Emotions

Zoli is very attuned to my emotional well-being. Needless to say, I have been a little stressed out over the past month. If you don't already know my job was "eliminated" and I was offered a separation package from P&G. It's been a bummer - frustrating/annoying and a little scary to think of being unemployed. Z definitely picks up on my emotions. And I've probably been a little more impatient with him too. That makes me feel bad, which he picks up on... and it starts all over! Ugh!! Today on his afternoon walk he PULLED the entire time. It was so frustrating! I wish he would realize that we will be exactly where he wants to be in like, two seconds!!!!! Then, the wind was kicking up and causing some bushes to move and he went crazy like there was an animal inside. Believe me, I looked... there was NO animal around. So now it's dogs, cats, birds, snakes (yes, we did see one!), the occasional backpack, anyone walking down the street and WIND! Fun times, folks... fuuuuuuun times!

Next time I write I will share the little songs I sing Z when I'm making him breakfast. My friends informed me I should NOT let anyone else know about this, but of course, that makes me want to share even more!! I will post some Z pics next time as well.

Hope you're all having happy holidays!!!

Jealous...

The other night my good friend Pat came over. A bunch of us were headed down to the big, exciting tree lighting (!) and he came over a little early prior to heading downtown. Well, Zoli did the obligatory smelling when he arrived and then when I went to give Pat a hug Zoli jumped up on his hind legs toward me, like, "ummm, excuse me? why are you hugging him!" Then, when Pat and I sat on the sofa Z popped up right next to me and when I wasn't paying enough attention to him would tap me with his little paw, like, "ummm, excuse, me? pay more attention to me, dammit!" I do believe Zoli was jealous!

It goes to show two things: One, Zoli is really starting to feel connected to me, which is great! Two, I obviously don't have men over to my place enough, which is pathetic!

Great Dane!

So, there's this HUGE dog living in my condo building... I think he's a Great Dane or something enormous like that. Every time he and Zoli see each other they both go crazy! The other morning I was taking Z out for his walk (a little later since I was working from home) and I guess this dog was waiting by the patio doors because as soon as he saw us he threw his huge body up against the doors and broke about three of the window panes! It made a horrendous noise and both Z and I jumped about a mile high! I just kept walking since I didn't know if this monster was now working his way through the cut glass to come devour us or what! As we hit the sidewalk I started worrying that maybe instead he was bleeding to death inside his condo. What to do??!! Luckily I saw one of the owners cross the street. I went over, introduced myself, and let her know that either her dog was in the process of escaping... or possibly dying (I'm sure I worded it better than that!). She rolled her eyes and informed me that it was not HER dog, but her roommates! End result, monster dog is fine, windows are taped up, owners are annoyed, Z is still crazy and I am resigned to my new life!

Life goes on...

Not much to tell really... life is just moving along (nine months to go - not that I'm counting or anything!). Z got to have a little "man time" this past weekend. I went up to South Bend for a Notre Dame game and Z moved in with Ray for two days. I'm sure they did lots of obnoxious boy stuff... swearing, playing on the floor, making a mess, burping/farting... you know, all the things girls never do! It went well, though, and that makes me feel better about the fact that I'm headed to DC next week and Z will be in a kennel! I picked a place over in Norwood (recommended by Vet) called The Pet Spot. Went there yesterday to check it out and it's very nice. I upgraded to a "villa" - can't have Z wallowing in a cage for three days!

Z also went to the vet and had a little grooming yesterday! Just a bath and nail trimming - he keeps himself pretty clean overall, but he was getting a little stinky! I figured that just because I'm watching him for the year doesn't mean I have to actually bathe him, right??!!! $24 later he smells like a flower and is no longer clicking on the hard wood floors! Well worth it!!!

Hummm...

I was reading Stephen's blog today and decided that it's seriously no fair that his is so exciting and mine is so very, very boring! I mean, he gets to write about Tel Aviv, shooting AK47's and walking in the footsteps of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusades and all I have to talk about are things like, where Z is scratching lately, squirrels, poop patterns, etc. Life is not fair!

Up 5 Pounds!

Zoli is an eating machine - he's gained 5 whole pounds since he's been here. The vet says he looks great, but, "Let's not gain any more!" Here a pic of him chowing down!

On my knees...

Zoli finally brought me to my knees today! We were taking our afternoon walk and it started out great! I mean, he wasn't pulling at all! That never happens! We were walking past this lovely yellow house with a white picket fence and just didn't see their dog peacefully sleeping toward the sidewalk. Z does what we all know he does and went crazy. I somehow got wrapped around the leash and next thing you know... down on my knees in the muddy grass I go! Of course the house owner was on her porch and sort of just looked at me - and then decided to put her dog inside. I had Z in a sort of head lock (still on the ground) and was trying to calm him down. This lady comes over and asks if I'm okay. Other than being totally embarrassed I told her I was fine. (oh, there was a Police Officer doing some traffic detail behind me and he saw the whole thing too...nice!) We got up... dusted off... continued the walk. Z pulled every inch of the way home. Geesh!

Stray Dogs!!

What started out as a pleasant walk this morning turned into a stressful game of "avoid the stray dog." There was a stray, large German Shepherd roaming the street, trying to find doggy friends. He had attached himself to a man walking his dog across the street, but then saw Zoli and decided to come visit. Z went seriously as crazy as I've ever seen him. I was able to avoid the stray by sort of standing behind a car and then crossing the street behind him. We had to do this about 3 times to really avoid him. We ended up quickly heading back home and Z had to do his business in the courtyard. It was seriously stressful. I was nervous, which made Z more nervous. He was shaking and leaning in close to me. Now I'm wondering if that damn dog will be roaming around again this afternoon. Ugh! Racing through my head the whole time was, "What will I do if these two dogs begin to fight?" I really had no idea, which is why we played the avoid game. I'm going to have to call Stephen today and talk to him about this one because I'm a bit nervous about how I would handle it. Wish me luck!

4:30 a.m. Puking!

Z woke me up this morning... early this morning... gagging and throwing up! Poor little guy. He seemed just like anyone of us would feel if that was happening...so sad. I sat there on the carpet (after I cleaned it up) rubbing his belly and then sent him back to bed! I wonder what's wrong with him? I talked to a few dog people at work and then Stephen over in Egypt and everyone said it's probably nothing, but if it continues to call the vet. He seems just fine today. On his walks he pulled just much as he always does... so, I guess all is well. I've stopped his allergy meds and he doesn't seem to be eating as much. Maybe all this medicine just gave him a belly ache. Speaking of eating, this doggy has gained some weight! His collar is tight on his neck (not too tight) and he definitely has bulked up a bit. He looks good overall. I do worry about him though. I'm just not enough of a dog person to really know the in's and out's of doggy sickness and doggy weight. I am rambling here, so I'll end this little "puking" blog! ;)

Pics from Blackberry

Zoli loves to lounge on my bed... as do I! ;)

Little Vacation

It's been awhile since I blogged about our friend Z! However, if you recall...when I started this I did share that he does a LOT of sleeping! So, not much to tell lately. We've not had anymore biting incidents - thankfully. Although, seriously, if I forget the muzzle for a THIRD time it's my own damn fault!

This past weekend Z and I had a little vacation from each other. I went up to Put-In-Bay for some beer drinking fun and Z went to Robert & Teresa's puppy camp! He loves visiting them and they are WONDERFUL for taking him. I must admit that I missed the little twerp! It was good to see him when I got home and he seemed glad to see me too! The excitement of the whole weekend must have zonked him out because when we got home he barely moved for the next 24 hours!

Z saw his first possum this morning... that was exciting! I seriously don't think he had a clue what it was...sort of funny. Of course, it was alive and moving, so that was a good enough reason to go insane!

I took some cute pics of the boy recently, but loaned out my camera to a friend on a business trip overseas... so when I get it back I will post them!

You'd better hide your head! ;)

Oops, I did it again...

So, it's Saturday afternoon - sunny, cool breeze, beautiful! You'd think that Eden Park would be crawling with dogs. NOT ONE! I set up doggy training for Z at the park so we could work on his little issue with other dogs and we couldn't even find one! Good grief, what is wrong with this town?? So, anyway, on the walk back to the car we did find one nice little pup whose owners let us "work" with them for a bit. Z went a little crazy, but not much as this other dog was strangely calm. So, all went well. We get in the car to drive home and I took Z's muzzle off, cause there's no need for that in the car, right?

We get home, get out of the car and walk into the courtyard and one of the neighbor crazy dogs, a fat little bugger, comes walking out the door. This little doggy goes insane and Z goes INSANE! I start into my training and pull him closer to me and...BAM... he bites me in the back of my thigh! My immediate thought... "How did he do that through his muzzle?" My second thought... "Ohhhhhh, the muzzle is in my hand!" What a dork I am... totally forgot to put it back on after leaving the car. Well... I got him inside and upstairs with no problems... took off my jeans to see the damage (yikes!) and stood there with Z and was like, "Look what you did to me!!!!!" He was appropriately sheepish, hung his head and was off to the back room, where he stayed the rest of the day. I washed the bite and took stock of the situation. He definitely broke skin, but it's more of a nasty bruise than anything else.

I called our trainer and told her what happened. I'll admit that I am a little frustrated here. I mean, Stephen never used a muzzle and Zoli never bit him... twice! So, trainer-Joan said that I should not be discouraged as we have made great progress. She said that Stephen is taller, stronger and actually Zoli's owner... all true! We also discussed how Z's instinct takes over when he's around crazy dogs and that the muzzle is IMPORTANT! So...even though we have made progress I feel like we've taken a few steps backwards this weekend.

Stephen... don't worry and don't feel bad. I'm fine and my leg is fine (although it does now have two Zoli holes!) :) Z and I will survive this together. He has been acting very obedient since this little "oops"... he definitely knows he was a bad little pup!

Zoli Stromboli

Madison has given Z a much need middle name... Stromboli! How he has lasted this long without that middle name I do not know!! :)

So, Mr. Zoli Stromboli has been on his allergy medicine for about 5 days now. He is no longer scratching and biting like he was...which is great. He has to pee every 20 seconds... which is not so great!!!!! The meds make him drink and eat more. It's been a challenge, but luckily he will let me know when it's seriously time to go out. He will stand by the door and look at me like, "Seriously... I'm not kidding around here!" It usually only takes me about 15 minutes to figure out that he is, in fact, seriously, not kidding around.

He's down to two pills a day now and I'm hoping that sometime this week we can bring it down to one a day. I'll keep an eye on the scratching/biting and make sure that he's not starting up again. I hope these allergies were "end of summer" and not "beginning of fall" - that would be a pain!

Oh... guess who has a new little puppy friend? Fancy, pants poodle! Yes, the annoying neighborhood poodle now has a little mutt friend walking with him. Nice... another dog to drive Z mad!

A Trip to the Vet

Today Zoli, Ellen and I went to the vet. (My friend Ellen came along for moral support - I've never been to the vet before!) Z has been doing an awful lot of scratching and gnawing lately...to the point where his under regions were starting to look a little raw. After discussing with Stephen, I decided that I should call the vet. Got a recommendation from my sister and made the appointment.

So, off we go! Z is very happy to be in the car, clueless as to what awaits him...wa-ha-haaaa. We arrive at the animal hospital and of course he smells every animal that has ever been there... EVER! He is definitely a little nervous, but was able to calm down in the waiting room - luckily we were the only ones there at the time. They had asked that I bring all proof of vaccinations, etc. They did not ask that they be in English! Most of his paperwork is in Russian - whoops! I actually called Stephen while with the doctor so she could talk to him about his history. I now have to fax Stephen copies of the paperwork so he can translate and I can send back to the vet - good grief!

Three of us had to hold Z down while the vet took blood...very nerve wracking! I was probably more nervous that anyone, including Zoli! Otherwise, he did very well and everyone loved him... of course!

Long story short...Z has allergies and is now on an antihistamine/steroid. Two pills, twice a day. Hummm...that should be fun - trying to get pills down his gullet! They also game me tapeworm meds and flea/tick meds. $220 later, we leave the office. (Good think I had Stephen's checkbook!!!)

Because he was such a good boy I treated him to a McDonald's ice cream cone afterwards. It was too funny watching him chow it down. I held it for him so he could lick, and then he chomped on the cone. Just one more thing we have in common. Lounging around - check! Taking naps - check! Eating ice cream - check! We really are kindred spirits! ;)

Graduation!

Well, Zoli and I graduated from doggy Basic Training today! Our trainer said that he was exceptionally smart and that I got an A+!! We are going to schedule two more sessions - at Eden Park! She said it would be good to see us "in action," so we're going to meet at Mirror Lake a few times to see how he does there. I feel so much better about things. The other day we came outside and our upstairs neighbor was out with his big white dog. I asked if I could "work" with Z a bit and got the okay. Of course Z went crazy at first, but after a little while he was sitting at my side, breathing normally, watching the other dog from about 15 feet away. I was thrilled!!! Then, when we started moving, he just walked right past her (still a bit away, but basically ignored her!) Yeah!! Progress!!! We've had a couple other good moments like that, where he showed much more self control...so things are definitely improving. I called Stephen today to share the good news and to let him know that his money has been put to good use!! ;)

Then, to top off our graduation day Z's good friends Teresa and Robert came over for a visit!! He was so excited. He got to play on the floor with Robert and Teresa actually got him to enter the kitchen - an amazing thing! Of course, she was laying on the floor with a treat in her hand, but it worked and he actually walked in. Sure wish I had cleaned that floor first!!!!

All and all a good Saturday for the two of us!!! Now we're relaxing, enjoying the great breeze coming in, listening to nice quiet music...life is grand! :)

Play Time

I always forget that my voice is heard when video taping...duh! Thank God Ray will come over and play with Z...that's the area I worry about most. I know that I'm not so great at the "play" time. We took a bunch of pictures of Z as well. As soon as Ray sends them to me I'll post some...he really got some good ones.

As I sit here typing Z is sitting on my sofa...the sofa he's not allowed to sit on. I KNOW he sits on it all the time when I'm not here - now he's just bold and sits on it right in front of me. What to do??? He's got "his" chair, right next to the sofa...that he normally sits on. What a twerp! Guess I have to go remind him of this little rule!

Not quite there yet...

Yesterday Z and I were taking our afternoon walk. It was a beautiful day... cool and breezy. Then, out of nowhere (!) a woman and her little dog turned the corner we were coming up on. I quickly though, "Maybe we're ready to WALK past a dog...on the same side of the street." Maybe all this expensive training (thanks Stephen!) is paying off and we can do this. Maybe he won't embarrass himself in front of the other neighborhood doggies. NOT!!!!!

I had Z nice and close to my side and was talking calmly to him, telling him that he could do this. Instead he went berserk!!! I tried to have him sit and he was just all over the place, growling, jumping, rearing back, twisting, etc. Good thing that muzzle stays on!

The woman and her dog calmly walked past us...most likely rolling their eyes...while the two of us acted like we were insane!!! I finally got him to sit and we just stood there in the middle of the sidewalk for what seemed like forever, waiting for him to calm down. Sooooo...we are NOT ready to be on the same side of the sidewalk with other dogs. Across the street - no problems (at least no big problems!), so I think we'll keep it at that for right now.

One of these days I'll bring a friend along with a camera to take a video of this craziness...then I'm going to send it to Cesar...maybe he'll fly out here to kick us into shape! :)

Traitorous Dog!

I feed him, I walk him, I brush and pet him. He gets to sleep on my bed, practically on my pillow. I talk him down when he's scared, I calm him when he sees all the scary puppies in the neighborhood. I remind him that he's loved and cared for. I pick up his poop for goodness sake! So... when grandma comes for a weekend visit, does Zoli stick by my side, like a loyal pet? Hell, no! It's all about her!!! In walks Mom and Z acts like she is the prodigal son or something...it's all about grandma! The little traitor!

He jumps up and down, follows her around the condo, hangs out in her room, sleeps on her bed, stares adoringly at her... geesh!!! It was almost more than I could stand... a little love fest between the two of them. Then, after she leaves today I think, "Okay, now he'll come back to me!" But noooooo! He spends the ENTIRE day on her bed (above picture)... ALL DAY! Like I don't even exist... "Barbara who??" Humph! Serious little traitor! ;)

Midnight Celebrations

Around midnight I was awoken by a noise I didn't recognize - in my closet. "Oh, no," I thought... "please don't let it be a bat!!!" It wasn't. Instead, it was a little someone trying to dig to China through my carpet! Out comes Z... very, VERY out of sorts. It was then I heard fireworks/firecrackers, far off in the distance.

Stephen had told me that Zoli didn't like fireworks, I just didn't know to what extent. I tried to calm Z down by talking calmly to him, petting him, etc. Nothing! I tried to cajole him onto my bed. Nothing! I tried to get him to look at me...move... twitch...anything! Nothing! Seriously, he was as still and focused and scared as I've ever seen him. His tail, which is ALWAYS up and wagging, was tucked under and he was still as a statue. Poor little thing!

Eventually, after the midnight celebrations had stopped he was able to lie down, right next to my bed, on the floor. When we woke up this morning he was hunkered down in the closet. Luckily (for him!), there was no more digging - China (and my carpet)is safe... for now! I can hardly wait for the WEBN Labor Day fireworks!!!

On patrol again...

Last night we enjoyed an evening on the porch. That is, until the neighbors came out with their two pups. Z went about crazy, but I was impressed that when I told him (in a very commanding voice, if I do say so myself!) to go inside he immediately went in...no issues what-so-ever! Nice!

This sounds odly familiar!! ;)

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/dog_humiliated_in_front_of_entire?utm_source=a-section

Keeping Watch

Z loves to peer over my porch into the courtyard...keeping watch over his domain! He's such a cutie pie! This morning he must have been tired because he didn't wake me up early, nor did he rush over as soon as my alarm went off. Nice! Our morning walk was pretty good, although he continues to pull. I tried to ease up on the leash like the trainer suggested. It worked, but I think Z is just used to the tall, long gait of my brother - not my short little legs.

We're walking down the street, toward the end of our walk and who should I see way ahead of us... fancy, pants poodle. So, of course, I crossed the street to avoid him. And of course fancy, pants owner crosses too! Really??? Does she do this on purpose?? So, we crossed again and avoided him completly! And what's she doing out at 6:10a.m. anyway??? That is MY time to be on the street, not hers! Humph!

Training Day 4

+Just finished training with Z and Joan (the Cinti. Dog Whisperer!). He did well today, although he does NOT like the down command. Joan said that is the last thing dominate dogs give up as it puts them in the most vulnerable position. Other than that he did great! But let me tell you, he knows when another dog is around!! We were in the little park across the street and a dog lives in a nearby house. This darn dog wasn't even outside or making any noise, but Z remembers that he lives there and was on HIGH ALERT the entire time...staring across the street at the house - just waiting for a chance to do... who knows what!!!!!

Overall, though, I am feeling much more comfortable with things. Sure, he still gets crazy, like the other morning when there was a garbage can lid in the center of the street and he thought it was dinner or something. Overall we are making progress. He will sit, wait, stay and come when asked. Not too bad! I'm going to take him to the pet store today. (Well, he will be in the car, I'll be in the pet store!) It's time to buy more food...geesh, it goes fast!!!

20 August 2009

So, I wonder if people with pets think about them all the time?

I find that I'm always "aware" of Z... no matter where I am - at home, at work, when out. I wonder what he's doing, if he's okay, if he's sad cause I'm not there, if he's annoyed cause I am there, if he's hungry, if he wants to go out, if he is sad, if he's content...on, and on, and on, and on.

I worry about him pretty much all the time. I have to constantly remind myself that he is, in fact, a dog... not a child. But then I think... well, should I treat him less than I would a child? Seriously... I have NO CLUE!

He seems happy - if lounging around is happy then he's the happiest dog in the world! But then I worry that he's not getting the stimulation that Stephen gave him. Am I playing with him enough, walking him enough, giving him enough treats, too many treats. Is he drinking enough water, is he going to the bathroom enough...

Good Lord! I may seriously be losing my mind!

Pictures

Visiting Zoli in Russia - In 2007 my niece and I went to Russia to visit my brother. When we weren't touring like crazy we got to watch Z sleep and go crazy in the park!

18 August 2009

So, Z decided that he was going to get up at 4:30 a.m. this morning! Seriously! He was patting me like, "Get up, it's time to go out!" I don't think so! I told him to go back to bed. He was NOT happy. He then walked around; inside the bedroom, out to the living room, back in the bedroom, all around the bed...on and on and on! Every so often he'd give a little bark reminding me that he wasn't happy. Finally he went to bed! Thank God!

So, after spending about 45 mintues trying to re-calm my brain (ugh!) I fell back asleep and had one of those crazy dreams where you think you're up and starting your day - but you're not! In the dream I got up and took Z down the steps to have our walk. In the courtyard was EVERY SINGLE DOG WE'VE EVER SEEN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, plus a few unknowns! No kidding... there must have been 50+ dogs being walked out there, along with some strays. There was one stray that ran up to the door who was so big and shaggy I shrank back in surprise/fright. I have never even SEEN a dog like this so I have no idea how he ended up in my dream! Z was going crazy and I was hovering with him in some basement stairs - that don't actually exist! Talk about a stress dream! Good grief!!!

Luckily my alarm went off! Reality took over and Z and I went out for a quiet, 6am, walk...alone!

17 August 2009

Goodness gracious, great ball of Zoli!!!

(better if sung!)

17 August 2009

The last few days with Z have actually been pretty darn good. I have had numerous "dog free" walks! That makes both our lives so much more peaceful. I actually feel badly for Z as I know this frenzy of his is caused by fear. For a little background - when Z was just a pup he was attacked two different times by dogs. Once by his sister in Bangladesh (shocking!) and the other time by two monstrous South African beasts (he almost died from that one). That fear is now deep inside him. My goal this year is to find that fear and put it to rest. Whenever we're out walking and we do see dogs I hold him close to my side and calmly tell him that I'm not about to let anything happen to him. Maybe one day he will believe that...hope springs eternal.

For those interested, Z is part of the Pariah breed. Here's a link to Wikipedia which tells more on this "feral" breed of dogs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pariah_dogs. One afternoon when we were out on our walk a guy cutting grass asked, "Is that a dingo?" Ha! I decided that instead of explaining the whole Pariah thing I'd just agree. Much easier. So, now I'm sure any mothers with babies are watching out for the new dingo in the neighborhood! (A dingo ate my baby!)

15 August 2009 (Back Tracking)

Since 28 July I've been keeping a Zoli Journal. I thought I'd transfer it over to this Blog - to play a little catch up. From this point forward I will just add to this site. So, here it is:

28 July 2009

Training Day 1
- Z has low confidence L
- Don’t “whine” to Z… speak in commanding voice – as if he is a 14 yr. old boy
- Don’t use the AC if no need, it will help him better adjust to heat outside (seriously??)
- Be aware of the temperature of the ground surface
- Buy a Martingale “no slip” collar
- Buy a “coupler” to put between the collar and harness
- 15-30 minutes a day – “chill time” – sit with leash under me so Z has room to sit, stand and lie next to me.
- Keep leash on 100% of day
- Walk out door first, say “free” when it’s his turn
- Say “heel” when you want him to walk
- Commands he already knows: Sit, Stay, Paw, Off

29 July 2009

Well, Stephen left this morning. :( I followed Joan’s advise and we both took him outside for a walk and then Stephen left and I was to walk Zoli back inside. Yea, right! He DID NOT want to come back in…he wanted to stand there and wait for his daddy to come back. I had his leash under my lap for about an hour after we finally got back in. He was very sad, whimpering and out of sorts all day. He just sat in his chair looking forlorn. Then went into his bed and looked forlorn. I took him out in mid afternoon and we just made it in before a big storm came through. He did not like the thunder so I attached him to me and he sat by me while I worked.

Then, when we went out for his night walk I didn’t put his muzzle on. I was thinking, “Hey, Stephen never used it…I walked him in Russia without one, I’ve walked him in DC, I’ve walked him in Dayton – we don’t need no stinking muzzles… no biggie!” Well… I was wrong. As soon as we got outside there were other dogs in the courtyard and Z went ballistic! He started growling and snarling and I immediately turned him back to the door and in his total frenzy I ended up with a nice canine puncture above my knee. I was so upset and it hurt so much. We came back inside - I was crying and he was upset. Ugh! I waited a few minutes, calmed down, put the muzzle on (which it will always be!) and we went back out. When we were done I came back, cleaned up my leg and am now just sitting here crying. What if I can’t do this? What if Z decides I am no pack leader at all and turns on me? What if I can’t make it the whole year??? I am very nervous and upset!

30 July 2009

New day! Leg still hurts, quite a lot. I really got a hole in the leg. Just one tooth hit me, but it was obviously a biggie! I washed it out again and will keep an eye on it. Don’t want an infection. This morning’s walk was fine, although he is very much controlling the movement. Sometimes he just WILL NOT MOVE! I’m not going to drag him so we just stand there until I can get him walking again. He wants to control the direction we go and I’m not letting him. He is not happy with that. He did eat all his breakfast this morning so that’s good. He is once again sitting/sleeping in his chair. Stephen did tell me yesterday that Z will often laze around the whole day, so that doesn’t concern me much. I remember when in Russia he was in his chair almost ALL the time, just sleeping and hanging out. He heard when Eric from upstairs brought their dog down the steps and all his hair went up and he was barking/howling, etc. My neighbors probably are wondering what I have brought into their mix. Deron just IM’d me and I was telling him about the bite and I started crying again. I seriously can’t do this in front of Z or he will have NO respect for me at all. GET A GRIP!!!!!

I left Z for about one hour and ran an errand to Target to get a rug and some ointment for my puncture. He cried when I left, but was fine when I got home. Afternoon walk went okay. Z kept stalling again and after giving in and walking in the direction he wanted to go to it became clear he was looking for a place to poop! Go figure! He’s been lazing around again this afternoon. Pug the kitchen rug down, but he’s still scared to walk over to it. Geesh! Mary’s on her way over for a visit. Maybe she will go on a short walk with us.

Questions to ask Joan:
· When are treats appropriate? As a reward for something…never for no reason
· What is good play? (Stephen always played “tug”) Ball, something that is not a competition
· What do I do when he won’t budge during a walk? Stay still, don’t pull/drag him, give him a quick tug and say “come”

31 July 2009

I learned not to walk Z too early for his last walk. We were in bed before 10pm and around 11:30 he was up walking around, scratching the carpet and acting strange. I didn’t know what the deal was until I finally asked if he needed a walk and he was immediately at the door. So, we walked in the rain for a bit and then he slept until I got up this morning. Go figure! Guess I’ll have to change my sleeping a bit.

This morning we had our best walk yet. He is still pulling too much on the leash, but he didn’t “stall” anywhere, went two times and we meandered back. We’ve been just walking down one block, up the other side to the little park and then home. Luckily we didn’t see any dogs along the way…woohoo! He is now crashed on my bed…right below my pillow! I figure it’s okay cause he’s getting familiar with my scent and that can’t be bad, right???

My leg really hurts a lot today…not sure if that’s normal for this kind of puncture. Well… called Ray and after looking at my bite it’s clear that it is infected…full of puss and gross. I have a Dr. appointment at 10:30 this morning. Fun!

Doctor said, “ohhh… gross” when he saw my leg! He took a swap of it to send of f – to make sure it’s not a staph infection – gave me a tetanus shot and a 10 day antibiotic. Good Grief! Z has been sleeping ALL day – obviously has no remorse what-so-ever about my poor leg!! J
Good afternoon walk. Went around the block and over to the park. He only tried to stall twice and I gave him a nudge on his belly and he moved on. Didn’t eat his whole dinner tonight and hasn’t had much water all day. Wonder if that’s a problem.

Questions to ask Joan:
· How much water should he be drinking each day? He will drink when he is thirsty
· Should I worry if he doesn’t eat his full two meals a day? He will eat when he is hungry
· St. John’s Wart – Stephen was giving it to him over past few months. Thoughts? Forgot to ask Joan about this.

2 August 2009

We drove up to Dayton yesterday. Z is very good in the car! The goal of the day was not to let Stephen and Mom know about the bite. I did show J so she could give me her expert medical opinion. She said it was looking fine and as long as I kept taking my meds it would be fine. Phew!

Z was too excited to see Stephen and the whole day was a bit of over-stimulation for him. Abbie thought it would be fun to dance with him and he ended up humping her leg…ha! He totallyt crashed on the drive home. When we got home we took a walk around the block prior to going in, it was around 10pm’ish. I thought this would do the trick. He totally crashed on my bed after that and then when I turned out the light went to his bed. Then, around 11:30ish, he was up and we had to go outside again. I am definitely not going to be able to walk him before 10:30/11:00 pm. And I am NOT going to fall for this… "I have to go out again!" crap!

This morning’s walk was great. No pulling, no stalling…NO DOGS, no poop bag (woops!)! Nice.

4 August 2009

Yesterday was Z’s first day alone while I went to work. I think it went well. I’m SURE he was on the sofa while I was gone…guess that will be what happens! He was very excited when I came home, jumped up and seemed happy. We had a nice walk (although it was so freaking HOT – like 94 degrees!). His evening walk went well, although I wish he wouldn’t wait so long to find the “perfect” place for a poop!!!

This morning he was up early, around 6am. I got up and we had a nice walk, although he did a lot of pulling. There is a huge storm working its way through town, so we made it in before the rain started. After coming in we lounged on the bed for awhile watching the news. Then I got his breakfast and he wouldn’t eat a bite of it and was all out of sorts. What the hell?? He won’t sit down, heart is racing and shivering. He was barking by the door so I thought maybe he had to go out again, so dumb me took him out… and we stood around in the rain while he sniffed everything under the sun! He played “statue” with me numerous times and I finally had to drag him in. He then spent the next 30 minutes acting like he was scared, although there was no lightening, thunder or rain. WTF??? I had his leash under me and he would not sit…just stood there. When not with me he would just stand by the door. He just tackled his way to the back room over the dreaded hard wood floors and must have found some comfort finally because it’s quiet – he can probably still smell Stephen in that room. :( Good grief. I’m working from home, and am glad that Joan is coming today. I’ll have to ask Stephen how Z was during storms.

Training Day 2

· Today we worked on “Heel” – bringing him to my left and then “Sit,” “Down,” and “Come.”
· I have a lot of work to do this week : 15-20 minutes practice each day. I need to continue with the “leash under the seat” game. I don’t, however, have to leave the long leash on all the time.
· Z definitely has some trust issues. He pulls away when we try the “down” command.
· He is also very smart and knows what you want to do. If I mess up, he won’t do it at all.
· She has me using a different type of collar. I don’t like it too much, but will give it a try. If it helps with his pulling on walks, then it will be worthwhile.
· I have a list of words that I need to start using and he needs to become familiar with.

Afternoon/Evening walk went well, although he was a little stubborn. We’re using a new collar. Tried a No-Slip collar and that worked okay, but Joan suggested one more like a choke collar – but it has nice rubber coverings over the pointy parts, so it doesn’t really hurt him. The new collar may just have kept him from pulling as much, although he did his statue trick more often! He did eat almost all his dinner. I assume he was hungry as he didn’t eat any of his breakfast. The storm made him wacky!!

I went out with the girls tonight for dinner and shopping. Z was very happy to see me come home. I told Mom about the bite, she was upset and agreed that Stephen didn’t need to know! :) (At least until he reads this!)

5 August 2009

Good morning walk! Tried training with him. We did the “heel,” “sit” well and even got the “down” one time. He WOULD NOT do the “stand”…even with treats in my hand. Ugh! We’ll try again this afternoon. He is one stubborn pup!

We must have seen a million dogs on our afternoon walk! Geesh! Z did okay actually. One was on a porch and yapped, one was too small to worry about (he just scorned it!), the other literally popped up behind a fence out of nowhere and scared the bejesus out of both of us. I could not blame Z for getting a little wiggy on that one. Then we tried to avoid a damn fancy dog (what the hell are they called – oh yeah, poodles!) by crossing the street and every time we’d cross, the women would cross too. Seriously, I must have crossed four times to avoid the damn thing. When we finally walked past fancy boy(on the opposite side!) and Z practically ignored him. Yay!! It’s damn hot today! One more to go and then sweet bed!

6 August 2009

Good day so far. Nice morning walk and wonderful afternoon walk. The sun was shining, 80ish degrees, blue sky and awesome breeze. Z was calm (other than seriously trying to eat a squirrel!) and it was a relaxing walk. :) I’m headed out again tonight, after being at work, so I’m sure he will be put out about that. We’ll see!

7 August 2009

Z is pretty smart – he already knows that when my radio alarm goes off that I really won’t get up, just snooze a few times. But…when my phone alarm goes off he’ll let out a big howl because he knows that’s when I really get up. He also will sit on my bed with me after our night walk and watch TV with me. When I turn the TV off he will hop down and go to his bed. What a smarty pants! :)

10 August 2009

Joan said that Z is an “above average” dog! That is no surprise… that is, until he sees a squirrel or a cat and goes absolutely berserk… then I wonder about that. Seriously, he went mad over a little black cat last night, a dumb cat! Yesterday we ran into every big dog in the neighborhood…stressful to say the least!!! There was a storm today and I was afraid that when I came home he would be going crazy, but he was okay. He’s happily sleeping away right now. I would LOVE to go to bed early tonight…I’m so tired, but no go… have to have that late night walk.

11 August 2009

Tonight’s walk was miserable! I waited until 11pm hoping it would be better. When we go near the park there was a large dog on no leash, with no one nearby! It was very hard to get Z back to my courtyard. I was afraid the stray dog was going to follow us. Then there were about three other dogs that came in to the courtyard. I brought Z into the doorway until they were gone because I thought he had to go still. He would just not settle down at all. Pulling, stalling, and trying to get out of his muzzle by rubbing on the ground. I’m so upset…I can’t deal with this every night for a whole year. What have I gotten myself into? I’m tired and I can’t handle this.

14 August 2009

So… it’s been a bit of a struggle thus far. I feel like the training is going well – he’s smart and definitely get’s the whole thing. It’s the other dogs that are the true battle. I understand his instinct to go after squirrels, etc. but it’s his fear of other dogs that needs to be dealt with. I will talk to Joan about it, but I’m also contacting a true doggy psychologist. Mom has a friend whose daughter does this for a living. Hopefully she’s not too expensive. If I can work with Z and help him gain confidence and lose his fear that would be awesome!

This morning after our very early walk (5:45am!) he looked behind him and there was a woman at the bus stop with a backpack at her feet. He freaked out thinking it was a dog! Good grief! We had to almost run back so he could confirm that it was, in fact, just a backpack. What a goofball dog!

Afternoon walk was nice. He will pull until after he finds a place to poop. I don’t get it… if I have to poop I will find the nearest bathroom and go. One would think that as the world is his bathroom he’s do this in pretty quick fashion. But no!! He has about two places in the entire neighborhood that he’ll go and he will just pull until we get there. Then he’s fine. We walked nice and early, around 2:30pm, so there wasn’t a dog to be seen!!!

I also found out that I don’t need to be “walking” him late at night, just let him out to pee! Geesh… would have been nice to know that one. Stephen told Mom I can just take him out to the courtyard for a quickie!!! That will make life MUCH easier!!!!!

15 August 2009

Training Day 3

- Practiced all commands and worked on "come" and lots of "lunges"
- We did our training outside today – it was like starting over! He was totally distracted and forgot most everything we’ve learned thus far.
- Of course a big dog came out of the building right in front of us so Joan got to see him in true Cujo form!!
- I don’t know if we’ll have conquered all his issues in just three more visits.

Stephen called today and I somehow let it slip about the bite…he was quite upset. I actually think it’s not a horrible thing that it happened. I mean, that was my fear…that Z would bite me. It happened, it hurt, it was gross, I had to get a shot, I survived! Nuff said!

14 August 2009 (Disclaimer)

Disclaimer: As my other sister so graciously pointed out, "Cute, but you get a C- is spelling" I just want to inform anyone who reads this... I suck at spelling, okay??!! You know what I'm trying to say, you can read through the context, so the spelling is besides the point, right??!!! Geesh! :)

Also... sometimes this will probably be boring. I mean, Zoli sleeps a lot! Seriously... a LOT!

28 July 2009

My brother works for the Dept. of State Foreign Service. During his travels around the world he scooped up a little, Bangladeshi, wild street pup - Zoli! He's had him for seven years and the two have traveled the globe, living in Dhaka, Bangladesh - Johanesburg, South Africa - St. Petersburg, Russia and Washington DC. For the next FULL year my brother will be in Egypt... and, alas, he can't bring Zoli with him. So, being the EXTREMELY nice sister that I am, I offered to take the pooch.



Now, mind you, I have never had a pet. (That's not really true - I did have pet rabbits when I was growing up. That came to a screeching halt when I forgot to feed my last rabbie and it died - it's one of the stories my family is NOT allowed to talk about!) I never even had plants! I decided that this summer, leading up to Zoli's arrival, I would try some plants on my balcony. With the help of Bob (wonderful gardner!) I planted tomatoes, peppers, basil and some misc. plants. They flurished... until they all died! Needless to say, family and friends were a bit concerned about my offer to take an actual living creature into my home.


My sister always says, "Barbara hates animals!" So not true! I love animals, I just never wanted to take care of them, or be responsible for them, or clean up after then, or feed them, etc. Growing up was like living in a zoo. We had a dog (Katrina Abigal), cats (Josephine & Lilly Lagoon), numerous birds (Bismark I, II, III, IV and V along with Louie, Freidrick and others whose names escape me), guinipigs, hampsters, mice, fish, turtles - even my brother's pet milipeede (Henrietta... yes, I said Henrietta!). Then I moved on to a roommate with a cat and finally a husband with a cat (who hated me... the cat, not the husband, although he is an ex...so, maybe he hates me now, who knows?!)


Finally... after divorcing and no more roommates... I was pet free and plant free. Nothing to take care of, nothing to take up my time...Freedom!! Sure, there was the occasional spider in the corner, or maybe some flying thing that I had to deal with (don't get me started on my bat stories), but overall, a "living creature" free existance. Until now!


Zoli arrived Tuesday, July 28th... and my life is definitely changing!!