And again a long time between posting

Daphne and I are doing well. She is learning her commands and I think we'll try doing agility pretty soon. She still tries to steal food if left unattended so I've been keeping her in my bedroom. She found a way to escape today, I think the door wasn't completely shut, and she got out and ate a whole package of English muffins. I hope she enjoyed those nooks and crannies! She's also gaining weight, I think due to the fact we can't get out for long walks or to the dog park very often.

We had a lot of fun back home. She tolerated Max and Maggie and I think she would have enjoyed Drake and perhaps even Rascal if they could have gone to the dog park where there was lots of room to run or they were able to meet and play one on one but they double teamed too much and she was not happy about it.

But she does really seem to like having another dog around. Kate got a house and I brought her over yesterday when we watched the Super Bowl. She ran around the back yard and played and frolicked a bit with Phipps and Livia and just basically had fun. If I could, I think I'd get another dog for her. It's bad that I've only had a dog for 7 months or so and I already want another one. But I don't think I could afford it and my apartment won't allow it. I don't think I'll get another dog until I'm able to get a house which will be a rather long time.

Well I know it's not much of an update but there's not much going on, it's the winter and we don't do too much . . .

Adventures at the Pet Cafe

So I had visited the Pet Cafe before but without Daphne. I like that it's a small neighborhood type pet store so that even though the products may be more expensive (because they only carry the good/expensive brands), I like supporting a small business. Plus they have Daphne's favorite squeak toy, which I love because it has no stuffing and replaceable squeakers. Today was my first trip with her. She was very excited but it brought out a concern I have. I got her a meal (I think she really likes the concept of lunch) and some doggie ice cream for dessert. She scarfed them down. There was another dog at the table next to us who got its meal a second before us and it ate it nice and slow. Daphne must have beat this dog by like a minute or two. Ice cream is something I won't be trying at home. She didn't understand that she was suppose to lick it not chomp and chew it. But it was fun. My concern was the fact that she does scarf down the food, like I starve her or something. My sister's dog does the same thing so I know it's not that I am but perhaps I am underfeeding her a bit. I feed her what the bag tells me too but I have a feeling it might factor in people giving their dogs treats. I don't give her treats with any sort of regularity. I guess the only one she gets often is the one I put in the Kong as I leave in the morning. But that's really the only treats she gets. Sometime she'll get some when I'm training her and occassionally she'll get a Busy Bone or something while I eat but she doesn't get something regularly. I guess I've just been so afraid of making her overweight or making her come to expect and demand (through whining) treats at a certain time the other dogs in my family. But I think I should give her some treats after dinner or something. So I picked up the treats my sister gives her dogs which are all natural and I'm going to try to set up some sort of daily treat giving. Perhaps it will stop her from acting like I starve her!

Hangs head in shame :(

So I haven't updated in forever and I apologize. It's been rather crazy two months. I think the first thing I should update about is our wonderful camping/hiking trip to Texas. This was when I discovered that Daphne is okay in the car though she likes to look out of the window a lot. I took the back seats out and she was sort of upset about that as she could no longer see out the windows. So we piled up some stuff so she could see. That means I should probably put at least one of the seats back in the car for the trip home. She also loves hiking, especially rock climbing. We decided to climb up this old stream bed up to cave in the side of the cliffs. Pretty steep and full of boulders and rocks. At first I was hesitant to take her with us but another thing we found out was that she has become really really clingy. Every time we left the car she would start doing this horrible whiny bark and she even did it even when Jenn stayed in the car. So we brought her and she was hopping her way up the rocks. Even boulders three times her height she scaled by jumping up and then digging in. She even didn't mind camping, except for the short times we had to leave her tied up by the campsite while we got stuff from the car. She learned that the tent was inside and enjoyed cuddling up with us among our sleeping bags. She also quickly learned that cacti hurt. Enjoy some pictures!



Then I went away for 1.5 weeks for the wedding extravaganza and I got back to an extremely clingy dog. She now cuddles up with me on the couch rather than sitting on the other side and the worse part is in the bed. She use to just sleep in the corner far away from me but now she tries to sleep right next to me. It really doesn't work all that well as I turn a lot and get hot easily. But I like that she really loves me. Also she has gotten better with her commands and is getting better with the "come" command. I really hope she doesn't lose it all when we go home with mom and grandma. . . .

Last night was Halloween and we didn't get any trick or treaters. I got her a costume though because I was planning on going to the Doggie Costume Parade last weekend but I was sick. So here's a few cute pics from last night. And I think I'm up to date now.

Pooch Pool Party

This weekend was great. We had fun at our doggie class attempting to learn new tricks. She's not a fan of doing tricks though so I'll really have to work with her on them. Next week is graduation!

But the best bit of the weekend was the Pooch Pool Party hosted by the dog park. I didn't expect nearly as many dogs as there were but she had a blast. At first she really didn't care about the water but then I brought the ball out and while attempting to jump up for the ball she fell in the pool. She wasn't too happy about that. So she ran around and played with other dogs on land for a bit and played rather nicely too.






Then I attempted to get her into the pool by tempting her with the ball. She got really frustrated at this. I threw her in a few times just so she'd get use to the water. She then attempted to figure out a way to get the ball closer without going in. She did this for a rather long time and one lady assisted her decision on how to get the ball.








But after enough frustration and trying she finally just gave up and admitted that swimming wasn't that bad. She never really got comfy enough that she'd just jump right on in but she did start going in on her own and would start going after balls that I didn't throw in which I took as a sign that she liked swimming she was just nervous. It was a really great day overall. So she's a swimmer, it just takes her a bit.

Long bit of silence

My computer at home broke so that explains the bit of silence from me. Daphne is doing okay. She has been having a few accidents at night and she was very very very close to getting a crate. But fate stepped in, broke my computer and gave me a flat tire so I don't have the money right now for a crate but the idea is still there and I have been looking around. But to sort of help the situation and to determine if a crate is necessary I have begun a water regime. She now has limited access to water. She get's her bowl of water after breakfast until I leave for work and then after dinner until around 8pm. During the day she gets a bowl with two ice cubes and after 8 pm she gets one ice cube. Of course if we go on any long walks or to the dog park she is able to drink when we get home. The fact that her accidents were very clear, almost like water sort of seemed like she was drinking too much. I have also begun taking her out more at night, so she goes out at 5pm, 8/9pm and again right before bed around 11pm. So far this seems to be working, but sadly I have lost a lot of trust in her. When I'm falling asleep if she jumps off the bed, I roll over and turn on the light to see what she is up to. The fact that she peed right in front of my one night has just made me learn to not trust her but I'm slowly gaining trust back.

In other news she is doing pretty well in doggie class. We learned tricks this week and she is finally getting shake though roll over has been near impossible. I think now that I know the techniques we can practice things and eventually get to the point where she'll do it without food. She is really listening to me well at the dog park when I say things in a commanding voice. She doesn't seem to understand come but we have barely practiced that one since it involves me remembering to bring treats on walks. But when she is barking or snarling at dogs through the fence, she'll stop when I tell her. I'm not sure I'll ever get to the point where I trust her off leash but then again I've only had her for 3 months so our relationship is still new. Perhaps in a few years she'll be the perfect dog ;)

Oh she really doesn't seem to like cats, well she likes them in that she loves to chase after them . . .

Too smart for her own good . . .

Well class was fun last night as I was the only person there so it was a private lesson. We actually spent so much time talking that we didn't even realize the time until it was already 30 minutes into the scheduled time. We learned leave it and take it which she is rather good at as she does a similar thing with dinner. She learned quickly and Tisha kept commenting how smart she is, which she really is. I think she will be amazing at agility but I wonder if I have the stamina to run around the course with her ;)

It amazes me what she can get into and she has a knack of knowing what is my favorite food/splurge food. First it was the can of pringles which I rarely get and had gotten as a treat, she ate the remainder of the can or about half of it. Today I get home and first notice a plastic bag on the ground completely eaten. I realize it was her treat bag which I forgot on the coffee table. My fault then I turn the corner and seem my loaf of sourdough on the floor and half gone. I'm pissed! This was on the kitchen counter and some how she got into it. I've been craving this bread and the grilled cheeses it was gonna make me all week. I guess the good part is there was still 1/3 to a half left and it was salvagable. But how she got it and this knack for knowing what I'm craving is a bit crazy. I must say I got rather mad at her and talked sternly to her. I know she had no idea what she did but still I had to vent. She got locked in the bedroom for a short time.

This is really making me think I either need to keep her in my bedroom when I leave the house or worse yet a crate. I really don't want to crate her but she's not giving me much of a choice. She really enjoys laying by the sliding glass door and looking out as this is where I normally find her when I come home. I don't want to take that away from her but I don't want her to keep getting into my stuff. I mean what happens if it's another pack of gum but this time it makes her seize? I don't know perhaps I just need to clean up more and put things away.

Another thing this brings up is the fact that I wish I could be a little more like a dog. They are able to let go of thing so easily. They live in the moment and if something bad happens it's forgotten 10 minutes later. I wish I could be like that. Like 2 hours later and I'm still a bit upset with her for the bread. If it was just the treats that's one thing but something off the counters is not good. And I really wanted to enjoy that whole loaf all week long. I need to try and be like a dog and let it go. Being angry isn't going to change anything . . .

She's chipped!

After standing in line for an hour where she got to sniff the mystery moving boxing (cat crate) and 5 seconds of pain (resulting in a ton of shedding), Daphne is now microchipped. She has a home again chip and her number (in case I lose the paperwork which is very possible) is 4A2E6D205B. I'm glad she's chipped. Though it did present something interesting. Apparently I picked a difficult to spell name. Both the trainer when signing her up and the lady who chipped her both spelled her name wrong. Daffone? Huh? I didn't think DAPHNE was so hard to figure out but oh well.

In other news we tried compressed rawhide this week on the advise of the trainer. I think we both liked it until a minute or so ago when having a piece large enough to fit in her mouth, she decided to swallow it whole. This stuff doesn't digest so she has a large piece going through her. Should be interesting to see what happens ;) I think I'll get her another one but they get tossed once they become mouth sized!