Little Girl

I love my little girl so much. She has some cute quirkiness that I haven't really seen in another dog before--grant it, she still isn't much of a cuddle pup much to my dismay.

Here are the cute things she does:

1. Whether it is first thing in the morning or the first thing when we get home, she has to greet everyone before going outside to potty.
2. If you don't remind her to go potty immediately, she will be so taken with greeting everyone that she will piddle on the floor.
3. When she first leaves her crate--no matter if it is 10 minutes or more--she does the downward facing dog position then stretches out to the superman pose (modified--no feet kicking back) and then she proceeds to pound her two front paws on the ground as she gives me a huge grin. I really need to figure out how to get this on video or pictures.
4. She learned all of her mad fighting skills from her big brother Cloud and has since picked up a few tricks from foster brother Milo.
5. A trick she learned from Milo is to kick back the dirt and grass (usually on to me) after she has peed/or pooped. She never did that before until we started walking with Milo.
6. Apparently, anything that involves water will cause her to wiggle around the dirt trying to get dirtier.
7. She loves her daddy! She was screaming her head off the second Part was away from view and I was walking too slow for her liking. She sounded like she was in epic pain!
8. We play a game called "Little Girl" in which I come and jump and tickle her ribs. She gets a little crazy and sometimes nips me. But that smile and wiggle nub is so worth it!
9. She loves her food! I think that's a corgi and a weim thing.
10. She also kills roaches for me...I can thank Cloud for that too! She watches her brother protect me all the time and she's starting to do it now--and sometimes, she does it on her own accord!

Here's to my sweet little girl! I love you so much and miss you so much when I'm at work.

Bad Mommy

I'm sorry you guys. I've been really busy this summer working two jobs--one almost a full
time job and one a totally full time job. I haven't been around much on the internet and have only recently been able to read some blogs. I have tons to update you guys on!

List format for easy reading to boot:D.

1. Freya after her Spay at age 7 months. Her spay was earlier that morning back in June. She and I actually had cuddle time that night. She isn't much of a cuddler. So naturally, I made the best of the situation.

2. Freya finally made it to 19 pounds this month! She's been 18 pounds forever it seems--at least the last 3 months.

3. She has also been spontaneously growing a black patch on her back. As you can see the tufts and the wreckage that she caused behind in the background.





4. And she went on her first beach trip! She did such a great job too...I was so proud of her:D. My little girl swam. Of course, her main reason of doing so was her daddy was walking deeper into the water without her that she had to run and catch up and drag me behind her. Will post that soon.

She also had her first night at a hotel (Motel 8 if you're wondering and not that bad for the price either.) We got them medication that pretty much made both Cloud and Freya stoned. It was kind of funny but kind of freaky to see the Weim swaying in his crate. I think Cloud barked once the entire time and we corrected him immediately. I let her out of her crate for a few minutes at a time as I knew I couldn't trust her to not pee in the room. Sad, but true. But she did a very good job.

The road trip was also really great too for her. She did such a wonderful job--I was impressed. She's a good rider...very chill, I like it.

5. Freya was a bit sick a few days ago--which is very unfortunate for her and me as I had a major case of vertigo thanks to an inner ear infection. She was regurgitating her dinner a few hours after the fact--still fully form but slimey and well...we were really worried. Since we have a doggie door, I had no idea about her pooping or lack there of. Needless to say, she also managed to eat her harness while wearing it! Wich furthered my paranoia until she finally started pooping and keeping her food down. I was told to feed her nothing but rice for a few days before going back to Blue Buffalo.

6. Freya is going on a big trip soon too. We're going to drive to Arizona with both dogs in the back seat--I have a ton to do and buy!

8 things....

8 Things I am Looking Forward to
1. Watching Freya grow up.
2. Eventually getting married.
3. Eventually having kids of my own.
4. Not having to work two jobs to get by.
5. Having all the dogs get along.
6. When Freya is leash trained.
7. Running with Freya
8. Being able to run a mile.

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1. Loaded bikes in the bike barn for work.
2. Was an expert witness to four cases at work.
3.Almost got stuck by a train and had to take an even longer way home.
4. Stopped at Tractor Supply and Petsmart for our dogs.
5. Picked up pizza at Walmart and didn't have to wait 10 or minutes (for once!)
6. Loved on my puppy and then the Foster dog.
7. Cooked and fed my boyfriend and I.
8. Fed and walked dogs.

8 Things I Wish I Could do
1. Find my muse.
2. Start writing again.
3. Get over my asthma.
4.Go on a trip.
5.Sing Karaoke again.
6. Hope to find Milo a great home!
7. Read more.
8. Weight lift at the gym.

8 Shows I Enjoy (DVR)
1. Lie to me
2. Life
3. Psych!
4. Bones
5.Buffy/Angel
6.Family Guy
7. American Dad
8. Sara Connor Chronicles: Terminator

Shopping list

I think both of our dogs really need these. Freya's at least good about not running around in the back seat.



















Seat covers are more for my peace of mind. Dr Foster and Dr Smith's site have these and they have a bucket seat version that is much needed for my car. Having airbags in the seat themselves hinders some of the seat covers I can use.




















Freya could definitely use this! Georgia is going to be hotter than norm (my prediction) and anything to help keep my baby cool is a welcomed plus.




















I still need to get collapsible bowls for the hiking we do on occasion. I also intend to get both dogs custom collars. http://www.cozycritter.com/collarspecs4.htm or http://www.collarmania.com/collar_mania_home are my two top choices in buying collars. Both have really awesome choices but one in particular cause you have more choices in the hardware that is involved in the collar.

I guess I'll have to work on the car stuff first. I've been pretty lucky so far that no one has had any kind of diarrhea explosion in my car. Cloud has done that to my boyfriend's truck...thank you gastritis--I've been too lucky so far.

Been a while...

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted here. I've been so busy at work (read: insane to the point of mental breakdown.)

Freya is a big girl now. She's 5 months old and at 15 pounds. The vet doesn't think she'll break 20 pounds by next month and she very well may be on the small side (I have a mini corgi maybe?) Lisa told me that Freya's mom weighed in at 30 pounds and loved going out on 3 to 4 mile runs and Freya's dad, who was a foster, weighed in at 22-23 pounds. So who knows what she'll be, that's such a huge range!

We went through obedience class but I felt that it wasn't a great class so I'll be shopping for another class after her spay. She's set up for spaying on the 30th of April. I know I'll have the vWD test done which will run $28, $38 may be charged if they decide to gas her instead of anesthesia her, $15 per baby teeth, and if chip her $48 bucks. Wowie zowies, that's going to hurt my pocket. I've been working on paying as much of my bills or prepay most so the balance won't be so bad come the 30th. (This topic has caused much arguments in our family--my boyfriend feels it is an unnecesarry invasive surgery and he doesn't understand why I want to do this.)

We've had some food aggression issues spring up lately, and I'm not terribly surprised by this either. She's a corgi, who loves to eat! She's currently bumped up to 2/3 cups of food 3 times a day--though sometimes I only give her half. She gets kong time with some kibble (either hers or her brother's Taste of the Wild Salmon) with some yogurt or pb. She never really hated her crate, but she definitely hops in there in the morning excitedly. It's too cute. It makes me wish I had a camera to film all these moments.

She will be getting a foster brother soon. He'll be a corgi mix...I'm kind of thinking he's a dorgi. I could be wrong as it has been a while since I've seen him. The poor boy is heart worm positive so he won't have much time to play for a while.

So Freya also gets special bathroom time. Lol, what I mean by that is, she always follows me there and I started to give her a raw hide (I know, its bad, I need to get a better alternative) while we're in there. We used to play fetch but she lost interest in it at the moment.

I need to figure out how to link my post to mycorgi so I can keep one site going.

Bad news...

Just got a call after the health check....heart worm positive. They'll need someone to sponsor about 200 bucks. I'm not sure what that entails. I know that it is a bad thing, but still.



Update:

So Milo is currently still at the vet's office. I was told this morning that they went ahead and treated him with heartworms (which wasn't a bad infestation) and neutered him also.

I'm not sure when I'll get to pick him up. I told the animal control officer the name I gave him (in my head as I never actually called it to his face) and she said its perfect. She was telling me how happy he was to get attention from people (which definitely makes me think he's a true corgi) and how he knew that something was up because he hasn't become depressed like many of the animals at the shelter.

Since he will be limited in his movements, due to his treatment not so much the neuter, I doubt I can even introduce the dogs the way I wanted to (whenever I get him home.) Hopefully there won't be issues due to that.

And thank you to everyone who has given me support. I really appreciate it. Yesterday was such a rough day for me to deal with that and work both of my jobs the last two days.

Foster update

The animal control officer called me and told me the quarantine band has been lifted from the shelter yesterday. Woot! She also told me (just a few minutes ago) that she's taking "my baby" to the vet for his check up and if that goes well he will be neutered! I hate that she's calling him "my baby" because I don't want to get attached and I think that's what she's trying to do..the mean woman. He seems like he's a sweetie.

I'm debating on naming him. I'm afraid of getting terribly attached to him but when I think of him, I get his name. I know that sounds odd but that's how I name things. I look them in the eye and mentally, and sometimes literally, "what's your name?" Whatever comes back will be there name. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I have a crock pot of names waiting but man...sometimes they just don't fit.

So far, I have Milo stuck in my head. Not sure where the name came from but I like it and I suppose it suits him. I guess he'll tell me otherwise when I get him for the official start up of our time together. He doesn't seem to suit my stupid World of Wowcraft names: Aggro and Manna. But come on, those would be excellent names for those who play such a game! It would be fun to see how many people know what we mean by it.

I'm excited and nervous about this. I fear the worse and hope for the best. I hope that he's healthy despite however long he's been roaming the streets. I hope that he gets along with our dogs. I hope that I don't totally and completely fall head over heels for this guy because I know I would have the complete option to adopt him (it's a shelter and not a rescue so their rules are different.) I fear that he would be a total nightmare. I fear that he'll be sick and get my baby sick. Bah...at any rate, I'll deal with it as it comes.

Shelter will get me food, the guy at work (who is a big advocate for the shelter) will get me a crate, and that will leave me with bowls, kong, and grooming supplies.

Am I leaving anything out?

Work in Progress

Outside of the potty training issue that has cropped up (which may possibly be a territorial thing *shrugs*) things have been going relatively smooth in terms of the food aggression.

Both dogs are separated when feeding. Freya goes into her crate to eat and Cloud goes in the hallway. She eats significantly slower than Cloud, and if he even steps foot in the room she will start growling. Keep in mind, she is locked in her crate so there's no way anything could be stolen. We've been spraying her when she does this. I'm not certain if that is the best method, but it is working so far. To keep Cloud from instigating, I usually send him outside or keep him in the hallway with me and by then Freya will be done eating her food. I collect both bowls and she's able to be free from her crate.

Now, when it comes to treat time--they are both given kongs filled with the same thing before we leave for work. It's really cute how much they love it. They know what it is when I get both kongs and they are super excited when they see me make it the night before. Freya will even prematurely hop in her cage (and I mean she will hop in there) cause she think its time.

The morning crate wrangle has been made significantly easier. Cloud, our Weim, has had a lot of issues about being crate during the day but if anyone here has ever had a Weim then you would understand the kind of devastation they can create. At any rate, from the once pulling and tugging and boxing (he boxes with the boyfriend, I don't take that crap cause he knows what I want him to do, but I will coax him), he will actually hope into his crate without any problems and I'll deposit his frozen goodness. Freya has never had an issue with the crate (she also wasn't punished by being in there like Cloud was before I came into his life) so she's a breeze.

Every time I go to the bathroom to take a shower or a bath, Freya will get her personal chewie time. Cloud is given two (they are the small ones cause of Freya) in the living room at the same time.

I've been working on the walking now. Freya isn't so bad despite the pulling. She was using the martingale but she pulled horribly when we tried the pack walk. So she's on a harness with the leash attached to the front. I may try a choke chain when she's older and doesn't pull as much. Cloud is just getting used to being healed as the boyfriend just lets him pull all day cause it doesn't bother him. I have to prepare both of them to be able to walk nicely when the new foster comes home soon. I also work on them bolting out of the door. I'm not taking that crap and I will just forgo the walk for a few seconds til they calm down and do what I tell them.

Hopefully, I'm doing the right thing. I still have to get some books (outside of the internet searches I've done) to continue my education. I'm not sure what kind of issues that may crop up, if any. The only thing we know about the boy's history is he was found on the streets with 2 other dogs (which means he has been in the pack mentality) as for him being the alpha, I'm not sure. I think he has also fathered some pups at one point as well and I'm not sure what that will do or if the neutering will even help.

She's a big girl now!

Freya has surprised me in the last week. Outside of the incident with my boyfriend, she's been doing fine and I've been dealing with it as it happens. If Cloud instigates when she's in her kennel trying to eat or play with something, I'll lock him outside in the yard--which he doesn't mind cause there's a girl dog next door that he likes. Freya is really starting to learn how to play by herself. She was growling at her orka bone and scramblin it with her back legs while she's on her back--it was quite cute!

Since putting her in a harness, she at least isn't choking herself when we go walking with her brother and dad. My boyfriend likes to run and that particular day I was wearing just regular dress boots with no traction so I couldn't run on the wet grass lest I bust my butt or even worse break something. It drove Freya crazy! I never have any pulling issues unless we are with them. She wants to keep up and be in front. So, we started working on this that day. Every time she pulls, I stop. I only start walking after she stops whining and I give the heel command. Sometimes I will go the opposite direction and she doesn't pull when I do that.

I swear, I've never heard a puppy whine so much in my life! She didn't eve whine that much doing her first bath and nail cut. I subjected her to the swings (the baby one and I never let go of her) and pushed her a bit, then she went down the slide, and finally, she went on the spinning thing with her dad and brother. She didn't like going around too much while I pushed. She eventually came back to me and I continued to push my boyfriend and his dog (I had vertigo so I wasn't jumping on any time soon.)

She surprised me in that she jumped into the car by herself this week. She also jumped on the couch. I had no idea she could do that yet. I was talking to my boyfriend and turned around and there she was standing on the couch with her puppy smile (missing a few teeth) and her nubb going crazy! She was so cute and sooo proud of herself!

I sat with her for a few minutes and she tried to get comfortable and ultimately jumped back down to play with Cloud. My boyfriend thinks she's gained some weight as of late. She does look longer...I guess I'll have to weigh her soon.

Confessions

I made fun of my mom when she started to buy her puppy (2 years ago) clothes. If you know my mom, you would too. Karma has come around and I know find myself with the same urges--must dress the Freya Baby! I've resisted it for the last few months (amazingly--and partly due to financial reasons.)

I think I may switch from the martingale collar to an easy walker harness. I'm hoping she won't pull like crazy with it and not slip out of it either. After watching her trying her best to catch up with her brother Weim and nearly choking herself doing it...I think it may be a needed change. The only plus is, the harness will be less painful to put on than the martingale because it will have buckles (I hope.)

I was afraid that she was going to be terribly ill when I first got her. I was afraid cause I paid for her, because she was my first official dog, and because she wasn't fully inoculated. Stupid, but thankfully, nothing happened and now she is fully inoculated and I feel tons better about the whole thing.

Thankfully, Freya baby seems to have lighten up too! I guess she may have sensed my worries? But she's a happy, smiley puppy that's really starting to enjoy cuddle time (on her terms of course.)

No puppy is intimidating when they snarl at their brother and have absolutely no teeth except for their k9s being bared. That, my friends, is all kinds of cute and funny.

I need to get money for the following items--seat covers (formerly expressed as car seats because that is forever in my mind for some reason), seat belt/harness deals for both dogs, tag, and a girly (not pink!) collar/leash combo so people will stop calling my baby girl a boy! It's all my fault, shouldn't have gone with the blue but that was all they had at the time.

Also, as a miscellaneous expense--Halloween costume, get her chipped and spayed, and collapsible bowls and the poo baggie holder.