Sisterly Love

All siblings fight from time to time, right?  Most of the time the three of us get along just fine, but there are times when we can go at each other a little ruff!  Lately, Jenna and Dixie have been arguing over a blanket.  They end up in a fierce tug of war over this blanket and take it all around the yard growling and snarling at each other.  Mommy knows better than to get in the middle of a dawg fight, so she just sits back and watches.  (And takes pictures, of course!)

In the most recent matches Jenna has been the winner, and Dixie has been left with a little memento of their battle:

Do you see that tiny scrap of blanket?  That's Dixie's consolation prize.  She must think it's a prize because she carries it in her mouth for a while after the battle!

I don't know why they feel the need to fight over this blanket . . . it's actually MINE!!!  [sigh]
Hunter


PS: Speaking of siblings, Happy Birthday to Uncle Jeff!

Barking Up the Right Tree!

Mommy loves beautiful flowers in the summer, but she doesn't like watering them.  We love lapping up the water when she's watering the plants on the deck, but we don't really like it when she leaves us behind and drags the hose around to the garage.  We usually let her know our displeasure with a few barks and then lie around at the fence gate to await her return.

Recently Mommy noticed the barking wouldn't stop while she was on the other side of the fence.  She watered the plants at the garage and those on the front porch as well.  She called out to us several times to try to calm us, but someone just refused to be quiet.  That someone was Dixie.  When Mommy returned to the backyard, Dixie told her exactly why she was barking . . .

Dixie had brought a tennis ball for Mommy to throw right before Mommy went outside the fence.  Mommy picked it up, tossed it, and never looked back.  As luck would have it, that ball landed  in a tree!

Poor Dixie!  It was about to kill her to retrieve that ball!  I secretly thought it was funny until my ears began to hurt from all that racket Dixie was making!  Hopefully Mommy will pay better attention next time.
Hunter

A Visitor and Updates

Last weekend we had a visitor!  Aunt Holly came to spend the weekend with us, and I was super excited.  I LOVE Aunt Holly.  I love sitting beside her on the sofa and at her feet while she is scrapbooking.  I just can't get enough of her.  I'm sure if Mommy had allowed it, I would have enjoyed sleeping in Aunt Holly's room with her.  Maybe next time . . .

One of the best times we had while Aunt Holly was here was making s'mores.  Have you seen the new flat marshmallows?  They are supposedly designed to be perfect for this delectable treat.  The problem is that it's hard to roast a flat marshmallow on a skewer over a fire.  Mommy and Aunt Holly decided it was a good idea in theory and if you were making one of the many recipes out there for s'mores in your oven then they would be perfect.  I think next time Mommy will just stick with the regular marshmallows.

All of these problems with the s'mores didn't stop us from trying to score a bite for ourselves.   Jenna somehow ended up with chocolate in the fur on her ears!  We really aren't sure how that happened and no one told her.  She is such a food fanatic that it would have killed her to know there was food that close to her mouth yet out of her tongue's reach!  We only fix s'mores a couple times a year, so Mommy is kind enough to treat us to a graham cracker and marshmallow each.  Those two parts taste good, but I have the feeling that chocolate we're not allowed to have is the missing link!

It was a great weekend with Aunt Holly, and we look forward to her next visit.

Some of you might be wondering how Hunter is doing after I passed my cold on to him.  Mommy took him to the vet too (yellow stuff running out of the nose will get you there every time).  Since Hunter was running a fever and obviously had an infection in his nose, he was given antibiotics and has almost finished them now.  He feels much better.   I also passed on my sickness to my parents.  Either that, or it was a weird coincidence.  They had a horrible twenty-four hour flu-like ickyness where they thought they were dying.  They are doing better too.  Who knew I could be so dangerous?  

Jenna has apparently been the only one who could fend off my nasty germs, but she's had a different problem of her own!  The poor girl seemed fine most of the time, but every once in a while she would take off in a frenzy and come back whining and limping.  After another trip to the vet (Mommy should be earning frequent patient miles), we learned Jenna had somehow managed to split her dewclaw.  Mommy isn't sure what Jenna caught it on, but the vet has clipped it pretty short and glued it back together.  We're just waiting to see if it's going to stay together or if something more drastic has to happen.  Makes me hurt just thinking about it!   So far, she's doing pretty good.  Our biggest problems are keeping Jenna from running too much as well as preventing her from licking or biting at her paw.  She has no choice.  If not, she's going to end up in a cone and we all know . . .

Here's hoping everyone continues to heal!
Dixie

Super Sniffer!

As you know, Jenna is all about the FOOD!  She uses her sniffer to help her locate every last morsel of food in this house.  Last week she knocked over the water bowl in an effort to locate a tiny bit of peanut butter.  When Mommy finishes dishing up our meals, she stacks our bowls on top of each other to carry them to our "table."  Hunter is lucky enough to have a dab of peanut butter in every meal to help him take his thyroid pill.  Apparently without knowing, some of that peanut butter got on the bottom of Dixie's food bowl when Mommy stacked the bowls together.  No one knew that . . . except Jenna!  Leave it to Super Sniffer to find it and try to lick it.  That's when the water bowl got in the way and found itself all over the floor.  Mommy wasn't happy, but she did have a good laugh when she realized what Jenna was after!

That sniffer also tells Mommy when she has dropped dawg food in the laundry room.  Jenna is sure to let us know there if a piece falls under the washer.

That aluminum can in the corner of the picture?  It holds our food.  That blue bungee cord?  It holds Jenna out of our food!

Hoping the bungee cord never fails,
Dixie

Frozen Goodness

It has been really HOT here lately!  Well, hot for us.  Our Southern family and friends are probably rolling their eyes at that comment.  That's okay; we do the same when they say it's cold!  To help us keep our cool, Mommy made some yummy treats she found on Pinterest.  They were sooooo super, duper, easy to make that even we could have made them!  Well, maybe not Jenna.  She would have eaten all the ingredients before she finished the recipe!

First Mommy made banana bites: slice a banana, put in an ice tray, fill with water, freeze, then EAT!!

They were delicious, but not nearly as good as what she had in store for us next.

Mommy followed the banana bites with apple bites: slice an apple, put in an ice tray, fill with chicken broth and a little water, freeze, then EAT!!  If you're really lucky, follow it up with a second one!

We're enjoying these frozen treats on our hot summer days.  Try it out yourself!
Dixie


PS: Happy Birthday, Mommy!

Playing Possum

Jenna has been playing possum lately.  It's probably not what you're thinking.  She recently ditched her frisbee to chase after a stuffed possum she has.  Santa left this toy in her Christmas stocking this past year, and she likes to carry it around with her.  Sometimes that includes taking it outside.  Jenna wanted Mommy to throw the possum instead of the frisbee.  I'm not sure why Mommy agreed to this.  Stuffed animals do NOT go far!

I secretly think when Mommy realized how far it was going to go (not far) and that she had her camera with her, she thought this would be the perfect chance to try to capture a better picture of Jenna in the air.  There still isn't a great picture of Jenna in the air, but these were pretty good.

There's even a shot of the sly possum!  Don't you love his tiny little Santa hat?

Here's to more fun and games!
Hunter

Sick as Dawgs

I've been sick with what appears to be a cold since Friday.  [sniff]  [snort]   Mommy has been giving me Benadryl to at least help relieve the symptoms of my runny nose and stuffy head.  I've also been drinking chicken broth.  If being sick is what it takes to slurp on that yummy goodness, I might just have to be sick more often!  Jenna isn't happy with the current situation because she has to be locked in her crate while I drink up the goodness.  If left out and about, we all know she'd throw me outta the way to lap it up for herself!

Mommy took me to the doctor yesterday to make sure I only had a cold.  (She's a bit over-protective sometimes.)  The vets assume it's a cold since nothing else seemed to be bothering me.  I had to have my temperature checked . . . someone should be thrown in dawggie jail for that violation!  It was a 102!  But that's normal for dawgs.  (Made you panic, didn't I?)  The good news is the new doctors who took over the practice kept oohing and aahing  over me and how beautiful I am.  They couldn't say it enough.  They also said it was good to see a lab who wasn't overweight!  (A rather rotund chocolate had been in right before me.)  Mommy snickered and said something about meeting Jenna!  Really, Mommy?  You couldn't let me have my day in the sun?

Mommy says she might take me on her walk/jog tomorrow . . . maybe.  Jenna's been two days in a row!   The injustice.  Jenna says my chicken broth evens us out.  Hmmm . . . maybe.  I am starting to feel better.  [sniff]  [snort]  I still have a slightly runny nose and I sneeze from time to time, but overall I'm much improved.

The bad news is that I seem to have passed my sickness on to Hunter.  This is bad because he's OLD!  He didn't eat dinner last night, and it took Mommy a LONG time to tempt him enough to drink the chicken broth.  He also wasn't interested in trying the peanut butter covered Benadryl (you're not fooling me, Mommy, but it still tastes good!).  Mommy had to force it down his throat taking a risk with her fingers.  Daddy volunteered to sleep downstairs with Hunter last night so Hunter wouldn't have to climb the stairs.   Mommy even got out the humidifier to help with Hunter's breathing.  (Wait a canine minute; she didn't do that for me!)  At first he wouldn't eat his breakfast this morning either, but he did go right for the broth this time and then followed it up with most of his food.  [whew]   He also came upstairs while I was writing this post about him.  I'm hoping that after another Benadryl was crammed down his throat this morning, he will be able to rest and start healing.

Please pray Hunter feels better soon.  Pray Jenna doesn't become sick too.  Pray Mommy can deal with all of her worries.

Sick as dawgs,
Dixie

Updates on This and That

Several of our adoring fans have asked how the cayenne pepper is working out.  It works great!  Most of the time.  It does keep Jenna and Hunter from eating the dirt . . . until Jenna discovers a new place and starts to dig there instead.  You also have to re-apply the pepper after each rain.  That can be tiresome for Mommy.  And she usually doesn't remember until she sees Jenna stuffing her face!

Our "garden" is doing okay.  We finally have one tiny little zucchini growing on the plant.  I'm sure we would have more if Mommy would actually plant it in the ground, but she's not going to do that.  Pots all over one side of the deck is fine for her.  There have been numerous zucchini blossoms, but only one actually began to develop into a vegetable.  Jenna doesn't seem to have discovered it  . . . yet!

That red and yellow you see in the corner of the picture is the third outdoor dawg bed our parents finally broke down and bought.  This was the best looking cover for the bed available at the Orvis outlet.  Mommy is going to wait until it fades to replace it with a blue and white cover that will match the others.  Until then we might need to wear our shades when we lie on it.

The grape tomatoes aren't doing as well as usual.  We've not had even one tomato make it to RED yet!  Jenna snatches them off the vine before they have a chance.  We did notice the tomatoes seemed to thrive in our absence a few weeks ago when we were all out of town.  (Because Jenna wasn't home to eat them!)  Jenna, if you're going to eat green tomatoes, at least let Mommy fry them up for you!  Yum!

The jalapeno peppers are doing fine.  Read between the lines: Jenna doesn't like them, so therefore they can grow!

I think that about sums up recent developments at the Dawg House.  Hope you're enjoying your summer!
Dixie

Which Way Did It Go?

Recently we grabbed our parents' attention by barking up a storm!  We were having a fit to get outside and check out the latest invader.  It was the BIGGEST bunny we had ever seen!  We all ran after it chasing it out of the yard, over the fence, and across the street.


Most of the bunnies in our yard look like this:

This particular bunny looked more like this:

 It was amazingly fast.  But it was kind of strange; bunnies usually go under the fence!

We're hoping we'll see another of these giant bunnies soon!
Hunter, Dixie & Jenna


PS: Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Ballerina or Hurdler?

As much as Dixie loves to chase tennis balls, Jenna likes to catch the frisbee!  She isn't as obsessive as her sister (thank goodness!), but she can be tireless about it sometimes.  Mommy has been trying to grab a perfect photo of Jenna jumping in the air to catch the frisbee.  There are some interesting shots, but nothing quite right yet.  If Mommy does finally catch that perfect image, you'll be the first to know!

We can't decide if Jenna is aspiring to be a ballerina or a track star hurdler.  I guess Jenna could have inherited her jumping abilities from either of our parents.  Mommy was a ballerina in her younger years, and Daddy was a pole vaulter when he was in high school.  What do you think?  Ballerina or hurdler?

I think this one says hurdler.

Here, she has a bit more grace, so she's more of a ballerina.

Ballerina pirouette?

Hurdler . . . or maybe the long jump?

I don't think this picture says either, except maybe, "Help me! I'm falling!"

Definitely ballerina in this picture.  Or possibly circus performer.

What's your verdict?  Ballerina, hurdler, gifted athlete?
Hunter
(jealous due to my two former ACL surgeries  [sigh])

Our Resident Gardener

Daddy loves trying to grow food here at home.  We have tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, zucchini, grapes, blueberries, and peaches.  I'm sure if Mommy would turn over more of the yard to Daddy, he would have a full garden out there.  But we all know who's home in the summer and whose responsibility that would become, so it's NOT happening!  Some of our plants are more successful than others.  We can't seem to be rid of a fungus on our peaches, but we get closer to edible fruit every year.  This is our first year for zucchini, so it's touch and go right now.  Considering Mommy has made grape jelly for two years straight, the grapes are our most successful plant.  But some of this success or failure depends on one little fifty-pound factor . . .

JENNA!!!

Are you taking bets that cayenne pepper is going to find its way onto a few more items in our yard?

Woof of July!

Happy WOOF of July!!!  

If you look closely, you'll see Mommy used the semi-repaired flag destroyed by Jenna on Memorial Day!  She figured it was best not to risk another flag!  We hope you have a great day full of hamburgers, hotdawgs, ice cream, fireworks, and so much more!  

Hunter, Dixie & Jenna

Left Behind

We really don't know what it is about our parents traveling, but every time it happens we are left behind.   Why?   We make great traveling companions.  Well, Dixie does at least.  Jenna is untested.  This past weekend, Mommy and Daddy traveled to the Charlottesville, Virginia area.  They had a great time apparently.  We wouldn't know first hand.  We can only take their word for it.

They spent an afternoon touring Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello.  While waiting in line for their tour to begin, a very nice couple offered their Behind the Scenes tickets to our parents.   The other couple said they didn't have time in their schedule for the longer tour.   Mommy was SUPER excited.  She wanted to take that tour, but kept waiting around to buy them online and when she finally made her move, they were sold out for the day!  She was very bummed out and had to purchase the regular tour instead.  Daddy told the man about Mommy's dilemma and offered to pay the difference, but the man wouldn't take a penny for them.  It was a great tour and included floors the general public doesn't usually see.  Mommy said she would recommend this tour to anyone planning a visit to Monticello.  When we asked about Jefferson's pets, our parents had no response.  They hadn't bothered to ask if TJ had any pets!  Can you believe they forgot about us?  [sigh]  Out of sight, out of mind!

We believe you'll agree that when you see the cabin our parents stayed in, you'll know they should have taken us with them.  This place is just asking for a few good dawgs to run around.  Mommy said it was nicer on the inside than it looks, and we might have messed up the hardwood floors.  She did admit the king size bed probably had room for all of us at once!  There were even squirrels just waiting to be chased!

Daddy really wanted to go fly fishing again, so every effort was made to make it happen for him.  Unfortunately, the river where they planned to go received about five inches of rain in the hour before their scheduled time and made for very muddy, fast, streams.  Instead, our parents had to settle for using fly rods in a pond.  It was a lovely pond, but not quite the same.  On the bright side, both Mommy and Daddy both caught fish!  If we had been there, we could have helped catch fish, ducks, maybe even geese?

They finished off the weekend by stopping at Luray Caverns.  They had a good time, but would have had a better time minus about ten kids and their sets of parents.  This is NOT a place to take your children below the age of say seven, eight, maybe twelve???  If your kids can't keep their hands off the stalactites and stalagmites, then they need to stay home.  (Not to mention, crying, whining, running, etc.)  The teacher in Mommy was about to go nuts; the impatience in Daddy was about to do worse!  We are sure we would have been better behaved than most of the children on our parents' tour.  Mommy actually asked if she could let others go in front of her and Daddy so they could go on another tour, but was told no.

They are home now and so are we.  We also had a weekend away at our favorite kennel.  We say it's our favorite, but really, there's no place like home!

Hunter, Dixie & Jenna