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

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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