Lazy or Mopey

The dogs were lazy today. I interpreted it as mopey. I think they sense the change coming. Or maybe it's just me (more than likely). I haven't had a good day today and I think I'm tranferring my feelings onto the dogs. They're okay now. They just finished playing together. They are sitting under my legs. I'm sure they are just fine. They don't think or feel the way we do. I need to stop attaching feelings to them that they are just not capable of. I'm the sad one. I'm the mopey one. Not them. Oh well, they will be gone soon and I can grieve and then get on with my life. I just wish Blitz didn't have such sad eyes.

New Pictures

This is the picture of Blitz sitting on my lap.

And here's a picture of Huxley smiling.

Giving up the girls :-(

I sent this email to Kris today:

"We've come to an impasse with the dogs and cats. The cats are acting out now. They are afraid to go in their litter box for fear of being attacked. So they now are using my tub as a litter box. I even tried putting their litter box in the tub, but they are afraid of the box now. I know that you have a lot of dogs at the Rescue right now and adding two more would make it more stressful, but I just can't keep living with things this way. I am spending too much of my time picking up after the pets. I thought I could help out by fostering Huxley and Blitz, but I'm just not at a point in my life where I can dedicate so much time to pets. I really wanted to keep Huxley and Blitz until you found a home for them so they didn't have to go down to the Rescue and make more work for you, but we will need to bring them down there when it is convenient for you (maybe this coming weekend?). I apologize for any inconvenience I have caused and I want you to know that I really meant well."

I feel disappointed and sad that things have worked out this way. I know that bringing the girls down to the Rescue will be stressful for them and for Kris. But I'm getting too stressed out cleaning up after pets all day long. I don't know how I'm going to get the cats to use their litter box again. The last thing I want is for them to go to the bathroom on the carpet. I plan on closing the doors to every room but the one that has their litter box in it. I hope that they will realize that the dogs are gone and it's safe to go back into the litter box again.

I certainly will miss Huxley and Blitz. I do love them. I'm just not able to keep up with them and the cats.

I just had to go outside to check something on the BBQ grill for David. On my way out I saw that one of the dogs (probably Huxley) pooped on the deck (does that make it a poop deck LOL). Even more cleaning up. I have to spend a lot of time on the yard already. I don't want to have to clean up the deck too. The yard is going to smell really bad if this keeps up.

I realize that I'm not getting stuff done in the house because I'm feeling so overwhelmed by the pets. I know my day will always start with having to clean out the tub. And then sometime during the day, after the grass dries, I have to pick up the back yard. And there's the actual kitty litter box too that needs to be managed Paulie still uses it). It's not that any of this takes long but it's just making more work for me overall. I feel defeated before I even start my day. Hopefully Kris will be able to take Huxley and Blitz into the Rescue by the weekend. I'll miss them. Then I'll have to build a strategy for getting the cats to use the litter box again.

~Sigh!~

What should I do?

Here it is the middle of the night again and I'm up typing in the Dog Blog. Lately it's been more of a Cat Blog than a Dog Blog. And that's no exception tonight. In addition to using the whirlpool tub in David's bathroom to do their business, the cats are now using my tub in my bathroom. I am at my limit with this. My house smells like a zoo. Tonight I'm seriously considering finding homes for all the cats, as well as the dogs. Having them is causing me stress that I don't want or need. Paulie is sitting out here in the living room with me right now. The dogs are in bed. What should I do? It's really the cats that are the problem. Would they even find a home for Tabby? She's going on 16 years old. And Paulie and Minnie are seven and a half years old now. Could I really give up my cats? I guess if I could give up Skooter and Moped, then I could give up the cats.

Blitz sat in my lap yesterday. She just crawled up and made herself at home. She's not exactly a lap dog, you know. :-) All of us were lazy yesterday. The girls slept most of the day. They seemed to need the down time because of their busy lifestyles. ;-)

Huxley and Blitz are doing a great job of sitting when they come in the door from the back yard. I usually have to tell Blitz to sit, but she does it now. I give them a treat if they sit (pupperroni). It's a soft treat. The bones I was giving them before were too hard on their teeth and gums. Let me tell you, large Meaty Bones are like a block of cement. Not good.

I'm going to have to talk to David about the cats and dogs. I know he'll be okay with me doing whatever will be best for me and my stress level. I just don't know about finding homes for my cats, especially our old girl. But the cats are more of a problem than the dogs at this point! I don't know that I'll ever break them of the habit of going to the bathroom in the tub. I don't know that they'll ever feel safe in their kitty litter box.

This situation with the animals is deteriorating rapidly. And the more it deteriorates, the more stress I feel. And cleaning out that whirlpool tub 2-3 times a day is not good for my back. I've been straining my back to clean it out every day.

Minnie and Tabby are the guilty ones. Paulie still uses the litter box, which the dogs keep trying to get into. Gee-ross! Oh gosh, what am I going to do? What can I do? I just want a regular house that smells nice LOL Is that too much to ask for? Why me? Why now? Why am I droning on endlessly about this? ;-)

When I think about the girls going down to the Rescue I feel bothered. They are now spoiled, indoor dogs. Down there, they would have to be outdoor dogs for the most part. I know that Kris would bring them in once in a while, but mostly they'd be outdoors (they would be in the dog kennel at night though). I thought that it would be great to help the dogs out, but I'm just in no postion to have the dogs.

Anyway, blah, blah, blah. I did take some new pictures of the girls but I haven't downloaded them yet. I'll do that later today.

Nice evening for a walk

We just took the girls for a walk. They both did okay. They are still pulling quite a bit but they mostly stayed beside us. They were looking for ra-ra-ra-rabbits the whole time. We took them on separate leashes. David took Huxley and I took Blitz. We didn't go for a very long walk only because it's hard to walk them on regular collars. I think I'll pick up harnesses for them so we can walk them without so much pulling on their necks. I think they really enjoyed their walk tonight because they were better behaved. I realized though, that there is no way I could walk both of them at the same time. So it's either taking them individually or both of us taking them. It's nine o'clock and they have gone to bed. They must have quite the internal clock. Better than mine anyway. :-)

One day we'll get that...

ra-ra-ra-rabbiiiiiiiiiit!

Mish mash

The girls have been quite playful lately. They play with each other all the time now and when they can they play with us. They are still going after the cats though. The cats have been coming out more than they used to and they walk down the hallway while the dogs are staring them down. LOL I think the girls went back to bed though. I had a blanket on the floor near the laundry basket last night (it needs to be washed) and during the night Huxley found it and made a nest for herself. She loves laying on blankets once she's rearranged them to her liking.

Tabby and Minnie are still using the tub as a litter box. :-( Minnie is bothered by the girls the most. Tabby kind of just does her thing, but poor Minnie gets chased all the time. I don't know how I'm going to break them of this bad habit of going to the bathroom in the tub, but I won't even try to do anything until Huxley and Blitz are gone.

Paulie has come out to my chair and into the kitchen. He's brave enough to do that because the girls are in bed. I hate that I have to make a choice between the cats and the dogs, but I must. I can't have the dogs chasing after the cats every day. It's starting to wear on me. And I also can't keep the dogs out of the kitty litter room. They are always looking to see if there is a cat they can corner in there.

Paulie has gone back to my bathroom because Blitz came out. Now Blitz has gone back to bed. Every morning when I go to take my shower, I have to check to see which cats are in the tub. Then I have to let the girls out so I can get the cats out of the tub. Then I let the girls back in and hopefully the cats haven't headed back to the tub. While I take my shower the girls lay in the hallway outside the bathroom door. They are always there waiting for me.

It's supposed to be a cooler day today, so maybe we can take them for a ride or to the dog park. They need to get out of the house. And so do I.

Busy Body

Blitz is always looking out the window to see if the cat or a rabbit is out there. She's very nosey.

Play date with Woody

Yesterday Lisa and Nick brought Woody over to play with Huxley and Blitz. They got along just fine. It was Lisa and Nick's first time meeting the girls. Huxley and Blitz were very friendly. The three of them didn't play too much, just walked around each other, sniffing. Blitz was a bit timid and stayed by me most of the time. Here are some photos from the play date.

And here's a photo starring "Nick's Feet" with Huxley as the Dog. LOL

Look at Huxley in this one, loving Nick's attention.

And here's a picture of Huxley and Woody staring at each other.

The dogs were together for about an hour. It went very well. I look forward to doing it again soon.

The Sound of Music

It is really hot out today. The dogs have been inside in the airconditioned house most of the day. They were play fighting a lot today. They were fun to watch. And here is a touching moment provided by Huxley and Blitz.

And trying out for the role of Maria, in The Sound of Music, is Blitz. LOL Doesn't she look adorable. She looks like she could read your fortune for you. LOL She cooperated completely while we took this picture of her. I'm sure it will be plastered all over the internet ;-)

My girls

Well, I'm up again in the middle of the night and David and the girls are asleep. They didn't wake me up this time though. They actually stayed in bed when I got up. I tried to go back to bed but couldn't sleep. Just before I got up, Huxley turned over on her back with all four paws in the air. She looked so cute. I got up and again they stayed in bed. I decided to empty the dishwasher since I couldn't sleep. I guess the girls heard me because they got up and came out into the kitchen. Paulie was out there with me. He jumped up on the counter to hide from them. I let them out and Paulie scurried off. I let them back in and Huxley sat immediately for a treat. She is a very smart girl. Blitz will sit if asked, but Huxley knows the routine and sits automatically. Now they're back in bed with David.

I took a picture of them the other day. Blitz was sort of up in David's lap and Huxley was on the floor near his chair. They really do love David.

I know I will miss them when they find forever homes. But it's too much for me to keep up with now because the cats are acting out and going to the bathroom in the tub. I have to clean the tub once or twice every day. I don't blame the dogs. The are hunters and small prey, such as cats, are fun to chase when they run.

I can tell that they need to get out more. They are going a bit stir crazy. I'm not commited enough to them to take them out every day and that's why they need a home where they can get out for walks or outings at the dog park at least three times a week. They still aren't walking well on the leash. They nearly pull my arm out of the socket. LOL

It's almost 3am so I should head to bed. Hopefully they have left enough room for me. :-)

Find Blitzo

I woke up around 1:30am to find Blitz MIA. I got nervous for a minute then realized that she must have gotten off the bed for something. I got up and found her at the foot of the bed, checking out a cat under the bed. She was whining a bit. That might be what woke me up. Anyway, I got up and let them out for a few minutes. They came back in and went straight to bed. And as usual, I'm up and they are in bed. LOL

A treat

I brought home a treat for the girls tonight. We went out to dinner at the Outback. I had a small sirloin and had about 1/3 of it left over, so I brought it home for the girls. I sliced it up and gave it to the girls. They LOVED it! It sure was a nice treat for them.

They are ready for bed, so I'm going to head there myself.

Bed hogs!

David slept in the guest room last night. No, we didn't have an argument. LOL! It was because Blitz was on his side of the bed and he didn't have the heart to move her.

That's me on the other side of the bed and Huxley down at the bottom. There was no room for poor David. The girls and I slept comfortably though :-)

The girls are on the GSP Rescue website

Huxley and Blitz's profiles are up on the GSP Rescue site. It's so weird to see 'my' dogs up on the site again. They've been pretty good the last couple of days. I think it's because I have slowed down. When I'm mellow, they are mellow. When I'm going 100 mph, they are too. They aren't chasing the cats as much, but I think that's because the cats have about had it with being chased. Yesterday, Minnie and Tabby came out into the living room even though the dogs were there (they were sleeping, of course LOL). When they stirred, the cats ran. Minnie's out in the living room right now. The dogs are in the dining room. Minnie just ran down the hallway. I yelled at the dogs and they stopped chasing her.

I really do love the girls. They are totally sweet. If it wasn't for the cat issue, I might be able to keep them. But, the cat issue is out of hand. They are still going to the bathroom in the tub in David's bathroom because the dogs attack them when they are in the kitty litter box. And I'm keeping up with the yard, but having two large dogs doing their business out there has definitely taken it's toll. A lot of the grass is brown now. And it seems that they are behaving worse each day. More whining, waking me up in the middle of the night and going in and out all day long. I need to start being more firm with them and not letting them run the show. I cater to them and I shouldn't do that.

Anyway, the profiles on the GSP Rescue website are ones that I wrote up and Kris tweaked. And I had good pictures of them to send to Kris. I don't know if anyone has any interest in them yet, but I hope they will get wonderful, permanent homes. They deserve that.

Well it's almost time for bed and it's always a competion to see who can get comfortable in bed first. Usually it's the girls. LOL They always seem to leave just enough room for us. But they are still bed hogs. :-)

Skooter

I sure am missing Skooter today. I keep thinking that if we had kept just Skooter things would have worked out. But I have to remind myself that he was going after the cats and he needed a lot more exercise than I could give him. I wish I could see him again. And Moped too. We haven't seen any pictures of Moped since he left the Rescue. I wonder if his ticking has come in? He probably looks so different now. I could cry knowing that they are out there somewhere and not here with me. I know I did the right thing by finding them new homes, but it doesn't make me miss them any less. I'm just so sad right now. I'll always miss Skoots.

Chasing the cats

It's a bit after 1am and here I am again. I thought the girls were going to stay in bed, but the cats came down to the bathroom to see me and they jumped off the bed and chased Paulie and Tabby. Thankfully they didn't bark, but they did whine. The dogs thought they had the cats cornered. But the cats were very quick, and that's saying something for Tabby, and jumped into the tub. But the shower curtain was open leaving them as sitting ducks, so I closed the it as fast as I could. That kept the dogs at bay, they just whined some more. Unfortunately this whole adventure has me awake at 1am. Blitz is now on the oouch and I think Huxley went back to bed. I'm sure I'll get tired soon and head back to bed myself. (Hi Nick. Glad to see you here.)

Last night the girls went to bed early as usual. For some reason Paulie thought it was okay to come out into the living room. He wasn't out here but a few seconds when he meowed quite loudly. Before he could get away from my chair the dogs came charging out of the bedroom. Paulie heard them and didn't know what to do. He couldn't make it to the safety of the bathroom tub, so he stood his ground. The dogs came after him. They trapped him in the living room in the middle of the floor. Paulie put up an amazing fight (even though they hadn't touched him). If he had claws there would have been two bloody dogs to deal with. He whacked them both in the face pretty hard. Then he jumped over them and ran into the bedroom. I got the spray bottle as quickly as I could and sprayed Huxley and Blitz. That calmed them down pretty fast. Paulie went right under the bed. He was terrified. And I'm sure he was pissed too. I think he's had it with these dogs coming after him.

Then there was this morning's chase. I couldn't get to the spray bottle in time and missed an opportunity to spritz them. When they jumped out of bed, I think they jumped on David's legs. Poor guy! He really needs to sleep through the night and the dogs have been waking him up. Four thirty comes awfully quick and the last thing he needs is to have the dogs wake him up.

This is the reason that the girls can't stay here much longer. It's having a terrible toll on the cats and because of that, it's taking it's toll on David and me. I sure hope that the man from Utah will be interested in taking them. They are great dogs, they just need more discipline and to live in a home without cats. They really are sweet, loveable dogs to us. It's just that the situation with the cats is making it impossible to keep them. Not that I would, but finding homes for the cats would be difficult at best because of their age (Tabby is 15 and Minnie and Paulie are 7). And I would be lost without my cats. I couldn't give them up.

It's now 1:30am and all is well again in the household. Blitzie will probably run to bed when I get out of my chair. I hope they leave some room for me. Last night when I went back to bed, they hadn't left any room for me and I couldn't get them to move over (and I even pushed them!). I went out and slept in my chair for a little while and then I went in and got them off the bed. I was able to get into bed, but they came back and trapped me under the oovers. Huxley was on my right side and Blitz was on my left side. They both were up against my legs, so I was pinned down. It made for an uncomfortable nights sleep.

I brought this all upon myself. I should be more disciplined with them. I never should have allowed them to sleep on the bed. And I really should have attacked the problem of them chasing the cats as soon as it started happening. Just saying 'no' isn't enough. They need to be sprited and told 'no'. I believe that by letting them do what they want, I have created my own monsters (Huxentein and Blitzenstein LOL). I would like to get a dog someday that I could raise from a puppy. But the dog would have to be proven to be a lazy dog, but an obedient dog as well.

Well, it's quarter to two now and I should try to go back to bed. I'm feeling tired again. The dogs have settled down and going to bed shouldn't get them going again. As long as they don't see a cat, we'll all be fine.

Up in the middle of the night

It's 1:30am. I got about four hours of sleep before I woke up. I don't think it was the dogs that woke me up though. But once I got up they decided to get up too. Blitz wasn't sure what was going on, so she barked a couple of times. I let them outside, they did their business and came right back in. I tried to go back to bed, but Blitz was in my spot. I tried pushing her over, but she wouldn't budge. So, like many times before, they are in bed and I'm sitting up in my chair wishing I could go get comfortable in bed. But I'm a little too awake to go back to bed right now and too tired to start doing anything besides write in the Dog Blog.

Later this morning we're going over to Lisa's for home church. It usually lasts a couple of hours. I've been leaving the girls loose in the house with the cats. Everything has gone well so far when we've left them. We were gone to Richie's BBQ for a little over four hours and when I got home they were in bed sleeping. I don't like leaving them for that long but sometimes it just happens. It's nice to know that I can leave them loose in the house and not have to worry about them.

As I wrote earlier, the cats are getting to be more daring around the dogs. Minnie will come out to the living room (while both dogs are asleep) and just sit by the hallway for minutes at a time. Paulie came out from under the bed and walked right past Huxley and Blitz. That was very daring. And Tabby and Huxley have been nose to nose. As long as the cats don't run, the dogs don't chase them.

Being up like this makes me think of Skooter. i was often up in the middle of the night with him. I still have photos of Skooter and Moped as my screen saver. I never get tired of looking at their pictures. Sometimes, I still miss them terribly. But thankfully most of the time I'm just happy that they are happy.

I wish we would get some info and/or pictures of Moped. I'd love to see how he has grown. But I don't know that we'll see anything from his family until Christmas time. That's five months from now. Must be patient.

Okay, I'm done for now. Time to try to go back to bed. Good night.

Pooper Scooper

The last few days have been really busy so I haven't had time to add to the Dog Blog until now. I've also been very tired because the girls have woken me up every night. Blitz sits at the end of the bed, on the floor, and whines to wake me up. Usually she just wants to go out. Having them get me up every night is wearing on me. I need to sleep through the night and I can't with them. They are still chasinig the cats. The funny thing though is that the cats are getting more daring around the dogs. But even if they all got along, I still wouldn't be able to give Huxley and Blitz the exercise they need. And today while I was cleaning the yard, yet again, I realized that I don't want to be a pooper scooper the rest of my life. I'm just not as dedicated to the dogs as I need to be. They're in bed already and I'm heading there myself right after I finish this. I'll probably have to move them so I can get in bed. I really do love them and I like having them around. It's just that I'm not giving them what they need. They need way more exercise then I give them. And they need a home without cats. I don't think they would hurt the cats, but the chasing is stressing the cats out. It's probably not so good for the dogs either. Well, it's time to go to bed. I'm surprised that we all fit in the bed as comfortably as we do. The girls take up ast least a third of the bed. They are bed hogs. But they always give me enough room to sleep. Hopefully tonight I'll be able to sleep through the night.

I've been working with Huxley on sitting when she comes in the door. I give her a treat if she sits on her own. She's been doing it the majority of the time. But I ran out of dog snacks today so I'll have to get some more so I can continue the training. She's so cute when she sits after coming in.

Time to go join my dogs in bed. LOL

Adventure to the Dog Park

We took the girls for a ride up to the Rampart Dog Park this morning. On the way out of the driveway the girls saw a rah-rah-rah-rabbit. They went nuts. Huxley was whining and barking (her little bark). Blitz was jumping all around (as much as she could being restrained LOL). Here's a picture of them once they calmed down.




And here's a great picture of Huxley smiling while we drove to the dog park.





When we got to the park we had to walk them over to the area where we'd let them go run.





They really enjoyed being out. They actually ran around today. They got quite a bit of energy out. The layed down most of the way home.



I took a little video of them running in the grass and flowers. They had a ball. You can see the video HERE.

Call from Kris (GSP Rescue)

Kris called me today. In the next week she's going to have a lot of dogs coming into the Rescue and so she asked me if we could foster Huxley and Blitz until they are adopted. She has a man who is interested in getting two dogs and she's going to see if he would be interested in the girls.

Of course, as I was talking to Kris I started flip flopping on what I want to do. Do I keep them? Do I surrender them? Any chance I could get things to change? Kris gave me lots of suggestions and said she might try to come up to help me out. If I get things straightened out with the dogs, what about the cats? I need them to stop going to the bathroom in the tub. I'm tired of cleaning up after them. And the chasing and barking is getting to me too. Do I want to dedicate myself to these dogs and exercise them and train them? Of course, today they are behaving well again. They are still going after the cats but not like they have been.

Kris said I could consider surrendering the girls and getting just one, older dog (Molly - she has a heart murmur and doesn't require as much exercise, and she doesn't pull on the leash like these two do).

Kris had lots of training suggestions: choke collar used properly, halti collars, training collars (try to borrow one) and let them out in a field, dog park, etc. to run as much as they need to. I'd like to try running them in the field next to the community. She said I should let just one run and keep the other one tied in the car, that way the other one will be prone to coming back. I wouldn't want them to take off though. The 'Olie Syndrome', you know.

So do I try to improve things with them and see where it takes me or do I not put in any effort knowing that I may surrender them? I'm feeling just like I did with Skooter and Moped - I'm at the breaking point and I just need it to stop. But if I'm going to foster them, then it's going to continue for a while. Am I willing to put in the time and energy they will need from me?

Kris asked me to email her pictures of Huxley and Blitz and a short blurb on them for the GSP website. I'll do that when I'm finished blogging.

I told Kris that the only time Blitz gets her way is when we go to bed and she gets closest to me. Kris said that they are house dogs and would probably have some difficulty adjusting to being outside dogs. I've already thought about that. Could I really send them to the Rescue? It's a wonderful place, but it's not home. I don't know how these old girls would do.

The guy who is interested in adopting two dogs won't be here until the end of the month, so I have weeks with them any way.

I thought about a rotating schedule for them: Day 1 - go for a car ride; Day 2 - go for a walk; Day three - dog park; Day four - no outing; Day 5 - running in the field. I would just rotate this every five days. Can I make a commitment to this? Can I make a commitment to them? If I can get them to settle down and stop chasing and barking at the cats, then it could possibly work.

They are both sleeping right now. Blitz is on her bed and Huxley is on the floor in front of me.

I could try moving the cats box again. I could put it in our bedroom and keep the bathroom door closed. I would have to put their food out to and figure out a way to keep the dogs out of it but still have it easy for me to access it to add food and water. It would be a big burden off of me if I could get the cats to stop going to the bathroom in the tub.

Why am I so wishy-washy when it comes to the dogs? I still think that if I had put more effort into working with Skooter and Moped I could have made it work out. I don't want to have the same regrets with Huxley and Blitz. They aren't bad dogs, I'm just not a very good owner. I need to be more committed to them. I need to spend more time with them. I need to have a better routine so I'm not just guessing what I should do next with them. I give up too soon. I haven't even tried with them really. I need to implement a plan and stick to it for a few weeks and see how it goes. If things don't change, then I could still surrender them (fostering them until they are adopted). But maybe things could change.

I need to start getting up earlier and making the activity with the dogs a primary consideration. I would be flexible so if it's raining one day and I'm supposed to walk them or take them to the dog park, I could take them for a ride instead. Luckily, we don't usually get much weather in the mornings. It usually blows in in the afternoon (like it's doing right this minute LOL). I also need to see if I can borrow a training collar. I think that would stop Blitz from a lot of bad behaviors if I would train her properly.

Tick tock, back and forth, up and down. I just can't seem to decide what to do. Kris will gladly try to get the girls adopted, if that's what I want. But is it really what I want? To be continued...

Still waiting to hear from Kris

We took the girls for a ride through Garden of the Gods tonight. They really enjoyed being out. It had cooled off a bit, so the ride was comfortable for them. They've been really well behaved today. They are still going after the cats though. It's like they know they are going and the cats know it too. The cats have been coming out to the living room and kitchen tonight. They don't usually do that. The dogs went to bed early tonight. They've been in bed for at least an hour. I'm heading there myself soon. I'm feeling like a failure again with the dogs. I know I could make this work if I tried harder, but I don't have what it would take to be successful with them. And there are just too many issues that have piled up. I wouldn't even know where to start and in the meantime I'd be really stressed out. I haven't heard back from Kris yet. I'd like to be able to explain to her what exactly is going on but it's hard to put the whole thing into words. I love the girls and wish it could work out. It's not really them that is the problem. It's just the whole situation. They whine, they bark, they chase the cats, they get into the cat box, they get into the trash, they are tearing up the back yard, and they take up a lot of room in bed. But I'll still cry when I have to surrender them. Blitz came out while I was typing and she's on the couch now. She's waiting for us to go to bed. I will miss them. That's if Kris will take them into the Rescue. I'm getting nervous because I haven't heard from her. What if she doesn't want to take them into the Rescue? That won't happen. It's in the contract that if for any reason we want to surrender the dogs we can. I'm sure she's either not seen the email yet or is trying to figure out how this is going work for her. The longer I keep them though, the harder it is for me.

Going after Minnie

It's just a bit after six and the girls have already cornered Minnie in the room with her litter box. They barked at her and went after her. She had to jump over them to get away. Poor little thing. I also let them out and they saw something, don't know what, and started barking and whining. Huxley is doing the whining and barking thing now.

I know it's because of me that things aren't working out. I'm not willing to put in the time it would take to train them to get along with the cats. It's too stressful in the mean time. I know now that a dog isn't in my future. I'll really miss having the girls, but it will reduce the stress by surrendering them. They need more exercise than I can give them and because they aren't getting enough exercise they are getting bored and developing bad habits. And it's all my responsibility.

This morning shows me that I'm doing the right thing (again!). They need more active homes then we can give them. GSP's just need a lot. It's the breed. I should have known better than to try to have two more GSP's. It was fun while it lasted, but now it's getting to be a pain in the patootee. It's really not their fault though. I need to make sure that I acknowledge that. It's strictly my lack of time put into their daily lives.

I haven't heard back from Kris yet. I know she'll think I'm some kind of whacko about dogs. But I have to do what I have to do to reduce my stress. It's a sad situation.

I don't think I'll ever stop missing Skooter and Moped. They are just something special. When I look at pictures of them, I still get sad. But I know they are in more appropriate homes now and I'm happy to know that.

I'll miss Huxley and Blitz but I haven't let myself get too attached to them since I knew that things could get out of control again. I don't think I'll cry for weeks like I did with Skooter and Moped, but I will cry. Leaving them will be difficult. But I know that Kris will find wonderful homes for them. I'll keep the dog blog going until they are adopted out, then the dog blog will retire (or maybe I'll just change what I write about but still keep the same title). I'd really miss the dog blog. I've been blogging almost every day for months now. Oh well, life changes all the time. You've got to change with it.

Things aren't working out with the cats and dogs...

I haven't been posting as much lately because I'm spending so much time dealing with the dogs and cats. They all have become too much work for me. The only way we can keep the cats and stop the bad behaviors they have started is to surrender the girls to the Rescue. So, I sent this email to Kris:

"Things worked out with the dogs for the first two months, but things have changed in the last few weeks, as you know. They require a lot more than I am able to give to them and their relationship with the cats is getting worse each day. David still misses Skooter and Moped and is not keen on keeping these dogs. I can't deal with them on my own. So, we will need to surrender them to the Rescue. David is on vacation starting July 9th, so we'd like to be able to bring the girls down to the Rescue as soon as it is convenient for you. Please let me know when we could do that.

I'm sorry that this didn't work out. I am sad to have to let them go but I know you will find a wonderful home for them."

I'm really sad that I had to send that email. I thought long and hard before I sent it and went over it many times wanting to say the right thing. I love my girls, but they are more than I can deal with. And the cats are going to the bathroom in the tub in our master suite because they are afraid of getting cornered by the dogs in the litter box. I don't want to spend as much time as I have been cleaning up after the dogs and the cats. Kris is going to think that I'm nuts not being able to make up my mind about the dogs, but things really have changed in the last few weeks. There's more whining, barking and cat chasing. Even if I could work something out to keep up with the dogs, there is still the cat issue that I'd have to deal with. They just can't co-exist in one house. It gets real stressful having the dogs chasing after the cats all the time. :-(

I hope that Kris can let us bring them down to the Rescue sooner rather than later. It will be sad now knowing that they are leaving. If they had continued the excellent behavior they had when they first got her, there might not be a problem. But there are more issues than I can deal with at one time. Because of my disability I'm not able to keep up with all the animals. Between cleaning up the back yard and cleaning out the tub, I spend more time than I'd like cleaning up after animals.

Well, it's time to head to bed. Hopefully the dogs have left some room for me. :-)

Call from Kris (GSP Rescue)

Kris called me back on the email I sent to her about the dogs not walking well on the leash. She told me I need to get choke collars for the girls, I need to keep them close to me on the leash, and I need to walk them separately until they are doing well enough to walk together without pulling me down the street. She also suggested that I turn around and walk in the other direction with them if they try to go ahead of me. These are really good suggestions. I don't know how they will do being away from each other, but they'll have to learn to get used to it. I really need to be able to walk them without it being such a chore. I want it to be relaxing. I understand if they see a bunny they might get excited but I still want them to stay by me. I'll start doing this tomorrow and see how it goes for a while. Wish me luck!

Acting up still

I just got through spritzing Blitz. She was barking at Tabby who was in the guest bath tub. Now they are both calmed down. Earlier the girls were playing and running all through the house. They kept running into the entertainment armoire. Luckily nothing got knocked over.

Here's a beautiful picture of Blitz pointing at a bug (it has wings, doesn't it! ;-) ).

I think it's Minnie that's still not using the litter box. And I think it's because the dogs have cornered her in there and barked at her. She associates the box with bad things now. I'm not sure how to go about fixing this problem. Luckily she's going in the tub, not on the carpet, but I don't want to be cleaning up after cats every day. That's the beauty of cats, they use a litter box. Hopefully Minnie will change her habits back to normal soon.

I just had the dogs outside for a few minutes. They saw a rabbit and went balistic. Blitz started barking so I brought them into the house. I don't want the people at the pool to be disturbed by a barking dog.

I'm starting to feel more stress than I'd like to about the animals (the cats and the dogs). The point of having them is to reduce the stress of being alone all day, but instead they are getting on my nerves. It's not as bad as it was with Skooter and Moped but I could see it going there without much of a problem. And I don't want that.

I know it's my fault because I can't exercise them enough. It's hard to walk both of them at the same time. They aren't very good on the leash. Maybe I should ask Kris for some instruction on good leash manners. That would be a big help.

They've calmed down again. I just don't think that GSP's make real good house pets. It's a hard lesson I have had to learn. :-(

Sitting

I've started making the girls sit when they go out and when they come back in. This will keep them from whining and running out the door like wild, well, animals. It will also keep them from charging into the bedroom to 'check on' the cats. They've been doing good with it so far. They are already in bed. That means it's bedtime for me. I don't have an inner clock, I have a doggy clock. :-) LOL

Fireworks and exercise

Yesterday was Independence Day here in the US. It was a quiet day with the dogs. It wasn't until dusk that people started shooting off fireworks. Blitz was afraid of them. Huxley could have cared less. Blitz literally slept on top of David and then me because she was so nervous. She was shaking. Thankfully it calmed down before it got too late and Blitz was able to settle in.

They both seem anxious today. I really need to get them out for some exercise today. They are getting bored and wound up being in the house so much. They get to go out in the back yard whenever they want to, but that's just not enough. Like Kris told me, they'll start acting out if they get bored. Blitz is fixated on the cats this morning. Huxley just wants to get a nap in (that's when she's not turning the water on in the tub, trying to steal catfood - their bowl sits on a counter that surrounds the tub).

Now they are both settled down. It must be morning nap time. Think I'll join them. :-)

Excitement

The dogs did quite a bit better yesterday. I spritzed Blitz a couple of times for going after the cats and barking. She stopped immediately when I spritzed her. And when I said 'no' quite firmly they responded. Unfortunately they woke me up around 2:30am cornering Paulie in the bathroom. Much barking ensued. I didn't have the spritzer so all I could do was to firmly say 'no'. They calmed down a tad quicker than they usually would. I was able to get them out of the bathroom so Paulie could escape the confines of the corner. Of course, now I'm up and they're back in bed. That's how it usually goes.

The excitement continued when I noticed flashing blue light coming from outside. The sheriff's department had a truck and a car stopped in the clubhouse parking lot. I couldn't figure out what had happened, but there were a lot of sheriff's cars there. I think that's what initially woke up the dogs, then they saw Paulie and, well, there you go, I'm still up. Thankfully I had already let the dogs out for a potty break so I didn't have to let them out into the back yard with all that excitement going on.

Earlier when I had let them out, they started barking. I'm not sure what they were barking at.

They just ran out after a cat and went into the guest bathroom. They didn't bark this time. Blitz whined a little bit. I couldn't get the spritzer quick enough to give them a shot. But they calmed down quickly and have gone back to bed. That's where I'm headed now. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to sleep.

Spritzed

I've been firmer with the girls today and they are responding. I also am using the mist bottle. I caught Blitz barking out of control at Minnie so I spritzed her and said no. She stopped right away. I know I have to be consistent with them and I will be. I've moved the kitty litter box back in the office (and out of our bathroom). I want the cats to be able to come out in to the front of the house if they want to without getting terrorized by the dogs.

I didn't get to the dog park today because by the time I got up it was already hot out. I've got to get up earlier so I can take them when it's cooler. They are napping right now. They seem more calm today. I'm going to do whatever I can to make this work out.

Talked to Kris (GSP Rescue)

I sent an email to Kris asking her for some help with the problems I'm having with the dogs. She called back tonight while I was out celebrating Lisa's birthday (Happy Birthday, Friend!!). I just called her back and she indeed had some suggestions for me.

She said I need to put together some mist bottles of water and vinegar and each time they do something I don't like I should spray them. But I have to catch them in that act. Even seconds later it won't make sense to the dogs. I really need them to associate the bottle and me firmly saying no with the activity that I want them to stop. She also suggested that I take them out at least three times a week for some exercise. At first it was okay that they just layed around all the time and didn't need much exercise. But now they are getting bored and need more exercise, a change of pace, a break in the routine. She also suggested using cinnamon breath spray when Blitz is barking out of control. When I catch her in the act I should spray some on her tongue and say no very firmly.

Those are excellent and do-able ideas. I'll get some vinegar and cinnamon spray tomorrow. I'm really grateful that Kris is there to help. I really love my girls and they are precious to me. I am willing to try anything to make this work out.

Kris also said that if the spray bottles and cinnamon spray don't work then she and her daughter would come up and help me in person. That was extremely nice of her to offer that.

I know that I just have to put in time with the dogs, establish my dominance over them and be in control. Of course, they are being perfect little girls right now, laying down and napping. Nope, now they are playing underneath their bed. Blitz slid across the floor and landed with her head under the bed. Now Huxley is on her back, rolling around. They love playing together.

I also want to put them in Doggy Day Care at least once a week. They really do need a change of scenery a couple of times a week.

I'll plan on taking them up to the Rampart Dog Park tomorrow and I'll set up a day at Doggy Day Care for this week.

They are getting rowdy now, so I better go and settle them down.

Something has to change...

The dogs are going after the cats all the time now. They pin them down in a corner and whine and bark at them. It's scaring the heck out of them. The cats are so freaked out that they are not using their litter box! I've been cleaning up after the cats for days now. I put their litter box in the bathroom so they don't have to go out of the master suite and into dog territory. They still won't always use the box. Something has to change.

Blitz is getting worse every day. The whining and barking and chasing of cats is out of control. I'm actually thinking of giving them up. The cats have been here longer and they have seniority. I hate that it's come to this, but someone is going to have to go and it won't be my cats. I love Huxley and Blitz, but they're starting to make a negative impact in the house and I just can't have that.

I'll have to consider my options. This stinks. :-(