Drabble , and the Miss Peaches Update

Sometimes it seems like this is exactly what's going on at my house. Sandie in particular is guilty of this. I tell her no barking, reassure her that there is no one here or that it's Dad about to come in. They know the sound of his truck, It's a diesel. I know they hear him coming down the road before I do. They start barking early, then I realize they heard it a half mile a way.

Then the crazy thing is later, you can be calling them to come in over and over and they really do not seem to hear you. They look up finally as if to say "oh, did you say something?" "Let me just sniff this blade of grass for another minute and I'll be right with you." Good thing they're sweet and cute and loving and all that stuff or there might be a problem.

Miss Peaches is doing really well since her back surgery, she can be the champ of not listening, but she's not the biggest barker. Now the challenge is to keep her from doing too much now that she is feeling better. I have taken up sleeping on the floor so that she is safe. She has been sleeping with people since she was a pup and is not doing the crate thing at night. So I will get down to her level. The tough part is making the floor not feel like the floor.

It was a dachshund holiday!

Sandie, Rupert, Foozie, Spaatz and Miss Peaches

Hello dachshund lover's! We  just had an extra dachshund staying here with us. His name is Rupert, although he is affectionately known as RuRu, or Rutabaga, or as I sometimes call him- Rooster. Rupert is a very sweet dachshund, quite friendly. But he can be kinda mischievous. Rupert is one of my daughter's dachshunds, we both have 4. Yes, it's kinda an illness and it's catching, so beware.We put up some gates to keep the dogs in the kitchen while we were out. Now My dogs are content to stay in bounds, in fact you don't have to secure the gates. The gate could be lying down in the doorway and they still won't pass, but Rupert needs to get out of any confinement just because he must.

This was a big adventure for Rupert, flying up from Florida. Did you know if your doctor signs a note for you saying you need a therapy dog with you to keep calm while you travel they can travel for free? My daughter was able to do this with Rupert. I saw the form, you can have up to 3 dogs. I found this to be quite interesting, and will keep this in mind in the future.
Probably one of Rupert's favorite moments was when the dogs got a squirrel and he got to play too. Dachshund live for that kind of stuff, and it was a first for him. The only problem is when it's over they don't want it to end. Mr. squirrel is no fun anymore when he has xx's in his eyes.
I find when you have multiple dachshund's, once you have more than 2 it doesn't matter when one more is around. I do imagine that does tap out at some point. I know I've seen people with more than me so I haven't quite attained the "crazy dachshund lady" status yet. Not quite.Whenever we get together with my daughter and her dogs there is always a lot of barking, but always a lot of fun and laughter too.

Maybe another squirrel will come out to play

All's Well in Dachshundville

Miss Peaches

In general it's been a great summer here in the Hudson Valley. Not nearly as hot and stinking humid as usual.
We did have an incident that did not leave the dogs unscathed. There is a lot of woods behind our house, so it's not unusual to see an assortment of woodland creatures. Of course the dogs really like this, it gives them a reason to bark and occasionally chase said creatures. A few weeks ago they cornered a woodchuck. Unfortunately this was a really big one, bigger than even Peaches.It was a crazy standoff with 4 dachshunds barking and howling and 1 big woodchuck not to be taken down by the likes of these guys. My husband was going to dispatch the critter, but a gun that would shoot a proper bullet was locked up and couldn't be retrieved with the urgency of the situation. Then as quickly as it started it was over. Mr Chuck had managed to get away and it was very quiet again. Head count, everyone to the house. Only three dogs. That's bad. I quickly got Spaatz, Fooze and Sandie in the house. Here we are freaking out calling Peachy again. It was probably only a couple minutes, but I hate that feeling. Then before my husband was going to excavate a chuck hole I saw her on the other side of the yard. We figure when the chuck ran she went after it. Then it's apparent she's been injured. I took her straight into the laundry sink to wash up, along with Sandie who had blood on her although no wounds herself. Peach had a bad tear from the side of where her nostril curls around the side of her nose. I thought that was the worst of it, but upon a vet exam she had several punctures in her chest, one went clear through the skin. They shaved her chest, no stitches, but I had to keep the wounds clean and give her antibiotics. Rabies update just in case. Well, I'm happy to say she is all better, a scar on the side of her nose. Spaatz got a couple of scratches on his neck, Fooze, one puncture between his nose and lip and Sandie apparently didn't get close enough. Mr Big Chuck has not been seen since, and I hope he wised up. He's not welcome in Dachshundville.

Unfortunately, they'd do it all again

Meet Sandie

Sandie- Wire hair, long hair mix

This little fluffy pup is now known as Sandie. She was owned by a lady with 7 cats and 8 kittens and another dachshund that bites everyone. Basically a cat lady with a couple of unhappy dachshunds. My husband, the local dog warden was at the SPCA and met this lady, the topic of dachshunds came up and she said she was thinking of getting rid of at least one of the dogs. When we met the dog she barked incessantly. I'm thinkin this is not going to work. The lady had been unable to house train the dogs, that wasn't what I was worried about, but if I couldn't touch her and all she did was bark that was a problem. So we took her in the backyard to meet Miss Peaches who we had brought with us. She's the alpha female, but no fireworks erupted. Then we put a leash on Sandie and she suddenly calmed down and became my dog, friendly, climbing up my leg, wanting so much to lick me. Okay, maybe there's a chance. So we brought her home and she's getting along with everyone. She loves to fetch the ball and is giving Spaatz a run for his money. House training is going well and I've found her to be a really happy, loving dog. She's officially a foster here now, we'll see. She's in desperate need of groceries, I can feel every bone in her body. I think she'll be about the size of the boys when we get her back to health. Dachshund's just need people who understand them.

Dachshund 3 Alarm Car Security System

3 alarm auto security system

We were at an antique engine and tractor show over the weekend where we had the chance to sell old tools and car parts and vintage hot rod magazines. It was fun and we did really well. My Three Doxson's had to spend a lot of time in the truck. Not to worry, it was parked right behind our set-up under a big ole maple tree with all the windows down. Temps were in the low 70's all weekend. We took them out for walkies so they could stretch their legs. They liked to sit and watch all the activity, and needless to say there was a fair amount of barking. Especially when other dogs happen to go by. They would settle down at times for a little siesta. Then when people might get a little too close to the truck for their liking they would pop up and start barking. I explained this was just the car alarm going off and that you didn't actually have to touch the truck, but get within 10 feet would set it off. They startled quite a few people, but everyone found humor with the three alarm security system.

Happy at home