A Rainy Weekend

It has been a long, long time since we had a rainy weekend, and a cool one at that.  Temperatures today have been in the 40's and it has rained lightly off and on all weekend.  Wonderful, wonderful!

But what do dogs do on a weekend like this?  Oh, they are more than content to curl up on the sofa and nap while I'm napping or watching football.  But the rest of the time they have been little rascals! I have to admit that I have not exercised them like I should.  I would have bundled up and taken them for a walk but I've had a little bit of a cold and didn't think I should be out walking in the rain.  So I have to blame myself (partly) for their misbehavior.

First of all they refuse to potty outside.  Even if I go out with them they refuse.  No way, it is wet out here...we'll just go in the house thank you. 

They have entertained themselves by pulling ornaments off the tree and either playing with them or eating them.  NO, NO, BAD DOGS!  They have shredded every piece of paper they can get their mouths on.  NO, NO, BAD DOGS!  But the big game has been "Explore the Trash".  Everytime I turn around one of them has retrieved something from the kitchen trash and they are destroying it, usually in the middle of the living room floor.  Yes, I know I should have closed the lid on the trash can.  But still, they know better than to play in the trash. 

This morning Bentley and Sawyer bolted through the door into the garage.  I got the garage door down before Bentley got out, but had to go out in the rain to round up Sawyer.  I'm sure the rain detered him from making a run through the neighborhood.  I'm not sure what got into their heads to make them run out like that.

But now they are all piled in my lap while I'm writing this, sweet little puppies (for now).

Blossom's Scary Experience

Yesterday morning, in the process of getting ready for work, I walked down the hallway in semi-darkness while going into the kitchen for something, probably another cup of coffee.  Anyway, as usuall there were dogs underfoot and I really didn't think anything about them being there.  Until I got to the end of the hallway and noticed that Blossom was just standing there facing back down the hallway.  I glanced back at her,thinking that the way she was acting was just odd, for her.  Something just wasn't right, she was just standing real still and staring at the opposite wall of the hallway.

So I flipped on the light, still wondering what was going on.  Then she started chewing (or so I thought) on something.  My first thought was - Lego's!  The boys had played with the Lego's the night before and we always have a few stray ones that the dogs try to munch on.  As I reached down to extract the Lego from her mouth I realized what was really wrong - her collar had somehow expanded and slipped down around and into her mouth.  Thank goodness she stood still while I fumbled with the release on the collar.  Since I don't have real strong fingers I always have problems squeezing those releases, but managed to keep her calm and get the collar off.

Yes, my little BFF got a lot of lovin' after that.  I know she had not been hung up very long, but it was scary for both of us!  For now her collar is off and it may stay off.  I'm not sure how it expanded enough to slip down like that, but I don't want it to happen again!  I've always thought that dogs need a collar, with a little ID tag just in case they get lost.  But she is micro chipped and only goes out when I'm home so I think we may just leave the collar off when we are at home.  What if this had happened during the day while I wasn't at home?  That's scary, too.

Making a group picture

Good grief!  What was I thinking?  Yes, I did last year's Christmas photo shot by myself but I only had three dogs to herd up and pose.  This afternoon I set up a little photo shoot on the fireplace, gathering up a Christmas quilt and a few decorations.  Got the camera set up and put a Christmas collar on each dog and combed their ears.  Never mind that they are stinky and need a bath, that won't show in the picture.  So far so good, that was the easy part.  After numerous attempts, and telling myself to give up until I had someone to assist me I finally got all four to sit and stay. 

I got the pictures, yes indeed.  But the dogs were not happy, and refused to raise their ears.  They do not look happy, no sirree!  Further complicating the issue was that they were in front of the fireplace, which looks good in reality.  But I did not like it in the picture for a background.  Plus the light was triggering a flash and that messes up their eyes.  I ran a few through Photoshop, but still don't like them.  I'll do another photo shoot for the card, but had to post a few here just for fun!

Baylee was so cooperative.  She is ready for Christmas in her green collar!

Hey Mom, do you really think you're going to make our picture?

Sawyer, I'm warning you...don't cooperate with her and we'll be off the hook real quick.

Here we are in our pre-holiday pose!

Looking for a toy

At some point I started keeping the doggie toys in a small, white basket.  At first we didn't have too many but obviously the collection had to grow.  Who can pass up a dog toy in the store?  My dogs deserve to have all the fun they can.  So the basket has filled up, or at least it is full when human Mama picks up all the toys and puts them in it!

A few nights ago Blossom, Sawyer, and Baylee were snoozing on the sofa while I was knitting.  Bentley isn't much of a napper.  He will lay quietly while the others nap, but he will also entertain himself and play on his on.  So he had gotten up and jumped in the floor and prowled around a little.  Then, he went over to the toy basket and stood there looking into it (they will all do this and then select a toy to play with).  He pulled out a rawhide flip chewie, or what was left of one, and chewed on it for a few minutes.  That wasn't too interesting so he went back to the basket and stood there again, contemplating his choices.  He pulled out a toy, but dropped it.  He started rooting around in the basket, trying to get out something.  He sniffed and scratched the side, as if he could pull out through the side what he wanted.  He pulled out several toys, and then stepped into the half empty basket.  Still not getting what he wanted he flipped over the basket and scratched around into the bottom of the basket.  With that he triumphantly pulled out......a Nyla bone!  Ta da!  Just what he had been searching for!  Mission accomplished, he took the bone to the middle of the rug and settled down.  Ah, just what he needed!

You can probably guess who picked up all the toys, too.

Happy Birthday Bentley!

Bentley is officially one year old!  Yippee!  No more puppy class competition for this big boy!  His gotcha day is in January, but he is a year old today.  What a sweet, handsome guy.  He is so big that it is hard to remember when he was a little warm, fuzzy eight week old puppy that was so cute and cuddly.  Where is my baby?  He's all grown up now.

Is it my birthday, really?  Where's my cake?

What is this?

Since our pumpkin was very thick I had carved off a layer of the piece we cut out of the top.  I was going to pitch these pieces in the bag with the "guts" but then thought, why not feed these to the dogs?  They love raw veggies, so I gave them the pumpkin pieces. 

I think they liked this although it was a little different!

Doesn't everything taste better after being rolled in the dirt?  This picture also shows how Bentley's coat is looking.

Blossom's Little Basket

Blossom likes to sleep in this basket in my sewing room whenever I have a few moments to go in there to sew.  It has a quilt that I never finished in it, perfect for her to snuggle down into!

Sweet Dreams!

Bentley's 2nd show

We travelled north this morning to a dog show just outside Austin.  Bentley did great and brought home three ribbons, mostly by default since he was the only dog in his class.  But we did get to go in the ring two times and got some very valuable experience. 

I've realized that I probably haven't been feeding him the right food, oops!  He is way too skinny since the specialized food I've had him on is designed to keep off the weight that can cause dachshund back problems.  I had another breeder tell me that Bentley needs muscle build up, and I believe that after seeing the beautiful finished dachshunds he was in the ring with today. 

And, I had bathed him last night and was thinking that he really looked so good until I looked at him closely after arriving at the show and realized that he had dandruff!  I think it is time for a new shampoo and maybe conditioner, too.  Hopefully, changing the diet will also help his coat to improve.  

Stephanie and Jaydon went along and she made some pictures while we were in the ring.  The show was in a livestock building and the lighting was not good, but she got some good shots.

Bentley on the table



Bentley on a little walk



Bentley brought home a new friend from the show!

Harvest Festival

This afternoon/evening was our church's Harvest Festival.  Bentley won the lottery because he has a show next Saturday and he needs socializing so he got to go.  He wasn't sure at first what was going on, but he let children and adults pet him.  I did hold his lead close because he wanted to pull back.  Most children knew to ask to pet him and also to let him smell them first.  There were a few small ones that were afraid, so it was fun to coax them with petting a dog! He never jumped or lunged at anyone and everyone commented about how handsome he is!  He is one tired puppy tonight!

I couldn't get a decent picture of him but I decided to post this one because it shows his beautiful black beard and also how the fur is starting to come in on his chest.  I noticed this afternoon that the fur on his back seems to be darkening a little and I can see it starting to thicken on top of his neck.   I'm not sure if this is winter coat or if it is his dachshund long hair starting to finally come in.

He was so cute when I snapped this, but I made it with one hand and it is blurry.  I've left it small so it isn't as bad. 
But what a handsome fella!

Baylee: The Little Magician

We had only walked a short distance tonight when I felt the tension on the lead change.  When I glanced down I realized that Sawyer was tangled in his own lead.  As I was getting him untangled Baylee suddenly started doing a contortionist type movement, like a twist and a turn all at once.  She twisted her head up and then down, and quick as a wink she was stepping out of her harness!  We were on the busiest street in the neighborhood at 5:30 p.m., the busiest time.  I had the quick presence of mind to hook my finger in her collar, just in case she freaked out and bolted.  I got her back in the harness and re-hitched to the lead (while holding the lead with the other three dancing like little wiggle worms).

I still haven't figured out what happened.  I had harnessed her first tonight, but she must have been squirming around too much and I didn't get it on right and just didn't realize it.  But I still wonder if she just isn't a little magician that got herself out of the harness!

Bentley & Blossom Team Up

I came home today to be greeted at the door by Blossom and Bentley!  Little escapees!  I'm not sure how they got out of the kitchen.  The only thing I can figure is that I put the gate a tad too high and they wiggled under.  Blossom is small and I could see her going under, but Bentley is a big guy so I'm not sure how he did it.  He may have climbed over. 

But they had had quite a day in the freedom of the house.  It could have been worse but it was bad enough!  There was poop but that's ok, bodily functions happen.  They had eaten all the cat food, but that's ok, everyone needs a snack.  What really irritated me was that Bentley had apparently gotten up on the breakfast table (he can jump on the chairs, Blossom can't so I know he did this) and had chosen to eat the little card laying there.  The little card that was worth $20 at Coldwater Creek.  Grrrrrrr!  At least they didn't eat the pair of boots that I had left out of the closet!

Oh well, lesson learned by me.  Now I have to either reconfigure the gates or buy another moveable gate.  The gate manufacturers love me!

Our Stay At the Resort....by Blossom, Sawyer, Bentley, & Baylee

Our Mama told us we could write this post since it was our adventure!  Friday before last our Mama came home and we thought it would just be another evening at home, but she quickly loaded us up in the car.  We weren't sure where we were going until we pulled up at the Pet Resort.  Mama calls it a kennel, but to us it is like a doggie hotel.  We had been there before over the weekend that Mama went to the beach, so we were quickly wagging our tails when we saw our friends.  While Mama took care of the paperwork our friends weighed us and checked us over.  (Note from Baylee:  I did not want my Mama to leave me, I'm always afraid that I'm being abandonded.  I looked very sad and concerned but Mama called across the room and told me it was okay and that she would be back soon.)

Soon it was goodbye time and we were taken to our suites.  Mama puts two of us together in a suite so we have plenty of room.  Our suites are really nice.  We have a bedroom with a nice Kuranda bed and a fleece cover that Mama suspects we destroyed.  We also have our food and water in this room, and if it was winter we would have a heated floor.  Since it is still warm we had air conditioning instead.  We have a small window that lets in outside light, even when the lights go out at night.  Our outside area is a long, concrete area like a covered patio.  Mama calls it a run for some reason, maybe because we can run up and down to our hearts' content.  There is a chain link fence at the end so we can see out, but just a little.  We can only go out in this area during the day and if it isn't too hot.

So what did we do at the resort?  Our days were pretty much the same.  At 7 a.m. our friends came in and opened the door to the patio area.  We had a small breakfast and they gave us fresh water, too.  We played and barked a lot.  Every morning they came and got all four of us and took us over to the playroom.  We had fun playing together and playing with their toys.  The day went quickly by and we had a light supper, more fresh water and then it was time for our friends to close our outside door and turn out the lights.  Another doggie day was over.

The days passed quickly and we had fun, but we missed our Mama and our home.  Sunday afternoon our friends came and got us, one at a time.  We thought we were going to play time, but actually we went up front and there was our Mama!  We were so happy to see her, our tails were just wagging and our little faces were so happy.  We were glad to get home, too.  We were very tired after our little adventure so we all curled up and took a long, refreshing nap.  Ah, there's no place like home!