Fly Little Birdy

So, when we went to the beach last month with dad, Jeremy, Cassie, Grandma & Grandpa Milliron, Jeremiah, Hank & RUDY! we had a GREAT time. While we were there, dad and I had a conversation about twitter. I've heard about it for a while, and think maybe it's just the next Facebook/Myspace thing. But, I also realized it's a quick way for people who care to pay attention to what's going on with me. So, I signed up.

On the off chance you want to follow me on twitter, sign up and you too can be the next big thing like Oprah and Ashton Kutcher.

Hank's Next Ride

I love my car, it's great, fits us perfectly, and is GREAT for Hank! Today, I'm home watching Oprah, and Gayle (her best friend for the 1 person in the world who doesn't know that) mentioned there's a dog friendly Honda out there! So, I had to check it out. I love my CRV and I know I'm going to have it for a few more years. While I'm hoping my next car is a Maserati, I doubt I'm quite there yet.

So, I was so excited to hear that Honda has unveiled a Dog-Friendly Element! I'm not the biggest fan of the Element, but I do hope this means Honda will continue to take these features into some of it's other cars, and maybe our next car (probably another CRV if they get rid of the bubble butt feature it currently has) will have the built in dog bed, and water dish, and washable seat covers.

In the mean time, I'll enjoy the fact that the dog wash at Marymoor is so great, and the owner was very helpful today. Hank had a great bath, and I only ended up with a LITTLE bit of soap in my eyes!

Brewer's birthday party!

Hank's Birthday is at the end of the month (April 27th if you're sending gifts) and then in MAY, we get to go down to Eugene to visit Rudy, and then head over to Newport to The Largest Dog-Friendly Beer Festival in the World at Rogue Brewery. I am VERY excited!

Shake Baby, Shake...

baby 1234.

What was that song? It was from the 90's and not that good, but all of a sudden.

Anyway, not the point. So, our fabulous new dog walker taught Hank to shake! I mentioned to her when we met that I told the folks at PetSmart I'd give them $20 if they taught him to shake. She remembered the "teach Hank to shake" part. So, for the past two weeks after their walk, she spends a minute teaching him to shake. AND, we realized this weekend he can do it! He is super cute too! He'll be happy to show you the next time you see him. And if you could give him a treat, he'd be happier to do it for you!

Now she's working on catch, and he seems to be doing pretty well with it. I threw a piece of cheese stick at him today and he caught!

My dog is smarter than your dog!

What a Fun Weekend!

This weekend we headed over to the Oregon Coast with my dad, brother, his fiance, and my grandparents. We also took Hank and RUDY! We had a great weekend at the beach, we were about a block from the beach and Hank and Rudy were able to run around and chase each other, a couple times a day. The weekend was GREAT, we had so much fun! We laid around, watched lots of basketball (who didn't) and the dogs did lots of chasing. AND there were lots of great stories from my grandparents, which was pretty cool.

Also, my grandpa LOVES Hank (and Rudy, I'm sure) and it was pretty cute to watch the dogs try to tackle the grandparents.

Moment's of Brilliance

This is what Susan said about Hank, and I thought it was pretty cute...

Last week I left you a note and said I saw a moment of brilliance. I want to explain what I meant because there's now a pattern (I think). You know when you learn something new and you feel resistant to the person telling you and maybe a little defensive. Then you go home and have time to think it over and you agree, so the next day you go to work (or whatever) with a new attitude and lessons learned? Okay, that is putting human qualities on a dog, but it's the best way I can explain it. Every time I see him and we try something he's a little out-of-his-mind excited and seems to not entirely pay attention, but the next day it just clicks right away like he processed and was ready for a new day. It's actually quite funny and really enjoyable!

Yeah, this is the dog walker for us...

So much to say...

So, there's been so much going on with Hank lately that I realized you may be behind on it all.

Here's the quick & Dirty:

Thursday, March 5th:

I show up at day camp, like every other day to pick up Hank. The manager on duty (the one manager that I don't know that well) tells me that Hank is no longer welcome at day camp until he is better kennel trained. He evidently pushed over a manager while she attempted to put him in his kennel. He weighs 90 lbs. she weighs 105 (maybe), and it's a DOGGIE DAY CAMP, he's the one in trouble?

So, I go home, I'm just in shock over how to deal with this. What the hell happened? Sure, he hasn't been happy at day camp for a while, and this is probably what had to happen for Jeremiah & I to have a wake up call, but ACK! THIS IS what got kicked out of day camp...

Mom comes to visit on Friday so she can keep an eye on Hank, and then we spend the weekend at home. BUT, on Monday I have an evening event, so we need a quick solution! Lucky for some random marketing piece left on my porch a couple months ago...

I had heard about the Talus Dog Walker, a woman who lives in the neighborhood who walks the neighborhood dogs. I send over a note on Friday at lunch, she calls about 20 minutes later, and comes over at 3 to meet Hank. Susan is FANTASTIC! She loves yellow labs and Hank is immediately laying at her feet snuggling and wanting to play.

WOW, that couldn't have gone any better.

The past two weeks with Hank have been FABULOUS! Susan leaves a daily report card for Hank, they're working on his walking and he's getting so much better at it. Sure, we should have had that down within a month of getting him, but the wonder walker is working GREAT and Hank is healing better than ever.

But the notes from Susan are so fun, and great to hear! Last week she said she saw "moments of brilliance" with Hank. Who talks about a dog like that? This is the woman for us...

Guard Dog!

So, I'm home sick today (thanks Jeremiah!) and this morning I was laying in bed, kind of tossing around. The bedroom door was open, and Jeremiah had left for work already. And all of a sudden, Hank heard something. His ears were peaked up, so I told him to "go get it." He jumps off the bed, I hear him go down the stairs, check everything out, and come back upstairs. It's kind of nice to have a guard dog!

But, we have a new neighbor moving in today, and the moving company is RIGHT outside our door. Hank is on red alert today keeping an eye on the movers and all the commotion. I finally let him out on the patio to check it out, since he was pacing by the front door. I met the neighbor, he kind of shares too much, but I think we'll be OK...

Presidential Dogs

Alright, so Hank's the greatest dog in the world if I haven't mentioned that to you yet this week. Last night, I was feeling a little blech, so went up stairs and laid in bed. NOTHING was on TV, so as I was looking through I noticed a show called Dogs 101 on Animal Planet. But this wasn't any episode, it was the Presidential Dogs episode! It was actually REALLY fun! It was all about dogs that presidents have had AT the White House, and what kinds of dogs, and all that fun stuff. Hank would have a blast at the White House we decided, and America would (obviously) fall in love with him, but no, he's my dog.

Anyway, if you're curious to watch it (or home bored since it's that mid-season TV time and nothing good is on till LOST on Wednesday) see if it's still showing on Animal Planet, or you can watch it here:

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/dogs-101/

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie...

Since busy season is over for Jeremiah, we decided to go to a cool new wine-centric restaurant in Kirkland at the Woodmark Hotel. It was a GREAT meal, and we stayed the night at the hotel too, which was fun. But, when we stay at a hotel, Hank stays at the Pets Hotel!

Since we're practicing the kennel training with Hank, I was a little nervous about the overnight, but he's doing much better at getting into his kennel at day camp, which is great. He still barks when he's in there alone, but I think he's mostly bored, and at least he's not fighting the employees to get out of the kennel.

This morning we went to pick up Hank at camp. Stephi was working, and she's been at PetsHotel since we got Hank, so she knows us and Hank VERY well, actually all the employees know Hank VERY well. But when he greats you with a nose in your crotch, it's hard to not feel close right away!

Anyway, we asked Stephi how he did, and she said, he did good, and slept in the playroom last night. WHAT!? Yeah, he wasn't having any of it in the kennel last night, and I think he may have been keeping other dogs up, so they brought his bed into the day camp room, and he did OK. He also seemed to eat, which is good.

He's passed out after the over night, and Jeremiah's staying home tomorrow, so they'll get some good bonding time. And, hopefully we can work on this getting to sleep where ever I want thing...

No drugs, just like it!

Hank's been spending a lot of time at day camp in January. It's busy season for Jeremiah, and I've had a crazy month at work for some reason. So, he's at camp a lot. Day Camp runs from 9-12 and 1-5. So if I drop him off at 7:30 and pick him up at 7:30, you get the picture...Hank is the best dog in the world, but he doesn't care for kennels. So, at camp on Monday he was barking in his kennel during the lunch break and cut his lip. Just a little bit, he's fine, but since he was at camp, they took him over to the Vet clinic and cleaned him up. Back to camp moments later, and off to run around with his friends. They also moved him out of the chain link kennel into a glass door kennel, so he can't injure himself as easily. This is the latest in a month worth of "I hate the kennel" antics. So, when I picked him up on Monday after work, they mentioned that maybe Hank should start taking a chill pill. I guess a few other dogs at camp do that. I stopped at the vet clinic and asked about it, and then when I got home, I did a little online research and then e-mailed my friend Diane, the dog trainer. Diane responded how I hoped she would, that the pill is a band aid, and it's all about the training and reinforcement. So, no drugs for Hank (YAY). But we need to work on this HATE of the kennel.

After Hank's first antic of the month, scratching his toe on the kennel, we talked about doing some private training for him at camp. Isis, the dog trainer comes into camp a few days a week, and goes and plays with him in the kennel. The goal is to make the kennel a HAPPY fun place where Hank likes to be, and not punishment. So, Diane has an extra crate that she trained her dog in, and she's going to let us borrow it for a while. Give him treats in the crate, feed him dinner in the crate, all fun delicious things, in the crate...But the crate is on loan to a friend. So this week we are going to try leaving him in a confined space for a few moments and up to a minute at a time. We shut the door to the office with him in it, and then let him out. He realized that being alone isn't forever, just for a few moments.

Diane and I also talked about his separation anxiety. He can still bark when we leave him home alone for a while. Mostly if we go out to dinner after not being with him all day. But he can bark, so we need to work on this.

Starting tomorrow, when he goes to day camp, we'll talk with the managers about spending some time with him in the kennel, and then leaving him alone and going back a couple minutes later to play with him again. Getting him to a point where it's not a bad thing, and he's not ignored, but it's a fun place that he gets to relax in, play in, and hangout for a short period of time. I know this will work, but I sure hope it works SOONER rather than later!

I also took him to the dog park yesterday, it was a BEAUTIFUL Saturday!

Yeah, only cost $150!

I took Hank up to Marymoor today like most Saturday's (unless there's too much snow, etc.) The water has receded, but it's still moving REALLY fast though, so I was careful with tossing his ball into the water. As Hank was swimming, he did the usual barking, and running up near someone and then shaking. You know, those polite things we've taught him to do...
But, as I was playing with Hank, some guy who was playing with his dog asked about Hank. Where did we get him, etc. I told him he was a Humane Society find (which ALWAYS surprises people) and that we know he was found on the side of the road in Ellensburg, not neutered or microchiped. This guy was a BIG fan of Hank. Almost as much as my grandpa.

Side Note...
Dad called Grandpa on his way to Portland the other night (Dad's in DC with Jake for the inauguration, because he's the biggest whore for Obama EVER...) and Grandpa asked if dad was bringing Hank with. Dad explained that Hank is MY dog, not his. Grandpa was kind of sad, so I guess a trip to Portland for Hank and Grandpa to hang out is in order soon...

So this guy asks some questions about Hank and he was nice enough, although I think he also was kind of hitting on me, so Hank and I moved on to the next pool. The water was really cold too, and I was ready for Hank to be done swimming. But then later we ran into the guy and his dog again, and at this point Hank had broken one tennis ball (I blame the weather) and lost the other one, so we were shopping for a ball and heading towards the car.

I can only handle so many socially awkward men in my life, and unless I;m getting paid (for work, thank you) I have nominal patience for it...

Hank's New Friend & a flood!

Today I took Hank up to Marymoor. We all know it's his favorite place on earth, but as you may have heard, there's been some flooding lately. So, I was curious to see what the slough looked like up at the park. Well, it was interesting. The water was up high and there were large parts of the park that were closed off because of the flooding. There's usually about 4-5 steps down into the water, and today the water was up to the second step, so when Hank jumped, he occasionally jumped on a step. And the current was STRONG, there were a couple of times he was swimming against the current for his ball, and never moved but you could see he was trying!

My friend Jennifer came to the dog park today with her dog Clyde. I ADORE Jen! She is so much fun to be around and always entertaining! Her dog Clyde is a pit bull rescue. Which means, he's the sweetest dog ever, but gets some looks...a couple of times while we were at the park, Jen would talk with folks, and a couple of times, Clyde got his leash put back on, but he was FABULOUS, and the leash wasn't for him, it was to calm down some OCD owner. Hank and Clyde had a BLAST together! We all know that Hank couldn't care less about anyone else at the park, as long as he has his ball, and knows we're still in the park. So, it was fun to watch Clyde, with his short pit bull legs, try to keep up with Hank. A few times, Clyde pulled the "go ahead, I'll wait here" move. They ran, and ran, and ran, and Hank is still sleeping. Lots of barking was had and some playful growling, but they sure had fun together! As you can see from the picture above, it was a lot of following around...this was towards the end of the time at the park, I think they were both a little tired at this point...

I know Hank can't wait to go back to the park, and he hopes that Clyde can come again to play with him soon!

Clean up on aisle 3 please...

On Monday it was back to day camp for Hank. January is the beginning of Busy Season for Jeremiah, so he works late every day (9:30 tonight) and so Hank and I spend more time together. Except that this has been a busy week for ME, so Hank got to go to Day Camp 4 days in a row this week (oh and next week too...). So, on Monday, I took Hank to camp. It was POURING down rain on Monday (see the regional flooding on Tuesday...) so I think Jeremiah slightly skimped on Hank's morning walk. When we walked into Pet Smart at 7:30 on Monday, we got almost to the day camp door when he SQUATS in the middle of the store and took a HUGE dump. CLASSY!
So, after two weeks off of work, before I even GET to work and all THAT crap, I had to pick up some other crap first...Thanks Hank, you sure have a special way of showing your love...

Hank's Christmas visit...

Here's a few pictures from Hank's trip to Oregon for Christmas. He got to snuggle with Uncle Jakey and Jeremy and he met Grandma and Grandpa Milliron in Portland. Evidently Grandpa kept saying he wanted to take Hank fishing with him. Even though Hank would jump in the water and scare the fish away...

Here's Jake with Hank and Rudy on Christmas morning.

Jeremy giving Rudy & Hank treats on Christmas day...

Grandma and Grandpa Milliron and Hank. Rudy wanted nothing to do with this.

STAY!!!

So, this year it was Christmas down in Oregon with my family. Now that my folks are divorced that means trekking all over the state of Oregon, sitting in traffic that takes 6 hours to get 45 miles. It was CRAZY, but a good trip. We took Hank with us for Christmas at my dad's house, and then left Hank with dad and Rudy while we went to Bend to see my mom. We then came BACK to Eugene to pick up Hank and see my little brother coach a basketball game. Hank had a great time with Rudy and my dad, and got LOTS of presents, which he loved. He got use to the hardwood floors, and Rudy always wanting to play with him. And, he learned a few things...

We got back to Eugene on Monday afternoon from my mom's house. My dad lives in a loft in Eugene and has a patio on the roof that is over the garage. Since it was nice in Eugene, dad decided to leave the patio open for the dogs. So, as we pulled out of the garage, I noticed that Hank was standing in a flower pot looking out at us, which he hadn't done before. He was just enough leaning over that I got nervous, and asked dad to loop back to make sure Hank didn't try something stupid....

Well he did. We come back around, and Hank is STANDING ON THE ROOF! Here's a picture...He had crawled over the ledge and was walking around on the roof. I FREAKED out. Dad went running inside and up the stairs to see what he could do, and I stood in the parking lot hollering at him to STAY. It sure seemed like maybe he got in too far and wasn't sure what to do. So, when dad got upstairs, he called for Hank, and he jumped right back over the ledge and into the house. My heart has never raced so fast...so we closed the patio door at that point and called it good...ACK!