MOMMY MONDAY

I cant help but reflect back to almost 2 years ago, when Max first joined our household. Sasha was really put out and very anxious to show him who the Princess of the lair was. Now as I watch them tuffle together, and bump into each other trying to get to us, I am so glad that she adjusted to him, and seems to care about him. Of course she still has her jealous moments. Especially if she is being loved on, and Max tries to butt in, but most of the time, she will let him push her away to get to his destination. But then again, she does her fair amount of pushing him away too.

The other night, my heart was warmed to see them laying side by side. We call them the bookends when this happens. Quite a lot of the time, they have their legs positioned in exactly the same pose when they are asleep. I think I will just faint over if I ever catch them cuddling up together.

Love Sasha (The Princess) and Max (The Dude)'s mom! Mindy Lu

PS- I am overwhelmed by all the encouragement, sweet words, thoughts and prayers being sent our way for Max. We have not received the blood results yet. With the exception of his limp, he is such a happy dog, that it is almost easy to pretend there is nothing wrong. I am just praying for stength to handle what ever comes. We all have an end, some sooner than others. I just want Max's to be be a gentle one, if his is sooner. I know my Jesus will give me what I need when I need it. Until then, I will enjoy every minute!

LOOK WHAT DADDY MADE!

Mommy and daddy go to a place called Monty-ray after they eat a big turkey dinner every year. This year they said we both get to go with them. But since daddy has to help us into the Big Green Machine a lot, he built us a walking ladder, so we can get in on our own now.After we heard all the noise in the car room, daddy showed mommy what he made. I thought we were going for a walk, but daddy took me out to the green machine and showed me how to use the new walking ladder. I was able to walk right up it like a lady, instead of waiting for daddy to push my rear end inside. I walked up and down a few times, then showed them how smart I was, and stood right in the middle and posed just like a Princess!
Then mommy brought Max out too. He was a little scared. But after he heard the mommy voice, he finally climbed up it too. Then he went up and down a lot too. Mommy was so excited that we can get in and out of the Green Machine on our own and not have to worry about us hurting our legs. And Daddy is glad he wont have to hurt his back picking up Max anymore.

ROUTINE CHANGE

BARK! There has been a change in our morning routine. Mommy and daddy still wake early, but mommy stays in her chair longer. Me and daddy go for a walk, and mommy and max leave later. They dont walk as long, but max seems to still be happy. The other day when daddy and I got home, mommy was all dirty. Max gave her a paw and hit her in the face and got her all muddy. Bad max. Mommy says Max has a hurt leg, but he still gives them the paw and sometimes messes them up.

Mommy used to be in a hurry to leave in the morning, but lately she stops to give us treats. This is new and Max seems to get more than me. Mommy takes a long time preparing Max's treats. Daddy calls them a "pill coktale". Im not sure what that means. Sometimes bits of his treats fall on the floor and mommy grabs them real quick and put them in his mouth and then holds his head. I never let a crumb fall from mine.

Max hears mommy getting the treats ready and runs into the smelling room and sits right down. She makes him do little tricks to get his treats, like look at her, look away from the treat, ignore the treat. He is getting real good at that. I sit very still and wait like a good princess would. Then she tells Max to ignore the treat and she gives me one too. When mommy comes home, she does it again. We like this new routine! BARK! Sasha the Princess

WHAT KIND OF TREATS ARE THESE?

PAW to every furry. Mom got on the 'puter today and her eyes started leaking again. She said lots of nice furry's are wishing well for me and told me to tell everyone it means a lot to us. I didnt know so many doggies cared, but it sure feels good.

Mom has been giving me a lot more treats than usual, but they taste a little different. They arent as yummy as usual, and mom holds my head while I eat them. She never did that before, but I like it, so I eat them all up. Sasha stands next to me and asks for some too, but mom gives her different ones.

Me and mom didnt go for our usual walk, but she took me across the street to the park, so I could sniff some pee-mail. Then I layed down while she read her big Book. She said this Book makes her feel better, and sometimes she closes her eyes while she is reading it. I sense her energy is calmer when we go home after that.

Some questions were asked that mom said she needed to answer, so here's mom...

Note from mom: Yes, they xray'd Max and showed us where his bone is deteriorating on the inside, and more bone is growing over it to compensate. Since a bone biopsy is so invasive, we chose not to be so aggressive. The blood tests will confirm if it is one of the first 2 two options. If both of those turn up negative, then we are looking at the worst. Right now I am just hoping and praying for the best, and trying not to show "weepies" around the dogs, so they dont start mis-behaving. Thank you for everyone's support, it really helps a lot- Mom

PS from Max-- Mango... GREAT idea about the ice cream! Think I will give mom "the look" to break her down.

BETTERINARIAN VISIT

I went for a ride with dad today, and we stopped to pick up mom, then went to a new place I have never been to before. There were lots of other furry smells. I was real nervous, as sissy wasnt with us. A nice lady came and told us to follow her, then they walked me toward a big shiny thing. I didnt like it at all, so I just layed down in front of it. mom is always telling me to stay, so I decided to do it before she even said it. But I guess they didnt like it, so dad lifted me and put me on it. I didnt like it one bit. They said something about me weighing 132 pounds.

My leggie doesnt feel very strong so I walk funny now. We went into a room and mom and dad sat with me, so I laid down and waiting for I dont know what. A man finally came in and rubbed me all over. I kinda liked that, and wagged my tail at him, then he took me to another place and layed me down and pointed things at me. Mom and dad didnt get to come. Then they poked me with some sharp things, and some red stuff came out. then I heard the man talking to mom and dad through the door. Im not sure what it all meant, but mom's eyes were wet when I came back to her. After that, they took me back to mom and dad. I was very glad to see them. Mom will tell you the rest.

Note from mom: The dr said it could be one of 3 things:

~Osteromyeutis (sp?)- Bone infection

~Fungus Disease- Valley Fever

~Neoplastic- Bone Cancer

I am terrified, but trying to be hopeful. We did blood tests to see if it is one of the first 2. If they are ruled out, then we have some tough decisions to make, which I cant even fathom thinking about. Dr said to not walk him right now, and sent us home with antibiotics, antiflamitories, and pain killers. We wont know for 1-2 weeks. I just tear up each time I imagine not being able to walk him. I may take him for a little walk to the park across the street in the morning, so he can sit with me, and get a chance to smell stuff. Oh this is tough-- Keep my Max in prayers- Much appreciated!

HOW DARE SHE!

What the heck is this thing? Am I suppose to stay out of the smelling room now?

You've got to be kidding me right?
Bark- Sasha the Princess!

I GOT OWIE

Mom is getting worried about my leg. It has a bump on it. At first I just limped a little in the morning, so mom thought I was just getting old. But now I limp more often during the day, and favor my owie. Mom is getting worried and is talking about taking me to the doggie doctor next week. I hope it gets better before that lady comes again who walks with me and mom and shows me how to not bark at other doggies.
PAW- Max the Dude

Note from mom: We have been able to avoid vets so far with our big doggies, minus one skin hive incident. This is scary. Has anyone else experienced this with a big dog? His front joint is swollen. We can touch it and squeeze it a little with no whining, but he does pull away a little, so it is tender. His limp isnt as bad once we get to walking at a steady pace, but around the house he really favors it. We never saw any incident where he could have hurt it, so not sure what to think. If it doesnt go down over the weekend, we will call a vet on Monday.

HELPING MOMMY

Mommy got into the big water room with all her fur on. We had to come inspect and see what was going on. She was holding a long tube thing that smelled funny. She seemed to need help, so I supervised and guided her:

Mommy I think you missed a spot. You need to go back over it:

Then Max came to inspect our job:

Seems good to me- PAW-some Job!

Lazy Doggie Days

PAW! Dad has been working around our new water bowl a lot lately. While The Princess prefers to stay in the cool lair, I prefer to soak up the ray's and supervise Dad between slotted eye's.

PAW! Max the Dude!

Mommy is walking Max all alone lately. I think it has something to do with that lady that comes over every week. She is always making Max do little things for treats. I get some of the treats too, but not as many. I dont get it, because I am ALWAYS a good girl, and I listen to them very well. Ok, only in the house, but I know I HAVE to protect mommy when we are outside, doesnt every doggie?

Daddy takes me for my walks in the morning again. And after our walk, I get all sorts of lovin.

Bark! Sasha the Princess

MOMMY IS BUSY

Mommy let me have a few minutes to come tell everyone we are ok. She has been real busy, and when she gets away from the place she is during the day, she doesnt want to go the 'puter anymore. But we have been doing walkies and can tell the night ridies are coming soon.

An interesting thing happened the other day. A lady came to our house and met with mommy. They kept looking at us and saying our names, while the lady wrote stuff down. She smelled like a lot of other doggies, but was real calm around us. Just before she left, she made us do some stuff for treats. Max was a little over anxious and she started shaking a real loud funny looking stick that made a lot of noise. It really scared him, and he calmed right down and obeyed the lady. Mommy seemed real impressed and said the lady is going to be coming back more often. Im not sure what that means. Daddy went and made another funny looking stick and now shakes it at us when we are mis-behaving. I just look at him, but Max goes and lays down. Mommy has been giving us more treats again too, but makes us do things for them. And she is using the word ENUF a lot more too.

Something is starting to happen, I hope it is a good thing.

BARK! Sasha the Princess!

NEW WATER BOWL

Daddy has been working real hard at making us a really big waterbowl. I am so excited so have fresh water all the time now.

BARK! Sasha the Princess!

Our friends in Hawaii sent us a ward. We are suppose to tell you 10 things.

So we want to share:

1. I am a good doggie when mommy takes me shopping. I only smell the treats, and dont try to eat them, unless mommy puts it in my mouth.

2. I love to go for rides in the big green machine.

3. A good doggie does meditations thinking about life and bones.

4. Me and my brother Max dont snuggle, but I will let him lay near me.

5. Smart doggies take the time to smell the roses.

6. Mommy's paw is the same size as ours!

7. Every once in awhile, a doggie needs a good strong drink.

8. Neither of us like hooman fur!!! YUCK!

9. We dont like the big hole in the ground with water. It is too scary.

10. But I like the moving water and squishy dirt!

Thank you Huey and Higgens!! BARK! Sasha the Princess

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN...

The past couple days, we cannot keep our tongues in our mouth. They just hang out and make a mess of mommy's floors. Mommy put some white things in our water bowl, and they tasted so good. Today she pulled out the treats again. We each got to lick on our own treat. Mommy and daddy's hands were all goopy when we got done, but they sure were good.

Later, I saw daddy put out the pushy thing on the floor and wipe it all up from our mess. BARK! Sasha the Princess

DIGGING!

Today daddy caught Max trying to dig a hole to bury his bone again. In one of mommy's new gardens. Lucky max, it was daddy that caught him, and not mommy.

Then mommy came home and started digging too. But intead of burying a bone, she was burying green things.

Mommy said it is a garden and they are her snacks for later. Silly mommy, she left them showing. Now another doggie or hooman will see it and take it. I think we need to teach mommy how to bury her stuff, so it is hidden away for later snacks.

ALL DRESSED UP

Last night mommy and daddy got all dressed up. They said they were going dancing. Everytime mommy came into the room, Max would stand up. Mommy said he was being really polite. I thought Daddy was really handsome. Mommy agreed with me and pulled out the flashy thing again. I could not stop looking at daddy.
Later when they came home, they put on the noise from the black box and daddy would hug mommy and they would walk around the room hugging. I thought maybe daddy was hurting mommy, so I kept barking at him to stop, until mommy told me to go lay down. Then Max got up and kept following them. When they told him to go lay down, he came over to me and whispered in my ears. Then we both got up, and I tried to hug him and walk with him, but he didnt like it so much. So we finally layed down and watched mommy and daddy keep walking around the room. We have never seen that before, but the Princess approves, as long as daddy wasnt hurting mommy.
BARK! Sasha the Princess

WE GOT A WARD!

BARK! Mommy has been peeking at the other doggies blogs, at the place she goes to during the day. She told me that she has to sneak a peek, but isnt suppose to do more. So she forgot to tell us when she got home that we won a ward.


Gus and Waldo write to us all the time. Waldo looks like my brother Max and Gus looks like the evil mean dog behind our territory that is always slinging insults through the wood wall at me. But Gus is a lot nicer than that meanie dog! Thank you handsome boys for our ward!

Now we want to pass it on to:
Nala, whose mommy always has pretty fancy picture work on the blog. Mommy is pretty impressed with how pawtistic it is!

Princeton- we love to show mommy how we looked when we were growing up, since mommy didnt see us as pups.

The Port o Rico Gang- We love to see their bootiful territory. They have lots of water and land fun, and love on each other all the time!

We know that Big Honey Dog already got the ward, but we still want to mention the blog, because mommy is so impressed with Honey's dancing style. If you havent visited the blog lately, you have to go there!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PS- Mommy said I have to quit calling Max a "big dumb pup", because he is getting smarter. He is walking better with us in the morning, and he has taught mommy and daddy how to know when he wants to go outside to play with them. So I guess I can stop calling him dumb, and just say he is my brother. After all, he does whisper nice things in my ear in the morning.
BARK! Sasha the Princess!

MOMMY AND DADDY LOVE US!

Last weekend, mommy and daddy were in the back territory all day. They let us come out and hang out with them. Then mommy went and got us a treat. She said this was the other half of Santa's present. We got to chew on them all day long.
Max wouldnt lay down. Mommy finally had to take him out to the grass and make him sit and lay, then give him his treat again. Then we discovered our own water bowls. We dont even have to stoop to drink the water. And it is always running. I being the princess, prefer fresh running water over that icky stale sitting water... umph!

While I was content to continue to enjoy my treat for hours, Max got tired of his, and went exploring. So I took his treat and worked on that too.

Daddy is still digging. He dug a hole and put in some white long things, then filled the hole back up. Max likes to go into the hole and eat the grass growing out of the side. Daddy told him that soon there will be water in it, and he will have to swim around in the hole.
4 hours later, and I am still content with my treat! There is not much left, but I want to get all the yummyness out of it.
Note from mommy: The next day, Sasha went out to go potty, found the bone and refused to come back in. She stayed outside by herself for over an hour, continuing to chew the bone. Now THAT is dedication!

WHAT A BOY HAS TO DO!

The other night, mom & dad had lots of hoomans in our lair. They put us away in our safe places, cause they said we were so big, we may scare the new hoomans. We just went to sleep until they came and got us. But when we came out, the furniture had been moved around, and my bed was hidden behind something. After dad fed us, I wanted to go to my bed to meditate. So I just squeezed between the furniture and layed down on my bed. Mom thought it was just "adorable" how I squeezed into the small space to go to sleepeez. Of course she had to pull out that dumb flashy thing to show everyone.

Today mom is working in her "off limits" space, but if I come back slow enough, with my head down and quiet, she will let me stay there for a little bit. This time she was working with some sticky papers. When I put my head on her lap for a pet, this is what I got instead.

But hey, if it gets some more lovins, I will do anything! Even tolerate stickies on my face!

PAW! Max the Dude!

HALTI STRIKE and OTHER THINGS

BARK! First I want to apoligize for my bad mood the other day. Mango was right, I did have a burr in my back side. Let me tell you why... Tuesday mommy and daddy and gramma were celebrating St. Paddies day. Now doesnt that sound like something we doggies should be part of? After all, Great Danes, have Irish Wolfhound in them, so we have every right to eat that corn fed beef too. But did we get any?

Noooo, all daddy did was put a little on his well fed belly, and let us sniff for it. Just enough to tease a good doggie. Look how clean his plate was. He didnt save ANY for us!During the night, I dreamt of beef and green stuff. Then all those crazy human things ran across my dreams and I got real peeved and had to paw them onto the 'puter. Mommy said I sounded awfully spoilt, and I had better tell all the other doggies that I really dont feel that way. I was just barking out my frustrations. So I am sorry! Sasha the Princess

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PAW! Dudes and dudettes... thank you so much for supporting my Gentle Leader halti strike. You all told mommy exactly how it is. Last week my neck was a little bit sore, and when I saw how mommy and daddy were giving me so much attention, I decided to get as much as I could. But I didnt expect them to quit walking us for so many days. Then when mommy started feeling bad herself, I thought I had better end my strike and start being normal again. But guess what...? It worked. On the next walk, mom didnt put on the halti. She slid the marteen dale around my neck, and let me walk on the other side of her. I was so happy. I decided to show her what a good boy I could be. So I stayed calm (except for that one mutt that I have to announce my presents to) and walked beside her and hardly pulled. Mom was very proud of me and told Dad I was very good, so I got even more attention. Wow, who would have figured- PAW- Max the Dude!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BARK- Sasha here again. Mommy said since I was a good girl and apoligized to all the doggies and all, then was good for mommy, she let me lay on the couch with her. It felt so good, I fell to sleep and started dreaming of running free. I was so caught up in my dream, I didnt even feel mommy get up to snap the flashy thing... Oh man, here we go with the annoying things again!

BARK! Sasha the Princess!

OUR PET PEEVES ABOUT HOOMANS

'1' Blaming your farts on me..... not funny... not funny at all !!!

'2' Yelling at me for barking. I'M A DOG FOR HEAVENS SAKE!

'3' Taking me for a walk, then not letting me check stuff out. Exactly whose walk is this anyway?

'4"Any trick that involves balancing food on my nose. Stop it!

'5' Any haircut that involves bows or ribbons. Now you know why we chew your stuff up when you're not home.

'6' The sleight of hand, fake fetch throw. You fooled a dog! Whoooo Hoooooooo what a proud moment for the top of the food chain.

'7' Taking me to the vet for "the big snip", then acting surprised when I freak out every time we go back!

'8' Getting upset when I sniff the crotches of your guests. Sorry, but I haven't quite mastered that handshake thing yet.

'9' Dog sweaters. Hello ??? Haven't you noticed the fur?

'10' How you act disgusted when I lick myself. Look, we both know the truth. You're just jealous.

Now lay off me on some of these things. We both know who's boss here! You don't see me picking up your poop do you?
EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY. A DOG ALWAYS OFFERS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. CATS HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT

BARK! Sasha the Princess
PAW! Max the Dude!

MOMMY MONDAY

Praise the Lord... Max is back to normal. Being his usual goofy spaz self. As soon as he came to, I was hit hard with the flu/cold/ sniffles... whatever it may be, so they have not been on their walkies for 4 days. Dad promised to take them out tomorrow to give me an extra day to rest. I have been in bed since Friday night, with the exception of a few commitments I had to take care of over the weekend. I finally crawled out of bed tonite to scrounge up a few crackers and butter, so I guess that means I am on the upswing... not tired, but hungry-- HAH!!

Sasha has been very good during this whole routine upset. While Max was down, she stayed calm and didnt try to rough house with him at all. And she didnt snap at him either, which she sometimes does when he yelps or shows weakness. As soon as she started to roughhouse with him, we could tell he was back to himself again. Amazing how dogs know just what to do sometimes. While I was in bed, they both came and gave me nose snugglies. That can always put a smile on my face!

I miss my walkies, hopefully I will be back to them on Tuesday morning!
Sasha & Max's mommy-- Mindy Lu

WHATS WRONG WITH MAX?

The past couple days Max has been moping. Mommy and daddy were real worried. I left him alone so he could rest. But that meant mommy and daddy were giving him more special attention. Mommy said he was acting scared and scat-ish. I dont think he is acting like a cat at all. But he didnt seem like playing much. Note from mommy:

Max was acting odd last couple days. However he is eating and taking care of business as normal. We couldnt figure out what was up. He would lay down at our feet, sometimes looking scared, and sometimes almost seeming defeated. Normally he paces around bumping into us, his head high. But he has been walking about with his head low (like a horse) and just stopping in a spot and staring at the floor. We have rubbed him everywhere to make sure he isnt hurt, but no noises come from him. Last thought was maybe during his walk, the gentle leader was tugged a little too hard, and his neck was sore. This morning he woke up with a little more punchiness, so maybe he just needed rest. Can anyone let me know if they have seen this in their big doggies?

Sasha and Max's mommy!

FETCHING WARS

This weekend Daddy was working out in the yard and he let me help him. We were pulling up green things. Mommy came home and brought out the flashy thing. She called dumb Max to pose on top of the hill, but he was too dumb to know what she meant. So I came running with Daddy, and we posed. I love when Daddy lets me help!
Then mommy pulled out the Big Red Dog and tossed it for Max. This usually gets him all excited. But he doesnt know how to catch in the air. He just chases after it, then runs around with it in him mouth.

But I showed him how it is done!

BARK! Sasha the Princess!