Energy Burner

I LOVE it when Heidi is exhausted! The saying, "A tired dog is a good dog" is oh, so very true in our household. When Heidi has expended all of her energy she is an angel.

Most evenings after dinner our little family takes a walk. A walk up and down our street three times does not burn more than an ounce of Heidi's energy. Honestly, I wish I had the amount of energy she does. Oh the things I could accomplish! I was also starting to get a little bored with the routine and lack of interesting scenery. So last week, I bought a bike, had it delivered and my fantastic neighbor and his buddy put it together for me. They even installed Logan's child seat. I think I owe them a  six pack or two. Up until today, I was a little bit worried about taking Heidi on our rides. The following scenario played out in my head...Heidi sees a bird, squirrel, lizard, leaf. Heidi darts across the road directly into my bike's path. Jenny and Logan crash into a mailbox, parked car, or street sign. Not a pretty sight! After Logan went to bed tonight, I decide to do a trial run. That way if said scenario actually happened, my little man wouldn't get hurt...just me, no big deal.

Before getting on my bike, I decided to put the e-collar on Heidi...just in case she lost her marbles and attempted to make said scenario reality, then off we went! At first, she didn't really know what to do. She leisurely strolled a little ahead and to the left of me, looking back constantly. So I picked up my speed and told her, "Run, Run, Run!" It was amazing! She did such a great job, I was a proud Momma. Not once did she dart in front of me or get too close to the side of me. We have to cross a somewhat busy road in order to make our walks/rides a little longer. When we do that, we always tell Heidi to "Wait" so that we can look both ways before crossing the road. As we were approaching that road she slowed down and got closer to my side, but not too close where I was afraid of running her feet over, until I gave her the "Okay!" to release her. She seemed so happy to be running, I loved it! Her tongue was flopping out of the side of her mouth and slobber was flying everywhere...it was great!

Because I didn't really know how this event would pan out and I wasn't sure I could handle a camera at the same time, I don't have any pictures. Just imagine how that scenario would have played out! YIKES! I'm not incredibly graceful as it is. However, tomorrow evening I'm going to work on getting a video. It will probably be with my phone and incredibly shaky but if it's any good, I'll definitely post it for you to check out. If nothing else, you can at least have a good laugh watching me crash and burn! ;-)

I think after I get bored with this routine I'll move on to ROLLERBLADES!!

In other news...I was checking out my audience today! Thank you all for reading about my crazy wiggle butt. I'd like to give a special shout-out to my readers in RUSSIA!! Здравствуйте! If that's wrong, you can blame Google. :-)

GIVEAWAY Winner Announcement!

I'm so excited to announce the winner of Wiggle Butt Weim's first ever GIVEAWAY! Before the winner is announced, I would first like to thank you all for reading, commenting, and sharing this little blog. This giveaway would not have happened without the support of my great far-away friend, Pam at Bark and Giggle Boutique! Thanks Pam!

So I will let the photos speak for themselves!

It's hard to tell from the photo but there were approximately 30 entries in that bowl!

"This isn't FOOD!"

Giving the entries a good shake to make sure they are mixed up well.

Picking out a name! Ohh, the suspense!

Who could it be?

Dusti Mitchell is our WINNER!!! I will be contacting you very soon. :-) Dusti's family recently adopted a female Weimaraner, Sapphire! She is a 3 month old beauty and will be very well loved in the Mitchell family. Congrats again, Dusti!

Because we didn't make it to our favorite dog park yesterday, we went this morning! Heidi was so very excited to be there and honestly, so was Logan and I. It's one of the few places we can go and forget about all of the other things going on in our life. For an hour and a half, all I thought about, talked about, and laughed about were dogs! I take part of that back, a few people did ask about the 18 month little boy strapped to my back.

 

 

Did you see the pattern? The smile never left Heidi's face. :-)
 

Heidi met some Dobies. These dogs were 2 years old and were ready to play!

More friends coming to play!

In this spot, there were about 11 dogs all playing and chasing each other in the water.

Congrats again to our winner, Dusti! Thank you all again for your support. Now, it's nap time for Logan and Heidi, while I tend to business. This week I will be dog-sitting THREE pups, I'm sure they'll give me something fun to write about! 

Woe is Heidi, Tasha Update, & Our First Giveaway Reminder!

The past few days, I have felt so guilty for the lack of attention I've given to Heidi. It's not because I don't love her ( I do, most days), or that I don't like her (because I really do much of the time), or that at least once a day she makes me want to hit my head against the wall, it was because of the big, bad, stomach flu! On Friday night, Logan woke up around 9pm because the poor baby vomited in his bed, twice. By midnight, he had thrown up another three times. By 6:30am, he woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed, as if vomiting five times during the night was a perfectly normal thing to do. The rest of the day Saturday he was a little fussier than normal and didn't nap as well as he should have, so I was coddling him more than I usually do because I figured he wasn't really feeling like himself. Unfortunately for Heidi that meant we were not going to make it to the dog park or the lake. Sunday was a wash. It rained all day long. Then, somewhere between 9pm Friday night and 10pm Sunday, that awful stomach virus invaded me. I heard Heidi knocking at the knob to go out twice and yelled at her to go back to bed because I couldn't fathom getting up. When she started at it a third time, I figured I had better let her out before I had another mess to clean up. Thankfully, she was quick to do her business and come back in. Monday was AWFUL! When I wasn't getting Logan meals or changing his diapers or getting Heidi meals or letting her outside, I was camped out on the couch. Thank goodness for Sesame Street and Toy Story. Jeff was so sweet to have sent his sympathy via email. Even though I know he was secretly thanking his lucky stars that he didn't have to clean up baby vomit or hold his wife's hair back. Hmm, I hope he would have held my hair back. But I honestly can't remember the last time I actually had the stomach flu. You know, the actual stomach flu like this, not the kind I claimed to have had a few times in college after a night out. Me? Hungover? Absolutely not! It MUST be the stomach flu that's going around! You know what I'm talking about, don't judge me. :-) I did happen to get a photo or two of poor, sad, attention-deprived Heidi. 

Don't you feel sorry for her? 

I do have to say that both Heidi and Logan were very well-behaved when I was under the weather. Logan would come up on the couch to snuggle with me and look at me with concerned eyes. Heidi would only pester me to go outside and remind me when it was time to eat. She even gave up her part of the couch for me! I was shocked. This dog can literally stretch herself out to take up the entire couch if she wants to. But, thankfully for me on Monday, she opted for Jeff's "King of the Castle" chair. 

Well, now Logan and I are feeling better. However, to Heidi's dismay we won't be able to get to the dog park until Friday. Throwing the frisbee around the backyard is great for burning about an ounce of her energy. This dog needs to get out and run until her legs are about to fall off. Hopefully, if the weather cooperates we'll be able to do that on Friday.

Now for some great news about my parent's Weim, Tasha. In case you missed her introduction, you can find it here. Tasha had a biopsy on her front right leg last week and the results are in! All of her cultures came back negative for bacteria and there was not any evidence of a fungal infection. Thankfully, the test results did not show any malignancy or tumor in her leg either, which means Tasha will not be a tri-pod!! There was a little bit of inflammation but the vet said that could have been caused from an old infection. So, hopefully her meds will take care of that. 

Please don't forget about our generous GIVEAWAY hosted by the fantastic Pam at Bark and Giggle Boutique. Side note, check out Pam's blog by clicking the B&GB link. She did a very sweet post on Weimaraners!! You have until Friday at midnight to enter the giveaway. Bright and early Saturday morning, I'm guessing around 6:30am, Logan will draw a name out of Heidi's bowl and we'll announce the winner during nap time! 

Wiggle On,

Jenny :-)

My Four-Legged Brother and Sister and our GIVEAWAY!

When I heard that Juice Plus+ was conducting their Spring Conference in Phoenix, AZ I was stoked! Not only could I attend the conference, visit my family, meet some incredibly inspiring people but I could also write the entire trip off when we do our taxes next year! Cha-Ching! That was so 1989 of me. Who says, "Cha-Ching!"? Before I get to my four-legged brother and sister, I would like to give a shout out to The Grommom way over in Oahu and to the SuperShegan out in Washington. These two women inspire me to live a healthier lifestyle everyday; it was such a pleasure to have FINALLY met them.

Meet my four-legged brother, Kaiser!

Such a handsome puppy!

He is probably the sweetest dog on this planet. I know what you are thinking, "You haven't met my dog", "Who is she to say her dog is the sweetest?", "I bet he's not as sweet as my Fido! Oh no, he's not." Well, it's my blog and he's my four-legged brother, so there! ;-) Kaiser may be getting old, roughly 11 years old, but if you are at all familiar with Weimaraners, you know he still has a lot of puppy left in him. His back end is starting to droop a little bit and it's becoming harder for him to get up from a sitting or lying position but the second his pool toys come out, it's as if a switch has been flipped and he's a two year old puppy again. Kaiser-butt had never been around babies or young children until last June when we flew out to Phoenix before going on to Kauai. At the time, Logan was about 8 months old and crawling. It was as if Kaiser had a sixth sense-he was so careful, calm, and gentle around Logan. What's even more surprising is how protective he is of Logan. My parents, like any smart person living in The Valley of the Sun, have a pool. When Logan is near the pool deck, it is a rule that he must be holding someone's hand. On this last trip out, when Logan was on the pool deck, holding someone's hand, of course, Kaiser would flank the other side. If Kaiser could have, I'm betting he probably would have held Logan's other hand. When Logan was sitting on the pool deck dipping his feet in the water, Kaiser would stand behind Logan with his head just over the little guy, I'm sure he was ready to grab him if the need arose. We all believe that if, God forbid, Logan had fallen into the pool, Kaiser would have gone in after him. This dog just has the sweetest heart, kind and gentle spirit, and happy-go-lucky attitude. It's hard to see him getting old but when he looks at us with his wide, open mouthed grin, we know there is plenty of life left in him.

This is Tasha!

The shadow from the umbrella is annoying but she's a pretty girl!

She is the newest member of my parent's pack. Tasha is about 5 years old and she is teeny-tiny by Weim standards, she only weighs 42 lbs.! Her build resembles more of a Vizsla. My parents adopted Tasha almost a year ago; she was very timid and meek. Now, she has definitely come out of her shell and will jump on you just to get a hug, she's so sweet. But, there is one thing Tasha HATES! Cats. My parents happen to have three cats that torture her endlessly. Tasha-girl is constantly on guard just in case a cat gets too close or tries to sneak past her. When she is stalking one of the cats, her eyes get really big, she moves very quietly and is sure to tread ever-so lightly on her dainty little paws. This little pup is also really great with Logan. She came from a home with small children so she had some training in that regard. However, Logan definitely gave her a refresher course in the joys of toddler-hood. He climbed on top of her as if she were a horse, a mini-horse I suppose. He yanked on her ears and poked her in the eyes and gave her hugs. She just sat there are took it like a champ. We recently learned of  the possibility that Tasha has a tumor in her front, right leg that would require amputation. But, in true Weimaraner fashion, she hasn't slowed down a bit. That's the thing about these Weimaraners, they are so stubborn. Reminds me of a certain human I know. :-) I will be sure to keep you updated on Tasha's prognosis.

Upside-down Tasha!

Weimaraners are called Velcro-dogs because they love to be as close to their humans as humanly possible. Well, Kaiser and Tasha are no different. Tasha loves to snuggle in bed under the blankets. Kaiser on the other hand will just plop his 90 lb. rear-end in your lap. Then, he'll give you his puppy dog eyes as if to say, "Please don't make me get up!". My parents have been very fortunate to own four fantastic Weimaraners, two of which have unfortunately crossed over the Rainbow Bridge but they both had long lives filled with love. Hogan was the calamity...he always had a cone on his head. And Jake was just happy to have a warm bed, food in his tummy, and someone to give him a gentle belly rub. I will have to dig up some pictures of them, they deserve their own separate post.

Velcro-dog Kaiser

Tasha stalking a cat.

Okay, now that I am on the verge of weeping over my keyboard...have you entered our GIVEAWAY yet?  

Wiggle on,

Jenny :-)

Our First GIVEAWAY!!

I don't know where to begin, there is just so much I want to share with you! My brain is telling me to start in one direction and my heart is pulling me in another and my fingers are going somewhere else entirely. Can we all just work together?! I had intended to do one post with all sorts of fantastic things to share but I have a new Real Housewives of Orange County episode waiting to be downloaded to my Apple t.v. Don't judge, I know you're judging. :-)

So now that I have physically, written out notes, in hopes of my thoughts coming across somewhat organized, we can get started. But wait, other Bloggers out there in the blogosphere, please tell me I am not the only one who literally had to write out notes before typing. I am such an amateur. Anyway, that little rant brings me to my first topic. My great friend Pam, from Bark and Giggle Boutique is a Pro-Blogger, unlike myself, and an amazing small business owner; there truly is no end to her creativity. She has agreed to do a guest post for Wiggle Butt Weim and a GIVEAWAY!! I can hardly contain my excitement, hence my need for jotting notes. I absolutely LOVE the adorable fabric options (seen here) and wide range of products (here) offered at BAGB, not to mention that the products are all hand-made by Pam herself, allowing for endless opportunities to customize your product. Heidi has a few Bark and Giggle Products, the "Miko" Front-Pull Harness, a few "Lucy" Classic Collars, and the absolutely amazing "Sake" Chain Martingale. A martingale collar is great for dogs that pull when walking on leash or for a dog that is able to slip out of their collar while on leash. In Heidi's case, she is terrible at walking nicely on the leash, however, she is very well-behaved when walking off leash. She needs the martingale because otherwise she would rip my arm out of its socket. There is also the fact that Heidi has pulled so hard on the leash, that the plastic buckle on her collar broke. This particular collar was NOT a Bark and Giggle product, the craftsmanship of this particular collar was nowhere near the caliber of Bark and Giggle's. While you are visiting Bark and Giggle Boutique, don't forget to check out the Giggle side for the adorable, two-legged baby in your life.

Heidi modeling the "Miko" Front Pull Harness and one of her "Lucy" Classic Collars.

Here, Heidi is wearing the "Sake" Chain Martingale.

Here are the details for our first ever GIVEAWAY!! You have until Friday April 27th to submit your entries to win a "Sake" Chain Martingale from Bark and Giggle Boutique. Remember, this collar can be customized to fit your dog and the fabric choice is yours! Bright and early Saturday April 28th, Logan will chose a name randomly out of Heidi's food bowl. Here is how to enter:

• Leave a Comment = 1 Entry 

• Subscribe to Wiggle Butt Weim = 2 Entries

• Already wiggling with us as a subscriber? 3 Entries!

• Send a friend over to wiggle! They must leave a comment letting me know you sent them, you will receive = 2 additional entries or 3 additional entries if they subscribe! 

Are you ready for your four-legged friend to sport a new, super-stylish collar? Good luck!

Check back tomorrow for an introduction to my Weimy brother and sister. Here's a sneak peek!

 

Tasha on the left and Kaiser on the right.

Have you entered yet??

Wacky Weimaraner Wednesday

The other day I came across this great captioned photo and thank goodness I did because I needed a good laugh that day.

 Because we live in the South, this next one makes me giggle, as well.

I came across a photo of Heidi from about three years ago. The picture quality is horrible but it captures Heidi's goof-ball personality nicely!

Frisbee, anyone?

One of these days, I'm going to get a picture of Heidi's bucked teeth! Have you ever seen a dog with bucked teeth? It is very funny! Because of this little cosmetic flaw, we would never have been able to show Heidi in the ring...so, we got her for a discount! I don't think she would be the same dog without her bucked teeth.

 Of course, there are days when Heidi drives me bat-crap crazy, but there's nothing like cuddling up on the couch with her at the end of a long day. Her personality, dog-ality?, hound-ality? can be a little over-bearing for some, myself included some days, but just like any other family-member, we love her anyway. She is who she is! Obnoxious, hyper, goofy, protective, persistent, stubborn, and incredibly LOYAL! That last part is more than many humans can say for themselves, unfortunately.

Keep an eye out for our upcoming give-away! I'm so excited to introduce to you to a great friend, awesome mom, creative business-owner, and fellow dog lover very soon.

Lady of the Flies

Spring in North Carolina has arrived! Well, it actually (unofficially) arrived a few weeks ago with temperatures

in the 70s-80s. Flowers and trees are blooming. The grass needs to be mowed. Birds are singing and bees are buzzing.

With Spring comes a few nuisances. First, the pollen. Here in the South, it is disgusting. It literally will turn you white, silver, black, or Pepto-Bismal pink car (yes, there is such a car driving around my town) a bright yellow. Gross! What looks like yellow sidewalk chalk coating everyone's driveway is, you guessed it, pollen. I remember our first Spring here; mid to upper 70 degree temperatures was perfect weather for wide open windows in the house. A yellow dusting started to form on my white window sills and because I am from Michigan, I had absolutely no idea where this yellow stuff was coming from. Sure, there is pollen in Michigan but nowhere near the amount we experience here in NC. Slowly, yes I am blonde, I put two and two together. Thankfully, no one in my immediate family suffers from seasonal allergies to the point of needing to keep the windows closed all spring.

When I'm home, my car is in the garage. This car is not mine. http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/healthteam/story/1261521/

The other thing that is a bit of an annoyance is the flies. Because Heidi is constantly knocking at the knob to go out and jumping on the door to come back in (two seconds after going out), the door is continuously being opened and closed allowing a fly or two in the house. There really isn't much Heidi is afraid of but flies are definitely one of them. When there is a fly in the house, Heidi is such a WEENY! She becomes incredibly clingy, I guess they are called "Velcro-Dogs" for a reason.

Velcro-Dog

A few weeks ago I was painting the kitchen. It was a beautiful day out, mid-70s, a gently breeze stirring the pollen around a bit more to torture the poor, allergy stricken people. Hence, Heidi in and out...ALL. DAY. LONG. A particularly large fly made it's way into the house. This scaredy-dog was constantly under my feet. When I was standing on the ladder, she was laying at the foot of it. Our kitchen is not that big but every time I moved, even if it was to move the ladder two feet over, there she was at my hip. It didn't matter that the fly was not even in the kitchen. She knew it was somewhere in the house and she was worried!

Hiding under the table. The fly won't find her there!

She never lays on a hard surface. Desperate times call for desperate measures!

I guess I can't really blame her, though. Dogs have an incredible sense of hearing...when they want to, I should note. She may not hear me tell her to "leave it" eighteen times but she can hear a fly buzzing on the other side of the house. Truly, the sound of a fly buzzing by my head is annoying enough and my sense of hearing is no where near Heidi's. However, for a dog her size, with tremendous speed and agility, it is beyond me as to why she is so afraid of a harmless fly. Nonetheless, my ego is slightly elevated every time she seeks my protection! What's more baffling to me is that when a bee, hornet, or anything else with a stinger is around, she will jump up to try to catch it in her mouth! Really, Heidi? Weimaraners are smart dogs but if Heidi were a real girl, she would be the one in class with a ton of book smarts but really lacking in the street smarts department.

What silly something is your dog afraid of?