Urine Luck

Observations:
After decreasing the amount of water in which we soak Embry's food, the amount of peeing has decreased exponentially. In fact, today is officially the first day of ZERO accidents in the house! When I came downstairs at 3:00am, I did so to a dry, non poop-coated crate. I took her outside, at which point she promptly fired both barrels, then we celebrated with our typical morning routine: bone, rope, Kong...interspersed with biting and thundering wildly through the family room. (Note: Embry provides all of the afore-mentioned thundering. At that hour of the morning, I'm far too tired to participate in any ceremonious cannonades. My contribution is to lie on the floor with my eyes closed while she rumbles past, hopefully with a toy in her mouth and not dragging around a power cord.)

Today was the last day of her Clavamox. Next, we get to test our agility by attempting to obtain a urine sample so we can make sure the UTI is gone. Larger dogs are somewhat easy: walk up behind them with some form of urine-catching receptacle (e.g. bowl, saucer, measuring cup, Tupperware, or -- worst case -- your bare hands), ignore the curious, yet resentful glance out of the corner of their eye, wait for them to squat or hike...then swiftly, yet stealthily place the repository into the line of fire. Female puppies, on the other hand, provide only a one-inch clearance in which to place the pee-ferrying vessel. The odds of first-chance success are slim, but luckily one never has to wait long for the next performance.

And for those of you who have asked for an update on Traz...he is still in Dog Jail. Over the past two hours, he has retrieved the following from on or around the kitchen countertops: an empty, plastic water bottle; an oven mitt; one can of tomato soup (condensed); one spatula; a dish rag; a dish towel; the plastic shipping bag from my new running shoes (which arrived today); one of my Crocs; the remaining carcass of a previously-stuffed goose. As only one of the above-listed items is appropriate for retrieval, Mr. Alcatraz remains locked up when unsupervised.

In another, non Embry-related story... I couldn't figure out why the lick granuloma on Tank's leg will not heal. He had one on his other leg, but it healed quickly by using the bitter lime antiseptic spray. This sore, however, keeps hanging around. We've tried the usual spray as well as a topical lick guard (that smells strongly of cayenne pepper and garlic), but the spot won't fully heal. We also tried applying the topical, then bandaging the leg. The first time, Tank promptly unwrapped the bandage. The second time, Tank unwrapped the bandage...then ate it, thus destroying the evidence (though it re-appeared five days later in the corner of the bedroom at 2:00 in the morning).

Anyway, tonight I witnessed why this particular spot will not heal. While Tank was nested in the dog bed, I walked over and sprayed his leg several times with the bitter lime. After receiving a few minutes of praise and the obligatory cookie, Tank got up, walked over to the water dish, got a big mouthful of water...and dropped it down his leg, thus washing away all of the bitter lime. While I stood there in amused disbelief, he washed, rinsed, repeated several times, then trotted happily back to his bed. He then looked up at me with a coy grin on his face, and I swear I heard him think "What...? What are you lookin' at?"

Number of Days Without an Accident: ONE!!! (Hot damn!)

Today, I'm Bleeding From: My wrist

Number of Leaves Eaten Today: Two (...that I know of)

Current Interests:
I'm getting bigger! When I jump onto the baby gates, my paws now reach the top. When I get to be as big as Traz Dog, I'll jump over them and have free reign of the house. I've discovered that I can keep eating and my stomach will just expand to accommodate the amount of food. When I'm done, I look like a bloated, chocolate rectangle, but it's good to know I have such a capacity for consumption. That will come in handy when I figure out how to get into the magic fridge.

The dishwasher is also way cool! There are always some nibblies and pools of food-scented water within reach when the door is open. I tried chewing my way through the bottom, but Big Guy caught me and locked me in the other room. Just for that, I got him up at 4:00 the next morning and surprised him with not one, but TWO giant poops in my crate. Revenge is a dish best served room temperature and spread around as much as possible.

I also really like teeth. Teeth can be used to chew on the corner of the dishwasher. And the fridge. And the stove. And the closet door, behind which lies the boundless bounty of dog food. And the tray of my crate. And towels. And toes (LOVE toes!). And leaves (LOVE leaves!). And table legs. I like teeth. I think I shall use them more often.

The Other Dogs are Currently:
Darcy............"What's for dinner?"
Sophie..........."Stupid Puppy. THAT'S what is for dinner."
Tank Man......."It's not that bad...when it's tired."
Traz.............."Yeah? YOU try getting stuck in the room with it all the time."