My Remodel is Stressing Me Out

For the past week and now this week, I have to pack up everything I will need for the day and get out of my house for the day.

The contractors are pulling down the walls and ceiling of my kitchen, and there is so much coal dust that they have to nail up a plastic sheet to protect my make-shift kitchen area and the access to upstairs (which is where we are living).

Therefore, I have to plan out what I think I will need - phones, purse, change of clothes, dog calendar, family calendar, snacks, water - and take it with me.

Yesterday, I didn't think of the camera, which was a shame because I got the two pugs, Max and Buster back just for daycare. I hope they come again soon they are just plain cute together and hysterical when they try to mount a big dog like Bourbon.

Bella just wants get the ball first.

She has developed a bad habit in the endless pursuit of thrown toys and balls. She is so worried that someone else might get it first that she starts to run while still watching me throw the toy.

Running away, while still looking back, causes her to plow into any dog in her way. She has plowed into pretty much every dog down there, and a few more than once. The smarter dogs learned to not stop in her general 'flight plan'.

Yesterday, I was standing in the alleyway between the kennel and the storage shed that is next to it. I was just trying to protect myself from these wicked winds we are having. Bella took off so fast one time that she smacked into the side of my shed, a barn-shaped shed.

Yup, that Labrador ran smack into the 'broad side of a barn'.

Bella, please, look before you dash!

Bella just wants to play Fetch

This is all I see of Bella. I throw, she runs, she brings the toy back and repeat, and repeat, and repeat.


A problem has cropped up in our endless game of Fetch, Bella is hording all the toys in her kennel. The play yard is almost barren at this point. Never before has a toy hoarder managed to clean out the play yard in only 3 days.

I think I have found the trouble with Skrowty

He has peed on everything that can't move and a few things that can.

Since I already covered the Big and Bouncey Dogs...

How about a 'Meet and Greet' for the herd of little guys.


Sasha and Sierra, the Shitzus, make a formidable team. Whenever the big dogs come sniffing around, these two close ranks and back each other up. Together they are a one larger and more impressive of a dog. Nice to see such team worker with a set of sister.

You have already met Skrowty. Really different looking but still all dog. He seems to be getting along with everyone. I am supposed to give the owners a report back on this dog. It seems that he has been adopted out and returned to shelters over and over. I don't see what the problem is and niether does his Mom, but his Dad described him as 'awful'. I will have to follow up and see what trouble he is causing at home, because he isn't causing trouble here.

This is Spike. He doesn't want to come out with the other dogs. He has been here many other times and I don't remember him being timid. Though with some of this big, wild things I have this weekend sometimes I am a little timid about heading out to the play yard, too.


And last Brandi. Who keeps wanting to be with the big dogs so he can play with his cousin, Maggie.

There is alway something NEW and INTERESTING...

at the Ranch! Today, his name is Skrowty. I got my first Chinese Crested.

Get this, I have to put SUNBLOCK on this dog. And the poor little naked thing will burn in all this nice sunny weather we are having. So out comes the sunblock.

I wish the owners had bought the spray on kind. Getting a good coating of sunblock on a dog is actually tricker than getting on on a two year old.

Mounter vs Mounter

I was curious to see how this was going to play out. Along this Bruno, I now have Drake. Who is equally guilty of trying to hump anything on four legs.


This is what I got. Drake putting up with Bruno at least once and a while. And the side effect of Bruno leaving the girls alone for at least a little while.

Weird, I would have never thought that in Canine Algebra, two mounters cancel each other out.





Drake does get mad and growl at Bruno on occasion, but for the most part he just stands there and looks bored.

I just wish they didn't look like they are killing each other.

This really should be shots of Terry and Millie. They were a perfect match for each other. They were both growling and showing their teeth and completely harmless except that they looked like they were killing each other. At least they had each other, any other dog would think Millie was really coming in for the kill and I'd have a real fight on my hands.

But now Millie has Bruno all to herself. None of the other dogs want anything to do with either of them. Bruno is still trying to mount Millie but she is too small and too fast for him to pull anything off.

Once again, they are having a great time, and no one is getting hurt, but they still look like they are killing each other.





Millie really is the sweetest looking little thing. I just had no idea the Tasmanian Devil that was hidden under all that cuteness.

Enough to Drive Me to Drink

I have Bourbon and Brandi this weekend, too bad Boozer went home last Sunday.

Bruno, Bruno, Bruno...you are not impressing the girls with this move!

Nor, the boys.

Bruno seems to think that all dogs were put on this earth for him to mount. All the wrestling he does with the other dogs it just in an attempt to pull his one and only 'move'. One problem is that we have only dogs that are much smaller than him. He was having a great time trying this on Terry, but Terry is a little too fast and maneuverable for him to really pull anything off. Besides he is just do darn big, I have to interfere and pull him off before he smushes some dog.

He tried to mount Bourbon, but she told him in no uncertain terms that was not going to happen. She growled, lunged, and snapped at him. That is all the more message I would need. I have a highly developed sense of self-preservation, Bruno does not. It took two more snaps before he took that Doberman Pincher seriously. Bruno is all Lab, big, and happy and not the sharpest tool in the drawer.

Here he is trying out he moves on Maggie:

The Meet and Greet.

Returning the Favor.

Coming About!

The Move. Quickly followed by a Growl, Lunge, and Snap. This is number 2 for Maggie. Maybe Bruno will catch on quicker this time.

I have already taking Bruno for a couple of leased walks hoping that establishing myself as the leader would knock down on his desire to mount all the dogs. The 'Dog Whisperer' I am not. No luck with Bruno and his 'hobby'.

Maggie and Brandi

Brandi belong to Maggie's owner's mother. In dog family trees, that makes them cousin-dogs.

Maggie used to be one of my neighbors. When she ran away she would always come up and visit me and my dogs. I would never return her right away because my dogs would actually play with her. As they had gotten old, they really didn't play much. It was fun to see them at it again.

Maggie is also the dog that taught me that dogs can climb fences. It is because of her that all the runs have tops, and there is an extra chunk of fencing on one of the corners of the play yard. I caught her just as she was heading up and over that corner. Fortunately for me, when she first climbed and bolted, she just went home and all I had to do was walk down the alley and up the street and retrieve her from her front stoop. If she had decided to run, no one would have ever caught her.

I was a bit worried about the cousins bunking together since Maggie is such a wild thing. But no worries, it seems that Maggie had grown up and slowed down with the rest of us. I hope I can get her together with my girls and see if they remember each other.

I Found It!

Actually my husband found our camera. Down in the garage of all places. Even he doesn't have a theory on how it got there. But I am delighted. I was trying to wrap my brain around the pain of picking a new camera out and finding the best price. I just couldn't bring myself to think about it and remember, I wasn't going to be doing any of it anyway, I was going to assign that project to my husband.

But now you can meet the cast of characters I have staying with me this Easter.

Last Out, First In

Oh my word! We have another Tessie!

'Last Out, First In' is the rule for Tessie. She has a thing for jumping into other dog's kennels, if given the opportunity. The key is not to give her the opportunity. This week I have a very large and happy lab named Bruno that has the same penchant for other kennels as Tessie. Only problem is that I can't seem to remember the 'Last Out, First In' rule for Bruno. Maybe I will do better today.

With Tessie, I always assumed that her fascination was with checking out what the other dogs have in their kennels. She always whipped in and back out in record time, and always with a bite of food or a stolen toy. Then I noticed she is just a ready to jump through the gate that divides the play yard. And once when she came, she was running free and all I had to do was open the play yard gate and not the kennel door and she whipped right in.

Oh I get it now, it is not the kennel that she keyed on, it is the gate. She cannot resist going through an open gate no matter where it leads to. Good to know, but I will still have to stick to my 'Last Out, First In' rule for both Tessie and Bruno

Leo now has some competition over the tennis ball!

I was a bit worried that when Sadie arrived I would have fights over the tennis ball. Leo has been showing a bit too much aggression. He has been bullying the other dogs like he does his little sister. I found that as long as he was shagging down tennis balls he would leave the other dogs alone.

I have taken him on a couple of leased walks just to point out to him that he is no higher in the ranks than any other dog and that seemed to have helped.

But, I have Sadie coming and she might be even a bit more obsessed with tennis balls than Leo. She is also faster and better than Leo in retrieval of balls. This could get ugly, but I am relying on the shear number of tennis and racquet balls I have to throw. Leo it turns out can't let a ball go when there is another dog that can and will get it. So I had my solution, Leo gets the first ball and keeps it in his mouth. He still chases after anything thrown but he can't beat Sadie to it and with a ball in his mouth he can't get mad about it either. So we had a great game of fetch every time they were out for the past few days.

My arm is getting sore and my glove is a muddy mess.

We even had Gunda join in and she is giving Sadie a run for her money. Those two really race for the ball but they have no problem with who returns it. That is the sign of a good dog.

I have Lucky arriving on Saturday. And he is more obsessed with tennis balls than Sadie and he might even be faster. This should be a interesting weekend. I'd better patrol the outside of the kennel for all the racquet balls that have gotten away. There should be 9 not 1 of them. I am going to need more ammo.

Well it is Springtime in Utah!

Which can and will mean anything and everything. We had a week of summer, that the contractors missed as they were delayed on another project. And now we have a week of winter, which coincides with the removal of all the interior lath and plaster from my house's downstairs level. Not that is was ever that warm before (no insulation) but now with the heat off, it is an ice box.

Actually, my refrigerator is working too good. The milk comes out so cold I can't drink it. They are designed to work in a 65 to 80 degree room. Right now, I'd say my kitchen is at a balmy 45 degrees. I even broke out the emergency space heater I have for the dog kennel. That is the only reason the room is above freezing.

So, remember to HONK when you come by. You can't really get to the door bell anymore. I will coming running out, it is probably warm outside than in these days.

And once again, if you can't put your tomatoes out - DON'T SHAVE THE DOG!

I am getting these pitiful, shivering, half-naked, freshly shaven little doggies. Just stop!

Scooter, Scooter, Scooter

Scooter is a Beagle and so cannot be blamed for his no stop barking. So no blame, but I am working on calming him down and trying to get him to be a dog and not a furry car alarm.

Scooter barks so much that he goes home hoarse, and his owners don't like that. So they send him with doggie downers, but I can't sedate a dog for 2 weeks.

So I am hoping the Dog Whisperer's techniques can help even Scooter. I have been taking him on a leased walk and that really seems to calm him down. Problem is that it doesn't stick. I have to do this pretty much every play time. He is good for most of the day, but by late afternoon, he has worked himself back into a tizzy of non stop barking.

I have two weeks maybe I can get him to relax and interact with the other dogs. Right now all he does is stay by himself and charge and bark whenever two dogs are wrestling.

I did see him 'smell a butt' yesterday so maybe there is still a little dog left in him. I know he will be happier and a lot less barky if he would just 'BE A DOG!'

Big Brothers and Little Sisters

I have two sets of big brothers and little sisters. As I mentioned yesterday, Leo does really want to play with Molly (he wants to play fetch), but there is no way he will let his sister have any fun without him.

I now have the same situation just substitute Chico for Leo and Sophie for Molly.

And of course, it is Molly and Sophie that want to play together. I have to ride herd on the boys to get the girls any kind of playtime.

I figure now that they have found a girl friend, the boys are going to have a harder time breaking them up. We will have to see how it goes today.

See Those Labels at the Bottom?

They allow you to pick a label and see all the posts that have that same label. Pick your dog's name and get all the posts on your dog.

Two problems so far:

One, I only have labeled about 50 posts and I have 200+ to go.

Two, if your dog is named something like 'Buddy', 'Sam', 'Max', 'Sadie', or 'Molly', you are going to read many posts about many different 'Buddy's, 'Sam's, 'Max's, 'Sadie's, or 'Molly's.

Well, This was a Pretty Good Weekend

We had a great group of dogs that all played well together and no photos to prove it, as I can still not find the camera.

Molly and Leo came back and Leo is still acting the big brother, which means he is annoying his little sister to no end. Whenever Molly finds a dog to play with, Leo gets put out and has to break it up. He tried this last time with Molly and Tinker, but they were just too determined to have fun and they just ignored him.

I found the solution to getting Molly out from under Leo's watchful eye. Leo likes to play fetch and he even brings the ball back to me, so the game was on. Leo is a bit too serious about fetch. Once when BB swooped in and stole the ball, I thought Leo was going to take a chunk out of her. BB seems to have realized the same thing, because I have never seen her NOT swoop in a steal a ball like she did all weekend. Not single other time to Leo or anyone else for that matter.

Tessie who has never shown an interest in balls other than to steal them to get chased suddenly joined the game and gave Leo a run for his money. She even brought the ball back to me. This is a huge transformation in Tessie. I did try my 'dog whisperer' technique of taking Tessie for a leased walk around the kennel. It really seemed to calm her down, but how in the world did it give her an interest in fetch and teach her the rules at the same time. Another 'Doggie Miracle'

I am completely freaking out...

I can't find my digital camera anywhere! I had it at the St. Patrick's Day Parade, but it is nowhere to be found and the doggies are doing cute things!

Where did I put that thing!

I did notice that I have pictures of Tinker and Molly from a couple of weekends ago, so I will put them together and be saved by cute puppies.