Terry just plays with everyone

Terry and Moe

Terry and Harley

Terry and Shadow

He even gave Daisy a try. The only dogs he does play with are Goofy and Roo - they don't play.

And when he plays with Davey there is just too much growling for me to stop and take the picture, I too busy running interference.

Since I couldn't get pictures of them in action....

I will just have to find pictures of them that are in focus.

Daisy, much quieter with a tennis ball in her mouth. I have to remember that.


Davey, he looks like the first dog I ever baby sat. Her name was Molly and she was owned by my neighbors back in Chicago when I was a kid. I never thought my job as house and pet sitter in high school would become my career.

This is Roo. This is not how he normally looks. He is usually much furrier. This must be his summer cut. I keep telling people, "If you can't put your tomatoes out until after Memorial Day in Utah, don't shave the dog until then!" It has been snowing, sleeting, and generally back to winter this weekend and I have 4 dogs with their summer cuts just freezing.

This is Moe. I know you can barely see her, but this is her favorite spot. She has claimed a toy and is hiding it and herself from everybody else. This is Moe's hobby, toy hoarding and hiding.

This is Shadow. He is a love bug. I have to get the story on his name from his owners. Most Shadows are black dogs, but I do have one other that is a beagle. She got her name because she was a little boy's 'shadow' when they first got her.

And Harley, always the MOUNTER, never the MOUNTEE, and lets all try to remember that!

I Have Found a Solution

Tennis Balls!

Terry likes to chase them and he brings them back to my general vicinity. Moe likes to chase the balls and even brings them back near to me. And Davey, Harley and Roo don't care about the ball and just want to run with all the other dogs.


Happy Day! No more growly wrestling matches that make me nervous.

Back to Are You Playing or NOT?!

Terry just wants to wrestle with anything on 4 legs and will settle for my two legs if he can't get a game going with the doggies.

I know he is harmless, but his energy level, shear persistence, and puppy lack of manners, means that the older dogs get tired of playing with him pretty quickly.

He started yesterday with trying to mount Harley. Harley considers himself the Mounter and not the Mountee, so I got close to make sure nothing happened. Nothing did, Harley just ended up boxing with Terry and having a good time. Well, a good time to a point. When I noticed that Harley added a growl to the play time, I stepped up again and broke it up. Harley march over to his kennel door and I got the message. Grandpa is done with the baby.

He moved onto Shadow. When Shadow ran out of steam, he just walked away and laid down.

That is when Terry teamed up with Miss Daisy. I thought this would be a good match of size, speed and skill. One problem, Miss Daisy growls when she plays. I know she is not fighting or wanting a fight, but I have not been able to get her to stop the growling. What I worry about is the dog that assumes the growl means FIGHT! and matches her growling.

Well, I have that today. Not only is Miss Daisy growling, so is Davy and so is Moe. Moe seems intent on dashing in growling and breaking up any wrestling matches as soon as they start. I am spending a lot of time just stepping between dogs and in my best 'Mom' voice announcing, "ENOUGH!"

That always seems to reset the group and they break up and start again with someone new. I tried separating them into different side of the fence, but I could come up with any combo that would work on both sides of the gate. I have to try something else or I am going to freeze over taking each dog out for its very own 15 minutes of play time. Besides, if I do that they will all have a terrible play time and the barking will be even worse.

Think, Think, Think...there has to be something that can make this group gel together better.

Maybe I can call BB owners and have her come over for the afternoon and show these idiot how to play together.

It's all good again.

Enough of the snow has melted for Digger to find his tennis balls and all is right with the world again. Well, his world anyway. With Digger flying across the play yard over and over again, the dogs can now play together. Moe and Bear have settled their differences, with a bit of help from me, and are having a great time playing keep away from each other. As long as Bear stops darting in and taking Digger's ball, we are all good. Except for me, there is still enough snow to turn that tennis ball into a slobber-slush-ball and my gloves are starting to ice up. But that is where Roo comes in, he only wants to be loved. I give him a big rub down every time I throw that slobber-slush-ball. That way I am staying one step ahead of frostbite.

It is no fun when BB goes home...

I had a great day yesterday. We had a snow storm and the dogs had a blast playing in the snow. They were a pretty good group of dogs after they settled in. Digger just wants to play ball and he brings the ball back every time, unless BB steals it. BB was keeping Moe and Little Bear running at top speed. That kept Little Bear from attempting to herd the other dogs. I didn't understand why the other dogs seemed to hate Little Bear, but then I saw him bite Roo on the tail. That would definitely put me off.

But all was good and happy and fun to watch. I took a bunch of pictures, I'll have to post them later.

Then BB went home and everything went to hell. Moe and Roo have to be separated from Digger and Little Bear. Without BB, there is no playing only growling and tush nipping. Digger can't find any tennis balls in the deep snow so he is just lost and Daisy, a puppy, can't get the big dogs to play with her. So both sets of siblings end up standing at the gate barking at each other and no one gets any exercise, except me. I get a pretty good work out jumping up and down just trying not to freeze over.