Hank's new Activity

Today we decided to take Hank and Rudy to Marymoor Park in Redmond. It's a HUGE park and I've always heard great things about their off leash park. This ended up being beyond my wildest dreams, it was INCREDIBLE! I couldn't believe how much fun the dogs had! But, the biggest surprise of the day was that we learned Hank DOES love the water! Just not in a bathtub or in a bathing capacity. BUT, man alive does he love the Sammamish River! Rudy however, kind of a big wimp. She sure talks big, barking all over the place, but won't get more than 2 feet into the water before she panics, it was kind of funny. Hank however, had the time of his life today as evidenced by the video. It is beautiful and sunny out, so we had no clue if we were recording this correctly, feel free to turn off your volume so you don't have to listen to Jake and I ramble!

Puppy Love?

Jake, Dad and I went to see Juno this afternoon, and it was AWESOME! Go see it now! We left Jeremiah home alone with the dogs, and it seemed to go OK. Dad & I took them on a walk before we left to get them all tired and to go pee, etc. Things seemed to go really well...

Hank and Rudy, Junior High all over again

My dad, brother, and dad's dog Rudy arrived yesterday for New Years. It is officially a ZOO in my house! And more like an escaped Tiger in San Francisco than a petting zoo. Actually, it's going pretty well. Rudy's a barker and Hank still gets scared of himself when he barks, so it's pretty entertaining. AND, Hank is HUGE compared to little Rudy. So, it's pretty entertaining. But, they get along alright for being two dogs who have never lived with other dogs and are both use to running the show.

However, Rudy is totally enthralled with Hank's crotch! It's really funny! I know that dogs like to sniff each other out in the crotch to check each other out, but this is BEYOND it, this is more of a penis envy kind of thing. It's really funny. Case in point:

And like a true junior high boy, Hank has NO clue what she's doing, but she's enamored with him, and he just keeps walking around like it's nothing. She is BEGGING for his attention and he has no clue. It's pretty entertaining to watch. BUT, the good news is, we think Rudy's over her lesbian phase now...I'm sure there will be more to come. My cousin and their three kids are coming over tonight for dinner, then is really will be a zoo!

Christmas Vacation Pictures

Just in case you needed more...here's the photo album of Hank's Christmas vacation:

http://picasaweb.google.com/HankandElizabeth/HankSFirstChristmas

Too Many Toys!

Hank is such the spoiled puppy! He had a GREAT Christmas, and was very excited to get home today. The trek home started earlier than anticipated. Uncle Josh called about 7:30 this morning to let us know that there was a major snow advisory, so we left about 9 AM, saying goodbye to BOTH Grandma's who continued their visit, but sure missed their grand-puppy!
The drive over the pass wasn't too bad (Jeremiah drove the whole trek) and we made it home in about the same time we usually do. But we were glad to have left when we did, since the pass is supposed to accumulate 10-20 inches by noon tomorrow. YIKES!
Hank is getting settled back into home life and having ALL his toys to play with! We even had to move some stuff around so he has a toy box that's about 3 times the size of what we had! RIDICULOUS! Thanks for Spoiling Hank, he sure liked it!

One Spoiled Puppy!

What a Christmas! I have never seen one puppy have so many presents delivered with such thought and care. This dog is SPOILED! I wonder what will happen when Josh & Jaimie have kids!

Hank had a great Christmas, and got a cool candy cane shaped bone from Grandma Paula that he devoured (there's still some flakes on the carpet today) However, we think that it may have made him gassier than usual, which honestly, was kind of funny (since I usually wasn't in the line of fire)...

Treats, and squeaky toys just kept coming in! Hank was digging into his present bags downstairs for balls and stuff, so I finally had to go hide it upstairs in our room and just leave a couple toys out for him. Auntie Marjo got him a squeaky Hammer to go with the squeaky wrench from Grandma. It's very cute, and Jeremiah's excited to find a place in the garage for Hank's tools!

Today Grandma Nancy comes! Hank sure is excited to see her! I bet she brings presents too!

Hank, the Christmas Pimp

So, clearly Hank is the first grandchild in the house. He was SPOILED! Uncle Jeremy got him yummy treats, including a dental bone that he ate in about 5 minutes (it's supposed to last a LITTLE longer...) Grandpa Peter got him a cool jar of dog biscuits that he loves. Uncle Jake got him a cool elf hat and collar set. The collar is way to small, but the hat makes him look like a Christmas pimp, it's hysterical! Here's a picture for your viewing pleasure.

Uncle Josh & Aunt Jaimie got Hank reindeer ears that Hank will wear for a few moments at a time before they fall off. These are them, he looks ADORABLE! And Grandma Paula bought him two chew bones (one, again, almost devoured) and two squeaky toys that he LOVES!

More family is arriving this afternoon, and I think, there may be more. And, Grandma Nancy comes tomorrow and is excited to see her grandpuppy!

Christmas Vacation, day's 1 & 2

Well, we've made it 600 miles into our trip so far. Hank's doing OK and is glad to be at Grandma's house with her big backyard for running around. We left Saturday morning and drove to Portland. He got to meet Rudy, my dad's dog, and we realized that either Rudy is REALLY small, or Hank is ENORMOUS! He did OK at the PetsHotel, and they were super busy but the girls who worked there said he did GREAT.

He slept in the car the drive over to Pasco, and when we arrived he drank a TON of water. We tried giving him water at the rest area, but he wouldn't drink out of the little container we have, so we're done with that contraption. He had a great night at Grandma's house, and we had family friends over who LOVED Hank and thought he was a great dog. He slept most of the evening, although was VERY curious about what was going on at the table and what we were eating (yes, he does know NOT to do this, but new house, maybe he can get away with it...). Mostly he lounged and slept like usual after he's away from us for a night.

Last night he slept on the aerobed with us in the middle. I'll be glad to sleep in my own bed on Thursday night with Hank asleep ON THE FLOOR!

Hank's Holiday Vacation plans

I know everyone is DYING to know what Hank's holiday plans are, so I thought I'd share his itinerary. He had a great time at Doggy Day Camp today, and is pretty lazy this evening. Although, no amount of playing and running around can stop him from wanting his squeaky chew toys!

Saturday 12/22--off to Portland, Hank gets to spend the night at the Pets Hotel in Tualatin, and mom & dad get to go see Uncle Jeremy coach basketball in Silverton, and then stay with family in Portland.

Sunday 12/23--off to PASCO! Hank loves going to visit Grandma, she has a great back yard to run around in, and rumor is that there's little kids to play with!

12/27--return home to Issaquah. He'll probably be pretty tired at this point and ready to be back home. Hank LOVES being home with mom & dad, it's his favorite.

12/29--Grandpa Peter & RUDY (dad's dog) are coming for New Years! It should be quite the adventure for all of us, having TWO dogs in the house, but Rudy is great gal, and plus, they're both fixed, so there's nothing TOO traumatic to worry about. Plus, rumor is, Rudy goes for the ladies.

1/2--mom & dad go back to work and Hank returns to living in the lap of luxury. January & February are really busy with daddy, so it'll be lots of mommy & Hank time, and day camp time!

Another exciting weekend at home

Well, it was a pretty uneventful weekend around the house. I got back on Monday from DC and Jeremiah came back late Wednesday night from DC. Hank sure missed us! We didn't walk him enough those few nights, so he woke up in the middle of the night, but Saturday and this morning when he woke up (about 7 and 8) he jumped up on the bed with us to make sure we knew he was awake. But, he is OK with us still sleeping, as long as sleeping includes scratching him and snuggling with him.

Jeremiah decided a couple of months ago to build a shelf for all of Hank's "stuff." it would hold his leashes and collars (yup, he has 5) and his poop bags, and have hooks for wet jackets. We decided to make the downstairs area the entrance and exit for him, so that if there is an accident, he tries to get downstairs to the tile. And with the wet, when we come and go with him, it's a good place to take of shoes and coats, etc. So, Jeremiah finished the shelf today and we got it all setup. Here's a few pictures to check out.

Hank gets to go to Doggie Day Camp TWO TIMES this week! We figured with the rain and getting Christmas stuff done, Hank would like to play with other dogs. And then on Saturday, the Northwest Christmas trip extravaganza begins! Hank only spends Saturday night away from us, AND he gets to meet his uncle/cousin/whatever dog, my dad's dog Rudy! It should be an adventure. At least they're both fixed...

OH yeah! I won 2 hours of free dog training and so we had our first hour of training on Saturday. She kept complimenting what a great dog Hank is. We worked on Sit, lay, WAIT (handy on walks!) and leave it. We have lots of practicing to do, but hopefully he'll be proficient by new years and ready for more!

Alright, time for a bedtime potty break in the rain!

Honey, we're Home!

Well, I arrived back from DC about 11 AM this morning. I went to pick up Hank a little before noon and he was still in the morning play period. Hank was the tallest dog in the group, but also probably the calmest. It was good to see him in there, because he just kind of stood around and then sniffed dogs when they came to him, but he wasn't too active.

They brought Hank out of his morning day camp, and he came right to me. We got all checked out, and into the car. He plopped up on the back seat and laid right down. We came home and he helped me unpack, by laying on the bed and falling asleep. We came downstairs to watch TV and he zonked out on the couch. I ran errands for about an hour and he looked like he just woke up from a nap, now we're watching TV and he's zonked out again. But he's SO CUTE! Nice and snugly tonight, we'll both get a good nights sleep, hooray!

Saddest day ever...

...So far with Hank. Tonight we took Hank to the Pets Hotel by our house. He's staying there until Monday when I get back from DC. Jeremiah has to go to DC for work, so we get to go visit my brother Jake and some good friends of ours in Maryland. We are REALLY excited for our trip, but it's our first night away from Hank since we brought him home. So, we got home from work, fed him, played with him and threw around his new squeaky toy from his Auntie Cathy.

We got over to the Pets Hotel and man is Hank going to have a BLAST! Day camp every day, it's going to be great. But, it was so sad to say goodbye and watch him fuss when he had to go back, he got through the first door when I went in with him, and then was just fine going through the second door. My dad always says that Rudy (his dog) is super snugly when he gets back and sleeps a lot. I have a feeling Hank will be the same. In the mean time, we already miss Hank...

One more reason not to reproduce: being a single parent

Well, Hank has been on a very mild steroid to help him heal from this mangled up paw pad that we noticed over Thanksgiving. I finally went to the Vet on Friday, and she gave him a mild steroid, to help him recover from it. She said that Hank would need to drink more water and would then pee more often (I think you can see where this is going...)

Both Saturday AND Sunday Hank peed on the carpet. We knew he was going to pee more, but man alive, he hasn't been giving the regular signs, he just up and lifts his legs. So, yesterday our house cleaner was here, and I pulled out the urine stain spray stuff for her, just in case. I got home and NO ACCIDENTS! Yay! Today...

I left at 6:45 this morning, Hank peed about 6:15 when Jeremiah walked him this morning, I got home at 4:30, so 10 hours later, which is about his limit and what we usually do and he's OK with NO ACCIDENTS!

Today...I get home. PEE everywhere on the tile downstairs. Which, I really take as a good sign that he now pees by the door where he knows he should be to go outside, and it's MUCH easier than the carpet. We took a quick walk to make sure he got it all out of his system. We come back in, and THEN I walk up the stairs...and there's PEE ON THE STEPS! Then we come up stairs, and the pee stops, BUT then it starts again, because he pulled the sheet off of the red chair and peed on it.

So, I sprayed the urine stuff on everything, and took Hank on a nice long walk to get everything out of his system. He peed a bunch, hooray!

THEN, (yeah, when does this day end!!!) We had to go to the vet to get a booster shot so that he can go to the Pets Hotel on Thursday, hooray! We get to the vet, and get Hank up on the scale (85 lbs hooray!) and then into the exam room. He is starting to not like the exam rooms which is frustrating. I can't wait till we take some training classes and Hank gets better at paying attention. The nurse comes in and pokes and prods and he's fine. THEN, the doctor comes in and he's doing OK, but she has to give him 2 shots. The first one went fine. The second one did NOT! He BARKED! Hank never barks, it's the beauty of our dog! He doesn't bark unless we provoke him. So, that was weird. And the vet said that the chattering teeth was a nervous sign. And I know he's been doing that since he's been hopped up on the steroids, and I mentioned that to her. I think it's more of a "I have to pee please" sign, instead of the whimpering he often does. So, now I know that it's one more sign to pay attention to.

Poor Hank, we finally got him finished at the vet. Since I had the paperwork I decided to walk him over to the Pets Hotel and give them the paperwork so I don't have to worry about remembering it on Thursday. We turn to leave, and get about half way to the front door, when Hank lifts his leg and pees all over Christmas chew-toys...

I spend the next minute wiping up his mess and then we're on our way home! We took a quick walk, and since he's JUST emptied his bladder, he was fine...after a big drink of water, his 'roids and some dinner, he's passed out on the floor while I watch TV.

Jeremiah's at the airport, drinking beer with his friends and waiting for his delayed flight while I clean up dog pee all night. At least it's only 24 hour trip for him. I can't WAIT till Hank's 48 hours are up and he can start going to Doggy Day camp, HOORAY!!!

Hank's Christmas List

Here is the e-mail Jeremiah sent out this morning:


Thought I would send out Hank’s Christmas list. He seemed rather irritated I hadn’t sent it out yet. He didn’t bother to do an Amazon list. He’s not a big fan of technology.

1) Any toy that squeaks
2) Dog treats with cheese flavor
3) Doggy rain jacket
4) UW leash to match his UW collar (ok, maybe this is more for me)
5) Dog shoes for walking in the snow and to avoid rug burns in the house
6) Poop bags
7) Any other type of dog treat, except liver flavor (they stink!)

SNOW! And quite the ventful day...

Hank had a VERY busy day today!

Here's the synopsis:

He woke up at 7, climbed on the bed with mom & dad, snuggled for an hour, then got up. It was a winter wonderland of white outside, very exciting. He took a quick walk to pee and check out the white. About 10, mom got dressed and took him up to the dog park. He made friends with another dog there, who DID at one point kind of growl and kind of attack Hank, but once they both saw a ball, they were fine. THEN, he was really dirty. So, he came home, and we tried to rinse him off, he was still dirty. Off to the Shampooch. The most traumatic experience of Hank's day. HE did NOT like it, but he's clean which is good. We came home, dad worked on a project in the garage and mom was on the computer. He magically disappeared for a moment and when mom came down later, she noticed he was sniffing at a spot on the carpet WHERE HE HAD PEED! We went on a walk (to pee). We came back, we laid around and watched TV. We took another walk in the snow, mom & dad had dinner, mom & Hank played with the ball while dad cleaned up. THEN, in the midst of playing, he stopped at the top of the stairs and PEED AGAIN! HE got in deep crap, and had to stand outside in the snow. Mom took him on a quick walk to pee, then back inside, now he's banished to watch the Husky game...

Luckily, tomorrow the dog trainer comes. We really think he's been doing OK inside the house, but now that we know where he has peed twice (early this afternoon and the week before Thanksgiving) we can keep a better eye on it. This is not good news! Hopefully the trainer will help and he'll STOP PEEING IN THE HOUSE!

The dog trainer comes for an hour tomorrow, and then again in two weeks. AND, Hank's favorite house cleaner comes on Monday, oh boy!

In other news, he was gnawing at his paw over Thanksgiving and we noticed that it was all gross and irritated. So, finally on Friday we went to the Vet and she gave him a mild steroid that she said would increase his thirst and make him pee more. So, we're chalking it up to the steroids, but man alive are we NOT happy about it!!!