2.5!

Griffin and I went on an adventure today!

I had a meeting this morning, so Grif couldn't come to the office with me. I felt terrible- the separation anxiety is mutual. Olivia went to daycare and all day, I worried about Grif. He was totally fine when I got home and clearly I need therapy, but that's another post...

My car was being detailed today, which sounds uppity, but when you have two slobbering bulldogs that went to the muddy park every day for the past month, professionally car cleaning is not a luxury, it is a necessity. The detail place is only 2.5 miles from my house and since I am training for a half marathon and ran more than that yesterday, I decided to combine my run and picking up the car.

But Grif and I had been apart all day and I couldn't leave him again, so I got out the wagon and brought him with me.

"I refuse to look at the camera"

Griffin walked approximately 1 block before he started limping. He wasn't limping before the walk and he wasn't limping afterwards, but after about 5 minutes of walking, he'd had enough. I was satisfied with his accomplishment ad so was he.

The first mile was pretty easy. Grif got used to the wagon right away and we stopped several times to greet dogs and kids in the neighborhood. Other than refusing to pose for a cute photo, he was very cooperative.

"Why are you taking my picture?"

The second mile was entirely uphill- vertical, thought-I-was- going-to-die vertical. I huffed and puffed while I lunged forward, putting my head down, and concentrated on dragging 60 pounds of dog (and a wagon that is a lot heavier than it looks), while sweating and gasping for breath. Griffin had already drank about half of our water (you'd be surprised at how thirsty you get riding in a wagon in the shade on a nice day), so I only took a sip or two (yes, we were sharing a water bottle). Luckily the last half mile was mostly downhill. Our journey took a few minutes short of an hour and Griffin snored loudly the entire drive to daycare to pick up Olivia.

I was honked at multiple times, laughed at audibly by more than one person and at one point, I felt like I was in a parade because people kept stopping to wave at us. I don't think it will be a daily occurrence, but it was a great adventure for today.

Honeymoon= Cancelled

Last weekend I returned from a work trip and Griffin, who had vomited each day I'd been gone, was cured as soon as I walked in the door. I blogged about my poor anxious baby boy. He and I were inseparable on Sunday, spent the day together in my office on Monday and both days, he was perfectly healthy. My sweet anxious baby just needed me...

But on Tuesday night, once again, Griffin vomited. I wasn't sure why- I thought he was better! On Wednesday night, he ate dinner and almost immediately, projectile vomited all over. It was 5:45 (the vet closes at 6) and I was sick with worry! I debated whether he could make it through the night or if I should rush him to the emergency vet.

I felt like the WORST bulldog mom that ever lived. How self centered could I be? How could I be so dumb and think my immune-compromised, special needs dog (who has a history of eating things he shouldn't) was just being dramatic, when he was clearly he was actually sick all along?! The guilt was eating me alive.

Thursday morning, we rushed to the vet to get his stomach x-rayed and a few blood tests to check his liver and kidney function. I tried to emotionally prepare for another surgery. Nate and my mom were standing by their phones, ready to support me through whatever bad news was coming.

$400 worth of x-rays and tests later, the vet was pretty confident that he had, in fact, been anxious when I was gone and that his little stomach was probably still a bit upset. Tuesday and Wednesday had been "at home days" for the dogs. Olivia didn't go to daycare and I had things going on outside the office, so Grif couldn't go with me.

Is there a clinical term for "mama's boy"?? Because that's what I have.

I am very thankful Griffin is healthy. However, the super extravagant honeymoon I was planning for 8-10 days?? It's going to be more expensive than we'd planned if we have to add in the vet bills that are going to result in Griffin and I being apart.

Are there any tropical resorts or Mediterranean cruises that are bulldog friendly? Never mind long, romantic walks on the beach- Nate and I holding hands and staring into each others eyes... Wagons don't roll in the sand and bulldogs would overheat quickly if they had to walk while wearing their lifejackets.... Ugh. I have created a needy little monster.

Anyway, Grif is fine. We've only been apart an hour or two since Thursday and there hasn't been any more vomit. I am FULLY aware that I created this problem. I'm just not sure what to do to fix it now...

It's Good to be Home

I've been away at a camping conference for the past few days. I missed them almost immediately and I found myself showing off photos of the babies to several strangers that I had just met. 

Olivia was not happy when I brought out my suitcase.

A little snuggling before I had to leave. 

This is actually a few days before I left, but I looked at this photo several
times while I was gone, because I missed this face (mud and all).

Ready for the park, first thing this morning. 

Content after a good park trip (the first in 4 days!)

Snuggling after the park- relieved to be back together

Griffin vomited all 4 days I was gone. I started to worry he was actually sick, but he has been eating normally and perfectly happy since I've been home, so I think it's possible he has some separation anxiety that leads to him projectile vomiting whenever I leave him.

I hate being away from them- I think that the three of us become more co-dependent every day. The next month is basically a count down until camp and then we are headed to the great outdoors for the summer. So I think we will all be fine...

Buddha

Danny and Heather are selling their house. Because they both have awesome new jobs that are both (almost) an hour away from home, I said I would help out when they get last minute requests to show the house.

Today I got the call.

I surprised Buddha in the middle of his day, which was very exciting... until I put him in the car. His little brow furrowed and he looked at me like, "um, are my parents aware of this?"

We continued driving and he got a little more worried. "Am I being kidnapped?"












He whined a lot and was SUPER obnoxious until I let him sit on my lap and help drive.

We got to my house and he stayed in the kitchen while his cousins licked their lips behind the gate and pondered whether they were going to eat him if given the chance.

But everyone headed out to the yard and stayed calm and happy and were eager to go to the park.

Buddha, Griffin and Olivia played at the park for a full 30 minutes and got covered, head to toe in mud.

Buddha and Grif re-started the neighborhood watch- just two bro puppies barking at everything together.

When we got home, as soon as I closed the gate, Grif got that look in his eye and lunged for Buddha. I was expecting it, so I had Buddha in my arms before the teeth could fly. I cleaned off Buddha first and then he hung out in the living room while Griffin and Olivia stayed in the kitchen until it was time to take Bu home.

Bulldogs in the back, Buddha on my lap, we drove him home.

When I got back to the car from bringing him inside, Olivia had climbed from the backseat into the front seat, her eyes clearly saying, "since dogs are riding in the front these days, I figured I'd just move..."

She was more than a little annoyed that her cousin got to ride shotgun when she doesn't usually get that privilege.

The Brigade being back together was exhausting. 3 dogs- I don't remember it being that much work!

Some Bulldog Pictures and Video

Some random photos and video I've taken recently-

The bulldog tantrum continues to elude me. ie- the monster dog I live with refuses to allow me to catch her being a terror on video. 

This was a recent trip to camp- Olivia sometimes
thinks she is a cat, not a 55 pounds dog. 

Snuggled in a blanket because it's cold outside!

Just two puppies hanging out, chewing on their bones together.

The bulldog lean- no better place to sit than a lap!

Too early to be awake on a Sunday morning!

The good news is- the weather is finally warming up a little bit! The bad news is- the park is a giant puddle... and also my winter boots are not as waterproof as I thought.

Today we were at the park for 45 minutes! It was so nice outside, but by the time we got home, I was muddy, Grif was (a little bit) muddy, my car was a mess and Olivia was unrecognizable.

But it is sunny and nice outside, so I'm not complaining!

Bull(dogs) in a China Shop

It's been ridiculously cold for weeks and weeks. It's been too cold to go to the park and too miserable to go for a walk (which they don't even enjoy in nice weather, so when the sidewalks are icy and the air is freezing, it's REALLY not worth it).

I was out of town last week and weekend. Nate did his best to keep Olivia and Griffin active, but when I got home today, Liv looked ready to cause some trouble. I knew we were in for a rough night with a crabby dog.

And then I found this website- http://www.sidewalkdog.com/ which has a list of dog-friendly businesses in Minnesota and we were off.

First we headed to Chuck & Don's Pet Food. We actually go here pretty regularly, but they got treats, lots of attention, saw some other dogs and sniffed every inch of the entire store.

From there, we headed to the hardware store. Once again, the dogs got treats, lots of attention and smelled every corner of the store. I wasn't shopping for anything in particular but I found bully sticks for $4.99! And there were free samples of Taste of the Wild pet food (which is a quality food) and the manager gave me one of every flavor. We shared a bottle of water when we got back to the parking lot. Success.

From there, we headed to a store called Garden of Eden that carries aromatherapy products, candles, and like a million other smelly things. Again, the dogs got treats and attention and there were lots of things to smell. But that stop was literally bringing 2 bull(dogs) into a china shop. There were so many shelves, each covered with pretty bottles. I was a bit nervous, but they were very well behaved and we didn't crash into anything.

A little over an hour later, we headed home and I've had two happy dogs all evening. On our next outing,  we're going to check out the bookstore, the shoe store and UPS.  If it doesn't warm up soon, I am going to go to every last place on that list. I can't believe it is only February....

Olivia- shopping

Relaxing after our outing

Playing in the Snow

January has been SO cold and snowy. We haven't been able to go to the park every day, which makes Olivia a bit of a terror when she doesn't get her energy out.

Yesterday was in the upper 20s and it actually felt nice outside. Unfortunately, the snow was above my knees and it was difficult to walk, much less chase the ball. We lasted about 20 minutes and stayed in a small little area, but they were tired after burrowing through the snow.  

 

Exhausted after a long day of playing