Catching up with Nisbet

Nisbet has had a very busy couple of weeks, so we are a little behind on posting. The good news is that we had time to take some cute photos.

Weenie III: Yes, there is a new weenie toy in the house. The magenta weenie dog toy joined us about two weeks ago and lost an ear on the first day. He is resting in Nisbet's reserve cabinet awaiting better treatment. Last week, Nisbet found "Thing" in the woods. Thing is a soft stuffed bone-shaped toy with two short ropes sticking out. So far, it has proven to be much more durable than Weenie III.

New Spot: Nisbet has found a new favorite spot for naps - our vintage 1970's leather chairs. While we are not huge fans of the dog on furniture, she has managed to twist our arms with being so cute and well-behaved when she is curled up in the chair (see photo). Nisbet has also managed to jump onto our bed. So far, she has stayed off the bed when humans are in it, but this new behavior will have to stop before it becomes cute, too.


Swimming Hole #3: We drove out to Lake Chatcolet in Idaho last weekend to do a short, easy 3-mile hike with Nisbet and took another 1/2 mile detour at the end of the hike to go for a swim in the lake. It was a great time for everyone, and this spot gets the overall top rating for the three swimming locals we've been to (easy access, decently clean water). Nisbet's swimming skills have improved by leaps and bounds, but unfortunately our movie making skills have not. To give him more credit, Bryan had quite the drippy/stuffy nose that day while he was filming.





Peanuts!: Michelle's rocking chair was sent back to her from Ohio (long story about how it got there in the first place), and it arrived in a large box complete with a 10-year supply of packing peanuts. Nisbet thought the peanuts were loads of fun, and we were just happy to learn that the UPS Store will take back packing peanuts to reuse. We turned in 4 trash bags and 6 grocery bags full to the UPS Store and still have 3 large boxes of peanuts in our basement.

An Interview!

Nisbet gave her first interview for a neighborhood kid's newspaper today. She got to tell the kids about her summer vacation, including her trip to Bead Lake for swimming and her trip to camp while we were out of town. The article should be out later today.

Nisbet & Kacey

On Monday Bryan had the brilliant idea of bringing our neighbor's dog, Kacey, over to our yard to play. It was a perfect match. Kacey and Nisbet had so much fun romping that they had to stop for a pinecone chewing break. (Kacey is on-leash in the photos since he is not trained on the invisible fence).

Weenie 2

Last week was a very eventful week for our favorite pup. She found another "friend" in the woods to bring home, went to the vet's office for a checkup on a swollen muzzle and got to go to camp for the weekend while we were in Seattle.

On Wednesday I noticed half of Nisbet's muzzle had a large lump-like swelling. It went down a little overnght, but it wasn't going away. I took her into the vet who thinks she was having a reaction to a bee or wasp that bit her when she tried to eat it. He had us put her on 50mg of Benedryl twice per day. It knocked her completely out (I weigh more than twice Nisbet's 47.6 lbs. and get very drowsy on 25mg). Luckily, Nisbet woke up enough to go for a nice hike where we found "Weenie 2," a yellow loofah dog like the ones featured in the Petco commercial. He replaces the original orange "Weenie" who had to retire after Nisbet loved him a little too much. He wound up with severe hearing loss (ears chewed off), blindness (eyes taken out) and the loss of a limb. The good news is Nisbet has completely forgotten the original Weenie and the Benedryl actually worked. Nisbet's muzzle was almost normal by Friday when we dropped her off at camp.

First Swim

We have an avid doggie-paddler!

We finally got the opportunity to take Nisbet for her first swim yesterday. It was a gorgeous, warm, sunny Father's Day - perfect for a hike. We loaded the car with a hiking pack, a towel for the dog and a picnic lunch and made our way north to beautiful Bead Lake.

We hiked for about 30 minutes along a ridge that follows the lake's shore before we found a good spot to drop to the lake. Nisbet had been looking at the water with eager curiosity along the way whenever there was a break in the trees, and she was thrilled to finally get to see the lake up close. At first there were a few "waves" from a motor boat that had zipped past, and Nisbet was very hesitant to touch the water. Bryan tossed a few rocks into the lake to shift her attention away from the waves. Nisbet put a paw in the water, then another, and before we knew it she was all the way in the lake swimming around to find sticks and woodchips. We had lots of laughs watching her figure out how to swim, and Nisbet had such a good time that she even dunked her head under the water (on purpose) to try to find rocks.

After the swim, we continued to hike for another 30 minutes or so before turning around. On the way back to the car, Nisbet found our little trail that led to the lake and raced down it. Before Bryan and I made it half way down to the lake, we could hear her splashing away in the water. We threw more sticks for her and let her swim around for a while before heading back home. What a day!



Video of Nisbet's first swim (also our first time trying "video" on our camera):







Photos of our hike/swim:

Critter

Nisbet brought home another "critter" she found on our walk on Thursday. Since it is not a live animal (and it appears it was made for dogs) I let her keep it. It got a thourough wash in our washing machine (it was covered in dirt and mud when it was found), but I am still not sure what kind of creature it is supposed to be. He is just a purple and blue pig-like animal with a long, straight tail. We call him, "Critter."

Say what?

Here's the first conversation I had this morning ... Nisbet had just come in from outside and was nosing me for some pets while I was still in bed.

Bryan: umph bird wet ...

Me (very sleepy): What was that?

Bryan: Her back is a little wet where I washed off the bird poop.

Me: A bird pooped on her?!? That's supposed to be lucky.

Nisbet's Vacation

Bryan's very brave and generous co-worker, LuAnne, offered to take care of Nisbet for us while we were in Hawai'i last week. With 3.5-year-old twin girls, a very active 7-year-old lab mix (Brandy) and a very busy schedule of her own, we thought she was crazy for offering. But, we would also be crazy if we passed up the opportunity to leave Nisbet in a more interactive environment than camp offers.

Nisbet was a little confused to be in a strange home that had dog smells but no dog in sight, as Brandy was at the vet's for the day. She had no problem exploring and was very excited to meet the girls. Nisbet gave us the most confused look when we left LuAnne's without her, but I am pretty sure she was quickly distracted by the twins and forgot we were gone. Later that day Brandy returned from her own day out at the vet to find her home invaded by an overly outgoing 9-month-old pup. The meeting probably went something like this:

Nisbet: Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi! I'm so glad you're hear. Want to play? Let's play. It will be so fun!

Brandy (to herself): Huh? I go to the dumb vet all day and get home to find this crazy thing running all over my house. Is she here forever? What did I do to deserve this?

Nisbet: So, do you want to play? I brought some toys.

Brandy: Uh, sure, whatever.

Judging by the pictures LuAnne sent, Nisbet had a grand time while we were away, and Brandy managed to enjoy having a temporary dog companion. Both dogs slept all day Sunday once Nisbet came home.

8 months old

Here are a couple of cute photos of Nisbet at 8 months old. She turns 9 months old on Sunday.

Dog and Frog

I was getting ready for bed last night when Bryan deposited a leashed Nisbet into our bedroom and shut the door. The explanation - she brought a live frog into the house and he wanted to capture it for release back into the great outdoors. At first I wasn't sure I heard him right, but a few minutes later Bryan brought up a plastic container containing said frog. To my surprise it was completely intact physically, but it looked to be in total shock when it blinked its little eyes at me.

Not Our Dog

Bryan found Gin, our neighbor's dog, in our yard last night. She must have decided it was worth two shocks from the invisible fences to break-out for a play date with Nisbet. The two dogs are reported to have had a wonderful time wrestling and chasing each other. Bryan said Nisbet was tossing the ball for Gin in a game of fetch, too! We're happy to report that Nisbet has not tried to break into Gin's yard yet.

QUAIL!!!

It's official. We have a bird dog. Nisbet discovered quail when we were out for a little hike today. She figured out what noise they make, how they smell, and that they sit on the ground until flushed. They are also very fun to chase. I am very thankful she did not catch any.

Riding in the Car

Nisbet finally seems to understand how to ride in the car like a big dog. She did not try to "surf" on the console between the front seat or whine incessantly for either of our rides this morning. At some crazy hour, we got up to take Bryan to the airport to catch his flight. Nisbet was so sad to see him go without her, but we made up for it later this morning with a trip to the groomers for a nail trim and a visit to the local Petco to get some more chewies. What a good dog!

Note: Bryan will be a little upset when he sees the hole in our side yard this weekend. Oops.

Happy Dog

Nisbet and I went hiking yesterday, since it is likely the only day between now and Saturday that the weather will be decent. The wildflowers are starting to bloom, and it was fun to use the super-shutter on the camera to capture some shots of Nisbet romping in the woods.

Nisbet graduates from her level 1 "big dog" class tonight and has almost mastered a "high ten" and "rollover" for the occaision. I'm not so sure they will let her pass if they hear she was barking at her own reflection in our bathroom mirror last Friday.

It's a Keeper

Look at what Nisbet found on our hike in the woods today. At first I thought it might be that cute orange salamander toy (Sally) that she found last month. It wasn't to be, but she decided this one was really a keeper.

Nisbet carried her prize, Weenie, all the way home (probably close to a mile, mostly uphill). She must be smarter than me. I still haven't figured out how to make the thing squeak, and she has been squeaking it nonstop since we returned. Perhaps Weenie will get to take a spin in the washer later today.

Muddy Paws

Nisbet turned 7 months old last week. She has grown so quickly, and it's hard to believe our exuberant pup used to fit under our bed and through the banister rails between our kitchen and family room.

We celebrated with a nice hike in the woods and spent the rest of the week waiting for the rain and snow to stop. By Sunday, we couldn't take it anymore and went for another hike anyway. Nisbet had a great time running up and down some steep hills. Then she bought herself a one-way ticket to the bathtub after sliding down a muddy embankment on her tush. What a mess! The good news is that she slept very soundly afterwards while we were away at a performance of Mama Mia!

Baaaaaad Dog!!!

March 14, 2008

March 21, 2008

Sally

We have been lucky to have some drier weather the past several days (a little precipitation, not much), so we took Nisbet down to the woods for some much needed off-leash Frisbee. She was not too excited about bringing the Frisbee back at first, so we decided a nice off-leash hike would help run off some of her energy. She spent a lot of time running back and forth, and before long she was ready to play some big dog fetch.

We played a few rounds of fetch, walked a little further along the trail, and continued with more fetch. It was going really well until Nisbet spotted a bright orange, fuzzy object. She raced off with it, then did a fly by "look what I have." It was a salamander dog toy, complete with squeakers at both ends. Nisbet was having such a good time with her new friend "Sally" that we decided to let her keep it if she carried it all the way home. Alas, it was not to be. Nisbet decided to leave Sally on the trail just before we climbed the first big hill towards home. Maybe we'll see it out there again someday.

Camp!

Nisbet is six months old and growing like a weed. She's gained over 10 pounds since early February, but you'd never know it by looking at her.

We've been very busy since the last post. Nisbet has a new soft frisbee, which we take to the park and woods to play fetch off-leash. It is a great time for all. She also spent four nights at "sleep-away camp" while we were in San Francisco last weekend. We are very impressed by how well she did. Nisbet was very excited to see us when we picked her up; plus she had lots of goodbye kisses for the kennel owner.

Nisbet is very happy to be home again, and was thrilled to go for a walk in the woods with us on Sunday afternoon. When we were walking, we ran into Bryan's boss and his crazy dogs, Jake and Molly. The three dogs had a great time chasing sticks and each other for a while. After getting home, it was time for me to unpack. As I was sorting through my things, Nisbet found her "chuck-a-duck" toy that Tiffany gave us. She immediately stole the toy and ran downstairs with it. So much for saving it in her new toy stash. We'll have to take something else out of rotation for a while.

Photo: Nisbet with "Chuck-A-Duck" and the prize ball she found on yesterday's morning walk.

What a Week!

The past week has been very, very eventful for our (not so) little pup. She is more than 100% recovered from her surgery and is back to some of her old antics. Here are the highlights ...

Last Weekend:
Nisbet decided she was 100% back to herself and was relentless with her requests to play. Of course, she was on restricted activity, so we decided that one spin around the block per day was "limited" for her. Otherwise, she would have driven us crazy. She never used her sedative pills after surgery, and went off her pain meds on Sunday.

Last Monday & Tuesday:
She got out of her stupid plastic post surgery collar most of the day for good behavior. She wore it only when we were not home to supervise her.

Wednesday:
We now leave the door to her crate open at night, and we have a much calmer puppy in the morning than we used to. She has no problem putting herself to bed when it's lights out.

Valentine's Day:
Bryan took out Nisbet's stitches and staples. The wounds healed nicely, and Nisbet is no longer on limited activity restrictions. (Hooray!)

Friday:
Michelle previewed a doggy resort to see if it would be acceptable to leave Nisbet there when we have to leave town. It was fine, and we got a recommendation from friends to visit another resort, too.

Saturday:
Nisbet had her first off-leash play date with Olive, an 8-month old Bouvier, at a local soccer field. Olive is a rambunctious pup - a good match for our little crazy one. Olive's humans, Andi and Donny, didn't get her ears pinned up when she was a baby, so Olive is extra cute with short, floppy ears. Nisbet spent most of the rest of the day sleeping - thanks Andi, Donny and Olive.

Sunday:
Nisbet threw up all over the back of Bryan's car on the way up to snowshoe. It was a big mess, and we were very, very surprised to learn that Nisbet had swallowed another sock. Fortunately, this one did not cost us a visit to the puppy ER. After the incident, Nisbet perked right up and we all enjoyed a good snowshoe.

Recovering

Nisbet is recovering nicely from her big spay surgery yesterday. We are pleased the surgery went well and are looking forward to her not having to wear the silly plastic collar in 10 or so days.


It was too quiet here yesterday without Nisbet in the house. She was not here to bark at the broom when I swept the floor or to carry the piece of junk mail from the cat-only vet back from our mailbox. I was so glad to see her come out from the back of the vet's office when we went to pick her up. As expected, she was not as perky as normal and a quite disoriented, but nevertheless she was happy to see us. She spent the majority of the evening curled up in her bed in our family room, waiting for the anesthesia to run its course.


We brought her "downstairs" bed up to our room at bedtime so she wouldn't have to get into her crate in her drunken state with that big plastic collar. Of course, she decided to crawl in there anyway and stayed there with the door open until very early this morning when she came out for some pets and to sleep in her other bed. By the time Bryan was getting ready for work, she was definitely feeling more like herself. She was wagging her tail, sat on my lap for a while and was very excited about eating breakfast. Nisbet is now in the middle of a long nap, and I am doing my best to to keep things calm and quiet around here by doing "boring" things like updating our financial records.

New Trick

Our friend Aaron came to visit us between business trips this past weekend. The real purpose of the visit was to take advantage of all the snow we've had and do a little skiing with Bryan. Of course, Nisbet thought he came to see her. Nisbet LOVES Aaron and was very sad to see him go. He showed her how to "spin" (turn around in a circle for a treat) and got her to catch a ball for the first time.

This week will be another big one for our little pup. She gets spayed on Thursday.

SNOW

We are just finishing the biggest snowstorm Spokane has seen in over 15 years. In the past 18 hours it has snowed over 12" at our house. Last weekend we got 9" on Saturday night. With single-digit lows and barely double-digit highs most of the week, that snow barely melted at all. We're not sure where we will put any additional snow that falls later this week.

Nisbet absolutely loves the white stuff and got a big treat by being let off-leash for the first time in front of our house this morning. Auki (the tripod dog from across the street) came over to play with her, and the two of them had a grand time chasing each other and bounding through the snow. She also barked at the snow shovel and ice scraper and dug for snowballs we threw into the snow.

Later in the afternoon , we took to the hiking trails behind our neighborhood to do a little snowshoeing. Nisbet was let off-leash for good behavior and ran around like a mad fiend. It is lucky she did not see the deer that we did - she might still be chasing it.

One of our snow piles today

The same snow pile last Sunday

No Strangers

Nisbet has yet to meet a stranger. She is such a people dog, that she manages to win over just about everyone she meets in her own crazy way.

Michelle's dad and WSM (wicked stepmother) came to visit this past week, and Nisbet did her very best to make them feel at home. From excited greetings when they stepped into our garage or came up for breakfast to waiting up for everyone when we went snowshoeing, she was quite the little hostess. Nisbet was extremely generous with kisses, shoe stealing and other annoying puppy behavior, and she even shared her toys while showing off her retrieving skills.

Our guests were very kind (and tolerant) of her crazy puppy ways, and did a wonderful job of wearing her out. She hardly napped when they were here, and has been spending the past few days catching up on some much needed sleep. (In fact, she's currently snoring away in her bed, on her back.)

"Recovery" Photos:

1. Snuggled up with Duck

2. Quality time with Lobster in the sunshine

3. Snoozing on her back

Home Alone

We finally tested our downhill skiing skills in Washington on Sunday. It was a fantastic day with about 8" of new fluffy powder on the slopes and sunshine in the morning and fog in the afternoon (fog is a foreign concept to Colorado-raised skiiers who are used to mostly bluebird days).

Poor Nisbet is not allowed on the slopes and had to stay home for over eight hours by herself for the first time. We set her up with a fancy dog house, heated bed and pen in the garage, and our very nice neighbor came by to visit Nisbet with her big dog, Kacey. Nisbet did really well, except for one naughty incident of jumping on her dog house from outside the pen to get back to see our neighbor who was using a paper towel inside the pen. Fortunately she has not figured out how to jump on the house from inside the pen to escape.