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We have six glow balls around here somewhere. They're the pups' favorite toys, but Fudge loves to sneak them into the house and hide them. On those rare occasions when I do housework, I'll find them under the bed or behind the sofas. We were down to two bleached out glow balls for six pups. That meant I either had to do housework and locate the others, or place an order with Sit-Stay.
Yesterday the package from Sit-Stay.com arrived. In it were five brightly colored new glow balls. Rob and I unpacked them and placed them in the back yard. I let Sky out first. He looked like a kid at Christmas. Glow balls are his very favorite toy and he usually sleeps with one. Even if he's playing with another toy, he'll have his glow ball nearby.
Then we let the rest of the pups out. Each of them grabbed a glow ball and the race was on. Rob and I spent twenty minutes throwing balls for them to chase. When they had tired a bit, we brought the older dogs out. Samba and Fudge and Morgan were interested in the new balls, too. Monty and Tsar are too dignified to be caught playing with glow balls and besides they don't want to be asked to 'fetch'.
Everyone had a fun time and I managed to collect all the balls so they didn't get hidden away. For anyone who doesn't know what a glow ball is, they're these thick colorful rubber balls that absorb sunlight, then glow in the dark. As you can see from the picture, they lose their bright colors over time, but they still glow. If you have insomniac pups, as I did, they allow you to have great games of fetch at 3 AM. We always throw the ball a few times at last call.
The only other toy that comes close to generating as much excitement in my dogs is the flying cow frisbee from Bamboo. That is, without a doubt, Samba's favorite. She quivers when she sees it. I have to keep them locked away and they are only used with supervision. Fights could break out over the cow frisbee. It's that popular.
My May posting called "Growing Pains' shows Samba teaching the pups how to play with the frisbee.
It took a couple days, but I finally got a picture of Bailey's new haircut. She has a nice naked butt.Now it's easy to tell her and Lola apart. Bailey really looks good in a lion clip and her hairdresser says she was cooperative . That isn't always the case.
Another thing I like about Sit-Stay.com. They always send a sample of some new treat. Lucy loves the 'Little LuLu' cookies. She liked them so well I ordered some in the peanut butter and blueberry flavor. Blueberry is supposed to be good for brain function and Lucy needed a little help in that area. She has finished off two packages of the cookies. In the new box there was a sample of smoked barbequed chicken flavor Little Lulus. She tried them at bedtime and the review was great.
Lucy was having some real trouble walking last week. She needed to be carried up and down stairs and wouldn't put any weight on one back leg. I am happy to report that she is walking again and doing stairs by herself, although we keep stairs to a minimum. She is increasingly fragile and sleeps most of the time, but when she's awake, she is active and demanding.
On our weekly visit to the Vet, this week was Sky's turn. When Sky was a little puppy, he broke one of his teeth. We had it pulled, but when his adult teeth came in, he chewed on something hard that chipped several of his front teeth. We were concerned about his show career, but the AKC recommended having the teeth fixed to prevent further damage. Our Vet, Dr B, did a great job of repairing the teeth. He applied a bonding agent that gave Sky back his beautiful smile. The teeth looked like new and no damage was visible.
On Friday evening, Sky put his head in my lap for a pat and I thought I saw something on his tooth. I pried his mouth open and there was a chip on his lower left canine. When Dr B looked at it yesterday, he said it wasn't down to the pulp, good news, but it needed to be fixed ASAP, bad news. Sky will go to the dentist on Friday to get his tooth re-bonded.
Fudge is continuing to excel in his obedience training. I think he actually enjoys it. The others are straggling along at various rates. I haven't spent as much time this week as I should have on lessons. Last night, after a run, I had all the pups together in the garage. They were milling around waiting for their biscuits. In my 'master' voice I said "SIT" to no one in particular. They all looked at me, this is good, but only one immediately sat. Noah.
Noah got off to a slow start on his lessons, but he is now one of the more advanced students. Once he figured out what I wanted, he has been consistent. I saw the little light bulb go on in his brain.
Sky did show off his 'sit' 'down' and 'stay' for the girls at the the vet's office. He's a terrible flirt.
There were two blue butterflies on the butterfly bush. They seemed to be camera shy and kept flying away. I never did get a picture of them, but this fellow hung around for a long time.
All Craftspeople know about Christmas in July. The craft stores have their Christmas displays up and seasonal fabrics and yarns appear. It may seem too early to those who don't make their own gifts and decorations, but a Craftsperson knows that if you want to have nearly everything done by Christmas, you must start at least by July. Actually, it's best to start the day after Christmas, and you never get everything done. I've often sat up on Christmas Eve putting the last stitches into some gift that got a late start.
I already have a nice little stash of gifts put away in my gift closet, but this is the time to get all the tools together and make lists of supplies that will be needed. My knitting needles defy organization. I keep them in this box, so I know they're all there, but they need to be matched up somehow. After all these years, it's probably not going to happen.
I have my yarn ready. Last year I took advantage of some good deals on e-Bay to find seasonal yarn. I have several knitting projects planned. 
This is suede yarn for a poncho. I think I'll wait till cooler weather to start this one. There's no hurry as it's a gift for myself.
I found some cute dog themed fabrics. Every year we have to repair or replace doggy beds and these also make good pillow backings for friends.
Of course there are Christmas patterned fabrics for any number of projects. I want to make some Christmas pillow cases for the bed this year.
Here is a project I have almost finished. It's an afghan. I have to finish the border and attach the fringe and it will be ready. It's quite large and has a snowflake stitch that makes it quite pretty.
I enjoy making Christmas stockings and I think I do a good job, but how many Christmas stockings does a person really need? I knit a pair when we were first married and we still use them. At that time we had three dogs, so I knit each of them a stocking, too.
A couple years later I made this pair. I really like these, but I won't use them. I don't want them to get messed up.
Then a few years later, I made these. They were more work, but I don't like them as well.
I found this cute doggy stocking in an after holiday sale. This is velvet, so dog drool wouldn't look good on it. We hang it up because it's cute, but the dogs have a tradition all their own that I'll write about later.
I have a few gift projects in mind and the time to start is now. The problem is finding the time between dog meals, outings and obedience training. That doesn't leave much time for housework, does it?
This will be a short post because I'm so tired. I just want to go to sleep but I have to wait up till yogurt time. If I put all the dogs to bed too early, they all wake up really early, like 4 AM and I don't want to play fetch in the back yard at 4 AM. It's easier to just sit up till their normal bedtime.
Class last night was great !! Fudge was on. He listened to me and held his 'stays'. The instructor tossed toys near him, even that red ball, and she stepped over him and walked around him stroking his head and still he sat there. He did break when she clapped her hands, but went right down again. He even stayed when the little beagle in class wanted to play with his tail.
At one point while doing 'heel' we went across the room, around a corner, turned and went back to where we began, and we did it without a leash. He stayed right beside me. What a good boy. He was really wound up when we got home, lots of praise and lots of treats got him a little high.
This morning we had to be up early to deliver Fudge, Morgan and Bailey to the spa for their summer haircuts. It was just in time because the temperature was 94 today. At breakfast I took pictures of Morgan and Fudge looking like wooly sheep.
Morgan had to wear that plastic cone for such a long time that she had bad mats on her head, neck and ears. We've been trying to comb them out a little at a time, but they were still really thick. Because of that, she had to have a really drastic haircut. There isn't much hair left on her head, but she'll be cooler this summer and it'll grow back. It's only hair.
Here she is when she got home this afternoon. Looks like a different dog, doesn't she.
Fudge got a shave down, too. He has a really thick coat and was feeling the heat. This is Fudge this morning.
He's doing a 'down-stay' before eating his breakfast. He seems to like doing his obedience exercises. He's a real attention hog, so maybe he's figured out that it earns him extra attention when he obeys.
Here's Fudge after his return from the spa. In four months time he'll be just as wooly as he was before. Just in time for the next dogshow. Bailey didn't stand still long enough to get her picture taken. Maybe tomorrow.
Today is a busy day. It's Thursday, so tonight is obedience class. We've been practicing our homework and Fudge is doing an amazing job. When I put the leash on and fill my pockets with treats, suddenly he becomes very cooperative and does whatever I tell him to. When we're in the yard and there are no treats in sight and I give him a command, he looks at me like I must be crazy. Why would he possibly want to do that?
I found these two stepping stones in a shop near here one day and thought we'd put them in the back yard. When Rob saw them, he thought we should put them on the wall under the outside lamp. So now, where most people have a house number, we have the word WOOF.
Lola is doing a short 'sit-stay', emphasis on short. I can step about three feet away from her and walk back to her . Her down stay is even shorter. I have to stand over her, but that's ok. We'll get there. Yesterday on her rather jerky 'heel' she figured out that if she sat when we stopped, she'd get a cookie. So now even though the heel isn't great, she sits when she's supposed to without being told. So, that's progress.
Sky is a real ham. When none of the others want to stop to have their pictures taken, Sky will always pose. He's such a good boy. Yesterday he had a stuffie in his crate and tore it all apart. The stuffing was confined to his crate. Last night, while I was on the computer, he carried all the cotton stuffing out of the crate and spread it around the office. It's all over the place. I guess I can't avoid vacuuming much longer.
This is Bailey. She and Lola look so much alike that you have to be very close to tell them apart. Bailey is a little smaller and her eyes are set farther apart. Bailey has less white on her chest and her feet are black while Lola's toes are silver. If they are wet, which they are a great deal of the time, they look identical. I keep them in different haircuts to make identification easier. Bailey has been in a lion cut, but it's grown out, so tomorrow she's going to the spa to get her butt shaved.
Fudge and Morgan are also going to the spa for summer haircuts. They both have heavy coats and will be much cooler with a trim. I'll post before and after pictures when they get home. It's a dramatic difference.
Sky, again, asking to have his picture taken.
Lucy is having a rough day. Yesterday morning she fell down four steps. He weak rear legs just gave way. Last night she was holding her right rear leg up off the ground and limping painfully around. This morning I increased her pain meds slightly and had to help her up the steps when she went outside. She ate well and I'm trying to keep her quiet in the kitchen. She has her big bed there and food and water close by. A little while ago I took her out and she managed the steps on her own. She always wants to do everything herself. I know she won't be around much longer, but I don't want her last days to be filled with pain and fear.
The birds or squirrels must have been eating sunflower seeds on the back fence and dropped one. This morning this solitary sunflower greeted us. I managed to keep Tess from picking it, but who knows how long she can resist.
Another drizzly day. The damp dogs are all stretched out in their favorite napping places around the house, so I ventured out into the yard alone. How novel !! First, of course, I had to scoop. Then I had a look at some of the garden life.
This year I planted a Mandevilla. I saw my first one at Longwood Gardens years ago. It was winding it's way around the upper wall of the conservatory. It was so beautiful, but I didn't really have an area for it and the weather in Maryland didn't seem right for it. Since moving here, I've seen several wrapped around a lamp post or a trellis, so this was the year. I didn't plant much this year because the Crazy Dogs of Portugal like to trample or eat flowers or use them to play tug with each other.
My little plant is safely planted in a large pot on the front deck and I wanted to coax it to wrap around the deck post. The plant had other ideas. Each day I would carefully unwrap it from the stick and place it around the post. The next morning it would have unwrapped itself from the post and again be tied tightly around the stick. Finally , last week I won. It stayed around the post. Then I started noticing something that might possibly develop into a bud. Yes, a couple days later I took this picture of the first buds.
These flowers take forever to develop and open. Every couple of days I documented their progress.
This looks like it's ready to open, doesn't it. Nope ! It had days to go.
Yesterday really looked promising. It can't be much longer, now.
This morning I was feeding Lucy, who has decided that she will only eat if fed from a spoon. I know, I shouldn't let her get away with it, but she's so old and sick that I just want her to eat and the fastest way is to just spoon feed her. Besides in a couple days she'll change her mind and only eat if Rob holds an umbrella over her or some other crazy idea. Anyway I was feeding Lucy when Rob called me from the front porch and said to bring my camera. It has opened.
Isn't it pretty !! On the other side of the post is another one that should be open tomorrow. I hope they last more than a day.
On my solitary trip around the back yard, first I had to release a baby bluebird that somehow got trapped in the chiminea. I don't know how it got in there, but it's parents were sitting on the fence screeching and it was beating it's little wings against the screen. I opened the screen and the baby flew directly to it's parents who started feeding it.
Next I checked on my pink coneflowers. With the fencing protecting them from my dog stalkers, they're thriving. This is the best year they've had.
The two butterfly bushes are in flower and although I haven't seen any neat butterflies yet, just a few tiny moths, today one of my favorites was here, a hummingbird moth. We have lots of them every year and last year counted sixteen at one time feeding on the butterfly bush. They were all sizes, maybe some family groups.
They don't seem very concerned about people getting close and Rob likes to put his finger out and feel the movement of their wings as they hover.
Today there was only one.
Our big toad that lived with us all last summer came back a few nights ago. I think she dug into the dirt under the steps for the winter. I've only seen her a couple times so far, but with all this rain, she's probably living in the garden feasting on bugs. We have seen several tiny little toad, about the size of a penny. They come out in the evening and jump around on the bricks of the patio. I have to try to distract the dogs. Actually, only Tsar seems to notice them.
I hope someone moves into the toad house soon. I would prefer that to living under the dog bowls.
Monty was lying in bed beside me this morning and I was studying his feet. He has very neat, tight feet. They almost seem too small for his body. I like dog feet. They differ so much between breeds. Dachshunds have such big knobby feet for such short little bodies. Sometimes I'm amazed at Lucy's tiny little feet, they're so delicate.
The PWDs have big feet. They're paddles or dustmops or if it's muddy outside, paintbrushes.
They have big fat pads, too. Here are Samba's and Fudge's paws.
This is Sky's paw.
While I was thinking about feet, I started thinking about tails. Dogs speak with their tails. They can say "I'm happy to see you' or "I'm afraid of this situation" or " I sense danger" all with their tails.
Some people still dock dog's tails. I can see no reason, unless there's a medical necessity, why any dog should have it's tail docked. None of mine do and I wouldn't do it even if it was the breed standard. How can we deprive these wonderful creatures of their natural form of expression? Tails are necessary for emotional well being. And that is that.
Samba's tail.
Fudge's tail.
Sky's tail.
Monty's tail.
We managed to survive the fireworks over the weekend. Monty refused to go outside Friday for last call and held it all night, but Morgan and Lucy ran out, squatted and ran back in. Tsar and the Water Dogs don't seem very concerned about the noise. A couple of the pups bark at the noise, but they don't act afraid. Just the same, I'm glad it's over for another year.
