Cleo the Couch Potato

Cleo might absolutely love going and going and going when we are on walks, but she also likes to be a couch potato. One of her favorite things to do is to sleep on the couch while I am doing homework or browsing the internet (and snore). She is still very in tune to what I am doing though, if I get up or even shift a little bit she is right there looking at me with those big blue eyes. She also loves it when I have a friend over and she can sit in between us and have a head in on lap and her butt up against the other person (and hopefully she doesn't fart during this time, but of course some times she does).

I really wanted to make it clear to her that being on the couch is OK, but because I am the alpha in our 'pack' that if I'm already sitting on the couch that she must ask before she gets up too. So far this has worked really well, she will sit down and stare at me until I pat the cushion next to me. It does not work quite as well with the bed though, she will start sleeping on her blanket on the ground, and when I wake up the next morning she is all curled up around me. Yes, around me. My dog loves to spoon.

My husky doesn't like snow

I would like to dedicate this to time spent since it snowed two days ago.

Time since Cleo last pooped: almost 24 hours
Time it took her to pee: over 16 hours
Time I spent walking her to get her late at night when it was below freezing, in the snow before she pooped: about an hour
Time I spent today trying to get her to poop: About 45 minutes twice today
Time it takes Cleo to do her business: about 20 seconds
Amount of times Cleo usually goes a day: once, and pees 3/4 times

Just by looking at that you see I have a problem. I thought wet grass was bad, Cleo hates the snow. She acts like she has never seen it before, and won't walk on it. When we walk on the sidewalk she sticks to my leg and almost knocks me over before she dares walk in the snow next to us. If you lead her into the snow she will stand there with a look of disdain on her face and hold one paw in the air, and then try to bully her way back to the sidewalk.

My dreams of skijoring might be rather far fetched, when walking around in a snowy park for ten minutes consisted of her tripping, prancing and standing looking miserable in the snow. She best get used to it or she will be one constipated dog with a bladder infection. Oh, and I will continue to drag her about in it whether she likes it or not.

The Wet Grass Theory

Cleo is a very picky potty dog. She won't go on dirt, she won't go on shaggy grass, she won't go until you have walked her around the block at least three or four times or taken her on a half mile walk. She will not pee on wet grass. In fact, she won't even stand on wet grass. If you make her, she will stand there with one paw in the air and just stare at you with the most miserable look on her face.

Princess dog will have to pee on wet grass soon, or she will be holding it for five months of wet and snow covered grass.

The Cone of Shame

On Sunday, I decided to finally take Cleo to the vet. I came home on Friday from the ballet and she had been chewing at her stitches where she had gotten fixed a few weeks before. The wound was almost healed, but it was swollen and red with little bite marks all around it. She might have just realized how itchy it was in that last stage, or was bored when I was gone. Worst possible thing was she was mutilating herself because she was so upset that I was gone. I don't think she gets quite that upset (but upset enough to eat dirty tampons from the trash, but that's another story).

So $90 worth of a vet appointment, expensive ointment and...a cone of shame Cleo is no longer able to bite at her stitches. She also refuses to pee or poop while it is on, or eat or drink. I discovered this after I had been walking her for 30 minutes and decided to take it off and see what happens.

Meet Cleo

Cleopatra "Cleo" is a husky mix. She was found as a stray somewhere in Denver. When I adopted her she had only been up for adoption for about three days (lucky girl!). She weighed about 50 pounds when I first took her home. She has brilliant blue eyes and no matter how much I wonder about it we can't seem to decide what else she is mixed with. Primarily she has many traits of a husky personality and looks wise, except she has short fur. She is absurdly cuddly, and loves to just be pet and talked to. She weighed about 6 or 7 pounds under what she should, and looked it for sure (skin and bones) but also has a healthy amount of muscle on her.

I was in a daze after realizing what I had done. At Petsmart where the humane society she was from was keeping her for the day, I had to buy all of the basics for a dog as I got her. Brand new collar and leash, I walked my new dog out of the store. As she readily jumped in to my dusty 4runner I sat down in the drivers seat and realized what I had just done. I had just had a baby. A furry baby, but instead of having 9 months to prepare for this, I had an hour and a half gestation period. She would probably live about 15 to 20 years longer if I was lucky, much like the amount of time a child stays with their parent. I brushed off this thought and drove back to my one bedroom apartment. I was a dog mom.