Remember These?

Nothing like a Kool-Aid mustache says, "SUMMER!"

Here Kitty, Kitty...

I was sitting in the house talking to my husband this past Friday and out of the corner of my eye, something caught my attention. I did a double take and exclaimed, "What is that in the chicken coop?!"

I jumped up and ran to the window...take in mind, we have had varmits and my very own dogs kill my chickens of late. I peered out the window and watched...Yep, definitely something small and furry in there. "It's a PUPPY!" I yell and tear out the door.

Upon reaching the coop, I realize what I thought was a puppy is a white and orange kitten. 'Oh great!' runs through my head, my husband HATES cats...or so I thought. I pick her up and this poor pitiful face with green boogered eyes looks up at me and quietly meows. THAT'S ALL SHE WROTE BOYS! I sweep her up and carry her back into the house.

Since then, her eyes have cleared up, she has put on weight and has been named Rosabelle. The kids absolutely love her and she them. I caught Chad playing with her the other day and am absolutely amazed that he allows her to come into the kitchen and sleep at night in a kennel. What was even more shocking is that this morning when I went to let her out, Chad had already let her out.

So, now we are proud owners of 4 dogs, 1 foster dog, 48 chickens, 15 guineas and 1 kitty cat. Talk about a funny farm...

Too Big For Her Britches

Dixie Dawg is just shy of being a juvenile moose. Had to get her a larger crate today. I feel confident enough to say that we are potty and crate trained at this point.

She loves to be outside and run and play. I have to be mindful at times because she may be laying down one minute and jerking my arm of the next. Usually because something NEW has caught her attention.

This is a video of her and Daisy's nightly routine. They tire one another out before bed this way.

Surviving Week One

It has been one heck of a week, but I think Miss Dixie and I are finally figuring one another out. We had some set backs on the potty training, but once I figured out to take Dixie to the same spot and refuse to explore, she got the drift. She no longer waits to come back in the house and leave me presents all over my kitchen floor. Now, we can go outside, go to the same spot and she does her business.

Crate training has improved tremendously within the past two days. Now, Dixie knows when I get a treat out and say, "Kennel", it is bed time. We put a tasty morsel in the crate and in we go! I no longer have to PUSH her hind quarters in. As I was told, dogs are like kids...they prefer routines and work better according to them. So, at 9 PM, we kennel and at 3 AM and 6 AM, we go potty.

She has learned to gently maneuver her away my bigger and older dogs when playing in the back yard. They haven't quite embraced her, but have not completely shunned her either. Unfortunately as Dixie grows, she has become a bit too rambuncious for Daisy, my chiweenie. What started out as a great friendship sadly has been a little strained since this weekend. I've had to keep them separated. However, I do place their crates next to one another at night.

One of Dixie's neat little quarks is that when I am sitting in the kitchen with her, she lays right at my feet and places one paw on them. She seems to have a foot fetish...she loves to smell and lick feet...who knew?!

Dixie has also discovered the chickens. She is absolutely amazed by them. Her having the natural instinct to retrieve birds, we have to make sure she stays a good distance from them. Every night when we go out, she tries her best to pull me to the chicken coop.

Day 2

Day 2 was all about working on crate training. Miss Dixie doesn't seem to mind being in the crate, but she sure has a problem GOING INTO it. So, I looked up a few handy dandy tips on crate training yesterday and it seems that you should bribe them like a fat kid. Offer snacks and then place some closer to the crate door and then put some inside until the dog gets comfortable coming in and out.

Well, I didn't have all the time in the world, it was bed time. So we tried a few french fries. I was throwing them in the back of the crate and she would go in and come out. After about 4 times of this and running low on the fries, I threw some more in and waited until only her butt was sticking out. Then I eased her in..."eased" is probably not the best word to describe it, seeings how I am moving a moose of a dog into a small space. Either way, it was a gentle shove, because I think she has part cat in her. Somehow she can dig those paws in and barely budge.

Once inside, she settled down and I gave her more fries. I happened to have an eager observant audience member...Daisy. Needless to say, she went into her crate with no qualms. I mean, if she can get a fry, she will do anything. So, that went smoothly. I set Daisy's crate next to Dixie's so they could see one another. They seem to be big buddies. Dixie just forgets how big she is and how little Daisy is.

Ahhh...peace, or so I thought. At about 3 am, not Dixie, but Daisy starts barking, then Scarlett starts barking, then Dixie decides she needs to join in on the serenade. I get up thinking Daisy must need to potty. Soooo, I let both Dixie and Daisy out. I'm debating this debacle because...um, I know I am going to have to go through the french fry crating routine once they go out. As I chain a leash on Dixie, I realize that it is sprinkling. UGH!!! Out we go, because the ladies have to go!

Do you know that heifer of a Daisy Dog, just sat there on the porch and looked at me? So, I'm gonna give her kudos and pretend that she was just trying to let me know that Dixie needed to potty. We did this routine again at 5 am, but this time it was Dixie who let me know she had to go. So, over all, potty and crate training are coming along smashingly.

On a closing note, I took Dixie to the vet today to have her limp checked out. Word is that she has had a previous femur fracture that didn't heal well. So, looks like Miss Dixie will always curtsey... as any lady would do. :0)

Slobber, Slobber and MORE Slobber

So, let me first start with how I met my new dog child.

I head out to meet Christy with PAWS of NELA at the Ouachita Parish Animal Shelter. When I get there, Christy is walking this precious 24 lb. black fur ball and trying to get her to stop long enough for a few glamour shots. These will be posted on Labs4Rescue's website in hopes that her forever family will see her cute little face and just HAVE to have her.

After a short while, Christy mentioned to me that she was concerned about Dixie's gait. It seems that she is limping and when she stands (when she is still long enough) she holds both legs almost crossed. It looks like she is doing a curtsey. We both can't tell if it is her hips or a leg or foot. Christy seems really concerned that she needs to be seen by the vet, we want to rule out hip dysplaysia. Part of me starts to get bummed and all I can think is... here I have offered to help and this poor baby is going to have big problems and I am going to be sick if she is put down (my imagination gets the best of me). After Christy places a call to the vet's office who looked her over before coming to OPAS, Dixie's story starts to take shape.

According to the vet, the Sherriff's office had found her running loose and brought her in. There, she was spayed, brought up to date on shots and given a heart worm preventative. She stayed with the vet for a week in hopes that the owner would come claim her. During her stay, the Vet said that at first she wouldn't put any pressure on her back legs, but as the week rocked on, she improved. He felt that it wasn't in her hips but either her leg was sprained or the limping was from an old break. Sad to think that at 4 months old, she could have even experienced a break. So, after being loaded up with toys and a crate, me and Miss Dixie head West.

Let me tell you that if you have never had (or not in a long time) a big dog in your house, OY!

Upon entering my house, Dixie sniffs EVERYTHING! Only does she stop when she reaches my kitchen counters...right where the dirty dishes are (that Chad left for me to do-thank you!). Now, I have two small dogs in the house; one is a rat terrier who is 12 years old and isn't about to do acrobatics and a chiweenie ( I know...ridiculous) who weighs maybe 10 lbs. I don't have to worry about them dining from the kitchen counters. BUT, with a moose like Dixie....you quickly learn to either wash those dishes or they are going to be on the floor in a thousand pieces.

It is then that I start noticing that my bread basket is within reach of LEGS. I move that. Then I think about the furniture that is in my kitchen...better move that, too. Before it was over with, I felt like I had child-proofed my kitchen all over again, except my "child" has four feet and a BIG pink tongue.

Now, on to the slobber. NEVER in my life have I seen so much slobber. This crazy dog drinks like there is no tomorrow and doesn't even swallow all of it before walking/running all over the place. My daughter, Aubrey looks at me and says..."I'll get the mop"...she's SIX! lol We had slobber on the floor, slobber on our hands, slobber on our pant legs, slobber slobbing out of Dixie's mouth in a nice singular strand of drool hanging from her mouth...just SLOBBER!!!

But, all in all before the night was over, she had a bath, met the other dogs and she made a friend with Daisy (chiweenie) and loved every bit of it. She slept most of the night and only has a small problem with ENTERING the crate. It's like shoving a watermelon into a laundry shoot, except the watermelon can turn around and wiggle.

I take Dixie to the vet tomorrow to have her legs, hips and feet looked at. Hopefully we will have good news.

Adventures in Fostering...

This is my adventures in fostering a 4 month old black lab puppy named, Dixie.

I recently convinced my husband to allow me to foster a local dog in need (instead of begging for a new dog). I currently have four...Scarlett, Daisy, Birdie and Ollie. Sadly, about three weeks ago, Oscar disappeared on us. We hope and pray that he was taken home to someone who really wanted to love him.

Anyway, I help Paws of NELA with transports and wherever they need me. It just so happened that I received an email asking for assistance in fostering a few black labs this past weekend. I felt like I should wait until Monday to offer help, in hopes that some of them would find homes over the weekend. When I checked on Monday, only one of the six being available had been spoken for. I offered to take Dixie, the four month old lab.

As for Dixie's story, not much is known about her, but her adventure begins today.