Blog Archives
They keep us laughing.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
If it weren’t for the dogs, I do think we wouldn’t laugh half as much as we do. If dogs had day planners, harass Gavin every minute today was in bold print in Patty’s. She didn’t give him one second’s peace at all. It might have something to do with the improvement of the weather.
DH said that she started early this morning. She enticed Gavin into bully runs and teased him by hucklebutting on the couch with the bone of contention in her mouth. (The bone from the pictures below.)
When I came down, Patty went into her mine, mine, mine it’s mine dance. At one point, after leaping about on the couch with the bone, she shook her head. The bone flew out of her mouth, and landed on the coffee table with a crash. The pups know that things on the coffee table are out of bounds. She stared at the bone willing it to move.
DH figured we’d get a few minutes of quiet. He was wrong. By that time, Gavin had enough of Patty playing queen of the hill. He walked over to the table, delicately lifted the bone, took it to his crate, and closed the crate door behind himself. We didn’t know he could do that.
Posted in Dog related, Misc, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
I see flowers starting to grow
Posted by doggonedmysteries
The yard is almost void of snow. A stroll around the gardens revealed numerous spring flowers trying to push through the mulch. I can’t wait for them to bloom.
Both the dogs were past silly with this noticeable change in the weather. They don’t care that March came in like a lamb they’re happy it’s getting warmer and the snow is leaving. They leapt about the yard in wild abandon.
The birds were also letting us know that the weather was improving. I haven’t heard so much birdsong in months. What a joy it was.
DH was in a jollier mood. I even took two walks, one with each dog. It was nice to get out.
We’re looking forward to this weekend and the predicted temperatures of the mid fifties with sun, lots of sun.
Posted in Dog related, Misc, My blog, my garden, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
They say a picture is worth a thousand words…
Posted by doggonedmysteries
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- Mine! {Sigh, baby sisters are a pain}
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- I said gimme!
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- Gimme
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- I want his
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- Bone chewing time
Gavin can be so tolerant…
Posted in Dog related, Misc, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Westminster Dog Show nights
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Every February we spend two nights watching the Westminster Dog Show. When I used to show our BTs, I dreamed of showing one our dogs there one day. Well, life oftentimes changes things as ours has. We’ll never have a dog entered at Westminster because we no longer show dogs. However, we can enjoy making our picks, competing with each other on which dogs will win, and watch the best of the best make it to the Best in Show ring.
I drive DH crazy because I pick an average 3 out of 4 winners in each group. (Dang I should’ve wagered money on this with him.) This year I picked all four ribbon winners in the Non-sporting group in the correct order. In addition, I managed to pick 3 out of 4 for the rest of the groups. For the last several years, I’ve picked the Best in Show winner too. I knew Elliot Weiss would pick the Scottie, Sadie. She was flawless, and once a terrier person, always a terrier person. I must add here that the Best in Show group, in its entirety, was breath taking.
When I first met him (oh, so many) years ago, Elliot was a professional handler. Malcolm had managed to make it to terrier group. Professionals, handle most of the terrier breeds, with the exception of some BTs and a very few others. When I entered the ring, I saw many handlers who, in the dog show world, were legendary and who was it in front of me in line? Elliot. He was very nice. He saw that I was nervous and gave me a few encouraging words. We didn’t win, but it certainly was exciting for me, a mere mortal, to compete in the same ring with all those renowned handlers.
Posted in Dog related, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, dog shows, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Westminster Dog Show, Writer, Writing
Even dogs get cabin fever
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Neither Patty nor Gavin enjoy trudging through the deep snow outside. Therefore, they’ve begun to romp inside more than usual with DH and me taking the brunt of their zest. They run around like maniacs and use us as bumpers when they make turns. Either that or they leap onto our laps leaving black and blue paw prints behind.
Gavin had quieted down and had stretched out alongside me in my chair. He likes an afternoon nap. Patty was still looking for mischief. First, she poked his paw with her nose as she walked by. Then she walked past again and nosed his chest. The third time by she poked him in the nose a couple of times. I must say Gavin tried mightily to ignore her.
She, who is not to be ignored, wanted to play. She went and stood by DH’s chair and studied Gavin for a few minutes. Gavin was trying to doze. He even faked it by closing his eyes tight. However, I could feel his body tense as he sensed her scrutiny.
Patty walked past us and went into the kitchen. A few seconds later, she bounded back into the living room and pounced on both of us. Gavin shot out of the chair, bully runs and hucklebutts ensued. I can’t wait until they can burn off some energy outside.
Posted in Dog related, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Snow, Writer, Writing
Gavin doesn’t do well with change
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Poor Gavin. He’s very confused. Our kitchen is the coldest room in the house. Gavin’s crate has been in the kitchen since he arrived here at the age of eight weeks. He’s now eight years old. I moved his crate to the living room tonight. With the dreadfully cold weather we’ve had lately, he’s been fussing at night in his crate trying to cover himself with his bedding.
I did some rearranging of furniture a few hours ago and his crate is now next to Patty’s. (Oh, yeah this has also confused her a bit.) When I moved Gavin’s crate, he was busy getting a belly tickle from DH so he really didn’t notice. When DH finished, I showed Gavin where his crate was. I did, honestly I did. Gavin even went in and out of it several times.
Then we let Patty out of her crate so she could see the change too. She thought it was a funny joke. She quickly pounced on, and teased Gavin. Then she did a silly huckle butt on the couch. All this wound Gavin up and he raced back and forth from living room to kitchen. They took a while to settle down.
When I told them to kennel up, Gavin ran to the kitchen and looked for his crate, and looked for his crate, and stood in the middle of the floor looking puzzled. I showed him his crate, again. It’s going to take a while for him to get used to this. In the meantime, I might need to go looking for a dog psychologist.
Posted in Dog related, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Time to trim the toenails
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Tonight I noticed that both of the pups sound like tap dancers when they walk. Tomorrow I’ll have to get sneaky and begin the process of trimming their claws. Patty is very good about letting us trim her claws. Gavin, on the other hand, is not. Trimming Gavin’s claws is a long, slow process.
Patty will stay on her back on the couch and remain as still as a seat cushion while I snip away at her claws. On occasion, she will pull a paw back but she does so without any conviction.
We have to sneak up on Gavin to do his. Most of the time, I manage to snip a claw or two when he’s snoozing with me on my chair. It only works if he is on his back, then he’s fairly easy pickings. I never can trim more than two at a time though. By the second snip of the clippers, 65 pounds of white dog rockets from the chair. He has his limits and I’d better have a cookie ready or I won’t get him in that position again.
You can almost see Patty rolling her eyes at him.
Posted in Dog related, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
The postman only rang once
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Gavin and Patty were snoozing this afternoon when the doorbell rang. They woke, began barking, and dashed for the door. I had to chase them back to retrieve the package from the mailman. I must’ve sounded like a lion tamer at the door, “back, back. Get back.” The poor mailman took several steps back. I had to explain I wasn’t telling him to get back I was telling the dogs. I swear they knew it was for them even before I said so.
A couple of days ago I ordered some new vitamins for them, rich in omega 3s and 6s they are supposed to help stop them from being so darned itchy. We’ll see. They have enough for 200 days. I’m hoping by that time they will be itch free. Both have dry skin and Gavin has a tendency to get irritated skin. They got their first dose as soon as I opened the bottle. They liked them.
One thing that made me order these particular vitamins was that they came in a large dog size. Which means they get one pill each, instead of two to four, as they would have to take with most I can find on the store shelves. That gets expensive. Another thing is that the company was offering free shipping and I know from ordering other things from them that the stuff arrives fast.
The pups are mud bugs and some very bad poetry
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Holy cow is our yard a muddy mess and it’s not even spring yet. All day Gavin and Patty blissfully played in the mud each time they went out. When they came in, they looked like two mud wrestlers. Patty took great joy in paw painting Dear Hubby’s jeans and shirt. Gavin preferred to paw paint me. They are mud bugs.
My laundry basket runneth over. Yea, though they run rampant through the yard and gardens, they fear no mud puddle. For they know they can track a goodly supply of muck onto the kitchen floor. Surely Mom’s wrath will follow, or at least, a toweling at the door. Dad sits by in a muddle, paw printed from toe to neck. Both dogs make a leap for his lap, oh no. He yells, “What the heck?”
There’s mud on the walls three feet above the dogs. How it got there, they aren’t telling. I can’t blame them, because Dad was yelling. Muddy paws wiped all day and the mop and bucket have gone astray.
Two exhausted dogs sleep. Snores from crates emanate. DH is off to bed and I am left to ruminate.
Posted in My blog
Tags: Author, Bad poetry, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
We are gonna get some warmer weather
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Over the next few days, we’re supposed to see a steady rise in the temperature. Need I say yippee? I can’t wait it’s been far too cold for my taste lately. We might even see it hit fifty degrees by Thursday. Wow, that means I can…do…some…yard…work—oh, crap.
The Koi will be happy because it means I’ll be able to add fresh water to the pond and back wash the filters. They should thaw by then. Not only will they be happy but also the wild birds who have been trying to find water at the top of the falls will be too. I’ve seen the poor things leaning way over the edge of the pond to sip. The littlest ones do have trouble reaching it.
The pups will be thrilled. They have not been pleased with the extreme cold we’ve had the last several weeks. I’ve never seen them hurry so much to get back inside as they have during this cold spell. Yes, they are spoiled. They love the comfort of the furniture and the heat. Same as they do the AC in the summer.
Posted in Dog related, Misc, my garden, Weather related, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Fish, Home, Koi, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
The week in review
Posted by doggonedmysteries
This has been a long week. Very cold weather and now today, more snow. Dang, we were just getting to see some grass peek through the last dumping of snow we got. The furnace has been working overtime keeping the house warm. Eeks! We have frigid weather and another inch or two of snow predicted for this weekend. Take note people, with this surge in cold weather stocks in long underwear companies should rocket. Hurry up spring!
Meanwhile back at the pond, the waterfall is frozen but the fountains are running. We need a few days above freezing to thaw the filters and the waterfall. There’s no ice on the pond, due to the cattle trough heater, but leaves clogged the basket on top of the pump, thus the frozen filters. It took me two hours to get the fountains flowing. Ah, wet hands and frigid weather, what a lovely combination.
Gavin and Patty are as sick of snow as we are. Neither one wants to be outside long. Our normally quiet dog barked when she saw some people outside today. It seems that Patty has taken to complaining to the neighbors about the weather.
DH had a bad week. We’re hoping next week will be a better one for him. He’s going to skip his Avonex dose on Monday. We’ll see how that goes.
Here’s hoping for warmer days, melted snow, and DH feeling better.
Posted in Dog related, Misc, my garden, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Ponds, Rescue Dogs, Snow, weather, Writer, Writing
Cold weather dogs? No sirree.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
How fitting that I have dogs who don’t like the cold. Bull Terriers are not cold weather dogs. Believe me the days are very cold right now, colder than we’ve seen in many years. Neither Gavin nor Patty will tolerate a coat even on the coldest of days. They give that ‘she’s-crazy if she thinks I’m going to wear that’ look.
I’ve never seen either of the pups so quick to go out and come back in. Miss Patty, of the very thin coat, goes a few yards into the yard, does her business, and comes flying in the back door as if shot from cannon. Gavin walks only a few feet from the back steps, squats like a puppy and trots back in. He wants us to think that the cold is no big deal to him.
Miss Patty heads for DH’s lap or the settee, which is warmed by the radiator behind it. (Gavin hasn’t discovered that feature yet.) Gavin wants his chair or my lap, preferably the latter. I’ve resorted to turning the space heater on for a few hours at night in the kitchen since that’s the coldest room and is where Gavin’s crate is. Even though his crate is next to the radiator in there, he is noticeably quieter when the space heater is on. Therefore, I know he’s more comfortable.
Posted in Dog related, Misc, My blog, Weather related
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
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