Stella Is Adapting Very Well - Sadie Has Stopped Pouting

With each hour passing I see Stella's personality slowly emerging. Yesterday she was trotting at times on our daily walk. She also is wagging her tail more and also requesting a little more attention from me.

She is starting to nose her way in among the other hounds to get a nose or head rub. She is also working well with me leashing her to go in and out.

Let me explain why I have to use a leash to let her in and out and also why I have to put her on the tether in the back field. For those readers that do not know, I live about 85' up a hill from a US Highway that has heavy traffic. It is a main north south route in southwestern Indiana. For that reason alone I cannot put Stella in a position to fail by letting her walk without a leash. Maybe many months from now.

Now my other 3 hounds have been around long enough they do not need to be leashed to go out and will stay in the backyard. I always escort Sadie outside without a leash but Winston and Heidi will go out and come back in on their own without running off. Heidi will venture just to the edge for the front flowerbed but never any further. 

At times I have had a deer that has been hit on the highway and landed in the area of my driveway or yard or some other animal hit in the road ... my hounds will smell that immediately when they go outside but will stay "up here" while they sniff the air to try to recognize what it is they smell.

By that time I can control them by either getting them back inside or headed to the backyard. Never had a problem so far.

The tether idea happened when Sadie was a young puppy. I use to let her out running free first thing in the morning. She would following Winston around .. no problems ... until the neighbor bought some rabbits for his younger kids and kept them caged outside. One morning as I am making coffee to take on the drive to work, I hear this loud bloodhound baying and find Sadie standing on her back legs with her nose pressed to the rabbit cage at the neighbors house, way outside her boundary.

Needless to say that at 6:15am, the neighbor and owner of those rabbits, was not a happy camper.

I knew the typical cork screw anchor for dogs would not work with Sadie who was stronger than an ox. So I found an anchor that is driven 2' into the ground and is used for horses. This was pulled up only one time by a local farmer with his tractor scoop, he couldn't pull it out any other way after trying to pull it out of the ground himself.

Center Of The Photo

The climbing rope is cut to 50' for only one reason. If it were any longer, Sadie or now Stella, would wrap that around the tree limbs to the right of the field as their noses would lead them into the woods. I know this from experience. So basically it does give them room enough to roam the field and also brings them right to the corner of the house for me to unhook them, without me having to go out in the rain to do it. (lazy)

Needless to say, Stella doesn't mind being tethered. She is NOT left out there on her own or in a situation where you might think that I tie the hound up in back and leave her there. I'm always outside with her. I know eventually she will be able to walk free when I am outside with her, like all three of the other hounds do now ... but right now she has a lot of curiosity and smells a lot of new things she is not familiar with.

I think by the photos below you can see she does enjoy hanging out in the backyard but she is very aware of that noise from the highway 80 some feet down the hill.

Always Aware Of New Noises

She Seems Pretty Laidback

I'll go into the reasons I don't have a fence in a later post.

We are into Day 3 and I can say she is doing fantastic. She follows the routines of the other hounds ... who knows, maybe that is what all dogs do ... probably is. It's similar to this:

• After the first hound wakes up, they all wake up wanting to go outside around 6:15am
• Out long enough to pee, back inside for a milk bone type treat and Heidi gets her dog food
• During this time I load the coffee pot
• They head back to sleep and at times I do also
• When I get up to pour my 2nd cup of coffee they want to go back outside.
• This trip is for early morning exploration and inch to inch inspection of the field
• Also a perfect time for a photo shoot unless it's raining
• Basset hounds never go out in the rain but will stay under the house roof overhang
• Sadie doesn't care about weather ... rain, hail, sleet or snow ... she's in the field
• Back inside and all 4 (now) hounds find their spots and go to sleep
• We go outside at their request. Sometimes a million times in a day ... in and out.
• Heidi starts barking around 1:30pm if they have not been fed yet.
• All outside for more field inspections or in this case Winston lies in the sun and sleeps
• Back inside for more sleep
• Depending on the temperatures outside we do a late afternoon or early evening walk
• Heidi decides when she takes a walk or not, not much this past year with her skin issues
• Winston will stage a boycott at times by standing at the edge of the yard until I hook him to a leash ... other times a leash is required because his walking pace is just too damn slow.
• Leashed he still walks his slow pace with multiple stops to wait for him
• Back inside for more sleep since they feel the walk exhausted them.
• They sleep the rest of the night while I watch ballgames UNLESS they hear food or smell food

That is the basic day of the hounds. Some think all they do is sleep and are couch potatoes and in most cases that would be a very accurate assumption. This poster sums it up pretty well for both types of hounds.

Sadie is slowly breaking out of her pouting period. She was a little upset about the new bloodhound. I remember Bertha being the same way the day I brought Winston home as a 8 week old puppy. You can tell that Berth (1999-2008) was not happy but eventually became his best friend ... they were inseparable soon after.

Here is Bertha the day I brought 8 week old Winston home in 2004.

Not Thrilled About A New Puppy In 2004

Bertha & Winston

Bertha & Winston

Sadie has stopped sitting next to my desk chair temporarily. Until Sunday night she would spend all her time there sleeping while I was on the computer. She stares at lot at me with that sad bloodhound face and she wasn't hopping and jumping around with excitement anymore when we went out for walks or getting ready to eat. Of course her appetite for food has never faltered during the pouting period.

Yet, early last night she came in where I sit when I'm on the computer and slept right next to Stella. She also was back to being excited about going for the afternoon walk. I mean she has spent EVERY DAY for 7 years, jumping up and down at meal time and at walking time. So it was obvious she was a little upset.

Ed made a comment the other day that both hounds looked the saddest he had ever seen dogs, from the photo below. I think he was taking it as bloodhounds just look sad in their normal expression but looking at the photo I believe both were really sad at the time the photo was taken.

First Night

Sadie was definitely looking sad and protecting her prized bone because she is very concerned about losing her position as pack leader. Stella is looking sad because she just got moved from her home, confused, strange hounds around her, wondering where "her" boxer is. So yes they do look sad, the more I looked at that photo.

I'll try to get some photos of them in the back of the FJ. There is enough room for Winston, Sadie and Stella in the back to lay down and sleep, with Heidi in her normal shotgun position in the front passenger seat, guarding the food container. Both bloodhounds jumped in back of the FJ on Monday when I opened the back door.

THE PHOTO SHOOT COMEDY

Yesterday afternoon when I saw Heidi had decided to come outside, I thought I might try to get a photo of all of them at the same time.  LOL ... what a plan that was. First Heidi had no interest in any group photo and she walked in the opposite direction until Sadie and I tried to convince her to join the group.

Away From The Group

Sadie Suggesting She Should Join

Heidi Thinking May I Will

By the time she came over to the backyard where the other hounds were ... all 3 walked away!!!

"I'm Here .. Now What?"

It's Not That Bad

So I proceed to get the other three hounds back to the spot to take the photo ... then Stella walks away!!!

Where Is She Going???

Sure enough ... Stella comes back when I called her by her new name. I turned around and Heidi is in the carport walking towards the house!!!  Unbelievable

Stella Comes Back ... Then Heidi Leaves

Finally I get all 4 of them together ... just as I am about to take the photo ... Sadie starts to walk away until I call her name.

She Turns Around

I had almost all 4 of them facing the camera when the two basset hounds look away. Now Sadie is not interested, Winston is distracted and Heidi is thinking of bolting toward the house.

By the time the photo is taken, Stella is bored and tired of the photo shoot and starts yawning. Obviously none of them are really that excited and interested in the group photo.

I was able to get a rare photo of just the basset hounds, usually Sadie is wanting to join them.

"It's Too Hot We Want To Back Inside With The AC

Although it was said last night on the local tv station that September will be warmer than normal here in "the tropics" of southern Indiana, the hounds and I will be enjoying the air conditioning and watching College Football, which starts the season on Thursday night ... another one of my addictions will be satisfied.

I'll keep you posted on the Stella developments as well as more photos as the days move on.

"Dipstick" Has A New Name

A lot of people suggested changing her name. Even the past owner thought her name should be change and wondered if she would answer to a new name since she was 6 years old. I thought she could. I also thought it would take longer to come up with a new name that I liked and that she answered to.

Sometime yesterday afternoon I had a couple of names in mind, human names. Both of them were more comical than a good name. I didn't put in a lot of internet research on this. I always watched the hound, how they acted, how they looked before I would come up with a name.

I also have never named my hounds with names of relatives and I have had to pass a few times on names that would have been great for bassets or bloodhounds.

Sometime right before the daily walk yesterday afternoon, I asked her if she wanted to be called Stella. Dipstick looked up at me and wagged her tail (I'm serious) and I took that as a "yes". Later after the walk I was getting ready to take the photo below when she turned her head away from the camera .. it was the perfect time to try the new name.

I called out "Stella" and she turned to face the camera.

I know it's too soon to expect her to answer to that name all the time. Besides it's inbred in any bloodhound to ignore their owner anytime their name is called the first time. Even the basset hounds have been to the same school and they also ignore you ... like they cannot hear you ... yet from a deep dream state sleep both breeds can hear a package of food open up two rooms away and come running ... even opening a drawer or the refrigerator door.

So ... Stella is her new name.

It's only been close to 48 hours since I picked her up, but so far this bloodhound is too good to be true. There HAS to be something she does wrong! She might even be more laidback than Winston. Progress is being made though with the new arrangements. She is fitting into the new routines. She has finally eaten her first bowl of food and most of the time Sadie will allow her to drink water from "her" bowl.

Last night Sadie and I were playing some indoor fetch. She will always bring me a bone or a kong ball to toss. After a few trips she came back with the kong ball and dropped it in front of Stella. Then with her ears hanging down and face skin drooping, she held her head over Stella waiting for her to react and possibly play.

Stella did nothing more than her yoga move by lowering her chest and head to the floor, butt in the air and the kong ball between her  front paws ... then proceeded to lay down and chew the kong ball with Sadie standing over her waiting to get her ball back.

There wasn't any growling, no fighting ... Sadie laid down beside her and waited.

At the time my camera battery was being charged as well as my iPhone, so there was no way to get a photo of that. Until right now I didn't think to grab the small Nikon sitting on the shelf.

It is so tempting to let her go out the door with the other dogs without a leash. It's also temping to let her walk around free with me and the other hounds or walk in the field not tethered ... but after only two days I would hate to make that mistake and possibly end up with disastrous circumstances with her heading to the highway.

She will glance that direction when walking out to the backyard or back to the house. The sound of motorcycles seems to peak her interest as it did passing some on the freeway Sunday driving home.

She will wait for me at the door to attach the leash and she will wait for me at the edge of the yard for me to change to the tether that is anchored in the field. One interesting thing, bizarre really, for 7 years multiple times per day Sadie would be hyper, excited, bouncing up and down when we went outside or was getting ready to be fed. Now she is waiting while wagging her tail, for me to hook up Stella to go out and filling up the four food dishes to eat without the hyper activity.

Yesterday when we were walking back to the door, Stella stopped to smell the back bumper of the FJ. I'm sure she could smell her old friend she use to live with, the boxer. So I opened the back of the FJ and both bloodhounds jumped into the back at the same time. Then stood there looking at me wondering when we were leaving.

In the meantime Winston was whining to be picked up and put in the back while Heidi was barking to get in. By the time I could grab a camera, both bloodhounds had jumped out of the FJ and were at the door waiting to be let inside.

Heidi is still barking when it's time to be fed. I guess she will continue to be the food monitor.

Stella is approaching Sadie more often. Sadie is not running away from her like before and will spend time in the field walking near her. They are spending more time together inside the house. On the daily walk yesterday, they walked side by side with their noses to the ground. Stella was on the 25' retractable leash and Sadie was walking leash free.

Winston decided to boycott the walk yesterday until I came back to the yard and hooked a leash to his collar. He will do that at times and other times will cruise without any leash involved.  He likes the new bloodhound since he knows he can lay next to her and take a nap. Heidi doesn't mind her.

So things are going very well with Stella getting adjusted to her new environment and new routines. Speaking of Heidi ... last night or 48 hours after her 30 minute soak with warm water with Epsom Salts, her skin looked the best it has in a very long time. The photos show that redness was gone and all of her skin was the natural color.

Last week late at night her skin rash exploded with redness and inflammation. I thought it might have been the raw carrots I had given her. At the same time it was a high pollen day with yellow power on the black roof of my washed Mini Cooper. Plus my own sinuses were plugged up all night.

Last night with her skin really looking better than it had in a long time, I decided to give her a full size carrot that was cut down the center and pealed. That would tell me if she was allergic to carrots. I was hoping she wasn't because carrots are in her Earthborn grain free food and in many other foods that we have tried in the past.

I checked her skin at 1am and there was no skin rash explosion. It looks like pollen, as suspected, being a factor in her allergies as well as other airborne causes. This morning seems to be another high pollen day based on how my allergies have reacted so by this afternoon I may be able to find out more later this afternoon after looking at Heidi's skin. Her problem is she has so many skin folds that it's hard to heal. Although the tops of her paws don't have that problem.

From photos it does look like a yeast infection, caused by allergy problems, when those paws and legs are reddish and raw.

Winston on the hand is nonchalant about the outside world. Nothing bothers him, even new bloodhound. All he needs is the couch to sleep on, some food, some sunshine to lay in and me (the doorman) to let him in and out at his request.

This morning we took a trip outside, they like to go back outside within the hour of their very first trip that lately is between 6:15am - 6:45am. During this 2nd time, the sun is up and they can roam the field. Winston's latest new activity is eating the soft dirt in the yard that has been pushed up through the ground by moles. By the time I could get inside to grab the camera to record the evidence he had licked all the dirt off of his nose and had left the scene of the crime.

She Is Not Camera Shy

A Lot Of New Smells

Sadie Watching Stella's Every Move

Time To Go In

It is suppose to storm today so I will be able to see how Stella reacts to thunder .. which I am told is one of her issues. Of course where I live a lot of times those storms split and follow I-70 north of me and the Ohio River south of me and we end up with nothing more than overcast skies.

Usually in the afternoons or after the daily walk, Stella has claimed this spot in the house to be hers. She will also sleep there at night until I move all the hounds into the bedroom with the door shut. They are all good hounds where they could roam the house at night and sleep anywhere they want ... but I know for sure that Sadie and Winston like to get into things based on the times I have tested them running free at night.

This Is Her Spot

Still Hot After The Daily Walk

I had a suggestion yesterday to start four new blogs, written from each of the hounds perspective. That would be a lot of work and might even toss me off the edge into insanity. I am already being accused by some that I am insane for having two large hounds and a total of four, let alone speaking in 3rd hound language. Some friends have told me without hesitation that I am definitely crazy after this latest decision.

I reply to that "You have to be a little crazy to keep from going insane".

Another suggestion was to start a new blog with the title of "The Hounds of The Indiana Tropics". That's a nice idea but I remember last year when I started a new blog wanting to split this blog into hounds/rvs and retirement living on the other blog. It was too hard to maintain and took way too much time to write for multiple blogs plus editing the uploading the photos.

I might think about that second suggestion.  I do write on a private blot that I use as a personal journal, with no photos and not every day ... still just one blog takes a lot of time.

I almost forgot and didn't remember until I saw some of these photos. Since they look almost like twins and a new name came forward, I thought I'd swap out her pink John Deere collar for a red one like Sadie. That way I can confuse myself even more and will have to look at their tails to confirm whom I am talking to. Believe me it's already hard at time to tell the two apart.

I rummaged through my drawer of old dog collars, dog leashes, leash splitters ... all kinds of stuff after having hounds for 28 years ... and found a red collar in pretty good shape, same color as Sadie's. Based on the color of hair underneath trapped by the clip of the collar I found, it looks like this was Bertha's collar ... which was another red bloodhound before Sadie.

All comments are welcome. Anonymous has been turned off months ago due to all the spam.

All the hounds are sleeping currently but once they are awake, I plan on cleaning ears, cutting toenails and doing some brushing. I hope today Sadie decides I can cut her nails, otherwise I'll be calling the vet for an appointment to take her in to let the vet assistants cut them. She always cooperates with them.

My Love Of Hounds ... Wins

I know ...  Really I know.

Something just felt right about giving this bloodhound a new home, a request from her owner that was trying to re-home her for the hound's safety. I went back and forth for a couple of weeks. I even canceled the trip to pick her up once. Still it felt like the right thing to do. There was excitement the night before I was to leave and I am thrilled with my decision this morning as I type this.

I thought long and hard about the consequences of adding a bloodhound to the house. Would she be big and obnoxious with Sadie? Would two bloodhounds turn this house into a romping playground? Or would she be mellow like Sadie. Was she destructive? Plus what would happen to my traveling plans? Traveling with 4 hounds would not be easy to do, although I know of one person that does with additional cats.

It might even be impossible to do with one person and four hounds ... but I found out my love of hounds made other decisions not a priority.

To be honest, as long as Heidi is going through her skin rash issues ... I have no plans to travel. She is improving based on where hair is growing back. The vet said last February to never expect hair to grow again on her rear shoulder ... but it continues to grow. I am seeing a weekly bath is giving her relief and making her feel better ... it would be hard to find a tub for her bathe in while camping in the middle of nowhere, unless I would rent a motel room once per week.

I plan to travel to a vet in Illinois a couple of hours away that specializes in dog dermatology.

She felt better Saturday night after her weekly bath, only this time she was soaking in Epsom Salts. By Sunday night those bright red spots had calmed down and all of her sore looking skin was soft to the touch.  Still comparing to last weeks post bath photos, there was little change ... except she looks like she is starting to gain weight.

She did okay on the trip in June but came back with her skin going downhill and a little problem with her stools. I just feel it's best for her to stay at home in a normal routine. With that in mind, adopting this bloodhound was a 'no brainer'. This picture is from her owner that use to dress her up when taking her into work on "casual" Friday. I mean how could anyone resist a face like this?

From the ad she had some separation anxiety and was afraid of thunder. She also has the ability of opening doors as long as they have a lever handle. I have only one door like that going outside, but it's locked when we are not using it. She has nudged that door lever with her nose and even nudged the bedroom door handle but found it out was round. She doesn't bolt if she sees the door is opening but is still leashed at this time whenever we are going outside.

The owner hated giving her up. She had plenty of land, living in the beautiful horse country of Kentucky. She had to be crated when she was at work. Photos showed that some how this bloodhound got the bottom of those big black wire crates you are familiar with, open ... then pried herself out of the crate. She then opened the door to inside the house, which let the 2 year old boxer out of the house into the garage. The bloodhound then opened the door to go outside. They were off for a day of fun and excitement. No one was home.

So when the owner came home after work a little after 5pm, the dogs she thought were locked in her house were near the highway before turning into her house. The highway is a country highway and not as busy as the US highway I live on ... but any road can kill a loose dog. She was wanting to find a home for her possibly with someone that had or knew about the bloodhound breed. Only bloodhound owners can understand what she is talking about.

She also suggested it might help if the new owner would be working at home or home all day, so crating would not be a requirement. There had to be something else ... but after almost 24 hours I haven't seen it. There is still a chance for her bad side to come out, but she sure seems like a good bloodhound just like the ad stated.

She was great traveling the 4 hour drive home. Half of it was freeway, driving through a city and across a large bridge over water ... but nothing bothered her. I did catch her in the mirror trying to nudge the rear window open with her nose ... that would have been impossible to open since only using a key from the outside does the trick. She stopped at the word "no".

The interesting thing was, with all the room in the back of the Toyota FJ and blankets strewn about ... at times she liked to climb into the passenger see up front. She made numerous trips back and forth. She loved looking out the windows and one time propping her one foot up on the dashboard. So that Toyota I cleaned last week now has a fresh supply of bloodhound drool in different sniffing spots. By the time we were inside the stateline of Indiana, she slept in the back. It's great to have a 4th hound added to the herd.

When I got home, just me and the new bloodhound roamed the field, letting her sniff away on a 20' lead. I then brought out Winston, Sadie and Heidi to meet her. Since I had her on a leash, I didn't have the camera for the welcome home party. The basset's loved her from the start, wagging their tails and getting low, if that's possible for them, to show her they wanted to play. My big 100lb baby Sadie hid behind me, not sure who that was or what she was doing here. They finally touched noses last night so Sadie is coming to terms with a new bloodhound in the house.

Winston was close behind tracking her trip through the field for the first time.

That tether pictured below is attached to a livestock anchor in the ground. The last time it was pulled up, a tractor scoop had to be used, so it's not going anywhere.

Hard To Tell Apart

Later Sunday afternoon to avoid the temps, Winston Sadie and I took her on the afternoon walk. She is what they call a "tracker" because her nose instantly went to the ground and she followed the path we take with occasional trips 20' away to lock into a different smells.

These next two photos show like any bloodhound, she is curious.

She then came back and did what all the hounds normally do, picked a spot on the floor and went to sleep. She tried one spot but Heidi let her know by barking that spot was taken. So the new hound moved to a spot that has never been used since I have lived here 18 years. She napped there last night and this morning. Winston decided to see if she minded being a pillow and plopped his 62lbs right next to her as close as possible for an afternoon nap. The new bloodhound didn't move and slept as long as he did.

Seems To Be Her Declared Sleeping Spot

It was a good first night and all the hounds were mellow. She frowned when she heard the camera beep when the auto focus locked in. For some reason the photos make her look the same size as Sadie but she is definitely smaller in bulk than Sadie is. She is the same height and a year younger. She is the one in front. Of course Sadie is protecting her favorite bone.

I was hoping the sleeping arrangement was as the owner had told me .. the bedroom floor. That proved to be true, as she slept through the night without any whining. She is smaller than Sadie but has a longer tongue. She is as laidback as Winston is, which is hard to believe. She has not barked nor howled yet, doesn't pull on the leash or lead, loves to sniff the field in back along with all of the house and not showing any instincts of being a runner.

The highway noise is new to her so that makes her curious, but she will never be in the front yard even leashed. I have a feeling that moving to a house with a little less "energy" will help her. Before she roomed with a 15 year old chihuahua that did what all do ... barked a lot. Her partner in crime was a nice black and white boxer that was well mannered, around 2-3 years old but had that boxer energy. So the new bloodhound might enjoy a quieter house with 3 hounds that have a lot less energy.

I am sure not spending days in a crate will help her. It did help Sadie. When Sadie or Winston were puppies and I had a job to do I had no choice but to crate all them all day during their younger years. I remember how much better Sadie acted when she didn't have to spend all day in her crate. I have a feeling it will be the same with the new hound.

So there will be more photos posted as usual. A new hound will be added to the Hounds page along with her photo on the right sidebar.

Her name??  It will have to be changed and I hope to have the name reveal itself this week. Her name is Dipstick!!  There are a couple of stories behind that name. As a puppy the bottom half of her tail was all black but she was a red bloodhound. Now her tail is a black and tan on the bottom half ... she must have had a black and tan parent.

About the time the owner I got her from was going to change her name ... she got loose in the garage one day while they were at work and her tail found some engine oil. Later when everyone was home, she was spreading oil on the walls with her tail ... so the name stuck.

I've always had human names for my hounds so we will see what turns up.

She turned 6 on August 9. No history of health issues, beautiful coat and very very quiet. She is a great bloodhound, still I am aware that "something" could happen later on. I can tell she is really smart just like Sadie. The training to stay with the other hounds in the bedroom while I am gone will start later this week. Right now I just want her to roam the house and field and get use to all the new smells.

Well ... Winston is letting me know that he wants to go out ... so they all will go out.

I couldn't resist adopting this great hound. This blog has been moving for a while toward a retirement life with hounds instead of rv traveling like other blogs ... my love of hounds is just hard to resist at times.

Car Washing Day

This past few days I've been staying up after letting the hounds outside for their first time of the day. That is usually between 6:15-7:00 am. This morning was cool with a light fog and the high temps today were not going to get out of the 70's. That will soon change with the local weather predicting normal August weather to return this weekend with the temps coming back to the high 80's and of course possibly some rain since I washed both vehicles today.

If I need rain ... I just have to wash a car.

Since I missed doing it yesterday, I wanted to get both vehicles washed and vacuumed today. They now both look clean enough to put up for sale. That won't happen, I like both vehicles and they are breaking records for time of possession. For example last year I only had the Kia Sorrento for 4 months before selling it. I was never planning on keeping the car when I traded the H3 Hummer in but that is a long story that I'll not get into. It is an interesting story though.

The Mini Cooper S is pretty easy to clean because the hounds never ride in it. It is rare that it is driven in bad weather unless a storm blows in unexpectedly while I am out driving it somewhere. The Toyota FJ was a different story.

The FJ had all the dirt, dog hair, dog nose candy on the inside of the windows, dropped cup of coffee by me and one large DQ Blizzard that melted before I could get home, only 3 miles away. So I knew from the beginning the FJ would take a little longer. My side mirrors and the front of the FJ had a ton of bugs covering each of them. All of these things were from the trip in June we took to Colorado and Utah, except the ice cream which dripped into and down the side of the console.

I was going to just leave the FJ as it was since it would be our traveling vehicle and it will get messed up again. Yet, there is just something I like about a clean vehicle. The Toyota paint job is great quality and really shined up after the wash, no waxing was involved. There are a few dog hairs still attached to the seats or the material in between them but it's not bad since there are just a few of them.

The coffee and ice cream all came off easy as did the dog nose candy from the windows and dash. It's amazing the places you find dried bloodhound drool after a week of traveling. The rear cargo area mat and the two front floor mats were taken out, scrubbed and hosed off. Of course I had to have my two on site inspectors look at them, sniff them and walk on them, just to make sure I had cleaned them up to their standards. There was no advance notice they were going to do this.

After that, there wasn't much more I wanted to do. Heidi has been having an 'off' day today, so she had slept most of the day. The other two hounds gave me the look that they wanted to get back inside for their daily siesta. They were fast asleep within minutes of getting inside the house.

The Look To Go Inside

Life's Rough

Excuse Me? ... A Photo While I'm Trying to Sleep????

I mentioned above I've been staying up this week after letting the hounds outside to start the day. One reason is I've been getting a full night of solid sleep. A minor change to my nightly routine has made all the difference in the world.

What changed? No matter what time I go to bed, it's usually after midnight ... I'll turn off the computer. Instead of heading to bed and then tossing and turning trying to get to sleep, I've been reading a book that I pulled off my shelf. It's called Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz. This is a scientific view of the dog species and will hopefully give me a new perspective on what my hounds really see, smell and know. I'll keep you posted on any information that is different than what most dog owners think is happening.

By reading that book late at night, it makes me sleepy, thus a good night of sleep. I had been reading books during the day and that also led to taking siestas.

Although I kind of fell off the diet wagon last Monday with the trip to 5Guys Burgers, I am still losing weight, losing fat and still not having any acid reflux issues like I did last spring. I do all my measurements the 1st of each month. I did glance at my weight today out of curiosity and I've lost 20 pounds since May 1.

I hope to lose a lot more than that but I am right on schedule.

A little side note about blog traffic during the 5 days of writing about my weed pulling project. I find it interesting that two different sites show my traffic was almost double those 5 days compared to normal posting like tonight and this past week. The subject for that 100% increase in traffic was WEEDS!!!!

I'm not sure how to take that ... I am laughing as I type this last sentence.