Here We Go Again

When I found a baby mouse inside the 25 lb bag of dog food I knew it wasn't good. The mouse didn't come with the bag of dog food...like a bonus. I believe it's arrival means I have a mouse problem in my house...again. There is no such thing as one baby mouse showing up in your house. It's much more likely that this one fell in the bag, couldn't get out, and it's siblings ditched her and took off. (much like my own siblings used to do to me when I was young).

Nicki loved the other mouse I had for about 4 years. This is Nicki eyeing the new mouse. Nick used to wander upstairs as often as possible to get a sniff of her. I don't think she ever really knew what it was but she sure was interested.
Unfortunately this mouse didn't make it. She was in really rough shape when I found her in the bag and I mistakenly thought she was just really exhausted from trying to get out of the bag. My guess is that either she was in that bag longer than I thought and was too dehydrated to recover or she actually ate some of the dog food and it swelled enough in her little belly to kill her. I will never know, but I do feel bad about it. I don't especially want to have baby mice running around my house but when I find them I do everything I can to contain them until they are old enough to be released in the field across the street.

I had just returned from a shopping trip to buy a better mouse house...one they can't get out of...no plastic. I remember one of the other ones hanging onto the top and chewing his way out. I didn't want a repeat of that. So....if more show up I now have a pretty good house to keep them in and plenty of food.
Something tells me its going to be a long winter.....

Bell At Scantic River State Park

Being a naturally suspicious dog, I thought for sure Bell was never going to even consider walking across this little bridge. But she surprised me. She looked it over; sniffed it a bit; gave it the old stink eye and decided it would do!

But she did turn around again to give it an extra sniff just to be sure. Such a brave dog!

Of course when we got to this part she said hell no and walked along side of it right through the water. Can't blame her...I didn't want to walk across it either!

 

 

Old Place, New Sights

We went here....

 

 

And we saw this....

 

And then we couldn't agree on which way to go from there!

 

When Will It End??

Only a couple of days before I told a friend that my dogs don't really chew on stuff anymore. They are good girls....worthy of my trust. So I left them loose while I went to the store. I was gone oh, maybe a half hour....certainly not more than that.
 

And when I returned it was to find that Bell had completely chewed up and evenly distributed through out the house...a branch of one of my plants and the leaves that were on it.

Way to go Bell! You just lost your wandering free privileges!

One More Reason...

One more reason why I don't like monkeys!



I'm sure this is all photo shop (if it's not, please don't tell me!) but seeing it doesn't make me think awwww that's so cute and clever. It makes me think ewwwwww I don't like normal monkeys and this one is NOT normal!
I know....you're shocked. How can an animal lover like me not like monkeys? I honestly don't know. I like everything from mice to pelicans...from salamanders to unicorns. But I don't like monkeys. They really and truly creep me out and I can't even tell you why.

Oh and for the record...Nicki and Bell don't like monkeys either. :)

Yardwork With Hounds

I woke to a beautiful morning full of sunshine and warm breezes! I'm going to work in the yard today and I am going to bring the two hounds outside to enjoy the day while I work.
I am a foolish woman.

1. Bring both dogs outside and hook to the yard runs.

2. Untangle dogs from yard runs and return inside to get water bowl for them.

3. Put full water bowl down carefully. Untangle dogs from yard runs again.

4. Refill water dish and tell dogs to stop being crazy.

5. Untangle dogs from yard runs. Go get large lawn bin for yard debris.

6. Stop one dog from eating sticks. Take front foot off of overturned water dish.

7. Refill water dish. Tell dogs to cut it out!

8. Start picking up small tree limbs and sticks, putting them in the lawn debris bin.

9. Stop one dog from digging a hole. Tell dog "no digging!”.

10. Stop other dog from eating large clumps of moss. Tell dog “no moss!”

11. Return to cleaning up the yard.

12. Untangle dogs from yard runs (again?!). Tell dogs you will NOT refill the water dish.

13. Watch dogs jump and spin for no reason then attack each other for fun.

14. Leave water dish upside down. Return to cleaning up the yard.

15. Stop one dog from eating dirt from large planter.

16. Notice other dog is wrapped tight to tree by yard run…snicker and return to work leaving dog pinned    to tree.

17. Begin work removing old stakes from the garden. Retrieve stakes from dogs mouth. Place back in pile.

18. Untangle second dog that is pinned to the tree. Tell her she is an idiot. Dogs tail continues to wag.

19. Wooden stakes are scattered across the yard by the other dog. Place back into one pile. Begin removing fencing from around the garden.

20. Stop dogs from barking non-stop at out of reach squirrel.

21. Untangle both mutts from yard runs!

22. Retrieve water bowl from nearby bush. Return to garden work.

23. Stop dogs from eating dead plants from the garden. Stare at dogs while dogs stare back.

24. Ask dogs: Why are you both so stupid? Dogs response: wag entire body happily while jumping in the air and giving out tiny yips of pleasure.

25. Acknowledge defeat; take dogs in the house...watching them track dirt across the clean carpet.

26. Pour a glass of wine and sit in favorite chair while dogs deposit mucky wet bones; tennis balls and squeaky toys in your lap.

Dog Park

I've been very nervous about taking my dogs to any dog park. Bell is great on her own but she's had a few times when dogs have gone for her for no reason. I think this has contributed to her overall fear of other dogs (unless they are smaller than her...in which case they are toys) and her general nervous behavior in unfamiliar situations.

She was my first choice to take to the new dog park in Enfield. I knew she at least wouldn't start a fight and I was hoping she would actually enjoy meeting other dogs. The first visit wasn't really great. She stayed near me or any other human she could find. Most of the dogs were fine with her; a sniff here a sniff there and they were on their way. The one exception was a small-ish black dog (forgot his name now) who seemed to sense that Bell was timid and made it his business to bother her at every chance he got. His owner was not really on the ball about dog behavior (no surprise there) and did nothing to stop him when he snapped at Bell's face and kept grabbing at her ears and feet. I was happy to see that Bell snapped back at him and gave him a curled lip when he came too near her but this was defeating the whole purpose of bringing her to the dog park. I wasn't there to watch my dog be intimidated. I found myself taking charge of the situation...because his owner wasn't.

I gave treats for good behavior to both dogs (and others that were just moochers) and the little black dog got my loud manly voice telling him NO and NO BITE when he tried grabbing Bell. I even resorted to grabbing him by the collar and telling him no. She did nothing. He decided he had to listen to me. Wise choice little dude.

On visits since then we haven't come across that dog again. I can't say I miss him. I've also added Nicki to the mix and even brought the two of them together. Nick is a trouble maker sometimes and Bell will join in if Nicki starts something so I have to keep a close watch. Bell is very good and likes running with other dogs. Nicki likes them if they are her size and seems to want to rough up some of the ones that are a little smaller than her. I guess that make Nicki a bully! But I don't allow it even if the other owners don't mind it. I jump to correct Nick as soon as she starts something...even if it's just barking at a dog. I know barking is probably just smack talk for dogs but I also know Nick will escalate it if not stopped. Somewhere along the way she decided it's ok to irritate other dogs and I don't know where she got that but I'm not having it. Luckily for me she stops immediately when reprimanded...and I do the same thing with her that I did with the snappy little black dog. I grab her collar; shake her neck and tell her NO! But she does get treats when she's being a good girl too. I don't want it all to be a negative experience.

Nick flat out refuses to share the water bowl with other dogs. I don't push that...I let her have her way on that one. I can't say I'd like to share a glass of water with people I don't know either. She will share with Bell and only Bell. That's good enough for me because I happen to know she won't share her food even with Bell at home. Bell gets a warning growl if she tries sticking her nose in Nick's dish. I don't blame her there either. :)