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| This blog is for Chris and Eva, and our family and friends. Charlie and Bella are dachshunds given to us by Chris and Eva and we want them to keep up with their exploits, and also share these sweet joyful critter stories with anyone who can stand reading about them. |
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| So it wasn't allergies, it was fleas. Even the groomer didn't find them. Charlie licked at one spot on his back until it was bare, and we called the vet again. Bella was fine but she came along for the ride because you know they can't be separated. When he was up on the examining table and she couldn't see him, she got barking franticly so I lifted her up so she could watch. And it was a good thing she was there because she had them too. He got an antibiotic shot because he'd licked himself raw, they both got pills and 3 months of flea treatment plus a Kill'em spray that we had to go over the whole house with. We hosed down the yard with a bug-be-gone spray and washed all their bedding and blankets. Hopefully we're done with the flea episode. The good news is that now that they are not eating cat food, the vet is happy with their weight. 10.8 pounds for Charlie (gee that hair weighed a lot!) and 12.2 pounds for Bella. Nice doxie weights. They are still mouse watching, Bella of course takes the lead. She lays with her paws tucked under like a cat, her ears perked up in the cutest way, eyes narrowed, ever vigilant. Charlie lays beside her, half snoring but waiting for his cue to join in an ambush of the mouse they have not seen yet. It's exhausting work but they do it every evening. | ||
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| Well, fall is well upon us and along with the fall comes allergies. For people and for dogs too. Charlie started licking, chewing and scratching and he was making everyone crazy. Then we realized that he'd actually chewed into his skin and that's when we called the vet. Who told us it's not uncommon for dogs to develop allergies at about age 4 and also, they can have allergies one year and not the next. It's got to do with what is or isn't growing, how much rain, how much sun, fungus in the grass, blah, blah, blah. So we treated him with a special salve, Benedryl, and a haircut. The poor little guy had licked himself bare in a few spots and little tiny tufts of his fur were all over the house. The vet suggested a shortie haircut so he could heal, and so off to the groomer we went. He looks like a different dog. His coat is as short as Bella's, but with a sheen and curl like Persian Lamb. He's still beautiful, of course, but he's extra cuddly now. And who knew, under all that fur, that he was so much smaller than Bella? Really, I got out the measuring tape, and from neck to base of tail, she's an inch and a half longer. And her chest is two inches larger in circumference. Both of them are exhausted from being "on duty" all the time. We have a mouse in the house and they will sit and stare into a corner for an hour if they see it scoot. Who knew that Spike was protecting us all those years -- he must have been, we've never had mice before. Time for another cat, sometime after Thanksgiving because I'm traveling several times over the next month. Hey maybe Charlie and Bella would want one for Christmas! | ||
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| Bella has never liked a thunder storm. Charlie doesn't really mind one, but he likes the attention it brings. The other night there was a very light rolling thunder that lasted a long time... never big boomers but a constant rumble. For the most of it, Bella and Charlie were lying side by side together on their bed. He had a paw across her shoulders, and her chin was down on the floor while he lick, lick, licked her face. He's always done this grooming thing to her, licking her face and eyes, but this time, he was comforting her and they were truly mates together in the storm. They are a sweet pair. And their birthday is coming up! Stay tuned for birthday pictures, we're celebrating as they turn 4 this weekend, with cake and ice cream of course. | ||
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We went on a picnic to Fox Island and the dogs enjoyed themselves very much. We got a table near the volleyball court and they barked at every ball that came our way. They enjoyed hotdogs with us and then a family came to the next table with -- a baby. They crept to the edge of their blanket and kept their eyes on the little prize, clearly fascinated with the happy little person who was smaller than they were. These pictures were from that day and they both were feeling very photogenic. Bella is such a watchful dog, I couldn't get her to look to me but she's still a beauty: And here is Charlie relaxing during the volleyball matches: | ||
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| The sad news here is that Spike died last Sunday afternoon, here at home. The dogs sat with me while I sat with him. He was just 17 years old and and very well loved. Funny that my last blog note was about the vet finding him in good health. | ||
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| Spike went to the same vet on Saturday. He was 6.6 pounds of snarling fury -- he turns into a different animal when they start poking probing and giving him shots. I think the Vet was afraid of my little Spikester because he called a vet tech in to "restrain" him. Hey, who likes shots? Otherwise, healthy and his sweet, docile personality returned as soon as it was over. When we got home, the dogs were relieved to see him, and he was happy to go and use his litter box. I wouldn't say that the cat and the dogs are buddies but they share a very peaceful co-existence. Last night, we were headed to bed, and the three of them were in our wake. Norm went ahead to the bedroom, while I stopped in to check on Sidney, pull up his blankets and give him his last good night kiss. I came out and the 3 critters were for me, all together, outside the room. | ||
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| The dogs had their annual check up this week. Shots, new tags, dental exams, and the results: healthy all around. Both of them weigh the same, exactly 14.1 pounds, isn't that a hoot. So they need to lose 2 pounds, because dachshunds can have back trouble if they are carrying too much weight. Though we think Bella 's weight is in muscle, because Charlie is the one who looks a little chubby. We're going to modify their intake of cat food and that should take care of it in no time. | ||
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| I shared this with Eva by email earlier and I wanted to share it here also: "I remember losing the family cat when I was young. A few months later we got another cat, and my mother grudgingly accepted it into our home, saying "well, I'll like it but I'll never love it." Of course she loved it, and that was a good lesson for me. Once you know how to love, it constantly multiplies, isn't that wonderful? The dogs are well with us, and right now they are at my feet. They are Norm's dogs all day, Sidney's dogs at bedtime, and mine later in the evening. They learned that their love multiplies too!" | ||
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| Yes, our little ones have been with us for a year now. We never would have thought we were a two doxie family but surprise, we are. We're well in love with each other now, for better or worse. Charlie is devoted to Norm, and helps him with every job and task all day long. When Norm works in the front yard he stays glued to the window waiting for his return. At night he snuggles with Sidney at bedtime and he knows I'm the source of most treats, and also the one that can gently brush out that wild coat of his. Bella is of course more reserved but she keeps her eyes on Norm at all times too, has learned that bedtime with Sidney is a good time to get her cheeks scratched and she knows I've always got time to sit on the floor and stroke her very soft sleek fur. Both of them stay right with me while I'm cooking, because you never know what might fall down from the counter. And Spike is back to his old habits, including laying on the floor even when those two frisky dogs are scooting all around -- he just doesn't care, it's his house, after all. A happy family, yes we are. | ||
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| The other evening I was here on the computer and Bella came around for a shnozzle on the nozzle -- which is what I call it when she reaches her face up for a little nose rub. She sat beside my chair and I typed and navigated with one hand and petted the soft short hairs on her nose with the other, not looking down. And then I realized there were two noses in my hand! Charlie had come up beside her and they were both sitting there, little triangle faces pressed together and pointed up at me sharing the attention with little doggy smiles. Norm was complaining last night that he was missing a slipper. I nearly choked on my coffee this morning, when I looked out the kitchen window and saw it in the middle of the back yard. Wonder who put it there? | ||
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| A young black kitty dropped by our back yard to check things out and the dogs had great fun chasing him round and round the yard 'til he decided to go home. The dogs really want to stay outside and wait for another visit but we convinced them to come back in. And they stayed right at the back door waiting to go out again, and even slept there, waiting for another chance to go play. I don't think the cat is coming back. Ever. | ||
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| Charlie learned a new trick. I got out treats for both dogs, exactly the same. Bella grabbed hers and ran off to eat it, but Charlie dropped and and looked up at me, like he was saying "Don't you have anything better" So I picked a different one, and he took that one and snarfed it right down. And then he grabbed the first one he dropped on teh ground and with a grin, ran away to eat that one too. The snack snatching trickster! The weather is so much warmer and the dogs are enjoying the outdoors again. In the coldest part of the winter, when it was time for their last potty call at night, they'd go out onto the porch and Charlie would go right out to do his business, but Bella would hide behind the table and try to follow him back in. Now it's the weather to lay on the chaise lounge and watch the birds come and go from the feeder. They keep the squirrels away so our seeds last much longer! No rabbits this year, they all moved out last summer when Charlie and Bella moved in. | ||
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| The snow is melting, the days are warm and the dogs are spending much of their days running and barking at squirrels. There were men cleaning Chris and Eva's yard today and they barked at them too. Bella has made a strange habit of barking me awake at about 4am, and for the first times, I got up and walked her to the back door and let her out. She kept barking me awake but stopped going out so she had me walking through the house in the early morning for no reason. Finally she stopped. I don't know what it was about, daylight savings time maybe? Sidney had his first sleepover last week and she worried all night that he was not in his bed. | ||
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| They are going to the groomer today! Charlie is wild looking and the fur on his feet has grown through his pads so we're going to leave that job to the professionals. I'll post pretty pictures of them when we get back. Pictures take up a lot of space on this blog board so I'm going to take down some of the earlier ones. If you want copies, email me and I'll send them. | ||
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| Wow, has it been five weeks since I've left any doggie news? The holidays were busy, I guess that was part of it, but also this dog blog site has had some technical difficulties. I'm just going to leave a handful of stories and then tell more later. Here is something I wonder about almost every night. I don't know how they do it, but when we go to sleep the dogs are settled into their bed, tucked into a green fleece blanket in front of the dresser. When we wake up, they are still settled into their bed, tucked into the green fleece blanket, but their bed has moved anywhere from a few to several feet. Closer to Norm usually, sometimes just up to his end of the bed sometimes all the way down beside him, and once out in the middle of the room. I keep saying I'm going to set up a video camera because I can't figure out how they move the bed. It's not like they would do anything together so I have visions of Charlie with the bed in his teeth, pulling it backwards while Bella sleeps. They enjoyed Christmas and Hanukah very much. Lots of cooking and yes, dogs can get treats when there is cooking going on. (The slightest clink of silverware on a plate brings them running). We had lots of people visiting, lots of snacks slipped to them, lots of petting and hugging. Bella got a little jacket because her fur is so short and the nights can be so cold (It's 5 degrees right now!). She is very patient with me when I am dressing her but she really doesn't care one way or another if she has it on. Charlie got a ball made out of tire rubber and the shape gives him lots of good ways to grab it with his teeth. It's a great fetch ball. Yes, Charlie has learned to fetch very nicely. We played for a long time tonight because with the cold, they were only going to do business and coming right back so they were getting pretty fiesty. Bella had no interest in playing. but sat right beside me and watched him run back and forth every time I rolled the ball but one time she got in the way and he ran right up and over her -- practicing that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Sometimes he'd get the ball and do a little tour of the house to show it to everyone (I could hear them all telling him what a good dog he was) and then return it to me. Finally he found the ball and hid it, and then came back, laid down and went right to sleep. I wore him out. We have an exchange student from Germany living with us and so Charlie and Bella have another adoring fan. He has a dog at home that he misses very much so he will lay on the couch petting them, telling them stories of his dog. He is less fond of them, I imagine, when they announce his arrival by rushing to the door and barking to greet him -- no matter what time he comes in. We go to bed long before his curfew and only have to glance at the clock when the dogs erupt to know what time he arrives home. When we come in, and only Bella greets us, we know that Charlie got into something he should not have been in while we were out. Mostly it's Norms slippers or shoes. It's amazing that he does not get sick because he eats large pieces of them. I have learned to lift my shoes, slippers, sneakers, onto the bed if I don't have them put away. Mostly Norm forgets so he's purchased quite a few new pair lately. We don't worry about them getting into the front yard anymore. When it snows especially, we bring them out to play. Charlie jumps like a rabbit to get through the snow and several times all you can see is his tail. When we're taking them in the car, they don't need the leash; they'll go straight to it and hop right up to go for a ride. Their next trip out will be to the groomers. Charlie is pretty shaggy looking and they both need pedicures. That is all for now. | ||
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Here are my three trouble makers in front of the tree -- not perfect but better than the rest! | ||
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Ok, here they are, leaving the picture: | ||
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| I tried to take a picture of Sidney and the dogs yesterday for our holiday cards, with Norm as the dog wrangler. I swear I must have over 100 unusable shots of dog backs and bottoms, it was impossible. The funniest one is from when I pushed the button and during the two second delay before the picture snaps, the dogs walked away and Sidney tipped over from laughing -- so I have a picture of one set of hindquarters and a crossed pair of feet. We were laughing so hard that Norm was getting mad, but he kept saying, This isn't funny! and that would just set the two of us off with more giggles. We tried everything and finally they just got tired of fooling around and lay down under the tree, and Sidney slipped in behind them, picture perfect. | ||
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| A few new stories at http://cramer.my-dog-blog.com/ and I don't know if you've seen a picture of Andreas with Charlie added to the entry made on 9/04/07. | ||
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| I sit on the floor beside Sidney while he falls asleep at night, after stories and prayers and songs and whatnot. It only takes him about 10 minutes for him to drop off but if I don't stay it takes him about an hour to stop singing and talking and finally fall asleep from exhaustion. Charlie has just recently figured out that if he comes with me, and sits quietly he won't distract Sidney from falling asleep and I will rub his ears and belly while I'm doing my sitting. Spike has always come to bedtime with us so lately I've had one on each side. But of course, Charlie the jealous dog can't stand having whoever is petting him also petting someone else even though he's the last one to the party. Last night he made a little rumbly growl at Spike, trying to make him go away or telling me to stop, I don't know which one. Didn't work of course, just got him a little finger pop on his nose, so now he's content having one side of me. Bella sticks close to Norm and doesn't seem interested in joining the bedside tableau. | ||
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| We went to the circus the other night. A one ring Ringling brothers event. Growing up and going to the circus it was always a three ring show, and at first I felt cheated but then I realized I could only watch one ring at a time so I probably had always missed a great deal. Anyhow, at the pre-show, a little Jack Russell terrier was out in the ring, doing somersaults and flips and catching frisbees from the audience and from his owner. He even jumped 5 feet in the air to snatch balls that she was juggling out of their orbit. Afterwards, Sidney was petting it and his person was there and she talked to me about training dogs and other animals. She said you can't get a dog to do something it wasn't already somewhat able to do or interested in doing. But you could take the seeds of a skill and channel that will into an accomplishment. So, you can't get a dog to climb a ladder unless it was already standing up against the ladder but if you see it doing that, you can coax it up a few steps with treats. So, her advice was to pick a special treat that he'd never get otherwise (sliced hot dogs) and a toy that gets put away except for training time. Charlie loves to chase anything and will go after a ball or a frisbee but he feels no need to do anything but drop it and I don't think it ever occurred to him to bring it back. I've been training him to bring it back and he's doing really well. At first it was hard to get him to do anything at all because once he smelled the hot dogs, he just wanted to jump on me and try to get them that way. Now he's going after it and getting it closer to me everyday. If he drops it too far away and rushes in for the treat I'm holding it back, and pointing to the ball, telling him bring it. And he's doing it, and getting treats and lots of good loving. We've only been at it a few days, but I'll move him outside and see if he can do it consistently and then try to figure out how to get him to do it without the treats. I don't know what I'm going to teach Bella to do. Her tricks are watching the squirrels, barking at the doorbell and being a bed hog. Every night when they snuggle up in the dog bed, she gets there first and sprawls across the middle of it and Charlie wraps himself around her or drapes himself over her. Any ideas? | ||
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| We just got back from a great vacation in Boston. Charlie and Bella went to the kennels where they'd been boarded before and had a little doggie vacation. Norm dropped them off with their bed and their blanket and made sure everyone knew to keep them together. I am sure if they tried to separate them they would have made it immediately known that they did not approve. The closest they've come to being separated is when Sidney put Charlie on the leash and took him out to the front yard. I thought Bella was going to pop an aneurism, the way she watched through the storm door, woofing and whining and practically keening in distress of being separated from her other half (plus, he got to go out and she didn't). I made Sidney bring Charlie back inside she was so upset. Charlie has a new trick when he wants to be noticed. He walks under a kitchen chair, catches it on his back over his hips and starts pulling it around. He did it to a chair Spike was sleeping on and the cat was not amused. I thought he was trying to scratch an itch but it's just for attention. As if he doesn't get enough. Lately he's been coming to Sidney's room at bedtime, and trying to get in on the snuggles. Anyhow, they were deliriously happy to see us -- ok, really, they were happy to see Norm. We went straight from the airport to get them, and then made a quick stop for bread and milk. When I came out of the store, they were united in their complete refusal to vacate the front seat -- yes, the one beside Norm -- and so I rode home with Sidney in the back. It's a week later and they've forgotten we left. If they remembered we'd left them, I'm pretty sure Charlie would stop chewing up Norm's slippers. Out of love, of course. | ||
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Sorry it took so long to get pictures posted. Here are the birthday kids -- Bella and Charlie enjoyed their birthday hats for about two minutes. The next picture is of them enjoying their cake and ice cream -- with hats off, this was serious work. It will surprise NO ONE that Charlie stole Bella's ice cream right out of her bowl but they both enjoyed the cake and worked and licked those bowls for a long time. The bowls were plastic and so light weight that they were moving with every lick. Bella's bowl traveled clear around the kitchen but Clarlie planted a foot into his to hold it still and that is the last picture.     Did you notice in these pictures how nicely our new tile floor came out? We love it! | ||
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| Yes, the dogs turned 3 this month, so we had a party. Sidney and I baked a cake (yellow) with frosting (vanilla) and we put silly hats on the dogs, sang to them and put down a bowl of cake with a scoop of ice cream (butter pecan) for each one. And wow, did they enjoy that treat! So did we because they were positively goofy, gobbling up that good stuff. Charlie had his foot in his bowl to hold it still, Bella licked at hers but it was a moving target, she licked it around the room and under the table. Wish I had a video camera, I would have won a prize on that home video tv show. After cake we gave them presents, they each got a rawhide bone (Charlie took both and stashed them under the table) and a mini tennis ball, just the right size for their mouths (yes, Charlie took both and stashed them under the table). I got some pictures, and I'll post them this weekend. Happy Birthday, Charlie and Bella! | ||
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| Andreas came to see us on Sunday. He was so worried whether the dogs would remember him. Oh yes they did, Charlie practically shinnied up the front of him and only stopped wiggling and barking long enough to slather his face with doggie kisses. Bella hung back but she got hers too. We had burgers for dinner and then sat out on the patio around the firepit roasting marshmallows and getting eaten by mosquitos. Charlie stayed in Andreas' lap when he could, and I think overall, they made him feel very much at home. We're looking forward to seeing him again in two weeks, and I know the dogs are too! We painted the family room this weekend. Well, Norm painted it after I taped it off and Sidney and Charlie and Bella all kept their feet out of the paint trays. It has one wall that was not paneled and it was painted a deep blue -- a pretty color but it made the room feel like a big cave. After two coats of white primer and two more coats of golden yellow it is just so cheery that we love it. We had to move the furniture away from the wall, which meant the yard watching window did not have a comfy couch back in front of it and nothing was in the right place, so Charlie and Bella are glad the job is done too. Andreas visited in the middle of it all so we're glad he'll be back to see we don't normally live like that! Edited on 10/21 -- I finally have a picture of Andreas visit. Here is the happy pair!  | ||
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| They worked as a team tonight, Charlie, Bella and Spike. When we went out to Temple, we left Sidney's leftover pizza on the counter. Spike got it first, ate the cheesy part and then it went to the floor for the dogs. All three barfed it up -- which is how we know they were in cahoots. They are ok now. And teamwork is a good thing, right? | ||
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| We came home tonight and found two very sheepish dogs waiting for us. They scurried instead of pranced, and hid between my legs and the countertop when I was putting something away, just peeking around my legs at Norm. We still don't know what they did, but they knew it was bad so I guess we'll find it sooner or later. | ||
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| The other night I woke up with Spike poking me in the face with his very soft paw. Just enough poke to be annoying. Once he had me awake, I realized Bella was standing up on the side of the bed, whining softly. It was about 12:30 am and I thought she must have missed the last potty walk so I got up to take her out. She was dancy antsy as she followed me to the back door, with lots of soft woofie sounds, but she would not go out. I closed the door and headed back to bed, wondering what she was up to. As I passed Sidney's room, she got in front of me, blocking me and now she was barking, just plain loud barking. I looked in -- and saw that his bed was empty. I flipped on the light, no Sidney, I went around the other side to see if he was on the floor, no Sidney. I went into the next room, the office, lights on, checked the couch, no Sidney. Into Grandma's room, lights on, no Sidney. Back to our bedroom, lights on, no Sidney on either side of the bed or in the bed. Now the lights were blazing all through the house, Bella was barking her head off, Charlie was sleeping, Norm was snoring and there was no Sidney. I was almost sick from the surge of missing-boy related adrenaline. Bella, I asked, where is he? She started down the hall, and I followed her. Into the family room, where he was sleeping on the couch. I woke him, walked him back to bed and tucked him back in. Went back through the house and turned off all the lights, stopped in the kitchen to give Bella a treat and rub her tummy, and tell her what a good bedchecking dog she is. The next morning, Sidney told me he woke up, thought it was morning and went out to wait for us to wake. He was pretty pleased that Bella let me know he was missing. Me too. | ||
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| Neither dog likes thunderstorms nor does Sidney. Saturday night, about 1am there was a huuuuuge one. Sidney came flying into the bed like Superman on the first crack and by the second, the dogs were leaping up and down beside the bed. But it's too high for them, and too small for 3 extra bodies so we all got up and went to Sidney's bed. Where he was on one side, I was clinging on the other and the dogs lounged in between us. Not working. We all got up again and went to the guest room. This bed worked. Bella crawled under the blankets and slept by my feet, Sidney spooned up against me and went to sleep and Charlie waited until he could hear Sidney's little snore and then wiggled and squirmed his way in, then laying on his back under the blankets, put his head on the pillows between ours and he went to sleep too. | ||
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| By day the dogs still enjoy watching the backyard and being the first ones to know if a leaf blows or a bird stops by for a few seeds. Come sunset, they move to the other couch and watch Norm. The couches are in an L shape in the family room. The yard-watching couch is against the window, with the norm-watching couch set perpendicular to it. The kitchen table is next to it and the TV is across on the far side of the room. So if Norm is watching TV from the table, he has to look over two dogs to see the television. They snooze there, one eye open in case he moves. And when he moves, they move with him. Once they've been out for the last potty walk of the night, they know he's going to be heading to bed. (me too, but they don't care so much about that). So they don't climb back up to the norm-watching couch, they wait in the doggie nest under the side table. Bella loves a rawhide bone and takes it with her wherever she goes so she sits there with the rawhide bone hanging out of her mouth like a giant cigar. I wish I could catch a picture of that, I'm trying. Once the walk to bed starts, she's dragging that thing around with her, checking on Sidney and then Grandma before settling down in our bedroom. | ||
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