Meet Cubby!

It's time to complete the Trifecta.....my three amigos, three musketeers, three little piggies. *hehe* Thanks for indulging my need to ramble incessantly about my dogs. They really are my babies. :)

Cubby 

(aka Cubs, Cubbers, Cubby Wubby, Cubby Dubby, Cubbalicious, and CUBBY MATTHEW!! when he's in trouble.)

Oh and to answer a question that was posed...yes we ARE Cubs (and Bears) fans. Well, Jeremy is and I tagalong cause I'm his wife. *hehe* Wrigley was named after Wrigley Field, but I actually chose the name Cubby because he reminded me so much of a little lion cub as a puppy. But it still works for that theme too. :)

The 411

Breed: Pretty much no clue. Any guesses?? His mom was a chihuahua mix and we don't know what the daddy was, so there's no telling how much of a hybrid this baby is.

Age: 1 1/2 (but still all puppy!)

Fur Color:  Cream, blonde, whatever you wanna call it. I call it Pudding. :)

Fur Type: Amazingly soft! It reminds me of a Golden Retriever. The only problem is that it acts like a cottony magnet...everything sticks to it! Leaves, twigs, fuzz, everything.

Eye Color: Brown

Size: Around 11 lbs. The funny thing about Cubby is that he has fairly short legs but a long body, so when he stands next to the other dogs he's smaller than they are, but when he SITS next to them, his head is even with MoJo's! 

What's your favorite thing about your dog? He is sweet as sugar! Something about him just makes me wanna baby him and kiss him all over. He does this adorable noise when he yawns, that I call the "Littlefoot yawn." (Which can be observed at 1:13 in the below clip). It's precious. He also happens to follow me around everywhere and practically melts at my feet when I acknowledge his presence. 

What's your least favorite thing? He growls. Not like aggressively. Almost like an unconscious response to being moved or disturbed. Like instead of a groan or a sigh to release excess air, he growls. *haha* And brave visitors think it's really funny to get him all riled up and annoyed because then he growls REALLY loud.  

Background

Where did you get him? We got him from the same shelter that Wrigley came from: OK-Save-A-Dog in Oklahoma City.

Any special details? Well sometime in the Fall of '07 I was struck by puppy fever. True, we had just gotten Wrigley in February, but we didn't get to enjoy his puppy stage since he was already a couple years old. So I started to hint, ask, beg....whatever it took. Jeremy finally agreed. 

This time I thought I wanted a much smaller dog, a "pocket puppy" if you will. I also thought it would be fun to have a female. Just to mix things up (and dress things up, if you get my drift *hehe*). But I also wanted to adopt from a shelter again, so that narrowed my choices a bit.

Then in December I found a listing on Petfinder.com for a litter of Chihuahua mix puppies at OK-Save-A-Dog. There were a couple females in the mix, but they were already spoken for. But that was OK because the one I fell in love with was the male: a fluffy little poofball that just melted my heart! Check it out, these were the pictures from the ad:

Cubby's on the left.

Hanging out with a fellow-shelter dog. He's the chubby lump giving kisses. (And yes, I did want the St. Bernard too, but that wasn't gonna happen.)

So that weekend we drove down to OKC to pick up our new baby. On the way there, I started to feel kinda yucky and by the time we arrived, I had the full-fledged flu with a fever and all. It was miserable. Especially because that same weekend, OKC was hit with the biggest ice storm they've ever seen. It was actually quite scary. Everything shut down and in the morning Jeremy literally had to break our car out of a layer of ice. (While I laid down on the bed like a zombie.) 

We were actually scared that we wouldn't be able to make it to the shelter, because the roads were really bad. But luckily, the shelter was far enough away that the area almost completely missed the storm. Thank God! To go through all that without getting to take Cubby home would have been terribly frustrating.

So we showed up and Kim (the shelter owner) brought out this tiny, fuzzy, wiggly little ball. I tried to be a little more thorough with the "dog-testing" this time, doing a few quick things to make sure he wasn't "broken." *haha* He seemed just perfect so we loaded up in the car and made our way back home. We had a little photo shoot as he sat in my lap.

Where's the mother? I believe she was still at the shelter. :( I hope she found a good home too!

Spayed/Neutered? Yes. The shelter spays and neuters every animal before it's adopted.

Any injuries or illnesses?  Nothing! *knock on wood*

Training

Does he bite? He's our biggest "play-biter." He doesn't bite down hard but he does still like to "mouth" on hands. Nothing a little smack on the nose doesn't take care of, though. ;)

Does he jump on people? This is a yes on all our boys. :(

Is he house-broken? Yes, almost completely. If we don't pay close enough attention to him and miss his very quiet and polite requests, though, he will leave us a present in front of the door.

Has he chewed up anything special? Other than a few stray pens or pieces of paper, he really hasn't gotten into much. 

Does he bark? Yes. But only when he's playing. He doesn't bark at people or animals out the window or at the doorbell. 

Fetch? YES!! We were so excited when we discovered he liked to fetch. He's really good at it, too. He'll just keep bringing that ball back until you ignore him.

Did he go to obedience school? No....I kept meaning to sign him up for the puppy class but time got away from us.  

Does he play nicely with others? Well he plays really well with MoJo and Wrigley. But I took him (without the other two) to a church football game where he met a friend's huge, very excited Golden Retriever puppy. He coward behind my legs and growled. I think he was already feeling insecure to be without his brothers in a strange place for the first time...plus a little scared by this big dog.

Has he ever humped your leg? No, nor anything else.

Any special tricks? He can sit and shake. We really dropped the ball on teaching him stuff. But it's really hard to teach anything when you've got two other dogs trying to get the treats too.

Preferences

Where's his favorite place to sleep? At night he sleeps at the end of the bed at my feet. 

Favorite food? CHEESE!! 

Favorite toy? He loves toys, period! 

Favorite place to run around? Backyard.

Favorite owner? I think it's ME! *hehe* I know he loves Jeremy too, but I truly feel that he's a mama's boy. :)

Personality

Is your dog calm or hyper?  He's still a puppy, what can I say? He does the silliest things for attention.

Explorer or Couch Potato? Explorer! He loves the outdoors, especially when he finds a stick that needs chewing. 

Does he learn quickly? We haven't really challenged him enough to know! :(

Stubborn at all? Yeah. if he doesn't want to come in when you call him he'll just stare at you from the yard. Reminds me of the Miniature Schnauzer I grew up with. 

Does he like to swim? Probably not...he doesn't like to get wet.

Is he a cuddler? Yes, absolutely! When Jeremy and I sit on the couch together he simply must be touching one of us. He prefers to be in a lap, but he'll settle for just leaning up against you if the laps are taken by the other two.

Some Favorite Photos 

Cutest puppy EVER! :)

What a great Christmas present! 

Snow puppy

Standing at me feet

Looking grown up!

His ears get kinda crazy sometimes. :)

Snuggly wuggly

My favorite Cubby photo to date. Doesn't he look regal? :)

Meet Wrigley!

It's time for another installment of HERE'S...MY....DOGGY!!! *trying to sound like a game show host*

(BTW, thanks for the nice comments about my Mojey Pojey. And yes, absolutely, everyone should feel free to use this on their blog for their own dogs [or cats! or guinea pigs! or whatever!] I would adore that! It would be a hoot to meet the special little creatures in your lives.)

Wrigley 

(aka Wriggles, Wrigs, WrigaMaJig, Wrigaroo, and 

WRIGLEY JAMES!! when he's in trouble)

The 411

Breed: He's a Terrier Casserole. Can'tcha tell? (More Rat than Jack Russell, if you ask me. But others have disagreed.

Age: 3-ish we think.

Fur Color:  Mostly white, with a few liver polka dots...and some great freckles on his shnozz.

Fur Type: Short and wiry. He sheds the kind of hair that digs itself into your clothes (or upholstery) and then holds on for dear life. *sigh*

Eye Color: Brown

Size: He's smaller than MoJo but weighs more! He's almost 16lbs! He's pretty stalky...but we do watch his treat intake because the vet warned us he was getting "too round." Of all the nerve! *haha*

What's your favorite thing about your dog? Aw Wrigley. What's not to love? He really is quite a charmer...making every single person that enters this house feel as though they are the only person he has ever loved. He rolls over in your lap and gazes up at you as if you were singing him a love song. I also love how well he gets along with both MoJo and Cubby. I call him the "Glue Dog," as in the glue that holds us all together. (Obscure White Squall reference anyone?) It's so cute to see how much they both want to be with him. They almost fight over him. *haha*

What's your least favorite thing? The same quality that makes him so sweet: he's SO stinkin' needy! There always seems to be this extreme urgency in his desire to be near you. He doesn't respect personal space AT ALL.

Those are MY legs! Told ya, no personal space.

Background

Where did you get him? He's from a shelter right outside of Oklahoma City called OK-Save-A-Dog. We found him through Petfinder.com.

Runt of the litter?  Wish I knew! 

Any special details? Of course silly head! In February of 2007, we started thinking MoJo needed a friend. This time around I knew I wanted a rescue dog, but other than that the only qualification was that it be another male, young and close in size. Breed didn't matter to me.

We found his profile the week of Valentine's Day and I made a mental note of him, but I was still extremely surprised when I got home from work Valentine's Day evening and Jeremy met me at the door with a suitcase. He told me we were taking a little roadtrip to OKC and were going to meet Wrigley (then going by "Tyro") the next morning! He'd already bought another crate, leash, colloar...the whole shebang. So I guess you could say Wrigs was my Valentine's Day present. :)

The next day when we went to meet Wrigley, we were smitten with him instantly. It was a FREEEEEEZING cold day and the poor little guy was just shivering like mad. I picked him up and he nuzzled into my chest. He was dirty (there was mud and snow on the ground) and painfully thin. I know you're supposed to do a full-blown examination of a dog before you adopt them, to make sure you don't end up with a "lemon." But from the minute I held him I just wanted to sweep him off into the car. And that's basically what we did (after we paid the lady, that is). I wrapped him up in the blankets Jeremy had thoughtfully brought and blasted the car heat on high. He looked up at me with that patented Wrigley look...and I knew we'd done the right thing. Here are pictures of what he looked like when we first got him home:

So sad, isn't it?? And to think he's now being accused of being "too round!" That's what getting into our family will do for ya. *wink wink*

Where's the mother? Wouldn't really know, now would I? *haha*

Spayed/Neutered? Yes. The shelter spays and neuters every animal before it's adopted.

Any injuries or illnesses?  The only thing that's ever happened to this poor fella is when he ripped his dewclaw in half. (The story's here, if you wanna read it.) He was a super trooper about it, though.

Training

Does he bite? We've never been bitten by Wrigley. Now...if he gets really into a bone he will growl and bare his teeth and make all sorts of evil noises. But he doesn't follow through on it. *haha*

Does he jump on people? This is a yes on all our boys. :(

Is he house-broken? Yes! The best of the three. I can't think of a single accident he's ever had in the house...not even straight from the shelter.

Has he chewed up anything special? Nothing "special," but he is a bit of a chew monster. He destroyed the tray that used to sit in the bottom of his crate (which now sits on a plank of wood so he won't chew a hole in the carpet). And he shreds any blanket, pillow or towel that is put in his crate. Plus he can "kill" a stuffed toy and have the squeaker out in record time. I haven't been able to find a toy he can't destroy. But he's never chewed anything up around the house, like shoes or furniture or anything.

Does he bark? Yeeeah. The terrier in him demands that he bark at anyone who comes to the door or any furry creature that passes his way. He also barks in protest when he's first crated. But he's fairly easy to shut up.

Fetch? Kinda. He likes to fetch a few times but then decides he'd rather chew up whatever we're throwing. *haha*

Did he go to obedience school? No but I wish we would have. 

Does he play nicely with others? Yes! I can't imagine him not getting along with anyone. Oh wait....

When we first brought him home, he and MoJo were no love connection. I think it was mostly MoJo's fault, but it was still very frustrating! We had to keep them completely separated for the first WEEK. I was starting to think Wrigley was gonna have to find a new place to live, but then we saw on the Dog Whisperer a similar situation. Cesar (our hero) simply took the dogs on a walk together, conveying to them that they were "in the same pack." We decided to give it a try and AMAZINGLY it worked!  We brought them home and they ran around the backyard, playing like they were best buddies. It was nothing short of a miracle. :) This picture was taken shortly thereafter:

(Look how much he'd already fattened up. Just in a week!)

Has he ever humped your leg? No. But he does like to play that "game" with Cubby. Especially when we have company. I think he's just trying to get our attention, cause we always go nuts trying to stop him. 

Any special tricks? *haha* No. Wrigley is the sweetest thing, but he ain't the brightest crayon in the box. He can sit on command and after about 2 months we managed to teach him to shake. And anytime you try to teach him anything new...he just keeps puttin' that paw up in the air like, "I can do THIS! I can do THIS! I can do THIS!" :)

Preferences

Where's his favorite place to sleep? Curled up next to me, under the covers. During the day, since he's always cold, his very best friend is the portable space heater I use. He follows it wherever I put it and basks in its glow.

Favorite food? I think he'd eat anything...but lately he's really into apple cores. 

Favorite toy? Anything with a squeaker!

Favorite place to run around? Backyard.

Favorite owner? I know he has plenty of love for me, but I'd be crazy not to admit he's a Daddy's boy. The evidence is overwhelming:

Personality

Is your dog calm or hyper?  Fairly calm. We've coined the exceptionally clever name "Crazy Wrigley Time" for when he does go nuts. He runs up and down the stairs, around tables, on and off of couches...the whole time making these "Rooroooroooroo!" noises. It's pretty hilarious. He also enjoys a good romp with Cubby. They love the wrestle.

Explorer or Couch Potato? Couch potato. He's always the first one ready to come inside.

Does he learn quickly? Ahuh, no.

Stubborn at all? Not really. He's easily intimidated so he doesn't stick to his guns. And he's eager for affection so he'll stop whatever he's doing if you'll pet him.

Does he like to swim? I doubt it. He has come to enjoy bathtime, though. Being covered in hot water while being massaged can't be that bad, right?

Is he a cuddler? Yes! His joints are very stiff, though, which makes him awkward to cuddle sometimes.

Some Favorite Photos 

Happy face!

I'll do anything for you, Mommy.

Loungin' around in a t-shirt.

All dressed up with nowhere to go!

"If you leave me now, you'll take away the biggest part of meeeee!!! OOOOOOOOH baby please don't gooooo!"

Meet MoJo!

So I found this dog survey...it's just like the things we all fill out about ourselves except you fill it out about your DOGS! Fabulous, right? Well, I thought it sounded fun. :) Plus I figured it would be a good excuse to post pictures of my little cuties. :) And, it will be a welcomed break to my usual gym and eating rambling, right? I'm going to break it into three posts, though, otherwise it could get a little too long (and take me all bloomin' day.)

 MoJo 

(short for EskiMO JO)

The 411

Breed: Alaskan Klee Kai (like a mini-husky)

Age: Almost 4. I can't believe it!

Fur Color:  Black & White

Fur Type: Fluffy and very soft. He sheds year round but he blows his dense undercoat twice a year.

Eye Color: Brown

Size: He only weighs 11 lbs! He's really lanky - all legs and fur! We've tried all kinds of things to make him gain weight. He's a good eater and gets lot's of treats and "people food." Wish I had his metabolism. *haha*

What's your favorite thing about your dog? He's so sweet spirited. I love it when he comes up and just LEANS into me so I'll pet him. He also has very responsive eyes. When you're talking to him he just stares at you like he's listening intently and cares about everything you're saying. He's a sweetheart. :)

What's your least favorite thing? When he gets into a heavy "argument" with the neighbor dog, he will NOT come when called. He's absolutely deaf to my voice. It makes me FURIOUS!

Background

Where did you get him? He came from a breeder in Springfield, Missouri.

Runt of the litter?  No. In fact he was one of only two puppies and his brother was born with a minor hip deffect. :( 

(I will post more puppy pictures of MoJo at some point after we get the scanner situation figured out. In the meantime, here's one from the breeder's website.)

Any special details? So glad you asked! *haha* We had been married for a year and it was the only period in my life when I didn't have a dog. It was hard. I started to get puppy fever really, really badly! Jeremy had never owned a dog, so it wasn't as big of a deal to him, but he knew how much it meant to me. But while I would have taken any ol' mutt off the street, he wanted to do a lot of research. 

So we spent a great deal of time at Borders, with stacks and stacks of dog breed books. He was really attracted to the arctic breeds, like Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes, but neither of us really wanted a dog that large. I vividly remember Jeremy saying, "Well maybe we could get a miniature version!" I laughed at him, in all my dog-lover-for-my-entire-life arrogance. "There's no such thing." Well lo and behold, in the biggest dog book in the store, was a two-page spread about the Alaskan Klee Kai. (It's still the only book I've ever found his breed in.) I still haven't lived it down, but I had NEVER heard of them! In my defense, it's a very rare breed that's only been around since the 80's. And they're not recognized by the AKC (yet).

After doing some research online, we found that the closest breeder was in Springfield. Oddly enough, we just happened to be going to Springfield the next month for Jeremy to bowl in a tournament! So we contacted to breeder and asked if we could come visit her dogs so we could meet an AKK in person. And we did! The woman was very nice and let us play and cuddle with all of her dogs. They were so beautiful and playful and affectionate! We were sold INSTANTLY. So we asked to be put on the waiting list for a puppy. This "kennel" works on a very small scale...only like two litters a year with usually no more than two puppies at a time. We were told we'd have to wait quite a while. But that was ok because we were still living in an apartment but looking for a house.

Well shortly after that, we received a call. She had apparently bumped us up on the list (I guess she was impressed by what wonderful people we are *hehe*) and wanted to know if we were interested. She told us she had a shy, subdued gray & white male...and a playful, ornery, kinda naughty black & white male. It's obvious which we picked. :) We told her to definitely reserve him for us...but were now panicking because we hadn't found a house and our apartment didn't allow puppies, only fully grown dogs. But we had faith that because this whole thing was falling into place so easily that the rest of the pieces would fall into place.

And they did! In fact, the weekend we went to pick MoJo up, we signed the offer on our house! (Literally. We drove back into town with our adorable new puppy and went straight to the realtor's office to sign the paperwork.) And when we pleadingly explained to the woman at our apartment complex that we were in the process of getting a house and could they please, please, please make an exception and oh, look how cute he is...she caved. :)

Whew! Are you still reading this? *hahaha*

Where's the mother? Her name is Kellika and she lives with the breeder. Isn't she beautiful? 

Spayed/Neutered? No, because there was a chance we could have bred him...but then his, erm, little boy bits never appeared. Not even by a year old. In fact, the vet had him pinned down on his back, feeling around for them for a good 10 minutes before he felt them. (It wasn't pleasant for poor MoJo.)  This was considered a defect so he was no longer eligible for breeding (though doubtful he would have even been able to) so we had him neutered (though the operation was more like being spayed *haha*).

Any injuries or illnesses? Besides the problem mentioned above, MoJo has been quite a "firstborn," always giving us some kind of scare. I've taken him to the vet more for weird symptoms or accidents than I have the other two combined. Most notable:

I once hit the wrong button when sitting in the car at a Sonic drive-in and rolled poor MoJo's head up in the window. *ashamed* It was terrible. For that afternoon and next day he was hacking and couching and whining. I finally called the vet and they freaked me out, saying I could have severely damaged his windpipe and he could be struggling for air. So we rushed him in for immediate observation and X-rays and all kinds of expensive tests. Anything wrong with him? Not a darn thing. (MoJo is a bit of a drama queen, just so you know. My fault, for babying him too much. You can merely skid your foot across the top of his toe and he yelps like you just amputated it.)

About a year ago MoJo started doing this HORRIBLE and frightening wheezing/snorting/seizing thing. His whole body would go stiff and he would sound like he was about to hack up some kind of alien being. It was freaky! I recorded it so I could show the vet when we took him in, since I didn't know quite how to describe it. But Blogger is being a pain and won't allow me upload the video of MoJo. Amazingly, there are dogs all over YouTube that have the same problem. *haha*

Turns out, it's a very common occurrence in dogs called R.S.S. - Reverse Sneezing Syndrome. Reverse sneezing? What the heck kind of syndrome is that?!? It can be caused by allergies or dust...or by nosemites (which they ruled out in MoJo's case.) Anyway, since this incident, MoJo still does it periodically and Cubby has started doing it too. But as the firstborn, MoJo got to be the case I freaked out on. *haha*

Training

Does he bite? Only on accident. I've pulled him away from furiously barking at the neighbor dog and my hand got in the wrong place at the wrong time. Otherwise, he's very good. I can give him kisses on his nose while he's chewing on a bone and he doesn't even growl.

Does he jump on people? *sigh* Yes. It's a habit we haven't worked hard enough to break.

Is he house-broken? Yes, but good luck getting him to do anything outside if it's raining. You may as well get a towel cause you're going to be cleaning something up from somewhere.

Has he chewed up anything special? Even as a puppy, he was never very bad about chewing anything but his toys. The ONLY two incidents we've ever had with him were a brand-new (and stinkin' adorable) pair of lime green flip flops with a sparkly daisy on the toes...and the transmitter for my iPOD. I about killed him that time. Jeremy taped it back together and it still worked...for a while.

Does he bark? He's not especially yappy. He does love to go after our neighbor dogs, but they start it, I swear. *haha* He's more of a "talker." Like when we get home or when he gets really excited, he runs around going "Ah ah ah ah ah!" like a monkey or something. 

Fetch? Only if he's really into playing with something and you throw it. And he'll only do it once before he's like, "Dude, nevermind. It ain't worth it."

Sit on command? Like a champ! And with impressive posture.

Did he go to obedience school? Yes, he completed Puppy Preschool AND Kindergarten at PetsMart. *hehe* 

Does he play nicely with others? For the most part. Jeremy and I joke that he doesn't realize he's a dog. He doesn't seem to quite know what to do when Wrigs or Cubby wants to play with him. He likes to be chased or play tug-o-war, but that's about it. And sadly with new, "doggie strangers," he tries to dominate them right off the bat and if they won't allow it, he gets snippy. 

Has he ever humped your leg? No. He did with a toy almost immediately when we got him as a puppy. I was so shocked! I practically drenched him with the water bottle and he's never humped anything since. *haha*

Any special tricks? MoJo is smart as a whip. In fact, he had us thinking we were pretty good dog-trainers. (Then we got Wrigley and that myth was busted.) Combined with the fact that he was our "firstborn" means he can sit, shake (with EITHER paw), wave, lay down, roll over, BANG! (he rolls over and stays on his back), spin, dance on his hind-legs, Pick-Which-Paw (you put a treat in one of your hands and make him guess which) and Leave It (ignore a treat until told to take it). And if he's in the mood, he'll speak, but even then it takes a lot of coaxing.

Preferences

Where's his favorite place to sleep? On the nights Jeremy works, he gets under the covers on that side of the bed and stretches out. Needless to say he's a little annoyed when Jeremy's home. *haha*

Favorite food? Hands-down, no question, it's cheese. He only needs to hear the wrapper and he comes runnin'!

Favorite toy? Anything he can play tug-o-war with. That's his favorite game.

Favorite place to run around? Well the only place he's allowed off-leash is the backyard.

Favorite owner? He's equally overly-attached to both of us. *haha* But he does love his Daddy time. (As they all do.)

Personality

Is your dog calm or hyper?  Visitors never believe us when we say that 99.5% of the time he's totally chill. He only gets really crazy when we have people over or when we first get home and set him free from his crate. Otherwise, he spends a lot of time sleeping and lounging around. Seriously!

Explorer or Couch Potato? When given the choice between the two I'd say he prefers exploring. He loves to "run the fences" in our backyard and go on walks.

Does he learn quickly? YES. Like I said before, he's very bright. Sometimes TOO bright, we're convinced. 

Stubborn at all? For sure.

Does he like to swim? NO! He hates the water!

Is he a cuddler? Absolutely. He loves to curl up on you, next to you...whatever you'll allow. :)

***ADDED***

What are his nicknames?

Mojey Pojey, Moje, MoJoHoSoPhat, Mojers, MOJO BUTLER!! (when he's in trouble), 

Some favorite pictures

Trying to figure out if Cubby is a stuffed animal or an actual dog.

In his favorite spot- the pillow by the front door/window.

Bein' nosey.

MoJo & SnowJo

In his element. :)