I know guys. It seems like we fell off the edge of the world, but I promise you we are all still here and well. These days I just don’t feel so creative, and I can never find a spare minute to post. Sunny is not any less important in our lives than he has ever been though. He has changed so much this last year as if he was growing up right along with Gwyn. I never believed people when they told me that one day he would calm down. When he was a puppy, I thought those days would never end, but here we sit and it has happened, and, yes, Sunny has become a lazy, fat dog. So for all of you puppy owners out there who are wondering if you can make it through this, I am here to tell you that, yes, you can and you will. They are so wild those first two years I think to make up for how lazy they are the rest of their lives. Don’t get me wrong Sunny still does his hucklebutt after he takes a poop outside, or just randomly out of nowhere he will seem to have gotten pricked in the butt and goes huckling around the room leaving destruction in his wake, but it is nothing like it used to be.
Most of the day he sleeps soundly in his crate and doesn't want to be disturbed. If you let him out and lock his crate he gets very upset and will sit at the door of it barking, so he can get back in his cozy bed and slumber. He has also started dreaming a lot lately and it is so strange and funny to witness. He will make all these muffled barking noises, and he almost sounds like a puppy that is crying, and then if you watch him all four of his feet will move as if he is running yet he is lying on his side asleep. You can see his eyeballs rolling back and forth under his eyelids as he sleeps and you know he is in doggie REM sleep. It's very cute to watch and sometimes we accidentally laugh too loud and he wakes up and gives us the goofiest look as if he has no idea where he is or where he had been in his sleep. Sunny is not allowed on the furniture except for special occasions, and let me tell you when he gets on the couch it's like he is in heaven. He goes right to sleep and is instantly dreaming . . . so sometimes we let him sleep up there just for our own entertainment so we can see him dream. I really wonder what dogs do dream about?
Sunny has had terrible allergies all year. He has always had allergies, but they have gotten worse with age. They use to only come at certain times of the year, but this year they have stayed all year and have gotten so bad at times that his whole nose was split open, his butt area was really red, and he had bumps all over his body. We finally decided to stop doing antibiotics, pull out the big guns, and get him allergy tested. It was expensive so we had waited to do it for some time, but he really needs it now. So, off to the vet he went where they took some fluid from one of his bumps and sent it off for testing. He is, of course, allergic to grass like we thought, but something we didn’t think about was that he is actually allergic to his food!
He is on a premium kibble and always has been so the idea of that being the cause never crossed my mind. You think if you pay big bucks for a quality diet then you wouldn’t worry about these things, but indeed he is allergic to most of the ingredients in his food. His main allergies are chicken, fish, eggs, and yeast. The good thing is they gave us a list of other kibbles he could eat, and we went with Nature's Recipe since they carry it in the stores here and he isn’t allergic to it.
So far we haven't seen too much improvement, but it's only been a couple weeks, and I am sure it will take a lot longer for everything to get out of his system. If this doesn't work then we will have to give him allergy shots, and we are really hoping we won’t have to do that. Sunny is our garbage disposal, so this will be harder on us than it will be on him. Gwyn constantly hurls food off her tray for Sunny, so now we actually have to pick up that food instead of using Sunny as the vacuum cleaner for it. He also has to stay crated when she eats because she loves to feed him, but keeping all food away from him will be impossible because she still eats some stuff when he is out, like crackers, and she likes to drop them or feed them to him. Plus, she will feed him through his crate anyways even if he isn’t out.
Speaking of the kid. Gwyn is going to be 2 in a couple of months, and I am sure most of you are like I am and cannot believe she is already this old. Time goes by so fast with a child, and we are so sad, but yet excited with each passing day. It's so fascinating to watch her grow, yet also bittersweet for those baby days to be coming to a close and the terrible twos will be here very soon.
Gwyn loves her dogbrother. He is her best friend. She calls him Sun or actually most of the time it's "Hi Sun" for "Hi Sunny". I guess it's too long for her to say his whole name yet? But it’s so cute to hear her say that. She loves to sit on him and bounce up and down and when he lies on the floor, she rolls over right next to him and puts her head right beside his.
We do have to watch him because, as you know, Bullies are not gentle and far from graceful and he will just plop his big Bull butt down anywhere, even on top of Gwyn. He steps on her feet and she throws a fit. He will also hucklebutt and run right into her soaring her a few feet into the air. Bullies seem to have no knowledge of how big they are. He just thinks he can do anything to her and it won’t hurt her. He is forever sticking his big nose in her face since they are the exact height and Gwyn hates that still. She loves to give him kisses, and she loves to hit him when she is angry.
Gwyn is also a big help to me because if Sunny goes somewhere he is not supposed to be like in the bedroom or in her toys she is right behind him yelling "OUT SUN" as loud as she can. I wonder whom she learned that from? Sunny listens to her, too, so he knows she is also to be respected like Mommy and Daddy.
Gwyn loves to put stickers all over him and she covers him up with her blanket when she thinks he is cold. He is completely tolerant of all of it. He never budges no matter how many times she sticks her finger in his eye or how far she sticks a crayon in his butt. She also likes to lift up his tail, point at his butt, and say "STINKY!" They are so hilarious together. It's just so nice to see them interact and to see that you really can have Bullies and kids together. I can’t wait to see her grow up with him. He will always be her very first dog and quite possibly will be the first loss she ever has to experience. All I know is the memories I have of Gwyn growing up with Sunny trailing behind her and licking her tears will always be ones that will bring a constant smile to my face. Some things really are priceless.
Merry Christmas to all of you and a big Bully hug to your babies! Don't forget to check out a few pics of Sunny under the tree!