Things to make me smile while I'm at work

I love when Greg emails me photos that he takes of the boys with his Blackberry during the day. He took them on a walk this afternoon and sent me this photo:

 

Seeing this makes me very excited for when I get home and get to take the boys on their post-dinner walk.

In other news, I saw Jackson lift his leg to pee for the very first time today. I was letting the boys out in the morning before I left for work, and there he went! It might not sound exciting, but I sure thought it was! Greg said that he's seen Lance do it twice, but I haven't seen that happen yet. Just another sign of our little boys growing up before our eyes!!

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Lazy, rainy Sunday

Since the weekend was so rainy (Sunday in particular), we didn't get to take the boys out nearly as much as we would have liked. However, Greg and I were extremely productive around the house! The pups were super mellow all morning on Sunday and well into the afternoon. I made the trek down to Trader Joes after I taught my spin class and Greg worked around the house until there was a break in the weather. I snapped a few photos of the boys after their early afternoon walk with Greg:

Lance (and one of the many walls that the boys have eaten in the kitchen!)

Typical Jackson....

Lance loves to lay like this... just letting it all hang out!!

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Jackson takes a field trip

Since Greg and I are going to Boston next weekend, we are leaving the boys with my parents. Specifically we're leaving Jackson with my dad and stepmom (Sherry) and Lance with my mom and Joe. Jackson had never been to my dad's before, so I wanted to take him over to meet their animals and smell his way around the house.
Since my dad and Sherry live so close to my work, it didn't make a lot of sense for me to go all the way back home to get Jackson only to turn around again. Greg was nice enough to come bring Jackson to meet me at work so I could just leave from there. He brought Lance along for the ride too, and they drew quite a crowd! After Greg and Lance left, I brought Jackson up to run around in my classroom. I tried to get a photo of him sitting on a chair, which wasn't so easy. :)

Jackson was great though, and everyone commented on how cute and sweet he is (and how big he has gotten!) Since Jackson and Lance came from one of our custodian's dogs, he has close ties to Linganore, and everyone at work has seen photos that I have emailed around. 

After we left school, I headed over to my dad and Sherry's house. Sherry was the only one home at the time, so we played with Jackson in the backyard for a bit. And then she brought Toby out- who is a feisty little Pomeranian. Toby is cute, full of energy, and a nice little dog. I was sure that him and Jackson would get along just fine. But, boy was Jackson scared of him! Toby made it very clear right away that Jackson was on his turf, and Jackson didn't try to argue! Instead, he hid between Sherry's legs! Toby definitely barked at Jackson for a while and Jackson didn't try to push it. After a while, he tried to "make friends" with Toby by giving him a little kiss, but Toby wasn't having it. I think Toby got tired after a while and just gave up, but the two never really played together. 

I'm pretty sure that they'll get along just fine after Jackson is there for a little while longer next weekend. Keating and Noah came home from school soon after that and Keating cam outside to play with the dogs. Jackson saw this as another opportunity for someone to cuddle up to and "hide under." We just had to laugh at him. It's funny to see Jackson dominated by another dog (and such a little one at that) because he's such an alpha at home. Sometimes it's nice to see another dog boss him around, because he bosses poor Lance around all the time. (We know it's all in good fun though.)

We took the dogs inside the house and Sherry played with Jackson for a bit while Keating played some beautiful piano music for me (she is so talented!!) While I was listening to her play, my dad came home and they introduced Jackson to Chopper, the cat and the other dog, Maizie (who is a long-hard chihuahua. Let's just say that neither of them are going to be Jackson's new best friend. We took them back outside and played fetch for a while. Toby made it very clear again that it was his ball that was being thrown, and again, Jackson respected that. And it made me very proud that Jackson didn't try to fight! He's such a sweet dog, and behaved so well. I would feel horrible leaving a crazy, out-of-control dog with my dad and Sherry to watch while we're gone!

After we left, Jackson slept the whole way home...

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A treasured hike

One of my favorite hikes is Maryland Heights, which starts at the base of the C&O Canal, right at Harper's Ferry, WV. I love this hike for many reasons, but a lot of it is sentimental. Before I met Greg, I had been hiking several times, but it wasn't something that I did regularly. Right around the time when we started dating about three years ago, he took me to Harper's Ferry to go hiking one day. The Maryland Heights trail starts off pretty steep, and you continue to climb higher and higher for quite a while before eventually climbing down to the "reward," which is a mass of rocks that overlook Harper's Ferry and the Potomac River.

It's about 4 miles roundtrip- but we like to do the extension to Stone Fort, which adds on another 2 miles (and a massive uphill climb). Anyway, the first time Greg took me here, I was hooked. The hike is a pretty decent workout, but the stunning view at the overlook makes it all worth it.

I've been wanting to take the pups here since the day we brought them home. The only issue with hiking this trail is actually getting there. Parking is hard to come by, and we've often driven there and not been able to find a spot, forcing us to turn around and go find another place to hike. But, more often that not, we don't even have to worry about parking because we ride our bikes there instead. We'll drive to the Brunswick and bike along the C&O to Harper's Ferry (only about 5 miles or so), lock up our bikes at the trail base, hike, then bike back to Brunswick. We couldn't really do this with the pups, so we had to cross our fingers that we would find a spot. And we did (barely)!

We ended up parking on the WV side, which had us crossing over the bridge to get to the trail. Greg and I were wondering how L&J would handle the stairs that lead down the bridge, as they are a little strange. They are made up of metal bars, but are really thin and you can see right through below them (which is a pretty high distance). We've seen so many people and dogs walk down them very cautiously- and seem people who really don't like to walk down them at all. The stairs would definitely be a challenge for anyone who is afraid of heights! But, they made it down with no problem.

We had a great hike along the trail, and definitely liked the fact that it starts with such a big climb up- it's always good to get the boys a little tired out right off the bat. Even when they are "tired" they still have no problem keeping up with us. When we got to the overlook, I tried to get a decent family portrait using my self-timer- but you can see that was a challenge in itself. The hike back down was a little more tough, since it's basically all downhill.

This gave the pups a chance to get their energy back full-force, and they wanted to run the whole way (which we did not allow). By the time we made it back over the bridge and to the car, the pups were happily exhausted and slept the whole way home. As much as I love this trail, it's probably one that we won't be bringing the dogs to too often, simply for the fact of how difficult it is to find parking. We have so many great trails practically right in our backyard, so for now, we'll probably stick a little closer to home.

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Clean puppies!

The boys got a bath over at Central after leaving the dog park. They were SO good! Usually they bark and squirm, but both were calm and even acted like they liked getting a bath today. It was so much easier- and quicker!

Lance getting brushed by Greg after we got back home

Close-up of Jackson :)

Lance posing (what he loves to do!)

The best shot I could get of both of them in the backyard (gotta love the expressions of Lance)

That's better!

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Dog Park

We took the pups to Club Dogz (which has a supervised dog park with rules) earlier today. We heard about this place from the owners of Stryker (L&J's Golden buddy from Puppy K). They have both an indoor and outdoor dog park that people can take dogs to run around off-leash on Saturdays and Sundays. We figured that this would be a good way for the boys to meet and play with other doggies, since they had such a good time at Bark in the Park last weekend. Here are a few photos:

Interesting smells everywhere!

The boys find some new friends

A pool to cool off in!

This picture would have been GREAT if Jackson hadn't moved so quickly

That same cute little puppy licking Greg's hand

Jackson takes a break (and asks for a treat)

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Bark in the Park (and a great weekend all-around!)

Wow, what a wonderful weeked it was! I can't find much to complain about- except maybe the wind. The boys seem to be completely healed from their surgery, although we still had them take it pretty easy for the whole week. Their personalities are definitely still "all-puppy" and they are ready to play all the time! I wonder when the "calming down" begins from neutering...
Since Greg and I had made plans on Mother's Day to go rock climbing months ago (I didn't realize it was the same day as Mother's Day!!), we celebrated a day early. I had heard about Bark in the Park being advertised for months now, and really wanted to take the boys. I didn't really know what it was all about, but Cari, who taught our puppy kindergarten class, said that she would be there doing demonstrations. I also heard that there were a lot of different pet specialty vendors and several off-leash "play" areas. Basically, it was a good opportunity for the pups to get out and meet lots of other dogs and dog-lovers!

We made plans to meet up with Mom, Joe and Brady and battled the wind as we walked around Utica District Park. (Check out the shot of Joe holding mom's purse!) It was packed- doggies everywhere! Luckily it was pretty warm out, but the wind was pretty crazy! We walked around for a while and tried to find Cari, but never ended up seeing her. Then my mom pointed out a cute little Golden puppy across the way- and it was our buddy Stryker! Stryker is this adorable Golden Retriever that is just 2 days younger than L&J and was in their puppy kindergarted class. All three boys were so excited to see each other, and we took them in the off-leash area to play.

I was a little nervous letting them go- only because I wasn't sure if they would get bullied by any of the bigger dogs. But, they were GREAT! They LOVED it! Lance and Jackson would run around all over the place, but would still come back to us to "check in" every so often. They were clearly having the time of their lives! It was so funny- the boys kinda stayed with Stryker and kept coming back to this one waterdog (like the White House dog, Bo) that they met earlier in the day. I was so happy that everything went well- now I know that they'll be just fine at the "controlled" dog park off Patrick Street.

We went over to Mom and Joe's later that day and had a nice dinner and let the boys run around with Brady in the backyard. They were still trying to eat pinecones, of course, but were a little better behaved than the last time they visited. It was such a great day- and the boys were completely worn out by the time we got home that night.

Sunday was another great day- despite not spending most of it with the pups. Keith and Sarah met up at our house late in the morning to head over to the Watershed to do some rock climbing. We signed up for an intro to rock climbing class through the Trail House, which has a partnership with Shenandoah Mountain Guides. It was only $25, which includes all of the gear and four hours of climbing! And seriously, it was the best $25 I have ever spent. It was challenging, exhilarating, and just plain awesome. We had such a blast, and were all so proud of ourselves for doing so well. The photo at the bottom is the four of us on top of a rock at the end of the day.

Keith and Sarah came back to our house to enjoy some great food and wine and relax and laugh about our day. The pups were extremely excited to have us back home (and with extra visitors) and got their share of attention for the rest of the day.
It was a perfect weekend, all around. And I'm excited to be able to get back to hiking with the pups next weekend!

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Hanging out on a Friday afternoon

Here are a few photos of the boys hanging out in the kitchen on Friday afternoon. Notice how differently they lay!

Lance sprawled out (he's laid like this since day 1!)

My sweet little Jackson

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The guilty look

Jackson and Lance rarely have accidents in the house anymore. But when Jackson does, he sure does look guilty afterward...

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3 month comparison with Lance

Here is a comparison of Lance from February 2nd to May 1st. He looks like a real adult dog now (even though he is still 100% puppy)! The boys turned 5 months old on May 2nd. And growing bigger by the day!

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Lance the little ham

Lance loves to have his picture taken. I swear, when ever I get the camera out, he poses. Here are a few shots from May 1st:

And one of Jackson and Greg snuggling while Lance was enjoying his posing session:

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A little less of Jackson and Lance

Friday was the big day- the pups got neutered! (All of the photos on this page are from the evening that we brought them home from the vet.) Since they were 5 months old this weekend, it was the right time to have the procedure done. Greg dropped the boys off in the morning and got updates throughout the day. Jackson went first and came through surgery just fine. Lance was second, and also got through with no problems. Lance did have to have a few teeth extracted, since his adult canines were coming in and the baby teeth underneath had not yet fallen out.
We were able to pick up the boys that afternoon, and I met Greg over at Kingsbrook Vet on my way home from work. The staff there is just great! They met with us to discuss the procedures and after-care instructions. They also took a photo of the pups right after surgery, sitting in a cage together, and gave it to us. They went on and on about how good the boys were the whole day (thank goodness!) and about how well everything went.
We were instructed to give them pain medicine for the next few days and to apply some topical powder to select areas on their bellies where the skin may have dried out from getting shaved down there. After all of the discussion, the boys were brought out to us. They seemed okay- a little wobbly, but in good spirits. The vet tech, Nora (who we love!) gave them one last dose of pain medication before we left, because the last dose was starting to wear off. She explained that it would take about 15 minutes to kick in, but by the time we got home, they might need to be carried out of the car.
And it defintiely did kick in big time- especially for Jackson! Lance was able to get out of the car okay, but Jackson was completely out of it. He just laid in the crate and did not want to be moved. His eyes were half-open and he didn't seem to have any idea where he was. I tried to pick him up and he growled (which he has never done). Greg was eventually able to get him out (using a few treats and some creativity) and brought him upstairs.
Lance was waiting in the kitchen and just acted like he had no idea what to do- just kind of looked confused. Jackson came in and collapsed on his bed, which we pulled out of his crate and put on the floor. He could barely even make it all the way onto the bed! But, he was out- completely. Lance was very needy- whining a lot, didn't want to be left alone. He would walk a few steps and then just plop down.
They hadn't eaten all day and we were instructed to give them 1/2 of their regular food for dinner. We fed them a little later, and sure enough- they perked up a little bit when they saw/smelled their food. They were pretty laid back the rest of the night- Greg and I spend a lot of time cuddling and petting them, because they really needed it.
By the time we woke up the next morning, the boys were 100% back to their regular selves. This is both good and bad, though! It's great that they were in very happy spirits, but one of the toughest things to do while they recover is to keep them from jumping and playing too rough. The boys do both of those things all the time, so it has presented a little bit of a challenge.
I was worried about the pups licking their stitches and having to wear the Elizabethan collars, but luckily, they have not been licking at all. Although, it would be kind of funny to see them running around with those collars on. So, we're supposed to keep them from running, jumping, hiking (!!), or getting a bath for the next 2 weeks. I can't wait for these 2 weeks to be over- this recovery stuff is really hard!

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