Thank you Dogs With Blogs!

Keeley and I just want to say thank you to all you DWBs out there that sent Keeley holiday cards. Our mailman said, "Keeley sure gets a lot of mail!" This was our first time participating in the exchange and I was a little surprised by the enormity of it. I made a few mistakes, like sending cards to a couple of dogs twice and completely forgetting about the email-only dogs (sorry!). I promise to do better next year!

THANK YOU (in no particular order): Ezzy & Jag, Lele & Tris, Tofu-Burger, Rudy, Josie, Emory, and Clancy, Powder-Puff & Ivy, Cubby & Dakota, Ralph, Homer, Bruce & Lois, Holly, Abby, Kona, Monty, and Samuel, Sherman, Penny, and Lola, Frankie & Maddie, Mary-Margaret, Sparky & Patches, Chewie & Le Mops, Nugget, Ozzy, and Stewy, Steve & Kat, Snickers, Annabelle, and Boomer, Charlie, Crikit, Sparky, and Ginger, Butchy & Snickers, Ruby & Michele, Franki V, Harry & Cassidy, BT & Fergie, Kirby, Lacylulu, Roxie, Sammy, and Andy, Molly & Taffy, Arabella, Eddie, Peaches, Bella, and Lady, Bentley & Niko, Lorenza, Stanley & Stella, Simon, Scarlett, and Shelly, Maya-Marie & Missy, Seadra & Zoe, Murphey & Reilly, Alkie, Royal, and Brock, Noah, Willow, Tess, and Lucy, Maggie & Mitch, Waylon & Willie, Roy & Gwen, Putter, Cairo, Bailey, Baxter, Brody, and Benson, Jackson, Moxie & Izzie, Sky, Canyon, and Kelsey Ann, Katie, Sam, and Zorra, Chloe, Ricky, Sophie, Lucy, and Teddy, Asta, Girasol, Randi, T-Man, Lenny, Tasha & Eva, Liza & Dory, Sitka & Tia, Comet & BLU, Ozzie & Rocky, Pearly, Chili, Mikki, Cracker, and Bama, Joey & Tanner, Frankie Doodles, Amici, Jake & Just Harry, Gussie, Charlie & Opy, Tucker-Doodle, Thrawn, Dot-Spot, Samantha, and Bear, The Canino's, Hammer, Hobson, Rose, Khomet, and Charlamayne. THANK YOU ALL!

Today at Minooka

Keeley was still very tired from last night. We just took him out to Minooka for a quick romp in the snow before it got dark out. My camera batteries died right after this picture.

Keeley visits his cousin dog, Tully

Morning Walk

This morning we went for a walk at Lake Park with Unkie Rob.
We had another snow storm yesterday.
Keeley had to check his pee-mail.
Guess what this silly pup is barking at...
That's right, he was protecting me from a stone lion. What a weirdo!
Keeley found a stick.
We went past this lighthouse that is being restored.
And we discovered this tree that had recently fallen down.

Playing with Unkie Rob

December Update

This month has been so busy for me. There's been so much to do with getting ready for Xmas and so much snow shoveling that needed to be done. I've been very busy at work too. I've really fallen behind on my blogging and on my blog reading. I was hoping to catch up on things over the holiday but it's already late and I've got to go back to work tomorrow so it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Here's a quick update about a few things that have been going on that are Keeley related.

Thank you everyone who told me what their experiences with more than one dog have been and to everyone else who gave me their opinion too. My mom said to me that she thought that maybe I should not get a second dog because if I didn't know what I wanted that it must mean that I don't really want one. See with Keeley, I was dead set on getting a male Irish Terrier and no one could convince me otherwise and believe me they tried. So now she thought since I was conflicted, that maybe I didn't really want another dog. However that's not true. I was just struggling with wanting to please everyone and get what's best for Keeley. My mom really wants another Irish and perferably a female and we were told by a lot of people that you shouldn't have two dogs of the same sex. That's why I had agreed to getting a female Irish Terrier and I kept saying that she was going to be "for Keeley" and the reason I was going to get a second dog was "for Keeley" because it I really didn't feel that it was for me since it's not what I wanted. Finally my mom said to me "The only reason that anyone should have another baby, or fur-baby in this case, is because they WANT one." That made a lot of sense to me and so I told her that what I really wanted was a male Border Terrier, which is what I originally said a year ago before all this not two dogs of the same sex nonsense. So she found a nearby breeder and we went for a visit. They are super cute dogs, but they are really jumpy, really high energy, and really licky. (FYI, Keeley doesn't lick, mostly he just bumps me with his nose to show affection.) I went home and thought about it for the night and finally decided that I'd just get another male Irish Terrier instead. It's the constant licking that really turned me off from the Border Terrier. I feel good now that things are decided. If all goes well, Keeley will get his new little brother sometime in spring 2008.

Here's a picture of Keeley's grandma posing him at the table with his cup of yogurt and cheerios. Are we taking this fur-child thing a little too far? She thought he wanted to be included but I don't think dogs were made to sit at the table.

Keeley's Unkie Rob and his girlfriend, Amanda, are in town visiting. They live in NYC. Keeley loves Unkie Rob. They really have a good time together and Keeley just loves having people over. I'll try to add some pictures of them playing together tomorrow. Right now it's getting late and Keeley is looking like he wants to go downstairs to go to bed. Here's one more photo of Keeley posing with his new pups. Good night!

Merry Christmas!

In our family, we open our gifts on Christmas Eve. Keeley got a lot of good stuff this year. From Jane, Molly, and Kate he got a rawhide bone (of which, only half is left). From Palina he got 2 beef stew flavored tennis balls. Keeley usually does not destroy his toys but they must have really tasted good because they only lasted about 35 minutes. From his Unkie Rob he got peanut butter flavored dog biscuits from Whole Foods. From me he got 2 stuffed animal dogs, a Boston Terrier and a Wire Fox Terrier. I did surgery on them in advance to insert squeakers. Here's a picture of Keeley posing with them.From me he also got the Firehouse Dog DVD, a Rip-Apart Watermelon, and some Christmas dog cookies with yogurt frosting. Pretty good haul for a little pup, I think.
It has been such a busy month. I will try to post more later to let you all know what we've been up to. Keeley and I hope the rest of you pups had (or are having) a great holiday too.

Dilemma

I've got a dilemma. Perhaps you, my blogging pals, could give me some advice?
When I realized that Keeley had turned me into a dog person, I was already thinking about getting a second dog. I thought a good playmate for Keeley would be a little brother Border Terrier. But all these people said to me that I shouldn't have 2 male terriers because they'd constantly fight over who was top dog. They told me that I needed to get a female dog instead.
For some reason, I just didn't want a female dog. But I'm not one for conflict and so eventually I agreed to get a female Irish Terrier for Keeley when he turns two (Keeley's grandma really wanted another Irish Terrier). His breeder only has one litter a year and I've already told her that I want a girl in spring. I've even picked a name for her, Teagan, which is a Welsh name meaning beautiful (Keeley is a Gaelic name meaning handsome). It's been several months and I've gotten quite used to the idea of getting a little sister for Keeley.
However, now some people are saying that I shouldn't get a female dog because Keeley will be too over protective of her or possessive of her. They're worried about how Keeley would act towards other dogs at the dog park and at daycare when he's got this little sis to protect. I'm told that an older female with a younger male would be okay, but not the other way around. Also a concern is how a girl dog added to the mix would affect things between Keeley and his best bud, Romare, the giant Airedale.
So now I don't know what to do. I asked Keeley what he thought of it all and he told me that he didn't care one way or another, just as long as I get him another dog soon. I've got a lot to think about and I'd love to hear your opinions on all this.

I'm tagging us myself!

Since I've been spending all my free time shoveling, I've fallen quiet behind on my blog reading. I'm starting to get caught up and noticed lots of dogs out there listing their 7 greatest annoyances. Keeley hasn't officially been tagged, but we're going to do it anyways. Here goes:

1. Keeley is annoyed by people touching his feet and he really hates having his toe nails cut. He barks, yelps, whines, cries, squirms, snarls, and snaps. It's a terrible ordeal. I pay other people to do it for me.

2. Keeley hates anything on wheels, such as: bikes, skateboards, motorcycles, buses, trucks, scooters, inline skates, lawn mowers, garbage dumpsters, coolers, suitcases, wagons, shopping carts, strollers, hospital beds, wheelchairs, cleaning carts, mop buckets, tricycles, vacuum cleaners, etc.

3. Squirrels. Keeley always shoots me this look that says, "Damnit, Erin! I could have caught those guys if I didn't always have to drag you behind me!" Yeah, so that annoys him. And he gets really annoyed by the fact that he can't figure out how to climb the tree to go after the squirrels. He does try though.

4. Keeley does not like to be humped by other dogs. It's so rude! His eyes get wide with shock ("How dare he!") and then rage. Keeley does this little twisty maneuver to shake the other dog off and then he usually bites their face.

5. Too much bass. We used to have a neighbor that would pull into their drive way with their stereo blasting. The bass would be up so loud that it would make our whole house shake. The first time it happened while I was home, I thought we were having an earthquake. Keeley really hated this.

6. Keeley is annoyed by anything being out of place. He barks at anything that he thinks is in the wrong place or doesn't belong. It really ticks him off when the furniture gets rearranged.

7. The thing that Keeley finds most annoying of all, is when humans won't share with him what they're eating. He tries his best to be patient, first he sits and waits about a minute or two. Then he tries laying down. If that doesn't work, then he starts to get a little impatient and starts bumping the person with his nose. Then he'll whine a little. If that doesn't work, then he'll jump up on that person. And if they still don't acknowledge him and give him a piece of food, then he'll start to bark an angry sort of bark.

This is for you, Noah, Willow, Tess, and Lucy!

You asked if I ever get sick of shoveling snow and the answer is YES! Once or twice a week is okay and it's good exercise... but shoveling once or twice a day really sucks! It snowed 2 or 3 inches this morning before I went to work. And then it snowed another 3 to 5 inches in the afternoon. I'm running out of places to put it! We've got this long and narrow driveway and there's really not much room to pile it up on the sides. I end up having to shovel some of it into Keeley's yard. If this keeps up, pretty soon there won't be much point to having a fence, the snow will be piled so high that Keeley could just jump over it.

Thank you, Kirby!

Thank you so much for this golden rose, Kirby! You are a true friend. Keeley would be honored to have you over for a doggie play date any weekend if your humans ever feel like taking an hour and 45 minute drive north.Keeley would like to pass on this honor to Jackson, Lenny, and Noah (and I guess he can share it with his sisters too!). You guys make blogging great fun!

Snow, Coat, Tail, Cake, and Cards

December is a busy month and it's hard to find time to blog. There were so many things I wanted to blog about this past week but I just couldn't find the time. Here's a quick update:
We got so much snow! On Friday, the radio report said that we've gotten over 13 inches already this month. It snowed again last night too! This means that I've been doing a lot of shoveling lately. If Keeley is outside with me, all he does is bark and try to attack the shovel. It's really annoying. So most of the time, he just watches from inside through a window. He always greets me very enthusiastically when I come back inside.
Here's Keeley modeling his new Snitchybug coat in the snow.

Since all you other DWBs out there have been showing off your tails, here's a shot of Keeley's tail. It was docked when he was just a wee pup. It's almost always in this position unless he's scared or sick, and then he puts it down between his legs and looks pathetic. I think Keeley's got a very cute butt. His fur goes in a little swirl on each butt cheek. We call it "Swirly-butt". You can see it better in the photo below.In the summer, Keeley likes to slide down our front hill like this. We call this "frog-butt". See, isn't it cute?

Since I'm trying to learn how to cook, I tried a Martha Stewart recipe for Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting and it actually turned out pretty good. I thought it tasted yummy and Keeley really loved it!
Finally, thanks to all you DWBs that have sent Keeley holiday cards! Keeley loves getting mail and I figure the mailman must be getting a good laugh over all these cards coming addressed to Keeley.

Welcome Winter

We were just having a lazy Saturday morning, not doing much of anything. Then at around noon, it started to snow. And snow. And snow. And it's still snowing right now.
Yesterday, I heard that it was supposed to snow 6 inches. And today they changed it to say less than an inch. But it's already more than that, so who knows how much we will get.
You might think that people in Wisconsin should know how to drive in snow, but I think that they all forget over the summer months. It's dangerous out there right now which is why we plan on staying in for a while (at least until the salt trucks get out there).
Keeley is excited by the snow. He already had to go out and inspect the snow in his yard that had fallen so far.

Practicing being a good boy

Last year we had to put an x-pen around the X-mas tree because as a young pup, Keeley could not be trusted. This year we decided that he's grown up so much that we could try it without the x-pen. On Tuesday night, I put up the tree with the lights and he left it well enough alone. Then on Wednesday night, I put the ornaments on the tree. I put all the non-breakables on the bottom branches and more fragile ones closer to the top. Keeley came over and checked out a few of the ornaments by the bottom and we kept on reminding him to "Leave it!" whenever it looked like he was going to bite one and he did really good with that. However, today when his grandma's back was turned, he seized the opportunity to get an ornament. A plastic Batman had to be retired because Keeley ate one of his legs before he was discovered.
Also today, Keeley got groomed in preparation for the holidays. He won't need to be trimmed again until around his birthday in March. I prefer his scruffy look, but this clean cut look is okay because you can see his gorgeous eyes really well. Here's a couple of pictures.
Since Keeley was such a good boy at the groomers, his grandma took him to Minooka afterwards as a reward. It was really cold and windy today but she let him be there for a whole hour. What a lucky boy!

Oliver visits again

This afternoon Keeley had another play-date with Oliver. Keeley pretty much made Oliver play Keeley's favorite games, bitey-face and play-wrestle. I think Oliver would have preferred just to be petted but Keeley was pretty insistent. Keeley likes people plenty but he is wild about his doggie friends! (Sorry, no pictures.... the digital camera is still in NY with Keeley's grandma.)

Scary Movies

Keeley and I like to wake up early, really early, like 5AM usually. The only problem is that there's nothing much to do at that hour since it's still dark out and no one else is awake yet. This morning we watched The Grudge on TV. Keeley really did not like that creepy cat boy or that dead chick that crawls down the stairs. He was barking at them like crazy! I don't know if they scared him or if he thought he was protecting me. I eventually had to change the channel to cartoons to get him to stop barking. However, Keeley was still clearly upset and so we decided to take a 1.5 mile walk to get his mind off it. Keeley often tries to find the biggest stick that he can carry on our walks and today was no exception. At about the halfway point he picked up a branch that looked to be about 4 feet long. Usually he drops it after about half a block, but not today. He ran with this branch all the way home while pulling me behind him. It was so long that it hit every light post, stop sign, building, and fence on our path. By the time we got home I was completely exhausted. My shins hurt. This little pup is going to whip me into shape yet!

Keeping busy on Buy Nothing Day

Keeley and I worked really hard to keep ourselves busy today in honor of BUY NOTHING DAY. We went to the dog park early in the morning when it was only 19 degrees outside. We took a mid-day nap. We baked cupcakes. We washed dishes. We took a walk around our neighborhood. And in the evening, the Dad and Ryan came over to visit. It might not sound like a lot of work, but trust me, it was. See, I like shopping a lot and I really like shopping for other people. I sure am lucky to have Keeley around to distract me and help me avoid temptation. To learn more about Buy Nothing Day, go to http://www.adbusters.org

Happy Thanksgiving to all you dogs out there!

Well, Keeley's grandma went to visit Keeley's Unkie Rob in New York and took her digital camera with her so we are without the ability to document any of the stuff we do while she's gone. Bummer, huh? And last night it snowed for the first time this winter too. It was only an inch but still. Anyhow, here's a picture of Keeley from last year's Thanksgiving. That will just have to do for now.
Also, Asta suggested that we look up Keeley's peculiar aristocratic title. So here it is:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Milord Sir Lord Keeley the Inexorable of Hope End Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I'm not sure... does "inexorable" mean that he's stubborn?

The Monday Blahs

Keeley's got a case of the Monday blues because he's got no Romare to play with today. He's just laying around and pouting.
I thought I'd share some photos of the first time Keeley and Romare met when Keeley was just a little squirt.Romare is such a good guy, he scaled down his game to accommodate the little Keeley pup.From the moment they met, Keeley thought Romare was just the greatest and he followed him everywhere. This was before we put down new sod and fenced in the backyard, so the boys had to be on-leash when we were outside. Look at how tiny Keeley was! He didn't have a beard yet, just some baby whiskers.

Madison Weekend

This weekend we went to Madison to visit Keeley's best buddy, Romare and his dads. And we just couldn't wait to see the beautiful renovations that they've done to their house. We had a great time, especially Keeley! He just loves Romare so much. They're like brothers. Keeley follows Romare around everywhere. They love to wrestle and play bitey face. Here's a picture of Romare; he's a giant Airedale:
I've known Romare since he was a puppy. He's the reason that I decided that I could probably get over my fear of dogs if I started with a puppy of my own. That's why I got Keeley. Here's a picture of Romare as just a little baby:
Before we got there, they had a wind storm and a dead tree fell over into their yard. We helped to clean it up and the boys helped too (well, sort of):
Romare's dad, Christopher, showed me how to make ratatouille since I've decided that I need to learn how to cook. Keeley got freaked out by Leeann because she showed up wearing a mask and he spent the whole dinner upstairs, hiding from her. Romare is such a good guy that he went up there and laid down next to Keeley to comfort him. The next morning we went to the dog park together and then said our goodbyes and headed home. All together it was a pretty great weekend. Here's one last shot of the boys together:

The Story About Keeley's Foot Injury

One morning, way back in February, we took Keeley to Muttland Meadows to play in the snow with other dogs. He had a blast running with the big dogs. We stayed for about 45 minutes which is enough time to tire him out but not long enough to get too cold. I put him in the car and checked his paws for ice and then we drove home.
30 minutes later, Keeley jumped out of the car; glad to be home like normal. We were home for an hour and Keeley was acting perfectly normal being his lovable little "velcro-pup" self. Then his grandma and I decided to go see a movie. So I made a kong for him and told him to go "housey-housey". He did so willingly. I put up his presure gate and told him to get some rest while we were gone.
We came right home after the movie so we were only gone for about 2 and 1/2 hours. I said "Puppers, we're home!" and I opened his gate. Keeley came out into the kitchen hopping on 3 legs. He wasn't using his left hind leg at all and was holding it up high.
I called the emergency vet for advice and I told them "I think it's his foot". They talked about frostbite or a cracked toe nail but I told them that it didn't seem like either of those things. They said he might have just strained it and should just rest a while and it'll be better. So I let him rest.
The next morning he didn't seem any better at all. I couldn't stand to see him in pain anymore so I asked his grandpa to drive us way out to the emergency vet. I told them, "I think it's his foot" but they said they didn't think so and that they wanted to take some x-rays of his legs. I agreed because I figured they knew what they were doing.
5 hours, 8 x-rays, and $560 later, they gave him back to me all drugged up. They said that they couldn't find anything wrong with him and that they think it must be a soft tissue injury in his leg. They said he just needs to rest and will be better in a couple of weeks.
A couple of weeks passed and he was still hopping on 3 legs. I called them up and they said wait another 2 weeks. Another 2 weeks passed and he was still not better. So we asked another vet and they said that a soft tissue injury sounds right and that he should just rest another 2 weeks. 2 more weeks later and he still wasn't much better. Keeley's trainer, PK, said that we'd better do something about his leg soon so that it doesn't develop into a chronic condition.
We decided that we needed a holistic vet. That's when we found Dr. Lisa at Animal Doctor. She examined Keeley and then reviewed the original x-rays from the emergency vet. I told her "I think it's his foot". She thought I was right and said, "You know, they didn't take a single x-ray of his foot?" I said she could take an x-ray of it now which she did. She didn't even need to knock Keeley out to do it. She said they wouldn't do something like that unless it was absolutley necessary. I asked "How did you get him to be still?" She said that they just wait until he's comfortable and relaxed. She was even able to determine exactly which toe was injured.
Since 6 weeks had already passed there wasn't much that could be done since the toe was already beginning to heal. (And as I understand it, there's not much you can do about a toe fracture anyhow). Dr. Lisa prescribed some metacam for Keeley and said that we needed to get serious about limiting his activity so that he can continue to heal. We also started Keeley on fish oil and glyco-flex.
Right about this time, Keeley had just celebrated his first Birthday. Have you ever tried to limit the physical activity of a one year old puppy? Let me tell you, it's next to impossible. Every time that we thought that he was finally getting better, he'd overdo it and start hopping again. That's how it's been for the last 8 months - two steps forward and one step back.
As a result of all this, I've become a little protective of Keeley's feet. I'm constantly warning everyone to be careful not to step on his feet and telling the neighborhood kids to be more gentle with his hind legs. Plus I won't allow Keeley to do the A-frame in agility for fear of him re-injuring that toe or another toe. I'm very glad that he's finally healed but I'd hate to have to go through all this again.

Keeley finally returns to daycare!

Today was Keeley's first day back at daycare since he broke his toe in February. They told me he had a great day. Best of all, he wasn't hopping around on only 3 legs when I picked him up. He's stinky and exhausted but he's walking on all 4's. I'm so glad that he's finally healed!

Food Dispensing Dog Toys

Sometimes I think Keeley is too much like me. I hate failing so much that sometimes I won't even try something unless I believe I'm going to be successful at it. I see this behavior in Keeley too.
We have tried all kinds of food dispensing dog toys over the past year and a half. It's been hard finding one that suits Keeley. They're either too hard so he gives up quickly or they're too easy that they don't keep him occupied for more than a couple of minutes.

First, we got lots of Kongs because everyone told us that it was the greatest thing. Unfortunately, Keeley did not agree. I've tried all sorts of Kong reciepies and still Keeley only eats out of a Kong what he can lick up with his tongue and even that he gives up on in a matter of minutes.

Then we tried a Talk-to-Me Treat Ball. The ball is way too round and got lost under furniture way too easily. Plus the hole that the treats come out is too big so too many treats come out at once. On top of all that, the talking part never worked right.

Next we tried a Buster Cube. Since it's a cube, we thought that would prevent it from getting stuck under furniture. Keeley thought it was too hard to get the treats out and lost interest with it almost immediately. Plus It was insanely noisy on the hardwood floors.

At some point, Keeley's grandma found this awesome thing at Target. I don't know what it's called or if it's even intended to be used as a treat dispenser. But that's how we use it. Keeley loves it - as you can see by how worn it looks.

A month or two ago, I got Keeley an Orbee Strawberry. I liked that it looked cute and Keeley liked that it was minty. But we had the same old problems. If I stuffed it too good, Keeley lost interest quickly and if I stuffed it too loosely then too many treats would come out at once. After 3 days it disappeared. To date, it is still MIA.

Today Keeley's grandma decided to take a chance on another treat dispensing toy. This one is called a Tricky Treat ball. At first Keeley thought it was too difficult to get the treats out. His grandmother said to him "You can't give up so fast! Think of all those starving dogs in Biafra." So Keeley gave it another try and now he's starting to get the hang of it. It's pretty cute watching him push the ball around the floor with it nose. Here's a picture of Keeley demonstrating his technique.
The next food dispensing toy I'd like to try is a TreatStik. www.treatstik.com