My first weekend at the Cabin

Hello everyone, its Tinker. I've decided to run the blog by myself now. Mom and Dad are pretty slow and as a result, i have a few posts that i need to take care of soon!

Let me tell you i had a great weekend in the middle of no where! lots of grass and sleep and walks and food!! we were outside ALL day! it was great! and lots of people to cuddle with me and pet me, it was the life! Dad says its the little town of Hartletown in Mifflinburg County, wherever the heck that is!

Me, Mum, and Alicia on a walk to the creek. I'm leading the way as usual!

i didn't like the water very much at the creek,
but can you see that beautiful shine on my coat?!?!

I made my rounds snuggling with lots of people!
This is me with Lisa

And me with my Grandma Rowe

And me with Anita relaxing of course! I also napped with Nana, Alicia and Liz, although my photographers let me down as there is no proof!

And me with Maddie and Lucy, the other dogs that were there this weekend. We got along ok, but i still prefer my people!

The beginning of a LONG walk that we took, but mom and dad both say that i was a trooper and did a great job!! up and down hills over rocks, moss and sticks! it was super exciting! I came back and curled up next to the camp fire for the rest of the night!

mum and I couldn't miss the photo-op to sit on the 4-wheeler!

It got kinda warm out so we hung out inside the trailer for a lil bit. I had a nice time relaxing with the kids while mum and dad played cribbage.

I made some friends!! if you look at the end of the stick there's a toad friend!

We think it's a dung beetle. apparently they only live in africa but this lil guy looks like a beetle rolling a piece of well, dung. so that makes it a dung beetle. Well, he WAS a dung beetle until i stepped on him!

Life at the cabin, isn't it great?!?! sleeping is what i do best! I got to sleep as much as i wanted to in the grass, in the sun, in the shade, with some friends! sigh, what a great weekend!

A little guitar...

Nick and I actually played guitar and sang tonight : ) it was a lot of fun and relaxing and what i needed tonight. At one point, nick was playing and singing and I was laying down patting Tinker and the song or his voice or something reminded me of one night in early january that we found out that we might not get Tinker. I cried and cried and cried that night over a little dog that I had never met, but had fallen head over heels for. Nick played a song that night that matched my mood so perfectly and was actually the catalyst for my tears. Part of me felt so silly or like i was over reacting, but it was so real. But tonight, she was laying here with us as we were playing. She is here, a part of our family, part of the music of our life. She has interwoven herself so completely into our lives in the mere 4 months that we have known her, but she fits so perfectly. Nick and I can not imagine life without her happy little butt wiggle and kisses and "please give me a belly rub now" looks! She may have fit in with an older couple or woman, but let's face it, she has a lot more fun here and we do too!

Just some past thoughts and feelings...thought I'd share.

Another vet check

Tink and I headed off to the vet today just to have her skin looked at. Her coat is beautiful (and the vet even said so himself!) but her skin has been so flaky and i wanted to make sure it wasn't mites or her thyroid or anything else. He gave her a clean bill of health, approved of her food and diet and said the only thing he would change is to bathe her with a nice oatmeal shampoo to help her skin. He seems to thin that her skin is rejuvenating itself and getting rid of the old and coming in with the new! So that was a relief : ) she was actually a little nervous. My mom has said this with other things and i agree, its like she's more comfortable with me and nick and she shows emotions now. No more mr tough (or miss nice) guy. I mean, she wasn't a wuss or anything, she just let me know that there are other places she'd rather be

And speaking of good coat, the hair on her ears is growing back! I'll have to post a close up shot of the baby hair thats growing in. Makes me so happy!!! Anyways, that's the latest! She loves riding in the car and puts her little front paws on the seat to say "i'm ready, let's go!"

and now its snuggle time before bed time!

Brace yourself for this...

No, not this one, just thought it was really cute

No, not this one either, although Tinker was a saint with little Isaiah last night...








Yes, these pictures are not altered in any way. Tinker is sleeping on her bed in her crate willingly!!!! She needed a soft place and there she went! Proof, that the crate isn't oh so terrible as she likes me to think it is!! oh happy days!!!

Tinker loves it outside!

I get the biggest kick out of Tinker loving the outside. She runs and runs and runs... and then plops herself down in the grass mid run or walk or whatever! She and Nick play a game where she runs around and then stops. He waits and then says "GO!" and she takes off...she stops.... he shouts "GO!" and off she goes again! We've been working on come outside on a leash too making it fun and into a game and a big belly rub. She loves playing outside and laying down, but forget relaxing yourself. if you're not rubbing her belling while she's laying in the grass she lets you know! she picks up her head and says "hey! you forgot a place!" hehe ; )

Right now she's enjoying a yummy marrow bone. I a lot of short days this week where i was able to get work done at home which meant she wasn't in her crate as long! So its been a good week for her

AND! last night another storm.. not a big one, but enough. She slept through the first part... then shook and shivered a little, but then she settled back down to snoring while i rubbed her belly. I swear, a belly rub can solve just about any ailment for this little girl.

Just wanted to drop a line and let the world know that Tinker is doing great and enjoying the sunshine!

A fun weekend!

Well, we had a great time with our life group this weekend complete with a movie night and picnic! Tinker enjoyed it too! As usual, she was along for the weekend! We also had a few nice extra long walks and snuggle time too!

but now for more important things, PICTURES!

Tinker, the life of the picnic

Our picnic fun!


Nick, taking pictures with Tinker, by himself!

Awwwwe!

And I love this one! I couldn't resist!

it's been a long time...

...since we've posted!!!

But Tinker continues to be a happy & healthy little girl. We're slowly switching her food over to Eagle pack the fish variety and i think that will make a big difference in her skin, coat, and stools. And she no longer eats a full 1/2 cup twice a day...our theory is that because she is more relaxed and not as stressed out being in her crate or in a kennel or what not, that she's not burning as many calories and such and therefore is down to just a little over 1/3 a cup and we're watching her closely!!! ; )

Tinker has discovered a love for the out doors and laying in the grass. She doesn't even hesitate to plop down and take a break in the cool shade in the grass... let's just say its down right adorable.

We're also teaching Tinker some basic obedience. She has mastered sit & down and we're working on stay & come. She had taken to walking the opposite direction of us in the morning when she wanted to sleep more, so we decided "come" was a must! It's so cute to watch her sit & stay waiting for us to tell her "come Tinker come!" She's a smartie!

We're going on a picnic today with our lifegroup, so we'll post pictures of tinker and the adventure! Have a great weekend!

Tinker and the Bethany Reunion!

Tink had a busy weekend! Here is a group of us bethany interns at the reunion yesterday afternoon! It was a lot of fun and great to see everyone again. It was also wonderful for everyone to meet Tink!

Gretchen, Tink, and Vicki-- keeping the good energy flowing!

I couldn't resist putting this picture in! I love everyone's expressions!
Nick, Melissa, Matt, & Gretchen

Tink appeared to have a great time snacking and playing! And we had a great time socializing! Thanks to the BCH crew for putting all the anniversary gatherings together!

Back to the routine

So we finished off a 4 day week again... I find myself wandering longer and longer on my evening walks with Tinker. The weather's been so beautiful and Nick has been doing HW like its his only job so Tink and I wander... its nice spending 45 minutes or so walking and enjoying the scenery and Creation.

However, Tinker has a strong aversion to lawn mowers and anything loud that sounds like its coming towards her (I don't blame her). So we've been spending time "watching" the scary sounds. When she's really freaked I pick her up and talk to her, then i put her back down and continue to talk to her and then we walk away. If she freaks out we stand there and I pet her and continue talking comforting words. She's hangin in there.

My favorite part of the day is when i come home and she's all excited. We head out so she can run around. And she does! She runs and plays. I don't know what was up with her today, but she would stand at attention and listen and then turn around and run real quick like something was play-chasing her. She did this repeatedly. It was really cute! She also likes to "watch" people and things. She watched a boy and his father playing catch. She would hear the catch or the ball roll and follow it until it was caught again. Its so funny to watch her. I especially like it when she cocks her head to the side back and forth as she is intently listening. What a sweetie.

We're working on teaching Tinker the "down" command... its hard to teach when she can't see! but she's getting it! She sits like a pro now and does it whenever she wants food. hehe, she's not quite a beggar yet.... (and she's polite!)

She now walks all around the house (and unde the table and chairs) with little problem... hehe now we have to figure out where she is cause she likes to explore!!! Not a single day goes by without being so thankful that we are part of this little girls life.

Reflections on our trip to Massachusetts

Well, i know that we already posted about MA but there was so many good things that happened, it deserves another look. Nick and I learned so much more about our darling little girl this weekend. I had prayed and hoped that after she realized that she had a loving family, that her aggressive behavior would subside. And after she snapped at Maddie twice i thought that was out of the picture. But this weekend, man, she was tolerating (and even enjoying) the other dogs company. She also learned to let the other dogs know they were too close without snapping, her body language was very clear a few times and they complied.

She was so relaxed this weekend. You know how I know? hehe, she gained weight eating the same amount of food she always eats!! She wasn't nervous or pacing in the crate.... she also sacked out in the grass while the other dogs zoomed around her. Jetta even used her as a jump a few times! She enjoyed roaming without a leash in a fenced in yard. She was content to socialize with every other person in the house which left us free to enjoy our time off! (i also loved that after socializing she actively sought me out for some snuggle time.)

We're almost afraid that she is going to be lonely without the other dogs! It was so cute to see her jumping (not frantically) in the crate and give 2 happy barks (not angry or anxious) when we came home. Sigh... my family loved her so much and finally got to see her little personality shine through.

We took a final walk with the 2 horses and 3 out of the 4 dogs this morning before we left... It was so neat to see each one of them enjoying nature and each others company. Tinker got excited when i put her leash and collar on her. It was so cute! So many milestones this weekend and so many snuggly moments. Sigh...and now she is sleeping in her own bed in her own home, happy as can be.

Easter Part 2: Tinker visits MA

So bright and early thursday morning, Nick, Tinker, and I began our journey to visit my family in MA. We had sufficiently warned and planned for the chaos of their 3 dogs and our Lil Tink. Tink had more luggage than we did with her food and beds and such, but off we went. (this is going to be a LOOONNNGG post, so enjoy!!!)
We thought we were going to need to keep Tink totally isolated from the other 3, Aby (Boston Terrier), Stretch (Long haired Daschound) and Jetta (Sharpei-Whippet Cross). We kept them away initially, then went to brief hellos , and slowly introduced everyone. Before we knew it, Tink was walking around with the rest of them, drinking out of the community water bowl, eating meals, and sleeping along side the rest of the gang. One of the secrets we learned was no face to face contact. Tink snaps when she feels threatened, but now face to face (in limited quantities) is ok and I don't frantically pick her up. We think that Tinker liked the fact that we were protecting her at first. She is such a different dog now and seems so much more confident in herself. Actually she appears to have taking a liking to jetta. AND she hasn't peed in the crate once in the 3 times we left her!! YAY for exciting news! we think she likes the company. So for those of you who may be in shock,we have the pictures to prove all of this!!!!

it's been a great break and a great Easter, He has Risen indeed!


The sign that greeted us when we arrived.... my father's handiwork at its finest! He has a strange sense of humor but we all got a kick out of it! (click on it--or any of the other pics for that matter, to see it enlarged.)


Tinker outside enjoying the sun and dirt apparently


Tinker visiting the barn and Chiclet! She was a little nervous around some of the horses, but she did fine with the smell and particularly liked the "snacks" she found lying around! Tink and Granna looking at Zip the horse who likes his tongue played with... yah, don't ask!


Tinker with Grampy, Aby & Stretch. She honestly was fine with all of them and in this pic is even laying on aby! The only problem that occured was when Stretch repeatedly got in her face while we were eating one night. She promptly put 2 little holes in his nose and then went back to sleep. No one blamed her and he left her alone the rest of the weekend.

Tinker, Vic and Aby relaxing on the couch. We did a lot of this!!! My two little book ends! And the Tink giving me kisses of course!

We took Tink down to the pond with Stretch to see if she likes water or not... and well, she definitely does! She was romping around and playing like the best of them!


Grampy and Tinker playing with Tiny, his dirt pusher. She wanted to help with the yard work : )


More pictures of Tinker and horses, this time with my parents' mini's in the backyard. The palomino pinto is Lacey and the red roan is ruby. We decided the 2 Bostons needed some pictures taken together : ) my mom says Tinks at summer camp. Heehee, that little girl let us do all kinds of crazy things this weekend.


Again, more pictures of Tink and Aby and the little stone statue. They couldn't understand why we wanted them to pose right there, but we had a good time anyways!

So all in all, Tinker has adapted beautifully to living in a 4-dog household. She's taken long walks and naps and played in the yard. She's done a great job of mapping out the house, the front and back yard and the back steps into the house. I honestly think she is going to miss the gang and my dad when we leave tomorrow. This has sure been a great vacation!

Easter Pt 1:Tinker Meets the Rowe's

So, last sunday (palm sunday) as usual, we went to Nana and Papas for Easter and Lil Tink came along. She had a great time meeting the rest of the family! Although Papa did not appreciate her sitting at the table (ahem, NICK!). She did very well meeting and wanting to meet and say hi to lots of other people! It was great to see. She wasn't very fond of Maddie (Nick's parents Lab) sniffing right at her face, but aside from 2 snaps (neither connected with Maddie), she was fine. Each dog held their distance although Maddie just wanted to play. Tinker apologizes to Maddie for her rather rude behavior and promises to be better next time (see part 2 : Tinker goes to MA).
Tinker also learned that she enjoys Nana's Chex Mix a lot when I tried to save a handful from falling on the floor... I put the handful right in front of Tink and she didn't hesitate for one second!

Tinker Meets Dan.

Tinker and Twyla out on the porch

Tinker and Liz!

Tinker and Alicia smiling

Tinker would like to wish Matt a belated Happy Birthday!!

Another Thunderstorm...

I am so proud of my little girl... we had a huge storm come through last night around 1030. She slept through the early stages in her bed snoring away. The first big clap of thunder i heard her get up and put her little paws on the bed. She snuggled with me (and Nick) the entire storm not once trying to run away and hide. She was shaking and some panting, but not frantic. It was funny at some points, Nick was holding me and i was holding Tinker. At the really big claps Tink and i both jumped and I just squeezed her in closer to me. After it was over she laid in bed for alittle bit and then I put her back in her bed and we all fell asleep.

I know some people say you're not supposed to coddle or make a big deal when they're afraid, but i don't know her history with storms. She could have been out in a few really bad ones on the streets... I didn't make a big deal of her I just let her come into bed and spoke gently to her and patted her. I am so glad that she trusts us and didn't try and run away, it could have been a really long night. She is such a little trooper.

Happy 21st Birthday Lindsay! (Because your B-day lasts all week!)

When Tinker goes to college

So, as usual Nick and I were having a lengthy conversation about Tinker and somehow or another we were talking about Tinker going to college and what she would major in. We started with an optomistrist, then quickly moved to a culinary arts student specializing in cheeses of the world.

"Hmm, that cheese was too soft, let me try another one... mmm, too hard, i need another taste..." Hehe, we pictured her walking around the kitchen tasting everything : )

As we're posting this, we are in the middle of a thunderstorm, and I must admit, Tinker is being very brave. She sat on my lap for a long while and is now laying down in the corner (granted its the corner, but she's stopped panting and isn't frantically trying to get behind the computer desk)

Its progress : )

The Smart Tinker

So last night Nick took Tinker out for last pee call of the night... she peed and came in and then peed just a tiny bit in front of the kitchen... well i'm blow drying my hair in the bathroom and nick comes in a few minutes later: "Ahh, Tinker peed on the floor."
So i reply take her out!
She just went out-- He said
Take her out again! she peed on the floor!

So a few minutes later he comes back in, "did she pee?" I ask. "No, she pooped." Nick stated matter of factly.

And so i stand there raving about what a smart dog we have because she knew that was how she could get back outside and blah blah blah... and Nick replies, "if she was that smart, she would have stood by the door." and I stopped, speechless.

Haha, well in any case, she is a smart dog and that was the first "accident" since we moved in.

She's really liking the walks in this neighborhood and i must admit, i am too. Just can't get enough of her....