Our Dogs and their OCD

I've been spending so much time talking about the woes here and there with my four legged family, that I haven't had the chance to share all the funny little things they do that make us smile.

For example, for those of you who are familiar with Robert Barone from the t.v. sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond" - you'll get a kick out of this. You know how he used to touch his food to his chin before he would eat it....Well, my MayeMaye does the same thing. First off, we have to arrange her food in little meat ball shapes around the edge of her plate.... Then she proceeds to circle the plate - touching each "meat ball' with her nose and chin and moving on to the next one. She does about 3 full cirlces around the plate before she actually dives in to eat one. Serious OCD there. This is every meal, every day.

Otis - my sweet baby of the family Pomeranian mix has his own style. When you wake him up in the morning he has to run around and find a toy to hold in his mouth before he'll come over and see you. He doesn't want to eat the toy or even to play - he just seems to need something in his mouth. Even when we walk him, he has a portion of the leash that he bites onto while walking. He lets go to do his business, then grasps right back on. He also can't be around anything wet and soft on the kitchen floor without doing a little jig. Like if I accidentally dropped a strawberry on the kitchen floor - he would get close to the berry, push his back into the cabinet nearest him and then start moving up and down - like he had an itch he couldn't quite scratch. He is by far our most entertaining. If he was a child, folks would think he had been dropped on his head at a tender age...he's just a complete goofball.

Our little Milo man - does not like his feet wet. I know, he's a dog right - try telling him that. We come home from our walks and the first thing he does upon entering the door is start licking the water from his feet. He'll even do it to us if he's there when we exit the shower.

Last but not least, even our newest addition Lillie has a little 'strange' in her. We haven't had her long enough yet, but so far she has it in for baseball caps. If you leave a baseball cap on the floor, she'll pounce on it and rolls all over it. Not like she hates in, more like she wants to wear it herself. She'll do this for minutes on end...


Hope you enjoyed the reading and got a smile. I know I did while typing this all out.

Patience, Patience & More Patience

So - it's been about two weeks since our last doggie altercation. Marcus and I have basically retrained ourselves in how we deal with the dogs.

They can all sleep together in the same room and even share the same bed. Our morning walks are now boy/girl - rather then the girls first and then the boys.

During the working day, Lillie remains in the downstairs bedroom by herself. We made it very comfortable for her, so that the bed is against the window giving her the same view the other three have from the living-room window they look out of.

We walk around the house fully armed with our water bottles.

When we get home from work - you ready yourself with the H20 before opening the door for Lillie but generally speaking, and so far anyways - things have been well. It's been more about us establishing our role as the pack leader. Safety has to come first.

They can eat together, and walk around the house together, and for the most part don't pay each other much attention. The big no-no is indoor running or wrestling with everyone in the same room. The boys will start running around, Lillie will want to jump in and MayeMaye sees that as an opportunity to play with Lille, which she so desperately wants to do - and as soon as MayeMaye nips at her ear or tail to get some attention - Lillie comes at her like an angry mob. That's probably the worst part of this gig. If Lillie wants to play, Marcus and I will take her and one of the boys into the downstairs bedroom and do a bit of wrestling, or use the laser pointer and get them to run around a bit.

I was watching "It's Me or the Dog" today on Animal Planet and it was almost like it was meant to be for me to watch this episcode. It was a couple with 4 dogs - 2 girls and 2 boys. They looked to be German Shephard mixes. In any case, they too had a female on female issue - with one completely dominating the other. They had it bad enough where their animals couldn't be in the same room together, off leash....ever.

Basically it came down to the trainer informing them of two things:

1.) Not every person likes every person they meet - doesn't matter if they did anything to them or not - it just isn't going to happen and you cannot force it. Same thing for animals.

2.) She informed the couple that these two dogs may be able to coexist by coping with the situation but that they can never be together off leash without supervision - ever. They could not be trusted.

I think we are in the same boat with our two. Unless we want to remove one of them from our home, this is our new life and we just have to hope that eventually things get better and they work it out. My mother-in-law has offered to take Lillie if she has to be removed, we're just not ready to give up quite yet.

Wish us luck

Separation Required

This last week has been very disappointing at the home front. Lillie, my newest addition; the black pug and my MayeMaye have had two fights this week. MayeMaye was alpha over my little three dog crew, and then came Lillie. Apparently she believes she's alpha material. They get along for the most part, but never have they played together. There's been some posturing, etc. - and we just figured it would work itself out. It hasn't. We've had Lillie since late October, and there is no change.

In any case, the first time they finally had their smack down, I wasn't the first on the scene - my husband was. He had just gotten home from work and they got too excited - one of them stepped on the other one and all heck broke loose. For those of you who have never witnessed a dog fight.....it is scary. These little ones are hard to separate too, they wiggle so much. I got home maybe an hour after that one ended, and it started up again. Needless to say I was stupid enough to try and brake it up without much protection and as you can see - I have my war wounds from the experience.

Water bottles are my newest companion. I keep one with me at all times. Our vet is recommending we take the girls to a doggie behaviorist. I'm not quite ready to succumb to that quite yet, but we have been forced to completely change our routine at home. Safety is first and foremost - so during the work day Lillie is separated from the rest of the crew. She is the newest and so the routine isn't quite as ingrained in her as it is the others. She is in the downstairs bedroom (which is bigger then our master). I moved the room around so the bed is near the window. This way when the dogs start barking at passersby - she can join in too. She has an iron bladder, so no worries there. I do lay down some pee pads, hide a couple of treats and of course, she has her water. Maybe after some time goes by it'll get better - I certainly have to believe it will.

Never a dull moment around here - that's for sure.

Letter to my Dogs

I came across this letter via email SPAM and absolutely loved it. I thought I would share and give those of you who are also owned by pets a few laughs.

Dear Dogs:

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort, however. Dogs can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, bark, or try to get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine attendance is not required.

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, and then go smell the other dog's butt... I cannot stress this enough.

Have a great day!