I've Moved!

Hello! I have a new site ~ www.leighhays.com. Please visit me there!

Resolutions or Something Like 'em

I don't publish resolutions typically. In the past they have been half-hearted or things I thought I should do versus things I was passionate about doing. But every year - I do think about the year going out and the year going in. I make pledges to do a few things differently - or to at least explore the possibilities to see if they work for me. And I guess the word 'resolutions' seems to translate to FAILURE so I prefer to call 'em goals.

In 2008, I set for myself the goal to be a bit greener and to reduce my carbon footprint. I was empowered to do so knowing that just a few small changes DO make a difference. And while I did contemplate adding solar panels to the dogs' backs and figuring away to harness Gus' gas for energy - it seemed too much to take on right away. I started small and set the goal to add 8 things to my routine that I could easily live with that would make a difference. And I went beyond those 8 things quite easily & eagerly. I won't go into detail b/c it's probably boring to the few readers I might have out there. But I am proud to say that the contents of my garbage can have been reduced greatly and the contents of my recycling bin have greatly increased.

In 2009, I am going to read 50 books. For those of you out there - doing math - that would be an average of 1 a week. I love to read and have found myself straying from reading for a lot of lackluster reasons that would just look ridiculous if I typed them onto the page. The only one worth it's weight is the changes of my eye sight. But I have that one taken care of so there is no reason NOT to bring books back into my life. And for a person who in the past easily read 1-2 books a week, 1 week is doable. I have a stack of books on my shelves that I have been meaning to read for the past few years - so I will go through them as well as a few classics I found on Random Houses 100 Best Novels list. If you have any favorites you think I should add to my list - I would love to hear what they are.

Cheers to 2009! A year of possibilities ~ prosperity, peace, love & health.

One month later

It seems a month has flown by since I last wrote here. I have had good intentions just not delivered.

Dagny turned 10 this month. But those are people years so if you are doing your math - she is 70 years old in canine years. She rang in this happy occassion with a new earthdog collar and matching leash in the Demeter pattern. She looks great in it and not your typical old dog mauve. We'll got a shot for you soon. I see signs of her aging - not just with the occasional hip pain and the incontent meds but her hearing & smelling senses are dulling. I am always amazed at the new toys I bring home for Gus that she LOVES and sends me back to purchase a duplicate. While they share toys and she isn't allowed to steal from Gus (he wouldn't THINK of trying to steal from her) - it is best if on certain toys there are two. Even if somehow Dagny manages to grab them both onto her bed and maintain possession.

Gus was neutered last Tuesday. Two of his litter mates were being neutered/spayed on the same day. Gus had a good 10 lbs on them and tipped the scales at 51 lbs. Per the vet - he had "the largest testicles of the day and he held onto them". Holding onto them will make the men reading this cringe but it translates to more post surgery swelling and bruising and the greater need to be still and heal. He is recovering just fine but has oodles of energy and doesn't seem to get he is supposed to be taking it easy. He learned to jump on my bed 2 days after the surgery which I am pretty sure didn't fit into the vet's instructions to limit his activity. Tomorrow I am going to take him on a short walk to just get him out. He is driving all of us crazy. We have gone through a lot of chews this past week between him and Dags.

Update on The GusDog

Gus has draped his head over my foot. He is now 47.9 lbs and still growing. He is incredibly affectionate and while he is good about being on his bed - he likes to be near me. I confess that I love it when he snuggles at my feet and am glad that the habit followed him post puppy hood.

We have our last training class tonight - though the training will continue for months - years even. We have been doing some clicker training and it has been so much fun and he really likes it. You can check out the website - here. You can see his mind working while we are training and it is fun to watch him figure out the command. For those of you interested - the training we have been doing is positive/negative reinforcement and based on the principles of shaping. The clicker allows you to click the instant the dog does what you want and then you reward with a treat. It is a great way to communicate with Gus that he he is doing what he is supposed to be doing it the instant he does it. And then the food treat follows. Gus is all about the food so training him is so much easier than dog number 1 who wasn't interested in food.

Have been working hard on getting Gus to leave the cats alone. The biggest issue has been him following Dagny when she decides to have a cat chase - different dynamic with two of them! I am pleased to say that the past week has been great with his lack of interest in Newman. He has minded his own business on several occassions and just walked past Newman with a look in his direction but no movement towards him. Last night after a long walk and play session at the park - Gus remained on his bed while Newman walked around the den even though Dagny decided to follow Newman out of the den. Gus was amply rewarded with treats during this event. Am feeling great that Gus elected beef over feline.


Gus' chop appointment has been set for August 19th. He shouldn't even have to stay at the vet overnight and it should be pretty uneventful. Well - easy for me to say. I am not the one getting my balls chopped off!

Family Outing

Gus & I met his sister (Little Five, L5) & his mum (Hazel) for a walk in Piedmont Park and our first visit to the dog park there. We hadn't met them in quite some time. Gus & L5 tried to wrestle the entire time we walked. Hazel was just thrilled to not have L5 hanging on her for once! It is amazing at how much L5 & Gus look a like. Their faces/heads are exactly the same except Gus' is much larger. And it also showed me clearly how big Gus is going to be. He was much longer and taller than L5.

I had not been to the dog park in years b/c Dags never cared about playing with the other dogs so there was no point. It is much nicer than before. And it was a huge hit with Gus & L5. There were big dogs, little dogs and other puppies. They ran, they rolled, they played. At one point, Hazel plopped down on the ground to cool down and Gus & L5 snuggled right in next to her like they did it every day. I wish I had taken my camera. But I am sure there will be another time for a photo opp. We are planning on going back. It was one stop shopping for leash training, play time, socialization and puppy exhaustion.

Gus is asleep on my foot right now. And Dagny is lightly snoozing on her bed. She is looking at me and I am pretty sure she is thanking me for bringing home an exhausted puppy who is too tired to bother her.

Emergency Back Up Dog

Recently a few friends have politely inquired why I adopted a puppy. I know what they really wanted to ask was "What in the Hell were you thinking?!"

Here is the answer. With Sadie's diagnosis in the fall of beginning of kidney disease, I realized all of my animals were elderly. Sadie - 13 yrs; Newman 11-12 yrs; Dagny will be 10 yrs. next month. I also had this realization - like a giant flashing neon sign outside of a bar offering 2 for 1 drinks - that I was a dog person. This doesn't mean I choose dogs over cats. It means that I love having a dog around and always want one in my house. Can't imagine NOT having one in the house. I debated for awhile if Dagny would even tolerate another dog. And having had other dogs around, Dagny seemed to best around boy dogs and mellow boys. I thought long and hard about what dog I would like to have for the next 12-15 years. My friends have this amazing golden, Torrin. I love that dog - he is a good boy and very easy going - and that was the archetype for what I wanted. I also knew that Jody had/has put in an amazing amount of time training Torrin.

Fast forward. In January/February, friends at the office were circulating a picture of a 4 month old lab named Jake that needed a home. One of my friends had already adopted 2 of his litter mates. I called to inquire but Jake was already spoken for - 6 times over. But I knew that I was ready to consider a dog into my life. And all that a new dog requires - training and feeding and vaccinating. A few folks told me the breeders of their dogs had pups available. But all my beasts have been rescues.

In April, an agent told Tacha, my business partner, about a litter of puppies his newly rescued dog, Hazel had just had. I still debated and procrastinated on meeting the pups until they were about 6.5 weeks old. But it seemed like a great opportunity to still rescue a pup (Atlanta Lab Rescue), 1/2 of the pup would be a lab and I was able to meet the mum. She is a sweet chocolate lab.

The long and the short of it was I asked for a mellow male and met with the 3 boys of the litter. There were 2 boys I was interested in - Durant & Harvey. Lucky, the third male, was the male version of Dagny. (I love Dagny but she was really high energy as a pup and never sat still! Training was so difficult. I know that now more than ever dealing with Gus who is easier to train how hyper she was. I wanted something completely the opposite of my Ricochet Rabbit.) There was a couple who had arrived a few minutes before me to interview pups and they picked Durant, the last born & smallest of the pups. I went with Harvey - now known as Gus. I had the name picked out before I ever met him. I figured no Gus did anything in a hurry. And when I first met Gus, he was very interested in me and my tennis shoes but after about 20 minutes of investigating and play, he crawled under a cabinet and went to sleep. Perfect!

What I didn't know was that I would have a dog by 8pm that same night. But how in the hell can you say no to a pup after a cup of Star Bucks full leaded coffee and the cutest little pups crawling on you?

Dagny didn't talk to me for the first few days. She snubbed me and looked at me with daggers in her eyes. I assured her that she was still the Diva in charge and that Gus was merely a back-up reserve dog. She was still the number 1 dog.

I have never once ever regretted or second guessed my decision to add in Gus. And I have been thrilled with my selection of pups. I knew things would be slow with Dagny and the pup. And I never had any expectations they would actually be pals. It surprises me every day how they play and interact. From the beginning Gus has loved Dagny but his adoration was unrequited for a good month. On several occassions, I found Dagny by Gus' crate. And Dagny was actually was the second dog on the bed in the picture below. She actually joined Gus in a side by side chew. And while she does enjoy taking his bones and toys, she has been showing him how to be a good dog. And for that I am eternally grateful.

One Small Step For Mankind

I never wrote a list of new year's resolutions. I just thought about changes I wanted to make in my life. One of them was my goal to incorporate 8 things to make this planet a better place to live. More than anything - I wanted to be able to make changes that mattered and keep them as a part of my day to day life. One of the things - I have been working on has bringing my own grocery bags to the store. And while I can say - I have done a good job at bringing my own - I have not done a great job. And I was feeling pretty good about re-using the plastic bags for kitty litter and such. But today I have watched this video and I am thinking that I need to step up this goal from good to great. And give up all plastic bags.

Watch this slide show....the first part of it is really depressing but don't fear because the end will give you a surge of power knowing you really can do something!

Thanks to my stepmum, Jage, for sending this to me! Pass it on.