finally...

So for a change, Ryan is home on a weekday. He keeps going to work and turning off the computer before he leaves. Doesn't he know I can't turn it back on to post on my blog?

Apparently I'm it...Sparky has tagged me and I'm supposed to say eight things about myself. I'm not feeling very well so hopefully I can think of some quickly. I really hope these doctors can figure out what's wrong with me and just fix me already. Here's what Sparky said:

Now, I get to tag someone! The people I tag must:
1. Start with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. The person tagged blogs about each of these facts and posts these rules.
3. At the end of the blog entry, list 8 pups to get tagged.
4. Leave a comment telling them that they have been tagged!

okay then...eight random facts.

1. my forever family, ryan and sara, rescued me from Animal Rescue Coalitions in Halifax, NS. They were supposed to be fostering me for a couple of days...i sure fooled them.

2. i really really really don't like car rides...even though i get lots of treats and yummy soup bones, something about driving around in the car really freaks me out. I'm okay if we're going straight and at a constant speed, but I don't do well with the stopping and starting and turning, etc.

3. when ryan and sara got me I didn't even know what a cookie was. the first one i got i spit out on the ground and then finally was persuaded to eat it. Best move ever!!! now i can't get enough.

4. my favourite toy is my bungee deer...no wait, it's my duck...er...maybe my hedgehog...wait!!...how can i forget about my molecuball which spits out treats when i bat it around the room!

5. you already know this, but I'm part weinerdog, part pit bull and part black lab...you figure that one out.

6. mail is evil and it must be killed as it comes through the mail slot or else it will...hmmm....i'm not actually sure what it will do if I don't kill it.

7. i love to lie in the sun until ryan or sara point out that i'm crazily overheating, then i go inside for a bit before going back out into the sun.

8. i actually do like wearing clothes. i have several shirts and sweaters and my blue rain jacket keeps me warm and dry in the rain...and it matches one that ryan has with white reflector strips on it.

okay, now for tagging some other doggie friends.

How about MJ, Jackie, Peanut, Billy Boo, Opy, Sophie, Sherman, Penny and Lola, and of course Wally.

I would have also tagged Suki but she was tagged already today.

out for now...aaaRARARaarararARRrr

MY food!

So Ryan and Sara are changing my food. Not because there was anything necessarily wrong with my old food but just that we still don't know what's wrong with me. The vet said that we'll just have to keep me on that prednisone stuff every other day (because when we switched to every four days I got sick again) and see how I do. I wish I didn't have to keep taking that stuff because it makes me more anxious, especially when other people are over and I'm even more excitable when there is food around. I just can't help it.

They did say they were going to consult some specialist network, so we'll see what happens with that. Anyways, for anyone interested, my old food that I'm not going to be getting anymore is Wellness, but we've found just as many people saying it's a great food as those saying it's not that good anymore. The new one is really yummy too and is called EaglePack. (neither of them are made by that company Menu Foods that's making some of our friends sick)

scubee out,
aARAaRAArrrrrARrr

Where's Dr. House when you need him?

Sara and Ryan watch this show called House...it has this really obnoxious doctor on it who somehow manages to solve all sorts of weird medical problems that people have that no one else can figure out...so where is this guy when you need him?

Returning to the saga of my body's imaginary problems, after the ultrasound I had that left me with no fur on my belly the vet said they still couldn't figure out what was wrong with me and didn't find any cancer, even though all the symptoms were pointing that way. They decided to gradually take me off these prednisone pills I've been on so I'm now getting one every four days, and things were going fine until yesterday, when that crazy need for water came back and I drank 27,000 gallons of water...(okay, maybe a minor exaggeration) I feel really bad because I had to get Ryan up at 2am to let me out to pee and I know he's busy with his school stuff this week.

Hopefully the docs will be able to figure something out soon.

aRArARrrrrrrrr

Of course I'm a lap dog

I'm not sure I really understand this big dog/small dog dichotomy. You see...I'm a big dog...part black lab, part american staffordshire...if you heard me bark you'd be concerned. On the other hand...I'm part dachsie...a little dog...I stand about a foot and a half tall on a tall day...so why can't I sit on your lap while you're doing work? Of course I'm a lap dog. So a lesson to all you little dogs, hold your head high, it's all in the bark...and for you big dogs, there's no problem being a little dog at heart...jump up and sit on your person(s) lap(s), you too can be a lap dog! (and those of you in between...no one should question you either way)

aARArararARrr

Happy birthday to me!

I would have posted yesterday but I was up island with my good buddy Tobi at his house on Protection Island. It was so much fun being up there for the weekend.

But guess what...it was my birthday yesterday and it was so great (except for the riding in the car part). You'll never guess what I got for my birthday, so I'll tell you. If you recall, my most favouritest toy ever has been this deer but the stretchy part has worn out, one of the squeakies doesn't squeak anymore and there's stuffing coming out of his head. I had heard of my people looking for a new one for me but they never had any luck. How surprised was I yesterday after having two big soup bones in the car ride back from Nanaimo, when we returned home and Sara pulled out a brand new deer! They come from the American Kennel Club and, even though they haven't recognized the wienerblab as an official breed, they do make good toys. I also have the duck but it doesn't quack anymore, though it's still fun to play with.

And if that wasn't enough, Sara made me my own bone-shaped birthday cookies. They're soooo good...even though the recipe said to cook them in the microwave. Anyways...back to my deer...I'll post again later with more details from last weekend.

arararARARARaArararar-squeaka squeaka-raaARarr

bath time! gross!

This week, sara has not been going away to work each day like she normally does. She says that she needs to do school stuff, but i know that it's really because she wants to hang out with me in the sunshine.
So imagine my surprise when sara said that the sunshine was a good occasion to give me a shower outside! I tried to be really really good, but i don't like getting sprayed with water one bit! Even though sara hooked the hose up to the inside tap so that the water was warm, i was not impressed.

And rather than rescuing me, ryan decided to take photos. I'd like to see how he would feel if sara made him stand in the back yard and sprayed him with the hose. Hhmmph! Getting wet is soooo gross!
araARARarAArarrr

An example of when the game is over

Don't you people understand? This is an example of the end of a tug o' war and fetch game. You're supposed to leave me alone to chew for a while, and then I'll come back to you when the game is to resume.



araARARarAArarrr

Tug o' war or fetch...I always get the two mixed up

I thought I'd start off the week with a couple of videos taken yesterday out in the backyard because the weather was so nice. You see...I have this little problem. I seem to be the only one who understands the rules of these games. The games of tug o' war and fetch are not separate games, but they are one and the same. I'll go fetch, but you need to then play tug to get the thing back from me...and if I win, you have to keep trying. The game ends when the toy needs a rest (rest defined as me squishing it in my mouth for a while). There is also a lot of growling involved. It's so much fun.



aArarararARRaarr

kinda cold in here

brrrrrrr...

So I still haven't heard back yet from the vet but we should hear something today I think...as you can tell, I survived my bout of starvation. It was touch and go for a while there but when I came out of the vet room I got a great big cookie and then a whole bunch of kibble in the car on the way home. Since then though things have been a bit chilly...my poor belly had to be shaved for the ultrasound thingy to work...it was quite frightening...they had to shave me and then they put this weird jelly-type stuff on my belly while they moved this thing around. I'm okay, but fuzzy scubee isn't so fuzzy anymore in some parts. They assure me it will grow back though, but I'll believe it when I see it (or at least when I show it to people when I roll over to let them rub my belly).

araRAararaRArarrr

ssoOoOOooOoo hungry

I don't know why everyone is so mean to me. Can't you see I'm starving? Look, you can almost see my ribs. My tongue is sticking out in hopes of catching any airborne nutrients that might happen by...(don't worry, I don't have Charles' problem)

I don't know what I did to deserve this but I didn't get my breakfast this morning. I did get a mildly unexpected additional dinner around 9:30 last night, but that's no reason to deprive me of breakfast. They say it's because of my vet appointment today. I'm going to get an ultrasound done of my belly, but it's not until 11:30. They said I can't eat for 12 hours before my appointment but I still don't understand why my appointment couldn't be earlier. Oh well...hopefully I'll make it...and Ryan better bring my breakfast with us to the vet to revive me afterwards.

araARRararRRrrARararr

And you thought cookies were great

Yes, my friends, there is something out there, just for dogs, that is better than cookies. I know, I know...but take a look at these!


Your eyes are not deceiving you...they are, in fact, doggie cupcakes. Sara brought them home from the store on Friday and they are sooooooooo good. I didn't want the goodness to ever end...but alas, she only brought home two of them. I heard her saying to Ryan that she had to show him the store she got them at, so all is not lost...I believe there will be more. For those of you here in Victoria (MJ, this is to you), I heard the place is in Dragon Alley in Chinatown. I don't know where that is, but if you get your people to read this maybe they can help. Anyways, off to go dream about more of those yummy yummy cupcakes.

AARararaARAararrr

Check out the new duds!

Sara went out the other day and came back with an early birthday present for me. My birthday isn't until next month but she got me this new shirt. If ever there was a shirt that described the essence of wienerblabness, this is it! She said she got it from this store in Market Square where they have lots of cool doggie stuff. You should get one!



AaraAraraArARARRRrr

A lesson in cookie eating

Not that you need a lesson on how to eat cookies, because I know you're all pretty good at that naturally. The key to this lesson is one of strategy. Now I know it's not often that you are confronted with multiple cookies at the same time, let alone ones varying in size, shape and tastiness, but watch the video and learn. The key is to go after the largest one first, because we all know, cookies will disappear before your eyes if you don't eat them fast enough.



aRAaraArrrRRRArarr

But I'm an Aries...

Aries
Your element: Fire
Your ruling planets: Mars
Symbol: The Ram
Your stone: Ruby
Life Pursuit: The thrill of the moment
Vibration: Enthusiastic
Aries Secret Desire: To lead the way for others.

Ryan talked to the vet yesterday because we were still waiting to hear back about my last blood tests and she said that she thinks I have some sort of cancer. I don't know what that is but I know I don't like it. They couldn't see anything from my x-rays (after all that) so they said I need to go back and have an ultrasound on my belly. I'm not sure what they'll find because I keep telling Ryan that there's not enough food in there. I'm taking this thing called prednisone twice a day. It's also making me want to drink more and it's making me really hyper (probably not so much that the average person could tell the difference from before but my people can).

Anyways, I'll hope to know more in a couple of weeks when they do this ultrasound thingy.

aARAraRARAARararr

antifreeze tastes like candy

did you know that even though that green stuff people put in their cars tastes like candy, it can kill dogs? and other animals too?

and even though there are are safe kinds of antifreeze that are not poisonous, most people don't know about them.

in my home of british columbia, us dogs have started a campaign to get people to learn about the safe kinds of antifreeze and to get the poisonous stuff off the shelves. find out more at the spca website.

here's a picture of me with some of the safe kind of green stuff -- my people bought this at canadian tire. i look worried because i am thinking about all the dogs that get sick and even die from the poisonous green stuff each year.



aarARRAraRAArarrrarr

Napkins are bad for the environment...I use pants instead

You know how after a really great and satisfying meal (to the extent that a meal that ends can be satisfying) and you're all done licking the crumbs off your face, you find your face covered in slobber and your nose running a bit? Rather than using napkins that are made from paper and the senseless destruction of the places where we pee, I find a nearby pantleg (preferably with the leg still inside) works wonders. It not only helps you to wipe the aforementioned (okay, ryan helped with that word) slobber and snot, it also helps with that itching sensation that comes with it. Here's an example of how it's done.



aarARRAraRAArarrrarr

mmmm.....kibble!

This is me licking my lips after some good kibble. I'm glad I have my appetite back, mostly, because I was wondering how I could possibly survive without my kibble. (though the beef and chicken and fresh salmon kinda helped) They still don't know what's wrong but they've got me on some sort of drug in the meantime which seems to be helping because I have more energy and my love for all things food seems to have returned (except for mushrooms, but they're not really food. I'm not sure why ryan eats those).

I think we'll get the results from the last set of tests tomorrow or friday.

AraRAaArARarARRrrrr

x-rays are stupid too

Well...back to the vet today. They still don't know what's wrong with me so they had to take more of my blood (it's really not fun). They also made me get x-ray pictures taken. Now I love getting my picture taken as much as the next wienerblab, but this type they put you on a cold table and stretch you out and try to hold you still while they do this...they're sure not getting my good side (even though they took pictures of both sides of me and one of my belly...I'm sure they could see how empty it was). And then the messed up on one of them and had to take it again. As you can see...I'm now glowing from all the radiation and appliances turn on as I walk by them. I hope I return to normal soon.

(okay okay...I'm not really glowing...ryan showed me how to do that in his photo program)

aArrArarARARaRraarr

I hope Tobi comes over again soon

Tobi is my bestest friend. When he comes over we have so much fun running around and wrestling. We don't break stuff very often. We used to make a lot of sound when we'd wrestle but our people like it better when we're more quiet like this. It may look like we're hurting each other but Tobi doesn't have most of his canines and I don't actually bite down, I just pretend.



araARRararArarar

some good news, but more tests

Well...apparently it's not the kind of cancer they thought it might be that they tested for yesterday. On the other hand, it means they still don't know what it is that's causing my loss of appetite and crazy water consumption. As a result, I'm going back on Monday for more tests...this time they're going to do another blood test (the one they didn't do last week by mistake) and a chest x-ray. I guess we'll see what happens after that but the results from that won't come back until the end of the week and in the meantime they say they're going to give me something called a cortico-steroid (and I thought I was already muscular enough for a wienerblab) and that might help with things.

gotta go (time to go mark up the neighbourhood again)

araARAARaararArararar