where has the time gone?

I couldn't believe it this morning when mommy gave D and I our flea treatments: a whole 'nother month is gone! We've all been pretty busy around here lately - mommy with her new job, daddy with work travel and D and me basking in all the glory of nature that springtime brings forward.  

D, in her usual post-f.treatment cape, hiding in the yard

The days have been super hot, even though it's not quite summer yet, so we don't get to go out much during the day.  Instead, mommy's taken to sitting outside in the early evenings before our walks and once she's done with work.  This way she gets to relax and 'unplug' from work and her computer, sipping a cool drink while  D and I have outdoor time!  We love this time and there's been plenty of it recently, enough to need a brand new 'outside' water dish and bed.  

Mommy's also taken to feeding the birds around here, which she thinks is great - shrieking loudly every time she sees a bird at the feeder - but which Dorothy and me hate!  We've told the birds time and time that they aren't welcome in our yard, so whenever we go out there, we have to do a full perimeter sweep now and if we detect the slightest hint or wiff of bird, we make like the wolf from that nursery rhyme... trying to huff and puff the feeder down.  We wish mommy would stop feeding those dumb birds because honestly, it makes us look silly and powerless.  Our authority in the yard is being completely disregarded. 

We've also been to several parks and new places lately.  Here are some snaps from Emma Long Park (May 31):

and a nearby town called Wimberley that mom and dad are kind of obsessed with at the moment and visit as often as they can:

 

  as you can see, D and me don't mind!

Tomorrow there'll be a post about our visit to Bull Creek trail - there were too many photos to include here... you'll see why! 

so smart it hurts

I've started doing a new thing,which I think is utter genius but which drives mommy insane!  It all began after I wrote my vanishing toys post for the blog challenge and mommy saw things from my point of view - which made her feel bad.  So she started being a lot quicker about fishing my toys out from under things when they disappeared.  In some cases, the second a ball rolled out of reach, mommy grabbed it for me!  After this continued a few times, and I was sure it wasn't coincidence, I figured I could exploit this and put my brilliant plan into action.  

See it's not easy being a smart dog.  I can't lay around all day doing nothing, just waiting for mommy to finish work and talk me for a walk.  I need stimulation and activity!  That's why (for a little while anyway), this new trick was utterly genius:  I would purposely slide my balls or stuff my toys under the couch and then alert mommy so she'd have to get them out for me!  This occasionally lead to playtime as well! Oh we had a glorious few days ... Until she figured it all out! Now it's back to maximum wait time for vanished toys and it's even worse because the legitimately-accidental ones are neglected for hours at a time!  

Sometimes I think there's no place for a smart dog in a human world! 

u is for upside-down

I've said it before and I know I'll say it again: Dorothy's weird.  She likes to play with her toys upside-down!  Here are some photos of her doing it with Snoopy:

And here she is with the blue bone:

Sometimes she doesn't even need a toy - she'll just start rolling 'round upside- down on the floor for no reason, like a real crazy dog!  I always go over to her, hoping to snap her out of it, but she doesn't stop! She just tries to make me to do it as well.  As if!  I like my play time with all paws on the ground!  Does any one else know if this behavior is normal?  It's always confused me ... 

Bax

q is for quiet time

Sorry for posting one day late!  Mommy and daddy took a trip over the weekend and boarded D and me last minute so there was no way I could get to a computer - you can blame mommy if you want, it certainly wasn't my idea to be boarded!  Anyway, letter Q is perfect for today because D and I are wiped out from our weekend playing with other dogs so this post (and this whole day since we got home) is all about quiet time.  

Most dogs like a nice long nap and me and Dorothy are no different.  Since we moved to Austin and mommy started working from home every day, our lives have become more routine with lots of naps.  We basically know that we'll wake up, take a run and potty break outside, come back for breakfast and then it's quiet time while mommy works.  If we're lucky, she'll take a lunch break, or a 'refresher' where I can persuade her to throw my ball for me and tug D will get her to tug her rope: but most days we just hang around (quietly) until she wraps up for the day and takes us for our walk.  If it's a decent off-leash with lots of running type walk, then D and me will usually take another nap afterwards before dinner - but if it's just a lame around the block walk, we'll usually beg mommy to play with us or follow her around the house until dinner.  Then it's potty breaks and quiet time for the rest of the evening.

When mommy's busy working we don't bother her much; unless it's going on day three stuck inside because of the rain... but more on that with letter R tomorrow!  This dog needs a little more quiet time for tonight.

Dorothy likes to nap on the pet-bed during the day

As for me, if I can't be on mom's lap, it's the couch

p is for paper

Ever heard the excuse 'my dog ate my homework?' well in our house it's a possibility.  Me and Dorothy LOVE ripping up paper!  Paper bags, receipts, gift wrap, tissue paper: you name it!  Even the cardboard rolls inside toilet paper and paper towels - we'll rip it all!  Mommy says we're better than a shredder and we're happy to help :) 

Most of the time mommy doesn't mind us ripping up paper that's left laying around, both the parents are pretty good about keeping the important stuff out of reach, but here are some pics of a time when we weren't supposed to rip up mommy's pink tissue paper - it was intended as Aunty Erica's gift wrap... 

heheh, so good, so fun hehehe

O wait... you mean we weren't supposed to pull this
down off the counter?  Ooops! I mean, it was Dorothy!

I've been right here literally the whole time..
nowhere near the tissue paper - it was all her, I promise!
See? Caught her red handed!

 ... And we love birthdays and Christmas because we get to unwrap all our own gifts! Here we are last Christmas, unwrapping our toys from Aunty Amy:

She knows we love unwrapping the paper so Aunty Amy always puts extra
layers around our Christmas toys... she's the greatest! 

... Now, if only we could stop eating the paper once we've shredded it apart... then mommy wouldn't have to put us on periodic paper bans! 

o is for opposites

Dorothy and I are chalk and cheese: complete opposites in every way.  I started this list a while back because it was obvious from the beginning just how opposite we were, but nothing new has been added in a while so I think this list is a pretty thorough one to explain our differences, and just in time for letter 'O.'

• I'm white / Dorothy's brown
• I have hair/ she has fur (that's why she sheds whereas I don't)
• I hate the crate/ she loves it!  
• I love chase toys/ she loves tug or chew toys
• I love the car / she hates it
• I love my harness and leash, jumping around whenever mommy gets it out/ she hates it and runs away from mommy when she sees it
• I'm toy driven/ she's food driven
• I love ham/ she loves fish 
• I'm picky/ she's easy-going
• I love to make the parents throw my ball so I can run around the house during 'TV' time/ she loves to lay all over mom and dad for cuddles 
• I'm cautious/ she's reckless and rough
• I smell flowers/ she eats 'em
• My ears flap down/ hers stand up
• My toe nails are see through/ hers are black
• I don't like strangers/ she thinks everyone's her bff (although as I mentioned in my yesterday's 'n for new people' post - she seems to be snapping out of this one!)
• I chase squirrels/ she chases birds
• I like to be alone/ she can't stand it
• I prefer belly rubs and hate people touching my ears because I get ear infections!/ she's the total opposite (yep you guessed it): hates people touching her sensitive belly and LOVES ear scratches
• I hate the bath/ so of course, Dorothy loves it!
• I like to snuggle my toys/ she likes to destroy them
• I love laying under a warm blanket or wearing a soft sweater when it's cold/ she hates anything like that touching her (even if she's cold) and will tear it up in no time if mommy's not around to stop her
• I don't lay on the ground/ she'll lay down anywhere!
• I'm cynical and hold grudges until I feel the person responsible is truly sorry/ Dorothy's happy-go-lucky, forgiving, trusting and doesn't know the meaning of 'angry.'

Can you believe it?  Opposite in every single way! Sure makes life here interesting! 

ying and yang

l is for liver treats

Years ago, when mommy was still living in that other country with my other grandparents that have those funny accents, they had a doberman who used to love treats made from liver.  Grandma used to make these treats herself - she'd gotten the recipe from the doberman breeder and when I came along, she passed it along to mommy to see if I would enjoy them as well.  Well did I ever!  

I was a 10 wk old pup when mommy made the first batch and training could not have gone smoother.  I learnt all my first commands for these treats and so did Dorothy.  Now we hardly ever get these special treats because liver isn't something you see at the grocery store on a regular basis in Austin.  But for this letter 'L' post, daddy bought some especially! 

I'll hand the keyboard to mommy for instructions on how to make them, just in case anyone else wants to make them for their dogs - trust me, they'll love them!  You'll just have to mind her spelling and measuring - she is Australian after all. 

Ingredients:

- 1lb (500g) liver pieces cut into small cubes

- 3 medium sized garlic cloves

Utensils:

- a garlic press (if you don't one you can use a knife to chop garlic into small pieces)

- mixing bowl

- non-stick cookie baking tray (I line mine with wax paper so there's less to clean up)

- air tight Tupperware container

Method:

- preheat oven to 350f/ 180c

- place liver cubes into mixing bowl and press the garlic cloves over the top

- mix all together until garlic appears evenly distributed

- place treats a little distance apart on baking tray (to avoid them baking on to each other) 

- bake for approx. 20 mins / until liver appears firm and has a dark brown colour

- remove from oven and allow to cool before placing treats into airtight container and refrigerating

 ... Thanks mommy! Now all the doggy-parents who read my blog can give their good dogs special treats too!  

BTW: Mommy's read articles that say garlic is "toxic" to dogs but that's probably only when it's raw because Dorothy and me get cooked garlic in a few dishes and we've never had any problems.  

k is for Kong

A kong is a toy that every dog should have.  Me and Dorothy love our kongs and since Dorothy isn't a crated-when-the-parents-go-out dog anymore, mommy likes giving them to us stuffed with treats when ever she goes anywhere.  What kind of dog wouldn't enjoy that?

Kongs come in lots of different shapes but we have the bone shaped ones made for small dogs.  Mommy says kongs are better than bones when we're unsupervised because she says a shard could break off a bone, gets caught in a throat and ... well you know!  But she doesn't have to worry about anything with a kong full of treats.  She knows we'll be safe and busy for hours! 

Although I thoroughly enjoy my kong and the variety of different treats that mommy pack inside it; I want to say... just for the record, that I used to do ok without any such diversions before Dorothy came along.  Mommy and daddy both know, in full confidence, that they can leave me any time and I'll do well on my own without needing anything to keep me busy.  I've never once chewed anything, broken anything, dropped anything or even misplaced anything I wasn't supposed to.  Nor have I ever had a bladder malfunction.  Mommy puts a puppy-pad down for me and I was trained long ago to just go on that if I needed to.  I also want it known that when mommy gives me my kong, she always tells me that it's my extra-special treat for keeping an eye on Dorothy while they're out.  Hmpf, Dorothy!  Who's sure to rip up a coaster or a shoe without it her kong! 

the A-Z challenge

Hi there!  Mommy and I have been busy getting my blog ready for the A-Z challenge which will run all April long with a different letter every day.  After giving it some thought we've agreed that my theme should revolve around me me me!! What's this?  Mommy disagrees.  Apparently Dorothy needs to be included.  Grrrr she's such a pain...

Fine! We can include a little about the annoying sister too - but mainly how she impacts me.  No, mommy's shaking her head!  

So maybe we haven't completely agreed yet - lucky we still have until Friday to reveal the theme officially.... 

Still think it's my blog...

boarded for the weekend

Last weekend mommy and daddy went to visit uncle Stephen in Dallas so Dorothy and I had to be boarded.  Usually this means excitement, favorite foods, loads of outside and play time with aunt Amy and uncle Sean but I'm starting to wonder if they're still around because we haven't seen them in while AND we were left with a lady we barely knew! 

She turned out to be ok - took us for two walks, gave us treats, sent mommy lots of photos, let us hang with her on the couch and there was another dog staying who was pretty cool... but she was no aunt Amy and we were very relieved when the parents came to pick us up.  Mommy's promised us lots of attention this weekend, let's see if she delivers!