Drama...

Hi all!  I hope everyone is doing well.  Macho and I have been having some drama at home lately which has been annoying to say the least. 

When I moved into the house I'm in last year, I noticed that the wooden fence between my house and my neighbor's was falling down in certain spots.  I didn't mind because it was all the way in the back of my very large yard, Macho was completely oblivious to it, and my neighbors didn't have pets or kids.  When the people who lived next door moved out, a new family moved in with two very large dogs.  They tried to fix the fence, but some of the wood is rotten and it won't hold the nails. 

Back in July, I took Macho outside and noticed a very large pile of poop that clearly could not have come out of Macho.  I checked out the fence and noticed that the whole thing fell over in the back again.  I talked to the guy who owns that house, and he came to "fix" the fence.  I didn't check it out completely, just saw that it was back together and looked ok.  Well, earlier this week I was outside with Macho running around and playing.  The dogs saw Macho (I think maybe for the first time) and got excited and wanted to play.  I was ok with it, until I noticed them trying to push the gate down to get into my yard.  I hurried up and let Macho in, and maybe 10 seconds later, the dogs pushed over the fence and came into my yard.  They are completely friendly and let me pet them for a minute before I went and got their owner.  However, Macho is not nice to some dogs, and I am afraid he will growl at them or show their teeth, and then these dogs may not be so nice anymore and could easily hurt Macho.  So I went back and fixed the fence where they were able to push through it.  

On Wednesday I was leaving to go to my exercise class, and while pulling out of my driveway, I noticed one of the dogs was just hanging out in my backyard!  I didn't have time to deal with it, so I just left.  When I got home I let Macho out, and just as he finished going to the bathroom, I saw these dogs charging at him.  I hurried up and opened the door just in time for Macho to run in.  When I turned around, one of them was almost running into my house.  I had to yell "No!" and stop him from actually getting in the door!  My neighbors were outside so I was able to talk to them about the fence and having their landlord come and fix it.  I went back into my yard, and that's when I noticed that the dogs were able to pull out the stakes of the fence and create a hole large enough for them to easily run into my yard.  They had also completely ate my entire garden, leaving only one lone tomato.  

Yesterday their owners put up a large crate in front of the hole, and I was able to put a few cinder blocks from my yard on my side of the fence to hopefully keep them out until the landlord can fix it.  I am just hoping that the crate holds the dogs out, as Macho is nervous to go outside now after the fiasco on Wednesday.  I also hope that the dogs did not get sick from eating my peppers and tomatoes!  I found some remnant, chewed up pepper and tomato in my yard, so I know they for sure ate some of it.  They are such cute dogs, I wish they could be friends with Macho, but given their size, I know there's no way that's possible!

Not much else has really been going on.  Macho is still doing really great and seems to be a happy dog!  I am going to Mexico in a little over a month for 5 days, and it is the longest I will be away from Macho in a very, very long time.  He will be staying at my parent's house during that time, so I'm going to be taking him over there a lot to get used to their house.  Other than that, things are the same, and Macho is as cute as ever.  Picture here for evidence :)

Busy Summer!

I haven't posted in forever even though I have so much to update on!

I mentioned in a post that I wanted to take Macho on my family's vacation weekend up in Northern Michigan.  I was nervous because there would be approximately 25 people and 3 other dogs up there for the weekend, and I didn't know how Macho would act around them.  I had the dog trainer come out a week before I left to see how Macho is doing and give me some tips on getting him to go into his carrier.  She said that she thinks it would be great for Macho to go and showed me some easy ways to get him used to the carrier since he would have to go in it for the 4 hour car ride.  I worked with Macho on this for the next week, and then we were off for the trip....

That morning, while packing up my car, I was super nervous just to get Macho into the carrier because he hates going in it.  But that morning, he walked right in!  I didn't even have to use his leash and pull him into the carrier through the front door.  He had no problems at all in the car and just most of the way.  I parked the car at a park right by the cabin so that Macho could go to the bathroom without everyone crowding around him.  He loved being out in a new place and didn't want to go back in the car even though it was only for a minute.  I was nervous to take him out, but there were only about 15 people at the cabin so far, and there were no other dogs yet.  I saw a different side of Macho in these moments, that is for sure.  He got out of the car on his leash and just walked right up to people wagging his tail.  We sat on the front porch of the cabin, and Macho would just sit there with us like it was no big deal or walk up to people for sniffs.  

As more people came to the cabin, Macho got a little more nervous.  That first night he parked himself underneath a chair in the kitchen and just watched everyone.  This didn't surprise me, but I think he was still enjoying himself (especially because he got a lot of table scraps that way!).  The next day there were 3 other dogs, and I was really only nervous about my sister's dog who is a crazy pug who acts like a puppy even though she's 8.  Macho definitely did not like her dog.  I put Macho in his cage, but he would still show his teeth.  Daisy (the pug) didn't care, until Macho really started to show his teeth when Daisy was sticking her face into the cage.  This is when they started to go at each other even though the cage was between them.  But Daisy had this affect on one of the other dogs as well, so I knew it wasn't too big of a deal.  I just had to keep watch on Macho whenever he was outside and Daisy was as well.  Other than that, he enjoyed the weekend and did so much better than I anticipated!

Macho is still his goofy self back at home.  The other day I walked into my bedroom to find a ginormous spider crawling on my curtain.  I got a shoe to kill it, but it took a minute to get it off my curtain because I didn't want bug guts on it.  After all of that, I find Macho hiding in the corner of my bed.  I had to kill the spider, yet Macho is more afraid of it than I am.  

More Chihuahua Hoarders....

The day Macho was rescued from that awful house was 3 years ago this past Monday (the 23rd).  While reading the news today, I come across this story where 200 Chihuahuas were rescued from a house in Pennsylvania.  It reminds me so much of the Chihuahua rescue here in Michigan that I almost can't believe it.  It's so sad, yet at the same time it makes me happy to know that there are people out there who care and are working hard to get these dogs rehabilitated and ready for adoption.  I hope that all of these dogs find loving homes the same way that Macho has.  They all deserve that second chance!

And in honor of Macho's Rescue Anniversary, I leave you with the video created about the rescue.  I know I have posted it before, but for anyone who may have missed it, this is Macho's story.

 

Summer Laziness Continues....

We're lazy, and we know it!  It has been so hot in Michigan, but I know I can't complain because it has been hot everywhere else as well.  But it has made us too lazy to do a lot of things, especially post some updates

Over the 4th of July holiday I had a 5 day weekend, and we couldn't even enjoy it to the fullest because it was too hot just standing outside.  Macho got a lot of squirts from the hose while I was watering my garden because he would be panting even after a few minutes of standing outside without even running around.  He started to get cabin fever and would get so excited whenever I opened the closet door with his leash in it because he thought he would be going for a walk.  I would try to take him, but he would make it a few houses down and start panting.  


I recently took a video of Macho going for a walk to show how much he loves it!  He kept stopping to shake himself off, which makes him look a little goofy.  But you get the point :)

Macho has been doing great lately.  He's been doing so well that I decided that I'm going to try to take him on my family's annual weekend up north in Michigan at the end of the month.  My dog trainer is coming next week to see how well Macho is doing so that she can let me know if it's a good idea for me to take Macho for the weekend.  I also want to learn how to work on picking up Macho.  He still hates being picked up, and I figure if I will be taking him for a weekend outside, he will need to be picked up quite a few times.  I'm hoping that he will be able to go!  I found a few outside kennels for dogs that would be great for this kind of trip.  That way Macho can be outside with everyone and be in the action without being completely exposed to everything.  I think it will be great for him to get out, and he loves going for walks, so he might really enjoy a weekend in the wilderness. 

Lazy Tuesday

Ok, Macho isn't very lazy, but maybe I am.  I haven't posted in a while because we really haven't had anything going on!  Macho has been enjoying the nice weather and going for walks.  He usually can make it about a block before getting tired and sometimes we just walk back and forth down the houses on each side of us.  But last week I decided it was time for a really good walk, so we walked down the block, crossed the street, walked down that block, and then came back.  This doesn't sound like much for any other dog, but for a 15 pound chihuahua, it probably felt like a mile.  It was also very warm out, so Macho was out of breath and panting.  I even had to take him in the backyard and spray him with the hose to cool him down!  Surprisingly, this is something that he likes!  I also enjoy it because I think it's cute to see him running in the spray of water.

We also met our new neighbor yesterday!  The house next door has been empty and up for sale since we moved in.  Last night I took Macho outside and was almost scared to death myself when I saw a dog running up to my gate.  I saw his owner running up to catch him, and he said that his dog heard us come out and was very curious.  He told me that he was just walking by because he bought the house and is closing in a couple weeks!  His dog was very sweet, and Macho was even a tiny bit curious of him.  He said the house will require quite a bit of work, so he won't be moving in right away.  But I'm excited to have another dog next door to see if Macho can make a friend!

I snapped this picture of Macho this morning.  For some reason his ears are always up right when he wakes up for the day.

Help the Michigan Humane Society!

This Sunday, June 3rd, my company is participating in a Mutt March to help raise money for the Michigan Humane Society.  We like to do community service a few times a year to give back, and because we are all such big animal lovers here, we decided to help the humane society.  We will be participating in the walk with all of our dogs, but in order to really give back, we are looking to raise money for this walk that helps over 100,000 animals every year!  This is especially needed in Detroit where a lot of animals are given up just because of the economy and owners are unable to afford to take care of their pets. 

Our company goal is $1,000, and mine and Macho's personal goal is to raise $156 as the MHS says that $156 is the amount it takes to help one animal get rehabilitated and ready for adoption. I've personally started the ball rolling by donating a quarter of the amount that Macho and I want to raise, and our entire team is over a quarter of the way to hitting the $1,000 goal.

Would you like to help us out?  Any amount will help me and Macho reach our goal and help our entire team reach our overall goal.  Any $5-$10 helps a lot!  If you'd like more information about the walk or would like to donate to Macho's page, you can do so here

Help us out and you will make Macho very happy :)

 

Cinco de Macho!

Ok, ok, I'm a few days late for a Cinco de Mayo post.  But in my defense, I've been sick the past week and have been feeling like not doing anything besides sleeping and cuddling with Macho!  Anyway, I decided that Macho needed to celebrate his heritage and do a little Cinco de Mayo photo shoot.  So I put his Mexican poncho on him and let him run around the backyard. 

Isn't he cute?!  Every year the animal shelter where Macho was rescued from has an event they call Mutt Strut.  You can create a team and raise money for the shelter, and then everyone is welcome to bring their dog to go on a massive dog walk together.  The event also has a lot of other things to do and see each year for the whole weekend.  The year after all of the chihuahuas were rescued from the house, they invited each chihuahua to Mutt Strut to have a reunion for all of them.  When you registered for the event, they gave each rescue chihuahua one of these ponchos.  It was the most adorable thing to see all of these chihuahuas running around and playing with each other in these sweaters knowing that only a few months prior, they were all living in horrible conditions together.  It was a happy yet sad moment to realize that the last time all of these dogs were in one place, it was in that terrible house.  

I'm happy to say that Mutt Strut is also this weekend, so Macho wearing his little sweater was also a reminder to me of that day and to celebrate how great the Dearborn Animal Shelter is.  If you want more information about the Mutt Strut or wish to donate, all the information is here 

Loving the Leash!

Macho's most hated object in the world was the leash. Well, the leash and the nail clippers are probably tied, but he sees the leash more than once a month. Getting him to feel comfortable on the leash was never easy. In fact, he never really was comfortable on it. He liked to fight me the entire time I tried to put it on. After working with the dog trainer, this got easier. But even after he let me put it on without a fight, he never really walked well on the leash. That is until recently.....

A few weeks ago we had beautiful weather in here Michigan. We had about two weeks of 70-80 degree weather, and Macho was loving being outside in the yard. I thought it would be good to take him for some walks then. It took a few weeks for him to remember the leash and how it worked. And he was still absolutely freaking out whenever a car would drive by. But after one particular walk that went very well, I could tell that Macho loved it. I even think he is smiling below!




Apparently a good walk is very tiring. Enough to lay with your tongue hanging out. He's still doing great on the leash and doesn't get scared when cars drive by! For some louder cars, he will stop to look at them, but he no longer runs away or spins in circles. We're slowly making progress over here, and I'm excited to see Macho doing better every day!

VetDepot and CET Chews Review!

A few weeks ago the friendly folks over at the Vet Depot website sent us a nice email saying that they ran across Macho's blog and really enjoyed the content. They asked if I would want to test out some of the products that they sell on their website, so of course I had to check them out. I got some information on the company, which said that they are a rapidly growing internet retailer of pet meds and supplies which an A+ rating with the BBB and excellent customer reputation. When I checked out their website, I did notice that their prices for medications were cheaper than what I usually pay at the vet. I also noticed that they have tons and tons of products! And the big plus is that you don't even have to leave your house to go buy them, you just order online :)

They sent me these CET treats, which I had never heard of before. They are a like other dental dog chews that fight against tartar and plaque. They can be used daily, which I think it great!

Only a few days after speaking with Kim at VetDepot, I received the CET Chews in the mail. It was nice to have a quick shipment because you know you can expect that fast of a shipment in the future if you're ordering medications that you dog or cat might need as soon as possible! I gave the chews to Macho about every other day for two weeks. The first day that I gave him the chew, he just looked at it and let it sit there for a few minutes. I was nervous that these super nice people sent me these chews and Macho won't even eat it. Great. Then he picked it up and started chewing it. It was all over from there. After that first time, he would eat the chews right away and they would be gone in record time.

Don't you love how dogs hold treats and bones like this between their paws?

Yup, he sure likes it.


Then he really gets down on the chewing.


I think this is his look of approval-


Yes, Macho likes the treat, but the real test is whether they help his dental health. Macho's teeth are especially bad as he never received proper dental cleanings in his first few years of life. I try to check them regularly, especially after I paid over $300 to have them cleaned last year! But he is fussy and doesn't love me touching his mouth. But for this test, I felt around in his mouth a little bit and noticed that his teeth did feel pretty smooth. I was disappointed at first because I noticed his breath still smelled like a dog. Macho doesn't have terrible breath, but it still doesn't smell clean. So I checked the website to see if the CET chews were supposed to help with dog breath, and it just says that it helps maintain fresh breath between brushings. That made sense to me that it just keeps the dog's mouth clean by removing plaque and tartar, but doesn't necessarily clean their breath. After I read that, I didn't mind that they don't clean the breath, as long as they are keeping Macho's teeth cleaned.

If I had to rate the CET Chews, I'd give them an A-, just because I want to continue to use them for more than 2 weeks to see if I see an even bigger difference in Macho's teeth. As for VetDepot, I would give them an A+ rating! They were friendly, helpful, and I was surprised how quick everything shipped to me. I also thought they had great prices on their website, especially when you can get the same products on the site that you can get at the vet. But here you get them without having to pay for the vet visit as well. I will definitely be visiting them again when I need to buy Macho's heartworm medication!

Macho is Lazy

I know, I know, all dogs are lazy. But I swear, Macho could win a laziest dog award. Last Friday I got a terrible migraine, so I took my meds and went to bed. Next thing I knew, I was waking up 12 hours later! I couldn't believe I slept that long, but I know that the meds can knock me out for a bit. The funny thing is, Macho slept in bed with me that whole time and STILL didn't want to get up when I did. I got up, did a few things around the house, and Macho was still in bed. When I peeked in on him, he sat up and was looking half asleep.

I made myself a cup of coffee, sat down on the couch, and started our new weekend ritual of watching The Golden Girls from 8-10 AM on Saturday and Sundays. I know I'm being lazy in those two hours, but still, Macho looked like this afterward-



In other news, back in 2011, we were talking about our dogs at work and how photogenic they all are. That was when we came up with the idea to create an office dog calendar to hang up in all of our desks. Each dog has their own month to be featured, and Macho's is this month! Check it out below!

Macho in the Snow and Q&A

This weekend we got a bit of snow, and Macho was excited for it! I snapped a few pictures of him running around in it.

Tagged Q&A

Also, I found out that over the weekend, Macho was tagged in a Q&A post by a blog we follow by Tucker, another chihuahua! We are supposed to answer these questions about Macho, so here goes!

1. Describe yourself in 7 words.

Let's see. Macho is brave, quiet, goofy, snuggly, timid, curious, and quick

2. What keeps you up at night?

Nothing keeps Macho up at night! All that dog does is sleep, especially when he is cuddled up in bed with me.

3. Who would you like to be?

I don't know who Macho would like to be like, but I am guessing he would like to be someone bigger/taller. He is always very curious about what I'm doing, and I sometimes think he would like to see things that I get to see that he isn't able to see because he is so small.

4. What are you wearing right now?

Macho is almost always naked. I force him to wear a sweater when it's cold outside, but if I leave it on him for too long once he is in, he will pull it off.

5. What scares you?

Oh Lord, everything scares Macho! He's afraid of loud noises, new people, men, and his carrier

6. The best and worst of blogging.

The best thing about blogging is reading other blogs and seeing all the cute animals out there! It's also really great to read all the good stories about animals. I hate reading the news because it's all sad stories about animals, but here I am able to read all good things (most of the time)! The worst thing about blogging is when I have nothing to talk about. I hate when I am in a posting rut!

7. The last website I visited.

The last site I visited before this was my email to download all the above pics of Macho

8. What is one thing I would change about myself.

I would think that Macho would like to be a bit more brave than he already is. He is such a curious dog, but I think he sometimes ignores his curiosity because of his fears.

9. Slankets yes or no.

I had no idea what a slanket was until I Googled it. Macho definitely would not like to use this as he doesn't love wearing clothes! But he might like it because he does like to cuddle on his blankets.

10. Tell us something about the dog that tagged you.

Tucker has one of the newest blogs we are following! He is a chihuahua like Macho, and he kind of looks like Macho if Macho was a little smaller.

I am supposed to tag some blogs that I would like to have answer the Q&A, but I want all of them to fill it out, so I'm not going to pick anyone in particular. Feel free to steal it and fill it out!

I also have one more update on Macho. On Christmas Day, I was gone for a really long time due to spending the day with my family. When I got home, it was already dark. I was walking up to the door when I heard a dog inside barking. It freaked me out, although I knew that if someone was breaking in, they wouldn't bring their dog. Of course, only Macho was in there. I assumed that I was just hearing things. But every once in a while, I hear him bark when I walk up to the door. He has learned that he can see me if he stands at the window, so he likes to do that now too. However, I've never actually seen him bark or had him do it while I was in the house. That was until last week! One day I got home, I heard him bark while I was on the porch. I walked in and, like usual, dropped my purse and ran to the back door to let Macho out. As I was unlocking the back door, he barked at me! It's the cutest thing ever. I keep trying to get him to do it whenever I get home so I can catch it on video, but he hasn't done it that good since. I got a quick little bark one time, but not a good one. I'm going to keep taking videos when I get home until I catch him barking. I'll post it when I finally do! Who knew there would be a dog out there that you had to wait to hear him bark?

Again, we're still here!

I've been a blog slacker recently, and my excuses are lame. Work has been very busy, and when I get home, the last thing I want to do is look at a computer any more. I have time to sneak in some blog reading when I want to take a 10 minute break at work. But once I get caught up, there's no time for posting!

Macho is also sick of my working. He tries to make me stay by snuggling up next to me in bed like in the picture above. Who can get out of bed when you're cuddled like that?! I think that's his goal.

In addition to being cute when he cuddles, Macho has been ridiculously adorable at everything lately. He loves going outside still, but now he runs around more than ever. His tail is always wagging, I hardly ever see it stuck to his butt like it used to always be. He seems happier, as if he is a different dog. He's more curious than ever, and I often catch him sniffing around in my purse. I don't know what he thinks he will find it there, but it's quite funny watching him try to find whatever it is.

Macho has even begun to enjoy the snow! We haven't had much this year, and I'm not complaining, but I think Macho is! One morning I took him outside, and there wasn't even a flake on the ground. It started snowing pretty heavily, and by the time I took him out again, there was a few inches on the ground. At first he just stood there, not wanting to move. I think he was in disbelief. Then he just took off running. Surprisingly, it was pretty warm that day too with the sun out. We probably stayed outside for 20 minutes just running around in the snow. He loved it, and so did I! He came in and passed out, as you can see below.


I promise it won't be so long before my next post. And that I'll get caught up on all the other blogs soon. Hope all is well with everyone else.

Happy Two Years, Macho!

Today is the big day! Two years ago today I adopted Macho from the Dearborn Animal Shelter. Macho really wanted to celebrate his day in the best way he knows how... sleeping!

I swear, there is a dog under there, but you wouldn't know it. The only hint is that one ear poking out. Macho stayed in the bed the entire time I woke up and got in the shower. Even when I got out he continued to lay in bed.








Then he decided to poke his head out so that I could snap a quick picture. Being the mean mom that I am, I forced him to get up and go outside. But then he went right back to bed to sleep. Normally I don't allow this, but I figured he deserves it on his big day!

Once I was ready for work, I peeked in the bedroom to find Macho just hanging out. He definitely knows how to spend his day. But he made me feel a little guilty leaving him alone. Tonight I will have to spoil him a little more :)

Happy New Year!

It has been a very busy few weeks for me and Macho, which is why my blog posting has been slacking!

Macho and I had a really good Christmas. It was spent with family and friends, which is always nice. The week between Christmas and New Years was especially nice because I was able to work from home. This is what Macho enjoys the most. He is able to lounge around the house with me rather than by himself while I am at work.

Macho has been doing really great lately. He goes outside all the time these days and loves running around in the backyard and playing with me. It is, by far, the cutest thing I've ever seen. It makes me happy to know that he likes to run freely and enjoys being in an open space since a lot of his life was spend indoors. He has also been exclusively going poop outside! I know it's not a big thing for most dogs to do this, but since Macho didn't go outside at all for his first 5 years of life, he was quite used to going poop in the house. For the past month or so, he has not gone poop inside the house except for once when it looked like it wasn't a good poop that he could hold in. When he did this one, he also did it on his pee pad, so I know that he knew that he shouldn't go in the house but he just couldn't hold it.

As for the pee pads, they're still being used, but a lot less frequently! He uses them while I am not home because I know he has a problem holding it in. But while I am home it is very seldom that he uses them. He still doesn't understand that he should only pee outside, but again, for a dog that pee wherever he wanted in a house for 5 years, getting him to only pee on pee pads is a hard task. He also doesn't ever alert me when he wants to go out. Sometimes when I go near the back door he will perk up, but I think this is only because he thinks I might take him out. So whenever he does this I take him out in hopes that he realizes that he can do this whenever he has to pee and wants to go out.

A coworker of mine travels a lot for work and has a small 25 pound dog. He takes her to a doggie day care sometimes while he's out of town, so I offered to see how his dog and Macho get along. If they got along ok, I offered to watch her every once in a while so Macho has a friend during the day while I'm at work. The two dogs got together one night, but they completely ignored each other. Even when Kayla, my coworker's dog, was put right in front of Macho, they didn't even smell each other. I know that it's possible that Macho is afraid of my coworker since he is a male, so I decided to watch Kayla while I worked from home one day. They did alright, but not great. They didn't interact too much while inside, but when I would take them both outside, they would follow each other around and pee where the other had peed. One time while they were outside, Kayla was running around and tried to run up to Macho to play with him. She was running at him while giving out a low, deep bark, and I think it freaked Macho out. He started showing his teeth really bad, and that's when she got mad and started really barking at him. They got into a little fight, but when yelled at they both stopped. After that Macho was a little on edge the rest of the day. Whenever Kayla would approach me or come close to the couch, Macho would show his teeth a little bit. I want him to be ok with other dogs, but it seems like he is set in his ways and possessive. This is what we need to work on now!

Thursday will be the 2 year anniversary of when I adopted Macho! It seems like longer than that. Looking back at when I first adopted Macho, I can't believe how much he has changed for the better. Clearly there are things that aren't the greatest still, but to know that he came from such an awful place and is doing this good, I am proud of him. Here's to 2012 and hopes that Macho will have even more positive growth!