My Only Hang-Up

Bentley here, again.  Mom said I could do another post as long as it is short.  And, no pictures...well maybe one.

Mom told me I'm a good traveler and a great companion.  I don't get car sick anymore, but Mom still keeps a towel handy and she doesn't feed me very much before I ride either.  I usually ride in her lap, like I did on the trip home from Louisiana when I was a puppy but I don't fit so comfortably now.  On the way home Sunday I was so tired that I did curl up on the passenger seat and sleep for almost an hour, wow!  I'm good in the hotel, only bark a little and no uh-oh's anywhere either.  Of course, I make friends and attract admirers where ever I go!

However, we did have a little episode after we got home.  The other dogs were still at the resort, so it was just me and mom.  After being constantly with my mom and sleeping in that big ole bed for two nights my mom put me in the crate when bedtime came on Sunday night.  Can you believe it?  She locked me in the crate.  I hate to be in the crate by myself and she knows that.  It is the one thing that I just can't deal with.

First she had tried to just put me in the kitchen but she only put one gate out and I pushed it aside.  I quickly ran to her bed and jumped on top of her and smothered her with kisses.  I thought she was happy to see me because she actually let me stay on the bed for a while.   But then she told me I was moving around too much so she put me in the crate, all by myself.  That's okay though I got even with her.  I cried, yipped, yapped, howled, barked, and scratched on the crate until 4:30 a.m.  Ha ha on her, her alarm goes off at 5:30!  And, just to show her when she put me outside at 5:30 I threw myself against the glass door and had another total doggie meltdown with my loudest barking ever.  I think she got the message because she came right outside with her coffee and sat on the glider with me.  Ah, my mama loves me again!

Here I am in black and white.  Mom tried to put this picture on a blog hop but didn't do it right so she's sharing it here.

Bentley's Saturday

Bentley here, on the road with human Mom!  Mom feels real proud of herself that she has finally made me tired, and, to tell the truth, I am worn out, so to speak.  Seven hours in the car yesterday and a night in a hotel (had to bark at every noise you know, and I had to lick Mom's face frequently, too) made me tired before the day started.

There are a lot of dogs in our hotel and they started making noise in the hall around 6:00 a.m.  At 6:30 Mom got up and took me out for a little walk.  Then, OMG!, she bathed me in a big walk in shower.  I wasn't too sure about that, and neither was she but I turned out nice and clean!  Then she brought me some egg from the breakfast downstairs.  Yum, that is a treat!

Then we headed out for a morning adventure.  We went down a back road over to Marshall Pottery.  Mom read on the internet that they were pet friendly so she didn't have to sneak me in in the stroller.

 After doing some shopping we were back in the car.  Mom stopped to make some pictures of old buildings and then we went back to our hotel to get ready for the dog show.

Here I am relaxing before my moment in the ring!

There were a lot of long-haired dachshunds at this show.  There were 2 of us in my class today, and I got second place.   After we got back to the car Mom told me the judge was blind because I was clearly the better dog and  Mom was a much better handler.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day and another judge.

We went back to our hotel and laid down for a nap.  Mom said it was too hot to do anything and she could tell I was tired.  To her amazement, I actually laid down with her and napped.

After Mom did some checking on the internet we started out to a nearby state park.  On the way she kept seeing signs for Lake 'O the Pines so we headed down another small road to find the Lake instead.  Mom likes adventures like that, and I think I do, too.  We found the lake and got out and walked around.  It was still very hot but we explored a little.

I'm standing under a huge tree that had branches that touched the ground almost all the way around!

We drove back to Longview and went back to the convention center where the dog show is being held to make some evening pictures.  Mom had me on a long lead and since there wasn't any one around and no traffic to worry about she dropped the lead and let me explore this little park.  She said that I needed to just have some quiet time to explore and run around.

There was a little pond with a water spray in the middle; I wasn't interested in it but Mom said that if Sawyer had been there he would have headed right into the water.  Silly dog, thinks he is a duck.

Let's call it a day! 

Now it is late and (yawn) and I need to go to sleep!

I'm just too cute and I know it!

Home again!

I just got home from the Reliant Show. I think the dogs must have a wild time at their "resort" because they have already passed out and we just got home! Too many all night bark parties at that place!  

When I left them on Thursday they were not happy with me.  Sawyer saw them coming for him and wrapped the lead around my legs and then sat between them thinking he was safe.  He even managed to break away and try to run back to me after being led away but he was quickly captured!  And Blossom managed her biggest little dog growl at everybody, but nobody was fooled!

When I picked them up today there was a lot of barking and jumping when they came out of the kennel area.  Trying to get them hitched up was crazy.   To tell the truth, I was glad to see them, too!  While working at the show from time to time a dog would come up and nudge my leg for attention and the handler would usually apologize.  My reply was always, "it's ok, I'm a dog person!" but really it made me feel good to feel a cold wet nose and to use that as an introduction to scratch a muzzle.

To conclude here is a picture of what greets you in a dog friendly hotel:  TREATS AND PICK UP BAGS!

Where to get a Snuggle Sack

I ran into the "Snuggle Sack" lady today at the Reliant show.  If you want a Snuggle Sack for your dog or cat here is her information:


Doggin' It Designs
phone 618-841-6048
dogginitdesigns@galaxycable.net

Call her or e-mail her and tell her what you want.  She can give you sizes and fabric choices.

Her prices are very reasonable.  And, I asked her what is inside the rim to make it stay open.  It is NOT wire, it is rows of stitching that make it stiff,  So they are completely safe!

Bentley and the crate

On Saturday Bentley showed around 10 a.m. and I had to start steward work at 11 a.m.  I knew I wouldn't be done until around 4:30 p.m. and would have to crate him while I worked.  I can leave him briefly in the little green carrier, but it is not really large enough to leave him for any length of time.  So, even though I had told myself I wasn't spending any more money on dog stuff, I bought a collapsible 24-inch wire crate.  I have a 24-inch crate but it has to be assembled and it is a pain and usually the door won't latch; the collapsible crate is much better!

I can't have him with me while I'm working, but I couldn't bear to leave him unattended for that long in the grooming area.  He would have thought I had "abandoned" him and flipped out.  Sounds silly, but dogs have feelings and emotions.  I know a lot of people leave their dogs crated in these areas during the day and even overnight, but I can't do that to my dog.  So I parked his crate (on the cart) in the aisle between the rows of rings.  This area is a prep area for dogs entering the ring and the rules state that dogs can't be left in this area after the competition ends for their breed.  However, I was willing to try it.  I put him behind me so I could glance over my shoulder and watch him. 

At first he stared at me just like in this picture above.  Mom, why are you doing this to me.  At one point I heard him scratching and another time or two he was barking and I had to tell him to hush.  The ring had a short break so I got up to go to the bathroom.  I stopped to pet him through the crate and talk to him first.  As I did a lady came up to me and asked me if Bentley was my dog.  I remembered that several times when I had glanced at him I had noticed her talking to him.  I told her, yes he was mine. She had been worried that he really was abandoned!  I chatted for a moment and thanked her for her concern

The last two breeds to show were German Shepherds and Australian Shepherds, big dogs.  I heard Bentley barking just as the German Shepherds were starting and looked around to see a guy letting his 2 dogs tease Bentley.  I'm not sure if it was intentional or if he wasn't paying attention.  I couldn't leave the table, but after a minute or two I was ready to just yell out at the guy to watch his dogs.  About that time he pulled them away.  Grrrrrr!

Bentley just couldn't deal with the big dogs (can't blame him, really) so as soon as the ring next to us was done and I had a chance to get up, I moved the cart over next to it.  He sat quietly until my ring was done and at that time I got up and pulled him over to me.  While we were closing the ring one of the men who had showed an Australian Shepherd came over to me and said that he should have realized that Bentley was my dog by the way he was staring at me!  He said he had been watching Bentley and that he had never taken his eyes off of me!  We laughed and then I asked him, "do you think this dog is spoiled?" and the other steward quickly replied, "no way".  There was lots of laughter from everyone!

Good boy, Bentley!

Snuggle Sack - part 2

I promise this will be the last post about the Snuggle Sacks!  Well, maybe but these dogs keep looking so dog-gone cute in and on them!  They just love them and can't stay out of them or off, either! So here are a few more pictures:

Okay buds, let's all get in here and party!

And who is this you ask?  Baby-girl!  She was napping here when I got home today!

Snuggle Sack

I've just spent three days at the dog show here in town.  I showed Bentley twice and worked as a Steward twice, too.  Since I've been going to the shows for the last year I am familiar with most of the vendors and the stuff they sell, but I still like to look.  I felt guilty because my first purchase was for me; a Laurel Burch bag and a scarf (had to have, right?).  Yesterday I needed a crate pad to go in the new collapsible crate that I bought to use for Bentley.  There were several vendors with pads so I shopped around.  One was offering "Snuggle Sacks".  I wasn't sure if my pack would actually snuggle in it but Sawyer is a burrower so I thought I would get it for the crate and then take it home to see the reaction.  Well, they love it!  I'm going back to the show briefly today and plan to get another one!

Blossom was the first to try it out!

Sawyer actually played in it.  He would burrow into it, spin around, come out and then burrow again!

Bentley stuck his head in briefly.  I think he associates this with the crate so he wasn't too interested.  (More on the crate in another post)

Baylee tried it out this morning.  She pulled Foxie over to the sack and then curled up in it!

I did have to spray it with Bitter Apple because, as usual, they were chewing on it.  Usually the Bitter Apple is like a seasoning to them but it did stop them, at least for a while.  I will not leave it in the crate or with them when they are confined in the kitchen because there is some kind of metal wire inside the edge that helps to keep it open and I would not want them to chew through the sack and get whatever is inside!

Quick, run and hide. It's bath time!

I bathed all four dogs tonight.  I don't know if I was just on a roll or what!  I decided that while the bathtub was already dirty and everything was out I might as well do all four.  I accomplished this in less than an hour, too.  For some reason I've never thought to photograph the dogs during their baths so tonight I grabbed the camera and here's what I got:

Blossom was first

I didn't get her picture until she was already out of the tub.  Here she is, all clean and ready to run and roll on every rug she can find!  She loves bath time and will usually just sit down in the tub while I bath her.  Little diva!

Bentley got shampoo and conditioner

I had bought some shampoo and conditioner made with aloe and oatmeal at a recent show.  Since he is showing this weekend I thought I would try it out.  I'll report on it later.  He is used to fairy regular baths, ah the life of a show dog.

Sawyer, not too happy

Sawyer figured out what was going on and hid from me.  He does not like baths or pawdicures, no girly stuff for this big boy.  As hard as he tried to pout he still couldn't help closing his eyes while I lathered him up and gave him a little massage.

Sweet Baylee, all wet

Baylee was last.  She is a good doggie in the bath tub and always looks even more beautiful after she gets scrubbed and clean.

One of the first questions I asked Kelly before I got Blossom and Sawyer was about how much grooming long haired dachshunds require.  Her response, very little.  They need a bath about once a month and do not stink like regular dogs.  I try to comb them every few days but it only takes a minute or so for each dog.  If I don't comb them they do get matts in their ears and around their rear legs.  I also clean out their ears with each bath, but that is quick and easy to do.  Like most dogs they need a pawdicure every now and then, too.

Simple joy - water running down the street

I probably should put this on my other blog about life's simple joys but the dogs discovered a simple way to have fun tonight while we were on our walk.  As we passed a side street I noticed that there was a fairly sizable stream of water starting to flow from the side street down to where we were and on down the way to a drainage ditch.  Yep, as soon as Sawyer saw the water he was running full force to it, dragging me, the other dogs and the stroller right to the water!

As we followed the path of the water they had so much fun running and playing in the water.  Although it didn't look over an inch deep their undersides still got wet! What fun to run through the water on a summer evening and to be cooled off!

How to chill out on July 4th

This is how you relax and enjoy the 4th of July if you are a dog!