Catching up

The house remodeling continues, but I think we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I think it's time for another pet-related post!! Enough of the stupid house (except... House, if you're listening, I am just kidding! Hahahaha).

We're focusing on Agility with the dogs this summer - which may not be the most brilliant thing to do this time of year, given our blistering Texas summers. But Teddy and Kinsey's classes are at night, and Topper's is early in the morning so we're all good. Topper has just finished Beginner Agility and she's doing great. And - as I fully expected - she LOVES loves loves climbing on things. The A-frame, the dogwalk... we haven't trained on the big teeter yet but she's eyeing it too. Actually, when they were little bitty I set a tiny teeter out for the pups to play on, and they loved to just walk down the length of it and make it tip - then they'd turn around and walk to the other end. Back and forth - the therapist in me was thinking "that vestibular stimulation must be good for them!" But Topper has always been a climber.

On the other hand, her brother Teddy is a RUNNER. By Golly that dog is fast... he probably honed his speed trying to get away from his mom and his sister who pick on him constantly. He's got a really long stride too. Ronnie is working with him - no way I can keep up with THAT! - and even he is having to really think 2 or 3 obstacles ahead or else Teddy just gets past him. Teddy seems to really enjoy Agility - but then again he's always been a happy boy.

Speaking of Teddy, he tried to follow in his big brother Keeper's footsteps by injuring himself the day we were leaving for the Oklahoma City shows (see this). Nothing nearly so drastic though - but it was equally puzzling. He was outside for literally no more than 10 or 15 minutes, and came in with a small puncture/tear just behind his right shoulder. It looked like he caught himself on a nail somewhere, but we don't have any protruding nails out there. Anyway, a quick trip to the vet, some surgical glue and antibiotics and he was good to go. Hopefully anyway - there was always the possibility that he'd be a bit sore there and wouldn't be able to be shown. But he's doing fine! In fact, today he went Winner's Dog for his first Major!

And last but not least, it appears that our catless days are over. I have had cats literally all my life, even before my first dog. But my last cat passed away a few years ago at the age of 20 or so, and since then we've just been really busy with the dogs. I knew the right cat would come along at some point - and I knew Ronnie would have to really be in on it too. He will tell you that he's not really a cat person but he can sure fall in love with "the right cat". So a month or so ago he started making friends with a pretty little black and white cat outside. I hadn't seen her before, and she's in very good shape and very friendly - I wouldn't be surprised if someone had moved away and abandoned her. She obviously hasn't been a stray for long. We're introducing her to the dogs slowly - they're doing OK but Teddy and Topper in particular have never lived with a cat, and they are FASCINATED. Fortunately she is very calm around the dogs. She's still living mostly outside, but as soon as we're sure we can keep her safely away from the dogs when we're not here to supervise we'll move her permanently indoors.

Oh, and her name? Ronnie started calling her "Zeebee" and I asked what that meant. He said "what animal is black and white?" I said, "a zebra". He grinned sheepishly and said, well, "Z.B. stands for zebra". For some reason I think that's hilarious. It probably loses something in the translation though. But anyway, I'll post some pics of the Danes and Zeebee (ZB? ZiBi? How the hell do I spell that?) soon.

Is there a light in this tunnel?

The Good News: Our new windows are installed, the hardwood floors are all refinished, the interior painting is aaaaaaaalmost finished, and they finally managed to find a stain for the new wood panels in our den to match the old panels. Oh, and we've been showing Teddy and he's gotten a few more points toward his Championship!
The Bad News: Maybe 10% of the crap we have is in its rightful place... most of it is still piled on the floor or in the garage or out on the deck. Since the new windows are bigger than the old ones there isn't a window treatment in sight and we're relying on the ever-so-tasteful Hanging Bedsheet collection to avoid flashing the neighbors. And this week, the workers have been working in our only bathroom so the shower curtain is down and I'm really, really tired of washing my hair in the tub! That, and tired of not being able to find ANYTHING. Also, I sprained my ankle a few weeks ago and then nearly ripped my big toenail off (same foot).
Excuse the pity party - things are really going quite well. But this is why I've been so absent lately. Hope things are going well with all of you!