That Evil Ribbon

Normally I am very respectful of the fact that my Bella is a dog who prefers not to be handled. We have a good thing going on where she doesn't mess with anyone in the home and in turn I make sure she gets to be free from harassment.

The only downside for Bella is that I sometimes can't contain myself. I sometimes pick her up just to hear that unevitable heave of sigh. I hug her just to get the exact same reaction. Yeah, Bella's not the cuddly little lapdog type. That's perfectly fine with me.

Then sometimes I take a step further. Not always intentionally. The other day was one of those days where my poor Border Terrier got more than she bargained for when me and son found a ribbon. It was an innocent enough idea putting it on. We didn't expect the huge reaction we got!

Going away, throwing herself down and 'yawning' - "What is this torture decvie??"

"I've lost a piece of my soul"

Waiting and hoping

"I only look like I'm fine with this since this is my blind side."

"I really hate my life right now"

"I'm going to lie here in a bad mood until this horrible thing has been removed"

I removed the ribbon after taking these photos, I don't really enjoy making her get this upset unless I really need to. But her huge expressions do put a smile on my face, when it's over something as harmless as a ribbon.

Bella vs the Wobbler

So I'm pregnant again.

There, I've said it. 16 weeks finished out of 40. While I should be living a normal life wondering about things like if I'm showing or not, I have instead spent the last few weeks wallowing in self pity over not being able to go out and walk, run or bike as I'm used to. I went on a 10-15 minute walk yesterday and I was punished for it.

I have got a condition called Symphisis Pubis Dysfunction, or SPD, where the ligaments in my hips get too lose and causes my hip bones to be moving too much. It causes pain. If I do too much I can start limping. Last pregnancy I was using crutches in the last two months and this time around I've already been adviced to use them at home. Ugh! I have got a maternity support belt to try to hold my hips together, I do physiotherapy twice a week and have already had to reduce my work to 50%. All this combined seems to be helping, I've stopped wallowing and am now out of the constant pain zone and am starting to enjoy life again.

This of course is not very fortunate for Bella, well except the fact I'm staying at home more. I am trying to find out how to entertain her and activate her here at home, for example by teaching her to clean up like I posted on two posts ago.

I also bought two Kong toys, a Kong Extreme and a Kong Wobbler.

The Wobbler is a food dispenser for those not familiar with it and it makes Bella jump around like a stag when I pick it up. She loves it.

 

Noms!

The only problem is that she is SO GOOD at it! It takes her maximum five minutes to empty it. I was hoping for a little more engagement! I did try sealing a part of the hole and it took her about two more minutes that way. I need to seal an even bigger part of the hole. 

Oh, and those that noticed on the second picture how long Bella's claws are, this is a work in progress. One tiny snip at a time. I drew blood last month and I'm trying to get to a point where we don't have to do this fighting one another.

Summer Memories

I have been lazy with the camera since this spring. I wish the reason was better than it is but I got a new laptop in Berlin and it took me all this time to get a program to process my photos. This evening I finally sorted it out.

The summer was good. We went exploring Iceland,

we stayed at two summer cabins,

and we also did some camping, which Bella hated.

The laziness with the camera is a part of why I have been lazy posting. It doesn't feel right posting text alone.

With winter looming, there's quite a few interesting things me and Bella are looking forward to in the coming months.

I'm trying to stay involved in the Responsible Dog Owner's Association and there are a few kickass people in there with a lot of drive towards improving life for dogs in Iceland and the rights of the owners.

Me and Bella and a lot of other people are eagerly awaiting for three (or four) dog parks to rise in my city that the city has promised to build this year. Those will be the first enclosed areas to rise in several years, there are currently none. This is in part thanks to people in the aforementioned association who submitted ideas to build them in a citizen election on things to do to improve the city. I had my idea to build a dog park in my neighborhood submitted for the voting but unfortunately it did not receive enough votes for the idea to be materialized. However when those dog parks get built I plan to visit them with Bella. This is a big step as there are currently very few areas where dog owners can turn their dogs loose within the city.

I am also considering whether to take some doggy classes this winter, one I have been waiting for for over a year is being scheduled in January so I shall see. I might also do a repeat of a Clicker/Obedience based class in November if I don't find anything else.

I have at this point decided not to continue with agility. Both due to health reasons but mainly because the atmosphere gets Bella way too overstimulated and I just don't enjoy it that way. I love the sport and haven't given up on it for good, I just don't believe that putting Bella into this environment once a week will cure her. I do have a dream about getting funds to build an outdoor course/arena that's open to the public. I just know it'd be very vulnerable to vandalism and would require some sturdy equipment but I'm going to look into it when I have more time and energy sometime.

We Still Live

After a while of being missing in action I return with a video. Of Bella! yay!

To make a long story short, my back is messed up big time again and I have been struggling with work and home life.Physiotherapy, acupuncture and painkillers are some of the things awaiting me. Unfortunately, my doctors are advising me not to walk, jog or bike much if I can avoid it and instead going for a swim. Unfortunate for a person with a dog? EXTREMELY!

However, after feeling very guilty and like the world's worst dog owner I decided to stop grieving and get creative with things to do with Bella. I do try to take her to a field to go frisbee-ing or ball throwing but I am also getting back into more regularly activating her in my home. Mainly with trick training.

When I was pregnant with my son I taught her to pick things up for me, something I have used from time to time. I never got around to actually getting her to drop them into a box like I was planning. Yesterday I finally got around to finding a suitable box and we got going. I took a short video and it's actually only our second training session working on this, ever. I think it's going pretty well already.

With a kid that loves spreading his toys (and the contents of my kitchen) all over the apartment, maybe Bella could still try to impress my fiancé with her tricks.

Euro 2012

The European Football Championships 2012 started 8th of June and for a couch dog like Bella, it's an ideal sport.

I've got the Carlsberg and remote, now what's missing? Slave, do your work!

 

Baby Magnus runs for NOMS.

 

Omnomnom!

 

Now we can watch the matches. Owner, get outta the way!

Bella is real serious when watching the players. Who be the fittest? Who be the fastest? Who could play frisbee with me the whole day?

Not this one...

Hmmm...

Oh, a cute one! With a prize! Did he win???

ZZzzzzz....

Racedog

Yesterday afternoon, after a busy day cleaning the apartment, me and Bella went out for a bike ride. I didn't know what hit her but she was craaaaazy, running like she was late for the last meal of her life.

We went so fast that there was no time to catch us on camera. Instead we had a small photoshoot during a pitstop.

Mr. Bike seems a little tired.

After the pit stop I thought we would relax a little but Bella took off like a rocket and my leisurely afternoon bike tour was like a thundering race down the homestretch. Bella didn't even have time to bathe in the awe people we meet have for her shoes.

When we got back home in record time Bella's victory lap was a little lacking:

Gimme a sec here!

Of all the things we conquered, the new blue shoes were the true victims of Bella's terriorism on the track:

 

From riches to rags?

Afterwards, I felt I had to get to the bottom of this transformation Bella took from a terrier to a greyhound. 

Is the furry Lady a greyhound in terrier disguise??

I soon realised that while I had been cleaning the whole weekend a certain someone had been taking advantage of the iPad. I carefully peered over the edge of the sofa to oversee what Bella was looking at inbetween her naps.

Ponies??

Then it suddenly dawned on me that this was Belmont weekend where Union Rags won with a photo finish! Bella had secretly been following the Triple Crown trail without letting me in on it. Sneaky little iPad stealing dog!

Union Rags's Photo Finish

AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Reykjavík Fashion

Me and Bella have never been afraid to stand out of the crowd, first with our backpack and as of today we have biking shoes.

Sporty for sure and they even match our bike trailer! Bella was dancing to begin with and launched herself forward over any obstacles at home like a steeplechaser.

Once outside, she made sure to look lika an old pro, the envy of other dogs. We even overheard one woman tell her son how nice shoes "the dog" is wearing. Of course blue isn't Bella's colour (which even my fiancé pointed out) but with the trailer as the main accessories, she rocks the colour anyway.

Once we got home we had to admit that we were a little tired, especially Bella, after biking to baby Magnus's daycare and back home. It has also been really super hot this past week and the owner is overdue on stripping the overcoat to sport a summier look.

Yay! Backyard agility with homemade equipment!

Bella wasn't really feeling the agility vibe after our biking but once I had completed a pair of jumps she decided to show that annoyingly silent and overly obedient border collie who was watching from above how we rock agility as well. Nevermind the owner's crouching position, I was being overly leading into the jump. It's a terrible habit! In my defence I have never let her loose in our backyard before and Bella was rather lazy so I had to lead her to almost all the way up to the jump before letting go.

Now our backyard arsenal consists of weave poles, a tunnel and four jumps. This is so much less distracting than going to agility class, I love agility but the stress level it puts Bella at is so enormous that neither of us truly enjoys going... yet.