We Are Moving!

It's finally time for us to get out of apartments and move into a house! It's been a very long process, but we're excited to finally have our own space.

We're not moving too far, actually less than 2 miles from where we live now. But we will be off the busy road we live on and more in a neighborhood. We've been looking for a very long time, and almost 2 months ago we found a house that would be perfect for us. It especially includes a backyard with a beautiful privacy fence. Perfect for a little pooch we like to call Macho!

It's been a stressful week packing everything up, and I can tell that Macho is confused. I'm trying to make the move as easy as possible for him. We are packing a truck with all of our things on Sunday, then we are moving everything into the house on Monday. We decided that it might be too stressful to have Macho at home, so we are taking him to my parents' house overnight. Then we will be bringing him to the new house for the first time! I think he will like it even though it will be something he will have to get used to.

This leads me to some questions- What can I do to make the move easier on Macho? Is there anything I should do when bringing him into the house for the first time? Have you ever moved a dog who marked into a new home? I'm really concerned that Macho will go crazy peeing all over the house to mark it. He doesn't do this anymore, but I am wondering if he will start again in a new space. The previous owners did not have any animals, so there shouldn't be any scents in the house, but it still worries me. Any advice would be great!

Alert! Dog Thefts on the Rise!

I had never heard about anyone ever having their dog stolen until this year. My friend's cousin came home to find her house broken into. Burglars broke into her home and stole a lot of items- including her bichon frise. A news story about this event is here for anyone who is curious. It made me sick to even hear about this. It's hard enough to lose a pet, but even more hard when you don't know how they are being treated and what they were stolen for.

This week I saw a news story that dog thefts are on the rise. When I heard about this, I didn't understand what someone could want to steal a dog for. Apparently they can be stolen for many reasons. Some steal dogs because they can resell them just like any other object they steal. As if it couldn't get any more sad, I found that this is how most dog fighting rings find their dogs. They want to get a dog as cheap as they can, and I guess a free dog is the best dog.

It is recommended that you keep your eyes on your dog at all times. I've heard that the people stealing dogs will go right into your backyard if you're not outside. I know a lot of people don't leave their pets in their cars in the summer, but the news has said that dogs have been stolen right out of cars while their owners were inside a business.

It's very scary and sad to think about. In case you haven't heard of this, the story is here for anyone who wants to read it. They have other tips and information about what you can do to keep your dog safe.

Why Doesn't Macho Bark? +Video

Since Macho's last post wasn't such a great one, we wanted to update to say that Macho is doing great! He was fine once the weekend was over, which made me really happy. No more people food for Macho! Ok, that's a lie, I still sneak some to him. But it's not as much as I was feeding him, and it's food that I know he is able to eat. I checked to make sure he is still allowed to have french fries, as they are his favorite. Luckily it was on the list of safe foods, and a baked potato was actually suggested as a once in a while treat.

Anyway, this weekend while Macho was sleeping on the couch, he started barking in his sleep! We have only head Macho bark twice since we've had him, so this was a rare occurrence! However, it makes me curious as to why he doesn't bark. Is it common for rescue dogs to not bark? I know that it is common for a scared dog to not bark, but once he/she is comfortable in their environment, don't they begin barking?

Believe me, I am thankful that Macho doesn't bark all the time. But to hear him every once in a while would be nice. When he is scared, he runs to a safe spot. I guess this must be his way to protect himself instead of barking? But don't all dogs bark eventually? I've never heard of a dog that never barks. It's almost like a cat!

I leave you with a little video of Macho doing some damage to a bully stick this weekend!

An Unpleasant Weekend!

It's safe to say that Macho didn't enjoy his weekend too much! On Thursday I put a little spaghetti sauce mixed in with his food, and lets just say it was a natural laxative for Macho! I came home from work on Friday to Macho looking as normal as usual, but with an unpleasant surprise in the house. That night, it seemed to only be worse. He began to throw up too, which was then all over my comforter, bed sheets, and bedroom floor. I felt terrible, especially because it's my own fault for giving him a little human food! On Saturday and Sunday he was feeling better but was sleeping a lot. I think he might have been dehydrated, so I started mixing food with his water so he would get some back into his system.

By Sunday night he was getting a little antsy. He was laying in funny positions (including using my ball of yarn as a pillow), and then would squirm around a lot. At one point he moved around so much that he got stuck under the blanket that we lay on "his spot" of the couch so it's not covered in hair. He found his way out eventually, and I had to snap a picture. I didn't get it in the shot, but his tail was wagging ever so slightly while this was going on. Almost like it was a game!

Hot Days in Michigan!

Apologies for the lack of posts lately! I've been reading other blogs but never posting on mine for some reason!

It's been super hot here in Michigan the past few days. Macho has been going outside, but he is quickly ready to go back in! On Sunday we lost power when it was 90 degrees! Luckily our house stayed cool until the morning, but once we opened the windows, it was too hot for all of us. We decided it was time to pack up Macho and take him somewhere. We've taken Macho out in his carrier before, but mostly for the vet. So it was quite an adventure to take him to my parent's house for the day where it was nice and cool.

I was nervous that Macho might pee all over, or he might run into their basement to hide from all of us. It was nice because we had the house to ourselves when we got there as my parents were at work. As you can see from the picture, Macho took no time to make himself at home! What a goof!


Macho didn't go to the bathroom in the house once! And we were there for over 8 hours! I took him outside for a few minutes (since it was 96 degrees and very humid), and he went to the bathroom like he knew exactly what to do. I was very proud. He did fairly well when my Mom came home but got a little nervous when she pet him. Hopefully this means that we could take him more places than we thought we could!

Thankfully our electricity was turned on last night so we were able to go home and turn on the air conditioning. It's supposed to be hot the rest of the week, and I saw on the news that's it's hot all over. We hope everyone is staying cool somehow!

A Bed Hog Named Macho

Everyone laughs at me when I tell them that I sometimes sleep on the couch because Macho is taking up the whole bed. They say that he is a 15 pound chihuahua, how much room can he take up? This picture is proof that Macho is a bed hog. I got out of the shower one morning this week to find Macho taking up the entire bed, leaving Nick about 6 inches of bed to lay on. It's not so bad when I'm sleeping alone because I just move to the other side of the bed. But it's the worst when Nick isn't traveling for work, and I have to sleep on the couch because there's no other side of the bed to lay on. Sorry the picture is so dark, but I didn't want to turn the flash on and wake them up :)

A Good Day in Michigan!

Over the past few days, we've been hearing that a Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) may be passed in Michigan to ban residents in the entire state from owning a Pit Bull. If passed, all Pit Bulls in the area would need to be spayed/neutered within 3-4 years and within 10 years, no one would be able to own a Pit Bull. It left me wondering what would happen to all the Pit Bulls who were spayed within those first 4 years? They would be able to live for 6 more years in Michigan, and then what?

But I no longer have to worry because the bill was turned down! The article is actually very supportive of Pit Bulls and definitely gives a great view of why there shouldn't be a BSL anywhere. I hope that since the bill didn't pass, maybe they will pass a bill that requires Pit Bull owners to take training or have the dog certified as a good citizen so that the attacks don't continue to happen. Like it says in the story, there are no bad dogs, just bad owners! If you'd like to read the story you can here