Back to Camp

We're back in the woods for the summer! We've been at camp for almost a week and Olivia and Griffin have adjusted quickly.

We start each day with breakfast, followed quickly by Olivia freaking out until she gets to play. Here is a video if you don't believe me-

In case you are feeling bad for this poor mistreated puppy who is obviously being tortured, let me clarify... We play several times a day for 20-30 minutes each time. In between playing, Olivia chews on one of many bones, alternates between laying on the deck or on the couch (because the door is always open for her comfort) or joins me for walks around camp.

The great injustice of Olivia's life is that there is an area of the house where she is not allowed. We re-arranged the furniture and created two couch areas. We covered the couches on one side so that the dogs could lay on them. We blocked one side so that they dogs couldn't go onto those couches.

I haven't been able to get video of Olivia, but within a few hours of being at camp, she looked at the off-limits side, looked at me and then climbed her fat little body over the back of the couches as if she were a cat. Here's a video of her from later in the week.

Olivia likes things her way and I think she thinks that now that we are back at camp, we are all here to wait on her. So we're adjusting... it's good to be back in the woods...

A Weekend at Camp

It was Work Weekend at camp and so Grif, Liv and I headed up North to kick off the summer. We had 60 volunteers helping us clean, rake, and get camp ready for another great summer of fun.

Olivia and Griffin LOVE camp. Olivia got to play with her ball about 50 times. In between, she rolled in the dirt and explored the woods and when she was too exhausted to do anything else, she curled up on the couch until she had enough energy to repeat the whole thing. 

Griffin played with the ball every time anyone besides me was also on the field. He is a show off like that. 

We still have a few weeks until we move to camp for the summer, but I think the puppies are ready for it now! Here are a few videos of them at camp.

Anyone who knows O&G know that Olivia LOVES her ball more than anything else in the world. I probably need to stop taking video and photos, because there's nothing new, but it still makes me happy to see her so content!

Griffin found a frisbee. He was quite content to lay on the field and chew it while Olivia played.

This is Griffin playing with the frisbee with his good friend Meghan. Meghan was one of the program directors last year and lived with us during the flood. I am not sure if she misses Grif more or if Grif misses her more, but they got to hang out at work weekend and life was good!

Spring Pictures

After the winter that would never end, it is finally Springtime in Minnesota.

Here are a few shots of Olivia and Griffin.

So tired...

Snuggling

Olivia thinks Nate is the butler. 

Griffin is so tired...

"Seriously?"

Hanging out together

Griffin found a fort that the neighbor
kids had built at the park.

After 10 minutes, I was afraid he
might be trapped.

Olivia and her ball in the mud.

Text From Dog

If you are a bulldog lover, you need to go to the website Text From Dog- http://textfromdog.tumblr.com/.

The author makes up text message conversations between himself and his bulldog. Almost every single entry reminds me of either Griffin or Olivia (especially Olivia because his dog is apparently pretty sassy). It is hilarious and you need to check it out!

This is so very Olivia, I actually
laughed out loud when I read it!

Sharing Ice Cream

Last night, Nate and I were having ice cream. Dogs aren't supposed to have ice cream, but I have given Olivia some in the past (just a lick or two... I know I shouldn't!), so she knows she likes it.

I wasn't sharing last night, but Olivia was practically on top of me, drooling all over my arm (and nearly in the cup). This is a video of her attempts. Apparently we have the tv volume on high... sorry about that.

**And yes, I eventually gave in (which is, of course, why she does this sort of thing) and she ended up getting a few spoonfuls. I am a terrible dog owner.

Bulldog Torture

At least one day each weekend, I spend several hours cooking. Today was no different, except that instead of just laying on the couch, ignoring me, the bullies took an interest.

At first they just sat in the middle of the kitchen, right in the path between the sink and the stove. I stepped over them....... and over them.... and over them. I was patient for a REALLY long time.

At one point, I had a big pile of carrots that I accidentally bumped into and one dropped to the floor. In a flash- as if she was STARVING and DESPERATE for food, Olivia had the carrot and ran to her bed, devouring it before I blinked an eye. For the record- she'd already had dinner, so, NO, I am not starving her. It was pretty cute watching her eat a whole carrot though.

Eventually they moved from the middle of the floor to right next to me. After I'd bumped into them a few times, they started bumping into me, except that they were doing it on purpose. As in, "HEY, we NEED a taste of that!" Then they started whining- loudly.

That was the point that they got exiled from the kitchen. When bulldogs aren't close enough in proximity to physically touch their mama, the crying begins...

Start to finish, I'd say the screeching lasted about 25 minutes until I gave up, gave them each a plate of chicken and put away the step-stool barrier. Nate tells me that they freak out because they know I will give in... and that's true. I am a terrible dog owner, there's no doubt about that, but seriously, how cute are these dogs??!?!?

Just A Little Vomit

When I got home this afternoon, there was a big pile of vomit by the back door and Grif was looking pretty sad. I cooked some chicken and rice, but he wasn't even interested in that. I sat with him on the couch and was snuggling my sick little baby. 

He looked at me with big eyes and then leaned forward and vomited down my chest. It wasn't the first time and so I let him finish gagging and then calmly stripped off all of my clothes to avoid making a mess as I went to get a new outfit.

Walgreens didn't have unflavored pedialyte, but did have a freezer pop version. Griffin likes popsicles and convincing him to eat one of these was much easier than trying to get him to drink it. And after his freezie, he ate some chicken and rice, which was an improvement.

He's resting now and looking much better.

We're happen to already have a vet appointment set up for tomorrow because I want him to be tested for allergies, so we'll talk about the vomiting too.

 Griffin is a little delicate and sometimes he just vomits for no reason.... Sometimes he has to go to the emergency vet for thousands of dollars, but I'm not worried yet.