Jake & Charlotte: The Little Mother Hen

Charlotte has an interesting relationship with Kylee. I do not think I will ever be able to truly understand it. If only dogs could talk. Charlotte loves Kylee and is always very inquisitive about what she is doing. Once in awhile though Charlotte will get nervous if Kylee is being too loud or moves sporadically.

But most of the time Charlotte can be compared to a little mother hen who is always watching and checking on her baby chick, Kylee. If Kylee is not in eye-sight, I can always guess that Charlotte is wherever Kylee is. For example, today I was getting Jake leashed up for our walk and I kept calling to Charlotte to come get leashed. She kept running up and down the stairs fretting since Kylee was up on the top. She would not calm down until Kylee had been brought down the stairs into her eye sight.

If Kylee every falls or gets hurt, guess who is there first to lick up her tears and give her kisses....you guessed it! Charlotte. Good thing Kylee has so many extra parents to watch over her. She needs it with how accident prone she can be and with some of the crazy ideas she comes up with. Thank you Charlotte!

Blue: Diggin' in the Snow

Blue's two favorite things about fall and winter are the SNOW and the LEAVES. She just loves to dig her nose deep into the piles of snow and leaves and see what new and interesting smells she can find. Blue was thrilled about our walk in the snow today. There were so many new smells to investigate and so many areas that needed some thorough digging investigation.

 During our walk we stopped on a grassy hill to play a little with her hunting decoy. (Blue did carry this for part of the walk, but I quickly became the packhorse of Kylee and Blue's toy.) Anyways, she loved having Kylee and I throw her toy so that she could chase it and then dig it out of the snow. We even buried it a few times for her to find. She never failed once in following her nose to her toy.

She even loved chasing after the snow I would kick up with my feet. Watching Blue's enthusiasm and energy while playing in the snow today would have never made you think she was getting old. She is still a puppy at heart.

Murphy: Sticks are for the Dogs

Murphy has taken a liking to sticks. Any kind: little ones, big ones, ones attached to the ground, and even ones attached to the trees. One of his favorites are the vines that poke out of the ground. Not only does he get the thrill of playing tug-a-wry, but once he has wrestled his prize from the dirt he can throw it and run after the stick.

I have been using Murphy's love of sticks to my benefit by getting his energy out. I will let him find a stick, or find my own, throw it and let him chase after it. Then he will either chase me around with the stick or try to taunt me to chase him. (Too bad for him that he only has a 6 ft. leash lead on me.)

It is good how excited he gets about this sticks. He definitely likes to puppy guard them and make sure you don't get too close so you can steal them.

Snoopy: Rock #2

There is something about these rocks this week. During one of our walks Kylee discovered a little red lava rock. Every dog that saw it that day was in love with it for some reason. This included Murphy and Snoopy.

Kylee was nice enough to share it with Snoopy for a little bit. He acted like it was the best toy in the world. He would paw it, roll it, and then take after it again. He just could not get enough sniffs of it either.

Riley & Murphy: The Rock!

I do not know what it is about this rock.

 Maybe it smells great, or just the right shape to roll with your nose. For some reason Murphy stops to check out this little pebble EVERY day if he can spot it. I literally have to drag him past it in order to continue on our walk. Whatever magical powers it holds over Murphy takes no effect on Riley. He could care less about the pebble.

The thing that amazes me is that this pebble has remained close to the same spot for about 3 weeks now. This thing has made it through rain storms, wind, and even ice storms. Maybe Murphy knows something that I don't.

Jake & Charlotte: "Treats?" - If Only it Had Been...

I walked from the kitchen into the family room today to find Kylee hanging out with Jake and Charlotte. She kept saying the word "treats" over and over. I then realized that Kylee was holding something in her hand. Something that resembled a piece of sausage. Once I got close enough I realized this was no treat. Nope, it was poop! Yum! Thankfully she was wearing mittens and I grabbed it with a paper towel immediately.

Meet the accidental culprit: 

Charlotte

Background history: Charlotte sometimes gets a little too excited or scared before she has relieved her bowels outside. There have only been a few other instances where this has happened and thankfully she only has teeny weeny incidents. Today was just one of those days where she was a little too excited for her walk and ran past the open backyard door to the front door. Oopsy. It's okay, we forgive you Charlotte. You gave Kylee and I a great story to share and laugh about today.

Kylee's Sick Day #3

Kylee's fever finally broke late last night. YEAH!! I am sure she is excited to not have to be pumped full of medicine anymore. She has a bad viral infection which caused her to have the fever. If she gets a fever again, we just have to keep a close eye on it so that it does not increase quickly and cause another seizure.

She is feeling better, but has made sure to enjoy the extra perks of being sick: extra cuddling from mom and dad and being able to watch her two favorite movies: Finding Nemo and Spirit.

Kylee is excited to see everyone on Monday: Riley & Murphy, Snoopy, Murphy, and Jake & Charlotte.

Kylee's Sick Day #2

Kylee is doing better. She is still battling a fever that just will not go down with Tylenol or Ibuprofen. It keeps raising between 102 and 104 degrees. Thankfully, no seizures this afternoon when her temperature spiked again.

We have a doctor appointment first thing in the morning to try to figure out what kind of infection her little body is trying to battle and see if we can find some way to break this fever.

Kylee thanks everyone, dogs included, for their get well wishes. She hopes to be back on the job and feeling well by Monday.

Riley & Murphy: Chew Toy, Frisbee, and Neckace all in One!

What used to be a frisbee has now become a chew toy and a tug-a-war toy. It all started with a small tear that just kept getting larger and larger each time Riley and Murphy starting playing tug with their toy. Now it makes the perfect accessory. I know, boy dogs should not be trying to accessorize, but I don't think Riley or Murphy knew that.

Riley actually started the trend today. He was so proud that he had stolen the frisbee from Murphy that he accidentally flipped it over his head. He was running around, but got it off before I could take a picture. (He does not want any of his friends knowing that he was wearing a necklace. Might hurt his tough image with the neighborhood dogs.) Murphy on the other hand, was strutting his stuff all around his house. Not ashamed to show his softer, more fashionable side.

(Doesn't he look good in red?)

Tidbits from Kylee's Day: Trip to the E.R. (after walks)

Boy was I in for a surprise today. I learned how to spell the word seizure, what it feels like to ride in the back of an ambulance, and that I still hate hospitals.

Kylee had an unexpected seizure this afternoon due to a rapid increase in her fever. I have never experienced a seizure before so I tried to reach her doctor and when I couldn't get through, I dialed 911. My poor neighbor (she's a cop and her roommate works at a children's hospital) upstairs had to answer the door to me, a frenzied mess. Thankfully she was able to help me while I talked to the 911 operator and tried to cool Kylee down. (Thank you neighbor, sorry that you moved next to a crazy mother.)


We were rushed to the hospital where they took her vitals and administered some medicine. After that, her fever quickly decreased. She is doing great now and even has a new souvenir from the hospital: her hospital gown. (It's pretty cute that they make them that small).

Murphy: Another One Bites the Dust

(Once again, sorry no pictures. I am kind of glad I did not have my camera on me for this walk though since my camera might not be in one piece anymore.)

It has been a really nice day today with the sun shining, no wind, and the warmer temperature. A thing that comes with warm weather after an ice storm is lots of mud though. I speak from a first hand experience. While Murphy, Kylee and I were out for our walk behind his apartments we started running and playing. Not such a smart idea on my part. I was the first one to go down straight on my butt in the mud. After I went down, this made poor Murphy go down when his leash tightened from me falling. During this whole thing Kylee just stood there and watched bemused. She never went down even once and she was the one stomping and splashing in all of the mud puddles.

Murphy did not let the mud get the better of him. He was right back up and ready to run and play. It took me a little longer to recover and try to scrape the mud off myself. After today's walk we had a lot of cleaning to do, but it was fun.

Jake & Charlotte: A New Friend

It was love at first sight: all the way across the road. Jake saw him from across the road and started to whine and pull so that he could greet the Boxer. The Boxer was very excited and plopped down immediately not moving until he had the chance to greet Jake and Charlotte. Once we said our hello's, we found out that Jake and the Boxer had more in common; they were both named Jake.

They hit it off so well that we ended up tagging along on the rest of their walk (we were headed in the same direction). We were probably quite the show to watch: a Boxer, Jake, Charlotte, and Kylee all tagging along down the sidewalk. What a crew. Jake and Jake were sad to say their good-byes. They both wanted to participate in a game of chase and tag as we went our separate ways.

(Sorry there are no pictures, I have been bad at bringing my camera over the last 2 days.)

Snoopy: The Sky Is Falling

None of the dogs were too sure what to make out of the ice storm that we received. Most were pretty hesitant about stepping out onto the ice, little alone trying to go potty on all of the frozen blades of grass. Snoopy was quite the trooper however. He was a little hesitant here and there about walking out on all of the ice, but he did not let it stop him from going on his walk.

During Snoopy's walk things were slowly beginning to melt. This brought ice bombs that fell from the sky. The first few that crashed off the Magnolia trees startled Snoopy. After he realized what they were he was determined to show them who was boss and tried to take off after each one and bite it after it had landed. It was quite the sight to see, especially since some of these sheets of ice were almost as large as Snoopy himself. It took some convincing to move on before some ice decided to land on us.

Jake & Charlotte: Runaway Puppy

Saturday night went from fun to downright scary. As soon as we went to head out for our walk, Jake’s pinch collar came undone when Charlotte got stuck to the leash. In that instant he was gone and nowhere to be found. Thanks to Home Again and some friendly strangers, he was safe and sound after only about an hour and a half of being gone. Thank you again strangers that were willing to stop and pick up a cute dog they saw wondering the sidewalks.

The rest of the weekend was filled with fun activities. Jake and Charlotte visited the dog park and made some new friends. Jake loved being in the middle of the pack and always wanted to know what was going on.

Charlotte liked to stay to the sidelines, but met a couple dogs that she really took a liking too.

During one of our games of fetch, I accidently lodged the ball in the fence. Charlotte tried to get it out and then looked to me like why did you do that? Oops. She appreciated my assistance in getting it out.

During our afternoon walks the question was brought up by several people, who was walking who? I still don’t know the answer to that. (If only I could have gotten a picture from the front of all three of these guys walking on leashes.)

Telly, Jasper, & Pudge: Lions, Tigers, and Dogs...Oh My!

It can be quite the zoo over at Telly’s and Jasper’s. You never know what kind of creatures you may find. Kylee gets so excited to visit because she gets to see so many different animals. The chinchilla and ferret were treated to some scratching and attention.

Jasper and Telly were joined by their half-brother Pudge over the weekend. They loved being outside for their walks and enjoyed making some new friends, both canine and human. Telly and Jasper never got too tired of playing ball or from stealing one another’s ball, even though there were two. (Watching little Jasper try to carry two tennis balls in his mouth was pretty hilarious.) Pudge was smart and let them duke it out while he received some extra love and attention.

Telly, Jasper, and Pudge were very spoiled whenever Kylee came to visit because she insisted on sharing treats with each of them before we left. You lucky dogs!

Riley & Murphy: Class Clown

Murphy is now a little over a year, but he is still getting everything figured out. He is definitely the class clown of the group.

He is never too serious and is always looking for a good time or something to laugh about.

If there is nothing to laugh about, he will make sure to find something or do something to get some attention.

He LOVES to taunt Riley and is almost always the one to start a game of tag or chase. He is so funny to watch when he knows he has gotten Riley's attention. He just can't sit still and his whole body starts to wiggle. There are even times that his whole body takes off the ground for a leap of joy, or a pounce.

Thank you Murphy for always giving me a smile or something to laugh about. You definitely cannot stay mad at him for long if he gets a little too mischievous.

Jake & Charlotte: Snow Puppies!

The snow has been very exciting for Jake and Charlotte. Jake could barely stay still in one spot long enough to scout it out before running off to a new area.

 

For some reason the snow just makes everything that much more new and exciting. He needed to check out each area we walked past and do a thorough sniff inspection. 

 

Poor Charlotte; she enjoyed the snow, but not to Jake’s extent. She would keep looking back to me like can we go now?  

 At the end of our walk Jake discovered that the snow could bite back and he was not a fan. What often accompanies snow? SALT!! After taking a few steps on it, Jake immediately ran into the grass and waited for me to clean his paws. After that we tried to find the paths with the least amount of salt or just walked on the side of the road.

 

Murphy: Football

So my pictures really do not do justice to this story. You can only get so far to take a picture when you are holding on to a leash. Murphy also thought it was a game to come and run up to me every time I bent down to try to take a picture of him playing.

Here are the picture attempts:

During our walk last week Murphy and I found this football hidden behind some apartments. It turned into love at first kick. I would kick the ball around and Murphy would take after it like a mad man. He would try to jump on it and tackle it, only to have it shoot out between his legs. He would then go after it again and try to bite it, but could not get a good enough hold to not have it shoot off again.

We have lucked out so far to still be able to play with this ball about every day during our walks. It is hilarious to watch how enthused he gets about it and how quickly he gets tired after he has chased it for about 10 minutes.

Snoopy: How Observant is a Dog?

Very observant! Snoopy will notice the smallest of changes: if a leaf moved or a new smell has gone past his apartment. Well, earlier this week a neighbor decided to mix things up a little bit. Leave it up to Snoopy to notice.

What once used to be a football team doormat is now a reindeer doormat. You can't fool Snoopy. He had to make sure to do a thorough investigation and inspection of this new mat. It passed and made his approval after all. Phew!

Douglas: Mitten Smitten - Take 2

Does this look a little familiar? Same mittens, same child, just a different dog.

Douglas definitely has a love for mittens. He was excited to check Ky's mittens out when she was sitting in her stroller, but he gets a lot more excited when Kylee is walking around with her mittens so he has easier access. Douglas' obsession does not quite yet match Murphy's, but Murphy might have some competition coming.

Share Your Christmas and New Years Pictures!

This week I have not made any posts in order to give myself a little time to get caught up with everything after our long vacation. However, new posts will start on Monday.

I would love to give everyone the opportunity to share their holiday pictures from Christmas and New Years. If you have time, send me your pictures and I would love to post them on the blog for everyone to see.

Here are a couple pictures of Kylee's and my Christmas and New Year's adventures:

This is why you have a child, so she can bear through the "Happy Birthday" song with you. I'm getting up there...big 26 years old.

Kylee hanging out with the gang of cousins

Happy New Years in Jackson Hole, Wyoming! She was not a fan of the hats and was scared of the horns.

Yeehaw! Ride it Cowgirl! Kylee got a rocking horse for Christmas. Do you think she liked it?

Christmas Eve pajamas. Kylee was just waiting for her dad and grandpa to come up so we could open our presents.

Sledding with Grandma. Kylee decided her dad was one crazy four-wheeler driver, better stick with mom driving.

Playing in the snow and building a snowman in the backyard. This girl did not let -12 degree weather keep her from playing outside.

(Sorry for all the pictures. Can you tell that I like sharing pictures of Kylee and her crazy antics?)