Otis' DogBlog

Playing in the snow at the park

2008-12-07T16:31:00.001-05:00

Here's a few recent pictures to share with you. It snowed an inch or two the other day and Jeff and I went to the park to play. This is my "show dog" pose...you know, in my free time I'm scouting the different breeder's web pages and I see all of their dogs in poses like this. So I said, "Jeff! Check me out! Quick take a picture of this pose before I move!"

Super dog! Jeff's a sucker for taking pictures when it looks like my ears are wings. Right after this shot, I jumped on him and slobbered him a little bit.

Scary time at Petco

2008-12-07T16:10:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, we went to Petco to get my crack supply (rawhides), some freeze-dried liver treats (money!), and take a picture with Santa!!! (That was totally Mom's idea!). Well, they were also having a pet adoption event. I went and introduced myself to several other dogs...tail wagging, sniffing up a storm. Well, after we bought our stuff, Nisa went over to Old Navy to look at some clothes and Jeff and I practiced "down" and "stay" in the store's entryway. After 5-10 minutes, that got a little old and Jeff asked if I wanted to walk around the store some more. Well, we went through the front doors and I saw a dog sitting with his foster family right by the dog treat bar. I was on my leash, like all the other dogs in the store, and started wagging my tail to happily approach the dog to sniff and say "hi". The dog barked once and then immediately snapped at me and clamped on to my nose. Dang! It scared the poop out of me...and judging by Jeff's face, it scared the poop out of him too! It hurt like hell!!! I cried for probably 30 seconds...I've never made more than a quick yelp before...so trust me, I was hurting. The dog's tooth left a big puncture wound in my snout right between my nose and me eyes. Jeff said it was about 3/4 long and looked pretty deep. It started bleeding profusely, making my whole nose red. Some other customers immediately jumped to our help to get things cleaned up. Jeff wiped the area with baby wipes and placed some Neosporin and tried to calm me down and reassure me. I was scared and Jeff looked angry and started "discussing" the events loudly with the other dog's owner. Needless to say, we had quite a few people around watching and giving their version of what they saw happen. Well, long story short, Jeff took some photographs, wrote incident reports, got copies of the other dog's health records and vaccinations, and ended up getting reimbursed for our ensuing vet trip. The bleeding stopped after 10-15 minutes but Jeff said it looked deep enough that he thought we should head to the vet and let them clean it up and see if it needed a stitch. Jeff was worried if this would color my opinion of other dogs, but after 30 minutes I was back to normal, wagging my tail and meeting other dogs coming into the store. And today, I've been all good. We went to the vet and they cleaned me up really well. They brought out these clippers to cut my hair in that area. "Nuh Uh! Not happening!" They were going to have to knock me out to shave my handsome nose and put a stitch in. So the doctor and I compromised and I let him use the glue instead of stitches. They also gave me some antibiotics (How do I know? Jeff hides it in a treat, but I know what's going on. It tastes fine, and I'll take the treat any time!) When we left the vet, I looked so much better. You can see in the picture a little swelling and a faint line where my cut is on the right side of his nose. So, that's that.

Raking Leaves and First Snow

2008-11-30T14:17:00.000-05:00

Halloween 2008 and other fall pictures

2008-11-30T14:01:00.001-05:00

My First Time Up North...and My Part in Jeff and Nisa's Engagement- Part IX

2008-11-30T13:54:00.002-05:00

My First Time Up North...and My Part in Jeff and Nisa's Engagement- Part VIII

2008-11-30T13:50:00.002-05:00

My First Time Up North...and My Part in Jeff and Nisa's Engagement- Part VII

2008-11-30T13:47:00.001-05:00

My First Time Up North...and My Part in Jeff and Nisa's Engagement- Part VI

2008-11-30T13:42:00.002-05:00

My First Time Up North...and My Part in Jeff and Nisa's Engagement- Part V

2008-11-30T13:38:00.000-05:00

My First Time Up North...and My Part in Jeff and Nisa's Engagement- Part IV

2008-11-30T13:28:00.000-05:00

My First Time Up North...and My Part in Jeff and Nisa's Engagement- Part III

2008-11-30T13:25:00.000-05:00

My First Time Up North...and My Part in Jeff and Nisa's Engagement- Part II

2008-11-30T13:08:00.002-05:00

What do ya' know? More pictures of me! Jeff loves this one! I romped around the beach after wading in the water and got covered with sand. I'd settle down for a few seconds...just enough time to capture a shot like this...and then back to play.

This kind of looks like the picture from my last blog where I was running towards Jeff along the trail. Here I am running towards Jeff on the beach. Notice the sand on my nose and face? Still covered!

I was only mildly interested in the lake...it was cold...give me a break! So Jeff tried to lure me in by throwing driftwood in there and trying to get me to fetch. The wood got too far away so I let it drift back in. Check out my pose!

Yet another picture of me running down the trail. Another favorite of Jeff and Nisa's. We showed all the pictures to our families when we got got back home and Dan remarked, "I've never seen so many pictures of a dog before." Now, Dan is a dog person, and loves me as much as a grandpa could so I don't think he was slighting me...but it was a subtle dig at Jeff and his zeal in documenting my puppyhood. "Otis, sit! Stay! *flash...snap*. Otis, stay! *flash...snap*"...over and over and over. I oblige...I'm a good puppy.

One more of me running down the trail. We're headed back to the cottage...apparently Jeff has something big planned!

My First Time Up North...and My Part in Jeff and Nisa's Engagement- Part I

2008-11-30T13:04:00.003-05:00

Yeah! I made it up north! It's Saturday AM and we're headed for a walk on the trail behind the cottage.

What a beautiful day! Jeff and Nisa said we missed "peak colors", whatever that means, but I didn't care. Some of the leaves had already fallen on the trail which made for a comfy walk. It was great to be off my leash...stopping to sniff around whenever I wanted, but never getting out of sight. Don't my ears look cool in this picture as I run towards Jeff?

Here's just another picture of me walking on the trail with Nisa.

We walked down the trail towards Topinabee and went to the beach area at the end of Grandview Beach. So this was my first time down by the water at Mullett Lake. Nisa calls the photo "butt cam"! It was such a beautiful day...comfortable temperature, no wind, sunny, calm lake...just awesome!

Drum roll please....Here's my first swim...if you could call it a swim. It was the middle of October so the lake was a little chilly and I didn't actually "swim" around. But I did wade into the water to check it out. Jeff kept saying "wait until next year...you're going to love it!"

My 3 days of Hell...and other tidbits.

2008-11-30T12:31:00.005-05:00

So, I apologize for my recent absence from my blog...writer's block, I guess. Above you'll see the last happy picture of me before my 3-4 days of hell. So, one day previous to this picture I went to the vet to get my second series of shots and have my first visit with my new Michigan vet. Then, 3 days after this picture I became miserable...absolutely miserable!!! I was scratching, whining, itching, scooting...something was definitely wrong and I couldn't get comfortable. I've never felt anything like it before...and I've never seen such a concerned look on Jeff and Nisa's faces before.

Julianne was able to take me to the vet while Jeff was at work on Wednesday afternoon and they didn't know exactly what was causing my symptoms but acknowledged it looked like an allergic reaction to something. All kinds of ideas were thrown out there...allergy to the vaccine, allergy to some eaten plastic, stings by bees/spiders/other insects, reaction to grass or fertilizer/pesticide, reaction to my antifungal ear medication, some food allergy, full glands, panosteitis (a rare inflammation of the periosteum that surrounds my bones)...the list goes on and on. So they just kept throwing more meds at me...antifungal for my ear, antibiotic for my paws, Benadryl for the allergy type symptoms, an anti-inflammatory in case I had the panoestitis, and an anti-parasitic (cause they found some parasites in my poop...gross, I know!). But I wasn't getting any better.

Late night Wednesday night, Jeff and Nisa couldn't take it any longer and they took me to the emergency vet...I was miserable, my eye was swelling shut, and I had a swollen lump on my nose. They gave me a shot of Benadryl and watched me for a while until I went to sleep and then back home we went with a quick stop at a 24 hr. CVS to load up on adult Benadryl tablets...1 every 8 hours they suggested.

Well, Thursday wasn't much better and by Friday morning with me still having the same symptoms, Jeff cancelled the latter part of his morning appointments and took me back to the vet. That's right...3rd time in 3 days!!! Now I was even having some shaking and tremors. It was crazy! The only places where I seemed to find temporary comfort was behind the toilet in the bathroom and on the glass on the coffee table. Jeff looked like someone shot his dog...an analogy that I was almost hoping to have literally happen because I was so miserable.

Well, after the vet visit Friday, several hours had passed and nothing had significantly changed. Jeff finally called my first mom...my first non-biological mom, Melissa. He got her voicemail and left an urgent message for her to call, and also emailed her just in case. Later that night they finally got in touch and I watched Jeff pace around the house (his thing when he's on the phone!) while he talked to Melissa for 45 minutes. She seemed to be saying some helpful things because the worry in Jeff's face was starting to dissipate. So long story short (yeah right!) she recommended stopping all of my meds except the Benadryl and anti-parasitic and even offered to come visit me and take me to her vet. She said she'd even drive from Windsor, Canada that night, the next day (Saturday), and demanded she was coming if I wasn't 95% better on Sunday. Whew! What a relief! So, that's what we did. No more meds!

By the next afternoon I was feeling so much better that Jeff and Nisa even felt comfortable to leave me while they went to see their friends Mark and Kristen for Mark's surprise birthday party (Happy birthday Mark!). And since then, everything's been gravy! I couldn't be more thankful (and I know Jeff and Nisa too) for Melissa's guidance through this tough time. She was awesome! "Above and beyond for a breeder", is what they told me. Although we never fully figured it out, we think it may have been an allergy to my 2nd vaccine...and for my 3rd vaccine, I was given some Benadryl before and after with better results. Ok...sickness over and done...on to better topics and pictures! Thanks for reading!

So here's a picture of Jeff wiping my paws off...Baby Wipes and towels...after playing in the wet, muddy yard. That time of year I guess. They seem to think it's pretty cute when I sit on their lap for a paw cleaning.

All credit to Jeff and Nisa's friends Pat and Meghan...and Jeff's hygienist Jody...for suggesting the sleigh bells on the back door for me to ring when I need to go outside to "potty" or "poop". I was so smart, I figured out this system in no time...and as a result had much less frowny faces from Jeff and Nisa when they had to clean the floor after one of my accidents. [edit- the bells aren't working as well as they once were...as I've now been told I've "regressed" in my potty training. I don't know...I just like peeing on the floor...sue me! It's fun watching Jeff and Nisa clean it up! However, I will say, it looks like their patience is decreasing, so I'll try and work myself out of this. I'll keep you all posted.]

And here's one final picture for this edition...it's me eating some peanut butter out of my Kong. Jeff and Nisa look so relieved when they exasperatedly say "Now I can finally get something done!" while I go to town on the Kong. Cool for me! I love the concoctions they put in there...peanut butter, apples, carrots, bananas, etc. And Nisa has the cutest dance that gets me excited for the Kong..."Fruit salad...da..da..da..da..dada.da! Fruit salad...da..da..da..da..dada.da!" Funny stuff, man!

Random pictures and stories from my first month

2008-10-08T07:25:00.003-04:00

Here I am with daddy...lounging around on a weekend morning. Psst...check out those polar bear pj pants!!! Ridiculous! You'd never catch me in anything like that. [edit- Oops...spoke too soon...wait until you see my Halloween costume!]
Hey! What do you know? I'm sleeping again. I swear Jeff and Nisa take more pictures of me sleeping than awake! But dang that sun feels good coming through the windows while I nap.
Why do I look so ashamed? Could it be because I'm actually not allowed here? But c'mon...don't you think it looks about custom fit for my size right now! [edit- When I was really sick for a few days, Jeff and Nisa let me get up here because the glass was cool and was one of the only things that gave me relief!]
This picture is a little out of order (get it together Jeff!) but this is my second day with Jeff and Nisa and I got to meet Midori. She lives with Nisa's friends Rachael, Pete, Alexandra, and Addison. She played really well with me...and they have a fenced-in yard (hint-hint Jeff!) that was so nice to run around in...and not have to be scolded for running into the neighbor's yard.
Oh! Here I am with my mommy on the porch. We're striking a pose! Cosmo Dog? GQ Dog? Bring it on...I'm ready to model!

Pictures with a few VIP's

2008-10-07T19:41:00.004-04:00

Here I am meeting Great Grandma D. Jeff and Nisa had Great Grandma D, Great Grandma Doshie, Great Grandpa Floyd, Grandpa Dan, Grandma Joy, and Aunt Julianne over to meet me and Sydney and eat some pizza while we all watched the Lions lose. I loved meeting the eldest generation...I was surprised I didn't hear more comparisons to their lab "Duke" than I did!
Here I am with Grandpa Dan in the front yard. Let's see, I've been with Jeff and Nisa 9 days and I think I've seen Dan about 5 of those days!
What a happy family! Could be a Christmas card photo if I would only look at the camera! Spoiled it!!
Here's me by my lonesome on the front porch. I look sad because I'd rather be playing, or biting someone or something...it's no fun sitting by yourself.
This is me with Pebbles, a 4 year old Golden Retriever that belongs to Jeff and Nisa's friends Rich and Lindsay. Pebbles was so patient with me! She was really into watching the squirrels so I began the biting attack...I bit her tail, her ears, her feet, her stomach! And she barely flinched...until she had enough of me that is. Then she pounced on me (I deserved it) and showed me who was boss. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed playing and wanted to "rough-house" some more...but Jeff wanted to keep the aggresive behavior to a minimum. Can't wait for next time.

Ramblings from my first week Part 2

2008-10-05T09:13:00.003-04:00

I've gone for a few walks, and to be honest, I'm not sure I get it yet. I'd rather play in Jeff's backyard. They've just been short walks so far. I pretty much stop at each driveway or new lawn to sniff around.
...and, of course, I love to grab my own leash and lead myself! This picture is during one of Jeff and my lunchtime walks.
Just playin' outside...sniffin' for sticks and leaves.
I got to meet Nisa's cat Sydney Thursday this week. I am very intrigued by her. She's smaller than me so I chase her around, trying to jump on her, and nipping at her. But...she's so much quicker and more agile than me. She can jump up high on furniture, like you see in the picture above, which, even if I was allowed, I wouldn't be able to do! So we start out pretty chill, smelling each other, check each other out...then I get too excited and she runs away. She'll run upstairs...I can't climb stairs yet. Crap! And she bats at my face with her paws and hisses! Of course, this just gets me more excited...Nisa and Jeff say I haven't learned my lesson yet, but I just want to play with her! Overall? I'm excited about the new addition. Will we be good buds? I don't know...I'll keep y'all posted!
Here I am on the exam table at my first visit to the vet with Jeff and Nisa. I met Dr. Fox at DePorre Veterinary Hospital. She was great...she spent lots of time with us and answered all of our questions and read the letter that Melissa wrote to her and respectfully considered her thoughts. Honestly, I slept for most of the time that Jeff, Nisa, and Dr. Fox were talking. Then came the exam. She checked my coat for fleas...negative!! She listened to my heart, looked at my teeth and gums (like Jeff does!), felt my abdomen, felt my boys (nice!), looked in my ears, checked out my paws...and whole bunch else. I have been scratching a bit this first week...not a ton, but I could see that Jeff and Nisa were concerned. Dr. Fox swabbed my ears and found that I had a very minor ear infection so I got put on some prescription ear drops for a few weeks. My paws had two very small red spots on the skin, so they checked those out under the microscope as well and everything was ok! Jeff bagged my poop and we'll get the results from the analysis on Monday...my guess, is the results will come back as "stinky". I was due for my next vaccination in 3 days so we just went ahead and did it today...I did great! I think they're going to take good care of me there. Overall, a nice first visit!

Ramblings from my first week

2008-10-05T09:05:00.005-04:00

I love to crawl and sit under things...Jeff's bar stools, his coffee table (I actually like to sit on the middle level!), his bed...you name it, I love going under it. One of my favorites is creeping under Jeff's truck. But I get laughed at when I come out because I get this Mikhail Gorbachev oil spot on the top of my head! It's happened 3 times so far, but this was the biggest. So, Julianne and Jeff gave me a mini bath and off it came. Clean as a whistle...ready to do it again!
HUGE kisses for Julianne after my mini bath. Julianne has been great! She has come over after school pretty much everyday and let me out and played with me. She has this youthful exuberance (look at me with my big words!) that I just love. Jeff comes home from work at lunch, but it's awesome that I get to play with Julianne before he comes home from work. Thanks Julianne!
Mom's home from work! Yeah! I'm a little sleepy, as you can see, but I'm so happy to see her. Everyone take note of this picture...I don't think Nisa's going to be able to hold me like this too much longer! I'm getting to be a pretty big dude.
Yep, I'm a handsome devil. And, look at me sitting! Jeff and I have been working on that. It's great...every time I sit, or come, or go potty, I get treats! What a sucker he is. This is too easy!
Action shot! I'm as fast as Usain Bolt running across the backyard. Well, maybe not that fast yet. In fact, Jeff can still outrun me...and let's just say...he's not at his playing weight! Ok, so I've still got some speed work to do. I just really love being outside. I love running, and smelling all the smells, hearing all the sounds of the birds and squirrels, and I really love to chew sticks and leaves. Another cool thing? Jeff has some sleigh bells on the back door and all I need to do is ring the bells when I need to go outside to potty or play. How cool is that?

Highlights from my first weekend with Jeff and Nisa

2008-09-28T17:39:00.009-04:00

This is my first romp through Jeff's backyard. I did a "number 1"...with great fanfare from Jeff and Nisa. Apparently they really like when I go potty outside in the yard. I'll try and make them happy by doing that more often! Look how excited Jeff is to have me!! He really likes to get down on my level and play with me.

This is my toy monkey "Booda". He squeaks and has stretchy arms and legs. It looks like Jeff and Nisa went out and got me all these toys...and Melissa sent me home with some of my favorite football toys...and when I meet new people, they bring me toys too! Sweeeeet! However, the thing that no one has figured out yet is...I like to play with normal household stuff the best! Plastic bowls, towels, plastic Solo cups, etc.

Here I am with Grandma Joy. I was sooooo asleep the first time she came over (I was told). They told me that I was lying on my side and she could lift my legs in the air and let them fall back to the ground and it didn't wake me one little bit! I think they must've pried my eyes open for this picture...I don't remember it!

This is a posed picture in front of the flowers in Jeff's backyard. What the camera doesn't show, is that just before and just after this picture I was biting off parts of the leaves! I'm so happy chewing sticks, chasing leaves and just being outside! Jeff thought this was a pretty picture in front of the flowers so he yelled "Otis! Otis! Otis!" and I tried my best pose. What do you think? I need to work on it, don't I.

It's been a long play day. I've had lots of fun with Jeff and Nisa and their friends and family...so much fun that....(yawn)...I might just...(yawn/groan)...sit right by....Jeff...and.....fall......asleep....... zzzzz. I'm liking the weekend thing! Everybody's home, pretty much all day...I sleep, eat, play, and potty. Jeff looks awake in this picture, but I bet if you ask him, he'd say he's pretty tired...what a wuss! I'm not that much work!

Pictures from my car ride to Michigan

2008-09-27T10:31:00.005-04:00

Here I am posing for a picture with my mom, Ruby. I was assured I'd get to see her and play with her again...but they told me I'd forget who she is. Can you believe that? My memory isn't that bad, is it? That kind of forgetting sounds like the stories I've heard about my great grandpas Floyd and Max!

Here I am with my two moms! You've got Ruby there on the right. And Melissa, who's helped take care of me for the first 8 weeks of my life is hugging both of us. There is no way I'd be such the confident, handsome young man I am right now without these two...I'll never be able to thank you enough!!!

Here I am on my mom Nisa's lap in the car on the ride home. They told me to look out the window on the right and check out the Detroit River and the Detroit skyline. I went to the doggy doctor in Michigan before so this won't be my first visit to the states.

I'm sitting on my dad Jeff's lap while we're in a traffic jam in the tunnel. We had the window halfway down so I hear the cars passing us in the other lane. I also took about a 20 minute snooze in the tunnel.

And here we have arrived at the Michigan border. Jeff had my proof of vaccinations and we had a dog friendly border guard so it wasn't too big of a hassle to get across. Then it took us another 20 minutes and we were home!!!

Car Ride Home and First Night

2008-09-27T08:36:00.003-04:00

My new dad and mom picked me up today and although I had already said goodbye to 5 of my brothers and sisters it was tough to say goodbye to my mom Ruby and brothers and sisters and Uncle Rhys and Melissa. Actually, it wasn't too tough...I'm a dog...I didn't know what was going on!

I had a nice car ride home, sitting on my mom Nisa's lap, sitting on the console in the Tahoe, and even sitting on my dad Jeff's lap when we were stuck in a traffic jam in the tunnel from Windsor to Detroit. I never whined once! Dad and mom were so proud!

When we all got home, I played outside for a bit, a little unsure of my new surroundings, and did some wizzums (that's slang for pee...by the way, you'll probably read a lot of slang for pooping and peeing...and a whole lot of other stuff).

Grandpa Dan and Aunt Julianne came over and I was so happy to meet them! We played and, boy, that Julianne I think I'm going to really like to play with! We talked about meeting Grandma Joy tomorrow and I can't wait until Christmas when I can meet Aunt Jessie, Uncle Matt, and especially cousin Cody!!! We opened up all my toys and played for about 1-2 hours until I just couldn't do it anymore. My new family be damned...I was going to go to sleep.

So I slept. And I slept. And I slept. And I really wasn't going to roused up even to say goodbye to Dan and Julianne. What can I say? I was tired!

I eventually woke up and played a bit more, ate my first meal at my new home (yum!), and took my first dump in the back yard. My mom was quick to pick it up in the baggie! I love how she cleans up after me...and I think I heard my dad say that that was going to always be mom's job!! Oh, by the way, my accident total in the house for the first night was just two pee-jobs. Not too bad.

My crate was in mom and dad's room and then I slept.

Dad got up with me at 3am and put on this really stupid looking hat...I mean, it had headlights on it! (Thanks great aunt Diane!) But I really didn't need to go pee. We didn't talk much or play and I soon went back to my crate to sleep. I heard my mom talking about me in her sleep! And I heard dad toss and turn...later hearing him say he was thinking about me all night and just couldn't sleep. Mom got up with me around 5am and I did some pee-peetza. What a good boy I am! At least that's what she said (that, by the way, is the title of one of my favorite songs so far by Wilco).

We go up for the morning at about 7am...played, ate, pooped (outside...yeah!) and pee'd (outside...yeah! and inside..boo!) and then took a nap.

Thought on my first 12 hours at my new home? To quote Annie as she arrives at Daddy Warbucks mansion..."I think I'm gonna' like it here" (I know...quoting musical lines? Super gay...blame it on my dad...I'll grow out of it).