Both the BIGGEST and the LITTLEST!

Cai and Jinx, marvel at the shear range of dogdom.

This weeks visitors

Littlest to Biggest

Jinx



Jinx's BIG sister, Bella



Tessie, who never lets me get a picture of her.



Ellie-Belly, she no longer requires a belly rub to get back into her kennel.



BB, doesn't she look mean in this picture.



Shadow, who just might be afraid of his own shadow.



Cai, short for Mordecai, short for nothing else. He is the biggest dog, ever, at The Ranch!

Action Figures!

LIVE ACTION!

Cast of Characters

Buddy



Emma



Roxie



Teesha



Dexter

I missed the photo and the joke.

Maybe I am only firing on a couple of my pistons because it took me until the dogs had been here for more than a day to get the pun of their names. Arrow and Bo. I wrote it on the calendar and didn't notice it. Arrow and Bo. I wrote it on their paperwork. Arrow and Bo. I called them by the names. I finally reversed it as I was trying to get them to go in for dinner, Bo! Arrow!

Bow and Arrow, too funny. Funnier since I was so oblivious. I love a good pun, I adore funny dog names, I love to laugh at how stupid I can be some days!

Arrow got her name from the picture arrowhead marking on her forehead. I missed the photo for all of you. Maybe next time they come.

Yet Another Cold and Wet Memorial Day Weekend

I am equally shocked and pleasantly surprised when we get nice weather for Memorial Day or Halloween.

But it is still a good day at the Ranch, as Butch finally has someone to play with. Lucky and he are a pretty good match, I only wish that Ziggy hadn't cancelled out. Luck and Butch are getting plenty dirty, wet and worn out, but three in a dog pile is something to watch.

I will stick the camera in my coat and try to get some footage.

Until Lucky showed up this morning, Butch had been trying to play with everyone else. Teesha seems to want to play for about 30 seconds and then she seems to want to take a chunk out of Butch. Butch is unaware of this change in mood. Butch wants to play with Roxie, the boxer, but she seems to have a sore leg. She would have been a good playmate, but she started holding her back leg up just last night. I am trying to determine if it is the leg or the paw, but she is still mobile enough not to let me have a good look. Emma, the white lab, is too old for this stuff and is sticking to playing with Dexter, the cocker spanial. Dexter is avioding both Lucky and Butch as too big and bouncey for him to play with. And little Buddy, the dachshuad, never plays with anyone but his brother Ziggy and they just had a big fight and are spending some time apart. Another talk with the owners over that one, coming up.

Harley, Harley, Harley...

There seems to be an excess of Harley's this month. I had 2 this past weekend and will have another one this coming weekend. Buddy is a really popular name, Coco is another. Sadie and Maggie for the girls, but Harley seems to be the most popular dog name of all.

Whenever, I finally finish typing in all of my client info into the new database, I will have an actually name count for you. I hit 429 dogs and over 300 owners, at the time the computer died. I have to get back into typing in 20 dogs a day and finish the last foot or so of papers on my office floor. Oh, yeah and then pickup this year's papers out of the kennel.

Oh, yeah, this has been really encouraging....

Not a Conversation I Want to Have

This Sunday, I am going to get to tell an owner that their dogs are welcome here. This is not something I enjoy saying, but I cannot tolerate any aggressive dogs.

I know I will tell the owners and I know the dogs won't be back because I control those things. This isn't maximum security and I can't put other people's kids at risk.

I have been separating these two dogs from the other dogs. They get a whole play area to themselves. They play pretty rough with each other, but at least they are getting some exercise and aren't spending the entire playtime fence fighting the other dogs at the gate. They have been doing that with their neighbors in the kennel. I put dogs next to them that won't take the bait and fight back.

Until yesterday, this was going to be a pretty simple conversation. I would just ask the owners not to bring them again. Now, I have to tell them that I truly believe that one of the dogs will eventually injure if not kill their other dog. This is where I lose control of the conversation. This is when owners become deaf and can't hear me. No one wants to hear criticism of their kids, and I think it is worse to hear bad stuff about your dogs. When an owner does listen to my advice and sees the problem, I stop worrying. I am hoping that these owners are realists.

What happen yesterday? I was putting the big group of dogs away first.

See, I could never get the big group of dogs that all get along to go to the far side of the play yard. Someone would always stay behind and I would have to put them back in their kennel to let the two aggressive dogs out. This meant that one dog got too short of a play time AND had to put up with the two idiots fence fighting at his kennel. So, I switched it around. Two trouble makers get the big play area and 9 dogs share the small side.

So, small side dogs go in first. As I was trying to sort that group out, I heard the other two growling. They play very rough and growl quite a bit when playing so I wasn't actually alarmed. Then I hear a more distinctive growl and out of the corner of my eye I see the puppy shaking something in her mouth. It is gray and fluffy and I freaked. I really thought that one of the smaller dogs had somehow squashed through the gate and gotten in with this monster. Not that we have anything small and gray at this time. It was a large, ratty, knotted rope that I hate because BB gets it and hits me with it. My heart was beating so fast. Not the aerobic exercise I want to get, but it did make me much more attentive to these two playing.

The younger and smaller one is very aggressive over toys. The tugs of war are play on oneside of the toys and just plain war on the other. I also noticed that the puppy is food aggressive to the older and bigger dog. The puppy is a smaller breed and will never be as big as she sister, but the size of her aggression doesn't have those limits.

Not looking forward to it, but it is a conversation that must be had.

Last Day for My Poodles!

Well, they are not really MY poodles, but they are here quite a bit and for long stays. Now that they are going back home to their REAL owner, I am not going to get to see them.

See, Grandpa and Grandma have been babysitting the grand dogs during a divorce. They head back to Dad this weekend.

No more ricocheting around the kennel, two fluffy projectiles, as I try to make it to the dog door and remove it. No more Fetch with Max. He brings the ball back and lets me take it out of his mouth each time. You do have to throw to where Max decides to run to, or he can't find the ball, but that is a small price to pay for a dog that does all the work in a game of Fetch.

I wish I had the camera last night. They were both staring at me with dog biscuits hanging half way out of their mouths. It would have been a lovely portrait.

At least, I get to keep BB.

Bad Case of Blog Neglect

I really have been just awful with keeping up with this blog. I was hoping to get back into it after I finally finished the taxes. Alas, this is not going to happen.

I finally started working on the database for the Ranch. I have is set up and am spending all of my precious nap time trying to get all the info typed in. In the end, I hope that the regulars won't have to fill out paperwork anymore. I will print it out for them.

The pile of papers stemming back into 2000, was about 4' tall. I have already entered 420 dogs. And that is only 2008, 2007, and 2006. I have this year's and about 2' of old stuff to go through. I am dying to find out what the grand total of dogs is going to be.

On top of that project, I am going to go for a Small Business Administration loan for a new building. I am working on the plans, and notes already. I hope to get them out to some contractors in about a week. Then, I can crank out the financials the bank needs. So no blogging for awhile. But if this works, no having to say "Sorry, we are full" all the time.

If anyone has a contractor they can recommend or names that I should avoid (I know one of those already) let me know.

I Hate Spring!

And no it is not because the temperature just decided to head back into winter.

This happens every Spring and every Spring it catches me off guard. When am I going to remember and be prepared for this! Once again I find myself pacing around the play yard asking the dogs, "Have you all lost your furry little minds!?"

And the answer is YES they have.

It is Spring and the dogs have all had the volume turned up on their aggression. I have dogs threatening to dismember each other that would normally have a grand ole time together. Ugh, I hate Spring. Big or little, male or female - it doesn't matter. There has been more growling and snapping in the past week than in the past 6 months.

I had a policeman tell me there are more dog bites in the Spring than in the rest of the year. I believe him. I am the one that was completely terrorized by a Shitzu this weekend. She was very small and very mad and was not going to let me open her door. I persisted, I just couldn't leave her stuck inside all day. I used the tennis racket technique I got off the Dog Whisper, and kept her at bay while I pulled the door. I had to laugh at myself later. My heart was beating so hard and I was so scared of such a little dog.

Everything is funny as long as you make it back out of the run with everything intact.

Poor Biscuit

She spent a long weekend with me, completely freaked out.

This is her second stay and I have made no progress on winning her over.

Her owner tells me that she hasn't been the same since her sister dog, Allie, died.

She is completely adorable and I would love to love on her, but she won't come near me. She won't even come out anymore.


She does have one of the oddest habits I have never seen before in a dog - storing her blanket in her dishes. Each morning, I would fish her blanket out of her water dish. I couldn't figure out how or why it was in there every day until Monday morning. Just as she finished her breakfast, there was all this noise coming from her kennel. I head over only to watch her finish tucking her bright green blanket nicely and completely into her food dish. It stayed there until she got picked up that evening.

I guess I should have stopped messing with her interior design efforts.

Driving me to Drink?

We had Whiskey and Midori here for the weekend, but Tequila canceled out.

I also have a Bourbon, a Kahlua, and now two Boozers.

I, too, almost went this route. Years ago I said that if I ever had 3 Labradors, a black, a brown and a yellow, I would name them Guinness, Harper, and Bud.

Happy to Come! Happy to Go! That is what we like to see at the Ranch!

I love that dogs run down to the kennel, dragging their owners the whole long way.

I love to see how excited they are to see their owner's again, no matter how short the stay was.

Today, I am just going to be so happy to see them all go home. Just as happy as I was to see them all arrive. They have been a fun and happy group, a bit barky, but that is just to be expected. It is just that the level of physical abuse heaped on me has passed 'beyond the call of duty' and into the realm of 'cruel and unusual punishment'. Ugh.

I explained about Maki and her fist of steel. I can't keep this dog off me to save my own life. Not for lack of trying, mind you. I can't get out of petting her. So I try to keep her paws off me as best I can. Unfortunately, she leans into me when I pet her. Maki has a unique ability to shove my kneecaps off the front of my legs. Ouch.

Then there is Blue. He tries to sneak in a petting or two when I am working on Maki. Blue is a bit mouthy - he tends to put his teeth on my hands. That is a no-no in my book. So he has been getting the Dog Whisperer - tisshhh and a touch. This is actually working on him.

Midori, Midori, Midori...speed and stealth are her weapons. She can nail me with a flying leap of love and be gone before I have ever even see her. What is really unfortunate is that she has an uncanny knack for landing her leap directly on my bruise. Double Ouch!

Diesel usually only hits me on his way out of his kennel. I try to let other dogs out first so he will focus his "shot out of the gate" energy on someone who can take it. It doesn't always work.

The others, Whiskey and Sadie, have not come in direct contact with me all weekend.

Knock Down, Killed and Eaten!

I make jokes about that all the time. Knock Down, Killed and Eaten! is going to be my obituary. All in fun, until Sunday when I actual thought it was going to happen.

Dogs bite. That is just a fact. They bite other dogs, they bite people. They bite for good reasons, bad reasons, and sometimes no reason at all.

I have been bitten 5 times in 6+ years.
A Rottweiler on the thumb
Something small and fuzzy that I can't remember on the back of my hand.
A Teacup Poodle on my lip, ouch.
A Pomeranian through a work glove and my finger nail, bigger ouch.
And now a Boxer on my forearm.

Statistically speaking, verses the shear number of dogs that stay here, not too bad.

The first and the fourth, I got breaking up a dog fight. Not really unexpected.

The second and third were out of the blue, stroke of lightning kind of bites. The dog is frightened, lunges out. They are fast and over just as fast. The dog was afraid, he made me stop and now it is over. These kinds of bites can come from any dog, no matter how well behaved. Freak a dog out, and he will chomp on you once and be done with it. Most of the time, the chomp is just a snap - no contact. Often, it will be more of a warning shot over the bow. Most dogs will lunge and snap to miss just to warn you off.

The fifth was a dog declaring his territory with the intent to really hurt me. We had trouble with this dog from the moment he arrived on Friday. He and his daughter were just fine when Mom and Dad were still here, but shortly after when my dog sitter went to let them out, he lunged at her hand on the gate. She called me and I told her, 'If you don't feel comfortable, don't let them out."

Maybe I should have taken my own advice.

When I got home on Saturday, I let all the other dogs out for dinnertime play. When I went in, I made a point of feeding these two dogs last. That basically lowers their status in the pack. I found them to be both very submissive when I went in to feed them. And even quite lovey. They were all over my hands, licking my gloves. I thought that their 'time-out' had mellowed them.

So, I went back out and let just those two have some playtime. The female came out, no problem. She came up to me for some petting and went on to explore the play yard. The male would not come out of his run. This is a first for me. He stood in his outside run with the gate wide open and was barking at me, defending his territory. I have never seen any dog be that defensive about the kennel space. Most dogs don't even care if other dogs go into their runs.

I just let him alone. I did my usual with a skittish dog, no eye contact, no direct movement toward them. He did eventually come out, but would always run back in. I was thinking that made them easy to put away. And that night they were.

Sunday breakfast, he is pretty much over the territorial stand in the run and is out with his daughter. He eventually goes back in on his own, but I can't get the female to go in. I am not really up for grabbing a shoving this female in. So, I am trying to get her to approach the kennel by petting the male. This works after awhile and they are both back in. No sign of aggression this time, at all. Just defiance of going in, but that is a pretty typical response to the end of playtime. I was actually thinking that she might be afraid of the male and that is what is holding up her going in.

Sunday lunch, I take my camera down to get a picture of this dog barking out an open gate, but he never does it. Everything is fine until I try to put them away. He is already in and the female is running around anywhere but in. I try to tempt her over with loving on the male, again. This is going well until he gives out one of his 'This is MINE' barks. I pull my hands away before I even finish the thought process. Good thing, he was going for me, big time. He wasn't going for a warning shot over the bow either, he was aiming to maim.

I was backing away and realizing that I had to control him or he would get me, all at the same time. I grabbed for his collar, and landed the grab. Thank, God! I started dragging him back to his run and as I shoved him in, he turned and bit down on my left arm. I just kept shutting the gate and he had to let go as it closed.

My husband heard the commotion and ran down to help me out. We got the female into a different kennel and called it good. We put everyone else away, fed the puppies their lunch, and I called the owners to ask them if someone could pick up their dogs. They said they would come home and get them. I can't tell you how relieved I was to hear that. Most people can't come home early and I would have been stuck with a dog I couldn't let out or dare to even feed or water.

All of this happened before I would even look at my arm. I find that the adrenaline can carry you pretty far, until you see the blood. Don't look, that's my advice, if you need to get something done before you freak out. Turns out that my arm only has a very nasty bruise. I feel that I should write a letter thanking the Lands End company for my winter coat. It saved my arm. Had this been summer, that dog would have taken the meat off the bone.

Once again, never a dull moment at the Ranch

Maki, Maki, Maki

If loving you was just much less painful.

Maki is my one and only Mastidore - half Mastiff, half Lab.

So she is big, her paws are huge.
She is playful, that is the lab.
She is determined and a bit pushy, that is the Mastiff.
And she is the most confident and secure dog on the planet.

Let me explain.

When not running and wrestling with all the other dogs, Maki wants loving. She will demand it by jumping up on me, or just putting her paw on me. Getting a love tap from Maki is comparable to being hit by a velvet covered brick. I keeping putting her paws down while I launch into 'ear nuggies', 'collar scratchings' and her favorite 'rub the fuzzy butt'. (You can win over any dogs with these three maneuvers.) But this is never enough for Maki, all petting sessions end in her stretched out on the ground awaiting a tummy rub. I am a bit hesitant to drop to the ground with this many big and bouncy dogs just waiting to include me in the wrestling. But not Maki. As I start in, all the other dogs show up. Sniffing and smelling, even stepping over Maki. It takes a very secure dog to stay in the most vulnerable of positions and let other dogs sniff them. Maki is only mad because I can't keep rubbing in the middle of a dog pile.

Feast or Famine?

I had 2 days off from doggies this week. The puppies went home at 9 am on Monday and I didn't get any new dogs until about 9 am on Wednesday. That was two mornings with only baby and kids to deal with and two nights of not having to trek out into the cold just before bedtime. Maybe the recession does have its silver lining?

My business has been way off since December, but I am not usually totally empty. I have had a number of weeks when there is only one dog here for days at a time. That is boring and unprofitable for me, as well as boring for the dogs. So, the downturn is even hurting the canines.

But my empty and briefly, totally clean, kennel is once again stuffed to the rafters.

Everyone showed up yesterday, 4 reservation and 2 emergency drop offs, total of 9 dogs. Mostly all big dogs, mostly all Labrador or bit of Labrador. With so many big and bouncy dogs, the play is pretty intense. I mostly try to stay out of the way, with little luck. I am desperately trying to protect my left arm from impacts with even less luck. (I got bit last weekend, but that is another post)

I will try to get some pictures today.

Getting the Right Dog to Arrive Makes All the Difference

I was having a lousy week.

The dogs aren't playing together well. When everything jives around here, this job is a joy. When the dogs aren't having a good time, I clench up about it.

Diesel has been here awhile now and was honestly getting bored. When Khiya arrived the other day, I thought I had a good play team. Not so much. Khiya acts all excited to play with Diesel, but her enthusiasm fades in under a minute. Diesel is still suffering from his inability to read the body language of other dogs. (I was wondering if it was because he must have been taken away from his litter early.) The growls, the showing of teeth, even snapping doesn't register with him as anything more than, "Let's play MORE!"

Really, he is that oblivious.

So I had my hands full, with keeping these two apart and still try to get them to get some exercise.

Then came Dusty. He is new, small, skittish and is to be no where near either Khiya or Diesel.

Ugh!

And today came Smokey and saved my week. Smokey might be freaked out by people but dogs love him. Diesel just keeps trying to mount him and Smokey just stands there and takes it. Smokey is also big enough that there is no fear of Diesel smooshing him. Diesel was attempting to mount a Boston Terrier over the weekend, but that is another post. When Smokey breaks free of Diesel's affection, then Khiya joins the group for a lap around the play yard. Dusty is being happily ignored by the big dogs and is settling into the Ranch just fine.

And I have big sigh of relief.

Usually it is the Owners that Call

Misha and Murray

Murray is the yellow one and Misha is the brown.

Love the names.
Love the dogs.
Just have no idea what combination of dogs built these two.

Auntie Em! Auntie Em!

Emma is one of my favorite dogs. Have you ever seen such a white Labrador? Isn't she just the cutest thing. I do have a soft spot for the labs. Emma is getting old and a bit on the heavy side, but hey, who isn't? But, she still likes to run and play.

Only problem with Emma is that her owners just don't travel often enough.

Doing What He Likes Best!

This dog, who will remain nameless, is really fond of peeing on everything. As a rule, male dogs have incomprehensibly high opinion of their own urine, but un-neutered male dogs seem to think that everyone else values there stuff nearly as much as they do.

That is why they constantly want to share it with their neighbors.


I have two dogs, both I will not name, that just have to pee on their neighbors. This is why, when I build the new kennel it will have walls between runs.

I Did Get It!

I got some decent footage before the battery gave out! So here is Ziggy leading the parade!

Coco, I Never Would Have Guessed

I have a number of clients named Coco. Inevitably, they are brown dogs. Mostly, they are brown Labradors. Not this one. Not really brown at all. Cute as a button and all, but not really fitting her name.

I had to ask about the name, turns out the owner picked the name before the dog. Well, that does explain it.

I had one other Coco that wasn't brown, now that I think about it. It was a very small poodle. She was old and mostly gray all over. So gray, that it prompted me to ask if she had been named after Coco Chanel.

Who?

I guess not.

Misplaced Guilt

I had two Bailey's this weekend. Bailey the Beagel, who along with his brother Max, spent the weekend wrestling with anyone and everyone. Mostly they played with Ziggy, but they don't limit their pestering to dogs that actually want to play with them, everyone is fair game.

The other Bailey is a Corgi, my first Corgi. She was a cutie-pie that only wanted for me to love on her. So much so that she kinda beat a whole into my upper thigh in the request of said loving.

Now, Bailey and Max get scolded on occasion, as you might imagine. Only problem is that when I yell at Bailey the Beagle, Bailey the Corgi, looks guilty. Bailey the Beagle is completely unfazed by any disappointment I might voice over his behavior.

I was worried about giving Bailey the Corgi a complex so I stuck to yelling at Max whenever he or Bailey got too rough. Max doesn't listen to me either.

And Then There was Hank

So much for just the girls. Hank, the cow dog, showed up Tuesday morning to mess with my quiet week. Hank can sometimes take issue with male dogs that want to wrestle with him. I have to keep a close eye on him. But it turns out that he is happy to let the girls beat the tar out of him.

Dusty, Emma, and Nuray are all taking advantage of a boy dog that they can catch.

What Are We Going to Do Without Ziggy?

Ziggy and Buddy were the only dogs that didn't stay until Monday. I wasn't sure the other dogs knew how to play together as all they had done since Ziggy arrived was to chase him. We spent Sunday re-figuring out how to play together, just as if they had only just arrived. They had their play groups worked out by lunch time, so all was good again.

Max and Bailey got picked up just before dinner and I was shocked by just how quiet the kennel had gotten. We jettisoned the boys and the place was down right tranquil. Tessie headed home just after that and bedtime could only be described as placid.

Missed the Shot, Yet Again!

I remembered the camera, finally. I remembered to bring a camera with dying batteries, finally.

I was hoping to get some video of this great group of dogs doing some amazing dashes around the play yard with Ziggy in the lead. Ziggy has come into his own and clearly has left his skittish days behind him. Behind him this weekend was a group of dogs panting hard to keep up. Bailey and Max were always close behind with Tessie, never in the group, but always running along side barking the whole long way. She is our orange and white referee. Even the old ladies, Dusty and Emma would try a lap or two. The one dog that could never really keep up would be Ziggy's brother, Buddy. Buddy is a Dachshund. He doesn't seem to realize that is legs are only 2 inches long, but the fact is that they are and he will never be able to keep up with the big dogs.

Buddy, like many little brothers before him, only joins the fight after Ziggy stops to take a break. As soon as the running stops, Buddy starts lunging for Ziggy's neck. With a high degree of skill and determination.

Ziggy doesn't seem to mind and it does keep Buddy out of the herd during the stampede where I worry that he might just become a little furry speed bump.

Full House

What a change. Since everyone headed back to school and work, the kennel has been more empty than full. I even got a morning off this week with no dogs at all. We are full and soon to be over flowing this morning.

One of my clients won a trip to the Inaugural and I just couldn't say 'No' to that. I thought Doggie Karma might save me, but no I will have a whole day of dog juggling. I think it will be worth it. I just hope the owners don't freeze in D.C.

The Thaw!

If snow is Mother Nature's way of telling you that you don't have to scoop the poop, beware of the thaw.

We have had more than a week of sunny and bright weather around here, while the rest of the country is busy freezing and shoveling. This means that the play yard is defrosting into a mud pit at an alarming rate. This also means that my yard, my walk down to the kennel, plus the play yard is turning into a mine field. Step lively.

As a expert on scooping poop, I offer my expertise in the area of scooping in the winter. Dog poop is a whole 'nother beast in the cold and snow.

If you just plan to wait until the warm weather, more power to you. This is not an option for me. A single weekend with big dogs and I would have to wear hip waders down to the kennel.

WINTER POOP REMOVAL 101

Fresh Poop in Snow

• Scoop it while it is still warm, but try to get the least amount of snow with it.
• Extra snow in the garbage bag will make it impossibly heavy.

Not So Fresh in Snow

• Don't even attempt to remove partially frozen poop.
  
• You will only be able to remove the non-frozen top portion.
  
• Leaving you to later find all these chunks of poop shrapnel all over the place.

Frozen Solid

• This requires chipping the now rock hard poop out of the snow.
• Hit the snow behind the poop, never the poop as it will destroy your scooper.
• Or dig under and just flip it out of the snow whole.

Waiting for the Thaw

• This is the best option, but it requires some patience.
• DO NOT attempt to remove any poop until the ground it is sitting on has dried out
• It make look like poop, when in fact it is a gelatinous mass with the consistency of pudding that has no structural integrity.
• Wait and get it when it reconstitutes back into a liftable form of poop.

I hope you found this helpful. I like to think that I have gained all these skills for the sake of passing them all.

May you all have clean shoes until the next snow storms.

Doesn't Like to Share the Couch

That is, the dog doesn't. The baby is fine with sharing. I can see why the dog wants her personal space, can you see the fistful of fur the babykins has got hold of?

Fetch is Working but it is Blinding!

I got some new tennis balls out, after the fiasco of losing one into the snow on the roof on only the second toss. Two Ball Fetch, this is fetch for those dogs that don't get the GIVE BACK part of Fetch. You just have to keep the balls moving. For the most part, you can get them to drop the old ball at your feet when they dash to get the newly thrown one. You do get the occasional, take the old one with you. That just makes it a game of Fetch for me as well.

One major draw back, bright, clean, new yellow tennis balls are blinding on new, fresh, clean snow.

Love Bug!

What I lack in being a playmate, I make up for in doggie loving. Khiya has forgiven me, my inability to run and play by trying to love me to death.

I usually love to love on my doggies, but with Khiya, love involves full body contact. She has squirmed and wiggled and rubbed me down thoroughly. It includes a number of passes between my knees as well. And yes, it would be obscene if she weren't just so darn cute.


This leads me to a new problem. I had already been losing the battle against black dog fur in the living room before I imported a white dog fur battalion from the play yard. I will certainly have to surrender to the enemy if the Dyson ever dies.

And Then There was One

That is it. I have one dog in the kennel for the whole week. It is really a shame, Khiya is a big player and I just am not.

We have been trying fetch, but it isn't working very well. I launched the only tennis ball I found into the snow on the roof of the kennel. Then I chipped a rope toy out of the snow only to discover that Khiya likes to run and fetch, but not big on the give back again. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

This Dog Loves Her Snow

Ouch!

In an attempt to get a great picture of Dago and Chico running, I called them to me from the top corner of the kennel.


This nice picture cost me a poodle ramming speed blow to the right thigh. Ouch! Very photogenic, not big on steering and stopping.

An Excess of Poodles

Almost as hazardous as a "Testosterone Poisoning". I had a great number of dogs over New Year's, eleven all together (if I remember right) and that is usually enough of a handful. But, no, I had to have 6 poodles in that mix - 3 standard and 3 teacup.

Teenso, the teacup sized one, seemed to actually be aware of her diminutive size, for once, and avioded the free for all with the big dogs. The other two little ones decided to stay in their runs and not run the risk of being stepped on by their big brothers and sisters.

The big ones didn't seem to possess a ounce of self restriant. Not really a poodle characteristic, anyway.

Dago and Amica spent their holiday picking on their cousin dog, Tucio. He had pretty much had it with a double dose of poodle when Chico arrived. A fluffy black match to Dago's fluffy white coat. Three poodles is too much of a good thing and I let Tucio hang out with the little dogs on the back side of the play yard to get a break.

Three poodles is almost too much for the poodles involved. Amica quickly excused herself from the intense play between Chico and Dago. She was let through the gate to hassle Tucio a bit.

It turns out that Chico likes to play with Dago in the same way that Dago likes to play with Tucio. Which is "I win all the time" play. Turns out that Dago doesn't much like to be the mountee.

"You can dish it out, but You can't take it" is a common problem with dogs. Poodles just might have it a bit worse than the average dog.

Well, call me Impressed!

Max just out smarted BB out of a tennis ball!

Max has a very bad habit. He eats rocks when he gets bored. I know this from past visits to the ranch. I was a bit worried about this visit. After the first weekend most of the other dogs would be going home. This would leave Max with only his sister, Pepper, and his cousin, BB, to play with. I had to find something to keep Max busy with or it would be back to the rocks. And as bad as eating rocks sounds, it is the pooping rocks that you have to worry about.

Fetch, yeah! Max plays fetch and he even brings the ball back. Max returning the ball means a somewhat risky venture into to removing it from his mouth, but with my winter gloves on, I am willing to go for it. This was working out really well. Much running, much returning, and no rock eating. So far, so good. Some new dogs arrived on Wednesday and they decided to join the game of fetch. Not so good. The new Max also likes fetch and also returns the ball. Only getting the ball back from the new Max doesn't include prying it out of his teeth. He just dropped it at my feet. That was all BB needed to swoop in and steal the ball.

As we all know, fetch is a game of limit iterations with BB. One to be exact, because once she gets the ball, she can't give the ball back.

Well, along with liking tennis balls, BB also likes apples. We happen to have quite the collection of apples on the ground this year and for most of this stay BB has been carrying around apples and not tennis balls. I thought I was only one who noticed this. Turns out Max was aware of BB's new favorite.

When the new Max, I hate when I have more than one dog with the same name, dropped the ball and BB took off with it, Max went a got and apple. He dropped it about 3 feet from BB and then walked away. I immediately thought he was trying to trick BB, but I couldn't believe it. I mean, really, are dogs that sneaky? Max is and it did work. BB zeroed in on that apple, leaving the tennis ball behind. Max whipped over got the ball and brought it back to me.

We were back on for a game of fetch.

Now, I am a bit worried about when they will be able to out smart me.

Space Station!

I just saw the Space Station go by! It was sparkling yellow star that just happen to float across the sky. It started in the West, which is hidden by a magnificent big tree that my neighbors own. I spotted it moving through that tree and then it head over the bluff north of my house. That is where it just faded away. It must be at the wrong angle to reflect sunlight back to me at that point. I was thrilled. I am still such a nerd.

I was at a friend's stuffing myself and not really watching the BYU-U of U game when someone mentioned that the station would be visible. Suddenly, heading home to take the dogs out before dinner was something to look forward too.

I got out early and it is really cold out. I was pacing around in a very dark play yard trying to guess where this thing would show up. Not the best thing to be doing for your shoes, pacing around in a very dark play yard full of really big dogs. Yup, that's me the Human Dog Poop Magnet.

A post a day?

I can't even remember to take my vitamins that often!

This is National Blog Month! Who knew? A friend of mine has challenged me to try for the post a day thing. Okay, doggies get out there and be cute and funny.

No, Really I am Just Fine All By Myself

You don't have to include me in your playtime, my feelings will not be hurt. The rest of me will be hurt if you don't take this wrestling match to somewhere other than between my knees.


The only one missing from these shots is Max. He is a small and white Westie. Picture the mix, one tiny white blur mixed with three large caramel colored dogs. I can't believe I missed that photo.

When Good Dogs Have Bad Names

Cujo! Really, that face belongs to a Cujo?!

"My dog can't fly."

"Honey, no one's dog can fly.", that is what I thought when I started to laugh. (I am truly easy to amuse when running on very little sleep.)

So, she said it again, "My dog can't fly."

Clearly, one of us was not getting the picture because she kept saying it and I kept laughing.

Finally, she laughed and explained that due to Hurricane Ike, her dog would not be flown, via an airplane, into the Salt Lake Airport. He was schedule to stop over in Houston but all the in coming flights had been canceled. Instead of leaving their dog stuck for days in baggage handling, they opted to have him stay a bit longer and arrive next week. So, he will finally land in Salt Lake sometime after they close on their new house and I won't get to babysit him.

Gee, I can't tell you how disappointed I am. I was really looking forward to meeting a dog named Kitty.

Ouch! The Flying Leap of Love Crosses the Line into Corporal Punishment

It was bad enough with Indie and Cole jumping up on me at every opportunity. They are pretty small and I was mostly worried about my shins and calves being destroyed. Then came Kodi and his sister, Hannah. They are the big kids this week and they are all about getting me to join in their fun. Turns out their definition of fun includes starting their nails at my shoulder blades and working their way down.

I was trying to document this horrible doggie sitter abuse by holding the camera over my head. Guess what I learned...it hurts more when it is the shoulder down on the front. What I won't suffer for a good picture.

All of this has me hoping for cold weather so that I can wear my heavy canvas coat and save my own hide. In the mean time I am using my tennis racket as a defensive weapon.

Heading for Higher Ground

Buttons seems to have the right idea. If he can look the big dogs in the eye, maybe he can keep them from chasing him around.

Thank God For The NO SHOW!

Wow, I never said that before. 'No Shows' are usually greeted with much more colorful language. But, this weekend I have an extra set of dogs, so having someone blow me off was a good thing.

I was having a heck of a time with 'No Shows' a couple of years ago. It was just driving me mad. My husband suggested that I start taking credit card numbers, just like hotel do. No one forgets to cancel a hotel reservation anymore. That would work up until someone figured out that I don't have a credit card machine. Instead, I starting making a point of taking phone numbers and to call and confirm everyone's reservations. I try to do this on the Monday of each week for that weekend's guests. Let's not talk about all the times that the calls made on Thursday or not at all.

Yesterday, I was waiting, impatiently, for someone who was supposed to arrive 'Before 10am' as I had to take my baby to a 10am doctor's appointment. I gave up at 9:45 and headed into Price. I was waiting for the call on my cell to tell me they got to my place and I was gone, but that never happened. I got home to no new dogs and they ever did show up yesterday. (This has to be the one reservation in months that got written down without a phone number.)

Gee, I wonder what Thurday, before 10am that they are really going to show up for?

The Super Balls of the Dog World

Big and Bouncy just met with Big and Bouncy. Smokey vs Max.

It is like they are made out of rubber the way they ricochet around the play yard. No, maybe more like Flubber - the more they bounce, the MORE they bounce.

DUCK and COVER! Save yourself! They aren't big on steering.

NEWBIES!

I have a couple of brand new clients this week, Cole and Indie.

Being the new kid is always a little stressful around here. When you are the new dog, everyone wants to meet you, right away, and all at once. No cocktail party ever had the intensity of greeting that the play yard can muster up. That is a lot of butt sniffing for any dog to endure. Cole had it evener harder than usual. First, whenever a dog arrives they are always the new kid to the rest of the group, even if they have been here eleventy billion times. Cole was not only the new kid, this was his first visit to the ranch plus the first time he had ever been boarded, any where. Tough day for the little guy.

What made it worse was that he got stuck as the new kid from Sunday to Tuesday night. Everyone else is here for the long haul and it wasn't until Tuesday after dinner that someone else, Indie, got to take the title of new kid.

Cole very much enjoyed passing the title on and joined in the group in an overly enthusiastic welcome to Indie.

Now that the meet and greet sniffing is over, the newbies have banded together and are having a blast.

Missed Opportunity

I was psyched about having Pepper, Max and Amica here for the holiday weekend. Three standard poodles; one black, two gray. It was going to be a blur of curls.

Amica's mom had to cancel her trip due to the birth of a new great grand baby. Best reason ever to have to cancel a vacation.

I guess it was just as well. I can't find the charger for the digital camera.

It's ALIVE!

I was right the computer was dying. Since, for once, I did backup all of my data, it wasn't the hard drive that failed. It was dust clogging up the fan on the CPU and the copmuter shut down to save itself.

We were on the right track when we opened up the box and started vacuuming. Only when we pulled the big chip off, we bent some pins stuffing it back in. Maybe I have forgotten everything I ever knew when I worked as a computer nerd way back when in Chicago.

There is some good from all of this. One, I got a lot more done around the house without blogs to read and write. Two, we didn't bounce any checks - my checkbook is an excel spread sheet. Three, we found a great computer guy in town. Call me for his name and number when your computer goes belly up.

And Still More Pictures to Sort Through

I have made it as far as April 11th, 2007 and I have gotten the blog folder down to 5.97GB from 6.6.

Well, it is a start.

I was wrong yesterday. I really don't remember as many names as I thought. Nor do I take the same picture of the same dog.

Those noses are not the same. One is Molly, who is currently with me, and the other, I have NO IDEA. I may have to go and read my old blogs.

My Computer Acts Like It Is Going To Die Any Day Now

So I decided to take my own advice and BACKUP my files.

So, I cleaned up My Documents and put all the loose files in the folders they belonged in. Then I did the same for My Pictures. Yikes, I can't back up My Pictures because it is over 10 GB. The backup DVD only holds 4.4 gigabytes.

Man, that is a lot of pictures.

Oh gee! 6.6 GB of those picture are in the 'blog' folder.

Man, that is a lot of DOG pictures.


I believe some editing will be required. And as I start cleaning out 3 years of dog photos, I have learned a few facts. One, I take far too many pictures of dog's butts, dog backs, and dog legs. Two, that I have a preponderance of photos that show only the ground. Three, that I can still recognize and name dogs going back to 2005. Wow. And finally, and something I didn't know. I keep taking the same photo of the same dog - over and over again.

Carry Not Fetch

Frisbee Dog!

I finally got a frisbee dog! I was stoked when I spotted the frisbee in Phanny possessions. Finally, a Frisbee Dog.


Nope.

She is more into Carry, than Catch.

Phanton, Really, That's Your Name?

When I read 'Phantom' on the calendar, I pictured a really big, really black dog. Actually, no, the first thing I pictured was a guy in a skin tight purple suit that lived in a skull shaped cave.

What I got was this tiny little thing. Isn't she just the cutest? I really had a hard time with the name it just didn't fit. Just yesterday, my husband tells me, "By the way, did I tell you that her family calls her Fanny?"

"Well, no you didn't."

And I like that name SO much better. Phanny it is from now on!

I need more photos...I'll try to get them on the next playtime!

I'd Like My Usual Room, Please!

I try to put dogs in the same kennels each time they come. It doesn't always work out, but for the most part dogs have a 'usual room'. I thought that it made them feel more secure that they had a room of their own here. Maybe a bit too secure.

Last time Buddy was here, the first kennel wasn't open for him to have his regular room. So I stuffed him in two doors down without giving it any thought. When I tried to grab his collar and steer him away from kennel number 1 to kennel number 3, he made a pass at taking a chunk out of my hand. I wouldn't have been more surprised if he had stood on his hind legs and did a River Dance. This is the calmest, nicest dog in the world. Okay, so he is serious about his room, but otherwise really nice.

Needless to say, BB got kicked out of kennel number 1 when Buddy showed up yesterday. See, I can be taught.

Lacks Impusle Control

Diesel should come with that as a warning label. He was fine here a couple of weeks ago when he had a equally young, dumb and energetic dog, Terry, to play with. On one hand, they did look like they were killing each other. On the other hand, they did thoroughly wear each other out.

I don't always luck out and get a matched set like that. Diesel came again this week and I had no one for him to wrestle with; little dogs and old dogs.

Not only does Diesel not take 'NO!' for an answer to "Play with me!", he doesn't even realize that the other dogs don't want to play with him. When Pug, the pug, was threatening to take a chunk out of him, Diesel still thought it was great fun.

Well, at least, he has a good time - no matter what.

Over Thinking the Problem

2 am - 1 pm

This is what was written on the dog's medicine bottle. Honest to God, the first time I saw that I thought, "You want me to give this dog a pill at 2 AM! I am so not doing that!"

It took about 15 minutes for me to translate, correctly, that the dog gets two pills in the morning and one at night. Oh, yeah, I can handle that.

Sometimes I just trying to make my life harder than it needs to be.

I Almosted Didn't See You There!

Talk about camouflage, if my dog hadn't gone gray, I never would have spotted her. I guess she is tired of sharing the couch with the new baby and had staked a new claim in the living room.

Notice that is not good enough to just be on the furniture, you have to have a pillow as well.

And you people think your dogs are spoiled!

Keeping an Eye on the Competition

Today's Salt Lake Tribune had a article about a new luxury pet hotel. I am headed up past Point of the Mountain, tomorrow, so maybe I will go and see this pet palace for myself.

They are offering personal TV's, phone booths so you can chat with your dog, supervised playtime, special treats and a vet on site.

I thought about installing a TV down in the kennel, that way I could deduct my cable bill. I don't let you chat with your dog, but I am happy to chat endlessly with you about your dog. I would love a vet on site, but we will all have to settle for my panicked phone calls to Dr. Thayn.

I am dying to see the facilities, but I can tell you that my dogs probably never will. As a rule, I balk at paying more for my dog's lodging than my own. Basic dog care starts at $29 and 'suite' for your dog is $39. They also charge for extra playtime $9, and $3 for an 'ice cream' snack. They also charge $2 for administering pet medicine. Gee, here I am cramming pills down a Doberman's throat for nothing.