Dogs in Down

It's hard to work with the dogs when the weather's so cold out. We only allow them into the front hallway of the house, and space is a little tight in there. But we spent some time working on training them in basic obedience commands today. Here there demonstrating that, contrary to what you might guess upon meeting them, they *are* capable of laying down and not bothering any body at least 1 minute at a time. 

Autumn Walk

Sisian in autumn isn't as spectacular as Sisian in spring, but our dog walks outside of town are still pretty scenic. 

Dogs in Yerevan

This week, we have fall vacation at school, which- for Sam and me- means bringing the dogs to Yerevan to get spayed and neutered.

Getting the dogs to Yerevan was a little tricky, but managable. We had earlier found a taxi driver who's mini-SUV- type vehicle had back seats which folded down into the floor. Combining that maneuver with pushing the middle seats as far forward as they could go, made room in the back for Muppet's massive crate. Hazel's crate sat next to me in the middle seats, while Sam and our driver, Vahagn, sat up front. It meant that we had to rent out the entire taxi, but we were able to get both  dogs up to the city in just one trip. The dogs took the travel relatively well. They were most definitely car sick the entire time (and puked pretty regularly for the entire 5 hour journey), but otherwise were pretty chill, without any whining or barking. 

Once in Yerevan, we realized that the AirBnB we rented for the week was absolutely perfect for our purposes. It was secluded from the street with a small covered porch and sunken garden, perfect for keeping the dogs and their crates, it convenient to public transportation, and it was literally a 5 minute walk from the vet's office and a  2 minute walk from a small park. We couldn't have found a better place to stay with the  dogs for their surgeries if we had designed it from scratch. 

So, while we're here, we've been working on training the 'place' command. Today, I got both dogs to stay on their dog beds (which I made 2 days ago by cutting up the cheapest puffy blanket we could find in Sisian and sewing the cut ends up) while I sat and read my book. I think it's a good start to their training. 

Sam Walks Both Dogs At Once

Here's a little trick that's Sam's been working on: walking both dogs at once. They seem to be catching on pretty quick:

That Moment When

You know you're going to get dirty no matter what...

It's good to be home.

Puppy Playtime

Muppet continues to astound us with his recovery. We're absolutely thrilled with how well he and Hazel play together, though. It's doing her a world of good to play with another dog after all these months of only socializing with humans. 

Hazel & Muppet Finally Play Together

So, these photos are actually a few days old now, but this week we were finally able to let Hazel and Muppet play together. We gave Hazel her second set of vaccinations on the 25th, and that meant she could finally have contact with other dogs. We waited a day for her body to process the vaccines, and then finally let Muppet into the front yard with Hazel. 

I was a little reserved about this- Muppet has been steadily growing more and more active, but I wasn't sure how he'd respond to a puppy jumping up and trying to play with him non-stop. As it turns out, Muppet's as much of a puppy as Hazel is. Seriously. 2 weeks ago, I would have sworn that this dog was elderly and on death's doorstep, but today he was as playful as the 12 week old pup.

And they play so well together. They run and jump and chase each other, one minute one will be the chaser, and the next they'll be the chased. Muppet is very gentle with Hazel- he can fit her whole head inside his mouth, but she never squeals in pain or panic, he always knows when to back off and let her breathe a little. 

For Hazel's part, she's learning so much from playing with Muppet- he lets her know when she bites too hard or when he needs a break in a language she can understand, and I think that she's finally learning how to be a dog- at least a little bit. Honestly, Muppet is just about the best thing that could happen for Hazel. I'm so glad he chose to adopt us. 

Also, now that we're looking at him with a new set of eyes and seeing him as this young, energetic dog, we're going to have to start getting some tools to train him! And figure out vaccinations and getting him fixed! And getting him home (if he ever puts on the weight we think he might, he'll be enormous...) But all these problems are for another day. Today, we're just happy that our dogs are playing together. 

She loves The Slop

Today we discovered that Hazel loves to չփչփացնել ("chpchpatsnel" or, as best I can translate "to splish-splash") in mud puddles. God help us all. 

Dog Walks

We go on regular dog walks with Hazel in the mornings and evenings. This has actually been a great integration tool for us- we get stopped by our neighbors all the time on these walks to chat and catch up while the kids play with Hazel. This is especially true in the evenings when it seems like all of Sisian comes out into the streets to relax and socialize. We have to go pretty far outside of town to get some serious walking in. Still, its' a really nice feeling to be part of the neighborhood in this way- even if it did take our quirky American attitude towards dogs to get us there. 

We have a temporary Cat!

A PCV friend of ours is going on vacation and needed someone to watch her cat, Tigran, for a few weeks. She dropped him off today. She seems confident that he and Hazel will get a long... I hope so, for Tigran's sake: Hazel is a little terror when she wants to be...

Aaaand: Back in Yerevan

Really, all I want to do is relax and integrate back in Sisian, but we keep getting pulled away. this time, we had to get Hazel's first set of vaccinations, and the nearest small animal vet is in the capital. So, on our first 4th of July away from home, we traveled back to Yerevan and got our puppy her Puppy Passport. Only in Armenia will you find a yellow dog called "apricot" in color. 

Home At Last

Wow, it's felt like a long, long time I've been on the road. But I'm finally home, in pajamas, and- bonus- there's a puppy. That's actually turning out to be more work than rest, but she's super cute when she's asleep:

Little Monster

So, Hazel is a huge handful when she'sawake. But she's very cute and pleasant once you tire her out. And in general she's getting better and better as she gets more used to the house and everything.

Border to Border, Days 20 & 21: More Rest... Well, sort of.

So, remember how I told you we were going to have a puppy in mid-July? Well, turns out things change... Marcie is going home to go to her daughter's wedding this week (congratulations!), and although she had puppy sitting lined up, it fell through at the last minute and so Marcie dropped up Hazel with us on her way to the airport. So, now we have a dog. We're totally unprepared for her, and we have to finish Border to Border and then go to a week of Peace Corps training in Yerevan, so God only knows how we'll get her fed and everything during that time, but I guess we'll figure it out somehow...

Border to Border, Day 16: Back in Sisian

Okay- we're back in Sisian, and although I have no more photos to share with you, I do have some awesome news. As you might have guessed from our Goris post, Sam and I are going to be adopting a puppy named Hazel.

A PCV friend of ours, Marcie, found Hazel a few weeks ago, alone in the street. At that time, Hazel was about a week old, her eyes were still shut she was that young. Clearly, this little puppy had no hope of surviving on it's own, so Marcie took her home and has been bottle raising her ever since. When we stayed with Marcie in Goris we learned that Marcie's landlady (who lives right next door) doesn't allow dogs and that Marcie had been trying to find a new home for the puppy but so far had no luck. Since we had a house with a large fenced in yard, we agreed to take her.

So, around mid-July, we should have a puppy to play with! Hurray!

Border to Border, Days 14 & 15: Goris