Heat Wave of 2012.....

This has been one of thee hottest summers I can remember & it certainly took its toll on both humans & animals alike !  When I think of Lila spending all the time outside previously .....my heart breaks.  NOW, if you are not out there w/ her - she wants in - pronto!   When it's not too warm - I do let her spend some quality time in the screened in porch......on a dogie bed.........w/ fresh water :)  She  always lays right by the door & is ready to come in any time you exit the house.  The nice part is - she never barks - I guess in her case- practice made perfect :(


When I heard it was going to hit 107 degrees for the first time - there was NO way I was going to keep Cheddars outside in the garage ( w/ her own fan - mind you )  so I brought her in to  "bunk" w/ your new sister Lila & the Pug.

          As you can tell - they were very interested in each other in the beginning.

                                           Then they simply became room mates !

How Embarrassing!

Once again Lila & I ended up @ the vet's office to revisit an on going issue w/ her butt!  When I pulled into their parking lot, I noticed a lady who was walking her Lab-a-doodle into the waiting room.  Being of sound mind & body - I decided to walk my girl around a bit & then enter .  Well, best laid plans of mice & men - the lady was still waiting in the waiting room along w/ a gentleman who had a greyhound seated @ his side.  At first, peace prevailed ....but.....not for long!   The Lab-a-doodle  gave Lila the " stink " eye & it was on!!!!   They both were lunging @ each other ( for a second I thought I had Bud ) & noises came out of both canines that I never heard before !

It took ALL my strength to knee Lila to the bench so she could not " meet " her new found friend.  In this process - she even  knocked over their lovely end cap that was advertising something for the office :(   

 All I could think of  was.......... I NOW own one of those dogs I used to see @ the vet's office & felt very bad for the owners - yikes!

The staff was wonderful - even tho for a while there they could not hear their phones ringing & all commented on how beautiful  she is - I retorted that I used to think so too.... BUT.... not today.  I must add that the Greyhound was unfazed & simply remained seated  by his owner - jealously can't begin to describe what I felt watching them!

We were finally led to an exam room where she quickly laid by my feet - poor thing was exhausted from her earlier meet & greet.  She was very good w/ the vet & when it was time to leave,  the tech made sure the waiting room was clear of any canine .....just in case Lila got a second wind!

Five Steps Forward & Three Steps BACK......

I realize dogs ( animals ) feed off  your  energy & emotions - but Lila has taken this to a whole new level.  How can an  almost " perfect " canine indoors become practically unmanageable out doors???  Our walks are like a wrestling match!!!    She does beautifully @ a heel as long as there is not another creature in sight.  When she does see another 4 legged critter - she spins out of control & I mean it literally :(

I have tried taking a squeak toy to distract her upon seeing another animal - which worked for almost 10 seconds. I have tried treats -  which she is too busy to consume when she is air borne!  I purchased the halti- collar -  which worked wonders in the beginning ( after our 45 minute session on getting her to accept the darn thing ) , but I'm afraid she will bust out of it whilst twirling in the air trying to " greet " the other canine walking on the same planet !! 

                                        Don't you just see it in her eyes - yikes !!



The thing is I KNOW what she needs is exposure to the outside elements - be it people, dogs, birds etc - since she saw nothing but a backyard for most of her life chained to a doghouse. It's just that I now have a dog that I used to see people walking & think  - " they don't have a clue what they are doing " ?   Truth is I thought I did - but - obviously Lila does not.  I so wish her past could have been different BUT there is nothing I can do to change that, so I'm committed to working w/her.  Hopefully our new trainer can guide me as how to help her understand that other dogs are not out to get her or me.



           Cesar has not returned my e-mails ......so...... he must feel I can do it myself :))

Taking a Break......

Lila's blog will also be on hiatus since the death of Mom last Friday.

                                   This was taken @ JB's 60th B'day Party 5/27/12.

Ewww.......

Our life w/ Lila is never boring......especially when it comes to anything in the outside world!!   This past weekend Bru noticed she was REALLY  interested in the bushes & he went to check it out.  She was coming out  w/ a dead baby sparrow!!!  Apparently a hawk had already done it's damage & left the body for our hunter canine to locate.  We were very thankful it wasn't the Pug who found the deceased - b/c - it would have been an appetizer!!!  Lila  dropped it & I was able to give it a proper burial ( aka garbage can BUT in one piece ).

                                                      Our great huntress.....



We usually take her for a walk first - since we can go a lot farther than w/ the 14y/o Pug & on this particular morning we did just that.  Once it was Fests' turn - he & I were 1/2 way down the block & next thing I heard was Bru calling her name rather loudly.......she ran rite past us in the street BUT when I called her name..... she turned around & came rite to me.  It was a moment of pride for me  - altho Bru was none too happy.


Later that nite we had a severe thunder storm & Trev heard her shaking in her crate from his room & remembered when I used to lay down in front of Bella when she was a pup.  He said she immediately settled down as soon as she could smell his hand in her cage.  I want to cry when I think of all the nites she huddled in her dog house during storms w/ no one to console her.........now she sleeps thru them :)

                       Here she is enjoying a bone her God Mom Joan got for her :))

Getting the Routine Down.....

We are well into owning Lila for several weeks now & I really think she is catching on to the flow of her day.  She has, hopefully, decided the Bang Estate is not too shabby !   We did have to work on our outdoor behavior a tad....but...she is doing much better.

      This was our first out door activity - she didn't mind the mower too much.

                               And actually felt she had to escort Trev back & forth.....

                  She did NOT like when he " abandoned " her  to mow the easement.....

         And went to roll the Pug in protest!!!  Fest told her off & all was well :)

She Did What?????

I volunteer @ a stable on Mondays in a hippo therapy program  - usually from 1p to 8ish.  - & when I returned this particular nite.......I was stopped by son # 1 in the kitchen.   He gave me the Reader Digest version of what took place when I was gone. When I went into the bedroom Bru was sitting up waiting for me & explained all that had happened.  Apparently, Lila was VERY active & besides wanting to chase EVERYTHING  in site when we had gone on walk earlier in the day....she decided to chase birds out of our yard.  I'm sure they were VERY  dismayed as there has been a feeder in the back yard for over 20 years & nary a canine has ever had an issue!  Then she decided to raid my rather large flower pot & consume a portion of last year's dirt, not to mention roll poor Festus on the ground - when all he was doing was his nightly grazing of anything to eat from the earth!

                                                     Thee Offender !!!



Her last act was some of her best work - our next door neighbor came out w/ his dog Marcos - a lil guy resembling Buster - & - Lila was SO excited to see not just another canine BUT also our neighbor......she walked right up to our chain link fence & proceeded to climb it!.  Bru had put Fest inside & was walking around the patio when he noticed the entire thing!  Luckily our animal loving neighbor halted her unorthodox exit & convinced her to stay on the Bang Estate. Need less to say, we now escort our lil lady to the back yard when ever nature calls :)

                                                  The not so happy couple :)