I call him, Cory.

I thought about making a big stuffed animal, but cardboard sounded easier. ha, ha.

I am putting together a silent auction item for St. Anthony's Carnival. I have a doggie backpack and what better way to show it off than on a dog. I had planned on leaving him a lovely shade of brown cardboard, but now I have to papermache him to cover up his one side that is showing that he was born of a diaper box.

Whenever I get him done, he will have his back pack, 2 toys, a travel dog dish, and gift certificates from The Ranch and from John McCurdy for dog training.

Getting Along Much Better This Weekend

I have a threesome of big and bouncy, BB, Amica, and Booker. They are a good match for personality, speed, agility and even color. That is a bit of problem, I almost fed Booker, BB's food. And it is hard to tell who you are yelling at when they speed by.

Booker is still playing too rough, but the girls are more than willing to put him in his place. I think they are going to be a good influence on him.

Booker's owner sent a squirt bottle of water for me to use on him, when he acts up. Funny, I just bought myself one last week to try on the nuisance barkers. The lady that runs the animal shelter recommended it. I still think it seems a bit mean, which probably explains why the bottle is still in its bag in the back of my husband's car. Now, I don't have any problem dumping an entire bucket of water on dogs that are fence fighting, but squirting them still seems too harsh. I haven't even tried it on Booker, I keep forgetting his bottle in the kennel.

Or, maybe, it is just that I love them all the more when they are terrible.

Duke and Laura

I haven't had these two in years now. I was shocked by how old they had gotten. Watching the dogs get old is a bit harder with having lost my two old dogs this summer.

It seems that Laura still likes her tennis balls. She was even willing to chase it a short distance. No more of her high flying leaps to catch the ball on a bounce anymore. Laura has not changed in shape at all as she has aged. I wish I had film of her snatching a ball out of the air, while get that fat butt at least a couple of feet off the ground. She had air time like Michael Jordan.

Now, naps seem more important that tennis balls.

So Sorry to Disturb You!

I headed out for the bedtime shift about 9pm, last night. I went directly into the play yard to let Duke and Laura out. They are my only guests, at this time. They weren't outside, they didn't come outside when I arrived, they didn't come outside when I called, so I stepped into their kennel and looked inside. Too cute, they were asleep piled on each other. Laura, finally, did get up. She walked to the dog door, stuck her head out, and glared at me. I could tell that stepping out into the cold and dark was not something she was going to do.

I ended up giving them their bedtime biscuits and going to bed myself.

Not a Paid Endorsement

I guess we all have to say stuff like that these days.

I didn't buy these things and the company didn't send it to me. An owner sent them along with the pills to put inside and the dog to put the whole thing inside.

Over the phone, I was surprised to hear that they were having trouble getting their dog to take his thyroid pills. Funny, they usually just love those little liver flavored thyroid pills. I found out why he was so reluctant to take his pills; these were the regular old, not good tasting, human thyroid pills. They are also so tiny, you would never be able to tell if you got them down or just lost them on the floor.

These pill pockets have been a god send. I am really impressed. I have always used peanut butter on my dogs, but this seems even easier. I will have to check the price, though. Could get expensive if your dog takes them every day. Though I did figure out that you only need to use half of each to get the pill down.

I couldn't get Buddy the dachshund to take his pill at all yesterday and even with all my experience, I couldn't get his mouth open for a stuff it down technique. I decided to borrow one of these pockets and that pill went straight down. I think I am sold. I might just keep some in stock. Definitely beats that empty feeling in your stomach as you are considering prying open a doberman's mouth each morning.

Ha, Ha, Ha - I Solved One Problem and Made Myself a Whole New One

I decided to try again and see if I could come up with a mix of dogs that would play together without any growling.

Tessie, Booker and Rocko on one side. So far so good.
The newbies and the shitzus on my side. Looking good.
Tippy and Tank and Booker, staying in their runs for now. (Much barking out of complaints)


The newbies, Butch, Bella, and Chumbs, seem to be getting used to the place. Bella has stopped giving herself a wedgie and was actually wagging her tail. Buddy, the antisocial dachshund, came out into the play yard for the first time all weekend. I even saw him wag his tail. Rambo and Dorie plus Butch and Bella seem to be a hit. They are having a great time. I get to stop being in Referee mode for the first time in days and get the poop scooped. It really needed to get done.

The play yard is clean, the dogs are having fun, except the guys that haven't had their turn outside yet. Time to switch. Okay, maybe too much fun because I can't get any of the 5 into thier runs. The newbies were easy to put in last night, they were pretty freaked out and ready to go anywhere that had less dogs. Not today. Trying to get 3 dogs, all that don't want to be in, into one run is nothing short of chaos. Especially, when one of them is a lab puppy. (you can't steer puppies)

I finally caught the shitzus and then I got Chumbs in, then grabbed the puppy and Bella just walked in like, "Gee, all you had to do was ask."

I Hate Weekends Like This

I just don't get why the dogs aren't getting along this time. They really should be a good match for each other, but that just doesn't seem to be the case. As of last night, everyone is getting to play only with themselves. Play time is taking twice as long and no one is having any fun - including me.

Tippy can't play with any little dogs, his owner warned me that he will "go after" anything smaller than himself. Good to know, and nice that I didn't have to figure it out on my own.

I was planning on Booker and Tip wearing each other out. They play okay for awhile then suddenly Tippy turns on the aggression and Booker looks worried. I haven't come up with a technique to stop this behavior and I never saw it on The Dog Whisperer. My only choice is separation.

But Ziggy showed up and I figured three in a dog pile should spread the energy out. Nope, Tippy and Booker teamed up on poor Zig. Ziggy gives up and heads for his kennel. We had a bit of peace and fun after that as Lucinda and Booker were whipping around the play yard.

But now the bad behavior has spread. Rocko is tormenting the new guys. Tippy can't be with anyone other than his brother Tank. And Booker has become as aggressive in his play as Tippy, so he is soloing also. Booker and Tessie are barking non stop at each other, so they also have to be separated.

I am actually having to let each dog out alone, like all the other kennels do.


I am starting to dread playtime.

Another Game of BB Fetch

Turns out that Tippy plays fetch very much the same way as BB does. That is that I throw and they keep the ball. It really does limit the time we get to play fetch unless I can find another tennis ball to throw.

Note the paw pinning the ball to the ground.

Not Exactly Living Up to Their Names

This is Rambo. Not really as scary as his name.

This reminded me of White Fang. A few years ago, I had just had a weekend of dogs not getting along and I look at the calendar for the next weekend and there is a White Fang scheduled to come.

Geez, the last thing I need is another bruiser of a dog.

White Fang, turned out to be small, white, and fluffy and clearly a threat to no one.

I also have a teacup poodle named Spike.

Maybe they will grow into their names?

Not Exactly Traveling Light

These guys are much smaller than the size of their combined 'stuff'.

I have to laugh at the owners sometimes, they are worried about how their dogs are "very spoiled." Like they are the only ones. People who are worried about leaving their dogs tend to over do..the toys, the bedding, or the food. On a rare occasion, I get too much of all three.

Rarely, does the over packing last more than a couple of stays. As soon as the humans are more comfortable with the dogs hanging with me - the less stuff, the less fluff, and the less extensive the food supply.

Rambo and Dory, here, take the record for the most toys. Their kennel looks like a Petsmart threw up in it. Much in the same way, my living room looks like Toys-R-US barfed all over it.

Things are getting worse with Smokey

My attempts to save my own hide and caused her to be even more aggressive in demanding my love and attention. She has no taken to chomping down on my arm to get me to stay. Lucky for me it has been cold enough to wear a jean jacket.

I still can't get her to interact with the other dogs. She has Boudins mounting her and she still is only focused on me.

Two more days of this...ugh. She is not having a good time and I am getting quite the assortment of bruises. So ready for this long weekend to be over.

Something is Up...

With Amica and Teenso. Teenso won't go in the kennel unless she is the first one in the kennel. I am having enough problems with dogs going into the wrong kennels. I don't need the hassle of having to get them to load up in order.

Can One Actually Be Loved to Death?

This will be the weekend to test the theory. Smokey, all 100+ pounds of her, loves me. And it has definitely crossed that fine line between love and stalking.

She is all over me, rubbing up against me, jumping on me, covering me with slobber. She shows absolutely no interest in the other dogs, just me. I am trying all my dog whisperer tricks of pushing her with my thighs like another dog would do to move her. I have tried turning my back on her, which is supposed to mean 'I don't want to play' in dog body language. All that got me was a big strafe down my back. Earlier, I was able to hold her off for awhile by carrying around the pooper scooper and the pan.

Tonight, I just gave up and saved myself. I stuck her and the other big dogs on one side of the gate and hung out with the little dogs.

Eeekkk! Snake!

I managed to get scared brainless by the same snake, twice. I mean once is to be expected, but when you know he is there and you are actively looking for him, to be jumping and squealing like a little girl for a second time is just embarrassing. Sorry, didn't have the camera with me for a picture.

I was headed down for the lunch time playtime and was carrying two buckets of hot water. I was about to step onto the concrete step of my kennel when it moved. There was a 5' gopher snake lying in the grass against the concrete. He started moving about as fast I was jumping and squealing. He headed under the peach tree and I opened the door and headed for the safety of the kennel building.

After carefully checking on my way back out the door, I let Tessie out for her playtime. I quickly went around the corner to make sure the snake hadn't headed into the play yard. I couldn't see him, so I figured he was still in the deep grass under the peach tree.

So, playtime is over and I am headed back into the kennel. I need to clean a couple of runs. I now know there is a snake and I am looking for the snake. Not until he moved again did I see him. He was curled up on the concrete right next to the door. More jumping and squealing from me, more fleeing from him. I think he will be finding a new warm spot to sun in.

I do hope he gets back to work on the mouse population. I spotted a mouse in my kitchen this morning. We got the house sealed up good about 5 years ago, so this is the first mouse in ages. This is a bad sign for the mice to be looking for winter homes this early. Long, cold winter ahead of us? I definitely see mouse traps in my future.