Category: dogs

Miniature Schnauzer

Rion, our Miniature Schnauzer puppy spent a relatively quiet night. I, on the other hand, was too jazzed to sleep more than a few hours. Although he is really too small, he somehow manages to get up the stairs out of our sunken living room. He flows up them, rather than climbing them. I am trying to avoid the temptation to carry him everywhere: he needs the exercise, even though he is very cuddly when I lift him. I also need to get him some smaller toys: all our existing dog toys are bigger than he is. So are my Crocs, though he is perfectly willing to try to chew on them, especially if my feet are in them. He seems to have the appropriate instincts about not soiling in his crate, and let me know emphatically that he needed out about 11:30 pm last night. So far, the one thing that seems to worry him is doors slamming. He must not have heard that noise where he lived with his litter mates.

Orion

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Orion (Rion for short) was born on October 20 and joined our family at 6 pm this evening, more or less. He came from Pikes Peak Humane Society, where he and his litter mates were born to a Miniature Schnauzer in foster care. He is currently sleeping in a crate on my bed two feet from me. Lody, unaware that he is not just passing through, seems to like him. I would say that his arrival was unpremeditated, except that when you are checking out under year old dogs on the website every few days it is inevitable that sooner or later you are going to end up with a young dog. I just thought it was going to be one of those dogs who had reached the adolescent ugly “you mean we have to train it?” stage. It has been eighteen years since we’ve had a baby anything around. And yes, there are eyes in that face.

Jack and Lody

Yesterday, Jack commented that our elderly Collie, Lody, no longer seemed to hear him call when he was ready to leave the horse field after feeding horses in the morning.  While we feed, we allow Lody to wander around the horse field.  Trust me, you don’t want to know why she likes to accompany us.

I responded that she still seems to hear me, though I have to pitch my voice a little higher than my normal speaking tone.  I suggested he try pitching his voice higher when he wanted Lody’s attention. 

So this morning, I heard Jack coo in a squeaky falsetto:  “Lody wanna go feed horses?”  It must have worked, because then I heard Jack coo “Good girl, good girl!” in the same high tone. I don’t think I had ever heard Jack’s falsetto before, though in theory I guess I knew he had one.

It was scary.

Want to go Outside?

The Furry Golden Horde, the fond nickname I gave to Jack’s sister’s Golden Retriever and Sheltie years ago, are visiting again.  At least when Lily and Lightning are here I have dogs who wag their tails and prance toward the door when I ask if they want to go outside.  Lody, our elderly Collie, cringes as though she expects to be hit or kicked when I asked this question.  And no, I have never kicked or struck her since I have known her, though I have fallen over her a few times.  Lody just hates to go outside, unless I announce that we are going to go feed horses.

But today I agree about not wanting to go outside.  It is a cold rainy day, and even the horses spent part of the time under cover. The weather doesn’t seem to bother Lily and Lightning, though. 

A Note from Lody’s Past

In June, I wrote about Lody and Mowers. Yesterday, that post received a comment from a woman named Julie who suspects she has one of Lody’s puppies.  The dates are right, since Lody had one litter shortly before she came to live here around six years ago.  Lody went back to her breeder when her elderly owner could no longer care for her.  Her breeder started looking for a home for Lody since Lody didn’t care for being one of a large number of dogs.  I found out about Ch Wild Winds Lody through a friend of the breeder’s, and took her on a week’s trial to make sure she would get along with our other dog, Dudley.  Lody marched in, looked around, and decided she was home, even though Dudley needed a little work.

Dog Tricks

The little Yorkie at I Do Dog Tricks obeys me much better than my dogs do. And right now there is a mare (Magic) screaming because I took her Best Friend Forever (Sassy) home this morning. I hope she quits by the time I go to bed. Updated 8/2 to add Magic seems to have adjusted to just being turned out with Rags. And it makes feeding time go more easily, since they both get the same amount of horse chow.

Lody and Mowers

I knew Lody, our elderly Smooth Collie, hates lawn mowers, but she still surprised me this afternoon. I was cutting the weeds in the dog run. I leave the dogs inside the house when I do this, but forgot and left open the door to the mudroom which has a dog door leading to the dog run. I saw this tri-color streak and I had barely stopped the lawn mower when Lody attacked it, biting one of the tires. She stopped attacking when I cut off the motor. Lody is usually such a laid-back dog that it made her behavior even more surprising. After I put her back in the house she kept barking until I finished.