Play ball !

Clar gave the " girls " 2 squeaky balls, one purple, one green, which are still from her little poodle's toy box.
The purple one is in higher regard than the green one, maybe because it squeaks more exited than the other one.
So we accidentally found out that Molly likes to play ball.
We have at least 4 old tennis balls in the house, plus 2 that have an X cut into them to protect the legs of an old walker. Molly never looked at the tennis balls and never looked at the dozen or so weathered ones in the backyard either.

Waldi was our tennis pro. He owned countless balls and received an endless supply from Hans, who , before knee and elbow problems, was an avid tennis player.
Waldi knew when a new shipment had arrived in the garage. Just follow the tennis smell, stand in front of the bag and summon Dad because Waldi insisted on inspecting the new equipment.
I can barely remember Waldi ever being without a ball. He barked through the ball in his mouth , he slept with more than one and laid one next to his bowl when he was eating. He even kept several in the car.
The tennis balls were strategically placed in the grass and in the rocks and Waldi knew where every one belonged. When Dad was cutting the grass, Waldi put them back.
He even worked hard to pull the balls off he walker. Occasionally he brought an icy snowy ball inside in the winter and let it dry in a small puddle.

Molly invited Andy to play with the squeaky ball ! Only problem is , she loves to catch it but does not let it go and wants to pull and tug with Andy.
Playing Tug of War with a small doggie can break or chip her teeth and can cause whip lash injuries.

Raskal, our first dachsie was an excellent ball player. He played with a bavarian team " The Leupoldsgruner Wienerle " ( small hot dogs ) and joined everyone afterwards for a beer. He loved beer and I thought, he would be smart enough to know when he had enough to drink. He was not smart enough and neither was I. He stumbled over a tiny stone edging in the grass, fell down and slept there for a while.
In Florida, beer ball games were played every evening. What a goalie he was, fast, skillful and catching every ball. Ohren however sat next to Dad , umpired and still had his little bowl of beer without having to excert himself.

In the meantime the girls expanded their repertoire of games.
They added " Body lifting " and the " Office 500 ".
Molly has the advantage when "lifting " Schatzi. The long dachsie with her short little legs, fits under Schatzi's tummy and yanks her hind legs a few inches off the floor.
The " 500 " is played in Dad's office.
A small circular track goes through the knee hole in his desk around table legs, past computer equipment , a guitar stand and other male stuff . The girls race there in tight curves at break neck speed.
They play so well together, way better than I ever hoped for.

My Dad is back home

My Dad is back for almost a week.
To be exact , just about 1/2 a day is missing from the whole week.
I almost did not recognize him. It was dark and midnight and how should I know who comes home at such an unusual hour.
Phew.... I am embarrassed, but then I am off the hook, when I heard Andy saying, that he almost did not see him at the airport because he looks grayer than when he left.
Dad said, he went to Germany.
I don't know where that is. Could be right behind the backyard, or in Arkansas. Maybe even in the airport . Many people go to the airport and come out again after a while. I suspect, Germany is in the airport too.

Molly pretended to know him, but I know way better.
We had her only one day when Dad went to Germany, so how can she remember him. She loves and kisses everybody who comes into the house, which of course I don't do . I like to inspire great fear in everybody who comes to visit. Better safe and not to be too friendly , I reserve my judgment for later. A nice sharp bark never hurts to show off my voice.
Besides, people are still impressed by my woof to make the door bell ring upstairs.

A Millie moved in down the hill a little way from us. She is an excellent barker, high pitched and barely ever quits. Their people named her "Shut up ", just like the little boy in the same house.

We went to the hair salon. I am gorgeous again, bathed, fluffed, silky hair, pretty pantaloons, a pedicure and pure white stockings. I don't know about Molly. She changed into a short hair dachsie, even the ears are short. Mom said, Molly likes to roll in the yard and picks up all kind of interesting little pieces, that always make tangles and knots. Short ear hair would be a lot easier to maintain.

Molly is very mobile. She sleeps in at least 4 places on various couches plus the window bench.
Dad wants her to be by the table when we are all sitting there.
There are 2 big baskets of course already and one upstairs - they are all mine. Rule number 1 , 2 and 3 : everything is mine. Dad went to buy a bed for Molly and I had to try it out, after the dachsie vacated it. Not bad, sooo, -- this one is mine too.
Dad bought another identical one and said : "You girls have very nice soft beds now, I will get rid of the old basket. "
Oh absolute horror ! My basket, my burg, my fortress, my bed ----- where am I supposed to be feeling safe now ? True, it falls apart because I am working on it -- but this is no reason to throw out a treasured bed ! Dad !!
After being lobbied by Andy for a whole day, my basket is back in it's place.
Everything is fine again with my world .

Hair !

Schatzi has to go to the groomer in the worst way.
She looks like a character out of " Where the Wild Things are ".
Overgrown with hair, her pretty pantaloons turning into a long skirt. Bushels of blond wool sticking out strait and she looses so much fur, we could supply several dachsies with a winter sweater.
All in all, she looks like a greek sheep rug, where you would like to run a lawn mover over it.

Liz, the national certified groomer suggests, she needs a cut about every 2 to 3 months. When her appointment comes, it would be 87 days between grooming. Way way too long. Six weeks tops for her to stay gorgeous and not smell like a wet doggie.

Andy and I brush her diligently on the deck. She always looks silky and smooth and has no odor and we remove huge amounts of almost totally white undercoat with a small rake .
I wonder if the silky hair can be used for something , spinning into wool or even for wigs. I will definitely let it fly in the spring for the birds to use for nest building.

Dad's brown blanket gets combed frequently to get big handfuls of hair out of the surface. Loose hair swirls under the ceiling fan in the kitchen and the floor needs picking up every day.
Hair is growing everywhere in the house, including on my swimsuit.
The only things that still look good, are her white stockings and her pretty paws.
The city mouse.

Molly will visit the groomer too, mostly for a bath.
There is not much evidence that she is a long hair dachsie, except for the ears.
She needs the hair on her ears shaped and what ever it takes to make them tangle free.
Her hair is so silky and baby fine that she looks like a short hair dachsie.
Since we have her , the tail started sprouting a bigger flag on the end but is still very thin and sparse.
The only thing in abundance are curly locks on her feet and they look like very cute rugged hiking shoes.
The country mouse.

4 month progress report

Beautiful rain !
It rains almost daily at our house, Crissy's house gets a whole lot more. It always depends where in town you are located.
Everything is green, my father called it the " Grune Holle " the green hell, because there are no more green nuances in the leaves like in the spring.
After such a long drought, I am happy about any kind of a green and I am even happier about any kind of rain! Either gentle and soaking into the ground or in a tropical down pour -- I 'll take it in any amount.
We have Schatzi now 4 months.
What a change in her, especially if you read back on the earlier entries.
She was such a scared little pile of fluff, not moving out of her basket and barely ever saying a word.
And look at her now !
On top of her small world, having conquered a big part of the house and every corner of the backyard . This includes the fox corner and even a " chase " to send the fox over the fence.
The fox was on the way home, making a slight detour to see if there was any food left over.
The sun was coming up and Schatzi all alone in the middle of the lawn.
The fox was just as startled as she was, some exited woofs and she high tailed it up to the deck. It is safer to bark from there especially if mom will be close by. A few claps with my hands and the fox was already over the other fence and had disappeared.
Molly did not even have time to help or realized what was going on..

The biggest change in Schatzi came with the arrival of Molly, the small dachshund.
After the initial growling, grumbling , snarling, showing of teeth, jealousy, guarding of toys and hoarding of chewies, life turned around.
The two girls play wonderful together.
There is Ladies Wrestling, The Hallway Dash, the Kitchen Speedway and Sneak - A - Squeaky.
Schatzi now eats as soon as the bowls are placed on the floor - but still will not take anything from my hand, including toys. Except accidentally, if she is offered a piece of cheese.
She barks furiously, especially now when Molly learned to be quiet. Her voice is so different from one of a dachsie.
All dogs in our neighborhood have very distinct barks. The black Lab across the street has a slow and understated bass. The new Millie behind us piercing and incessant without being corrected. One that we hear for years, imitates a fire engine and a dog with an almost human voice lives south east from here.

With lot's of thunderstorms rumbling through, it is rare that Schatzi still has to disappear into a secret corner and hide.
Stairs are just for flying up and down -- a very far cry from not knowing how to climb even a single step.
I don't see her pulling up her knees or wobbling in and out of her basket .
All this activity toned her muscles and strengthened her tendons, so the knee caps don't pop out anymore. Everything is smooth and sleek, like she has been doing this all her life.

Her tail now is always up and wagging quite a bit, although not on automatic like Molly's. Just a month ago,she was invisible with her tail low and her head down making a big detour around me.

Schatzi wants to be petted, including at 3 in the morning, when I am sneaking past her to go to the bathroom. Luckily, she goes back to sleep.


What has not yet changed, is the 5 o'clock wake up call and I am hoping for either a later bed time when Dad is back, or the winter.