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!) 

Getting BIG so fast!

I realized that we have had Rai since mid May, and Eden since the end of April...It's already the end of June, so it's been awhile. Perfect time to look back and see all the changes.

This is Rai the day after week got him, just under 9 weeks. He was about 8 lbs at the time.

This is Rai now. He is almost 16 weeks, and about 20 lbs.

This is Eden on the day we got her. She was about 11 lbs, and about 6 weeks old. Her face is still wrinkle free here, but she's still got the cute ridge on her nose.

This is Eden and Rai now. Eden is about 27 lbs now, and a lot more wrinkly.

Anyways, I can't believe that they are getting so big. We are guessing that Rai will end up being about 40-45 lbs full grown, and Eden will be a monstrous 50-60 lbs. There goes my back! 

Puppies are BACK!!!

Eden and Rai like to be near the gate in the kitchen if someone is in there with them. But I don't really know why, because once Eden gets out, she just lays down and falls asleep. But I think it is super cute when she puts her head between her paws.


Eden, watching me to see if I am going to move. Because if I do, she'll follow me and lay down where she can see me again.

She tried to be vigilant and watch me, but she fell asleep.

Rai, sleeping in the crate in a position that if a noise is made, he'll be able to see what it is without moving. Coincidentally, he is in his crate because he has started throwing up his lunch 30 minutes after he eats. We think it is because he runs around too much right after eating, or maybe because he eats grass from the backyard. Anyways, now, I am trying to keep him from being too active after lunch by putting him back in his crate after he eats. We'll see how it goes.

Poor Rai, he heard a noise and wanted to lick the camera. But he's such a cutie!