Pat Cruser's Page

Hi Pat and Elly,
We are great. Cant believe our kids are nearly two. Bud weighs 42 pounds now and I am still working and we continue our obedience training. I have a 10 month old grandson and my other kids have a 12 week puppy and everytime he is with either of those groups, I feel so lucky to have him. He is a prince of a dog - we hit the jackpot with this litter. I have resorted to keeping him clipped shorter all the time now - he just got sooooo hot this summer was brutal, and, after about 2 inches the matting gets annoying for both of us and he will tolerate the brush, but clearly it is not fun for either of us! Good to hear from you, Sherry and Bud

Hey Pat,
Wow, if Elly keeps getting lighter she will look just like bud. I cannot believe how much she has changed in a year. I havent weighed bud in ages, I will have to do that. I clipped him really short in September and he is just starting to look like his old self again. He is a sweet kid - there are moments when I want to kill him - but frankly I am impressed at how well he listens and remembers his training considering I havent sharpened him up much in a while - and our new schedule is so crazy. He certainly is portable, I take him with me absolutely everywhere I can. My three older grandkids, ages 5, 5, and 3, love him and he is amazing with them. So kind. Josie just flops herself on top of him like he is a stuffed animal and he seems to soak it up. I take him to their soccer games and all the kids just love on him. I have never once seen him the slightest bit annoyed with them, and they drag him all over the house. He is even getting a little more tolerant of the brush! Being shorter really is easier on the whole brushing thing, so I imagine that's most of it. New baby Noah, number four, is great. Lauren had some distress getting him here and he ended up a last minute c-section, but they are now home. Bud will meet the new baby the week of Thanksgiving. I have given in some and let him sleep with me when Bob is away but dang, when he stretches out he is so long, and those long legs, and he sleeps like the dead. I find myself accommodating him too much, so then i throw him back in the kennel for a few nights before I give in again. I guess we are just pathetic bundles of maternal instincts, even for our dogs. Have a happy thanksgiving and happy birthday to elly.

Hey Pat and Ell,
Bud is doing well. He stayed with a dog sitter/friend at her home while we were gone. She has two dogs and he had a blast. So much so, made me wonder about coming home, but he cuddled right up. I just shaved him down close to get ready to let him grow long for the winter. He seems to love it, though looks like a skinny and feminine poodle - she took him shorter than I wanted!

He is also very tall, but only 37 pounds.

Have a fun fall, work is overwhelming me, but hanging in there!

Hey Pat,
I was just thinking about you this weekend. Had three of the grandkids for the whole weekend. I'm not sure who is more tired, me or Buddy :). My grandaughter is absolutely nuts for him and it amazes me what he will put up with. She snaps a leash on him and drags him all over the house and neighborhood. She's five and insisted that we put his kennel right next to her bed all weekend. He sleeps in a gigantic kennel because he is so tall, so when I heard them get up this morning, I went down the hall and found him in bed with her, under the covers, like that old scene from ET. It was a riot. He is knocked out.
Yep, I would say Bud is definitely getting his big dog hair. he is increasingly harder to brush and is matting like crazy. I cut several out this weekend, and think I need to cut him short again. I havent cut him since May and I think I'm paying for it with all that thick hair. He is the same color though, maybe a little more creamy. He is tall and about 40 pounds. He has not been especially rowdy, but he has this insane schedule now. We drive to Columbia MO on Monday mornings - about two hours. He goes to daycare during the day there and then we stay in my rental house. We come home usually Thurs or Friday and are at home then all weekend. Sometimes it changes, but that is how we are settling in. It is a crazy life and I wonder how to keep it all going, but the job is great and I am thankful for it as it pays well and will help us rebuild the trauma from the economy last fall to our 401K's.
I am loving this cool weather we are having this summer, and bud wants to be out all the time. Sometimes he gets to dirty he is like a grubby little kid and I have to bathe him, but he has been so incredibly resilient during all this chaos in my life - I am just amazed. Have a great week - cant believe you are back at work already, sheesh! Way to go.

Hugs to Elly,
Sherry and bud

Hi Pat,
No, Maple doesn't have any matting issues. And I don't even brush her very often. She got her fleece cut very short at age 8 months. Maybe that was just the right time with her adult coat coming in to avoid matting??? I don't know. Elly looks so sweet. I love her colouring! But it must have been a surprise to watch her lighten. Maple is still mostly chocolate but she does have quite a lot of white (kemp) in her back and on her tail. I am curious to see how she will look as she gets her curly curls back this fall.

by the way, I taught bud to fetch a long time ago. Try this - get a tennis ball or stick, we started with the stick. Throw it a short distance only and if she chases it and even puts her nose or mouth on it, praise and treat. Once she gets that you want her to chase it again, she will repeat. Then start to add come. Bud used to always drop the ball before he got to me, but he still got a treat. Eventually he kept bringing the ball/stick back, because he would want me to throw it again. He is not obsessed with fetch, but easily does it for 20 or more reps. Also, we used that to teach "give". This is helpful when he eats the grandkids little plastic army guys and such - which he seems to love :)

Hey pat,
Glad to hear you are a mobile! Buddy is definitely going through a phase, but I know it is exaggerated by extreme schedule changes on my part. I am back to work full time, and my work has me commuting and staying the night in a city about two hours from home. I just rented a small house with a fenced yard last week, but wont have furniture and stuff in in for several weeks, so cant take Buddy with me for a while. Eventually he will just come there with me every week (my husband travels), and will hopefully get used to it like some people have a vacation home. Until then, I found a young lady who has a small house nearby to sit for him. She is studying to be an elem school teacher and is really sweet. She has two dogs of her own and buddy goes over there and just plays like crazy. I worry that he will develop some bad habits from her dogs -like he is barking more - but hard to tell if it is from that or just his age? She takes great care of him and I know I cant have everything perfect, so I am making due. I noticed this weekend that he is less likely to let me leave his line of sight - so I suspect while he had fun there, it was a little stressful. I am rationalizing the whole thing in my mind by telling myself I am building confidence and resilience in him - I hope that becomes the case. He is about 39 pounds and a giant hair ball. Between the humidity, big boy hair, and lots of wrestling with other dogs, he seems like a poof ball. I brushed him yesterday and while I got out a wad of hair (I think this is stripping the puppy hair that gina told me about), he is not shedding and was not matting. I had the groomer shave his whole belly two weeks ago - you cant see it but it keeps him cooler when he lays on the floor. He does looove our morning runs which I try to take every other day when we are home - but when we have the extremen heat like this week, we cant. Even in the early morning it is too humid for both of us. Last Friday night when my husband came in the back door, he woofed a big , loud, deep adult dog bark and went to stand at the door. No real mean-ness, he is such a wuss at heart, but it cracked me up. As soon as he realized it was dad, he was a jumping fool. Speaking of which,, he is just a jumping fool in general. He goes crazy when my adult kids and grandkids come over and it is hard to hold him back - I wonder if that will eer change. Having said all that, I have started leaving him ungated in the house for brief periods. This past week we went all the way up to four hours and he was a champ. I know better than to push anymore and dont think I could do it every day, but when I know he is exercise, fed, pooped and tired, I can leave without him. I like to take him with me on errands and he loves to go go go in the car, but again with the heat, just cant do it right now.

Have you started the PT yet? You must be either limping still or walking with a cane or crutches? I feel for you, mobility is our most basic need isnt it. My daughter in law is six months pregnant in a high risk situation and she is going crazy sitting around the house. She is only 25 and used to being so busy, but hey, the effort is worth it. Hope you have a productive week, give Elly a hug for me and a sniff from Bud.

Hi Pat ,Hope all is well.Yes I couldnt believe how backwards cheech has went! From aperfect dog from apuppy,to this devil dog! In 1 week he chewed 4 pairs of shoes his new leather leach( my husbands fault) and just not listening at all,All the training seems like it all went out the door.Then last nite we were sitting in the kitchen and out of the blue he started chewing on the bottom of my cabinets that i just had refinished.I could not believe it,because i leave him alone in he kitchen when i go out,sometimes for 6 hours or so and he is always fine,now im afriad god nows what I will find.I read in the info that Gina sent.this is the worst age for them.Boy there right on the money. This to shall pass,God give me patients!!! By the way cheechs coat is coming in fine now I will put up some more pictures tonite when my daughterinlaw shows me how.Hope your not having as many problems as me.and that your feeling better! Stay in touch kathy

Bud is great. In fact, left him barricaded in my hearth/kitchen for the first time while I worked today from 11 to 6. No issues. Because I have been retired with him and my husband travels, he has become rather needy of attention and I am concerned about how he makes this adjustment. The new job is pretty intense and the hours not predictable, so I am trying to find a local dog walker who can stop by periodically if I cant be here. Always nervous about letting people in the house. I did take him on a run before I went to work and I think that helps enormously, I have never had a dog with so much energy - even my other retreivers - or who can play endlessly it seems for hours.

Elly is probably itching fo rmore activity. Sigh, wish we were closer, they would be spectacular together and we could both get what we need !

I have been brushing him every three days or so and it is so unpleasant, i dont do it any more often. He gets loads of treats and seems to give me that longing look like, jeeeeez quit pulling and hurry up.

Am listening to the president talk about health care reform. You are a nurse and my new job is working on strategic health care initiatives for the University of Missouri Academic Medical Center, it is hard to believe the political rhetoric at this point. Not sure anyone in washington will ever "get it".

Bud is systematically destroying all his favorite toys, plastic, stuffed, it doesnt matter. He gnaws on his bones too, but I am wondering what adult toys I can get him that he cant tear apart. Sheesh, off to petco this weekend. All the stuff he has is from when he was a baby, guess I shouldnt have expected it to last. Right now he is "peeling" the yellow fuzz off his tennis ball. Who knew that was possible?

Take care of that bum knee and be glad you arent one of your own patients and your prognosis is really good!

Sherry and bud