A Young Wife's Tale » Henry

Snow – Wordless Wednesday

Young Wife — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 20:30:34 +0000

Taking Henry to the Vet

Young Wife — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 20:53:06 +0000

The last time we took Henry to the vet, I made David go with us. Henry has been so awful in the car that I won’t go anywhere with Henry unless David is there, too. Now that we have the kennel, I don’t have to leave Henry in the car while I’m grocery shopping.

I wish Cesar Milan could come work with us for a few days. It’s frustrating needing two people to take care of one dog in a car, but it’s better than having a wreck. I tried muzzling him in the car, but no matter how tight I made it, he could always get it off. We call him Henry Houdini.

Henry did great at the vet. He’s very good at ignoring other dogs when they bark at him. If there’s another friendly dog in the waiting room, he’ll lie at our feet and whine because we won’t let him play with the other dog.

This trip to the veterinarian was Henry’s second since we’ve been here in Jersey. At his first visit, we’d only been here a few weeks, and he’d already gained a few pounds. At his second visit, he’d gained even more. Our vet gave us a measuring cup, and we’ve had to monitor how much we’re feeding him. I also increased the distance of our walks. Now that it’s cold, it’s a lot harder to take those long walks. I’m a summer girl. I don’t like the cold.

Henry doesn’t mind the shots he gets at the vets, but he HATES having to get on the bed. This vet has a bed that starts on the floor and then raises (kind of like a dentist chair) so that the vet can comfortably examine big dogs. Henry was really freaked out by the bed moving. Our nice vet just got on the floor to examine him!

Why can’t David have a rheumatologist as nice as Henry’s vet?

Brother #3

Young Wife — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:29:37 +0000

Brother #3 is back in Dallas. We had a great time while he was here. We decided that Pat’s on 9th Street in Philly really is the “King of Steaks”. David had someone to play video games with, and we all got to try “water ice” which is kind of like a slush.

Henry didn’t do too well with Brother #3. He freaked out and barked at him at the oddest times. Right before we left for the airport, Henry went crazy when Brother #3 set his cereal bowl down. I don’t understand why Henry acted so badly. He didn’t have any issues with David’s father when he was here a few weeks ago.

Henry’s just lucky I have such a nice brother. Another brother might have killed him after the third incident.

WFMW – Keeping Henry (and the House) Safe While We’re Away

Young Wife — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:01:14 +0000

Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family.

Once upon a time, we lived in a castle in Texas. It had a big back yard for Henry to run and play in. When I had to leave the castle, Henry stayed in the back yard.

Then, Prince Charming said we were moving to New Jersey. It was not the magical land of Texas. Henry no longer had a back yard. When I had to leave the apartment, I tried leaving Henry in the bathroom. This was not a good solution. Henry was in distress every time we left him in the bathroom, and eventually, one dark night, he ripped up the carpet strip trying to get out.

Prince Charming bought a child gate. The walls of the apartment are uneven, so it only worked sometimes. And then one evil day, Henry chewed and yanked on the child gate. The child gate was broken.

Where had our wonderful dog gone? Would I ever be able to leave the house again?

My fairy godmother (My mother, actually.) had the solution.

When Henry was a puppy we bought a kennel, but he didn’t like it, and we really didn’t need it, so we gave it to one of my brothers for his dog. I was afraid Henry would hate the kennel, and maybe even chew it up, but so far he’s done great. Henry used to hide under the bushes in our backyard. The kennel is kind of like his cave.

Here are some tips that worked for me when we started kennel training Henry. Special thanks to our wonderful vet and Maegan for their excellent advice!

* Never use the kennel as punishment.

You don’t want your dog to be afraid of the kennel. You want him to obey you when you say, “Get in your kennel,” or as I say, “Kennel up!”

*Place treats and toys in the kennel.

Our vet even suggested we start putting Henry’s food bowl into the kennel. She said to be sure we move the food bowl out before we leave. Eating in the kennel helps dogs associate the kennel with good things.

*When you leave the house, turn on talk radio.

This was a tip from Maegan, and Henry seems to really like having the radio on. It makes sense. When we’re home with Henry there’s always noise. Talk radio is probably comforting to him.

*Start by letting him smell the kennel, and then gradually get him to lie down inside. Work your way up to the dog being inside for a few minutes.

David actually stuck the upper half of his body in the kennel to get Henry to lie down inside at first. I wish I’d gotten a picture of that. Then we put Henry in for five minutes while we were in the room talking with him. Going slow has kept him from barking and whining. It’s been so much easier than I thought it would be!

WFMW – Petsmart Doggie Day Camp

Young Wife — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:37:30 +0000

Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family.

The little girl inside me that got a cow for her third birthday cannot believe I’m writing this post. It seems so silly. Like I’m the kind of person who buys her dog outfits. Well, okay. I did buy him a costume one Halloween. And elf booties with jingle bells that he hated. But you know what I mean. Henry is not some sissy dog.

In Dallas, Henry got to play with my brothers’ Labradors every weekend. They kept him healthy and social. Here in New Jersey, we haven’t made friends with any other big dogs, yet. Transitioning from a house with a backyard to an apartment has been hard for us as pet owners. Some days I feel like Henry is chained to my body.

Last week we took Henry to Petsmart’s Doggie Day Camp one day while I had to run errands. His first session was $18. Several pet owners told me Henry would be exhausted afterwards. I have to say, he wasn’t any more tired than usual. However, he was happy, and I was able to run my errands without leaving him in the car, so I was happy, too!

Henry's Report Card

Yesterday we took him back to day camp while we had doctors appointments. He did even better the second time. The Petsmart employees separate the dogs into two rooms, one for big dogs and one for little dogs. There is a trainer with them at all times. If a dog misbehaves, they spray them with water. Midday there is a one hour break where they place all the dogs in separate kennels so they can take a nap. And of course, they take them outside to do their business.

I’d recommend day camp for a variety of situations. If you have an injury, and can’t play with your dog for awhile, day camp might be helpful. Or if you have a chronic illness and it flares. A lot of professionals drop their dogs off so they’re not cooped up in the house all day long. Doggie Day Camp works for me!

The Life of a Jersey Housewife

Young Wife — Fri, 14 May 2010 20:08:25 +0000

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God has provided us with renters for our house in Dallas! We’re so thankful! We are going back to Dallas in July for a vacation, and I can’t wait!

I’m worried that David isn’t taking care of himself. He’s working long hours trying get his department caught up. He’s not taking lunch breaks. He just eats lunch at his desk. I’m fairly certain he’s not getting up to stretch or walk around like he did at his old job. I know he feels a lot of pressure since the job is six months contract to hire, but they love him. He’s already helped out so much. And what good will it be to have a job in six months if he’s too sick to work?

Sigh. At least he likes his job and is making friends. I really miss our family and church. I joined a local Christian women’s group that isn’t affiliated with a specific church. I’ve met one of the ladies and she was very nice.

I wanted to take a class or two at the local community college this summer, but unfortunately they only offer classes that meet Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I’m not sure if this is common in other areas, but at the colleges I attended in Texas, classes met Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays or Tuesdays and Thursdays. With all the company we are eagerly expecting, not to mention the joys of finding all new doctors, I can’t go to class four days a week.

And of course, there’s the other problem: Henry. This dog is chained to my body.

Me and Henry

I love him. I just didn’t realize how much we relied on the backyard at our house in Texas. I would have said he was an inside dog, but he’s really not. When I go to the grocery store now that we live in an apartment, I can’t take my time. I have to rush back to the car because Henry’s in there. I leave the windows partly rolled down, but I still worry about it getting too hot.

When we lock him up in the bathroom while we go to church on Sundays, he will not eat or drink or play with his toys. He is in distress. We can’t leave him on our screened patio 1. Because if he saw a squirrel he could break through the netting and 2. He’d be exposed to the elements.

We’re looking into doggy day cares, but of course, that costs money.

This is the glamorous, fabulous life a Jersey housewife.

WFMW – Dog Behavior Correction

Young Wife — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:25:43 +0000

Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family. Click here to read more great tips.

Monday night, I drove to pick David up from work with our dog, Henry in the back seat. Henry has been very bad in the car lately, barking at everyone we pass. I’m sure it’s because of the stress of the move.

Henry the guard dog

There’s not a lot I can do when I’m driving to correct him. Once David was in the car, the barking continued. David was trying to calm him down, but it wasn’t working. Henry is a big dog, and his barking was so loud I could feel the vibrations.

I was upset. I’m sure my blood pressure was elevated. I turned into a grocery store parking lot, and I ran the car over a curb. Not a little bump, “Oops, the tire went over the curb!” No. The whole car. Scraping the bottom and everything.

When Henry was a puppy we used a behavior correction spray that we purchased from Petsmart. It was a spray with a bitter taste, and it worked very well. We actually only had to spray him twice. After that, Henry just saw the bottle or heard us shake it and he would behave.

So last night with me even more upset, David bought this.

We filled it with just plain old water. And Henry has been so good in the car! That’s it. Just spraying water in his face. No more worrying that I’m going to wreck the car. It works for me!

2nd Week in New Jersey

Young Wife — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:50:40 +0000

We survived our second week in New Jersey. Except we weren’t in New Jersey the whole time.

Monday when David came home from work, he said, “I put in a request to go to a training conference in Virginia. It’s Wednesday through Friday. They’ll never approve it on such short notice.”

Tuesday afternoon, David calls me and says, “Pack my bag. I’m leaving in three hours.”

Seeing as we live so close to such a rough part of town, and I don’t know a single person here in New Jersey, I didn’t feel comfortable staying by myself for three days.

I tried to fly home to Dallas. I learned that flying with a pet is very difficult. It cannot be done on short notice. Henry would have to have seen a vet within 10 days of flying, and it seems that most flights (and all of the flights available to me) don’t even accept carriers over 28 inches long. Henry needs a carrier between 42-48 inches long. So I couldn’t take him with me.

When we were sneaking Henry into the hotel, I had tried to board him at Petsmart. We then discovered that our vet in Dallas didn’t tell us that Henry was way overdue for a Bordatella shot. Petsmart suggested a vet that also boards dogs. I called them, and they said that Henry would need to get the Bordatella shot two weeks before being boarded. So I couldn’t board Henry here and fly home.

I ended up driving to Virginia with Henry. David left on such short notice that he was making his own travel arrangements anyway, so we were able to stay in a pet friendly hotel.

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have seen me complaining about a domestic disturbance our neighbors were having. It was neighbors at our hotel. This lady was screaming obscenities and kicking her husband (or perhaps boyfriend) out because she missed her hair appointment. This was happening while I was in the hotel by myself and David was at the conference. So much for staying in a safer place. After twenty minutes, the guy left.

Later that afternoon he came back and the screaming started again. I called the front desk to report the disturbance and was told, “Oh, room 207? That’s a nice lady. She’s just arguing with her husband. They won’t bother you. Oh, and I’m not going to charge you the pet fees. I didn’t see your dog. It’s okay.”

Wow. Basically, they just didn’t want me to call the cops. I would have, had the fighting next door not stopped while I was on the phone with the front desk. It made me so mad. I mean, what if that fight had escalated? It was pretty bad. The man could have come back with a weapon to kill that crazy lady. I was trying to be a responsible citizen.

Anyway, David loved his training. He was very happy the company sent him. I got a good bit of reading done in the hotel. Virginia was very pretty. The weather was great, and we went to Bull Run one night. David and I had a really nice time on the drive back. We got in a lot of talking, and we had our Garmin, so we weren’t stressing about getting lost.

David is very happy in his new job. We should be finished unpacking this week, barring any unforeseen trips.

David’s arthritis has remained remarkably stable, praise God. After the crazy week we had, he wasn’t up to visiting church this Sunday. We were so looking forward to worshiping with other believers and meeting new friends, but we’ll just have to wait until next week.

The only major concern I have right now about David is his diet. David can’t have gluten, and he’s had gluten at least twice now while eating lunch with co-workers. Many people have dietary restrictions. What’s the big deal in saying, “I can’t eat pizza. I’ll just order something else.”

As for me, the appliance I wear at night for my TMJ Disorder is not right. I need to see my specialist back in Dallas for an adjustment, but that’s probably not going to happen any time soon. I’ve had a lot more jaw pain this week, and even some headaches. My gums are bleeding every morning when I wake up. Maybe when we find a chiropractor, he’ll be able to help some.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!

Love,
A Young Wife

WFMW – Moving Tips

Young Wife — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:30:12 +0000

Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family. Click here to read more great advice!

Here’s a few moving and packing tips I’ve learned lately as we’ve made the move from Texas to New Jersey. Several of these came from my mother-in-law who is the expert mover. A long haul move is a lot harder than a move across town.

*Stand picture frames up vertically in boxes. Don’t lay them flat and stack them up.

*Research your options. Because of David’s chronic illness, Psoriatic Arthritis, it was not feasible for us to move ourselves. We got estimates from several different moving companies. We also looked at the cost of shipping our car vs. driving it up.

*David found 30 good boxes on Craigslist for $20. It worked very well for us. Since we moved two weeks after David accepted his job offer, we didn’t have time to ask friends to start saving boxes. Plus, you’re recycling.

*This is one box I recommend you go ahead and invest in. They’re about $10 a piece, but so worth it for crystal goblets or china tea cups.

*Keep your pet’s vaccination records with you. I made the mistake of boxing Henry’s file up and sending it with the movers. Most vets aren’t open on Sundays so they can’t fax you a copy. You may need to give copies of vaccination records to landlord or a place to board your pet. We did!

*Sell what you can. The more stuff you have, the more expensive the move will be. David sold a lot of old video games and consoles on ebay. I put my wedding dress on Craigslist. It helps finance the move, especially if you are paying for the relocation. I tried to ask myself, “Do I really want to pack this, pay to move it, and then unpack it in my new home?”

Now that we’re currently living out of a suitcase in a hotel while we wait for the movers to arrive and the apartment complex to get the heat working, I see how little we need to survive on. I should have gotten rid of so much more.

These tips worked for me. Hope they help you, too!

P.S. Check out my story featured on After the Alter!

Dumb Blonde

Young Wife — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:55:29 +0000

I’ve had my share of dumb blonde moments. Blame it on “chronic illness brain” or “arthritis fog”.

*I was unloading groceries one day, and I saw a man working outside two doors down. I waved and said, “Hey, there!” Since the two neighbors I know, and my parents, and my in-laws all work on their homes themselves, it just never occurred to me that it wasn’t my neighbor.

He was a contractor. He came over and gave me his business card. He was telling me something, probably what his area of expertise was (or that I really shouldn’t talk to strangers), but my dog, Henry, was going crazy and barking so loudly that I couldn’t hear a word the man was saying. I was afraid Henry was going to jump the gate and attack the man. That contractor probably thought we had the friendliest neighborhood.

Lesson Learned: Know your neighbors.

*Awhile back, I was wakeboarding with my family. My dad was driving the boat, I was riding shotgun and my brother was being pulled behind the boat in an inner tube. This particular tube isn’t a donut ring. It’s got a floor so you actually sit down in it. My dad likes to go really fast when he pulls my teenage brothers and take sharp turns to see if he can knock them out. They love it.

Well, Dad took a sharp, fast turn and the tube flipped upside down. The boat lurched backwards and Dad killed the motor.

“Whoa! I didn’t know the boat had brakes!” I exclaimed.

“It doesn’t,” said my father. “The tube filled with water when it flipped and acted as an anchor. We’re lucky the boat didn’t flip.”

Brother was laughing when he resurfaced, just in case you were worried.

Lesson Learned: Boats don’t have brakes and always wear a life jacket when you are on a boat. Also, I am glad I am my father’s daughter, not his son.

*Recently I was working at my part time job at the law firm. I was at the front desk and a solicitor came in and gave me his business card. He started giving me the whole sales pitch. He was talking quickly, people were walking by and the phones were ringing. I managed to catch a few words here and there, including “server” and “process”.

Being the geek that I am, I told him, “Ok, thanks, I’ll give Stephanie your business card.” Stephanie handles a lot of our computer issues. Since I’d heard those two key words, naturally I thought he was a computer guy. Nope. He was a “process server”. The guys that hands folks papers and says, “You’ve been served.”

Lesson Learned: I work for a law firm, I have no legal experience, and I need to watch more Law & Order.

*I’m in a book club with some very nice, Christian ladies. We’re reading “12 Extraordinary Women” by John MacArthur. The night we discussed the introduction and the first chapter, talking about all those wonderful Christian women’s virtues: grace, being a helpmeet, modesty, etc. I came home much later than I’d expected to. I burst in the front door, yelling at David, “I’m sorry I’m home so late! I’ve got to pee like a trucker!”

I looked up to see David putting his finger to his lips telling me to be quiet. He was playing XBox Live. With a headset. With a microphone. Oh, yeah. Just call me Mrs. Proverbs 31. And just FYI, I have no idea where I heard the phrase ‘pee like a trucker’.

Lesson Learned: Someone’s always listening, or pay attention to the lessons in your Christian women’s book club.

A Young Wife's Tale » Henry

Snow – Wordless Wednesday

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