Checkup at the Vet

Samson Stats: 5 years old, 128 lbs.
Abby Stats: 1.5 years old

Samson's birthday was August 31st! Happy birthday, Sam! <3

I took Samson to the veterinarian today for a mini checkup so that we could get more refills for his prednisone (used to treat his allergies during the summer months). I came home on an early lunch break to load him up in the car and take him to the vet. I didn't make a big deal out of it, but Abby knew we were going somewhere and she got pretty excited. Unfortunately, she wasn't coming along. When I walked out with Samson and without Abby, she started barked kind of frantically as though she didn't want to be left alone. I felt so bad for leaving her, because after thinking about it for a minute, she's never been alone in the house --Samson has always been there with her -- so I think she didn't want to be left behind. I imagine she was also a little jealous that he was getting to go out and she wasn't. lol I don't know how long she barked after we left, but I don't believe she did it for very long; it's just not really in her personality to do that. By the time I got back from the vet, she was quiet and excited to see Samson. After a little while of greeting and loving on Sam, she noticed that I had come home, too.

As for the vet visit, Sam did ok. The vet is not his favorite place. Though he liked going when he was little, I think that all changed on a particular visit during which they clipped his nails and hit the quick a few times. He never enjoyed going there after that. And really, who could blame him?

Other than the anxiety he was experiencing, he behaved relatively well all things considered. He didn't try to bolt out the door or anything while we were in the waiting room, but he wasn't waiting calmly either -- lots of panting and restlessness instead. The vet finally came to weigh him and give him a good once-over. He weighed 128 lbs, and she said he looked good. So yay! New Rx of prednisone! :D

In other news, Abby likes to climb up on the couch a lot these days. She'll crawl up there usually when Travis is there on his laptop and she scoots close enough to him so that she's sure to be touching hm. It's pretty cute. And yesterday, she decided to just sit up there by herself for a little while. It was pretty funny:

Four-Month Update

Abby Stats: 1 year old

Abby has turned into a very confident and happy dog. She’s not afraid of anything. She is a regular barker and guards the house well. In fact, just yesterday my mom came to the house while we were at the neighbors’ and rang the doorbell. Both dogs barked of course, but Abby also stuck her head through the cat door to see who was outside. Mom put her face to the window, and Abby, head still stuck through the cat door, growled menacingly at her. I had to laugh when I saw her do it; she looks a little ridiculous with her head sticking through the cat door. It makes me feel good to know that Abby will do a good job intimidating would-be burglars.

Abby walks really well on the leash, though she tends to try to lead. When we take her and Samson out to the square, she will sometimes bark at other dogs when we try to pull her away from them. I think she is just doing this because she is confused or is unsure of how to behave around other dogs that are leashed. It’s definitely something to do with the leashes, because she is always very friendly when she meets dogs when she is free in the back yard.

Other than that, she eats really well, has gotten into a regular schedule about going out, and plays with Oscar regularly. She loves digging in the yard (to our chagrin) and playing with Samson. She gets jealous when he is outside on his own and will bark and whine wanting to go out where he is. She doesn’t seem to mind as much when the situation is reversed and she is outside on her own.

She likes to cuddle and play with us in the floor. Her personality is so much like Ellie's sometimes, but minus all of Ellie's fearfulness. Abby really has been a Godsend for us.

She is very fond of chewing on her toys; we bought her a Kong Extreme about a month ago, and she’s already chewed off a few pieces of it. She also really likes the bones that she has, and has done a very good job of not chewing up much that she is not supposed to. The Christmas tree, however, had its trial by fire not long after we put it up. Somebody (probably Oscar, but possibly also Samson since he likes to get into tight spaces…) knocked the tree over, and we came home to find a bunch of chewed-up ornaments. Luckily none of our good ones were destroyed (it was only the inexpensive decorative ones), but we scolded her really well and she hasn’t paid any attention to the tree since then. She seems to learn very quickly when she does something wrong, and rarely does it more than once.

Also, we discovered today what appears to be a third dew claw on one of her hind legs. It looks so weird and is not like the others. It's sort of soft and looks as though it could just be pulled out or something. Gives me the heeby-jeebies just wrting about it. We might have to have it removed just for being so... creepy. lol

Ellie Eats Drywall

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 3 months old

• Ellie hasn’t chewed up anything in quite a while, but she somehow chewed a hole in the livingroom wall yesterday. The WALL!! Wtf?! Hopefully this will not be a trend…
• She's still scared of stuff outside, and keeps almost constant vigilance in the livingroom window.
• Ellie is starting to hesitantly bark and even sometimes growl at things outside when she’s in the house. I guess she's starting to act a little like a pyr. She sometimes surprises herself, though, as if she doesn’t know the noise came from her. lol
• Still runs and hides whenever Samson barks at anything.
• Still has her puppy coat - very soft and very thick.