fully comprehend the commitment of owning a dog

wtf, her

It's like she's never met you? You understand the commitment of being married but not owning a dog? She sounds kinda loonie to me.

i hate ppl who think they are the best at making decisions for other ppl

This person is wrong.

^^^

It would be one thing if she was saying she didn't want a dog on her property, but it seems like she's trying to make it about you, which is sooooo wrong.

yeah it's the moral judgment that's bugging me, like, what if we decided to have a kid? would she say the same thing???? or, is she happier knowing that some poor dog is in a shelter instead of our nice warm loving home??? you couldn't find two ppl more aware of the responsibility - or more committed to it - than us. we have discussed every aspect of dog ownership, all the possible scenarios like what if it needed $15,000 in medical care (yes we would pay whatever it cost, as long as it was to the dog's benefit and not just our own), the kind of travel we'll be doing (dog-friendly hotels only), a million other things... everything!!!

she said that she would feel more comfortable if either of us had been dog owners as adults, instead of this being our first time - that is insane to me!!! the reason we waited till our 30s is bc we understood that until now neither of us was ready for the huge emotional and financial and physical commitment of owning a dog, it's not something we take lightly at all.

arrrrgggghhhhh /end rant

This woman is a controlling idiot and should be forgotten and left behind as soon as possible.

I am so irate for you!!

me too, i'm genuinely outraged.

<3 <3 <3

- moved 6500 miles away from home
- married for years
- pays the fuckin rent every month
- doesn't understand commitment

sorry doggie, you're better off in a pound than with these sketchy ppl

grr

seriously. i don't even like dogs and i'm outraged on your behalf.

you're gonna move, right? and tell her it's because she is controlling and judgmental? right?

i mean there are particular dogs i like. just as a population i don't care for them.

i feel the same about people.

every time i click submit on this thread, a doggie face flashes on the screen for a moment. i think it's a sign that things are somehow going to work out for ruby and her dog.

also, every time i type the word dog an n sneaks in. you can guess where. it's horrifying. i am horrified.

but i like making that doggie face flash so i'm going to post over and over again. i feel like i'm doing magic spells for ruby.

Aw <3 ¡

The thing is that she is a.genuinely good hearted person but she is super WEIRD and kind of nutty. Like, I know that she really believes that her priority is this theoretical dog's welfare but it's just sooooo dumb.

We're probably gonna go see the bank about mortgage stuff soon. The way I'm looking at is: this must be for the best? Maybe we would have gotten a dog and them she would have decided to sell the house and we'd be super stressed teething to find a new place that would be ok with our 100lb dog, affordable and nice and in a good neighborhood? I mean, owning is the end goal anyway, we were just putting it off, or trying to, bc house buying sucks big time.

aww, i'm sorry this woman is a wacko :(

basil did an awesome job in her final exams tonight :)

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/59717_10151319395626589_585545247_n.jpg

this pic came out horrible bc i cut myself out of it and then instagrammed to brighten it up but anyway here she is pulling a mckayla maroney over this hat (not impressed).

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/529490_10151319389996589_1964922512_n.jpg

what are the requirements and exams?

She had to do all the things they learned, including: sit, stay, lay down, watch me, loose leash walking, leave it, recall and some other stuff I forget.

Awww! ♡♥♡♥♡

pls to see cuet video on the facebook

basil says hi
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/377616_10151330511136589_606810414_n.jpg

she is such a serious little dog! <3 her

basil had so much fun playing with cousin tia on sunday. now i feel bad we don't have a yard of our own :(

http://https%3A//fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/459123_10151449774381589_91411573_o.jpg

oops.

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/946172_10151449774381589_91411573_n.jpg

<3 <3 <3 <3

I gave b some kale tonight and she loved it! I was proud.

We also tried jogging together and she was great for a while but then she went nuts and started biting the leash (maybe but a fan of restraint?). Sigh. I will try again with different harness.

lol kale

we've decided, fuck it, we probably can't afford to buy this year or next, so we're gonna find a new rental in the next few months so we can finally get our dog!

yay! Do it! Warning: it's rally hard to predict how much a dog will cost! i am about to drop mad $$ on a fancy trainer to help get basil through some if her anxious/fearful and impulse control issues (most of which didn't manifest until recently). It's ok i don't mind if it will help her be happier, but goodbye, tax return!

Oddly she is doing way better with obedience stuff! (tomorrow she "graduates" from intermediate class).

P.s. Harbl i actually saw that woman out walking with her cat on the leash!

I just got yelled at by a crazy old witch for walking basil on the sidewalk within one of the adjacent condo communities. we were about 50 feet away from her and her shitty little dog and I stepped aside so the dogs would not cross paths because I could see that her little dog was acting somewhat aggressively. she told me I was not allowed to be there and that I had to leave. I was somewhat confused and she told me only residents could walk there and she knew I was not a resident because they have a 30 pound weight limit. I told her I was not aware that I was not allowed to walk there and she went off saying that there are signs posted everywhere. she told me my dog was scaring her dog because she was big, not having any realization that my dog may have been scared as well (she is actually fearful of many dogs, which is why I'd stepped aside). I explained that, and again said I was not aware that it was not allowed and she continued to tell me I had to leave but wouldn't stop yelling at me so that I could. So i told her she was being very rude but that didn't help. by the way, she was accompanied by her elderly mother and they were also many onlookers sitting there like WTF. (I apologized to them for the crazy once she had gone.) we walk there all the time and every other resident there has always said hello and been friendly towards us. one person even asked if our dogs could say hello to each other. after she left I exited the community but walked the perimeter to check for signs about not walking your dog. there are none.

I hate people.

this is really irritating to me because I know that basil has some issues but I work very hard to keep her out of uncomfortable situations and I'm a very responsible owner in that i am conscious of her triggers and am proactive in managing her when we're on walks... many dog owners around here have no control over their dogs at all or don't care that they act inappropriately. also if her dog is scared of my dog, then her dog is going to be scared of a 30 pound dog. she needs to learn how to manage her dog and not take it out on other people.

this is one scary dog
http://i44.tinypic.com/ohqv04.jpg
(her response when we got home)

That woman is crazy and wrong on so many counts. I am tsking her harshly + shaking my finger at her, she is so wrong.

Also - awwwwwww!!

fuck that lady!!!

<3!

(and by the way i don't hate all little dogs, just the poorly behaved ones whose owners don't think it matters that they're aggressive or reactive because they're little and easier to control.)

I feel like that woman was probably pro-segregation.

lol. what an asshole. she was probably covering up her shame at having an inferior dog.

I noticed today that my neighborhood/condo community (covers many blocks) actually has signs posted about having your dog leashed, licensed and spayed/neutered (I'm fine with that... Not telling anyone they can't walk down the street!) but there are definitely no dog or sidewalk related signs in the adjacent complex. I'm still irate at her snobbiness...it's not like she lives in some fancy gated community...it's 3 outdated buildings and the condos are cheap. Not like a "have to keep the riff raff out" type of place. I should just get over it, but it just makes me want to move evn more.

you should make a point of walking basil over there EVEN MORE FREQUENTLY. and when she sees you and starts yelling, you should just smile a little condescendingly, pretend you can't understand her and keep walking.

it'll drive her nuts

basil is having fun in the rain with her doggy sitter
http://i41.tinypic.com/jshcw1.jpg

i like the color composition of that picture

Me too! I want those towels. I love the color.

doggie sitter says b cried the whole first day til she bought her a new tug toy and apparently she has been content with that ever since (spoiled! Apparently the toys i packed weren't good enough!). Also they went on a two mile run today and i am amazed because i can't run more than a few blocks with her before she wants to attack the leash! I went to the pride parade and there was a table with free doggie stuff so hopefully she will forgive me for going away. I miss her!

basil's first fireworks:
1. What's going on out there? Lets go!
2. What are these curious noises? Oh well, lets continue our walk.
3. Calmly met three other dogs (this never happens)... Too preoccupied to care about them?
4. Poops.
5. I want to go home. NOW!!!! (High tailed it 3 blocks... Hey lady, are you walking the dog or is the dog walking you? At least I know she knows where home is!)
6. Mommy, hold me, I'm scared! (Intense snugglez)
7. Finally over. Pant for 5 min.
8. Lay down. The end.

<3 !!!

i get really REALLY mad when i hear fireworks going on before/after the official fireworks day/s: it's not fair to animals.

basil otm

Yeah i don't know why the country club down the road did their 20-min fireworks show last night? I got her a thundershirt, which is awesome, but we couldn't use it last night because I'd recent put her frontline on. Hence the snuggles. Interestingly she didn't bark or growl at all.

we are pondering this little old lady (her name is Joy):

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/q81/s720x720/1010383_692652954083609_1531078625_n.jpg

second attempt at convincing the landlord is underway :/

o jeez good luck! she is v. pretty

ooooh do it!!! sending good vibes to your crazy landlady.

Any news? Dying over here!!

not yet :/

i wrote a pleading email to the LL, since she keeps making a point to jordan that she knows him, but she doesn't really know me. and the head of the rescue group wrote to her as well, explaining that they are particular about who their dogs go to, and that joy would be perfect for us (and also gave a heartwrenching description of the terrible state she was in when they found her).

now we just wait. i think there is about a 5% chance she'll say yes, but we had to give it one last shot.

All appendages are crossed for you!

she left a voicemail last night, saying that she is feeling "very positive" about this, swayed in our favour, etc. etc. and she needs to research pet lease agreements. but this is the same stuff she said last time, before finally saying no, so i'm not holding my breath :/

Maybe the adoption people contacting her will help though!

yr landlady sounds like a piece of work

nah, she's actually a very nice and extremely fair person, she's just SUPER neurotic. like, signing our lease when we moved in took FOUR FUCKING HOURS because we had to go through the entire house and note the condition of every.single.thing. we also pay about $7-800 below market value for this place because she is so insistent on being fair. also she is planning to sell eventually and said that when she does, if we are still here, we'll have 6 months notice or as much time as we need to find a new place before it even goes on the market.

she totally adores jordan, though, which is why he is the one that deals with her 99% of the time.

joy is gonna be at another adoption fair on saturday, so the LL might come meet her. if she meets her in person, we'll have basically won bc no one could say no that adorable face.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151507675837050&l=63b796dcbd

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/q71/s720x720/549479_10151507675837050_1176538601_n.jpg

<3

that's a lot of face

she is gorgeous, i hope the landlady goes to the fair.

decision?

still waiting :/

last time she said she would decide in "a few days" and we waited like 6 weeks so

this lady, ughh!

she has definitely got an aggravating streak.

i kinda feel a bit sorry for her - she was in a serious car accident 20 yrs ago, and it left her pretty fucked up. she walks kinda funny and she can't really open her mouth when she talks. apparently she has a whole bunch of plates in her body and can't ever fly again (my guess is the pressure would create swelling?? or something). she IS a nice person, just.... weird.

oh and jordan just got home and told me that she called and is meeting us at the adoption fair tomorrow!!!

oh yay, that is very promising. and I admire how kind and fair you are about her even though she has been difficult.

Basil's expensive dog trainer just left and I am feeling like I may be wasting my money? I feel like she has given us some good techniques but I might have been able to find those by researching on my own? She didn't actually work with b but instead talked to me the whole time, and at the first sign of excitement she had me put her n her crate, which I think just made her anxiety level skyrocket.

I don't wanna be one of those people who thinks they know better than the professional, but it feels weird for her to recommend x,y,z without working with her and seeing her behavior more.

ooh i read this thing about crate training - that you have to get the dog to WANT to be in the crate, so you put a treat in the crate and close it and let the dog try to get in there for a while, then finally let them in.

UPDATE:

so we got to the adoption fair and joy wasn't there, they told us that she'd been pretty much already adopted by an older couple with a lot of malamute experience. my heart just sank bc i figured the LL would just freak out, since we'd talked up this one particular dog. but then they introduced us to vivienne, who is waaay different but so pretty and friendly. she's a husky mix (brown eyes), more energy than elderly joy, but still v v well behaved and only 2 yrs old so we'd have her a lot longer.

LL showed up and we talked with the rescue group people for a while, who have been totally amazing and answered all her questions and were v supportive and encouraging. THEN we had to go have coffee with LL and talk even more, but it's looking pretty good?? she wants us to get liability insurance with our renter's insurance, which is fine, we'll make whatever concessions are necessary. there's some issues with the other tenants in our duplex, but she doesn't really like them, so she's not gonna let them sway her decision.

next up is a house inspection by the rescue people, then... hopefully it'll be finalized??

Oooh I'm glad things are looking up!

Xpost I never crate her without some treat or toy... Sometimes she just goes there and hangs out on her own (she napped there this afternoon), but she does not like it if she's crated and you're across the room and ignoring her. I don't know why this lady didn't just work with her to calm down or help me practice managing her.

yeah does she think you can just shove her in a crate when you're out walking her?? our rescue group hates caesar milan btw - idk much about him bc i've never actually watched his show, but i guess he focuses more on negative reinforcement?

No she's given lots of advice/ideas about walks, it just strikes me as odd that the trainer would rather put her away than interact with her and understand what makes her tick...

Caesar is ughhhhh. His techniques, if used on a dog like basil, would make things worse! He does a lot of dominance stuff and punishing. Negative reinforcement isn't always bad; it can include "good things go away when you misbehave" (ie, if you get overexcited and start acting out, a game stops). But his techniques seem more like he's physically dominating the dogs :(

it's all but a done deal, guys!!!

the only 0.9% chance of this falling through now is:

our neighbours - the other side of the duplex - are being dicks about us getting a dog. apparently the guy has "hyper sensitive" hearing, and there are neighbours behind us who have a yappy dog that they leave outside all day. so the guy had a shit fit at our LL and doesn't want her to let us get a dog. BUT the LL just wants to check the legal stuff and make sure they can't cause any trouble bc they signed a lease with the assumption that none us could get dogs.

Hmmm if the dog behind you makes noise (something completely out of the control of ll) then i don't think there's any prior expectation of no dog noises. I hope this works out!!!

Also his assumption that neither of you could get dogs...is his assumption, right? He hasn't seen your lease... He doesn't know for certain that your lease says no dogs...

I just really want you to get this dog!!!!

me too!!!! it's so close!!!

so we found out some more info about neko (that's what we're calling her, it's the only name we could agree on): she once peed in the car of her original owner (fyi she was just a PUPPY) and he beat her so badly that she sustained a broken back, broken ribs and a collapsed lung. the only good thing to come of it was that it happened in a public parking lot and some good citizens called the cops on him.

Ugh horrible, horrible person. You will give her such a nice home!

We finally got a home inspection scheduled by the rescue group, but now the LL says that she has been too tired to look into pet leases this week AND she has to give us 30 days notice for any lease amendments?? I mean, seriously?? So I don't even know of neko will still be available :/

Also they don't have enough foster homes available so she is being kenneled right new which is really bumming me out :(

OMG JUST GIVE ME MY DOG ALREADY

Ughhh this is ridiculous. 30 days? Why? I think that's to protect tenants which obviously isn't an issue here. Seriously i called my landlord and asked him and he said "you go get yourself a dog, miss tehresa!" Done. Do you want me to have him talk to her?

http://i41.tinypic.com/2v8ondj.jpg

only good thing about today!

j show us a picture please

Tomorrow!.definitely taking my camera and getting a million glamor shots of her.

We are gonna pay her boarding costs between now and adoption, so they will hold her for us!

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5525/9482437732_9bb0d66ce4_z.jpg

we spent about 2 hours with her today, she was such a good girl, really well behaved and we have yet to hear her bark, even when she saw squirrels she wanted to chase. she has the softest, loveliest fur, and she's very trusting and affectionate for such an abused dog.

Awww j looks so happy!

it was the best! we're going to spend another couple hours with her tomorrow too!

j&j she is so beautiful and she looks perfect for you both and so loved already. i'm so glad she has won the puppy lottery after that horrible beginning.

and basil is as beguiling and beautiful as ever.

<3

can't help sharing this one from this afternoon!

http://i44.tinypic.com/5vvp85.jpg

I bought her a backpack because I think she should start carrying her own weight when we hike, but i have no idea if it fits properly. I guess i will find out tomorrow!

love her.

her new backpack reminds me of that tv show called 'dogs with jobs'.

i like neko. i'd like a dog like that but it's too hot here i think. dog backpack seems like it could make a dog feel very useful.

They like to have jobs. I think it makes them happier. Basil also likes to herd people when we're hiking!

Neko looks so sweet! I can't wait for her to come home!

harbl their coats are good at keeping them cool or warm - they have a weird double coat. they only thing they say is to not exercise them during the hotter hours, and to esp beware of hot pavement (if it's too hot for your bare feet, it's too hot for their paws). but they also need tons of human attention and can't really be left alone much - we are lucky with our schedules/jobs, so she will only be alone probably 6-7 hrs 2-3 times a week at the most.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7344/9483952566_43e72bee70.jpg

she looks really wolf-y in this pic, but irl she is super friendly-looking!

she is so great :)

she is beautiful, she looks a bit like f's dad's dog (rip) who was part tundra wolf/ part malamute and who was very beautiful and gentle and liked to sit squashed up in an armchair with a droll look in his eye.

ominous voicemail from LL

can't get hold of her

99% sure she is going to renege on this whole thing

wtf are we gonna do, we're already totally emotionally committed

Nooo! If she does you should just put in your 30 days notice and find a new place so you can have neko next month like planned (wishful thinking, i know).

omg

LL is legit nutso!~ she has been on ph with poor ytth for like an hour, STILL unclear if it's yay or nay

she is mad that we are paying the boarding fees at the kennel - we have BETRAYED HER TRUST... but it has nothing to do with her! we haven't taken ownnership/guardianship of neko, we just made a donation to n0rsled in order for them to take a good faith commitment. LL is claiming that she never actually said yes we are moving forward, which is a lie.

j looks like he's about to have a breakdown, is pacing entire house

i might throw up

j is a hero - so calm and diplomatic. if i had to speak to her i would be losing my shit right now. she talks nonstop for about 15mins at a time, letting j get in about 10 words.

wtf, consciously or not (and who care which) she is fucking with you. how dare she hurt you both like this, how dare she try to deprive neko of a ready, great home while promoting herself as a dog lover.

i know!!! it turns out it was a major miscommunication, that i tbh i think is entirely her fault BUT i guess we should have known not to do anything till we had it on paper. j is still on ph with her FYI, but it seems he is making good progress...??

i also owe him a huge debt for all this - he is the one who ALWAYS deals with her, which means about an average of 5 hrs ph time p/month.

the problem is: if she says no we will absolutely have to move, bc we know that neko is our dog and we have made a commitment to her, even if it's just in our minds.

i am also extra super pissed bc we had another amazing full day with neko, came home on a high, got ruined by LL

yesterday: had amazing day with neko, came home, invited "good" friends over for celebratory drinks, the woman-half of the friends gave me a bunch of condescending, unsolicited dog "advice", even though they have a rat terrier mix, which is a TOTALLY DIFFERENT KIND OF DOG in all ways to a siberian husky. she was so unbelievably rude and awful about it, and really hurt my feelings (aw emo), that i don't actually ever want to see her again. it made me realise she is always this way, and has been quite rude to me before, but i've brushed it off bc it hasn't really mattered - but someone implying that i don't know shit about taking care of a husky, and that i'm a terrible person for taking the recommendations of the highly experienced rescue ppl we are working with + many authoritative resources... i mean, i am without doubt gonna be the best dog owner in the world, don't try and tell me otherwise or i will fucking end you.

ps sorry this tza thread about beautiful basil has turned into my liveblog of doglife

yes, also she must not be allowed to make the keeping neko or not decision, don't give her any more control over you than she has already. you will find a way. xxp

ok j is a champion of champions and has smoothed over the entire thing - we are moving forward!!!!

whoa, did you guys know i was on the sandbox? i didn't, but i guess i must have registered ages ago. anyway, thanks for everyone's concern about our horrible dog situation. or our amazing dog horrible situation. either way, after 90 minutes of trying to reason with my landlord, she's back on board with "moving the process forward," having forgiven me for being "way out of line," acting in "bad faith," and being an "untrustworthy tenant." and also for "pressuring" her, "taking her out of the decision process," and "only hearing what i want to hear." i'm happy i managed to repair everything, since i wanted to start screaming at her instead, but the bad news is that she sees this process taking 6-8 weeks, which means poor neko has to stay in a kennel for two months while we come to visit her on weekends. but, if this whole thing ends, it will have been worth it. i'm just so incredibly drained by the process, and i don't even have a warm soft dog at me fee to comfort me. (though i do have a warm soft wife, just not at my feet, that would be weird and subjugating.)

i meant to say if this whole thing ends with us taking neko home for good.

omg i am so irate for you guys!!! I would start looking for another place anyway. Dog or not, this kind of manipulation and neediness is such crap. And once neko comes home she could get worse.

And yeah, people are always going to give you unsolicited dog advice. I have learned to just smoke and ignore.

it sounds as if you did great today; i probably would have cried with fury. if the landlady uses email you could write her a bullet point list of what you've mutually agreed to so far, and then do it after each future conversation to keep things straightforward. say something like, it was nice talking to you, here's what we have agreed on, if there's anything here you need to discuss further please let us know. (of course that will trigger a bit more dithering but at least you'll have in writing what is going on.)

i was also thinking that if things fell apart again and you did end up calling her bluff and getting neko anyway she might then go through a protracted dilemma about whether to kick you all out or not and find herself unable to go through with it and her indecision could end up serving you for a change.

Lol autocorrect! *smile and ignore!!!!
Xpost

Ytth, i bet your customer relationship management is amazing.

Ytth is the most tactful and diplomatic person I know and amazing at remaining calm and articulate. I would have cried and yelled and told her she was trouble human being, and then we'd be really screwed.

*terrible

I think she is trouble, too, but not the good kind.

LL emailed tonight, after we spent the whole day with neko, and totally reneged: the whole process has just proved "too stressful" and is now adversely affecting her "health".

so now we are moving and the new-house hunt begins tomorrow.

oh ffs

i'm so sorry

yeah it was pretty devastating, not gonna lie - i cried pretty hard for about 2 hours, then ytth came to the rescue with a plan, so i'm feeling better. i guess we always knew she might do this, but after she said 'yes' we figured it was a done deal, just a matter of her getting organized and actually getting us the lease to sign.

Best of luck on finding just the right place quickly for you guys and lovely Neko. I'm sorry it came down to it.

Ugh, I'm so sorry. Hopefully you can find something quickly! <3

basil met my almost seven week old niece today and she adored her! i was so proud! she was on her best behavior and was calm and relaxed and gentle around her :)

Any developments, j?

My coworker impulse bought a boxer puppy this weekend. I have kind of been quietly judging her because i spent MY Saturday volunteering at a doggie adoption event, hanging with four perfectly adorable mixed breed puppies while she dropped $750 on an unregistered pup. Am i just hating because i originally wanted a boxer and am jealous of her adorable dog that everyone at work will inevitably obsess over and love more than basil? Or am i justified in thinking it is dumb to buy a puppy? Btw i love my basil and wouldn't trade her, quirks and all!

i think your hate is well-placed

totally well placed

i try not to be THAT guy (at least not in front of ppl) but i really find adopting from breeders totally objectionable, when there are a) so many dogs that need homes and b) many breed-specific rescue groups.

boxers are totally ugly imo and i'm glad you got basil instead, she is the cutest of them all.

we are still looking for a place - we found something perfect but missed out, saw two great places over the weekend but pretty sure we're not getting either of them. but the good news is that, having found out our predicament, ytth's boss has offered to front the difference for a 20% down payment if we decide to buy, which has opened up another option for us.

also: impulse-buying a $750 dog says a lot (of really bad things) about a person's ability to take of another creature imo

Right! I know they'd been pondering a pup but this was definitely a spur of the moment thing. Not to mention her husband is currently not working. I don't even know where this money is coming from and am beginning to suspect she makes a lot more than i do which just makes me even more of a hater (we are same level on org). And yeah there are like five different boxer specific rescues on this area (I know cause i checked them all out last winter!)

ytth's boss sounds incredible!!! Omg i want to with for him!

Every time i see a husky mix now i think of you guys and i want it to work out so badly!

http://i44.tinypic.com/2qb7pzr.jpg

Oops sideways. Anyway...four of these little guys = my saturday afternoon. So adorable.

yeah his boss is just like... weirdly awesome. he just got a bunch more vacation days bc boss is all "if x is the standard/average number of vacation days in this industry, then i think we should be way above that".

puppies!!!!!!!!!!

up all night to pet

we are getting close... fingers crossed! found a place, stand-alone house - it's really cute, and has some nice little quirky features/lots of character BUT it's not the greatest location for us and it's pretty small. we've had our application approved so now we just need to decide. gonna go back for one more look on thursday but i think we're gonna take it. neko could be with us in less than 3 weeks!

Oooooh!!!!

lmao basil is hungover from her weekend adventures and i forgot that we had an appt with her trainer. She pretty much slept through the whole thing! What a waste of $$$$ :(

Sorry but that is kind awww-lol

We are waiting to hear about a place we looked at today - it's a mile from my work so I could take her every day and she'd never have to be home alone. Fingers crossed!

it's not ~official~ ie we haven't actually signed the lease but... the place is ours as of saturday!!!!!!!!!!!

So excited for you and lovely neko!!!

Hooray!! OMG, so happy for you all!

that's awesome!

(also i hope jerks move into your current place)

apparently poor basil was more than just tired :( she has barely moved our eaten since Monday night. Seems she is having some neck pain. Too much fun? We went to the vet and now she gets a weekend of muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatories. She looks so sad but hopefully the drugs and rest will help her feel better soon.

Oh no ;_;

Get better, Basil! <3

I think she is starting to feel better already :) i probably would too on those drugs!

She has emerged from her crate/bed and is playing with a toy AND she ate dinner :)

i feel a kinship

Happy neko day, j&j!!!!

where are the updates!!!!

omg what a day

our impatience was our downfall

today was official moving day, i.e. actual movers coming so we could spend our first night in our new house tonight

so of course without a second thought we knew we'd be picking up neko today.

i spent several hours walking her, first bc she was bored and antsy and acting REALLY aggressive/dominant towards me while we waited at the new place for ytth/the movers, then again bc we needed to be out of the way when they arrived.

our little front yard is dark bark chips and i soon realized that it is FULL, just FULL of various types of animal shit, which neko just LOVES to eat. so fucking gross.

she did some weird stuff but i guess it's just anxiety over a new environment, and about 3 hours ago, once we stopped unpacking, she just chilled right out and has been snuggled on the couch with us.

still have yet to hear her bark/howl/talk.

Awww, she'll be ok once she settles in and realizes how awesome her new life us!

*is

this is very happy news and you'll get accustomed to a dismaying filthy trick every now and then, it's a small price. i'm glad she has gone to live with such top notch people. <3

estela I might have to start a special neko thread just for you bbc I've been posting so many updates and pics but mookz and tza have seen them already!

she took a big dump inside the workshop today and found a dead mouse in a trap

I love these updates!

The first time i took basil for a work visit she puked on the doormat :)

i want a dog

our office manager fosters dogs and there were a couple she brought in i wanted to take home but i decided not to. they were puggle/german shepherd mix. normally i would not be interested in anything with any pug in it but they were only pug colored with curly tails. they had normal noses and more german shepherd-like proportions. they're going to be big dogs, not useless tiny dogs. they slept under my desk at work and farted a lot.

omg pugs are the WORST farters!!

you should definitely get a dog, harbl!

i want a dog

can't believe you are dissing your kitty like this

unless the dog is harry

Harry, Basil, and Neko are all such excellent dogs. I spent my free moments at work yesterday looking longingly at beautiful dogs on petfinder, plotting our post-cat existence.

oh no post-cat? i'm sorry

Well, we're not post-cat yet. But I do think about the cat-free future more than I probably should.

Soon we will have enough of a pack for a dogs of sandbox calendar

i love my cat so much. i really can't get a dog though. i'm already late for work all the time due to commute. my cat poops in a box.

can i just say that having a dog is hard hard hard work

i went into this knowing that huskies in particular are hard work (so fucking stubborn! also crazy!) but we got one of the "chill" ones and she is STILL fucking hard work!!!! i spend all day at work either praising her for doing the right thing or "UH-UH!!"-ing her for being naughty. she eats anything on the ground (except not actual things like books or shoes, just anything that is rubbish, like bits of paper, scraps of fabric, other animals' shit) and i live in a constant state that she is going to be sick or choke.

but i love her to bits and she is the cutest <3

Training class!!! Especially since she's not a puppy, sooner is better (yes i know it's only been a few days). Also you could try using a high value treat to redirect her - if she's going for shit or fabric get her attention with something really tasty instead. Leave it and drop it are commands you can teach really easily yourself, too (and you will impress the class!).

I need to refresh basil's drop it. She is terrible at it.

mmm high value traets

pupdate por favor

― t. silaviver, Saturday, January 12, 2013 12:39 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i hope every sandboxer and his or her dog is doing well.

amend to 'and his or her cat/s' where appropriate.

my cat is so rambunctious

basil had an amazing breakthrough this morning! the little dog upstairs that barks at every other dog encountered us while b was playing with bear, three most zen dog in the neighborhood. Apparently milo likes bear a lot, and somehow his presence made B and Milo get along! I hope this continues even when bear isn't there!!!

for estela:

http://youtu.be/gNWl4aNDxdI

(neko going crazy with her new toy)

Awww.

Basil just fell off the couch cause she got too comfy rolling on her back!

ha, neko has done that a bunch of times!! our couch is a t-shape, because we have the ottoman part in the middle, and when she lies on it, she gets to close to the edge, then tries to roll on her back and falls right off. i shouldn't laugh but it's sooooo funny. she is generally quite klutzy, it's adorable.

i do worry though, bc of her previous broken back injury.

Aww, poor girl!

Basil once flipped herself into the air and then onto the ground because she tried to chase a squirrel up a tree while on leash! After i was sure she was ok i laughed hysterically.she wasn't phased at all but she hasn't done it again.

thank you justin3, I love her!

More pics!

I have to get out the decent camera this weekend -I keep taking cell ph pics and they're terrible!

First obedience class tonight!

She peed at my work again today, but in a new spot which us :/ BUT she's green really well behaved otherwise.

Does Basil like bully sticks? Neko LOVES them, they keep her 100% occupied, but she devours them within an hour and the vet said they're too hard for her teeth :(

I have never given her one because I'm nervous about her eating it too fast! I don't give her rawhide either because i am paranoid. My neighbor's dog got pretty sick from it. Try Nylabones! Very safe. I once bought some beef marrow bones at the grocery store cause i read they are ok and they were cheap. Lots of people say to give raw but i read if they're not used to it you can boil a little to kill off bacteria without them becoming too hard (hard bones splinter) but after a few minutes and a few chips i got too nervous. I am a worry wart! :(

we got nylabones but apparently they're too hard for her? i can't remember, jordan did some research after we bought them and it turned out they were no good for her. she has missing teeth :(

we also got naturally-shed antlers which she LOVED but those are too hard for her as well, totally sucks. apparently we are only supposed to give her rubber toys. she likes the kong bionic stuffed with frozen peanutbutter.

Orbee makes a cool recycled rubbery bone that basil likes to chew on. Also for edible things you could try zukes. They are pricey but made of veggies and fruits rather than weird meat products. Basil likes the apple ones. She eats them fast so sometimes I'll jam one in a Kong so she has to get it out.

also my coworker with the puppy was telling me about how her dog needs a lot of training for leash walking (duh) but she doesn't want to take the time to work on it during morning walks because it's early and she's tired and doesn't want to have to get up earlier. So they are having a trainer come to work with her because she's still too young for classes. Ughhhh trainer stuff wont work unless you practice it. Also get a book and learn how to own a dog and don't get a puppy if you don't want to take the time to raise it. Ugh.

i was wrong about the nylabones, jordan says it just that neko doesn't like them all that much and loses interest really quickly.

but idk the vet isn't the be-all end-all of dog knowledge and gail at n0rsled was v pro antlers/bully sticks so i think we'll keep them around. but the bully sticks are like 10 bucks each and last less than 90mins!!!!

oh and there is dog daycare near us that is more affordable than i realized so once she has gone through classes we'll look into doing that at least one day a week - it'll be good for her (and v good for us)

I think if Gail gave her antlers/bully sticks without issue then she should be fine! I have lusted after antlers but they are $$$$! On that note: amazon prime is your friend for all things doggie!

Basil doesn't go to daycare anymore since she's developed fear of unfamiliar dogs....and I half wonder if something traumatized her at daycare but it's hard to say and was probably a mix of several things. Make sure they have a good staff to dog ratio. Ok I am going to stop telling you how to own a dog now :(

lol we buy 90% of everything on amazon prime already! it's just too easy. i think the antlers last a really long time even tho they are $$$$ - way way longer than bully sticks or himalayan chews.

her first obedience class went well, but we know now to bring a bunch of different treats bc even tho she is highly food motivated, she got bored really quickly with the same thing and got distracted. there are only two other dogs in our class which is good.

all the money we've spent on toys (many of which she destroyed in minutes)... the trainer suggested i make a thing out of fabric scraps, since moving parts will satisfy her prey drive. where do i work but a place where i constantly have bags of fabric scraps i'm always trying to get rid of. so i made her this shit-ass toy and she fuckin LOVES this stupid thing, she went crazy flinging it round.

p.s. i like advice from you, tza!!!

that's awesome :) i buy the cheapest plush toys at tj maxx etc because she can kill them pretty quickly but her trainer said it's really satisfying for her to be able to tear them apart. Amazon is awesome for having 30lb bags of food delivered to your door </lazy>

B's group class was at like 7 or 8 and she'd get bored without a lot of treat variety. Sometimes she'd just lie down and give up which was hilarious but frustrating. That may have also been a response to being in a more stressful environment.

ha yes the two other dogs were jumping round non stop, neko kept just lying down. it didn't help that every time she tried to sit, you could see her butt sliding gradually out from underneath her bc the floor was too slippery for her furry bum.

haha<3

harry was a complete dunce at obedience school, he'd be fine practising at home but when he was there he was so excited about being with all the other dogs he'd only cavort around and then line up enthusiastically for treats he hadn't earned, it was disgraceful. he has always gotten on very well with other dogs though (apart from this mean snappy little pomeranian across the street who is his arch enemy) so it did help and he also became obedient in the end.

awww, he is such a love!

basil had another good interaction with milo (her former nemesis from upstairs) today! but then we found out her friend willie the pug fell off the bed and broke his leg! poor wille :( :(

i got her an antler tonight and she lovves it.

she always steals my seat when i work from home but i love her anyway.
http://https%3A//scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1376580_10151724856786589_694230058_n.jpg

basil slides on the parquet floor here - it's funny because she'll sit, but then her front paws will start sliding and then she's in 'down' without even trying to be good :)

boo where is my picture?!

http://https%3A//scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1376580_10151724856786589_694230058_n.jpg

Ughhh

http://i39.tinypic.com/2ls8mx3.jpg

oh man basil

i love how endlessly disgraceful harry is

J did you give neko split or whole antler? The one i got for b was split and she made a huge dent in it in no time!

what do you mean by split? like split lengthwise? her one is whole but short, about 6 inches

Cut in half, like this
http://hungryhound.com/wp-content/uploads/antlers-splitwhole-300x199.jpg

Actually if there is worry about hardness, you could try a split one with neko. But obv it won't last as long.

Baby bear is being so cute and lovey today. I feel bad that i have to torture her with a bath soon :(

oh no her one is def a whole one

neko was really good at the little dog park near our old house today. i get so nervous about her around other dogs, so we walked along the fence and the 6 dogs there seemed cool so we went in and she was really good! didn't play too rough and even left the little dogs alone.

has she previously had issues with other dogs or are you just being cautious til you get to know her better?

either way I'm glad she had fun!

just a cautious thing, mostly, but she DID almost eat a little dog at her last adoptive home... so...

she was being kenneled for a long time, so i figured she's mostly ok, but it's good to be careful. i worry about her getting hurt but i also worry about her hurting another dog - huskies are known for playing really rough (i have the scratches and bruises to prove it).

for estela:

http://youtu.be/y3r7XawqLqI

oh she's so wonderfully mischievous! Basil is not allowed to watch that video! It would give her ideas ;)

On Monday we are meeting a new dog sitter called estella and i just want to tell her she spelled her name wrong!

http://i41.tinypic.com/161fbtk.jpg

I've been watching the walking dead so maybe she thought she needed to stand guard.

oh man we had such a good day at work yesterday! i figured it out - i give her half her breakfast and then take the other half to work and dole it out very slowly over the course of the day. i was unable to leave her unleashed for the entire day, and after her cursory sniff of the entire workshop, she quickly figured out that if she lay or sat down near me, she would get food on a regular basis. no whimpering or whining or being a pain!!

yay!

that should say i was ABLE to leave her unleashed for the entire day duh

Hah i didn't even catch that!

I have secured basil's Halloween outfit after several attempts. First costume (black cat!)would have been awesome but i couldn't find the right size :(

For option 2 i got the one for dogs up to 90 lb dogs but all the measurements were good and it said labs, boxers, etc. it was lolhueg so i went down a size (one of the breeds on this tag is French bulldog!).and it fits perfectly. It is a Medium. The first, she would have needed a xxl!

silly basil is afraid of scarecrows!

scarebasils

HI.
http://i42.tinypic.com/2i12exx.jpg

<3 such a gorgeous goofy girl.

I have been away for 3 days and her sitter has sent a few adorable pics and it's making me so wistful!

aw, it's great she's having fun and then she will be very thrilled when you get home.

http://usercontent.packdog.com/post/photo/v3bf9g_4219f81e632f9150ca2814db0ea6722a299d252a.jpg

neko update?

she's doing ok - lots of health problems, which has been worrisome; finally making significant progress on the bed-territory issue; still getting into the occasional frenzy and turning vicious O_o

She is so lucky to have you!

Today is basil's first adoptaversary! She got a bottle of puppy champagne (aka squeaky toy) and is relaxing on her huge new bed (early xmas present from grandma). <3 her so much!

http://usercontent.packdog.com/post/photo/Sjfajp_a49bacff92121f48ad0431d76619d0474590354e.jpg

I promise she is happier with that toy than she looks in the pic

I think she was pissed at me for making her pose with it instead of playing!

She looks totally focused on it, super intent. Happy forever-home-day, Basil!

love

basil has been so happy hanging out with my sister's dog in a big house full of people...I'm starting to think she needs a buddy. If only i had more space/money :(

So it turns out the crazy lady who yelled at me does this to others, too! The other night a neighbor and i were talking about dog stuff while our pups played and i mentioned it and she said the same thing happened to her! That woman must be very, very unhappy.

please can we see some basil and neko photos, it has been quite a while.

http://usercontent.packdog.com/post/photo/ea2sl1_08a6b3bebccf3159eef9e18acd1e78c67010c926.jpg

too much

why don't you just include jesus sliding down the rapids or something

http://i57.tinypic.com/9i9zjk.jpg

now harry

Yes, Harry!

basil also enjoys babysitting. she watches carefully over her charge.
http://i57.tinypic.com/9i9zjk.jpg

Oh no! Delete that!

http://tinypic.com/r/34f00b4/8%3C/img

last try :(

http://i60.tinypic.com/34f00b4.jpg

omg that dog is amazing

harbl, your cat needs a thread!

yes. she needs some new pictures taken of her. she's too rambunctious sometimes. she is ferociously attacking a sports bra right now.

to be fair, sports bras can be kind of annoying.

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https://scontent-b-pao.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/t1.0-9/1970496_10153896936040005_461150896_n.jpg

https://scontent-a-pao.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/1661621_10151913171032050_1087349989_n.jpg

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https://scontent-b-pao.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/970371_10151623878417050_1387727717_n.jpg

<3

i love that sleeping one!

thank you t & j, they are both such gorgeous, excellent dogs, a perfect blend of stern and proud and goofy and droll.

I am attempting to teach basil to balance things on her head (hint: view photos tagged #dogbalance on instagram for awesome examples!). tonight she was successful for the first time! I'm so proud, even if she looks like an angsty teen in these pics.

http://i59.tinypic.com/2z4ep9s.jpg

http://i61.tinypic.com/am305d.jpg

:( sorry for unrotated pics :(

Also after our practice session she fell asleep in about 2.5 seconds. I guess it is taxing.

<3

i love her patient and noble facial expression as she goes along with this baffling nonsense.

One day she will balance a book on her head like the fine young lady she is.

i am sure she will, she has always had superb posture.

tonight we unlocked antler level in the dogbalance game. I love this picture because b looks so silly with head tilt and flash eyes.

http://i59.tinypic.com/28r3474.jpg

hi.

http://usercontent.packdog.com/post/photo/E8Zj7A_5690b0ae230b2fe74f351274af0358c456deb908.jpg

http://i57.tinypic.com/24mu6xf.jpg

i love dog bottom teeth when they smile

MMe and her little fangs peek out from her closed mouth! I need a different picture site, tinypic won't rotate them!

Uhh... That was supposed to say "i love when she lies down on her back and looks up at me and her fangs peek out"

neko has two cute teeth things:

1. she gets a snaggle tooth, where her lip catches on one of her canines and she looks so hilarious

2. if you push up her top lip, she's missing a few teeth at the top front (abuse :( ) but it looks so cute

we are trying to find in-home boarding for her while we go on vacation for 2 weeks and it's proving verrrry difficult

Have you looked in dog vacay or rover?

whoa i just looked at dog vacay - had never heard of it! sent out a bunch of messages so hopefully we hear back.

the problem is her biting - it's hard finding anyone willing to risk dealing with that :(

5 rejections so far :(

Awww :( I wish I could send you basil's last sitter. His day job was working as a humane law enforcement officer for the humane society and he was really great about b's quirks.

well that's the other thing - she's used to being with me all day long, and we only ever leave her alone for a 3 or 4 hours at most, once a week. i'm looking for someone who works from home, which makes it way harder. but we found a good boarding place and are going for an assessment, all sounds pretty positive so far.

Good luck! Most boarding places around here are very accommodating, they're just very expensive!

jordan's mum considers neko her grandchild so she's given us a big chunk of change towards boarding costs - we're sparing no expense!

Awww, that's awesome!

basil wants all this squirrels!
http://usercontent.packdog.com/post/photo/M8JzRX_66cc6c72d2e2d241e3f528544c0cc4f2934566b4.jpg

lol, basil looks very glittery-eyed and focused.

smoove, did you find somewhere for neko to stay? i know how stressful it is. we got lucky after the first year and found some wonderful people who have looked after harry for every vacation since then, but it was very difficult to leave him before that. now i never worry at all, he is like a part of their family and they love him and he loves them. i really hope you find somewhere excellent so you can have peace of mind on your trip.

I have to board b next weekend because all my better affordable options fell through. I feel guilty :(

she will be ok. 5 minutes after you pick her up she will have forgotten she was somewhere else for a weekend. i might have to board my girl for a couple weeks in july and i already feel bad about it but i'm encouraging myself.

we're going to check out one last place tomorrow, but she spent yesterday at day care at a place that is only a mile from our house and seemed really happy. unless this other place is absolutely amazing, we'll probably board her at this current place. they have lots of add-ons, like one-on-one play time, cuddle time etc. and its pretty small - they only overnight about 30 dogs at a time. and they have live stream video of all the play areas from 10-4pm!

Yay found a friend who can watch b most of the weekend so now she only has to go to boarding for one night!

B never seemed to be bothered by thunderstorms before but since our crazy one last week, she's now sitting up agreed every distant rumble :(

It's national mutt day!

I hope Neko is feeling better!

she's back to normal self - they didn't end up having to pull that back tooth, since the infection had reached the tooth BUT they discovered that 3/4 of her canines are fucked and either neither to be extracted or have root canals ASAP :( clearly we can't pull them, bc she's already missing a bunch of teeth, so we're going for root canals and crowns which is gonna cost about $3.5K, plus $1k we spent this week.

thank god we don't kids' college funds to worry about!

*hadn't reached the tooth

wow :(

:( sorry for the difficulty she's having (and you!). You guys are angels!

we didn't get a dog until we knew we could fully commit financially, knowing that these kinds of things come up. if we'd gotten a dog a few years ago, this situation would have been way more stressful, but we still would have made the same decision.

you are great doggy parents <3

you're not so bad yourself, lady!!! <3 back atcha

tbh we are terrible about training/obedience :/ but neko has the kind of personality where she just doesn't really give a shit about being good, or pleasing anyone.

cat-like, then?

I love her.

Basil got to hike off leash last weekend and ended up herding us most of the time, until she caught scent of...something...and decided tracking that was more interesting. We never figured out what it was but she kept looking up the hill and marking every once in a while. It was so interesting to watch! She also got brave and swam for the first time :)

http://usercontent.packdog.com/post/photo/KBg1tl_b7bff70e4f19ddc042a43555ae81a29d1699c5b4.jpg

xp she IS really cat-like! esp they way she plays with other dogs - you know how kittens do that thing where they kind of rear back, widen their front legs and spread their paws, real goofy-like? that's what neko does to any dog she meets.

i'm so jealous basil is so well trained you can take her off-leash. not gonna ever happen with neko ;_; we let her off leash when we go to this huge dog park (that's not technically enclosed), but it's always super stressful bc she takes off and goes straight down the rocks and into the stinky sludge at low tide. (this park is the size of several football fields, right on the bay)

Basil is only allowed off leash when we're way out in the middle of nowhere and we don't have to worry about lots of unfamiliar people or dogs. I just practiced using a 50 ft lead and tested her on that before we worked up to off leash. Fortunately she's kind of a pack dog so she doesn't like to stray too far before coming back to make sure everyone is still there/ok.

I once let her play off leash with her 2 best dog friends thinking she'd be so occupied with them she'd stay put and she darted off after another dog that came through the area, across the street and right past where the bus comes :( scared the crap out of me so no more free time in our neighborhood :(

hi dere.
http://usercontent.packdog.com/post/photo/CyR2RQ_0b8cc564f839d1f50d9e27dbf2578e74529202f5.jpg

such a good looking doggy

ty harbl

🐶

😍 Well done, stet!

today we went to the marsh and there was a solar dogclipse!
http://i59.tinypic.com/33c290p.jpg

(It also makes me think she is going to cross over into another universe wrinkle in time style or something)

~newsun~

run free, little doggy

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IqGTA0ep7mg/VI8F_VTkRLI/AAAAAAAAV4c/BxF0pQdXW58/s1856-d/IMG_2059.JPG

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dJW4zimiBD8/VI8GCen_TxI/AAAAAAAAV9c/xHiODohG3PA/s1856-d/IMG_2070.JPG

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tIcgTOXQkKA/VI8GD0AezOI/AAAAAAAAV6U/o8FYxyaSDN0/s1856-d/IMG_2076.JPG

<3 she is glorious!

last week i saw a baby puppy neko and the markings around his eyes made him look like the count from sesame street (my great love.)

awww I bet that little baby was ridiculously cute!

yes, i died.

<3 <3

tez where are those pictures from? looks so fun

harbl that is sky meadows state park (out 66 past manassas but not as far as shenandoah). it is a lovely spot!

I am late but yesterday (22nd) makes two years of basil!

http://i58.tinypic.com/2crt00y.jpg

http://i61.tinypic.com/2rrw74l.jpg

<3basil

There is a hilarious corgi upstairs and when he runs back and forth it is quite entertaining!

my friend got a pup. it is not a saluki. it is not adorned with anything more than floppy ears.

floppy ears, though!

pup got a portrait
http://i59.tinypic.com/2vi36gx.jpg