Puppy Trip pictures

I finally got a chance to upload our pictures from the trip to go get Ranger. Here they are!

XMan, enjoying meeting new friends.

Perry-boy

Checking out the incredible view from their deck!

Slingshot + rocks....hmm....

Meeting KimC, in living color!

Spreading our craziness all over Texas, one city at a time....

This weekend, we made a semi-announced trip to the San Antonio area to go get our new puppy! (We told y'all, but we forgot to mention it to our church family who were all like, "Where were you guys?!") We had a great time meeting Kim and Perry and their adorable children! Our boys, and even Halia, jumped right into the mix and started playing. Halia passed around from girl-to-girl-to-girl relishing the attention! They had a yummy lunch for us after our long dusty trip on the trail 5 hr. ride with small young'uns, which was much-appreciated! While the women-folk drank coffee and chatted about homeschooling, potty training, and blogging, the men-folk disappeared to go do manly things. I think it included diesel fuel getting, construction talking, and I'm not sure what else.... In the end, a good time was declared by all! You can pop over here to go see some pics of the day. I *might* have a chance to download mine later.

Today will be filled with Chore Chart making, Potty Training sticker chart making, and shuffling of things around to make more room for the puppy. We might even throw in a little schoolin' just because....

Right now, though, I hear the distinct sound of a pocket knife tumbling about in my dryer, must go remedy that!

(I also could have named this post "In Which I Seriously Overuse the Hyphen." :-) )

Dear Lord, this crazy life is going to kill me yet!

I couldn't narrow down the right title for this post, so I went with that one. Others were floating around in my head, such as, "Welcome to Comedy Central" or "Crazy Pregnant Woman Strikes Again," even "The 3 Ring Circus I Maintain."

There were others, but I took a nap and forgot them... ;-)

It seems like I have written several posts that begin with "If you had been a fly on my wall today," or "If you had driven by my house today..." Something crazy is always going on around here! Seriously, if you are lacking for good entertainment, you might think about starting up a Neighborhood Watch just on my house!

This morning I was all pumped full of energy, as I loaded the washer down and yanked the Kirby vacuum out of it's seldom-seen closet. I had the house buzzing and humming while Daddy and the boys went out to mow the grass. They had been outside for about an hour, when Little Man came banging on the backdoor asking to "EAT, Momm-eee! Pweeaaseee eat???" It was 11:00, so a small snack wouldn't hurt. I sent him off to the bathroom to wash up and at that moment, Xman comes running up to the back porch hollering for me! I stepped outside to see what he needed, and heard this, "MOM! Banner got under the fence and took off that way!"

This isn't her first attempt to go "over the wall," or under the fence as the case may be. She has escaped several times already. Sunday, we came home to find her in the next-door neighbor's yard. She has even shimmied under the fence to join us up front while washing the car. So, knowing this was about to get fun, I sighed and stepped out into the muddy yard to ensue the chase.

Last night, the dog was going nuts barking outside. When I got up and looked (at 3 am!), I saw a stray dog running around in the neighbor's yard. She never would shut up quit barking last night after the other-dog-sighting, so she ended up sleeping in our garage. Apparently, as soon as she could this morning, she took off to go investigate last night's visit!

I caught up to her about 4 houses down, where she was sniffing like crazy and circling a "telegram" the stray dog had left. "Ok, kudos for finding it, now can we please go?!" To make it even more convenient, she didn't have her collar on because we just bought a new one and it was laying inside on the counter! I had nothing to grab but fur, so fur I grabbed. I yanked her hiney coaxed her along for a few feet, before she firmly PLANTED and refused to go anymore.

Now, this dog is only 4 1/2 months old, but she weighs almost 50lbs and is going to be simply gigantic!! I am 32 weeks pregnant, and more than slightly out of breath at this point! But, with the combined efforts of adrenaline and a wee bit o' Marine left in me, I lifted that puppy off her feet and we saunted back through the neighbors' yards. I was hauling a huge white dog, my face turning as red as my hair, and this guy in a car slows down to look at me! Unless you want some of this, buddy, just keep on rolling! Cause this Mama was mad!

When I reached our yard, Hubby was just rounding the corner on the lawn mower. He stopped and just looked at me, his eyes as big as saucers. I am sure he was thinking, "Um, what did I miss?" Since the toddler was still inside - on his own - I hurried up and contained the dog in the storage building until I could come back and properly put her on the dog run. Hubby just sat there watching me in amazement, and probably with a touch of humor. He didn't even question the use of his storage building as a dog kennel. I think he was shaking his head as I stomped back inside!

When I finally returned, the toddler had found his new found freedom quite amusing. He was attempting to resurrect a Capri Sun that Mommy had thrown away earlier. Apparently he didn't agree with me on the amount of contents left, so he was trying in vain to suck the remaining drops out. It didn't bother him in the least that I had been traipsing through several muddy yards, chasing their puppy down! "Snack, Mommy?" he asked.

That is why, sometimes, dear Lord, I think this crazy life is going to be the death of me yet!

(Oh, and don't worry, y'all, I put myself on "bed rest" for an hour this afternoon.)

What I have learned from Cesar so far...

Ok, a few days ago, I promised to tell you all about the book I am reading right now. I will try and relate this as well as I can, I am sure I won't use the right jargon, like he does!

Some of the main pointers I have gotten out of this book are:

**Dogs are NOT humans! (Isn't it pathetic funny that he even has to address this?)

They do not feel the same way we do; they do not hold on to memories about their mothers, brothers, sisters; they don't blame their fathers for running off after the "bi'ness" was over.... They live in the moment and don't worry about what's going to happen tomorrow. What's the point in acknowledging this? Mainly, a lot of owners tend to sympathize with their dogs, or feel sorry for them because THEY - the humans - would feel bad about the situation.

Example? Say you brought home a pound puppy, gave him a good home, and 6 years later, you are still compensating for his bad behavior b/c once-upon-a-time he was living in an animal shelter? That would be YOU - the human - projecting feelings onto the dog that he doesn't have. He does mention animals who were abused and hurt by previous owners having skittish tendencies with their new families. He helped these families to realize THEY needed to quit pampering the dog, and show him what BALANCE was. Dogs don't need pampering, they need emotionally stable owners!


** Three-part Formula: Exercise, Discipline, then Affection.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Dogs are "pack" animals, they want to have a leader, or else they will have to become the leader. If you establish, through exercise and discipline, that you are in charge, then you can give affection, knowing the animal will obey in an instant. A dog who is bored, or has lots of pent-up energy doesn't really want to listen to you. You haven't proven that you are leading the pack effectively.

**Some Issues that people should be paying attention to!!

-Aggression: Aggression is not cute, it's not a laughing matter. Your dog should be able to politely greet family and friends, not go charging at the door. They shouldn't be growling over food - your kids should be able to stick their hand in the food bowl and the dog remain calm. Some people have dogs specifically for their "fear factor," wanting to know they will be protected by a guard dog. If you have given a command for the dog to attack an intruder, that's not the issue. We're talking about everyday, "I bark at everyone I don't like," aggression. When Aunt Tilda can't get out of her car because your dog is aggressive, that IS a problem. (Unless you told him to bite Aunt Tilda, and then YOU have the problem :-) ....) As the owner, you are actually letting your dog be stressed out. It's up to you to stop bad behavior!

-Hyperactive Energy: Jumping on people, over-excitement, constant licking, digging, chewing.
- Anxiety/Separation Anxiety: Barking, whining, scratching, etc. Destroying things while you're away.
- Obsessions/Fixations: "Addictions" or preoccupations with anything from a cat to tennis balls. Oblivious to owners commands, even when food is offered, etc.
- Phobias: Fear or traumatic incident that the dog has not been able to move beyond. Thunder, trash truck noise, etc. (This is not the same thing as having an emotional feeling or always thinking about the fear. It's more like a "Flight or Fight" response when it happens. The owner can help the animal move beyond this by staying calm and assertive and stopping the behavior.)

So, these are a few examples of unhealthy behavior, and we can all see them displayed in just about every other dog around the neighborhood.

He also goes into detail, explaining how breed can influence a dog's behavior, the different classifications for dogs, and what types of activity level they need to have to remain calm and attentive. For us, Banner is a purebred working/herding dog. She doesn't have the energy of a Shetland Sheepdog or a Border Collie, but she has the ingrained sense of herding animals together in her blood. She's been trying, unsuccessfully, to herd the boys into a calm group since we got her. Ha, good luck, pup! She also has the need to be "working" and does a daily tour of the yard, going all around the fence line, looking for who knows what? The other night, she spotted some unknown critter in the yard, and was very diligent in defending her yard - all night long..... If we are not able to direct her energy into a productive outlet, she will become bored, and start venting her frustrations by chewing, digging, you name it.

Thankfully, he mentions several great ideas for "working class" dogs, and I have already started looking into some of them!! Here's a hint at what we're thinking about...

Adaptation is alive and well in Southeast Texas...

Since the Great Pyrenees was originally bred to be a working mountain dog, it makes sense that they prefer colder temperatures. We rarely have cold temperatures here in the muggy southeast corner of Texas. Even this past winter was a 50-60 degrees! When winter came, I had to crush XMan's visions of white and tell him that he would not be seeing any snow here. Especially not enough to make a snowman.

So, yesterday, when the sun came up and started to make it's way across our backyard, I don't know why I was surprised to see the dog head under the house! I guess if I was wearing a permanent fur coat, I would run for it also. But, after she'd been in hiding for a few hours, I was beginning to worry. I should have just relaxed! Hubby galantly drove home to check under the house and see if the puppy was okay. He came back inside, irked at wasting precious gas, to tell me that she was indeed FINE.

Sure enough, at 4:30pm, just as the sun had completely left the backyard, she came waltzing out from under the porch! I suppose if natural-born instinct is telling her to go find a cool spot, I should just leave her alone! So much for the fluffy white coat, though....

The Third Child's Puppy's name is...

Whoops! I forgot to even put what puppy's name was! Her name is Banner. We used to go to a town in NC called "Banner Elk," a lot. Then there is the little Bible song "His banner over me is love..." We like the unusual stuff.

Currently, the dawg has wiggled herself under the back porch to find shade. If we had a big raised deck, this would not be a problem. However, I cannot see her or reach her anymore, so I am hoping Hubby can get her out when he gets here in a minute. My prego belly is preventing any useful under-the-house-searching, that and the fact that I don't feel like getting muddy...

It's been a while since we brought home our last puppy, about 5 years ago, actually. I think I blocked out how much having a puppy is like having another child!! Ok, more soon!

We got our new puppy!

Hurray!!! We went out to our friend's house again and brought home our new puppy! She is so cute! She loves playing with the kids and is just so sweet. I am so glad we chose to get her!

Daddy had to get the gate/fence fixed up quickly. Basically, el landlord thought the gate would work just fine if one side was missing...hmmmm...... Nope, doesn't seem to keep kids and animals in as well. But, Daddy fixed it and she should be able to stay in the yard fine.

Here's some pics of our trip!