Meet Frenzy

We've wanted another Wheaten for awhile so Bounce could have a buddy but the timing just didn't work out the past two summers. We figured this was the summer to do it so Matt can work from home and keep an eye on the dogs. On May 18 I emailed Bounce's breeder who happens to be in South Carolina to see if she expected any puppies this summer. Three days later I heard back from her that puppies are available NOW. The next thing I knew, we had coordinated with her to get a female Wheaten Terrier puppy during our trip to Washington DC so she could fly home in the cabin with us.

I was ready for a puppy, but wasn't ready for it to happen that fast! But now she's here and is the perfect match for our family.

The night we got her. Matt picked Frenzy out between the two females available.

Bounce and Frenzy meet for the first time.

Frenzy likes to follow and chase Bounce.

Bounce approves.

Frenzy - 13 weeks old.

Buds

It just warms my heart to see how quickly Bounce and Frenzy seemed to bond. You definitely see breed similarities in their personalities, like being trouble makers who love to get muddy. Ultimately I think it's great that Bounce has a friend but we are in trouble!

Chaos

Matt was snapping my picture to show off a new lilac Stitch Fix tunic I got which shouldn't be too tough...unless you have a dog that craves my attention and a baby that is fascinated by the non-baby-gated stairs and beelines that direction when given the opportunity. So here's what we got. The blurred chaos is apropos for life these days. 

Pooped Pup

We wish we could just bring Bounce along on vacation with us, and do when we aren't flying, but our trip to San Diego meant 8 days at doggie daycare for our lovable pup. I always feel a bit guilty leaving him but then don't have to feel bad when I get his report card that says he plays nonstop while there.

We got a glowing report card that even said Bounce was very well behaved. (Shocking if you know him!) The only downside is the terrible stench he comes home with, a not-so-lovely blend of dog slobber, dirt and pee. Once we got him home and bathed he has just lounged around the house trying to recover from his playful vacay. 

 Ragged Bounce on the drive home

Notice the cracked window to keep fresh air moving in.

Moping after his deep cleaning bath. 

Back to his favorite spot with Luca.

Dinnertime

Yesterday I had to pick Luca up early from school because he wasn't feeling well. Fortunately once he was home he acted just fine so we had a nice long dinner of toast and applesauce. He was loving it, clapping and celebrating after putting food in his mouth. I should have filmed more but here's an accidental video I got while trying to take a photo. I love that Bounce is just deadpan staring at me. 

Reason 18 to love Sacramento

It's only a two hour drive to a Dillan Dog Beach.

Last Spring my mom came to visit during her Spring Break so we decided to drive out to the beach to check it out. It was April so the weather wasn't super warm, but it was comfortable. And of course, we are on the west coast so the ocean was way to cold to get into--except the dogs didn't seem to care.

Frenemy Staredown

When we are home, Bounce spends the majority of his days parked in the window keeping "guard" of the house. He's always on the lookout for the squirrels and mail men that might attack us and barks ferociously each and every time he spots one. 

And then there's his frenemy. We call her (him?) Snowbell. She belongs to one of our neighbors and loves to just saunter across the street, lawn, etc. to taunt Bounce. I'm pretty sure they have a mutual interest in each other. But I don't want to know what they would do if given the opportunity.

Reason 72 to love Sacramento

Every time we visit family and friends in Washington, I come back to Sacramento a bit homesick. And then Sacramento reminds me why we love it here. Case in point, we come home after Thanksgiving and I'm majorly missing family and my favorite city, Portland.

Then I took Bounce on a walk on this Sunday morning and my homesickness subsided. Sixty degrees, blue skies, the sound of soccer fans cheering and piles and piles of dry, crisp fall leaves blanketing the ground. And let's not forget, this is in DECEMBER. Yep, Sacramento, you reminded me that I do love it here. 

Case in point:

Wheatens on parade

Way back in April I was dropping Bounce off at doggie daycare and stopped to chat with our trainer, Victoria. She was happy I came in because there was a dog show that weekend that she was competing in and she noticed that the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier group was one of the largest in the show, with 44 dogs total. So I got all the details on her competition time and convinced Matt that we should go check it out.

Neither of us had been to a dog show before so we prepared ourselves for all kinds of crazy dog people (think Best in Show) and we were not disappointed! First we watched Victoria compete with her dog Enzo. Enzo was the example dog in our training class and I can honestly say I've never seen a more obedient dog. Victoria and Enzo were competing in the intermediate obedience competition. She decided to sign on up kind of on a whim and it the first time she's competed in years. During the competition she pointed out all the regulars that typically sweep the medal stands. When it was her turn, they rocked it. Then we waited and waited and waited.



They finally called up the finalists to do one last parade around the ring and hilarious, Victoria was so convinced that she wouldn't qualify that Enzo didn't even have a collar on! When they called her name she had to scramble and borrow someone else's so they could do a quick trot around the ring. And then, she won first place! We were really excited to see her win, and it was cool to see someone so laid back win over the intense regulars.

And then we boogied over the a different part of the dog show to see all the Wheatens. We cut through the grooming area and many of the Wheatens where getting their last minutes touch ups before the show. Groomers were feverishly combing and hairspraying the dogs in preparation. And then we watched the Wheatens go. Honestly, I didn't really follow what was happening because it wasn't like there was an announcer or anything to explain who was entering the ring when, etc. I gather they competed on several different levels but really couldn't tell who was beating out who, etc. All I cared about were the many cute Wheatens. I loved it.

The biggest downside to the whole day? Hours of standing on cement.
My legs ached by the time we left.

Vendors were set up around the perimeter and there was one that really caught our eye.I really wanted to get two of these for Matt and I to wear like crazy people but we resisted the urge.

Handpainted Wheatens on denim. I especially love the sleeveless one! ;)

And here's Bounce pouting at home because he didn't get to go along and mingle with all of his cousins. I can only imagine what chaos he would have caused if we could have brought him. Despite our wonderful trainer, he won't be competing in any obedience competitions any time soon!

 

Drawn to water

Some dogs love water. Some dogs hate it. Bounce loves it. And by love I mean he's almost obsessive about it. Today I picked him up from his favorite place, doggie daycare, and when I said I was picking up Bounce to the girl up front. She hollered back "Get Bounce for me. He's the little tan one that is always wet."

Seriously. Every time we get him from daycare he's got wet fur. The one time I picked him up and he was dry the person working commented how surprised he was that Bounce was actually dry (though his paws were actually a little damp).

Sometimes when we are just lounging around the house we'll hear a clatter in the bathroom and when we go to find out what it is, we find this:

Please put some water in the tub so I can splash.

Maybe if I look pathetic enough they'll give in.

Seriously, this has happened on more than one occasion. And as you might imagine, he doesn't fight with us about bath time. And thankfully he recognizes that bath time is not the best time to splash around like a crazy dog.

He reserves the crazy mad man dog splashing for the puppy pool in the backyard. We got it for him at Mary's request when she kindly came down and dog sat for us in late July. It's become one of his favorite activities. Even when its not exactly swimming pool weather. Just this week we had a huge rain and wind storm that blew the pool from its upright position against the house to face up, which meant it filled with water. No surprise, Bounce took the opportunity to get soaking wet. Matt let him in and couldn't figure out how he could have managed to get as wet as he was and then he found the pool filled with rain water. Busted.

And here's where it all started.

Reno, Nevada during our cross country move to Sacramento. We arrived late in the day and felt bad that Bounce was going on the third day of straight driving so we found a dog park to take him to. The park led up to a lake of water and we weren't sure how he would handle the situation. The second he got off his leash he spotted another dog swimming in the water and booked it as fast as he could to join in the fun. He sprinted through the shallow water and you could see the surprise on his face when he realized his paws were no longer on the ground and he had to figure out how to swim. From then on he stuck to the shoreline where he could safely splash and literally get dunked by other dogs without being bothered to doggie paddle.

Racing around, so happy to be by the water.
Bounce is on the left. 

Matt had to drag his wet butt out of the water
and he was not happy about it.

And he left looking like this; soaking wet and happy.
And showing off his skinny puppy figure!

And lately he's been loving the rainy weather. Every time he goes into the backyard he finds a puddle to jump in. From inside you can here him splashing and while I'm glad he's having fun I'm so sick of pulling out the towel to dry off his paws and trying to teach him not to jump on furniture if his paws are wet .

And just for kicks. Bounce's first bath. He was such a cute puppy! I almost want another one right now.

Wee little Bounce

Bounce meets a cow and other adventures

We had the pleasure of hosting James, Matt's brother, last weekend and lucked out with beautiful weather on Saturday. A hike was just calling our name. And hopefully this isn't the last blog you read in the coming months about hiking. Matt and I plan to get out as much as possible before the weather turns HOT.

We drove out to the Sierra Foothills for a hike, and it was such a remote location that the GPS couldn't navigate us the whole way (gasp!). We relied on the directions in our guide book, which happen to be wrong by the way. But after driving aimlessly on gravel roads for an extra 30 minutes, we made it to our destination.

The guide book said the hike was about 5 miles and would take 2-4 hours roundtrip, making a big loop to see a waterfall. So that's what we had in our minds, a hike in nature to see a waterfall. Well, the guide book failed to describe one of the most fun parts of the hike: being surrounded by cows! It was unlike any hike I've ever been on. It was like we were out in farmland with cows roaming (and cow pies to avoid stepping in).

Overall the experience was a positive one. We kept a brisk pace and completed the hike in almost exactly 2 hours. Fortunately there weren't any steep inclines to climb, just flat and gradual inclines. The biggest hazards were the cow pies, mud, slippery rocks by the water and poison ivy. We survived them all except my not-so-graceful slip and fall on a rock (good thing I've got extra cushion to soften the fall!).

And like I said, the cows were the best highlight in my opinion. At first I was a little startled and wondered if we were disturbing their zen, but they seemed fine. And actually, little Bounceman made a friend! At one point we were walking through a pretty big group of cows, keeping a safe distance of 20 feet or so. But one small cow saw Bounce and casually started walking towards us. Bounce, being a good dog for once, sat patiently and watched the cow approach.

Bounce spots the cows

The cow spots Bounce

The cow casually walks our direction

And keeps coming

And there he is, our friend the cow

After the cow encounter, our hike back to the car was fairly uneventful. But we did decide to let Bounce off leash to see how he did. I was really nervous because I don't quite trust him yet, but he had walked about 6 miles so far that day so I figured he was tired and couldn't cause too much harm. And fortunately he didn't. But I swear he thrives on doing stuff he isn't supposed to. So once he realized he was off the leash he looked around, got a look in his eyes, grabbed a hardened cow pie and raced around with it in his mouth. Mmmm, nothing like dried cow poo. (ew!) He spritzed around like a truly happy pup, happy to be free in the country and free to chew on cow poop. But I whipped out a treat and he's a sucker for doggy jerky so he dropped the cow pie and raced right on over. Phew.

We're so glad James could come visit for the weekend and motivate us to go see some of the Sierra Foothills.

A Bounce-y year

It's been a year since we brought Bounce home with us. He's gone from a wee 3.5 pounds to a solid 37 pounds, matured from a squirrelly pup to a, well, a slightly more obedient squirrelly pup. He evolved from a blackish brown little Ewok to a appropriately wheat-colored Wheaten Terrier.

What better way to show is year of growth than pictures?

 

That's our knucklehead.