Critter watch continues.

I'm not sure what type of critters visit our yard in the night but in the mornings there are (apparently) some great smells out there.  

Whatever it was that had wandered through, the scent must have been strong. They spent quite a bit of time the other morning checking that area out. (The little light brown thing by Breeze's back leg is an outside stuffie toy.  A fake critter)

At the back is where there is a bird's nest in the loose soffit on the neighbor's garage. Hiker gets very excited and will sit and whine because she can hear the baby birds chirping.

There are extra (old) fence boards there to discourage Hiker from digging.  As you can see, the lilies are hanging in, despite the activity.  For some reason, this is the only bird's nest that interests her.  We have at least two other nests but she spends hours (literally) laying here. 

Later, at the woodpile -

I am sure there are some little critters living in the woodpile.  Every few days, the pack gets very excited about it. 

Here is our foster pup Twiggy sticking her head in between the chunks of wood.  

   

They all did some deep sniffing and some pawing at the stacked wood.  It must have been stacked very well since it never moved, even with all those noses and feet at it.

Later that same day, Azule and Bill found something interesting in the grass.  

Foster pup Twiggy decided to join them just in case they needed extra help. 

They never did find anything but sure gave it a good try.

The hole

How to chew a hoof

The whole pack got hooves yesterday since the weather was cold and it was hailing.  Also because I am in the midst of a head and chest cold and really don't feel like venturing beyond the couch.

Hiker had an unusual stance.

Foster pup Twiggy just wants to be a part of the pack so she copied Hiker.

 

And later, Twiggy copied Brook and Azule's extended back leg pose.

Even though Twiggy is really cute, lots of fun to have around and has settled in with the pack very well - she is not staying.  No. She is not. It doesn't matter how many people say, "Aww...come on.  What's one more?"  No.  

Twiggy has four good legs, can see and can hear.  She is highly adoptable! We have offered that she stay with us until adopted rather than go to the boarding facility after her spay.  That way, the rescue can use that spot and save another dog.

What's for breakfast?

At our home, we've learned over the years that the best way to ensure the safety of the kibbles is to keep them in a securely latched tote.  This is because Brook has, on more than one occasion, grabbed a bag of kibbles and ripped into it and ate and ate and ate.  There were a couple of scary bloat incidents as a result.  After the first time, I purchased a snap lid type tote. That worked for a few days until Brook chewed the lid and got it off.  Out  came the bag of kibbles. Then a twenty pound weight on the lid. She knocked it off, opened the tote and ate the kibbles again.

So we now have, as part of our kitchen "decor", a tote with two metal latches to keep the kibbles and Brook safe.  Sometimes, the opening of that tote creates more interest than other times.

Twiggy and Brook

Of course, it was the two highly food motivated/obsessed ones that were interested.

Twiggy spotted a piece of kibble on the bottom of the tote, so in she climbed.

Twiggy: "I'm going in!"

Brook missed the piece of kibble but decided to get in the tote and check in case there was any more.

"I could chew a hole in the bag."

The bag is 30 pounds of kibble which last us just over two weeks. (Breeze and foster Twiggy are eating puppy kibbles) This shows how small Brook is.  When Forest was six months old, they were the same size.

"Where's my breakfast?"

I am still adding a little peanut butter gravy (1/2 tsp natural organic peanut butter and 1 tbsp hot water) to Breeze's kibbles and it seems to make meal times much more enjoyable for her.  No more growling or pacing while she is eating.  Yesterday, I added sweet potato instead.  She was not impressed.  We're staying with the peanut butter gravy.

Foster puppy update

Our foster puppy Twiggy has settled in with the pack and doing well. In all honesty, her arrival has shaken up the pack a bit and the most affected is Breeze.  She's had a rough couple of days recently.

Out in the yard, Twiggy is rambunctious and loves having playmates and toys.  Don't tell Callie but Twiggy has discovered the JollyBall.  She will run after a ball and will also play on her own.  A game of chase is always fun too! (I tried for pictures but they are too fast so all I get are blurry pooches.)

I see Twiggy watching the others, almost as if she is observing them and taking it all in.  Reminds me a bit of when Forest was first adopted, he did the same thing but more in a terrified and non socialized sort of way.  Twiggy seems to be taking it all in and loving it! 

In the house, Twiggy is still fascinated with the bath tub.  Dirty feet and all.

They were all outside playing so I cleaned the tub and within ten minutes, Twiggy was in the tub making it dirty again.

While I was cleaning the tub I noticed that the new bar of soap I had placed in the shower was missing. I think that Twiggy ate it.  The label indicates that the soap is 99% pure...so...I guess that's okay.  Maybe?  No ill effects so I can't even really say for certain she ate it, but I have my suspicions. 

But she is just so darn cute and cuddly!

Bill and Twiggy

Wordless Wednesday

Monday Mischief by Breeze

Out in the yard, under the "fort", Breeze discovered a small hole.

  

After sniffing for a few minutes, she decided to explore further and make the hole bigger.

Then she realized that her head would fit in the hole.

As her head was in the hole, I could hear her sniffing, no doubt enjoying the smell of the freshly dug dirt.

Then, after all that digging, time for a rest in the cool, fresh dirt.