Goodbye Naperville

Then it was time to leave Naperville and come back home. Mickey says he likes how much warmer it is in Virginia but he does miss Snickers and the fun backyard of Illinois.

Mickey goes to Jail

My uncle did some construction work for the county jail, replacing their old doors. He asked if he could take one home and they let him. Now he has a jail in the basement.

As you can imagine Mickey was freaked out by the large loud metal door, but he understands the need for a cool prop in your photos.

Memorial Day Parade

Mickey, my mom, and I decided to check out Naperville's Memorial Day parade. The Memorial Day parade traditionally features marching bands from all the elementary, junior and high schools in the area.


I know from past experience of bringing dogs to the parade that they don't care for the loud instruments. We stood back behind the crowds in their lawn chairs so the noise wouldn't be as overwhelming.

This is probably the first 'crowd' that Mickey has been a part of, and he did pretty well. He did tremble and shake at first but he was happy to be held by anyone who wanted a piece of him. He also allowed this at a backyard party we went to the day before. All the ten year old girls (and their moms) would scoop him up and hold him. He didn't protest at all, although I did when one girl tried to sneak him into the inflatable moon jump...

A young man, Sam, held Mickey for half the parade and covered his little ears every time a band came by.

It got chilly by the end of the parade so we bundled up.

Heart worm pill

Mickey was re-weighed and now can take the heart worm pill for 11 to 25 lb dogs.

I put the pill in a pad of chunky peanut butter. He swallows the pill along with the pieces of nuts.

nom nom nom

All gone! Protected from heart worms for another month :D

Husky Toy

Here is another toy that Mickey selected from my piles of junk. A stuffed husky (H-U-S-K-I-E-S Huskies Huskies are the best) that is about half his size. Mickey even was able to drag this down the stairs so he could continue playing with it while I worked on the computer.

This second photo also demonstrates a small defect Mickey has in his legs. His front two legs will bend inwards at the 'knee' joint. The vet said that it shouldn't cause him pain (since both legs have equal deformity) but we should keep on eye on it that it doesn't progress too far. Maybe this is why he prefers to sit rather than stand as his 'default' position.

Ferret Toy

When I was cleaning my room I allowed Mickey to roam and explore the junk. Since there was very little I was planning on keeping, most of my job was to sort trash from recycling from donation materials. Mickey took advantage and selected quite a few toys for himself.

I think this ferret shaped soft toy will do a good job of seeming 'prey-like'. Its the perfect size for Mickey's little mouth. It lost its felt ears pretty quickly, but otherwise has held up very well.

Daily Treasure - May 14

Part of my mom's back yard is fenced. It provides Mickey with ample room to sniff and explore. The other day I watched him rooting around in some bushes before pulling something out of the pile of dead leaves. I watched him proudly scamper to the deck with his treasure. A very very old tennis ball.

He proceeded to systematically peel off the outer (formerly green and fuzzy) layer piece by piece until he was left with just the rubber center.

These pictures demonstrate how he uses his paws like little hands to hold down items that he is chewing.

I threw the decayed outer peel outside of the fence but the ball remains for him to play with on the back deck.

The Airplane Ride

Mickey was fabulous for our airplane ride. The check-in lady didn't check the size of our bag, so all my worrying was for nothing. Mickey loved his bag and didn't want to be outside of it for our stroll through the metal detector at security (I carried him).

We waited at the gate and Mickey never barked at any of the other passengers. Most of them never noticed I had a dog in my bag.

Here we are at the gate in Baltimore

I see you...

I tried to take a picture of us in place on the plane, but it is hard to get a good angle of the bag under the chair in front of you. Mickey seemed uneasy by take off, but after the initial ascent he turned around and fell asleep for the rest of the ride.

brrr... its cold here in Chicago

stop it with the photos already! Gah you're embarrassing

Why no blog?

So, what has been keeping me from updating the blog this last week?

This....

is now this!

Next week Jamal and I are going on a cruise. Mickey will be babysat by my mom and a neighbor here in Illinois. I will try and have one post scheduled a day for your enjoyment!

Congratulations Graduate!

Mickey would like to congratulate Rosie on her graduation from University of Illinois - College of Business!

Great job Rosie, we're all very proud of you.

Growing

Growing a little bit each day...

March 28, 2009

May 7, 2009



and that red toy is getting more and more ragged day by day...

What are you doing?

ummm, just wanted to see what it was like to climb on this lower shelf of the coffee table.

turns out its pretty boring now that you guys have cleaned it out.

Cheap Thrills - Ice Cube

With Mickey's teething, he likes to have something available to chew on. The fleece piece was all dry and thawed out, so I got an ice cube from the freezer. He played and chewed with it until it was all gone.

oooo this feels so good on my tender little gums

I don't even want to play with my squeaky ball, this is sooo much better.

Bad Bounce

We were playing fetch with the squeaky tennis ball when I tossed it a little too far and it bounced into the paper bin. Mickey could get his chin on the box edge but couldn't get at the ball. After a few minutes of looking at the ball and waiting to see if it would get out of the box on its own, Mickey came over to me and politely asked me to retrieve it. Fetching resumed.

Teething Update

I saw Mickey playing with something this morning. It was in and out of his mouth but I figured whatever it was, it should be confiscated. I went to pick it up and imagine my surprise to find it was one of his molars! I included the dime in the picture for size reference. They are really falling out quickly.

Assembling Furniture - Mickey Style

During my trip to IKEA I didn't only purchase a toy bin for Mickey. I also got a new bookcase for the office so Jamal will have enough room for his LLM books.

Luckily I had Mickey around to help me with the assembly. Here is how Mickey assembles IKEA furniture.

Okay, we've just got to open this box

Pull on it really hard

Check that all the parts have been included

Review the instructions

Destroy all the cardboard you can get your little mouth on.

Nap

We Voted

Tuesday was an election day here in Alexandria. It was for mayor, city council and school board. Our realtor was running for city council so I thought I'd get out and vote for him since his signs have been everywhere for the last six weeks.

I thought this would be a great time to practice with Mickey and the soft carrier. We walked for a bit and then I put him in and carried him to the community center. He was interested in looking around while we walked (cars and kids) and stayed seated during the course of our three block stroll. Once at the polling place I picked up and put down the bag multiple times as I checked in and went to the booth. I peeked in on him during this time and he was lying down in the carrier.

I did learn that if you open the bag for his head to come out, he will try to follow with his entire body.

pulling those levers is hard work

The exercise was a success. He didn't bark or fight to get out of the carrier and the people at the polling place were fine with him in his carrier.

Prepare for Take-off: Purchase Carrier

Mickey has a hard-sided travel carrier that he came home in. All his car rides have taken place in this carrier. For our road trip, we used only the bottom to allow for more air circulation and to make it easier to check on how he was doing.

For cabin travel on an airplane you need a soft-sided crate. This way it can fit into various under seat configurations. Last weekend, Mickey and I went to PetSmart to choose a soft sided carrier together.

There were some that he was not at all comfortable with so I am glad I brought him along. We ended up with the Bergan Comfort Carrier.

It is 13 inches high. If you have been keeping track, the max height allowed by American Airlines is 9 inches. However, there aren't any carriers available that are less than 10 inches tall. The reason why I went with the Bergan is the shape allows the height to be more flexible. Instead of a rigid rectangular solid, the carrier can flex (while still maintaining integrity of its shape so it doesn't collapse on Mickey inside).

We can flex the carrier inside the 9 inch height maximum, so I think we should be okay to board.

Since purchasing the carrier, it sits open on the floor in the living room. I place treats inside at random times and I notice Mickey checks it out to see if there is anything inside. We have also done some short bag time practice. I put him in the bag and keep him there for five minutes or so before unzipping it and allowing him to leave if he wants. He doesn't fight his time in the bag and will lay down and wait patiently to be released.

Toy Box

I went to Ikea this weekend to get a file/bookshelf system for the upstairs office. While there I tried to keep an eye out for an appropriate toy box for Mickey.

I found these 'drawers' used in a closet system that worked perfectly. They are nylon boxes that are 5 1/2 inches wide, which actually fits Mickey sized toys perfectly. I purchased the plain white pair.

Malla drawer

There is a small 7 inch wide gap between the fireplace and the stairs that I thought would be a good place to toss his stuff. Easy for us to put it all away, but still accessible for Mickey to pull out toys by himself (instead of whining at the closed box which holds the toy cemetery).

Just as expected, Mickey looks through the toys in the box and selects them for play. He is still a little nervous getting a toy off the very bottom of the box. I think the nylon makes a funny noise when he brushes up against it or something. That just adds to the fun game of 'getting a toy out'.

Mickey gives his toy box two paws up.

Lost Canine - Teething Update

Jamal helped with this picture, it was so much easier

Mickey has lost his first canine tooth! He now has a very large gummy void on that side of his mouth. As a reminder here is how it looked five days ago:

I am very curious to see what the adult canine tooth will look like when it grows in. Jamal is hoping it will be nice and dull. Without those razor canines maybe his toys will last a longer time too.

He doesn't show any pain when eating or playing with his toys although I think he favors the side of his mouth that actually has teeth.

Bloody Monday

This morning I decided I would try to clip Mickey's nails. Mickey hates getting his nails clipped. I end up clipping them too close and he bleeds a little. This usually happens on one nail every time we try to clip them. So nail clipping time is filled with squirming and biting. Which doesn't make it any easier to do correctly! I had trimmed the front feet last week, and it went okay, so I thought I'd give the back legs a stab...

I got one good clip, but then on my second nail I messed up. I messed up really really bad. Normally when I clip too close there is a drop or two of blood.

This was a gusher.
Plus he was flailing around because of the pain and fear...

Luckily Jamal was home and able to apply the 'stop bleeding' powder that comes with the nail clippers (perhaps a sign that we shouldn't be doing this at home..). Mickey was crying and squealing the whole time as I held him down and Jamal applied the powder to his open, bleeding toe.

It finally stopped bleeding and Jamal and I fed Mickey a ton of treats to get his love back. Mickey held his foot and licked it for fifteen minutes while Jamal held him on the couch.

Daily Treasure - April 30

So Mickey likes to root around in the mulch outside. He found something and ran to the stairs with it. I assumed it was a wood chip...

We get inside and I take a closer look at what he's been hiding in his mouth. I wanted to make sure it wasn't too muddy or had bugs crawling around outside it. I realize then that the little puppy has picked up a piece of poop in his mouth and carried it back into the house!

I told him to stay there while I got the toilet paper. Of course this is way too complex of a command for him to understand, so I ended up chasing him around the living room to get the poop. He ended up spitting it out and I swooped in and grabbed it (in the toilet paper). Maybe he had figured out what it really was?

No picture of this treasure, blech.