I've Jinxed Everything....

I gotta keep my mouth shut from now on. No more premature assumptions or exclamations that my new puppy, Skylar, has overpasses every puppy obstacle in the books. Last week, I was so excited because I thought Skylar was potty trained and going where she was supposed to be 95% of the time. I was so excited I expressed my proudness in my new pup on Facebook. FOR ALL TO SEE! Was I bragging? Maybe a little. I mean I only had her for a couple days at that point so I was thrilled! Well, a couple hours later she peed on the floor of our apartment 3 times in a row... THREE "BAD POTTY's" IN A ROW.... Right after publicly profisizing how glorious my dog was. So naturally... I took to my Facebook status again... "I take back what I said... Skylar is NOT potty trained". Just pure humiliation. AND I got more likes on that status than the one before! Clearly, public failure is more liked on social media than publicisizing your successes.

We've seriously been messing up with potty training. I remember it being so easy and short lived with Luna. It was like we spoke the same language. This Skylar girl is not on the same brain waves as me, clearly. Drew keeps trying to convince me that I'm crazy and that Luna wasn't fully potty trained until she was 6 months old! WHAT?! Impossible! I'm a better dog trainer than 6 months of failed attempts of getting my dog to pee on the grass, and poop on the wood shavings (makes it much easier to pick up). After trying to prove him wrong, Drew says that I have unreasonable expectations for a puppy we just got. That is true. He wins. More potty training struggles in an upcoming post...

So I've accepted that she's not 100% potty trained. Whatever, if Drew's timeline is in fact correct, I suppose I'm not a complete dog mom failure. At least she's pretty much sleeping through the night. We decided to keep her in her crate at night (especially since she is not potty trained). Luna isn't crated at night, because she never has been and I've read that you don't want to change your first dog's habits when you get a new dog. So Skylar gets to sleep in her crate, and Luna on our bed. Skylar whines a couple minutes after being in her crate but then falls asleep. She sleeps great in the crate. Only wakes up once at 5:30 to go potty, which isn't too bad. I remember waking up 3 times in the middle of the night with Luna. So again I start telling coworkers that yeah she's peeing everywhere but at least she's sleeping through the night! ....But what's the title of this blog post again? That's right... I freaking jinxed it again! The next night she woke up at 4am, I tried to ignore her for what seemed like 30 min but she started barking and whining at the same time! I resentfully got up and took her out so she could drain her dime sized bladder. Then an hour later she started crying again, but I really ignored her that time. She fell back to sleep. THEN AN HOUR LATER AGAIN, she woke up. By this time it was about 6:30am and about 30 mins before I usually get up and get ready for the day so I caved and let her out again. So, no... Not sleeping through the night as I thought she was.

Then again, I try to look at the silver lining - at least she's not going potty IN her crate. I say this again to my coworkers. And since I'm aware of my jinxing the last two times, I knock on wood. My one coworker reassures me that dogs hardly ever pee in their crates cus that's their bed, and they don't like peeing where they sleep. I already knew this, but I also knew the power of my jinxing lately, which is why I superstitiously knocked on my wooden desk (which actually isn't wood, but that cheap fake Ikea wood). I get home from work and the pups are in their crates and I see Skylar. Oh, sweet Skylar. Her fur looks wet. Hmm... That's weird to me. Then light bulb on in my head... SHE PEED IN HER CRATE! I mean of course she did. Because whenever I try to give her credit for being a decent puppy, she goes and does the exact opposite of what I say she's improving on. I throw the pee soaked wiggly butt in the shower. I feel bad. The poor pup has been a victim of my sorcery and jinxing, and now she's been sitting in her own filth for who knows how long (well I know less than 4 hours since I checked on her at lunch).

So I've taken an oath to myself that I will no longer talk about the progression of Skylar's training and ability as above the puppy curve. I will only say how I'm trying to train and how she's reacting. No "Slylar's the best puppy in the world and can do triple back flips". She's a puppy, and it's like Drew says, my expectations are unreasonable. And there you have it, I'm officially relearning everything I did when Luna was a pup. Oh the joys. As much as this stage sucks, I do not regret a single second of getting Skylar. Drew thinks I'm having my second thoughts, but I couldn't be happier. I love my two dogs, even if they are covered in pee when I get home.

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Preparing For A Dog Is Like Preparing For A Baby

Getting a second dog is a whole lot of fun and cuteness, especially when you get a puppy. But there are a couple of adjustments for your new dog, your previous furbaby, and even on yourself (and spouses and children if you have them).

It's not like you can just go to the mall and on your way to Macy's you see an adorable pup at the pet store and instantly impulse buy the dog. Dogs are NOT impulse buying products. Save that for ice cream when you're grocery shopping. Trust me, you'll be better off with the ice cream if you haven't done your research on getting a dog.

There's a lot of research you should do before getting a dog. A lot of it should be breed specific: what are good types of dogs for apartments, what breeds are easily potty trainable, what breeds are good with kids, etc. But you also want to research about how to prepare yourself for the new addition.

When I decided that we were going to get another pup, I had to plan a lot of things ahead of time. The last thing I wanted to do was bring home a pup and not know where it was going to sleep at night: the crate or the bed? Obviously you can't break down every possible scenario and have a perfect solution for every obstacle. But you can try to come up with some things before hand.

Here's a list of things to do to prepare for a new furbaby:

• Purchase all the goodies: food, food container, crates, bowls, toys, chews, collar, leash (probably multiple), tag, flea and tick prevention, cone, blanket,  potty pads, bed, squirt bottle, pinch collar (or type of walking corrector), lots of cleaning supplies, assortment of treats
• Figure out where the dog is going to sleep at night
• If you have another pet, find out what is going to be different for them: for us, Luna would be going from eating whenever she feels like to scheduled feeding times. Also things to think about is their areas level. How are you going to make sure that they have their own space when they need it?
• If you have kids: talk to them about appropriate behaviors around the new addition, including if they can give treats, if they can walk the dog, etc.
• Come up with command words for different instructions and let your significant other or roommates know them. The key to training a dog is consistency. You want to make sure that everyone is saying "OFF" if you want the dog to get off the furniture. If someone uses "DOWN" the dog will get confused as to which command is correct.
• Figure out a schedule for everything! Feeding, peeing, drinking, potty, nighttime, playtime, nap time, etc. Again, consistency is key.
• If you are renting, you better make sure your landlord is aware.
• Dog proof everything! Cords, books, magazines, socks, shoes, electronics, TV remotes, etc. are puppies favorite chews. Put everything up or away so your addition won't ruin your favorite things. 
• Make a vet appointment. You're probably going to want to have the vet check to make sure there's nothing weird going on with your dog. I brought Skylar to the vet a couple days after having her home so if I had questions I could ask the vet. I also wanted to establish a relationship with a vet at a time where (hopefully) everyone is healthy

As you can see, a lot goes into getting a puppy. And that's just the planning part! Think of what it's gonna be like when you actually have him/her! Pets are for life, and never get a dog if you aren't sure if you will keep them forever. They are like kids. Would you return your kid to the hospital you delivered them at because he/she was coloring on your walls? No!

Dogs are a lot like having kids (or so I would assume...I don't have any of my own, but what I hear is that dogs can prepare you for parenthood.) And preparing for a dog is just like preparing for a baby! Planning, buying, preparing, and training. You might as well have a puppy baby shower too! Haha... But seriously if you are planning a puppy shower, please tell me, I'd love to be the event planner for that party. 

That's my list. If you have any other good preparation tips leave a comment below!

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Hello, My Name Is.... Skylar Hops

It's been 6 days since we've adopted our puppy, Skylar. And boy, let me tell you, I forgot what puppy training is like. And if you don't know from experience, it is A LOT of work. But that's an understatement. I don't regret adopting her for a minute, because I know it will be worth it. She is is absolutely adorable (which makes her puppy behavior more tolerable). Here, see for yourself! I've only taken a million photos of her.

(Side note: Drew thinks I've overwhelmed the social media platforms of pics of our pup. He's probably right, but who doesn't love pics of puppies? If you don't like them, unfriend me... We probably aren't meant to be friends anyways.)

The name Skylar came to me while I was driving home and it just popped in my head! I wasn't even trying to think of names, but for some reason my brain randomly bursts out the name! I thought it was perfect. It fits well with the name Luna, and stays within a theme without being to blunt and naming my kids Moon and Sun. 

As for her middle name. Had to keep the theme going again. Luna's middle name is "Vino" because we are big wine afficianatoes. We also like beer. Let's just say we like to drink. When we were thinking about what Skylar's middle name we knew it had to be booze related. So, we came up with "Hops" (the flower that makes beer, beer - read more on Wiki). And that's how we came up with "Skylar Hops".

You might wonder WHY we decided to get another pup. Why would we add chaos to a scenario that was finally settling down? The answer is quite easy, why the hell not? We love Luna and want a companion for her and obviously the more the merrier! We knew we were going to eventually get another dog sooner or later, so why wait? I sold Drew on getting another dog by laying out the pros and cons. Here's my list:

Pros:

• Playmate/companion for Luna
• Distract me and keep me busy
• We both can walk a dog.
• Easier to train since Luna will be there
• More dogs = more love = happiness

Cons:

• Double the cost:
• food
• crate
• vet/medicine
• leash/collar, food bowls, toys
• camp bow wow or overnight stays
• lot of work, more overwhelming, more responsibility
• might be completely different than training luna
• might not get along with luna
• Harder to find baby sitters for 2 dogs
• Double the loss

Although it seems like there are more cons than pros, the one that sold Drew on getting a second dog was bullet #2 of the Pros. For me it was the last one. But to each there own, and who cares since I got Drew to say YES to getting another pup!!! I'm now BEYOND excited and searching PetFinder every day about 5 times a day (at least). Then when I was about to give up, I found a dog named "Bailey" who looked like the light brown version of Luna. I contacted the rescue, and they got back to me super fast and I talked to the adoption lady for an hour just talking about dogs.

"Bailey" was being fostered in Danville and we met her to make sure that Luna and her got along. At first they didn't want anything to do with each other: Luna was too interested in the senior dog that the foster family had adopted. And "Bailey" was very timid and scared of Luna. She was watching Luna from behind me. But after 20 min or so, the pup got some confidence and started messing with Luna. And they played great. That's when lady running the adoption looked at me and asked if we wanted to adopt her and pull the trigger. I immediately said yes (without consulting with Drew–but I figured he was getting the same impression I was).

She got spayed, and we took her home the next weekend. The first couple days Luna was having a hard time adjusting, but she soon came around. And now Skylar and Luna are two peas in a pod. Skylar LOVES following Luna around and tugging at her tail, paws, ears, or whatever else she can nibble on.

Potty training. Oh boy. I forgot how much of a pain in the ass potty training is. It doesn't help that I'm now on the third floor and have to go down 3 flights of stairs to get Skylar to grass. I have to admit, my calf muscles are looking pretty lean, though. So, thank you Skylar!

Overall, everyone is adjusting well, minus a couple little hiccups that one dog verbalized that they were not happy and the other immediately stopped. I'm sure there will be more obstacles to come and fun things to post about how awesome 2 dogs are. Luna now has a great companion to be a big sister to :)

Peace and Blessings!

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Update of the Century...or More like 6 Months

I know... I know... I've been majorly slacking and shouldn't even call this a blog anymore. (Wasn't this the same beginning sentence I had in my last post which was 6 months ago?) I can't even remember what happened since then. Hold please, as I go back and read....

Well... A lot has happened since watching Teddy and house sitting. So I guess I will just start with what I believe to have happened from November 2014 to present day (August 1, 2015) -- this might be harder than I thought since I have a terrible memory...

November 2014:

Thanksgiving Drew, Luna, and I went to Southern California to celebrate America's biggest eating holiday with my side of the family. We decided to drive since I'm terrified of bringing Luna on a plane from all the terrible stories I've heard. My parents aren't big inside dog people, so Luna stayed outdoors for the most part, and came in when it was time to go to bed. It was hard for her to get used to because she would go directly into her crate and not be able to cuddle with us... Spoiled little brat ;)

I don't think Luna hated being outside for most of the day, because my parents have a pool, so she was in that thing like it was 110 degrees outside and a nice cold pool plunge would be the only thing to keep you sane...Except it was winter, but it was also in SoCal where winter doesn't really exist, so it was actually probably 60 degrees.

One of the days we were down in SoCal, we visited a dog beach which was Luna's first time in the ocean. We got there and I let her off the leash and she sprints to the water like Usean Bolt ran to the finish line. I've never seen her run so fast...until I saw her run back to me. She got so excited about the water she didn't realize that this water has huge waves and the water is super salty. Needless to say she was a lot more cautious around the waves and water.

December 2014:

Christmas: Something that seems so far away since I just saw someone post that Christmas is now 18 Friday's away... Weird. Anyways, Christmas 2014, was my first time spending it in Norcal without my family in SoCal. Which was hard, but I did have Luna and Drew. It was a good time. We went over to Drew's parents house and opened presents, ate some breakfast, and ate some dinner. The dogs were all playing and loving each other in their christmas jammies.

We made our own holiday cards again this year, but decided to not print 250 copies out because we still have 200 of them left over from last year. We just posted on it on Facebook, since everything is digital now anyways.

January 2015:

I'm not one for making New Years Resolutions. Seriously, I've never made one in my life (mostly because I know I would fail at something like 'Go to the gym more often'). But this year I decided that I'm going to read 5 books. That's a really big deal for me. I hardly ever read, because when I was a kid I was forced to read for school and I was a super slow reader and hated it.

So I ordered a couple books on Amazon Prime, including a book called "The Art of Racing in the Rain". It is a book that is written in the dog's perspective and it's AMAZING. I will give a review of all my books in later blog posts.

February 2015:

On Valentine's Day weekend, the three of us (Drew, Luna and I) went to Santa Cruz. We went to the dog beach and had a little picnic there. This would be Luna's second time in the ocean, I was curious how she was going to take it.

She loved it. She played with the other dogs there, played in the water, and just had a fabulous time over all. Until that is when she drank way too much salt water and was shitting salt water. I kid you not, Luna had clear water coming out of her butt hole. The worst part about it was that she would go up to people who are laying on their towels and just poop water right in front of them. Then I would go over there and apologize and say its just water and throw some sand over it (cus it's still gross).

Then we decided to go because I got a little nervous we were going to have to bring her to the ER. But as soon as we left her poops turned brown instead of clear, but they were still watery. But at least it had color! (Sorry, I guess I should've pre-warned about the graphic imagery). We filled her up with water so she wasn't so dehydrated and picked up dinner and dessert and drove home. She slept the whole way.

(For those of you concerned about my reaction to Luna's clear poo, and that I should've taken her to the hospital... I used my best judgement and watched her carefully to make sure she wasn't getting worse. From my observation, as soon as we left the beach she was instantly getting better).

March 2015:

I can't remember anything super out there that happened in March. We probably went to the lake and the park a lot.

April/May 2015:

This was a big month. I quit my job, and dog sat my boss's Golden Retriever named Travis. I didn't have a single thing lined up after I quit, so my job in April and May was to find a job. Luna enjoyed having me home every day and she would get to play with Travis every day, Monday through Friday.

June 2015:

I got a job in El Dorado Hills!! Woohoo! So we moved up to Folsom, which has been AMAZING! It was a huge adjustment for Luna (she especially doesn't like the hard wood floors because they are too slippery...but we like them a lot). We've done a lot of out doorsy things (like going to the river and the lake).

I was a little apprehensive about letter her off leash at the river because I was convinced she'd run away and try to get to Livermore. But Drew finally convinced me to take her off the leash and she was fine. Just minding her own business, doing what she loves best--swimming!

July 2015:

We are getting a puppy!

I convinced Drew that we should get another dog and rescue him/her. I did a lot of research and asked a lot of people about their experience with having 2 dogs. I made a pros and cons list and a budget for said new puppy. After I convinced both Drew and myself, I started looking on PetFinder for dogs who need homes. About 3 weeks of looking every day I found this cute pup who was a Lab mix. Mom was a Lab and dad is unknown (we like to say he humped and dumped).

We had Luna meet the pup to make sure they would get along. At first they weren't really interested in each other and Luna was more interested in the senior dog that the foster family had adopted. But after 20 min or so, they started playing and wrestling and we knew we could make it work.

So today, August 1st, we are picking up Skylar in Fairfield and adopting another dog.

Now I've got 2 crazy dogs! More pics and videos to come!

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Week Adventures: Dog Sitting

This past week Drew and I have been house sitting for his parents, which includes taking care of their Pomeranian Teddy (and their cat Lucy). Poor poor Lucy. When ever we come over she hides for the entire night because she's afraid of Luna. This entire week I've only seen Lucy once— the first night we stayed over. When I went to bed the first night, I took the dogs with me (Teddy in his crate and Luna in the bed, snuggling up with me). I fell asleep and so did the dogs. Drew came into the room a few hours later and turned the lights on in the room, which woke everyone up including Lucy who happened to sneak in while everyone was sleeping. Once the dogs and the cat really came to consciousness, Lucy bailed as fast as a cat can go. She was a blur. And you can bet Luna chased right after her full throttle... and that's the last I saw of Lucy.

Haha, okay, I left that sounding pretty bad. Lucy is alive, Luna did not kill her. I think Lucy has just retreated into the darkest spots in the house and has been very very cautious when she comes out. She's a very sneaky cat. I only know she is still in the house because her food is getting eaten and her litter box has fun presents in it. 

Luna and Teddy play hard and crash hard. It is amazing. I think Luna really enjoyed the backyard to frolic around in and chase Teddy. It has been especially nice to have the backyard for her since the time change has made it harder to get her to the dog park after work, since its dark by the time I get home (and none of the dog parks have lights...LAME). 

We did bring both Teddy and Luna to the dog park this week, which was a very interesting experience. Teddy doesn't go to dog parks very often because he doesn't need to get out as much energy as Luna does. The backyard is enough play-ground for Tedster. The first time we brought him to the park, we kept his leash on and just had him take in what was going on. There were 3 other large dogs there, which I think confused poor Ted. Luna is the only big dog that Teddy plays with, and Luna knows how to play with him. These other dogs might not/and probably won't play with him the same way Luna does. So we were pretty cautious. Teddy cowards at first when another big dog gives him attention. He yelps and freaks out like the dog was hurting him (though the dog wasn't even touching him). But once he realized that Drew and I weren't going to save him from a playful friendly dog, he grew some balls and got a little more feisty, like his normal Pom self. After Teddy got used to the other dogs at the park he got some more confidence and wanted to roam and do his own thing. For one of his first times at a dog park he did very well. 

Everyone taking naps :)

This week Luna and Teddy have had a fabulous time hanging out and tiring each other out, which has made it lovely for Drew and I. Playing house this week has been so much fun. I can't wait for next time :)

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Evel "Luna" Knievel

Usually people say things like "'Dangerous' is my middle name" when they try to brag about their daredevil tendencies. Well, if Evel Knievel (the daredevils of the daredevils) had a middle name, it would be "Luna". I can hear you laughing as I write this post—What did Luna do this time?! 

Let me just start off by saying, Luna is alive and safe as I am writing this.

Luna has had 2 near death experiences within the last couple weeks (and this is not me being an over protective mother—I am seriously thankful that Luna was as lucky as she was).

The first thing that happened occurred when Drew, Luna and I were walking to Downtown for dinner. It was just after 6pm and still light out. Drew was walking Luna on her pinch collar, as we always do. Luna does her normal dog shake (imagine a wet dog shaking after a bath), and her pinch collar somehow came unlatched and came off of her. If you put 2 and 2 together, you will realize that Luna is no longer constrained to her leash. She is a free woman. Sensing this freedom, she takes off, into the middle of the busy street intersection. She turns around as we scream her name, and she realizes "Oh this isn't a game...they aren't following me?" Drew starts to head out in the middle of the street, to try to get oncoming cars to slow down and stop. 

LUCKILY the intersection Luna bolted into was all stopped and everyone was aware what was going on. Luna jogs back to the sidewalk we were walking on and lays down on her back submissively, as if we were going to scold her for doing something wrong. However, I did not feel that she did anything wrong in this case. She listened pretty quickly after we all realized what was happening and came back. Instead of punishing her, I comfort her and tell her "Good girl, it's okay Luna, you're okay" (I think this was me coming to reality and convincing myself that she was okay.) It took me a while to realize how EXTREMELY lucky we were that at that given time it was light out and all the cars were stopped. We were all a little shaken up after that, adrenaline rushing, but we continued our walk to dinner, moving on from the scary situation we had just dealt with.

That was the first time she escaped death, just like Evel Knievel did many times in his stunts.

The second time Luna got away lucky, was when I was taking her to the dog park. I was driving down one of the roads to the park with my windows down (as I always do when Luna is in the car). Luna starts to get excited because she knows where we are at and that she is going to play soon. As I am driving (10 miles an hour or so), I see a couple and their strollered baby getting close to a cross walk. It doesn't look like they have plans on stopping and looking both ways before crossing, so I slam on my breaks, and I hear Luna stumble a bit in the back seat, but she seems alright. 

Right when I think she's okay I look to my left and she is OUTSIDE of my car in the middle of the road. Luna seemed to land partially on her feet then did a tuck and roll and then landed back on her feet. At this time (all happening in 2 seconds or less—but I felt like I saw this in slow motion), I put my car in park and call Luna over to try to get her to come. She stands there, bewildered. I call her a couple more times and she walks over to the side of the road in the dirt. I jump out of my car and grab her leash before she takes off. But I don't think she was planning on running anywhere. I think she was so confused how she ended up in the middle of the road when half a second before she was in my car. Again, Luna is alive and well, no broken bones, no serious injuries. She has a scuffed chin and 2 scrapes on her front legs. All in all, we were both shaken up, and I feel completely terrible and at fault for my little girl's traumatic experience :( My poor baby girl. 

I wonder if these 2 situations are signs that we should invest in pet insurance...

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Weekend Adventures: Walk N Wag

THE WEEKEND YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!!! Okay, maybe I was just excited for it

For a the last 3 months I have been looking forward to this last weekend and the reason I have been bugging you and everyone else to donate money. (That means I won't be bothering you about donating anymore!) The Humane Society's Walk N Wag 5K event in San Jose raised a total of $256,064.19, and our "A Crazy Dog & A Crazy Lady" Team raised $300!

It was a fun time with friends and dogs, and I was surprised to see so many people (and dogs) there! It was a very very hot day in San Jose, but the Humane Society made sure to have plenty of doggie pools and water for everyone (obviously Luna was taking advantage of the pools). They had plenty of booths filled with dog supplies, sweaters and other things you would think crazy dog people would want.

Since it was hotter then hell, Casey, Shreya and I (plus the dogs) decided to start our 5k walk before the rest of the "official" group of walkers before it got too hot. And boy were we glad that we left early! There were no crowds, we could take our time, and we didn't have to walk behind/next to/in front of any annoying dog owners. PLUS we finished early! After 3.1 miles of walking in the heat with our furbabies, we decided to go get some In-N-Out to celebrate surviving our 5k.

Photo Credit: Mr Honi

Sunday, Drew and I had the day off together (I can't remember the last time that's happened). Since Drew got a new job, he is now going to have "normal" hours and schedule (aka 8-5pm Monday through Friday). I am beyond excited to finally do things together and go on more adventures with Luna. That being said, we decided to be pretty lazy on Sunday, since Drew's first day at his new job was Monday. I do like to relax, so I wasn't complaining.

On a different note, I keep forgetting to write about a couple weekends ago when Casey and I volunteered at Berkeley Human Society for their Bark (and Meow) Around the Block event. It was basically a huge event where other animal organizations (like Maddie's Fund) brought their adoptable animals to try to find them forever homes. The event also had a bunch of booths that had dog supplies, accessories, and more. 

Luna came along to volunteer, too! But people kept asking if she was up for adoption, and I'm over here like "Psh! Ya right! I'm her Mom, she has her forever home...Sorry I'm not sorry."(except I didn't say it like that, in reality I just said: Sorry, she's actually my dog, she's just here to volunteer with me.) She got her photo taken, because she was so adorable laying on the ground being all submissive and trying to play with every dog that went by. A photographer caught her in the act.

Photo Credit: Berkeley Humane's Facebook

If Luna wasn't laying on the asfault like the above photo, she was trying to be a lap dog and sit with Aunt CC (Casey).

After the event, we went home and Luna climbed under the bed (which she only does when she is ready to go to bed for the night). It was only 3pm when we got home. She was pooped! That's when you know you did good: a tired puppy is a happy puppy (and happy Mama).

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