Where'd the Snow Go?!

This week Kilo and I bemoaned the loss of our beloved snow. Monday we had tons of it and today we have practically none. Yesterday afternoon only half of our snow had melted, revealing a mixture of mud, water, tasty crabapples and several piles of unpleasantness. Kilo could care less about the state of the yard, other than there being a shortage in crunchy ice, he's perfectly happy. He's happy wading through the mud and water and other unmentionable brown solids. Kilo and I don't exactly see eye to eye on what is and what is not ok to walk through. Therefore, yesterday afternoon, we went out to clean up the piles of unpleasantness before the snow finished melting and rendered the back yard an indistinguishable blur of brown. Of course I say 'we' very loosely, Kilo ran around the yard digging up long lost icicle toys while I dealt with all the smelly stuff. I did however, learn one comforting fact. All the toys Kilo has been munching up and swallowing bits of, I no longer have to worry about. I can rest assured that all those little pick, green, and red chunks of rubber have been safely passing through his system to colorfully decorate the backyard. I won't regale you with anymore details, I'm sure you get the idea . . . The family and I are hoping for more snow and freezing temperatures as soon as can be, because until the backyard stops looking like swampland, we're stuck inside with two energetic, easily bored puppies.

Happy Holidays :)

Happy Holidays from the big bear and I! Kilo hasn't seemed to take much notice of the holiday season. Other than the fact that there's more food lying around for the stealing, a convenient tree-shaped hideout in the living room and a horde of new toys - his life's pretty much been the same. But, here's a few pictures to commemorate Kilos first winter holiday!Thank you for the new toy, Grams! Kilo sure does love it! To be honest, Chase is a bit jealous that you showed your favoritism so clearly, but Kilo lets him nibble on the end every now and then. Can you believe it? Kilo - sharing! My little doggy's finally growing up.

I must now confess to being one of those people who gives presents to her dog . . . and is also insane enough to wrap them. Yes, I am one of those people. I freely admit it, own up to it, and look forward to doing it again. Why do I bother with the wrapping? Because it's fun to watch him get excited about being allowed to rip something asunder, and because for once it doesn't matter what the paper looks like or if the gift has green snowmen paper patched over top silver snowflakes. It's actually rather soothing. Slap this piece of paper to that piece of paper, throw some tape on and you're good to go. The ugliest wrapping job ever beheld, yet still met with wide eyed enthusiasm and curiosity.

It barely took Kilo an hour to chew through two of his new toys. If anyone knows of some hardier, big dog toys - please, please let me know. I've been to all the local pet stores and still can't seem to keep my fuzzy companion stocked. Who knew entertaining a dog could be so difficult? But, he is still cutting his teeth, so maybe his chewing frenzy will settle down once they've finished coming in. I can hope anyway. Kilo didn't exactly earn his new toys. He's been bad more than he's been good; but, giving him coal would have been pointless - he'd just eat it.
Also this week, Kilo decided he was descended from a family of squirrels and therefore was in the clear to begin climbing trees for food. The crab apple tree to be exact. The poisonous, loathed, threatened to be cut down crab apple tree. If Kilo hasn't killed himself by his first birthday I'm throwing him/me a party. A, 'we made it' party.

Let's Celebrate!

Kilo getting hugged by my sister.
92 lbs now

Something unprecedented has happened! Kilo has gone an entire month without a vet visit!! Can you believe it? I hardly can. We almost didn't make it; but luckily, we were saved by a new magical cure - pumpkin! That's right, I'm now an official endorser of pumpkin. Pumpkin and benedryl and pretty soon I might also be pushing an alcohol/vinegar ear infection cure. Why you ask? Well, I'm advocating pumpkin because this week Kilo overindulged on peanut butter. Lets just say that Kilo had a very large and liquidy problem the following day and I had one very sick and pathetic puppy. But after a much needed bath, a scoop of pumpkin, and a good nights sleep -presto! - a digestively healthy puppy. I love pumpkin.

Also this week, Kilo's itchy ears turned into a full blown ear infection. Hence the alcohol/vinegar solution. He doesn't particularly care for it, but I do it anyway and he suffers through it with a series of protests and pouts, which is basically Kilo's life in a nutshell. After two days his ears are already looking better, so if this keeps up I may be advertising some more home cures. Didn't know you were reading an advertisement blog did ya? ;)

Other than trying to break our healthy streak this week, Kilo's been a pretty good dog. In fact I was rather impressed by his self control the other night. Normally Kilo crashes at 10pm, and is down for the rest of the night. He sleeps by the front door where it's cold and then once I decide to go up he trails along behind me. It was quite late the other night, hours past our usual bedtime but Kilo and I were still downstairs when my brother went over and started loving on my sleeping dog. Kilo really just wanted to be left alone and after a few futile attempts to roll away and a series of perturbed vocalizations, picked himself up off the floor, snorted at my brother, and headed up to the bedroom as if to say, "I've had enough of this, I'm going to bed." It cracked me up! Kilo went up the stairs and to his room all by himself. Such a baby! But at the same time it pleased me that instead of mouthing or growling (like he would have a couple of months ago), this time he simply got up and left. Maybe a big doggy can be taught. ;)

Excuse Me While I Laugh

I just read an article in a dog magazine about crate training and almost laughed out loud. Why, you ask? Because. It kindly informed it's readers that while their puppy may bark for the first 15-20 minutes upon being crated, he'll quickly settle down and learn to be quiet . . . Excuse me? 15-20 minutes? Hah! I laugh in your face you oversimplified, understated, cosseted advice column! 15-20 minutes? Kilo barked for a solid two and a half hours before giving in and calming down. Even now, at 8 months old, he'll bark in his crate and that's with me NEVER giving in to his demands! Man, I have one stubborn dog.

Did anyone else see the dog show that aired on Thanksgiving day? It featured the Leonberger, a new breed recently added to the AKC, and the announcers talked about their great dispositions and family appeal . . . They failed to mention that the males can be extraordinarily stubborn . . . Surprise! Ok, so I wasn't caught entirely unawares by Kilo's independence, I was expecting it. Expecting and surviving are two very different things. Not that I don't enjoy him, or even find his stubbornness humorous at times - just don't ask me when I've told him to 'sit' and he's responding by pretending I'm invisible. Kilo's personality isn't something I can fully describe to other people. They tend to think I'm being dramatic or that I'm just not experienced enough. Only those dog owners who have had similarly strong willed, gigantic brutes truly understand. But sometimes I get a giggle because one of the scoffers will come by the house and meet him, and then they know. I was telling the truth all along.

Don't get me wrong, Kilo has lots of wonderful qualities, qualities that are slowly outweighing his flaws. He's a loving, protective, goofy, stubborn oaf . . . Actually, he's a loving, protective, goofy, STUBBORN oaf. Yes, that's much better. ;) This week, more snow! Kilo can't eat it up fast enough.

1st Snow

Today we officially entered into winter. Four inches of snow covered the ground when Kilo and I got up this morning. He treated it as he does most things in life: blunder first, wonder later. Luckily for him, snow isn't dangerous. Within a few minutes my bear of a dog had discovered his new first love. Snow. The humongous ice machine. And, as a plus, you don't even have to push a lever to get it to dispense - just ring the bells to summon your bellman and a yard of crunchy, cool ice awaits.

Chase was equally puzzled by it at first. The hemlock out back had transformed into a scary monster overnight. Chase barked at it, Kilo whacked it with his paw. After they both realized it was still their trusty hideout, just a snow covered version, the fun could start.

Kilo is not a sled dog. A snow dog? Yes. A swift moving, long lasting, stream lined runner? Most definitely not. When he's not falling face first into a snow pile, he's busy shoveling it into his mouth. Our sun-room looks like a laundromat threw up all over it, what with the towels and rugs covering the floor, and while normally I would be annoyed by the mess and work - I love snow. And I love watching my goofy dog enjoying it. So, I guess I'll forbear the giant snowballs he tracks in. Here comes winter! Kilo and I are looking forward to receiving even more snow. :)