Four Princesses and a Dragon

Much needed update...

2011-12-06T10:17:00.000-08:00

Penny Lane is a big girl now. She is best friends with Lexie, one of our German Shephards. She has full run of my basement apartment and loves it. She is the cuddliest cat you could ever ask for and a great bed buddy.

New little one to pray for...

2011-09-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

Our vet said we could add another kitty if we sterilized everything. We are currently trying to help this little girl who had a rough start in life and is now facing a severe URI. She is on Sub-Q fluids and some force feeding, but our vet has trained us to do her care at home. Her name is Penny Lane.

Play in heaven, Katie cat

2011-08-30T18:59:00.000-07:00

The vet said she had bone marrow failure and was suffering from one of many deadly feline viruses. We didn't want to torture her by putting her through tests as she was down to 5 pounds and had no veins left. She had stopped eating days ago and today we knew it was time. She was only about a year old. I miss her snuggles and the way she would try to climb me to get me to pick her up. We're not adding any more kitties for a while because it is hard to introduce a cat to three dogs and there is a high risk of whatever virus Katie had being present on household surfaces. We are also notifying the SPCA and having her vet file sent over to them so they can do appropriate testing on any cats that were housed with Katie (since she was sick since we adopted her). I am going to print out a large photo of Katie to hang in my study. When I leave this world someday, I will be greeted by many kitties

Some cuteness

2011-08-26T14:23:00.001-07:00

Zeppelin's story

2011-04-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

Zeppelin came into my life as a four-six week old hatchling. My very first memory of her is her sitting in my hand, tilting her head, and opening one eye to check me out. As a baby, I measured her each day and took photos to measure her growth. Throughout her almost 8 years she had many experiences. She went vacationing every summer with my family to our holiday trailer where she had her own complete mini setup. Her favorite place in the world was our campsite in the woods. She loved climbing the small hills and trees on her leash. I still remember the day I carried her back in the trailer when she jumped off the little bed and tried to drag me back outside like a dog pulling on a leash. Zeppy had a mini blow up baby pool that she loved to splash in on hot days. She’d “dive” off my lap into the water. Zeppelin also enjoyed being carried about and watching the other animals. In the last six months of her life, she declined slowly and lost interest in things such as coming out. In the end, she was taken by a neurological/convulsive episode five days before her estimated eighth birthday. She was a special creature who had the ability to calm me by relaxing in my arms when I was upset rather than showing her usual curiosity. I am grateful that I had the chance to have her in my life and believe I will be reunited with her someday.

The above image is of Zeppelin in her favorite place in the world, the campsite.

A few piccies

2011-03-31T14:20:00.000-07:00

Bathtime

2011-03-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

A new spot

2011-03-29T08:33:00.000-07:00

Close up with camera

2011-03-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

Xena, the healing princess

2011-03-26T23:08:00.001-07:00

On March 24th, 2011 I lost my 8-year-old bearded dragon Zeppelin. He had a good life other than slowly fading the last few months. For two days after his loss, I kept reliving his death and was having trouble focusing on all the joyful memories. I originally didn't want to get another baby because I didn't want to go through that again. However, my Mom (rightly so) convinced me to welcome baby Xena into my life today. I find as I'm connecting with her and watching her do her beardie things, it brings back memories of Zeppy at that age, memories that make me smile and remember a special friendship rather than sadness. Tonight, when I put her in her cage for the night, I found her wrapped around her branch asleep, with her head tilted slightly up in the same position that Zeppy slept as a baby. Xena will never replace Zeppy, she is her own individual, but she is definately acting as a healer and allowing me to remember Zeppy in a positive way rather than focusing on the sadness. Instead of going by an empty cage that makes me cry, I walk by a terrium with a section partitioned off for a baby to grow in and golden-red eyes shining up at me. Zeppy was one of my best friends, and I believe he will always be one of my guardian angels who watches over me throughout my life. However, I am glad I have an angel on earth to hold too

Baby Xena

2011-03-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

This little girl came by surprise to our local pet store, they were not expecting a shipment. A new life to love is a great comfort in the loss of Zeppelin and a joy to our family. Xena will never replace Zeppy, but she will give her own special brand of love and personality to our family.

Zeppelin: 3/29/2003-3/24/2011

2011-03-24T14:01:00.001-07:00

I always will remember the baby lizard who winked at me from the palm of my hand who eventually became too big to fit in one hand well.

Blurry pic but shows dog progress...

2011-03-19T01:03:00.001-07:00

Lexie and Katie ivestigate each other in my study. This was taken with an iphone camera in the dark so it isn't the best photo, but it illustrates the progress we're making.

Her Favorite Spot

2011-03-09T23:07:00.000-08:00

Katie

2011-03-08T07:47:00.000-08:00

This is our beautiful newest addition. She will be introduced very slowly to the dogs. She lives in my section of the house right now. Her name is Katie and she is 7 months old. We believe she may have some Maine Coon in her due to her coat and personality being similar to our Maine Coon mix Oscar.

Been Awhile

2011-02-18T19:47:00.000-08:00

Latest News:

-In October, 2010, we added a third German Shepherd, Lexie to the mix. She is loved by all the dogs and people and is now 9 months old. (Photo above was taken today)

-Checker went to Rainbow Bridge at the age of 15. She lived a long, happy life.

-Maggie is living around the corner with Nanny (Mom's Mom) and my Uncle as a companion for their dog, Jenny. She is spoiled rotten over there. We visit her every couple days and she comes over here to play in our big yard to exercise.

Update: More pics coming soon

2009-05-19T07:05:00.001-07:00

Eva is starting to play with the puppy (very gently) as well as Maggie. All three of them were playing in the snow this morning.

Showing off the girls

2009-05-16T07:56:00.000-07:00

I'm sharing some pictures and videos of the girls. I am posting them here rather than emailing them out because they are large files. Anyone who loves or takes an interest in my girls can enjoy these here. Unlike my Asperger Syndrome site which has lots of traffic, this site is mostly visited by people who know my dogs, or at least know me, in person. :)
Eva wants me to throw her ball
Annie napping
Maggie on the picnic table. She has a thing for climbing on tables.

On track...

2009-05-15T09:20:00.001-07:00

Eva is scheduled to start obedience on June 6th. She will go into beginner even though she knows most of the commands because her social skills with other dogs need work. She has her one-year vaccine on May 21st.

More Updates

2009-05-14T22:48:00.000-07:00

Annie is just starting to show affection towards humans rather than the other dogs. She's now coming to us to be petted, playing with us, and being very cute. I know seven weeks is around the age dogs change the focus from dogs to humans.

Eva starts obedience June 6th. The tranier is familiar with and loves German Shepherds. She told us Eva's jumping that she's been doing lately is part of the adolescent phase in big dogs. She is testing who's the leader. Eva is 14 months now. The silliness should settle down (with proper training) around age 2. Another good thing is I don't drive and it's a half hour walk to the class, so Eva will have some of her energy burnt off before class.

We're continuing to work with Maggie with hand signals and also positive reinforcement for going to the bathroom outside. She is leashed to me for the next week or so. It's interesting leading Maggie around and following the puppy. Eva still gets lots of ball games too.

Update on the Girls

2009-05-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

I got some pics and videos to upload later, but I'm busy chasing after the girls right now.

Annie is getting along well with the other dogs. Maggie likes to play with her. Eva sometimes even shares her toys.

Maggie is still working on housetraining. We believe she may have some hearing issues, because she doesn't usually respons to voices unless give visual feedback. Thderefore, I have her on a leash in the house with me take her outside frequently with lots of physical praise (petting) for peeing and pooing outside.

Annie is little, so it will be a while before she is fully housetrained. For now, when I catch her squatting, I say "eh eh eh!" and take her promptly outside. She already knows how to sit for treats.

Plans for revision

2009-05-11T00:38:00.000-07:00

A lot of things have changed since I started this site a year ago. This blog is going to be undergoing major layout changes within the next few weeks. Also, I promise I will get the photo album links working again.

Annie is home!

2009-05-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

Annie is home. It's going to take a few days for everyone to get along. Here she is in her crate watching the other dogs play. We wanted to give her a chance to get used to the other dogs in a non-threatening environment.

Annie

2009-05-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

Our little girl's name is Annie. When Dad saw her, he wanted to give her a piece of Nanny's name in honor of his mother. Nanny's second middle name was Anne (Esther Thresea Anne Mary Gilmour).

Annie is very intelligent and adorable and almost fully housetrained at 7 weeks old.

I can't wait until they bring her home tomorrow.

Homecoming tommorrow

2009-05-09T15:03:00.000-07:00

Baby Ceilidh (or shadow as Dad is considering calling her) comes home with us tomorrow. Will have more info then. I'm so excited! :)

Ceilidh Update

2009-04-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

Ceilidh will likely be coming home on May tenth. My parents are going up to Calgary for the weekend to get her. She is most likely not a longhair like Eva like origionally thought, but she will still be beautiful.

She is Eva's biological sister so she will likely have many Eva traits.

Clicker Thursday # 1

2009-04-23T22:04:00.000-07:00

The head of the psychology department at the community college I attend gave me a clicker and directed me to clickertraining.com after I showed an interest in an article about clicker training on his bulletin board. Over the summer, I'm going to work with Eva, Maggie, and Ceilidh via clicker training. I'm going to blog about the progress weekly (with pics and videos).

Today, I put Eva on her leash ten minutes before my parents came home. They called on their cell phone to let me know they were coming. Every time she tried to jump, we told her "off" and clicked and rewarded with a treat when her feet hit the floor. She didn't get the chance to engage in the jumping behavior too much because she was leashed. She seemed to settle quickly.

I taught Maggie to walk over a small stool for the command "over" and guiding her with a treat. She stepped cautiousally but made it over. I clicked when she was on the ground again and then rewarded.

Goals for this summer;

Eva
-loose lead walking (no pulling)
-stop jumping on people
-responding to "off" and "eh eh" consistently

Maggie
-no accidents in the house
-coming when called consistently
-loose lead walking with no pulling
-responding to "off" and "eh eh" consistently

Ceilidh
-being house trained
-learning sit and some basic leash walking

First time outside this spring

2009-04-21T20:46:00.001-07:00

The temperature hit 70 today so today was Zeppy's first time outside this spring. She really liked the stump, going down in the grass to sniff and then climbing back up on this.

Our baby at almost 4 weeks...

2009-04-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

In three more weeks, Ceilidh will join our family.

The girls in the yard

2009-04-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

The latest

2009-04-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

Eva continues to be a charming girl. We think we finally found a solution for the jumping (walking her backward and making her "dance"). She is doing it a lot less now. We are also working on clicker training for leash walking.

Maggie learns commands quickly but is sneaky. She likes to climb on tables, sit on kitchen chairs, and sneak off downstairs to pee. We put a baby gate with a cat door at the top of the stairs and she has learned how to squeeze through the cat door! I have her baby gated in the kitchen with me while I study for exams (gate w/out a door) and am going to have her fully potty trained by Monday.

My digital camera's LCD broke. They are selling models similar to mine for cheap at shoppers so I'm going to get a new one next week. For now, I took a picture of Maggie with my webcam to show how her ears stand halfway up sometimes. That is the only thing German Shepherd about her. Other than that she is all lab.

I have some cute videos to post also, but I have been having some technical issues with uploading videos. I like to use facebook because it's high quality. I will try and get them up after I finish with this term on the 24th.

Oh and look for more pictures of Ceilidh when she comes home with us the second week in May. I have one of her above that was taken when she was 13 days old. I did not post a pic of Eva today because she is too big to pick up and put in front of the webcam.

Happy Birthday Zeppy

2009-03-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

Today is Zeppy's estimated sixth birthday. Isn't she beautiful?

Kaylee is the winner

2009-03-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

Our beautiful baby girl is going to be named Kaylee. It has a connection to Dad's music and Nova Scotia, some of my creative writing characters, and is overall a beautiful name.

Name This Baby

2009-03-28T01:33:00.000-07:00

We've decided not to use the name Essie for this beautiful baby. We're trying to come up with the perfect name and we're having trouble coming up with one that we like that does not belong to someone we know or their child. For instance, Mom and I liked the name Zoe, but it was one of Dad's former professor's names.

Does anyone know of any good names that would suit this little girl?

Baby Pics

2009-03-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

Eva's sister was born today, the last out of a litter of four puppies. She was born long after the breeder though the Mom was done having puppies. She's the little fluffy girl sitting on top of her sibling.

No animals were harmed in the making of this

2009-03-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

A couple cute pics

2009-03-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

Eva and Maggie are still best of friends. Maggie is getting into all kinds of puppy trouble, including climbing on the table and licking all the icing off a carrot cake, and eating a lampshade. More updates on the animals soon.

Happy First Birthday!

2009-03-07T13:08:00.000-08:00

Today is Eva's first birthday. Above is a picture of her shortly before she came to live with us, and one taken just today.

A bit of news

2009-03-04T21:41:00.000-08:00

Some new pictures of the animals have been uploaded to my photo album (last one). Eva and Maggie are enjoying each other's company. They love to play tug together.

Eva will celebrate her first birthday on the 7th. Steak and squeaky balls are planned for the celebration.

Zeppy will celebrate his estimated 6th birthday the end of March. He will likely get some fresh strawberries.

The new puppy that is coming in June will be Eva's full biological sister (same Mom and Dad). We want a female and we hope that she is a longhair like Eva. We have decided we will have to see our new baby to come up with a name for her.

Two Girls

2009-02-12T10:11:00.001-08:00

Welcome Maggie

2009-02-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

Maggie joined our family through Petcetera's 4paws rescue. She is a german shepherd lab cross puppy. Eva and her are becoming fast friends. I'll write more tomorrow. It's been a very busy day.

Some thoughts on everything

2009-02-01T16:23:00.000-08:00

Our new baby is expected to be available for pickup on or around April 17th. We will probably wait until I finish my exams (end of April) so somebody will be home with her her first few weeks. I hope to start work in July.

Our first choice is a long-haired female and we are strongly considering the name Misha for our new puppy.

I believe Ollie left us to wait for my grandmother, who passed away less than a week after we lost Ollie. Nanny was always special to Ollie, feeding her under the table and sweet talking her when she thought nobody was looking. I truely believe that somewhere in heaven, a dog is being fed under the table.

Pray for the family members we lost and for this new life who will be entering the world about four weeks from now.

Almost 11 months

2009-02-01T16:19:00.000-08:00

Eva is almost 11 months old. She is getting more control over her jumping, and calming down overall. She has a very high ball drive and would play ball for hours if you let her. She senses when anyone is upset and curls up beside them to comfort them. She is growing into a beautiful young lady and will be a proud big sister this spring.

Eva is going to be a big sister

2009-01-31T21:17:00.000-08:00

Right now is a sad time for our family. We had to say goodbye to Ollie, and my grandmother in the course of a week. However, I do have some good news. Eva's breeder informed us that her sister is pregnant with puppies. We are going to take one of the females from the litter. Eva will have a companion again and this new little life will bring some happiness back to our home.

Our new baby should be able to come home somewhere around April 17th.

Ollie: 1996-2009

2009-01-28T12:58:00.000-08:00

Ollie, our 12-year-old german shepherd went peacefully to heaven on Saturday. She died at hom surrounded by family and did not suffer. She is survived by her surrogate puppy, Eva who gave her reason to live again after she lost her friend, Ziggy.

A Christmas letter to my baby

2008-12-19T16:43:00.001-08:00

Little girl, your first Christmas is fast approaching. When you first came into my life seven months ago, you took away an emptiness that sat in my heart for years. Your smiles and enthusiasm for life have made a major difference in the lives of my family and I and you're currently helping us through a major family crisis.

I love you and I thank God for every day you grace my life.

New family member

2008-11-22T15:33:00.001-08:00

Greg and Natalie now on Lucy, a beautiful bird. Just wanted to show her off. I will soon update the layout to add Oscar's picture to the in memory section and Lucy's to the extended family section.

Almost nine months

2008-11-21T15:01:00.000-08:00

Here is Miss Eva-Boo at almost nine-months-old. She is still growing like a weed. Our family is moving into a new house with a much bigger yard on December 1st. I hope to post a video of Eva playing in her big back yard.

I have been home from school the last two days, running with the same flu bug the rest of my family had earlier in the week. Eva doesn't seem to understand why I'm home with her but don't have the energy to play.

Some Eva fun

2008-10-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture I took of Eva in her Halloween costume, and a cute video I took today. This is the first time I tried the blogger video feature. Enjoy!

As I remember him best

2008-10-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for your kind words...

2008-10-20T21:19:00.001-07:00

In the last 24 hours I have recieved words of support from family, friends from away, professors, blog readers, and people from various forums I belong to. All of those words have brought me great comfort.

Oscar came into my life in August 2002, shortly before I went on hombound instruction for a year for Asperger-related difficulties. He was a former stray whom we adopted from the SPCA and around two and a half at the time.

He brought our family joy for six years and will be greatly missed.

Oscar: 1999-2008

2008-10-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

Oscar, my beautiful 8-year-old Maine Coon Mix died suddenly of a urinary blockage. He showed no symptoms until this morning. We let him go when the vet said his kidneys had failed. I am too shaken up to type more right now. I think I'm in shock over the whole thing. The dirt from where he knocked over a plant yesterday still is on my computer.

The latest Eva news...

2008-10-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

Eva is doing well. She has grown a lot since the last post. I hope to get some new pictures up soon. She is getting better with not jumping on people and barking at other dogs but there is still room for improvement. She is on the waiting list for an obedience class that starts the end of this month.

Eva definately has a sensitive stomach. Chicken and turkey seem to cause her the most problems out of all foods so we try to keep her away from them. We are trying to find the right balance of diet to minimize these difficulties. She is in otherwise perfect health.

I have some beautiful pictures of Zeppelin I took a few weeks ago, and I also plan to take some new pics of Eva to show all you readers how much she's grown. I also want to show a video of her newest trick: crawling under chairs for a toy. I think I will do some photography and posting of pics over the weekend.

Much better

2008-09-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

Eva's reaction to her stitches is almost healed up and she's 100% acting herself. She will still be on antibiotics for a few more days. I took some cute videos today that I will post later today or tomorrow because I have homework to do now and they are time consuming to upload.

Latest Eva update

2008-09-15T16:17:00.001-07:00

We took Eva into the after hours clinic last night because the irritation around her stitches looked much worse today. She is now on antibiotics and an anti-inflamatory. If this doesn't work, they will remove the dissolving stitches and replace them with conventional stitches.

Send some prayers her way that they don't have to do that.

Good News

2008-09-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

I am at school and just got off the phone with my Mom who was at the vet with Eva. He said Eva has a mild reaction to the disolving stitches. Basically, we are to observe her and bring her in for a recheck in a week or so just to make sure it has settled down.

Send some good thoughts for Eva

2008-09-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

I'm asking anyone who comes to this site (I know this is relativly low traffic) to send some good thoughts or prayers for my puppy, Eva. She is showing signs of localized infecion at her spay wound site. She will be visiting the vet this evening or tomorrow morning. She is still eating, playing, and acting herself so that is a good sign. I will keep all readers updated.

UPDATE: My Dad who is a respiratory therapist and has experience w/ surgical sites looked at her incision and my parents think that she may have pulled her stitches and it healed oddly, but infection is unlikely. We are still taking her to the vet tomorrow to be sure.

Latest news and Eva's FAQ

2008-09-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

I hope to have more pictures soon. I am busy with starting a new school year. Eva recovered well from her spay surgery but she pulled some of her stitches so her scar is a bit odd-shaped. It is completely healed though.

Here are a few questions that most people who meet Eva ask me:

Did she just have a bath? Is she a mixed breed? Will she get less fluffy? etc.

Eva is one of the one in ten German Shepherds that have the long coat gene. She will actally get fluffier and it will take up to two years for her to develop her full coat.

How big is she going to get?

Eva is large for a six-month-old female. She was actually put on a special formula to slow her rapid growth to lower her risk of hip problems. She is 55 pounds now and as an adult she is expected to be in the 75 pound range. She is already almost as big as Ollie.

What do you feed her?

Eva eats Medi-cal adolescent large breed formula for her dry food and Blue canned food. She also enjoys liver treats and a few treats from the table.

How are you training her?

Eva graduated from Petsmart puppy kindergarten in August. She is going to be attending basic obedience at a program we found in St. Albert in October. The trainer is experienced with German Shepherds and has trained them for Search and Rescue Purposes. When she is a year old, we are going to enroll her in agility at the same place.

Why do you allow her on the couch/bed? Can't that make a dog dominant?

I have read conflicting advice on this, depending on which article or dog training book I read I read. One of the best ones I read (I agree with this one) says it is best to train them to only go on the furniture when invited (e.g. sit first and then be invited up). We are working on that. As for the bed, she comes up on the bed to cuddle, but prefers to sleep on her bed on the floor.

Where did Eva's name come from?

We origionally wanted to come up with a German female name for her. (e.g. Ziggy was Zigfriet) but we couldn't find one that was pronouncable. We gave up on German names after listing a few bad ones.

I wrote a children's book about a character who goes by the nickname, Evy. I wanted to name her something similar, but the exact same name as the character. Eva means "bearer of good news" and greatly suits her personality.

Three's a Crowd

2008-08-30T01:22:00.000-07:00

I caught this moment on camera this morning. It didn't last for long before the hissing started.

Recovering

2008-08-28T15:50:00.001-07:00

Eva had her spay surgery today. The surgery went well. She is a bit wobbly and groggy but that is to be expected. Here she is curled up beside Ollie resting. Ollie has been mothering her since she came home.

Some more to share

2008-08-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

A funny look from Zeppelin

Eva in our yard

Dad and Eva having breakfast at the trailer

Eva and Me on the boat

Here are some pictures from our two day end of the summer vacation on the weekend and today in the backyard.

Congratulations Graduate!!!

2008-08-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

Eve completed puppy kindergarten today. She passed her test with flying colors. She will be beginning intermediate in October.

Isn't she lovely?

2008-08-17T15:00:00.001-07:00

I decided it was time for a new picture to show how big and fluffy she's getting. This was taken less than five minutes ago.

Obedience Update

2008-08-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

I haven't taken any new photos but I have a bit of news.

Eva will be graduating from puppy kindergarten next Thursday. I will update with photos of her in her grad cap. She'll be adorable. Our instructor recommends working with her at home for a month after graduation to give her some time to mature before enrolling her in intermediate. Large breed puppies are slow to mature. One of the biggest things she needs to work on is manners with other dogs. She thinks every dog wants to play and barks and pounces at them.

She does very well on things such as recall, sitting, stay, and down. We just have to work on the dog manners and we'll be all set.

It was also recommended by our instructor (excellent idea) to use a harness when walking her. That way, when she pulls, she gets turned around to face me and she does not drag me or put strain on her neck.

Overall, she (and I) have made a lot of progress in the class, but I know that training a dog is a lifetime of work and one class won't make a fully trained dog.

After a Swim

2008-08-12T17:52:00.001-07:00

Some new piccies

2008-08-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

Eva is currently entering adolesence. We are having to work harder on leash manners and jumping. She has two more weeks of puppy kindergarten and we hope to start her in formal obedience in the fall. She will be spayed on August 28th. My little baby is growing up before my eyes. When I last weighed her, she was 50 pounds.

Checker is staying with us rather than moving to Calgary with Greg and Natalie. She seems to be adjusting well to living here again. She is clearly queen bee among our cats.

Vacation

2008-07-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

Zeppy, climbing the dirt wall at the back of our campsite.

Eva and me

Eva, in her lifejacket

Eva and Ollie

Eva, being curious on the boat

Zeppy, watching the water

We just got back from a three day trip to the trailer and boat. Here are some pictures of our animals enjoying their vacation.

Coexistance

2008-07-23T11:33:00.000-07:00

Riding in the car

2008-07-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we went out for a drive and a boat ride. I got a few cute pictures of Eva and Ollie in the car.

An evening in the yard

2008-07-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some more photos and a video for your viewing pleasure. This is my first video I uploaded that has Eva and me together because I'm usually the one taking the videos. For some reason, she wouldn't obey my command to let go of the ball in the video though :). We're still working on that.

Picking Up a Big Girl

2008-07-18T23:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick shot with my webcam so you can get a feel for how big she actually is. She is 4 1/2 months old and 41.5 pounds now.

Some More Photos

2008-07-17T20:18:00.000-07:00

I love my new camera. I find that outdoor photos come out the best as you don't have to use an artificial flash. Most of these photos were taken in the backyard, just before dusk. The one of Zeppy and the elephant was taken in the kitchen. It took a while to get the right angle for lighting.

Testing out new camera

2008-07-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's Babies

2008-07-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

My camera is broken and I have a new one on order. For now, I will entertain you with some baby pix from the past.

Baby Ziggy

Baby Dezzy

Baby Zeppy

Water Dog

2008-07-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

Eva went on our boat for the first time this weekend. She was a bit nervous at first but soon found she enjoyed the cozy cabin and the wind in her face on deck. We also took her in the water at the boat ramp. She walked out as far as her depth but she was nervous to swim. She kept lifting a paw off the ground and thinking about it, but never took flight. Even though she never gained the courage to swim, she had a lot of fun running, splashing, and ducking her head under water. We tried two times to get it on video, but by the time we got the camera out, she was done playing in the water. On the videos she's stepping along the shore and I'm the only one really in the water so I didn't bother posting them. I did get a picture of her curled up cozy in the boat cabin though.

In other news, Eva's digestive difficultues are finally starting to settle down. Lets hope this trend continues. I know GSDs have sensitive stomachs. I'm sure when that new food we ordered comes in, it will be even better for her.

Never thought I'd see the day

2008-07-10T02:11:00.000-07:00

Oscar and Eva shared the same piece of furniture (opposite ends of the couch). I took a few pictures but none of them came out. Hopefully, I'll have a picture in the future.

Playing in the Yard

2008-07-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

I experimented with the features on my camera to get some pictures of Eva playing in the yard. I especially like the kids and pets feature for fast action photos. I managed to get one of her jumping at her toy.

Visitors

2008-07-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

Greg and Gamble

Natalie introducing Eva to Gamble

Natalie and Gamble

My brother and his wife came to visit us for a few days and brought Gamble with them. Eva keeps on trying to play with Gamble which Gamble isn't too fond of. Ollie can be aggressive with other dogs so we need to keep her on leash when Gamble is around. She is being pretty good though. She even sniffed Gamble.

Two Tired Souls

2008-07-06T11:54:00.000-07:00

Our vet warned us Eva was entering the teething period. Last night, she was up several times and uncomfortable. We're keeping lots of frozen facecloths and chew toys on hand right now.

Chicken does not seem to be cause of Eva's runs. For breakfast and lunch today I fed her the vension formula (no chicken products). It is the same brand of food as the chicken stuff. It made no difference. My Mom (who is a pharmacist) says the runs are common in babies with teething and that that may be a contributing factor

We are waiting on an order of the special adolescent Royal Canin Medi-Cal formula from her vet. It should be in early this week. This food has special enzymes that help circumvent digestive problems and also helps to keep growth under control (fast growth is not good for large breeds due to potential for hip problems.)

She is negative for all parasites so this has to be a dietary issue. We just have to find out what food is causing it.

Today I'm under the weather, and Eva is tired from getting up several times last night. I guess we'll both take it easy today.

An Avoided Tragedy

2008-07-05T21:18:00.001-07:00

Eva is always supervised closely and kept in the same room with us. When I'm busy, I will leash her to me to keep her safe and out of trouble.

Anyway, yesterday she managed (she was leashed to the chair and under the table where I thought she was asleep) I was working on on my laptop. Later that evening, we realized two of our laptop adaptors weren't working (my Mom's and mine). They were unplugged. We figured Eva must have disconnected them and plugged them back again. When we plugged them in, they were shorting. We realized Eva had chewed the AC section of each of the adaptors. I thank God that she accidently uplugged that adaptors before she chewed them or we could have lost her. The adaptors cost over $200 to replace, but that is irrelevent compared to the thought of losing her.

Tomorrow, we are going out to buy bitter apple spray for the adaptor cords and we are also hanging them over the top of the chairs so they'll be less attractive to chew than if they were lying on the floor.

I hear all to many stories (either in the news or online) about children or animals being accidently electcuted. It you have teethers (of any species), this is a reminder to be extra dilligent. I am so thankful that this did not result in a tragedy.

Food sensitivities

2008-07-05T20:13:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned before, Eva origionally came with a parasite common in puppies. She was treated and retested. The second sample came back negative. She continues to have issues with soft stools although she is otherwise healthy and very active.

At our last vet visit, the vet made some dietary recommendations including limiting things other than her dog food. We have followed these recommendations. She has normal stool in the morning and it becomes softer as the day goes on. We have several health professionals in our family (not vets) who suggest that this pattern may point to her regular food being the problem.

.Sometime next week (the vet has ordered this in and we are waiting for it to come), we are switching her to a special adolescent puppy formula that our vet recommended. Her current food may be too rich for her digestive system or she may have a sensitivity to a certain meat. We have noticed that with the canned food of this brand that chicken seems to aggrevate this, along with a few weeks ago when she was fed fresh chicken.

We'll have to continue with food trials until we discover what she is sensitive to and eliminate those things from her diet.

Featuring Modem

2008-07-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

Modem is our little visitor for now. Greg and Natalie are going on vacation for a week in mid July (Gamble is staying at the breeder during their trip) so they decided to keep Modem and Checker here until after their vacation as it is a 3-hour-drive from here to their place.

The Hose Game

2008-07-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

Way to go!

2008-07-03T21:43:00.001-07:00

Eva had an excellent class at puppy kindergarten. She kept the barking to a minimum, played nicely with other puppies, listened to commands, and was a joy and a delight to work with. The instructor even gave us a compliment at the end of the class. Way to go Eva!

This picture was taken about a minute ago. Eva is taking a much-needed nap after a long morning walk, an afternoon wrestling in the wading pool with Ollie, and a good day in school.

Photo session

2008-07-03T21:25:00.001-07:00

Checker (visiting while Greg and Natalie get organized with their move)

Oscar, caught in the dark

Modem (visiting us while Greg and Natalie move in)

A cute shot of Zeppelin

Another Zeppy pic

Future Fluffball?

2008-07-03T10:28:00.001-07:00

Our vet thinks Eva is going to be a longcoated shepherd due to the fuzz in her ears, extra fluff on her legs, and part of fur that is beginning to develop along the base of her spine. We won't know for sure until she gets her full adult coat.

I'm noticing an improvement in her stools this morning since we started limiting the variety of foods she eats as the vet suggested. She is on a premium brand of dog food (dry and canned) and some high quality dog treats (small amounts) for training.

We will try to keep with a consistent brand of treats as much as possible and reintroduce cooked (unspiced and unprocessed) human meats (such as lean blade steak) one at a time. We will stay away from things with a high grease content and keep her out of the catfood room.

Vet update

2008-07-02T21:47:00.000-07:00

Eva's eye is fine. The vet stained it to check for corneal scratches and there was no sign of anything. She likely had a minor swipe by a cat.

As for the soft stools she gets sometimes, It's been recommended we reduce the variety of foods we feed her. (i.e. keep her on her high quality brand of dog food and introduce other things one at a time once the soft stools subside). She doesn't get them all the time and it seems that certain foods (e.g. things with chicken in them) seem to bring it on.

Growing baby

2008-07-02T13:38:00.001-07:00

Worrying

2008-07-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

Eva is seeing the vet tomorrow for her sixteen week vaccination so we'll be asking the vet about it then. Today is a holiday so the clinic is closed.

The whites of one of Eva's eyes is slightly bloodshot. It has been like this for a few days. She has no discharge so we don't think she has an infection. Do you have any ideas about what would cause this?

We're also going to be asking her vet something else. Her stool sample came back negative. She has some normal stools now but she still gets a lot of soft ones. Could this be dietary related? (e.g. food sensitivities).

I worry a lot about Eva a lot because my brother's GSD, Ziggy fought for nine years with severe autoimmune issues that included chronic ear infections, and digestive and skin problems. We ultimately had to put him down in May when he was having repeated falls down the stairs and would be trying to play but would end up lying down and crying in pain after chasing his toy a few times (the steroids to control his condition damaged his bones and spine and made him put on weight.) I have memories of him running around banging his head against the wall with the ear infections that no amount of antibiotics could get under control.

The vet said Eva was healthy at her last check-up aside from the a parasite which the vet said is very common. When we notified the breeder, he thanked us and said he would have his other dogs tested. I'm sure her issues are minor things that are easily treatable and that the very she would need would be a change in food and antibiotics or possibly eye ointment. I just get myself worked up after Ziggy's lifetime of illness. (He was sick fromt he time he reacted to his heartworm medication at 7 months old).

I should have scolded her for this

2008-06-28T15:11:00.001-07:00

I took pictures instead.

Big Girl

2008-06-26T20:36:00.001-07:00

Eva will be four months old on the 7th of July. She's 35 pounds now even though she's skinny. You can get an idea of her size by comparing her to the vent and the chair.

She had her second class of puppy kindergarten today. I learned some better ways of holding the leash to minimize pulling and she's becoming more social with other dogs.

Favorite Critter Photos

2008-06-25T02:33:00.001-07:00

Eva: June 2008

2008-06-25T02:12:00.001-07:00

First full day home

Playing with Ollie

Sleeping baby

Eva One-Ear

Getting bigger

First camping trip

Coming home from vacation

Wearing her ponytail for puppy kindergarten

Favorite toy

Half asleep