Teddy locked Cubbie and me out of the house. It’s true.

Here’s what happened. I needed to take Cubbie to his appointment at the groomers. I didn’t want to bring Teddy along in the car just for the ride because he tends to get car sick.

So I grabbed Cubbie and started getting him out the door. As we were leaving, I put up this baby gate I have, which keeps the dogs from going into the basement when I’m not home. Cubbie and I go out the door and I hear a crash. Immediately I know Teddy has knocked the gate over (which he’s never done before). He wasn’t happy I was taking Cubbie away without him.

I put Cubbie in the car quick, and I went back to the house to put the gate up again. Well, I couldn’t open the door more than a sliver because the gate was wedged between a wall and the door and thus blocking the door.

By this point I was already running late to get Cubbie to the groomer, so I just decided to take him to the groomer and then deal with being locked out of the house.

On the drive to Shaggy Chic Grooming Boutique, I was thinking in my head how I might be able to get back into the house. The door through my garage was blocked, and my front door still had the deadbolt on it from overnight. My only option was my back patio door, but I’ve never actually used that key so I wasn’t sure if it would work.

I dropped Cubbie off at the groomers, drove home and luckily my patio key did work. So there is a happy end to this story without destruction to one of my doors or windows.

 Thank goodness I made it back inside my house, and Cubbie’s furcut looks great!

Posted under Cubbie stories

Teddy, Teddy, Teddy. My sweet puppy (whose almost not a puppy anymore) is turning into a bit of a destroyer.

When I’m home, he’s well-behaved and entertained. However, I see another side of Teddy when I have to leave the house.

My dad thought it was separation anxiety, but I really believe it’s boredom. I think when I’m not home Cubbie is used to sleeping, and Teddy needs something to occupy his time. He is the kind of dog that doesn’t like to be bored. So he gets into stuff. He can even reach stuff on the kitchen table! Stuff I’m very sure I’ve put out of his reach. I’m convinced he’s a ninja. He can get anything and everything.

When I’m going to be at work, I usually put Teddy in his crate. I come home about halfway through my day (the four or five hour mark) to let both Teddy and Cubbie outside and let them run around for a little bit. If I don’t have much left to do at work, I let Teddy spend the rest of the afternoon running around the house with Cubbie.

Well, Teddy is making it more difficult for me to let him run around the house when I’m not home. Once a week (on my days off), I mentor at Waterloo Schools for one hour during the school year. Since I was only going to be gone for barely more than an hour, I left Teddy out of his crate.

I came home to find he’s managed to lock himself in the bedroom and proceeded to chew a hole in the back of my book shelf.

I think I can describe exactly what happened. Teddy began pulling on my robe on the back of the bedroom door (as he always does) and the pulling caused the door to shut. Since he was locked in the bedroom, he had to find some way to “entertain” himself. That’s when he started tearing the back off my bookshelf.

Another day I was gone for about an hour to run to the grocery store, and I came back to find this. One of my photo albums pulled off the shelf and chewed up.

You might wonder why I don’t close the bedroom door so they can’t even go in there. I usually do, but on these two occasions Cubbie was sleeping on the bed, so I didn’t want to “lock” both dogs in the bedroom or leave Teddy out and Cubbie in. He would have sat at the door barking the whole time.

Also, when I do shut all the doors Teddy still finds ways to “destroy.” This is what I came home to after work the other night. Apparently Teddy thought he liked the loveseat better without its slipcover or cushions. My favorite part of this is my shoe in his dog bed. Again, I THOUGHT I put the shoe out of reach.

I’ve started started calling him “Teddy the Destroyer” or “TEDinator” because he reminds me a little bit of a terminator.

I’m very tempted to set up a camera one of these days just to see everything he’s up to while I’m gone.

Posted under Cubbie stories

Cubbie found a way to stay cool Tuesday night as we were getting ready for bed.

He decided to hog the fan.

Posted under Cubbie stories

My mom requested one gift for Mother’s Day – an afternoon with her grandpups. So the boys and I went to Oelwein to spend Sunday afternoon with my parents.

My dad grilled us lunch, and we spent most of the afternoon outside enjoying the sun and the newly renovated back porch and deck.

The boys dug in the rocks for peanut shells dropped by the birds (my dad has at least a dozen bird feeders with all kinds of different food), they ran around and they enjoyed a nap in the sun.

My mom does so much for me and for Cubbie and Teddy, I truly cannot thank her enough. I really don’t know what I would do without her. She’s the most generous person I know, and I’m thankful everyday to have her as my mother. I can only hope to be half the woman she is.

It was a wonderful day! When we got home in the evening, the boys were exhausted.

Posted under Cubbie stories

Sadly, it was time to get rid of Teddy’s puppy fur.

Thanks to Shaggy Chic Grooming Boutique in Waterloo for giving Teddy his first “big boy” furcut. They said he did a great job! (What a relief!)

I got it cut now so it would have time to grow out a little before the Cubbie Tails Dog Day at the Ballpark on June 23rd.

When I brought him home, it was funny to see Cubbie’s reaction. I’m not sure he recognized Teddy at first!

I think he looks cute, but I’ll admit I do love his long, sheepdog fur. His fur is still super soft, and I’m curious to see how it looks a little longer, but not too long.

Posted under Cubbie stories

I’ve been working to line up some great items for this year’s silent auction at the Cubbie Tails Dog Day at the Ballpark on Sunday, June 23rd with the Waterloo Bucks.

Just a reminder, for $10 you AND your dog can attend the game. Also, the first 20 (maybe 30) dogs to arrive will get a FREE bandana and bag of treats.

We have so many wonderful and generous people and organizations in the Cedar Valley willing to help me out and donate items to my silent auction.

Here’s a list so far, but I’ve got a few others in the works. I’m very excited and very grateful for the donations I’ve gotten so far.

–Walmart – $50 gift card

–UNI –four football tickets to McNeeseState

–Gloria Fink – pet-themed, painted, concrete edger blocks

–Main Street Sweets – gift certificate

–Author Maribeth Boelts – dog-themed children’s books

–YMCA – pool party

–Fighterbody Fitness – free session

–Cedar Bend Humane Society – pet gift basket

–KWWL – assorted prize package

–Cookie Crave – tray of cookies & gift card

–Pet Agreed Canine Academy/Karen Anderson – dog training sessions

–Shaggy Chic Grooming Boutique – gift certificate

–Esha Photography/Natasha Chughtai – photo shoot

Posted under Cubbie stories

Last week I invited my friend’s dog to come over for a playdate. Laila was actually featured on my weekend pet segment on KWWL about two months ago. Then she was called Treble.

My friend and his girlfriend adopted her from the humane society. I see her a couple times a week, and it’s so great to know a dog that was featured on the segment now has a wonderful, forever home. She has a great life, and I’m so happy for her!

I invited Laila to come over on my days off to have a playdate with Cubbie and Teddy. Laila and Teddy are only a few months apart in age, and she’s just a little bigger in size (right now) than Cubbie.

Well… Laila and Cubbie did great on the playdate. They ran around the backyard, drank an entire bowl of water and relaxed on the deck.

Teddy was another story. He wasn’t a very nice host to Laila. Teddy was either on my lap or running away from Laila. He definitely didn’t want to play. I ended up putting him on the other side of the screen door, and he seemed happier.

He enjoyed sitting and watching the dogs play, but he didn’t want to be part of it. I think he was scared because she was bigger than him, but she is one of the sweetest and friendliest dogs. Apparently we need to work on his socialization. We’re bringing Nikki’s dog, Oscar, over soon so Teddy can have his own playdate with a dog his same size.

The good news, Cubbie and Laila were exhausted after two and a half hours.

Laila fell asleep before I even started the car to take her home!

Posted under Cubbie stories

Six months ago I brought Teddy home from the shelter. At that time — he was a timid, four-month-old puppy. Now — he’s an outgoing, 10-month-old. He also likes to get into trouble by chewing on the blinds and pulling stuff off the shelves.

He’s grown up so much in the six months since I adopted him. He’s potty trained, he can jump on the furniture and the bed by himself, and he can keep up with Cubbie on our walks.

Teddy isn’t as little as he was six months ago, but he’ll always be Cubbie’s little brother. Cubbie has been amazing, and he’s truly a great big, furry brother.

I love watching them play together and go on walks together and take naps together.

I truly have two of the greatest dogs, and they enrich my life so much. They both make me smile everyday.

After six months, it’s hard to imagine life pre-Teddy. I think Cubbie and I are both glad he joined our family.

Posted under Cubbie stories

I just picked up the shirts for this year’s Cubbie Tails Dog Day at the Ballpark fundraiser.

This year’s game with the Waterloo Bucks baseball team is Sunday, June 23 at 3:05 p.m. at Riverfront Stadium.

The blue and purple shirts are regular cotton, preshrunk shirts. Those cost $12.

The gray shirts are polyester and rayon (more fitted style) and cost $18.

For all three shirts, the front says Cubbie Tails and the back says, “In a perfect world, every dog would have a home and every home would have a dog.”

For just $10, you AND your dog can enjoy the baseball game. Half the ticket sales and ALL the shirt sales and proceeds from a small silent auction will go to animal organizations in the Cedar Valley.

If you cannot attend the game, you can preorder tshirts that can be picked up at KWWL anytime.

Thanks to the Shirt Shack in Waterloo for another great job!

Posted under Cubbie stories

I bought Teddy’s last bag of puppy food this week. The next time he needs food, he won’t be classified as a “puppy” anymore.

I can’t believe how fast the time has gone and how much he’s grown since I brought him home at the end of October.

Cubbie used to dominate tug-of-war. Now, Teddy is putting up quite a fight against his big brother. They can go a long time without either one giving up or unintentionally letting loose.

But one major sign Teddy isn’t a puppy anymore, he can now jump on the bed by himself. On one hand, it’s nice because I don’t have to lift him onto the bed all the time. On the other hand, it makes me feel like he doesn’t need me as much anymore.

If he got a running start, sometimes he got lucky and made it on the bed. But recently, I noticed he can repeatedly jump on the bed without much effort. I put him to the test, and we had some fun with it the other night.

Teddy jumping on the bed 1

My favorite part is that he seemed so proud of himself. He feels like a “big boy” now.

Teddy jumping on the bed 2

Posted under Cubbie stories