Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving

Just wanted to pass along our Happy Thanksgiving wishes, albeit a little late, to everyone in the blogosphere! G and I were actually separated for Thanksgiving (sniff) as I went down to see my dad in North Carolina and she stayed in the city with my mom for the week, but it looks like she had a pretty good time regardless:


An interesting story from my time away: I received a call from my doorman on Wednesday evening (I was at a bar in Cary, NC watching my dad's band and a basketball game) saying that my neighbors were complaining about G barking. He added, "It sounds like she's in distress."

As G is the only dog on the floor, I immediately called my mom (who happened to be at the basketball game I was watching on TV) and told her to get home to handle this. We were both confused because G had her Cit collar on and doesn't typically howl any more in regards to separation anxiety.

Well, by the time my mom made it home - having had to leave the game around half-time - it was clear that the barking wasn't G at all. There is a dog that visits an apartment a few doors down and he/she was simply howling. When my mom called me on the phone, it sounded like the dog was in my apartment it was so loud - and, yes, the dog was clearly stressed out.

I felt very bad for the pup and for its owner - it's never fun to get complaints from neighbors. I will say finding out that it wasn't G did provide a ton of relief, but I was still pretty ticked at the doorman/neighbors for not using their ears to realize the barking wasn't coming from my apartment at all (and thus, making my mom come home early from the game). What can you do?

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Hungover ...

G is still pretty hungover from daycare yesterday - as evidenced by her constant snoring this morning!!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Walking "Club"

G and I had a wonderful experience yesterday together when we met up with a co-worker and her pittie to go for a long walk around the neighborhood.

As I've mentioned, G has been struggling with leash reactivity (although this weekend, she was an absolute angel and even let other dogs - big and small! - greet her on-leash) and being a general Sass-a-frass to other pitties, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to knock off two birds with one stone. My co-worker's pittie, P, also has various leash reactivity and prey drive issues, so this walk was truly an educational experience any way you sliced it!

Lo and behold, both P and G were absolute angels - walking respectfully near to each other, while only give brief side-long glances at each other. P even sniffed G's bum at one point to zero reaction from G!

To be able to have two alpha-prone pups walk together (closely) for an extended period of time with no issues was so fantastic. Something my co-worker said during our outing really stuck with me: "You just want them to succeed so badly and achieve their potential." And when they do succeed - man, your heart just wants to burst!

We both agreed that we are definitely going to go walking together again and may even bring along my co-worker's other pup, D. I'm super excited and can't wait to get these guys together again (calmly)!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Parkin' it with my Pittie

This past weekend was packed with gorgeous Northeast autumn weather. G and I woke up bright and early (that daylight savings time is still messing with me!) on Saturday and off-leashed for a bit in Riverside Park. It was a wonderful experience because G, when onleash, actually allowed all sorts and sizes of dogs to greet her. We've had some trouble with leash reactivity when greeting other pups, so I was thrilled with this progress!

Around noon, G and I headed to Central Park to meet up with my friends and listen to a lecture on Andrew H. Green, the city commissioner who is credited with creating the NYC grid system. My friend, who is getting her PhD at Rutgers in American History, loves this type of thing and it couldn't have been more enjoyable (and interesting)! G was an angel throughout the entire lecture, sitting or sleeping in the grass and listening attentively.


G even had a sip of my cider (part of the ceremony for Mr. Green) when we did a toast!


Because it was such a gorgeous day, we walked the bridal path for a bit after the lecture and I got this amazing shot of Central Park (click to enlarge). As much as I can complain about city living, I think for once, I have to admit, I really love New York:

Friday, November 4, 2011

Model Cab Behavior

I've posted before about riding in cabs with pups, and proper doggie etiquette (personal opinion) for those rides. G and I are intimately familiar with the whole cab process as most of my friends happen to live on the Lower East Side (diagonal across the island of Manhattan from our apartment)!

The other day after flagging down a cab to come back home, G demonstrated how to impress cabbies by laying down calmly on the floor and going to sleep during the ride home. It's funny - I find she's a little like a toddler, who can get really discombobulated when initially getting in a car, but after a few minutes, the movement tends to lull her right to sleep!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Sleeping with G

G has slept in my bed since she was reliably housebroken (so about a year old).

I've posted before about what a fidgeter she is, but last night was really "busy" for her. Since I've added my winter comforter, it makes the bed extra warm. Since it does get so warm, I tend to keep a fan going to ensure the air is circulating in the room. Well, this leads to G going in and out and in and out of the covers - getting too cold when she's on top of the covers and too warm when she's under them.

Since she's not allowed on the couch's any longer, nights are the one time that we can curl up and snuggle together and I'm really hesitant to make her sleep on the floor. I just don't want to miss out on that time together. That being said, it's getting harder and harder to deal with her restlessness (which ultimately becomes my restlessness).

Still, potentially having her stay the entire night on her bed, is becoming more difficult to resist:

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

and now a word from the cat ...

I had thought my cats were the worst litter scrapers ever, until I stumbled upon M, sitting in a freshly poured pan of litter this weekend, looking ... dare I say ... stoned.

At least this explains the sheer volume of litter I find on the floor on a daily basis - they're using it as a sandbox!