Shoes, kitchen trash, Legos and knitting needles

Okay, so what do those four items have in common?  Of course, that's right!  They have all been destroyed by the dogs. 

I finally have learned not to leave my shoes out, especially the expensive dressy ones.  I've learned that lesson the expensive way!  If the shoe is in the floor, eat it they say!  Shoes go in the closet.

Last Sunday afternoon while chatting on the phone with my sister I heard a noise in the kitchen.  I didn't really pay attention or get up to go see what it was.  Well, it was the sound of a bag of trash being pulled over!  The bag was tied up and ready to go out but Blossom had other plans.  By the time I got in the kitchen there was trash everywhere (and bacon grease, too).  I know better than to leave a bag of trash out, trash goes in the can in the garage!

I think Legos must be a delicacy for the dogs.  They just love to munch on them.  I know that Legos have no scent but I think the dogs can smell them.  No matter how careful we are to pick them all up, it seems that they always find one or two.  Legos go in the closet, too!

Congratulations, Blossom!  You have now eaten 4 sets of circular knitting needles.  Does the bamboo taste good?  Yes, the metal ones were a little tough but you managed to at least eat the cord on them.  The last ones were tucked into the basket, with the lid closed, but that didn't stop you, did it? Now they are in a zipper bag in the basket, but wait you eat zippers, too don't you. Knitting and knitting needles go up high, away from little doggie noses!

Oh well, just one event after another for our pack!

Sawyer "plays possum" and walking with the stroller

Sawyer gave me quite a fright this morning.  Now, I do not wake up easily; I run on auto-pilot for at least an hour and/or until the first two cups of coffee kick me awake.  This morning I stumbled into the kitchen, opened the crate and the gate into the kitchen just like every morning.  Three dogs started their morning greeting, in the dark.  Sometimes Sawyer (like me!) is a little slow to rise and shine but this morning he was just laying on his bed, on his side with legs straight out.  I called his name and still no movement.  Not awake at all, I wondered what was wrong with him.  He was perfectly fine at bedtime. I called his name again, no response.  Now I'm thinking that I've lost him, my beloved Sawyer companion.  Not willing yet to accept this fact I call his name, loudly and sharply.  Well, up jumps Sawyer and looks around with a puzzled look like, "what happened, I must have overslept".  He must have been in deep sleep because he was out, playing possum as my grandmother used to say!

So what else happened today in doggie world? I decided to take the dog stroller along tonight on our walk.  Baylee seems to really struggle on our walks, she keeps up but I know it is an effort.  She is too heavy for me to carry and to handle the other three.  Plus it is warm and she is warm and very furry so I just can't carry her.  I started out pushing the stroller with one hand and the dogs on the other.  But the stroller is a three-wheeler and really needs two hands to control it.  So I clipped the leads onto the clip on the stroller.  When Baylee got tired I put her in the stroller.  She loved it!  I had to be ready to intervene quickly if the others decided to veer off to smell something!  Baylee jumped out at one point, bumped her head but it didn't seem to phase her at all.  Blossom had a turn in the stroller but she really likes to walk. I stopped to talk to some dachshund owners tonight, too. Just one problem:  As we neared my house they saw Lacey and decided they really needed to chase her.  Baylee jumped out of the stroller, all three bolted and then the flimsy clip on the stroller broke.  Ha ha, though, the joke was on them because tethered together they didn't go very far very fast!

Playing Outside

Four dachshunds playing outside.  Baylee was tied to the stroller, the other three were on the tie out.

Sawyer, always a sweetheart.  I just love his sweet eyes and easy going attitude.

He loves the smells in the grass.  Right as I snapped this he began to roll around and around in the grass!

Sawyer & Blossom's check up

Yesterday Sawyer & Blossom had their 2 year check up and got their bordetella vaccinations.  Blossom weighed in at over 10 pounds (still a mighty mini!) and Sawyer tipped the scales (almost literally!) at over 16 pounds.  I was excited until the vet asked me why he had gained so much weight and what were we going to do to lose some of it.  

I blamed the grain-free food, which was the truth.  It added weight to all the dogs except Bentley.  I had already decided to put the dogs back on the Eukanuba Dachshund formula and the visit to the vet confirmed the decision.  We have also gotten out of the walking habit except for walks at the park so that needs to become a habit again. After I thought about the weight gain I decided that I'm not worried.  He really isn't over weight, but I do need to keep an eye on it.

As we went into the vets office I was carrying Blossom but Sawyer was on the ground.  He was bouncing along until we got to the door of the vets office.  Then he just stopped and refused to go through the door!  After we got inside the exam room Blossom started growling.  She sounded like a really big dog and everyone had a good laugh.  But she was really funny while the vet was examining her, she was shaking like crazy.  Poor doggie!

Otherwise, my two little piebald babies are healthy.  The vet observed that both were very well behaved!

Here's what they're thinking...

I have this picture in the album that rotates for the desktop background on my work computer.  All the pictures either make me smile or remind me of a place I would like to be.  Today when I saw this picture it made me smile, but then I had to start laughing.  Now I know these fellas well enough that I know what they were thinking while I struggle to get this picture.

Blossom:  Am I in trouble?  Is this time out?
Sawyer:  Can I go now, I need to go chase those squirrels.
Baylee:  Am I going to get a treat because I look so cute?
Bentley: Hey, what's going on here.

Saturday at the park

I had planned to go to a guided nature walk at one of the parks this morning; however, it started at 8 a.m. and that was just a tad too early this morning!  So a while later I took Bentley and Sawyer over to the park for a walk. There was a lot of crying and carryin-on by the girls who were left behind, but they will get their turn soon.

I made a few pictures but learned a lesson.  If I want to make pictures of a dog there needs to be just one dog. And for best results the pictures need to be made in the late afternoon when the light is softer.  But just for the record here are a few from today:

There was a lot of stopping to sniff and smell.

Bentley paused briefly on top of this rock.

More sniffing and smelling.

After the walk (which was probably about a mile) I took them into the dog park.  They weren't too enthusiastic about being there.  They might have just been tired, but it occurred to me that the last time they were there they weren't overly excited either.  I think it is because they are a "pack" all the time and don't really feel the need to socialize with other dogs.  On previous trips they would run around and explore the area but today they just sat and looked at me like, "what are we doing in this place". I also noticed while we walked that some people would hold their dogs back but others would let their dog run up to meet Bentley and Sawyer.  I held the leads tight in that case, and most of the time they tolerated the other dog but I think they would just as soon not make friends.  Again, I think it is because they are part of a "pack".   I'll try the dog park again but I would just as soon walk the trails myself so we may just stick to that.

A dog's perspective

I had the sprinkler guys out  yesterday to get my sprinkler system up and running again since it is looking like the deluge we had last week may be our last rain for a while.  Here's is the repair from the dogs' perspective:

Bark, Bark, Bark, hey Mom, there's a truck pulling up in front of the house.
Bark, Bark, Bark, hey Mom, aren't you listening to us?  There is a truck in front of the house.
Bark, Bark, Bark, hey Mom, pay attention.  Now there are two guys getting out of the truck.  Whoa, they are coming up the driveway. 
Intruder alert, intruder alert, Bark, Bark, Bark.  Never fear, mother dear, your fearless pack of doxies will protect you.  Bark, Bark, Bark.
What do you mean, it's ok, stop barking. No, no, no, listen to us. Bark, Bark, Bark. Intruder Alert!
Wait Mom, don't go out there.  They are strangers, No, no don't go.  And stop telling us it's ok, it is not ok.
Bark, Bark, Bark.  Mom, what are you doing out there with these guys.  You're walking around all over the yard and pointing at the ground.  Please, listen to us. Bark, Bark, Bark.
Whew, that was close.  We are glad you are safely inside with us again.  But wait, those guys are still out there. Bark, Bark, Bark.  Mom, they are digging  holes in the yard. No, no, you can't let them do that.  You always fuss at us when we dig holes.  Bark, Bark, Bark.
Why are you closing the doors?  Now we can't see what is going on, but we know they are still out there.  Bark, Bark, Bark.  Hey Mom, one of the guys is at the front door and he's ringing the doorbell.  Be careful.
Bark, Bark, Bark.  What do you mean stay back and quit barking?  No, no, no don't go out there again.
Bark, Bark, Bark.  What did he say?  Did he just ask you if we were long haired dachshunds.  Whoa, and he just said that he loves dachshunds? 
Bark, Bark, Bark, this guy is ok.  If we had know that he loves dachshunds we would have felt better about having him dig up holes in the yard.
Bark, Bark, Bark.  Hey, where are they going?  We want to go out and dig holes with them, too.

Just being cute

Without even trying I caught a few cute pictures last week.  While I was making pictures of the small lakes in the back yard the pups posed themselves in a few pictures.  I found it much easier to take these pictures than the ones where I'm trying to get them to look cute!  Sawyer was a little camera shy; he was having too much fun in the water!

Three dogs enjoy a little sun, ignore the bricks and oak seedlings please.

Little Blossom, so cute!

Jaydon made this close up of Bentley, what sweet eyes he has!

Baylee's night out

The Botanical Gardens had "Fidos After Five" tonight.  That meant that furry, four legged friends were welcome!  There were so many dogs, all enjoying the garden!  The weather was perfect, no humidity, just right to walk and enjoy the garden in the early evening.  I only took Baylee, since she is so shy I don't always take her places.  But I figured that if she was by herself and got a little shy it would be okay because I could give her lots of attention.  But she really wasn't too shy with dogs or people.  I have to admit it was different to only have one quiet dog to walk with me!  

I was not surprised that so many people commented on how beautiful she is, almost everyone we passed by had a comment about how beautiful she looked!  I also had many people ask me what kind of dog she is!  There were several dachshunds strolling around but, not surprisingly, she was the only long haired dachshund in the garden tonight!

Wheeeee, let's play in the water!

Last week I had 6 inches of rain.  Between Monday night around 10 p.m. and Tuesday evening I had over 5 inches of rain; the rain gauge overflowed!  That makes a total of at least 11 inches, probably more, in just over a week.  So my back yard looked like a series of small lakes.  Normally the dogs do not like it when it rains; they do not like to get their paws wet.  But Tuesday afternoon Sawyer, lover of puddles and small streams, led the pack in to the water.

The water was about 2-3 inches deep in this spot.  Didn't stop these little girls from splashing around!

Sawyer, you're a mess!

A picture and a video ( that now works!)

I had this spur of the moment inspiration on Thursday afternoon to make a group shot of the dogs.  I used the point and shoot camera which makes great pictures but did not use the tripod, mistake #1.  The second mistake was that I was by myself and didn't have anyone to help work with the dogs (their understanding of stay is fuzzy sometimes, you know).  But I did get a shot or two.

See what I mean?  They are looking at me like, why do we have to sit here, have we been bad?  And Bentley looks huge but it is just the way the camera caught him.  I'll post some more pictures during the week, and I'll at least use the tripod next time.

This afternoon I made this video (see the other blog for details).  Bentley has a deeper, throatier bark than on the video.  What makes me laugh is how he keeps biting Jaydon's back!

Nap time

I'm still not sure why they did this but Sunday afternoon Baylee, Sawyer and Blossom all crawled into the big crate and started to nap.  Bentley, the dog who never sleeps, just laid down outside the crate like he was guarding them.  Silly puppies, you have had too much weekend!