Really, I just love this dog

So, predictably, I missed my "blogoversary". That very very first post, on April 7 of 2011, seems so long ago! I also missed "celebrating" my 800th post here. How time flies, right?

I largely blame Camp National Novel Writing Month. I was behind all week and only just now caught up. I've taken a bit of a different approach this time, and I'm writing a thriller-y type novel loosely based around the plot of Hamlet.

But I digress.

Some things are different from when I started the blog, and some are the same. Hot dogs are still our default walking treat, though I try to mix it up and use leftover dinner meat (roast pork, roast beef, etc), leftover fries from a restaurant (not the most healthy, but motivating!), something we're reviewing for Chewy.com, that kind of thing.

I've also gone to the (more or less) Monday-Wednesday-Friday posting format. At first, I posted only sporadically. For a little while, I was posting almost every day. But now that I'm writing more, and trying to read more (reading drops off when I'm writing. Who'da thunk it?) I try to just maintain MWF on both blogs, for my own sanity. Sometimes I skip a day and really, I try not to sweat it. Blogging is not life or death. Or my blog isn't life or death. Whichever.


I now walk Elka on a harness, whereas I did not before. The Ezydog Chest Plate harness is still our workhorse. I clip the leash to that, and then use Liberty's Attachment from Ella's Lead to make sure the leash is also attached to her collar. Better safe than sorry, right? Right.

Elka still doesn't really like laying on her dog bed, and to be honest, I don't really push the issue. I guess I can't really blame her; after all, she gets to lay on the couch with us. Why would she want a pillow on the floor?

A BIG change? Elka likes squeaky toys now! She used to be afraid of the noise they made. To anthropomorphize, we thought it was because she was afraid she was hurting them. It makes some amount of sense; we taught bite inhibition by squealing like she was killing us when Elka's teeth happened to touch us, and all play would halt immediately for a short amount of time. Effective, and left a lasting impression apparently. Though Elka plays happily and brutally with squeaky toys now, it's worth noting her bit inhibition is still superb.

We have our ups and downs. Sometimes (more often than I'd like) I'm not as patient as I could be. Sometimes Elka is more of a whineyface than I can strictly bear. But we do try to make it work; she communicates with us as clearly as she can, and sometimes is astoundingly clear. I just need to work on how I listen.

So thanks again for reading. I do love reading your comments (and even manage to reply to some!) and visiting many of your blogs as well. Spring is finally kind of maybe almost here, and we'll be getting out and about more often, I hope!