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. 

New Years Day

Happy New Years! We took it easy last night- avoiding the all-out Armenian New Years parties that last pretty much until sunrise. Instead, we decided to celebrate the first day of 2017 by taking a short hike with Hazel and Muppet. Here are a few pictures I was able to take before my phone's battery decided it was just too cold out and died.

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.

This is why you should dog sit for us.

Back when Hazel was first delivered to us, there was a week long period when we had to be away from site, and no one could look after Hazel. Our awesome site mate Sasha took on the role and once a day made the long trudge from her apartment up the hill to our house to make sure our little puppy didn't starve to death. Sasha was the backup of the backup of the backup of the backup, and seriously if she hadn't been able to do this, Hazel would have died. So, we owe her. (Plus, we like hanging out with her anyway)

So, when the rest of the avocados that Sam brought back from his last trip to Yerevan ripened, we invited Sasha over for some Breakfast Burritos. Sam's an awesome cook, and so this, my friends, is why you should dog sit for us:

Walks with Muppet

Now that Muppet's healthy enough to play for hours at a time with Hazel, we've decided he's healthy enough to go on walks. It's not easy to teach a dog who's never been restrained before to politely walk on a leash- especially when he goes into fight-or-flight mode at the drop of a hat (or the appearance of another dog). But we're making slow and steady progress. When we get out of town, where there aren't cars, people, other dogs, etc to trip Muppet's fear-aggression responses, we get to see a whole different side of him- one that's relaxed and calm. I think that with work, we can get him to a place where he can always be like this.

My Dollar-Fifty Dog Beds

They don't sell dog beds in Sisian. And if they did, we couldn't afford them. What we can afford is 6 grain sacks and several rolls of trash bags. Sew the grain sacks into a case, fluff & crumple the trash bags into something resembling pillow stuffing, and viola! Dog beds for about a $1.50 each. 

Making A Gate

Now that we have the  dogs to manage, we're working on some home improvement projects. Namely: a gate to keep them off of the stairs and the front porch. We're hoping our landlady won't notice...

 or at least won't be upset. 

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. 

Muppet's getting Handsome

So, we've continued to trim away the mats and the dirty fur, and it turns out that under all that filth, Muppet's actually a pretty good looking dog. Come to think of it, Sam's not half bad looking either. :)

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. 

Muppet's First Haircut

Now that he's eating two square meals a day, the shaggy old boy is starting to show some renewed energy, and we're starting to slowly trip away the mats that he's got all over his body so we can see what's going on under all that fur. 

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. 

Sam Loves Muppet

Muppet doesn't really move from his spot against the wall in the garden. Unless we go out to see him, he just sleeps all day and all night. But when we do go out to see him, he's such a sweet dog. He's just really happy to have us sit next to him and pet his head. All we have to do is give him a kind word and his tail starts thumping away against the ground. And Sam loves it too. 

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. 

And... now we have two dogs.

So, two days ago, this dog showed up outside our front gate and wouldn't leave. He stayed there night and day. He wagged his tail at us when we left the house, and whined when we shut him outside the gate upon our return. I swear to God, this dog is the most persistent soul I've ever met. He put up with blistering heat during the day and stray dogs from across the street harassing him at night just to sit on our doorstep. 

Finally, we caved and let him in. He's so weak he can only take a few steps at a time, and his back legs look as if he has hip displasia or maybe he was hit by a car at one point in time...if he tries anything other than a slow and deliberate walk forward he falls over. He's old and weak, and will probably die this winter when the weather gets cold, but for now he'll have a full belly and a name: Muppet. 

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.