Wordless Wednesday

Bear, Lola, Otis

Tug of War

Misha and Lola were having so much fun playing together that I thought they might of had fun playing tug-of-war with a rope.

And now check out the video. Lola had more fun playing keep away than really playing tug of war

Playing With Friends

Lola got to go and visit with Otis and Bear this weekend.  And there was somebody else visiting with them also. It was Misha.  Misha is my dad's neighbor's dog.  The neighbors were going out of town for the weekend, so Misha got to spend the weekend with my dad and Otis and Bear.   Misha is a one year old black lab mix, and she is a ball of energy.  So, I knew Lola and here would get along great.  Here are some pictures from there playtime together.

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  Misha and Lola playing. Notice Bear in the background ignoring them
  
  

  

Come back tomorrow to check out the tug of war game Misha and Lola had.

Lola and Bear - Part 3

I have done a couple posts, (here and here) about Lola and Bear.  If you remember Lola and Bear were not to fond of each other when they first met.  And they were slowly getting better in my last post.  Lola got to go visit Bear and Otis quite a few times in December.  So they had a lot of time to work out their issues.  And I am happy report that they are doing well together.

They really just ignore each for the most part. But they are great team when it come to squirrel hunting.  They can keep squirrels trapped in trees for hours.  And Lola even ran into Bear a couple times and he did not even care.  The only issue that we still have is when Lola and Otis are playing.  Bear still does not seem to understand the play aspect and start to go after Lola. So for the time being he is inside while the ball is being thrown for Lola and Otis.

Bear will even share the couch with Lola now.  Although, Lola will not get up on her own.  Somebody has to go over to the couch and tell her is it ok and make sure Bear doesn't growl at her.  I guess she learned not to rustle any feathers.

Lola and Bear sleep on the couch.  Yes, that is how bear sleeps.

And because I can't leave Otis out.  Here is a picture of the three of them, Bear, Otis and Lola.  I could not get them all sitting in a line.  Lola had to be the odd ball

Lola and The Doggie Door

My dad decided to try a doggie door for Otis and Bear this winter.  It is much easier than opening the door every 5 minutes letting them in and out and in and out.  I think many of you know what I am talking about.  None of the dogs, including Lola, have ever used a doggie door.  So it required some teaching.

I stood outside and my dad was inside.  We showed helped each dog through the door and they all got it.  Well kind of.  Bear figured out how to go in and out.  But he had some issues getting back inside through the doggie door.  It was hard for him to push himself up on the ledge and then through the door.  But he could do it if he needed to.  Otis had a few more issues.  If we pushed the door open for him, he would go in and out.  But he would not use the door if he had to push it open.

And then there is Lola.  She had it down after a couple of times.  She loved it so much that she would stand with half of her body inside and half out.

She was content.  She could be in both places at once, no matter where the action was.  

Lola and Bear - Part 2

Here is what happened the second time Lola and Bear met.

When we get to my dad's house everybody is excited.  Lola can't wait to see her Otis and my dad, and Otis is excited to see me (and kind of excited to see Lola).  And now add Bear into the mix, who is excited because there is a new person and dog.  We knew from the get go, that we both needed to watch Lola and Bear closely.  We did not want anything going on. We let them smell each other and could tell immediately, that they were both acting uneasy.  (My dad and I both know Lola's queues and could tell she was uneasy.  Which is not a normal thing for her)

We finally realized Otis was not helping the situation.  (Poor Otis, he is stuck in the middle.)  He was somewhat excited about what was going on and that seemed to make Bear and Lola more excited.  We moved Otis inside to see what would happen. Lola and Bear sniffed each and then just left each other alone.  One step in the right direction.  Or so we thought.

Later, Lola and Otis were chasing the ball.  They both love this.  And while we were throwing the ball, Bear started getting excited.  He started getting into the mix.  As he was doing this, we realized he was very uneasy about Lola and Otis playing.  And it got to the point where started going after Lola in an aggressive manner, and we had to separate them. Bear seems to think that the playing is aggressive and reacts as it is an attack of some sort.

After this happened, we decided that we needed to try something different.  So we decided to take them for a walk together.  This actually went really well.  They would walk right next to each, bump in to each other, and even have there noses touching while they were smelling things on the ground.  And there were no problems.  And neither one was nervous.  Both were very happy to be on a walk.

Going forward, we will keep working on getting these two more comfortable with each other.  We think walks are a good way to start and work from there.  But we know it it will be an on going process.

Lola and Bear (Mr. B) - Part 1

I introduced Mr. B to all of you a few weeks ago.  And first things first, Mr. B has been given a new name, Bear.  I am not sure where Bear came from, but he is responding to his name and seems to be fine with it.

If you remember, Lola and Bear were not fast friends.  When we first met Bear he was nervous and unsure of Lola and went at her a couple of times.  And then it starts to snowball.  It is strange though, because this has never happened with Lola before.  She has always been good with other dogs.

I think it comes down to Bear never really being socialized with other dogs.  (Obviously not his fault.)  99% of the time he is good with Otis,  but I think part of that is Otis. Otis is such a low key dog, and for the most part could care less out about other dogs.  But when Lola gets mixed in, aka high energy, we think Bear is overwhelmed and does not understand that Lola and Otis are playing and not being aggressive.  And when Bear sees it as aggression it leads to Bear snapping and going at Lola and then it snowballs.

So over the past month, Lola and I have made a couple of visits to the crew.  And it has been interesting. 
Come back tomorrow for the story of the second time they met.  (It would be a really long post if it were all in one.)

And now the picture.  If you notice, Bear has now taken over the couch and will not give it up, and Otis is stuck on the floor.

Wordless Wednesday - Lola and Otis

Neighborhood Friends

One thing I love about having a dog is the fact that I pretty  much have to get up and take Lola for a walk.  And one think I have loved about our walks is meeting people in our neighborhood.  I don't know about you, but it can be hard to meet all the neighbors.  It seems like you usually meet a few people right next door or across the street, but it is hard to meet people a couple blocks over.  And to top it off, I get home from work and just want to relax, not go knocking on doors to meet people.  And they may think that is a little strange.

I have found with Lola, it has been very easy to meet new people in the neighborhood.  I mean really how could this face not make you smile.

Lola has a few buddies in the neighborhood, an English bulldog, Lulu, (who ignores her for the most part, but Lola loves her), a Saint Bernard, Jake, (they love chasing each other) and a couple boxers, Flin and Nina.  The best is when they all get together.  They all have a great time.  Lola can spot them a mile away and gets so excited when she knows her buddies are out. 

I think I see my friends!  Time to play!

Lola also loves seeing her human buddies.  She knows exactly where all of them live.  (There is even one couple that is nice enough to buy dog biscuits for the whole neighborhood, even though they don't have any dogs.)  She will stop in front of each of their house to see if they are home and want to come say hi.

Are you there?!  I want to say HI!!

Introducing Mr. B

I got a call last week from my dad telling me that they are now a "Two dog family".  Otis has a new brother, Mr. B.  My dad was at a local end of summer festival and they had a bunch of dogs from shelters they were showcasing in hopes of finding them homes.  For whatever reason it was decided that Mr. B should become part of the family.  But it was not that easy, it was a 4 day mission trying to track the dog down after the festival.  But he was found.

Apparently, Mr B was picked up from a shelter, a few days before he was to be put down.  He was then taken to a no-kill shelter for a few months, and was moved to another no-kill shelter for another month.  And then he was showcased at the festival.  He is a black lab mix.

He is not in perfect health.  He is very overweight.  He is between 90 and 95 pounds and should probably be between 60 and 70 pounds.  He is about 8 years old.  He will be going on a diet and going on many walks to get to a healthy weight.

He is sweet around people, but he seems somewhat defensive and on edge around other dogs.  He is ok, with Otis, since Otis is so mellow, (although I was told he growled and snarled at Otis a couple of times).  But he was a bit on edge around Lola and her energy level and went at her a couple of times.  We put a stop to that very quickly.  But we think it will take sometime for Mr. B to be comfortable around Lola and her energy level.    Lola was fine and just left him alone after he went at her.  I think she knew and sensed what was going on and knew it was better to just let him go to sleep on the couch.

There will be more updates on Mr. B's new life (and diet).  We hope that once Mr. B is at a healthier weight and adapts more to his new home he will be more comfortable around other dogs.  I think he has had a rough life the past year, (and perhaps longer) and just needs to learn that everybody around him just wants to love him, (Lola and Otis included). 

Introducing Otis

I mentioned yesterday that my dad got Otis from a shelter.  He was about a year old when my dad got him.  When we picked him out to go for a walk with us he was beyond excited and could not wait to meet new people and get some fresh air.  I would feel the same way if I were locked in a cage.

My dad decided he was the one.  Once he got home he had his own fair share of destruction.  Not to the same extend as Lola, be he did chew up his fair share of things, including shoes, books, stuffed animals (one was hand made by my grandma, dad was not happy about that) and even a book case.  I don't know why he would chew up a book case, you would think there would be splinters.  He did grow out of his destruction stage when he was about 3. 

One of Otis' favorite things to do is chase tennis balls.  He loves it.  And just recently we discovered he loves keep away.  Two people will throw the ball back and forth and Otis will run between the two people.  Kind of strange but he loves.  He is also a great squirrel patrol dog.  He will sit in the back yard and watch the trees and fences. and when one starts coming, he is off to make sure the cannot enter. When Lola comes around they are no match for the squirrels.

Otis checking a tree for a squirrel 

Lola loves rough housing and Otis is not all about that.  He will do that for about 3 minutes and he is done.  Otis would much rather be relaxing or pet.  And trust me if you are there and not petting him, he will be more than willing to allow it.

Otis is a mix of some kind but we are not sure of what.  Our thoughts are maybe part Portuguese water dog, or maybe labordoodle.   We really don't know.  What are your thoughts?