Roscoe

Just as he promised I received a pic and an update from my Roscoe. He's such a good boy (and handsome too).

Mommy...Hi Again!
Here’s one of the photos that I promised. It was taken right after my trip to the salon. My dad said that I was just supposed to get a bath and my nails clipped, but the nice lady there said that, “I was too cute not to be able to see my eyes.” Dad was real surprised, and said I looked like a poofy black dust wand and smelled like a Swiffer pad...whatever that is. Some people he knows thought I looked like someone named George Harrison. Dad said he’s thinking of going somewhere else next time, although I met some new friends. That part was fun.
Things here are pretty great. I help my dad get Eliza off to school each day and then I snooze under his desk while he drinks coffee and works. We take a couple of walks every day (when it’s not too cold) and I like to look for squirrels. Mom is around a lot too, and she often rolls a cool rubber ball across the kitchen floor right after dinner. I like to help her out by going to get it and bringing it back to her. The silly thing is that she just rolls it away again...grown-ups are just weird sometimes.
Just so you know, my favorite things are my collection of Nylabones (the brown “flexibone” is my absolute best friend, yum), the bouncy ball I already mentioned, a yellow mini tennis ball toy and a plush ring that I love to run around with in my mouth.
I’ve been to our house in Maine a couple of times. I like it there because it’s a lot more open so I can run around better. We celebrated something called New Years there...and my new sisters had a bunch of their theater friends come over and sing show tunes and dance. I got a little over-excited and needed a time-out. I was told later that it was OK because lots of people over-do things on New Years and that I just needed to learn my limits. I was still pretty little, so I think I’d be much better now that I’m a whole 16 weeks old.
My puppy kindergarten is going well. I’m learning lots of new stuff that seem to make my mom and dad happy. The walks I take them on every day seem much more pleasant and I don’t get in trouble for jumping up on furniture that much anymore. I’m told that I have to work on not biting when I first meet people, but it’s just so exciting to meet new friends that I forget sometimes. I’ll try harder.
That’s all for now. Say hi to everyone for me. Love you Mommy!
Roscoe

I love you too Roscoe. Very Much.

Frozen Swedish Meatballs

Do you remember my friends Sage and Lucas? They're PBGVs. That's short for Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen. You may remember that they moved to Sweden with their parents Sophie and Mike. Well I just received a note from Sage (Sage is a boy, btw).

Dear Suddie,
I love your blog and the beautiful pictures!!!!! I'm a tad in love actually....
I've just been in the garden with my bro Lucas..it's absolitely FREEZIN out there and I have no idea why Mum and Dad decided to move to this horrible country!
The only good thing about this place are all the horse-poop-lollies I find every time we go for a walk in the forrest. They're YUMMY! Lucas always eats more than me and then he really smells...plus he has this thing about French-kissing dad. I just sit there and look at them..Dad's giggling up a storm and Lucas is all wrapped around his head giving him a good licking!
Mum says she'll video it and put it on YourTube....it would embarass me to death to let the world know what a disgusting brother I have. If Dad only knew what just went down his throat...
Ok, dinners ready. Some pancakes, fresh meat, country eggs and oven baked organic dog food. At least she cooks good food....
Lots of love
Sage

Sage also sent me some pics of the horses that they meet each day on their walks. These pretty fellows must be the ones producing those lollies.











Sophie expanded a bit on the weather:


Well…winter sure hit us this year! Always the lucky ones we caught the worst winter in years…more snow, colder and more intense than anybody can , or wants to, remember!
We had the most awful cold front that totally wrecked our heating system. Came out into the living room one morning and found it to be 7 Celsius …outside it was a harsh -26, the water had frozen and our hearts sank.
“What was so wrong with Florida??” – Mike said.
When eventually we got the water going again we got hit with 2 feet of snow…and now cold front number two just arrived.
So far a balmy – 18 out there but getting worse by the minute!
So right now we are NOT very happy with Sweden…I can only hope we get through February and then spring will surely start making its entrance!

It sure sounds chilly, but the pics Sophie sent make it look awfully pretty. I've always liked those little red painted horses from Sweden. How about you?

The Fur Cap Cometh

I don’t think I told you this but we’re staying in this fancy high-rise down south for a few months to avoid the worst of the New England winter. I was so excited the other day cause dad got a call from Fran (she’s the building’s concierge) informing us that a package had arrived for me. Dad asked Fran to bring it right up and I could hardly contain myself when Fran arrived. My tail was really wagging and my butt was moving all over the place. I got even more excited when I saw the return address. The package was from Aunt Joyce. You may recall in one of my earlier posts I wrote about the book Pet Projects: The Animal Knits Bible. It’s this cool book with instructions (and great pictures) of all these fantastic things that you can knit for your pets. You may also recall that I have been coveting this really groovy hat from the book. I think I told you that I received the book as a Christmas present from Grammy Jill. Well, I quickly had my dad copy the pages with the instructions for the groovy hat and I gave them to Aunt Joyce. You see Aunt Joyce is kinda crafty and I know she knits.

So you can see why I got so excited when a package arrived from Aunt Joyce. I couldn’t open it fast enough. And there it was a beautiful variegated groovy blue hat with baby blue ear warmers. It couldn’t be more perfect. And then I noticed the note that accompanied the hat:

My Dear Suddie,
I hope this fits Angus. I don’t know if the ear muffs are in the right place. I probably should have used wilder colors – to make a statement. Let me know about size and colors for you and Roxie if you like it.
Love,
Aunt Joyce

Hope this fits Angus? What? Well Angus was out and I could have easily lost the note, but when I tried it on it was definitely not my size. Don’t get me wrong. I still looked darn cool in it. Dad thought I looked like Edie Brickell in it. Do you remember her from Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians? They had one hit “What I Am.” Do you remember that song and the video? My dad does. I bet you didn’t know that she is married to Paul Simon. Do you think that makes Carrie Fisher mad?

Anywho…the hat was way too big for me and at 11:03 AM I sent Aunt Joyce this email with two pics of Angus attached:

Subject: Angus loves his new hat











Thank you. It is great.
I tried it on and so did Roxie and the face opening needs to be quite a bit smaller and the neck a few inches less for us. I trust your judgement on the colors. It would be great to have them before spring arrives. Thanks again. We love your work!!!!
XO

You see I was trying to be diplomatic and not let on how disappointed I was that it wasn’t my hat. You know when you ask others to do things for you, you shouldn’t be too pushy or demanding. Then at 11:07 AM I sent Aunt Joyce another email. There wasn’t any content just a subject line and a pic of me in Angus’s hat:

Subject: I want my own hat











And at 11:12 AM Roxie had me send Aunt Joyce the following email and pic:

Subject: Roxie says there must be a mistake…

Aunt Joyce always liked me best.











The next day after putting the hat on Angus and going for a walk we sent Aunt Joyce another email:

Subject: Hat – Field Test Results
So I put the hat on this morning and took it for a test in the field.
Results:
I looked adorable
Neck fits perfectly
Cap needs to be quite a bit more snug. Falls to one side or the other or falls back and off my head while walking. Still somehow looks adorable. We found that if you tuck the cap under it makes quite a handsome scarf.
I think just making the cap smaller and reducing the size of the opening would do the trick.
I can't remember what size you made for me but mom's and Roxie’s hats should be quite a bit smaller.
Thanks again for my winter head gear.
Angus (Roxie and Suddie)

We have yet to hear from Aunt Joyce

Brotherly Love

Right after I posted Angus' Best of Breed video I received this sweet note from Roscoe.

Mommy,
Yeah for my big brother! Congrats Angus! I miss you. I got my first shampoo, nail clip and trim (which my adopted mom and dad were not expecting, but the groomer just couldn't resist...ick!) Can't say it's my favorite thing...I came home looking all poofed up...after three days I'm looking more "myself." I also started "kindergarten," not sure I like behaving, but I do like the praise and treats : ) I promise I'll send photos to you soon. I'm just so busy being a dickens, there's not much time to write! : )
Love you and miss you,
Roscoe

I love you too Roscoe. You know what? I'm a bit jealous that you've already had a hair cut. I have never ever had my hair cut. Btw, I think all the hair that fell out with my pregnancy may be growing back a bit, but I still look a bit ragged. I could use a new look.

Best of Breed

My sweet, handsome boy Angus won best of breed in a dog show recently. He really hadn't been in a show since he became a champion more than a year ago. The day before the show, after his bath, Angus had to wear his boots every time we went outside so that his feet wouldn't get dirty and he wore his hair up so that it would fall just right at the show. I guess it worked because he looked great in the ring and he was a finalist when he advanced to the non-sporting group competition. I made a video of the whole thing and and you can see that Angus is third in line after the judge selected the final group competitors.

To be honest with you, I find dog shows to be a bit boring. Sometimes the best show is going on outside the ring. Guys in fur coats that match their dog. Make-shift caravans of pooches. Handlers in their unsightly get-ups.

To pass the time, I sent Dara an email from my iPhone:
We are at a dog show. Angus took best of breed so now we have to go to group. Dog shows are boring.

And she replied:
I know they are boring. My sister takes me to them when I go to MPLS. But it's great that Angus won. Give him a big kiss on the LIPS for me.
I'm cooking mushrooms and Lacinato kale and having a bit of wine. Wish you were here.
Dara

Snowballing

You might know that us TTs love the snow. The only problem is when we walk through the snow snowballs form on our feet and legs. It seems to be a universal problem. This is a pic of my new friend Bobby, a TT from Bristol England, just back from a walk in the snowy fields.

Grooming Tips

After posting my "Grooming Your TT" video on youtube, I received the following comment:

Thats all very well on how to groom, but, how do you stop the fighting when they dont want to be brushed?. We have to put ours on the ironing board to keep her still, and it takes two of us because she struggles all the time!

An ironing board?

This comment made think I should post the grooming tips that I share with the new owners of my pups. Really, I think the biggest key to success is to start grooming your TT as a small pup even before they need to be groomed so that they get used to it (and maybe even enjoy it). Also us TTs can be very sensitive about having our feet touched so I recommend that you start massaging and holding and grooming your pup's feet very early on.

Grooming Tools
Although your new puppy won't really need to be formally groomed until the age of 6-9 months (with the exception of nails which should be done from the time you bring your pup home), we recommend that you accustom the pup to grooming from an early age. Make sure you handle the pup’s feet during grooming (so they get used to it), because TTs seem to be particularly sensitive about having their feet touched.
We recommend that you buy a metal greyhound comb, a good quality pin brush, and a slicker brush for grooming. (We use a pin brush with 27mm pins and a slicker brush from Chris Christensen, available through Cherrybrook at www.cherrybrook.com.) You’ll also need nail clippers; we use Resco guillotine-type clippers.


Grooming
Teach your pup to lie on his side on a counter or table. You’ll be forever grateful. With your dog lying on his side you can complete one side, then flip him over and do the other.
Brushing completely through the coat is the only way to get out all mats and prevent new ones from forming. We use the pin brush for this. It isn't enough to brush from the part along the back down the sides of the dog. You must line brush each side of the dog, starting at the belly and proceeding up the side of the dog, brushing each section or “line” of hair separately. In this way you can brush all of the undercoat as well as the top coat.
When you reach a mat, gently try to separate it with your fingers until you can pull out just the mat without any of the surrounding hair. You can also use the greyhound comb to tease out the mat. The belly, behind the ears, and where the legs meet the body will are the areas that mat most readily.
When you’re done combing your dog’s coat with the pin brush, comb through the entire coat with the greyhound comb to find any mats you might have missed.
Always mist the dog’s coat with water and little conditioner before brushing or combing, to reduce coat breakage. Also, always brush and comb your dog before and after a bath. My parents usually bathe us every two to three weeks. They find that a clean dog is easier to groom.