Vacation update

So Hobbs has Demodectic Mange! Sounds gross but apparently it isn't contagious (Megan I was super worried after Sherman and Hobbs played at puppy meeting). IT is just a mite that all dogs have on their skin that can flare up in puppies and is pretty easy to fix....easy but expensive. Hobbs' Diarrhea finally cleared up after a couple pills from the vet. He weighed in at only 34.8lbs that is only 4 lbs heavier than at his 16 week shots! I guess they don't gain very much living on rice lol!

We went to the puppy meeting in Orem and met Sherman (who is very handsome) and all the other puppies in that club. It was so nice to be in a club again where we actually get to work on things. Hobbs benefited a lot from that meeting.

I have notice that this vacation has made Hobbs mature a lot especially in the socialization area. Before we came out here if we went more than one place Hobbs was stressed and wouldn't just lay down and chill. My husbands best friend got married on Saturday (the whole reason for the trip) and Hobbs and I went with him to the rehearsal (which took most of the day!! j/k part of it was running errands for the bride) and rehearsal dinner which were on Friday. That included going to three different tux stores to figure out a problem, Walmart twice, into a bunch of different people's homes, and eating his dinner (of icky rice) on the run, and of course a restaurant. By the end of that Friday he was pooped. The next morning he went to the puppy meeting, the vet and had to be left there for an hour getting his medicated bath, then to a few other peoples houses, then to the wedding where he sad quietly the whole time with a ton of very noisy people, then we stayed for the entire reception with hundreds of people there wanting to pet the puppy and ask questions. My husband and I wanted to dance so I tied his leash to a chair and told him to wait there for me and we went and danced for a while and when I came back he was sitting patiently (if not just a little worried) for me! He finally got to go home and crash around 10pm. Such a good little puppy!

I just hope he is ready to handle Fun Day. Has anyone ever boarded their puppy at GDB the day before Fun Day? I don't think Hobbs is ready to walk around San Fran all day and am leaving him at GDB for the day. I am just wondering what the puppies get to do that are being boarded there. I really hope they get to play with other puppies so that it isn't so stressful.

Anyways there in my update....sorry it kind of turned into a novel.

Not a happy vacation for Hobbs

So Hobbs' vacation has kind of taken a turn for the worst. He has had Diarrhea for almost a week now and says that he is thoroughly sick of eating rice. He has an appointment at the vet for a skin issue (I told him he is not allowed to have allergies) and hopefully the vet will figure out the diarrhea thing. As for now he is just pretty unhappy.

Home Sweet Home!

Im FINALLY in Utah again! I have missed being here so much! Robert (my hubby) and I just couldn't wait to get here so we drove all night and now I am here with my family and my dogs! Patriot looks amazing and is is very good health on his new food. His belly skin is usually very red...almost purplish sometimes, as is the skin between his toes. But on this new food his skin is starting to look normal pink again. His toes need to be clipped and he needs a good bath, but he is otherwise in very good condition and was overjoyed to see me again.

Hobbs was VERY overwhelmed by the exuberant greeting he got from my monster of a dog; Patriot is around 100 lbs and wanted to play rough right off the bat. So Robert's dog Dodge got to play until they were both tired and then Hobbs got to say hi. I put a tie-out stake in the middle of my parent's yard (not fenced as of yet and I didn't want Hobbs in the rest of the property) and then let Hobbs have as much fun as he could on my 30' nylon long-line.

My parent's old dog Cody (a 9yr old Irish Setter) is getting old and it is starting to show. He is possibly a little sick so he may be going to the doctor soon. He is not a fan of puppies and didn't want anything to do with Hobbs.

Here are a few pictures of my puppies!


Attempt #1 to get a good picture of the GDB boys



Attempt #2


Finally! Hobbs and Patriot


My happy boy! Yes he is a big dog!



Hobbs' Tie-out situation



The old Cody dog



Hobbs after two hours playing on the lawn (he likes his cushy tie-down spot) The leash is being the tie-down at my parent's house as they don't want me drilling eye hooks into the walls.

I will be posting a lot while I am here in Utah so keep checking back for funny stories and more pictures (probably mostly of Patriot).

Birthdays!

I am happy to announce that I just turned 23 years old! I can't believe that I have been raising since I was 18.....and wishing I could since I was 9! I have to say that I love birthdays! My husband was really cute to me and got me a couple of really nice presents, and pampered me all day.

I also got to go work a horse of Leslie Webb's. She is a pretty well known Dressage rider, and I got to work with one of her horses who is for sale. He in enormous!! Almost 17.3 hands high ( 71" for those non horse people out there) and built like a tank. But he was a really good boy and only got pushy when he wanted his carrot at the end of the workout & bath.

Anyways, Hobbs and I are REALLY excited to go to Utah on Friday!! I get to see my Patriot boy!!!! He is going to get pampered and I get to see how his allergies are responding to the new food that he is on. I had my mom put him on nature's recipe - Fish and Potato, which is supposed to help dogs with mild allergies. Hobbs is going to get big while we are there so I am hoping that he grows into the "Kool Coat" in time for Fun Day. A Kool coat is shaped like the old puppy jackets and you soak it in cold water and it holds the water for up to like 6 hours and keeps the puppy cool, which will be so nice both at Fun Day and here in Bakersfield. If anyone is interested I have a link to the site on here under "other sites".

Oops!

I just realised I forgot to post pictures of Hobbs' first restaurant trip! So here they are:




We got seated on one of the booths set up on a 8" ledge and Hobbs did not want to climb up under the table. So I picked him up and set him under it.




He pouted for a while and then laid down and was pretty good.






A little bit of a creepy picture!

Camping

My husband and I took both dogs and went on a one night camping trip. After much thought we brought not only our full sized crate, but bought a tarp and an in-ground stake for a tie-out.

When we got there I realised that unles I folded the tie-down in half Hobbs would still be able to get to the millions of pine cones littering the ground.



So we tied Dodge to a tree with a 30' line....which he promptly tangled around three trees......






and Hobbs got the crate (the hoody is in there because he likes to cuddle with it)

He was not a happy camper. He whined any time I got outside a 3' bubble around him. Finally I put his leash on and popped him a couple times and he laid down and went to sleep. I get the feeling he just didn't know what to do with himself so he whined and when that didn't work he slept.

We got there at dark and went right to bed, so we put the crate in the tent with us and Dodge got to sleep in that. Hobbs got to sleep on the bottom of my sleeping bag....I really just wanted him to keep my feet warm. Bad Idea. I woke up in the middle of the night super heated to the point I had to get up and walk around in the cold! Finally cooled off I noticed that Hobbs was shivering so badly it was a wonder the rest of his teeth didn't fall out!! So he moved inside my bag with me!

The next morning we had breakfast and then the four of us went for a walk across the huge marshy meddow right next to our campsite.



Both dogs were on retractable leashes, and wore themselves out running around. Hobbs unfortunatly found the only spot of deep mud/muck and got his butt and back legs stuck and I "got" to pull him out. We gave him a bottled water bath (I didn't trust the water from the fauset) I didn't get a picture of him all gross though...sad.

Eventually we took everything down and started home (at 1pm) Hobbs has been sleeping almost non-stop since he got in the car to go home!! I think he is a little exausted. Anyways now that I have written a novel about the camping trip....I will be done!

Teething!

I just noticed that Hobbs lost a tooth! One of his top front ones. I think it may have just gotten pulled out playing tug or something because he is not even four months yet. How early did everyone's puppies start teething?

Advantage day......

So.....to all you raisers out there who don't have to treat your puppies for flees and ticks (everyone in Utah and Colorado) you are so lucky!! I used to be one of the lucky ones but treated Hobbs for the first time today.
Here are my issues with it....I am going to rant for a bit and then I will stop.

1: Hobbs is so small that by the time I got it all on him, his entire back is greasy from the stuff.
2. I think it must itch or something because he keeps trying to rub his back on my and it is gross
3. He reeks like pesticide, but he is in a cuddley mood and that doesn't happen very often anymore so I let him cuddle...and now I smell like pesticide too!

Ok, I am done. I just thought for some reason that the flee treatment was just as simple as the Heartworm treatment. lol I guess I was wrong.

Hobbs is doing very well still and went to all 3 hours of my church today without a problem, for the first time! We have puppy class tomorrow and he will get to see his brother and the girl puppy that he is in love with....or he thinks she is his mom. It is her last meeting though. My husband and I are going up to UT for a visit so I get to see my Patriot again!! I miss him so much and can't wait to see him. Hobbs and I may even go to a puppy meeting with the Utah county club up there. Megan, would there be a meeting between July 20th and the first of August? If so let me know where and when and I will see if I can be there!

I will post pictures again soon because Hobbs is getting big so fast it is crazy.