After the hunt...

ooof... i'm just so exhausted from tearing apart this fox.... can't... keep..eyes...open.

Chilly morning

While I work from home, a certain little doggy curls up tail-to-nose.

Go Illini!

I-L-L

I-N-I

May 2009

September 2010

Always Illini

Puppy Professor

Jamal and I call this the "Puppy Professor" pose. Jamal will hold or sit Mickey upright. Mickey just looks around with a serious sort of intelligence. As if he appreciates this new perspective, but doesn't understand why Jamal and I are giggling so hard. Sometimes Professor Mickey will share insights on the day's events or observations on the human or dog experience. How did our dog get so smart? Well, he's been Puppy Professor for a long time...

June 2009

Tug of War Strategy

Mickey has developed a strategy for tug of war. Sometimes he will do the normal thing and hold onto his end and try to back up and pull it from your hands. Other times he employs a different strategy, one in which he hopes his opponent will run out of strength or room. Mickey goes entirely limp and will be dragged all across the floor. His back legs go completely limp and he does a little army crawl motion with his front paws to provide some control.

Naps

I don't always choose my napping spots due to comfort. I just sometimes find myself overwhelmed with tired feelings when I'm sitting around the house. I can fall asleep just about anywhere I can keep my chin up.

Memorial Day Weekend

I am very behind on my blogging! I also need to take more pictures of Mickey so I can do more than one post for a long weekend. Last time Mickey and I went out to Cape Cod, I stretched it out over several posts! This time, there aren't enough photos. We all know that a doggy blog post without photos is useless.

So I don't have documentation to show you:

-how Mickey was home alone when my brother came home and growled at him until he retreated out of his own bedroom.

-how Mickey went into several shoppes and behaved himself very well

-how Mickey saw me digging in Vic's garden and ran over to help

I'll just let Mickey explain the three pictures I have...

The sign said "No Dogs Allowed on Beach". So Grace took this literally and held me on her lap so I wasn't technically touching the beach.

I surveyed the area. Keeping a lookout for a shark attack.

Calm water, as far as the eye can see... but I think I hear something behind me....

Mickey at Work

When I travel for work, I miss the little dog back home. This is nothing new.

Even when I'm working at home, I try to spoil Mickey and let me do a little bit of my work with me. (if only)

Mickey at 6 months keeping me company while I work outside.

Mickey at 10 weeks keeping my lap warm while writing sql queries. awwww

Big Game Hunter

I don't just go duck hunting anymore...

I have graduated to big game.

I'm talking about....

ELEPHANTS!

mmmm

They are larger beasts, probably meant for a bigger predator, but I am fierce and show no stuffed animal mercy.

You have something on your face

yeah, right there.
no... a little more to your left...

no... more towards the corner of your mouth...

wait.. more to the front...

what? i don't chew anything...

Mickey and the Bunny

So, I figure I'll just sneak back on as if I never went any where and share more Mickey cuteness...

Back in June, Mickey and I took a road trip to visit my parents in Naperville and Marietta. My mom is in her new house in Naperville and has a huge backyard. Its completely fenced in and it comes with an extra surprise... bunnies!

The bunnies sneak in through small gaps in the fence and quicker than you can say "Mr. McGregor" they are under the fence and back safe and warm in their rabbit home.

I was curious to see how Mickey would react. He has seen squirrels around our neighborhood, but never really barks or lunges at them. Sometimes he wants to chase a bird, but that obviously doesn't make for an exciting chase. However, upon seeing his first bunny, that predator instinct kicked in big time and Mickey gave chase! He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, but of course the rabbit got away...

The bunny is so fast you don't even see it in the movie, so Mickey isn't going to be a bunny killer any time soon.
Here is the video on youtube

Mickey's Thoughts on Enjoying the Outdoors

You all get to hear from me so much on this blog, I thought I'd turn things over to Mickey today. He is going to explain how to enjoy the great outdoors to all of us. Take it away Mickey....

Hey! So you want to hear about how I enjoy the outdoors? Well, lets get one thing straight. No one enjoys the outdoors when its raining (except for those ducks), so make sure you pick a nice and sunny day.

Carefully look around and make sure there aren't any other dogs around trying to enjoy your outdoors. Remember, it might not seem like it, but your outdoor area belongs to YOU. Explain as necessary.

Now, here is the key. Close your eyes and take a nice deep breath. Feel the sun on your hair, the breeze on your face. Let the great outdoors calm your senses and find peace in nature.

Then hightail it back to the shade! Its hot out there! So much for the outdoors, I'm going to get me back into some air conditioning.

How can that be comfortable?

I caught Mickey asleep like this on the couch last week. He just loves to fall asleep with his chin resting on something. Our leg or hand, a pillow, a toy... or sometimes the arm of the couch.

Then and Now - Spring

March 31, 2009

Originally posted in Spring in the Alley

Well our weird and wild weather of the early part of 2010 conspired against having a duplicate of this shot. Notice how the daffodils and trees are all blooming at the same time? Well, that didn't exactly happy this year. I went out with my camera twice to get the two blooms that occurred two weeks apart!

Enough about the flowers, this is one of Mickey's favorite parts of the walk because he knows we're heading home. Also, the elevation is a little bit higher than the street in back, so he can see more of the action instead of walking blindly into it. Another thing he has learned to do is sit at the curb in the back and wait for me to give the "okay" to cross the street. Such a little gentleman.

Mid-March 2010

With the daffodils. I think the daffodils must have also shrunk in the last year...

April 1, 2010

Finally the trees are blooming! Mickey was having none of this photo business.

Then and Now - Playing with Nike

We went back over to Nike's house one weekend to enjoy the spring weather that has warmed the DC area. Both of the little dogs have grown up so much since the first play date in April of last year.

Mmmm that's some good water you serve up here, Nike.

The two dogs found a stick in the backyard and chased each other around alternating stealing is and tugging back and forth with it.

First Nike had it... and Mickey approached quietly to try and grab it...

D'oh, too slow, Nike got away!

Ah ha! Success!

Then and Now - Walks

March 2009

Mickey's disdain for taking walks is pretty well documented. Most mornings I can get him to go around the small block. I just don't feel that it is enough exercise or time outside for a dog that is over a year old now! So I am still carrying him out to the jogging path so we can have a longer walk home. He shakes like a leaf for the first half and I feel bad about it, but it really is for his own good. He seems more comfortable if we're out in a large group, like with Hachi or Snickers and a couple of other humans along for the stroll. I guess he's a little more secure with a pack.

Still I usually get the "I'm not taking another step" stance at least once while we're outside.

March 2010

Then and Now - Little Bear

In this installment of our walk down memory lane, I brought a little toy back to life. When Mickey's early toys started feeling too much love, we put them in the toy cemetery. Nowadays he shreds his toys to bits so there isn't much worth saving. Mickey's first toy to earn retirement was his little bear.

yum yum yum

The bear was so loved it was how we taught Mickey 'fetch'. (although, not much teaching was involved, he picked it up right away) See that adorable video here.

Anyway, I pulled out the bear to reintroduce him to Mickey for a few minutes. (Don't worry, Mr. Bear is now safe and sound back in the toy cemetery)

*sniff sniff* This seems familiar...

oooohhh, yeah, I remember this, but look how much of poor Mr Bear fits into my mouth!

Yikes! Don't punch me Mr Bear, I'm sorry for being so rough on you.

Then and Now - The Couch

Way back in a simpler time (April) I wrote about the ever changing 'dog on couch' rules. Yes boys and girls, there was a time when Mickey wasn't allowed on the couch. ever. Now guests get to have their ears washed by Mickey if they ever become comfortable enough at our place to sit back and relax on the couch!

One thing that hasn't changed?

His preference for laying on the pillow. (Singular since one of the pillows experienced too much puppy love during teething...)

And when a pillow just isn't enough comfort? Climb up on the cushion and snore away...

Then and Now - Window watching

Mickey has become a professional window watcher. Probably because we finally upgraded his equipment. He watches us leave the house and more than half of the time we can see his little silhouette waiting for us to get back home. When he first tried looking out the window, he wasn't too keen on the ottoman and tried to escape... to the window sill.

Back in the fall we finally bought a piece of furniture to go in the bay window. It is a TV stand from IKEA and has a small rug on top for comfort (both comfort for sitting/laying down and also to decrease the sliding that was occurring when he would jump down from the slippery wood surface).

One Year Dogversary

Can you believe it? Mickey has been with us for a year now. In that year he has passed all the usual puppy milestones: lost teeth, been house trained, graduated puppy basics I at obedience school, grown over 3x as big as when we got him. Some other notable accomplishments include plane rides, car rides, visiting Illinois, Cape Cod, Georgia and Florida. I think I'll try to put together some 'then and now' photos to see how far our little guy has come.

Many tail-wagging years to come!

Wearing my preppy blue sweater before going outside in the cold. brrr

February, 2009

I used to wear this thing?

It doesn't go past my ears!

February 2010

More snow!

Mickey enjoys exploring the neighborhood transformed by all the snow. He also enjoys climbing all over the large piles created by our shoveling. This is great because it really wears him out. After 20 minutes out in the winter wonderland, our little guys snoozes the rest of the afternoon.

Mickey the Destroyer

yum yum yum

I love my new toy. They said it was "indestructible", which I think means "provides some minimal amount of resistance to my teeth" It took me a day to kill the squeaker and another day to empty all the stuffing.

It is hard work, but I feel up to the challenge! When the chewing gets really intense and I just bliss out in gnaw-heaven, I just melt right into the carpet...

ooooo that's so good. I stretch out my hind legs and just let the good times keep rolling.

Belly Rubs!

Mickey, like most dogs, loves his belly rubs. We ask him, "Do you want a belly rub?" and he rolls over, "oh yes please!"

Mickey loves those rubs so much that he has his own little song to go along with them.

...to the tune of Britney Spears' "One Two Three"

One two three everybody loves me

Everybody wants to rub my belly

(repeat over and over. Mickey is good at rhyming, but not coming up with complete lyrics)

Snow!

While this wasn't Mickey's first experience with snow, the storm the DC-area got in December was a big one. The snow was over my knees in the low areas (I didn't even attempt to make my way through the thigh high areas). Needless to say, this was a challenge for Mickey. I had to carry him into the street to find places that only had a few inches of snow so he could do his business. He wanted to get back inside so badly that he wouldn't take the easier packed down path and instead would try to make his own direct line to our stairs. These pictures are from the first hours of the storm, so he was still able to muscle his way through the powder. By the end of the day he would just run in place, working himself deeper into the pile of snow with each jump. I would pick him up and carry him back to our stairs, trying my best to keep my own balance!

Ooof.

I know the stairs are somewhere under here...

Are you coming? Its nuts out here..

For those of you who think, "Okay, Mickey is a small dog, any amount of snow is going to look like a blizzard. You're just exaggerating." I present this evidence of our car.