Jail Break

Just received this e-mail from our dog walker:

Sylvie appeared to have busted out of her crate, and she was tearing around your apartment like a pup on steroids when I got there:o She scared the bejezzuz out of me, because when I came in the door...she came flying at me. She was flying on and off of all of the couches- she caught some serious air:o Naturally, I was prepared to call out to her like I usually do and let her out of the crate;) She seemed really stressed out about the freedom to roam all over and took awhile to calm down. She did her number one biz but was too wound up to do the #2 biz:o She calmed down for our last ten mins together or so and just fell asleep on the couch before I left. She was really tired when I left.

She's either a crazy or smart little pup!

Another recent crate experience:

Before heading out to dinner with my brother, who had just arrived to spend the night, I put on Silvie's new Cardinals T-shirt. Her Aunt Missy got it for her for J's birthday. Well, she bites at the neck a little bit because she is ornery, but after a few seconds she leaves the shirt alone.

When I locked her up she had the shirt on. After we got home from dinner, I let her out. She was excited to see us and wiggled all about. At first, I saw nothing different with her - minus that her sad puppy eyes were now wild with excitement.

But after a few minutes I realized she no longer had her shirt on. I found it laying in her crate.

It's still a mystery to this date, but I think our little pup can undress herself. And now she can bail herself out of jail!

Blow Up Dog

A coworker sent me this today - thought it was funny:

Dog Friendly Parks

We took Silvie to a dog park this past weekend, which the experience itself is worthy of it's own blog post. While we were there another owner showed us a great list of Dog Friendly Parks in Chicago.

I spent some time looking for the list and finally found it, so I thought I would share it, in case any readers out there are dog owners in Chicago:

1. Belmont Harbor - Belmont & Lake Shore Drive
2. Challenger Park - 1101 W. Irving Park Rd.
3. Churchill Park - 1825 N. Damen
4. Coliseum Park - 14th & Wabash
5. Grant Park - Columbus Drive & 9th
6. Hamlin Park - 3035 N. Hoyne
7. Margate Park - 4921 N. Marine Dr.
8. Montrose Beach - Wilson St. & the Lake
   
9. Park No. 511 - 630 N. Kingsbury
   
10. Park No. 546 - 450 E. Benton Place
    
11. Park No. 551 - 353 N. DesPlaines
    
12. River Park - 5100 N. Francisco Ave.
    
13. Walsh Park - 1722 N. Ashland
    
14. Wicker Park - 1425 N. Damen
    
15. Wiggly Field - 2645 N. Sheffield

So far, we've been to Montrose Beach and River Park. J doesn't know it yet - probably will find out when he reads this post - but I'm planning a dog park tour so Silvie can try them all out!

Tryin' to Quit the Yip Yip

Alright, so really Silvie's bark is more of a cross between a high-pitched howl and a dying cat, and I secretly think it's cute and hilarious. However, J seems to think she probably shouldn't do it as much as she does and we probably shouldn't encourage it - which is probably true.

So I started doing some reading about barking (well, actually I found this blog when I was doing research on divorce blogs for work) and I found "Stop Your Dog From Barking" at the Dog Training Corner. I found the following part of the post particularly interesting:

So why do dogs bark? It's not easy to say (it's like trying to answer the question, "Why do humans talk?" in so many words). Let's start off by saying that dogs bark for many different reasons.
A lot of it depends on the breed: some dogs were bred to bark only when a threat is perceived (this is true of guarding breeds in particular, like Rottweilers, Dobermans, and German Shepherds); some were bred to use their voices as a tool of sorts, to assist their owners in pursuit of a common goal (sporting breeds such as Beagles and Bloodhounds, trained to "bay" when they scent the quarry), and some dogs just like to hear themselves talk (take just about any of the toy breeds as an example of a readily-articulate dog!).

However, all breed specificity cast aside, there are some circumstances where just about any dog will give voice:

• She's bored
• She's lonely
• She's hungry, or knows it's time for a meal
• Something is wrong/someone is near the house
• She's inviting you to play
• She sees another animal
• She needs the toilet

At this point, I am not sure what common goal Silvie, J and I share that she is assisting us with, unless she is letting us know that, quite frankly, she thinks we have the WRONG goal, and we should change it to something more agreeable to her liking.

I am also convinced Silvie just likes to hear herself talk. She's a mix breed, so maybe she just decided she'll pick up whatever characteristics she wants and go with 'em. Who knows - maybe she thinks we are just boring all the time.

I promise to get video up of her "adorable bark" soon!

My Top 10 Romantic Movies

My list of the Top 10 Love Stories on the big screen - straying away a little from the traditional favorites:

1. P.S. I Love You (It's in Ireland and it's an amazing story - enough said)
   
2. 27 Dresses (Many don't like Katherine Heigl, but I like her)
3. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Matthew and Kate have a quirky but cute chemistry)
4. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (A perfect fairy tale for those of us not living in a fantasy world)
5. Pretty Woman (First R-rated movie when I was 5 - mom wasn't happy with the sitter!)
6. The Princess Bride (A classic from my childhood)
7. Disney's Lady and Tramp (a love story for dog lovers)
8. Ocean's 11 (Although it mostly about the heist - it is about Danny winning back Tess' love)
9. Breakfast at Tiffany's (The classic)
10. Blue Hawaii (Grew up watching Elvis with my Grandma)
11. Ghost (Pottery scene is the best and features my favorite song)*

*Ghost and Blue Hawaii are tied for 10th but the number system wouldn't let me do that.

PAWS 8k Run and 4k Walk/Halloween Costumes

About a year and a half ago I got really into running. I think it was more because I liked the idea of not having to worry about a diet more than the fact that it was exercise.

I'm not a die-hard runner. I go when I can and when I am in the mood, although I'm starting to feel guilty when I don't - it's kind of annoying. I love those love/hate relationship with running ads, but that's another time, another post.

Anyway, I don't think with school, work, Silvie, J and volunteering I will have time to train for another half marathon this fall. So I decided to run local 5ks, 8ks and 10ks - quick, easy and still a workout/keeping me in shape.

PAWS has a 8k run and 4k walk with your dog at the end of September. I got really excited about taking Silvie on the walk, but as J pointed out to me, we probably wouldn't get a few feet past the starting line - or even to the starting line at Silvie's rate.

Little Miss Thang likes to be around other dogs - A LOT! So much so, that when she sees another pup she starts whimpering and squirming. All of a sudden she's on her back, inching her way to the other dog - which really is a feat you should see. And little puddles of puppy excitement are squirting everywhere! Now, she is pretty talented at squirming her way down the block like this, but a 4k might be a little much.

There is, however, a howl-a-ween costume contest for your pets. I've already made up my mind, Silvie is going to win. So, I started thinking about her greatest assets to figure out a costume she can really showcase - and bingo!

She's a howler. And it's not really like a big dog howl but more high pitched. In fact, it sounds a little bit like the cookie bandit from the Cookie Crisp cereal commercials. So option number one is dress her up like the bandit and teach how to howl so it sounds a little like "cooooooooooo"kie crisp. Not sure yet what J will think about the whole teaching her how to howl part though.

We have been talking about our Halloween costumes for a while, and we finally decided on the sexy lady and Roger Rabbit. Why not dress her up in as the detective??

Or we could do something a little more alike and the three of us could go as Huey, Duey and Luey.

But really, I'm looking for suggestions because I want my pup to take home the prize!

Anyway, we were discussing costume options at work, and we started researching pet costumes, when one of my coworkers showed me this:



Just a side note - but a funny one. I'll keep you updated as my Halloween costume ideas develop.

Rub a Dub Dub

My rendition of Splish Splash and an account of this morning:

Splish Splash, Silvie was takin' a bath
Long about a Wednesday morn, yeah
Rub-a-dub, just joinin' J in the tub
Thinkin' everything was alright

Well, she stepped up to the tub, put her feet of the side
She flipped away the curtain
And she jumped into the tide, and then
Splish Splash! She was takin' a bath
How was J to know he had a visitor in the tub.

She was a-splishin' and a-splahsin'
Lickin' and a lappin', shakin' and a flappin'
Bumpin' and a jumpin', yeah

Big Yelp, J needed some help
Gettin' little Silvie out of the tub, yeah!
Drip drop, the water was goin' amuck
So I rushed in to rescue the cub

There was J standin' in the corner
Good Golly, he was trying to block her from the water
A-well-a, Splish Splash, I forgot about Silvie in the bath
I went and snapped a picture of this, yeah...

Silvie was lickin' and a lappin', flippin' with a floppin'
Drippin' and a droppin', splishin' and a splashin', yeah!

My Top 10 Breeds

I created a list of my top ten pooches (but of course I love all dogs). What's your top 10??

1. Beagle & Sheltie - And when you put them together, you get the greatest little pup
3. Great Dane
4. Golden Retriever
5. Yorkshire Terrier
6. Labrador Retriever
7. Boxer
8. Bulldog
9. Australian Shepard
10. West Highland Terrier

Reflections: Love Bites

She bites and she bites hard. Okay, maybe not hard, but her little teeth are sharp.

I was told to try frozen carrots to help with the teething. Well, she swallows those whole. She shoves and holds those desired treats in her mouth long enough to soften them, and then she swallows those bad boys (think a stack of 10-15 pennies).

Alright so that's something she likes but doesn't really solve the biting issue.

A friend recommended we squeal like she would when she's hurt and walk away when she bites us. It shows her that it hurts through her "words."

Well, I just sound ridiculous making an "awow-wow-wow." She laughs at me in her little head - and J snickers in the background.

So, I make J do it (over and over again because it's hysterical to watch her reaction). The scene goes a little like this:

Silvie starts to chew on J's fingers until she bites hard enough. "AWOW-WOW-WOW-WOW!" (He's actually pretty good at going up those extra octaves.) Startled, Silvie jerks up and cocks her little head, a look of concern in her mischievous yet pathetic brown eyes. J gets up and runs to duck around the corner. Concerned little Silvie follows him to the next room and sits and his feet, not sure what to do next. I walk into the room, so she runs to me and jumps in my arms to bite my fingers.

In short, she stopped biting J but still bites me - I'm just the push-over.

Reflections: Bringing Home the Baby

Alright, Silvie is completely spoiled. Who would expect less? She's the single child in a household and she's pup with a 'tude.

You may think me completely crazy - referring to a dog as a single child - but if you own a dog, you know and you can't deny it. People are nuts about their pets, including me. There's no need to deny it, we (yup, J too) talk baby talk to our little nut. Sometimes we even get creative and make up what she's thinking in her little noggin'.



Sweet Puppy Dreams
So she's made herself at home. Within two weeks, we committed the ultimate sin and let her sleep in our bed. You may gasp in shock and disgust, but seriously, getting up every two hours to take a whimpering pup out to pee or sleeping almost five hours with a no longer separation-anxious Silvie.

• She's a creep - One night I woke up to a start, only to sit up and find Little Miss sitting at the edge of the bed watching J and I sleep.
• She's a snuggler - There hasn't been a night yet that I haven't had to fight for my pillow, stand my ground for at least part of the bed or not known where she was because she had her hot little body draped over me some way or another.
• She's the boss - The morning (or middle of the night) always start with me waking up because she's sitting on my head, chewing my hair.
• She's likes being centerstage - It's no longer J and I cuddling under the covers. Silvie manages to wriggly her little body inbetween so she is the center of attention.
• She's a Daddy's girl - Late a night you can find the two of them lounging on the couch watching baseball highlights on ESPN. And she's takes up just about as much room as he does in the bed - how it's even possible that there is room for me to sleep.

Howl at the Moon
Silvie doesn't bark - I'm not even sure you would call it a howl. It's more like a very high-pitched "awo-wow-wow-wow." Her floppy Beagle ear fly back and her pointy snout looks to the moon.

People recommended we "tsk" when she barks. I think it just pisses her off more because she cocks her little head to the side while she composes an even better "awo-wow-wow-wows" right back at you. And of course, "No!" means just the opposite.

Reflections: Puppy Love

My first post is about a month after we got Silvie, so I'll catch you up on how I am surviving Little Miss Thang.

February to June 2009:
After months of begging and making all sorts of deals and promises, I finally convinced J to call the landlord about a dog.

"I just want to see if they will ever allow us to get a dog," I lied my little heart out. "Then we can take plenty of time to pick out a dog later on."

We agreed: The call was just to see if the owner would let us pick up a little pup so we knew whether we would consider resigning next April.

Mid-June 2009:
Success! We got clearance to get a dog under 35 pounds - not an ounce more or we would be evicted.

And the search is on. We spent our nights (and maybe a few breaks at work) to sort through all sorts of cute, sad and hopeful listings on Craigslist for a little boy or girl to bring home.

Late Jun 2009:
Three little Beagle-Sheltie mix pups were up for adoption at Hope4Paws. I convinced J to get an application in quick. How I convinced him, I'm not sure - we were only looking remember?

That same day we got a call from Molly, wanting to phone interview us. On speaker phone on our way to the gym: we passed! It was a two-for-one deal: dog interview and J also got some advice on marrying me.

A day later, we were heading to the Foster Mom Monica's house to see the three little ones. It was when those sharp little teeth closed down on finger that I knew she would be in our lives for a very long time.

We spent two-and-a-half hours on Monica's kitchen floor, but I had her picked out after the first few seconds.

The runt of the litter, Silvie was not even four pounds. White paws, collar and tip on the tail.

July 5th 2009:
She's home! Dressed in a pink t-shirt and poka-dotted pink collar from Foster Mom Monica, she was more than ready to move in.