Three Dog Groom!!

Check out that face......you would never know she had a tough dog day and had to get her first AZ bath.

It finally came time for doggie grooming day. Actually the new mobile groomer did an outstanding job today. She is our newest family member. Dobie went first, got a bath and a nail trim....that took two of us. He is such a sissy but he is all clean and trimmed. Kati was next and under the circumstances she was a real angel.....as the pic would indicate. I knew early on catching her would be the most work so i got her captured and drag leashed about two hours before. She did just fine, did not care for the extra noisy tags but that did not bother her long. Once it was her turn it was out too the truck......and i forgot all about the pictures as i had been instructed and certainly could have taken......she was a wet rat. Deb was wonderful, she has round point scissors and her truck was spotless, so i was ready to go!! She had a wonderful comb that i will be getting so we can use it at home. Kati really did not mind the combing and she had plenty of hair to give up. I would have never guessed that she would have done so well. Next was the trimming.......just the long hair, we did not even try a toe nail even though our plan was to do one and see how it went.....darn it!! I think we were so excited about the combing and trimming going so well we forgot the plan. She scooted around quite a bit but for the most part, she did really well considering it was only her 2nd time with any kind of grooming activities. Her first being at Best Friends.

Next it was bath time.....probably her least favorite part of the day. She had a nice little lead that kind of held her in place with me being in eyes view. She got the full deal....soak and suds and you would not believe how soft and clean she smells. She struggled a bit but really did not put up near as much resistance as i expected. We got her rinsed and then out and wrapped in towels to dry. There was no attempt at the blow dryer.......Dobie did not even like it, so we were sure Kati was not going to be interested. So after all that.....then back into the house and this is where i get the idiot award. Don't take her out to the backyard........just sit her in the house so she can crap and pee right there.....what was i thinking!! I guess to excited about how well it all went to be rational about what would happen once she was free. So note to self........straight into backyard for potty time after we do this next month.....doh!! My own fault....totally but i do have to say that we took all the dirty stuff to the trash and she ran right over to the grass and peed a bit more. She was sooooo good and i know she feels much better. She is kind of a pig, not much into grooming and such so when she gets into a little dirt and mud......she is not bothered by it and does not work to clean up much. I know that will improve with time.

Molly was last, but certainly not least with her toe nail trim. She put a little fight but in the big picture.....did well herself. Deb is coming back in 30 days and we will work on Kati again. And all that for a big $40 bucks...........i almost cried!! I was expecting to pay $100 at least for all the mobile action. Deb was wonderful and will be our newest family member for a long time to come.

Just another day!!

No pictures today, but if there were it would be a pissed off Kati. I "captured" her last night and made her sit in my lap for a whole 10 minutes. It was stressful for us both and kind of hard getting her captured, she just hates it. She does almost relax when i am holding her so i have got to keep it up and hope that soon she will think it is an ok place. I always reward with a treat and she has become quite the treat hound.....maybe even too much but at least she is coming to me. Dobie has been hiding in his crate the last few days.......not sure what is up with him. I know he hates wearing a collar but i mean really it is not that bad and there are no tags to bug him since info is on the collar. I guess he will just have to get over it. Molly has been Molly.....sleeping all the time and coming out for food. I really want to be able to walk her and Kati together so everyone gets some exercise but Kati is just not into it right now. Will keep working on it. Kati is getting groomed for the first time this afternoon and i am expecting that to go better than you would think. I am using a mobile groomer that comes to the house so it will just be her and us for the big event. I am thinking that if she does Dobie first and he hangs out in there while Kati is getting her bath, he will be a calming influence......or he will be a brat and make things worse then it has to be. Stay tuned!!

So Kati barked for the first time on Monday. She barked at Victor the cleaning guy and i think he was very offended. They were here last month and she just sat under the desk. He did come into clean and we thought maybe his keys rattling upset her. So i gave her a few treats and then he came back in and she did not bark but certainly never took her eyes off of him. She does her cute little morning howl when she is happy but this little bark was something new and different. Will see what else upsets her in the future.

The other "kids"!!

This past week has been about Molly and Dobie it seems. They have been too cute and enjoying our perfect dog weather. As you can see by the picture, it was all about sitting outside and enjoying the day. They don't stop moving and just sit very often. As you can see, the minute Dobie saw me he needed to get up and come see what i was doing......which was trying to take a picture of him and Molly sitting in the sun. Kati was sitting at my feet all day and would come outside with me to see what was up, but she would not stay out there with the kids. She had a good time running in the yard and playing catch with a couple of leaves. She has also figured out that the pool is nothing to mess with, so she just walks around and checks out all around but does not get too close to the edge.

Molly is so not being herself, she is all about coming out of her closet and either hanging with me or hanging on the bed........which is not what she usually does at all. Might be cause Kati has been in her closet and now it is just another spot in the house and not just her place. However, she is back in there now ans all curled up in her bed. Dobie keeps barking and the neighbor dog and the trainer and I can't seem to get connected on the phone. Bad phone tag, or maybe she is avoiding me.....could it be she knows Dobie is hopeless, or maybe it is his owner. More to come on his training class.......

A Great Week!!

Well, i would have to confirm that vacation did wonders for everyone!! Kati is hopping around like this is old hat to her and life has never been any different then it is today. She has been very active for the most part....playing with Dobie and all the toys. Tearing up newspaper when ever she gets that chance ( i don't leave it around for her much but she sure enjoys it when i do!).

The funny thing about Kati is it has really bought Molly out of her closet and hanging out with the rest of us. She is even playing a very tiny bit out in the yard with Kati and Dobie. Now she never was a big player but at least she is up and about getting some exercise on the bum leg. Oh, and no accidents inside this week that i can find and i look very hard and log for them so they can be treated. She comes into bed with us a night now too and does not even have to be picked up to come join us. We even got in a little eye cleaning this week. Not much she can do when she is captured and held hostage in the bathroom. She is coming around to it all. Dobie loves to clean eyes but the two of them have not figured it out just yet. Needless to say....Molly is the only one benefiting from that right now. Did not put up much Christmas this year, thought all the new stuff in the house would be plenty without tossing in the whole green and red action. Never put up much anyway, just don't need Dobie finding out what else he can eat that he should not. He is a master and stuff in his mouth that does not belong there.......regardless of whether it is meant to be eaten or not.

Check out the happy kid!!

Well back from vacation and i think my new kid missed me. Got home Saturday night and it took her a while to decide i was ok again. Seems she spent most of my time gone in the closet with Molly, but you would never know that now. She has been out and about and playing with toys and running in the yard, not to mention playing chase with Dobie from time to time.

However, it also seems she knows how to get on the big bed. Phil was here sleeping and raised his head to find Kati looking at him. Seems she did not really think there was someone in the bed and when he moved and she realized she was not along, she could not get down from the bed fast enough. He did not know how long she had been there but nice to know she is getting around. Best i can tell she had a few accidents in the house while i was gone, but has been a perfect angel since I got back. Seems if i come in the house immediately and make sure everyone goes outside, all the business gets done and everyone is happy. It is raining again, so she does not go much further then the mats by the door, but at least she is outside and i can wash those....no big deal.

I am so proud of Molly sharing the closet while i was gone. She does not even let the cleaning lady in there....ha ha ha!! Kati was even up on the couch with Ashley it seems. She is a perfect little lady when i am around and i have not even said yes or no to furniture. This is one of those cases it would be fun to have a nanny cam for when i am at work. Dobie and the neighbor dog are both doing much better with the barking. Not sure what is up with that....but the quieter it is the happier we all are. I will have to see about getting Kati outside some this week after the rains. Need to get her used to walks again and see how successful we can be with that. It is really nice to see her running around and playing in the yard......was afraid she might not get the message that it is hers to play in but i think she might finally have it. Even goes out and checks out the pool edge when we are in the pool area.....maybe she will be my kid that likes to swim come summer. The other two certainly don't want any part of it all.

Thanks kids for doing great on vacation.......and welcome Kati, to life in the big yard. So happy you are coming into your own!!