Gimme Some Heat

Our dearest Zuul has been exhibiting some different physical and physiological qualities in the last week that lead us to believe she is fast approaching her first heat cycle (this is not the first time we've thought this though). Here is our evidence:

Item #1: Friday morning I noticed small spots on the carpet next to the bed where Zuul had been standing moments before. Upon inspection it became obvious that it was pee. Totally grossed me out and made me worry about her.

#2: Friday afternoon in front of group of people steals pizza off my plate while it is in my hand. She has NEVER taken food off of a plate, even when she is alone in the same room as it. Tom and I see this as a lapse in Zuul's memory about who is dominant- NOT her. I promptly removed Zuul from the space and put her in a submissive position. She needed a reminder.

#3: Tuesday evening playing with Hannah and her other dog friends, Zuul told Hannah to piss off and stop taking her toy. This apparently led Zuul to realize she didn't have to put up with Hannah's antics. Two fights followed, neither of which involved toys. They stopped fighting both times when we called their names. Zuul loves to wrestle, but has never engaged like this. It seems she's asserting her desire to be alpha female.

We haven't had any major events since, but we're on the lookout. I will be doing a lot of work with Zuul in the coming weeks to remind her who's the boss.

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Up to Speed

As you're about to see from the pictures, Zuul is doing very well. Probably the most exciting news, other than her Zuuliversary, Zuul has learned how to run along side our bikes without being crushed and trying to kill us (usually...). We've traveled several miles already. Most journeys are about 3 miles round trip to a park Megan recently discovered, Berkeley Park. It is very nice, clean, little used and, best of all, seems to be off the radar of the ever bored Multnomah County Animal Control officers.

Our furthest journey with Zuul was about 6 miles. We went to Woodstock Park, were ejected by the aforementioned Multnomah County Animal Control for using the off-leash dog park during "off-hours" while not more than 8 people were in the entire park, none of which were near the dog park, rode over to Reed College to a quiet run of grass and had a nice time while Campus Safety walked by without even batting an eye. Whew. Afterward, Zuul's foot pads were as smooth as the day she arrived in our lives. We took it easy for the next days while Zuul's pads regrew.


Read on for more Zuul happenings!


Zuul especially enjoys being able to run fast. I usually let her set the pace and when she's in the mood for running, I have a hard time keeping up. According to my bike's speedometer, we've peaked at about 23 MPH (37 kph) and on at least one occasion cruised for almost a mile at 20 mph. She needs some booties so we can go on longer treks!

Due to the increased, and unnecessary, vigilance on the part of the park rangers and animal controllers, we've been spending lots of time on play-dates Harry and Percy's place and Hannah's place. When Zuul's not busy flirting with Harry, she's mostly concerned with her ball. She seems to have entered a phase where she is much too cool to wrestle with her friends. Lame. Fortunately we have bicycles.



Bonus Zuuliversary picture. Yay!



picture credits: one or both of us!

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Big Bad Zuulu Daddy

While sorting through some undocumented CDs, we learned that Zuul seems to really enjoy Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

Click through to see her take a listen!

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Zuul the Terror Flirt

I promised more and you even get a video!

Zuul loves to flirt with Harry. Her effort is never reciprocated but we all know Harry likes to play hard to get.

Click through to see it!

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Happy Zuuliversary!!!

Still alive.

Megan, Zuul and I celebrated our one year Zuuliversary on Wednesday, 13 August 2008. It's been an awesome year and to celebrate, I'm going to make some timely posts. On with the show:

Zuul celebrating with her mother


Click through for a comparison shot.

Zuul the day she entered our lives with Zuul one year later.


Crazy!

More to come, I promise!

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It's Been Too Long

Life's been busy.

I had the recent pleasure of borrowing a Nikon D80. It makes magic:




Click below for more!







picture credit: all me

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Picture Parade

Zuul is doing well and she is cute as ever.







Click below for for more and don't forget to click the pictures for a larger version!







picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me

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The Cake is a Lie

Zuul is now One Year Old. Crazy! Unfortunately it rained for most of her birthday but the weather broke long enough to let us play at the park for a few hours in the evening. Zuul received an awesome new hoof and she could not be more ecstatic.



Read on for some birthday barking.

I tried to convince Zuul to sing Happy Birthday with me. She wasn't too interested. Rather than torture you with what amounts to just me singing Happy Birthday to Zuul, I recorded an inspiring duet of her and I:



When Zuul is not being hassled by the Po Po or the Portland Parks Rangers, she is having a blast with her friends and her soccer ball.




picture credit: me
recording credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me

the cake is a lie

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This is Weimaraner

Zuul is doing well after a week without her People. She spent hours discovering the joys of bones and playing with Percy and Harry.

Spring time has smacked right into Portland. The grass growing faster than it can be cut and the Wisteria is in full bloom.



Read on about how Zuul killed a Pit Bull.



She's pretty tough. It happened last night. Made for good eatin'.

Zuul and Percy were having a good time with her ball:



And this dog is six (6) months old:



Zuul turns One (1) year old on Sunday. Crazy! Steaks all around.

picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me

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There is No Pelé, Only Zuul

I found a new toy for Zuul on Friday that she thinks is the greatest thing evar.



It retains enough air that I can still kick it but not so much that she can't get her mouth around it.

Read on for more pictures and updates.


We almost wore her out at work during lunch on Friday.



And finally, Zuul picked up a Staph infection. I noticed about a dozen pimply things under her left armpit late last week. She has yet to seem bothered by it but we (grudgingly) put her on antibiotics nonetheless :(

picture credit: me
picture credit: megan

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My Ghost Likes to Travel

I had planned to write about about the last few days in Zuul's life but realized everything could be summed up with one picture:



Crazy!


Bonus points if you can solve the title of the post.

picture credits: Megan

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My Little Giardia Girl

Please forgive the posting delay. This week has been busy.

Zuul, Megan and I stopped by Sellwood Park on our way home from work last Friday for the first time. There is a decent sized no-fence, off-leash dog area. Even better, it is within spitting distance of the Willamette River. We sauntered over and found a nice, long stretch of beach. Zuul had a great time being torn between wanting to get in the water and remembering that she does not like being in the water.





Zuul had a check-up at the Vet yesterday. Her poo has been a little weird at the park since the beginning of April, so I thought it best to get her poked and prodded. It turns out she has Giardia. Apparently this is very common and not a big deal if treated. The Vet is hoping that Zuul will finally start looking like we are feeding her. I'm hoping she won't crap her brains out four times at the park most evenings. Zuul is now enjoying Panacur® (Fenbendazole) with her lunch for the next few days.

picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: Megan

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Christmas in Tulips

Zuul has been enjoying our Christmas tree more and more lately. I cut the branches off back in December and kept the trunk for Zuul. She wasn't too interested in it until a few weeks ago. It apparently needed to age a bit. Now she smells of Christmas just about every time she comes back inside. Here she is having a pre-lunch nibble in front of some tulips.


Zuul had a busy weekend. We attended the Northwest Pet & Companion Fair Saturday morning. We rode the MAX to the Portland Expo Center rather than paying $7 for the priviledge to park at the event. We only rode one stop, Zuul sat at my feet and enjoyed the scenery.

Once inside the event, Zuul was treated to endless attention and many dozens of dogs. Zuul is now the proud owner of several bags of mini-kibble that we can use for training treats as well as some new tasty cookies. Needless to say, we had a blast. I regret to inform that we did not come away with any decent pictures from the event :(

Last Thursday Zuul and I found ourselves walking towards Lents Park. It is about 2.5 miles from our house and features an unfenced off-leash area. It looked decently sized on the map, however someone decided it would be a fantastic idea to put in a fenced community garden right in the middle of the dog area. This reduced the off-leash area to being pretty much useless. Fortunately the rest of the park is huge. Zuul and I set off exploring. We eventually found ourselves watching some softball as the Sun set.


Sunday was mostly spent hiding from the impending chance of snow. We finally ventured out to visit Laurelhurst Park, not too far from Mt. Tabor Park. There were quite a few dogs and Zuul spent most of the time being too cool for other dogs in a way that only a teenager can. She played a bit with a dog had the great ability and desire to bark while it chased other dogs. It was quite impressive.


I suppose that's it for now.

picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me

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Fairy Falls

Portland decided this past weekend would be a great time to try out this whole "Spring" thing it had been hearing so much about. We took advantage and found ourselves on our way to Wahkeena and Fairy Falls within the Columbia River Gorge.

Fairy Falls

Zuul had a great time sampling the local vegetation.

Three hours later we were on our way home for a bath and a nap.

picture credit: me

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Spot the Zuul

Zuul finally decided that it might not be such a terrible idea to interact with a fellow Weimaraner. The lucky cousin is Otto. He is about 1.5 years old and is super-nice. Zuul is just about as tall and not far behind in weight.
Megan couldn't spot her own baby, can you?




Zuul has been doing very well with the no-crating business. Her toys move around, her bed is warm and nothing is destroyed. I won't dare call this a success for a least a couple more years...

picture credit: me
picture credit: me

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Reservoir Zuul

Zuul and I have been operating without appropriate guidance this weekend. We spent most of it napping and having fun. Saturday Morning suggested we return to Mt. Tabor Park. I realized that there are 191.47 acres that fall outside the bounds of the official dog park. Zuul is pretty good with the whole off leash thing these days, so off we went.


We spent a little time in the official Dog Park before we ventured out to discover the real Mt. Tabor. Home to several reservoirs, Zuul stopped for a photo opportunity at a couple.


Contrary to the snow, hail, and sub-zero temperatures over night, some trees think now is a great time to bloom.

View from the top:
Hello, Portland!

I would guess that we saw about 1/3 of the park during our three hour tour. Lots left for another journey.

We spent some time at our old standby, Brentwood Park.


In other news, in my solitude, I have made the executive decision to alter Zuul's home alone situation. I think Zuul may, in fact, be tired of sitting in a crate while no one is at home. I experimented last Thursday evening by leaving Zuul in her crate with the door open. I'm not sure she noticed, she was pretty distracted by her Kong. Some doors in the house were shut, a couple chairs left in the hallway, et voila: happy puppy when I arrived home. She was up and waiting at the chairs in the hall, but a touch of her bed revealed she had been secretly napping.

After exhausting Zuul at Mt. Tabor, I stuck her in her crate and shut the door. She was quiet for about an hour before she started crying bloody murder. I waited for silence and let her out but shut the door to the bedroom with her and her cozy bed. I didn't hear from her for three (3) hours until I poked my head in the room and woke her up. I made another go of it on Sunday and did not hear from Zuul for another three (3) or four (4) hours until I poked my head in the room and woke her in the process. Not bad at all.

I'm still nervous to leave her home alone behind a closed door. The last thing I need is for her to go nuts at the door and carpet like she has done to her crate, hence the chairs in the hall. She'll just stand at them and not realize that she can go under, over, or thru them. They also serve to keep her away from the TV. She'll go nuts staring at that all day. She was fine at lunch today. I woke her up as I came in the front door. Yay!

As of Sunday, 30 March, 2008, Zuul weighs 56.2 pounds while wearing all of her gear.

picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me
picture credit: me

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