Camera batteries are

completely DEAD. So this will be a catch-up post with no pictures... They'll come along shortly...

We've worked hard to finish the fence this weekend, and hoped it would be completely done. The fence is complete, except for one end piece that needs to be cut down, and the gates. (Which are a fairly important part of the deal...) The rain really made things difficult.

So for now, we just used the pieces that will be made into gates, and set them up against the house to block the openings.

Last night, just before the rain, the dogs got to run freely. This was the first time for Jordy. He got to play frisbee. This morning we're moving slow, and have a late start, because we're sore and tired. Both dogs got to run out into the backyard first thing, and Jordy did figure out he can pee out there. (He still reserves his other business for runs/walks.) He'll get it all worked out in time.

I'm going to make us all some breakfast and then we'll head out for a Sunday stroll. :o)

Missing poop bag, lost key, and tug-of-war

I have (had?) a key. One little key on it's own little ring. I grab it when I walk or run. If I have no pockets, I clip it to the end of Kenzie's leash.

Today I had pockets. Plenty cold enough for a coat this morning. The key went into the pocket with the empty poop bags.

We set off jogging down the street.

Kenzie picked her spot to poo. It was bagged. Jordy picked his spot. It was bagged. We set out on the rest of our jog with both bags in the hand that held Jordy's leash. 3/4 of the way through our journey, I noticed only one poop bag was in my hand. I decided to go run the loop again alone after the dogs were inside, because they both seemed tired, and were about 30 minutes past breakfast time. We all walked up to the front door, and, my key was no longer in my pocket. ???

We retraced our steps, pausing at each place we pulled out poop bags to use, and could not see the key. The dogs were NOT cooperating with the search efforts.

I brought them back home and stuck them in the neighbor's yard so I could run and search myself. I found the missing poop bag, and picked it up, but did not find the key. Releashed the dogs, brought them into our yard, and began to formulate a plan... Kenzie would not make it all the way to my parents after already having a decent length jog. I could not leave either dog on a tether unsupervised. (They can get hurt on those things. Truthfully, I hate those things with a passion and can't wait until we never have to use them again other than when camping.) I sat in the sun but still shivered. I'd worked up just enough of a sweat to now be freezing cold.

Eventually, I decided to take just one look around the house at the windows in case we left one unlocked, which we typically never do, but thankfully we did. The screen wouldn't come all the way out so I had to shimmy up underneath it and backflip into the house. (Wouldn't you love to see pictures of THAT? It was ridiculous.)

Before scaling brick and vaulting my body through a window, the dogs were making great use of their time in the yard. Jordy has started a bad habit when we walk him without his gentle leader and he decides it should be play time. He tries to grab hold of the leash and play tug-of-war. We redirect him and discourage this. Tug-of-war is a challenge over a piece of property, and the dogs can't be allowed to challenge humans. (They are so big and strong, the rules have to be strict, or someone could get hurt. They have to be good citizens all the time.)

But that does NOT mean they can't play tug-of-war with EACH OTHER! That is perfectly allowed. Although, I prefer they not use Jordy's nice leash...

Me: Hey! Uh-uh. SHhhht. Shht. Halt! Kenz. Jordy. Drop it.
Me: Kenz!! Jordy! Uh-uh! No! Drop it! Leave it!
Me: Hey! Get back here! Drop it! Shht!
Dogs: Fine. We'll use a STICK for our fun game. :o) And when it breaks in half, we'll lay and chew our respective halves. Go climb through a window, lady. We're hungry.

The Daily Game of Head Biting

Yes, folks, that's Mackenzie jumping.
But of course, Jordy is far more limber just yet.

Sleeping Weather....

This is the first day that I felt any progress myself. After my morning trip around the neighborhood, I felt as if I could go and do it again. Mackenzie and I are well on our way preparing for bikini season. (Hah!)

But if there is one soul in this world who can help me motivate, it's Jordy. Last night after dinner, I was planning to finish my glass of red wine, let dinner settle, and in 30 minutes to an hour, head out. Both dogs standing behind my office chair within 10 minutes with excited looks, dancing back and forth, clearly telling me it was time to GO! Right NOW! I told them to go to their places and wait, and they BOTH started barking at me! Then, in the midst of the barking, they raced back and forth between me and the front door. So demanding....

This may be a bit annoying now, but, when I'm skinny again? I will thank them. Last night we took a long "wog." (Wog = half walk, half jog...) We ran through puddles, bounced around on a local baseball field, and picked up sticks for fetching.

This morning we managed to get a nice long one in before this crappy afternoon rain. The temperature has dropped, and it's dreary sleeping weather now. I hope the forecast changes. I heard we're getting more snow tomorrow...

So sore! And tired! Ugh!

But, wonderful news this morning.

The dogs went out for a morning walk together. (Aaron took them alone. I stayed in this morning. But don't worry - I'll have my running shoes on in a little while....)

He intended it to be just a walk. Jordy seemed very tired from the last three days being so incredibly busy and full of exercise, so he seemed okay with just a walk too. But Mackenzie? She wanted to RUN! She wouldn't take "no" for an answer! Every time Aaron slowed down for Jordy to pee or just to get them back in a slow pace, Mackenzie would take off again and want to run. He finally gave up and let her set the pace for the boys. She ran a decent pace for a good half mile before she was even willing to walk, which is more than I'd ever expect her to do by choice after the weekend we all had around here!

She's got her spunk back! Good girl! Now I'm the only one left who is stuck in a rut! :o)

Jordy's Fence - Day Three

What a long day! Lots and lots of digging... And leveling... And pouring concrete...

Until we were all about halfway finished....

And then, finished!!! (With the poles, at least...)

We all split up to shower and clean up. Then we made our helpers a nice big Sunday dinner, and watched some television with much-needed cocktails. Thank God for their help!

Jordy decided he wanted to be a lap dog. Seriously. He walked up, turned around, and sat on me. Forgetting that he weighs a good 85 lbs. Sweet boy.

As the evening came to a close, Mackenzie rested from a very full day of running and playing and even some JUMPING! Jordy showed our guests his favorite squeaker toy. (Their beds are in the washer!)

At the end of the evening, I found out there was a mysterious CD in the door the day before! Perhaps Anja came for a surprise visit? And left us a gift??? I can't believe I missed her! I'll call her tomorrow for sure. There may even be a voice message - I haven't even looked at my phone since Friday at lunchtime! (What a busy weekend... Glad it's overwith! We're exhausted!)

Jordy's Fence - Day Two

Late Friday evening, Aaron got a call from his boss to ask him to come in to work today. Not only is it Saturday, but it was the day to get all the fence posts set in concrete! (Before it rains!) So Aaron got up extra early, the morning run happened an hour earlier than usual, which the dogs did not appreciate, and he left to run up to work. There wasn't much I could do in the meantime. My mother called me around noon to ask for help delivering a new television stand to her house that she just bought at the furniture store. (To go with the new television that they hadn't watched yet because they didn't have anything yet to put it on!) I switched cars with Aaron at his work, and ran up to pick up the new piece of furniture. Aaron got out of work roughly 30 minutes after we got the furniture to her house, so he came and helped us finish the set-up. My sister interpreted the "fragile" symbol on the television box to mean that we are supposed to have a glass of wine when we turn it on. So we did.

Then later, something very special happened during the fence installation work. The fox came out of his den in the woods to see us! (You may have to click the pictures to make them larger in order to see him!)

We got all the basic holes dug, the power auger returned, and a few poles set!

Jordy's Fence - Day One - Evening

We have the permit all ready to go. While we were at City Hall anyway, we picked up a new tag for Jordy. He's a legal resident of Warren now, and he's fond of his new piece of jewelry for his collar.

Then, many hours of measuring and digging.... Whew!

Jordy's Fence - Day One -- Morning

We're finally ready to start! This project ended up costing just over $1000 in total, even doing the work ourselves. But, it's very necessary. Mackenzie was easy to train and work with until she learned to follow direction, stay close to the house, and come immediately when we call her. Although Jordy is trained very well, he LOVES to run, and thinks the game of "chase" is a great idea. We've spent several occassions chasing him around through the woods next to our house. You can see from the look on his face the whole time that he thinks it's a fun game. Even when we're frustrated, it's hard not to laugh at him. If you stop chasing and wait for him to come to you? He'll bark at you! As if he's telling you to hurry up and chase him some more!

Jordy only does this when he doesn't have both a good long run, as well as time to run and romp on his own. (When he gets both, he follows directions very well, and hardly ever trots off into the woods to declare a game of chase!) Thankfully, we have wonderful neighbors who have offered to share their yard for Jordy's benefit until we get our fence in. They have a Miniature Pinscher (Min Pin) named Hailey. Hailey doesn't mind two huge dogs running crazy in her yard, as long as they don't come in the house. She's nine years old, and just doesn't want to be bothered with them.

So the first step was calling "Miss Dig" to come out and mark the location of our underground utilities. Thankfully, we have NONE on the side of the house where we'll start digging. No phone lines, no electrical lines, and only one single gas line running up the front lawn. They marked everything with little colored flags and spray paint.

Then, right on schedule, came the delivery truck!

The driver's name was George. He did a fantastic job setting everything in place. Now we have to run to City Hall and get the permit finalized, then measure it all out and start digging.

Hockey Ball

We don't get many pictures of the fun that the dogs have on runs, because neither of us can easily carry a camera along. But, a small piece of the fun made it home with us. Jordy found a small orange hockey ball. He carried it through his whole run, and it has become one of his favorites.



When he can't find a ball, he likes to pick up a stick and run with it. Unfortunately for Aaron, sometimes the stick is 3 feet long. :o)

We are all very happy with our new routine. Sweet Mackenzie has lost a pound and a half in less than 2 weeks! Hopefully I'm making progress too...