Summer Fun
You may have noticed we've been AWOL the last few days. Maybe you were thinking there weren't any stories to share, but you'd be wrong. We've had a lot going on...sun bathing, swimming, going to the river, etc. Basically, all those awesome things you get to enjoy in the summer and even more so when you're a substitute teacher who has summers off. It's okay to be a little jealous if you're reading this from your office, while looking out at the beautiful sunny day. It's a good thing this isn't a job, because I really don't think "Sorry boss, it's too nice to be doing any work." is a good excuse.
Anyway while we've been enjoying this wonderful weather, I haven't forgotten that you all want to share in LeeLoo's upbringing so I've been documenting everything with pictures and videos. You might be wondering why I'm not out there enjoying the day right now and as much as I love being outside enjoying the fun, I needed an A.C. break, so here's a breakdown of LeeLoo's week.
First, as you can see Little Miss has learned to get up on the outdoor furniture. First it was the wicker love seat by the pond. Then the anti-gravity lounge chairs. Yay she's learned to climb/jump. Now why am I mentioning this, dogs get up on furniture, especially at my house. Now I may have mentioned before, that LeeLoo is not a big fan of the heat, so during the hottest parts of the day she is laying in the poolside garden which is covered in ivy, shady most of the day, and most importantly cool. I may also have mentioned that she has us very well trained, one indication by the door and we are taking her out (don't judge us, it's vital to preventing accidents.) Remember it's June here in Southwestern PA so early morning and evening it's cool, so while in the middle of the afternoon when we're taking a break in the air, we know when she's asking to go out she really does have to go, BUT early morning and evening we get to play this game. It's really not a fun game but here's how it's played she goes to the door and whines, one of us runs to get her outside, she heads down the steps and then runs full speed to the love seat or lounge chairs and jumps up in order to lie down. We explain, if she wants to lay down we'll do that in the house, so we carry her back inside, 5 minutes later we repeat the steps. Maybe 30% of those trips, she actually goes to the bathroom and then jumps up to lie down. I'm sure you're saying well if she wants outside, then just let her be outside, eventually we do; we put on a hoodie, grab a drink, and a book and prepare to settle ourselves out there. And that's part of the game too. She waits until we're all settled and then heads up the steps to the backdoor because obviously she's hungry and needs to go in. Nope not frustrating at all.
We tried swimming this week too. Whether you're a kid, pet, or both parent, you know you'll make yourself a little uncomfortable to give them new opportunities. Remember I mentioned above that it's June here and cool in the morning and evenings, which means my pool water is not warm not at all! When I was a kid, I didn't mind cold water, well I'm not a kid and I HATE cold water, usually my June pool usage constitutes floating. But we have a new baby and I'm willing to take one for the team, so into the cold water I got and brought her with me.
You'll notice how pleased I sound in the video talking about how much she was loving it and how brave she was. I lied, she hated every second of it and her only goal was to get back to that deck any way she could. I figured the fact that she swam and still came to the edge of the deck when I called her meant that I didn't scar her for life. I knew I'd try it again. I mean you see all these awesome dogs hanging in the pool with their owners, why can't LeeLoo learn to like it.
You'll also notice Sugar watching and not being invited in, poor thing is left out. Make no mistake, Sugar was thinking that LeeLoo was a fool for getting close enough to let me pull her in. Sugar had one and only one foray into the pool when she was about a year old. Her second summer we spent a lot of time in the pool and she was so interested, but we never invited her in because we have a ladder and not steps and by the time she was interested, she was too big for us to get her out without her destroying my liner and honestly she never had the urge to jump in so no big deal. All summer Sugar watched, then fall was rolling around and we were putting the cover on. We didn't think anything of her being on the deck while we were doing it, she was always up there, right until she thought the cover would hold her weight and she could walk onto it. For a minute she was like Jesus and walked on water, she made it about 3-4 steps out and sunk like a stone, pulling the cover with her. Now she's panicking, the more she tries to swim the more the cover is entangling her. One side of the cover was still attached so while Chuckie ran up to the deck, Will and I used it as a rope and started pulling her towards the deck. It was great that Will was there, because I am horrible in a crisis, seriously picture a chicken with it's head cut off running in circles, wringing her hands together, yelling for someone to do something and you have a pretty good idea about my crisis management skills. Our neighbor heard us yelling and ran over to help, it took two full grown men to haul her out of there. Needless to say, Sugar has no desire to get in that pool again.
Well back to LeeLoo, she came back to me when I called her so I brought her back in with me, hey if I was in that cold water we were going to make the most of it. The second time was pretty much the same as the first except when she got out, she took off and went down to the pond, pouted and wouldn't come back up on the deck until about an hour later. She stayed well clear of me and the pool edge. That didn't stop her from getting near the other edges, so I'm in the pool having a heart attack every time she got near because my deck rails weren't built to stop a small puppy from falling off. Chuckie spent the entire time I was freaking telling me she'll be fine, she won't get to close. That lasted until her back leg slid off and he had to catch her, then I couldn't take anymore and told him to take her in the house until I was done vacuuming the pool. The next day, I let her swim across the pool, I just had to keep steering her because she was heading for whichever edge was closest.
Yesterday, I introduced her to rafting. I think for her it ranked a little higher than swimming, although that isn't saying much since I think swimming might rank below being trampled by Sugar.
Hmm, what else...
Oh, Justice taught her to speak. She learned it so quickly, maybe about 5 minutes. Worst thing ever!!! I may have mentioned, she loves food, especially people food, well now every time we are eating, she spends the whole time barking at us. It's awful now, in about a year, when she is sitting there at eye level barking in our faces will be atrocious. Yep, on my list of things to break.
You know how if you cover a cat's eyes with something they will usually back up trying to get out of whatever it is and a dog will usually just freeze if they can't see.
Not LeeLoo! Justice put a hat on her and it slid over her head, she grabbed a hold of it, refused to let go and took off blindly. You can watch it on video below. She tripped over her water bowl and ran into the house, then Justice altered her direction and right through the hostas into the pool. She had no intention of stopping, until I finally made Justice take it off of her. Such a goofy dog!
I guess I'll end with today's adventures. Several years ago, we found a nice little
spot off the bike trail, there is a little island that splits the river so that on one side the water is only about an inch deep, and woods. It's far enough off the trail that Sugar can go off-leash and really enjoy herself. Since it's off the river and in the woods, it's pretty cool and today was 90 in the shade so we figured it would be a nice trip for the pups. So I packed a little bag with treats, a bowl, and water and off we went.
Usually I walk Sugar, because of Chuckie's leg but today I figured his strength walking her would be helpful in case LeeLoo being there caused confusion. Sugar being the big lover that she is, thinks that everyone wants to be greeted by her whether they're walking or on a bike. Like I said I usually walk her and I have a routine, when I see walkers or bikers, I pull her off to the side, stop, and tell her to wait. Usually, Chuckie is telling me to just keep walking, "she's fine." (Notice a recurring theme here?) Well, Sugar is strong, I mean super strong (watch the video below of her pulling Chuckie across the floor with a rope) and weighs more than I do, so my routine works, she understands the command wait and I don't get pulled. Well I saw a walker and bikers heading our way and gave Chuckie a heads up, Mr. She's Fine got pulled across the trail by Miss Everyone Wants to See Me. He couldn't get a grip on the fine gravel and just slid, the poor woman looked ready to have a stroke as she tightened in on herself and attempted to walk faster. It was almost comical, a grown man getting pulled across the trail, cussing like a sailor while a strange woman (I say strange because she was dressed in sweat pants and hoodie with hoodie up in 90 degree weather) curling up on herself trying to high step away from the giant dog wagging her tail furiously on a mission to tell her hello. At the time I was too irritated to find the humor in it, Sugar really wasn't setting a good example for LeeLoo. LeeLoo who is completely clueless, started barking and hiding behind my leg (my great protector.)
We continued on our journey, this time stopping when anyone passed. We made it to our destination and as soon as her leash came off, Sugar headed for the water. She enjoys playing in rivers and lakes as long as she doesn't have to go deep enough for the water to touch her chest and since she's so big, she can go pretty deep. LeeLoo was struggling with walking on the rocks, but she was valiantly attempting to follow Sugar, right up to the shore. Of course, she was going to be content to play in the mud on the banks but not go into the water to rinse it off. She tromped in it, she sat in it, my beautiful white and black puppy was quickly turning into a slimy brown junkyard dog. My psychic abilities were on point when I predicted a bath in her future. Sugar had a blast, LeeLoo enjoyed it, but being leashed diminished some of her enjoyment but her recall isn't where it needs to be for her to be free.
The walk back was pretty uneventful except we had to carry her a few times because she was tired. We got home and she was thrilled to lie down in the air. Me being the mean mom that I am though didn't let her enjoy it for longer than it took me to get the bathtub filled and then it was bath time. Hate is a strong word, but in this case I don't think it's strong enough for how she felt about that bath. At first she just froze and shook, I could work with that. So I started wetting her down, the cries and sad eyes began, but still it could be worse. The lathering began and so did her attempts to escape the tub. I worked as quickly as I could while using my body as a shield to prevent her escape. At one point it was touch and go, she managed to get over my shoulder and had her claws dug into my back for leverage, but fate
was shining on me and she somehow turned the handle and turned on the water which scared her and I was able to wrestle her back in. The cries were no longer whimpers but bleating cries of distress, I heard Sugar running up the stairs, I'm not sure if she was coming to help LeeLoo or revel in her distress. But I was done. Drying was a breeze and we came downstairs. She didn't do the usual run like a maniac that most dogs do post bath, she headed straight for the couch all the while glaring at me. I booster her up and she flopped over, gave me one more good glare and passed out. That was 2 hours ago, she even slept through a bacon sandwich and this girl doesn't sleep through us eating. She's just now starting to stir, so I think this is the perfect time to end this.
Hopefully our fun in the sun doesn't keep me away as long next time. See you soon!