Pudelpointer & Me in the Right Direction

Annabelle's Coming of Age...

2011-01-19T14:56:00.006-06:00

It’s been a very long time since I’ve blogged. The initial intent of this blog was to write about the trials and tribulations of raising a puppy. That puppy has grown up and the need to write (or vent) is not as strong. Based upon her massive personality as a puppy, I would never have imagined what a beautiful adult dog she would become. Sure, she still has a quantum personality and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It is what makes Annabelle who she is today.

She continues to keep us on our toes with her brilliance. Nothing gets by her more than once and her vocabulary is stellar. In looking back on an earlier blog of the words she knew at that time, I can add quite a few like: adventure, wave, fishy, special cookie (not the same as normal cookie), lettuce, lunchie, carrots, fly swatter, bath, Grandpa, swimmy, want some water, someone’s at the door, Check the door, easy, patience, speak, give me five, back in the bed, feather…and the list goes on.

One of the things we wanted to ensure with this dog is that she would be comfortable with road trip vacations. We have taken several with her, and have never been disappointed with her flexibility and acceptance that all is good as long as she is with her people. I love that I can trust her to obey my commands and will also extend that courtesy to others who may also give her commands, including children. She never ceases to amaze me and she is what keeps me going every day and gets me out of bed every single day; even on the days I don’t want to. She is by far, one of the greatest pleasures of my life. She is always solid about almost everything. And if she isn’t, she has no problem letting us know how she really feels; in a very vocal manner.

We are lucky to have her and look forward to many, many years of happiness with our Annabelle.

A Break in the Weather

2010-08-16T15:43:00.003-05:00

It is finally nice in Minnesota with low humidity and lower temps....so we took advantage of it and spent the day driving to Lake City....BLISSFUL.

A Brand New Adventure

2010-08-10T08:52:00.004-05:00

So, I started taking guitar lessons. I began the lessons to honor the memory of my brother who played guitar. When he died, I was given his guitar in the hopes that I would learn how to play it. I procrastinated for 8 years and then one day, something guided me to look into lessons and all the stars aligned and I found the perfect studio.

My first lesson was just about the most frightening and exhilarating experience I’ve had in quite some time. When Kevin (my guitar instructor) arrived, we went downstairs to the exercise/music room and he dove right in going over the basics of the guitar and began my first lesson by drawing out a chord … my first chord – G major, which seemed to me to be about the most seemingly impossible finger placement I had ever experienced. Then came C major….I was wrong about G major this seemed even more impossible than G! Finally D major, which was easier that night; but has become increasingly more difficult. He also gave me the scale to practice and some finger strengthening exercises. He spent 30 minutes with me, and it felt completely over my head….however…I was giddy and excited about this new learning.

The first thing I noticed after the lesson was my sore fingers; which did not stop me from playing some more that night. I had to try everything Kevin had written down several more times that night. The next morning my fingers were still extremely sore with a twist; a constant state of numb, which again did not stop me from picking up the guitar that morning to try a few chords. This numbness is still present and I know that once the calluses are formed the numb feeling will go away, but I really, really like the feeling. It seems twisted, but it reminds me as I type, try to unbuckle my seatbelt, press a button that I am learning something brand new and it’s quite exciting. The numb feeling just reminds me of the exciting new learning when I am not with guitar.

So it’s now Tuesday and my next lesson is in 2 days. What have I accomplished with all my practice? I can do the scale without looking at his drawing AND I know where all my fingers are supposed to go for the next note. As for those pesky chords and the nearly impossible finger positions? I can now place my fingers on the correct places (without as much struggle) without looking at Kevin’s drawing. Do they sound perfect every time I play them? No, but I am getting there and it’s easier and easier each day.

Annabelle is still on the fence about the whole guitar. She hates the tuner posts because the steel strings poke out and she bumped her nose on one. This infuriated her. She does tend to calm down though and lay by my feet when I practice the chords. She also seems very fascinated by the vibrations of the strings..She will touch her nose to the string and then sneeze and look at it.

So, I can’t wait to see what the next lesson brings me.

Maiden Camping Trip

2010-07-20T16:18:00.005-05:00

We took Annabelle on her first camping trip last weekend with our friends Buzz & Michele and their two kids Mikayla and Elijah. Anna just does not get regular exposure to children, and it was interesting to see how differently she behaved with them. She was much gentler with them. When the kids wanted to pet her, she would often stand still and allow it…not always a courtesy she grants her owners. We also wondered what she would think, do, act like. If it hadn’t been for the 1,000F temps and the oppressive blanket of humidity, it would have been a far more enjoyable time. However, she seemed to really enjoy it and slept like a rock in the tent (the tent is too small).
It sucks to keep a dog leashed while camping and unfortunately, the park rangers seemed to patrol regularly, but there were several times we had her off-lead to play Frisbee. It was a real leap for me to give her that freedom. It was a great time. I think our next camping adventure will involve this sweet little unit (WITH A/C!).

Pool Time

2010-06-17T13:00:00.002-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoY1QNlhL5Y

The Week at BWCA (Or Ely, MN)

2010-06-10T12:54:00.006-05:00

Two weeks ago, we decided to take a vacation up in Ely, MN. This wasn’t our first trip to Ely. We have been there twice before and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly each time. The first visit occurred with my Dad and the two Dalmatians. We stayed at Timber Trail Lodge on Farm Lake. While Dad watched the dogs, TK and I went on a kayak adventure into the BWCA for a day trip. They boated us to the entry point of the North Kawishiwi River, unloaded the kayaks and we paddled on in. We were told to meet the boat back at that location by a certain time, or else we could paddle across the lake back to the resort. What was really cool is that it was just TK and myself…no one else.

That first trip into the BWCA was quite surreal. It was odd to see wide expanses of lake with NO buildings to mar the shoreline. It was also deathly quiet. While we tried to find the perfect paddling stride, we didn’t talk much, except the occasional “wowww” or “ohhhhh” in hushed whispers. That is until something bumped the bottom of my kayak and I yelped. That is the plus to kayaking versus canoeing…your butt is merely separated by the water with single layer polyethylene…you will feel fish bumping up against your boat. And unlike a canoe, you really feel like you are sitting in the water and almost stealth. Too bad you have to put out a lot of energy PADDLING.

Our second trip to Ely area occurred in the middle of winter, 2006. We had our Dalmatian, Hillary with us and she had a blast running through snow banks, racing across frozen icy lakes and generally being a goofball. TK and I also took our first snowshoeing trip into the BWCA. Now THAT was an experience. It was exhilarating to be the first ones to make a path in the snow as we shoed across the frozen BWCA lakes. It was easy to feel like we were the only ones left in this empty landscape….just us and the scrabbly pines.
So, here we were again in Ely. This time we rented a cabin on the most northwestern part of Shagawa Lake. Sure, this lake is a busier lake and certainly not in the BWCA, but on this particular week it was quiet and only filled with the occasional fishing boat. It was relaxing to sit on our deck (which actually sat over the water’s edge) and listen to the loons singing and laughing.

This particular cabin also came with a pontoon boat, and that is why we picked this resort. We wanted to see what it would be like to cruise around on a pontoon boat with Annabelle. Of course, she loved it, she can SMELL water before she’s even see it and goes crazy. Water and Annabelle are synonymous. At any time we walked down to the dock which was about 25 feet from our cabin door, she shot into the water like a cannon ball and not even the shock of the cold water stopped her. Annabelle’s week consisted of swimming, boating, swimming, more swimming and then crashing by 5:30, 6 pm each night.

We also spent a good amount of time training with Anna while we explored the streets of Ely. My heart swelled with pride at how well she heeled during our walks in town. She never ever lunged at other people or dogs, but continued to stay by my side and matched my steps with perfection. At one point I even sat/stayed her while I went into a shop (with Tim watching her, of course) and she never left her sit/stay the entire time I was gone.

We continued to do this with each shop we were interested in looking at, until something special happened. The shop owner of a store called “Ely Wear” noticed that I was standing outside with Anna while Tim was shopping inside. He came over and invited both Anna and myself into his shop, with these kind words “Who am I to not allow you and your dog, who is an important part of you, to visit my shop. It is my honor to have you visit my shop and take the time to visit it while you are on vacation.” This is the type of shop owner mentality that has gotten lost. Big chains don’t provide this level of intimacy and do not care if you visit them or not, they are indifferent. Of course we purchased some items from his shop, and I am sure his kindness influenced those purchases, but brilliantly marketed on his part! I wish this gentleman vast success.

What the owner may NOT know about is the small incident that occurred within his shop. as we perused the shop looking at all of the trinkets and t-shirts for sale, we came upon a row on the back wall of all sorts of wool sweaters and ponchos. Before we could even stop Anna, she started rubbing her face back and forth across the woolen material. I was instantly reminded of my long gone cats, who would have done just this. Since when is a Pudelpointer part cat? As soon as we could stop laughing we quickly pulled her away. Good thing she is a non-shedder. If a Dalmatian had pulled that stunt…well….there would have been glaring proof of what had occurred.

It was a fun and relaxing trip and I will miss the fact that I could actually breath up there. I used my asthma inhaler once and only once. I could breath in deeply without listening to my bronchials crackle and I didn't wheeze. I will also miss the smell of pine; not the normal piney smell but a sweeter, headier pine smell; almost like cotton candy, and very intoxicating. We would often stop and just breathe in the heady scent of pine. I will miss the peace and quiet of the gentle lapping of the lake as it touches the shore and the laughter of the loons that own this lake. And most of all I will miss the space. The ability to not be pinned in with millions of others; the feeling of having a decent amount of personal space.

Our next trip to Ely? We are already planning it and hope to rent a cabin that can only be reached by water. I cannot wait!

The River --- Red Wing

2010-04-13T13:01:00.002-05:00

It's Spring...

2010-03-29T13:54:00.003-05:00

It may only be March, but for a good two weeks, Anna has been begging us every time we visit the dog park to go into the “swimming hole.” This is a fenced in area within the 28 acres of doggy run-free zone. This is gated so that people who do not want their dogs to get into the swimming hole, don’t have to worry about it. It is a really nice feature and in the latter part of summer a very welcome benefit, because the swimming hole gets a bit stinky and green.

So, every day we’ve gone, she runs to the gate and sticks her paw in between the gate and the fence to see if she can open it herself. When this fails, she turns to stare us down as if willing us to give her what she wants (which usually works --- refer to http://pudelpointer-annabelle.blogspot.com/2010/02/annother-annabelle-victory.html). By now, I am usually laughing hysterically. Once the “Anna stare-down” fails, she will run over and make eye contact. Once the eye contact has been made, she will run a few steps away towards the gate and then turn back to look at us. It’s obvious she is saying “Come on, follow me! I will show you to the gate of the great swimming hole. You can open the gate for me!” By this time, I am putty in her paws, but have been able to resist because the water has been way too cold, and I’m certainly not going to go in after her to get her out when she turns into an icicle.

Saturday, though, the events turned out a little different. A springer spaniel was already in the swimming hole and she refused to budge from the gate. Her thoughts “The springer is in there, why can’t I go in?” FINE, I let her go. I only wish I had the video camera on, because she dipped her one foot in, then the next and then plunged right in up to her neck and swam around with glee. She swims purely for the enjoyment of it. Yeah, if you throw a ball or a stick, she will retrieve it, but none of this is required for her, she just likes to swim; period.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBcYgMoGvj4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB05IKooSXA

What’s really enjoyable is watching her after her dip. She runs around the park and brags to every dog she encounters about the fact that she got to go swimming. It’s nice to finally have a dog that loves mud, water, snow, rain…

Spring....

2010-03-25T11:18:00.001-05:00

Snow Otter

2010-03-10T10:00:00.000-06:00

Since the weather has warmed up, the snow has been melting quickly. With that brings strange spring fever behaviors. The newest? When taking her out at night, she has decided that it is fascinating to bronco buck through the higher areas of snow at full tilt, snow flying, grin on her face and refusing to come when called. I don’t know why she has started this, but I assume it feels good to be able to finally touch the ground rather than additional snow.

Her second spring fever behavior? Dig at the snow with a fevered fast pace…for no other reason than to get to the other side. She recently dug deep enough to find a watery puddle. Over and over and over, she plunged her front paws into this puddle, for the pure ecstasy of hearing the plunky sound it made in addition to the water that sprayed everywhere; which included me.

She gets such extreme joy out of the simplest pleasures. In turn, I realize how important the simple things are to everyone’s personal happiness. I am so glad Miss Annabelle is part of our family. She constantly grounds me and shows me that life really is not that serious at all! I have spent the last 1½ years of her life laughing and enjoying the simple pleasures life has to offer.

Some Firsts

2010-03-08T09:46:00.004-06:00

This weekend was full of some firsts. Firsts for Anna and me! We went to the dog park on Saturday morning and she had a blast playing with a Vizsla male. Whenever this male got a little to rambunctious, she would gripe at him and he would settle down. It was quite cute and a definite first for Anna who has struggled with how to handle this type of behavior in the past. As mentioned in other blogs, Anna’s first order of business is to find a left behind ball. This time, after finding the ball, she decided to tease her new Vizsla friend with it; eventually she accidentally dropped it and the Vizsla grabbed it up quick and ran. No matter what Anna tried, the Vizsla would not give the ball up…until we saw the most amazing display of problem-solving. She stood there looking at the Vizsla for about 30 seconds and then took off. Tim, the Vizsla owner and I all looked at each other in confusion. Within seconds, Anna came trotting back with a big stick and dropped it at the Vizsla’s feet. The Vizsla, of course, dropped the ball immediately and grabbed the stick and ran. Anna looked at me, picked up the ball and trotted off with her tail wagging. We all laughed in complete amazement.

We like to alternate our hiking between the dog park and a little path right by our house, which meanders through this natural marshy area. The advantage to the dog park; she can be off lead. Since we’d already been to the dog park once and our time was limited, we took her to the path by our house. It was at this point that we decided to let her off lead for the first time in a “non-fenced” area. Unbeknownst to us, there was a huge flock of ducks hanging out in the only “open water” area and had I known I would probably not have let her off lead because I am not completely confident in her ability to come when called. As she skulked across the large marshy area in a zig zag pattern, we finally saw the flock …. Something she had already spotted long before we had. The flock spotted her at almost the very last second and flew up in a flurry of wings and irritated quacks, while she just stood there in complete awe and wonder, nearly catching the last of the straggler ducks. It was both funny and awe inspiring, but the most rewarding feeling was her willingness to come when called after the ducks flew off.

On Sunday, we took Dad to the dog park with us (my heart couldn’t take anymore off lead adventures in a non-fenced environment). Within one day, the park had gotten very mushy and sloppy, so this park is no longer an option until it has dried out. It was fun to see some old friends (dogs and people). And here is my last “first.” As we were milling around the front entrance, a couple of people commented on how obedient Anna was when I call her to me. Generally no one can get their dog to come when called at the front entrance, because all the dogs are congregating and there is quite a bit of chaos. She always comes when called and sits pretty right in front of me (treats are an amazing training tool). This was one of the first “proud dog mom” moments I’ve ever had. Both of us have worked hard on her obeying our commands and it seems that it’s paid off! The only thing I have to work on with her now is heeling off-lead. This will be my complete focus in the upcoming weeks. I know that Anna and I will succeed, because I am a good trainer….but more importantly….she is a very clever dog.

Unrequited Love.....

2010-03-01T09:19:00.003-06:00

So, we were at the park on Sunday enjoying the spectacularly warm weather. One of the places Anna likes the best at the park is the inner fenced in area that contains a small pond. We don’t let her in this area when the ice is out on the pond because it is just gross, but during the winter it’s fine. She loves nothing more than to run full tilt across the snow filled pond as fast as she can. She also generally always finds some dog’s forgotten tennis ball.

On this particular Sunday when we were throwing one of the “found it” balls, a long haired German shepherd (Wotai) kept following Anna along the fence line (He was on the outside), whining, crying and trying to find a way in at any cost. Finally the owner came up and we said “It seems your dog really wants the ball.” And she replied, “No, he has no interest in balls, I think he wants to see your dog!”

We took Anna out and he was absolutely nutty for her. He wouldn’t leave her alone and would look at her with these lovesick eyes. Well, guess what? She had ZERO interest in him, which only frustrated him further. Finally Anna laid on her back, barred her teeth, yipped in her high pitch puppy bark and boxer kicked him constantly. He (the shepherd’s name is Diesel) still wouldn’t take the hint, but rather got this hurt look in his eyes as if to say “Why do you reject the advances of such a fine dog as me???” It was very comical, but almost frustrating to a point. Diesel’s owner finally had to drag Diesel away from the area because he was not leaving without his Annabelle.

This is not the first time it’s happened with Anna. It seems that she drives all the boy dogs crazy, but this was by far the most obvious display of unrequited love I’ve ever seen. Poor Diesel had his heart broken and Anna, the spitfire, has broken yet another doggy heart.

The experiences she gets at the park are so vital to her learning and growth. She has learned how to interact with all different types of dogs, because just like people, there are many different personalities and what works with one doesn’t always work with the next. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to interact like dogs? If you don’t like someone; boxer kick them…..if you like them; chase them…If you just want to pal around, run next to them with the sideways hip check the entire run. Imagine the people possibilities.

My how time can change things.....

2010-02-18T20:03:00.004-06:00

Annabelle at 9 weeks old Annabelle at 1 year old

Another Annabelle Victory

2010-02-10T09:58:00.009-06:00

Anna loves to play point at the bird wing….to the point of obsession. This past week, the weather was really bad, so I was able to work from home on Friday and Monday. By Monday, all of us were going a little stir crazy, especially Anna.

On this particular day, she decided I had been working long enough and it was time for a break….to play with HER. Anna is very self-centered and believes that I have been placed in her life to accommodate all of her needs, wants and desires. Some of this is definitely self-induced, but I also think that Anna was born with this natural tendency.

After one of the visits to our dog breeders house (when she was 6 months), he showed me how to make my own bird flip stick…so that I could enhance her pointing skills. I made the stick and then pretty much forgot about it until recently. Since we re-started this game, not a SINGLE day goes by without her shamelessly begging me to play this game with her.

Monday was no exception. She started out with trying to stare me down while I was on the computer…I would hide my face behind the screen and she would quick reposition herself so that she could better facilitate her “beg” eyes. Then I would start to giggle, which is always a sign to her that her prey is weakening…quickly. So she kicked it up a notch, and picked up one of the stray feathers that had fallen off the bird wing and continued to stare at me with the “hint” in her mouth. I continued to ignore her.

She smelled a challenge.

She then rested her face in my lap and stared up at me with her best “poor me” puppy eyes to see if this elicits a response from me. I felt myself quickly losing the battle and attempted to resist her sly charms one last time. Anna will not lose; she enacts the final “pièce de résistance.” She climbs up onto the couch beside me, lies on her back and looks up at me with feather in her mouth while giving me a grin. Ok, I’m done. She is victorious once again. Down to the “bird room/dojo” to play flippy stick.
Anna’s Victories: 15,025
Lisa’s Victories: 5

First "kill"

2010-02-01T10:16:00.002-06:00

Saturday was a relatively warm day and the sun was finally peaking through the clouds, a good day for a walk. We decided to try out the dog park again and see if bad dog owner and his dogs were there. There was a red pick up truck there, but wrong make.

We headed into the park and it felt almost tropical with the warm sun shining down on us. After one loop (each loop is about a mile), we decided to go around one more time. This time we went towards the very back corner of the park. Anna was bounding around and enjoying the walk when we saw her stop dead at the base of a small scrub pine. Not only did she stop dead, she went into an instant point. Hmmm. As we were trying to figure out what the deal was, she started digging like mad in the snow and UP came a mouse in her mouth. With a quick shake of her head, a drop, and another pick up and shake...said mouse was dead. We got her away from it and she thankfully LEFT it and much better there was no blood. Blech. She was pretty damn proud of herself though. It was pretty cool, and yet not. I am undecided on the whole scenario.

Needless to say, the next go-around we stayed away from that area; but that didn't stop Anna from now checking the base of EVERY SINGLE TREE.

Whoa!!!!

2010-01-29T14:32:00.003-06:00

The three most important commands for a bird dog: "Come," "Heel" and "Whoa."

So, I've been working with Annabelle to stop moving when I utter in a very low, calm tone "whoa...." It simply means "Stop and do not MOVE until I release you." I think she has it nailed. When I showed TK, he said it was similar to a cartoon in how quickly she stopped in front of the bird wing. My next plan of attack is the "heel" command. She gets it, but is hesitant to do this off lead. Generally, what happens when walking with her on lead is I will say it, and she will stop and walk back a couple of paces. SOOOOOOO, back to the drawing board and I will work with her down in the "padded" room aka dojo.

Something surprising has happened since I've been training with her, which makes me smile every time I think about it. She has bonded even more towards me. She essentially looks to me for the next command and actually cuddles with me again on the chair. Sometimes it's a pain in the neck, but most of the time I really, really like it. Here's to more training!

See what happens when bored???

2010-01-29T10:12:00.003-06:00

So, this week has been a bit cold with some major windchills so evening walks have been out of the question (for Tim and Lisa). I know we are just being wimps, but I just couldn't bring myself to brave the cold.

What ensues is a bored family. So, last night we decided to take the girl dog to the pet store which is always good for a laugh or two. After I carried her in from the parking lot, because I refuse to get harsh chemicals and salt on her paws, she had a blast sniffing around and looking at things. I always have to be very careful around the dog nose level OPENED treat bins, because in a flash she will have eaten some.

As we rounded the "toy" aisle (and by the way I was given STRICT instructions from TK that there would be NO TOY PURCHASES), we ran into a couple who had brought their 8 month Old English Sheepdog in for some "Bark n Boots Grip Trex Dog Boots." They raved about these particular boots which this pet store happens to sell (I smell a plant). TK and I went over to look at them and thought it would be good entertainment value for us to watch Anna clomp around in them. So, the storekeeper helped us put them on, and we laughed at her "high stepping" trot. Then we looked at the price. $57.00!!! WTF? I don't even buy shoes for myself at that cost.

Here's the deal though, while paw coverage doesn't seem to be an issue for Miss Anna in the winter, we often worry about the summer months when she can end up walking on hot pavement or hot pebbles. But is it worth it???

So, we did not purchase the boots last night and will mull it over for awhile. Until then I will continue to carry her through parking lots and we will avoid paved paths.

Words that Miss Anna Knows..

2010-01-27T09:58:00.004-06:00

I was looking back through some old blogs and found the list of words that can't be said in front of Anna. I thought I would add the newest ones. She has quite the vocabulary and there are so many more that she learns new every day. It is amazing how clever she is.

1. Food
2. Hungry?
3. Treat
4. Chuck-It
5. Swimming?
6. Bone
7. Ball
8. Spanking?
9. Outside?
10. Ride?
11. Walk
12. Bird -if said outside she looks everywhere -if said inside to the flip stick)
13. Squirrel
14. Bunny
15. Kitty
16. Puppy
17. Bug
18. Kennel?
19. Night-night (good word - kennel is punish word)
20. Park or dog park

21. Yogurt
22. Peanut butter
23. shank
24. hide the treat
25. Bang!
26. Frisbee
27. sock
28. apple
29. give me a kissy
30. Where's Tim
31. Mama (said in a higher tone and drag out the "a" at the end)
32. Clip your nails?
33. Woah (especially if said in a low calm tone)
34. Wait
35. Snow

The Difference...

2010-01-24T20:37:00.002-06:00

We have been taking Annabelle to the dog park (Cleary Lake) since she was 3 months old, and she has never had issues at this park...ever...until Friday. On Friday, I was out with her alone and we were having a good time. All of a sudden two American German Shepherd mixes came bounding towards Anna and immediately went into an aggressive stance. She ran (which she shouldn't have) and this just fueled the fire for these two Shepherds. She then did the smart thing and rolled onto her side and then back. The dogs then took the opportunity to nip hard at her in a very aggressive manner while she yelped. I yelled at the dogs to back off as the dumb sh#t owner came along and had to physically remove his dogs. I didn't say anything at the time as I was alone except an expletive under my breath as I walked on.

On Sunday Tim and I both went to the park and guess who was there? This time the dogs really went at her, and Tim barreled into the dogs as the dip sh#t owner gently called them off. Tim gave the dog owner a stern talking to, and we get this response "they're just being dominant...." Later on, we ran into another group of people, and found out that these same dogs jumped onto the one lady's back. Yeah....the dogs are just being "dominant." What a total nit-wit.

Okay, there is a HUGE difference between normal dominant behavior and AGGRESSIVE behavior. It's these types of dog owners that I just want to throttle. I then told him to never come back with his dogs and that I would be submitting a complaint. For anyone out there, he drives a Chevy red full sized pickup with a red topper. I hope he reads this too.

We'll continue to go back, because we have a lot of friends there and Anna generally loves to play with other dogs there. Almost all the dogs that visit do NOT behave in this manner. So for now, we have a week off, and then maybe we'll think about visiting the park again. When we do come back, I may think about carrying a squirt bottle.

Walking Through the Woods

2010-01-14T13:09:00.000-06:00

TK, Anna and I took a nice long walk after work yesterday. It was quite necessary after the week I’ve been having. It is insanely busy at work which has led to many a sleepless night. In conjunction with the busy work-week I have learned quite a few things about people in general. Some of my learning has been good and some of it not so good.

When we walk with Anna, I always see nature differently. I see it through her eyes. Like her, I am always scanning for wildlife; listening for sounds, especially birds. I am thrilled every time she hears the sound of a duck or a rustle in the brush. She will whip her head around and stop dead in her tracks…watching…and listening. Last night was no different. The ducks were quacking quite a bit as if they too were happy with the warmer weather. Because it’s been staying light later into the evening, we are able to see more of the wildlife.

On the way back, Anna found the bunny first. She can stand soooo still, almost motionless, while quietly studying the terrain to determine her plan of attack. No, we did not let her go after the bunny, as I don’t want to deal with the aftermath of bunny. While Anna was still busy sniffing for bunny, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked far down the path and saw a shadowy figure; it was the coyote. We have seen that coyote before. Last night, I do believe we foiled his dinner plans and perhaps saved a bunny in the process. I watched to see where he cut off the path and into the woods. I wanted to see if Anna would find the scent or tracks of the coyote.

After she was done with bunny-watching (sounds bad), we continued along the path. She did stop at the spot I believe the coyote veered off and began frantically sniffing and watching. A couple of times she jumped and then continued with the intense “snort-sniffing” she is so good at. After PULLING her away from it, we finished our evening walk.

After the walk, things became more clear and lucid. The work chaos will eventually taper off to a more normal pace. I also learned that I have some really wonderful friends who have helped me through this work chaos.

-- Post From My iPhone

Massive Writer's Block

2010-01-13T16:06:00.003-06:00

I have struggled for well over a month with writer's block. I think I have, once again, allowed other people's opinions to affect what or how I write, and I shouldn't. I think this is human nature.

Things have been very good. Even though some people seem to think that our Annabelle is not well-trained or is naughty, she is actually very good! She is always willing to learn new tricks either with my suggestion or she creates her own. That mind of hers is always working and it's a lot of fun to watch.

She has recently learned a new trick and has learned it quite quickly. Yes there are some that have called her learning a "parlor trick" but learning is learning and even if she was constantly hunting, she would have down time where she should continually learn and evolve. She needs that intellectual stimulation and it's fun to see her work it out in her head.

It's hard to believe that she is already 1 1/2! She has full reign of the house but prefers to hang with us, that is unless she feels she is being ignored. She doesn't tear things up anymore, nor does she find our possessions to chew on...she will just disappear until she hears one of us get up and then magically she is there again.

She has established several things she absolutely loves to do. She loves to rub against our towels every morning. I don't know why, but it's comical. I have yet to capture it on video, but she weaves in and out, snuffles them, rubs her face against them in a very cat-like manner. She loves to climb into bed in the morning and snuggle with us. She buries her nose deep into mine and then Tim's neck while stretching out fully. She then takes big deep breaths as if to capture our scent and keep it with her just a little longer. She still loves car rides, dog parks, walks, fetch, frisbee and stuff the toy under a piece of furniture.

She is pure joy to have around and I can't imagine my life without her. Sure, things would be easier if we didn't have her. We would have far more freedom to do what we wanted without wondering where she will stay, or how we can bring her with. But the ratio of that to the "real time" moments is quite vast.

Not to mention that things have been very busy at work, with little or no time for anything but...well...WORK.

I will attempt to write more and on a more consistent basis....but meanwhile...a little photo of our bed hussy.

More Writer's Block

2009-12-25T21:46:00.001-06:00

Enjoy the photo.

These are a few of my favorite things

2009-12-17T07:24:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite memories of Mark involve wine glasses, water and a mess. For those that don't know me well, I like order, balance and no messes. I don't watch the tv show "Monk" because I see just a tad too much of myself in him which makes me a little bit uncomfortable. It's good to know I have issues, but it doesn't mean I am ready to fully embrace my issues either.

So one evening, we were ever so lucky to be granted a spontanious visit from Mark. I'm not sure precisely when, but do know it was around the holidays. I don't remember how it started. Probably something as simple as a couple of recently cleaned wine glasses sitting on the counter, but Mark spotted them and casually asked if I had any more. I grew suspicious, but said that I did. I showed him the cupboard and he proceeded to take several of them down.

Those that had the pleasure of knowing Mark, know that the more one protests about one of his ideas, the more he digs his heels in and uses that boyish charm to con you into his adventure. And as always I became putty in his hands.

A water pitcher was requested and what ensued was a scene out of some bizarre movie. He began pouring water in various amounts into each of the glasses, then dampening his finger and rolling it along the edges of the glasses. Then dumped or poured more or less into the glasses until he had before him his perfect musical instrument. Meanwhile my floor and counter were covered in spilled water. It was just water and harmless but my "OCD" side screamed in angst at the mess. Mark knowing me perhaps far better than I, myself do, saw my despair, giggled his boyish laugh and told me it would be worth it.

Oh was it ever worth it! He then performed his musical concert on the stemware. Jingle Bells, Silent Night and O Christmas Tree. By the end, we were both laughing hysterically and in typical "Mark" fashion, once he was done, the mess remained and he was gone in the blink of an eye; off to his next adventure. I cleaned up the mess while grumbling I'm sure, but am so glad I didn't give into the OCD side of my mind.

-- Post From My iPhone

Snowbeard and Snowdog

2009-12-16T19:19:00.003-06:00

Writer's block. Enjoy the photos.

The First Real Holiday Weekend

2009-12-07T09:27:00.005-06:00

It was a great weekend. On Friday night we all went for a walk, even though it was pretty damn cold. When we got to the end of the trail where this is a significantly sized corn field with scrabbled old oak trees that outline the perimeter of the field, we heard the owl hoot again. I looked carefully and saw it! We tried to take a photo, but it was just dark enough to prevent a good photo, but the owl could be seen with the naked eye. I guess some things are just meant to be remembered, not captured on film. I wanted to see it fly, so we walked into the corn field a bit and saw it take flight. The wing span on this owl was as wide as a Canadian goose, but as silent as a whisper and it was an extremely magical moment.
Then on Saturday it was off to Auntie’s house to help her with a television set up. That was quick and easy, and then it was off to dinner. What a crazy experience that was. Food was served and it was cold! So, we flagged down the waitress and she immediately took the plates to have the meals re-done. The manager came over right away and said that the meal would be on them, but did we have 20 minutes to wait for the meal to be re-done. Well, duh, we were hungry! So, second round came and still some of the items were not hot. Oh well, won’t be going there again, but at least it was free. Then we topped it off with a Caramel Hi-Rise at Caribou and a little more talking and it was time to head back home to start the process of putting up the Christmas tree.
Last year, Anna was still VERY much a puppy and I couldn’t chance putting a tree up in the living room, so it sat down in the dining room. I hated it. This year, I hemmed and hawed quite a bit, because I have some very sentimental ornaments that I would hate to have her get and then ruin. But, my Christmas spirit (and some coaxing from friends) won and the tree went up in the living room. Anna was extremely interested in the whole process. We do a fake tree, as my allergies can’t take real ones, which I miss, but at least I don’t have to water it, right? So, of course as the three pieces were pulled out of the box, she freaked out and barked at it. I would agree in that trees don’t belong in houses! So, we got past that hurdle. Then it was time to add some more lights, because the pre-lit amount just isn’t enough. She seemed indifferent to that. Whew. After letting her get accustomed to the tree’s presence (about 8 hours), I began putting the “non-breakable” ornaments onto the tree. I now get what “under foot” means. She couldn’t get enough of being right beside me and watching while all the ornaments were placed. Then the ornament she got last week was hung. She went bonkers trying to get just that ornament. After a few sharp “No” commands, she understood that this wasn’t acceptable.

I finished putting the endless boxes of ornaments onto the tree and she watched the entire time, with avid interest. Then Tim put the tree topper on, which is an old style Santa. She couldn’t stop barking at that thing being on the top of her tree. Finally we got her to see reason and stop the incessant barking. It seems that she and the tree have come to a truce and are getting along just fine with the exception of the frequent “walk-by.” This consists of her going right up to the tree and sniffing a particular ornament of interest and then looking back at me to see if I am watching. I will give her my “look” and she will slowly saunter away. She will then try one more time just to see if the rules have changed, which incites an “Ann..” on my part before she walks away a bit more quickly. She is then done with the tree and its ornaments for awhile. I can’t help but laugh. She thinks she is soo stealth.
By Sunday evening, we were all exhausted after all the walks, shopping, tree trimming and game playing. It was that good type of exhausted; the satisfied fulfilling type of exhaustion. We’re ready Christmas! Bring it on!

Ornament of 2008 --- This one came directly from Germany!

2009-11-30T12:31:00.002-06:00

2009 Ornament

2009-11-29T20:30:00.002-06:00

The Ornament of 2002

2009-11-28T20:04:00.002-06:00

This ornament doesn't even get onto the tree for fear that it breaks. It stays in the lighted hutch all year long. Mom found it online sometime after Mark died. Each time I look at this ornament, I get a bit teary. This ornament seems to have been made for he and I. The little blond-headed boy and the red haired girl. Even the pajamas are a match.

The Infamous Ornaments....

2009-11-28T19:19:00.002-06:00

Holidays

2009-11-28T09:09:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving is generally considered the gateway to the holidays. This year is no exception. We spent the day at Aunt Marge's house and Mom & Dave drove down for it, which was an exquisite gift.

Mom also presented me with my ornament of the year. I don't even remeber the year she started the tradition, but Mark and I were kids. When I moved out at the tender age of 18, those ornaments were one of the first things I packed up to take with to my first apartment. Little did I know how important they would be when I spent my first Christmas in San Diego. Christmas in San Diego is oddly discomforting to a Minnesota native, no snow. The ornaments brought a bit of home to me and provided great comfort.

Most of the ornaments have very specific memories attached to them, and I don't always remember the exact sequence, but I do remember the first and second year's ornament. The first was a blue ball, adorned with gold designs on the outside. It is, by far, the most fragile of all of my ornaments. So fragile in fact that every year I think, " this is going to be the year of the break." I am lucky thus far. Mark's broke long, long ago and I remember shopping with Mom at Pier One to try and find a replacement, which we did. I believe it was a porcelain white dove.

The second year we received a three dimensional barn which was handcrafted by cross stitch on plastic canvas. The reason Mom gave us that particular ornament is so that we would always remember our Grandparents farm. What it really does? Holds all of those memories within its framework. It is by far one of my most favorite ornaments.

This year's ornament is just as beautiful as all of the rest and like the other ornaments, it will store the special memory of this past Thanksgiving.

This box of memories started out in a 12x12 box and has now grown to almost two big storage bins and they have moved well over 15-18 times without incident. I am the only one that transports the box (now boxes) as everyone else is petrified of dropping the box. I don't blame them and I willingly take on that responsibility because if the box drops I would only want to blame myself.

So, this year, even though it could prove disasterous, I will put the tree up and proudly unveil each magical treasure and hang each memory lovingly on the tree. I think Anna can handle the responsibility and if one breaks, it's not the end of the world because I still have the memories which can truly never be broken.

Maybe I'll take photographs of each one first; just in case.

-- Post From My iPhone

The Case of the Missing Scrunchie

2009-11-25T08:19:00.001-06:00

Annabelle has a deep, driven, obsession with anything that has to do with stuff that goes in my hair. This includes: clips, binders, scrunchies, bobby pins, and the list goes on. She extends this obsession to my brush and comb. Once I begin brushing my hair in the morning, she sits and stares (or rather ogles) at me and the brush. She has also added a little whimper to the equation in the hope that I “cave” and give her my brush. NOT.

On Friday, I was busy getting ready, while she was bouncing back and forth from the bed to the floor to whine at the dresser and back again to the bed. I didn’t pay much attention (mistake number one) and when I did finally look over at her (at this point she was sitting on the bed), she had that “guilty” expression and it seemed like she had just swallowed something. My first reaction was to stick my fingers down her throat, because sometimes I can catch it, but there was nothing there. Okay, well…maybe I was mistaken. The weekend passes without incident which further highlights my incorrect assumption.

Monday evening I was sitting in the living room and she was off somewhere (I assumed with Tim in the office) when she comes flying into the living room, dives into my lap and once again has the “guilty” expression. Whatever! I grab her up and cuddle her up and she lays there completely satisfied and happy. Okay, Girl just wanted some extra loving. Later that evening, I got up to do some chores and walked into the bedroom and spotted this black object in the middle of the bedroom floor. Odd, so I go to pick it up. (Mistake number two.) What I had in my hands was a sopping (puke covered) wet black hair scrunchie. Okay! I was correct in my interpretation of “guilty” expression, and it seems that the gestation period for processing non-food items is three days. So, after nearly gagging, I throw the scrunchie away because even washed I will NEVER put THAT in my hair. I cleaned up the mess and washed my hands, silently giggling the entire time.

By Tuesday night, the incident was completely forgotten (by her) as she tried to pull the binder out of my hair. She did get a light spanking and immediately stopped, but I admire her ability to sniff out and find ANYTHING to do with MY hair accessories. How can you not love her zest for mischievousness and adventure?

The Movie "Up!" --- SPOILERS (Don't read if you want to see movie)

2009-11-16T13:18:00.002-06:00

So, this weekend was a mix of sunny and cloudy weather, both literally and figuratively. Saturday TK was off at karate training all day and that always sucks for me, because I do love to spend both of my weekend days with him. Saturday, us girls went for a walk, played countless hours of “chuck it,” “Frisbee,” and much more. I spent a good amount of time taking photos of her later on in the day when the sun finally peaked out.
Sunday was awesome. We snuck off for coffee together leaving little Missy at home, until I started to feel really bad. So, we went home, grabbed the Girl and took off for the park --- not the dog park, but just a park. I have decided to cut back on the dog park visits, as the last couple of times we’ve gone, the next day she is sick. Apparently people are NOT picking up after their dogs as diligently as they should be, and I just don’t need her to be exposed to irresponsible dog owners. Had a blast at the “regular” park and I think Anna did too. There is a corn field along the path, and we let her go sniffing around in amongst the corn stalks. I think she thought she had gone to heaven. Then it was off to the pet store for a visit to see the birds. The first time she approaches the parakeets she always points. It is hilarious! (Probably not so hilarious for the birds.)

Back at home, we finished up chores, hung around outside cleaning up yet more apples, and other things….and let her run around being a crazy dog. I then baked a couple items, made dinner (enchiladas --- mmmmm) and we were all finally able to settle in on the couch to watch the movie “Up!”

The movie was really cute, but the best part? All of the “talking” dogs in the movie. Each of them had this collar on that activated actual person talking. This is something that I think all of us have wished for at one time or another. In one particular scene, the dog is talking away and MID-sentence stops, turns towards another area and yells “SQUIRREL!” then continues to talk as if nothing had happened. I thought I would die laughing. So of course, I have to repeat it and say out loud “Squirrel!” Poor Anna HAD been in a dead sleep and all of a sudden her head ZINGS up and she is barking and looking out the door. Sorry Anna.

Another really funny line occurs when the two older gentlemen are having dinner and all the dogs are sitting, standing, lying nearby and the one gentleman says “well having you here for dinner has been a real treat.” All of a sudden all of the dogs start saying “Treat? Huh Treat? Where’s the treat. Treat” all in unison. OMG. Totally hilarious. Then at one of the critical stages when the dogs (that were flying little planes) were trying to sabotage the “good” guys, the little boy yells out “Hey dogs! Squirrel!” and of course all of the dog planes crash into each other. As the dogs are parachuting out of the planes, the one bulldog says “I HATE squirrels.” I would definitely watch this movie again.

Maybe the weekend didn’t start out so fantastic (at least for me), but it ended very, very well.

Doctors and stuff....

2009-11-13T15:49:00.004-06:00

I often listened to friends talk about their visits to the doctor's office with their kids, and how the kids would get all clingy and freaked out the minute they entered the exam room. Yeah, ok. I know this happens because I was one of those kids. I hated the doctor and seem to remember trying to hide flu symptoms for fear of a visit. I also remember bargaining with my Mom. LOL. I am sure I was a royal pain in the ass. (Still am--there, I've said it before anyone tells me.)

I never knew though how Moms actually FELT. I still won't ever know for sure, but I got a taste today. I had to take Annabelle back to the vet because after 7 days of eye drops, her eyes were all boogery again. So, we speed off to the vet, and I get there. She loves being there....I get a treat so they can get her weight and because of my diligence, she will go and sit on the scale and stay. (50.4 lbs). Then we go to the exam room. This is where thinks get a little hinky.

The first door is closed and the back door where the vet comes in, is still open. Things are still okay, but she has become increasingly suspicious. The Tech leaves via the back door and says the vet will be in shortly. The second the door shuts, Anna takes a running leap into my lap and starts shaking. So, I gently put her back on the ground and tell her she is fine. Damn near broke my heart though.

So we are sitting there waiting, and I hear someone beyond the door say her name, and I look down and she has her head perked sideways because she also has heard her name. What a hoot! So, eventually the door opens, and she BOOKS for my lap again, with the tail tucked under. I did not KNOW the tail could tuck so tightly. After a couple of seconds, she relaxes a bit and allows the vet to talk to her and pet her. This vet happens to think that Anna is absolutely gorgeous and very well behaved and says this outloud. Internally I am screaming with laughter.

So, the vet concludes that she still has conjunctivitis and Anna requires 10 more days of drops. Anna is more than happy to see the vet leave, and I was happy to only have a $46.00 bill.

Buttons....

2009-11-12T08:43:00.002-06:00

Maybe we are just mean...but one of our favorite pastimes is to find the animals "buttons." They too have pet peeves (hahahaha) and annoyances. Dobbins? Almost zero buttons...I am not even sure if he did have any. He was just about the most laid back dude on earth. Ok, he had a real issue with anyone touching him during feeding time. He didn't start out that way, but one day Pongo (the cat) came along and tried to infiltrate his food dish. I have never seen a dog go postal (he did) and Pongo just backed up quick and looked at him like "DUDE! Lighten UP!" Needless to say, Pongo never bothered Dobbins again.

Hillary....wow....she had TONS. You couldn't loon call, you couldn't whistle, you couldn't make a loud pop noise, and more. She was a lady....If you belched and she smelled it? She would look at you with utter disgust and get up and move elsewhere. We would laugh hysterically every time because her facial expression was so "prudish."

Then Annabelle came along. For the longest time it seemed that it was either EVERYTHING or nothing. Now that she has settled down there are slim few. One in particular has to do with her rear. I don't know why or how this became an issue, but if you blow towards her rear, or even touch, she immediately tucks tail and scooches her butt under and spins away from the source of the issue. It doesn't matter how many times in a row it's done....same result. It has to be about the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. There are a couple of other peeves, but this one is probably a permanent for her. Maybe this weekend I will get it on video. LOLOLOL.

Pooooor Anna........

Bug!

2009-11-11T11:02:00.003-06:00

The word "bug" will need to be officially outlawed in our house. ONE bug (a ladybug--ick) had gotten into the house over the weekend and she saw it. Sat at the wall caterwauling about it, until I made it go away.

From that point on, she spends a fair amount of time "scanning" the walls each night. Any speck becomes vast speculation to her. It is actually starting to creep me out. She will be playing or enjoying getting a massage, and all of a sudden her eyes will dart up the wall and fixate there.

No more "bug" word.

Bed Dancer becomes Fence Dancer

2009-11-10T09:23:00.003-06:00

One of the many things I miss most about Anna being all grown up is the fact that she no longer does the "bed dance" (see post below).

http://pudelpointer-annabelle.blogspot.com/2008/10/growing-up-fast.html

When I went over to talk to my neighbors last night, to my complete delight, she instituted a new dance that will now be christened the “fence dance.” She loves to be talked to and petted by Tom and Leah almost to the point of possessiveness. The Dals were always a little bit standoffish with people as they should because this is one of their traits. But Pudelpointers? Once they get to know you, they do not forget, and they have abounding love for that new person(s). This dance consists of her running full tilt to the fence (which is over 5’ high) and then draping her paws over the top. Leah will pet her and then when Anna has finished, she dances right over to Tom, while still keeping her front paws on the top of the fence. Then back again to Leah. This will continue for at least 5-10 minutes until she’s had her fill of the love fest and goes off to explore things. Invariably, though she is back for more, as if she never receives attention or affection from Tim and/or me….yeah…right!

Anna also has a very keen observance on every detail in her world. Yesterday, construction began on the same neighbor’s house. They are getting vinyl siding. So, the scaffolding went up and the construction dude had started at the top of the house and was working his way down. Unbeknownst to Anna, as she rounded the corner of her garage, she saw the abnormal (in her mind) scene. Strike 1: Scaffolding on house where there had not been ever before. Strike 2: A guy on the top of the scaffolding which is a place that people should NEVER be, in Anna’s eyes. So after many deep growls, deep ferocious barks, she settled into a begrudging acceptance of the situation. This should be fun over the next two weeks, because she is quite intent on checking this scene out each and every time she goes outside. Sigh

Take the Daylight WHere you Can Get it...

2009-11-06T15:25:00.003-06:00

At least in the morning, it's light out before we leave for work. I have started waking up a bit earlier (to Tim's dismay) in order to spend at least 15 minutes out in the yard with Annie Bahnahnie. She loves to play fetch.

If Annie is happy....everybody's happy. :-)

Day Four

2009-11-05T10:10:00.002-06:00

What do you suppose happens on Day Four of biking? Yes yes, she insists on sitting in my lap while I bike...Let me tell you, this is NOT an easy accomplishment. She, however, thought she was pretty clever.

Maybe I just cannot bike when TK is at karate?

New Horizons...

2009-11-04T15:18:00.002-06:00

One task we chose to complete when on vacation was re-arranging and fixing up our lower level family room. B.A. (Before Anna), it was used as our main t.v./entertainment room. However, when AB came along, we needed to be close to an outside entrance (for obvious reasons). So, we moved our whole life up to the living room, which I had always insisted remain television free: FAIL.

Now that AB is all grown up, we thought it would be nice to change things up and make our ex-family room into an exercise room. After all, the back bedroom is Tim's dojo, so it would stand to reason that we extend the room next to it into "my" exercise area. TK did most of the work, but now it's an awesome exercise area that I love to go to each evening. However, there was a bit of an Anna adjustment period.

The first night on the bike? She barked at the spinning pedals...Then tried to bite...Do you think I stopped pedaling? No! She bonked her head into it. OUCH. The second night? A bit of barking, but no approaching the pedal. Good! A quick study. The third night? She stood on the treadmill next to the bike and watched the peddle go around and around with her "hmmm expression" and then sauntered off to study other items in her new room, like the bears on top of the speakers on the wall. Now, she finally has full reign of the entire house.

Now in the A.A. (After Anna) world, it's been nice to have the house completely open and gate-free. She likes to go down there and explore things and we now know it's safe for her to do so. Her favorite room is the dojo with the cushy pads (mine too actually). but in the end, she actually prefers the living room where she "grew up" but we BOTH have to be there for her to be completely satisfied. We are soooo lucky to have such a good dog. Good girl Annabelle.

Laid Back Vacations

2009-11-01T11:30:00.014-06:00

This vacation was a little different for us than most. Generally we are jet setting off to some cool place and hiking/backpacking/sightseeing. This time, because our company refuses to allow us to carry over, we had to basically "use it or lose it." So, we decided to take a week and just hang out. It was actually not a bad week! Of course by Tuesday, we were already going stir crazy, so we both did some research and found a steal of a deal to stay up in Grand Marais (which is on Lake Superior --- for those of you reading this out of state). The deal occurred only because it is too late for fall colors, and too early for skiing. Fine with us!

The night before we left for G.M., I wanted to change the sheets, so that when we came home, it would be a brand new bed. Have you ever tried making a bed with a crazy pup? Well, let me tell you, it isn't easy. This seems to be a typical "pet" issue all around. Dobbins and Hilly also made this task twice as difficult and more time consuming. I suppose it didn't help that I was laughing hysterically the entire time.

On Wednesday we drove on up to G.M. We decided to stop at Gooseberry Falls because we thought Anna would really enjoy seeing the falls. So, we walked on down and she stopped and studied that big fountain for quite a time. Then she tried to get closer, but it kept spraying in her face, which she did not like. I tried to leave her with TK and get some closer shots, but she screamed like a puppy when I tried to leave. Okay, fine Anna. So we walked further down where the falls weren't raging as strong and let her wade around in the river. She absolutely loved it.

After we passed Cascade Lodge, which happened to be the first place TK and I stayed for a vacation after we had just been dating for about two months, there is a little scenic look-out. We stopped there because dog had to go. There is a stair leading down to the shore of Lake Superior, so I let her go. As she got to the first tier of rocks, the waves (which happened to be very large) crashed against the lower tier of rocks. She jumped back about 4 feet and barked her head off. As we stood there laughing hysterically, she inched her way back and CRASH against the rocks again. This time she didn't jump back quite as much and didn't bark quite as much. Eventually she decided it was "okay" and made her way to the waves to bite them. A fun day for us. Anna's first big waves, and some good laughs for us.

When we got to G.M., our rooms weren't quite ready so we got lunch (Ole & Lena's Pizza) and decided to eat it at the Coast Guard/boat launch parking lot. Once we consumed the meal, it was time to take Miss Anna out. We walked her around and then out to the boat launch dock, and chuckled about what she would do upon seeing her first seagull. We were soon to find out. One was sitting in the parking lot as we came back from the dock. As she got close the seagull slowly lifted into the air away from her, and she screamed (I mean SCREAMED) like a stuck pig. And of course at THAT moment, a Coast Guard guy drives by and probably wondered what sort of torture we were inflicting upon our dog. Between our hysterical crying laughs, and trying to shush her, we finally got the situation in control. But now, the damage had been done. She was on the lookout for white birds...She constantly scanned the horizon and the ground for these creatures and every time she spotted one, she was off like a rocket. Tim (I could maim him) taught her the word "seagull." Now if we say the word "seagull" she barks and scans the skies. NICE Tim!

The place we stayed at was wonderful, and we would definitely stay there again. Full kitchen, two baths, three bedrooms. Fireplace...very nice. The downside? Taking the dog out. Down three flights of stairs, out the doors, into the buffeting Superior winds...and then wait for dog to go, because all of a sudden, she's forgotten about peeing, but has become engrossed with big waves and seagulls.

We did hike at Judge Magney on Thursday, even in the misty rain and it was worth it. We had the park to ourselves. Dog was a showoff by continually running up and down the stairs waiting for our sorry butts to get up them. Okay Miss Four Legs and only 1 year old! We get it! We are OLD!

The only negative out of the whole thing was that Anna contracted some type of eye conjunctivitis and so we had to come home a bit earlier to get to the vet. Good thing? Vet bill was under $100. THAT is a good thing.

Quiet

2009-10-19T11:46:00.001-05:00

It was another quiet weekend.

Feel free to check out Anna having a good time....entertaining herself...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh5FYY7YiEo

Working from Home...

2009-10-09T10:18:00.001-05:00

An Evening at the Spa

2009-10-08T09:06:00.001-05:00

Funny story. We decided to take girl to the dog park since it’s been raining for pretty much the last five-six days. Last night was gorgeous and sunny and even warm (sort of). So we get there and begin walking around the 28 acre park. It is a little muddy in areas, but nothing we haven’t seen before….that is until we get to a mud puddle ….not a super huge one, but water is about 2-3 inches deep and all the mud is squishy. She sort of jogs through it and finds that she sort of likes the idea. We moved her along quite quickly after that. Whew. Ok. Crisis averted.

As we hit the home stretch at the other end of the park, I see in the distance a water puddle the size of, oh say…Texas. This puddle covered the ENTIRE path and more. The only other option would have been to walk through waist high weeds, which would have been fine, except that Anna would have plowed right through the mud pond. I looked at Tim, he looked at me and we both said “NOOO WAY!!!” We turned around and called Anna to us. We decided we would walk back the way we came.

As we got back to the smaller mud puddle, she starts jogging right for it with a type of giddy pleasure. Tim and I both call out “Anna, NOoooo, OUT.” Now here is where it gets a little interesting. She stops, looks at us, walks back our way a few steps and then turns tail and RUNS as FAST AS SHE CAN straight towards that puddle and thunders through it dragging her face right through the center of the muddiest part of the puddle. The muddy water gushes in a tidal wave straight up onto her legs, tummy, face, top of the head, and wherever else muddy water can land on dog. At that same instant, Tim and I were yelling “NOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo!!!!” Too late.

In retrospect, it was actually hilarious to see her facial expression and body language. We could actually see her think through the entire process, debate the ramifications of disobeying and the likelihood of getting caught and then the final result of blatant disregard at our directive. Then the look of pure joy after the mud bath made it pretty difficult to do anything at that point, except laugh.
Needless to say, Annie got a bath promptly upon our return home. Note to selves…Do NOT go to dog park after lengthy rainfall unless you plan to bathe the dog directly after the trip. Oh! And be sure and bring the kennel to put her into for the ride home unless you’re into the muddy backseat look.

Then and Now

2009-10-07T10:36:00.002-05:00

October, 2008:

October, 2009:

Speechless

2009-10-06T12:31:00.003-05:00

I haven't had much to say lately. I must be having writer's block. It was another fantastic weekend even though it pretty much rained/misted the entire time. The company was what made it most enjoyable. The three of us headed up to Mom and Dave's lakehome for the weekend.

First, Anna had to be sepearated from Kiki, who gets quite upset at Anna and immediately hisses at her. That was disapointing because i think given some patience and time, they would get along. First of all, they both enjoy watching the birds. I think that they could mutually get quite the nice number of birds to eat, if they worked out a system. (KIDDING MOM!)

However, Anna did do some nice things for Kiki. Anna proceeded to find each and EVERY single mousy toy that Kiki had slid under shelves, couches, chairs, wine holders, tv stands....etc. I think she netted about 20 toys by the end of the weekend. When Kiki runs back out of toys again, we will come on up and have Miss Hunt and Destroy find them all.

She also swam a bit too. The colder the water...the more she seems to relish the dip in the lake. Crazy dog. All in all a great weekend. Now to just get to October 24th!

Falling Hard

2009-09-28T10:17:00.004-05:00

Many times when we go up to the cabin on the weekends, we find ourselves sitting there wondering what to do. We aren’t big into fishing or boating. We love to go hiking, especially with the dog as she has such exuberance for the hikes through the woods/grasslands/prairies and it also gives me the chance to take photos. However, it is surprisingly difficult to find good hiking places in Wisconsin. It seems that it is predominately geared towards atv’s which I will never get. How is it exciting or enjoyable to sit atop a loud machine and watch the world race by. You never see the beauty of the flowers, birds, insects, etc. Never mind the fact that it’s not really “dog friendly.” On this past trip up to the cabin, we stopped by St. Croix Scenic Riverway for a doggy pit stop. While there, I picked up a couple of magazines. One of “Fall/Winter” events for Wisconsin and the other of “Activities” in Wisconsin. As I paged through the activities magazine (which btw is ¾ full of snowmobile/atv paths), I came across an Audobon wildlife area. So, we dropped the stuff at the cabin and took a drive out there. We are about 15 miles outside of Webster, Wisconsin and this Audobon wildlife area is located about 10 miles south of Spooner which happens to be about 30 minutes away from us. As we were driving there we pondered the fact that maybe dogs wouldn’t be allowed. Afterall, it is a “bird” sanctuary and we happened to have a “bird” dog, which in of itself is rather hilarious. But we decided to drive out there anyway, and if they didn’t allow her we would figure out something else to do.

After finding the entrance to the place, Tim commented that he was sure we would be told quite clearly if dogs weren’t allowed as “those bird people” tend to be very rules oriented. I felt the statement was slightly unfair and biased….until…..the further we drove in it became quite apparent that he was right. There were little signs posted everywhere…for EVERYTHING. “No parking,” “Office,” “Barn,” “Parking This Way,” and then finally “Park Here.” While still giggling, we walked over to the sign board to see if we could see the “dog rules.” The only thing they were quite adamant about is that the dog MUST remain leashed at all times. Great! We can handle that. Time for a fun hike!
As we started down one of the many paths, it became quite evident that this was a cool place to be, with a lot of wide open space combined with patches of woods sprinkled throughout and at least one lake. As we meandered down the paths, Anna caught sight and smell of the lake. Every single time she saw a gap in the woods, she tried valiantly to get down to that water. She is absolutely horrid about her water obsession. Finally we found the “non four wheeling” path that led to the lake and let her swim. It was a clean lake, but sort of mucky and weedy. I saw all sorts of large shelled snails and immediately wondered if dogs can get leeches. I WAS NOT going to get them off her, if so. It was fine, she didn’t get any. Huge sigh of relief.

It was a fun adventure and if we hadn’t both been starved, I am sure we would have stayed much longer as the weather was ideal. You know the kind; partly sunny with a nice cool breeze tickling at your face and hair at just about the time you start to get too warm. This, is what we wait for all year; the nice crispy, cool, days of fall.

On Sunday we stopped by Auntie’s house and had a lovely lunch, while watching Anna foam at the mouth the entire time. I have no clue why she still does this, but am hoping she grows out of it soon! We saw a bit of Hillary come out of Anna while there. As Aunt Marge was cooking the bacon for the BLT’s, Kelsi happened to stretch up onto the stove to try and get a better view (which she can’t cuz she is too short), and Anna actually barked at her and tried to shoulder her down from the stove. Kelsi gave off quite the snarl and Anna backed off immediately. Anna did seem puzzled as to why Kelsi gets to do that by the stove and she can’t. She (Anna) proceeded to bark at Kelsi and Kelsi just kept giving Anna the death rays….The remainder of the day was spent doing chores, watching football, and making bean dish in the crockpot.

This past weekend was one of those weekends that are as close to perfection as one can get; the kind of weekend that can pulled back out and cherished on a cold, dark, winter evening to create a warm, cozy memory fire.

Then and Now...

2009-09-21T08:11:00.006-05:00

This weekend was a good one. We were supposed to have gone to the cabin, but ended up staying home because we had an appointment on Saturday. I am glad it worked out that way, because it was a bit of a scorcher (humidity-wise) on Saturday. Humidity and I don’t get along very well at all.

Saturday we went to the dog park so that Anna could visit with all her boyfriends, and then visited the doggy day care that I found online. Oh….my….gawd……She is going to LOVE LOVE LOVE this place. Thursday we take her there for a day of orientation. She gets to see if she likes it, and the dog caretakers get to see if they like her. She has to be able to play well with others and not get too grouchy. She won’t be grouchy there, but wait until Thursday night! This place has a big room to run in with all sorts of agility ramps. Then there is a room that has a big pirate ship in it. They can romp around and hide. There also happens to be a lounging room with all sorts of doggy cots. The great thing about this place is that there is always someone there. At night one of the workers actually spends the night sleeping with the dogs. Not many kennels do that. And the ultimate pièce de résistance? There is a pool there! Every day from 9:30 to 10 a.m. they open it up to the dogs and let them romp around and swim. After the swim time, they provide your dog with a nice bath. What was the most impressive is that they empty and clean the pool every day, so no fear of crap water (literally). She is going to be in heaven. My fear though? She will constantly sit at the gate that allows entry to the pool. She can be a little obsessed at times. I know some of you reading this may be surprised and even shocked at that statement.

On Sunday, back to the park where she met yet another boyfriend. This one (a boxer named Duke) didn’t even come back to its owner right away. We finally had to just walk with Duke’s owner while Duke and Anna frolicked and played. They were very cute. At one point I had tried to wipe Anna with the rag I always bring and she got a hold of it and ran off into the tall grasses. I tried to get her to bring it back, but she dropped it and had no interest. Next thing I know Duke has it and is trying to entice Miss Anna to play with him and offering the rag as a gift. She would walk up to him, he would drop the rag as a gift and then she would run off feigning disinterest. Poor Duke would pick up the rag again and sit there waiting for her to come back. She is SOOOOO mean…the little hussy.

Later that day I caught a couple of photos of TK and Anna (above) that were absolutely endearing. It brought to mind the way it was a year ago in comparison to today. What a difference one year makes.

Training....

2009-09-18T11:11:00.003-05:00

One of my proudest accomplishments with Annabelle has been her training. It took a few tries to get our groove, but now that we've found it, life is good. She has always been fairly easy to train, with the exception of two trouble areas.

We have had issues for several months with clipping her nails. Ever since she was a puppy I had been doing it, when all of a sudden after about 8 months of it, she freaked out. I hadn’t cut her quick, so there was no real reason for her outbursts. The outbursts were bad. She would squirm, kick, wiggle, and scream the second I put the nail clipper near her toes. Tim tried to hold her and inevitably we both got scratched pretty badly.

I needed to figure this out. I had always done my dogs nails and wasn’t about to start paying for it to be done, nor do I have the time or motivation to get to the vet or pet store every time it needs to be done. I decided enough was enough. Poor Tim couldn’t stand to hear her squealing, so I waited until he went to karate and then pulled a WWF on Anna. As I laid on top of her, while she was still screaming away, I was able to get one nail done….just one. Right after that I praised her, petted her and told her she gets a treat. The next time, I got two nails done. After about two weeks of this, I actually got one paw done! As time went by, it seemed to get a little easier, and I didn’t have to chase her down quite as long and didn’t have to lay on her, but just pin her onto the couch back. One day, I got the clippers out and she actually went and sat down on the ottoman and waited for me. I nearly fell over! Then the biggest accomplishment of all time arrived. I grabbed the clipper, she sat, I knelt down by her and she actually gave me her paw! I couldn’t wait to show Tim. I think his jaw dropped into his lap when he saw it. Yes, yes, she is doing it for the reward of the treat at the end, but dang!

Our second issue was her unwillingness to come when called in her own yard because this has never been an issue at the dog park. She has always come when called at the park…even when in the middle of a chase with other dogs. She will stop, make a circle and run back to us almost instantaneously. Put her in the back yard? Nope! She will act deaf and refuse to come when called. Even with the enticement of a cookie. Nope! She’s not having any of it. Tim and I both worked on this, and quite honestly, I think Tim was the one that helped her to turn the corner on it. She has actually started to come when called on a consistent and regular basis in the yard. The only time she hesitates is when she has procured an apple because she thinks we are going to take it away, so she will quick gobble the apple THEN come. We are working on it, and she has just now started coming when we call, even with apple.

The smaller victories? Taking her to the vet and she actually behaves….She will sit when the vet or the vet techs ask her to…She will stay when on the scale. I love it and I know that they are happy to have a well-mannered dog. She always takes treats nicely from people and is always happy to see people. She does tend to become overly cautious when she sees a lab coat though. But the tech did successfully trick her…this time. Next time, she won’t be so easily fooled.
Sure, she still has tons of “puppy” in her and misbehaves but not as often and she knows when she has misbehaved and thus is more apt to give in right away. I have recently noticed how she will study and watch me for commands. When I talk to her, she actually perks her ears, tilts her head a little and waits for commands from me.

The bad part of all of this? I now have no real need for Cesar Milan to visit and help me to train a better dog. Damn! Can I undo training? Hmm…

Accomplishments

2009-09-14T19:42:00.001-05:00

As I sit here on the deck this evening listening to the frogs and crickets sing their tunes, and watching the sky turn from milky blue to reddish, orange and deep blue, I'm reminded of how amazingly wonderful life is.

Even Miss Annabelle is coming when called. Lol.

~~ Lisa K. ~~

The Golden Child

2009-09-14T10:35:00.003-05:00

It was a good weekend! We were supposed to go to the cabin, but because it was going to be on the warm/humid side, we decided to stay in town. I cleaned house on Saturday morning and it felt good to get it done. Anna doesn’t really care for the vacuum, but at least she no longer barks at it. However, I did rearrange some of the items on the bookshelves in the living room. She sat staring at the shelves for a good 5-10 minutes….decided she did not like certain things in certain areas and proceeded to let me know. So, she and I went through what bugged the hell out of her and what didn’t. My bad for arranging my shelves the way I wanted. Geez.

Saturday we went to dinner at El Azteca with Dad. It was a nice time, and then after dinner we stopped for coffee and he wanted to see Miss AB. She absolutely adores him, and does an awesome job of sucking up to him on a consistent basis. I don't plan to ever let him dogsit for fear of what sort of brat I will get back. I am sure she will be an absolute angel with him, but it's what I get back that I fear most. She wanted him to play ball with her and so brought the ball to him and dropped it right into his hands. Of course this is something we’ve been training her to do with us for weeks and have not succeeded at….little shit. Then after the excitement had died down, she did crawl up into my lap and doze. I guess she does know where her bread is buttered.
Saturday evening the neighbors directly behind us had their annual backyard bash for their little girl, which comprised of piñata, hello kitty bouncy castle, loud mariachi music, campfire and more. They are very respectful though about shutting the noise down by 9-9:30 at night. They were still out there at 3 in the morning, but I didn’t hear it, I just wished they had turned the floodlight off which was shining directly into the bedroom. In the morning, when I took AB out, however, the guts of said piñata somehow got onto our side of the fence. It was still dark, and I didn't know what was going on, except that Anna dropped real low to the ground and crept up to the fence line and then all hell broke loose. You would have thought there was a huge black bear the way Anna carried on. The fin was up, deep, intense growling could be heard and she orchestrated many quick darting back-up maneuvers, then the barking started! But she sure showed that piñata skin what was what. Finally I got the thing onto the other side of the fence (when she finally let me pass her) and all was good.

Sunday we went to the dog park very, very early while it was still cool, and gave her a couple of spins around the place. She had a blast and even took off out of our site for awhile to run with other dogs (difficult for me…). It was fun to watch her trying to find us after Tim finally called her. She was racing up and down the inner path. Finally she saw us and came running with a big toothy grin. Ya gotta love that!

As TK and I were walking, while Anna was socializing…we reflected upon the fact that one year ago that day, we were dealing with an obnoxious little monster and felt there was no light at the end of the puppy tunnel. That point was brought home when a little 3 month old Brittney pointer puppy came up to us all wiggly, fuzzy and cute. Cute because we knew we didn’t have to take Ripley home with us. It was fun to talk to the couple who owned Ripley. They discussed puppy teeth and all the other puppy trials…I remember all too well! We also saw a three month old Border collie puppy. Lots of puppies out there at this time of the year. Really, really glad we are the proud owners of a 1 year, 2 month old dog!

PS. How much fun can you have with: 1 Pudelpointer, vaulted ceilings and 1 remote helicopter? Just imagine...

Brown...and White....

2009-09-11T13:10:00.002-05:00

On Guard!

2009-09-08T10:17:00.002-05:00

When we had our Dalmatians, we felt like they were pretty good at sounding the alarm for any mysterious noises, people, etc. With Anna, it’s guard to the nth degree! Most of the time, this is a benefit…especially at keeping rodents, squirrels, mice away from the cabin….But it also keeps the deer away at least while she is on “perimeter duty.”
At one point, when she was “napping” in her house, we did see a Doe and her fawns cut through our property and we were lucky enough to have it happen at a spot where the forest was not as dense. We were alerted to her presence by hearing some very strange snorting and stomping sounds. We both looked at each other and said “What the hell is that???” We looked towards the source of the noise and saw the doe who was snorting and stomping to get her fawns to move it, and like all young children, they were testing the limits. It was a good laugh for Tim and me.

On Saturday we went to the Voyager Village Arts & Crafts Fair and I was extremely disappointed. The other years we had gone, it had a very nice mix of stuff for the young and old. This particular fair seemed to house a lot of 80 year old lady stuff. And if you are really big into Christmas crap, this was the place to be. Now, I am a big “Christmas” decorating nut as well, but it sort of has to be tasteful….this stuff? Not so much…In past years, there were about four or five booths of just photography and this year, I think there was two. What was really interesting was the dream I had the night before. I dreamt that we were at the arts & crafts fair, and it consisted of four long folding tables with “garage sale” type stuff laid out. I should have heeded my dream warning. Oh well, it was a good 20 minute distraction. After that disaster, we picked the girl dog up and went for coffee at our favorite local coffee shop called “Full of Beans.” It was so packed that we couldn’t even sit outside. Apparently it had been busy like that all morning.

The rest of our weekend was spent entertaining Girl. We took her swimming a couple of times and she had a blast. She loves to swim and then go run out onto the boat dock. This time, however, there was an older gentleman sitting on a bucket while fishing. She did not like this one bit, as she thinks she possesses the entire world, and barked ferociously at him. It was very obvious that this did NOT bode well with the older gentleman trying to fish. We left immediately. The second time we went swimming, there was another surprise waiting for Anna; a dead sunny floating around in the lake. Anna approached it very cautiously and jumped backwards quite a few times (I did not know dogs could jump backwards in water). Finally she worked up the courage to try and grab the fish and then promptly spit it out. She continued to eyeball the fish the rest of her swim, while never quite fully accepting it. Then it was off to the boat dock, and to her astonishment there was a dad and son fishing on the dock this time. She did NOT bark but acted very curious. Then she saw the bait they were using --- fish eggs! The boy said “no” right away and she actually listened and backed away --- a landmark first! She continued to sniff and follow the boy, but he had no time for Miss Anna. He was busy catching fish.

The remainder of the weekend we chose to spend at home hanging out doing city things, like dog park, chuck it, coffee shops, and frying pan shopping. FAIL on frying pan shopping. We happen to be very particular about our frying pans. It was a good weekend, and like always, we wished it didn’t have to end, but someone with four legs really needed the day to sleep. By Monday evening she was downright crabby; which always makes us laugh. In fact, Anna shot me a look at one point after I was picking at her that nearly burned a hole through my forehead…it brought to mind a certain Girl Dalmatian’s death rays. Now I wonder where she learned that look!

Fireside Dog...

2009-09-01T11:27:00.003-05:00

It was a good weekend. Saturday morning we went to the dog park with Anna to try and tire her out, since the afternoon she would be stuck at home. She had a blast and ran and ran and ran. She loves to run full tilt through the brush/weeds. The problem with that is she takes chunks of hair off of her coat, so she has little lines in her coat. Drives me nuts…she doesn’t care. Saturday afternoon we went to my cousin Ross’ house for a family reunion. My Aunt and Uncle were in town from New Jersey. It was soooo good to see them! I also saw a lot of my cousins that I haven’t seen in years! It was very nice to see my cousin Kari and her two twins, who just happen to be absolutely beautiful! It was fun to see how my cousins now resemble one of my Aunts or Uncles. There are a few that do not look like either (me included), which always makes me giggle just a little bit.
Saturday evening, Tim’s dad came over to see us (mostly Annabelle). We spent a nice time visiting and chatting. Anna was really sweet to him and then spent the rest of the evening cuddled in my lap. Gotta love that!

Sunday it was back to the dog park and she saw two of her boyfriends. One was Buster, the Pudelpointer. He is a stunning dog. Excellent thick, wiry coat and built really well. He is about 70 lbs. Also ran into her pointer boyfriend, Gunner. Gunner adores Anna and Anna is always a big tease. She is such a little hussy. It was fun to see Gunner and Buster size each other up.

The rest of the day we hung out at home doing some chores and watching our wussy girl doze on her “chair” the remainder of the afternoon/evening. I never ever tire of watching her sleep. It seemed like we would never get to this point just a short 5 months ago, and now we have this stellar companion dog, who is absolutely thrilled to just be in our presence. Some may say that we are not enhancing some of her natural hunting abilities, but I believe that she is just learning different natural abilities. We constantly challenge her with new games or puzzles to figure out.

I do get that she is a hunting dog, but she was also bred to be a fireside dog, and that is the part that I have enjoyed writing about. Besides, it just advertises the fact that these hunting dogs are great in the home as companions as well as in the field.

Training...

2009-08-26T08:37:00.002-05:00

Last night I spent some time with AB on pointing and "whoa." She actually did very well. In the past I hadn't known how to release her from her "whoa" and it turns out that there are a few different ways. Once I chose the way I wanted to release her, she really seemed to catch on quite quickly.

I have also been working with her retrieving and bringing back and releasing. She still has so much puppy mischievousness in her....and it makes it hard for me not to laugh. She is such a clown.

Anyway, I will continue to work on it with her, but I was the most impressed that she stayed in her whoa command pointing at the bird flipper thing even with the neighbor dog barking at her. She can be very focused when she wants to be. Good dog!

There's No Place Like Home

2009-08-24T08:39:00.001-05:00

This weekend was our first weekend in over four that we stayed home. It gave us time to do some things in town, like hang out with some friends on Friday night. They provided a wonderful dinner and there was good conversation. Saturday, Tim was able to go to karate on a Saturday for the first time in a long time, while I was able to spend some time “chillaxing” as my friend Gabbi and her daughter Grace would say.

Then later on in the day, we drove down to Rice Lake State Park to hike around. Anna had a lot of fun, but she ended up with a ton of burs on her face, legs and rear. Maybe if she didn’t feel a need to go “four-wheeling” off the path, this would not have occurred. It’s always an adventure to try and remove burs from a wiggly, won’t sit still, dog. Anna also spent a good amount of time pointing at undisclosed objects in the deep woods, and we often found ourselves wondering “what’s out there.” Once we got back home, Little Missy was glad to curl up on her favorite chair and doze the evening away. We were happy to have some time without her bugging us non-stop. Sunday, we went to coffee with Dad, which was nice and then it was off to do chores for the remainder of the day. It was still nice though to spend some time outside. It was a pretty boring and uneventful weekend, but I think it’s just what we needed. Sometimes, boring is okay.

Top words

2009-08-19T19:39:00.002-05:00

This is a list of just some of the words we can't say around Anna unless we plan to provide her with whatever that word represents:

1. Food
2. Hungry?
3. Treat
4. Chuck-It
5. Swimming?
6. Bone
7. Ball
8. Spanking?
9. Outside?
10. Ride?
11. Walk
12. Bird (if said outside she looks in trees-if said inside she goes to bird feather room)
13. Squirrel
14. Bunny
15. Kitty
16. Puppy
17. Bug
18. Kennel?
19. Night-night (good word - kennel is punish word)
20. Park or dog park

~~ Lisa K. ~~

A Chance to Recuperate....

2009-08-19T08:40:00.004-05:00

There was a time --- not too long ago, that the thought of staying home with an ailment was more frightening than going to work with the same ailment, no matter how bad that ailment was. The reason? Puppy hell! She was obnoxious to the point of insanity. You put her in the kennel and she whines…ignore the whining, but then sit and wonder if she was whining because she had to go out? So wait for the whining to stop and then take her out and send her outside. Then try and let her hang, but she tears and pulls at everything and thinks that because you are home you should play! Back in the kennel, more whining, quiet at last…Sleep for an hour, wake up…worry about the pup. Take her out again. More boundless energy. The cycle repeats. AHHHHH. There were many times that I was pretty sick and still went to work, because I knew I would get more rest at work!

Yesterday I stayed home with some stomach troubles. It was fantastic. No boundless energy, she self-entertained with various toys or bones, watched outside, checked the front window occasionally to ensure no one was trying to infiltrate her compound, told me when she had to go (and I knew for sure she wasn’t fibbing). Then, the afternoon consisted of the photo below. She had been sleeping on me, but I must have been moving around too much, so she hopped up onto her favorite chair and fell asleep. So sorry I annoyed Her Majesty! But it was very sweet to watch her from a distance. This also allowed me to spend the afternoon dozing and relaxing after finally feeling a bit better. Was it the sleep or the onslaught of Lifetime Network movies…hmm…

The Weekend

2009-08-17T10:00:00.003-05:00

It was a fun weekend even though it was very humid. We were supposed to have gone up to the cabin on Friday, but because of the heat/humidity and my asthma, we decided to go up early Saturday morning. Friday afternoon was awesome. We went to lunch and then went home and hung out with the girl dog. Saturday morning we took our time getting to the cabin. Upon arrival, we quick opened all the windows and then headed off to the lake. Anna couldn’t WAIT to go swimming. The second we got there, I opened the jeep door and she ran like lightning to the water. She gingerly stepped into the very edge of the water and then just dove in and started swimming around. She also learned a new word. If she is out swimming around, and we want her out, all we have to say is “Wanna go to the dock?” and she flies out of the water and races full tilt, while the ground thunders beneath her paws, straight to the dock. Sometimes, she barely makes the corner of the dock and skids uncontrollably to a halt, right before plummeting off the other side. She always manages to stop…always. Anna prefers to enter water within her control.
Finally she is finished, and we take her back to the cabin to rest, and wait for our guests to arrive. As I lounged in the travel recliner chair with Miss Anna sprawled across my legs resting on the travel chair with me, our guests arrived. She leaped off of the chair to greet them with several deep woofs…and a growl or two. Just as they opened the car door, we heard a loud crack and ground shaking thud. Tim had finally won his battle with the dead tree. TIMBER!!!

My good friend, Gabbi brought her two children up with her, Grace who is almost 11 and Sam who is 2. Sam was NOT impressed with Anna at all and spent a good portion of the day up in Mom’s lap trying to get away from the dog. By Sunday though, there were glimmers of the two potentially being buddies. Gabbi caught Sam calling Anna while patting his legs to get her to come (which she did) and they then disappeared into the back bedroom to play.

I showed Grace how to use my SLR and she seemed to have a real knack for good photography. It was fun to just let her go and explore on her own with the camera. I had sort of hoped she would drop it and then I would get a new one. But NOOOO, she was ultra-careful.

Later on that afternoon we took off for the beach for more swimming and sand castles. Anna had a blast running all over swimming and chasing Gracie up and down the beach. After about an hour, Anna yelped and came over to me pretty quickly. I didn't know what was wrong, so I felt her tummy and it was completely bloated! Tim massaged her belly she belched a few times and then proceeded to pee pretty much all evening for massively long lengths of time. She obviously consumed half the lake and got waterlogged. I was absolutely terrified, but she was fine. While dealing with her bloated tummy, Mr. Security Guy came and told us "You know your pet is supposed to be leashed down here." Oh good lord! Seriously? NO ONE else was there. But yeah...okay dude with nothing better to do. LOL

My Top favorite Moments of the weekend:

1. Staying up with Grace reading.
2. Reading bedtime stories to Sam in his bed, while Anna laid there with us.
3. Dinner with the kids
4. Watching Grace, Sam and Anna playing together
5. Good coffee and conversation with Gabbi and Tim on Sunday morning
6. Playing dice game with Tim and Gabbi
7. Taking the kids to the beach for swimming with Anna.
8. Holding Sam while Mom had to do some things.

It was a good weekend, and even though I was a tad nervous about how it would go, it actually went so well, that I absolutely hope they come back for another visit. Next time, though I may take a Monday off to rest.

Anna's Joy....

2009-08-11T09:53:00.001-05:00

When we first brought the little gooey-ball home, she was very non-touchy. She wanted to play and nip and trip all over but would not sit still for petting. The only time we were ever able to pet and rub her fat little puppy belly was after she completely crashed – completely! If we misjudged the timing by even a fraction, her eyes would pop open, she would throw a dirty look, get up and move further away. I am telling you she was a PISTOL. After having had adult dogs for 16 years, this was a huge disappointment. The thing we both loved to do more than anything had been denied to us. We resigned ourselves to the fact that we may have to wait several years before we would have that pleasure again.

The wait is over; Anna has found her “joy.” Every morning now, she crawls up into bed (and it MUST be between us), she wiggles and thrashes about on her back in pure ecstasy while biting at the blankets and then finally settles down for a nice long belly rub. Sometimes, if she wishes for her ears to be rubbed, she will paw your hand into place. If you don’t get the hint that way, she will pick up your hand in her mouth and flop it towards her face.

Once we are up and moving around, Miss Anna sprawls her full length across the bed and watches us get ready. Eventually, though, she will grab up a plastic bottle or some other toy and flop on her back while holding the object in her paws, fighting with the object as well as entertaining herself. There comes a point though, when Her Majesty decides it is time for another rub down. She pulls out all the stops to entice us back to her king-sized throne. The best one? She flips over on her back and rolls her head back looking at you with beseeching eyes. Not enticing enough? She will wave her paw in a “come hither” manner and then grin with all teeth. Okay, who on earth can resist that? I know I can’t. So she wins…yet again.

My little dog addiction…sssshhhhhhh!

Lake Home

2009-08-10T10:44:00.005-05:00

This past weekend we visited Mom & Dave up at their northern MN lake home. It was a good thing too! Apparently it was hotter than Hades down in the cities, and while it was humid up there, it was relatively enjoyable and cool.
Anna went on her very first pontoon ride. We had taken both Dobbins and Hilly on the pontoon and they really enjoyed it, but mostly enjoyed staying ON the pontoon. Anna.....would have preferred to dive into the water, so it was a constant babysitting job. We bought her a "Fido Float" just for the very reason that we were afraid she would jump off and we wouldn't be able to get her back on the boat quickly enough. Little punk. She also spotted every single loon on the lake (we must have seen minimum 12-15). She was always very curious about why they would be sitting there on the water and then all of a sudden under the water. We had a good time. After the boat ride was finished, we let her swim at the beach and she actually dove off of the dock a couple of times, however, she prefers to just enter the water from land. She just loved paddling away out there. We had a delightful time and enjoyed some excellent food and conversation. By the time we left, Anna was beyond exhausted and spent a good amount of time sleeping away on the drive home. We can't wait to go up again! Addendum: A lot of people have been commenting on the fact that Anna has her own PFD and why is that necessary as dogs can swim. Just like people, dogs can tire out and drown just as easily as people. Which is why it is critical to have a PFD on your dog when boating. If the dog cannot get back up into the boat after lunging off of it, or if the boat capsizes, the dog may not ave enough stamina to make it back to shore. The chances are slim of it happening, but I sleep better knowing that I have done all I can to protect her from life threatening situations.

Relaxation....

2009-08-05T13:32:00.002-05:00

Wow! What a spectacular time this past weekend. When I look back, I can’t pinpoint any one particular exciting moment, but just being away from it all created its own spectacular’ness.
On Friday, we hung out at the cabin, and took Annie swimming (of course). The beach we like to go to was taken up by five kids all running willy-nilly, so we went to her second favorite lake, which is slightly smaller, but fun just the same. She is quite hilarious with her water. The second we are even a slight bit close she starts pacing the back seat and sniffing out the windows with vigor. I used to leash her until we got to the actual shoreline, but I no longer bother. I just open the door, she shoots out of it like a rocket and races straight for the water, slightly braking and then walks all nicely into the water until it’s too deep then begins swimming around. After she tired of swimming, it was back to the cabin and we all proceeded to nap…and nap…and nap.
On Saturday, we drove over to Trego where there is a wonderful hiking trail which follows part of the Namekagon. This river still holds bittersweet thoughts for us, but it gets a little easier each time. The summer my brother Mark died, he had made plans to take us canoeing on this river with an overnight. Maybe that would have changed our thoughts on vacations from hiking to paddling, but I doubt it.
On Sunday, it was back to Shoal Lake for some more swimming and Anna heard her first loon. For anyone that wants to see it happen live (which was a total fluke to get it on video for the first time), click the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABarwpJ1Wls (The loon call is very faint at the end and she will bark, and then the loon will call again, and she will bark once more.
All in all, it was a splendid extended weekend with a lot of relaxation, reading, hiking, and entertainment. That is what a Midwest summer is all about; relaxation, outdoors and being together.

More Than a Memory.....July 31, 1987

2009-07-30T11:13:00.003-05:00

Anna doesn't get to have today's blog....Tim and I star in in today's blog...

This year’s anniversary is special, not because of the number of years, which is 22, but that the actual day of the week matches the day we got married 22 years ago. So, every day this week, I have been thinking about that week 22 years ago.

Tim and I had been living in San Diego, CA for about a year and the Ford Escort we drove to California was slowly dying. We lived in North Park and there was a specific highway (the 805) that we had to take quite frequently and it had a rather large incline heading into the North Park area. We would barely make it up as everyone else whizzed by at an alarmingly high rate of speed. We visited the Ford dealer in El Cajon and fell in love with a little red Ford Ranger pickup truck. Back in those days one could purchase a vehicle and the dealership would let you drive off with the product while financing was still being figured out. After a couple of weeks, the dealer contacted Tim to say they were having some difficulties with getting the financing approved. He then mentioned that my income couldn’t really be considered because we weren’t married. Back then, your partner’s income could not be used unless you were actually married. How the times have changed! Well, at this point, we had fallen in love with the pretty red truck and had begun to have deep feelings of bitterness towards run-down escort that barely putt-putted up a hill. All weekend we thought about what to do. On Monday, Tim was at work driving people around in the limo enjoying the beautiful San Diego weather and I was stuck inside at the Bay Medical Center typing out Doctor’s reports on x-rays….As I sat there trying to concentrate, I had an idea!

It was the era of no cell phones, so I am not quite sure how we got in touch with each other, but I am going to step out on a limb and assume Tim called me at work from his work….At that point, I shared my brilliant idea. I said “Tim, are you doing anything on Friday?” Tim said “No, why?” That is when I laid out my brilliant plan and said “We could get married…then we can keep the truck!” Of course Tim agreed, but was it for the truck or me?

Consequently a frenzy of activity was initiated. In the state of California, in 1987, a blood test was required prior to receiving a marriage certificate. In researching I found out that they used to do this test to disclose the presence of genetic disorders such as sickle-cell anemia or Tay-Sachs disease. Generally this test took a long time, due to the backlog in most medical clinics. Luckily…I had an “in.” I worked at a medical clinic! My co-workers busily set about getting me names of clinics that would help out in a pinch. I was lucky enough to find one two floors down. They set up the tests for Tuesday afternoon and by Wednesday, we had the “all clear” and Tim was able to go to the Courthouse to get the certificate to present to the Pastor who could then marry us on Friday.

I found the cutest little chapel down the street from my work on Fifth Avenue right near Balboa Park in the Hillcrest area. It was called the Wedding Bells Chapel and they were one of the few that could accommodate us with such short notice. I tried to find it to see if I could get some photos, but found out that our little chapel is now a bar called “The Tractor Room.” By the way, the bar sounds really fun. We were to be married at 12 noon on Friday, July 31, 1987.

We loved the town of Julian since the first time we visited. One time in boring “same weather every day” San Diego, we were listening to the radio and they were talking about fresh snowfall in Julian. We decided to hit the road and find us some snow. That was one of the best days. The snow was all crunchy and semi warm so snowballs could easily be made. The smell of the pine was strong, and we missed Minnesota. That is where we decided our mini-honeymoon should be. Tim found a really cool place to stay the night of our wedding called the Julian Gold Rush Hotel B&B which still exists to this day.

I don’t remember what day specifically of that week, but one of the evenings prior to Friday, we went over to Mission Valley Mall to find a dress and I found the perfect dress that night almost as if it was meant to be. It was satiny off-white with a lace collar and a dropped waistline. I loved that dress and to this day, it still hangs in the back of my closet. That night I also think we finally called my parents to tell them. My Mom was very angry with me for not telling her sooner so she could fly out, and to this day I feel bad that I denied her that small pleasure of seeing her baby get married. Sometimes when you are young…and dumb…you don’t think very forward. Sorry Mama!

The morning of our wedding arrived too quickly. Tim had the day off and I had to work until 11 or so. That day, my co-workers gave me a little wedding shower right before Tim came to get me to whoosh me off to the chapel. At least one witness was required according to California state law, so we chose a co-worker, Gail Beach, to act as our witness. I wish I had kept in better touch with her because I have no idea where she is now, but I do know that she was always very kind to both Tim and me. The ceremony was quick, to the point and I giggled the entire way through it. We did not have a lot of money, so we used our class rings (classy, huh?) and then our fate was sealed. The deed was done.

We left right away for our mini-honeymoon in Julian. The second we hit the mountains though, the smell of pine wafted in through our new pickup truck (which did not have air) and the temperature got cooler. We arrived at the inn and walked over to this wonderful Mexican restaurant across the street from the hotel. I believe it’s still there today and it’s called Margarita’s Restaurant. I don’t remember what we ate, but it was good. I think that by about 9 pm we were fast asleep after a long day of excitement. The next day we went home because back then it seemed that we weren’t very big into adventures or hiking. Plus I was worried about the stupid cat that was left alone for the first time.

I remember one very important statement Tim made that night on that mountain. He felt bad for not being able to provide me with a ring or a really awesome honeymoon, which I really didn’t care about. He vowed that he would make it up to me by providing me many, many honeymoon vacations. Tim has more than exceeded that promise he made to me 22 years ago. We’ve had trips to Lake Tahoe, Northern California, three cruises, five or more trips to Utah, three trips to Arizona, a road trip to Utah, Colorado and South Dakota and a fun backpacking trip to Isle Royale with tons of other mini-trips to B&B’s and fun camping adventures. I also know that there will be many more vacations and adventures to come and I can’t wait!

On some days when I think about that day, it seems like a long, long time ago, and yet at other moments, it seems like it was just yesterday. I don’t regret for one moment our time together. It has been filled with laughter (tons), tears, joy, contentment, fear, grief, but always love…lots of love. It hasn’t always been easy, but the times that have been easy have far outweighed the not so easy times…and we know the not so easy times are just hurdles to get past. I look forward to about 50 more years with Tim, my best friend and my love!

Fun

2009-07-29T08:55:00.004-05:00

I love to take photos (I know all of you reading this are gasping in surprise), and especially love to take photos of AB (another collective gasp from my readers). Last night was fun though. I didn't put a lot of effort into the photo session, and did not get stellar shots, but just enjoyed sitting in the direct line of fire while TK winged the chuck-it ball over my head and AB went chasing after it. She doesn't really go at it half-hearted either. When she runs for it, she has the foot on the gas....It is beautiful to watch.

I didn't even use the "good" camera, but just the point and shoot, and found a cool feature on it that allows you to just hold the shutter down and it will continue to capture images. I know that the "good" camera had this feature, and was happy to see the point and shoot did as well, because as anyone knows; when trying to capture kids or dogs...you need to have that!

So, enjoy the photos. My fav, even tho slightly blurred is the photo of her and ball mid-air in front of her.

Socks

2009-07-28T11:03:00.003-05:00

So, prior to AB I always had a lot of socks....good socks....socks without holes of any kind that would last a long time. Now? No matter how diligent and careful we are...socks disappear and obtain mysterious holes.

For example, today, I was ironing a shirt for TK and Anna was quietly laying on the bed and i was stupidly thinking that she was behaving. I finally sat down to pet her and she releases my sock instantly, which she had in her mouth the entire time and scoots over all submissive and sorry...yeah...RIGHT! For the first time ever, she did not put any holes in it, but rather was just holding it. What a dope.

So, no biggie, moved on. I had put a completely different pair of socks on and I have slip on shoes... so that I can slip them on and off quickly...I hate shoes....and was sitting there massaging my feet on the little foot message/rest under my desk, when I feel something sort of odd...I look and guess what???? AB toothy holes! GRR

The real gripe about the whole thing? I can't stay mad at cute face! She is very, very clever....that one....

Memories and Lingering Reminders....

2009-07-27T08:32:00.006-05:00

So, this weekend was the usual stuff....Took AB to the dog park where she proceeded to have a blast. Did some stuff around the house and enjoyed the nice weather.

On Sunday we took AB to Auntie's house so we could visit and so AB and Auntie's dogs could play. Well, Auntie's dogs don't really play...with AB that is...and they barely tolerate her, which is very funny. AB will sit there watching them with a puzzled expression. She then will look at me and say "What are these things? They don't play like other dogs....???"

On this occasion we decided to take all the dogs to the dog park which is nearby in WBL Township. So we get there and this park has two sections. One is completely fenced in and is really for smaller dogs (which Auntie has). The other section is mostly fenced and the unfenced part is lake. Fine with us. We like the fenced section. No one else was there at first so it was very enjoyable. Anna apparently has part herding instinct though, because she was constantly rounding those Cairn Terriers up. It is so immensely enjoyable to have a dog that really wants to stick by us...(unlike Gordee --- one of Aunt's Terriers) and Kelsi (Aunt's other Terrier) really stuck nearby too.

As we were sitting at the table chatting what comes galloping (yes GALLOPING) along, but a huge Great Dane...no really...HUGE. Her name was Itty...as in Itty Bitty...YEAH right! Also with Itty was a Irish Wolfhound names Pearl. Very good dogs! HUGE, but good. For once? Anna was a bit cowed. She tended to like to watch, but the second the two GIGANTOR dogs chased her she would run under the table or to TK or my legs. A good time was had, with a very minor scare of Gordee escaping the fenced part. HOWEVER, the nice Irish Wolfhound owner captured him and brought him back.

Needless to say, when we left, AB was crashed on the backseat by about the 94/35E split. She also proceeded to snooze and nap the remainder of the day. Nice day for TK and Lisa!PS. So, one of the important things about getting a new dog was that it would not hav that "doggy" smell. AB does not have the doggy smell, and as a matter of fact picks up the scent of whatever she is around. So, Auntie had some pine incense thing going when we visited. This morning as AB was cuddling with me, I could smell that scent very faintly on her fur which was so nice...I was able to have a little lingering reminder of how much fun yesterday had been.

Proof of Destructor....

2009-07-24T21:32:00.001-05:00

~~ Lisa K. ~~

So different...and yet the same...

2009-07-24T13:52:00.004-05:00

I know I've talked about this before, but sometimes I just miss Hilly girl a lot...and will look at some of the pictures I have of her. I then can't help put pull up a similar shot of Anna and I marvel at the complete difference and yet...similarity they both have towards each other. There will never be another Hillary....but we are so incredibly blessed to have Anna Girl in our lives.

Happy and tired....

2009-07-24T08:24:00.002-05:00

Monster Truck

2009-07-23T08:52:00.002-05:00

Okay, I know you have all heard the commercials on tv, radio advertising Monster Trucks whenever they are in town. So, put that voice into your head and read the following:

DESTRUCTOR..TOR TOR.....LIVE AT THE METRODOME.....Put anything in front of her and see it destroyed in SECONDS (echo echo echo). TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Tim gave Anna a new name...and officially it is now Destructor. She was SOOOOOO good up until about 11 months old. She then decided everything was meant to DESTROY...(echo echo echo). So now, when decided what toy or whatever to get her we sit and study and inspect it very carefully and then put a timeframe on how soon she will have the damn toy annihilated. I think we are now at the phase of giving her solid bones. At least those can tend to last a night or maybe two....(if we are lucky).

So, get your tickets now...for DESTRUCTOR...TOR....TOR....

Pretty in Pink....

2009-07-22T07:55:00.006-05:00

Last night we went to the pet store for some entertainment. Anna is absolutely rivited by the pet birds, however last night she met her match. There was a beautiful pair of parrots and that parrot strutted right on up to Anna and bounced his head at her, Anna slowly backed up and decided to re-visit the Diamond Doves and parakeets; which were more fearful of big bad Anna...the bird dog....who stalks and points and caged birds.

We also decided to have some Tim and Lisa fun. See photo below :-)

It was an excellent evening!

The Weekend

2009-07-20T14:48:00.004-05:00

The weekend started out early for us. We both took a 1/2 day off on Friday and headed straight to Green Mill by our house for lunch. Since Anna came along, we don't have/take much time for sitting down at a restaurant. It was very nice to start the weekend that way.

On Saturday, Mom & Dave stayed overnight. Anna has never had overnight guests so it was fun to see how she reacted the next morning. Hilly used to sit outside the door of the guest room waiting. Anna hadn't understood that the guests had remained, but the second Dave popped out, she gave him her infamous yodel. She so loves to hear herself talk. Then Anna waited by the door for Mom, and cried a little bit.

It seems as if Anna is quite enamored with Dave. Saturday evening, Tim had an event to attend and I wanted to stay and visit with Dave and Mom. As usual for Saturday evenings, I sat on my end of the couch, while Dave sat on the other end. Guess who Anna chose to cuddle with? Yep, DAVE! Little turncoat. It's ok though, I am glad she feels comfortable with many people.

On Sunday, we took the girl for an open-air jeep ride to the dog park. She was so tired after all the excitement of her guests that she was only interested in one lap around the dog park. After the one lap, she laid in the shade watching the other dogs and once in awhile popped up onto the picnic table to sit and watch her kingdom.

It was a fun weekend and it was so neat to see how good she was. She didn't even bother us (much) while we sat around the dinner table eating beef kabobs. Hilly would have for sure been sitting there begging with her pretty doe eyes and drooling like a leaky faucet. LOL. I do miss that! Anna mostly laid down and watched hoping for a falling scrap.

Time keeps on slipping.....

2009-07-18T09:31:00.003-05:00

This morning I woke up to the crisp, cool morning with thoughts of dry papery leaves skittering across the lawn and the first snowflakes dropping quietly from the sky to blanket the earth with white icing.

Yes, yes, I know, it's only July, but I love fall. I realized that last fall I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as usual because we had "puppy from hell." I am actually giddy with anticipation to share my favorite season with Anna now that she's grown up. I can't help but think of crisp, cool mornings with orange, red and yellow leaves accenting a deep blue sky. I long to see my breath rolling out in a foggy mist while the crunching of dead leaves acts as a background while hiking in the deep woods.

I got up and took Anna out this morning and remembered one particular fall memory from her puppy days. Her first encounter with a seeded dandelion. We had stopped at a state park and the field was covered in seeded dandelion snowballs. She stopped, and her eyes got really large, then she lunged at each one to make the seeds float away, chasing each of the little seeds until she decided to annihilate the next dandelion snowball. We laughed so hard that day at her goofy puppy, clumsy pawed play. Today, there was a lone dandelion in the yard and she barely glanced at it as she walked past, never even pausing to sniff at it or wonder about it's purpose. I felt strangely sad at that one small change in her.

Seriously?

2009-07-14T10:42:00.002-05:00

Okay, so last night I took Anna out to play "Chuck-it" (we absolutely cannot say that word out loud unless we plan to actually "chuck-it"). After several throws and retrieves, our neighbors stepped out to talk to us. I love that! They came out just to chat!!

So, we were chatting away, and Anna was being very good. We chatted about how grown up she is. Pan-o-Prog and swimming pools (Yes i still want one for the girl). We then went on to talk about hunting and I found out that Tom goes deer hunting every fall. So then we discussed the merits of deer meat and how southern MN deer tastes better than northern MN deer.

All of a sudden, Leah says "Annabelle!" I turn around and she is hanging HANGING from a branch of the apple tree....I damn near killed her. I yelled "ANNABELLE...NO!" and something surprising happened. She actually let go, and slinked over to me and sat by my feet acting all submissive. HOLY SHIT! She actually gets it --- it's a start! After I lectured her a bit and then said, "ok," she went back over to tree and looked up to the same branch. I said her name and just looked at her sternly. She looked back and casually walked away, with a sassy little comment bubble over her head saying "I was just LOOKING, geez Mom."

I was happy to say that she did redeem herself though. A bit later, Tom asked me what she was doing now. I dreaded the thought of turning around, thinking maybe I now had a 6 foot by 6 foot hole in my yard, or the deck had been chewed up, but no...no horrors. She was standing statue still with one paw slightly curled up and tail straight out. I didn't see it, but told Tom and Leah that she was pointing and there was a bird somewhere. After what seemed like hours, the bird flew up and she jogged after it. She then returned to the the site and sniffed around for several minutes.

GOOD DOG! (Mostly)

Life....

2009-07-13T08:14:00.003-05:00

This weekend was a good one. There was a lot of sun to enjoy, and an entire weekend of jeep rides with the top down. A lot of visits to the dog park, and a lot of time to just hang out with Tim and Anna. We even snuck in some time at the coffee shop. My favorite event was hanging out at Champps, sitting on the outdoor patio and watching people, and wow, were there ever some people to watch! Holy strange!Today, however, I want to talk about friendship --- its true meaning. I believe that true friendship is unconditional. No matter what is going on in your life, you always find a way to set aside a bit of time for that friend or friends. I have not always been the best at following this, but I have been trying really hard to step up my game. I also believe that unreturned emails/texts/phone calls are rude and selfish. I do make it a habit to respond to all emails/texts/phone calls even if it's just to say something meaningless, even if it's to say "I'm sorry I can't talk right now, as I am very busy. But I will catch up with you later." That sentence took about 20 seconds, and makes the receiver feel that they've been acknowledged.

Friendship is also about acceptance. Accepting that person for who they are. No one person is ever perfect. Everyone has faults and flaws. That is what makes us humans so wonderful. It's difficult to accept people with faults as we are always seeking perfection in ourselves as well as others, but as life meanders by, I've noticed that there is no perfection. And that is actually what makes relationships so fascinating.

One of the most important aspect of friendship though, is the ability to trust that person implicitly. I guess this is where one has to have a bit of faith and the ability to let go and trust that person. Sometimes, though, that faith and trust is tested and rocked to its very core. It is at this moment that I question how much does one continue to give as well as forgive? Not an easy question to answer. I just know that I had a lot of time this weekend to think about past friendships, friends I've lost touch with, and even current friends who sometimes tend to push those limits to the edge.

I guess it all works out in the end and it is the way it is for a reason. I sometimes wonder though, if anyone else out there gets it...gets that friendship isn't just a luxury to take advantage of, but something that has to be continually nurtured, cared for, tended and fed....or--maybe those that don't get it, were really never friends in the first place? All I know for sure, is that dogs get it! They do love unconditionally, and even if you get pissed at them, they still come back and love you all the more.

Here's to another week! Hoping next weekend I have less time to think! :-)

2009-07-11T18:10:00.001-05:00

~~ Lisa K. ~~

Saturdays at home...

2009-07-11T17:39:00.005-05:00

Today was a gorgeous Minnesota day, the kind that are as rare and valuable as gems. It was the perfect day for jeep rides with the top down, dog parks, fetch and sitting at outdoor restaurant patios.

Moving On...

2009-07-09T13:06:00.002-05:00

So, this site has been mostly dedicated to Miss Annie, but I think that I am going to utilize it for me too. I love this blog, and don't want to move away from it, however, I will not always have an Annie story....because I am POSITIVE that most people are sick of hearing about her.

I will start with something I saw today. I am on the receiving end of a "sky photo" in my email every day from Robert Bausch. Most days, it's a neat picture to look at, but there are those rare days that I receive a picture (in today's case I saw it at 4 a.m.) that just blows me away. Maybe it was the time of the day I opened it, but this particular photo of his (see below --- and I hope you don't mind Robert) totally stopped me in my tracks.

The very second I opened it, my mind went wild with stories and imaginings about this photo. I wanted to sit down right then and there and create a little story, and I still may, but it's something that will take time and evolve slowly so that I get it absolutely right. This photo leads me to thoughts of Stephen King, or Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or something even more fantastical.

Thanks Robert for giving my mind something to ponder on, to contemplate and who knows, maybe even a neat short story.

One Year Old

2009-07-06T19:07:00.004-05:00

Today was a huge landmark! Today Princess Annabelle turned a year old. When we first brought her home 10 months ago, we felt that this day would never arrive, but it has. As I watch her chewing her bone on the floor, perfectly content a small lump has formed in my throat. She is still puppyish, but no longer looks like a fluffy little puppy at all. She now tells us when she has to go outside. She understands "no" along with hundreds of other commands and phrases. She is all grown up. I do miss a lot of things from her puppy months, but quite frankly? This is the end prize I was looking for. The ability to have a companion dog that will snuggle up to me at the end of a good long day and sleep with her head nestled into my lap. I enjoy that I can actually be writing this blog while she entertains herself, and I don't have to watch her quite as diligently. She doesn't try to bite electrical cords anymore, she doesn't lunge for the remote or (gasp) my iPhone. When I do decide to eat in the living room she doesn't lunge at that either. In fact most of the time, she sees that I am eating and goes off to find a toy to play with or chew on, leaving me completely alone. This is what having a dog is all about.
I still miss Hillary every single day, but I now have another creature to take care of, love, and train. And while I know that Anna will still have her naughty days, they are fewer and further apart. When she was a pup, every day there were naughty moments (TONS). Now I may have a couple of days or more of no naughty moments.

If you'd asked me six months ago if it was worth it, I may have said "No!" Now? I am so glad that we took that walk in June 2008 and encountered our first Pudelpointer. I am also so glad that we found a breeder that lives right here in our own state, a man that cares so deeply about the Pudelpointer breed. And we are soooo lucky that Anna was born with white socks up to her elbows so that we could give her the life she deserves.

Ball Games and Dog Parks

2009-07-01T08:55:00.005-05:00

This past weekend Anna had quite a bit of fun. First she played an exhausting round of Chuck-It in the yard. She just loves this game….and loves to run as fast as she can.
Later that afternoon, she had a visit from her Cairn terrier cousins. They have zero interest in Anna, but this just intrigues her further. She is constantly pestering them to the point of getting one or the other to give a warning growl. It is quite hilarious. She will then back off for quite awhile with a puzzled expression on her face. After the cousins left, she zonked out --- she literally crashed on the couch by 7:30 p.m.
On Sunday morning we headed out to the dog park. I can’t even begin to describe the pure joy she must feel when at the park. Now that the grasses are grown tall, she loves nothing better than running full tilt through them, mouth open with a grin of glee, circling back to make sure we’ve not disappeared. This is also one of the only times that she always comes when called, and always sticks pretty close. She also waits at blind corners to make sure that we are still coming. Once we hit the turn, she is off again. Why she can’t do this in her own yard is totally beyond me! After making one round of the 28 acres of land, Tim spotted a dog outside the gates that looked suspiciously like another Pudelpointer. What are the odds? So he asked the owner and sure enough???? It was a boy Pudelpointer named Buster. Buster just recently tested in NAVHDA for Natural Ability and received a perfect score of 112, Prize 1. He was an absolutely stunning looking dog and upon seeing Anna, snuck back in the park to see AnnaB. They hit it off immediately. I swear dogs know their own breed. Buster and Anna chased each other around and Anna spent quite a bit of time teasing Buster. After some good conversation with Buster’s owner, we proceeded on with our walk/play time with Anna. I will never tire of encountering another Pudelpointer. It is a rare gift to see them and the Pudelpointer world is so tight-knit. Tim and I are so lucky to have her.
Last night (Tuesday night) Tim and I decided to give Anna a rare treat and take her to the dog park on a weeknight. It is much quieter on weeknights, which is cool because it gives Anna more time to explore the land and just be a dog. She was tracking and sniffing and finding all sorts of imaginary prizes. As we were walking along the last stretch, we saw Gunner. Gunner is Anna’s other boyfriend. Gunner is a pointer and has just about the most beautiful markings I have ever seen. Anyway, the second Gunner and Anna first met, it was love, and ever since then, they always recognize each other. So, last night Gunner and Anna spot each other and immediately go running towards each other (sort of like those sappy romantic movies). Then the chase was on! The owners of Gunner and we talked forever and it was so much fun to swap puppy horror stories, now that all of us are past those terrors, it was even more fun. Finally after about 15 minutes of Anna chasing Gunner, and then Gunner chasing Anna, they both flopped down…for about 2 seconds. Then Gunner started taunting Anna. It was hysterical to see Anna remain lying on her back and fight Gunner off with her paws…What is she a cat???? She has damn agile legs and the lankiness helps keep her predator at bay. Once we got her home, it was obvious that she was satisfied and happy.

What a great week so far! I am sure that the holiday weekend will hold many, many more adventures!

Little Helper --- or not

2009-06-25T07:30:00.002-05:00

Anna's Love...

2009-06-22T08:31:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, after having coffee with Dad, he came over to see Anna. Anna adores my Dad. Not just the normal “happy to see someone” adoration, but true love. She goes crazy every time she sees him. Her whole back end wiggles to the point that perhaps she may take off! Once she finally settles down, she will sit on the couch facing him and try and get as many kisses in as she can. Dad will usually try to dodge the kisses, but Anna just waits patiently and the second he lets his guard down? She lunges in for the kiss. Of course he always laughs, which makes her believe that he really does enjoy the game.
Anna has always been very gentle with him even from the time she was a puppy. While she would take great pleasure in chomping down on our hands, she never ever bit at him like that. I think dogs get it, and know when to be gentle with certain people. Anna does not get very much exposure to children, but instinctively she knows to be less rowdy around them.

While there have been crappy moments watching Annie grow up, the majority of those memories are happy and fun. It’s been a real pleasure seeing her grow up to be the personality that she now is. Treasuring each moment with her and loving it!

Cabin Weekend

2009-06-21T10:00:00.004-05:00

So we went up to the cabin this past weekend and had a great time! Anna, however, had an even better time! We took her to the lake that she first experienced when she was 9 weeks old. At that time, she had zero interest in entering the water and no amount of coaxing would get her in. It was so much fun to see a completely different dog. I let her out of the car (offlead) and let her rip. She went directly for that water and splashed in and started swimming. The coaxing came with getting her out of the water!

We did try and get her to jump off the dock, like a pretty Jaeger in Boise, Idaho, but Anna had no real desire for that this weekend.

After we got back to the cabin, she definitely crashed while we roasted alive in the humid hot weather. Glad we came home early!

Chuck-It

2009-06-18T08:33:00.003-05:00

I never really wanted a dog that just LOVED to chase a ball, bring it back, and want it thrown again, but seriously? Anna loves chuck-it. We bought the thing in the hopes that she would catch the ball on the fly, but that is so not her talent. LOL. She does like to run ahead of the ball and double back though.
So she knows the word "chuck-it" along with thousands of others. But this word? No matter where she is in the house, if I say "want to chuck it?" She comes running full speed and bounces to the door and looks at me as if to say "Well? COME ON!" And God forbid if it takes to long for me to find a couple spare balls....she starts her rebel yodel.

So, the other thing I love about chuck it? See photo below. :o)

Weekend with Anna

2009-06-14T09:59:00.004-05:00

This past weekend, Anna and I spent the weekend together and it was a good bonding experience...not that we needed more bonding, but it did seem to enhance our relationship. Every day since Friday, we visited the dog park where Anna could run and play with other dogs and just be a dog. She tends to favor other poodles, and any type of pointer or springer. She shies away from any Alaskan dog. It is so fascinating to me how dogs interact with each other. There are dogs that get along instantly and then there are those that just don't. People are that way too, but society demands that we ignore those instincts and try to like everyone. I believe it's unnatural. You either click...or you don't. End of story.

It was a good weekend for Annie and me.

Room with a View

2009-06-12T09:22:00.002-05:00

Anna loves to sit and watch out the deck screen door at all of the birds, bunnies and squirrels. Today she seemed particularly interested. She either sat on the ottoman or right in front of the screen with an intense pose, as if waiting for the moment to strike. Then a chickadee landed on the deck railing. I was very lucky that she didn't lunge straight through the screen. I quickly said "wait" (because she doesn't seem to like "whoah") and she did, and then the bird flew off. Crisis averted.
I was able to catch a quick snapshot though!

Shoes

2009-06-11T07:34:00.003-05:00

So, this morning I had to come into work early so Tim and I couldn't carpool. Whenever we haven't been able to carpool, it has usually always been he that leaves first. This time, I left first and I could sense there would be trouble. From the minute I started collecting keys, lunch and water, Anna started following me around practically tripping me up as I walked towards the door. As I gently closed the door on Tim and Anna I prayed I wouldn't hear her cries and barks. Whew! I didn't. I got to work and called Tim to let him know I had arrived safely. He proceeded to tell me the story of what happened after I left.

First, she spent a good amount of time crying and sighing very heavily. More crying. More sighing. Finally calm. As Tim was shaving, he felt that it was all of a sudden toooo quiet. He looked for her, to find she had absconded with one of my shoes! After one tooth mark in it, and a spanking, she was fine. I do have to point out though that she is quite the spiteful, bratty dog. But damn funny!

If only they allowed dogs at work!

Point!

2009-06-04T08:37:00.000-05:00

I will never tire of taking Anna to her favorite trail, which is a marshy wetland area. A path runs through it and then gradually climbs up to the top of a hill where you can see across to the golf course. It is a very bucolic scene. There is a park bench on this hill and when Annie was a puppy she would get to the bench, jump up on it and have a seat. Now, she doesn’t have time to stop and rest. She has places to go, things to sniff, birds to find.

Last night was no exception. While Tim was at karate, I took her out to explore. I first asked her if she wanted to go for a walk which brings on her “yodel.” I love this yodel and shouldn’t really let her do it, but it’s so charming. After making her sit, I leash her up and it’s time to go! This path is on the complete opposite side of the gigantor park filled with soccer fields. Apparently last night was “soccer night” which was a major drag because Anna had to heel the entire time. Too many balls, kids and people for her to just run free. Finally after clearing the fields, it was bird time. The first thing she spots is a robin hopping around. The bird stopped and Anna stopped. Her body sunk down just a tiny bit, her tail pointed straight out with just the slightest quiver and her left paw curled right up into a perfect point. I could have watched this pose for hours, but the robin and Anna had different plans; the robin to escape and Anna to capture.

After reaching the hill and enjoying the scenery for just a couple of minutes (mostly for me, not her), it was time to travel down the other side of the hill where more adventures await which include a large pond, and some open farm fields. On this particular walk she had no interest in the pond, but rather the freshly plowed and planted field. Anyone that has ever lived around open fields knows what sort of fun bird hangs around…Yep, the killdeer. Last night’s adventure did not disappoint. She saw that bird and nearly spazzed out. The killdeer will not fly, but rather pretend injury to get the predator away from the nest, and that is exactly what this bird did to Anna. This brought on Anna’s high pitched “puppy” bark, and so reluctantly I had to stop the fun. Barking at the bird is hardly helpful. The purpose is to “point” out the bird. After finally getting her away from bird, it was time to head back.

On the return journey through the marshy wetland Anna always likes to stop at the small pool of water that has been created by the crooked meandering creek which runs through the marshes. This small pool is seldom filled with anything but water however; Anna still loves to look down into it from her grassy ledge. Last night was no exception; she had to take a look. Except this time, there were a couple of BIG surprises. As Anna went to poke her head down, two ducks flew up right in front of her face scaring both her and the ducks. I heard a surprised growl out of Anna and the ducks quack choked off mid-quack... She was pretty mellow the remainder of the walk, and I swear I could see the gears turning in her head contemplating what had just happened. She is a “thinker.”

Tonight I am going to take her back just to see what she does at this particular pool of water. One thing about Anna, she remembers everything and I can’t wait to see how she decides to approach this new enigma.

Kiddy Pool

2009-06-02T15:50:00.003-05:00

So, because Anna is so enamored with water…We caved and bought her a kiddy pool. It was only $6 bucks at Fleet Farm, and it has been so worth it. First of all, it absolutely must be at a certain level. Any lower, and she looks at me like “What the hell is this???” Secondly, she needs to have at least one toy in there. She doesn’t necessarily play with the toy, but likes to see it in the water.
The majority of her time is spent making the water splash. That is her main and only intent. Even when she goes into the lake to swim, she will go to the deep part and make doggy paddle splashes just so she can catch the water droplets. She is one crazy, goofy, loveable dog.
So, kiddy pool…priceless. Of course, my friend Sophia thinks that what she is really aiming for is a real pool…you know…Olympic sized? Fat chance, Annabelle!

Memorial Weekend

2009-05-27T14:30:00.003-05:00

The first weekend at the cabin with just the three of us. We drove up Friday night and the traffic was surprisingly not that bad. We had a couple of snacks, did some reading and then off to bed. In the middle of the night the pinging of rain against the metal roof of the lean-to woke me and I snuggled deeper under the covers and fell back asleep, lulled by the gentle rain song. I had a fleeting thought that Saturday might turn out to be a wash, but knew we’d find something to do.
Saturday morning, Anna woke me up at 6:30 ready to start her day. I took her out to find the sun gently peeking through the trees and the fresh rain soaked smell of pine floating gently across the air making my heart leap with happiness. What a gorgeous start to the day.

After making coffee, it was time to explore. We chose Birch Island Lake for Anna’s swimming enjoyment. This lake is right by the golf course at Voyager Village. This particular beach is nice, because they have sanded it so that it’s pretty much the same level of water for about 50 feet out which then lightly drops off. Anna stepped right out into that water and started her little splash dance. She LOVES to hear the splash of water and to catch the droplets of water as they fall. An added bonus on this swim? A lot of big fishies. Her eyes grew as large as dinner plates the first time the fishy moved. Then it was rocket girl pouncing and plunging into the water to try and catch the fish. Anna is a quick study, and like with the birds in our yard, she applies this learning to the fishies. She stands there and gently stalks her prey. She moves ever so slowly with barely a movement. And then POUNCES at the last minute. After well over an hour of her splashing and playing in the water, we literally had to “reel” her in….thank goodness she was leashed, or I am not sure if she ever would have gotten out of the water.
Back at the cabin, she settled down to chew on a bone, but unfortunately, a new guest had arrived. Hummingbirds! Anyone that has been around these marvelous creatures knows they are very mischievous and curious. As a matter of fact, they hover at the screen door if the sugar water is too low and wait to catch my attention to indicate that they want their feeder filled and NOW. I learned something else; they love to tease. Anna’s first encounter with these birds nearly put her through the roof. She was pawing at the glass and barking and I thought it would scare the birds, but they only became more resolute in their conviction of guarding their food supply. After a few go rounds, they started to hover really low by her face and taunt her. It was hilarious and terribly mean at the same time. By the end of the weekend, a small truce was called – until next weekend, I am sure.
By Sunday evening, we were all ready to go home, especially after picking about 25 ticks off of Miss Anna, who can’t stay out of tall grass and weeds. At least Lisa was ready to go home….Not sure that Anna and Tim were, but I’d had enough of ticks.

Monday, Tim went out to Fleet Farm and picked up a mini-pool for Anna. My belief is that she would prefer something more …. Olympic sized, but she will have to deal with the $6.99 42” round that was purchased for her. Hey! Maybe Mom & Dave will let her play in their whirlpool tub!

Splash and crash...

2009-05-22T12:06:00.004-05:00

Fish Fun

2009-05-22T09:57:00.003-05:00

Annie had to visit the vet recently for a mini-check up and in the waiting room there is a BIG tank of fish. It's actually the neatest fish tank I've ever seen. I would love to be able to have the patience and time to maintain a tank, but I am too .... well ... uninspired to clean it properly, etc.

Anway, the tank has always been there and Annie has been going to the same vet since she was 7 weeks old. Yesterday, she noticed the fish movement. She barked and barked and wanted in that tank in the worst way. I shudder to think of her first encounter with a fish in the lake. I will have to be sure and keep a video camera ready for that moment.

Summer Splash

2009-05-21T11:30:00.001-05:00

It was well over 95 degrees last night when I got home, and since Tim was off to karate, and I didn't want to be stuck inside and I don't think Anna wanted to be inside either. So, we played frisbee and chuck-it ball, but she started to get pretty warm. I turned the garden hose on (for the garden I don't have and never will....) and she was ok with it, but what she really wanted is to play in some water.

Since we haven't gotten a kiddy pool yet, which will create a huge mess in our yard, I rememebered a metal feeding bin that Grandma Douglass had given to me. I thought "Perfect!" So i unburied it and took it outside hosed it off good and filled it with nice clean cold water.

Anna was immediately captivated by it. I kicked it up a notch and threw a rock in the bottom of the "mini-pool." She had an absolute blast! Now I know that I have to get a kiddy pool for her so that she can cool off, play and create a muddy mess! Bye bye nice pretty back yard!

Feel free to watch the video as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yBCo7YqCAg

Home Away from Home

2009-05-18T09:48:00.002-05:00

Lake Water...

2009-05-18T09:23:00.011-05:00

We opened up the cabin this weekend and it was also Anna's first cabin experience as an older pup. The other time we took her up, she was too little. We didn't know what she would think about the cabin, but she absolutely LOVED it. She spent a good amount of time outside point and tracking imaginary things. She also spent a good amount of time on the screened porch barking at things that moved in the leaves (some maybe imaginary...others maybe not so much).

We also went to one of the many lakes that are for members only of the huge association community we are part of. The advantage of these private lakes is that there is not a lot of boat activity and it is pretty quiet. This was her first lake from the time she was a puppy. When she was a pup, we couldn't even coax her into the water, so we weren't sure how she would feel about it now. We arrived and walked down the sandy stairs to the beach. The first thing that impressed her was the sand. She walked up and down the sand and I swear I could feel pure bliss emanating off of her. Then she saw the water....it was over. We unleashed her (even though it says keep pets leashed), and let her go! She was diving into the water and splashing after thrown sticks. Then something unusual happened.

A bunch of swallows started divebombing the water near her to get insects skimming along the top of the water. I thought she was going to have a stroke. She went after them and we couldn't get her off of the "bird frenzy." We finally had to re-leash her because she kept going farther into the lake to the point that we feared she would get too tired and not be able to make it back. Good thing we leashed her anyways, as a pair of loons came floating by. I am sure the loons came by to see what all the splashing raucous was about. The loons were not afraid of her or us, but you could tell just curious. As they floated by I think I heard one say "CRAZY CITY FOLK!"

It was a good time, and Tim and I are very much looking forward to continued trips to the beach in the early morning before all the crowds of sunbathers. I am sure they won't like a wet dog shaking off right next to them. Maybe we will explore and find some more lakes that are even more private for our little Lake Dog. It almost (ALMOST) inspires me to get a boat.....

"BUG!"

2009-05-15T08:13:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I thought it would be "cute" to show AnnaB her first bug last night which was traveling along the way above the couch. She immediately tracked onto it, and effectively destroyed it, or the bug disappeared behind the couch, we aren't sure. For the remainder of the evening, she scratched, sniffed, pawed and stared at the wall where the bug "used" to be. What a mistake.

Tim was irritated that I had shown her, but how was I to know??? So, of course, I start thinking....wow....she should be a riot at the cabin!!! Can you say oodles of bugs??? Then I thought, "bah, she will forget about it, and I just won't point any more out."

This morning, I wake her up and take her to the living room to go outside. What do you think the first thing she did was? YEP! Hopped up onto the couch and started sniffing around where the bug was last sighted from LAST NIGHT! I think we are in trouble....deep trouble.

Dreams

2009-05-13T19:27:00.001-05:00

So question...Do all dog owners dream of their dog every night? Each and every night without fail, Annabelle is in my dream in some form or another. Sometimes, she is causing trouble...at other times she is more like my guide.

Maybe it's just me....

Proud Dog

2009-05-06T15:57:00.002-05:00

Swimmer

2009-05-06T11:45:00.003-05:00

Anna still loves her swimming. This past weekend we took her to the dog park, where she proceeded to swim the entire pond and back. I love letting her do this, because at the end of the day, she is then completely zonked. She even grumbles until she finds the perfect sleepy spot, which is usually on me. She will start off on Tim, but then always moves over to Mama. Duh!

(Tim's Lap)

(My lap)

Love the girl!

Vacation

2009-05-01T10:03:00.004-05:00

For the first time ever, we decided to take a out of state vacation WITH the dog. We were nervous and worried about how she would react to two days of car, but decided we could handle anything.

Annabelle was a dream about everything (as usual). I have never had a dog express such exuberance with every new sight and sound. My dog breeder worded it very well about Pudelpointers and their natural curiosity. He said "A never ending saga of PP questions! What's that? What's that? What is this? I wanna smell that! Can I go there?" This is exactly how she treated every new sight.

She also enjoyed romping around in the creek that flowed along beside the trail we favored while in Moab. We will definitely be taking our girl on many many more vacations and in fact plan to re-visit some areas that we just couldn't cover in the short amount of time we had.

The only issue we really had is turkeys.....She barks whenever she hears the male turkey. Sort of hilarious, but somewhat annoying. For example. We decided to take a tour of a cave within Wind Cave National Park. It was only about 35 out so we knew that she would be fine in the jeep. The tour would only last about an hour. So, the parking lot sits up higher than the actual entrance of the cave. We were listening to the Ranger talk about the cave and how it was found (prior to entering). In the distance I heard a turkey. Shortly thereafter? DOG. Tim looked at me with the questioning look of "Was that her???" and I looked back at him with "Yep! That would be Annabelle!" We just giggled and went on with tour...what else could we do? When the tour was over, she was no longer barking (thank god)!

It was a fantastic experience and I am so glad she is part of my life. I have not regretted it and have never looked back. She has spirit, vitality and enough silliness in her to make life very, very interesting. I am so in love....

Broken Links

2009-04-16T08:44:00.001-05:00

Apparently a lot of the photos I uploaded now have broken links. I am working with blogger to try and figure out what happened. Annoying!

Thank you Sloan for letting me know about it. :-)