Madsen Kiddos: austin

Dogs

Austin helped himself to halloween candy.
Good thing I found it before danielle. Shes still upset that he ate her wooden doll...
Looks like he likes mike and ikes but not nerds. Good to know.

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Mark was quite happy to help with our yard project today. I was sick of austin digging up my flowers so we buried chicken wire in some of the beds. We also moved a four foot box. The kids filled their wheelbarrow with the small amount of dirt left in the box (austin and his digging again) and hauled it over to help me bury the wire. I had so much fun with them and Mark was thrilled to dig in the dirt. We also buried the free bulbs I got in the mail. And picked up poo but that was only me so it isn't as fun. I love how much the kiddos want to help in the yard its adorable. Also thrilled about: not replanting the flower bed every time austin is outside longer than ten minutes.

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Dog Sitting

Tess is visiting us right now. She is a yellow lab and my aunt owns her. The first day, Tess seemed to miss her family. Judging by her barking about 70 percent of the day. I texted Sara since I'm a grouchy pregnant lady. So when John got home he was like- what is wrong with Tess Mark asked if he should come get her...
John told them we were fine, which was true even though Tess didn't like being in a kennel during bed time or nap time and barked the whole time and any time we weren't playing with her or looking at her. I suspect it was partly because the Kennel wasn't with the humans- it was in the garage.
Where I wish I had left my dog. Yesterday we moved Tess inside and the children were thrilled- Tess was out until Mark put her back in the kennel-
Then he would let her out.
Then he would put her back in.
Then he would climb on top of the kennel and yell at Tess.
Then he would let her out and give her a hug.

The cycle continued for a few hours. I guess Tess is a lot more interesting and desirable than our dog.
The kids played outside with her in the sprinkler for a few hours.
Austin (my dog) sat by the door crying until I let him back in.

I don't know if Tess knows how to fetch but with the assistance of two squeaky toys we played it last night. She likes to play keep away the best but I wonder if she fetches like a champ at home.
Tess was terrible on her walk last night. I'm still trying to convince John to take her running because I don't want to. She kept going in circles around me and if I would yell at her she would hit the deck like I was going to hit her. She panicked when I brought the leash in close for a heel walk.
I guess she fears me a little- so I'll have to get my bike out and get her good and tired before we do that again. I used to go on bike rides with Austin all the time- but not the other dog because she was unreliable so she would pull me over.

Since we let Tess be inside I thought we should let Austin be out inside the house. He usually sleeps in the garage because I don't like waking up to a house full of dog fart and shedding dog hair. Austin loses SO MUCH HAIR! I think the food in to dog hair out ratio is mathematically impossible.
anyway I forgot about the ant poison traps we just put out.
Until this morning when I found a pile of poo on the black and white rug in the dining room. As I was cleaning it up I realized a few things.

I need to train my dog to have accidents in the kitchen so they are easier to clean up.
Tide Stain Release also helps clean up unsightly carpet stains.
The fudgesicle spots from Mark two days ago look a lot like dog accident, but they aren't. Austin helped clean those up actually. Except the ones I found all over the drapes today while I was opening the windows after dog Armageddon.
I am lucky that my dog is so big because if he wasn't he would totally kill himself from eating these stupid ant traps. If that is even why he is sick. I know that happened last time because we found the chewed up trap. we are missing one trap from between the doors to the outside but I don't find any remnants so maybe he is just sick. It's a lot easier to mad at a dog that didn't eat poison.
Anyone who lets their almost two year old eat Popsicles while they go to the bathroom deserves what they get. You might think they always eat them at the table, but given the opportunity they will walk all over the house with it and look out the windows and leave the remnants in a pile at the top of the stairs.

So my dog had his second ant trap poo accident in his life- also known as his second accident in the house. Tess was happily sleeping in the kennel- she isn't stupid enough to eat poison. Too bad John didn't find it before he left for school. Austin is back in the garage, and I don't feel guilty about it anymore...

Mark is currently feeding his favorite dog a popsicle outside.

No matter how much they like being outside with her I am still not going outside to weed the yard- end of story.
Maybe Tess will dig up all my weeds.

Lost

Austin has lost his bone. we suspect that it was the evil snow that stole it. Austin is willing to dig many holes to retrieve his bone. He want to bring it in the house and spread it all over the carpet like his last bone. Austin has found it impossible to go to the bathroom from the grief over losing his bone. He just wants it back.
or maybe he is just sniffing around for something else...

Also lost: spring.
I hate the cold. hate.

The Great Shed Is Upon Us

Many of our friends have noticed that Austin seems to lose hair every time you pet him. They seem not to believe that we brush him. Wow- he is losing lots of hair, you should brush him.
Really? Why didn't I think of that?
Now don't get me wrong, Austin loves being groomed. Even though he frequently smells like aerosolized waste we do take care of him. Austin is a pretty pretty princess after all. he knows how important it is to look pretty.
One of the benefits of going camping this last weekend was that the great shed started with Austin. Each year it happens. Austin gets brushed for maybe an hour and still loses hair as he walks around. He lays on the floor and leaves great clumps everywhere. I vacuum twice a day and constantly pick up hair. It is then that I realize that some of Austin's undercoat is white. Our backyard is covered in a layer of this short white hair.
Tips for surviving the great shed:
NEVER brush the dog inside.
You can get your dog groomed, but you will need to do it every day for two weeks.
Your house will still be filled with hair.
A mutt can have a short lab coat and thick coat like a Shepherd.- Way more hair than other dogs.
You are lucky if your dog is a princess like mine.
Don't waste your time with a lint roller. it won't help at all.

Do you ever wish that there was a vacuum hair removing product for dogs? Although our little princess is terrified of the vacuum so we probably wouldn't use it.

Dear Austin

Dear Austin,
We are very glad to have you in our family. When we went to pick up Claire's friend in the WalMart parking lot and found you playing in the snow I thought you were sort of ugly. What was the name of that friend? I remember it was unique- maybe we will name our next baby that name if I can ever remember it. The next day when you vomited what looked like moving spaghetti onto the floor I thought you were dying. Austin I'm glad you are my first dog ever. and that I named you after that crazy kid in my class with the curly hair.
Austin, I think it's OK that you aren't good at training. Each time we took you to a class and you had to re-do it at least once it was fun to see you be so darn good at down. Like how you throw yourself on the ground. Also by the third time you catch on quick and everyone thinks we have a super dog. I honestly thought it was more than a little funny when you would jump up on Karen the dog trainer and knock treats out of her pouch to eat them. Also funny that it took her so long to notice what was going on. And we thought you were stupid.
Remember how Carol watched you for a weekend and taught you how to fetch even though we had practiced it for months? That was a little mean, pretending you couldn't fetch. Also gutting about 100 pheasant toys should get old after a while- if not too expensive to maintain.
Austin I'm glad that you let us call you big dummy. The other day when I thought you had pooed in the house I am glad it was just your stinky stinky fart. Man you smell bad sometimes- but remember when Bruce Gardner said Taylor was the dog with the bad breath? I remember that too. I also remember you trying to wrestle with everything, including our friend Mike and Lexi the dog. Thank you for not breaking Diane's nose when you jumped into her lap and blood started gushing out of her face. Thank you for finally reluctantly starting to jump into the back of the car, even if I do have to push you.
I was really sad when you yelled at Danielle that one time, until I realized that she was grabbing your private parts. It's nice that you don't knock over children. Maybe though you should speak up a little the next time Danielle is beating you on the side with her hard giggle pig ball. That is not the same as petting Austin. And it is OK to break your sit when she is pointing at your eyes and grabbing your mouth.
Most of all, thank you for never having an accident in the house (other than that worm incident) and only going out two to three times a day. Maybe work on the stinky thing though. Now get lost.
Janae

"Cack"

Danielle has found her first all purpose word. It begins with a hard C and ends with ck. In the middle there are variations on vowels that can be interchangeable when she wants them to be. Since I want everyone to understand my daughter I just give her what she wants.
I think just about every child knows the word "Cook" which is a cookie. If they have ever so much as seen a cookie they know what every cookie ever made is and ask for it in advanced verbal skills. "Couck" can also mean cold, which is is when the wind is blowing. Now she has a good point- when the wind is blowing it is usually cold outside. It also means couch. Luckily just this week "Gaag" is doggie. What happened to the days when she could say doggie and sound convincing? I guess they left when she learned her new favorite phrase- dog poop. Danielle knows that dog poop lives in the yard. and out the window. but not in her diaper. When Danielle needs a diaper change that is "cuck," her version of yuck. (Honestly she also says poop but sometimes it is pee and she just doesn't get it- if she wants a new diaper the word is poop or cuck.) There is always something about bathroom with children.
She also knows the very important food she can get with Cack- which is a cracker. (I am exaggerating the difference between all these vowels of course.) She likes club crackers the best and if she doesn't like the crackers Austin is always there for her. At night her daddy reads her a "cook: which has a different sounding C. Then they point to parts of her face, like her nose or eyes. "Cuck" is one of her favorites- and she most of the time points to the cheek, or to the zit on my chin which is super funny.
Many people would think the word for Blankie would start with a B, but they would be wrong. "Cack" is blankie, and if she is ever in the car without one she starts yelling. The first time I heard frantic cries for "cack" I was a little bit confused. Luckily one morning she got out of bed and handed me "Cack" and then said "up...peees" which means she wants me to carry her downstairs. Danielle shares cack with gaag. She knows that when gaag is tired he needs a cack. She knows this because she likes to sleep with a cack. She rarely shares her blanket but if you are sleeping on the couch while she watches sesame street and dances she might lay her cack on your stomach. Or climb on you and step straight on some really painful nerves I didn't know I had in my leg.
Austin is in love with getting a cack. He knows he isn't allowed to touch the baby stuff and blankets unless Danielle shares them. He is the real princess in our family after all.
With the right word you can cuddle with people, read books, get fed and get your diaper changed. What more could a person want? Maybe she will learn a new way to ask for my purse.

A Bad Day.

On Saturday we took the whole family to Peace Valley Park. Since it was the first day that didn't have snow everywhere for a while we had lots of company. Bedford got to meet lots of fun dogs and play with a lab. Danielle was busy with her work of putting all the pebbles into the water. I captured her hard work. She often has little projects she works on. The other day she paced around the living room and talked to herself while I watched from the couch. She is pretty focused, just like she couldn't look up for a picture during her hard work.

Austin ran out one direction while Bedford ran another. Austin was in the water and Danielle was trying to get the tennis ball that was 10 feet offshore. I went after Danielle and John picked Bedford and bam- I think Austin went potty in the water. He was squatting over like poo. His bottom was in the water. Nothing was floating though. I couldn't make it there in time- how do you scoop up underwater poo's? I almost didn't want to look or I wanted to act like he wasn't my dog- he was very far away after all and it was a confirmed potty in the water. Do dogs think about these type of things when they are drinking the lake water? Does this mean Austin will learn to use the potty?

Our family has not had much luck with pets. We adopted cats. Oops it turns out I am allergic to cats. And we had to bring them back to the rescue (for those of you who haven't adopted from a rescue you sign that you will contact the rescue if you can't keep the cats). They are a great rescue, but Maya it turns out has FIP (feline infectious peritonitis) which is 100% fatal. She probably had it before we got her. That is why she wasn't gaining weight, it wasn't just a bad reaction to the medicine for ringworm. She saw the vet every week and they didn't catch it- a few days after we brought her back the rescue took her to a different vet. After exploratory surgery (and LOTS of other tests) they figured it out. The rescue updates us about it and I feel so sad for her. Simon got adopted the day after we brought him back. Never was there a better cat. He would come when you called him. Whenever I walked into the room he started purring. I am in love with cats. Too bad about the whole not being able to breathe around them. It wasn't ask bad as my mom's allergies so I didn't know what to do at first. I felt terrible but it is nice to not feel itchy and be able to sleep in my bedroom again.

Bedford the dog was also from a rescue. They brought the puppies up from the south and the mother was heartworm positive. We talked to the vet when we got him and there was a chance that Bedford had heartworm, but we wouldn't know until he was a little bit older. The vet said that when puppies get heartworms from their mother the heartworms don't fully develop. The fear was that he was bitten with a mosquito. We will find out soon if he has heartworm. The vet said it is treatable.

I am not getting any more pets. Maybe ever. And maybe no more going to the park either.