pawsforrunning-blog

[pawsforrunning-blog]

#scruffy #bud #lucy #ralphie #puppylove #gooddogs #pawprintsinmyheart #wearecrazy

[pawsforrunning-blog]

#triathalon #lovemyhubby #runhard #sylvanlake #outpacingtheyears (at Sylvan Lake Park)

[pawsforrunning-blog]

Sit, Stay and Don't Poop in the House

In life there are certain rules you should obey for your success and these are three of them (if you have four legs).

Pups, running and a few humans; that’s today’s blog and three of the things I love (especially my two humans, Scott, our pack leader and Austin, my favorite two legged pup).Anyone who knows me, hears me talk about these things a lot. My furbabies up until a week ago consisted of Scruffy, Bud and Lucy. That was until my husband brought home a miniature poodle from a customer’s house, named Ralphie. Ralphie was in need of a new home and having fostered and worked with rescue many moons ago, we thought we’d jump in head first and help find this boy a home. I think we have, but more on that in another blog. Today was a definite “dog day of summer”. Ralphie and I started the morning with a 4 mile run, followed by a romp in the neighbor’s pool with her two cutie grandkids. Ralphie seems to relish water, but jury’s still out on the pool. He was very accepting of the shower and nail clipping I gave him after that. Still with an abundance of energy (HOW?!) after that, he and the other pups had a lively game of chase around the house until I had to calm them down as any good Mom would do (it’s all fun and games until someone ends up in a cone). Then right about the time I thought we’d settle down with a good book (aka nap), we discovered Lucy had found a hidden egg (we also have chickens, did I forget to mention that?). The egg was rotten and Lucy, always the lady, was eating it like caviar. While getting her to the sink for a bath, Scruffy found the egg and decided to roll in it. This was such a bad choice. I can’t even describe the horrendous odor that permeated his entire body. Not even a hot dog left in the park after the 4th of July could smell as rotten as this wiener. After an oatmeal bath, a deodorizing shampoo bath, a vinegar/baking soda bath, a hydrogen peroxide/baking soda bath, another deodorizing shampoo bath and some deodorizing spritz for dogs (that Bed Head stuff for dogs is great), the smell was almost completely gone. Scruffy loves bath time about as much as I love eggplant, so that was torture for both of us. All the while I was breathing through my mouth and not my nose so as not to gag and vomit. A handy technique I learned long ago. Comes in handy for us gals with a nose that works overtime. Amidst all this, we are diligently working on sit, stay, NO CHICKENS, and potty training with the Ralphster. We should change his name to “don’t poop in the house” as he probably thinks this is his name now. He had no training in his previous home, but is very smart and learning quickly. After all that fun, the evening was pretty peaceful. Helped Scott prepare for his first triathlon in 20+ yrs. We almost always race together, but swimming is not my bag. I’m more of a floater (in theory that sounded better), but you get the drift. Drift, that’s what I prefer doing, with a float. Anyway, I am his biggest supporter. The thought of being an athletic supporter is not really appealing so I’ll call myself his cheerleader. Although I don’t think I’ll be squeezing into my junior high cheer leading uniform for this gig. My family is home safe in bed and everyone is sleeping. I’m thankful. I’m also waiting for a load of clothes to go off because while I was busy squeezing the stench out of a wiener dog, I forgot my son needed work pants washed, so I’ll be staying up until I hear the chimes of the ice cream truck (that’s what I call my new washer, how did we live before all these bells and whistles?!). It was a good day, and if I make you smile or I encourage you in any way, or you learn from my mistakes, it will be an even better day. Until tomorrow