Rai's (not) teeth

So, on the same day that we noticed Eden lost a tooth, we also noticed Rai lost multiple tooths (aka teeth). He seems to be losing them faster, probably because he's more aggressive in his hanging on and pulling. I figure he lost half his teeth pulling on his own leg, thinking it was Eden's.

Here's Rai's mouth and Chris's hands. Rai's picture is less blurry because he's much weaker (in a relative sense) than Eden, so Chris can hold him still more easily. The teeth he lost are the bottom two in the center. Later that day, we also noticed that he lost one of his center top teeth. He's probably lost more by now, but I haven't pried open his mouth to look.

Here's another picture of Rai's mouth. Maybe he also lost a tooth by his long one. I can't tell. But you can see here also that he is missing some in the middle. He's on his way to adulthood. Hurry up! 

"Eden lost a tooth" and "Chris and Rai (and Eden's Paws)"

I was sitting in front of the computer, catching up on all the latest Hollywood gossip (did you know that India.Arie outsold Dashboard Confessional in a totally hyped, but unrealized race for the top?), when Chris yelled that Eden had lost a tooth! Now, for those of you who don't know or never had a reason to care before this, puppies lose their teeth starting around 4 months old. Since puppies are not careful like human children are (probably because the tooth fairy can bring kids BANK), puppy teeth are hard to find when they fall out. I know one friend who said she not only found all her puppies teeth, but kept them. Absolutely amazing. Alas, we were unable to find Eden's tooth, though there is a good possibility it is in Rai's back somewhere. Anyways, the tooth is gone, it looks like a new one is already poking in, and there was only a little bit of blood. (I remember once that I had a loose tooth and I wanted it to come out, so I twisted it and twisted it until it came out...obviously all that twisting indicated that it was not quite ready to be removed from my gums, but I didn't care. Unfortunately, my timing could have been better...I was in church, and it was someone's first communion...I can't remember who's, but there was a lot of blood...oops...)

Here's Chris holding Eden's mouth open. Sorry that the picture is a bit blurry, but did you know that dogs don't like being held still, and especially don't like people pulling their lips away from their teeth? So, see the big pointy tooth? See the tiny little tooth to the right of it? There used to be a bigger tooth there just like the one to the right of the baby tooth. Also, do you notice all the extra lip skin that Eden has in her mouth? I think she grew it specifically so that she could drink water, hold some in the lip skin flaps, and then come over and put her face all over my pants so that it looks like I had an accident.

In other news, here's a great shot of Chris with Raisin (and Eden's paws in the background). If you look at our ugly orange patio couch, you will notice the strips of white. They used to be orange, covered in strips of something (bamboo? Rattan? leather? We don't know, and don't really care, since they're not there anymore). Anyways, they have all been removed because the puppies realized that they could gnaw them off with their little puppy teeth, and then eat them. And then poop them out. It was weird to see puppy poop with little orange flecks of paint perfectly preserved in them. (For those of you who think it's gross to look at dog poop, let me tell you that it is the best way to figure out what the dogs have been into, and get some good laughs over it. The other day, Rai pooped out a red button. We have no clue where he got it from, but someone's missing one somewhere, and they probably don't want it back).

Rai hasn't been feeling well since last night. He started throwing up again...but this time, we figured out the culprit pretty quickly. Grass. Bright green, cost us $400 to lay, finally growing grass. He threw up some grass. Then he was fine, so we thought he got it all out. So we fed him dinner (I know...how dumb can we get?). And then we fed him some treats and ran him around for a bit practicing our emergency recall. (Obviously, we CAN get dumber). And then he threw up everything he just ate...and more grass. So we gave him some Powerade to keep him from getting dehydrated. And he threw that up with even MORE grass. So we didn't give him anything else. And then this morning, Chris gave him a bit of food. And he ran outside and threw that up (no grass there, but I figure all that puking yesterday irritated his stomach.). So Chris fed him some rice, which Rai doesn't like, but Non-Puking Eden does. So when I got up, I mixed some chicken broth with the rice, which Rai liked more than just plain rice. And then I boiled some hamburger meat and mixed that with the rice and Rai LOVED it. (I got that menu from a dog health book). Anyways, he kept that down, and doesn't seem so hungry anymore. Hopefully, he's on the mend.


Chris and Rai (and Eden's Paws), looking dapper on an early Saturday morning.

Trying to get in the house

Sometimes, when it is cool enough out, I'll leave the back door open, and some of the windows to get a breeze through the house. We don't have a screen door, but I put up a screen barrier thing I got from SolutionsCatalog.com (It's a great catalog!). It's got magnets that hold it shut, and it has velcro strips that keep it stuck to the edges of the frame. Well, of course, the puppies decided it was something of a snack for them, so there are rips and tears and giant gaping holes in it now, but I still use it because mostly, it works. Anyways, last night, Chris and I were in the house, and Rai and Eden were outside running around. Then, they decided they wanted to be inside with us, so they climbed up on the baby gate to let us know they knew where we were. Rai is in the prime peeking spot in the picture, but he and Eden were taking turns. It's prime because it's right in the area where they've made a hole, so they can move the screen aside and peek in through the hole. Smart, but irritating.

 

Rai and Eden's senior pictures!

So, Chris and I were sitting in the backyard with Rai and Eden this evening, when we looked at Rai, and it was like he was posing for his senior picture! So we took some quick shots of the two, to capture their kodak moments.

A quick note: If you look at our grass in the backyard, it is pretty clear that it's not the greenest, lushest lawn ever. That being said, Rai has picked a few spots on the yard that are thicker than the others, and those are his favorite places to lie down. He walks right over to them and plops down. Our picky puppy!

In this picture, Rai looks like he is posing in the "nature" background, gazing off into the distance. He's even got one leg kind of bent, as if he is pondering something.

This is Rai, doing his best "Blue Steel" (see "Zoolander"). Isn't his look captivating?

In this shot, I think that Eden looks like she should be an author, and this is the picture they put on the back cover under her biography. She looks serious, yet whimsical, right?


I think that in this picture, Eden and Rai look like they are posing for a movie poster or a music video. Think Rascal Flatts or "The Outsiders". My dogs, the camera hogs! 

Begging for blueberry muffins

This morning, I made blueberry muffins, but I left them in the oven too long, so I brought them outside to cool off faster. Almost immediately, both puppies started trying to get them. We don't feed them table scraps, but that doesn't mean they don't try.

Here's Raisin. He has his paws on the the edge of the table (you can't see them here), and is trying desperately to reach that muffin. He's only tall enough to get a nose above the table, so the muffins are safe (for now).

Then, once Rai vacated the prime food stealing spot, Eden had a chance. She, as you can see, is quite a bit taller than Rai, and so before I could stop her, she licked the paper of the muffin. See the pink blur in her mouth? That's her tongue getting ready for a second attempt.

Eden and Rai have been going to puppy classes up in Tucson at PetSmart for over a month now, so they know that if they are good, they get treats. Here they are, sitting nicely, hoping I will give them a bit of a muffin. Actually, they are hoping I'll give them ALL the muffins.


Here they are again. When sitting nicely didn't work, they tried another trick of lying DOWN. They really, really, REALLY wanted to get some of the muffins they could smell.

After the muffins were cooled down, I brought them back into the house, where Eden continued to attempt to have her way with them. More than once lately, we've had to push things back from the edge of the counter to save them from her. Soon, she will be too big for that to work. Hopefully by then, she'll be better behaved (we're not holding our breath.)

I'm tired, don't take my picture!

So, since the puppies are now fully vaccinated, we can take them out on walks and into the general public. That means, we have changed our usually shcedule. Our new schedule goes something like this: Dogs wake up around 5:30 a.m. Dogs go out to play and pee. Dogs eat breakfast, and then return to playing and peeing and pooping (lots of pooping). Between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m., dogs begin to get tired. At that time, I put on Eden's new Easy Walk Gentle Leader harness and take her for a run/walk while Rai is in his crate, barking as if he's in a sinking boat. We got both the puppies the new harnesses (Eden's in red, Rai's in green.) The new harnesses have three straps that go across their chests and bellies and backs, and the leash clips to the strap on the front on their chests. When they pull, the chest strap pushes on their legs, and turns them back towards me. These harnesses have been wonderful, because before, the dogs would pull so hard they couldn't breath (because everyone knows that it is more important to jump on strangers than to breath). Anyways, after I run Eden into the ground, she is dead tired, and such a wonderful walker! Then, I put her in her crate, a.k.a. sinking ship, and take Rai for a run/walk. While Eden is an excellent runner (staying to one side, running next to me), Rai seems to be more of a meandering runner. He goes behind me, he goes in front of me, he darts ahead and then cuts in front of my legs. We're working on that. (This weekend, Chris and I have taken the dogs out to run/walk together, cutting the whole sinking ship debacle from the mix, and we have realized some funny things... 1) Rai does not like being left behind when running with Eden. 2) When Rai is disgruntled about being behind Eden, he will run and whine at the same time, sounding something like this "Whine" pant "Whine" pant "Whine" pant "Whine" pant, on and on until he catches up. 3) When Eden gets tired, she walks slower that ketchup pouring out of a glass bottle. And 4) When Rai gets thirsty, he nudges my leg and whines and stares at the water bottle.) During the week, when Chris is at work, after the run/walks, I put the dogs in the backyard to flop down and cool off and get some water, while I pack a bag for the park. Then we go to the park and run around there for awhile, meeting other dogs and people and smelling things and chasing birds and sniffing trees (where other dogs probably urinated). Then we sit down on a shaded bench. I read a book while the dogs' leashes are attached to my leg, and they sniff and dig and watch people. Around 11 a.m., we go home. The dogs usually fall asleep in their crates on the way home, and sleep until 1:30 or 2 p.m., when they get up for lunch and a quick potty break. Then they go back in their crates until 3 or 4ish. Then they get up and play. We try to get in another walk when Chris gets home. Then, hopefully, they are in bed by 7 or 8 p.m. This new schedule allows us to sleep in until 5:30 or 6 a.m. the next morning because they are so tired. Yay!


Here's Rai after a run. Notice his new dog tags? He's got a brass circle with his name/phone number/vet/etc., and a silver fire hydrant with his rabies shot information. Eden also got the same ones, but they have HER name on them, not Raisin. Anyways, when we get home for a run, I let them out back, and they go the bench and flop down.

Here's Eden. she's not panting as hard because she finished her run about 30 minutes ago. But see the wet spot by her nose? That's from her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she pants. Also notice her folded back ear? Sometimes, she sits out there too long with her ears folded back, and they get sunburned. Ouch!

Here's Eden doing a little pant. Chris thinks she looks mean, but I think she looks like me (squinty eyes, big smile).


Here they both are, just trying to cool down. They get along so well after they've both been run pretty hard. 

Still digging, and Finally getting along!

I've been meaning to post these pictures for awhile now, but never seem to have time. Last Tuesday, I took Rai and Eden in for their final vaccinations, so now, we have a new schedule that involves going beyond the backyard. But first, let me tell you...Raisin weighed in at almost 22 lbs., so based on that figure, he should be about 50 lbs when he's done growing. (The estimation is that at 14 weeks puppies are about 40% of their adult weight. At this last weighing, Eden was 15 weeks and 2 days, and Rai was at 14 weeks and 3 days.) Here's the amazing part...Eden weight in at a whoppping 34 lbs. That means she should be around 75 lbs. when she is done growing. Please pray that we are wrong! (But I bought her an extra large travel crate just in case).


Here's Rai. As seen in previous posts, he loves to dig. In this sadly unfocused picture, you can see that he has begun to attempt to dig his way out of the kitchen. We don't know why he is trying to dig, or why he has picked this corner, but he often will spend quite a while scratching his paws at the tile.


Here's Eden and Rai, resting by the gate. This is Eden's favorite spot to lie down, and since Rai cannot stand to be more than 5 feet away from her, he's picked a spot right next to her stake his claim.


Here's Eden and Rai in their first ever nap together. Chris and I are so hoping that they will become the kind of dogs to cuddle together when they sleep, so I often spend lots of time trying to lure one dog near the other to lie down together. They usually end up biting each others ears and running away. Here is a picture of their first spontaneous nap. I think that Rai's butt/back is actually touching Eden's leg! That's getting closer to the actual cuddle that Chris and I are hoping for. And yay, they're asleep (and quiet!)