Play with me...now!

Ezzie didn't get the memo about Sunday morning being a good time to piece a quilt together. She tried to pull me in with Mr. Bear.









And the whale.








And her cute face. It works. Every. Single. Time.








Simba's food used to be safe on the kitchen counter. Not anymore! Maybe this will be the diet plan that works for him.







Ezzie got a new bully stick tonight. Must be pretty tasty.






Tweety got a treat too. Wish her treats would last as long as a bully stick!

Savoring summer

The last few weeks of summer are upon us. It's hard to believe that a six month stretch of snow is just around the corner. The weather has been so beautiful; twenty below seems so far removed.




We've been enjoying each day to the fullest. The dog park is situated right next to a playground. We've been there every day this week! Both my girls have something to do and both get plenty of exercise.

Ezzie loves to show off her speed. In the photo below, she's playing with a beautiful white collie. They spent the afternoon trying to herd each other.



Ezzie (aka airdog) is now able to clear the kitchen counter in a single leap. A bit of advice if you visit our house, food left unattended is interpreted by Ezzie as being a gift for her. We are working on it, but she's a teenager and she's quick. She can also jump over the couch. Yes, you read that correctly. Not on the couch, or up on the high part of the couch. OVER the couch. Usually performed while chasing kitty. Before you even think of feeling sorry for kitty, rest assured that his moves are calculated and designed for the sole purpose of tormenting Ezzie. It's kind of backfired now that height is no longer a safe haven.

We can wait for summer to end, but we're also excited to see Ezzie's reaction to snow! M is looking forward to busting out the snowpants. Oh, to be a child again and view snow as a luxury rather than a chore. Those were the days!

Missing our Ezzie!

It's been a great week to end the summer. We spent the last seven days vacationing in Northern Minnesota. Unfortunately, we booked the place before we knew Ezzie was going to become a part of our family and the lake home bans pets. Not to worry, she spent the week with a couple of friends and they spoiled her rotten! I was a little worried she wouldn't want to come home, but thank goodness that didn't happen! Brenda and Darwin really know how to host a puppycation.

While on vacation, Ezzie became a pro at jumping into the pool. She met new dogs and she went on long walks in the park. It made the sting of leaving her behind hurt a little less. Hopefully never again though; we missed her too much! We had a great time with family on our vacation, aka quilt central, but it sure is nice to have our Ezziegirl at home.

Lake buddies



Quilt for puppy sitters.

Shake it!

Horse Park

The sign still said it was a dog park, but I have my doubts.






Peek-a-boo! Well snap, it really is a dog. As M noted, a GIANT dog.






Pretty puppy.





My girls.




Ezzie learned how to shake yesterday! Her training is going very well; it's easy when the student is so smart. We are also working on roll over and dead dog. She's got the basics mastered like sit, down, and stay. Sometimes she just doesn't feel like doing them. ;)

La Vidal Loca

Ezzie has had a busy weekend! A trip to the dog park.







A dip in a friend's swimming pool.










Back to the dog park.








We met met a really big dog named Justice at the dog park. He is really sweet, and so gentle!








I found the most adorable little stuffed animal on Amazon.









Ezzie's heart worm medication came. It's my first experience with online pet medication.






I decided to go with Interceptor rather than Heartguard. Ezzie is potentially a carrier of the MDR1 genetic mutation. It's a gene that is shared by many of the herding breeds, including Australian Shepherds. The long and the short is that a dog with the mutation is susceptible to having severe reactions to certain drugs, including Ivermectin, a drug found in small doses in some heart worm medications.

The amount found in heart worm medications apparently isn't enough to trigger a reaction, but I want to remain aware of the issue and avoid any medications that could even remotely cause problems. More information can be found here: Australian Shepherd Health & Genetics Institute

Ezzie had her weekend bath and she's tired and ready for bed. It's a lot of work herding all those big dogs at the park.

After and before.

You can never have too many toys.

If it's not an Aussie, it's just a dog.

Ezzie really let loose at the dog park today. She runs faster than all the big dogs and takes great pleasure in herding them all into the middle. Like cattle. I'm a little biased, but I'm positive she's the smartest one of the bunch, even at 4.5 months old. Like the saying goes, if it's not an Aussie, it's just a dog.

She's a big baby at lunch time though. I take her out to play fetch and she'll only bring it back a couple of times. Then she runs up the deck stairs and sits by the patio door. Our girl is clearly an inside dog She prefers to play fetch in the comfort of her living room/hallway/kitchen, close to her air con vents. She's so graceful; she glides through the house. She never gets tired of playing indoor fetch.



But come evening, when the sun goes down, she likes to hang out with us outside.





Today M told me how much me misses Celie, our little Maltese that passed away this summer. Then she gave Ezzie a big hug and kiss. I don't know what we'd do without our little Esmeralda Sky.

Awesome Aussie book and medical misadventure!

I recently picked up an online copy of the Australian Shepherd Lover's Guide to Australian Shepherd Training and Care. It's my very favorite Aussie book already. The pictures alone are make the book worth it's affordable $17 price. They are reader submitted by Aussie lovers that follow the Australian Shepherd Lover's blog.  The book is thorough, informative, and entertaining. I particularly like the suggested games and activities. We are always looking for something new to keep our girl busy!

http://www.australian-shepherd-lovers.com/

Click Here to purchase

This weekend while grooming Ezzie and giving her a puppy massage, I found a marble sized lump behind her right hind leg. Of course, I immediately went into panic mode. Visions of unmentionable diseases immediately came to mind. Google brought up some scary crazy stuff was initially not very helpful. (User error, no doubt). Fatty lipoma (cancerous!?) seemed to most closely match the mass. I left a message for Ezzie's breeder, Cassie, hoping there was some logical explanation. I'm not very patient when it comes to things like things like this (our pediatrician can attest to the same), so I continued Internet research...And contemplated the possibility of life flighting Ezzie to the canine equivalent of the Mayo Clinic.

Cassie emailed me back a very short time later, ironically, about the same time I had stumbled onto a site about minor reaction to rabies shots. Oh. My. Gosh! Of course!  By the way, have I mentioned lately how cool it is that Ezzie's breeder is also a vet? It's right up there with M's first daycare provider being a nurse married to a physician's assistant. Way better than stumbling around exotic diseases on Google. It seems that it's very common for pups to develop a little reaction around the rabies injection site.  No worries, all is well is Ezzieland.

** I'd like to say I won't jump to conclusions in the future, but if the frequency in which we see the pediatrician is an indicator, I'm not making any promises. Better to be safe than sorry!

In other news, Ezzie loves, loves, loves the dog park! I was a little hesitant to start taking here there because I'm concerned about aggressive dogs (or irresponsible owners), but the excursions have gone well.  Worries aside, all the other dogs, and more importantly, their owners, have been very well behaved. Here's a picture of Ezzie taking a water break (and letting all the pups know that it's HER bowl!)

New snack discovery: Peanut butter bone marrow Popsicle. Yum! Ezzie loves it when we freeze a little peanut butter in the ends!