New Furniture: What's a dog to do?

Last weekend mom and dad decided to get a new loveseat and recliner. They arrived this past Tuesday and are really comfy! The arrival of the new pieces means no more Houli on the furniture. This is very sad for a dog who has always had free reign over the couch. Guests couldn't sit anywhere they liked unless Houli had her spot first (except when an elder dog friend came over and took her spot. Houli didn't even see it coming). So now Houli is being treated like a dog. It took her about four days to understand this. We have had books on the seats. We pushed her front paws up constantly whenever she tried to jump up. We shot back glares and threatened with the spray when she showed us her puppy eyes look. Finally she has gotten the picture.


Actually it was pretty funny watching her try to move moms leg over with her right fore paw. The couch and the chair both lounge, but they are not full chaises(?) so she can't sit between our legs. Even after showing her many time that there is a hole, she still doesn't get it. I don't want her to hurt herself, so I won't let her try to get up with us, but it would be pretty funny to see her fall through the hole. :)

Big Lots Bags

So I have been working at Big Lots for a while now and usually I always find something that I need to buy there. Sometimes that item happens to be cheap dog toys or dog cookies/treats. Well, apparently Houli can read now because she figured out that every time I bring home a Big Lots bag home chances are good that there is something in it for her. (Usually this is not the case.) I don't know if she can see the color orange or that she can look at the letters, but she will sit underneath the bag for hours until I show her what is inside. Even after I do that, she doesn't always believe me. Maybe it has a certain smell, but she doesn't do it for Walmart bags unless she can smell the cookies. When we went shopping today and brought home bags from Big Lots and Walmart, she automatically ignored the Walmart bags and went straight for the Big Lots ones. I don't know how she does it! This is quite a mystery.

Grandma's Visiting!

Houli loves it when Grandma comes! Unfortunately, she isn't very careful with her and makes Grandma nervous. Houli does love it when Grandma goes outside to smoke though. She loves having company out on the deck.

Houli's new thing to do now is take my hair claw clip thingys and tear them apart. She thinks this is a great way to get my attention. So far she has probably ruined four of them. I even had one in my hand one day ready to put in my hair and she thought I was giving it to her!

Houli also is fond of beef jerky and will cry for hours if she is not given a bite. I wish she would do that with green vegetables!

Houli Update

Houli is feeling much better, and is healing nicely. She decided that she had to bark at a lawn mower this morning because she thought it was too soon for him to be out. Good think I had already been awake since 5:30am thanks to my new internal clock.

Houli didn't do well with the medicine though, so we cut her off before finishing the entire prescription. Hopefully the infection won't come back.

We are also glad to learn that Hoo hoo is very fond of kids and knows that they need a gentle touch. She is very thoughtful like that!

Houli's Hospital Trip

Poor Hoohoo! She had an anal gland rupture that abscessed! She is on antibiotics now though, so she is on the mend! Poor dog can lay down for too long a time though!

Sunbathing

You know spring has officially arrived when Houli begins her daily sun baths. Usually she likes to go out around 1pm. She always begins by laying on her left side, leaving her right side exposed. About 5 minutes later, she lifts her head and tucks it in near her belly so she can heat up the other side. I tried to once tell her that she could just lay entirely on her right side, but she didn't like that idea. She thought it was too much work to get up and lay on her other side.

Houli also understands the need to stretch. She has very long, skinny legs that each get stretched out and shaken before they are put to work walking to the next sleeping spot. She has very dainty paws that she very careful not to burn or get dirty. They never have any calluses. They are very small. Sometimes she will pick one of her front ones up to show as a sign that her paws are being burned, or that she is listening to something important. I think this has to do with her being part beagle.

Mom's Stress

So, yesterday I went to the zoo with Dad and my boyfriend while Mom stayed and watched Houli. Apparently she had a hard time with her because Mom called Dad complaining about how she couldn't get any work done without Houli right by her side. Houli thought she would be a big helper. Mom didn't think so and wanted her to lay down.
Mom apparently felt the need to re-arrange my shower caddy for whatever reason, as well as reorganize the entire house, so I feel that she deserved whatever problems Houli gave her. Sorry Mom.

Houli and the red bone

Houli has a another part of her schedule that she keeps to, which is her red bone time. This bone is red, obviously, and is shaped like a bone. You can stick little cookies/biscuits in it. She chews on it to get them out. She is a pro at it. I wish it was a sport, just so she could win. Being a mutt is hard sometimes, so I think this would give her the confidence boost she needs.

Truely Houli doesn't need one though. She thinks she is very special. She prides herself on being able to keep such a nice figure and eat all of the cookies she can snatch. Often we have called her a Heinz 57 dog because she is probably made up of 3 different species or more. Her mom was a mutt too, I think.

Houli always gets her way. It is quite annoying, but apparently I am the source of all of the spoiling. I don't think so.

Houli's Walks

Houli love to take walks, but she likes to keep to a schedule. Do something on a regular basis for a few days and she expects it to happen every day. I began walking her at around 10:30 every morning the past couple of mornings and now she is completely hooked! She comes to me and whines at me until I give in. It is really annoying sometimes. I just want to yell at her to go lay down, but alas, Houli is very hard of hearing and would just hear whispers. I think that is all she would hear anyway.

Until recently, I didn't know that Houli liked to eat other dogs poop. I thought she was more advanced than  that, but I guess I was totally wrong. I had to grab it out of her mouth too, which was completely disgusting.

I have to say though, she is a very good walker. She doesn't bark at other dogs or kids. She doesn't pull too hard. We have her on two leashes and a choke collar, so I suppose that she really has a lot of freedom and knows it.

I wonder though. . . if we let her outside on her own, would she run away?

An Introduction to Houli

Houlihan is my dog. She is 7 years old in dog years and is mostly black with bits of white. The white spots on her grow a little bigger every year. Her most distinct feature is her dry nose, which almost always is caked with dry boogers. Disgusting I know, but the positive of this is that she will never slime your clothes. She will, however, leave them with lots of shiny, short black fur. Wearing white around her is never a good idea.

Houli is your typical, overindulged pet. She thinks she is a person and therefore has all of the rights and privileges of them as well. Often you will see her curled up on your lap or on her side of the couch which has a small fleece blanket made especially for her. The print on it is, as you may have guess, bones and dogs. When she gets too hot or wants a different feel against her tummy and back, she will move to the other side of the couch which is bare. She will stay there until someone, like my dad, pushes her off or she is ready for a quick trollop outside.