I heard that it is Spring somewhere. Somebody forgot to deliver the memo to Portland. Zuul is enjoying some tasty snowballs today.
The sun peeked out for a moment yesterday. While Megan was busy complaining about her fat, destructive dog, I figured I would photograph my lithe, well-mannered dog.
Read on for your comparison shot of the week.
Zuul on a bench.
Some might say she is growing up!
Photo credit: me
Photo credit: me
Photo credit: me
Photo credit: me
Friday, March 28, 2008
Sunny for a Moment
Thursday, March 27, 2008
A Week of Firsts
The inevitable has happened. Last week Tom and I were discussing how amazing Zuul is and how she had not chewed on anything we hadn't given her as a toy. I don't know whether it was karma or what but when I was getting ready for bed last night I realized Zuul had done a number on our dresser while trying to get out of her crate.
She has been having issues with her crate lately and has removed several of the bars. This week she managed to create a whole in the crate large enough for her head to fit through. I was concerned about her getting stuck, but the thought of her doing anything to the dresser had not crossed my mind. I feel like an idiot. It looks awful and I feel terrible that Zuul is that traumatized by/bored in her crate that she felt the need to go ape-shit at the dresser. She has been moved to a large, plastic crate generously provided by Tom's co-worker, Nancy. Hopefully, she won't have as many problems in this one.
The other first this week involved Zuul, some mockingbirds and the street. When my sisters were in town last week, Tara asked me if Zuul had ever run in the street. I told her that we had been lucky that Zuul hadn't. Insert foot into mouth. Zuul, apparently insane from being home alone on Monday, was experiencing selective listening. Her energy level was really high when we got to the park. Before I know it she is running full-speed at the street with her eyes on a couple of mockingbirds. I called her, but it was too late. She had made up her mind to chase them. $&*@(#* Thank heavens, the car that was passing by at that time was driving slowly and stopped for her. Zuul finally came back. I wanted to scream at her, but couldn't. I had to be excited to see her and give her treats. If she even thinks about doing this again... The rest of our evenings at the park this week have been great. Zuul has been an awesome fetcher and seems to be listening again. Hopefully, her naughtiness was a case of the spring crazies. I think I will be exercising her more than normal this weekend though, just to be safe.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Happy Easter
Zuul was out cruising for some birds...
And found an Easter greeting. Yay!
picture credit: me
picture credit: me
Monday, March 17, 2008
St. Water Dog
Zuul and I spent some time at a new park on Sunday, North Clackamas Park.
Zuul was mobbed by two dogs the moment we walked in. They only wanted to do inappropriate things to my little baby. Fortunately they were wearing pinch collars and, with a father's strength, I was able to easily toss the unwanted suitors aside. Zuul figured out their game pretty quick and gave them a run for their money. They were too fat and dopey to keep up. One of the pair would not leave her alone the entire visit. She felt free to give him a piece of her mind. She was probably outweighed by a good 30-40 pounds and never once ended up on the ground.
It is scientific fact that dogs and their owners look and act alike. Zuul is mind-numbingly adorable; I'm a pretty hot property. The owner of these miscreants was pretty easy to spot from afar.
Zuul presents Exhibit A:
The Prosecution rests its case.
We both grew tired of poorly behaved dogs and ventured outside the confines of the dog park. Zuul momentarily forgot that she is skeptical of large bodies of water and jumped in nearby Mt. Scott Creek to quench her thirst.
Zuul spots a couple of ducks:
Sampling another section of creek:
Zuul is standing in three feet of water, that's how tall she is now. Seriously.
Zuul's Aunties are in town for a visit and we wandered over to Mt. Scott Park on Saturday. Zuul discovered that she has an irresistible urge to roll in very decomposed baby birds. I'm sure she's just trying to improve her hunt. Zuul visited the playground and after a few Cheerios she remembered the joy of the slide.
Here is a nice view of her pinch collar. Zuul is a City Walker.
Zuul celebrated St. Patrick's Day with friends and family on Saturday.
Zuul misses all of her family and friends. She would like them to visit soon so that she may impress them with her awesomeness. That is all for now.
photo credit: me
photo credit: me
photo credit: me
photo credit: me
photo credit: me
photo credit: me
photo credit: me
photo credit: Auntie Alexis
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Going to China
Zuul is definitely growing up. We haven't weighed her recently, but I think it is safe to say that she is nearly 60 pounds. For better or worse, despite the fact that she is gaining weight, she is still acting very much like a puppy. When Tom and I came home last Monday we found that Zuul had been very busy de-stuffing her entire bed. The stuffing wasn't too much of an issue, but the cedar chips in the bed made quite a mess. She also managed to completely remove two of the bars from her crate. I don't think she is quite past the separation anxiety yet. We put her other bed in her crate and so far she has left it alone. Fingers crossed.
Zuul has also started to develop her running ability. Last week she played with Tabor, a German Short Haired pointer friend that she hadn't seen in months. Tabor is extremely fast and Zuul has never been able to keep up with her. When they played last week, Zuul caught up to her and playfully rolled her. It was impressive. Zuul has also started running more with her other puppy friends. It is beautiful to see her take off at break neck speed with gallant leaps. She looks so graceful.
Over the weekend, Zuul decided she wanted to visit China and proceeded to dig a foot deep hole in our yard. She revisited the following two days. Since she won't leave it alone, Tom put some of her poop on the hole, since this supposedly keeps dogs from digging. We'll see.
A few weeks ago we broke down and bought Zuul a pinch collar. As I've mentioned before, she is great and easily trained...with the exception of walking on a loose leash. The pinch collar seems to be working. Our morning walks have become much more pleasant and my shoulder is far less sore. Zuul doesn't seem bothered by the collar, but does respond to it. Hopefully, she will get the hang of the walking soon!
Target Denied
Time for a special announcement:
"Dear Target,
My poop makes a better "dog toy" than your Target Brand dog toys. A plastic bag of cotton balls would have lasted longer.
You wouldn't even take it back as defective.
So sad
Zuul"
Seriously. That fish lasted two minutes. At most. The child's stuffed frog Zuul received back in August lasted longer. In fact, we still have it. That fish was my first bad Target experience. Chip told Megan and I we could only return new and unused items. Shenanigans. We've returned defective stuff before with no problems. Yes, this dog toy was defective. This lady would have torn into that toy just as fast as Zuul, before her implants.
Zuul napping at work. She's still cute!
We went for a long walk to Reed College a couple weeks ago. Zuul decided to drop the kids off at soccer practice right underneath the flag pole. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.
My sister got another cat. Her name is Ramsay. Zuul was a little leery the first visit. However, she has since discovered that her favorite thing in the entire world comes from cats: kitty rocha. She is still pretty on edge but she's no longer running for her life, until Hobie shows up. Zuul and Ramsay even napped together. Hopefully Zuul doesn't eventually mistake Ramsay for that stupid fish.
I trained Zuul to "Long for Cat Butt". Above is the result.
Zuul at the Park.
That's all for now. Everything is going great and Zuul is still awesome. Even after all the beatings.
photo credit: all me!
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