I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO?

I have a bit of a dilemma.

I had been to the Docs for my steroid injection in my knee just after returning from Somerset and was told to take complete rest for two to three days so was unable to walk Max due to this.
By the third day, I decided I felt OK enough and thought I could manage to walk him, we went out but I ended up actually crying with pain in the street (bit embarrassing, people were staring at me).
He is an extremely strong dog and pulls and drags a lot, he has pulled Neeza over totally (all six foot four and fifteen stone of him) before now.
I was then back to square one having to rest again for a few days.
I can't keep doing this or the injections will be a total waste of time! They are supposed to stop the pain and it should last a few months!
After I told Hubs I now couldn't cope with Max, he said he would take over and take him out every day after work and during the day at weekends, poor Max has only been taken out twice in the five days since!

Max is the type of dog that requires lots of exercise and I feel cruel having to keep him in, I know he has the run of the house and back garden but I don't think that is enough for him, he is always crying at the front door to go out for a walk.
I am sorry to say now, that I am regretting even getting him, yes I love him, but it isn't fair for him to be cooped up like this due to my circumstances nor is it fair on me to have to stay in all day, every day!
Plus... since I returned from Somerset and Hubs had told me how good Max was on the times he HAD been left on his own (I can only accept what Hubs tells me) we went out for lunch over the weekend, the first time in about seven or eight months that we have actually been out together as a family! First time I had been out of the house without Max (apart from Somerset!) since we got him in February!
When we got back, he had destroyed my new sandals and toothbrush that I had in a bag in the lounge, he had disembowelled a stuffed toy he found in Little'Uns room and eaten the inside of a pair of Hubs shoes, all the bits from everything were scattered across the carpets from the bedroom, down the stairs and all over the lounge.
Hubs then admitted Max had broken one of my ornaments (actually, smashed it to pieces!) and destroyed more of Little'Uns toys while we were away.


Last night I hobbled as fast as I could to the chip shop to get something for tea (five minutes round trip!) but he had wrecked again by the time I had got back!
How on earth do I manage to take Little'Un to and from school twice a day when she returns to school in two weeks without taking Max yet not having him wreck my house and/or contents??

Max doesn't listen! I show him what he has done and tell him off (at this point I must admit I hit him on the bum with my chewed sandal I was that annoyed and upset) but he must be totally thick! He cowered and his ears went down but within fifteen minutes, WHILE I WAS ACTUALLY SAT THERE! He went and got the exact same pair from near the bin, and blatantly sat chewing and ripping them to shreads, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!! Then again Hubs doesn't help, when I scold Max over anything he does wrong, Hubs gives him cuddles and tells him he is good!!!!! How do I get out of that! I'm fighting a losing battle here!
I can't sit in 24 hours a day seven days a week for the next ten years or so!

I had promised Little'Un a day trip as a well done for winning the singing contest at school but, unless Hubs has a day off to look after Max, we can't go!
He is past the teething stage so it must just be boredom!

I can't understand? I have had dogs all my life and have been able to train each of them (is it because he is a dog dog? I've only had bitches before). Max just doesn't seem to learn, I've been trying to train him since we got him in February! I thought he was doing quite well but he seems to be deteriorating with his learning since I returned from Somerset. I praise him like mad and give him treats when he has been good and shout at him and show him what he has done wrong when he has been bad but he just can't seem to grasp the difference in why he is being praised or why he is being told off! I think I have just got myself an utterly STUPID dog! Then again it could be an utterly STUPID husband!

I feel trapped! I can't leave the house!


I have tried the 'leaving the house for a few minutes then returning to show I will come back' trick, extending the period of time bit by bit, he used to howl like a wolf and was pleased to see me when I came back in, then I thought once he stopped the howling, I had cracked it!
Unfortunately it seems to have progressed the wrong way now from howling, to being nice and quiet but wrecking within minutes of me going through the door no matter how short or long a time I am out!!!!
At this moment in time I just want to take him back to the dogs home!

I guess I will give him another chance or two and just hope he starts to change and understand. But, I can't give him too many chances, I can't afford to replace any of the things he wrecks!
I'll keep you updated with my decision and how things are going with him.

Any suggestions, training techniques or anything whatsoever would be greatly apprecieated.

Azzy

GUS

Talking about Gorillas (see above post)............

Meet our Gus......

I got him for Little'Un about a year ago (OK, I really got him for me) from a fair at our local Animal Shelter, mine was the highest bid, all monies made went to the Shelter so it was for a good cause.

Max absolutely HATES him, I have to hide poor Gus in a wardrobe, I have tried to get Max used to him by letting him sniff him and showing him it's only a toy but he won't go anywhere near him, he growls and barks and the fur on his back stands up, then again, Gus is enormous! He stands about three feet tall!

Cute though isn't he?

BYE BYE LITTLE SQUEAKY!

Squeaky our Guinea pig passed away about two hours ago, I had spent the day with him in my arms, stroking him and talking to him. Being Sunday today there were no Vets open but I don't think they could have done anything for him anyway, it was just his time. He was four and a half years old, mainly black with sandy and white patches and a funny little mohican bit of hair on top of his head, he was named Squeaky for reasons you can probably guess, non stop! He also used to do a sort of purr when I stroked him.

I had noticed on Friday that he hadn't seemed to be eating but then again he always picked up his bowl and threw it around the cage so I could never check how much he ate as it was all mixed up in his straw and shredded paper (he was a good size though).
By Saturday afternoon he was just sleeping a lot and I tried him with sweet peppers and carrot but he wouldn't eat anything and I gave him water in drops into the side of his mouth, by Saturday night he just lay there very quiet.
Sunday morning came and he was moving about and squeaking, he seemed to have got a little better so I cleaned out his cage, trimmed his claws, changed his food and water and gave him a cuddle, when I cleaned out the cage though, I noticed he hadn't dirtied it at all, that's when I knew something was wrong. I had hoped he could last until I got him to the Vet first thing tomorrow morning but unfortunately he didn't.

At least his last day was all kisses and cuddles of me and Little'Un. He has had a lovely little burial in our back garden in a pretty little box but we have had to place an extremely large and heavy plant pot over the top to stop Max digging him up.

Little'Un had a cry, then like most kids, she asked what we were getting to go in his cage!
In the space of about 9 months we have lost a budgie, two fish, a dog and now a Guinea pig all may I say, due to old age.

We still have two fish a cockatiel and Max the Mighty Mutt. Think that is enough for now!

I now have a giant cage Guinea pig/Rabbit size plus a large bird cage both with all the accessories to figure out what to do with. Might just donate them to the local animal sanctuary.

God Bless, little Squeaky, you will be missed.

Love Azzy
X

MAX HAS HIS OWN BLOG!!!

Baba Doodlius from http://doodlius.blogspot.com/ suggested that Max should have his own blog so he can tell you all about the mischievious things he gets up to every so often, so thinking this was a pretty good idea, I have said he could.

You can find Max's blog by clicking on this posts title.... 'MAX HAS HIS OWN BLOG!!!' above,
or typing it in as http://mightymax-azzitizz.blogspot.com/
Hope you enjoy reading all about life from HIS point of view.

Love Azzy.

SORRY, BEEN REALLY BUSY

'Mad Max the Mighty Mutt' on one of his (not too often) quiet times!

Hi folks,

Sorry not been keeping up to date with my posts of late but what with our Max taking over every minute of my day plus life (100 miles an hour!) in general, I've not had much time to blog.

My once beautiful back garden is now a demolition zone thanks to our little addition, he is destroying everything, he adores playing out and I love to watch him, he zooms round and round, brings rocks, stones, bits of fence and various twigs from my plants into the house, my furniture is constantly covered in muddy paw prints (as am I!) but I love it!

I need to get to the doctors this week as I am suffering from Bursitis, it feels like my kneecap has been dislodged, it's something to do with fluid on the knee (extremely painful!) but it isn't stopping me from taking Max out for his two walks per day.

He is a quick learner and is doing quite well at walking to heel and stopping at every road we have to cross. We walk Little'un to school every morning, Max loves going to school, all the kids know him now and all come over to stoke and play with him (he adores the attention he gets plus he meets quite a few other dogs on the way and also in the playground) we then go to meet up with my Sister and her German Shepherd 'Tess' and carry on walking for about another hour or so, Tess and Max absolutely adore each other and sometimes we go to their flat where they have a mad half hour playing together while me and Lil'Sis have a coffee and a natter, other times we go to Mum's where the same thing happens. Then in the afternoon we have another walk back to school to pick Little'un up again.

After all that walking and playing in the garden, he usually zonks out for a few hours.

He eats like a pig! He will scoff anything you put in front of him, he is really good though when we are eating, he knows if he sits quiet and waits, he will be saved some.

Anyway folks, that's all I have time for at the moment, it's feeding time for my zoo, Squeaky the Guinea Pig, Paddy the Cockatiel, Patch and Goldie the fish, Mad Max the Mighty Mutt and of course us humans.

Have a great week everyone.

Love Azzy.

X

YAWN!!!!!!!!

Told you our Max was going to be a good'un, this is only his third day with us too.

He woke me this morning at 3.08 with a big sloppy kiss then ran to the bedroom door, so I took him downstairs and let him out and he piddled and pooed in the back garden.

Me? I stood in the back garden in my jammies and bare feet freezing cold but proud as punch that he has realised he has to go out until it dawned on me that it was 3.08 then I wasn't so happy. Then again, I would rather do that than find a not so nice little surprise on the carpet.

He came charging back in for his 'good boy' treat, wolfed down about five doggie choc buttons then ran back to bed, by the time I had locked back up, reset the alarm, turned off all the lights and gone back up, he had jumped on the bed and pinched my place! We then had a wrestling match about who goes where and I, eventually, after lots of hysterics won, or did I? he slept stretched out on the bed with his head almost on the pillow, good grief, I'm a soft touch!.

OUR MAX (MIGHTY MAX THE MUTT!)

Well, folks, meet Max, our new addition to the family.

We got him yesterday (Sunday 10th February) from Manchester Dogs Home, he is a 'Goodness knows what' breed.

He is only eight months old and christened my carpet with a pee and a poo already but that was yesterday, today he has realised we have a back garden and he can run and play and pee and poo as much as he likes there and gets a little treat every time.

Little'un picked him, it was love at first sight (I'm sure the Dogs Home played 'Love Story' on speakers in the background)

He seems a little timid as he cowers when you raise you hand (not that I would hit him! I just showed him my empty hand after giving him a treat for being good).

He doesn't seem to understand being praised for being good either but he will.

He had been in the home since November when he was about six months old.

How can someone give their dog away? I don't understand, I cried quite a bit while I was there, there were some that had been really badly treated and I wanted to bring them all home!

As I say, we only got him yesterday but he is fitting in great here, he is going to be one happy spoilt little scruffbag. I think he is a bit staffy, a bit GSD and goodness knows what else, he is about the same size as our previous dog Sally but then again, he is only 8 months, he could grow into a monster, I don't know? He does have enormous paws on the end of his stumpy little legs.

He is one lucky doggie to have come to live here and is kissed and cuddled constantly, WE LOVE HIM TO BITS!

OUR MAX

MY BEST FRIEND'S VISIT!!!!!!

WOW................Guess what happened today!!!! (Friday 1st February 2008)

I was sat here at my computer getting the Big Bang tag up to date, proof reading it and letting Mel know he had doubled up on a couple of numbers and actually had more on his list than he thought, when.........................
WOOF!, WOOF!.

Neeza, who was downstairs at the time, as he is off today due to a hospital appointment for an ECG, shouted "Did you hear that!!!!!" I shouted that I did and that I knew she would still be around.

Neeza being Neeza said "I didn't know our neighbour had a dog" I said "None of them have!" he then asked if it scared me because of what we had heard and I replied "Why should you be scared of your own dog coming back to say hello?" He thinks I am mad but he heard it too! (It sounded exactly like her). Spooky or what?

Neeza didn't hear me but I said "Hi, Sal babe" back to her. I'm now sat here grinning from ear to ear, I knew it! I knew it! she is still with us. What a fantastic experience!

MY BEST FRIEND, GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN!!!

Well, after eleven fun filled and loving years, my bestest, bestest friend in all the world, Sally (my dog) had a stroke on Tuesday morning.


It was as if she had waited for the right moment, as on a normal day, Sally would have been on her own when she had the stroke as I usually take Little'un to school and then go straight round to my Sisters and Neeza is usually at work but today both me and Little'un were poorly and Neeza said he would stay off to help, so we were all here with her.

The vet said there was internal bleeding somewhere and if I wanted, he could have tried to find it and stop it with operations but at eleven, I didn't want to put her through all that and anyway, there was a look in her eyes that told me she was quite happy to go now, thankyou.

I bawled my eyes out as I stroked, kissed her and told her she was a good girl and it will all be better soon, they injected her and in a matter of seconds she was gone.
The house is so empty without her. I still automatically go to let her out for her night time piddle and still keep the scraps from meals to one side for her before it dawns on me she isn't here any more.

Neeza says he doesn't want another dog as none could replace our Sal, Little'un wants one straight away. Me, I think it's too soon to say yes or no to anything.






Sally and Little'un Christmas 2007.

Missing you with all my heart, bye, bye baby.
Love ya Sal! XXX

TWO DEAD FISH!!!!

Got up this morning, Sunday, to two of my fish floating upside down in the tank, they were the two biggest, Snowy and Sooty (see side bar photo), at first I thought it may only be 'swim bladder disease' which can be resolved if caught in time, but then realised they were actually already dead!
I can only assume they had a fight and killed each other as they had been fine on Saturday.
Those two were always fighting, especially at feeding time!
The other two (the small ones, Super Hitler and Goldie) are healthy, fine and look like they are enjoying having the tank all to themselves.
Going to have to keep my eye on them though, because if it was old age that caused it and not fighting, the two I have left are approximately the same age as the two that just died so they may follow soon!
What's going on? First Buddie the budgie went about a month ago, then Gizzy my Brother's cat about a week ago, now my fish!
Getting worried as I don't feel too well myself! Gulp!

BUDDY THE BUDGIE - R.I.P.

Sad news folks, our budgie 'Buddy' died about two hours ago and we held a little service over her grave in our front garden, marked it with a little cross and said our 'goodbyes'.
I don't know how but I knew it was going to happen, I had only just told Little'un this morning that I think Buddy would go sometime this weekend and to prepare for it. There was just something about her, she looked very tired, I just knew it was going to be soon but didn't expect it to be within about three hours of my saying so. Hey, wait a minute! I'm looking quite tired myself! Oh, oh!

Little'un cried quite a bit more than I expected, as she mostly ignored the bird when it was alive, as did Neeza who also seemed more upset than I expected. Mind you, as I put in a previous post, Buddy was an ignorant little bugger and would turn her back on you if you tried to talk to her, all those years of talking to the back of her head but I still loved the ignorant little git!

We had had Buddy for almost eight years, she, yes she, even though her name was Buddy, had been given to me by a friend of my Mum, as she (the budgie, not Mum's friend), kept attacking and eventually killed it's cage partner, which, it seems, Mum's friend had preferred. So, as with most of our pets, she came to ME!

All I can say is, she had a very good life, well fed, well looked after, had lots of toys to play with and her cage, which was very, very big for a little budgie so she had plenty of room to fly about, was in between Paddy the cockatiel and Squeaky the Guinea pig, so she had company too.

Think Paddy is missing her, he seems to know something bad has happened and has been very quiet since she went, he usually talks and squawks a lot more, so I keep going and talking to him. How do you explain what has happened, to a cockatiel?

Little'un finished crying after about fifteen minutes and said "What can we get now to go in the cage?" (Typical eight year old! She is actually after a rabbit next and Neeza wants a cat). She started again once I told her I am going to clean it thoroughly and maybe give it to the local pet shop.

Anyway, my little feathered friend, rest in peace. Bye, bye, Bud. XX

GIVE ME YOUR UNWANTED ANIMALS!!

It seems people want me to have my own zoo! Not my choice, they just keep GIVING me animals. Do I have 'give me your unwanted animals' in neon lights over my head?

Number 1....Our dog Sally (she is now ten), given to me by stepdaughters, as their Mother was going to have her put down. (couldn't resist the teeny little puppy!)

Number 2....Four unwanted fish from a neighbour - Goldie, obvious (only one who still looks like its name), Sooty, turned totally gold?, Snowy, now half white, half gold? and Patch, now totally white yet retains a small patch of gold over its top lip, thus causing me to nickname it Hitler.

Number 3....An extremely antisocial budgie, Buddy, given to me due to its habit of attacking its mate, which it eventually killed! Go anywhere near her and she just turns her back on you! (if she could roll her eyes and tut, I think she would!).

Number 4....A cute little guinea pig, Squeaky, (I actually bought this one, for my Daughter) Bargain! so I thought!!! Free cage, food, bedding, bowl etc.. wasn't told it was a vampire guinea pig! If it could jump high enough it would go for your throat!

Number 5....Called in Pet Shop for food for my growing zoo, ended up coming out with a 'free to a good home' cockatiel! Buddy. Ruddy thing won't shut up!

Nearly! Number 6....Husband almost came home from work with a DUCKLING! Said someone was giving them away and seeing as we had a kiddy paddling pool in back garden...........

ARRRGH!!!!