Bo and Smokey Bill and Snazzy

You can watch them in action! They all look like they are having fun in the photos and that they are all playing together. Watch the video and you will notice that Smokey Bill is clearly trying to play with Bo, but Snazzy is only playing with Smokey Bill.

This is Daisy

She is cute as a button and very hard to get a photo of.

And This is Why I Can't Find Any Tennis Balls!

Now, I, personally, have lost about 4 tennis balls by whacking them over the fence into the pears, plums and neighbor's yard. Remy has hidden about 9 of them in her run. This is why when Bo steals Remy's ball away in an attempt to get her to play with him, there are no back up tennis balls to be found.

Things Were Really Not Gelling Here at the Ranch

Snazzy wants to play with Smokey Bill and only Smokey Bill.
Smokey Bill has about had it with playing with puppy, Snazzy and really wants to play with Bo.
Bo only wants to play with Remy and, of course, Remy only wants to play with a tennis ball.

Everyone should be having a good time, but they aren't and I am getting very tired of throwing tennis balls. Correction: Remy is having a blast.

Snazzy has also found himself a wrestling partner just his size.

PUPPY ALERT!

Izzy's mom has gotten a new puppy. I am so happy for the two of them.

Whenever someone loses a dog, I advice that they get a new dog. Not right away, but do go a get yourself another dog.

I tell them,
"There are so many dogs in the world looking for a good home to live in. You are a great dog owner and you should give another dog a chance at such a great person to live with."

Snazzy has landed up with the best dog owner I know.

Lucky Dog, Lucky Mom!

Remy and Her Tennis Ball

Remington loves to play catch and she is very good about bring the ball back, she drops it right at my feet. When I don't throw it right away she lies down and waits to spring into action.There is no rest in that lying down, she is wound tight as a spring.

The New Kids Gets ALL the Attention

Poor Scooter, he has a fan club that will just not let up.

Who Knew, Ruger is a Love Bug!

When the kennel finally cleared out on Monday, I only had 4 dogs left. I decided I could finally sit down in the shade without getting mobbed. Since Ruger's buddies, Flip and Yanni, went home, he decided to play with me.

Turns out Ruger is a Love Bug, as in bug until all the good spots are scratched and then start over. He even licked the side of my face, I haven't had a German Shepard that was a licker before. Being licked by Ruger puts you is definitive danger of drowning. When he licked the side of my face, he licked the WHOLE side of my face. He is one big dog and that is one big tongue.

I thought he was just done with the loving and licking when he wandered off, but he came back with a tennis ball. We proceeded to have a great game of fetch, complete with having the ball dropped in my lap. That was the most pleasant and relaxing play time I have had in a long time.

Then Lassie showed up and the barking and chasing started up again.

I knew the peace and quiet wouldn't last.

Tessie and Sunny Could Be Twins...

...if only they looked alike.

Under those very different outfits they are the same dog. They are a perfect match for speed and maneuverability. They have the same playing, running, and wrestling styles. Unforunately, they also have the same bark, same pitch, same duration, same reasons for barking.


They are having a great time, I am getting a headache from the barking.

It is a Miracle!

This is McKinley. She is out of her kennel and in the play yard with other dogs. This is a miracle! This hasn't happened in years, and now it has happened two days in a row.


McKinley is one of my first clients. She has been staying with me for almost 5 years. She hates me. I trying not to take it personally. I understand that she hates everyone except her mom. She has a terrible time when she comes here, every time she comes here. My biggest success with McKinley is that she now will take a bedtime biscuit from my hand. (that happened sometime in my third year of operating)

She still snaps at me if I am dumb enough to attempt to pet her.

She used to come out with the other dogs at the beginning. Then she would come out if I opened her door when all the other dogs were put away. Then she would only come out if all the other dogs were put away and I left the play yard as well. Then she just wouldn't come out for anything.

Until yesterday morning, she stood at her gate and waited for me to open it, walked right out and was just fine with the other dogs. She protested all the other playtimes, but she came out again this morning. And I even saw her sniff another dog. There might still be hope for McKinley. I can't wait to tell her mom.

Tessie and Sunny

That is how they really look.

Ruger is getting the hang of the place

When he first arrived, I was a bit worried. I had never seen a bigger German Shepard. This dog is huge, the owners were right to wonder if he could get through my dog doors. He can but, it is a tight fit.

When he first came out, I was watching him pretty closely to see if he would be aggressive to any of the other dogs. No worries, instead of aggression in him, I had to worry about the other dogs intimidating Ruger. He was pretty skittish that first playtime, so I ran interference. I would call off Sunny, or Flip whenever they approached Ruger.

By the end of the second playtime, Ruger had untucked his tail and was playing with Yanni. Yes, he picked the smallest dog of the lot to start out with. I wish I had a picture of them playing together.

I tried to get that photo this morning, but instead of playing, Ruger has decided that he can dominate Yanni and Yanni is not interested in that particular game. I guess Ruger has gotten his confidence back because he has moved on from Yanni to Sunny and Flip.

Cutie Pies

Laney

























Sparky

They are just the cutest dogs. Sparky is a newbie, and he just took to the ranch like an old pro. He had a great time playing with all of the dogs. That is until I got the camera out, then he suddenly was only interested in running at me.

Best Friends!?

I didn't think these two were going to get along at all, but they have turned into best friends.

They both like to chase the tennis ball and Milly with a tennis ball is a good thing - you can't bite any bums with a tennis ball wedged in her mouth. She can, however, still bark with a tennis ball wedged in her mouth.

They are also fond of wrestling, which they do endlessly.

It has been a long stay for both of them, but since they have found each other; they are happy and tired out, while still really loud and barky.

Look, Tessie Holding Still!

Never seen before footage of Tessie not moving! It is a miracle!

You have no idea so rare this actually is. It must be really hot to get Tessie to lie down in the shade. Unfortunately, it is also only 10am. We are going to roast today.

Until Willie Came, This was My Trouble Maker

She is tiny and cute and fluffy and EVIL: She is Milly!

All speed and bite and absolutely no manners. Every time Sadie went after a tennis ball, Milly would chase and bite Sadie on the bum. Now, Sadie wants a ball thrown almost a quickly as she retrieves it - she sometimes has a problem with releasing the ball to me and that is the only thing that slows down her game of fetch. I thought Sadie was going to let Milly just have it one of these times and in fact she did. In the past, Sadie showing her teeth, growling and generally looking pissed off has deterred every other dog that messed with her tennis ball. Not Milly, she went right back to treating Sadie's right flank like it was the tennis ball and needed retrieving.

Needless to say, Sadie and Milly don't get to be on the same side of the play yard now.

Milly treats all the other dogs in pretty much the same way as she did Sadie, a lot of chasing, a lot of nipping, and WAY too much barking. Fortunately, I have Tessie and Davey, who both suffer from the exact same style of playing.

Sorry, Willie, This Will Be Your Last Stay at The Ranch

I have made a point of asking new clients if their dogs have been socialized and if they are at all aggressive. I have been trying to stress the fact that dog socialization is what this place is all about and that if your dog can't be with other dogs, please take them somewhere else.

Well, Willie's owners are going to get that speech when they pick him up. He started fence fighting the moment he got here. I have been keeping him separated on one side of the play yard during playtime, but that seems to be making him more aggressive.

I have to face the fact that I did not build a maximum security prison and that I can't have fence fighters and aggressive dogs threatening my normal dogs. The new kennel, if I ever get it built, will be much more secure, but I am going to keep telling people that their dogs can't come if they can't get along.

Ritz

This is how I most commonly see Ritz, semi-attached to my left knee. She is quite the love-bug, but she has the softest fur so I don't mind.


















Max, on the other hand, isn't looking for my attention. He is to busy slathering his attention on all the other dogs. Ritz is not interested at all, as you can see.

Sorry about the big gaps in the last post.

Something is up with Blogger. It is a real fight to deal with photos anymore. I can't get it to let me write inbetween pictures, the words just wrap down the sides. If I cut out a picture and try to past it to a new spot, it alway just goes to the bottom of all the pictures.

I hope they get this figured out. What ever improvement they were trying to make is just not working out.

Chock Full of Dogs

Amica and Teenso




















Bella and Kodi


























































Tucio and Vido



























Chaser and Bella




































Flash and Ritz

































Flip and Yanni


















and Max.



I have 6 sets of 2 dogs and only one kennel with one dog, Max. He is scheduled to go home today and be replaced with a threesome tomorrow, so on average they are a double also.

I have never had this many double dogs at once and the strain is showing. I really can't get the name combos together, correctly anymore. I just have no idea who I am trying to call, what is going to come out of my mouth and which of any dog I will get. I am also having trouble remembering which set goes in which kennel. Alway great fun in trying to get a dog to come back out of a run that he doesn't belong in.

I Think the Bella's Have Me All Confused

This weekend I was to have...


Jinx and Bella, the Pomeranian
Cody and Bella, the German Shepard
Sophie and Bella, the Border Collie mix
and
Chaser and Bella, the Shitzu

So there were going to be 4 all together, but the Border Collie ended up going back to her owner's house instead of bunking with Grandma's dog.

Last Weekend it was Pugs, This Weekend it is BELLA's

I have three different dogs named Bella coming this weekend. I don't think I will be mixing them up, though. One is a Black Lab, one is a Pomeranian, and the last is a Border Collie mix.

Funniest thing about this was that I didn't need to make up extra 'BELLA' clothes pins. I already had three of them. This must have happened before.

Finally, Someone to Play with Pogi

Pogi has mostly been making a pain of himself with all the other dogs. He bugs and and bugs until they are sick of him. Now, he is getting that same treatment from Max. Unlike the dogs that were trying to avoid him, Pogi seems to be enjoying all the attention.






























































































Maggie, on the other hand, does not want any attention from Max. Whenever he gives up on Pogi and sets his sights on Maggie, she runs over to me and we have a game of 'Ring Around the Dog Sitter'. Around and around she goes...