Zig-zagging Ziggy

The new dog in town is fabulous. Ziggy's family had to give him up, same as Missy's. He's got a great level temperament, whizzes around with no problem for such a little guy (12 lbs and getting smaller!) Our goal is 9 lbs for him, I think. 8 might be svelte, but he's got so much muscle under the padding that he's gonna look great. Ziggy's hair is growing in on his head. Pretty soon he'll look like a poodle! His ears are clipped and dematted, too. We're on our second round of ear mite cure, so hopefully by the end of the week, those will be gone.

He and Missy get along very well. She mostly ignores him, but I've noticed that if he leaves the room, she follows. They share a bed at night without any problem at all.

Our game of the day before supper was fetch. Ziggy's getting better at bringing stuff back and releasing it, but he has such a hard time letting go... he'll do the poodle-jerk, bouncing his head to dislodge my grip. I have to hang on tightly: I'm Top Dog after all, so I need to win most of the tugs!

Today I tossed the stuffed toys out the door, into the woods, into flower beds, etc. and Ziggy rooted them out and brought them back. Missy just watched. I'm resigned to her not playing along. Don't know if she still misses our first rescue, Spike. He's happily with another family who doesn't mind his intense energy and occasional house-training mishaps. I'm glad that walks are an option rather than a poop-necessity, like they were for Spike. If I didn't get him walking first thing in the morning, he'd do his job in the house. Sigh. Never could break him of it, and it got us out the door every day, very early.

Ziggy and Missy are more laid back. They have no accidents in the house, but wait until we can go for a walk at 8 a.m. or so. We love our walks; today we included a run in the park off-leash, and that made both dogs happy.

Ziggy is finally eating raw food. If I'm introducing something new (pork chops yesterday), he wants to taste it after it's been seared first. After the initial bites, he's fine. He's chomping down on bones, too. Wow, what a difference in his breath! With good kibble, his breath stank so badly that we could smell him from the front door when I walked in  at 7:30a after exercise class. Now, his mouth smells as sweet as Missy's. Yay for BARF or raw diets.

Missy and Ziggy have great energy, are content, and we have a great pair! Good doggies.

Fall days

We went for a bike ride instead of a walk this morning: when I get back from exercise class, I hate going for a walk: I've already used 2 hours of the day exercising, now another hour of walking? Maybe not.

So I drag out my Brompton bicycle with its Walky Dog attachment, put the two little poodles into their harnesses, and walk up the steep street to the crossing. After that, it's all fun for me and good motion for the dogs. Missy is a trooper on the leash, whether walking or cycling. At first, Ziggy had a hard time staying on track. He would race back and forth as far as his coupler allowed, and poor Missy trotted along the best she could beside him. Now they look like two curly back sled dogs in formation. (Photo right: not me, but you can see the stem of the Walky Dog, the best dog/cycling invention EVER. Our dogs run on a coupler, so they're on the stem together. Cool.)

We only went 2 miles or so this morning because they set a quick pace. It was sunny and cool, which helps them run and not get too steamed. When we came in the door afterwards, both of them bounced around the house, running the loop through DR, LR, kitchen, as though I'd lit them on fire. Ziggy found his duck and squeaked it for 5 minutes, while Missy fetched a few times before she left the toy under the piano. Silly girl.

They're lying beside me in the office. Every few minutes Ziggy stretches his legs with a walk in the hall. But Missy is content to sprawl on the towel I've put beside my chair to catch drips from a badly made French press (tea). The tea press holds 3 huge cups of tea, all gone by 10am, of course. Time to refill.

C'mon good doggies! Let's go fill 'er up again.

Zoe at the benefit

Kirsten reports that Zoe's adjusted to the heat and is much happier on walks. Zoe gained a pound with all the lounging around and eating raw, so K has to ration her food a bit.

They went to an animal benefit today, and Zoe showed off her form by being a sweetie. She's definitely K's doggie - loves her mistress! K's going to try to crate train her (sleep in the bathroom of K's room) so they can sleep through the night. So far, Z's trained K to get up twice at night, and K needs more uninterrupted sleep. We'll see how that goes :-)

Meanwhile we're happily walking and cycling with the two poodles at home. Today was a nice day, and they hung around with family after church. Ziggy's learning to like raw food - and has lost a half pound already. He needs to lose about 2 more before he's in good shape... Missy would eat every raw bite I'd let her steal from Ziggy. Z will learn to eat quicker or his diet may be more rushed than we planned.

Pam watched them last weekend while we were gone. She loved the doggies, "So obedient! and well-behaved!" she raved. Ziggy's up to date on rabies shots, dental, and everything else a good dog needs to know.

The animals seem content. Ziggy's in love with the baby Kong duck and bear. He's happy to squeak them all day for his own amusement and to get my attention for "Fetch!"

Both are sleeping in the crate, on their newly washed bed inside. They got a bath today, so they smell like eucalyptus flea shampoo with a hint of oatmeal conditioner. Good doggies!

Doggy dental and we're done

Well, today we made a successful trip to the vet for a dental cleaning - and our boy Ziggy did great. He was "bouncy!" According to the tech: "Look, he's like a little bronco." He was very happy to see me at the end of the day.

His teeth are fine, just needed scraping. The vet noted the teeth the previous owner said were missing (4) but said that was normal and he is a happy healthy dog. We've finished the first grooming session (ears cleared, feet and nails clipped), so he's ready to go. He needs a restricted diet, and if he can shed weight, he'll be done with DIY improvements. He's 12.2 lbs, and the vet said it takes an average of 1.8 years off their life to be obese (defined on a 40 lb dog as 4 extra lbs.) Oh oh.

Ziggy's fallen in love with a little KONG duckie that squeaks, and schleps it everywhere in the house. "Squeak, squeak!" He and Missy don't play much yet, but they hang out together. She was pretty upset that he was gone all day, and sulked in her bed until he came back. Then we got the whole poodle "wrourwrououour," accompanied by some happy spins and bounces. She couldn't stop sniffing his mouth; guess it smelled funny after cleaning.

They ran out to do their business, and came bounding back in together for supper. Ziggy likes the homemade dog burgers (raw chicken, pork, ground bones, a bit of whole grain rice and veges.) He gulped it down, and no vomiting, which the tech had said he might do.

He's lying beside his duckie licking his paws. Missy's nearby, curled up for a snooze. Good doggies!

Ziggy. (Who's Frankie?)

Zoe's having fun in TX. She's livelier on her walks, eats well, and loves Kirsten. She slept most of Monday, then played around most of the night and kept K awake. They were both groggy Tuesday.

I recommended a crate for Zoe, to be put nearby in the bathroom. When K gets up at night, she can take the dog out, then put him back until morning. It's an inner room, so no windows will wake Zoe. Otherwise, the crate could go in the LR where Jenn stays up until 3am. If she's willing to let the dog out and crate her in the middle of the night, we bet Zoe will sleep in until K wakes up.

K needs her sleep to keep her inflammation in check: this could be a deal-breaker if she can't rest at night. So far, they're getting up twice each night. That's quite unnecessary: when Zoe was here, she curled up with Missy in their doggie bed in the crate for 10-12 hours without getting restless or having to potty.

They go a lot of places together - Jenn, Kirsten, and Zoe. They've tried a lot of food trailers, famous in Austin for vegan, meat-lovers, Mexican, Oriental, and everything between.

Back in Seattle, we decided on a name for the new addition, who used to be called Frankie.

Ziggy. It was a tossup between Zippy (what a runner!) and Chippy (lively) and... Ziggy (chubby, energetic, funny). That's the new boy. He's on a diet of fewer calories... and has gained a half pound as of today. Hope it's water!

He's a keeper. He has great manners, has had no indoor "accidents," and loves people.

Yesterday Ziggy had his first visit to the groomer, who plucked his ears, trimmed his toenails, and shaved him into bare poodle feet. It's going to be a while before his hair grows into a full poodle trim.

Yvonne asked, "Shall I shampoo him and blow out his hair?" Nope, not long enough yet. He has a tiny stub of a tail where an over-enthusiastic snip cut his puppy tail. We'll have a lot of hair-growing before it is poodle-like, too.

"What the heck happened to his hair?" Yvonne wanted to know. "This is the strangest poodle clip I've ever seen." Guess it wasn't a poodle cut, just a trim. His inner ear hairs were as long as his ear hairs on the outside. I clipped those the first day, along with hair that was growing from his topknot into his ears. Yvonne is an amazing groomer - as she proved with Missy and Zoe. He'll look good when she's done with him :-)

Meanwhile, Yvonne found ear mites. "Treat them yourself. 7 days on, then wait 7 days while the next larvae hatch. Then do 7 more days, and you should be done." Off to Petsmart we went for ear mite drops. I took off the yellow bow in Ziggy's hair halfway down the second aisle. I keep forgetting to ask Yvonne NOT to put in bows. I think they look silly.

Both dogs have to be treated, since ear mites are airborne: if one dog has it, probably the other gets it. Yvonne thought Zoe had mites, so she was probably the carrier to Missy, to Ziggy. Kirsten's treating her in TX for those.

We're off to the vet to get Ziggy's dental cleaning tomorrow morning. That should improve his breath when he and Missy stay with friends part of the weekend. W and I do a college floor retreat, and no dogs are allowed in the church where the students will sleep. I'll feel deprived without my twin cushions on either side of me.

Everyone's happy tonight. Good doggies!

Frankie? Frankie.

Kirsten sent some cute snapshots from TX. Zoe loves to nap, though she's enjoying two (plus) walks each morning and night. Jennifer is getting the hang of Zoe, so they're getting along better.

Meanwhile, today we brought home a black toy, a chunky guy about Missy's height. Frankie. I bet he is 2-4 lbs overweight, but that will begin to change during his two-week trial. What's going on with owners who clip poodle tails to nothing?! Poor Frankie - his stub of a tail still wags fiercely and he's a happy boy.

We've been looking for the right poodle to hang out with us and Missy for months. Kirsten took Zoe, who felt like a great fit. Zoe turned out to be perfect for Kirsten instead. I still miss her sometimes! though she only lived here for 4 weeks and seemed to be K's dog pretty quickly.

Actually, I'm in no hurry to find the right dog. He's out there (though Frankie is wonderful, so he may already be here!) Frankie's owner is having knee surgery. With 5 dogs, 8 birds, 2 guinea pigs in the house, someone had to go. It was Frankie, whom she adopted as a young adult from a friend.

Just after we walked in the door with our new friend, another gal called to say her white doggie needed rehoming due to finances. Oh my, once in the poodle pipeline... I am not interested in more than two and totally uninterested in breeding. Frankie is fixed. YAY

On the way home, I took Missy and Frankie for a walk to drain off some of their energy. I bathed and groomed Frankie, who is unimpressed with the dryer and tried to flee from the warm air. I had the leash on, of course.

Both dogs enjoyed some raw beef and now they're sleeping around my feet in the office. Frankie is mimicking Missy's snores. Must be an occasional poodle gift to their owners. Good doggies!

PS. In the evening I put Frankie on the scale: he's 12.2 lbs @ the same height and shorter body than Missy who is an athletic 9 lbs. We have some work to do, Mr. Frankie!

Poodle days

Zoe got her first bath in TX, and Kirsten was happy there was minimal fuss or squirming. I talked to K on the phone just as the FedEx guy drove up. Zoe gave him a "BIG DOG" welcome (woof, woof.) She's settling in, hasn't accepted Jenn as pack leader yet, but is getting better at responding to her.

Zoe is K's dog, no doubt about it! She loves being near K, snuggles and goes for walks with her. She's at the door as soon as K and J get there. "Don't you dare leave me behind," she says.

If K has to go out alone, Zoe is ok staying with J. but she wants to be with her persona 24/7, poodle style.

Meanwhile, back at home, I took Missy for a run with the bike. She's out of shape, like the rest of us. She rested the day after that, happy to be out of the weather (warm sunshine). Part of the afternoon, she lay in the conservatory, soaking up sunshine. Good doggies.

Austin heat

We took Missy on a boat ride again. This time we paddled the inflatable kayak around Green Lake. Missy LOVES sitting or lying on the prow, close enough to sniff ducks and waterlilies, high enough not to get wet. When W rolled up the boat near the car, she hopped onto the deflated prow until the last minute. "What? You think you're done already? I'd love another ride."

Meanwhile, Zoe is relaxing on the concrete floors of the apartment in Austin. She loves to sprawl out on the cool cement, between luxuriating on the doggie bed K brought from Seattle. It's still a bit hot for walks during the day, but Kirsten and her roommate take her out morning and evening.

Zoe barked up a storm at Jennifer, who took her seat on the couch across from Kirsten. They're settling in together nicely, and Zoe is "Too cute! Too cute!" according to Jenn.

Into the routine

Missy's settled back into a routine without Zoe. We miss her a lot, but Kirsten reports that she's establishing her own schedule. She gets up at 5, 5:30 to potty, then wants to get right back to sleep. At about 9:30 or 10, she's ready to rumble. Off to "do her dooty" and back into the house to eat breakfast with Kirsten. About noon, she gets a snack (organ meat). They rest in the afternoon, and after it cools down a bit, it's off to the store, to run errands, or just to go for a walk.

Zoe is not convinced that dogs belong outside when it's hot. Kirsten puts a gel cold-pack in the base of the carrier, and Zoe flops on that when they ride in the car. She's adjusted to the air-conditioned (78o) house without a problem.

Tomorrow, K's roommate Jennifer comes back. Kirsten's best sleep time is 8-11am, when the swelling of her joints goes down and she gets relief for the rest of the day. Jennifer will take over the mid-morning potty break and snuggles so Kirsten can rest. Can't wait to hear about the meeting between dog-lover J and cute little heart-breaker Zoe!