The most successful walk ever!

Yesterday, I took Howie for a short walk when I got home. In case I haven't mentioned it before, Howie is my crazy boy...the HEYLOOKATME!DON'TYOUWANTTOPLAYWITHME?IWANTTOPLAYWITHYOU!I'MGONNAGOOVERTHERENOW!DOYOUWANTTOCOMEWITHME? boy! He's constantly on the go! He's the sweetest thing ever, very lovey & loves to give feet kisses (right Gramma Suzie?)...but he needs a job. Just like his momma Hannah, he's very driven. He loves to please & if you have a treat...my god! You'd think he was the most well behaved dog in the world!

Anyway...because he always has to be there yesterday, when on lead he's usually pulling. In January Sandy was in town & I had her help me. She took Howie for a short walk around the house & he pulled only a few times...I couldn't believe it. She taught me how to get him to stop pulling by using treats (he's VERY food driven) & as soon as he pulls, turn right back around & walk until he pulls again & then turn around again. There were many a walk where we didn't even get to the neighbor's driveway in 20 min because of the pulling & turning around! But almost every time we made some progress! Today I'm happy to report after 3 months of at least weekly walks, Howie did NOT pull once yesterday! Woo hoo!

I was so proud of him! I even had him sit when cars went by (he has a tendency to want to go with every car that goes by). He sat every time & he just waited until I either gave him the command, "ok, let's go" or praised him & gave him a treat. What a proud momma I was! If I turned right, he turned right; if I turned left, he turned left; when I stopped, he sat. What a change!

Now...the test will be can he walk like that for someone else AND can he eventually walk like that when I have Doc or Vivi with? Baby steps...

How do they know??

Many times I think bullies are smarter than people give them credit for (not me of course because I KNOW my bullies are smart)! But really...how could they possibly know what to do when a doorbell chimes.....when we don't have one??!! They'll hear it on the TV & then go running & barking at the door! How do they know? Happened again last night & I'm still confused by it!

The only thing I can think of...they're SMART (of course)!

When I got home yesterday, all the bullies were on the deck waiting for me! It was so fun to watch them realize I was home (saw my car pull into the driveway) & then to be greeted with wagging tails & the snorts...fun!! Then they realized that my arrival home took away from the toys they were playing with & they went back to that! LOL!

Howie wanted to say HI on the new blog!

Just trying out another way to do the Bully Beat. Baby Howie is just waving hi!

Hemorrhoid Cream??

Do you know where they keep hemorrhoid cream at Target? Well, if you don't & you have a bully, you may want to find out! I didn't know where they kept it at the store until last week when I needed to buy some....for Doc!! Recently, Doc has gotten an interdigital cyst in one of his front paws. It is basically a blocked gland which could be caused by an ingrown hair, or in Doc's case, I think it's a way for a food allergy to present itself.

The cysts are painful to him & what he wants to do all the time is lick them!! This is exactly what he SHOULDN’T be doing. I've tried giving him epsom salt soaks in the tub....he doesn't mind them & just stands there while I clean his folds or ears...he's such a mellow fellow!! After soaking in the epsom salt, you need to pat dry the paws completely. Well, this little remedy didn't work.

So I went on to the next at home remedy which brings us to the hemorrhoid cream! Seriously, it helps dry out the cyst. I've read to use it on the cyst 3 times a day for 3 days. And guess what? After the first day, Doc was sitting in the sun & it burst open! Blood everywhere...poor thing. Thankfully he allowed Steve to clean it up & I used some witch hazel (which is also used in hemorrhoid wipes by the way) to help clean it up, followed by more hemorrhoid cream. It has gotten a lot better & he even has gone on walks, which were too painful for him to go more than one house away. After our walks I make sure to clean the paws & use the cream & then again before bed. Surprisingly, he doesn't lick the cream so that's good!!

Of course I have stopped giving him the food I think that trigged the allergy & everyday the paw does look better. With bullies, you just never know what human product you will need on hand!! First Zyrtec & now hemorrhoid cream!!Here's a photo of his paw before it popped. I don't have one after, but when I get one, I'll be sure to post it for comparison:

I'm sure this is much more information than you wanted to know about hemorroid cream, but hey, chalk it up to learning something new everyday!!

Spring has sprung!

It was a great spring weekend here in Minnesota! The bullies & I spent a lot of time outside on the deck! Doc just loved laying in the sun & Vivi just loved watching all the people & cars go by! Howie, well Howie was his usual investigative self & ran into a bee!! The one & only bee I saw all weekend and of course Howie had to find it! I still don't know if he got stung for sure but when we were on the deck, I saw him sniffing around the house & then he shook his head & ran to the other side of the deck. At first I thought it was a spider because I just saw something move and it had long legs (you know those bees that have a regular bee body, but super long legs & wings??)...but then I saw it was a bee! YIKES!!

It's scary when dogs get stung by bees because if they get stung in the mouth, the dog's tongue can swell up, causing their airway to be cut off & they can suffocate. This happened to Howie's dad, Jack, last summer! And it can happen fast, very fast! So as soon as I saw it was a bee, I went over to Howie. He was drooling (which is rare for him), so I figured he got stung! I quickly ran into the house, grabbed an allergy pill (Zyrtec--yep, the human OTC kind) & a bit of a banana (he LOVES banana's & I needed to get him to take the pill ASAP)!! I went outside to him & gave him the pill/banana cocktail. He took it with no problems. Of course I just sat there staring at him....and waiting...watching his every move. I decided to give him another pill just to be sure, plus an ice cube in case there was any swelling....not sure if that would really help, but he liked it & it made me feel better.

Thankfully, he had no signs of being bit in his mouth...however, he does have a pink mark on his chin....so I'm guessing he got stung in the chin...but who knows...it could be a mark from him & Vivi playing (they tend to go after each other's jaws---it's a bully thing) or it could be a zit (no kidding)....so while I'm not sure he did actually get stung by the bee, I'm glad I knew what to do to try to help him!

Vivi's First Show!!

Vivi's first show was this weekend in Eau Claire, WI. We had a great time! Drove each day, so it was a mighty early wake up for both of us; but Vivi did great in the car rides! She got to meet her half-sister Bailey & they would take turns watching each other in their kennels! So cute! I thought Vivi did great in the ring! She only sat during the down & back, as opposed to when on the ramp too (which is what I was expecting). However, the little stinker did NOT go up the ramp either day! I was so surprised because we had even practiced Friday night & there was NO problem!! Haha!! What a silly little girl.

What I was most impressed with was her demeanor while we were waiting outside the ring. It was a very small space & there were LOTS of dogs & people. I was getting a little freaked when I had dogs sitting on me & even poor Vivi!! I did mention it was crowded right? Well, she took it all in stride. She even tried to play with a Pointer's tail that was wagging near her!! Never once did she cower or bark or anything. She's a very mellow little girl! I'm very proud of her!! That was a lot to take in & then to still do what I wanted her to do in the ring? Amazing!

Needless to say she was very, very tired after our early mornings & car rides! Vivi's new photo on the top of her page is her "After Show" look...sweet thing!

It was a lot of fun & I am looking forward to more shows this spring & summer! My good friend Mary was able to take some photos while waiting to bring Bailey in the ring. I'm so thankful to have photos of Vivi's first show! I've posted a few on Vivi's page & then our favorite below. Thanks again Mary!

More Updates!

Yay! Howie's page is here!! His was a lot easier to do than Ollie's, which I knew it would be. While it was hard to put down in words Ollie's story, it felt good to have it out there. Vivi and I continue to work on her stacking & ramping (err--is that a word??) this week. Just a few more days until her first show!!