Good Luck Jelly!

If you read this blog regularly then you may remember the post about the adoption of Jelly  by my daughter and grandson.  She was a stray that was found roaming in a park across town along with what was presumed to be her litter mate. A local organization was sponsoring an adoption event and Jaydon just fell in love with her, so into their lives she came.

Jelly was very happy and seemed to fit into their home very well, at least for a while.  The problems started when she grew tired of being left alone while they went to work and school.  She is very much a people dog and needs companionship.  After destroying the inside of the house several times my daughter decided that while they were gone from home Jelly would have to stay outside.  She had the perfect place to leave her outside – a large covered patio with shade and protection from the occasional rain shower we get here and a nice fenced yard with enough room to run and play.  That worked well, for a while.  Then their time away from home increased and Jelly wasn’t happy.  So she began to dig holes under the fence and wiggle through to escape into the neighborhood.  Not a good plan, Jelly.

So, she came over to stay at my house until a suitable new home could be found for her.  She enjoyed the company of my four little low-riders, but it was different having that fifth dog in my house, especially a big dog!

We knew that we had to find the exact, perfect home for her.  So we sent out e-mails, posted on Facebook, and my daughter advertised through her company’s classified ads. At first there was nothing except polite inquiries and good wishes.  It was discouraging, but we knew that the right person(s) would come to give Jelly the forever home that she needed.  We could not even consider a shelter because of the fact that she had already been bounced around too much; plus, we knew that she is a good, sweet dog and just needed help to find the right home.

As silly as this may sound, we prayed for Jelly to find that home.  God answers prayers for dogs as well as people.  Last Friday my daughter had an inquiry and the folks came by to look at her and agreed that she was the right dog for them.  We agreed that they were the right people for her.  They live in Fort Stockton (way out in west Texas) with property, have another dog, and one of them stayed at home during the day.  Perfect!

Jelly took right to them, giving them her big hugs and licking their hands.  When they picked her up on Saturday afternoon I said good bye and she walked down the driveway, just like she was ready for her new life.  I was relieved because my dogs would never have left me to go somewhere with unknown people.

I’m sure that this happens fairly often.  You adopt a dog knowing nothing about it and then it is not the right match for you and your family.  I’m glad that we were able to do the right thing for Jelly and get her into a home where she will have the companionship that she needs. 

Having five dogs, one of which was large, was interesting, but it was only for about a week and a half.  During this time I realized that while I have always thought I could never foster a dog (I would get too attached, I thought) I now think I could and may try sometime in the future to do so.  There are several dachshund rescue organizations in our area and I know they need foster doggie parents. If you know that the dog is only staying with you temporarily, then you care for it and give it affection but you do not bond with it.  This is exactly what I did with Jelly because I knew I could not keep her permanently; she was loved and cared for and I enjoyed her sweet company, but I did not let myself get attached to her.  I knew that was to be saved for someone else.

So, Good Luck Jelly!  We will miss you, but know that you are on your way to a long, happy doggie life in west Texas!

 

Time to loose the weight!

Week 1

Sawyer is overweight.  The last time I had him weighed he weighed just over 19 pounds.  When he had his check up in May the vet wasn't too concerned; he said that Sawyer could loose a pound or two.  But I think he needs to loose a little more.

I've been telling myself that we need to get out and start walking again and stick to the plan, make it a habit like it used to be.  Even with the cooler weather I have just put it off.  Until now.  On Sunday afternoon Sawyer went in the kitchen and laid down by himself.  I thought that was odd since he is usually close to where I am.  Later I noticed he was scratching, and knowing that he does not have fleas I decided to check him over.  I suspected that he had a sticker or debris caught in his fur or that he had a little ouw-wee.  I stood him on his hind legs to get a good look at his underside and that's when I realized that we had a problem.  His tummy looked like a sausage that was about to pop, much like a small puppy's stomach only bigger.  That, plus the way he had laid around all afternoon concerned me.

Yesterday as soon as I got home from work I changed clothes and we were out the door, no excuses.  I made sure to check the time on my phone as we left since I wanted to time our walk.  Normally I would walk about 40-45 minutes, but with his weight and not being conditioned I knew I had to watch him and the time.

As usual he was out the door and at the end of the leash, ready to go.  I let him lead for a while and then settled us into a brisk walk.  Of course, he wanted to stop and smell everything, but we had to keep moving.  When he started to slow down and drag behind I checked the time:  10 minutes.  I decided to walk a bit more before turning around to head home, but within a minute he was really slow.  Time to  head home.  Our total walk time was 17 minutes.  After a cool down on the deck and some water he laid down.  I've always been told that if a dog lays down after a walk then they have had a sufficient amount of exercise. 

Tonight I followed the same routine; however, he seemed to settle into the brisk walk quicker and kept the pace going steadily.  I walked a different route, as is my habit, and noticed that after 10 minutes he was still on a good pace.  I kept us going for a few more minutes and then we were heading home.  Total walk time was 23 minutes and he never dragged behind.  I'm going to let him set the time frame until we can get back to our normal walk time.

I was reading through a little magazine that I get from our vet and there was an article about dog weight.  It recommended taking a 15-minute brisk walk each during the week and then a 45 minute walk on the weekends that was a little more leisurely.  I think that is good advice, but feel like we can do more than 15-minutes. But that suggestion helped me to realize that a short walk is better than no walk.

Sawyer was 14 months old in this picture and still at that somewhat awkward stage, but see the difference?  I had found this picture Sunday night after seeing his little about-to-burst-belly and it helped me get motivated with his weight loss plan!

Chow line

These puppies don't normally line up like this to eat!  This afternoon as I was re-arranging the canned goods in the cabinet I found a can of store-brand green beans and remembered that I had not fed any veggies to the dogs in quite a while.  What a treat!  I put the bowls down in a row and they all buried their noses in the bowl.

Normally they will either ignore the food for a while or one or two of them will eat. There is also usually some rotation from bowl to bowl. I've never had dogs that are so uninterested in food and don't care what time I feed them.  All it takes is just a little motivation in the form of human food!

Out and about

I took off today so I would have a nice, long weekend.  My plans were to do a few catch up things and then have lunch at one of my favorite lunch-only spots and head to the downtown library to do research.  Since one of the catch up things was to take Bentley by the vet's office for bordetella and Trifexis refill and the other things were places he could go, I decided to take him out and about.  I love taking the dogs to places and plan to do this more.  Obviously, I would not take them to a restaurant or grocery store and would be respectful of any business with a "no dogs allowed" sign.

The staff at the vet laughed when I told them that as I turned the corner onto their street that Bentley let out a big whine!  I don't really think he knew where we were, but then again maybe he did.  He had to be carried into the back for the nose drops, but quickly came back wagging his tail.  I'm sure he was relieved that this was an easy visit!

Then we headed to get the oil changed in the car.  Since I knew we had time I walked him a little before heading into the waiting area.  There was plenty of grass and landscaping, but I choose to walk down a little strip center to a grassy area at the end.  Bentley smelled around and then proceeded to roll all in the part grass part weeds.

First it was just his face

Then it was a full doggie roll, over and over!

At first I thought there was something gross in the grass that he was rolling on, but I couldn't see anything.  After he had rolled for several minutes it did occur to me that there might be stickers in the weeds.  And there were a few caught in his leg hairs that I had to pull out; I did not want them going home to my yard with us!

We walked back toward the oil change place and stopped again for a bit.  I was using the not-so-great-camera on the smart phone and was very surprised when I got home and looked at the next picture.  It was great, not sure how that happened.

We went in the waiting area and Bentley sat in my lap and then got down in the floor.  He never barked at anyone and was a perfect canine citizen.  Then I headed over to the tire place to get the tires rotated.  It is along a busy freeway and he never flinched about the traffic roaring by as they checked the tires.  As we walked in a man asked what my dog's name was. His next questions were "Does Bentley bite" and if he could pet him.  Of course, as I love for people to pet Bentley as that is a great socialization technique.  I was quite surprised when Bentley, although slowly, went forward to man's outstretched hand! Normally he is shy around men and I'm always worried when we show to a male judge. I told the stranger that I could tell he was a dog person and then we both laughed when he made the oft repeated comment about liking dogs more than some of the people he knew!

The tire rotation took about 40 minutes, but Bentley waited like a little gentleman.  He sat in my lap and then wanted down in the floor. 

Mom, can't you tell I'm tired?  Can we go now?

Finally, he laid down and closed his eyes for a little nap.  Oh, the life of a little dachshund boy!

Do you collect dachshund?

Yes, I collect dachshund.  I have four real-live-tail-wagging-barking dachshunds and I have a collection of dachshund!

On the fridge

Also on the fridge

Hanging around

A cookie cutter that usually sits in the kitchen window.  I know, it's dusty, but I don't bake cookies so no worries.

 

Traveling companions - always well behaved!
 

Isn't this the truth!

What else do I have?  I have a beautiful wall calendar hanging in my sewing room that features long-haired dachshunds and a bone shaped magnet on the back of the car that says it all:  "I Love My Dogs"! 

We were on television!

Howl-o everyone!  This post is being written by the Four Amigos because we are so excited. We were on the 10 p.m. news last Saturday night!  Yes, that's right our picture was on the news!  Our human Mama had sent our picture to Katie Vossler who shares viewers pet pictures before she does the weekend weather forecast.  And, guess what...we were on television! 

Click on the link and you can see the clip with all the cute pet pictures, but you have to wait to the end to see us.  We were the "Daily Dose of Doxie"!  Our Mama had a lot of people tell her at church that they saw us and she's been getting our "fan e-mails" today.  We think it is a big deal to be on television, but we think our Mama is even more excited!

KSAT 12 pet pictures

Baylee's Sunday Outing

Last Sunday I did something different, I took Baylee and my camera and headed out for an early morning walk at one of the local places that I love.  I posted about this on Small Simple Things so I won't put the details here, but I do have to share some of the pictures of my beautiful Baylee.

Even when she's un-groomed and the wind is fluffing her ears, I think this little girl is gorgeous!

 

 She is so calm and easy-going and didn't mind posing for pictures!

 

The morning was cool, but it was hard to catch her without her tongue hanging out!  All that fur makes her hot.

 

So, what was she staring at?  Answer:  A big, black dog!

Dachshund tails at the dog show

I know I've neglected this little blog and Instagram terribly, but I'm finishing up school and then will be back in the posting swing full blast! 

I did show Bentley last weekend in a local show.  He did okay in the ring, but was the only dog in his class and came in second in winners dog competition.  I wasn't disappointed, and felt good about how we both did.  I learn something every time I go to a dog show, and this time it was about grooming.  Since I'm trying to learn more about grooming it was good to observe how each dog was groomed, especially the feet.


Here's what a little guy does after a dog show - crash with your BFF Foxie!

I'm having a dilemma about whether to give up on the conformation showing and leap into obedience or to stick with it.  I think my dilemma is partially solved after being at the Houston dog show series this weekend.  Read on.

Yesterday I got to steward at the ring where the long-haired dachshunds were showing, first time ever and I was so excited!  I was also excited when I opened up the catalog and the first puppy in the ring was one that belongs to Kelly at Splendor Farms where I got all four of my dogs.  



Isn't this big guy handsome?





Best of Variety competition

No, this is not Bentley, but it could be him.  This dog had his championship and was competing as a special, yes, there is hope for Bentley!

The dog on the left would win Best of Variety!  I've competed with him at several shows and he always wins, he is beautiful! 

After seeing these dogs and the one that looked like Bentley, I've decided to stick with it a little bit longer.  He is a good looking dog, and I noticed that some of these dogs also seemed to have a little dip in their back, so that may not be a flaw.  I need to work on his grooming and my handling to make sure that I feel confident so he is too.  We are not giving up!



Shaggy Dog?

Is this a shaggy dog?

I enjoy taking my dogs places, but don't take them out as much as I should.  With the arrival of Jelly and spending time doing things with her and her family I've realized just how much I enjoy outings with a dog.  So I've resolved to be more proactive with taking them (one at a time, please!) more places. 

When we are out I enjoy not only time with the dogs, but interacting with other people who notice the dogs.  I always welcome children who politely ask if they can pet my dog.  When some children have to be encouraged  I always tell them to feel how soft the dog's ear is and that will usually get them closer.  I also like for people to ask me what breed the dog is or to recognize the breed and tell me that they either have a dachshund or two or have had them in the past.

Last Sunday at the Lavender Festival interaction was good, but we had two memorable experiences.  One was having a little girl who had Downs Syndrome make a face of delight when she reached out to touch Bentley's ear!  She was maybe about 3 years old and in a stroller.  The adults with her had already petted him and I knew she wanted to pet him but was afraid. Just a little encouragement and she reached out to touch him; she was delighted and so were the adults!

The other experience gave me a laugh.  As I stepped into one of the vendor booths a man looked at Bentley and commented, "I've never seen a shaggy dachshund.  Is he a mixed breed?"  Ha ha LOL! Slightly amused and somewhat insulted, I replied that he was a long-haired miniature dachshund, a full blood registered dachshund.  Another lady in the booth had bent down and was petting Bentley; I don't remember exactly what she said but I could tell that she was familiar with the long-haired version of a short-legged-long-bodied-pointed-nose dachshund.  Yes, I know Bentley doesn't have the long flowing hair of a long-haired dachshund, but he is definitely not shaggy.  Hopefully, the next time this guy sees a dachshund he will remember that there is a long-haired version.

Getting Acquainted

In the last two weeks we've had two outings with Jelly so we can get acquainted.  After today's outing she even stayed here for a little while.  Although there was a lot of barking from my four, it went fairly well.  This group is a pack and view other dogs as intruders, so their behavior was to be expected.  With some talking (it's okay, be nice, make friends) and a lot of "Stop Barking!" while she was here we got acquainted.  Jelly is so sweet and easy going and she was a little intimidated by these little short guys!  But we gave her lots of love and reassurance while they were together.  I think in time they will all settle in nicely as friends.

Jelly

Saturday before last Sawyer and I headed over to Stephanie's house.  We met up with her and Jelly (Jaydon was out of town) and went to a nearby park to walk the trails.  We are very fortunate because San Antonio has many parks and trails that go everywhere in those parks and sometimes even between; I think it is almost possible to walk from one side of town to the other!  We are looking forward to exploring many of them soon.

Jelly and Sawyer

We tried to get Jelly to drink out of the "Paws for Water" bottle, but she preferred to just drink from water poured into the cap!  We had a great walk and the two dogs got along well. 

Today we headed up to Blanco to the Lavender Festival.  Bentley and Jelly did real well together as we walked around (it was a great festival!).  Bentley is skiddish of other dogs; he's been jumped on a few times at dog shows and once at a training class.  Since Jelly is so calm that helped him not to be afraid of her.  Here they are with their leashes attached to the picnic bench where we ate lunch.  See the little pink square thing?  That is a collapsible water bowl that Stephanie brought along.  It worked great, although Jelly did step on it and there went the water! 

Afterward we stopped at Blanco State Park where there is a small damn on the Blanco River and an area for swimming.  Stephanie wanted to see what Jelly would do around water.  As it was there were a lot of people swimming and picnicking so it was not only populated but noisy.  She was very timid about it, but I think if they go back at a quieter time that she will be a typical Lab and head into the water with a little encouragement! (Just to note, the above picture was not made today.  Today we were across the river, on the other side by the concrete enclosure.  This is the same dam that I walked Sawyer across on a camping trip and thought I would never get across alive!).

Update on Blossom's teeth cleaning

After last night's post I think I need to give a little more information. I let Blossom sleep in the wire crate by herself last night.  I gave her a little kibble that was moistened slightly (per the vet's instruction) and water.  Both were untouched this morning. 

She was still spaced out this this morning, too.  She did go outside and was moving around, but I could tell that she was still not with it, so to speak.  The vet's office called to check on her mid-morning and told me that if she doesn't eat tonight and is still woozy tomorrow to bring her in, but I hope I don't have to.  This afternoon she is moving a little more, so I think it is just taking time for the anesthesia to wear off.  She's taking a nap in the sunny spot on the deck right now and looks very peaceful!

Her teeth were very corroded and they do look good now.  Good dental health is just as important for dogs as it is for people, but I'm not sure that I will do this again for the other dogs. I think I will add those little doggie toothbrushes into my grooming bag and try to form the faithful habit of brushing their teeth whenever they get a grooming.  It won't hurt and might help, too.

Blossom's a little tired

(After you read this post please see An update on Blossom's teeth cleaning for a little more information and some further thoughts on teeth cleaning for dogs)

 

Why is Blossom in the crate?  Why is the little fireball curled up and so still?  It's because she's a little woozy tonight (notice the glassy eyes?).  She had her teeth cleaned today and is still feeling the effects of the anesthesia.  I've never had to have a dog's teeth cleaned, so this was a first for both of us!

She has had tartar build-up since she was about a year old.  When she and Sawyer went in for their 4-year checkup the vet felt that it is time to do a cleaning.  Of course, my question was, "how much does it cost," but that really didn't matter.  It had to be done, so today was the day.  I did pay extra for an OraVet treatment which is a plaque preventative.  I'm hoping that the combination of really clean teeth and this treatment will prevent the return of the serious tartar buildup.

I've never thought of Blossom and Sawyer as being bonded, but this morning when I picked her up to take to the vet Sawyer was already in the kitchen.  He began to softly whine, so I knew that he didn't want his little sister to leave!

The cleaning went well and she'll be fully awake in the morning, ready to boss the world around again!