Fun in the Sun

The Summer has slipped by so fast, it's hard to think about.

The dogs have been enjoying beach excursions, and visits to the new dog park we've discovered. Loki still leaves a lot to be desired in the social skills department with other dogs, but we're doing our best to work on it and expose him to new dogs.

I have finally found a new job, and it's been a rough transition for both the kids and the dogs to have me gone again. I miss them all, and wish I could be a stay at home mom for the kids and the dogs. Maybe someday.

So for now we grab what days we can together as a family, and enjoy the sun.

Our dog's friend Teezer surrounded by fluffy little chi puppies

Vixen loves being outside at the dog park. Can you believe how BIG she is?

Aresm relaxing in the sun.

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Ziggy and an adorable chi pup

Vixen and Loki, tempted by a stick


Loki and his little sister Tequilla

Chihuahua Sleepover!

Our Chihuahua friends have been visiting us for a few days once again, and it has been a real blast. Twelve little dogs all on one house!

Cashmere (Loki ans Ares' mom) is here with her puppies, and they have gotten so big, and super adorable. They're like little scampering balls of ridiculously cute fluff.

We took all of them to a local park for a nice long walk, and it really showed us what a headache having so many dogs could be. As much as I often fantasize about having hordes of Chihuahuas, I couldn't imagine trying to walk so many barking, pooping dogs again. lol.

On the other hand, having the puppies here has really got me thinking about how much fun it might be to do some hobby breeding with Vixen and maybe another female in the future when we finally own our own home.

I'm Back

I know it's been a while, but I'm jumping back on the blog train. After dealing with my job loss last month, it was hard to get motivated for a while. But life goes on, and I'm feeling better about it. Time to start sharing once again.

The dogs are doing lovely. No matter what happens in our lives, they keep us smiling.

Ziggy has been quite the handful. He has issues with anxiety, which we've been working through. I guess it's to be expected when a dog has been in four different homes. We're working with him with love love and patience, and hope that soon he will stop worrying that we're going to send him somewhere else. He is the world's greatest cuddler, and has a playful and loving nature. We adore him, and he's truly a part of the family.

Loki and Ares celebrated their first birthdays and continue to be healthy and happy. Loki had a rough period adjustment when Ziggy moved in, but seems to have accepted him. Vixen is still growing, and she's bigger than the boys. She's the cute baby girl, and she knows it.

This past week, we puppy sat and got to watch Loki and Ares' mom Cashmere and her new litter of four amazingly cute puppies, as well as their other chihuahua, Chiquita. It was a ton of fun.

Cashmere and her puppies

Little Chiquita

Ziggy and Ares

Ares and Vixen

And so things go on. And I'll be around more to share :)

He's Here!

Ziggy arrived late Friday night after flying in his crate all day. I was so relived that he made it safe and sound, and very eager to finally meet him in person.

When I got him home, we put him in the kitchen with a baby gate up so he could explore a bit without getting too overwhelmed, and kept the Chihuahuas upstairs. My husband commented on how huge he was. Only in a house of Chihuahuas would anyone consider a 16 lb. dog huge :)

Ziggy quickly acquainted himself with the cat box by marking it. And then marking the box of cat litter. We quickly put on one of the belly bands his previous owner had sent with him. First order of business when he's finally settled in- Getting Fixed!!!!!

The chis still haven't quite made up their minds about Ziggy. They're a bit intimidated by his size, and Loki seems a bit depressed. I think they'll adjust, but it will take a bit of time.

Just for fun, we took all of the dogs hiking together for a little bonding:

One thing we do finally agree on- we definitely have enough dogs now :)

News!

Once again I've been a bad blogger and slacked off to enjoy as much time outside with the dogs as possible. We've been taking a lot of trips to local beaches and parks, where the dogs are always trailed by an eager band of smiling children.

We've been wrestling with Loki's excessive barking, and can't seem to deter it. He barks at everyone and everything when he's outside, and when he things he hears something outside, he barks his head off inside. We've tried noise aversion, removing him from the stimulation, treating good behavior, and all of the other methods we can find. It may be time to try a citronella collar. Anyone have any other suggestions?

The biggest news however, is an upcoming addition to our puppy pack. That's right, another dog. Most people think we're mental for having three Chihuahuas, and I know we'll get flack for a fourth dog, but the truth is we love them to death and find them a total joy. We have more than enough time and affection for our dogs, and their our main source of entertainment.

The new dog's name is Ziggy, and he will be arriving from Texas via plane on Friday evening. He's a two-year-old Chinese Crested. That's right, not another chihuahua, but a Chinese Crested. We think Crestie's have a wonderful personality that will go well with our Chihuahuas. And this boy has had a rough past and deserves a loving home. He's battled heart worm, and possible physical and emotional abuse while he was with the breeder he came from. The family that has him now in Texas loves him very much, but due to personal reasons, can no longer keep him. We're very touched that his Texas family has agreed to let us adopt him.

Here's the photos we have of our new boy:

Isn't he fantastic? He'll be here on Friday, and we can hardly wait. Once he arrives, I'll be posting photos and updates as to how he settles in. Wish us all luck!

Updates!

Once again, life has gotten away from me, which makes blogging slip my mind.

Loki is doing great. His bandage is off, and he's running around like a champ. Thanks to his antics in the mud, he even landed himself a bath with Ares and Vixen, despite his best efforts. My husband already told me that thanks to a romp in the mud this morning, all of my careful grooming has gone down the toilet.

Vixen is growing like you read about. She's huge, already the size of the boys and passing! Everyday she looks like a different dog. Her coat is starting to fringe out a bit, and I'm excited for it to really start coming out.

Ares is... well, Ares. He's just as timid, but snugly as ever. He was a bit upset that my husband picked up some extra hours this week, causing the dogs to be left alone more than their used to. This has made Ares a little extra clingy the last few days, but we don't mind at all. He's the world sweetest cuddler.

Other than that, we're waiting out the rain, and hoping for some more sunny days to romp around the yard.

Poor Loki

My Loki is a sad little puppy:


And this is why:


Yesterday, while I was at work, my husband called me in a panic to come home right away because we had to bring Loki to the vet. When I arrived home, there was blood everywhere, and my husband said while he had the dogs out in the yard, somehow Loki had caught one of his claws and almost ripped one of his back "toes" right off.

The vet was wonderful, and took him right in. We had to leave him because he needed sedation in order to be patched up. They removed the broken nail and patched up his toe and wrapped it all up.

Loki is not happy about having his foot wrapped to say the least. I've caught him trying to chew it off several times. However, he LOVES the liquid antibiotics he has to be on for the next few days. Oh, and he gets to delay bath time for another two weeks. He's going to be one sticky, smelly dog by the next time we can get him in the tub. But at least he's all right, and I can live with a little dog smell any day.

The Beach

Finally the weather has cooperated enough to give us a chance to take the chis to the beach. This was their first trip to the beach, and we were curious to see how the doggies would respond to the sand, to the waves, and all of the new exciting ocean smells.

Ares, our champion sniffer, loved all of the ocean debris laying around:


Vixen kept sticking her nose in the sand, leaving her with a sandy nose to match all of the other places in her fur she got sand:



All the dogs were fascinated by these balls of sea stuff we kept finding on the beach. They appeared to be compacted sea weed and grass, and who knows what. All that mattered was that the dogs were crazy for them:


This is the dog's cousin Mopsy. He's a fun happy little Bichon that belongs to my mother-in-law who the chis get along with great. Mopsy had fun running around off leash- unfortunately our dogs aren't quite ready for that yet.


And of course, there was Loki. My husband thought for sure he would bark at the waves, but he didn't. Granted, he barked at everything, and everyone else,(including some giant horses riding on the beach) but not the waves. He had a great time poking around as well:


Now we know the dogs will have no problems spending the summer days at the beach. I just can't wait until we can all get in the water!

And, on another note, this trip to the beach finally gave the dogs a chance to find some cool beach goodies for Pedro's mommy's table! I can't wait to send them along.

Welcome Back Spring!

So, now that the warm weather is finally beginning to show it's face around here again, we've been taking full advantage of the sunshine and spending a lot of time outside and away from the computer. The dogs are loving it, and so are the rest of us.

Loki is still healing from getting fixed. Luckily it's healing up nicely, and he hasn't been licking at his stitches. In a few more days they should start dissolving. It was rough watching him be so uncomfortable, especially since he also had four retained baby teeth taken out at the same time, so his mouth was tender too. But he's bouncing back like a champ :)

So, just to prove we all still exist, here are some lovely bath time photos from the doggies before Loki's surgery:

Cute Overload

Sorry I haven't posted lately. Sometimes life just gets a little crazy.

This weekend we were so excited to have a nice day and spend some time outside. We put the dogs outside in their pen so they could scamper around while I did some yard work. Before long, our neighbor came over and introduced our puppies to some new friends- A mama bunny and her babies.

The dogs had a blast getting to know their new friends, and were very gentle with the babies:

We're hoping that this is just the first in a series of nice Spring days. I'm sure the bunnies will be back to play.

Loki is getting neutered tomorrow. I'm nervous, but I keep telling myself everything will go just fine. Keep your fingers crossed for my boy!

New Duds for Vixie

Having a girl dog is a lot of fun. Even though we've only had her for about two weeks, I'm loving dressing her up. So much so that I've even started making her dresses. I just got this pattern from http://petitepuppypatterns.com/Site/Home-1.html. So great! The pattern is just adorable and fairly easy. Check out the first dress that I've made so far:













It's hard to get good photos of a bouncing puppy. Especially when her brothers get involved:




(Sorry for the sideways-ness, it wouldn't load strait)

On the whole, things are going well. Vixen is finally sleeping through the night, and, aside from a few snarling matches, the boys seem to have accepted her.

The bad news? Potty training is slow going, and she seems to be dragging the boys down with her. Luckily it's warming up and we can start going outside more regularly. Keep your fingers crossed.

Also? She very nippy. We've been yelping to show her it hurts, and putting her on the floor when she gets too rough in her play. We've also been shoving chew toys at her.

So all in all, she's a puppy :) We adore her and she's been wonderful. Now only if she'd stop leaving little puddles everywhere....