Julius

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Dog is my Co-Pilot

I adopted Ray when he was just seven weeks old and brought him home, a scarf-wrapped bundle on my lap, safe from the winter storm raging outside the truck. Shortly after that, we began puppy obedience classes, and since he was still such a tidbit, I transported him crated in the backseat of my truck. Eventually he graduated from the class and the crate to sitting/lying in the backseat while on his bye-byes and never really had much of an interest in looking out the window or getting air in his face.

Even when we began driving the minivan pittievan, Ray claimed the back bench seat as his domain while Julius gravitated toward the cushions on the floor next to the baby’s car seat.

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Until recently.
A few weeks ago, Ray decided he was meant to ride shotgun, so he lumbered over Julius, the console, the armrest and into his throne. He became Joe Cool in the front seat while clearly only babies sat in the back.

shotgun

So, while I don’t let him up there as a practice, I do let him have his special seat occasionally and it does tend to go to his big head.

Recently I had to take him to his Vet for an appointment and since it ran long, we ended picked up Julius from day-play together.  Julius, as usual, was happy to see his big brother.  Juli jumped into the van with his tail wagging, greeting Ray as if to say, “Hi Ray, I’m glad you came with Mommy to pick me up!  I had a great day, did you have a great day?  I played all day long with my friends.  Were you going bye-bye with Mommy?  I missed you, did you miss me?”

Ray, from his spot in the front seat, did the one motion head nod…”Hey kid” and turned back to the window.

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Mother’s Day

 

It’s hard to be a part of the online community and not glean some enjoyment from all of the great pictures that flooded the web of people with their mothers, or aunts, grandmothers or even of their male parents as we celebrated Mother’s Day. But I have a confession to make: I don’t usually give much credence to those “Hallmark Holidays” in that although we celebrate, we don’t go all out. It’s still the feelings of love and the special times we sharethat make the day memorable .

babies

 

Earlier this week, I received a beautiful and thoughtful necklace from Asia and the baby along with a fun card but even more wonderful was that I got to spend most of Saturday with Asia just running errands and enjoying the company. With our busy worlds and all of the attention and time a baby requires, it was nice just to relax and enjoy the time.

 

Another special gift was less tangible and more gradual, but none the less impactful. Last summer when I “found” Julius, I didn’t really worry about his temporary foster status. He was such a happy, personable dog that I knew he could easily assimilate into nearly any household. He is carefree and friendly and certainly doesn’t know a stranger so I always had the feeling that Julius could go from one household to another without batting an eye because of his ability to roll with whatever life brings.

Juli

Don’t get me wrong, we are all totally in love with the Bean, and I knew he loved us but I just kind of thought that he loved us as the people he lived with now. But gradually things happened. He no longer wolfed down his food because he knew he’d get two squares a day without fail. Instead of curling up at the end of the sofa to be near me, he began curling up in the middle with his head on my lap. Maybe one of the biggest changes is that he no longer throws up in the car and I believe that is because he now knows that car rides usually mean Day-play and that we will always be back to pick him up.

sleepybean

I believe Julius now considers us his real, true, forever family. What more could a mother ask for?

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Sunday Shopping

Since Julius goes to doggie daycare several times a week, I try to make sure Ray, who is still on limited activity, gets plenty of mental stimulation and Mommy time.  This weekend I had to go to the old house and make sure the pool drain was low, so I loaded Ray into the Pittie Van and we set off.  Ray got to play around in the yard which was nice and grassy in comparison to our yard here which, despite my efforts looks like poopageddon in a mud hole.  After we finished that task, we ventured over to TSC where Ray’s “friend” was working.  We also had to replentish his kibble, so we went to Petco to wander about and although they were out of his food, we scored big time with a Kong backpack, originally $50 and on sale for $12.

Ray didn’t actually like it much but Julius put it on and really felt like he was stylin’.  Now we just need a place to take him hiking. 

What was your fun purchase of the weekend?

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This and That

We obviously haven’t been around lately.  We haven’t blogged in well over a week and we are dreadfully far behind in our blog reading, so bear with us as we catch up.

First and foremost, Ray’s knee seems to be healing quite well.  He is still on very limited activity and the good news is the lost a pound.  Hey, baby steps.  He went to the vet today for his annual vaccinations and we had him armed with the Adaptil collar, dosages of his Anxitane and a Thundershirt.  The result was that he was much less anxious going into the office, he let the doctor near him much sooner and didn’t start screaming until nearly half way through the visit.  Yes, we still have work to do, and I don’t want to have a zombie-like dog, so we’ll keep working at it. 

As for the Adaptil collar, though,  Mr. Car sick Julius wore it yesterday to his vet appointment and then we ran errands all over the place without any pukey incidents, so for the milder cases of anxiety, it’s definitely a winner.

Last week I had a quick two and a half days in Coronado, California for work and fell in love.  I’d say anyone who doesn’t like the San Diego are might be a bit off their rocker.

Dipping the toes in the Pacific Ocean

While I was gone our sump pump failed and the basement flooded a bit.  Kevin was doing his best to keep up with the water.  He ended up calling Roto-Rooter, Serve-Pro, a handyman and the insurance company.  Long story short, we got the damage contained to a very minimal amount after several nerve-wracking days. 

I’ve been off work for the past couple of days following a quick out patient surgery.  Nothing huge and I’m feeling fine.  It’s been nice having some extra days to spend with the pooches though I should find a place to take some more pictures of them.

Speaking of pictures, they are entered in a PetCo Foundation photo contest with our “team” asking for votes in order to benefit the Allen County SPCA.  The voting is a dollar a vote, and the theme is the Power of Together.  Such a good theme for my boys.  Ray was pretty lonely being a large dog with no social skills until we found Julius.  I hope you can spare a dollar and will consider voting for the boys. Or perhaps you have an entry yourself?  Let us know! 

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Nature and Nuture

I hear it again and again and each time I hear it, it annoys the heck out of me though I’m sure that at one time or another I’ve said it myself. I imagine every person who has adopted a dog with a “past” just might hate this phrase. But as a person who adopted a 7 week old puppy and who “found” a 5-6 month old puppy, I hate the phrase and consider it a personal insult.

“It’s all in how they’re raised.”

I was there when Ray was born and I visited him several times before we brought him home, so it’s safe to say I’ve always known him. I suppose you can compare Ray and Julius, which is only natural, but in doing so are you comparing apples to apples or are you comparing apples to oranges? Maybe it’s not even that simple. Maybe you’re comparing a Red Delicious to a Granny Smith or a Valencia to a Clementine.

One of the gals at work regards me as her resident dog expert, I feel not so much for my expertise but for her lack thereof. If someone mentions their dog, she is quick to talk about me and my Pit Bulls and what babies they are. “Well, it’s all in how they’re raised,” is the response she often gets. I must have raised them right. Right?

So about these Pit Bulls of mine. I have a kit for Julius’s dna, but haven’t swabbed him yet, so “breed” isn’t much of a consideration in his make up yet. At 9ish months old, he is nearly as tall as Ray, his feet are bigger and rounder, his tail curls up, his face is longer and the angles are softer. His eyes are almond shaped, dark, dark brown and luminous, giving him and Asian look. He seems slower to learn than Ray, but he also learns from Ray. Julius used to scarf down his food, though now he actually takes time to look up from the bowl and chew his kibble so he seems to know breakfast and dinner will be served every day.

Ray is nearly two years old and while he is heavier-muscled than Julius, he is not a bulky, burly dog. Ray’s dna test shows him to be 50% American Bulldog, 25% Boxer and 25% unidentified mixed breed. (I take that to mean at least a portion to be American Pit Bull Terrier, which isn’t in the test.) There is no Staffie or AmStaf in Ray. His eyes are very expressive; they are an ambery-chocolate color and he often furrows his brow as if he is worried. He trembles at the sound of the mower and the vacuum, but tries to eat the leaf blower. Ray has never missed a meal and used to want to graze, though he has learned to eat faster and finish in one sitting, or his little brother will be more than happy to help.

Ray has taken three group classes at two different locations as well as had private training lessons. He has had five different instructors total in these various endeavors, while Julius has never been to school and while all of Ray’s training has been slightly different, it has, for the most part been through positive training methods and all through reward based training.

From the moment I met Julius right up to this second, there is one word that has always described him. Sweet. Julius is sweet. He’s easy going, drops or surrenders toys and forbidden objects, takes treats soft-ish (usually) and even when he gets excited, isn’t a huge deal. It must be in how he was raised.

Ray, from the second day he was home with us up until nearly a year old had another word to describe him. Asshole. Sorry, but that usually was the best one. Don’t get me wrong, Ray is my shining star, but he was always a challenge. He is much more stubborn when “giving” or “dropping” objects, and though he is gentle now, it took a lot of fortitude to get there. For the longest time, when Ray got excited, he would grab his leash and tug then do a alligator death roll and though we had numerous trainers give us ideas on how to avoid it, moving seemed to be the only sure fire fix.

Ray has never been harmed or threatened or hungry but is much more uptight and more of a worrier than Julius who live his first 5-6 months of life outside, oblivious to the comforts of pillows, regular meals, endless treats and toys. So, did someone raise Julius right while I made Ray into a neurotic, quivering bowl of jell-o?

Yes, that’s probably it.

It couldn’t be that these two dogs who come from different circumstances are just individuals.

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Eight Weeks

I can hardly believe it: two months ago yesterday, I “met” a little monkey who became known as Julius and two months ago today, he came home with me.

I can’t believe it’s only been eight short weeks because he has fit so seamlessly into our lives.

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Shop a holic?

I have to admit, I love to shop. Actually, I used to love to shop  but lately I find myself less inclined to be out among the masses and much more happy to shop with the click of a mouse.  There are obviously no lack of places to shop online and my current addiction is collars.  No surprise there, I’m sure. 

You may recall that Ray got two new Raven’s collars earlier this summer from Collar Mania and I loved them so much that I worked with them to get a very special collar just for Julius.  I knew when we named him that he would be getting a special collar and I knew exactly what it would look like.  The problem was finding it. 

Left, right, front…they’re all my good side.

Fortunately, Lisa at Collar Mania worked extensively with me and found the exact fabric that I had envisioned and suggested a great font style and color to come up with the collar I had in mind.

If you’re a football fan, will probably know the meaning of he collar, and if you are E. and Mr B. you should absolutely get it. 

Ray is always available for a photo bomb.

All I can gush about say is that I absolutely love the color against his shiny black fur and the fun feel of the collar overall just makes me happy.  If you haven’t checked them out, I highly suggest you do so.  Today.