Hazel's first year!

Alive alive alive!

2010-06-09T15:05:00.000+01:00

Yes, we are alove. Hazel is still cute. She is also still the world's craziest dog. I have no excuse for not posting and not enough time to up load pictures, so I will give you a little story from yesterday:

Now that the living room is finished we have moved onto the tiny bedroom that was skimmed at the same time as the lounge. It's really tiny--like 2 square meters--so it will hopefully not take very long. Then again our living room was not nearly big enough to take as long as it did so -shrug-.

Anyway. Yesterday I was painting in there. Hazel takes this pretty well, which is good. She still doesn't like when I bathe though so it was very annoying when I got paint in my hair. I went in for a shower and forgot to lock the door which means that approximately 10 seconds later I was barged in upon by Little Miss Fluff. Which would normally not be such a problem as it was, but the bathroom (with its wide open door) is at the other end of the hall from the tiny bedroom, whose door was propped open for air flow, what with paint drying and whatnot. And of course, there are no curtains because it is being painted. And it has a big window which looks out over the street. Or in this case right into the house across the street. Which was not as empty as you want it to be in situations like this. Sigh.

So there was a crazy mad dash to get one of the doors closed without showing the whole world my bits and then Hazel decided that when I got back in she was going to join me. But it turns out she didn't like that much and she jumped out again approximately 3 nanoseconds later. Of course 5 minutes later she had forgotten that she didn't have a particularly enjoyable time in the shower when she last attempted so she got it AGAIN. This happened 3 or 4 times before I got all the paint out of my hair.

Today? Today I'm not painting.

The End.

Hazel: now with added cuteness & cheekiness.

2010-05-17T20:41:00.000+01:00

So. There have been a few trips to the vet in the past week-or-two. Trip one revolved around this:

Which was impossible to get a decent picture of:

Suffice to say that my dog had a lump. Which she bit, so it exploded blood for a few hours. Fun stuff. Needless to say, we were in the vet asap, where we had some new vet that we had never met before and who I was not terribly impressed with. She looked at me like I was insane when I said that we had only noticed it yesterday and dragged her in (Hello? 'splodin lump here!) and I think that she thought we were just bringing in Hazel for a scrape. Also on a completely unrelated note she had the strangest accent, like eastern European but educated in Ireland? It was odd. So yeah. Hazel got a shot of anti-inflammatory goodness and some drugs and told to come back if it didn't go away in a week.

It didn't. We had to go back in anyway for Hazel to get a booster shot and to get her boobies prodded (she appears to be having a bit of a false pregnancy) so we had that vet give it a look. Really at the moment it just looks like a scab but she reckons it is a histiocytoma, and is nothing to worry about at this point.

This is Hazel hiding. She is a big fan of climbing under anything. That and stealing Dave's spot on the sofa.

So, last Sunday we had a nice roast pork dinner. it was yummy. You should ask Hazel:

What's that, Dave? Did you leave the kitchen door open? So, no left-overs for mummy and daddy but Hazel got porky treats all week!

I cannot stay mad at this though (who could?). I was really just laughing the whole time and obviously went for the camera before getting teh hunk o' meat away.

I think she is adorable even in this snuggle picture where you don't see her:

Cheeky dog? Oh, yes...

And one other thing:

We stuck on and painted the last of the skirting boards this weekend which means that this room? The one we started redecorating before we got Hazel? Yeah, it's finished.

Somerset Day 5: In which things do not go exactly as planned.

2010-05-05T14:40:00.000+01:00

This is what the bedroom downstairs looked like, in case you wondered.

As we began packing up Hazel went a bit funny again and sat in front of the door. Perhaps we should not threaten to leave her behind so often, maybe she is learning English ;)

The steps going up to the cottage were dangerous! I fell like 4 times because I am awesome. Hazel had a habit of running around the corner and trying to jump up them and then sliding and leaving claw marks behind:

I can't believe it but we didn't take any pictures of Freddie, the dog that lived next door and Hazel's de facto best friend while we were there. He was a great big lumbering and slobbery black lab. Very cute and a little bit afraid of Hazel's craziness.Can't say I blame him.

We set off back up the country and had a bit of a break where Hazel practiced her driving, before carrying on to Birmingham.

Now, those of you who have been paying attention know that Hazel comes from Birmingham! So we had a bit of a stop at her breeder's house which was nice but did not exactly go as I had imagined it would. Hazel's mummy was not so much pleased to see her and came out of the kitchen a bit snarly and had to go back. It is probably because she is in season, poor thing. Hazel's Daddy, on the other hand, was *really* pleased to see her -wink wink, nudge nudge- and also had to go back, although they did have a few nose kisses which was sweet. After the excitement with her doggy parents Hazel was a bit freaked out and ended up being very shy and not at all like herself. She was nervous of the people and really didn't want to do much but have a cuddle with Dave or myself, which was really a shame. She did get some strokes from them if she was sitting in my lap, silly thing. I've never seen her like it before, although it was probably a bit strange to go back if she recognized the smells and whatnot. So. Bit of a fail, that. Maybe we will try again someday. Anyway, here she is glued to her Daddy, although she doesn't look like a crazy weirdo. You will have to take my word for that.

And then there was a quick petrol stop and it was home time! But the heat was off when we got home and it was a bit of a mess because all the book boxes were still out. Ah well. It is good to be home.

Somerset Day 4: In which we do very little and enjoy it.

2010-05-05T14:16:00.000+01:00

Hazel started day four in a weird mood. She was kicking blankets all over and scratching at the sofa, so we put her in the kitchen with the baby gate and she made herself comfortable without ruining the cottage's furnishings.

There are approximately zero pictures of me, so we took one. She was bored or sleepy or both. But always cute.

Spotty red cups of caffeinated goodness!

She lay like this for about ten minutes, although it looks very uncomfortable.

In the afternoon I swept up a bit and was shocked by the amount of mess that Hazel manages to leave behind in all of three days.

There was time for a quick game of Tobago...

Before Hazel, Queen of Everything, announced that it was bedtime.

Somerset Day 3: In which there are pretty views and a rocky beach.

2010-05-05T14:06:00.001+01:00

Please enjoy the next few pictures which were taken by Dave while I got to snooze. How I love him. They are all taken from the top of the hill where our little cottage was.

They were taken in the approximately 2 hours of sun that we had the entire time we were there. Also the owners said that hazel didn't need to be on a lead so we weren't breaking the rules. Lastly our camera is stinky and the shutter thingy doesn't open all the way which is why some pictures have a black corner.

Hazel was given the bacon and egg that I did not finish for her breakfast. She was a happy doggy.

She was less happy when she became my pillow:

But happy again when we got to the beach, where they were apparently having some form of fossil festival. Too many people!

I'm not gonna lie, the beaches they allow dogs on here aren't so nice. But Hazel enjoyed herself.

We hope that this was just rain water >_>

Hazel was really cold and shivery after he splashing about. Poor monkey. We tried to cuddle her warm and dry her a bit but it didn't work so well. She did warm up when we started walking again though.

We stopped for some ice cream near the people-beach which was surprisingly nice after the doggy beach.

For some reason when we got back to the car Hazel decided that she wanted to ride in the trunk. She just jumped right in, it surprised me. She can do some impressive jumping.

And then of course it was home time, and cuddles:

Somerset Day 2: In which we discover begging and quicksand.

2010-05-05T13:25:00.000+01:00

This man may look sweet, but he is a naughty, horrible, awful man.

Today Dave taught Hazel that if she sits nicely by the table and begs he will feed her. He is a bad, bad man. She was doing so well until then, mostly because we have no dining room table so she has very little experience with it and just cuddled up on the sofa. Not anymore:

But seriously, how do you resist this?!

So then we went to Burnham-on-Sea which has such a promising name, don't you think? As we were walking down to the beach there was a sign about being careful when the tide is out because there can be sinking sand and stuff. They weren't kidding. See the pool in this picture?

Dis is what we in the trade call quicksand. Which wouldn't have been such a problem but Hazel ran around and got on the other side of it and we couldn't really call her back because obviously she would plow right through the puddle. So! I tried to throw the Frisbee that we had with us over it so that she would go after that and avoid the puddle but my frisbee skills are nonexistent and the frisbee was sacrificed to the gods of the quicksand.

Apparently this did not appease them and when Hazel had learned to avoid the puddles the ground *next* to one of them opened up and tried to eat her. At this point one of us went dashing into the quicksand to rescue the puppy (rather than take a photo, she was rather stuck) who came out looking like this:

Only imagine it over her whole body. I came out looking like this:

Would have been a good day for the wellies.

So anyway, we got out of there and went home to play Stone age.

And have a cuddle under the chair.

Somerset Day 1: In which there is a lot of car travel and doggy pants.

2010-05-05T13:00:00.000+01:00

Hazel was very adamant about us not leaving her behind:

Which we didn't, as she was parked at the front door whining the whole time we tried to load the car.

She traveled well though, spending most of the trip in the backseat foot-well, with the occasional nose poking into the front.

Arrival! Dave looks puzzled.

Hazel was still a little bit leaky so she got to wear some lovely pants! She didn't pull them off and shred them, which was a surprise.

She didn't even notice notice them after a while.

Hazel had a snuggle and Dave and I played guillotine for the first time--and I brought it with me from America! But it was in the boxes of books that were stored upstairs and now they have all been brought down and re-shelved.

And then for the last out of the night, Daddy wore the super-stylish wellies. It's lucky they are so big on me :D

The helpfulest doggy in the whole world.

2010-04-26T20:08:00.000+01:00

Hazel, greatest dog in the world, has a penchant for pants.

This picture reminded me a lot of one of the early photos.

This one, from day 12:

She is kind of good at getting her nose in the way. But I can't hold it against her.

Okay, I know I should not encourage this. But how stinking cute does this look?! Besides, any important mail goes in the mail box these days, she is allowed to shred random junk that comes through the post slot. Dave does not approve though. But heck if I'm racing her to the door to get the junk mail, Hazel is one speedy doggy.

We did some work in the living room this weekend for the first time in, oh, approximately thirteenth weeks. Hazel was very helpful:

And nuzzley:

And just did not understand why this happened to her:

In news not entirely related to the doggy princess of the universe (am I allowed to write about anything else?!), there are some jobs in our house that are known as "Dave Jobs." These include but are not limited to taking out the garbage, moving the lawn, and anything involving insects. This is also a Dave job:

Which Hazel and I braved this afternoon. Are you wondering why this is a Dave job?

Because for some reason when I try to put it all back together there are just too many wires and not enough things to stick them in. Also, nothing works in the end. Meh.

So anyway Hazel got a little bit emo because I was paying far too much attention to plugging wires into the wrong things and fitting the doors of furniture back on. But it's okay because it's cute:

Yes, I know, we would all rather be at Brooks. Yum.

Moving right along, Haze gave the recycling center a head start with the boxes that the cupboard doors I put on today came in. She also managed to almost her her nose mallet-ed like 5000 times and liked to put her nose approximately 2 millimeters from whatever was being screwed. With the electric screwdriver thingy.

And then she got into the screwdriver action herself:

So yes, I do think that I have the super most awesomely helpful dog in the whole world. If you have any flat-pack furniture to put together soon and you are looking for a nice little helper, Hazel is available at the bargain price of £15/hour or you could just give her a chewy. Either or.

We are off to Somerset Thursday-Monday which is exciting because A. I had actually heard of Somerset before I came to England, B. At the seaside we can get a 99!, C. We are totally passing a Krispy Kreme in Birmingham, and I plan to force Dave to stop but he is none to keen. D. I am hoping for another super-secret-stop on the way down or back but have not heard anything yet so we'll keep that on the down low E. Holiday means a new board game! We ordered Stone Age but it hasn't even shipped, so we also bought Munchkin in town this afternoon, F. We are staying here and it looks pretty awesome, G. I am really taking this alphabet list too far. Suffice to say that I am excited, fun should be had by all, and you should get some cute pictures of our Lord and Master, Hazel.

Couch snoozing, ash clouds, and a trio of goobers,

2010-04-22T17:44:00.000+01:00

Hazel continues to make a big ol' mess all over the place. I can't blame her, but I can't say that it's loads of fun either. You know how it is. But she is still really cute in her moping around the house. Exhibit A.

She gets really *really* excited when we go out every night, but she has stopped whining and crying all day long because she hasn't gotten her walk yet. This is a welcome change.

However, it also means that all the work we did to try and get her to not get so excited in the car that she squeaks with joy is a bit of a fail. Seriously, you want to know what it's like to ride in teh car with the crazy dog who should have already had loads of walks today? This:

Yeah, it's good times.

So anyway, we went out the other night to the-field-that-is-enclosed (aka the only place Hazel is allowed off lead at the moment) and Hazel had a ridiculously good time. She has the 10 meter line but she doesn't run around the same when she is on it.

We also happened to notice that there was some weirdness going on with the sky and it took us about a million and a half years to realize that it is the OMGWTFBBQ Ash Cloud. So in case you wanted to know what the Cloud of Airline Anguish looks like, here it is:

I also thought that this picture that I took when Hazel and I were waiting in the car after for Dave to get something in a shop was kind of interesting and I like the way that it highlights the disgustingness of the back window of the car. Mmm, dog nose slime!

Oh, and look at this!

Which turned out way better than the group-shot-panting-Watsons:

That's all I got for today folks!

Life with Dog in heat.

2010-04-15T15:37:00.000+01:00

Alternate title: My house is speckled with dog blood.

If any of y'all have a female dog, I'm sure you've have that conversation. The one where every other female-dog owner loves to tell you all about the horrors of a season. The dogs that scratched at their door keeping them up all night, the ones that followed them home while they were out for a walks, the female dogs leaving a horrible mess everywhere until the poor owners resorted to doggy diapers (which were readily shredded by said dog), and OH MY GOD MY DOG WAS SO BADLY BEHAVED/ All stories told with a grim smile and a definite feeling of schadenfreude: HAHA I've done it but *you* still have to live through it!

Well, I'm here to say that it's not that bad.

Okay, I'm not gonna lie: I'm glad it only happens every 6 months, and it's not been super fun for poor Hazel. But if you do some pretty easy things it's definitely doable.

First of all, and most coincidentally, our hallway has a dark maroon-y carpet. Awesome. The front room has that horrible red patterned carpet (which I am told is an improvement over the tiles beneath, but I don't know if it is possible to get worse), both of which need to be replaced soonish anyway and the bathroom, kitchen, and living room have tile, vinyl, and wood floors respectively. The only room we needed to keep Hazel out of was the bedroom, as it has a cream carpet. Well and the other bedrooms but A. They've not had any work done yet and B. She's never in them anyway.

This was Bad News. Lemme tell you: the Davemonster and I are not what you would call morning people. Really. By any stretch of the word. Before we got Hazel weekends included breakfast and sometimes lunch in bed and snuggles until like 2. So while Dave drags himself out of bed and off to work every day like a good little bread-winner, Hazel (who is happily also not a morning dog) Hazel and I cozy up in bed and snooze. So this week, we cozy up on the couch, which has been covered with an old duvet. Bah. It is not optimal but one of these days she will stop leaking and all will be comfier again :D

(I feel bloated and want chocolate. Now.)

Luckily (or unluckily, however you want to look at it) Hazel was supposed to have a new training class the day after her season started, so we had bought a lovely long lead and we have used it! Every night when we assume most sane people have finished walking their dogs, we all hop in the car and drive to a field about 10 minutes away. This serves two purposes: 1. there will be no trail for horny boy-dogs to follow to our house, as Hazel is even carried to the car. and 2. Well, duh. Hazel is a freaking cow if she doesn't get exercise. Oh and 3. We go to the field because she doesn't get off the long line and can you imagine that in the woods? Hello tangle. We also went one evening to the only closed-in field in Sheffield so that she could properly run around which is definitely better for her, but is about a half hour away. She doesn't run so much on the lead but she snuffles around and is a bit happier when we get home. This would be so much better if I could drive here because when she started whining to go out at like, noon, I wouldn't have to listen to it for the next 7 hours >_>.

So anyway, while we are being a little bit insane and chauffeuring our dog around to get some exercise, I can't imagine not letting her out. And yes the little blood drops are not optimal but they are cleaning up well. So far we have only experienced the howling dogs when we went to the closed in field for Hazel to spaz around, but they were in their house. I consider this to be going well because there is a lovely boy doggy across the street who is so far very well behaved.

Hazel is mostly normal, if slightly naughty (but I assume this is the lack of exercise, she is still getting much less than she is used to if we go out for an hour each night).

Naughty? Me?!

So, the million dollar question: Will we spay? I have no idea :D I feel kind of bad about it but it would make life easier. Also PUPPIES! But at the same time: Puppies. You know what I'm saying.

What now?!

2010-04-10T23:12:00.000+01:00

Right, as you can see, no matter how we are counting (Julie-retard or Calendar) we have finished our year of Hazel Pictures! So what next?

Well, it's become such a habit to take pictures of Hazel all the time anyway that I imagine I will keep this up. I don't know if it will be every day or once weekly or what yet, but you will certainly still be able to find photos of the world's cutest dog (tm) right here on into the unidentifiable future.

368/365

2010-04-10T23:00:00.001+01:00

369, originally uploaded by missjoules.

There is no dog in the picture, I know. Also it is a big mess and I have a DOOR in my back garden. There is also a microwave out there. I am officially a hillbilly. Seriously, we are going to the dump tomorrow.

The dog-related part of this post is that today, for the first time, Hazel jumped from the grass into the house. It's 6ish feet, by my estimation. Which is kind of a long distance to jump, if you ask me. It was even more impressive because she was responding to a 'come,' but maybe she knew she was in for a tasty bit of liver.

She has, I feel I should mention, attempted this jump once in the past. She was still a little pup, maybe 4 or 5 months old? And she made it with her front half but her back half kind of missed and she meeped because I imagine she hurt her tum a bit. I didn't think she would ever try it again.

FURTHERMORE! In the world of crazy coincidences, today Hazel came into season. Aww poor thing she is not liking the not being allowed off lead. But the coincidence is that a few months ago I asked Hazel's breeder when her mom had her first season and he replied *today*. It's crazy weird. Well, a little, anyway.

Also, the training workshops we had signed up for tomorrow and the 24th are bust now. Shame.

366/365

2010-04-10T22:54:00.004+01:00

367, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I found Hazel a nice little knotted ducky at the grocery store again, and the thing only lasted like 5 minutes I swear. Well, it is still kicking around but I don't think you could recognize it as duck anymore. This is a shame because it was cute.

OOoooh this was on thursday, so I guess it should be 267/365. I obviously missed Wednesday. My bad.

367/365

2010-04-10T22:54:00.003+01:00

368, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel the celery-munch.

365/365

2010-04-10T22:52:00.001+01:00

366, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Right. My weird counting has made it a year on April 6th. We have obviously had some crazy time warp. Who knew.

More of the plant-bringing-inside.

364/365

2010-04-10T22:50:00.001+01:00

365, originally uploaded by missjoules.

On Easter Monday we went for our first walk with the Sheffield Dog Walking Group. hazel had the Time.Of.Her.Life. Srslyomgbbbq.

Aaanyway there were loads of photos but I really liked this one because of her tongue!

I should mention that on our 6ish mile hike Haze managed to split both (both!) of her thumb-toes too far from her little feet and got bloody little paws but she didn't even seem to notice because, of course, THERE ARE OTHER DOGS TO PLAY WITH! AND SHEEP! AND WOODS! AND WATER! AND PEOPLE! But in the end she was fine, she licked them for a few days, *freaked out* when I tried to put TCP on them--which I can't fault, the stuff smells awful--and eventually consented to have some savlon put on them.

An amusing anticdote:
When I was putting the cream on Hazel's toes she spazzed out and wiggled like a crazy little camper, so Dave took her and I proceeded to put it on with no problem. I then said "She must have thought she was getting ear-drops again" which caused some crazy wiggly freaking out. So. Hazel, who doesn't always seem to know what "come" means, knows--and Does Not Like "ear-drop."

363/365

2010-04-10T22:44:00.001+01:00

364, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Iiiiiiit's Easter, and all good goggies get their very own gluten-free carob easter eggs. Right?

362/365

2010-04-10T22:43:00.003+01:00

363, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel has a buck-teef.

361/365

2010-04-10T22:43:00.001+01:00

362, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I like this picture because Dave is having a nice snuggle and Hazel is having an "OMG GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

360/365

2010-04-10T22:42:00.001+01:00

361, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel likes her some strawberries. Well, she ate the leaves off of this one anyway and left the fruit, but I can't say that I blame her, neither Dave or I liked them much either. They were a bit bitter.

359/365

2010-04-10T22:41:00.001+01:00

360, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel has really been liking hanging out behind the wendy house lately. The other day Dave mentioned that he thinks neighborhood cats go to the bathroom there. Yum..

357/365

2010-04-10T22:37:00.001+01:00

358, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel much prefers the laptop on couch way of computing to the desk and no puppy snuggles way of computing.

356/365

2010-04-10T22:35:00.001+01:00

357, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel needed a long line for her advanced training classes. That sucker is ten meters long and boy can she get some momentum up in 10 meters. My shoulder hurts.

355/365

2010-04-10T22:34:00.001+01:00

356, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I do not see this mess of which you speak, mummy.

354/365

2010-04-10T22:33:00.001+01:00

355, originally uploaded by missjoules.

When I get ready to go out hazel tends to run up the stairs because for ages we would leave her in the kitchen when no one was home after the floor eating incident of '09. Not she is left with the door open but she still runs away from the kitchen and then watches me leave like "What just happened? I'm not in the kitchen, you can't go!"

353/365

2010-04-10T22:30:00.001+01:00

354, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel is intent on bringing more greenery into our house. Considering that Dave and I killed our only plant the other week, I can see why >_>

352/365

2010-04-10T22:29:00.001+01:00

353, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Dave's dad came over to celebrate his birthday. He called me a terrorist (well, *Americans* terrorists). We ate pizza and played Tobago. Hazel had her first ever taste of Pizza because we could not prevent Tony giving it to her. Grr. Then she snoozed.

351/365

2010-04-10T22:28:00.001+01:00

352, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel likes to stop and smell the flowers. Some days. Other days she likes to trample the flowers.

Unrelated

2010-04-10T22:27:00.001+01:00

351, originally uploaded by missjoules.

The day before this was taken Hazel fell off of this bridge thingy and into the pool of water below (thank goodness for said pool of water!). Hazel learned that she does not have excellent brakes on loose soil. I learned that if she falls in she sits there in the stream until you come fish her out. Fun. And wet.

350/365

2010-04-10T22:25:00.001+01:00

350, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Sometimes we watch It's Me or the Dog. It makes me feel better to see that Hazel really is a good girl, and Hazel just likes to bark at the dogs on the program.

349/365

2010-04-10T22:24:00.003+01:00

349, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel likes to play with ribbon, because she is a kitty.

348/365

2010-04-10T22:24:00.001+01:00

348, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I was trying to get a photo where you could see that she had her bone in her mouth like a giant straw, but I failed.

347/365

2010-04-10T22:23:00.001+01:00

347, originally uploaded by missjoules.

We had the door open because it was nice. Hazel found a plant and brought it inside to spruce the place up. I chased her outside again with a broom :D

There's something anyway!

2010-04-01T23:17:00.000+01:00

Right-o, obviously it has been ages and ages since I last posted. I am a big fat bag o' fail, but thankfull Melissa (Hi Melissa!) put me in my place, so you can enjoy some more photos. These are only up to March 21st as I uploaded my camera that day, but I will get the rest up tomorrow...Especially since while I was being a nab and not uploading we passed the one year mark!!

...Yes I have only just realized this. I suck.

346.1/365

2010-04-01T23:11:00.001+01:00

348, originally uploaded by missjoules.

This was the super cutest ever great that Hazel has ever done. What nicely sized and placed steps.

346/365

2010-04-01T23:10:00.001+01:00

347, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Srsly? Take off the dang halti. C'mon!

345/365

2010-04-01T23:09:00.003+01:00

346, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I was giving a Hazelback ride, she was cleaning my ears. I think this is best described as lose-lose.

344/365

2010-04-01T23:09:00.001+01:00

345, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel enjoys the Jane Austen, just like mommy.

343/365

2010-04-01T23:08:00.003+01:00

344, originally uploaded by missjoules.

We went to the grocery store and it had piggies that oink! Obviously Hazel needed one.

342/365

2010-04-01T23:08:00.001+01:00

343, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Tuggies.

341/365

2010-04-01T23:07:00.003+01:00

342, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Snuffffffffffffley snuff.

340/365

2010-04-01T23:07:00.001+01:00

341, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I gave up and took the 'we are trying to get our dog to stay' sign, because, honestly, it is just not working. She only kind of stays if it is Dave. Anyone else and she has to be put away or bounce all over.

339/365

2010-04-01T23:06:00.001+01:00

340, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel gets really excited at Amanda's house--so many dogs and people--it is impossible to get a photo.

338/365

2010-04-01T23:05:00.001+01:00

339, originally uploaded by missjoules.

CURTAINS! This was a happy day in the Watson house.

337/365

2010-04-01T23:04:00.003+01:00

338, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Yeah, no good pictures from this day.

336.1/365

2010-04-01T23:04:00.001+01:00

337, originally uploaded by missjoules.

This is more like it.

336/365

2010-04-01T23:03:00.001+01:00

336, originally uploaded by missjoules.

We are at the sea and I am in a Halti. There is something very wrong with this picture. Perhaps if I look super sad they will let me off.

335/365

2010-04-01T23:02:00.001+01:00

335, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel is always so happy looking when she is running like this. Or when she plays with another goggie.

334/365

2010-04-01T23:01:00.003+01:00

334, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Ignore my dirty floor, please.

333/365

2010-04-01T23:01:00.001+01:00

333, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Happy Birthday Daddy! Can I haz cupcake?

332/365

2010-04-01T23:00:00.003+01:00

332, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel also Does Not Like balloons.

331/365

2010-04-01T23:00:00.001+01:00

331, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Dave was trying to wii-fit jog, Hazel helped. Was good times.

330/365

2010-04-01T22:58:00.003+01:00

330, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Sometimes this happens.

329/365

2010-04-01T22:58:00.001+01:00

329, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel has a really really hard time staying when Daddy comes home.

328/365

2010-04-01T22:55:00.001+01:00

328, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Happy Goggie. We just got in from a walk when this was taken, she spent about 5 minutes running around like a mad thing which is how she dries off. She is silly.

327/365

2010-04-01T22:53:00.001+01:00

327, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel really hates her Halti. Really. Not that you can tell from this photo so much.

326/365

2010-04-01T22:52:00.001+01:00

326, originally uploaded by missjoules.

It is nice enough to have the door open! Hurrahs!

325/365

2010-04-01T21:12:00.003+01:00

325, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I'm going to get it!

324/365

2010-04-01T21:12:00.001+01:00

324, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Playing with Daddy is Hazel's favorite thing ever, behind Outsides.

323/365

2010-04-01T21:11:00.001+01:00

323, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel Does Not Like the vacuum.

322/365

2010-04-01T21:10:00.003+01:00

322, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel got her good citizen certificate. Someone should probably explain to her what good means.

321/365

2010-04-01T21:10:00.001+01:00

321, originally uploaded by missjoules.

it may be fuzzy, but it is the only picture from the 24th.

320/365

2010-04-01T21:09:00.003+01:00

320, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Feet Pillow? Don't mind if I do!

319/365

2010-04-01T21:09:00.001+01:00

319, originally uploaded by missjoules.

This is Hazel, under the bed. With a chew. Yep.

Sorry for the delay, I've been busy with, well, nothing >_> Except that I got the Sims 3 again! You know how it is.

318/365

2010-02-21T19:09:00.001Z

067, originally uploaded by missjoules.

More snow! She is in quite good focus considering she was running at me when this was taken.

317/265

2010-02-21T19:07:00.003Z

062, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hello, can I eat you?

316/365

2010-02-21T19:07:00.001Z

055, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Sometimes Hazel thinks she is human. Other times Dave thinks he is a dog.

315/365

2010-02-21T19:05:00.001Z

052, originally uploaded by missjoules.

This was about ten minutes after we got home from Hazel passing her canine good citizen test. Yeah, good citizen=/=good dog.

314/365

2010-02-21T19:03:00.001Z

039, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I know this is pretty crapperiffic but trust me, you don't want to see the other photos from this day. I snapped a few shots of hazel outside with her daddy... but she was going to the bathroom. I don't think she would appreciate me posting that kind of picture.

313/365

2010-02-21T19:02:00.001Z

034, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I was vacuuming the couch and put the clean cushion to the side, which of course made it the only place in the world that Hazel wanted to sit. NOTHING CAN STAY CLEAN!

312/365

2010-02-21T19:01:00.001Z

033, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel is enjoying our Valentine flowers.

311/365

2010-02-21T18:59:00.001Z

029, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Happy Valemtimes Day from hazel!

She ate the heart about 5 seconds after this photo was taken.

310/365

2010-02-21T18:57:00.001Z

024, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Dave's Dad came to visit. Hazel was pestering him so Daddy held her. Here she battles the napping. I think in the end, she lost.

309/365

2010-02-21T18:56:00.001Z

021, originally uploaded by missjoules.

We tried a day of Hazel wearing her lead around after an abysmal attempt at her minute-stay at the last puppy-class before her good citizen test. By abysmal I mean she tried playing tug with her lead because they wanted us to put it on the floor and stand on it. Yeah. Anyway, three hours later I took it off because she was still gnawing on it and we kind of don't want it destroyed.

308/365

2010-02-21T18:52:00.001Z

017, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Yes, it is a plant pot from the garden. She is terribly cheeky and evil. But we love her.

307/365

2010-02-21T18:51:00.001Z

015, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I don't even remember what this started life as. It ended life as a huge, royal, mess. Hazel is in this.. Shredding things phase. It makes for lots of messes. Our trainer says we should ignore her grabbing crap but I am thinking that this is not so much working.

306/365

2010-02-21T18:50:00.001Z

010, originally uploaded by missjoules.

We got Hazel a new tag, this one says that she is microchipped but does not have her name anywhere on it. It also has our FULL address rather than just our house number and post code. 27 Long-Named-Princess Drive, P17 GFE, for example, rather than just 27, P17 GFE. Our trainer said we needed this to pass the bronze good citizen test but she is wrong according to the kennel club website. Still, we got it all written out so that a neighbor or someone can return her if she is found a block away. Anyway, it barely fits. We need to move.

305/365

2010-02-21T18:46:00.001Z

005, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I wish that I could find it for you, but I have a very similar photo from when I was a kid. I was in a tube (I think it was red) and my short little baby hair is all kinds of static-y.

In her mouth, btw, is my specially imported, four pounds a tube, chap stick. Yeah.

We call the tunnel her "Tube 'o Naughty"

304/365

2010-02-07T21:14:00.001Z

DSCF5562, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Yes, she is still holding the sock. ALL THE TIME. She has started dropping it for chunks of time though, so hopefully we are on the right track.

Also, we went to see Aunt Amanda and Grandma Lynn today and she was a monster. Still monkey.

303/365: Hazel's Birfday!

2010-02-07T21:11:00.000Z

First Hazel got her very nicely wrapped present. Okay, maybe nicely is a stretch. But she was only interested in shredding it, and since we covered up its label no one knew what it was anyway ;)

Hazel unwrapped (she is so clever).

She may have needed a bit of help with the plastic.

And she was right in there!

She really enjoyed her tunnel (which we actually got at Ikea the other week). She always enjoyed them at puppy classes and having one at home is no different.

Daddy had a go:

I got her a badge that she got to wear all day, it was super cute. She got lots of extra cuddles from random people.

Then we went out! We went to the other-side-of-town park where we saw some big boxers who stole her Frisbee for a while. We were there until mommy got way too cold and wet (it was super duper misty). Then we went to the pet store for more food, a nice juicy bone, and a brand new snugga wubba. We were supposed to get a new ID tag but the ID tag machine ended up being crap and we couldn't fit our whole address on it and a new collar and lead but there weren't any that we loved. Also one of us had a nibble of something that fell out of the treat bins on the floor. We were planning on going to visit Aunt Amanda and Grandma Lynn but they had gone to Scarbrough, so instead we came home in defeat. I even sat in the back seat with the birthday princess so she could get travel-cuddles.

There is no shame in admitting defeat and retreating, when retreating means CAKE!

(303::365)

The people were not huge fans of the cake btu Hazel could have eaten the whole thing all by herself, had she been allowed.

The birthday princess was pooped:

After her nap she woke up and grabbed a sock. At the moment we are trying the 'ignore that she has it' technique in order to stop her grabbing them all the flipping time. Hopefully they will become as mundane as any other toys and she won't be all that bothered about them. Not the case last night though, she held on to it for FOUR hours.

Ah well. We like to think that she had a good day.

302/365: Make a birthday cake for your dog

2010-02-05T15:44:00.000Z

Step one: Remind yourself that you love the little monkey. And that lotion is easily replaceable.

Step two: Gather all of your ingredients. Curse that the cheese-grater is in the dishwasher; lament forgetting to run it last night.

Step three: Shoo the beautiful birthday princess away from the ingredients.

Step four: Measure rice flour (Goggies don’t like gluten! Or rather, gluten doesn’t like goggies)

Step five: Tell the birthday pooch that if she jumps on you again you will kill her. And you aren’t kidding. Seriously. Measure baking soda. Get pig’s ear to bribe Dog away from counter. Remind yourself that you love her, darn it!

Step six: Peal and grate carrots.

Step seven: Remember that the oven is not on. Pre heat.

Step eight: Give the dog the left over carrot. After all, if she doesn’t like it today she sure won’t like it tomorrow.

Step nine: Realize that your counter resembles a scene out of a carrot horror movie.

Step ten: Hate the honey for its sinful stickiness.

Step eleven: 'Accidentally' get honey on your finger; lick off. Forgive it’s sinful ways.

Step twelve: Learn that vanilla is heavier than oil.

Step thirteen: Pull dog off of the counter. Yes, I know you can smell the peanut butter and you WANT IT.

Step fourteen: Realize that the spatula is *also* in the dishwasher. Stop in middle of cycle and hand wash spatula.

Step fifteen: Mix

Step sixteen: Realize that in its uncooked state the cake looks really unappetizing.

Step seventeen: Get a bit on your finger and try it. I recommend skipping this step.

Step eighteen: Spend fifty years getting each of your pie pans equally filled and level. Forget to take a picture when you have finished.

Step nineteen: Pop yer cake in the oven. Wish you had cleaned your oven before posting pictures of it. Keep dog from following cake in--YOU LOVE HER!

Step twenty: Allow adorable birthday doggy to clean the spatula. Aww, she’s so cute, loving her isn’t even a chore at the moment.

(this would have been today's picture)

Step twenty-one: Oh, right—set the timer.

Step twenty-two: Have a bloody cup of tea.

Step twenty-three: Ignore phone ringing while you write a blog post

Step twenty-four: Realize that your dog hasn’t. BUT YOU LOVE HER, DANG IT!

Step twenty-fire: Wrestle telephone away from dog while the timer dings in the background

Step twenty-six: Remove cake from oven, put on cooling rack. Turn around for .0000027 seconds; cake will get a paw in it and crack.

Step twenty-seven: You. Love. Her. Repeat this to yourself.

Step twenty-eight: Leave to cool. Shoo dog out of kitchen. Realize your tea is cold.

Ingredients!

I used the dog peanut butter carrot cake recipe that you can find all over the internet, only I doubled it because this pup deserves two layers ;D The non-doubled recipe is as follows (since my handwriting in that photo is atrocious):

1 cup rice flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1 egg

Throw everything in a bowl, give it a mix, bake at 175C/350F for a half hour.

I am going to frost mine with cream cheese honey frosting, but I'm sure if Haze could get in the kitchen she would be all over it plain.

301/365

2010-02-05T15:08:00.001Z

011, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I tossed Dave a roll of poo bags last night, it streamered it up. hazel grabbed the other end. Good times :D

300/365

2010-02-05T15:06:00.001Z

002, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Wow, happy day 300! I can't believe how fast this has gone. Anyway, here is my girl, a little bit dirty, but always beautiful.

299/365

2010-02-02T22:15:00.001Z

299, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I love when haze puts her head between the banister slats, it reminds me of the firest time we met her. She was 3 weeks old and got her head stuck in the baby gate trying to get back into the big pile of brothers and sisters. So cute. She used to stick her head all the way through but I think she has learned now and will only get so far in.

298/365

2010-02-02T22:13:00.003Z

298, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Yes, Hello, my name is Hazel and I would like some attention, please. And if not that, some of the porridge will do nicely.

297/365

2010-02-02T22:13:00.001Z

297, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Yeah, um, crazy lady? WHY ARE YOU LAYING ON ME! I am a doggy, not a cushion!

296/365

2010-02-02T22:11:00.001Z

296, originally uploaded by missjoules.

DADDY IS HOME! I must run through my food to get to him. Them I will leave it scattered about the floor for the next, oh, hmm, 5 hours.

294/365

2010-02-02T22:10:00.001Z

294, originally uploaded by missjoules.

This is what Hazel looks like when she gets 6 feet away in the field. I think you can probably see why we got the flashy collar.

293/365

2010-02-02T22:09:00.001Z

293, originally uploaded by missjoules.

The decorators came to fix the hall after the big dirty radiator water explosion. Hazel really liked them, and I can't blame her--they were amusing :)

292/365

2010-02-02T22:08:00.001Z

292, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I so don't want to talk about this. It made me cry. And then again when the end key bit it. And then again with the home key. I don't know if my laptop keys are suddenly horribly fragile or Hazel's claws are just the wrong length, but jeeze. The only one that was broken enough to need to send off for a replacement is the alt key thankfully. I don't know what's up with her lately, as you can see she is trying to cram herself on my lap *with* the computer, and it is not working out so well for teh electronics.

291/365

2010-02-02T22:06:00.001Z

291, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Hazel somehow had ONE muddy paw, which you may be able to see as there are three random muddy paw prints in a row on the floor. Sigh,

290/365

2010-01-26T22:52:00.001Z

290, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Oh.My.God. There is a giant goggy on the TV!

Every couple of minutes Hazel would get up and bark at the TV, go around to look into the kitchen (which is behind the wall that the TV is on) to make sure there wasn't *actually* a dog in there, and then come lie down on the couch with me. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. lots of repeats.

289/365

2010-01-26T22:49:00.001Z

289, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Apparently Hazel's ear drop medicine makes her hair mat really easily as it is a bit sticky. We spent a good half hour brushing it out, she was really good about it. I felt awful! We have brushed her since she started the medicine obviously but we must have missed it, it was kind of down under her ear. Hard to describe--but it's gone now anyway!

288/365

2010-01-26T22:46:00.001Z

288, originally uploaded by missjoules.

For some reason when she finishes eating Hazel likes to run around with her bowl. It makes a horrible racket if she drops it on the wooden floor.

287/365

2010-01-26T22:44:00.001Z

287, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Movie night! Popcorn and chick flicks. Oh Colin Firth, how I love thee!

286/365

2010-01-26T22:43:00.001Z

286, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Poor Hazey :( SHe really, really, really hates the ear drops.

285/365

2010-01-26T20:26:00.001Z

285, originally uploaded by missjoules.

I always bring the camera to puppy classes and I always forget to take any pictures. We are too buys with the, er, training. This is her on the way home though. She is much nicer to ride with on the way home--on the way out anywhere she is very excited and merpy. On the way home she usually just has a snooze.

284/365

2010-01-26T20:24:00.003Z

284, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Only one picture on this day. Sorry.

283/365

2010-01-26T20:24:00.001Z

283, originally uploaded by missjoules.

She is too intent on the dishwasher to notice that she got porridge on her head sticking her head in when the top rack was open. Numpty.

282/365

2010-01-26T20:23:00.003Z

282, originally uploaded by missjoules.

Sometimes I think hazel has not quite gotten the hang of her bed.