Big Bad Bark !

Schatzi barked !
A real bark, loud and ferocious, repeatedly and serious with emphasis on warning the service man to stay away, this is my house and I protect it !
It was an honor for Jim from Wright Heating and Cooling to be singled out by a little girl who did not say a word for almost 3 weeks.
What a woof ! A little rusty perhaps, but it worked and it must have surprised herself.
As happy as she is to have found her voice, Schatzi now has to learn how to apply it correctly.
I wonder if there are private bark lessons ? Yes, with Dad.

Another first was really playing like a young doggie with the new chewie.
She grabbed it with both paws, nudged it with her nose, she batted it , hopped with it from one basket into the other and was totally happy. The tail was wagging and she raced from her basket to the kibble bowl and back, every time picking up a little piece of food. In all the days we have her she never took so many steps in one day.
It looks, like she is bursting out of her shell !

Emmett sat Schatzi on the table to measure her for the new harness . That was too high and scary and Dad just caught her from jumping down into her safety basket. The harness was fitted and Dad and Andy took a giant leap of faith into the backyard without the leash hooked to her.
Schatzi did what she always did --- nothing.
She sat, smelled wood smoke that billowed from 2 backyards away and it never occurred to her that she could just romp and explore.
Schatzi also does not realize that the inhabitant of the yard have way more life experience than she does. She is the predator and does not know it. Never the less, the squirrels dutifully scatter and run, although they are not impressed by a little pampered doggie -- yet.

Fausti however was a great hunter.
We had a flock of ordinary city pigeons who liked our back yard and picked trough anything they could find. Fausti cleared them out daily, this was in her much younger days . How much fun this was to bark and make them scramble !
After a while smart Faustimaus was a fixture in the grass, the pigeons got used to her and just feinted an obligatory lift off. Then one day she pounced on one of them and that was the end of the bird. A remnant of that flock still sits on the chimney across the street.

At another hunt Fausti and Waldi caused the demise of a squirrel, but not before they got scratched and bitten in the nose. Both dachsies got fever and had to take antibiotic for a while.


With a little encouragement Schatzi walked back into the house and climbed on the couch.
Look at me Mom, no leash ! What a doggie !
Nap time. She loves to be covered, just like all the dachsies and she can fold herself into a small pile of fluff and hair and snoozes.

Another one of our tiny friends went to doggie heaven . Gerdy was a miniature dachsie, about 16 years old, a gracious little lady. She shared her life with Gunda, a Shephard and traveled in a motor home to many jewelry and antique shows. Little Gerdy will be very much missed by all.