“The journey not the arrival matters.” – T. S. Eliot

We recently went to visit family in Baltimore for the Thanksgiving holiday. And since Dolce basically becomes Ghandi and goes on a hunger strike every time I leave her, we figured it'd be best to bring her along with us. And so, Dolce's first road trip commenced.

As we got ready and we were packing the bags to leave I was chatting with my mother and she told me we'd be taking my dad's truck and not her car, so we could bring stuff back with us.  I was immediately perturbed because, anyone who has sat in the cab of a truck for a long period can attest, it's super uncomfortable and not very roomy.  But nonetheless we made due.  So I immediately started planning and figuring who was going to sit where, as I had planned to sit in the back seat with Dolce, in my mother's car.  And I was immediately informed that  my father had "called shotgun" for Dolce a few days prior. Yes, he called shotgun for a dog, I'm not sure what's worse, that  or the fact that he'd rather sit next t the dog than his wife or daughter, but I digress.  Dolce loved it up front, for most of the drive.  David pet her, played with her, she got to keep watch out the windows and she slept in her own seat.  But then a few hours in we started getting the face you see above.  She was just dying to get in the back with Nancy and I.  We eventually switched during one of David's mandated "Dolce breaks" and Nancy moved up front and Dolce and snuggled in back for the remaining hours down to Baltimore. I have to say all in all she handled the trip really really well.  I thought for sure she'd be a terror in the car since it was pouring buckets and she didn't get a walk before we left.  But she mostly slept and we played intermittently between her naps.  She did really well adjusting to her city life at my brother's place, although I think the cats in the neighborhood were none to happy to see us walking down the street, giving me a new found respect for what Smudges deals with every day. And after a few fun days in the Charm City, we headed home again, Dolce now an experienced traveler kept her eyes on the road and said good bye to her first road trip and hopefully the first of many big adventures on the road.
 
 



"Time, the subtle thief of youth" - John Milton Sonnets 7

Dolce - May 2011 and November 2011

Every morning when I get ready for work, since the day we got her, Dolce has sat on the rug in my bathroom while I blowdry my hair. I took her picture (on the left) the first day I left her, to go back to work. It was one of my very first blog posts.  She looked sosad, I hated to leave her. I just remember looking at her on that rug thinking how little and helpless she looked and I just wanted to stay home and squeeze her all day.  Then this morning as I was getting ready for work, blowdrying my hair, I turned to say something to Dolce and hada realization that she has sat in that spot every morning.  So I took the picture on the right this morning.  It wasn't until I really looked at it and thought about it that I realized how big shes gotten and how far she's come. She's no longer that tiny, piglet looking little puppy.  She's like a real dog! Dolce has looked "bigger" to me every day, but every day I look at her and I think she's still my little puppy. I think I knew this all along I just hated to admit it.  I tried to pick her up and put her in my lap last night while I Skyped, and she's just too darn big, weighing in at a hefty 47 pounds now, a far cry from the 8 pound puppy we brought home, not 7 months ago. So I guess John Milton was right.  Time is the subtle thief of youth, because I feel like I turned around for two seconds and she's all grown up, and I have no idea where the time went.  Such is life, tempus fugit! (especially when you're having fun!)

Its almost that time of year again...

Leaves are all finally gone and that can only mean two things...Christmas is almost here and there's lots more things to find on our walks! Found a new trail to hike at the Paine Estate, not too big but pretty trails and lots of hills to tire us out. And Dolce and Nancy shared a walking stick. Then we found the perfect Charlie Brown Christmas tree along the way!

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." - Albus Dumbledore



With winter well upon us the days are getting colder and shorter.  This is hell for the working dog owners.  It leaves us little to no time to play at the park after work without either bringing home a still energetic dog or scuttling about in the dark with a flashlight trying to locate your dog.  Well after a few weeks of this I've said enough is enough. After talking to other dog owners and doing some research online I found some awesome alternatives in the form of light up dog collars. Lets list this under the heading of "Things I never thought I'd research online, before I had a dog"  Well anyways after much debate we've found the best collar with the longest life and one of the brightest lights (that doesn't flash constantly and induce seizures to all those present) is the Night Ize L.E.D. Dog Collar.  It was relatively inexpensive ($15) and serves the purpose well, by being visible up to 1,000 feet away and having a super long battery life of 100,000 hours! All in all I'm pretty impressed, and I haven't lost Dolce yet, so that's always a bonus.  And its a great conversation piece! "Oooh love your prison orange collar, where'd you get it!?"

"God gave us our memories so that we might have roses in December." - J.M. Barrie



Well, we live in New England for sure! It's October and its already snowed! We had our first experience with snow unseasonably early this year, just before Halloween. Dolce was interested in it for sure.  Mostly in our back yard she only wanted to go to the bathroom, eat it and then run back inside the house.  But when we went to the park she couldn't have been happier to be playing in it.  She was digging rolling and chasing the snow and generally loving playing with her friends in it.  I've never seen her "frolic" so much, the snow must just do something to them.  Cant wait til we get a real storm and see how she likes it!  Dolce gets snow, and mommy get snow boots so her feet don't freeze! Everybody wins...

Choo Choo! Arriving at Inspiration Station!

So those of you that know me, know that I kick around good business ideas pretty much every day. With that said my latest idea/obsession as a result of no longer having puppy class at the local pet store and the impending terrible winter weather is an indoor dog park or playground.  This is non-existent in the Boston area without having to be enrolled in a regular doggy daycare program.  But what about us owners that want to spend quality time with our dogs after work in the company of other dogs/dog owners, without a flashlight and a parka?! I thought that I may have hit a gold mine and potentially be a genius innovator among thel ikes of Albert Einstein and Alexander Graham Bell, and then I found my very dream already exists...in CANADA. Doggie Central is my dream in carnate.  They offer daycare, classes, open play time (only $10, not bad), grooming/self grooming services and a store front.  AND they even offer frequent buy program so for every item you buy/dollar you spend, you end up saving.  And so, without totally considering the business, insurance and legal logistics, not to mention the financials, I ask my internet followers this.  If a service such as Doggie Central were available to you in your area would you use it?? This could be extremely helpful I grealty appreciate any response!

Would you use Doggie Central type services if provided in your area?
	Yes
	No
	Maybe
pollcode.com free polls

If yes, would you be willing to spend $10 for two hours of "free play"?
	Yes
	No
	Maybe
pollcode.com free polls

Hiking with Brittany!

Took our first hike with the new roommate Brittany this weekend in the Blue Hills in Milton, MA.  It went great.  It wa a beautiful, sunny 80 degree day in the middle of October here in New England, couldn't have asked for better weather. We started with an easy trail, partly for Dolce's sake, and probably partly for ours too.  It was a pretty easy hike.  Next time I think we'll upgrade to a bit tougher trail, didn't seem that bad and it will totally poop her out quicker. And naturally she found a delicious stick to chew on while we stopped for a rest, and hated to move on and leave it behind. Only downside, Dolce got her first tick on the walk, we'll have to be vigilant until that first frost hits!  Butno worries, grandpa came to the rescue and removed it for us!  Thank god I'm a crazy dog mom and checked her out afterwards! Check out the cool photo montage/collage I found online at Smilebox, and it was totally free.  Hope you enjoy!  Happy Fall everyone!

This free collage customized with Smilebox



Reach for the stars!

http://smile.greenies.com/

COULD DOLCE BE THE NEXT STAR?

ENTER THE SHOW US YOUR PET'S HEALTHY SMILE CONTEST AND FIND OUT.

Is your dog meant for greatness? Does your cat have that certain je ne se quoi? Then you need to enter the Show Us Your Pet's Healthy Smile contest. The winners, one dog and one cat, will be featured in The Bark! Magazine and on greenies.com. And, to keep them smiling, each will also receive a year's supply of GREENIES^® Dental Chews or Treats. So grab your camera – someone's about to be famous.

 

 

Just entered Miss Dolce's adorable face in this contest...please visit our link below and vote for us!!!! THANKS FOR MAKING ME A STAR!!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsmile.greenies.com%2Fsmile-gallery%2Fvote.aspx%3Fid%3D6749%26fb_comment_id%3Dfbc_10150341086256380_18887167_10150341089921380&h=CAQDycW-lAQAe9R3yvTtEU1cb3u9mgdZoBq6l_2vt-t61rw 

It's official...

We're having hot dogs for Halloween this year!

Yummmm! We look pumped to wear this costume dont we?!  Muahaha the joys of having a helpless adorable animal, sorry Dolce! Also, be on the look out for the hotdog's accomplice, Mustard Girl!

    

Cuteness Alert!!

Yup thats right I am obsessedwith my dog. I love her to death, moreso then I like most people. So we did a Jers-day morning photo shoot to get us in the mood for awesomeness to come! Live it, love it...Deal with it!  And most of all enjoy!

"We grow neither better nor worse as we get old, but more like ourselves" - May Lamberton Becker

So last night I snapped this picture of Dolce sleeping on me and I realized I took one almost exactly the same about 5 months ago.  Once I started looking at the two picture together I could help but notice how much Miss Dolce has grown right before my very eyes and I didn't even notice it!
 


Big Dolce



Baby Dolce



 

Where does the time go?! I swear it was just yesterday that she was a whopping eight pounds and we were snuggled up together on the couch with room to spare!  Now clocking in at about forty pounds, I'm lucky if I can breathe when she sits on me, and the couch is certainly a much tighter squeeze. I mean I can't even fit her into my camera frame anymore let alone on the couch with me!  A couch which she now thinks she owns, as nightly she attempts to "push" me away from her with her feet so she can have more space, or maybe just get rid of me all together! But I don't care, I love her, so I'll take the abuse for that adorable face and the fantastic snuggles any day of the week! 

Apparently, we're are not a fan of...

So apparently we are not a fan of the curtain fixtures in mommy's house!  Well forget her! I like my curtain tie backs.  She literally spent the better part of the morning barking and growling at this thing.  And when I attempted to go over and "pet" it to show her it was ok and it wouldn't hurt us she jumped in front of me to protect me I guess. Took over an hour to finally convince her it was not a threat, thank god she finally realized it because we were at threat level red, and I for one was beginning to get worried!

Tough day in the City...

No car means no park for us...guess we'll being doing lots of walking and back yard playing this weekend!

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." - Mark Twain

Well it took us a few months of practice and lots and lots of treats but we're finally not afraid of the vacuum! I was so excited I could have cried!  She was never THAT bad with it, just barked at it and chased it around the room, never tried to bite it or anything. But this day she just sat there and watched me and eventually was more focused on an itch then my vacuuming.  Next step, cut her nails without being nibbled and licked incessantly!

Downy...the Wonder Dog!

I am beginning to think we should have called her Downy, the Wonder Dog!

Literally daily we find her with some article of clothing that has either fallen on the floor, that she pulled off the bed ( usually because it's to be worn to work that day) or out  of the laundry basket.  As I was blow drying my hair this morning realizing it was awfully quiet and she hadn't come over to have me blow the hair dryer in her face yet.  I went looking for her and came upon this scene.  That is in fact Dolce on one of her beds surrounded by various articles of both mine and Kevin's clothing, to be exact: one pair of my pajama shorts, one of my socks, one of Kevin's dress socks and a pair of my underwear. Naturally she is chewing on my expensive lace underwear.  When I asked her what she thought she was doing she looked at me, whined and proceeded to drop my underwear.  Yea, she knows when she's busted, happens so often these days, but more so shes annoyed that I was about to take away her "toy".  And she could not have looked sadder when I took those clothes away. I don't know what her affinity is for fabrics, she just can't get enough of them, she'd much rather have an old sock then a chew toy or a tennis ball...such a weird little dog...ahhh Downy! 

Sometimes all a girl needs is a best friend...

Not much to say except this is the scene I walk into, pretty much daily.  Either they're napping together snoring away together or she's watching TV and "protecting" him while he sleeps (no seriously I walked over to them in the picture on the right and she was none too happy I was disturbing her).   These two have a very serious love affair.  And I know that I say this alot in my blogs but once Kevin is really gone for the whole season I dont know what she's going to do with herself.  She snuggles with me and other people but its not quite the same. Haha what are you gonna do, they're besties!

I'm a big kid now!

Well this one is well over due about 2 months or so ago Dolce started spending her alone time during the days out side her crate and in the kitchen!  The vet told us when she went one month without and accident that we should think about giving her more freedom.  So its pretty much been good. The first time out she had a small accident but never again.  I think for the most part she likes it.  She can look out the windows shes got her food and water dishes there and there's definitely more room for activities.  Its been pretty uneventful until about 2 or 3 weeks ago. I was swamped at work so I didn't get a chance to come home and play with her and take her out at lunch. I wasn't really worried I knew she could hold it.  Well when I got home I realized that wasn't the issue but the wall was.  Just at the corner of the wall in a tiny little spot on the molding she had started to nibble away.  Well I guess that's my punishment for not coming to see her!  We're in the process of experimenting with brain teaser toys and frozen peanut butter in her Kong to keep her busier during the day.  Ahhh the things we do for our babies!

"When the well is dry, we know the worth of water." - Benjamin Franklin

Took Dolce on a little evening stroll the other day and halfway through we stopped at a park to play and rest and have some water.  After playing for a bit we took out our water and our little collapsable dish.  While I was sitting in a grass having some water myself I noticed the air was lacking the tell tale lapping sound when water is consumed.  In fact it was awfully quiet in general, never a good sign with Dolce.  And low and behold, upon scanning the park, I found Miss Dolce running off to the other side ofthe playground towards a group of children, with her water dish in her mouth, water still in it!! And barely a drop spilled. I'm not really sure why she did this, what she was goingto do once playing with the children or how she managed to run across the park without spilling it all over the place (especially considering she cant manage to keep food in her mouth while eating at her dish) but nonetheless it was hilarious, adorable and pretty impressive!

Neighborhood Watch

Not much of a story goes with this post except that nightly, the view from our couch is the following...

There are literally a million other things she could be doing and about 50 toys laying around the house she could play with, not to mention the 4 humans in the house who would play with her.  And every single night without fail for about an hour she just perches herself on that couch staring out the window and watch the 'hood and barking at all the clearly offensive, threatening and completely oblivious people, animals and in animate objects the make their way down the street. Seemingly adorable, most definitely inevitably annoying and a complete facade. She is the least tough dog, with one of the loudest voices I have ever seen. All bark, no bite, totally cute!

Look mommy, I did it all by myself!

So for all of you in the Boston area, I have a pet owners trade secret that I recently discovered.  It is a large discount pet warehouse, PetEdge.  They primarily take orders online or over the phone, but they have a warehouse right here in Billerica so you don't have to pay for shipping!  I have found that I can either run over to the store and they have what I need right there, or I can call them up and place an order for pickup at the warehouse thereby avoiding shipping fees!  And pretty much everything is super cheap!  Case and point the Gold's Gym toy she has in the picture cost me a whopping $1.50...and the green Polo Shirt she has on in my other post, Absence and death are the same, was $3.00!! But I digress...

So I have been taking her there with me and picking up little things here and there as she needs them, but this picture was from the first time that we went together and I actually brought her in to the store.  Not only was she pumped to see all the other dogs but she was literally like a kid in a candy store.  She was all over the place sniffing things and attempting to steal toys.  I could just envision myself, "I swear officer it wasn't me, my dog did it!" Well when we went in this time she was very persistent about hanging out in the stuffed toy aisle.  After about 5 minutes of tugging me back to them I just surrendered and let her check them out.  She immediately started picking up toys and putting them in her mouth and after a second or two dropped them back on the shelf.  After a few passes at this she keyed in on that Gold's Gym toy, don't ask why, I have no idea what is so interesting about it.  Normally I wouldn't have an issue with this except that this toy happened to be hanging on a hook about 3 feet off the ground.  Upon realizing that I was unaware of her desire to have this toy she proceeded to jump up on the display shelving and reach for the toy herself.  This is typically something I would giggle at, except that pretty much everyone in the store turned to look and see what had mad such a loud thud down in aisle 5 and I got the much dreaded, "You're child is out of control, they shouldn't be in this store much less the zoo!" look. Naturally I shamefully grabbed Dolce off the shelf put her on the ground and said "No!"  It wasn't two seconds later that I turned around to walk away and she was back up on that damn shelf grabbing for that toy again! At this point I figured better to accept defeat and just give in to her wants so we could hightail it out of there rather then to fight with her over it, because I assure you she is persistent and we'd have gone back and forth like that all day. Well she could not have been happier or more proud of herself.  She was such a little ham running around the store with that thing in her mouth showing it off to everyone in line for checkout. And when we got in the car to head home she insisted it be right by her side while she chewed away on her new treat, as I buckled in she looked at me with a big doggy smile looking so happy and proud and I swear to God if she could have at that moment she'd have said "Look mommy, I did it all by myself!" 

"Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories." - From the movie An Affair to Remember

Well to date Dolce absolutely hates when I put clothes on her. But I really don't care...she is just too darn cute not to play dress-up with, and people keep telling me I should get her used to wearing clothes because she'll probably need a coat to keep her warm when we go out to play in the winter.  So I just keep buying adorable shirts and putting them on her.  So the other day I put this adorable hooded sweatshirt on her...and clearly she hated it.  She literally rolled around on the floor twisting and turning for a good 10 minutes growling away as she tried to rip it off her body.  And once she realized I wasn't taking it off she just layed there looking miserable in  a catatonic state.  So ungrateful! I kept trying to talk to her and coax her to play as a distraction tactic and she was having none of it.  She just kept looking at me and whining and sighing.  So finally we took it off...baby steps I suppose.  Our next purchase is a coat for the fall/rain, so she better get on board...more miserable looking puppy pictures to come!

Tuffy for my Softy!

So Dolce has had this toy, called a Tuffy, since she came to us.  She never payed it much attention at first but I suspect that was because her mouth wasn't strong enough or big enough for it yet.  Well recently she has discovered a love for this toy, which is great.  This company (http://www.tuffietoys.com/page/2) calls their toys the "Tuffest soft toys on the planet" and they seem to be just that.  They have pockets that their squeakers are sewn into and then they have 4 layers of fabrics and plastics (mostly luggage quality fabrics) all sealed together with 7 rows of stitching into a protective webbing on the outside. This is great for strong chewers and "rippers", which Dolce is, evidence being her series of headless and legless stuffed animals strewn about.  Sometimes I feel like I live in that kid Sid's house, from Toy Story, just mutilated toys everywhere, only less creepy, and we're not pyromaniacs!  At any rate, she loves this thing now.  Well one day when I was home alone with her and cooking dinner I heard growling coming from the living room, interrupted by brief periods of a grunts.  After ignoring it for a few minutes I finally went in to see what was going on.  And I walked in to find Dolce playing with her toy, on her face, like this...

She had stuck her face into the hole as far as it could go, so much so that her eyes were squished shut.  And she was just walking around the room blindly chewing on it and then after a moment or two suddenly shaking and shaking it by swinging her head back and forth while she grunted.  It was truly hilarious.  After a while I took it off her face and repositioned it so she could still chew it but actually see what she was doing and every single time she would drop it on the ground and immediately shoved her face back into the hole just as far as it would go. After about the third time I did this she dropped it on the ground, looked at me and made the biggest and most adorable sigh. She looked so annoyed I wouldn't just let her play with it her way.  And finally she came over jumped in my lap and licked my chin for as long as I would let her and then very quietly picked up her toy and brought it upstairs to play alone.  Ann Landers once said, "Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful."  But what the hell does Ann Landers know, I'm pretty sure I annoyed Dolce to no end the day, and she was more then willing to snuggle up and love me anyway because in her eyes, I'm wonderful!

"Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." - John F Kennedy

So a while back, in the end of May, we took Dolce to the pet store to get a few things and while we were there we inevitably stop in the toy section, because God forbid Dolce walk by the toys without trying to snatch one off the shelf!  So anyways we are walking through and we get the bright idea to let Dolce pick out her own toy!  Well she did just that, she picked this long, skinny, pink, stuffed dog, which would be the first of many stuffed things she would have, as they are totally her favorite toys.  And oh did she love that thing!  She carried it all over the house incessantly rubbing the spit soaked thing on us while she chewed and squeaked away.  And then she proceeded to rip its legs off, it's belly open and throw up on it.  I'm pretty sure that was what officially sealed it being hers even if by default because no one wanted to touch it after that. Well after about a month and a half of this I finally had to make the executive decision to take it away from her.  There are only so many times you can do "stuffed animal surgeries" and cram squeakers and stuffing back into their soft, furry sausage casing bodies before its a lost cause. For those who were wondering my surgery limit is 3, that poor stuffed dog looked like the stuffed animal equivalent of Heidi Montag by the time I was done with it! Anyway, it was finally time to toss this dog and since she loved this thing so much I knew we'd have to replace it.  So one Friday after work Dolce and I climbed into the care and headed to the pet store with a mission in mind (and yes, this is what I do on Friday nights now)! After she ran around like a psycho for 15 minutes because she was so excited to be at the store and see other dogs, we hit up the toy section.  And sure enough after sniffing a few rubber bones and squeaky balls she ended up snagging a new stuffed dog, only this time, bigger and red.  Like the ebb and flow of the ocean as quickly as the toy went out a new one came back in again.  As if nothing had changed at all she proceeded to chew him until he was soaking wet.  Affectionately rub it all over our legs in an attempt to show it to us, but not let us have it never let us have it if she can help it.  Then she ripped the legs off this new dog and ripped his belly open, only this time no throwing up.  And so we had a new best friend, a big red dog, appropriately named, Clifford.

"Absence and death are the same - only that in death there is no suffering." - Theodore Roosevelt

So I know that I have been absent for quite a while, it has been a crazy and hectic summer.  I know this is no excuse so I promise to continue with the posts and update you guys from here on out!  As you can see from this photo, Miss Dolce has gotten big and you guys have missed a whole bunch, so sit back and relax and I'll catch you up to speed!

"Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow." ~Henry David Thoreau

So if it is not completely apparent yet, I decided to take my weekends back for myself!  I try to do as many chores as I can within two hours of my weekend so I can dedicate the rest of my time for relaxing and playing with the dog.  Especially with Kevin gone this last week Dolce has spent less time out of the crate playing during the middle of the day, and consequently I feel guilty.  Yes I know she is fine and it is good for her to rest and gain security and independence in the crate, but none the less I feel guilty for leaving her while I go off to work.  So I am trying to make the most of the time we have together.  It has actually been working well.  We run around and go on hikes, get her tired and socialized and we have quality time, and when I need to run quick errands I have been leaving her baby gated in the kitchen.  I have been working our way up in the amount of time she spends in there to gradually get her used to it.  First 15 minutes while I did yard work and put in a load of laundry, then 30 minutes while I walked over to Walgreen's, and finally this weekend an hour while I went grocery shopping.  And (hopefully not jinxing it) she has been doing great.

Now that I have gotten completely off topic, back to my original post topic.  I have been searching around for good places to take Dolce where she can get out, get exercise (hopefully off leash) and get some socialization.  I feel like I have been hitting alot of dead ends. Either they are leash only and have water, so the dogs cant go in or they are off leash and don't have water!  Well, I was talking with my neighbor this weekend who has a Great Dane and he was telling me all parks in Weston are off leash.  Ok this was very helpful to know.  I think I will be sticking to Weston parks from now on.  Then on top of it he told me there is a park in Weston hidden down some little dead end, side street off of Route 117 not 10 minutes from our house with great trails and a pond, Cat Rock Park.  Oh my God! I was so excited. Not only did I want to take Dolce out for some exercise somewhere other then Weston Reservoir (which is great, but I think Dolce was probably getting tired of it) but I have wanted a place I could take her to get her excited about water, with other dogs as motivation.  So I called up Nancy and off we went. It was great.  Lots of different trails to walk (that were shaded too), a brook, a pond and lots of other puppies. 

The before and after photos of our hike.

Well it was a slow and cautious beginning but after watching another dog run in after his ball 3 or 4 times Dolce started to follow him most of the way in to the water going a little further each time.  I am so glad that other dogs running out to get their balls is good motivation for her.  Despite my best efforts she will not retreive a ball from the water for me.  She will run out to it but will then abandon it. We discovered this weekend that she wont return it because in order to get her mouth on it she must put her nose/mouth/face? into the water (even if only a little bit) and she just wont do it, doesn't like her face wet.  Such a diva!  Well as a result she hasnt reached a full swim yet (she is definitely nervous with water) but thats ok,  we can try and work up to it since I am not sure how well her stubby little legs would keep her afloat anyhow.   All in all it was a positive trip (minus the part where I had to yell at her for not coming when I attempted to call her away from traffic) and we're definitely excited to go back soon!

"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”

So today I took Dolce out on a trail hike at the reservoir in Weston.  This is definitely my favorite place to take her.  The hike in total takes about an hour.  I can keep her off leash, the trails are shaded and there are plenty of other people with their dogs.  We stop occaisonally, meet and play with new furry friend and also jump in the many brooks and natural pools.  All in all it is great!  Dolce has a blast sniffing things and meeting people and animals.  And basically just enjoying the summer! And as any owner can attest its great when theyre pooped out afterwards!

I took this after we had gotten home but literally she is asleep the second I snap her into her harness in the car.  This is a blessing and a curse.  Great that she is sufficiently pooped out but bad because there is an adorable little farm stand on the way home where I always want to stop and I don't because I hate to wake her.  Well today I parked the car close left it running with the airconditioning on and ran up to get some fresh produce.  I have to say it was totally worth it!

Land's Sake Farm 90 Wellesley St Weston, MA



http://www.landssake.org/

It's local its fresh and it's delicious.  I am so glad I stopped by.  I got some red leaf lettuce, parsely, mint and some honey (made right there on the farm)!  I made a great salad for lunch when we got home and I plan on using the honey and herbs for some very interesting recipes I have been concocting.  Stay tuned for the recipe post to come! 

Early to bed, early to rise!

Well for the last week or so Kevin has been away in Connecticut so Miss Dolce and I have been on our own.  Night one, I put her in her crate as is the norm and she literally barked and cried for about 45 minutes.  Not wanting to wake my roommates and frankly not wanting to listen to it anymore I pulled her out and let her sleep at the foot of my bed.  I was a little nervous but she did great.  She stayed at my feet, snuggled with her toy and fell right asleep and stayed there all night.  Really I was just happy she didn't pee on the bed!  So one night down!  Night two, I follow the same routine and again she cries and barks.  So again I pull her out and let her sleep on the bed.  This continued on for about 4 nights the next morning in my excitement I take this picture.  Ahhh what a jinx!  Literally hours later that evening when we climbed into bed , again in routine fashion, I thought nothing of it.  Well the next morning I got up for work as usual I went into the bathroom and called the dog.  After a second she came in and I noticed her paws were wet and she looked very embarrassed.  I looked at her in fear and asked her "What did you do?!" I went back out to the bedroom and saw a massive puddle on the corner of my bed.  Why? This morning was different then any other!?  Ugh, so disheartening to see her doing so well for her to then have a set back.  Needless to say I was frustrated and disappointed.  And so our sleepovers have ended, sadly.  She goes in the crate at the end of the night and sleeps with the door open and moves from bed to crate throughout the night with no issues.  So while I am sad to have lost a snuggle buddy I am happier to take my chances cleaning pee off of the floor then my comforter. Ahh parenthood!

Follower FYI

Some of you have mentioned recently that you're following my blog but you do not get an email or any notification when I post new items.  Well I found a way to have you notified, and I have added the people I believe will be interested or who were already following me.  Please let me know if you'd like to be added to this list or removed if I have already added you.  Hope this helps, and you continue to enjoy!

-Dolce & Diane



Wet, Hot Boston Summer!

Our 4th of July photo!  It was a bazillion degrees out and humid as could be.  And naturally my parents don't have central air or air conditioners.

Dolce has a baby pool to keep her cool on these hot days but it really doesn't do much for her.  She really considers it more of a large water dish then an actual means of cooling off.  And when we stick toys in there or even just place her in, she just stands there looking at you as if she's saying, "Ummmm yeah, what am I supposed to do in here?" and then she proceeds to drink it. She loves the hose though.  Constantly drinking from it when people are using it, just jumping at the stream of water and running through it.  So since that seems to be such a big hit, in order to cool her off somehow, we decided to try my parents sprinkler!  Well it was a big hit! She was trying to "eat" the water and was barking at it as it oscillated back and forth, and every once in a while running under the water fall (but just for a second!).  Needless to say our first time in the sprinkler was a great success and also a relief as we have an effective way to cool her off during this hot and humid days we're having.  And it also entertain her (and us) in the process!

"Love is like a flower-you've got to let it grow." - John Lennon

So when I first found out that I was getting a dog (side note...thank you to the best boyfriend ever!) I knew I would have to tell Nancy and David.  Yes I call my parents by their first name.  Yes I know people think it's weird. Ask me if I care...spoiler alert, I don't. Anywho, I knew that they weren't going to be happy. David has always insisted that a dog would "destroy the house!" and Nancy has always said she just plain doesn't like dogs, "They smell!" And for those of you who have been to my home and know me you can attest to the fact that I am a crazy, obsessive compulsive house cleaner and my home is nine times out of ten spotless and far from destroyed and also that I treat my dog the same way as I do my home, and she is bathed about every other week!

Moving right along, when I officially knew that we were getting her and the plane ticket was purchased, I decided it was time to tell them.  I hemmed and hawed over this a bit and sought advice from a trusted friend and colleagues with whom I'd trust my life.  And who I know would probably be able to put the best comedic spin (or at least it's what we find comedic) on delivering bad news...the infamous, the fabulous Naomi! After much hard and admittedly inappropriate deliberation at the reception desk in our office we decided that the best course of action would be to tell my parents that I was pregnant first, and then anything they heard after that would HAVE to be good news! Well to Naomi's credit I think that this would have been a fabulous idea, but my delivery was all wrong.  When I announced this fake pregnancy I immediately smiled and had to stifle a giggle so I am pretty sure it dint carry the weight that it should have.  And then when I told them that in fact I was not pregnant but was instead getting a puppy the mood went from annoyed to extremely annoyed quite quickly. Whoops! Long story short I got pretty much the same responses that I had mentioned in this first paragraph.  And naturally I was not deterred and I made a vow to them that I would do my best to train her and have a quiet, enjoyable dog and once they saw her adorable face they too would fall in love!  Skepticism was in the air.  But sure as rain once they saw the puppy their hearts melted.  Some more quickly then others.  David immediately got down on the floor and began crooning "Puppy puppy puppy puppy puppy" and let her lick the entirety of his face. Nancy was a harder nut to crack.  She still thought she was "too big", "smelled like a dog", and was not more likable then a cat.  After about two months with us, we had slowly been working on her, when i saw the love begin to grow.  I knew we were on our way when she introduced Dolce as her Grand-dog at a barbecue they had. And slowly but surely Dolce has gotten more invites to do things with Nancy and I.  First it was coming over to have meals with the family and then more recently on hikes together.  And then a few short weeks ago Dolce quietly stole Nancy's heart.

She quietly followed Nancy around the yard as she watered the plants.  Seriously I was shocked. She just followed her and would lie down beside her in the grass while Nancy weeded and then get up and follow her off to the next plant and lick the drips of water off of the watering can.  She didn't get excited and jump up at it and she didn't try to steal the weeds from Nancy's hand or even from the bucket, and she didn't even try to eat the plants! As she kept going I kept peeking my head out into the yard to check on them and still the same a quiet relaxed dog and a quiet relaxed Nancy, just weeding away and every so often talking to Dolce.  And about an hour later I came upon and interesting sight.  Nancy and David in the grass with Dolce, David trying to get her to look their way and sit still and Nancy with the camera, trying to get a good shot to send to her friends. I think when you hold a puppy photo shoot it is safe to say your heart has been claimed.

"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat"

So those of you that have been to our house and seen Dolce and Smudges together you will understand completely what I am about to say.  For those of you who have not, try and follow along, thanks!  So pretty much, as I believe I mentioned in a previous post, "I know you are, but what am I?", Smudges to Dolce is pretty much a little plaything.  But I also think now that she thinks he's her little buddy.  Smudges remains unamused.  She is constantly following him into the closet when he goes in to sleep and despite our distractions and directions to leave him alone and vacate the closet she always returns.  She plays a bit and then stops goes in and bugs Smudges a little comes back out and then repeats the process all over again.

Dolce will follow Smudges pretty much anywhere he goes and has begun to start mimicking him.  The copying is what really has made me begin to think Dolce is truly enamoured with Smudges.  Whenever Smudges will jump up on the back of the couch on into a window or even goes to nap in the living room closet Dolce either appears to become insanely jealous or she just plain follows him.  When she acts jealous she jumps around on the floor barking at Smudges wherever he may be and whines her little face off attempting to get Kevin or I to pick her up and put her on the couch. I'm actually not sure how this will work now since Dolce has recently figured out how to jump up on the couch all on her own (I am half proud, half scared). So one day when she was sitting on the couch with me she got up and leaned over the back of the couch and started staring out the window.  Then the next day she actually climbed up on the arm of the couch.  The next day she was full on sleeping stretched across the back of the couch.  And then finally one day when I had left her alone on the couch to go and get myself a drink from the kitchen I came back in to find the following.

She sat, or stood I should probably say since she is far too big for the window sill, and watched birds fly into the tree and barked at any and all passers by. And still every time she sees Smudges climb into that window within a half an hour she also feels a need to be in that window. Waiting and watching she sees his every move and she learns a little bit more about being a cat. This is not the only example but suffice to say (for the purposes of a concise blog post) I have pretty much decided at this point that she thinks she is a cat.  Or at lest that she wants to be a cat. Either way I don't care, I think it's kind of cute.  Smudges however is a different story.

Title credit to Edgar Allen Poe

We Learned Paw!





I think I took this photo around June 15th, I honestly can't remember. This is what happens when you start a blog after something happens and you are playing catch up!  Well after today we are all caught up, and then, never again! 

Well for those of you who don't know, we signed Dolce up for "Puppy Kindergarten" at our local PETCO and she has been learning all sorts of basic obedience and little tricks in her 7 weeks. Well after about two full days of Kevin and I really practicing this with her and having to repeat "paw" over and over before she'd give it to us, that evening when I was just laying around playing with her all of a sudden I just said it and boom! She did it, first try, no hesitation.  As I am sure most of you have surmised at this point I basically think that Dolce is the best thing since sliced bread and, of course, a genius!  I swear she is working on the cure for the common cold right now from her crate! And this just reinforced it.  Two solid days and she's got paw all locked up.  And it was about a week after that that she started giving us both paw! Just depends on what hand you give her!  GENIUS!  Love that little dog!

I am the copilot. I sit on the right.

I don't have any real story to go along with this picture, other then the fact that its just too cute for words!  But here's some basic update/back story.  She is officially big enough to fit in the harness.  When its just the two of us she sits in the passenger's seat because if I put her in the back when Kevin is not with us she whines and cries like I am stabbing her in tiny little heart! Just recently (when this picture was taken) she realized she was tall enough and strong enough to reach the window.  Now that she can, if it's open she just hangs there and checks out the people that go by.  And thank God for that harness! On a good day she'd jump out it to try and go play with a bunch of kids or anyone really.  And on a bad day, like yesterday, when someone runs a red light and cuts me off...it saves her life.  She still went flying and landed on the floor and she was a little shaken, but she is okay!  Perhaps the man who cut us off should have been wearing one, because I swear if I were not more worried about tending to Dolce he would have needed some protection/life saving. And that harness is sooo worth the whole $10 I think I spent on it! All in all a good buy!

South End Birthday Adventure!

Well on June 10th I had officially been on this earth for a quarter of a century...gross!  As unhappy as I was to be acknowledging that, I was happy that I was smart enough to take the day off of work.  So I planned an outing for our little trio to the South End!  The weather was overcast but still nice, so after I slept in for a bit that morning, courtesy of Kevin (thank you!) we headed off to Castle Island.  I had never been here in all my years of living in this city. I was nice, very pretty, definitely lots of activities for kids.  The only downside is the strict leash laws and the beach ban for dogs.  We made due though.  We spread our little blanket down, laid out some toys for Dolce and tethered her to the cooler and just chilled!

I read some books on my Kindle and Kevin slept.  After I ate some sandwich from our makeshift little picnic I took the dog for a stroll around the island and made friends with some very cute little toddlers and their mothers. I couldn't help but wonder why the leash laws were so strict considering how many people were out with their dogs walking, running whatever.  At the very least why not fence off an area and make a mini dog park?  But I digress.  After a while when we'd had enough we packed up and headed back to the car, only to find that I had left my lights on! Aaaand my battery was dead.  Long story short, people are terrible and rude and it took us forever to get someone to finally give us a jump!  And even then after much coercing!  Once on the road again we headed down the street to get a little birthday treat for Miss Dolce!

So we headed off to Polka Dog Bakery, on 256 Shawmut Avenue, Boston, MA 02118.

http://www.polkadog.com/

This place was adorable and I loved it!  The staff was very friendly and also very helpful.  I decided to bring her here to find some alternatives to rawhide, which Dolce had and loved, and almost choked on.  The man at the counter was very helpful in directing us to different types of bones that would suit Dolce best as well as towards some treats which might be good for her considering she has a bit of a "sensitive" stomach. The selection of treats and cookies from both their "bar" and packaged options were too numerous to count.  Their case of baked goods with adorable iced cookies were not only beautiful but also looked pretty delicious. AND they had great natural food options as well as doggy birthday cakes in their refrigerated section. They also had a basement level that was all doggy toys and bed, but Kevin and I opted not to even go down there as she is already quite spoiled and probably has too many toys as it is.  I do have to say it was a bit pricey, we bought two large bones a meaty stick and a bag of treats and it costs us just under $20. But I think we end up paying for the location and the novelty of it all but I loved it so I can't complain.  And they do offer free samples and when I was at the counter the man told me to take as many as I wanted! Definitely generous.  I would definitely go back here again!  In fact, it has actually inspired me to look into starting my own doggy bakery in the area as this one and another in Wesborough were the only two I could find online.  I think the Metrowest area may be in need of a pet bakery! Getting back to the point, all in all I loved it and it was a pretty great day!  And I think Dolce might have enjoyed herself too!



Better late then never...

Hope everyone had a happy and healthy 4th of July!

It was our first 4th of July and we made it through the heat! And the fireworks! 

Now that the holiday is over we're right back to blogging so keep your eyes peeled for more posts! 

Our First Water Experience

So a few short weeks after our little park sickness incident we went back and we were just hanging out on a hot summer day.  All the other dogs there were in this little brook that run s through the park cooling off and playing in the water.  So I decided I should bring Dolce on over!  She had exactly zero interest in that water at first.  She just stood on the edge of the water pawing at the mud, looking at the other dogs and then looking back up at me like, "Yea, whats the big deal?!"  Having foiled my attempts at cooling her off and her also making me look like a chump to all the other puppy parents around I promptly snatched her favorite toy and waded out to the middle.  And I just stood there looking at her.  First she tried to just walk away. But once I called her name and started squeaking her ball she changed her tune. She began to walk back and forth on the bank looking like she might step in to get to me, but no dice.  Finally a woman near her said, "Oh just do it already!" and gave her a little nudge toward the water.  She took her time slowly stepping in little by little. After a few moments she had made it out to me and she looked around and then just stood there. 

She just had no idea what to do.  Had no desire to play with all the other dogs around her or even take her toy.  And still to this day when I put her in her baby pool to cool her off she looks at me like "What the heck is this and why do you keep putting me in it?!"and then she proceeds to drink from it like it is just a giant water dish. Loves the hose, but not any sort of standing water.  It's puzzling! So to sum up, Water-0 Dolce-1.  We're not giving up on her yet though! We're going to Fresh Pond this weekend, so hopefully some of the others will inspire her to swim! Updates to come!



All the world loves a clown...

June, the 2011 NBA Finals are on, and we are all watching with bated breath in the hopes that the Miami Heat and the narcissistic, dramatic and  bragging Lebron James will be defeated.  Eyes glued to the screen we all hear a whining and growling from behind us on the couch, from a supposedly sleeping puppy.  And we all turn to see...

Desperate for every ounce of attention to be on her.  How dare we watch television so intently while there was attention for her to have!? The true Boxer in her came out that night, our needy little clown!