Tired Dogs

This was a busy weekend for all four dogs.  Sawyer & Bentley went camping; the girls went to the 'resort'.  All four were tired last night and even this morning they were still pretty much wiped out!  

The boys were on the go all day Friday and didn't nap any or even lay down.  We took several walks at the park and then a hike down one of the new trails.  When we went in the tent on Friday night Sawyer laid right down and went sound asleep.  I wondered if someone (or realistically something) came up around the tent if he would even wake up.  But, never  mind, Bentley was awake as usual.  I think he did sleep some but periodically he would get up, walk around, lick my face or my arm if exposed, and then lay back down.  If he did sleep, it was just like a catnap but I think that may be normal for him anyway.

Saturday morning they both woke me up; when I checked the time it was around 5:30 a.m. which is the time my alarm goes off during the week.  Their alarm clocks were working!  I pulled up a blanket because I was chilly and they settled back in until almost 7 a.m.  Then we were off on another full day and no naps.  Bedtime that night was the same routine.  Sawyer passed out and Bentley catnapped.  Sunday morning they slept in until almost 6 a.m.!

I will have to say that the trails we hiked were not always easy.  This area is very hilly, so we were up and down and around a lot.  Also these were new trails and in some cases not the easiest to navigate.  The dogs are used to the easy trails of the city parks that are paved or firmly packed crushed gravel.  In addition, we took several walks each day just around the area where we were camped. 

Jaydon and the dogs on the trail

When we got home yesterday they were more than content to just lay around.   The girls were tired, too; I don't think there is much sleeping at the 'resort'!  Last night they were all very tired little pups, no wild playing or chasing cats.  This morning when I offered them the opportunity to go out for a second time they all just looked at me like, "no thanks, I'll pass".  Sawyer and Bentley were on the sofa, Baylee was curled up in a little dog bed on the living floor and Blossom had retreated to the small wire crate.  I know what they did today while I earned their kibble!

Camping at Bastrop

Sawyer and Bentley went camping this weekend at Bastrop State Park.  The park had been devastated by a wild fire over Labor Day Weekend last year (I'll do a post about the park on the other blog) but that didn't stop us from having a great weekend.  The weather was perfect, with a nice breeze and relatively cool temperatures.  Sawyer is a pro at camping since this was his second trip.  Bentley, well I'm not so sure about him.  He had a confused look on  his face a lot, but went along for the ride, so to speak.  He did bark way too much and, typical of him, wanted to lick our faces throughout the night.  He may have to stick to dog shows and leave the camping to Sawyer!

Can we go home now?

Dos Amigos

Sawyer, ready for the next hike!

There hasn't been much rain lately so the creek we hiked by on Saturday morning was dry, except for this small pool.  Of course, Sawyer went right in.  That's my boy!

The purpose of this shot is to show what Sawyer looked like after his puddle jump!

Bentley jumped in this chair on Sunday morning.  I had to laugh because it was a very appropriate place for him to be.  He was a good sport about the hiking and being outdoors but he really prefers the good life - inside and on the furniture!

Our campsite

Bentley and Sawyer, Bastrop State Park, April 2012

Dog Park/What Was I Thinking

Saturday morning I headed over to one of the dog parks with all four dogs.  Yes, what was I thinking...no I think it was that I wasn't thinking.  We got there and headed down the trail to the small dog park, so far so good.  There were several dogs already there and they came running up to greet us.  That was they beginning of the trouble.  My dogs felt threatened, just didn't realize that the other dogs were welcoming them. I got them all calmed down before letting them off the lead. 

First problem child was Blossom.  She had never been before, and just couldn't deal with the dogs.  She was growling and tried to snap at one dog. I picked her up and held her but she was just barking her head off no matter what I told her.  Not good.

The other dogs were starting to run around a little and have fun.  But Bentley decided it would be fun to chase the other dogs and bark wildly.  He was just playing, wagging his tail the whole time.  I apologized to the other dog owners who each casually replied, "oh it's ok, he's a dachshund." but that did not make me feel any better.  I think it was just the male dog in him really, not the dachshund.  He's been before and always been good, but this time he was on a tear.

After about 10 minutes of this I was ready to go.  So we hitched back up and walked down the trails.  This was exactly what we all needed.  We took a loop that was 1.2 miles and then took a little detour off the loop to the scenic overlook (scenic? well maybe, maybe not).  It was a cool morning and we had just a wonderful walk.  Several people stopped to talk about the dogs and admire them.  The morning was salvaged, hooray!  I made a promise to take them to walk the trails more often.  

I took the camera but only got one picture before the battery died.  This is a little doggie playhouse in the small dog park;  I had the idea it would be cute to get all four up there and make a picture..what was I thinking?

Green Beans

I've had several people tell me that they feed their beautiful dogs an occasional can of green beans.  So tonight I picked up some small cans of green beans to try out (no, I don't keep canned beans in my pantry as I really prefer fresh green beans and the cans go stale, but wait, keep reading as this is about to change).  

When I got ready to feed the dogs tonight, I drained the can and divided it between the two bowls.  Just to introduce the beans I fed one to each dog.  Baylee and Bentley gulped theirs down, Blossom played with the first one and then abandoned it to let Sawyer have it, after he slowly ate his.  But then they were all around the food bowl, chowing down on the remaining beans.  YUK, I thought.  Canned green beans at room temp with no seasoning.  But the dogs did not care, they loved them!

I have also abandoned the grain free food idea.  It put too much weight on them and didn't make any other difference.  I have, however, been mixing Diamond Natural food with the Eukanuba Dachshund formula for a week or so.  We'll see how that works out.

So what do they eat in human food now?  Carrots, vanilla yogurt, cheese, scrambled egg, leftover chicken when available, and green beans.  I do not offer a human food every day, just two or three times a week.  Usually the cheese is something we share before bedtime, as a little treat during the ten o'clock news!

Bentley's Day in the Ring

We went north this morning to Austin to a show there.  This time the show was inside an arena with concrete floors, thank heaven no dirt! I did not take the camera, so no pictures.  Bentley was the only long haired dachshund competing, and I had almost decided earlier in the week not to go.  I finally convinced myself that it would be good experience for both of us and it would be one way to get him into the group ring competition.  Having no competition is one way to get yourself ahead in life, right?

So he came home with three ribbons:  he won his class, was Winner's Dog, and took Best of Variety.  But I was very pleased with him and how he did in the ring today.  He walked good and stacked better than ever.  I had bathed him this morning and he was a little frizzy for a while but the fur had settled down by the time we got in the ring.  He seems to be finally starting to grow a little more length on his legs, and his chest is getting fuller and fuller.  I'm hoping that he will be like Baylee and around his first birthday develop a thick coat of beautiful cream fur!

I was slightly irritated at the judge (we ended up with the same judge both times).  He was pleasant, but didn't "give us our 2 minutes".  As I took Bentley around the ring the first time the judge was looking completely away.  He didn't even give me time to stack Bentley the first time and then just politely checked Bentley's bite and ran his hand down his back.  I could understand him doing that the first time since there was no competition.  But I did pay my entry fee and deserved my 2 minutes.  Then in group ring I was the last in and the ring was crowded and again, the judge was looking away as we came in.  This time I had time to stack but the judge just gave him a quick over.  I'm sure this happens a lot, but it was a first for us!

I was pleased with Bentley's performance today!.  He may not be a champion but he is a good looking fella and as I often say, he's a winner to me!

Sometimes I Do Things the Hard Way

A while back I had switched the dogs from separate heartworm meds and flea meds to just one med, Trifexis.  I made the change at the suggestion of one of the vet's receptionists.  Not only is it convenient, it is cheaper (and with four dogs cheaper is better).  It works great, although I do occasionally see an almost dead flea but the vet said that is normal and the fleas are not able to reproduce at any point in their life cycle.  The only problem is that the dogs don't like the way the pills taste.  I've been using the peanut butter trick (put a blob of p.b. on my finger and stick the pill in it) and it worked fairly well.  I usually had to coax Blossom with eating the pill and the p.b.  But last night we had a little episode with this routine.

It was late, I had been to school and was tired.  Wasn't thinking clearly.  Baylee and Bentley gobbled down their p.b. and Trifexis dose.  Blossom licked two blobs off my finger and no pill.  So, no problem I thought, I'll come back to her.  I tried Sawyer and he did the same thing, ate the p.b. and pushed the pill off my finger into the floor.  At this point I was tired and just wanted to go to bed. 

So I decided to shove the pill down Blossom's throat the old-fashioned way.  It wouldn't have been a problem except I had don't done the trick in a while and forgot how far down the throat I needed to push the pill.  Yep, it came right back up.  And to add insult to injury when I fussed at her she went tee-tee all over the place.  Oh no, I was not happy!  I picked her up again and tried to open her mouth but she is amazingly strong for a very small dog.  She had clamped her teeth together and wasn't opening them no matter how much pressure I put on her.  I don't have a lot of strength in my fingers, but finally got her mouth open and shoved the pill far enough down.  Rubbed her throat and gulp, the pill was down.  Success! I will have to note; however, that her little tiny teeth looked real sharp and menacing as I opened her mouth the last time!

Sawyer was next, but I had remembered the trick.  I think he was half afraid after hearing me fuss at Blossom so he was cooperative and I got the pill far enough down.  Gulp and he was done, too.  I felt bad about the tussle with Blossom, especially at bedtime.  I felt even worse after I went to bed and remembered that I had a new, unopened container of plain vanilla yogurt in the fridge.  The pills would probably have worked just fine in the yogurt because they would have gobbled it right down.  Next time, right.

BTW, Blossom was totally not scarred by the whole episode.  She was wagging her tail this morning when I let her out of the crate and she is laying beside me right now sleeping peacefully.  All's well that ends with a little ear scratching and the words, "I Love You Blossom".