The Grudge is Gone!

It's safe to say that Macho no longer has a grudge against me for taking him to the vet. For a few days after he wouldn't come and sit by me on the couch since that is where I picked him up to put him in the carrier for the vet. He would hop up on the couch to sit with me, then he would stop dead in his tracks as if he suddenly remembered me picking him up and taking him. I snapped this picture of him on Friday while he was sitting with me. Guess his grudge didn't last too long.

Not much else has been going on in Macho's world. He might be upset with me in a few weeks because we are planning a week long vacation in California. My brother will be watching Macho, and when he watched Macho over Christmas, Macho pretty much ignored my brother the whole time. I am hoping that he will warm up to him since he will be there for a week. This will be the longest I've ever been away from Macho! But we are ready to get out of this Michigan cold and get into some warm weather.

Today I sent in a claim for Macho's pet insurance for his vet bill. This is the first claim I've ever made, so I am hoping it is accepted. If not, I'm starting to think this pet insurance is a bit of a waste of money. We can only use it if Macho has a first time illness, has a broken bone, gets a burn, or (I hate this one) if we have to euthanize him. This claim that I sent in was for almost $80, so hopefully it is accepted since I paid more than that for the pet insurance last year!

We hope all is well with everyone else!

A Dog Dentist Day for Macho

We have been blog slackers lately, but wanted to give an update on Macho's dental cleaning!

On Friday we took Macho to the vet to have his teeth cleaned, and as usual, I was terrified about how this would go. I need to stop being so worried about Macho because he did great! The vet brought Macho out of his carrier to let him walk around and be comfortable. When she picked him up to put him on the table he was fine. He was pretty scared when she started to listen to his heart and check out his teeth, but was fine again when she stopped. When she picked him up a second time he was completely calm, I couldn't believe it. Just an hour earlier when I picked him up to put him in his carrier, he fought me like crazy!

Macho stayed at the vet for a few hours, and we found out that he only had to have one tooth pulled. He also had his nails trimmed while he was under (thank God!), and they found out he had an ear infection. All weekend he wouldn't sit by me on the couch, and I am assuming that is because he was afraid I would grab him again to take him back to the vet! He will lay with me on the bed, and just this morning he sat with me before I left for work. He must not be holding a grudge anymore!

The worst part about this is that his leg looks terrible. They said they had a catheter in his leg, so that must be why it looks like this. But doesn't it look awful? I hope it goes away soon and that it isn't causing him too much pain!


We need to go around and read all the other blogs that posted this weekend, but have been so busy with Macho's teeth and recovery that I haven't had a chance. But no worries, we will catch up soon :)

We hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day, even if it is just a little Hallmark holiday!

My Guest Post!

I just wanted to write a quick update to let everyone know that I am the guest blogger on the Pet Blogs United page today! I wrote a post about a petition site that can help animals worldwide. I hope you check out my post here and that you join the site as well!

A Stylish Blogger Award for Macho!

Last week (sorry, I've been a slacker!) Casper from Casper Bear "Life of a Chocolate Lab" gave the Macho Minute an award! We are totally excited, especially because we love Casper's blog as well! The award is called the Stylish Blogger Award, and since it was given to us, we have to give 7 facts about us. Here they are:

1. We don't know how old Macho is, but based on health, he is probably 4 or 5.
   
2. Macho's favorite treat is a Bully Stick. No one knows what these are, and we didn't know about them until our trainer recommended them. They are sticks that come in all sizes and they are stinky. But apparently all dogs LOVE them. Macho loves a good Bully Stick and will chew on it for a really long time.
   
3. We have only heard Macho bark twice since we have had him. The first time was when another dog tried to steal a treat of his and the second time was when another dog tried to come into his cage while he was in it.
4. Our lease is up in April and we are looking to buy a new home. I am curious to see how well Macho will adjust to a new home, and especially curious to see what happens if we let him outside in a fenced in yard since he has never experienced that much freedom.
5. Macho is going to the vet to have his teeth cleaned a week from today, and I am terrified! I hope it all goes well and that the vet bill isn't $500!
6. Macho doesn't know how to play and completely ignores all the toys we bought him. Anyone know how to get a dog to understand how to play?
7. One of my favorite things is when I come home from work. When I am unlocking the door, I can hear Macho crying inside. Once I am inside he walks around crying while I take my coat and shoes off, put down my purse and laptop, and then slip into some sweatpants. Macho will just walk around crying the entire time. Some may think that this is sad, but it's because he is patiently waiting for me to sit on the couch with him. The second I sit on that certain spot of the couch, Macho literally sprints over to the couch and hops up on it like a deer jumping a fence just to sit next to me. It's a great feeling cause I missed him too :)

Another thing we have to do for this award is to give it to 15 other bloggers that we think deserve the Stylish Blogger Award. It seems like a lot of blogs that I like to follow already have this award, so I am just going to give it to 5 blogs that I like to follow that haven't received the award yet. We won't be mad if you don't want to do all this stuff just because we gave you the award though!

1. This is My Place- We love reading about Cyndie's chihuahuas, especially Big Mike who kind of looks like Macho!
   
2. Posh Pooch Designs Dog Clothes- This is definitely a Stylish blog that we love reading! Those chihuahuas in clothing are the cutest!
3. Chihuahua Dog Spot- If you want to see the cutest chihuahuas ever, check out this one!
4. Dog Foster Mom- We love Ziggy and wish we could adopt him!
   
5. Amazing Animal Lovers Blog- Not only do we get to see cute pups here, we get to see cute babies! We just saw that Deborah got this award a few days ago, but since I was so slow to post, I'm giving it to her again.

If you're listed above and want to participate, all you have to do is post a blog entry that links back to The Macho Minute, give 7 facts about yourself, give the award out to other blogs you think deserve the award, and then let them know that you gave it to them.

In other news, it's been very cold here in Michigan, and I think Macho knows it. He has been cuddling up with us all the time. Today when I left for work it was a heat wave at 9 degrees :) Hopefully it warms up soon. We hope everyone else is staying warm and dry, and that all the pooches don't get too cold when they go out to do their business!

Macho the Mooch- Video!

Macho is quite the mooch if there is food around. On New Years Eve this year, Nick and I decided to stay in, cook dinner, and drink some champagne. Macho definitely enjoyed it, as he got a few bites of steak and potatoes. It wasn't until Nick started to eat his dessert, a cupcake with a massive amount of frosting on it. I couldn't help but take a video of Macho being a mooch and trying to eat it. At about 37 seconds, you can see him score a big hunk of the frosting. What a pooch!

Note: Please excuse the language in the background. We were watching Nip/Tuck, and I didn't realize it until I watched the video :)

The Curiosity of Knitting

A few months ago, I took up knitting as a new hobby. I have been enjoying myself while learning how to knit, making new projects, and spending time on more important things while I am forced to watch 14 hours of football each Sunday. It turns out, I am not the only person interested in my new knitting hobby.

When I first started to learn, Macho would look at me like I was crazy. He was very interested in what I was doing, and I could tell that he wanted to get his paws on the yarn. But to my surprise, when I let him sniff the yarn, he didn't care. It was the needles that he was curious about. He sniffed the entire needle when I held it up for him, and he opened his mouth for the most slow, curious bite I have ever seen a dog take. I got a little nervous, and I told him not to bite the needle as I was afraid it might break or split the wood. Since then, Macho just takes little sniffs while I knit and he sits next to me cuddled up.

It wasn't until recently that Macho took up curiosity in the yarn. One night Nick and I left to go to a family gathering, and all seemed ok when we got home. It wasn't until the next morning that I went to go sit on the couch, and in Macho's little corner, there lay the destroyed ball of yarn. I had a freak out moment thinking that the mitten attached to the needles would be ruined. But it was the yarn that Macho played with. I'm not joking about the yarn being destroyed, as you can see for yourself below! Finishing the mitten was fun, as I was constantly trying to untie the huge and impossible knot attached the the ball. Even when the mittens were finished, I set them out on the ottoman before Nick got home so I could surprise him with the mittens I made for him. While in the kitchen making dinner, I heard Macho walking around on the couch. I looked up, and there was Macho, standing back paws on the couch and front paws on the ottoman biting the mittens.

Of course I wanted Macho to enjoy my knitting too, so I made him a small little "toy" by knitting a small square from the yarn he destroyed. I even left a few long strands of yarn to see if that's what he was interested in. Of course, he doesn't care about the "toy" at all. I've even tried laying it out on the ottoman like the gloves. Maybe I will have to buy a really cheap ball of yarn for him to unravel!

The Big Day!

Only one year ago today, I was standing at the Dearborn Animal Shelter waiting to pick up Macho! I still can't believe how much progress he has made in only one year. Can you believe this:

Then:
When we brought Macho home, he stayed in his cage about 99% of the day. He only came out to go to the bathroom or sniff around his cage. We would be sitting on the couch watching TV, and all of the sudden we would hear his nails on the hardwood floor. Nick and I would look at each other with excitement, and then one of us would peak around the couch to see him outside of the cage. The second that he noticed us watching him or he heard us move, he would run back to the cage.

Now:
Macho's cage is actually in my closet in our bedroom. He has access to it whenever he wants, but he never goes in it. His bed is still in the place where his cage was in the living room, and he only lays in it when we aren't home or occasionally when we are up and walking around.

Then:
At night, we would be laying in bed, and again we could hear Macho's nails on the floor in the living room. We could hear him running around the living room, hoping on the couch, eating, etc. But he would never, ever come in the room at night.

Now:
Every single night, Macho is excited to sleep in bed with us. If we open the bedroom door, Macho is either already behind us waiting to get in or you can hear him running from wherever he is in the house. He sleeps not only in the bedroom, but with us in bed right in between us. He cuddles up on one of us during the night and loves to be in bed. He hates to get up in the morning (which he makes very obvious by peeing on the bed)!

Then:
Macho would not let us pet him. Ever. If we wanted to touch him, he had to be in his cage, and he would be all the way at the back trying to get away. He refused to let us put a leash on him and he would even try to come up to us.

Now:
Macho loves being around us when we are home. If we are sitting on the couch, he is sitting next to us. If we are in bed, he is laying there with us. If I am standing up cleaning, getting dressed in the morning, etc., Macho is right behind me tripping me when I turn around. Macho's favorite thing is to sit on the couch (which I have noticed is pretty much the only place where I have taken pictures and posted on the blog) where he can steal food from our plates, get pets, and cuddle up next to us with his blanket. He also was recently running into and down the hallway when the apartment door was open while Nick took our Christmas decorations to the basement. He is very curious about what we are doing now.

I could go on and on with the Then and Nows. Macho's accomplishments this year have been amazing. As always, I get excited thinking about how he might be in the future. I always think, "This is the best he's ever going to be" but that always changes. The biggest one was that I thought he would never, ever sleep in bed with us. The first night that he slept in bed with me and was cuddled up by my stomach, I thought, "he is never going to do this with both me and Nick in bed." But when Nick came home from traveling for work, I was amazed when Macho hopped up in bed with both of us at night. Even today I think that Macho will never play with toys, run around a yard, go for a walk around the block, etc. However when I think about everything that has happened that I never thought could, I think that patience really does pay off. Macho has the potential to be as normal as any other dog, he just needs someone to help him reach it. I'm glad that we have been the people to do just that and look forward to continuing to be the people that he needs to get him through other obstacles in his future.