Hudson is Home

It's been a LONG time-an UPDATE

2009-09-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, Bailey went to a new home last night. Me and Will had struggled with the decision for quite some time, but Bailey was NOT getting what she needed from us in our home. Bailey needed a family with kids to keep her occupied and play with her, with our busy schedules we just didn't have the time, and Bailey spent too much time in her crate. A wonderful family with a little girl took her to be her furever family. They were wonderful and I know Bailey will be truly happy with them. I keep thinking of me and Will as sort of her "foster family". We got her healthy, put some weight on her, crate trained and potty trained her and got her ready for her permanent family. They also know she is energetic and the man of the family is active and plans to run with her everyday. She took to them right away and wasn't sad to leave us at all, I was actually thankful for that, she jumped right into their vehicle.
Secondly, our boy Hudson will always be a permanent part of our family. It's hard to explain just how perfect he fits with us, and we love him dearly. I truly believe that Bailey will be to this family, what Hudson is to us, and she will be appreciated as she should be. She truly was a great dog, just not right for us. On a lighter note, Hudson is doing just fine, he is the same big lovable velcro boy he always has been. As I type he is next to me on the couch sleeping. We love him so much.

The Splint

2009-05-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lapse in updates, me and Will were in FL for the weekend. We had to board the dogs for the first time, so we'll see how they did when I pick them up in a little while. I thought I'd finally post some pics of Bailey's splint. It looks relatively harmless in these photos, but don't let that fool you. This thing is capable of producing bruises the size of quarters as evidenced on my legs, and that bottom plastic part makes a very lovely tapping sound everywhere Bailey goes. Haha, let's just say we'll be very glad when she gets to have it removed.

Bailey and her dang splint

2009-05-08T05:36:00.000-07:00

LOL as rambunctious and crazy as Bailey was before she broke her toe, it's twice as bad with a humungo splint on her leg!!! She's constantly banging it against stuff, me, Hudson, kitties, the ground, her crate, etc. It's hard plastic so it's loud too!! She's NOT supposed to get it wet, but it's been raining for quite some time here, so it's extremely wet outside and the ground is saturated. We tape a plastic bag on her leg when she goes outside, but sometimes she runs so fast that it just slips right off! Yesterday I let her out for about 5 minutes and when I went to let her in and she was soaked from head to broken toe, including her cast! I could have wrung her neck! She's been pretty good about not chewing on it, she did once or twice, but when she's in her crate she has to wear the E-collar and that pretty much takes care of that problem. I did get some pics of the splint and I'll post those soon. All the little gal wants to do is play and her and Hudson play SO ROUGH! I let them play for a few minutes, but then I worry she's going to hurt her toe so I have to put her back in her crate. :( She's been in her crate alot more since she hurt her toe, but it's the only way to keep her activity level down. I'll be SO glad when that toe is healed so she can play again and go to the dog park.

Yet another vet visit for Bailey

2009-05-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Bailey came inside with what appeared to be a painful, slightly swollen toe, and she was limping on it. We watched it all weekend and it didn't get better, so today I brought her back to the vet (again!) to have it looked at. An X-ray confirmed it was broken. *big sigh* She'll have to be sedated to have it set and splinted, and the splint will need to be on for 6 weeks. She just finished her course of antibiotics and was totally back to normal, so it's only logical that something else bad would have to happen right? I'm not bitter, I love the little hellion, but keeping an active 9 month old puppy subdued for 6 weeks is going to quite the challenge, that and the fact it has to be kept dry and I swear it rains everyday here, we're going to be weak and weary when this is all over LOL.

Her X-ray

See the break in the first toe?

It's pretty swollen :(

Strike a pose

2009-04-30T14:37:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to the dog park and I got a lot of photos that just look as if my dogs were posing! LOL Weimaraners are so photogenic. Enjoy!

Cute

2009-04-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hudson
&
Bailey

83% Compatible

♥ Hudson and Bailey have recently begun dating. The age difference may create some difficulties in terms of compatibility. Additionally, their personality descriptions seem to be in conflict, which may present a challenge. Also, their difference of faith may cause friction. They both abstain from drinking, so that helps compatibility. They are also both gamers. Both are also sports fans, and that can bring people together. Their astrological signs are in harmony, which is a plus. They share a favorite season, and that is good. Their common love of animals is another good thing. And their views on children are similar. Overall, Hudson and Bailey are quite compatible. There are a few rough spots, but nothing that cannot be overcome. ♥

Take the Dating Compatibility Test

Good News for our Bailey girl!!

2009-04-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

Well Bailey has continued to improve and pretty much doesn't seem to be sick at all! She got her stitches taken out at the vets today and her incision looks good! The lab value we needed came back, and actually was NOT what we wanted, but the vet said that it was certainly NOT confirmative of distemper and at this point he thinks she does NOT have distemper. Some of you may have seen my post on her enamel loss on her teeth in the health folder, he looked at her teeth and said it's just plaque!! The other vet was mistaken(I think he just really thought she had distemper) While it's horrible she's only 8 months and has that much plaque, it's way better then having enamel loss!! She also got a few vaccinations that the shelter didn't give and another dewormer and she'll have to get a few booster shots in 3 weeks and then little miss Bailey shouldn't have to go to vet for a whole year!! We're really happy that she's healthy!! Oh and she also gained 2 pounds since Tuesday when she was so sick.

Snarlies

2009-04-24T06:44:00.000-07:00

I took some photos of the 2 while they were playing and the pictures were hilarious! Hudson looks so ferocious in the pics, even though they are only playing. He also makes chomping sounds with his teeth when he really gets into to, so you better watch your fingers! Bailey enjoyed herself as well. We're taking the baby girl back to the vet this morning to get her stitches out (yay!) and to get a few more vaccinations she needs. She continues to improve from her illness. I'll update how the visit goes.

Bailey Girl this morning

2009-04-22T04:30:00.000-07:00

Well her energy is back to normal.....she is still sounding congested and her nose is still running, although not as bad as it was. When I gave her her pill this morning in some cheese, she spit out the pill and the powder was everywhere....VERY frustrating LOL, so I recovered as much as I could and I think she got the majority of the medicine but I'm thinking about breaking the capsules and spreading the powder in some yogurt from now on just so I know she's getting the entire dose. I'll be giving her a shot today so we'll see how that goes :) I've given people shots, but something tells me it may be a bit more difficult to give one to a BIG puppy. Haha.

Can she already be feeling better??

2009-04-21T17:43:00.000-07:00

Bailey slept for about 3 hours, I had her head on a pillow to help with her congestion and my bath robe on her to keep her warm(I took pics! Lol). I was also wiping her nose (haha that just sounds funny) about every half an hour to keep the crusties at bey and I even spoon fed her some yogurt(which she gladly accepted) and about 6pm she wanted to go out and her and Hudson have been playing ever since, everytime I let them in, they go back to the door wanting to go out again. I worried that she shouldn't be playing, but I figured if she didn't want to, she wouldn't because earlier she hardly wanted to move. Could she be feeling better already? I know antibiotics can make people feel better really fast, so I'm assuming they can do the same for dogs. Also she's been drinking water really well which makes me happy because the vet says that Gentamicin can damage the kidneys. So far I'm feeling pretty good about her recovering but I know it's still early! keeping fingers crossed! I'll post pics of her looking pathetic later.

Bailey went to the Vet

2009-04-21T14:42:00.001-07:00

Well the visit wasn't as routine as I hoped besides the fact we were there for over 2 hours. Before I explain I'll let ya'll know she's fine so you're not reading this the whole time worrying Our vet is very concerned about distemper because he says he's seen a few dogs from the shelter where she came from recently who had it and we have no idea if she was ever vaccinated against anything until the shelter vaccinated her, but if she already had something such as distemper, those vaccinations wouldn't help. There is no easy test to run to test for distemper like they do for heartworms, so he did a complete blood count and her white blood cells are significantly elevated. They were 25 for those of you who may be good with lab values and are interested to know the number. The vet was happy about that though as this means she's fighting whatever she has and the white blood cells are usually elevated in bacterial infections and decreased in viral infections, and distemper is viral so maybe this means she doesn't have distemper. All her other counts were essentially normal. He says he wants to be aggressive with antibiotics, so we have Cephalexin pills to give 3 times a day, and gentamicin shots to give once a day. Thank goodness my husband is a nurse! He also said we could give a cough suppressant like Robitussin but I'm not so sure I want to do that as 1)She needs to expel all that gunk and 2)I want to be able to notice if the cough is helped by the antibiotics so I think we'll hold off on the Robitussin for now. He also mentioned her breathing was labored and to look to see if it gets better with the antibiotics, we're going back to the vet on Friday to get her stitches from her spay out, and they're gonna look at her then. From what I gathered from him, distemper is pretty serious and IF she were able to clear it on her own, it would always be dormant in her body and could flare up later on if she were stressed or immuno-compromised for some reason. So needless to say we're hoping it's just a bad upper respiratory infection and NOT distemper. He also said something else that worried me, he said we'll know IF she's going to respond to treatment when she comes back in on Friday. *sigh* I have a good feeling though and I think she'll recover. We've only had her a week, but we love this little gal! Sorry this so long, but I figured ya'll would want an update. Keep Bailey in your thoughts!

Bailey is sick

2009-04-21T04:51:00.000-07:00

My poor girl is going to the vet today, she is sneezing and coughing up brown mucus and just doesn't feel well! I think she may have kennel cough from being at the pound for so long, so hopefully some antibiotics and a cough suppressant will fix her up. The mucus stinks to high heaven too, which also makes me think infection. We're going to have the vet do a general exam and give her the rest of her vaccinations while were there. I'm also going to ask about getting her stitches taken out. My sweet little baby girl.

The Terrible twosome

2009-04-17T13:28:00.000-07:00

Waiting for Daddy to throw the ball.

Doesn't my sweet boy look happy?

So far, Hudson seems to really enjoy the company of Bailey, they love playing together in the backyard, and today on their walk, they walked side by side the whole way and every so often one of them would nuzzle the other one. It was quite adorable. There is one time when Hudson gets angry with Bailey, though, and that it when he's on the couch and she's trying to get on the couch. I think he thinks this is HIS couch LOL. We're trying to correct him but it's sort of funny....anyway enjoy the pics.

We got a new baby!!!

2009-04-16T04:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday on my dad's birthday we adopted a little girlfriend for Hudson! He just really seemed like he wanted another dog to play with and we always have enough love for another dog!! She is an 8 month old little weimy girl that was rescued from our local pound. She is absolutely precious, although wild!! She has so much puppy energy and she's going to require lots of patience and training, but she wants to please. We love her already, and oh yeah, her name is Bailey. Doesn't Bailey and Hudson have a nice ring to it? I think our doggy family is complete. Her and Hudson are getting along very nicely and play really well together. I was a little worried that my boy wouldn't be as attached to me with another dog in the house to keep him occupied, but as I type this, he's curled up next to me with his head in my lap, just like he always does, and Miss Bailey is on my other side chewing away on a tennis ball. I love my dogs. More pics of Bailey and Hudson playing together will be up soon! I'm also going to try to put a video clip of them playing up.

Isn't she cute?

A Hudson video

2009-03-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T21:43:00.000-07:00

Hudson also wants to wish his cousin Willy Bo a very Happy Birthday!!!!! He misses you Willy and can't wait to play again.

Playtime

2009-03-17T11:26:00.000-07:00

When we get home from walks with Hudson, he heads straight for the back door because he knows that after his walk, daddy takes him in the back yard and plays with him until he gets nice and tired. I usually take this opportunity to snap some pics of our boy in action. He is so funny!

I hate it when I have to work all weekend......

2009-03-15T08:39:00.001-07:00

because I miss Hudson alot!! I guess I shouldn't complain too much though, I only work every 3rd weekend. Since Will has to wake me up for work he brings Hudson in the room to help. Oh how I love waking up to that big wet nose. When I'm awake but not quite ready to get up, Hudson will climb in the bed with me and cuddle for a few minutes. He even likes to get under the covers and lets me wrap my arms around him like he's a big ol' teddy bear. Will picked Hudson up like a baby last night and it cracked me up! Well I have figured out that I can make small video clips with my little point and click camera so be on the look out for some Hudson videos.

This is the way we brush our teeth.....

2009-03-12T04:52:00.001-07:00

Hudson gets his teeth brushed once a week and he is sooooo good for it. The toothpaste supposedly tastes like beef so maybe that's why he likes it. I love this boy.

Highlights from today.

2009-03-10T19:29:00.000-07:00

Hudson was hilarious today....and naughty! First the naughty part, I was making corn bread to go with our bean soup and I had left the pan with the corn bread batter on the kitchen counter while the oven was preheating. Well before I knew what hit me I see Hudson walking out of the kitchen with a suspicious corn bread batter colored substance on his chin and he's licking his floppy pink lips. I wanted to tan his hide! That was my only mix and I had to go all the way to Kroger to get another mix (because I REALLY wanted sweet corn bread). Then during dinner Hudson snuck up on me and tried to slurp bean soup right out of my bowl!! Will found it utterly hilarious. Hudson usually isn't that gutsy. The little stinker. Now for the hilarious part, we have this crazy toy for the cats called "Da' Bird". It's some feathers attached to a thin 3 ft long pole and when you wave it around, the feathers "flap" and it looks and sounds like a real bird. Kitties love it....Kitties and apparently Weimaraners too. Hudson went nuts over that thing, he was jumping in the air and biting at it and he even started whimpering he wanted it so bad. So I let him "catch" it and he carried it to his toy spot, pole and all, I had to pry it from his mouth. This dog keeps me in stitches.

All tuckered out

2009-03-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

For the 3rd day in a row, we have gotten Hudson all tuckered out. LOL. He get's exercise EVERYDAY, but for the past few days he's gotten more than usual and he just comes home and sleeps like he hasn't slept in ages. Right now as a type he is beside me dreaming and grumbling in his sleep. I love this dog. Enjoy some photos.

And yet MORE pictures....

2009-03-05T17:37:00.000-08:00

Pictures continued....

2009-03-05T17:28:00.001-08:00

Hudson's first road trip

2009-03-05T17:15:00.000-08:00

So Hudson did amazing on his trip. He was a complete angel in the car there and back, which is amazing since he doesn't usually like riding in the car, but he mostly slept. He enjoyed playing with my dad's dog, Willie Bo (20lb pom) even though they had to be separated a few times. All in all it was a great trip and we look forward to bringing him more places with us.

1 month with our sweet boy

2009-02-27T11:16:00.000-08:00

Well we've now had Hudson for a month and it seems like he's been here forever. He's very attached to me and Will, follows us everywhere, even to the bathroom! He's crate trained, and I think he actually LIKES his crate, all I have to do is say "house" and he'll go in. He's potty trained now, and rings his potty bell when he needs to go out or he'll stand right by the door until we let him out. He loves going to the dog park and going for walks. He loves playing fetch, chase, keep away and especially tug with daddy. He is recovering VERY well from his neutering, you wouldn't even think he had had anything done! We are hoping that the "deflated balloon" that resulted from the procedure will shrink down though. He has gained almost 10 pounds since he's been with us. He weighed 56lbs when we got him and he's about 65 lbs now! His skin condition has cleared up and he's had no further problems with it, he just has to be on a flea preventative to keep the allergy at bay. He tolerates grooming pretty well, including getting his teeth brushed and nails clipped. He's very used to his feeding schedule and knows exactly when it's time to eat. All in all we're thrilled with him in our lives and we think he is very happy as well. We're going on our first trip with him tomorrow. We taking a 3.5 hour drive to my hometown to spend the day and Hudson HATES the car. We're going to give him Dramamine at the advice of our vet to try and help calm his tummy and nerves, it's his first long car ride and I'm a little anxious about it, but I'll update how he does.

My boy did fine

2009-02-24T16:51:00.000-08:00

I received a call from the vet's office saying Hudson did just fine and woke up from anesthesia. We can pick him up tomorrow after 10. I never imagined I'd miss him so much! It is simply not the same around here without him and I don 't think I'll ever be able to be without a Weimaraner ever again.

Well, I dropped him off at the vet

2009-02-24T06:12:00.000-08:00

And he didn't like it one bit! When the vet tried to put the slip leash on him he nipped at her a little bit! And I had to walk with him to the back because he was putting on the brakes. Poor thing I hope he isn't mad at me.

We're on our way

2009-02-24T04:33:00.001-08:00

I'm getting ready to bring my sweet boy to the vet for his neutering and I'm so sad. I know he's wondering why he didn't get fed this morning. Well I'll update on here when I call them later to see how he's doing.

Surgery tomorrow

2009-02-23T20:18:00.000-08:00

Hudson is being neutered tomorrow :( so we took him to the dog park today for some playtime since he will have to stay over night at the vet. He did exceptional today and actually played with a couple of dogs. He LOVES the dog park, but doesn't play with the dogs there all that often, he just kind of sniffs them, but today he ran around and romped with one little dog in particular. It made me so happy. Our boy's personality shines through more and more every day. He gets especially excited when it's feeding time and he actually jumps around like our Pomeranians did when I was growing up. He has also been pretty consistent with the potty bell and rings it often! We are pretty excited about that. He really is a wonderful dog and we're so happy to have him. Now if I can just make it through tomorrow I'll be fine, I don't want to leave my boy at the vet over night!!

Coming out of his shell

2009-02-19T04:41:00.000-08:00

So Mr. Hudson is coming out of his shell. He is so playful these days! He has a particular interest in my shoes and when he's feeling playful, the ornery little sticker will grab any shoe he can find and run with it and shake it back and forth in his mouth. I have tons of shoes too so he doesn't have to look very hard to find one. We actually found him chewing on one of them and I was upset, but I was able to salvage it and now I know to keep my shoes put up. He is also very interested in the kitties and desperately wants to play with them. He stands by them and wags his tail and sometimes makes little whining sounds to try to get them to play, but of course they won't play with him. Eventually we'd like to get Hudson a playmate, but that will be way in the future.

Weims make great homemade bread!

2009-02-17T19:56:00.000-08:00

Hudson LOVES this video clip and thinks you will too!

Happy Birthday to my Mom!!

2009-02-16T04:50:00.000-08:00

Today is my mom's birthday and Hudson has a very special message for his Nana!!

Hudson's weekend

2009-02-16T04:29:00.000-08:00

Hudson has some pretty good weekends around here. On Saturday he went to the dog park, and since he is so afraid of riding in the car, mommy rode in the back with him the whole way and he did much better! No hyperventilating or throwing up! We were pretty happy. Then Saturday evening Mr. Hudson played with his toys. He likes to hide stuff in his bed, but don't let the bed fool you, he spends most of his time on the couch with us! On Sunday he got to go on a nice long walk, and anytime we walk with him somewhere we've never walked before, this boy has to smell EVERYTHING! Hudson has also demonstrated his pointing skills this weekend! It's so cute I'm going to have to get a picture! Also Hudson's seroma on his back seems to finally be getting smaller. All in all good weekend for Mr. Hudson.

Happy Valentine's day.

2009-02-14T11:42:00.000-08:00

Wanna be my Valentine?

Car sick doggy

2009-02-13T15:03:00.000-08:00

So apparently we have a doggy who gets carsick. Not only does he get carsick, but he hyperventilates and fights us tooth and nail to even get IN the car. :( This makes me sad for our poor doggy because when he's in the car he just looks miserable and petrified. The only time he has to get in the car is when we go to the dog park and when he has to go to the vet. He loves the dog park and doesn't seem to mind the vet, so he must just hate riding in cars, not the RESULT of riding in the car. I've tried to bring a treat to give him when he gets in the car, but he won't eat them, and that's really saying something because this boy LOVES treats. He has thrown up on my car twice now, and he just looks soooooo sad afterwards. Poor thing. I'm going to do some research to try to figure out how to make the car not so bad for him because we're going to Clarksville on the 28th and it's about a 3.5 hour drive. The vet told us we could give him dramamine so we'll try that and see what happens. Let's hope he doesn't throw up in the car again..or worse. Yikes.

Potty Bell

2009-02-12T04:29:00.000-08:00

Hudson's potty bell embroidered with his name.

When Hudson came to us, he was not house trained because he had been a predominantly outside dog at his previous home. Well we changed that pretty fast! At the advice of someone on the weimaraner addicts forum, I got Hudson a potty bell to hang on the back door. Every time we take him out we show him the bells and ring them and I always say "Let's go potty!" in my really high voice. Well on 2.10.09 Hudson rang the potty bell all by himself to let us know he needed to go outside. Me and Will were sitting drinking our morning coffee and we heard the bells, we were so excited, he was standing by the door waiting for us!! He got lots of praise. He also did it this morning, AND he hasn't had an accident in the house for over a week, this dog is sooooo smart. :) Ok I'm a little bias, but still.....

Unplanned vet visit

2009-02-11T19:23:00.001-08:00

A few days ago I found a lump under Hudson's skin near where he received his shot for tapeworms, I didn't think anything of it since I know a small lump at he site of an injection is normal and usually goes away. Well over a time period of a few days this lump grew substantially in size and it seemed like every time I looked at him after not seeing him for a few hours, it had grown even bigger! We decided to go to the vet this afternoon since it was growing so fast. The vet eased our fear when he told us Hudson had developed a Seroma at the site of the injection. A seroma is a pocket of serous fluid (separated from the blood) caused by an insult to the skin of some sort, in his case the injection. They can also occur as a result of surgery. It will go away on it's own, we just have to watch for signs of infection. We were so relieved because of course I was thinking it was a tumor of some sort. On another happy note, Hudson now weighs 61.2 pounds, so he's gained just about 5 lbs which is a little less than 10% of his body weight. The vet was also impressed at how good his skin was looking. It's amazing how much me and Will have fallen in love with this boy in just 2.5 weeks.

Anatomy of a Weimy Yawn

2009-02-11T04:57:00.001-08:00

Teaching Hudson New tricks

2009-02-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

We are in the process of teaching Hudson some tricks. He came to us knowing how to sit VERY well, he always does it on command. We are now teaching him to shake hands and lay down. He is now shaking more than half the time, and he laid down 2 times in a row for me this evening. Every time he does it I squeal with delight. He must wonder what the heck is going on. I also think he is VERY close to ringing the potty bell. Tonight twice I found him standing by the back door when he needed to go out, it's only a matter of time before he's nudging that bell with his nose. Every time we take him out we ring his bell before opening the door, so he'll get it soon. Hudson has also been getting 1 tablespoon of olive oil a day in his food to help with his coat. The patchy areas are now starting to grow back, but the process is slow.

Hudson's first trip to the DOG PARK!!!

2009-02-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

We took Hudson to Shelby Farms dog park today. Let me start off by saying this dog park is AWESOME!! It's 13 acres with 3 ponds and plenty of beautiful scenery. We met with some other Weimaraners and their owners. There were probably about 8 or so other Weims there for Hudson to play with. Hudson did AMAZING!!! He was sooooo well behaved. He interacted well with both dogs and people. Hudson also went into the water!! I wasn't sure if he would do it, but we threw a stick in the water and he went after it! He really really enjoyed himself and we are going to start taking him to the park at least once a week, but I liked it so much we may go more than that. I loved the oppurtunity to talk with other owners and let Hudson have some fun.

My boy is getting FAT!

2009-02-05T19:33:00.001-08:00

Haha not really, but today for the first time I looked at him and could notice some meat on his bones! That makes me happy. Me and Huddy had a good day hanging out on the couch until Will got home, then we went for a nice walk, it was much warmer today! (45 degrees) So my boy's ears didn't get ice cold. Hudson also let me know twice today that he needed to go out and he's getting better about doing his business alone, without me or Will right beside him in the yard. That gets old when it's super cold out and/or raining. I attempted to take some pics of Hudson today, but he was very interested in what daddy was doing.

watching dad go into the house

My boy is lookin so good

He spotted a squirrel and REALLY wanted it.

LOVE this one

Goodies for Hudson

2009-02-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

I'm an ebay addict, and today I scored a dog car harness (we'll be traveling this month and Hudson is terrible about sitting still in the car, plus I'd like to keep him safe), a doggy coat (my boy gets cold in the sub-freezing temps!), a Wubba Kong toy, a Bad cuz toy, and a new kong with ziggies treats. I can't wait until they come! Also I was very excited today when Hudson whined by the back door to let me know he needed to go out, he went right out and peed! I noticed a foul odor coming from Hudson's mouth today :( Not just normal doggy breath, it smelled ROTten. I looked at his teeth and they just don't look right, they look broken and one has a dark spot in the middle, not sure if that's the root or not, but I'm having the vet look at it when we take him to get his ear rechecked.

Hudson's favorite toy

2009-02-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post about the best toy of all time. Well at least to my boy it is. LOL. I figured out early on that he LOVES tennis balls, but the first ones we got he flattened in about two seconds. Well I found some tennis balls at Petco that are made by the Kong company. They are larger then a regular tennis ball which is better for his big mouth AND they make an extremely irritating squeeky sound when you squeeze them. Bad for mommy's ears, but Hudson thinks he's died and gone to heaven. He gets that ball in his mouth and squeezes it with a big giddy goofy grin on his face. They also come two in a pack! Also so far he hasn't been able to put a hole in it. He loves this thing. (Mommy and Daddy like it too!)

*Also on a funny side note, on our walk today 3 tiny Chihuahuas came running out of a yard at Hudson. They wanted to play! The one that got closest to him was wagging it's tiny tail and being all cute. LOL. I think Hudson thought they were squirrels. :)

My Good Boy

2009-02-03T16:08:00.000-08:00

Every morning Will gets up with Hudson and he leaves before I do, so I put him in his house before I go to class. I leave at about 7:00 am and all I have to say is "Hudson get in your house" and he goes in the crate all by himself. Well this morning I walked into the front room where his crate is and he was already in it!! He is SUCH a good boy. He also is getting used to his daily walks. We go at right around 4-4:30 in the afternoon after Will gets off, well at about that time he stands by the front door waiting! He is so cute.

1 week with Hudson

2009-02-01T05:38:00.000-08:00

Our boy in his new bed.

Our boy has been with us for one week, and the progress we've seen with him is astounding. He is 95% potty trained and we got his bell for the back door yesterday. We are going to attempt to train him to make the bell ring when he needs to go out. More on that later. He has gained some weight and we can no longer see his ribs. He still needs to gain some more though. His skin condition is resolving as well and is no longer red and inflamed. His coat even looks better! It's becoming more shiny and smooth and soft. We're still treating the ear infection, but I can only imagine it's getting better. He also gets really happy when me or Will comes home and wags his cute little tail. His tail is wagging more each day. We're working on teaching him to shake and lay down, he has done shake about 5 times, but only does it when HE wants to. He always sits like a good boy though. We LOVE this dog and are so blessed to have him in our lives.

Romping with Daddy

2009-01-30T11:24:00.001-08:00

Will took Hudson out back yesterday evening to have some play time after his walk. He LOVES to chase tennis balls and play keep away with them, and he loves to shake toys back and forth really fast in his mouth. It's quite hilarious. My pics are a little bit grainy because it was getting dark out and I needed to push the ISO on the camera up to 1600 to be able to get the action shots. I just love my boy in these pics, doesn't it look like he's smiling?

Hudson's namesake

2009-01-30T04:28:00.000-08:00

Hudson was named for Tim Hudson from the Atlanta Braves by his previous owner. This name definitely fits him and I couldn't imagine him being called anything else. Especially not late for dinner..hahaha.....(Hudson says his mommy is NOT funny even though she wishes she was).

Hudson and his mommy

2009-01-30T04:22:00.000-08:00

This dog is SO laid back and sweet and lets me hold him like a baby. I love it and I think he's pretty fond of it too. He's such a people dog. Look for a post with pics of Hudson playing with his daddy later today.

Dreaming about the mailman?

2009-01-29T04:49:00.001-08:00

Hudson dreams just about every time he naps. How do I know? Because he breaths heavy, grumbles, and his body shakes like he's running. I wonder what he dreaming about, the mailman perhaps? Yesterday a mailman came to the door, and Hudson was by my side in seconds checking things out. The whole time I was signing for packages, my boy was by my side "woofing" under his breath and grumbling a little bit. He was daring that mailman to mess with his mommy! I couldn't help but be proud of him.

Hudson in the snow

2009-01-28T11:49:00.000-08:00

It snowed a little bit last night and I was anxious to see how Hudson would react. He sniffed around in it a little bit, did his business, took a few enthusiastic laps around the yard, and was ready to come back in. I think he was cold. Hudson needs a coat!

Mom, put the camera down and let me in!

Things we are learning about our boy.

2009-01-27T14:43:00.001-08:00

I'm happy to report (albeit a little grossed out) that we plucked a lifeless tapeworm off of our boy's bottom and he seems much more active and alert today. Also, I haven't seen him scratch all day. So we've learned a few things about our boy since he came home. Much to my delight, he can catch treats in the air, and he's rather good at it. I was so excited I squealed like a little girl. He also loves toys and will play keep away, chases tennis balls, and catch tennis balls. We got him a stuffed "pheasant" that makes a honking sound and he's having a ball taking it to his crate and squeaking it. On our daily walks, Hudson tries to chase squirrels and "tree" them. We can't let him off the leash to go in other people yards, so unfortunately all he can do at this point is perk his ears and try to chase them. Oh how I can't wait until it gets warm and we can do all kinds of fun outdoors things with him and let him actually chase squirrels.

No dogs better mess with MY mom and dad.

2009-01-26T19:57:00.000-08:00

Me and Will were just watching paranormal state, and all of a sudden Hudson, from a deep peaceful nap, jumps up and starts doing these cute little "half barks" as I like to call them. They sound like "woof-woof" with air coming out of his jowls. He was UNHAPPY because he had heard a dog barking on TV. It took us a couple of minutes to convince him there was no dog, but he was all ready to defend his turf. Good boy.

A visit to Mr. Vet

2009-01-26T17:48:00.000-08:00

Today is Hudson's 3rd day here, and he had his first visit to the vet today. He had some kind of hair loss going on on his back and tail area. We thought it may be allergy related. The vet says he thinks it is a flea allergy, and it's been itching him so bad, he's got "hotspots" all up and down his back. We will fix this by keeping him on a flea preventative year round, he also got a cortisone shot to help with the itchiness. It seems to be helping. Our boy is heartworm negative and got his heartworm preventative today, along with his flea preventative. He will get both once a month. Our boy also has a minor ear infection in one of his ears, most likely due to his weakened immune system caused by the allergies. He has a population of yeast and staph growing in his floppy ear that needs to move it on out! They don't belong in my boy's ear. We will fix them by using an anti-fungal/antibacterial combo ear cream. We will also keep his ears clean and dry to prevent future infections. Lastly, Hudson has tapeworms most likely caused by eating the fleas he had, we fixed them by giving him a shot to make them detach from his intestinal wall. Our boy weighs 56lbs and we want him to gain about 20 lbs. He should be there in no time. He did AMAZING at the vet, was polite to everyone and behaved like the gentleman he is. Our boy will be neutered next month, I haven't told him yet. :) We had a great day with our boy, after the vet visit he enjoyed an evening walk with mom and dad and he had NO accidents in the house and has been doing his business very well outside.

Hudson's first day

2009-01-26T17:32:00.001-08:00

Hudson was a mostly outside dog at his previous home. We wanted him to be an inside dog, so on his first day home, we began the process of converting him to living indoors. This includes taking him out every hour for potty breaks and crate training him. He didn't like the crate at first, but to the utter delight of his mommy, Hudson went into the crate ON HIS OWN on his very first day home. I had given him a rawhide, he happily took it and went into the crate. So he knows it's his "den". Hudson also took his first trip to Petco on his first day and made out with a lot of loot. He got some food, some oatmeal shampoo, some new dishes, some new toys, treats, a HUGE crate, and a new stylish leash and collar. He did so well in the store. He seems to be very relaxed around people of all ages AND other dogs. His mom and dad were also delighted that he simply ignores our 4 Siamese cats. They, on the other hand, did NOT ignore him. They are coming around fast though. The first night did not go super well. He cried in the crate and we gave in and let him out, and his mommy ended up sleeping on the couch.

The first time Hudson got in his crate on his own.

Snuggling up to daddy on his first day home.
We found Hudson's kitty sisters, Tessa and Hannah, is his crate.

Hudson the Hero

2009-01-26T17:08:00.000-08:00

I started this blog to chronicle our first dog, a beautiful 1 and a half year old Weimaraner named Hudson. He came home on January 24, 2009 and he is a hero. You see, Hudson belonged to a boy with terminal cancer named Tyler. He wanted a puppy and his wonderful parents got him Hudson, named for the Atlanta Braves baseball player. Sadly, Tyler passed away last July. It became painful for Tyler's parents to keep Hudson, a constant reminder of their beloved son. They decided it was best for them and Hudson to find him a new home. His new home is with us, his dad Will and his mom Stephanie. We have had him for 2 days and we already love him dearly. He is a gentle, compassionate dog with a wonderful, calming spirit. On his first day home, he was already on our couch curling up for long naps. This blog will serve as a place for me, his mommy to chronicle his life and milestones. Welcome.