Basket case, again.

Do you remember how Forest became interested in the laundry basket and decided that it was the best place to lay?  Here's a picture of the basket after I duct taped the handle and added some dog bedding to it.

For a few weeks, Forest and a few of the others lay in it and it became a fixture in the kitchen.  Then, for some reason known only to them, it was no longer worthy as a bed.  So, I decided to reclaim it and use it for laundry.

Yesterday was another warm and sunny day and I hung laundry outside. When I brought in the baskets of clean, fresh and wonderfully smelling laundry, guess what?  Yes, Forest decided that laying in the laundry basket would be a wonderful idea.

Now, I do have to give him credit for choosing the basket that was designated for dogs, but, that is clean laundry!  Of course, it did smell really nice from hanging outside.

There be critters

I think we have critters.  Not sure yet what type of critters but I think there are some around.  The first clue was this:

The unidentified critters didn't do this. It was one of the dogs. We've seen this type of thing before.  A couple of years ago, Hiker pulled off some of the lattice on a different part of the deck and caught a small rabbit.  (I'll spare you the details unless you ask)

The second clue that there be critters was this hole that was dug under the pile of posts for the fence renovation.

Azule dug that hole.  

Not to be confused with this hole.

 

Hiker then tried a different view on the holes.

For some reason, it was only blind Hiker and deaf Azule that were interested in the elusive critters.

 They never did find any critters but it certainly wasn't from lack of trying.

Pool party!

Saturday was a wonderful warm and sunny day, with temperatures around 12C/54F.  We were all outside enjoying the sunshine and decided that it was warm enough for a pool party!  The first of the year.

Our blind puppy Breeze was only a few months old last summer when we had the pool out and she was a bit cautious about it on Saturday.

Within a few minutes, it all seemed to come back to her!

Blind Brook didn't venture in this time.  She seemed interested but unsure.

Not sure what was going on here, just  Breeze and Forest sticking their tongues out at each other.

There was also some lounging in the yard. In the shadows along the fence you can see some snow still lingering and white fluffy stuffings from a toy that Breeze decided the birds could use for nesting.

Bill enjoyed the sunshine and warmth in his most favorite way. Laying on the deck for most of the afternoon.

A post by Breeze

Today, for our 100th post, a little Monday mischief and a few words from Breeze, our blind puppy, to all the dogs out there.

Hi!!  It's me.  The Breeze!  

The Mom said I could tell you about the fun new thing I did yesterday.  It's a gotcha game I invented that you can play with your humans.  

First, do your humans take showers? That is part of the game.

Second, you have to see if there is a bath tub with a shower curtain.  A shower stall won't work.

What you do is, you wait until your human is in the shower and then you go into the bathroom, stick your nose under the shower curtain and while your human is having their shower, you lean in and lick their leg!

The Mom screamed like a little girl was startled but then she was laughing.  So, I kept sticking my nose back under the shower curtain and tried to lick her leg. GOTCHA!

Breeze - the funny puppy

The Mom here again.  As you can imagine, having something touch your leg while you are showering is a bit of a scare. When I looked down, I saw the big black nose of the Breeze so I peered around the shower curtain and she was wagging her tail like crazy, all excited that she had "found" me.

No doubt that in the future, this will happen again and I am sure that it won't be long before the others decide to join in.  Might be time to securely close that bathroom door.

Renovations with dogs

In order to answer the often heard question, "How do you get anything done with all those dogs around?"  I though I would show you an example of how a typical project begins.

Time to paint the bathroom (the final painting project, we're almost done)

The bathroom is very small, open floor space is only about 15 square feet. 

Not too bad initially with deaf Azule laying in the doorway, blind/partly deaf Brook and Bill wandering by to see what is going on.

Of course, once two or three arrive, the others are likely to wonder what they are missing.

Typical Forest, he's brought a tug toy along.  

To keep the paint out of reach, I put it in the bathroom sink.  It was the only safe place I could think of!

With five dogs in the bathroom, two of them playing tug, Bill acting as if he is trapped against the bathtub (he's a nervous boy) I knew that I was not going to be painting.  

Me: "Come on you guys, out ya go."

That is all it takes, just a normal tone of voice, a finger pointed (for Azule) and off they go.  

Bill pretended to leave with the others but then came back in. 

As they left, I turned toward the tub and saw this...

 

Hooves

In an attempt to keep the pack away from the recent painting projects, one day, they each received a special treat - a hoof.

Blind Brook had an interesting approach, shove it into the back of the old and decrepit chair. 

Then she got down and tried a different angle.

Then finally fully stretched out on the floor.

(See the spot on each back leg, at her hock? Those are extra pads, similar to the pads on her feet)

After everyone has had a good chew on the hooves they leave them for a few hours and then one or two become the must have ones.  I haven't yet figured out what makes some better than others, silly me, I thought the hooves were all the same.

A couple of days after these pictures were taken, there was one hoof that was no more than one inch in size.  It was the one.  I had to laugh at Breeze and Forest. She had it and was chewing for a while then got up and walked towards the kitchen for a drink of water. Breeze was only four or five steps away from the hoof when Forest leaped off the couch and grabbed it.  Breeze heard him, turned and lunged for the hoof, just missing it.  She stood there for a few seconds then seemed to realize that it was gone for now so she went off and got a drink of water.

Monday Mischief

Who goes there?

It was between night shifts and I didn't realize how soft the muddy yard was or maybe I wasn't quite awake.  Either way, nobody got their feet wiped before coming inside.  But I know who this was.  

See the streaks of mud along the paw prints?  

It was Azule.

"What?!  Why me?  Breeze has big feet too!"

Yes, Breeze does have big feet but I know it was Azule because she is the only one who scuffs/drags her feet when she walks.