What a Difference Six Months Makes:

For those of you who don't read the dog blog, I thought I would post these two photos over here, too! It is amazing that there is just six months between the first photo and the second one (taken today)! Rayna did her best to try and pick her puppy up, but, the pup outweighs her considerably these days! Still, they BOTH, gave it an earnest attempt!

Darcy had soccer tryouts tonight. She will have her second round of tryouts Wednesday night. After tryouts, we will head to Incredible Pizza to celebrate Rayna's seventh birthday with her Aunt Jan and Uncle Eric. Beginning March 2nd, Darcy will be doing track as well as soccer--soccer practice AND track practice, both, every evening of the school week except Fridays. She's going to be exhausted! (She is hoping to do pole vaulting?)

Rayna has her birthday sleep-over this Friday.

Saturday, we--Darcy and her friend, Becca--are off to Springfield to find a dress for each of them to wear to eighth grade graduation...and I think Darcy has a hair cut planned for the day, too (short!)... Rayna has also been thinking about cutting her hair short, too, for quite a while now...guess we will see what transpires!

Doug? Well, he's just hanging in there! He was really happy to get a BUZZ cut a few days ago. It is as short now as they always kept it in the Children's Home. The first thing I had done when he came home to us four and a half years ago was to begin growing his hair out, long enough that it could be parted on the side...most of all, long enough to cover the numerous scars on his head. But, Doug has always preferred having it really short and was quite annoyed with it when it first grew out. The way he reacted, you would think we were making him wear it waist length or something! Last time we went to get it cut, I just gave in and let him get it as short as he wanted. For the first time in four and a half years, the bald places on his head where his scars are show again...but, I figure, it is his choice. He humored me for four and a half years...I guess I can back off and let him make his own hair choices from here on out...WITHIN REASON. I have to add that qualifier, because, actually, he wanted his head SHAVED. He thinks that bald is tough looking and he'd really like to try it out for a while!

Scandalous

I cannot BELIEVE it!

Let me start at the beginning....

A few days ago, I began noticing odd muddy smudges on some of the keys of my computer and smears on my screen. That seemed weird. But, this morning, it is all making sense...way too much sense.

My first clue came when I noticed I had a new "follower" listed for my blog. Checking it out, I was shocked to see that my newest follower was none other than my dog, RANSOM! Of course, I clicked right onto her profile and THAT is when I discovered the little mutt has a blog of her own!!! Now, I know who's been smudging up my computer (muddy keys, nose prints on the screen)...suddenly it is all very clear! Ransom has been borrowing my computer!

I must admit, her blog has provided me with quite a bit of insight into her true personality. Who would have thought such an obnoxious personality was lurking behind that deceptively sweet, furry face of hers!

(Actually, I like the COMMENTS better than the posts!)

A Full Life...

When Grant and I married, I had a German Shepherd named Jonathan. A few years later when she died, Grant insisted we get another dog. So, my little sister and I went to the dog pound and picked out a blonde shepherd mix that was already past her allowable time, she was due to be put down any day. After she was spayed, Grant and I brought her home. Grant chose her name...Shanachie (Shawn-uh-kee). "Shanachie" is a record label for Celtic music. Our vet said she was a couple of years old. She was a real handful the first few years we had her...problem digging and chewing, constant barking...so unlike her predecessor. Once we moved out to the country, though, she was in her element and all her earlier problem behaviors evaporated. She loved roaming the 40 acres of woods and was even happier once she had a side-kick, the pup, Gloria. She was an accomplished hunter...we never had moles in our yard or rodents of any sort around. She kept them cleared out. And, even though she was a friendly dog, still, she was a great watch dog, and always let us know when someone was coming. She knew the boundaries of the property and stayed on it. And, she always noticed when my father-in-law was going out to brush-hog or work out in the pasture and she would be right there, faithfully trailing him all day as he worked. She lived with us fourteen years. We lost her today. We miss her.

She Has a Problem...

It's in our genes. It has mercilessly marked five successive generations. But she doesn't SHARE my genes, so, I had thought she would be safe.

I was wrong.

Today the truth slapped me in the face.

My youngest has a problem. Only four months old and already she is addicted...to the white stuff.

Am I sure she is addicted?...well, let's put it this way...
the DEALERS.know.her.by.name.




Yes...today I happened to pass through the DQ drive-through to pick up my regular. As I pulled up to the window, I overheard voices from the dim, cool recesses of the DQ as one shadowy figure asked the other, "Can you pass this through to Ransom?"

How do they KNOW her NAME??? I can only assume that she has been making trips to the DQ on the sly, without me, to get those irresistible Pup Cups.

Eating it in secret...I'm pretty sure that is one of the hallmarks of an addiction...
and, here, all this time, I've thought she was just a social ice cream eater...




I can only wonder, where will the madness end?

The pups are growing up! Three from the litter of ten...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~RANSOM, GABBY, and VADER~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lisa and Iran with their pup Gabby, Laura with her pup Vader, and myself with my pup Ransom all spent the day Saturday in Mount Vernon enjoying the Apple Butter Making Festival.

Ransom has grown a bit between early August and now!

a few more photos from the past week...

Ransom met up with her sister, Gabby, for the first time since they were six weeks old (they are 13 weeks old now). In these photos, it looks like they are tearing each other apart, but, actually, they were having a blast playing together. They are both little ruffians! (Ransom is the one with the blackest face.)



The Princess was delighted to find her TOAD!!!
















And Darcy had a blast zipping around with Iran on his motorcycle!...

Long Time, No See, Brother!

Yesterday, on a whim I headed down to Republic and had lunch with my friend who has one of Ransom's litter-mates, a male named Vader. The two pups went nose to nose and recognized each other on the first sniff! They were so excited to see each other. This is the first time Ransom had seen Vader since Vader traveled to his new home about five weeks ago. The pups both have grown a LOT since then. Even though Ransom is pushing 25 pounds (age 12 weeks), her brother is a lot wider and more heavily muscled than she is (and she seems like a very muscular pup to me...she is lean and hard).



(Ransom is the pup in back that is facing forward.)




Ransom thinks Vader makes a nice chin rest...if only he would stand still!





Ransom on the attack!


Vader pushing Ransom!









Vader is on the left and Ransom (the blacker pup) is on the right.












Ransom has Vader down, but not for long! I have never HEARD so much GROWLING. They sounded horrible. If I couldn't SEE that they were only playing and loving every moment of it, I would have thought for sure both were in a fight for their very lives!

Maybe It's Only a Magnesium Deficiency...

Rayna is the melodramatic soul in our family. Her facial expressions have always been exaggerated and totally over the top, so when she began blinking excessively (often in sequences of three) and scrunching her nose, I didn't think a thing about it. That is just Rayna...constantly in motion, with moods that change moment by moment, broadcast loud and clear for all to see as they sweep with hurricane speed over her face. Starting about a month ago, though, we began noticing a soft grunting that she began doing constantly under her breath...maybe four or five times a minute...then she will have several minutes without it before it begins again. At first I thought she was mimicking our pup, who makes a similar sound when picked up...and Grant and I both made concerted efforts to stop what seemed to have become a habit that she was completely unconscious of. Nothing has worked. Punishment does not deter her. Reward does not entice her. She has genuinely TRIED to stop, but whenever she is trying not to grunt, she still has "jumping" chest movements (almost like suppressing the grunt causes her diaphragm to jerk instead) or she will resort to clearing her throat or softly coughing which is nothing more than the same grunting channeled into a "new" repetitive sound.

A few days ago, when I was talking to her about it once more, she said, "Mom, I can't help it. If I don't do it, I get the hiccoughs." I told her I would rather she "get the hiccoughs" than constantly let out those soft little grunts. I couldn't imagine "getting hiccoughs" from not grunting. She obediently went out of her way not to grunt, but a few minutes later she let loose with a "yip" sort of vocalization and when I told her "Stop that!", she replied, "Mom I hiccoughed."

I really have become convinced in the last day or so that these vocalizations are involuntary...something that requires extreme concentration to hold back, and that seem to resurge with a vengence after she has spent an hour or so forcibly holding them back. I wonder if she is exhibiting early signs of Tourettes Syndrome. I was reading on the internet today that a magnesium defienciency can cause symptoms very similar to Tourettes...so we are going to explore that avenue next. We will see if boosting her magnesium intake helps any.

I have never thought of any of my children as "adopted". To me, adoption is a verb, not an adjective. Just like our next door neighbor would not think of her child as her "birthed" child, neither do I think of my children as my "adoptive" children. They are simply MY CHILDREN...just as the neighbor's children are her CHILDREN. Evidently, it is the same in Grant's mind. Tonight when I was discussing with him my concerns that Rayna has early Tourette's Syndrome, he digested what I had said. About fifteen minutes later, he suddenly announced a bit startled, "Oh...wait...I was thinking, 'she does has a genetic background for it' but it just dawned on me, she doesn't share our genes!" Nope...and it only took him fifteen minutes of intense pondering to realize that! I know exactly how that is! Me, too...I forget all the time that "our" genetic background has no bearing whatsoever on our children!


On the Puppy-Front:

Ranson continues to grow like a weed. She has finally gotten so big that Rayna can't carry her for more than a few moments before her arms give out. (Course, if the pup were STILL when being carried, it wouldn't be as difficult...as it is, she wiggles and squirms, flops and flails all 25 pounds of her solid muscle mass!) Ransom is now 12 weeks old.

Ready to Take on the World...or at least One Intruding Repairman!

Well, she is DEFINITELY Gus' girl! Her father, Gus, makes Kujo look rational when it comes down to fending off potential intruders. Ransom is an apple that hasn't fallen far from the tree. She looks so sweet and innocent and cuddly...especially now with her oversized ears that are trying stand-up wolf-fashion, but just haven't quite made it yet. However, SHE doesn't KNOW she is sweet and cuddly. SHE thinks she is already a full grown German Shepherd ready to take full responsibility for the safety of our household! She is ten weeks and one day old. Today she was quite offended when the contractor came to remove the dehumidifier from our utility room. She thrust herself between me and the contractor and launched into a some serious guard dogging. She was giving him the evil eye and barking furiously at him. (Never mind she still only has a puppy bark!) It took THREE TIMES trying to call her off the attack before she relented (finally I just swatted her aside...that is when she finally realized I wasn't intending on allowing her to eat the poor fellow alive). Even then, she made a point of keeping herself positioned between him and me the entire time he was in our home...and she kept on eyeing him intently, though no longer barking or trying to advance upon him.

Today, I decided that from now on, on the rare occasions that the kids are home alone, Ransom is going to be indoors with them. We live in a really safe town, but a guard dog is always a nice thing to have, any way. With her puppy size and puppy bark, it is hilarious right now when she tries to ward off an intruder...but four or five months from now, it won't be the least bit hilarious...it will be downright intimidating.

(Don't misunderstand...I don't take her lightly. I have socialized her like crazy since bringing her home--taking her all sorts of places and having her interact with many, many strangers so that she won't be universally agressive to all strangers. And, her reaction today was the first time I have seen her act aggressively towards a stranger...but, then, after it happened, it dawned on me that this is the first time she has had a total stranger enter her HOME. I will continue to work with her and train her with the expectation that she follow OUR lead, not her own natural inclinations when it comes to judging the seriousness of a potential threat...but, I am pleased with the fact that she has such a strong protective drive...we will just need to make sure it is well-controlled and channeled appropriately. I need to invite more strange people into our house now, while she is little, to teach her to follow our lead. She is always going to have that willingness to attack just under the surface, which is fine, just so long as she understands from a very early age that we, not she, decides when or if showing that aggression is appropriate. Tomorrow evening, Darcy and I will begin dog training classes. Darcy is going to take our two and a half year old, sharp as a whip, border collie Rivendell and I am going to take Ransom. Ransom is too young to do any serious training...I am bringing her for the socialization benefit. I want her to be used to people outside of our family and other dogs outside of our family and be accepting of them, so intensive socialization is important. Ransom already follows a lot of the commands that will be covered in the course of the classes...like "sit", "down", "come"...and she walks nicely on a leash and has pretty good house manners...but, the class will be a great opportunity for her to learn manners in relation to new dogs and continue working on her manners in relation to new people.)

Photos from the Home Front:

Wow, a lot went on the eight and a half days that I was in El Salvador out of communication with everyone back in the States....




Doug learned to ride a bike without any training wheels (thanks to a lot of help from his Grandpa C!).







It seems Darcy grew another inch or so!

(My parents came to see me the day after I got home. Darcy and my mom apparently are consulting over a phone issue!)







(a photo of "Black" Ransom when she was about 4 weeks old)

(these two photos were taken just a day or so before I left for El Salvador)
And, Ransom reverted back to a wolf pup! Darcy had been entrusted with the solemn responsibility of continuing the pup's training and SOCIALIZATION but, she got too busy hanging out with her grandparents all week and left the pup on her own in the back yard. Wow! I could tell what had happened the moment I picked the pup up (even before confirming it with Darcy)... The silly pup would not make eye contact any longer (something we had really worked on and had gained much ground on) and she squirmed and flailed in my arms, unwilling to be held and she ran about the house like a crazed animal with no manners whatsoever. I was surprised at how quickly she had "detached" from us...but, then, I got to thinking about it, and eight and a half days is a HUGE chunk of your life when you are only nine weeks old, anyway. Gladly, Ransom found her manners and willingness to LOOK at us and interact calmly within just a day of me dragging her about with me...but, the way she was acting when I got home simply confirms in my mind that my instincts have been right and that this pup is going to require consistant socialization and training. She is just so dominant, self-sufficient, fearless, and independent that she NEEDS consistant training and continual socialization. She would turn into a real handful if just left in the backyard ignored for long periods of time.

Ransom is nine weeks old...and almost has gotten too big for Rayna to lug around! When I left for El Salvador, Ransom's ears were still sweetly symmetrical and tipped over so cutely. When I got home, I was shocked to see how much longer her nose had grown (not to mention those legs of hers!) and dismayed to see that she will not be escaping the "ugly ear" stage that is so common among German Shepherds. One of her ears is presently bent almost flat against her head at a cock-eyed angle. I'll be glad when they begin standing up erect!

(Laura, who got Ransom's litter mate brother told me last night that his ears never went through the ugly stage at all...just went from being perfectly tipped to standing erect...without the in-between-smooshed over grotesquely stage. She also reports that he has perfect manners, perfect coat, perfect behavior, and is calm and quietly affectionate. ...Well, I knew Ransom was the rough and tumble, rowdy, trouble-maker of the litter when I got her, so, I'm not going to worry about the fact that her siblings have better social skills... besides, I doubt that any of them would have dove off a high bridge into deep water below without a second thought at 7 weeks old like my fearless little fighter began doing!)







Here are the three kids out in the front yard yesterday modeling for me their souveniers from El Salvador. Darcy got a Soccer Uniform that has the seal of El Salvador on it. Doug got a hat. Rayna got the white top she is wearing.








I am beginning to wonder if little Rayna HAS any permanent teeth! Those top teeth just keep falling out, but no new ones come through in their place. She is currently short about EIGHT teeth--poor kid!

This silly girl has been watching too many Martial Arts shows on TV, I think!!!

(My Three Dumplings: Rayna, Darcy, and Doug.)