It's Raining....Dog's go on Strike

It is the most frustrating thing when it rains.....both dog's refuse to go outside. Chibi isn't as bad as Sumo...she'll still eat and drink and wait until she REALLY has to go and will rush outside and relieve herself. However, SUMO will stop eating drinking and will refuse to step foot/paw near the door. We literally have to find him (he's usually hiding down the hall or under the bed), leash him up and either carry or drag him outside. Once outside, he'll sit on the stepping stone and look up at the rain or run back to the door. It's so frustrating when we know he has to go.

Today, both dog's decide to go on strike and not go (i know they have to because it's their routine before we leave for work and i know they better because it's a long day before anyone comes home).

I took both dog's outside in our backyard (like I normally do) and they both did nothing....it wasn't raining outside but was damp. So I attempted to take them both outside to the front. I leashed Sumo up first and after standing outside in the fog and freezing cold he finally went #1 but ran straight back to the door. Chibi was next....just as she was about to relieve herself the garbage man comes and she panics. I tried to calm her down but at this point she is tugging me towards the front door. So I bring her inside and try to take her to the backyard....she can still hear the garbage truck and refuses to go. By this point, I'm getting extremely frustrated and at the point of yelling at Chibi (who probably could care less)..telling her to go pee or poo. I give up, walk into the house and tell my husband........it's now up to him.

I left for work...not sure if Chibi or Sumo ever went or finished going and dread the fact if they didn't we may find a "surprise" somewhere in the house. Ugh!

Bathroom Door Left Open

Apparently someone in the house left the bathroom door open and the dog's thought it would be a good idea to eat the feminine hygiene products (not used). I thought we were past this stage!

Oh and yesterday we found a Wii game case chewed up as well (thankfully the game wasn't in the case).

Doggies Vet Visit

Had to take Chibi & Sumo to the vet on Thursday. They both have their crazy seasonal allergies so Chibi has managed to eat a hole in her fur near her tail and a few other patches on her body. Sumo is licking his paws raw. They both are a mess right now...between Chibi's bald spots and Sumo's red feet....both not attractive looks for either of them. Chibi is on an antibiotic for the "hot spots" she managed to get and they are both on Temaril...and anti-inflammatory medicine to stop the "itchies".

Here is a picture of them trying to figure out their escape from the dreaded vet's office...."oh no, not the thermometer!"

Running as Exercise..Maybe Not?

When we first got Chibi, I (Dad) was hoping that she would help me exercise more. I had to walk her every day (which is good exercise for both dogs and people). I was hoping to eventually start jogging/running with her (as my endurance got better).

When I finally was feeling ready to start jogging (Chibi was a little over a year old), she would always start sprinting at full speed (which was way too fast for me). She would dart ahead and get yanked back when she hit the end of the slack in the leash. My jogging pace was right in between her trotting and walking, but not quite running, etc.

Eventually, I gave up on the jogging. Then came Sumo dog. So we were walking 2 dogs now. Sumo still pulls at the leash until he chokes himself. We've tried corrective leash action, harness, harness that pinches the legs together, a backpack, and the face harness, but he still pulls sometimes.

I decided to start running again, which made Sumo happy. He doesn't pull anymore (his pace perfectly matches my stride) and runs right beside me. Chibi now lags behind and eventually slows down until I stop running (at which time she "sits" until I stop jogging). She's perfectly content now to walk and ONLY walk. I imagine, it looks a bit odd with white dog pulling in front, red dog lagging behind, with me in the middle.

The solution is to walk both dogs when I'm the only one home, OR when mom is available, she walks Chibi and I go for a run with Sumo. The first time was interesting, the first 10 minutes or so, Sumo would stop every 20 yards or so and look back to try and find Chibi. Once he even stopped and wouldn't keep going. He laid down and just faced home.

I'm not sure if Chibi is getting older, prefers a slower pace, or is just letting me know that she could run (because she used to) if she wanted to, but because I used to not let her, she's not letting ME run now. (I'm all but certain that's it :-p)

What is she doing?!

Oh no......where to sleep!?

Sumo's been sleeping in munchkin's room for awhile now......last night she was at a sleepover and poor Sumo was completely lost. He had no clue where to go to bed. He waited in the hall by her bedroom door so I opened it up and he went in. About 10 minutes later he was back by the door crying to be let out of her room.

We let him out and he came running into our room. Because the dogs will be going to the doggie sitter for a fews days, I had already broken down his kennel and put it in the garage...he looked a little frantic that his kennel wasn't where it was supposed to be. So we called him up on the bed and he made his little nest and went to sleep.

Only thing.......................he woke up around 3 am to clean his butt and lick his feet! I kept trying to nudge him to stop but he kept going. I finally fell back asleep and awoke to a yellow mark on my new white comforter...........it's not pee, so it must be from his licking his paws/butt ALL NIGHT LONG!

Note to self....next time muchkin is at a sleepover...make sure Sumo's kennel is set-up. No more sleeping/licking paws/cleaning butt on the bed!

Princess Sumo

Ok, so we have documented that when it's cold, windy, and/or rainy, Sumo will not go outside and pee and/or poop. He's held it for over a day at times. The first day of over 100 degree weather this week, and now we've discovered he also will not poop/pee when it's too HOT outside.

Both Chibi and Sumo prefer to sit by the window in the air conditioning all day. (not that I don't either) :-)