The handyman cometh

The handyman is coming to build the dog house for the dogs so they will have proper outside shelter and I can actually close my sunroom door and reclaim it for my own. Mind you the dogs don't go outside at all unless I am home, but it can start raining and I might notice, and sometimes you just need a place to call your own. Right now that place is called "Deb's House".

In case they don't actually ever USE the dog house I picked a cute wooden one that will look , well, cute, in the backyard.

I'm also going to have him unpack the ex pens I bought to string up for a portable fence-we'll see how that one goes.

And, if there is time, I'm going to have him move the kayak off the bed and into the garage.

Mad Scramble

Chaos this morning. The YARD MAN tried to get into the BACKYARD whilst the dogs were there. I was in the shower. No one got out and one got hurt but the dogs were quite incensed. Once I unraveled that, I had to find a place to put them because the cleaning ladies were coming into the house. I didn’t have time to take them to daycare and I didn’t want their barking to upset the python-so I moved the dogs into the spare bedroom. I got everyone sorted out and ran out the door...well, I wobbled out on my walker really fast. Well, maybe not fast, but more speedily than normal.

DISCLAIMER: yard man is a necessity because I can't walk right now-cleaning lady is a necessity because I am lazy. I have a new self propelled lawnmower I can't wait to use, but I don't care if I ever sweep again.

Onward and onward HO!

I have set a date to bring the spotties home and I can’t wait-I’m so excited. I believe Greta and Cody miss them too-they are the more dominant personalities in the canine household and right now G and C look to me for direction. Which is fine in the house, but it’s hard for me to be vigilant and keep and eye out for scoundrels like squirrels in the yard. Dottie is the one who usually indicates that something needs chasin-although as she has aged quite often she just directs one of the younger kiddos to go do the deed. If Dottie were a human she’d most likely be someone like Jodie Foster-she’d STAR and DIRECT.

I’m going to comment on a comment-about all dogs being mixed to suit various purposes-I didn’t mean any disrespect to the Chinooks. I’m sure they are great dogs. And despite my glib remarks, I do really like a dog that looks like it could actually do the job it was bred to do.

Some breeders (even breeders of drafting breeds) are appalled that I would want a dog to do WORK. Some rescue organizations are the same way. Now that really slays me, because if the dog had been given a proper job and exercise to begin with, it might not have ended up in rescue. Because it isn’t feasible to think that I will drive a dog every day-I already have a treadmill waiting to burn off any energy that might accumulate-come on folks, I am doing my homework and working around my own disabilities.

I will probably end up driving around to some of the smaller shelters outside Dallas and trying to be logical and wise about my choice of dog. I was trying to avoid that because I really get upset. That damn Pedigree commercial where the dog is thinking “I KNOW I’m a good dog and I just want to go home” kills me every time I see it.

There is a German Shepherd rescue not too far from here who has over 200 dogs-how sad is that?

But, before I can ponder that, I have to get the spotties home, and then work on any behaviors that may have cropped up while they were away. Fortunately, they seem to revert back to good behavior pretty quickly. Cross your fingers.

A plan for the return of the spotties

Because the spotties do not respond well to commands, I am going to get harnesses and a basket and put them in a basket and carry them to the backdoor. The back room is blocked off so they will have to go OUT to potty. I am testing the plan now with the bigger dogs (except for the carrying part) but it's hard to know if it will work or not because they go outside when they are told anyway. And, by the looks of the sunroom, sometimes, during the worst of the rains, they deviated from the plan and pooped in the corner. My bad for not having pads down.

I will get it picked up, but somehow I just can't worked up. A dried little chihuahua turd is just not the end of the world.

Cool things dogs never have to think about

What do I want to be when grow up?
Does my butt look too big?
How does my hair look?
What will my friends think about my new furniture?
Should I eat that last bite?
When will I get to retire?

Chinook?

I think a Chinook is "the golden retriever of sled dogs" because some idiot crossed a golden and a husky and came up with a Chinook.

I had lunch with my parents today and Mom became worried at my plan to go to a dog pound and pick out a dog that the rescues have passed by. Big dogs are a plentiful, and I will be able to find one that is mature enough to train to pull the cart (arrived yesterday) with out worrying about the hips-I can have them checked before I adopt.

"Big dogs are in the pound because they are vicious," according to my mother. Of course I DO have a long history of bringing home vicious dogs and I would have no problems unleashing the Hound of the Baskervilles amongst my own animals. OH COME ON.

Still, we had a nice visit and I brought home some good,healthy home cooked food which I consumed for dinner. I also went to the Tractor Supply store and got the latches for my four ex pens that I am going to use to construct a modular pen system in the backyard for the little dogs. Dottie, in particular, will eat tomatos, so I must protect my crops.

I comforted Mom by agreeing not to climb up to the top of the trailer until after I got my orthopedic boot off, and I won't be getting a vicious dog until after we get back from Californa mid May.

But I couldn't resist telling them I bought another snake, a dwarf tiger retic to be wed to Bette Davis in a few years. Snakes are really great pets for busy people or people who can't walk. It's time for people to examine their own lifestyles and get pets that are appropriate to those lifestyles.

I had an idea for a pet store where people (supervised) can come in and play with the animals, but the animals are not for sale. I wish I could figure out how to make that work on a commercial basis.