Doggie Pink Eye

Chops has been wanting to do this:

His new skill is burrowing. When he is allowed to come up on the bed he immediately burrows his way under the covers and curls up in a little ball. He will not come out unless you say "dada" or Eric call's his name. This is what he did when called, stuck his face out just enough to see what we wanted. But right now he is having withdrawls and whining at the bedroom door because his eye looks like this, closed and gunky because of dog pink eye.

We learned this week dog's can get a version of pink eye. Conveniently Chops likes to have medical issues when his regular vet is on vacation (this is the second time), so we made a 45 minute drive to the next closest town to get him fixed up. He'll be back to burrowing in a few days.

We've been doing a lot of projects too. Stay tuned.

Got His Hurrrs Did.

Mister Baby was getting pretty scraggly. He hadn't been trimmed since Thanksgiving. His foot hair was getting muddy and long, his nails were way overgrown, but we just kept putting it off because he had this long hair on the top of his head you could stick up like a mohawk and it was SOO cute. I wish I had taken a picture of it.

It started to get warm and I was tired of cleaning up long dog hair everywhere so we took him to get a cut. I love how he looks after a new haircut. It is a combination of a sheared sheep and a baby cow. He appears to lose ten pounds from all the missing hair and he walks around all sulky like he knows the hair is gone and he misses it. Here is the baby sheep calf before and after.

 scraggles

lost little sheep-calf

Mister Baby, It's Cold Outside.

A post about cold weather in January in North Dakota? Who would have thought? I know you know it's a little chilly, but it's so cold our dog shivers in a 60 degree house. Here is how Chops likes to lay on his bed.

He will just sleep like this nice and bundled. When your dog needs a cocoon it's too cold to go out.



First Rooster

(Yes, the dead bird is laying in our partially remodeled kitchen. It was dark outside and we had to document by photo)

Took Chops out hunting for the first time this weekend. He did great and was able to quarter (zig zag back and forth) in front of Eric about ten yards with no problem. There weren't a lot of birds out but we kicked up a few. Man did that get Chops excited! He wanted to take off after all of them, but did great when we told him not to. Still needs some work on not chasing every animal he finds. The shotgun didn't seem to bother him (first time we've used the real thing) and he found his rooster with no problem. He didn't really know what to do once he found it though. It was still flapping and Chops just stood there and looked at Eric like "now what?" We let him fetch it in the yard when we got home, but he needs help figuring out how to pick it up and carry it. We're getting some partridge for him today for more practice.

As a side note...it was my first rooster also, and my first time going hunting for anything. If you haven't been, my take on it is that it's pretty much like hiking, except there is no trail and built in excitement (the birds). It's really kind of enjoyable if you have ear plugs for the shots and you aren't forced to pick up the dead birds (I think I have to work up to that). Oh and no cleaning the birds either. I have a ways to go, but made a good start.

 

This is Chops' reaction when you say "birds." He does this face right before he runs to the door to be let out.

Dose of Chops

Lots of people love their dog too much. I think we fall into that category. Here is squishy face chops as he checks on what we are doing in the basement. Hi Mister Baby!

Chops Update

Last Sunday we took Chops out to the field for a while and he seemed to be doing fine. Towards the end he had vomited and had diarrhea. By the time got home he thrown up again and Eric noticed he was peeing blood. After an emergency call to the vet we took him in after hours and he stayed from Sunday night to Wednesday lunchtime. The vet still isn't quite sure what was wrong since his symptoms didn't fit  any specific thing. She thinks it may have been muscle breakdown due to over exertion, but he also showed signs of infection and poisoning. After lots of blood work, worry, and medication, Chops came back home on Wednesday and had a follow up appointment today (Saturday). He is getting better, but isn't quite there yet. He can't exercise for a while, but Eric was so glad to have him back he went and bought him a new hoof, beef knuckle, and skid plate.

Chop's New Trick

Chops has learned a new trick. Every time the freezer opens and he hears a popsicle wrapper make noise he comes running and won't leave your side. Why, because every time Eric has a popsicle he shares with Chops.

Ringing The Bell

Exciting News. It has been about a week since Chops has had an accident in the house. He has been ringing his bell each time to go out and seems completely potty trained! He seems to have connected the bell to outside, and during his most active times of the day will ring the bell about every ten minutes. We love the pee and poop free house, but taking him out continually some parts of the day is getting a little chilly. He is also sleeping through the night most nights which is a very nice change, and his most newly mastered command is "down." Check out the new pictures of the growing pup.

Other things going on here in North Dakota you ask? Well we have snow, ice, cold, and are making soup frequently. This week we tried meal planning for dinners and tried a very good corn chowder with bacon, potatoes, and cheese. We found a food blog linked from the food network website that had a superbowl recipe contest. From that same site we got a recipe for Buffalo Chicken and Jalapeno Popper dip. We don't really have any big superbowl plans besides making those, and Eric is very excited about them.

House project update is pretty slim to none. We started organizing the basment for the summer garage sale in the works. There is a TON of stuff to get rid of (most of it is not my stuff). Our window trim is up, but needs to have the nails set, filled, and touched up. We need to touch up the colored paint too, and then do the crown molding. We have been procrastinating about the crown because it is something Eric hasn't done before, and I think it really comes down to being very busy with work and enjoying living here like normal people who aren't covered in drywall and paint.

Chops.

Hi Everyone.

We finally have internet hooked up and working at the new place, so blogging can now be a more frequent occurrence. We have a lot going on as usual. I am sitting here typing this with a blizzard warning and blowing snow outside while Eric is getting ready to hop in the car and go to Bismarck to get a flight. Oh the coincidence of winter travel in North Dakota. Our house continues to get more and more finished by the day. Pictures may have to wait though until we find a place to organize all of our stuff. It is always amazing how you accumulate without even realizing. Our biggest news is the new puppy CHOPS! For those of you familiar with the facial hair trend, check out the markings near his mouth. We have had him a week and he is full of energy. We drove to Minnesota last weekend and had some sleepless nights, but now he is getting up only 1-2 times a night, spends a lot of time in his kennel sleeping in the day, and loves his pheasant stuffed animal. He can already sit too. Check him out and stay updated because I will be posting much more often.