Puppy Diaries: Sleeeeep

Day 36 

May 27, 2013 

Mulan & Jack-Jack 

There is no such thing as relaxing in a house full of puppies.
Its like having kids, except you can't really communicate. Well .... you know what I mean.
I woke up on this lovely memorial day with a stomach ache that has persisted throughout my six hours of work, and on into the afternoon. Side Note: I'm currently baby-sitting Paris my friends 6-month-old Yorkie, on top of Things 1 & 2; so I mean it when I say I have a house FULL of puppies.

Upon arriving home, all I want to do is take a nap. I spent an hour with them in the yard, completely focused on getting a nap. As soon as my timer went off,  I managed to corral M & JJ into the Kitchen, complete with PB cover toys, and a double-gated doorway and took Paris, Bubbles & Texas with me.

Paris is not a huge fan of the moster mutts and prefers to have nothing to do with them, so she was stuck with me. I soon found out why that wasn't the best idea for someone who was looking for rest.

She, like most puppies, doesn't like to be still. Like at all. In the minutes its taken me to write these paragraphs she's climbed over me at least 20 times.  Maybe more. She's climbed over the dachshunds, then over my keyboard, over me again, walked over my pillows now down to the end of the bed.

Now back onto the bed, stopped for a moment to sit and watch me type, before making her rounds yet again.

Is a nap really too much to ask????

Between a screaming puppy from the kitchen, (Thing 1 & 2 don't share very well) and a dancing puppy on my bed, I barely squeezed in an hours worth of shut eye.

Once I realized a nap was no longer an I option, I loaded up the puppies (M & JJ) and took them to my friends house for dinner. Both puppies are hitting adolescents and have deemed all dogs bigger than them the enemy... Despite the fact that Mulan has met and had no problem with Snowy in the past; Today she chased Snowy around the house several times before I corralled her. Snowy thought it was a big game, and wasn't at all deterred by Mulan's "wrath". So they were regulated to being outside or crated. But there were some moments when they could get out. So I let the kids walk them, it was good for the to interact with the kids, and get to do something they wanted.

 Disclaimer: Both puppies were completely supervised with the kids and given lots of treats! :) 

Puppy Diaries: New Food

Day 35
May 26, 2013

New Foodies 

Mulan models the new bags of food

My dogs typically eat a smorgashboard of kibbles. I'm not one to commit to one particular brand when it comes to my dachshunds. Variety is the spice of life IMO; and it keeps them from getting picky. I tend to keep my food standard at brands that can't be purchased at Walmart, and have had them on Natural Balance, Purina Pro Plan, Wellness, Back to the Basic's etc. However I have noticed Bubbles' digestive system was having a rough time on Natural Balance, and the puppies who were on Science Diet have been itching and scratching non-stop lately. So I've decided to go back to Wellness for the next few months and see if we can all get back on track.

I'm a fan of Wellness as its what I first changed my dogs to back when I realized what a big role food played in my dogs behavior. Bubbles lost weight and had a lot more energy, Texas stayed at a good weight and I think the puppies will benefit from not having so much grains in their diet.

Wellness we're back! :)

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Puppy Diaries: Houdini's

Day 34 
May 25, 2013 
Too Smart for their Own Good

Everyone liked to make fun of dumb dogs, and they make. Easy to do so. I know I because I just sent back one, that I made lots of fun of. I loved that dog to death, but he was a dog that would run full tilt forward while looking backwards. He's a dog that regularly tripped over his own feet.  Regularly. 

Now these puppies on the other hand, are INCREDIBLY smart. Too smart.  Hard to live with smart. What could they possibly think of next smart. 

Over the last 35 days I've been able to learn more about these guys and the more I live with them the smarter they seem.

Mulan seems to be the "thinking" pup. The decisions she makes seems as if she's evaluated the situation, and found the simplest solution.  

For instance I decided to baby gate them onto my front porch. Its about 8x8 with wooden slats about four inches apart. It's about 2 feet off the ground with steps leading down.  Since its higher than my back porch they haven't seemed inclined to leap off it. Yet. 

Well I needed to clean my house and so I decided to see if they would be cool with hanging on the porch with some toys. I put up the baby gate, and let Mulan onto the porch. She immediately walks onto the porch, walks to the open slat BESIDE the baby-gate, stretches her tiny self to the step that's being blocked by the gate, and is in the yard using the bathroom. 

I think I stood with my mouth open for at least five minutes. Sure I expected her to get out, but within seconds of seeing she was barricaded?! 

Jack, on the other hand, tends to attack things with his body first, before utilizing his brain. Its a method that tends to work for him. 

But what inspired this post was this: Since the puppies seem to have learned to control their bladders a bit more, they are given a BIT more freedom in the house. They have used that freedom to climb on every surface possible. Mulan QUICKLY figured out, that she could get from the couch, to the side table, to the little window leading to my kitchen and within seconds she was on the counter. 

Its official guys. 

NOTHING. IS SAFE.

Maybe I'm Just Crazy.

Puppy Diaries Week 3 

You know what's wearing on a body? Having two puppies. The same age mind you.
You know what's tiring? Having three puppies, two the same age, one much older.
You know what's exhausting? Having two other dogs, working full time, and have a full social life.

I would like to take a moment to go ahead and apologize to any and everyone who may encounter me over the next few weeks. My brain is fried people.

I know what you're thinking, so lets go ahead and get this question answered for you guys.

Reasons Why I have Two Puppies: 

BECAUSE I AM CERTIFIABLY INSANE.

The End.

The other reason is to find them homes.
Who are they you ask?
Well the whole story started about a month and a half ago, when my neighbor showed up with two fuzzy puppies in her yard. I'll admit (and have told her) I was a little surprised, as she didn't seem to be the type to willingly take on two puppies on top of her other responsibilities.

It was a cold rainy night the first time they escaped their little enclosure and trotted down to see me. Once I realized no-one was home, I scooped them up, popped them into a crate, and took them home. I texted my neighbor and let her know I had them. A couple of days later they went home.

As the weeks went by, we quickly realized these guys were not only super smart, they were going to be very difficult to make into outdoor dogs.

They regularly appeared when ever my dogs were out, and despite taking them back they kept  coming back. Though I really wasn't happy about the situation, they weren't mine, I let it go.

However, after I nearly killed the female because she'd hidden under my car, I knew we had to do something ... I started the "let me re-home these guys" for you campaign.

I know as they got older, they'd have to be chained up, and that's not a life for a dog, not to mention they seemed to be at my house more regularly than anywhere else, so why not?

WHY NOT?

Because ERIN, two puppies FULL TIME is a LOT of WORK.
TWO puppies, when you WORK FULL TIME is a LOT of WORK.
BECAUSE ERIN YOU DON'T REALLY HAVE TIME FOR THIS!

That's why not.

So, now that we've got that clear, we're now officially looking for a home for the male. I'm calling him Jack-Jack (from the Incredibles). I'm not a huge fan of male puppies, Is why.

The female (who has yet to get a name) is more than likely staying with me, provided she keep her dachshund like physique. I'm not one who goes out looking for my animals, I figure between GDF & these dogs my neighbors keep finding, my next animal will find me.

And I think I've found her.

Bubbles is getting up in age, and I just think this just maybe "meant" to be.
If not, someone with the perfect home will come and scoop her up.
And that someone not being the lady whom smacked her dog just before inquiring how she could apply to adopt her. Um that's a NO.

So! If you have friends or family in or around the Knoxville area or even in neighboring states, who need  a little mixed breed love in their lives, have them shoot me an email! First Vaccines done on Saturday, will get them wormed this week.

pups4guides(at)gmail(dot)come.

I really don't want him to end up in a shelter, but I really need to get them separate!