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All caught up again.

2006-10-16
9:59 a.m.

Well, I see by the old ticker counter on my buddy list, it has been 13 days since I updated. Where did all that time go?

My two-week court term ended Friday, and I hightailed it over to Cinzel's house for some relaxation before heading home. You see, we were having a DFE* fence installed last week. It was a three-day job that was wrapping up Friday. Hubby decided to serve lunch to the fencing crew, and was whipping up a batch of shrimp etouffee. I, however, wanted no part of feeding the fencing crew. More power to him, knock yourself out, but I don't want to participate.

* DFE = damned fucking expensive. Granted, we have a big backyard. Hubby estimates it at approximately 1/2 acre fenced. Three sides of the fence are six-foot privacy fence and along the back of the yard is six-foot chain link fence. We hated to lose the view of the open field back there, plus we really like seeing the highway that passes close by, so we opted for the chain link there.

Mind you, I had come up with a price range for this fence totally out of thin air. I had nothing I'd researched to get a rough estimate. Imagine my shock when the fence cost TWICE as much as my fantasized figure. Bet you all understand now why I didn't want to feed them some lunch, right? I thought they should be feeding us!

Anyway, the DFE fence is up, and for that we're glad. Sometime this week we have a cement contractor coming to install a sidewalk from the patio to our shed, plus pour a small slab for us to keep our trash cans on. After that, as soon as Cinzel comes over here and does some sort of gardening and tree planting for me, we'll be content with our backyard for the time being.

And now to the news of why we needed a fence put up in the first place. Over Labor Day weekend we had our dog Gretel put to sleep. The whole week that week she just got more and more unable to get around. It was pretty clear she was miserable, and her meds weren't helping much with her pain. Hubby took her to the vet, and he agreed with Hubby and I that she was still in considerable pain. It was a very tough week, but I really think Gretel was trying to tell us it was time. Something about the way she kept looking at us was just different. She was the best dog ever, and we were lucky enough to have her for 11 of her 17 years. She is missed.

I didn't write about losing her here, because that week was an awful week. We were in the middle of a three-week court term in our busiest county, and we were in the middle of a two-week medical malpractice case.

At the same time we were facing the facts of Gretel's declining health, my judge was losing his dad to cancer. In fact, we had to stop the malpractice trial and close the courthouse one day that week so we could all attend his dad's funeral. It was very sad, and I felt so bad for him.

So we were down to our one cat for a few weeks, until Queenie showed up and adopted us. Queenie, by the way, is roughly six months old and is having her spaying done tomorrow. We don't need anymore kittens!

And then last Tuesday night we adopted two female boxer puppies. They are now nine weeks old, and we have named them Daisy and Trixie. Daisy because Hubby and both liked it, and Trixie because Oldest Son really likes Trix cereal and we thought it would be a good name.

They are delightful, happy little girls, and we are enjoying them so much. I haven't had a puppy since I was a teenager, and I feel like I'm starting over with babies here! I forgot how much fun house training wasn't. I thought they were doing pretty well until I discovered one of them wetting on the rug. I handed her off to be taken outside and returned to clean up the area, only to find I could no longer see it. It is a dark rug, and after several more incidents of catching them and then not being able to find it, I realize I was only kidding myself! Now I'm really wondering if maybe I need to roll up all the rugs until we get them trained.

I'm also just today putting leashes on them, and they don't appreciate that, either. I've been clipping the leashes on all the time inside and letting them drag them around. Since it is wet and cold here today, I didn't want to let them wear them in the yard and bring them back full of mud. They're resisting any attempts to actually walking on those leashes, but it is too cute as they drag each other around by the leash.

Last but not least, I think it was you, Heather, who posted one time you'd trained your dog to only potty in one section of your yard. Was your dog already leash-trained when you did that?

I really want to train these girls to use the area behind our shed, not the whole yard, but I have to say right now I'd just be happy if they'd just learn to potty outside! I know patience is the key, and I'm not fussing at them too much, and I'm trying to take them outside often, but man, I am shocked at how much these pups can poop in a day.

Carol, I know you have lots and lots of dog experience. Feel free to jump in and give advice. Like I said, I feel like I'm starting over...and I guess I am. A co-worker gave me a book about puppies, and I have read a good bit of it. Now if I could only get the dogs to read it. :)

Last but not least, tonight Hubby is finally going back to work. His recovery from carpal tunnel surgery has taken longer than he thought it would, so he has delayed having the other one operated on until early next year. And I am thrilled he's headed back to work. He's had good success with the surgery, which of course I'm happy about, but now I'm ready for him to get back to his regular schedule.

I think that's all the catching up I have right now. Better go take these puppies out again.

Over and out.


3 comments so far chocolate chaos - 2006-10-16 13:19:46
ive been told that the better quality food you give them, the less poop. if you stop feeding them altogether, i doubt they would poop! haha
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Carol - 2006-10-16 14:40:56
Yes if you feed a higher quality dog food it they will have smaller poops. as for the 9 week old puppies SUCKER! I personally love puppy breath but Hate puppies. Roll up the carpets. Get out the baby gates and start looking for a cheap crate's to put them in (and give you sanity) Start investing in chew toys (kong type at walmart is good for young dogs) and have the boy's start picking up all their toys now.(chew and choking/tummy problems) Good luck OH I do check on you post(And Deb') every other day.
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Megan - 2006-10-16 20:08:20
One of the girls I work with woke up recently and found her border collie had died during the night. She had no idea he was ill. Her husband, in a moment of pity, drove to Ft. Smith and bought her a baby English bulldog. She is once again in love. She said the secret to puppy training is kenneling them unless you can supervise them while they are in the house (especially at night). Reward them often for doing their busines outside. They will get the hang of it soon enough. I'd roll up those rugs and quick. I'm so sorry about the dog you lost. We are facing the same thing with our black lab. She's on Remedyl (for arthritis) now but the vet says it will eventually take its toll on her liver and kidneys. Good to catch up with you. Hey, and thanks for the e-mail. Today we had the fifth LONG day of a child custody case -- wanna trade? I'll take your medical malpractice for a custody any day.
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