Defender

Jim and Tressa decided to wrestle last night.

Jim was winning.

Then came the dog!

Zuzu was NOT okay with Daddy attacking Tressa.  She jumped up on his back, then nipped at his bottom, growled some, and basically just tried to get Jim away from Tressa.  Her tail was wagging the whole time and she was having fun, but there was no doubt whose side she was on.

After about five minutes, everyone calmed down.  Jim looked over at me though, and said, "That dog would have bit me if we were serious.  I have no doubt about it!"  He scratched Zu and told her that was ridiculous; he was the alpha and her owner and she should never get mad at him.  I disagreed!

I love that my doggy would defend my children, no matter who is attacking.  Good Dog!

Dog at my Feet

I've always wanted a dog that will lie at my feet.  Snickers would sleep... a lot... but he just kind of picked his spot and stayed there.

Zuzu has become such a companion.  Almost anywhere I move in the house, she is there with me.  If I'm here on the computer, she's next to my chair.  If I'm in the family room, she's next to my couch or chair.  When we sleep at night, she's next to the bed.  Even when I'm cleaning, she's trying to lean on me as I move around the house.

The only exception is when I have a go, go, go day, or when I'm in the kitchen, where she's not allowed to follow.  Then, she just gives up and finds a nice place to nap.  She doesn't even really enjoy being outside by herself anymore.  I send her out whenever it's dry, but she only lasts 15 minutes to half an hour unless someone is outside with her, before she is barking at the door to come back inside.

So far, it's not at all annoying and I'm enjoying her company.  And when Tressa gets home, she'll chose a game of tag around the house over keeping me company any day!

I sat down to knit for a bit, and she sat right with me.  Darby took this picture of us.

Good with Toddlers!

Zuzu had her first test with a little one yesterday and she was just amazing!

My neighbor came over for coffee and brought her little one.  "Ericsito" is just 15 months old and full of curiosity and wonder and loves to wander all over the place.  Zuzu had met him before, but only when he was in his stroller.

She was so excited when they came into the house.  She jumped a little towards Gladys, but not up all of the way.  She's getting better at stopping herself and not jumping all of the way up on people.

When baby Eric walked by, she was super gentle.  Eric was good on his feet, but he had the typical toddler look, like if you blew on him he would just topple over.  Zuzu walked up to him, and just barely touched her nose to his head, wagging her tail the hold time.  I never knew she could be so soft.

She followed him around the whole time, and even when he tried to feed her a meringue, she just sniffed towards his outreached arm, but didn't grab it from him.  It gave me just enough time to holler, "No!" and have both Eric and Zu look over at me like I was a crazy lady!  Haha, maybe I am a little!

The cutest part of the morning was when they started kissing.  Eric would lean towards Zu with his little mouth open and Zu would gently touch her nose to his lips.  Adorable!

Eventually she laid down, and she flinched a little when he stepped on her fur, but she always flinched and move a little away, never towards him.

So, all of the stories are correct.  Estrelas are great with babies!

Guardian

My dog does not like when I'm sick.

So, when I got pneumonia this week - - don't ask; no idea; probably forgot to wear a hat or something - - she was not herself at all.

It began early during a long weekend with a houseguest, so she just stopped eating normally.  Her job was just to make sure that I was being guarded. With so many people around, it was pretty easy. (My pup is not like normal Estrelas. More people in the house just makes a happier dog.) As long as I was being taken care of, she just checked on me occasionally if someone opened my door, and she ate very little.

Then, on Wednesday, we were left alone. I think she and Koshka had a shift schedule planned. One guards the house; the other is a blanket.  Switch. Switch again.

If you've ever had a fever that won't go away, you'll understand that an extra, heated, fur blanket is quite nice laying next to you!

Wednesday afternoon I actually went to see the doctor. I know, I should go sooner. I say that every time but never ever do. I found out what I had and got some pretty good medicine. I actually had a good night for once, and decided to get up in the morning and take care of the animals so that Jim could sleep a bit more.

What a happy dog! Wags and wiggles and an entire breakfast eaten in about a second! We stayed up until we got the family off to work and school, then I went back to bed.  This confused her.

I'm not sure if she figured that if sleeping next to me helped, then closer was better, or if she just had no intention of allowing me to stay in bed, but she decided to sleep on TOP of me! If I rolled, she stayed! I felt like that commercial where the poor person is laying on the couch with an elephant on her chest.

Here is a phone pic:

Be impressed.  It's not easy to take a pic on your phone while being covered by an Estrela, over your shoulder without looking!

So, we moved to the family room and she curled up around my chair.

The cat has relinquished all of her guard duties. Now, I just have my puppy following me. Next to me on the bed, time by the front door, time curled around my chair;  back and forth between keeping me warm and protecting.

She's back to only eating if I'm moving. Luckily, I'm moving a little more each day.

She is such a good dog! (When she's not laying on top of me)

It's....Working!

So far, the pants are working!  She doesn't seem to mind them, other than putting them on and taking them off.

If she had a shorter, less fluffy tail, it would be so much easier!

Just hanging out with Darby.

Today is a purple day!  She could be a model on a doggy runway.

MwuaHaHa!

Yes, that's an evil laugh.

After nine days.....again....NINE DAYS of making a mess of my floors, I have finally gone out and purchased pink and purple diapers for my puppy.

MWUAHAHAHAHA!!

And she is NOT happy with me.  Oh well.

I'm still not sure it will work, but here's a pictorial of how the story went.

The Diaper

The Liner

The Liner in the Diaper (isn't the tail hole cute?)

The Plan:  Diaper with liner, wipes, LOTS of treats.

The Dog:

WTF, MOM?!!!!!!!

♪ ♫ "Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle yeah.  I'm sexy and I know it!" ♪ ♫

                                                                

♪ ♫ "When I walk in the spot, this is what I see ♪ ♫ 

Everybody stops and they staring at me

I got passion in my pants and I ain't afraid to show it"

♪ ♫ "I'm sexy and I know it" ♪ ♫

Snow!

Zuzu saw snow when she was a puppy, but she doesn't remember it.

Her reaction was NOT what I expected.  She was outside when it started to snow hard, and I heard her bark like she was being attacked by something.  She was looking around at the air, and barking at the screen door for me to let her in!  Apparently, snow is terrifying for a giant puppy.

She came in and just watched the snow from the front door.

  

After a bit, we went outside to play in it.  I had to go out with her to prove that it would not hurt.  After a few minutes, she believed me and went on her merry way, playing in the backyard.

In Heat

WARNING:  If you’re male and don’t like to hear about such stuff, or if you just don’t ever want to know about the slightly awkward part of owning a dog that you potentially might breed some day, you might want to skip this blog.  If, however, you don’t mind and you can find humor in reality, read on friend, read on......

Zuzu has been in heat once before.  Sort of. 

At the time, I was thinking, “Hey, this isn’t bad at all!”  It was actually pretty hard to tell.  A little swelling, a little licking, and the only confirmation were a few tiny drops of blood on the tile floor.  No big.

Zuzu is in heat again.  Correction... Zuzu is ON FIRE!

It all began relatively slowly during our vacation in Florida.  She started peeing more.  Instead of her usual - one quick pee as soon as she gets outside and one when we return to the yard - she was acting like our old male dog and doing the ‘sniff sniff pee’ thing all over the place.  And anytime she heard a bark, she’d stick her nose up in the air, perk her ears up, stick her tail up all pretty, and basically poof up like a peacock. Then we noticed the licking.  Lots and lots of licking.  

We got her home to Virginia, and still I was thinking that this isn’t so bad.  In the house, she’s even being a little more lazy.   And she’s eating all of her food at every meal instead of being her normal, picky self.

Then the bigger changes came.  I laugh when I think that I thought she was swollen back in August.  This is swollen.  I’m surprised she’s not walking funny.  Oh, and the blood.  If only dogs could wear diapers!  And why, oh why, did I buy a house with cream carpets?  At least I know where to clean each day and I’m sure I’m getting it all up.  Spot Bot owners, Unite!  If we had brown carpets, I’d have to call in Stanley Steamer just to make sure that I got what I couldn’t see.  The spots aren’t big and it’s not nearly as bad as, well, I would be if I were a dog, but still.

The funniest part is taking her on walks.  My puppy is definitely “Queen of the Ball”!  (You have to say that with a big wave and snap in the air, and a bit of a head bobble.)  I thought having teenage daughters was interesting.  Even Darby has nothing on the head turns that Zuzu is receiving this week!

I thought her friend, Jesse, was going to break down his garage door from the inside out when we walked by two days ago.  If Jesse is outside when we walk by, he’ll run up and say hi and try to get Zuzu to play, but if he’s inside, we might not even hear a bark.  I think he was physically flinging his body against his garage door, trying to get out.  And Jesse has been neutered.

Other dogs have switched directions on their walks, with confused owners looking embarrassed and all apologetic towards us from across the street.  “I just don’t know WHY he won’t focus, today!”  I think at least two neighborhood shoulders have been dislocated.

The best one ever, was the little golden lab that was over a block away, and turned around to look at Zuzu.  His owner gave him a tug to get him going forward again and he collapsed, right in the street.  I felt so sorry for her as she continued to try to get him to stand up and he kept flopping right over, panting and looking at Zu.  She finally gave up, shrugged, and said, “I guess we’re going nowhere until you pass.”  We made a wide circle around him with Jim and I between her dog and ours, and just as we passed he jumped up on his feet, wagging and barking as we walked by.  I think I actually saw Zuzu smile as she pranced by!  I pictured her singing “My Humps” like Fergie as she passed:

“You can look but you can't touch boy,

If you touch it I'ma start some drama,

You don't want no drama,

No, no drama, no, no, no, no drama”

Or maybe that's just what I wish she was singing, rather than ringing the dinner bell and shouting, "Come and get it, boys!!!"

So, for now, Zuzu gets no more walks in the neighborhood.  She is grounded to the backyard unless Jim and I are both there to protect her, and since he went back to work today it’s fenced-in time for her!

Beach and Pool Video

The second day that we went to the beach it was only 62 degrees out and the water was cold.  I was physically shaking when I took this video and you can see other people walking on the beach with winter coats on.  That didn't stop my children or Zuzu from running around in the water like crazy people!

Christmas in Florida

Oh, how I should have blogged while I was there......  I'm sure I have forgotten more stories than I remember!

Let me start with the entry in the house.  I have always lived by the philosophy that, other than a few safety items, you should never child-proof your house.  Instead, you should always teach your children.  That way you can take them almost anywhere.

Somehow, over time, that same theory has stopped applying to my pets.  So, when I walked into my parent's house and saw that EVERY Christmas decoration that my mother owns was out on display, from bells on door knobs to stuffed elves climbing a ladder and a stuffed reindeer on a bungee cord, to a big, beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the middle of the living room, my first thought was, "Crap.  My mother has set me up for failure."

Other than a couple of quickly correctable incidents, however, the decorations ended up not being a problem.  Koshka only climbed up the inside of the tree once and Zuzu didn't knock the whole thing over trying to join her, and only one ornament was found in Zu's mouth as she was wandering the house that week.  And, in her defense, it was a little stuffed Santa that really did look like a dog toy.

Now, moving on, with pictures:

The Pool:  She still had no interest!  Even with kids and toys and balls and quite a bit of noise and teasing, she chose to just run around and around it in circles, happily watching all of the activity and occasionally yapping.

Family Christmas Photos:  It's so much easier when your camera has a timer that beeps louder and louder just before the picture is taken!  That made her look almost every time.  :)

Joe and Matt:  Zuzu had never met Joe and Matt before, but fell in love with them immediately!  They also fell in love with her, of course!  Being big dog owners themselves (Newfs, a Bernese, and a Border Collie), they liked having her around much more than they ever liked poor little Snickers.  They chased and played and wrestled and teased and she slept better at night than she ever had before.

Christmas Presents:  She likes them!

More swimming pool:  Nope.  Not even in the dark at 85 degrees.  No thank you!

The Beach:  Now the beach was a different story entirely!  Apparently, she has forgotten that she was ever afraid of the waves.  She RAN towards the water and raced in happily!

Play with me, Joe!                        Digging in the sand is fun!

Rainy Days:  Luckily, we only had one rainy day.  The kids worked on the model railroad with my dad.  Zuzu wasn't too thrilled, but as long as she could lay down right in the middle of everything without having to move out of the way, she tolerated it.

Not even Nana, bouncing up and down in the water, could lure her into the pool!

Beach Day Two:  It was only 62 degrees and empty, so Zuzu was given some freedom!  She LOVED chasing the kids as they skim boarded and boogie boarded in the waves.  Eventually, people started showing up to the beach and she took off running to meet them and to greet a black lab walking on the sand.  She was all tail wags and nuzzles for the strangers.  I was quite relieved that there was no barking, jumping, or growling, but she had to be put back on the leash anyway.  I didn't want her to scare anyone out for a walk.  She didn't seem to mind and still tried to run with whoever was holding the leash and tried to dig her way to China in the sand.

The other thing that she got much better at while we were there, was car rides.  She no longer has to be dragged into the van.  I think it has everything to do with the beach!  She now tries to jump in when she sees the door open, because she doesn't want to be left behind or miss out on anything fun.  Even the long trips went okay, with her sleeping most of the way.

So, other than one mysteriously chewed up puzzle piece, the vacation was a success!  (Unless my mom and dad hid other destruction from me in an attempt to save their grandpuppy from more scolding.)