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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

You guys....

Nora and Dexter are just like kids. I just witnessed the funniest, most kid like behavior in them.

They had been playing in the living room, deviling each other, as I read on the sofa. Suddenly, I realized they were not in the room with my anymore, and I heard noises from the kitchen. Dexter is NOT allowed in there, as he is too likely to find microscopic crumbs of things he should not eat, so I call out a quick, firm, "HEY".

At which point I hear 8 paws scurrying into the living room. Dexter and Nora skid to a halt right in front of me, look at each other, then look up at me as if to say "HE DID IT, NO SHE DID IT".



Oh you guys.....

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Double Dapple Dilemma

I am beginning to suspect that Dexter is actually a double dappled mini dachshund. Not that it at all changes any bit of the love I have for him. After all, it is what makes him so adorable.



However, I am completely furious that the breeder did not disclose this information to us, if this is the case, and I do believe that this is the case.

Double dapples are a possible result of breeding two dappled parents or a single and a double dapple parent, and the definite result of breeding two double dapple parents. The genes that make the dogs' coats dappled can also be related to some severe birth defects. Double dapples can be born with heart problems, eye/vision problems, in some cases so severe be born without eyes, hearing problems, and in extreme cases missing limbs.

So what makes me think he is double dappled?

Dexter had blue eyes when we brought him home. Within a week, just like a baby, his left eye turned completely brown. His right eye turned mostly brown, but there was still a bright blue spot on the bottom of the iris. It could be possible that he has limited vision in that spot. However he gets around just fine.

Also, many articles have told me that double dapples tend to have white in their coats. I am starting to notice parts of Dex's coat that I thought were just the very light variegation of the tan color are actually white patches interspersed.

Articles have described that the dappling on double dapples is asymmetrical (as apposed to piebalds whose coloring is symmetrical), meaning the sides of the body do not match. Dex's left ear is solid chocolate.

His right ear is completely dappled. This is a perfect example of asymmetrical dappling.

Also, Dexter was the only puppy at the breeder who was not able to be AKC registered. Now remember, we got him in February. I read somewhere online, which of course I can not find the article now, that as of January 2010 the AKC was disallowing the registration of double dapples (if anyone knows if this is true, let me know).

And finally, when we went to get Dex at the breeder, we were not allowed to see his parents, which at the time, I did not think anything of; even if I has seen them and they were both dappled, it would not have phased me, because I knew nothing of double dapples at the time.

Luckily, Dex has had two vet appointments so far, and seems to be very very healthy, other than being somewhat small. At 13 weeks, he is still only a bit over 3 lbs. But he is definitely growing, and we love him more and more each day.

However, my opinion of the breeder continues to decline. Next time, I will do my homework better.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Rita's Reward

Dexter has been doing so good lately with all the crate training. Hardly any accidents in the crate in the past 10 days, and I have had to leave him several times for 2-3 hours.

Today I left to get my hair cut and colored, fully expecting an accident when I got home. But, nope, he held it, and had a clean crate. We just put bells on our door to help teach him to signal when he needs to go out, so that when he is having time out of the crate, he can learn to tell us when the need arises.

I am so proud of him, and I just love showing him off, so after dinner tonight, Hubby took me and Dexter on a car ride to Rita's.

When we got up to the window, the girl asked if Dexter could have come vanilla custard, so of course I said yes.

As you can see, he loved it.




The girl at the window served us and was oohing and ahhing over him, and (about his dappled coat) remarked "You are so cute, you look just like a cow".

After getting a belly fully of Rita's, he kind of did.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Snips and Snails...

I have been married to Hubby for 6 months. Before that, we dated for 16 months. Before that we were friends for over 2.5 years. Of that cumulative time of almost 4.5 years, I have been asking him to get me a dog for probably 4.25 years. Sometimes, especially during the friend years, I was mostly kidding. But once we started dating, I legitimately began begging for a dog.

So, when, a few months ago, we began seriously talking about getting a puppy, and looking at a breeder, I was ecstatic. I promised that I would take care of the dog, since I am not working, and I would be the one responsible for the training.

When my husband finally agreed that the timing was right, I knew he was probably doing it just for me. He was so totally not going to be this dog. Or so I thought.

The moment Dexter got into our car, Hubby was in love. He becomes a big ball of goo when he gets home from work and hears little paw prints coming to greet him at the door, or sees me and Dex snoozing on the couch. And his love of the dog has increased his love for the cat too.

I was shocked and amazed, until I realized, it was just part of his make up. After all, as the old nursery rhyme says:

What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails
That's what little boys are made of !



Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Dexter at 12 weeks


Today, I took Dexter to the vet for a 12 week check up and his second set of vaccines. That little stinker now weighs 3 lbs. 1.5 oz., which means he gained 1 lb 4.5 oz in 3 weeks. What a little chow hound!!!

His little belly is bloated, something that started last week and had me a little concerned. The vet said that this is most likely due to the fact that I gave him de-wormer. So he probably had a little bit of worms, and the medicine is doing the trick. Good news is he is eating good, and, pardon my candor, pooping well. He goes back in 3 weeks for the next set of shots. If he does not weigh 5 lbs, he will just get distemper shots, and we will do rabies at a 4th appointment. He was so brave during the shot, not even a whimper. The vet and assistant gave him a treat, and he was completely distracted. The treat was bigger than his mouth, but he was not about to surrender it to let them break it up, he just chewed and chewed until finally it was gone.

The vet mentioned that the shot may make him sleepy and lethargic, but not to be concerned, unless he was not eating. We came home, and he took a long nap. He ate lunch, then I took some pictures and the following video:




He is chasing the cat around the living room as I write this, so I am pretty sure he is going to be just fine.

All the ladies at the vet's office just love Dexter. I barely have to hold him while we are there, they all want to see him. He is such a good boy, how could you not fall in love with him?

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Night time with Nora



My poor kitty. Her world has been turned upside down. She was used to being an only child for so long, and now we brought Dexter into the mix. She had a rough few days at first, but was starting to warm up to him.

THEN....she went into heat. Before you preach to me about getting her fixed, know it's in the works ok. But it was never much of a problem when we lived in a third floor apartment. No risk of escape, and no exposure to tomcats, so heat was a minor inconvenience once a year. But now, living in town, with a tomcat on the street impregnating several kitties, she is more prone, and when she goes into heat, way more active. It was so bad that no one was getting sleep, including her. We had no choice but to relocate her, temporarily, to the basement. She actually seemed pretty content down there.

Then, Sunday, hubby, Dex, and I went out of town so Dex could meet my family, and Nora had the run of the house. When we got back that night, she had really settled down. By Monday, she moved back upstairs with the family. Unfortunately, she had to get reacquainted with Dex a little, but things are going well now.

I feel a little bad for Nora; as a cat, she is so much more self sufficient and laid back than the pup, so she requires, and therefore gets, less of my attention. Which is why the last two nights with her have been really precious to me.

I am sleeping on the couch to help with night time potty trips with the dog so my hubby is not disturbed. As the sole bread winner right now, he needs to be well rested for work. So I sleep on the couch, and at about 11 each night, Nora has come to me for some special "Mommy time". She hops on the couch with me, and snuggles up to sleep. This are the first times I have heard her purr since we brought Dex home. It warms my heart, because Nora is still my baby. I love her every bit as much as Dex, it is just a very different kind of relationship we have.

There is an old Italian proverb that says "happy is the home that has at least one cat". I am blessed to have a very happy home indeed.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

How I Met Your Brother (and Sister)

I am a firm believer that there are “perfect pets” for people and families, instances where the pet chooses you instead of vice versa. So in this blog, I tell my “kids” how they joined our family.

Nora

A long time ago, before Mommy met Daddy, Mommy decided she needed someone to keep her company in her new apartment. Mommy had lived with kitty cats before, so she knew it would work out well again. Mommy had a sort of idea what kind of kitty she wanted, and older cat, already fixed, and most likely de-clawed. She wanted a kitty that had once belonged to someone else and needed a new home.

So Mommy got in her car, and drove to a local pet store, where they sold pets from local animal shelters. Because the pet store was in Robinson, PA, the pets actually came from several shelters in PA, WV, and OH. Mommy was looking at all the beautiful kitties, trying to see who might be a good fit. Mommy saw the big fluffy kitty, who was about a year and a half old, already fixed and de-clawed, just what she had in mind. Mommy leaned over to the kitty’s cage to talk to the kitty, when suddenly…someone pulled Mommy’s hair. Mommy stood up, and came face to face with a frisky little black kitten. The kitten was tiny, certainly not fixed or de-clawed, and she had never had any home besides the shelter. But Mommy knew, instantly, that this was her kitty. She literally reached out and picked Mommy for herself.



Mommy met with the nice people at the store, who helped her fill out all the papers to adopt the kitty from the shelter. The only thing left was a name. Mommy had just the name in mind…..Nora.


Over the next 2 years, Mommy and Nora lived in Pittsburgh, and life was good, but pretty quiet.


Then Mommy brought her friend home to meet Nora. Mommy told Nora that this friend would be spending more time with them. Over the months, this friend came to visit Mommy lots, and Nora would snuggle on the couch with them both to watch movies. Nora loved this new person. Then one day, the friend asked Mommy to be his wife, so now, he was going to be Daddy. Nora had a new family member!

Over the coming months, Nora had to adjust to moving to a new house, and having Daddy around all the time. Sometimes she gets a little territorial, but overall, Nora loves Daddy and is quite content.

Dexter

After the family was nicely settled into the new house, Mommy and Daddy started talking about adding to the family. Nora was not too concerned, because Mommy talked about wanting another furry baby all the time. Mommy wanted a barking baby, but Daddy said we had to wait until the time was right. So Mommy and Daddy started doing research on what puppies would make good additions to our family. Daddy decided he really wanted a weiner dog, which Mommy calls a dachshund, so Mommy started looking for breeders. Mommy found a breeder close to home around Christmas, but knew that it was not the right time to add to the family. Mommy would look at all the cute little puppies on the breeder’s web page, and wonder when one would come to our house.

Finally, Mommy and Daddy decided that instead of buying Valentines presents, they would get a puppy. Mommy knew exactly which one she wanted. As soon as she saw him on the web site, she knew, this was our puppy.



Daddy was not convinced, so Mommy made an appointment for the two of them to go see the puppies, and figure out which one was a good match,.

Once again, Mommy’s hunch turned out to be right. As soon as Mommy and Daddy saw the puppy, they knew he was the one. They even had a name picked out already- Dexter.

When Mommy and Daddy brought Dexter home, Nora was not happy at all, but after a few days, she really warmed up to him, and now they get along well.


Dexter has gotten to meet Mommy and Daddy’s families now, and is loved by everyone. Our happy little family is complete- for now.


Who knows what Mommy will want to add next?