Me and my rawhides

Nell is a very particular about her chewing toys... she will not chew on anything rubber or nylabones... she will chew on water bottles (full or empty) and rawhides. She's an equal opportunist when it comes to rawhides... any flavor and size, she will chew. Once it gets small enough that she fits the whole rawhide in her mouth, I take it away from her while she's chewing on her other rawhides and throw it away. She does look for the small piece, but I just give her a brand new one. To her, rawhide is a rawhide. To humans, it's just down right nasty. ;-)

I am a frog...

Nell has very long body and long legs... when she spreads out like this, it makes me think of frogs... especially her hind legs. In her previous life, perhaps, she was a frog?

Meet my new friend: Lammie

Nell received a new friend last week... Lammie Doodle. It's quite entertaining watching Nell run with Lammie... see, Lammie's legs are longer than Nell's leg... so it poses a challenge on Nell. How does she run with Lammie in her mouth? Very carefully.

This is the look I have when I'm excited

Nell loves to get her stomach scratched. Anytime she's on the ground and I come and try to play with her, she'll automatically lay on her back. Her facial expression is priceless!

Into your kennel young woman!

As an experiment, I've decided to put Nell in her kennel for the night to see if she'll sleep though the night. Miraculously, she did without protest. I think leaving her out on the couch gives her too much distraction... Even during the day, she will go into the kennel to lay down now. Perhaps the common denominator is the yellow and blue blanket she has taken ownership of... "wherever that blanket is... I shall sleep. " Sleep well little one.

All tucked in...

Nell has been sleeping on the couch in the living room ever since she came to live with us. She liked sleeping alone few nights a week... other time, she would sleep with me. Now, she's getting into a bad habit and I need to nip it in the bud, but I'm not sure what I want to do... She'll first sleep on the couch as usual, but around 1 am, she'll come running into my room and wake me up. Then she'll hog the bed for the rest of the night... ughhh.... I probably need to put her in the crate to teach her to sleep in one spot all night long... If only she would sleep on the couch...

Do not disturb

She must think the kitchen mat is her "safe place" or a place where no one will disturb her... Whenever she is tired from her walks, or done with her play time, she'll lay down on the mat and give me the "do not disturb" look. So I let her get her rest, and I get the entire couch to lay on. :-)

Nap # 25

Nell looks sooo comfortable sleeping... but Nell, you're on my side of the couch!

Nell's Nemesis #1

Nell knows that the vacuum cleaner comes out often. I thought she would make friends with the vacuum cleaner by now. She still runs away from it every time I'm vacumming. I let her smell it and even put a treat on top of the vacuum, but she took the treat and ran. She doesn't bark or anything, but you can see the fear in her eyes.

Playin'

Nell has been playing more with her stuffed animals... but I think she still doesn't like 'fetch'. I think she's more of 'tug' kinda gal. More than likely, she'll play fetch for maybe few throws... then she gives me the "you go get it" look. She has been running back and forth through the hallway with these stuffed animals in her mouth. I think she thinks that these stuffed animals are alive. One of these days, I'll get her to play fetch with a tennis ball.

Me and my Mr Hound

Nell saids, "I'm still hanging tight with my Mr. Hound. He makes weird sound every time I play with him."

FYI: Nell does not like thunder!

What are you looking at?

Although Nell has been VERY photogenic, there are some pictures that turn out looking like this.... pictures showing Nell might have an "attitude problem". It's just a matter of Nell not liking the flash on my camera... Trust me... she definitely does not have an attitude problem and she's always a happy gal.

Where are we going?

With rising price of gasoline, we're thinking about maybe flying to NC for Labor Day instead of driving. So, we were testing out the pet carrier. Surprisingly, Nell went into the pet carrier without a struggle, and once we gave her some treats, she kept going back in... it's amazing what treats will do....

Too much time on our hands....

This is what happens when I'm feeling under the weather and have too much time on my hands... My BF was unpacking from his week long trip and brought back some shirts. Where does the sticker go once it's off of the shirt? Of course, Nell is our victim... but she reacted very well. She is sooo patient. She has to be patient to be owned by us. We need to be entertained all the time.

FYI: Nell is lactose intolerant... for those of you who might one day come across Nell. Do not give her ice cream. Yuck....

May I help you?

Here's Nell in bed with the down comforter on... She loves my bed! If only I can get her to stay on her side of the bed!

Tooo Close!

Nell's curiousity got her a very up close and personal picture... Somehow, I still love this picture! She's starting to like getting her pictures taken, but I think the flash bothers her. I entice her with her treats. I got her pictures taken at Petsmart (paw printing night), and all the trainers praised her for being soooo photogenic. But of course the picture they took look like Nell's possessed and sad. Why is that Nell? Was it because they weren't holding a treat?

Give me my treat!

After her walk, I take her harness off and wipe her feet. After all that, she gets her small treat. She knows exactly where it is, and she will sit and wait for it. Sometimes, I think because her breakfast is right after her walk, I don't need to give her any.... I'm always amazed at the discipline of her sitting by the treats, waiting. She refuses to eat until I give her a treat. Some may say she's spoiled, but I say she's consistent! :-)

I'm too tired....

Day after the Boston Terrier meetup, Nell wants to sleep in and not do anything strenuous... well... I have to go to work so she gets a 6am wake up call and feeding. I probably have not seen her this slow since the last meetup. After her breakfast, she didn't even make it to the couch... she went straight to her doggie bed! She didn't even want her Kong. (Quick, call the media, call the press!) Nell's recovery time is almost too long for me to have to worry... but I'm sure with the heat and humidity... I'd be the same way if I didn't have to go to work.

Bath Time!

We went to the Boston Meetup in Reston Sunday. Last time she went, she didn't socialize with a lot of Bostons... but this time, she was running quite a bit with other bostons, and she was rolling around in sand... Which is good, but her submissive "lay on the back" thing needs to stop! Everyone was laughing at her. So after I got home, I gave her a good bath. She still doesn't like the bath time... she pretty much stood all still (which was good for me). Now she's all soft and smells good again. And for those of you who's wondering.... yes, that is my kitchen sink. Good thing I got the super big/deep sink... never thought I'd be able to wash Nell in there! hahaha.

Call me "Sunbathing Nell"

Although it's hot as heck outside, Nell still likes to lay out in the sun. My condo is airconditioned... not too cold, but not warm either. She lays on the blanket on the couch... so that makes her warm... but why lay in the sun? I don't get it. It must be a dog thang'.

Nell's Snuggle Ball Pet Bed

I finally got a doggie bed for Nell. At first, she didn't know what it was, so I had to pick her up and put her on the pillow... then I kept giving her treats in her bed. She now loves her bed... but she still loves the couch... and she still loves sleeping with me.

and what am I supposed to do with this?

Before Nell arrived to my place, I had bought some generic toys for fostering a dog (rubber chew bones, tennis ball, rubber ball). Never did I imagine a Boston Terrier that didn't like to play fetch... Nell doesn't like the tennis ball... Doesn't know what to do with it... She won't even attempt to chase it. This is another reason why, I think, she's a cat...

I live with a bedhog!

When Nell came to live with me, I let go of my rule of "dogs don't sleep in human's bed". Now, it's been few months and even though she sleeps on the couch some nights, when she sleeps with me, she likes to position herself right in smack middle of the bed. I believe this will help me during the winter since she's sooo warm, but during the summer, it's bit much. Some mornings, I wake up, and I'm on the cusp of falling off the bed because the sweet princess is on her back, spread out, and somehow, she has all of my covers. This is what I get for letting the doggie sleep with me. ;-)

I'm waiting....

Nell should have been an outside dog... She loves to be outside. She also loves the neighbor's dogs that keeps barking at her, but she insists that they are her friends. So every time I put her harness and the leash on, she starts whining because I take too long to put my shoes on. And this is the look I get from her (Minus the glowing eyes). OK Nell, hold your horses...

Meal Time!

I've started adding pumpkin to her meals. Nell now gobbles it up without me having to tell her to "eat". If you look closely at her nose on the right picture, you can see some pumpkin on her nose. I guess her tongue doesn't reach. She still prefers human food tho...

Sleepy...

Ahhhh, it's Monday morning. Nell's definitely not a morning dog... after she gets fed, this is where she passes her time before she gets locked away in the bathroom for the day. Actually, this is her spot ALL THE TIME! She has the left side of the couch designated as Nell's seat. Her dog bed comes this week... perhaps that will become her favorite spot! I can only hope. Have a good week everyone!