Life with Gidget at 10 1/2 months

I was on the phone recently with someone I work in the same field with and Gidget let out a bark. He remarked about my having a conversation with my dog and I said that was my 10-month-old puppy. He said, "That's no puppy!" to which I then told him she also was at the other end of the house barking at the garbage truck. That about sums up life with Gidget. She might only be 10 months old but she definitely has taken the world by storm. I'm not sure how it will go on Thursday morning when I attempt to take Gidget with Nestle to the vet for Nestle's follow-up appointment for her ear infection. Gidget needs her nails trimmed and hasn't been weighed in some months. I'm sure I'll be shocked when the scale reads more than 60 pounds. She continues to get taller and longer although her tail hasn't dragged on the ground recently. As I write this, Chaco is outside the shut back door eating his food (so the others can't get to it) while Gidget and Nestle stare at him. The door (which is mostly glass) is filled with Gidget's muddy paw prints from when she tried to get into the house and I made her stay out because not only had she gone in the pool, she then traipsed through the dirt. She likes to drink from the pool but only after she gets on the top step and then plays with the water. Honestly, I think I like her best when she snoozing because she at least looks innocent and isn't capable at that moment of ruining the floor I've just vacuumed. I can hear her playing with her ball behind me in the dining room. She is more the Labrador (ie, Nestle) than German Shepherd, wanting to play fetch for a good portion of the day. but when I see photos on Facebook of the many dogs who are euthanized because of well, stupid people, and overcrowded shelters who can't take care of them, I can let go of the muddy paws. I'd let them all in my house with their muddy paws if it meant they could have a chance at life.

A Growing Girl

Gidget continues to develop. Her ear isn't flopping anymore and they seem to be growing themselves as well as her tail. She's almost as tall as Hattie, too. It's like she's not a baby anymore but how quickly the 2 1/2 weeks have gone. She is slowly learning manners and I think I've finally broken her of grabbing my pants and pulling (the worst was when I had workout pants on for a walk and she managed to pull my pants down!).

Settling in

It's been another week and I still can't believe that Gidget has just been with us about 1 1/2 weeks. She started going for walks last week with Nestle although Gidget's idea is to try and grab Nestle's leash so she can chew on it. She also is getting a second walk in the afternoon which is helping to wear her out– she's usually asleep by 7 pm! Last night she was up for a short time after plus a few bathroom breaks made mandatory by me but she is going to sleep easily and staying asleep until I get up at 5:30. She has not used the house as her bathroom in almost 72 hours. Yahoo! And she is playing a lot with the others, particularly Hattie. Gidget likes going outside during the day and finding out what Chaco is doing (he's been spending a lot of time in the sun out there) and then sometimes Hattie will follow and Gidget will chase Hattie all over the yard. Everyone on our walks keeps saying how cute she is but she would rather bark at people than let them talk to her. She loves going up the stairs and it's been interesting watching her develop. I don't remember this about Hattie. The best I can figure is that we have so little recollection of Hattie's puppyhood because she was sick. Right now Gidget is sleeping next to a bone.

Happy 9th birthday, Chaco!

It's hard to believe that Chaco came to live with us seven years ago today. I'm still in awe that for seven years I've been running around the park around my house because that means I've also aged seven years and that doesn't seem possible! But Chaco moving in was the start of a new journey for me, that or learning about the human-animal companion bond. It's obviously changed my life in many ways. And, as I write this, Gidget is snoozing on the floor in front of me after an hour of scampering around the house and chewing on a bone. She represents the start of a new journey in our house as well as we continue to transition our bond with Daisy to a much different one now that she has "passed on" to another life and help Gidget grow into an adult German Shepherd and work to keep her holistically healthy so that she may not live the short life that Daisy did. And it all began seven years ago when a quiet chow mix came peeking around the corner at our friend Jim's house.

Return to the Dogs

I think I forgot to blog about the one dog happening while I was gone. Joe was doing laundry and looked out the window to see Hattie running across the wall that surrounds our yard. Yes, that 6-foot wall. He ran out to her and saw that the others were watching him but no one had alerted him (he thinks they were being entertained by her). Turns out she had gotten up there and couldn't figure out how to get back down. One of her favorite activities is to jump up on the wall and see what's happening in the yards around us but she usually doesn't end up on the wall itself. The dogs seemed to be happy to have me home. I ran Chaco long yesterday and we stopped to talk to one man who used to run his dog but the dog is now not interested in going further than around the block. He couldn't understand why Chaco was a little scared of him (Chaco is still scared of a lot of men) and he said to Chaco, "But your sister Nestle likes me!" I didn't have the heart to tell him that Nestle likes everyone but the security people at the airport (she barks endlessly at them).

An inevitable question

I did the interview yesterday for ABQ The Magazine for which we did the photo shoot last week. I got the inevitable question that I knew one day would come. Which dog am I closest to? I had thought a lot about this at Fetchapalooza as I was standing at my table of books attempting to sell the books. The answer is Chaco because he was the first dog and it's because of him that everything else has happened. And Nestle, Daisy, and Hattie, and Ginger all would not have homes without him. However, after I told Joe about this when the interview was over, he said, "You told her Hattie?" I know Joe said that because Hattie follows me around like she's my shadow and when I leave town, she's depressed. He said one time she sat by the window on her "perch" for about a day waiting for me to come home (even though I wasn't due home for another week!). Chaco is very different than the others though. He bonded to me quickly and maybe it was because of the stable environment I provided because we walked/ran each morning plus I fed him and played with him (for the four fetches he would do) in the afternoons. Plus, I took him in the car everywhere. In return, Chaco is my security. He sleeps at the bottom of the stairs at night and will not join the other dogs in the bedroom unless I am out of town. And when I'm upset, he is the dog peering around the corner to see if I'm okay. I felt bad the rest of the day after I said that about Chaco though. Hattie seemed to be glaring at me, as if she knew what I had said. We'll see what appears in the Q&A in the magazine. Hattie was sitting on my lap for the photo though. What more could she ask for?!

A Blog Request from Nestle

I took a few photos of the dogs yesterday and Nestle asked me to include them on the blog because she thinks she looks really cute (and innocent!). Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Midwest Book Review of Ginger's Gift

And another one that recently appeared in The Midwest Book Review.

Ginger's Gift Book Review in Petroglyphs Magazine

A great book review of Ginger's Gift appears on the Petroglyphs Magazine web site. Check it out.