Half-Way

Happy Sunday afternoon, friends.  We have reached Summer of 2020 and the mid-point of the year.  It seems crazy that we are 6 months into this year and it is hard to believe all that has happened so far.  If all had gone as planned, the girls and I would have been returning from a vacation to the Canadian Maritime Provinces today.  But as we all know, nothing had gone as planned this year.  

The last week has been fairly quiet and relaxed.  My work week was filled with a virtual conference Tuesday through Thursday.  Each day started with time for a morning activity and involving the girls in our daily theme before the conference started.  

Each day for our morning activity, I took the girls on a nice walk.  Peaches, Piper, and I averaged about three miles each  morning(and usually did an additional short walk in between the conference and happy hour), and we allowed Maddie to join us for small portion of the walk each day. Our walk on Tuesday included a stop at Rotary Park off of the Riverwalk downtown to capture our beach day photo for the day.

During lunch each day, I took the girls out for a little time outside.  They were so well behaved each morning and the mid-day break helped Piper remain relaxed through the afternoon sessions. 

After 6 hours of virtual meetings and a nightly virtual happy hour, I was happy that the girls and I had gotten in our walks for the day early so that we could just sit outside and enjoy the beautiful, mild weather that we had this week.  

I don't know if the girls enjoyed the sports fan themed day on Wednesday, but Maddie has years of experience with me forcing her to do silly things  so she did great.  She even gave me a big smile while I was getting ready for work

I was so impressed with how well Piper did each day.  Most days, she and Maddie were close by while I was in meetings.  Peaches preferred to be in the living room on the look-out for the Mailman or strangers who might happen to walk by throughout the day.  

On the final day of the conference, I took Piper for a nice walk before heading home to spend some time in the yard with the girls playing a little ball.  

After a good bout of fetch, I harnessed all the girls and took them all for a quick walk around the neighborhood.  Piper had a little extra energy that morning, so I was working hard to work off some of that energy.

By the end of the walk, Maddie was tired...although I think Piper and Peaches would have kept on going if I had let them.

By lunchtime, the girls were ready for a nap in the sun and I was happy to get out and enjoy some fresh air.  Three days of meetings is tough!

By 5pm on Thursday, I think we were all happy to be done with our conference, but I can't say enough about just how good the girls were through the whole thing.  While they have been fairly good for me while I've been working from home,  I was prepared with Kongs of frozen peanut butter, bully sticks, and a variety of other entertainment in order to keep them occupied if needed, but I never needed any of them during any of the three days of meetings.  

This week I think Piper has progressed more than any other week since I've had her.  She's finding ways to occupy herself more and more and she is much more likely to relax  in the middle of the day, even if I'm moving around...while she is still likes to follow me, she is no longer a constant shadow.  We've also made some small gains in crate training which has been nice to see.  While I don't think she'll ever love being crated, she has been able to relax a bit while there and that is great progress.  Friday we had some decent thunderstorms move through our area and I was really proud of how well Piper handled the storms.  While she isn't crazy about them, as long as she could sit next to me, she eventually relaxed and fell asleep.  

Saturday, we spent a quiet day at home with several rounds of fetch in the yard, and I finally broke into the bully sticks so that all of the girls could have a special treat while I did a few things around the house.  Maddie was happy to enjoy some time on the patio while Peaches and Piper ran around the yard and kept themselves busy.

Our Sunday has been peaceful, accept for the occasional discussion I have to have with Peaches and Piper about not getting into the garden.  Peaches is especially struggling because there are sparrows and bees that have been frequenting the area and she is sure that she needs to chase them.

Piper was content to play ball while I tried to read in between throws.  We're working on getting her to let go of the ball when she brings it back, but that's going to take some more work!

And Maddie was happy to relax on the patio again  It was a great morning to spend time outside before the excessive heat moves in to the area.

And eventually, even Piper decided to lie down and just let me read my book.  It was a great start to the day!  

We've had a really nice day at home and the girls have let me get in some time for myself, which is always appreciated.  I'm now rested up and ready for the week ahead of me.  Thankfully, this week will be a short work week for me and we have some fun plans for next weekend!  I hope you all have a great week.  

Tails from Quarantine: Episode 8

We have reached the first day of Summer and, while we aren't quarantined in the same way as we were months ago, we are still dealing with the Covid pandemic and are slowly beginning to reopen here in Michigan.  Many other States across the country have been fully opened for a while, and some of those areas are seeing a spike in the number of Covid cases.  I'm hoping that the fact that Michigan stayed closed longer, will prevent us from having a similar spike and end up locked down again, but only time will tell.  In the meantime, life will not return to normal for a while still and we will continue to make the most of it.

Earlier this week, Piper had her spay surgery and is now officially available for adoption. Her surgery went well and, while she spent the day at the vet, the rest of us enjoyed a very quiet and peaceful day at home.  I was up early Monday to drop her off at the Vet's office by 7:15 am and I was home before 8am.  I had a busy morning of work and spent my lunch giving Maddie and Peaches each a walk of their very own.  I even took a little walk all by myself before picking Piper up from the Vet after work.  Piper came home from the Vet a very groggy and tired girl and spent the rest of the night resting.  

On Tuesday, Piper remained calm and quiet, still feeling the effects of her surgery.  She spent most of the day resting with short trips outside, and we all had a pretty relaxing and quiet day.  

I figured by Wednesday she would be back to her crazy self, making it impossible for me to keep her still to continue her recovery, but I've been pleasantly surprised this week by the fact that she seems more relaxed overall.  She has been resting quietly in the mornings while I work and, after a kong stuffed with peanut butter or some other chew to occupy her mid-day, she will settle down nicely for the afternoon.  By the time my work day is done, she's definitely ready for a nice walk.  With the hotter weather and the fact that she just had surgery, we've been limiting our walks to two miles, and I've been thankful that that has seemed like enough exercise to keep her happy since she can't run or play as she continues to heal.

Now that she is over 5 days post surgery, I can tell she is really starting to feel better and she just wants to run, but we have a few more days before that can happen.  Today has been a hard day for her because she has had to watch Peaches run around the yard and she wants nothing more than to play with her.  It has been a challenging day for me trying to keep her from playing because I hate to discourage her after it has taken her so long to really want to play. 

This week as also been a great week for Peaches.  She has enjoyed the wonderful sunny days all week long.  She spends most of her days outside sniffing all corners of the yard, chasing bugs and birds, and lounging in the sun.  She comes in the house pretty begrudgingly any time a make her come in.  I love watching her laying in the yard just soaking up the sun every day.  I'm even a little jealous of her!

Maddie isn't made for the hot weather, so she has spent most of her days lying on the dog bed in the office or following me around the house whenever I may move.  She has been getting out for some short walks with me every evening and has been enjoying them quite a lot.  They have all been no more than 1/2 a mile, but I have enjoyed them too.  I always love seeing how happy she is when she's out exploring.

We have settled nicely into our routine and I am happy that things are going so well with Piper now.  I'm hopeful that soon she'll be able to find her very own home.  While she has been a challenge(and still has some challenging days), she has really turned into fun little girl and it's been nice to see her relax and enjoy life as a dog.  

Tails from Quarantine: Episode Seven

Hello all!  Over the last few weeks, life has been crazy and I've neglected giving regular updates, mainly because I have been too exhausted at the end of the day and just don't have the energy.  Currently, we are still in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, although the Stay home orders have ended and the State and Country are slowly beginning to reopen.  I'm sure that we will continue to experience challenges and lots of changes over the next several months, but I don't expect much to change for me in the short-term.  I am still working from home and don't expect to return to the office any time soon. 

Working from home has been going well and I know that the girls have enjoyed having me home with them every day.  We have a good routine every day and, honestly, I have been working my regular schedule daily, walking the dogs regularly every day, and spending lots of time outside doing yard work so I haven't had a chance to get bored!  There has been a lot about this quarantine that I have really enjoyed. 

While having Piper in our home is not without challenges, she has continued to make improvements and, as I sit here writing, she is sound asleep beside me.  I'm beginning to understand her and her needs better, which makes life a lot easier.  Plus I feel like I have a good handle on her anxiety.  With a combination of anti-anxiety medications and lots of physical and mental stimulation, she has begun to really enjoy just being a dog.  She is a sweet girl with a cute personality who LOVES to be with her people.  I will definitely say that her added energy level has changed the dynamic in the house and I go to bed every night exhausted, mainly in a good way.  Of course we still have challenging days and sometimes no matter what I do she just won't relax, but she is slowly learning how to entertain herself and starting to understand that sometimes it's nice to just relax.

We haven't been going far from home for our adventures, but I have tried to change things up and find some new trails for walks occasionally because we all get bored walking the same route around the neighborhood. We've visited both some newly discovered trails as well as some old favorite locations and even made a day-trip to the beach to celebrate Maddie's 14th birthday.  That was a great day and we all enjoyed it tremendously!

We have been spending a lot of time outside because we've had some really nice weather.  This weekend has been especially nice with temperatures in the low 70s during the day and plenty of sunshine.  Peaches is especially loving that she can spend all day outside while I work from home.  I love how much she is enjoying her time outside and how well she can keep herself entertained. 

While I've spent lots of time weeding the landscaping, planting the garden, and a number of other fun yard tasks, I've also spent a lot of my outdoor time throwing the tennis ball for Piper.  She loves to run around the yard with the ball in her mouth, occasionally dropping the ball so that I can give it a good throw and she can chase it and begin to run around the yard again.  Once-in-a-while, this will lead to a good game of chase with Peaches, however, it appears that Peaches is starting to feel her age a bit...it's tough being 8 1/2 years old...and prefers to have shorter bursts of chase followed by sniffing around or watching for birds.  But thankfully, after some fresh air and exercise,  Piper will relax and just enjoy being in the great outdoors.  

Peaches' favorite activity lately has been watching the baby robins whose mom thought it was a great idea to put a nest in my backyard.  She would spend hours running around the yard watching for the parents to return to feed the babies and then would check regularly to make sure the babies were still there.  Thankfully, robin chicks grow up quickly and I was able to keep them safe from Peaches while they were here   Thursday the final of the four babies left the nest permanently and flew away.  Peaches has still checked multiple times per day to make sure that they haven't come back, but we are in the clear...or at least I thought we were until tonight when I discovered, or should I say Peaches discovered, another nest in our Willow tree.  We've had one causality from that nest, but I am calling that a success.  Hopefully those babies will be gone soon too and Peaches can get back to her days of chasing bees and butterflies in between naps.

Maddie has also been enjoying life a lot lately.  While she can't take long walks with us anymore, she is getting out for a short walk every day.  Some days, I take a nice leisurely stroll with her, just the two of us, and those are some of my favorite walks.  She loves to stop and sniff things along the way and really pays attention to everything going on around her.  Earlier this week I had to chuckle at the excitement of the little old lady as she watched a rabbit run away and got a little extra pep in her step.  She spends a lot of time sleeping, but she is having a great Spring because she has gotten to spend every day with me and I don't think anything could make her happier. 

With the reopening of businesses, our vet is now able to perform non-emergency surgeries again, so Piper will be going in for her spay surgery on Monday morning and will most likely be moving to a new home soon.  I have done everything I can do to get her ready for a new home at this point, and although she will need a family willing to continue training and working with her anxiety, I know that there is a great home out there for her that can give her all of the time and attention she needs. 

While we've been a good temporary home for her, it's definitely been a struggle. What I have learned at this point is that fostering a high energy, younger dog with Maddie is much more challenging now.   While it doesn't seem to bother her, it definitely makes my days more challenging.  Plus, I'm ready to get back to life with my girls and take a break from fostering for a bit so that I can focus on giving Peaches the time and attention she needs and on giving Maddie all the love and attention she deserves.  I'm looking forward to a quiet, relaxing, and enjoyable Summer with some small adventures and lots of fun!