Hiding Space

Josie finds a really good place to hide from the dog!

Ray is One Year Old!!

Here's my baby at one year old!  Ray's birthday was January 13th.  He's got all of his fur and is about 14 1/4 inches tall and weighs about 21 pounds.  He's gotten alot more confident and is following up on his New Year Resolutions to:

1. Chase the cats more

2. Chew stuff he shouldn't

3. Eat anything he can fit in his mouth

4. Not come when called unless there's food 

I think he needs to go back to doggy school!

At right is a photo of Ray's Dad, whose name is Keenan.  He is from a breeder in Lebanon, Oregon called IvanLee Shelties.  Keenan is a champion!

Naughty Puppy!

My darling puppy Ray decided that my glasses would make a really great chew toy!  He went to town and here's what is left of my glasses.  I was able to wear them for a few days, even with the crewed up temples and scratched lenses.  But then they split right down the middle of the bridge. 

I tried to order new frames online.  They were an old Guess brand and I found a pair for $75!  Then the company wrote that the frame is no longer being made.  So last night we went to Binyon's and I looked at the new Guess frames.

Luckily, I was able to find a new frame with the same lens dimensions as the old ones.  The guy was able to pop my lenses into the new frames and I was set!!! 

The new frames are purple on the exterior and blue on the interior.  They look kind of black, but not quite. 

So, all is forgiven. 

I did buy Ray some new doggie chew toys

Ray at 8 months old, A Graduate!

Ray Playing with Classmate in Puppy School

Here are my most recent pictures of Ray. They were taken on September 8, 2010.

You can see that his hair is almost grown out, he has alot of fringe around his face, his nose has grown longer. He's about 17 pounds. I'm not sure how tall he is now...I'll have to measure him again

He finished Puppy School and has learned: sit, shake, down, heel, leave it, watch me, walk on a leash. He doesn't DO them all the time but he's getting better, and he's gained alot of confidence!

 

Ray the Graduate

Ray at Dogpark - 7 1/2 months old

Here's Ray on August 29, 2010. I took him to the dog park and got a few shots. He's about 7 1/2 months here and is really getting his longer, adult coat. He's also got a really great tail!

I also took some pictures of his dog park friends. We go to a great park that has one area for big/active dogs and another area for shy/timid dogs. Ray goes the shy/timid area and plays with the other smaller, quieter dogs. Many of them are the little white foo-foo types (Malteses, Bichons, and many poodle mixes), which are pretty scrappy. I'm thinking of painting some of the dogs as my art projects for fall.

Ray on July 6, 2010 - 6 Months Old - in Sunriver

Here are pictures of Ray from July 6, 2010. He was almost 6 months old. Ray was born on January 13, 2010.

This was his first trip to Sunriver, in central Oregon. He loved playing in the tall grass and meeting neighbor dogs. He traveled in the car pretty well, but still got sick a few times.

We spent a whole week there, so he had time to adjust and did really well on his first trip!

Ray on June 27, 2010 - 5 1/2 months old - at Local Park

These are a few pictures of our new puppy Ray from June 27, 2010.

He was about 5 1/2 months old at this time, weighed about 13 pounds. Still soft and fluffy

Paintings from Spring Term

Here are the rest of my Spring term paintings. These are all in oils and I used the water soluble oil paints.

This is a painting of our Sheltie Jack who passed away in May. I used one of the recent photos I took of him. I started this one in blue, because his natural black color is so dark it's hard to differentiate the shades. I will also try a normal color painting of him.

This started out as splotches of all the "end of day" paints after class. I just swabbed the colors onto an extra canvas. At the end, I found a photo of an old guy and added him.

This was my frustration painting for the term. It's not what I wanted or intended, but I didn't know how to fix it. So, I'll leave it.

This is a painting I did from a painting workbook. I'll have to add the name later.

Saying Good Bye to Jack, Our Sheltie

On Wednesday, May 19, 2010, we said Good Bye to our dear friend Jack. He had been battling a back injury (possibly a slipped or bulging disc) and then he had additional organ problems that overwhelmed his ability to recover. He was with us for 12 years and 3 months, but it wasn't nearly long enough. We miss him so very much.

Jack was a rascal and a lover and a sweet, gentle spirit. He was barky and bratty sometimes. He ate cat poop out of the litter box and junk out of the garbage can. He herded the cats, much to their consternation. He never did quite earn his "Canine Good Citizen Award" and wasn't a very good host when company came over. 

Jack's favorite word was "GO" and he was up for anything. He went on cross country road trips with us, stayed in hotels and rode in elevators. He loved running on the ocean beaches.

Sunriver was a favorite place and he liked playing on the early morning golf course and sitting in the grass smelling the pine air. He learned how to camp.

He shopped at Pet Smart and Home Depot. He loved going to the dog park. He barked at the same noisy crow every morning.

Jack's favorite toys were tennis balls, a ratty stuffed frog, and a rolled up newspaper. He loved going on walks with Rick. He took great pride in learning tricks - he could balance a biscuit on his nose, toss it in the air and catch it in his mouth.

Throughout his life, Jack suffered from ligament and tendon problems.  He recovered from knee surgeries, endured acupuncture on a front leg, and was brave at the vet. In recent months, we noticed that he was sleeping more, hearing less, and moving more slowly. He didn't go flying off the sofa in full bark at every sound.

Jack was a great friend, a wonderful companion, a noble soul, a happy camper, the very best dog. We love him with all our hearts and our home is much quieter and way too empty without him (though we suspect the cats may be secretly pleased).

This is a recent picture of Jack after getting into blue paint while foraging in a bag of trash.

EDM #237: Draw What's Under Your Bed

EDM #237 is to draw what's under your bed. Under my bed is where I store boxes of old photos, old cassette tapes, and other items that I periodically pull out to examine. It's also Emu's favorite hiding place.

She goes there when I vacuum, when the dog barks at her, when strangers come to visit, when it thunders, and whenever she hears the dreaded cat carrier.

She has such acute sensitivity to the cat carrier that I have to remove it from the closet and open it's creaky door several days in advance of her vet appointment. Then she forgets that it's out and I can ambush her.

Emu is our 12 year old tortoiseshell cat. Here's a photo of her on top of the bed. She was the baby of the pet group for a long time, but through attrition, she's become the matriarch. She used to be a submissive creature, but now she hisses, eats first, swats the other cat and generally plays the Kitty Diva whenever possible. She's a tiny thing but has a big personality.

My Dog Jack

I took this photo of my dog Jack right after I got a new digital camera for Christmas. I think this is a really cute shot. He's a Sheltie and he's 10 years old.

Jack is a barkaholic. He loves to sneak food. He has a great internal clock. He knows if a squirrel is near just by sniffing the air. He's got one really good leg left. He herds the cats.

He's adorable!

Sketchbook Drawings

I thought I'd post a couple of my sketchbook drawings from our Sunriver trip earlier in July.

The first is a tree right by the patio of the condo
we rented. I used Micron pen and colored pencils.

The second, below, is a sketch of Jack sleeping, in pen and watercolor.

EDM Challenge #112: Draw Something Fresh, Plus Josie

This morning I finally did my #112 Everyday Matters Challenge to draw something fresh. We had nothing fresh in the house all week! Last night I did the grocery shopping and got some fruits and vegetables.

You know you're old and have been married a long time when a Saturday night outing is a trip to the grocery store!!! I saw some young, cute, dressed-up people there - and remembered Saturday night dates. Actually, I was kind of glad I had no place special to go.

I had expected work to be slow all week because of spring break, but it was really busy and really hard. Students came in with all kinds of difficult problems. Spring term begins tomorrow, so people were taking care of late admission and registration, financial aid problems, probation and suspension appeals, bad grades, etc.

Here's a shot of Josie, helping me paint this morning. She likes to sit on anything that is off the ground or table surface. Today she sat on my art box to observe. She has beautiful, icy blue eyes.

We have sun today, so I'm going outside!

Emma Pod

Funny Pets

When I came home from work tonight, I found this string in the animals' water dish. This is one of Emu's favorite toys. It's the waist string from an old skirt that she drags around the house and I find it everywhere.

She has a funny habit of dropping her favorite things into the water dish. I find little toy mice or bottle caps or Q-tips in the water. For awhile, she would steal my makeup brushes every day and I'd find them in the water dish. Maybe she's part raccoon???

Then tonight I found Jack under this pile of pillows on the sofa. I'm not sure how he got under them, but I do know he did it all by himself. I was doing exercises in the living room and he and I were the only ones there.  I guess he likes to burrow.  He was so cute I had to take a photo.

EDM Challenge #111 - Draw a Bowl, Plus Jack!!

Here are my drawings for the Everyday Matters bowl challenge, #111. I used a green stoneware vegetable serving bowl from the kitchen. I made two drawings - one in pen and watercolor and one in pastels.  I thought I'd put them both up.

I have come to realize that I am a bit obsessive when it comes to color application. That doesn't work very well with watercolor, because the paint can't be messed with too much. Once it's on the paper, one can't go over it too many times - which I always want to do.

This challenge has really been a challenge!

Here's my dog Jack, in full performance mode. It was a sunny day last weekend and we went to the dog park: "Gimme That Treat Will Ya???"

Busted.....

This is my dog, Jack. Most of the time he's a well behaved, semi-obedient dog.

If you look closely, you will see little bits of kitty litter on the rug. If you happen to have both cats and dogs living in your house, you may be aware of this very nasty habit. For some reason, our Sheltie loves to eat cat poop. It's very gross. The vet says it's because cat food has more protein, which then comes out in the....er....byproduct. No matter how many times I scold Jack, he's back for more. Very bad dog.....

This week he had to go for another acupuncture treatment. He's been having acupuncture for a bum ankle since about Thanksgiving. At first it was a couple of times a week, then once a week, then every two weeks, now about every 6 weeks. He also had pills and massage therapy and heat. He had tripped in a gopher hole and was lame in one front leg. No one could find the exact problem, despite x-rays and several vet visits. Evidently, he pulled a tendon or ligament. The acupuncture has really helped him! He can bear weight on the leg and go for walks. But it ain't cheap and he doesn't like it!

Drawing Josie

I've been sketching and painting my white kitty Josie. She's a long-haired, blue-eyed, white cat with five toes on each foot. She's named after relatives (Rick's grandmother and my great grandmother were both named Josephine). She loves to sleep on the arm of the sofa, propped up against a pillow. This is my first attempt to draw her.

Here is a photo of Josie, sitting under the rocking chair. She's our second white cat - the first was Sophie, who died about five years ago (she was the inspiration for my yahoo name "whitefluff"). Josie was a stray from the Humane Society. When she first came to live with us, she acted like a prairie dog or gopher when she ate. She'd take a quick bite and then get up on her haunches to survey the area before taking another bite. She still loves to chew on plastic bags, hoping there's something tasty inside. She has also learned that the bags make a loud rustling noise..... especially early in the morning......which wakes people up......which is really ANNOYING!!

Our other cat is Emu. She's 10 years old now. She got her name because of her unusual coloring that resembles the black-beaked bird. Emu is a quirky, funny, tiny cat who is now the matriarch of the pet family. She even bosses the Sheltie around and whacks him on the nose when he enters her territory.


EP

Dog Blog

I found this cartoon on someone's blog.....I didn't make a note of where I got it or who created it. My apologies to the Creative Ones of the world:
My own dog Jack is the pointless, incessant barking type. He's a Sheltie, so it's really not his fault. His brain is wacked somewhere deep inside and he can't control himself. It's genetic - like ADHD. He can go from a dead sleep on the couch to a flying, full-tilt, barking mania in 2 seconds. It's really quite amazing.

We've tried everything to curtail this charming behavior. Here are a few of the things recommended and tried:

• Treats for good behavior (it happens so rarely...).
• Teaching him to "Bark" on command and then teaching him the "No Bark" command (yeah, like that's really going to work....he gets the BARK part, but can't grasp the NO BARK part. The theory is better than the practice).
• Ignoring and turning your back on him (he couldn't care less).
• Teaching the "Watch Me" command, so he pays attention to me and miraculously forgets about the squirrel/bird/cat/leaf/dog/plastic bag (hahahaha) .
• The "Leave It" command (this works in some non-barking instances, such as "Get your head out of the litter box and leave the cat poop alone", but it's useless on a speeding dog)
• The water squirt bottle (doesn't faze him).

At the dogpark the other day, I was chatting with the owners of two Shelties: Minnie and Maggie (the dogs' names, not the owners'). They said they had also tried every conceivable remedy for barking and none had worked. Shelties, as a breed, are notorious talkers. We commiserated over our failures and I felt better. My dog was aimlessly barking at everyone and I could observe him as a phenomenon. He just has alot to say I guess.

EP