Monday Dog Blog: Big Trip to Chicago!

G: Make Sure You Don't Leave Me in Chicago!

Hey everyone! It's Tovah Rose here. I'm tired of Gershwin hogging the keyboard!

We haven't had much time to blog because we have been busy little travelers. And then, we have had to recuperate from all of our big adventures!

A Little Nap Before Hitting the Road to Chicago

We took a BIG trip. All the way to Chicago! We went to visit Mom's side of the family--her brother, niece, nephew and their significant others. We fell in love with all of them and got pretty spoiled!

All Buckled In!

We were both so goo in the car. Gershwin likes to have a couple of 'babies' with him to snuggle, and I love my little pod. 

Snug As A Bug In A Rug!

It's quite cozy!

T: Funky Hair Day

We've never been to a big city before! We weren't too sure about the record snow fall and ice storm that hit while we were in Chicago, all of the city noises, and not having a big yard to run around in, but otherwise, we really had a blast!

Look at ALL of These Pillows in the Hotel!

Mom and Mommy were so proud of how well we just went with the flow. 

We rode in elevators, stayed in a hotel room, navigated funky sets of stairs, peacefully co-exiested with Mommy's cousin's dog, snuggled in bed with Mom and Mommy all night long, and met everyone. 

Time To Head Home!

It was a great adventure and it was great to meet everyone. We decided that we really aren't city dogs, though, and are happy to be home where there are not so many crazy noises and we have our big yard  to enjoy! 

Back Home and Resting with Mommy

As you can imagine, Mommy is very happy that she was able to make this big trip to see her family, but she is also still really wiped out. We've, as always, been taking really good care of her.

Happy Monday!

Blessings,

Tovah Rose

More Graduations!

Two Tired Pups! 

I am so proud of my little ones, but right now I'm especially proud of my little guy and Mom, who just completed the beginning agility class at the dog training club we go to for classes. 

At the end of the last agility class, both puppies ended up on my lap. Tovah Rose was pooped from behaving for O (the resident 3 year old 'assistant'), and Gershwin was pooped from running 17 obstacles in a row! Tovah didn't even make a fuss when G jumped on TOP of her to be on my lap. Ha!

Gershwin Never Takes His Eyes Off Of Mom

Gershwin absolutely couldn't wait to go to class and he loved every minute of it. By the end, he couldn't wait to get home though, and collapse in his crate. 

Too Much Energy to Turn Around!

One night we found him with his head towards the back of the crate, as if he had literally fallen down from exhaustion before he could make the turn around in the crate!

Our little guy isn't very fast (we like to call him Speedy and Flash just for fun), but he really enjoys doing agility and we think it's a great way for him to deal with his fearfulness.

If you're viewing this in email, please go to my blog to view the post and video or click HERE to view the video on YouTube.

I got to go to the last class where I saw Gershwin and Mom perform 17 obstacles in a row. Mom says any errors Gershwin made were due to handler errors on her part. :)

I hope you'll take two minutes to watch the YouTube video. It ought to bring you a Monday smile for sure. I can't believe he is able to do that huge A-frame, the chute, the walk and all of the jumps. He may have been the littlest guy in both the foundations and beginner classes, but he was certainly brave!

This little girl is the resident helper who is at all of the classes we've attended. While I was there to watch Gershwin, I brought Tovah Rose along and O wanted to be 'in charge'. Tovah was very patient and O was very happy to hold Tovah's leash and give her treats when she behaved.

Way to Go Gershwin and Mom!

I'm really thankful and proud of Mom for taking Gershwin to two agility classes this year. Physically, it's way too demanding for me. We'd like for Gershwin to be able to continue learning, but we also feel it's important for Tovah Rose to do some learning next.

Yay G!

While Mom and Gershwin went to agility class on Wednesday evenings, the four of us all went to Canine Good Citizen classes on Monday evenings. I knew this fall wasn't the best time to take a class because I wouldn't have a lot of time to practice given all that was going on, but it's always good to be amongst new situations, dogs and people. It's always good to be reminded of the fundamentals. 

Yay TRTT!

We had a FANTASTIC teacher this time around, who did everything she could to accommodate my needs. Last time around, I found myself struggling because the teacher seemed to struggle to work with my disability. But Mel said to me that what matters is making the training and the dog fit into MY life. I really did cry from her kindness.

I really enjoy going to puppy class. We enjoyed the teachers we had this time around, we enjoyed the people and dogs we met, and we enjoy the bonding time with the puppies. It's an all around win for our family.

Happy Monday!

Blessings,

Emily

Monday Dog Blog: Sick Mommy + Remodeling

Keeping it Real

Mommy's been having a rough week, so we've been making sure to take good care of her.

She's been suffering from the worst gastroparesis flare she's had in a very, very long time. At first, she thought it was something she ate, dealing with a lot of chaos and stress, or a combination of those things, but it turns out she missed about four days worth of a very important medicine before her lunch and dinner meals. This medicine helps to tell her stomach motility to keep moving.

She learned two very important lessons:

1. Check her pill packs more carefully (she doesn't fill them) 

and

2. She REALLY needs this medication, which is called Domperidone and comes all the way from Canada.

So, Mommy's been really feeling blue about this setback which leaves her with extreme nausea, stomach pain and diarrhea. She also feels terribly weak, fatigued, and unable to do anything. 

She's started to eat some of Mom's famous Jewish Penicillin and a small amount of other foods while making sure to stay hydrated, so we hope that each day she will begin to see improvements. It's just that it takes her body a while to come back from things.

We are more than happy to oblige her need to cuddle and stay in bed all day. We have even, at times, peacefully coexisted on the bed.

Things are pretty crazy at home right now! In addition to trying to do our best to take care of Mommy, the whole house is in major disarray. On Monday and Tuesday, Mommy got new floors put in her bedroom and study. Then, the rooms needed to be painted and touched up. So, all week she has been sleeping in Mom's bed.

On Our Way To Kierny's

On Sunday afternoon, we headed over to Kierny's house with Mommy. As you can see, we wanted to make sure we didn't get separated in the chaos, so we stuck close together on the car ride.

We'll be staying at Kierny's with Mommy until Thursday afternoon while the hardwood floors are refinished. 

Poor Mommy. She was looking forward to this week long stay, but it's so hard for her to be moved around when she is feeling so sick. 

We assure you, though, that we'll continue to do our very best to take care of her!

Happy Monday!

Blessings,

Tovah Rose and Gershwin