It's fun to make new friends....

Getting to know you,
Getting know all about you.
Getting like you,
Getting to hope you like me.













Getting to know you,
Getting to feel free and easy
When I am with you,
Getting to know what to say



















Haven't you noticed
Suddenly I'm bright and breezy?
Because of all the beautiful and new
Things I'm learning about you
Day by day.



Maybe this is not what Rogers and Hammerstein had in mind with that song.

Can I go home now?

Regardless of what you have heard...the grass is greener on the other side of the gate.


And if I stand here long enough, my parents will come back for me.

Yes, there really is such a thing as TOO MUCH LOVE.

Thanks boys, but I am a big girl and I can wash my own ears.

Does this stuff happen to Superman?

That is it! I tried to be the hero and what thanks do I get? Peed on by my Dachshund-In-Distress.

Little Toby was getting a WEE bit too much attention from Yanni (I call him Yawny, but Yippy would be more acturate) and Flip. This behavior crossed the fine line of play and domination well into the relm of doggie sexual harassment; so I had to step in.

Oh I stepped in it alright.

There I am, valently trying to defend Toby's virture. I scoop up the Dachshund and try to head to his kennel. Toby once again decides that he is SO HAPPY to see me, that he just has to give me a little something. (Really, Toby anymore thanks from you and I will run out of uniform shirts) Flip thinks I look good with my new accessory and latches onto my leg. Now, I am still trying to cross the play yard to Toby's gate - one wiggly football in my arms and on horney pit bull on my left leg. (A video of this might win that $10,000) I make it, I am there, I get the gate open (He has to have the one kennel that really locks tight) and I put him in. Safe, safe at last.


Nope. Toby shot right back out before I could close the gate and ran straight back to Flip.

Okay, so I am trying not to judge Toby's definition of fun. It certainly not fun for me. I have plenty of bruises to show Flip's affection.


So, without actually doing the math...since I only charge ten bucks a night, I think my shin is working at the two-bit pay scale.

The Infinite Varieties of Fetch

Your basic game of fetch should include a dog, a ball and a person. A perfect game of fetch includes a dog that brings the ball back to the person and gives the ball back to the person.

That is an amazing rare combination. I had a perfect game of fetch going with Bella, a black lab. A nice change of pace for me.

I have dogs that bring the ball but won’t give it back. That really shortens the time spent playing fetch – one throw and the game is over.

There are the dogs that get the ball and run off with it. They just want to be chased. Usually the dog that was SO interested in fetch can not find the ball once it is in the mouth of the dog that wants to be chased. This means no fetch, and no chase, and nobody is happy. My dogs have a spin on this game. Only Inertia will go after a ball, Vector doesn’t seem to see the point. Once Inertia has the ball, she proceeds to chase Vector while carrying the ball in her mouth. (Hey, I never said my dogs were normal)

Then there are the games of fetch where I get a workout as well as the dog. Returned to the General Vicinity of You. Mica is one of these, if she drops the ball within 10 feet of you, that is a successful return. So I get almost the same exercise as the dogs. And then there is Flip, he is very excited about the chase and grabbing the ball, but then he immediately drops the ball back where it landed. I don’t run across the play yard, stroll is my top speed, but this is still more involvement in the game of fetch than I signed up for.

The Dog Days of Summer

I know this time is called The Dog Days of Summer because of the appearance of the Dog Star, Sirius, in the night sky. But I always thought the phrase was a pretty apt description for how I spend my hot summer afternoons on the couch, usually with a dog, watching old movies.

But this summer's Dog Days has a new spin. Call it testosterone poisoning if you will, but the boys at the kennel are out of control. None of the male dogs will play anymore. No running, no chasing, no wrestling, no fetch - it is all humping or being humped and getting mad about it.

I would blame it on the heat, but we have actually cooled off here in Utah.

I just want the HOUND Dog Days of Summer to come to an end.

EEEK! A Snake!

That "EEEK!" that had to be heard all across the west side of Helper yesterday morning was me. We have Gopher Snakes around here. They are harmless unless you are a mouse. In the past I only would see them on Wednesdays. We used to get our irrigation water on Tuesdays and the flooded lower pasture is just no place for a snake. So must Wednesdays during the summer I would find one, most likely just as I was about to step on or over it.

I am not actually afraid of snakes (spiders, heights, and wind - yes, snakes - no). But it is the surprise factor of not having seen the thing until I am on top of it that causes me to screech like a little girl and do the 'ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod' dance.

Two days ago, my husband tried to stop me as I walked into the play yard. "EEEK!" There was a gopher snake headed the same direction sliding between the gate and its frame. He didn't take long to figure out that in front of a herd of barking dogs is no place for a snake and he headed back out through the fence. My husband was able to round up the kids for a look at the snake before he headed off into the orchard.

Yesterday, I was just finished cleaning up a couple of kennels and I opened the door to go out, I stoppped to pick up some dirty dishes to take them to the house. As I walked out the door I pushed the door shut behind me and something stopped the door. When I turned to give the door a good shove, I saw the snake. I had shut the door on him. Of course, having a door slammed on your stomach made the snake move very fast and into the kennel building.

"EEEK" and 'ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod' dance.

What am I going to do! I know, I'll get all the dogs out of the building by taking them out into the playyard - that will keep them safe!

Okay, calm down the dogs are not the ones that are in danger of the snake - leave the door open and the snake will leave.

Oh, yeah, that is a better idea.

Boy was that snake moving when he got outside the door.

And as he left, I yelled get back out in that field and deal with the mouse population! I hope he heard me.

Ouch!

In the course of running this kennel, I have been hit by dogs in the chest, the forehead, the cheek bone, the temple, the nose, my teeth, and a number of kidney and heart punchs. Just yesterday, I got that entire range from just Gunther. Gunther even came up with a new one, a dog nose punch to the boobie. At least I can say that my job does not suffer from 'the same old thing' every day.

Trying to pet Gunther is clearly a contact sport and giving ear-nuggies to his sister, Daisy, is almost as bad. Lucky for me, she happens to be a lot smaller, lighter and blessed with a bit more steering ability than Gunther.

Good thing I got that Workmen's Comp policy.

Are you sure it isn't September already?

Besides the emptiness of the kennel building, it has gotten pretty cold here in the mornings and evenings. I have had to break out my jean jacket at least a month earlier than normal.

Good thing though, jean jackets make excellent body armour against over excited, extra jumpy Labradors.

Oh, I remember those days...

Shadow is back for a visit. Her owners didn't want her to be alone with her puppies due just next week.



One look at that big belly on such a little dog and I just had to say, "Oh, I remember those days."

I moved to this farm when I seven months pregnant with my son and feeling just as huge as this house. Now, I think Shadow looks a bit like a pot-bellied goat whereas I looked more like Winnie the Pooh.

When out in the play yard, Shadow stops about every five feet to pee.

I remember that part, too.

Where have all the doggies gone?

Back home to their Moms and Dads!

I have an almost empty kennel today. I only have two sets of two dogs, and 5 empty runs. It looks like a ghost town down there. I have not had this many empty kennels since May and I thought I would have to wait until September to see an easy dog day again.

Not going to take it easy though, this is an excellent chance to clean the whole place, all at once.

Maybe I will take it easy tomorrow.

Trying too hard to impress your dog.

I have another exotic meal dog this week. An exotic meal is anything you feed your dog that has more than 2 ingrediants or 3 steps to prepare it.

Max gets a scoop of dry dog food that has to be wetted and then set aside to soften.

This step always kills me - how long exactly? The owners never tell me that part and it does take quite a while from wetted to totally soggy cereal. Or does the dog what something in between crunchy and smoosh?

Then, I am to add a quarter of a can of wet food, and mix.

So wet into soggy, I got it.

And then top with a sprinkle of chopped up ham.

Ah, a garnish, just what every dog wants.


I want to tell people who spoil their dogs with elaborate meals, that their dog sees cat poo on a hot sidewalk as a delicacy - Stop trying so hard!

Surprised that I can still be surprised.

Really, I thought by now I had seen it all, but I just had a dog bite a chunk of my hair off.

I think he was as surprised as I was. Gunther looked shocked as he stood there with a bunch of long blonde hairs hanging out of his mouth.

I quickly curled my hair up into my hat - a dog that size chould snatch you bald in no time.

I just traded one Referee for Another.

Boudin and Pecos are the same dog in two different shapes. Both feel it is their job to referee the the other dogs. I get this a lot from any of the sheparding breeds.

It is alway a hassle. They can't distinquish play from fighting and so they charge into the middle of two dogs and bark like crazy. This usually has the effect of escalating play into a fight rather than detering a fight.

It was a long week with Boudin and it is going to be a long week with Pecos.

But THIS ONE is MINE!

I would first like to say that there are about eleventy-billion tennis balls in the play yard. All in different levels of deterioration from nearly new to missing all the fuzz to popped apart and so covered in spit and dust that they are indistinguishable from the surrounding dirt.


But Sadie has a favorite one. It used to be red and it used to be round, but now it resembles one of those donut peaches, doesn't bounce when it hits the ground any more and is only red when she chews off the dirt.

And once again, Sadie, if you want me to throw THAT ball, you have to let me have THAT ball.

Sadie does try to give it to me, I am just not fast enough. She drops the ball at my feet and immediately recatches it. Especially if there is another dog within 5 feet of us. This can go on for awhile. 10 or 20 drops and recatches before she will finally leave the ball long enough for me to retrieve it. This is really slowing down the play session. I tried Cotton's trick of throwing a different ball to get her to drop the one she has, but that only worked about two times. She wants her ball thrown and no other.

I am in big trouble today, HER BALL, ended up in the gutter of the kennel building. I'd better show up today with a ladder or there is going to be hell to pay.

Project Runaway did go to the dogs

At least, it was not a dog in a purse. The dogs were all small, but no minis.

The designers had to make an outfit for the owner and for her dog and a little story to explain what she was doing and what she was wearing. I, personally, would have found the clothes easier to make up than the story.

The dogs were all adorable and very well behaved, in my opinion. If someone tried to put a fur collared jacket on my dogs, they would probably end up wearing it themselves. Inertia put up with a lot from my daughter, but always managed to call off the dress-up at the point she was wearing only jewelry. (I wonder if I can find that picture of Inertia and her massive amount of garage sale emeralds?)

One dog did end up in a purse. One of the designers doesn't like dogs and instead decided to carry her 'model' back to the work room in a purse that had to have cost in the four digit range. Talk about traveling in style.

Love is in the air?

Well, it has to be something. I am getting quite a bit of unwanted attention from my male dogs this week. Maybe they sense my husband is out of town, and they think this is their big chance to make a move on me. I just don't get it, my leg has been humped more this weekend then in all the three and a half years my kennel has been opened.

Usually it is only around Goofy that I have to worry about my virture remaining intact.

I've got a Schipperke!

I never heard of this breed either, but he is the cutest dog. He is small, fast, jet black and naturally tailless. I think he wants to play with the other dogs, but all the other dogs have other ideas. When his owner told me everyone loves Ziggy, I don't think she was talking about the crazy desire the other male dog have to mount Ziggy.

Get off! This is not a dating service!

I had to break it up, so I grabbed Ziggy in my arms. Flip decided me and Ziggy was still an attactive combination and he latched onto my leg.

Flip!

I'm a married woman!

I will tell your mother on you!

Flip put that away, you are scaring the little dogs!

As if it were not hot enough, my own personal space heater just landed in my lap.

To make up for the large and wild group I had last weekend, I am getting a small and fluffy set this weekend. Doggie Karma pays off again. Or at least I thought so until a fluffy Pomeranian landed in my lap. That is just too much fur for the middle of July. I was already over heated, now I was sure I was going to melt.

It felt and looked like a little sun had climbed into my lap.