Just pictures...

Found some of those pictures I was looking for the other day...

Here they are playing with the cat:

... and posing with that silly ball:

Summer fun

My dogs are so weird. We just had about a week of a major heat wave, so we've been spending a lot of time inside. Between entertaining the little one, and trying to keep the dogs occupied, it's been pretty busy. They've fallen in love with a stupid orange road hockey ball, and would fetch it the entire day if I let them. Unless we physically hide the ball somewhere they can't get it when we're done playing, they will grab it like half an hour later and drop it at our feet. Not just once, but repeatedly, until we pick it up and either play again or put it away. Alexandra gets a kick out of watching them race up the hall and back, usually with the ball, but sometimes they have such a wrestle trying to get it from one another they end up coming back without it.

They learned fetch quite a while ago, but with most things they get bored after four or five throws. Even if we're alone at the dog park, they'll only chase a stick or frisbee or whatever for a minute or two. When there are other dogs that are playing fetch, Ace and Nova will chase the dogs, but don't care much about the ball. It's bizarre. I mean, I know they're herding dogs, and aren't really meant to be fetching anyway, but I guess that's what makes it even more strange.

They're also in love with this silly rope toy we got for them for Christmas for a dollar. They originally had two of them, but munched one to bits, and they've got about half of the other one left. If I'd known it'd be such a hit, I would have picked up a few more. But between that and the ball, and wrestling, and of course lots of naps, they seem to be doing pretty well.

I'm up to a foot at a time when I trim their nails. Still lots of treats and partying after, but it's a heck of a lot better than a nail at a time. Nova was going to go for a bath last weekend, but we had some car issues as described in my other blog, so that's going to have to wait a bit. If he does well, and it doesn't seem too 'scary', I'll take Ace later. They're mostly done shedding, so I figured if we do the bath thing now, it'll get rid of the last of the old undercoat and maybe they'll look pretty a little longer. If there's one thing that impresses me about their long hair, it's that it seems to stay surprisingly clean. Even their white parts... I've had them run through the mud and get all gloppy, but once it dries, it seems to brush right out.

I'll see if I can find some pictures, not sure if they're on this computer or mine...

Good days

I must say, I'm extremely proud of Nova. I mean, I love Ace too, but I managed to take Nova out for a whole day, and he behaved himself. There was a big caching event at the beginning of the month, and my dad and I were planning to go. I figured Nova likes people, he likes dogs, he likes caching... and since Ace definitely gets a no on crowds of people, and a sort of on dogs, he stayed home with husband.

It was a bit of a drive to get there, so I put his seatbelt on him, but about halfway there, I peeked around and he'd wiggled out somehow. I swear, he really is too smart for me. He was very excited when we got out of the car, and ran around sniffing everything. There wasn't really much to see at first, a lot of people beat us there, so we had to walk to get to the registration and everything. He was allowed inside, which was nice, and we met lots of other dogs. Dad and I attended a seminar, during which Nova sat at my feet patiently while I occasionally offered him a bit of kibble. Then we were off to find the caches! We didn't get too far before lunch, so Nova still had quite a bit of energy, but all things considered, he was pretty good. I had him attached to my belt since it was a little hard to hold him and my Legend, and sign logbooks all at once. But he was happy to meet people, and patient while we were searching (some of those caches were pretty small!), and was good and tired at the end of the day. Of course, so was I, but that's beside the point.

I felt bad about not bringing Ace, but he wouldn't have liked it, and spent half the day behind my legs, so hopefully he understands. I try to make it up to him by letting him come with me on less interactive outings. They're both good boys, they're just not into the same things. More fun for me, I guess...

Nova at the easiest to find, and most creative cache of our day (the log was in the printer)

Pictures and stuff

Such happy doggies. They've been pretty good lately, loving Alexandra, hardly barking in the house, playing with the cat. They have new bowls now, so we're trying to get them to eat out of separate ones before Nova starts on his new food. I picked a Wellness weight control for him, because it seemed to have the best cost vs. amount to feed ratio in a lower calorie form. The food they're on has a weight control formula, but for some reason the package states that for his weight, I'd have to feed him more of it than he gets of the regular food. That's just to lose a couple pounds, never mind what he'd be eating to maintain his weight later. It made absolutely no sense to me, and would be way more expensive, so we'll just go with the one I understand.

Other than that, everything's pretty much the same. The weather's nicer, Nova's starting to walk better with me, and I'm hoping soon I'll be able to take everybody for a walk together without losing my sanity.

Hooray for the vet

Ha ha, never thought that would be the general consensus. That is why I love our vet though... happy dogs = happy mom. Ace was even a runner up in the clinic photo contest. His picture's right up there on the wall. The girls were all excited to point it out to me when I walked in, although it took me a minute to figure out what they were trying to show me. They were also impressed that both Ace and Nova are social, I guess they have a lot of one Sheltie families, and their dogs are more reserved.

They're both healthy, although Nova's getting a little on the big side. He's definitely bigger than Ace to begin with, but while Ace is right where he should be at 30 pounds, Nova's coming in at just over 42. The vet suggested we try finding a food that's a little lighter on calories, so that's my mission for this week. Also, we've got to do a little more work on their teeth, as they're starting to get some build up right at the back. Hopefully they'll be less upset about that than their nails. After their shots, they both got all their nails done, then had their heartworm tests. Nova had to get a little patch shaved on his leg, I guess he was just too fuzzy for them to be able to get the needle in right.

I thought all the shots would slow them down a bit for the evening, but it didn't seem to have any effect on them. We took a little drive before we came home to visit a friend of mine that I haven't seen in a while. They were more than welcome in the house, but Nova pulled out one of his ancient tricks and waited about ten seconds after petrifying the cats before peeing on a rug. Fortunately my friend was very forgiving and we cleaned up pretty quick. The boys got to explore the deck for a few minutes before coming back in for snuggles and a nap. When they needed to go back out, we took them for a walk around the neighbourhood and they got to go for a good run out by the water. Ace was even enjoying some rock climbing, which he used to be far too afraid to even try. Nova just jumps on everything, so it wasn't anything new for him.

We had a good visit, unfortunately I don't have any pictures, but here's the one that I submitted for the photo contest that's now on the vet's wall:

Snow is gone!

The weather is getting nicer, and the snow is finally gone. It was 28 yesterday! I've been trying to get the boys all brushed up and pretty for summer, but Ace is not a big fan of standing still and being brushed for more than about a minute. I got him settled on the couch yesterday and he let me do one side, but when I tried to flip him over, he pounced off the couch and went looking for his ball. Ah well... guess I'll just have to keep doing a little bit at a time. Nova's always very cooperative, he'd probably let me brush him all day if I felt like it. They're starting to shed again, the BIG shed, so I'm trying to brush lots instead of having cat sized fur balls all over the carpet. Nova always looks smaller after a good brushing, he's definitely got a lot of fluff.

Tomorrow's our big vet day... time for checkups and shots. Luckily I've never had a problem with them getting upset there, so I don't anticipate anything too crazy. I'm hoping maybe it'll be nice out (it's raining today) so we can do some caches on the way back. I guess a little rain never hurt anybody though. We'll see how the boys are feeling. Ace was pretty tired after their last shots, but I think they'd appreciate a hike anyway.

Who's Lassie?

I know it's been a while, but the doggies are good. It's just been people stuff getting in the way. They're happy because husband has been on nights, so they get to sleep with me. Ace usually snuggles up right beside me, then Nova keeps my feet warm. Somehow it makes me feel better about him not being here.

They're enjoying the fact that the snow is almost gone, in the yard at least. Now that it's getting warmer, we'll be able to spend more time outside. The only frustrating part is that now when they look out the window, people are always walking by. They couldn't see most of them when the snow was there because the bank was too high. So Ace gets upset because he thinks people are coming too close to our 'house'. Nova doesn't really seem to care, he just likes laying by the window and watching them. They just really don't like it if other dogs are on the lawn. I didn't realize just how many dogs there are here. Almost every day, I see a new one. Yesterday there was a big goldendoodle. Very cute. I like big dogs.

I had to laugh the other evening though... I took the dogs out after dinner, and they were sniffing around. I have to watch them pretty carefully because there's somebody above us that thinks it's fun to drop their cigarette butts off the balcony, and the last thing I need is one of the dogs eating them. But anyway, Nova's about halfway out to the parking lot, 10 feet or so, and from above I hear 'Lassie! Lassieeeee! Hey Lassie!' This little boy was trying to get his attention, I guess. Sigh. Nova didn't even look up, although I guess if somebody was calling me Brandon or something, I wouldn't pay much attention either. I came in and told husband, and I thought he was going to fall off the couch laughing. It was an amusing moment.