Christmas with the Grandmothers

Baxter got to visit both of his Grandmothers for the holidays, which was exciting and tiring all at the same time. At my mom's house on the 23rd, Baxter got to play with Macie, my sister's dog. It seems Baxter is a bit too much puppy for Macie's liking. We actually had to put Baxter in a kennel for a while to let the little kids open presents and give Macie some rest.

On Christmas Eve, our Aunt Tracy got Baxter a nice Milkbone chew toy, which he immediately destroyed once we got home.



On Christmas, we dropped Baxter off at my mother-in-law's house for a while before we came back to eat and celebrate with Trista's family. When we got back, Baxter was barricaded in the basement because he was scaring all the little kids with his high-pitched bark and his energetic attitude. Luckily, I brought a Dingo bone and that calmed him down for about 10 minutes.



Then, he went back to barking like a raving lunatic until we put him in a bedroom upstairs and locked him in his kennel. That's when he fell asleep for a couple of hours.



Once he was awake and all the little kids left, we let Baxter roam around the house freely looking for scraps of food that might have hit the floor. He seemed pleased.



Today, the day after Christmas, Baxter woke up late to go out and to get food. He then immediately fell asleep for another 3 hours. I'd say he really enjoyed his first Christmas.

Baxter, It's Cold Outside!

The windchill outside right now is 4 degrees. Our house lacks any real insulation, and the windows are very old, so there's a bit of a draft in the house. Even Baxter is noticing the temperature drop, since he was just at the Dog Park two days ago enjoying the 70 degree weather.

This morning, I snapped this picture of Baxter in our spare bedroom. He's not usually too fond of having blankets or towels wrapped around him, so it was rare to find him in this state.



As soon as I took the picture, I was reminded of one of the pictures I took of him the first night we had him. He was in his cage, curled up and chewing on his hippo. His snout has definitely gotten longer, and the brown around his eyes has spread a bit more as well. I realize it's a trick of the camera, but it also looks like his eyes have changed color.

A Trip to the Dog Park

Four days ago, Louisville was covered in ice. Schools in surrounding counties were closed, and road crews were out in full force spreading salt. Today, the weather shifted nearly 40 degrees for a high of 70, the clouds parted for a nice, sunny (yet windy!) afternoon, and Baxter's Dog Park tags came in the mail. It was the perfect recipe for a happy, muddy, very tired dog.



When we first arrived, Baxter and I were the only ones at the park. He wasn't quite sure what to do or where to go, and he actually wanted to go back toward my car instead of in the fenced area. After about five minutes, another dog joined the fun, and allowed Baxter to get used to the idea of the dog park.



Within 10 minutes, several other dogs--all bigger than Baxter--showed up. Baxter tried to play with them, but he was the obvious runt of the group, so they all picked on him. This week's ice and this morning's rain absolutely drenched the ground. This was bad news for Baxter, since his defense is to quickly roll on his back to claw and bite. Every time he got up, there was more mud and hay caked to his fur.

About halfway through our visit, a couple walked in with their Border Collie, Sage. Baxter and Sage, both being relatively small and over four months old, became friends rather quickly. They stayed mostly on the concrete and enjoyed each others company away from the bigger dogs.



Below are videos of Baxter and Sage playing at my feet. The first one was when they first met. Later, once they got to know each other a bit more, Baxter became a bit more vocal and tried to get Sage to play more.

The Death (and Return) of the Blue Hippo

Before we brought Baxter home, we picked up a few essentials we thought dog owners should have. We got a collar, a leash, food and water bowls, food, treats, a crate, and some toys. The one toy Baxter clung to immediately was his blue hippo.

The hippo was nothing special; just a stuffed squeaky toy on the shelf amongst several other stuffed squeaky toys. Initially, Baxter was so small, he couldn’t even make the squeaker squeak. It wasn’t for a lack of trying. I guess there was just something about that blue hippo. Maybe it was the bright blue color, the soft cloth material it was made of, or maybe it was because it was the smallest, most unintimidating toy we got that day.

During the past couple of months, Baxter has hidden and lost the blue hippo more times that I care to count. Trista and I have both played hero and rescued the blue hippo from under the couch on several occasions. Hippo’s bright blue color has now faded to a dingy blue with hints of grey. The soft material has since been chewed to bits, and is now ragged and crusty. Stuffing pokes out of tiny holes left from tiny teeth.

But nothing could have prepared me for the horror I witnessed this week. As Baxter was playing with the dingy, grey hippo, I heard a loud tear and saw Baxter run wildly out of the room. I feared the worst.



Baxter had demolished the hippo’s head, ripping off its ear and pulling out all the stuffing in the poor, formerly-stuffed creature’s head. Baxter knew he had done a bad thing, and I’m not sure if the look on his face was fear that I would yell a corrective tone, or sadness that he would soon lose his favorite toy. I sure know I was crushed.


Luckily, we are resourceful dog owners…and fairly nice ones at that. This weekend, while I was finishing up my Christmas shopping, I headed to Wal-Mart to search for another blue hippo. I wasn’t optimistic, because I know dog toys are a dime a dozen, and I’m sure they change their inventory quite often. To my surprise, I wasn’t able to find a single blue hippo. I was able to find three!



So, now Baxter has a nice, new, fully-stuffed favorite toy again…and again…and again. Hopefully this time each one will last longer than 2 months. If not, I believe we may finally have to say goodbye.

On another note; while I was shopping at Target, I happened upon this sign in the pet section. I can’t prove it’s a Beaglier, but I’ll say it is until someone proves me wrong.

Post Op Blues

Yesterday, Baxter went to the vet and had surgery to remove some of his "boy parts." The surgery went well, and he only got three staples, but Baxter was VERY tired when I went to pick him up. Usually, he'll whine and moan when he's in the car. This trip was spent mostly sleeping. He did let out one very loud yelp, which scared me half to death.

When we got home, his attitude was a lot better, and he seemed more willing to play. He did try to jump on the couch, which resulted in another loud yelp and no more attempts to conquer such high platforms. After a little food and some water, I gently picked him up and put him on the couch with me, where he spent the rest of the night.



On my lunch break today, I stopped by the house to see how he was doing and give him some more food. He was anxious to see me, and he's now leaping on the couch and running from room to room with a random toy in his mouth, following me like he normally does. I have a feeling that won't last too much longer as his pain meds will soon wear off.

Baxter's Vicious Bark

I haven't posted in a while. We've been busy this month with work, puppy training, and cleaning house. In the meantime, enjoy these short videos of Baxter sitting on the couch barking.

For the longest time, whenever he wanted something he would just whine. It was fairly cute, but I'm glad he's finally found his grown-up voice...although he does whine occasionally, as you'll see in the last video.

Notice in the first video that he puts his whole body into the bark. He means serious business. The way he cocks his head back reminds me a lot of Snoopy.



In this video, I'm not really sure what he's doing with his ears or his voice. It sounds like a mix of several different emotions.

Baxter the Elf, What's Your Favorite Color!?

Trista and I ended our Thanksgiving weekend by shopping for a few needed items on Sunday. We stopped by the Sprint store to fix our bill and make a payment. We also headed to Meijer because we needed a filter for our furnace, some dog food for Baxter, and apparently this horrible, cruel, and unusual torture device. The look on the poor dog's face says it all.

Busy Thanksgiving Weekend

We spent a lot of time with family and friends this weekend, and Baxter went along with us for a lot of it. On Thanksgiving day, Trista and I visited with my mother's side of the family, and then we headed to her mom's house. We keep forgetting to take our camera with us (I guess we're too busy with getting Baxter in the car). At my mom's, Baxter got to finally meet my sister and hang out with Macie again. Too bad for Macie, who was in dire need of a haircut, Baxter got most of the attention. Everyone wanted to pet him.

The same happened at Trista's mom's house. All the cousins, aunts, and uncles couldn't get enough of him. He even playfully bit one of them on the lip, and they still came back for more. All the attention did cause him to tucker out long before bedtime. We did remember that our cell phones have cameras in them, so I took this shot of Baxter lounging on the coffee table after the long Thanksgiving day.



Baxter and I both were caught napping again over the weekend. I believe I could have used a shower and a shave before the cameragirl snapped this shot.