Dog Day Afternoons

I know I've been remiss in updating. A lot of stuff was going on and I kinda got caught up in everything. But I'm back and ready to start posting again!

This weekend was rather lazy for Elphie. Well, for me, too. Yesterday especially. Elphie spent the majority of the day sleeping on the couch, either under my legs or on top of my chest. Hey, I wasn't complaining! Her snorty self was keeping me warm! I guess there's a reason why they call them dog day afternoons.

I've come to the realization that I need to start getting Elphie more durable toys. The last time I went to Petco I picked her up two stuffed toys with squeakers. I'm that annoying person in pet stores who roam the aisles squeaking every toy she can get her mitts on. It's not for my own pleasure mind you, it's mostly so I can decipher which sounds I'll be able to stand if I had to listen to them all day. They were having a sale on toys so I got a stuffed squeaking owl and a stuffed squeaking blue dog for $5. Neither of them lasted more than a day when I brought them home. Elphie really knows how to sink her teeth into the things. I gotta remember that no matter how cute these things are, I'm not buying them for me. I'm kinda addicted to stuffed animals. It's sad, really.

Speaking of toys, I flew home last weekend to host a bridal shower for a friend and I spent the weekend in my old room in my parents' house. My parents have three animals, two dogs and a cat. I grew up with the cat and one of the dogs, and after not being home for about two years, it was good to see them. It was a little sad, too, because they're old. I realize that since I'm no longer a spring chicken myself that would make my animals old fogies as well, but it's always hard to see. Max, our rat terrier, has become blind and deaf and has grown a gray hair or two around his snout. He still has his sense of smell and appetite, though, so I suppose he's still got some life in him after all.

Max and Diva (the other dog) share this rubber toy. It's a dinosaur egg with a baby dinosaur hatching out of it. I believe my dad brought it home one day and it turned out to be Max's most favorite toy. It's funny how something so simple can bring such joy to our pets. I've been trying to find that toy in the Petco stores out here to no avail. It didn't dawn on me until I went home last weekend that maybe, just maybe, these dinosaur eggs are supplied only to the east coast stores. If that's the case then how sad is that? I really want to give Elphie a toy that her aunt and uncle love so much. It would be something to bond them together from 3000 miles away. I'm going to keep looking here, but I did ask my parents to pick me up one of those eggs the next time they're in Petco.

Elphie's dog walker has hinted to us - not so subtlety - that she thinks we need to socialize Elphie more with other dogs. It's not that I don't want Elphie to make other furry friends, it's just that we don't really have the time to bring her on puppy play dates. I enjoy bringing her to the dog parks but it's been raining a lot this week and I know if I brought her now it would end like it did last time with a muddy Elphie and a stained bathtub. We have neighbors with dogs, however neither the neighbors nor the dogs seem to be up for dates. The dogs are all older and they get freaked out when Elphie comes charging at them and starts sticking her paws in their faces. Hubby and I do have friends with two dogs so maybe we can set puppy play dates with them. I still say that Elphie is still a puppy and has a lot of pep in her so you can only expect her to be a crazy nut. I'm sure there area also indoor puppy places within the LA area, too. It's just finding the time to bring her to these places that is the challenge.