Two dogs can definitely be expensive!

We’ve had our second incidence with Sugar not pooping right.She started with a little mushy poop and then it morphs into diarrhea/mushy poop with bloody mucous in it. Throw in a little vomit after breakfast and that means a trip to the vet.

The vet treated both of them, which is good since Sonny had a little softness in his poop too. They are both on a beef/rice diet, along with Hills digestive canned food, pro-biotics and Flagyl. Once they get settled in several days we will start adding their dog food to that. Sugar was eating Orijen’s Adult and Sonny was on Orijen’s six fish. The vet said to put her on the fish and go from there. It’s possible it could be the chicken. It’s possible that it could be just her. She might have something like colitis. They both came back negative on their stool samples. For right now they are loving their food mixture! Still waiting for the first real poop though. Hopefully the bill of $329 will be enough to take care of it.

I was really proud of them at the vet. At first I pulled them out of the waiting room because they were acting like fools with the baby pitt bull there. I took them outside, but then realized that I was taking the easy way out and was missing out on a teaching opportunity for them. I took them back in, sat down and shortened their leash so they were close to me. Told them to sit and they did! LOL Sat nice and quiet then. Until they called their names and everyone laughed at Sugar and Sonny…..the race was on to get to the tech first! LOL They behaved really well in the room.

They came home and slept like they were exhausted!! Must have worn them out!

My shelter dogs have grown up!

I can’t believe that I haven’t posted here while my pooches were growing up. Sonny turned a year old on Feb and Sugar turned one on April 3rd. They have both filled out, especially Sugar. She was so skinny and now she has that Basset broad butt! LOL Sonny can no longer sling her around, unless he’s sliding her on the floor! Now THAT’s funny to watch.

What’s really funny is that two shelter dogs, brought home at two different times…..are such good friends. They are a perfect match for each other.  We are so fortunate to have them both.

Sonny shreds any toy that comes into the house and Sugar likes to eat the pieces. We try to keep the pieces picked up, but the yard is littered with lots of blue and red thread! Sugar likes to get caught stealing shirts off the bedroom chair or socks out of the closet. She looks at you, drops it and takes off! It’s hilarious.

We finally have found a dry dog food that works well with both of them. We have been adding 100% canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix!) to their food and they gobble it up like it’s candy. Helps with their digestion, but benefits them if they have diarrhea AND constipation. It really is a great product to add to their food. Since they are both around 50 pounds, they get a small spoonful with their morning and evening feedings. They really do love it! Their poop is perfect……if poop can be perfect! PLW_4277

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New Toys!

I swear they are like kids at Christmas when they get new toys! LOL I realized last week that their toys were dwindling down. Chewing and tearing usually does that!! I bought a bunch off of Ebay and they are back in business again. They are so funny to watch!

Unique dog food bowls

I bought some hard plastic plates for the dogs to eat on. I was looking for bowls, but thought this would work instead. WRONG! LOL They slung food all over the place and then licked the floor. They can’t miss those crumbs! LOL

I finally found some bowls that I liked at Dollar General, 2 plastic bowls for $1.50. They were the perfect size and I could buy 4 sets so they could be run in the dishwasher.

Seems that the little sloth has a “plastic chew” fetish! Rick couldn’t find her bowl one morning and didn’t think anything about it. He realized that she wasn’t close by and went to look for her. She was by the sofa/coffee table and seemed to be behaving. He later realized that she was once again off on her own. He found her in the same place, but went to investigate. He found her bowl tucked under the coffee table, hidden, and there were teeth marks all over it! LOL She now has her own bowls that are easily identified!

Since she eats so fast, when she is done she has to sit and wait for Sonny to finish. If we don’t do it that way, Sonny will not finish eating. Sonny had finished eating and Rick was picking up Sugar’s bowl. He looked around and there was Sugar sneaking slowly away with Sonny’s bowl! He said it was hilarious! Of course she dropped it and ran when she realized that he saw her.

Needless to say, when we were at Tractor Supply last night I found some good Nylabones and they both are very happy chewing on the hard plastic type of stuff.

We don’t have a dog, we have a sloth!

Sugar is a sloth! LOL She has a bunch of energy in the morning, but in the evening she turns into a sloth. She even eats sitting down. Did I ever mention she’s a little savage when it comes to dinner time! OMG…..that’s another story! She’ll knock the plate out of your hand if you don’t make her sit and stay. She’s definitely a chow hound. She’s adorable.

Hot mouth!

Sugar is a chewer. Who knew……..she didn’t come with that label, but it is what it is. *sigh* My dining room bench corner has been chewed on and the latest has been the coffee table top that Rick made for me. Since we have two large sofas and a big leather chair in our living room, I only wanted one big coffee table. They just can’t be found big enough. We bought a base that was missing it’s top at the Waterfront mission……get this….for $10! Rick was then able to make a top for it. He did a really great job. Well……Miss Sugar chewed on one end and then the other and teeth marks on the other corners. Little shit. Rick decided to put some Cayenne pepper into the grooves to stop this chewing.

He said he was sitting out on the patio yesterday morning and heard this bunch of yelping and Sugar came running to the door. Rick thought they must have been fighting too rough, but Sonny had this look on his face like “it’s not me” and then he saw some of the Cayenne pepper was gone! LOL I wonder if she’ll be doing that again any time soon!

The coffee table has been another source of amusement for them. It has the open see through in between the top and the drawers…..well they are playing peek-a-boo going round and round the table. Sonny will be on one side and Sugar on the other. They bark at each other and she waits for him to chase her and then she’ll run to the other side. It’s hilarious to watch!!

I guess that’s about it for them. As much as I love them both………they truly have been a blessing to me, I miss Junior a whole lot. I cried when we were eating pizza the first time because I always gave Junior some crust. Oh….how he loved that crust. I guess I’ll always get sad when I eat pizza now.
I miss you Junior!

Life is settling down….finally!

Looks like we finally have a handle on Sugar peeing in the house! It’s been quite some time since she has had an accident. The signs are still subtle, but they are there.
Switching dog food has definitely helped with the poop too. It’s no longer “semi-soft”, but a normal looking poop. Sonny was not eating the Taste of the Wild lamb, so I switched him to Solid Gold – Bark at the Moon. It didn’t seem like he was tolerating TOW very well. He is eating SG without any coercion, so I think we will be sticking with that and see how he does. Sugar is almost done with her transitioning and will be on SG only very soon. She is a little pig!!

They BOTH are definitely thriving and changing out of that puppy mode look. Nice solid dogs! I can’t believe how far they have come since the shelter!

We’re very blessed that we were at the shelter, at just the right time, to adopt them.

Going with the flow………

seems like we may be getting a handle on Sugar’s subtle “I have to go pee” cues! LOL Those little quiet visits to say “Hi” is her sign. It’s really tough to keep that in mind……we’ll get there eventually. It’s not a UTI, so we just have to watch her closely and keep her crated when we can’t until she learns.

She got her 2nd flu shot on Thursday and they weighed her. She came home at 28.9 pounds and on Thursday she was 34.8…..6 pounds! It’s wonderful what good dog food and de-worming can do! LOL She looks so much better. We’ll have to watch her food intake now so she doesn’t get overweight.

Sonny and Junior are like two peas in a pod! We actually have to watch her, she gets a little too mouthy with him. He’s actually learning not to play too rough with her.

That’s it for today………
Sugar Get off of me!

Potty training blues……..

I hope the stubborn Sugar hound learns to pee outside. It’s worse than watching a toddler! She’s doing better or maybe I should say that we are getting better at learning her routines! LOL It was the only accident in two days……what you think is a friendly visit from the living room to the kitchen……is possible a sign that she has to go pee! Who knows the rules? She leaves the kitchen after visiting me and heads out to the LR and pees on the area rug. You go to put her in her crate and OMG you would think that we are absolutely KILLING her. Not sure what her previous owners have done, but it’s down right freaky hearing her hollering like she does. The bastards! She can go all night in her crate without peeing, so she can do it. Sonny is great……three pees in the house and that was it. Stubborn little girl!

Some funnies that I haven’t been posting.

When I get up at 0350 for work, I take them both out to pee. I bring them inside and they go into their crates. I lock Sugar in her crate at night because I don’t trust that she’ll pee somewhere. Rick is still sleeping, so it’s dark in the bedroom. I put her in her crate and end up shoving her backside in, then I get in the shower, get ready and go to work.
They normally don’t get up until 0630, so Rick was hearing her fussing. She would fuss and settle down, fuss and settle down……….eventually he got up and opened the crate door. Out comes Sonny and then Sugar! LOL Sonny had got into her crate and I didn’t see him, so they were both in her small crate together! He hasn’t done that again!

I take them both out together. One day Rick had left the portable propane torch sitting by the shed. I was walking them and he started growling and his hackles rose towards the tank. I was impressed! Anyway, Rick has done really well with him on his morning walks. He makes him sit for cars, dogs, people etc…..so he does listen to sit. He was growling and barking, so I had him sit. We walked closer and had him sit again. I did this a couple more times just for the exercise and eventually we got close to the tank and I patted it. I was really impressed with how protective he was, but he also listened. He’s definitely a unique gem.

Yesterday I came home to toilet paper all over the LR! Rick had forgotten to close the bathroom doors and he took the roll of the tumbler. He had fun stuffing it in one of the beds in the LR. It was funny because it was really stuffed in the side of the bed, like he was hiding it. Dude, there’s white TP all over the place……..no hiding it anywhere! LOL

They love playing tug of war with each other. They both get in one of the LR beds and maul each other. They were playing and Sonny was pulling Sugar around while she was in the bed. It was hilarious!

One day they both got out through the back porch door. Thankfully Rick was right there and snatched Sugar up, but Sonny took off like a bullet. Rick took off running without his shirt or shoes. Once I realized that they were already down the road, I got the car. Thankfully there was a car at the end of the road and he was stopping for Sonny. Sonny followed them into the driveway and was waiting for them to get out of the car when I drove up. He was about to take off when he looked at me the first time…….he was about to bolt away and then thankfully he turned back to me and came up to me. If he had went through those woods he would have been right on the main road. It was very scary! Little idget!

Sugar is definitely filling out now. No more ribs showing and her belly isn’t skinny. She’s doing great. Sonny has grown taller and filled out like a brute. He is a powerful little guy……that’s for sure! They are really a good match together. Hopefully Sugar figures out how to tell us she has to go out soon. Once that happens, our lives will run a lot smoother.

Having a blast!

These two are having a blast together! Sugar is still healing from her being spayed. I can’t wait until she’s 100% recovered. Timid and docile she is not! LOL I know it doesn’t look like it, but they were playing. I just caught the picture in the heat of it! LOL
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Surprise!

Took Sugar to our vet yesterday, as required by the shelter, and no wonder why she’s been a peeing machine! He said that there was no way that she was 2 years old, her teeth say she’s around 8 months! Thank goodness we don’t have carpet in this house! We’ve been keeping up with her and it’s like we have a little toddler again! LOL Not in your sight, they’re doing something bad.I did catch her in the act this morning while she was pooping, so I was able to correct that once she was done. It only took 5 seconds of making the coffee and her disappearing. She definitely is smart and it won’t take long for her to figure it out.

They are like two peas in a pod! They are playing together, but we need to watch Sonny because he gets a little too rough. She gives it right back to him. She goes under the dining room table bench, where he has to slouch to get under the table. They’re on even ground under the bench. It’s so funny to watch.

Sonny adding some Sugar

Looks like I’ll have to change the title of the blog! Rick gave me the go ahead to look at the shelter on the way home. Found the most sweetest female Basset/Beagle mix. She was an owner surrender and the card said that she’s about 2 years old. How could anyone give that sweet thing up? She’s perfect for our house. With this addition, that will be it. At least I can sleep well at night knowing that I truly helped out two dogs by going to the shelter. I didn’t have to go to a breeder for my two beautiful dogs.

One of the county workers remembered me from the last time I came and checked out some dogs. I saw her and waved to her from across the shelter. She came running up to me at the desk and said that she knew I was getting Sugar. She thought of me when she came in and knew that dog was meant for us. The dog definitely finds you.

Ok……..enough of that. I have to tell you a new story about Sonny. That was the purpose of the blog, to keep track of his funny shenanigans! LOL We went out to buy a grill yesterday. We came home to find the tray of soap face wash, from the girls bathroom, on the couch. I had forgotten to close their bathroom door and he was looking for trouble and brought it into the living room. What’s funny is that he chewed only one corner and left the entire tray and soap alone! LOL That soap must have tasted really good! LOL

Today, one of my Birkenstock sandals had only one heel. Hmmmm…….wonder where that heel went. My fault though, shouldn’t have left my sandals under my chest. It was my only pair of sandals that were broken in……..that sucks. I won’t make that mistake again. LOL

Can’t wait to bring our new addition home tomorrow. I’ll take pictures soon and post them. Since she is already named Sugar, it’s only fitting for her that we keep it. It’s a perfect name.

Freedom

Sonny continues to amaze me!

Rick and I took Sonny and Bo to the dog park yesterday. It was his first visit to the park. He was all over the place sniffing! LOL I kept waiting for him to enjoy the freedom, but he just kept his nose to the ground. Eventually he played with the ball and we got to see just how fast he really is………..he’s faaast!! They had a lot of fun!

We went home after the park and walked down to the water. I haven’t seen Sonny in the water yet. He was hilarious! Jumped in and then out and running around like a fool. He was bouncing like a rabbit……so funny. The boy can swim, that’s for sure.

We walked home and gave them both a bath. Sonny was pretty well tuckered out and took a nap……….with Rick. *smile* Turned out to be a fun dog day.

I’ve looked at his earlier pictures and he sure has grown. He’s filled out really nice. He’s a sleek muscle machine. The product of good dog food and exercise.

Settling in……

finally! We are getting into our routine with Sonny. It really is very important to have some structure for them, just like you would set up for your children. Just because you play with your dog, that doesn’t really mean exercise for them. The walk is such a wonderful thing! Rick has gotten into a routine with the morning walk and after several days he had a lady come out of her house and ask what was Sonny! LOL Rick said he was his normal happy go lucky self and was very well behaved. Found out that she worked for Escambia County and was happy when Rick said we adopted Sonny through them. She said it’s sad that so many dogs don’t make it out of there. Fortunately this one did and was meant to be with us. Sonny had been at the pound for a month.

So please go to the shelter for your next dog. Find out which one is a kill shelter and start there. There really is no need to go buy dog from a breeder, even if you want a full breed. There are rescue shelters for them as well. You may not find what you are looking for immediately, but keep going back. You will eventually find the perfect dog or cat for you.

Nothing can compare

to our Sonny! LOL We went to the Escambia County sheleter and pulled out two dogs and neither one was “the perfect fit” for us. Satan’s (I mean Sonny) twin turned out to be too feisty with another dog….he just didn’t seem to be happy go lucky. The other one was a female Beagle mix and while she will be a great dog for someone she was a little indifferent and just didn’t have it.
Once we got home, it made us appreciate Sonny a lot more. We’ll keep looking and will know who will be the right fit.

What am I thinking………

I saw another dog online at the County shelter. This dog looks like it could be Satan’s twin. I have to go look at it today. Sonny is definitely settling down, but he very well may have some separation anxiety. We’re still not sure if it’s puppy type stuff or anxiety. Even though we have Bo visiting us, I think a second dog will be beneficial for when he eventually goes home.

Rick’s been taking him for walks every day and that has helped him get rid of some of that energy. Just the power of a walk has helped Sonny turn the corner into being a wonderful dog. He really is going to be one of the good ones……at least for today! LOL Now if we can just get him to stop thinking that the coffee table is a concourse to the other sofa. It’s a work in progress…..

Oh………here’s a shout out to Wellness CORE Puppy food! Thankfully they have it stocked here. It’s pricey, but it’s an excellent dog food. It’s grain free and there are other adult CORE recipes that he can grow into.

Water boy!

I had to laugh heartily this afternoon. Rick decided to walk Sonny down to the water. At first he barked at the water, then got his feet wet and before Rick knew it…….he was leaping into the water! LOL He got out and ran around the tiny beach area and then back in. Rick said he was hilarious!! I think his thought of him being part pointer were spot on. I can’t wait to see him having fun.

Wormy Boy

Thank goodness Rick was home to deal with finding out that our fella has poopy worms. Gross me out………I’m sure he would have eaten them if he could.

I think we have his mix all figured out. We know he’s Basset and now most like German short-haired pointer. He definitely has the coloring and has shown he can point!

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