Chair Eaters-The Puppy Years

Hi there!

Did you all survive Thanksgiving and Black Friday, the mother of all shopping extravaganzas? I did, I stayed home! Wimp that I am.

Ahhhh, but bargains were to be had. Sitting behind my computer screen, drinking coffee, up popped a message from Corel. They had some great deals. I picked up Painter Essentials 4 that they were practically giving away. Gives me the chance to get my feet wet, without putting out the big bucks for a professional level program. Sunday night we did venture out and walked into one of the big box, office stores to see if they still had any computer chairs left. I know..... how exciting, right? That must be the general consensus as they had tons of them lying around. Well, I was pretty happy. As two dogs, that shall go unnamed-but I will give you a hint, destroyed mine. One is grey, he ate the arms off, and the other is speckled, he ripped off the seat and destuffed it. They noshed my computer chair down to its bones while they were puppies. Yes, it was as pathetic as you imagine and worse. When the screw to keep the seat upright finally gave it up, I figured it was high time. We got our moneys worth though. It is so old we cannot even figure out when we bought it. So I am the proud owner of a sparkling new 'puter chair. Here's hoping the pups leave it be, or there are not going to be any more cookies around here. =0)

So how about you? Score any deals?

Actions compliments of Rita at the Coffee Shop

Actions

Mom Says It's Almost Turkey Day

We woke up to the first snow of the year. Just a bit, enough to cover the ground. Taren peered into the 5 a.m. darkness long enough to feel a bit of the chill rush in, and was completley over it. He gave me a disgusted look, ate breakfast and went back to bed. Caelan on the other hand lost his mind. He rushed outside, snuffled up a bit of the snowy goodness, jumped off the deck into doggy nirvana. He had the zoomies. He made lap after lap around the backyard in the dark. You could hear the frozen leaves crackling under his paws. There is a lot of simple joy housed in his speckled body. Back and forth he went. Leap on the deck, leap off the deck, run a few laps and back again. I hope we have a lot of snow this year.

Thanksgiving is is creeping ever near, closely followed by Christmas. It is a busy time of year for those that celebrate. For all of us, time becomes sacred. I fear my posts will be few and far between. However, I do want to share a great idea for homemade dog toys in the coming weeks. They make wonderful gifts for your dog loving friends, are inexpensive, and all around a lot of fun. Stay tuned.

I also need to get my boys to sit still for our annual Christmas card shoot. I always look forward to it with mingled joy and horror. They aren't called my bad boys for nothing. LOL

Anyway, I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving, for those that don't celebrate Happy Thursday!

There may be more frequent updates over at my other site. http://rainierbluephotography.blogspot.com/

 Momma says we are having turkey and she's gonna share. Arooooooooo! xoxoxo Taren and Caelan

As always, textures compliments of the ever generous and talented Jerry Jones

Copyright Rainier Blue 2010, All Rights Reserved

The Sausage King

I've been a mean momma. I've been giving my dog a hard time about his weight. Taren could stand to lose a pound or two. He is not fat, he is not even overweight, not in the slightest. So do not get me wrong, but to look his Weimy best it would not hurt. He gets plenty of exercise and eats fancy pants dog kibble. I will admit to being the problem. I like to share. A bite of cheese, a few pieces of raw meat to add to their kibble as a treat, a slice or two of apples, and a few doggy cookies for being a good boy and it all starts to add up. I need to cut back. It goes against my nature. Yet they do not need for a pound or two to turn into another obese dog walking the streets of our town. There are plenty of those already.

I pet and love on Taren and tell him he looks like a sausage with legs. (Which he doesn't) I tell him I am going to start calling him Jimmy Dean. You know, the sausage company. I sing to him, he is Jimmy Dean, the Sausage King, James Dean. Taren looks at me like, Lady you are nuts, but keep up the petting and we'll call it good. It's silly and all in good fun, but the extras need to be kept to a minimum to keep him healthy. His brother too. It will hurt me far more than it will him.

Disclaimer: I have nothing against Jimmy Dean or Sausage. In fact, on occasion, I am quite fond of both.

Squirrel Hunting

I have seen a lot of the back of Caelan's head lately. He has been busy stalking the squirrels. Our resident squirrel population is a band of thugs. Backyard bullies in a small furry package. They tease the dogs unmercifully. They drop down in the trees just out of reach and chatter. This sends KK through the roof. He stands at attention and points, his body quivers from head to toe. His tail bristles out making it look twice the size and all the hair along his neck and back stand out. He doesn't bark though, he just silently watches. Sometimes the squirrels jump from tree to tree and KK will sit and watch for long lengths of time. The squirrels like to teasingly drop small pieces of the tree down on the dogs, their tails twitching and chattering all the while. They are the mean girls of the backyard. Poor Caelan wants those squirrels so bad. When they are feeling especially brave they jump down on the fence and run the top line. I think this will be their undoing. Caelan is really tall and he can jump. One slip up and he will have them. I am not so sure how I will feel about it when the time comes, and its coming. I have hunting dogs and well, they hunt. It is not like the squirrels will not have it coming, furry little tormentors that they are. Yet this animal loving gal has a soft heart for all animals. Even for the garden digging, acorn hiding, rat like hecklers of the backyard.

As always, textures compliments of the ever generous and talented Jerry Jones

Copyright Grey Dog Photography 2010, All Rights Reserved

Personality

I have always loved this set of photos of Taren. He is still just a puppy here, but you can see what he is all about, as it's written all over his face. He is my fun, silly goober that many of you have heard about over the past couple of years and then there is Mr. Intensity. He's not really big on that whole moderation thing. He is all about turning on the charm and working the poses, right up and until you step out passed his comfort zone. Then he is all business. Where's the momma going? Do I need to protect her?

Taren loves my husband, but at the end of the day he will always be a momma's boy and my protector. He is very aware of his surrounding, and his hearing is unbelievable. When he snaps his head up to take a look around, I pay attention. If he stands in the window and growls into the night you can bet I get up to see what is going on. Sometimes he just barks at the unfamiliar. In Oregon most of us are used to getting wet, but occasionally someone just has to break out the umbrella and Taren had to get his bark on the first time or two. Then there was the time the kid with the crotch rocket got right up on our bumper with a full face helmet and Taren lost his mind, twice. It was deafening, unbelievable, and over the top. In that order. He has since got over that as well. Sometimes he barks if you aren't throwing the ball fast enough, or if Caelan has the one bone out of three dozen that he thinks he has to have. That is an altogether separate bark though, and I know the difference.

Then there is the bark where he is trying to show you something, because you *might* just be too stupid to figure it out on your own. LOL I like this one the best. You just never know what you are going to get. Sometimes it's a big moth on the wall that KK will eat. Then there was the time, my inside cat was outside that I recently spoke about. Occasionally he leads you to the fridge for ice-cubes or to their food for his 8 o'clock snacky. Yesterday when I fed the pups their afternoon meal Caelan's bowl was missing. Which I thought was a little strange, but when it's KK you just shrug and go get another bowl. I even asked him, Where's your bowl, K? Not long after Taren was looking over the side of the deck, doing his come look mom, bark. So I trot over to see what was going on, survey the drop off, and there was Caelan's bowl!

When Taren has something to say, I listen.

As always, textures compliments of the ever generous and talented Jerry Jones

Copyright Grey Dog Photography 2010, All Rights Reserved

Spam, No Eggs, All Before Coffee

I get up early every morning, 5 a.m. give or take ten minutes. I want to get up, feed the pups and drink my coffee. In exactly that order. The boys go back to sleep and I leisurely drink my coffee, check my email, and slowly wake up as the caffeine courses through my body.

Annoying me before caffeine lift off is a baddddd idea. As I peruse my email I am greeted with a comment from yesterdays post and it states: Dog training demands tantamount of patience as it is time-consuming. Proper socialization with the right amount of attention can help resolve dog problems. Oh really? Hmmmmm... Who'd have guessed? So I click on the profile to see who is giving me such an astute bit of advice to find there is no profile available. Of course not. I then click on the link, even knowing better, to find a Dog Services Directory. I am officially annoyed.

I knew when I started this blog that I would eventually receive a bit of spam, a snarky comment or two, maybe even the occasional troll. It is part and parcel for the medium. Yet I was not expecting to feel so chaffed about it. I highly doubt they took the time to read the post, although they did take the time to type in my word verification. Which for some odd reason amuses me. Putting the spam aside, it just seems far too easy these days to swoop in, read a few paragraphs and presume you know something about the individual and their life. In my case, my dogs.

I provide a very tongue in cheek look into the lives of my dogs. Very often at their expense. Just a bit of fun in an otherwise weary world. Are they bad dogs, as I often allude to? Absolutely not. Are they perfectly trained? No, but are yours? If you are nodding yes, behind your screen, sipping your Dr Pepper and eating Cheetos, I don't believe you. =0) Dogs, like people, are subject to whims and even the best trained dogs ponder the odds of snatching the Sunday roast off the counter before getting caught. I just do not take any of it very seriously, because I don't have to.

The comment, which I am sure was left on many dog blogs, implies my dogs problems come from lack of training, lack of a doggy social life, and lack of attention. Heck, lets throw in lack of exercise, because everyone else does. What the rogue commenter doesn't know is, Taren left he house a bit after 4 this morning, but not before sitting for his running harness and collar to be put on. You know, like a good boy. He ran 5 miles in a controlled manner, getting in far more exercise than the average human. He came home ravenous, but still sat on command, waiting for me to release him to eat. He was drooling, but he sat as commanded and waited. He was a very good boy. He then followed us upstairs to hang out with his family and rest. He will be with me the entire day. So much for that no attention theory.

My point is, dogs get away with exactly what you let them get away with. For some of us the definition of good behavior and training differ. Much like for children. I never let my kids throw themselves on the floor and scream like a banshee in the middle of a store, but many do. To each their own. I don't care that Caelan filches my spoons when I cook and runs to the backyard. I have more. It's not the good silverware. It's all fun and games. If I do not want to play along I tell him no, or I put up the baby gate. It really is that simple. More times than not, I chase him down. Which is exactly what he wants and I pet him and lovingly tell him he's a bad boy.

Then the next day, I share the story. Not because he is really bad, or needs training, or I am looking for advise. If I wanted advice I would ask. I share because I am a dog lover, and I love the crazy antics of mans best friend, and I think you do too. Spam and ugly comments on blogs takes away from the joy of the sharing. Polite and respectful dissent is always welcome. You just might want to wait until I've had my coffee though.

xoxoxoxo Me and the boys

 

As always, textures compliments of the ever generous and talented Jerry Jones

Copyright Grey Dog Photography 2010, All Rights Reserved

Mouthy

Look at my chubby Wubba! The spotted pink tummy, the Micky Mouse ears on his side, the big floppy ears, the head wrinkles, if that doesn't give you puppy fever, then nothing will. There is nothing better on this earth than a puppy. After potty training of course. =0)

In case you are wondering, that is a rock in his mouth. The days of carrying something in his mouth started young. Now if he would only quit sneaking the silverware I'd be happy. I am getting low on spoons.

Happy Tuesday!

Copyright Grey Dog Photography 2010, All Rights Reserved

The Serious Side

Let's face it, there are dog lovers, and there are non dog lovers. When the two meet, there is sure to be a raised eyebrow or two. The boys are part of our family and are indoor dogs. They eat, sleep and play in the house. Anyone that is a dog lover knows there are certain things that come with the territory. You never leave the house without a pass over with a lint brush. You can be assured, on occasion, to pick a dog hair off your dinner plate. If you have food they expect, no demand, you share. They can drag in more dirt, leaves, and mud than any pack of kids hands down. They drool, fart, and burp. They filch your keys, eat your shoes, and polish off a cell phone or two. You have no privacy. They stare at you while you eat, shower, or use the bathroom, and they always want to help. They stand on the back of your leather couch, all the better to stalk the neighbors. They share your pillow at night, and on more than one occasion have woke up nose to nose with a pup. They also hijack the blankets and hog the bed. They lick your hand lotion, they stick their tongue in your ear, and they will wash your face. They steal anything you have in your pockets, leave on the counters, or forgot on the floor. It's all fun and games to a dog, and I will admit, fun for this dog lover too.  99% of what they do I shrug off. They are a couple of lovable, thugs. The joy they bring to my life compensates for their naughty deeds. Yes, I could train the behavior away, but you would not get any more bad boy stories and frankly, I do not choose to. Right up and until the non dog lover, dog lover combo collide. You feel a little hangdog as they empty their jowls on the floor after a good drink of water, and wipe their face on the companies nice slacks. You begin to see your pups through their eyes and try to stem the tide. Which is difficult at times.  Barring doggie boot camp how do you handle guests in your home that may not be as tolerant of doggie behavior as us dog lovers?

Copyright Grey Dog Photography 2010, All Rights Reserved