The Missing Pack

The last time Arwen's Pack published a blog post was April 12th.

That was over a month and a half ago!  Do you all still remember us?  Let me give you some reminders of who we are in case some of you forgot.  First we have Arwen, our Iron Fist Curtain Diva, who is still very much in charge of her pack.

Spring picture, "cheese?"

 Then we have Nyxie, our resident Chicken-Heart Guardian, loyal minion of Arwen:

"CHEESE!!!"

And finally, we have Fenway, the Little Brother of the pack and resident snuggler, paper towel & sock connoisseur, and sister tormentor.  (other aliases include:  FennyFennyFooFoo, Runtabull, and T's favorite, Butt-holio):

"Cheese?  WHERE!!??"

So where have we been?  Where should I start...

After much practice, sore knees and sweaty hours on the treadmill and trails, I ran a 5K!!  I ran the 2012 Fort Worth Zoo Run with T, and 3 other friends at the end of April.  It was exciting, fulfilling, and a huge fitness milestone for me.  This was a hard-fought battle but I did it!  I was so very proud of T for running with me - she beat my time with only a few practice runs under her belt.  Ahh, the glory of youth!

May ushered in several evening events for the final days of T as a middle schooler.  I can hardly believe she's headed to high school.  Neither can she, really, so there were many hours of convincing, cajoling and promising that high school will not be a living horror show.  Not a word, folks.  Not one word!

We had a busy several weekends.  We attended the Texas Frightmare convention, where cast members of one of our favorite TV shows, The Walking Dead were in attendance to answer questions and be drooled over. (I did mention that Norman Reedus was there, right?) 

I like to imagine that in this pic he was reaching past the security lady to give me a big hug...

Matt and I opened a second online store, Conversation Glass on Etsy.  We take glass bottles destined for landfills and create hand-cut, hand-sanded & polished glassware.  Sustainable goods, repurposed to make something beautiful.  It's a win-win situation.  And it's pretty fun to do, actually.  I hope you'll have a look at our glassware - we're pretty proud of it!!  Please follow us on Facebook (Conversation Glass) or Twitter (@ConvoGlass) and Pinterest (Conversation Glass).  There will be giveaways coming soon :)  Here are some samples:
Tall Wine Bottle Tumblers:

Blue Beer Bottle Juice Glasses:

Green Perrier Bottle Tumblers:

Finally, this past week brought us the last official week of school for T.  And her summer visit to her grandparents' house.  It's been quiet at home today.  And now that I can put up the stepmom hat for a short while, I can get back to blogging!  

All of this has absolutely nothing to do with dogs, but they've been a part of everything we do and I just didn't feel right jumping back in to Blogville without letting you know why I've had no time to blog.  I've missed you all and can't wait to catch up!

The Top Ten Reasons Why Dog Teens Dogs are Better Than Human Teens

What adults see...

10.  Dogs grow up faster - learning the ropes and falling into line takes far less time for dogs than the learning curve we have for humans.  You'd think with those enormous brains, the human teen rate of learning should far exceed that of the family dog.  If you don't believe me, teach your dog to put away his toys.  Then tell your teenager to clean his room.  See who follows through faster, and with better reliability.

9.  Chew toys - I can order elk antler chews for all three dogs for under $30.  Teens want video games, iPads (not gonna happen), make-up, new clothes, iTunes cards, etc.  I can feel the cash being sucked from my wallet even now.  I remember the toddling days when the cardboard box holding the toy was far more fun than the actual toy could ever be.

**crickets chirping**

8. Quiet - Teen dogs don't chatter.  Never have, never will.  Oh, the quiet hours spent enjoying my dogs - puppies, teens, adults or seniors - all of which have been chatter-free!  Not a full minute can be spent with a teen without hearing blah, blah, blah about some kid at school, or some new incident.  And let's not forget about those one-sided phone conversations we're lucky enough to experience from the other room.  Squeals of disbelief and statements peppered with "like", "oh my God",  "I know", and "that's disgusting!"...

7. No lies - If a dog poops on the carpet, he doesn't pretend it didn't happen.  If he eats a full bag of pita bread, he'll bring you the empty, half-chewed bag.  If a teen does something wrong, he'll tell you it wasn't him, or the teacher didn't require that assignment to be turned in, or even that someone stole his binder at school.  The best one yet - that she didn't cut her own bangs, while they've clearly been butchered right down the middle.  She actually said someone must've cut them while she was sleeping!

6. Responsibility - If my dogs never earn the right to be left unattended at home, or to run off leash, it's really OK.  There's always the crate and the leash.  If my teen can't be trusted to stay home alone and not get into mischief, I can't watch her forever.  And when she's old enough to go into the world on her own, I can't leash her.  The leash is just too short...

5. Back talk - Dogs don't back talk.  They don't have attitudes.  They don't pout.  They don't slam doors.  Now God forbid my teen back talks or slams doors, but there's no shortage of attitudes or pouting around here.  Yuk.  If the dogs are unhappy, they just find something new to do, or take a nap.  I've never received a haiku about how unfair something is from my dog.  I can't say the same for my teen.  See reason #2.

So full of woe!

4. Behavioral consequences - When a teen dog misbehaves, you have a few options.  You can crate her, you can redirect her away from something undesirable, you can distract her with training.  I've never once been able to redirect my teenager away from being passive aggressive with a shiny new squeaker toy, or stopped her from leaving dirty laundry on the floor with a few pieces of salmon jerky and a "sit, stay".  And she just won't shut up when I put her in the crate...

3. No break-ups - Dogs don't date.  Sometimes they pine, sometimes they hump, but they simply don't date.  There's nothing sweeter than a dog following after the object of his affection, just trying to play bow his way into her heart.  The same cannot be said for human teens.  Seeing boys' names enshrined in red hearts drawn all over binders and notebooks just makes me nauseous.  And the long phone chats analyzing something "he" said meant, drives me to drink.  If you don't go anywhere, are you really "going out"?!

Double shot, please...

2. No drama - For anyone who's ever lived with a teenage girl, there's no creature more dramatic or theatrical. A dog in her teens doesn't know the meaning of drama (except of course if you have a Sibe and are trying to trim her nails or give her a bath) but human teens live and breath by the beat of soap opera music.  They ride each emotional wave like surfers on crack, crashing hard on the rocks of each jagged emotion.  (Thought I'd give you a little taste of the daily drama with that last line...pretty awful, I know.)

1. Spaying and Neutering - enough said.

Poor Arwen - even teen dogs can be annoying!

No More Cooties!

Have you ever had that AHA! moment when you realize someone is your friend?  That person might be in your life, but you never really clicked just right, or you never really had the opportunity to get to know them?  This just played out with our dogs.

Arwen and Fenway get along great - she is the matriarch, he is the scrappy little pup.  They've liked each other from the start and have similar full-contact play styles.  But Nyxie and Fenway have had their differences.  Nyxie would rather chases and play with toys than be mouthed and wrestled with.  Fenway tries the chase games, but they eventually lead to his entire throat inside her jaws.

While this play hold is great for Alligaterrrr, Fenway isn't a big fan

Just the other weekend, I took Nyxie and Fenway to work with me to stretch their legs in the big yard where the boarders play.  They sniffed and ran a bit, but were more interested in running laps inside the clinic.  As they toured the long halls together, I saw a new spark.  Maybe it was Fenway's joy at having one of his sisters at "school" with him, or maybe it was that Arwen wasn't there to hijack Fenway into a wrestle match.  Whatever it was, they bonded that day.  Wild-eyed, and with tongues lolling sideways out of their panting heads, they found that missing piece.

Fenway loves going to school so much, I found his Kitty Head toy packed in the gym bag I use at lunch!

My decision to take them to work that weekend was made spur of the moment to kill some boredom, get some exercise and give Arwen a break from the high energy of youngsters. Dogs are masters at taking a spontaneous moment and making it a memory.  Here's how I found them later that night:

He's touching her and she's not yelling "COOTIES!!!""

Cuddling on the bed together!!  Unprecedented!

When the Student Surpasses the Teacher

Screw Up Fairies in progress...

So often, walking through our home makes me think the Screw-Up Fairy has detonated a grenade deep in the dog toy basket.  After big play days, the rooms are literally littered with the sad, squeaker-less forms of these war-torn toys.  The dog's lack of organization is rather impressive, really!

Nyxie, being the brilliant German Shepherd dog that she is, recognizes most of the silly names we give her toys - Dead Kitty (sorry feline fans, but the poor thing's head is hanging precariously to one side), Blue Bunny One Ear and MooCow, to name a few.  Feeling she'd be up to the challenge, I decide to teach her how to put her toys away.  But since I'm no trainer, I don't have the foggiest idea of where to start.

MooCow, Blue Bunny One Ear and Dead Kitty

YouTube to the rescue!  (At this point, I'm pretty sure I see Nyxie roll her eyes in disgust).

So I watch a couple of YouTube videos on how to do this trick, the trainer making it look so easy with her happy little background music and enthusiastic voice.  How hard can it be?  (Nyxie glances over at the clock on the cable box.  Did she just start tapping her paw?)

"tap, tap, tap"

The goal is to have the dog pick up each individual toy off the floor and drop it into the toy basket.  We've all seen it done and think "I wish my dog would do that!"  Each step is rewarded - pick up toy, bring toy, drop toy, eventually becomes drop toy in basket - the final progression looking seamless.  Clearly both trainer and dog are brilliant in every way!  It's not as easy as it looks, folks.  

Number One - The dog has to be interested in her toy.  I make the mistake of having treats on the table where Nyxie can see them, and since treats trump toys any day of the week, any toy interest goes the way of the Dodo bird.  I'll have to wait until she's in the middle of playing with her toys to reintroduce training.

Number Two - The toy basket must not be filled with a few gabillion toys (oops!).  Nyxie eyeballs this enormous basket of potential fun before her and thinks, "Ooooh!  I haven't played with this one in the past 3 minutes!"  I decide to take the toys out of the basket but I'm too late.  Nyxie follows me, my arms laden down with dog toys crunchy with old slobber.  I make a pile of these in the other room and she immediately plops down in the middle of the pile, happily chewing her old "buddies".  See Number One.

total distraction

Number Three - I discover that actually having a plan for this trick is crucial.  See, even after watching the chain exercise on YouTube, it's crucial to know how to make it work for your dog.  Also crucial to follow the steps in order and not try and skip ahead.  I don't have a plan yet and skip a few basic steps.

I feel so stupid looking into Nyxie's deep brown, almond eyes.  I can feel the intensity of her gaze, all the history and weight of her lineage dating back from 1889 when Capt. Max von Stephanitz began standardizing the breed in Germany.

I hear her sigh, her eyes saying,  "It's ok.  Why don't we start again tomorrow when you're more prepared."

I See You, Fenway

The clinic where I work has a kennel and a doggie-daycare.  On Tuesdays, which is my longest day (12 hours), I bring Fenway to work with me.  He loves to go to school to "play with the other kids".  He knows when I'm getting ready for work and follows me around like a lost kitten, rubbing up against my legs and not letting me out of his sight!

There are certain other "kids" he likes to play with, and they're the Tuesday regulars.  I watch him proudly through the viewing window as I work, a few moments stolen in quiet watchfulness.  He's generally pretty well-behaved, but sometimes goes overboard with the humping and the rough play - he is a teenage boy, after all.  He comes from the school of hard knocks - a doggie version of South Boston!  Having 2 older sisters is no joke!

"Mom?  Is that you out there?"

As I watch him through the window, I see him running and playing.  I feel like a mom watching her kid on the playground.  I watch him stumble and get corrected.  I watch him run and jump with glee!  I watch him sort out his relationships with other dogs, all on his own.  Then he sees me through the window and I hear him squeal with recognition, and crane his neck to see inside.  It's then that I realize he has my heart.  No more a homeless little foundling, but a loved dog.  A dog with a home.  A dog in Arwen's Pack.

Home is where you can snooze on your back in the sunbeams

A Day for Wellies and Movies by the Fire

I love rainy days.

T and I took the girls out for a nice long walk this morning.  It was drizzly and grey, and the weather kept everyone else inside.  An ideal walk day for a family with reactive dogs!  We talked and walked - a great start to the day.

A perfect morning for a walk!

After some laundry and other chores, we settled in to marathon of Terminator movies.  We cheered at the "I'll be back" lines, fretted over John Connor's fate, and marveled at Linda Hamilton's muscles, all the while snuggling in front of the fire.  The dogs having walked and played most of the morning, were content to trade snoozing places between the couch and before the toasty warmth of the fire.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator

Nyxie has a favorite spot on the couch.  It's right in the center where all the extra throw pillows end up.  Matt and I sit at either end of the couch, legs outstretched and Nyxie will eventually find her cozy spot in the middle of us.  I call this spot her "nest" - a safe haven away from Fenway, who tortures her by just coming too close.

"Not another picture, Mom!"

It's in these moments when she is cuddly, soft and trusting.  She'll bury her snooter in the pillows beside us, her nose just touching us.  Sometimes she lays with her head resting on the soft pillows, snoring quietly in a deep sleep.  I'll rest my head on her back, grateful for her trust.  If we watch a scary movie, her proximity and warmth keep me grounded and safe.

Tonight she snored quietly, head behind my closest pillow, paws resting against my hip.  I felt her deep, slow  breathing and knew she felt secure between us.  All her fears and insecurities melt away in these moments shared with the people and dogs that make up her world.  She could let her guard down knowing she was safe.

And we all knew it was a good day to be in Arwen's Pack

"Mom - can I share your monkey slanket with you?"

Underdogs Go South

One of my family's favorite TV shows is Animal Planet's Pit Bulls and Parolees.  Although we don't always catch the show at its regular air time, we can usually catch it through our cable's "on demand" feature.  If you've never watched this show, (where've you been?) it's about a tough, heart of gold Pit Bull rescuer who runs a huge rescue ranch in California with her daughters and extended family of parolee guys.  See, Tia Marie Torres doesn't just rescue Pitties.  Her husband is incarcerated and she believes in second chances.  She's opened her heart to parolees, helping them get their lives on track by caring for the dogs at Villalobos Rescue Center in California.

Yeah, she's pretty awesome...

Tia is one of those women who really knows dogs.  She also really knows people.  She's tough as nails and has razor-sharp intuition.  Her daughters impress me and I hope I can raise my own to have the same strength and sense of self that her two have.  And to also instill in her a rescuer's heart.  Raising a strong girl is tough work - she's done it twice.  Cheers to you, Tia!

Tia with daughters, Tani and Mariah

Pitt Bulls and Parolees is one of the few TV shows that has actually moved my own 14 year old daughter to tears.  She says Tia is tough like me (aw, shucks).  She's grown so attached to Fenway (who's suspiciously of Pittie lineage) and empathizes deeply with the plight of these rescue dogs.  It's a beautiful thing to see, really.  

BFF's

So why have I told you all this?  

I just finished watching episode 12, season 3 -"on demand", of course- and got some wonderful news.  Villalobos Rescue Center has moved to New Orleans!  Any of you who follow my blog know how much I love New Orleans.  It's the city that truly holds my heart.  

Now this was no easy move for them, I'm sure.  People, belongings, and over 150 Pit Bulls were moved!  Only Tia... 

Tia and her family

I wanted to help spread the word here and ask you to visit their website.  They're humanitarians, rescuers, and relentless champions for the ultimate underdogs - Pit Bulls and  parolees.  If you read through their site, you'll find they ask for doggie goods, volunteers, and financial support.  

As though my family needed any more reason to go to New Orleans?  It makes sense for them to be there.  If ever there was a place that will be home to a tough fight, New Orleans fits that bill.  Good luck, Tia!  Maybe someday we can clink Hurricane glasses and talk dogs, raising teenage girls and fighting the good fight.  

Cheers!