Mud and Pity Parties

Our snow is melting. Melting and melting. We have a pool in the backyard. Would anyone like to go swimming? It's spacious, airy, and as an added bonus comes with a free mud pack. Oh, and did I mention the 95lb lifeguard? You'll never feel safer . . . or more disgusting.

Kilo and Chase went out to go potty this morning and came in covered in enough mud to send even the most hardened of mops running. Well, there went my morning. Bathtub here we come! I'm hoping the weather either freezes again or dries up the backyard. Until then, Kilo's getting walked on a leash.
Recently Kilo's been amusing us all with his childlike emotions. He has a puzzle toy that is basically a jug with a rope coming out the end. Food is placed inside and then Kilo has to tip it over/pull on the rope to get the food out. Initially it took him awhile to figure out how it worked. Now, he's a pro at it; but it's still his least loved puzzle toy. Every time I put it out for him he spends five minutes fussing over it. He cries at it - using his puppy bark he fusses and whines, whacking it around halfheartedly with his paws. Eventually he'll come back to it, grab it in his mouth so the end faces the floor and expertly dump the food out bit by bit. But first, he has to have a good cry over it. It's just too much work mom!

Kilo threw a similar 'temper tantrum' last week when I sat down to trim his nails. Usually I have him lie down and wait; he gets a treat or two after each clip. He hates it, but he likes the food enough to tolerate the ordeal. This time I had him lie down and wait as usual, but as soon as I brought the clippers near his feet he jerked away. Reiterating the 'wait', I tried again. This time he stared at the food longingly before jerking away and whining. The same whining, puppy bark he uses when he's not getting his way. He threw a nice little pity party and once he realized that wasn't working for him, lied down and was still for his nail clipping. I had a good laugh at him.

Lets Paint!

This past weekend we went to Grandmas again. This time we painted the kitchen and Kilo managed to not partake of anything deadly. Score one for the team! He didn't even attack anyone! Now, that's what I call progress. ;)
We arrived at Grandma's and five minutes later Kilo was impersonating a lighting pole. The house is so dry that every time we touched him we got shocked. I'll admit that once the sparks started flying I got a bad feeling; a 'here we go again' feeling. The first night we were there, Kilo once again performed his flea infestation demonstration. You'll have to take my word when I say it's a very underwhelming type of presentation. The second night we put a humidifier in the room and at last, peaceful sleep was ours. At least now I know it's not allergies but dry skin - if only there was a simple fix for dry skin. Oatmeal baths/conditioners don't seem to help him and while the humidifier has relieved some of the itching it hasn't eliminated all of it. He's already on a fish based food so that leaves me with . . . nothing. If he were a person I'd slap some lotion on him. But he's a dog. A dog that likes to lick lotion off family members and thinks anything that's wet ought to go in his mouth . . . anyone have a dog with dry skin?

Blizzard!!

So, yesterday we received a little weather phenomenon known as a blizzard. All the neighbors hurried home and shut up their houses. People called off work and stocked up on groceries. Kilo rang his bells, went outside, and laid on the back stoop in celebration; basking in the cool, snowy breeziness of it all.Morning came and Kilo discovered the best present ever! 19 inches of powdery ice! Ah, Leonberger heaven. Needless to say Kilo and Chase had a blast playing outside today. In fact, as I write this, Chase is passed out on the couch, eyes squeezed shut, while Kilo is stretched out across the family room floor, legs splayed out in all directions. Too much fun. :)

Chase didn't last as long outside as Kilo, but it takes a lot more effort for a 30lb dog to run and jump through snow that can swallow him whole. Kilo definitely had the advantage today. He'd go leaping through the deepest snow drifts just for the fun of it.

Both the dogs were a little surprised when they woke up to discover the back door encased in snow, but their surprise quickly turned into elation, which morphed into a game of chase, the end result of which was a wrestling match followed by some leaping, galloping and general snowy chaos. Hence, the pictures posted below. :)