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
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
My Little Giardia Girl
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
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
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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.
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
Read more on Fairy Falls
Thursday, April 10, 2008
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
Monday, April 7, 2008
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
