The Gentle Leader

No, I'm not talking about my boss or the President. Maggie our rescue pup was ten months old when we adopted her. She came to us with no training whatsoever and a very sad past. She had no idea how to walk on a leash. Training a puppy to walk on a leash is one thing...training a ten month old Border Collie mix is quite another.

I tried to walk her with Wrigley. I tried to walk her without Wrigley. The result was always the same.....she dragged me down the street practically pulling my arm out of the socket! I tried everything I knew and none of it worked. I couldn't keep her at my side, and once she got in front of me she would zig and zag all over the place. I can't tell you how many times I almost ate the pavement.

Michael had a problem training his Aussie and he purchased a Gentle Leader head collar. We have a little family joke about it even. One time when we were watching Teagan for them, Michael drew us a picture of how to put the Gentle Leader on her. We laughed so hard at his drawing....the dog in the drawing looked more like an ant eater!!

Anyway, the idea behind the Gentle Leader is that it puts pressure on a dog's nose in the same manner in which a lead dog communicates with dogs lower in rank. The dog immediately understands her place and considers the owner her leader.

When it's time to walk each day, Maggie sits and waits for me to put the Gentle Leader on her. As soon as it's on her.....Irv and I start laughing because she stops moving. She sits and just stares straight ahead and won't even acknowledge you when you talk to her. It is so darn funny.

If you look closely at this picture, you can see it across the top of her nose, under her eyes. See how serious she looks?

We can now walk every day without any pulling, dragging or tripping. Three cheers for our Gentle Leader!!

(Added note: If I'm not around for a little while it's because my home computer died. Certainly not what I needed right now...but what are you going to do. I'm going to talk to someone at work here today and see what they think. If it ends up being a lost cause, I will need to get a new one. I'll be checking in occasionally while I'm at work. We did get 12 inches of snow last night and woke at 4:00 a.m. this morning because we were having a 4.3 earthquake! I'll tell you about it when I am up and running. Make it a good one!)

Pre-Planned Family Time

Well our first pre-planned family get together is now history. We had Tresa, Chris, Michael and Bernadette over for a late breakfast this morning. It was wonderful to just be able to spend some time together. Breakfast was great and everyone ate a lot.

Michael and Bernadette brought Teagan with them and there were a lot of dirty dog looks and only one fight. There was a little bit of blood shed, but then they all went out and played. If only humans could learn to get mad, say what they need to say, move on and still be friends....what a peaceful place our earth would be.

Everyone helped in the attempt to get Michael's old Dell working for Irv in the basement and no go. Such a bummer. Irv is going to take back all of the stuff they sold him at Best Buy and we are going to try to get someone who knows computers come and give us a hand with it. We don't think they are selling us the right things to make the proper connection.

We were able to sit and chat and it was decided that Bernadette and Michael will take the next get together at then end of February. Michael said they will come up with something good. I'm hoping that we really do keep this going. It is so nice to see the kids together and to just be able to chill out, chat and laugh together!

Just a little side note....I am reading and reading and reading everything I can on osteoporosis and the drugs and natural methods used to treat it. Scroll down to yesterday's post if you missed it. I plan to call the doctor's office today to get a copy of my last two bone density reports so I know exactly what my numbers are. I will keep you informed as to what I decide to do.

Make it a great day and do not forget to do something nice for yourself today!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I was going to write about the Amazing Race today, but I don't have time. I ended up going to PetSmart to buy all kinds of chew toys for the dogs after work....but mainly for Maggie! Irv took them for a nice walk.

We didn't make a big production over the new toys, we just put them out in the living room. That way they belong to everyone and no one will claim them as their own.

Believe it or not, Maggie managed to pull the door to the crate out of the track and squeezed out the side AGAIN!! I am just about ready to put her back in the smaller one. At least she couldn't escape from that one. I can't believe what she has to do to get out of this one. Dumb crate and a smart dog! She ate a Tupperware container I was using to toss odds and ends into, and she destroyed a spool of thread. I pushed everything on the table way back before I left the house and buried all of the cords behind things just in case she got out, so the damage was minimal. I was prepared.

Tomorrow we are padlocking the door to the crate so it can't be lifted out of the track. If she gets out tomorrow, then she is Houdini!!

So now it is late and I don't have much time. I have a couple more wine bags I want to get done.

Have an awesome day everyone!!

Doggie Update

Our little rescue dog is on her way here, but traffic is really bad, so they won't be here for quite a while. Irv and I are both nervous believe it or not.

I think it's just because we don't know what to expect. We've always had puppies and Georgia is a year old already. She's had a rough life and it will take time for her to feel comfortable in our home.

We are hoping for a fairly smooth transition. I'll let you know later tonight or in the morning how things are going. Isn't she just so cute?

Roller Coaster....

Wow! I feel like I'm on a roller coaster and they won't let me off!

First...I am busy at work making those 6 Halloween costumes, plus keeping up with my regular work. I made good progress today on the Hand Sanitizers. Story and photos here. I'll try to take a picture tomorrow so I can show you.

Second...I am busy at home listing, and listing, and listing in etsy, all of the things I made during the spring and summer that are sitting here and never made it into MyOtherShop. I am having trouble getting good pictures of the tote bags and that is always so frustrating. I'll try again when I get some good light. I've probably listed over 50 new things in the past few days. It's good because I have even sold a few of them too. Remember....you can't sell what you don't have listed!

Third...we plan to start painting this weekend. Irv has to patch a recurring crack in the ceiling and then we will be ready to go. I think I am going to go with the Sassafrass Green. It's a bit on the mossy side and I like that. Then I can accent with brown, yellow and of course a touch of blue.

Fourth...we are looking for another dog. (See yesterday's post) We aren't in any hurry. We're just perusing Petfinder.com and seeing if any little face pops up that says, "Here I am!" Actually, they all say that, but we are looking for a particular mix, size, sex and age...so it might take us a while. Still, I think about it daily...not with worry, just thinking.

One nice thing is that I don't get too worked up, even when I have a lot on my plate. I'm working to stay centered and only focus on whatever it is I am working on at that moment, and not get distracted by what's waiting in the wings. That usually works well for me.

The only thing with a true deadline is the costumes and they will get done....somehow.

So, how does your fall look? Anything fun and exciting going on or anything that causes you to burst into tears when you think about it? Feel free to share!

Woof, Woof, Woof?

Okay, so over the weekend, Irv came to my workshop door and said, "Can I ask you something?" That usually isn't a good thing when a question is preceded by that question, but I said, "Sure...what?"

"Do you think we could get another dog?"

AHHHHHHHHHHHH.......hands covering ears......lalalalalalala.....no, no, no, I don't want to hear this.......lalalalalalalalalala!!!!!!

"Why do you think we need another dog? We already have two." I said calmly.

We have had this discussion many times over the past year. The reason that we are even considering getting a third dog is because of Wrigley. Wrigs is two and loves to play. When Wrigley and Michael and Bernadette's Aussie, Teagan get together they have a blast. They just run and jump and chase each other all over the place. They come in, get a drink, rest a few minutes and they are at it again.

Bling

Sparky, our other dog is twelve and a half....she doesn't play much. She likes to just go out, do her thing, lay in the sun if it's out, or curl up under an afghan on the couch. Once in a while she'll surprise us and run around a bit, but those times are few and far between. She isn't unhealthy, she's just starting to slow down.

Harley

We have always had a dog, or two dogs and at one time we had three. It was a bit crazy, but it was fine.

So, do we get another dog now....maybe a one or two year old....so Wrigley has a playmate and a friend so when Sparky is no longer with us she isn't lonely on top of not having anyone to play with?

Catalina

It's such a hard decision to make. Dogs are such a big responsibility. They have needs and they can get sick. You have to be prepared for those things with the time and finances to handle them.

Kira

We spent a good couple of hours on Petfinder.com over the weekend and saw one dog we thought we might be interested in, but when I e-mailed, she had already been adopted. Of course, they have many more they would like to show us.....but we like to look online first. I know if we went to the shelter we would come home with a dog of some kind....even if it wasn't what we were looking for. It's safer to find one online and then go look at that particular dog. Those places are dangerous!

We need a dog that loves other dogs, cats (just in case we get another kitty) and kids (just in case we have grandchildren one of these days). The pictures are doggies that we like. We found them on Petfinder.com. They have 200,000 dogs available for adoption from all over the country. That just makes me so sad.

We will keep pondering and searching and if the right little pooch comes along, I'm sure Wrigley will have a new playmate. Do you have a dog? More than one dog? What kind(s)?