Weekend Adventures: Deep Cleaning

This weekend was pretty laid back. It was pretty hot, so I didn't want to bring Luna out for too long on an adventure. Plus the last couple weekends have been quite crazy, therefore, I wanted to just relax and do stuff around the apartment...Lots of cleaning. 

But on the bright side, Luna decided to help. When I vacuumed she watched my every move, making sure I did not miss a single spot, or that I vacuumed up any of her toys. After finishing vacuuming the entire 896 square feet of our apartment, the vacuum was filled to the brim with fur. I swear, every time I vacuum I could make a new dog with the amount of fur that gets sucked up!

I also cleaned the bathroom, specifically the bathtub that needed a deep clean. I put some Comet down in the tub and let it sit there as I cleaned the rest of the apartment. When I came back to the tub, I noticed little footprints in the tub that lead out to the hallway. Clearly, Luna wanted to make sure she was helping me out. (Don't worry, I checked her to make sure she didn't have any more Comet on her paws and kept an eye on her after that to make sure she didn't consume anything she wasn't supposed to. Luna is healthy and fine.)

After cleaning the apartment, I decided to treat myself to a spa day (aka a fresh pedicure). And if you have ever tried to paint your nails with dogs around, you will know that nail polish is a magnet for dog hair. It is a serious struggle sometimes. I feel like that Lays commercial where the woman eats some potato chips after a fresh mani, and the chips are all over her fingers. Disgusting. Well, imagine that, except with fur. But today's pedi was a success, not too much fur around after vacuuming. 

Source

Now, I didn't just stay inside the whole weekend. Luna and I went to the lake (Lake Borris--the one we like) for a couple hours. She had a great time, as usual, but was happy to go home and sleep. What I've noticed with Luna is that no matter how tired she is, if there are other dogs or people around she can not settle down and chill out. She is just too stimulated and too excited. The only way she can actually lay down and chill out is if we are at home. So that's what we did, we went home so Luna could sleep (and I could nap). And she chose to sleep in her crate with the door wide open! 

A good relaxing weekend for both of us.

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Weekend Adventure: #DogMomFail

This weekend I was a horrible dog mom and decided to do things that did not involve Luna at all (you know, took some ME time--such a rare thing!). I may have had a fun filled weekend, but Luna did a lot of sleeping in her crate (though I did have people check up on her while I was away).

Fortunately on Saturday, I was able to get her out of the house and bring her to a "new" dog park. It's definitely far from new, it's not even new for Luna! Just new for me. We went to Drew's favorite dog park in Livermore, called Vista Meadows. 

According to the name, you would think there is a love view of lush green meadows. Except, this is California, and we are in a drought, so the only view you have is dead and yellow. (Hey! We are the "Golden State" after all!)

Drew really likes this dog park because it really tires Luna out very fast. Vista Meadows is on the side of the hill, so inside the dog park there is an incline where the dogs have to run up and down the hill if they are playing fetch or chasing after dogs or whatever else they do at dog parks. 

It's a pretty good set up, they also have benches, trees (great shade for hot days), and water. You would think the last one would be an obvious at a dog park, but you'd be surprised at how many dog parks I've been to that don't have water for dogs. They expect you to bring your own water! Crazy. But Vista Meadows has that under control. They are even good about having a small dog and big dog water bowl. Well, the small dog "bowl" is more of a crater in the cement block under the water spicket, but it works.

It's funny, I have never really realized the necessity of having a small dog bowl. Since Luna was never considered a small dog, I never understood what the issue was and why people brought their own water bowls to dog parks. I just always thought "Oh, they are those people, that are specific on what their dog drinks out of." Some people are genuinely like that, but I came to realize most people who bring their dog water bowls from home to dog parks is a different issue all together! I didn't understand this issue until I brought Moxie (Luna's cousin who is a Maltese) to the dog park with us. 

The water bowls that the dog parks supply are usually buckets. Buckets that are taller than every small dog out there. These poor dogs can't even reach the water bowl. When I brought Moxie with us to the dog park, I realized this was an issue when she started panting. I brought her over to the water (thinking she just didn't know where the water was located), that's when I laughed. The poor girl was shorter than the bucket and couldn't even reach. How the hell am I going to solve this problem? I pick her up and dangle her over the water bucket, which doesn't go well. She is confused why I'm holding her over this large body of water. So what did I do? I became that girl, and made a basin with my hands and had Mox drink out of it. To other people I probably looked like some crazy dog lady, I might as well have just put the water in my mouth and fed her water like a mother bird to her babies. But hey, Moxie got to quench her thirst, and that's what matters right?

So that was my weekend with Luna. Pretty much a failure as a dog mother #DogMomFail.
I ditched her, and the one time I did actually take her out the grass was all dead. AND I forgot to bring a ball, but don't fret, another dog and his owner showed up and Luna snatched his ball. She is such a ball thief, and a tease. We gave that ball back and headed home, she was pooped.

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American Weekend

This 3 day weekend was action packed and huge for Luna!

1. OFF LEASH!

Friday, Drew and I experimented with off-leash potties with Luna. Last time we did this it turned into us chasing after her for an hour, the whole time I was having a heart attack. The Husky in Luna makes her BOLT, and the Lab in her makes her have ADD which makes it hard to get her to "come" when she sees a squirrel. But we have been working on it...slowly. So we decided to take a "leap of faith" and we took off her leash, grabbed a couple motivational treats and opened the door (dun, dun, DUNNNNN)! 

At first she was a little hyper to be off leash but stayed within 15 feet of us and just ran circles and peed. Then we told her to "come" and she did (so we gave her a treat), then told her to "go home" and straight up the stairs she went! SUCCESS!!! Happy parents for sure.

This is a video of Luna when told to "Go Home" after doing her business. (She gets ahead of me but looks back a couple times to see if I'm following).

2. Playing with 5lb Teddy

We went over to Drew's parents' house for Independence Day and Luna got to play with Teddy. I swear, every time we go over there, Luna and Teddy get better and better about playing together. The two got a little crazy when Moxie came around (3 dogs at G-ma and G-pas house can get exciting at first), but then settled down. They went outside and played with bubbles. Teddy was all about them and definitely won first place at popping the most bubbles. Then after a long play day the 3 were exhausted, and fell asleep. 

3. FIREWORKS!

This was the first time Luna would be experiencing fireworks with us. We didn't know how she'd react but seeing that the garbage truck that sounds like a plane crashing into our apartment never phases her, we weren't too worried. And when we walked to Downtown Livermore where they were setting off the fireworks, Luna was intrigued by the lights in the sky. She was staring at them just like she stares at flies, questioning how they got there and how in the world is she gonna get them! All in all a very successful, non-freak-out experience, which is a HUGE relief.

4. OFF LEASH X2!

Saturday, I took Luna to Lake Borris (the off-leash dog lake/trail area in Livermore, behind Shadow Cliffs). It is by far my favorite place to bring her. She can swim, play with other dogs, and get in a nice little tiny hike at the same time. This place is COMPLETELY off leash, and quite frankly it's the best place to train your dog off leash. There's no place the dog can really go and get into any real danger (far from busy streets, and it's basically all in a large ditch). Luna is a HUGE fan of water, I mean she tries to swim in the fountains Downtown, and I don't stop her. 

I decided that this time at Lake Borris, I would try to see how she does off leash on the walk over to the beach (well more like on leash, and I just drop it on the ground and let it drag behind her). I kept treats in hand and when she would get too far I would tell her to come back, and if she listened she was rewarded. She was amazing! I told her to "stay" when I wanted her walking right next to me (which was whenever I saw a dog coming towards us). Then I would have her sit, when the dog and its owner were about 10-15 feet away, and when they passed we would keep walking. 

I'm telling you, it must be a maturity thing, that once your dog hits 1, they listen better and do what you say (for the most part). I don't think that a week ago she would have been able to do this! It's crazy!

So we get to the beach part of the lake and she's playing and swimming and having a great time. Then this 5 month old Black Lab comes around and starts playing with Luna. This was the first time this dog has gone swimming, and the best way to teach your dog something is to have another dog train it! DO NOT EVER THROW YOUR DOG INTO A POOL TO TRY TO HAVE THEM SWIM!!!! EVERRRR!!! (It's like throwing a kid who doesn't know how to swim in the pool, and then they are traumatized for the rest of their life and will refuse to go in the water.) 

When it's time to go (when mom is tired and hot and sunburnt), I decided to put her on the leash again but drop it on the ground for a little. Then a couple minutes later I thought I would try and do NO LEASH AT ALL! And usually (like I said before) she will BOLT like there's no tomorrow. This time? That was not the case. She acted the same as when the leash was on the ground! She was a little more testing her limits but it was okay, she would turn around and walk by my side when I told her to. 

I was such a proud Mama. When we were almost to our car I put her leash back on and a dog who had just arrived was pulling his (or her) owner like you see in those movies. That Lab was easily 90lbs. Big boy (or girl). Then he (or she) just starts barking and barking and BARKING! Meanwhile, I just tell Luna, sit and stay, and she's quiet, just watching this chocolate Lab go berserk. And the owner and family say "Wow! How old is your dog?" And I tell them she's one. And they are shocked since their dog is 5 and "not as well trained." (Clearly a socialization issue). Sorry, was that bitchy? 

Not going to lie, Drew and I have done a great job training Luna on how we want her to act. Of course she isn't perfect and she still makes mistakes, but she's a dog. I'm not a military sergeant training soldiers, I am just a crazy dog lady training her crazy dog. 

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Luna's Birthday PAW-ty

Emphasis on the "PAW." Yes, now I am that lady who throws birthday parties for her pets. I tried to keep it "low-key" so I didn't seem that crazy, but let's be honest, I'm still crazy. But, if you compare a birthday party for a dog, and a birthday party for a 1 year old, at least my dog will have fun and sort of remember it. Even though I wasn't expecting anyone to show up who said they were going to, there was actually a big turn out! There were 9 dogs who ended up coming! (There were a couple of random people who showed up who weren't invited to the party, but it's a public park and I honestly didn't mind—The more the merrier!)

Luna's PAW-ty was at Robertson Dog Park, in Livermore. I bought some cheap dog toys (rope toys and tennis balls) from the Dollar Tree, and a kiddie pool from Target to keep the dogs entertained. I also ended up making goodie bags, which consisted of the Homemade Peanut Butter Oatmeal dog treats with the recipe. 

There were SO many different personalities at Luna's PAW-ty (it's just so fun to say PAW-ty). There's Luna, who would get so excited when another dog would come, so, like a good hostess, she would go greet them. She also WOULD NOT slow down the entire 3 hours that we were there. No resting or laying down once! She was having way too much fun. 

Then you had Casey's dogs, Stella and Toby. Stella is a full blown mutt, and Toby is a 14-year-old Shih Tzu. Stella was in charge of making sure all the dogs were getting along. When someone was playing too rough she would bark, as if saying "Nope, that's not okay, someone is going to get hurt." Eventually, Stella would try to get in on the fun and play wrestle too, but she just ended up being the awkward third wheel. Toby, was the dog who did his own thing and didn't care about anything going on around him. He just smelled the fence line and peed on some patches of grass. At one time he ended up on the other side of the dog park (he must've gotten under the poorly made fence), and he was just chillin' and doing his thing over there. So stealth, Toby.

Allie, the standard poodle, with her dog owner Amanda, was the next to arrive. Allie was such a diva. She did not want to play with any other dog, because she's a model now. She was just at a fundraising event and she was asked to model off the new poodle clip. So when Allie and Amanda came, Allie stuck by mom the entire time, or tried to jump up on the table to be above all the other dogs (dominance thing for sure). But in the end she seemed to do just fine and have a good time soaking up some sun.

Shree brought her dog Lilah, who is a rescue but she thinks she has Boxer, Greyhound, and some other breeds in her. Lilah is a very energetic dog, and VERY fast. She was the only other one besides luna that I saw play in the pool. She is a barker, and since she's a larger dog, it tends to scare people. Shree had to put Lilah on a leash a couple times to calm her down. And when it was time to go, Lilah whined and whined, not ready to leave.

Drew's family showed up with Teddy, the Pomeranian puppy. It was their first time at the dog park and with all these dogs and their various personalities, they held him the entire time. At one point, they took him over to the other side of the dog park to have him run around without any dogs in the way. Luna and Lilah watched Teddy from the other side of the fence and would run back and forth trying to chase him.

Hannah brought her two dogs: Bell and Louie. Bell is an older Golden Retriever, and Louie is a Ridgeback mix (a HUGE dog). Becca came with to help Hannah with Bell and to hang out. Bell did her own thing, but was still very playful and very happy. Louie played a lot with Luna, who was probably half his size. That boy was a tank! I would not feel scared walking at night if I had Louie with me. But he is such a friendly guy. 

Ziggy, the Beagle mix came with Mackensie, and she was super interested in Teddy. She was trying to play with Teddy the entire time, even though he was in someone's arms. Once Ziggy realized the tiny Pomeranian wasn't getting down to play with her, she became interested in playing with the other dogs. Ziggy and Mackensie left a little early, but still got ample amount of play time in.

Brian was the last to arrive (yep, just called you out!) with his Golden Retriever, Fez.  Fez was probably tired from the 2 hour drive over and wasn't really in the playing mood. He just sat next to Brian most of the time, and occasionally played fetch. He did however like to get real close to people and sit on their feet and lean against them, getting his fur ALL over them.

Then there was Shreya. She is dog lover, but she doesn't have a dog, so she came to get her puppy fix. Shreya ended up being the photographer and got a ton of photos (basically all of the photos in this post are from her). Thanks Shreya!

And for those of you who think it's absolutely absurd that I have thrown a birthday paw-ty for my dog, you are probably right. It is a little overboard, I'll admit, but at least I'm not a crazy cat lady ;)

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