I hate fireworks!

And so does Teddy.  If he is inside the house, he barely notices them, but trying to get him to do his business outside at night when neighbors on all sides are setting off fireworks is next to impossible.  No, not next to impossible - actually impossible!  I am sorry to admit that I lost my temper with him on Saturday and probably made the situation worse.  I think I was more angry with neighbors settiing of fireworks, but since Teddy would be the one who would pee on my carpet in the middle of the night, he got the brunt of my frustration.  He spent Saturday night in a crate, until the fireworks stopped around 2, and I was able to convince him to go outside.  Sunday night, I let him out later in the evening than I normally do, around 7, and tried again around 9, but fireworks were starting by then and it was a lost cause.  So I put up the baby gate in my room, and he slept until morning with no accidents.  Hopefully tonight will be much quieter and we will all sleep well! 

Needless to say, Ranger is not bothered by fireworks at all.  When he was a bit younger, they did bother him, but he spent one 4th of July with his doggie cousin, who is not afraid of anything, and I think he overcame his fear by watching her.  Ever since, he has not reacted to fireworks at all.  Hopefully Ranger will have the same effect on Teddy.

Happy, tired dogs

Napping, after a long day sitting by the pool  Enough said.

My baby's growing up

Today I hosted a cookout for Father's Day, and Teddy was amazing (ok - not truly amazing, but the progress he's made is remarkable.) My sister's in-laws are in town, and they brought their dog, Rudy (Ranger's brother) over for lunch. All 3 dogs get along, and had fun playing together. The amazing part was that Teddy was not scared of any of the men. He now goes directly to my brother-in-law, and even sat on his lap for several minutes, which is something he still doesn't really do with me. During dinner, he sat right next to my sister's father-in-law, hoping for some steak to drop, and licked his fingers clean without any fear. He let my nephews pet him, and didn't run away from them. It made me think of how he was this time last year, when he hid under the dining room table, and ran from the room when a man walked in. He was relaxed and playful - like a normal dog, which is something I thought I'd never say!

Teddy is banned from agility

No, not an official banishment, but until his behavior improves, I have imposed a ban. He pulled the same stunt this past Thursday that he did the previous week - he barked, and Ranger ran off the course. I could see the struggle in Ranger's eyes - he wanted to obey me and come back to me when I called him, but he also wanted to see what Teddy wanted. Ultimately, Teddy won. Ranger ended up in a crate (one up high, no less, which he hates) and he faced the wall the entire time (his choice, not mine!) When it was our turn to run again, he did much better. Teddy barked and Ranger wanted to go to him, but my treats, and the threat of more time in the crate, won out and we finished.

There's no class this week, but next week, I may bring a friend, with strict instructions to have her remove Teddy from the room if he barks. I hate to leave Teddy at home, as socializing during class has helped him tremendously, but I'm paying money for Ranger to take the class, and if he runs off the course, I've wasted my money, and that drives me nuts. Hopefully my plan will work.

Ranger and agility

Ranger has been back in agility for a few months now. Teddy was just too stressed out by the people, and I felt like I was torturing him, so I pulled him out of class and put Ranger in his place. Teddy was very relieved. He likes going to the place where agility class is held, but only for the treats people give him, not to do any actual work. Last week at class, I was running Ranger on a course, and I heard Teddy bark twice. We were doing the weave poles, and on hearing his brother bark, Ranger stopped in his tracks, looked to where Teddy was, and ran off the course, directly to Teddy, to see what was wrong. He has never run off the course before during a run, so I was a little surprised. I suspect that Teddy was concerned because he couldn't see where we were (a tunnel was right in front of him blocking his view) and he was calling for his brother to help him. I was not happy that Ranger left the course, but when I walked back to them, both dogs had such a happy look on their faces that I couldn't stay mad for very long. We have class again tonight. I hope we don't have a repeat performance!

Teddy's haircut

Teddy got his summer buzz cut this past weekend, and I have to say he is absolutely adorable. Ranger always looks better with his hair a little long, but Teddy gets a 'fro when his hair is long and it makes him look much bigger than he really is. When his hair is long, he looks like a bulldog, or a linebacker, but after he goes to the groomer, he looks so tiny. It's like getting a brand new dog every two months! Every morning as I put his leash on (a process he is still afraid of, by the way) I wrap my hands around his tiny head, and tell him he is so cute that I just want to eat him up. I just wish I could get Ranger and Teddy on the same grooming schedule, but Ranger's hair grows much slower, so he only needs to go every 3 months, while Teddy has to go every 2 months. Poor dog!

Happy Birthday, Ranger!

Ranger is 8 years old today. While I occasionally see signs that he is getting older, he is still the playful little dog he was as a puppy. The play sessions just don't last as long as they used to, and I have to admit, I'm a little relieved about that. Who really wants to play tug-of-war for an hour? And lucky for Ranger his fur has been gray since he was little - he doesn't have to worry about that additional sign that he's getting old, something I've been battling for a few years now. It's hard to believe that I've had him for this long. I barely remember my life without him always being there. Sometimes I wonder what I will do when he leaves me. I can't imagine ever getting another dog to replace him. I adopted Teddy more for Ranger than for me, and while I love Teddy, we haven't had the connection that Ranger and I have. Ranger is one of those dogs that sometimes seems more human than dog, while Teddy is all dog all the time. I've read that there are 'once-in-a-lifetime' dogs, and I think that is what Ranger is to me.