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.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
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 .
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 .
Sunday, August 8, 2010
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.
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.
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.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
E - Mails
Hi Birgit,
for the 3 months we have Schatzi, she is doing wonderful, a very lovable doggie and still looks at everything new with huge, astonished brown eyes.
One of my pool buddie's granddaughter has - or better had - a small dachsie, for whom she had to find a home, because she will go to college out of state and nobody in her family wanted the dog.
So we have Molly now for a week. She is a carefree, friendly, self reliant and self assured little girl, about 3 years old.
She was a stray, picked up from the Humane Society and lived in an apartment for 3 years. Her mom worked and is a student and Molly spent lot's of time entertaining herself.
Schatzi accepted her, more or less and had to establish boundaries today. She learns from her and imitated several things and is on the way to become a real dog.
We have never had a dog with boundless energy ! She can race after squirrels good five hours and then keep going inside without tiring.
We are working with her to learn a few basic rules like no barking and not shredding everything in sight.
That is a little update from here.
I hope you are doing well ! Take care.
Hi Geli,
Very nice to hear from you and that things are going well with Schatzi.
It is probably good for her to have a new buddy and she surely couldn't have found a more wonderful home.
I have six Dachsies at my house right now, three of my own and three fosters.
I just had one of the sweetest little girls returned to me.
I adopted her out but did not listen to my gut that told me this was not right.
I could not get her off my mind the whole time she was there. When I got her back, she was skin and bones and had several bare patches on her back.
I personally believe that she just was so unhappy there that she didn't eat right and lost her hair. She gained weight now and is a happy and loving little girl again.
I so wish I could keep her, she is so attached to me and I know it will be hard for her to go into another family. Oh well, she will be with me for a while until I feel that she is ready. Wish you could take her, then I would know she is in great hands. She is an extraordinarily beautiful red long haired girl, very tiny and about three years old. Her name is Penny, maybe you remember her.
Take care and stay in touch.
Birgit :-)
Love Is The Only Truth
From Helen, the behaviorist and trainer :
How are things going?
I hope that she has become happier!!
Hi Helen, thanks for checking on us.
Things are tremendously better.The reason, we got a dachsie from a student, who is going out of state and no one in the family wants that little girl.
I expected her at the end of August, but her mom gave her up about 2 weeks ago. She was a stray, lived for 3 years in an apartment and spent a lot of time on her own. But she knew her way around a house, how to be a doggie, including being friendly, happy go lucky, and self reliant .
I see incredible improvements with Schatzi.
She copies Molly, she explores never before stepped in rooms, gingerly puts her paws on a couch and considers hopping up there.They are streaking around the house and backyard and track the fox and a raccoon. Schatzi is not scared of noises anymore, including a thunderstorm and is way more interested in her world.
They play very well together, although there are the occasional spats about possessions and food . Schatzi thinks she is now the alpha dog and Molly is testing her.
All in all, things run very smooth and they both seem very happy and busy.
One question : How do you get Schatzi to sleep a little longer in the morning ?
5: 00 am comes real early, and I am quite tired.
Helen :
Oh Dear!
5 am is quite early.
Does she have to go potty or is she hungry or???
If she needs to potty, I'd limit her water intake after about 9pm.
If she is hungry, I'd give her a snack before bed.
If she just wants you to get up, I would ignore her for 15 minutes extra a
few days or a week until you build up to her staying in bed longer.
Good luck!!
for the 3 months we have Schatzi, she is doing wonderful, a very lovable doggie and still looks at everything new with huge, astonished brown eyes.
One of my pool buddie's granddaughter has - or better had - a small dachsie, for whom she had to find a home, because she will go to college out of state and nobody in her family wanted the dog.
So we have Molly now for a week. She is a carefree, friendly, self reliant and self assured little girl, about 3 years old.
She was a stray, picked up from the Humane Society and lived in an apartment for 3 years. Her mom worked and is a student and Molly spent lot's of time entertaining herself.
Schatzi accepted her, more or less and had to establish boundaries today. She learns from her and imitated several things and is on the way to become a real dog.
We have never had a dog with boundless energy ! She can race after squirrels good five hours and then keep going inside without tiring.
We are working with her to learn a few basic rules like no barking and not shredding everything in sight.
That is a little update from here.
I hope you are doing well ! Take care.
Hi Geli,
Very nice to hear from you and that things are going well with Schatzi.
It is probably good for her to have a new buddy and she surely couldn't have found a more wonderful home.
I have six Dachsies at my house right now, three of my own and three fosters.
I just had one of the sweetest little girls returned to me.
I adopted her out but did not listen to my gut that told me this was not right.
I could not get her off my mind the whole time she was there. When I got her back, she was skin and bones and had several bare patches on her back.
I personally believe that she just was so unhappy there that she didn't eat right and lost her hair. She gained weight now and is a happy and loving little girl again.
I so wish I could keep her, she is so attached to me and I know it will be hard for her to go into another family. Oh well, she will be with me for a while until I feel that she is ready. Wish you could take her, then I would know she is in great hands. She is an extraordinarily beautiful red long haired girl, very tiny and about three years old. Her name is Penny, maybe you remember her.
Take care and stay in touch.
Birgit :-)
Love Is The Only Truth
From Helen, the behaviorist and trainer :
How are things going?
I hope that she has become happier!!
Hi Helen, thanks for checking on us.
Things are tremendously better.The reason, we got a dachsie from a student, who is going out of state and no one in the family wants that little girl.
I expected her at the end of August, but her mom gave her up about 2 weeks ago. She was a stray, lived for 3 years in an apartment and spent a lot of time on her own. But she knew her way around a house, how to be a doggie, including being friendly, happy go lucky, and self reliant .
I see incredible improvements with Schatzi.
She copies Molly, she explores never before stepped in rooms, gingerly puts her paws on a couch and considers hopping up there.They are streaking around the house and backyard and track the fox and a raccoon. Schatzi is not scared of noises anymore, including a thunderstorm and is way more interested in her world.
They play very well together, although there are the occasional spats about possessions and food . Schatzi thinks she is now the alpha dog and Molly is testing her.
All in all, things run very smooth and they both seem very happy and busy.
One question : How do you get Schatzi to sleep a little longer in the morning ?
5: 00 am comes real early, and I am quite tired.
Helen :
Oh Dear!
5 am is quite early.
Does she have to go potty or is she hungry or???
If she needs to potty, I'd limit her water intake after about 9pm.
If she is hungry, I'd give her a snack before bed.
If she just wants you to get up, I would ignore her for 15 minutes extra a
few days or a week until you build up to her staying in bed longer.
Good luck!!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Squirrel World
Things run smoother than last week and the doggie activities are routine and predictable by now.
Reveille is still just around 5 in the morning, earlier, if I dare to sneak into the bathroom. Hoping that Schatzi would sleep through that, is strictly a dream.
She is bounding over the big bed, like a fur coat on a pogo stick. Molly would like to stay snuggled up, but she follows and goes outside.
There were clouds recently in the morning and it was still almost pitch black. Both girls do their stuff and I would like to go back to bed.
The big question is, should I really leave the doggie door open ?
Andy says YES. The likely hood to find a present on the carpet is very good, if you keep the door closed.
My little Spitz thinks, if my toilet is blocked, I have no choice but to use another one. And I know, she always has to use the facilities around the same time every morning.
I don't like to keep the door open, because we seem to have a raccoon again who is raiding the hummer feeder at night. It would be so easy to just hop in and see what's happening inside.
Like a very distance cousin of the raccoon in San Diego, who followed his nose through an open window to a pot of spaghetti sauce. The raccoon etiquette for eating italian food is different than ours. More like painting the town red.
So the door stays open and I sit on the deck and watch the colors in the sky and on the mountains change from gray to pink. A few houses in the foot hills reflect the sun like a bonfire and occasional a hot air balloon drifts by and heads to the airport.
The morning is for playing. Schatzi thinks, she established who is who in this house.
Molly looks a little intimidated, if Schatzi is on full throttle racing along the hall, a blond fur ball streaking by.
The purpose of this game is possession of the Green Willy. A short rest to catch a few breaths and the rules require to move outside and include the squirrels, that wait for breakfast.
Molly specializes in barking above and beyond the normal dachshund duty. So Andy has to haul her inside for several " time - outs " until she calms down.
Schatzi recognized the squirrels, but was never interested in a chase.
Molly however knows that two squirrels live way up in the big blue spruce. There is a nest for years which started originally as a robin 's nest. It was remodeled, while we watched a squirrel carrying twigs and leaves up there.
Schnapps already hunted around the blue spruce without success.
He yelled up there, circled, showed off, jumped and hopped into the branches and danced backwards on his hind legs.
Coming back into the house one time, he crashed into the glass door. He did not see it was closed. A trip to the vet was necessary because he had cornea abrasions from jumping into the branches.
After breakfast Schatzi mostly sits in her basket and guards the green Willy and several chewies.
Molly checks on the squirrels. She barks and jumps, has to go inside to be quiet, sees another one and wants to dig through the glass door and races off as soon as she is allowed.
Smart Molly noticed, that if she sits in the bay window, she can see if there is any squirrel activity in the blue spruces in the front and also keep an eye on the traffic in the aspen tree in the back. Molly is incredibly busy, while Schatzi growls and shows off her teeth, to keep her possessions under wrap.
We noticed by the way, that she is missing several tiny teeth right in the upper front.
Reveille is still just around 5 in the morning, earlier, if I dare to sneak into the bathroom. Hoping that Schatzi would sleep through that, is strictly a dream.
She is bounding over the big bed, like a fur coat on a pogo stick. Molly would like to stay snuggled up, but she follows and goes outside.
There were clouds recently in the morning and it was still almost pitch black. Both girls do their stuff and I would like to go back to bed.
The big question is, should I really leave the doggie door open ?
Andy says YES. The likely hood to find a present on the carpet is very good, if you keep the door closed.
My little Spitz thinks, if my toilet is blocked, I have no choice but to use another one. And I know, she always has to use the facilities around the same time every morning.
I don't like to keep the door open, because we seem to have a raccoon again who is raiding the hummer feeder at night. It would be so easy to just hop in and see what's happening inside.
Like a very distance cousin of the raccoon in San Diego, who followed his nose through an open window to a pot of spaghetti sauce. The raccoon etiquette for eating italian food is different than ours. More like painting the town red.
So the door stays open and I sit on the deck and watch the colors in the sky and on the mountains change from gray to pink. A few houses in the foot hills reflect the sun like a bonfire and occasional a hot air balloon drifts by and heads to the airport.
The morning is for playing. Schatzi thinks, she established who is who in this house.
Molly looks a little intimidated, if Schatzi is on full throttle racing along the hall, a blond fur ball streaking by.
The purpose of this game is possession of the Green Willy. A short rest to catch a few breaths and the rules require to move outside and include the squirrels, that wait for breakfast.
Molly specializes in barking above and beyond the normal dachshund duty. So Andy has to haul her inside for several " time - outs " until she calms down.
Schatzi recognized the squirrels, but was never interested in a chase.
Molly however knows that two squirrels live way up in the big blue spruce. There is a nest for years which started originally as a robin 's nest. It was remodeled, while we watched a squirrel carrying twigs and leaves up there.
Schnapps already hunted around the blue spruce without success.
He yelled up there, circled, showed off, jumped and hopped into the branches and danced backwards on his hind legs.
Coming back into the house one time, he crashed into the glass door. He did not see it was closed. A trip to the vet was necessary because he had cornea abrasions from jumping into the branches.
After breakfast Schatzi mostly sits in her basket and guards the green Willy and several chewies.
Molly checks on the squirrels. She barks and jumps, has to go inside to be quiet, sees another one and wants to dig through the glass door and races off as soon as she is allowed.
Smart Molly noticed, that if she sits in the bay window, she can see if there is any squirrel activity in the blue spruces in the front and also keep an eye on the traffic in the aspen tree in the back. Molly is incredibly busy, while Schatzi growls and shows off her teeth, to keep her possessions under wrap.
We noticed by the way, that she is missing several tiny teeth right in the upper front.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The Energy Dachsie
Dad is in Germany and Mollie is here already for a week.
I am not sure she is a true mini dachsie, for this she is too long, but a small and slim dachsie , just like ours looked, when they were young.
She has energy to no end !
Racing in the backyard 4 to 5 hours in the morning, dashing around endlessly in the house, up and down the stairs, zig zagging from dresser to closet, jumping on couches, chairs and tables .
What is really dangerous,Molly jumps about 3 feet straight up in the air to catch squirrels. Very bad for a dachshund's back.
Raskal was paralyzed twice when he was still very young, and we don't want this to happen to Molly. How can we stop her from jumping ?
It does not matter to her how hot it is, she is running from tree to tree, picking her way along bushes, rhubarb, wheel barrow and shed to the fence or a fast dash to the other side past weeds, roses and rocks. She flies up to the tree trunks circling for a long time, just to chase a squirrel who sits up there and chatters back at her, waving the long tail like a wind mill. If there is no squirrel in sight, there might be one coming any minute now and Molly races around totally obsessed.
She never looks exhausted and after a little drink of water, she races off again. Slowing down does not exist with her.
Faustimaus was a great hunter, specializing in squirrels. Her and Schnapps treed a squirrel on the long gone Russian olive. There was no safe jump to another spot for the squirrel, so they both circled the tree, feigning an attack, standing up on the trunk and barking. Schnapps was ripping the papery bark til it hang in long sheets, which in the next year caused the demise of the tree.
With his teeth, he was hanging there swinging like an acrobat in a circus.
Fausti stepped back and forth, back and forth, over rocks and little twigs with sharp burs and worked herself into a frenzy.
I could not catch them, because I was hobbling after knee surgery and so I had to wait until the stand off ended.
Afterwards Fausti visited the vet, because she tore the skin off her pads and had to gingerly walk around with bandages on all four paws.
After trial and error, the dining options had been worked out.
Molly does not like the moist food with the tempting gourmet sounding selections.
Dry food it is, although we changed to Science Diet, small bites.
She eats at will. There is no way to establish a twice a day feeding schedule with her huge incredible expanse of energy. She has to eat more often . Other wise you stuff a mountain of kibble into a small tummy when you feed her only two times a day.
Schatzi eats her normal dinner made for the city mouse, while the country mouse gets a little piece of chicken or cut up Costco meatball with her kibble.
They both seemed to be contend.
The sleeping arrangement are okay for now.
Schatzi did not want to sleep with us anymore, so we moved another doggie bed next to Dad, that worked for her.
Molly sleeps with me, and I am on the other end of the leash with her. She jumped in and out, played and did not settle down, until we decided to keep her on a leash close to me. That worked instantly. Schatzi now comes back into bed again, but leaves later for her own basket.
She wakes me up on at 5 : 40 on the dot, so I can enjoy the world from the deck before the sun comes up.
I am not sure she is a true mini dachsie, for this she is too long, but a small and slim dachsie , just like ours looked, when they were young.
She has energy to no end !
Racing in the backyard 4 to 5 hours in the morning, dashing around endlessly in the house, up and down the stairs, zig zagging from dresser to closet, jumping on couches, chairs and tables .
What is really dangerous,Molly jumps about 3 feet straight up in the air to catch squirrels. Very bad for a dachshund's back.
Raskal was paralyzed twice when he was still very young, and we don't want this to happen to Molly. How can we stop her from jumping ?
It does not matter to her how hot it is, she is running from tree to tree, picking her way along bushes, rhubarb, wheel barrow and shed to the fence or a fast dash to the other side past weeds, roses and rocks. She flies up to the tree trunks circling for a long time, just to chase a squirrel who sits up there and chatters back at her, waving the long tail like a wind mill. If there is no squirrel in sight, there might be one coming any minute now and Molly races around totally obsessed.
She never looks exhausted and after a little drink of water, she races off again. Slowing down does not exist with her.
Faustimaus was a great hunter, specializing in squirrels. Her and Schnapps treed a squirrel on the long gone Russian olive. There was no safe jump to another spot for the squirrel, so they both circled the tree, feigning an attack, standing up on the trunk and barking. Schnapps was ripping the papery bark til it hang in long sheets, which in the next year caused the demise of the tree.
With his teeth, he was hanging there swinging like an acrobat in a circus.
Fausti stepped back and forth, back and forth, over rocks and little twigs with sharp burs and worked herself into a frenzy.
I could not catch them, because I was hobbling after knee surgery and so I had to wait until the stand off ended.
Afterwards Fausti visited the vet, because she tore the skin off her pads and had to gingerly walk around with bandages on all four paws.
After trial and error, the dining options had been worked out.
Molly does not like the moist food with the tempting gourmet sounding selections.
Dry food it is, although we changed to Science Diet, small bites.
She eats at will. There is no way to establish a twice a day feeding schedule with her huge incredible expanse of energy. She has to eat more often . Other wise you stuff a mountain of kibble into a small tummy when you feed her only two times a day.
Schatzi eats her normal dinner made for the city mouse, while the country mouse gets a little piece of chicken or cut up Costco meatball with her kibble.
They both seemed to be contend.
The sleeping arrangement are okay for now.
Schatzi did not want to sleep with us anymore, so we moved another doggie bed next to Dad, that worked for her.
Molly sleeps with me, and I am on the other end of the leash with her. She jumped in and out, played and did not settle down, until we decided to keep her on a leash close to me. That worked instantly. Schatzi now comes back into bed again, but leaves later for her own basket.
She wakes me up on at 5 : 40 on the dot, so I can enjoy the world from the deck before the sun comes up.
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