A LITTLE BLONDE

Woof, woof.

Something has happened that’s worse than cats, or coons—a skinny little blonde has moved in. Well, maybe she isn’t exactly a blonde. Her hair is as white as my lady’s,

My lady and I got dizzy watching her galloping all over the house.

She went to my bowl and took a few bites and lapped up a little water, so I decided she wouldn’t be a threat to my livelihood and left her alone. That was a big mistake. Now that she feels more at home here, she empties that food bowl every thirty minutes. Now you ladies out there know what that means!

 Of course in my opinion, she could use a little more covering over those bones, and I expect my lady will tend to that.  She’s already taught her to stand back and not crowd when she putting food in our bowl. Did I jAust say ‘our’ bowl?
 I feel a little sorry for her—she’s just a youngster not even a year old yet, and got dumped out on her own. Well she’s got a lot to learn about this old world, and she could start by learning a few rules about living with my lady.  Yep, she got in bad trouble, and has temporary quarters on the front porch —with her own food bowl, I’m happy to see. I hated to hear her cry but she'll have to learn, so I just put my head under a thick pillow. The first night she was here, I shared a couple of my pillows, and I didn’t mind—it was a relief to have the wiggly little thing still.  But the next morning when I was settling down for my morning nap, she jumped up in my face, and I had to discipline her. She learns quick—she hasn’t tried to share my bed since. Maybe I spoke to harshly, but an old fellow like me needs his naps.
Today she had her first lesson in behavior. A friend of mine took her walking with a lease. At first she fought and struggled like a fish on a line. Didn't do her any good. I tried to tell her.  I think she kind of enjoyed it, but she didn't want to leave my lady.

My friend thinks this is what she does when she tells her to sit! Huh! That is what she does when you so much as look at her.  Say 'roll over'  and you can be sure she'll roll over, Of course if you don't say anything  she'l still roll over. I get exhausted just watching her.Did I tell you that she has pretty wavy hair.? Surely some of you knows some one who need a smart little girl like this. She'll grow up to be a nice loving companion just like me. Send me an email. Having around doesn't bother me, but she's too feisty for my lady, and I gotta take car of her.

Woof,
Dandy

Dandy's Yogg––A Rough Week Already

Woof, woof. It’s only Wednesday and it has been a rough week already.  Monday I got shots. I thought I was going for a nice ride. Yeah, I rode, all right–right up to the vet’s office and here they come with that “nice Doggie” talk and a needle! 

Then yesterday I sneaked out when My Lady opened the door to look out. Well I paid for that! She didn’t notice I was gone. I scratched on the door and I scratched again and again, hoping that door would open like it sometimes does, and I could sneak in again. I could’ve barked but you know how it is when you’ve been naughty–you hope things work out so it won’t be noticed!

Well, my door scratching finally got My Lady’s attention and she opened the door. That was one surprised person, I can tell you.  She just stared at me, so I ran over to my water bowl and then got in my bed and was real quiet. I think she has it all figured out now, but for a while that was one puzzled lady.

Last night was the worst of all. She sits on my couch and I can see that brush and scissors in her hands. That means trouble, folks! I’m a longhaired fellow and have short legs besides. That a bad mix when I’m out trailing the recent varmints that have visited My Lady’s yard. You see, it’s covered with burr clover gone to seed.

No matter how hard I squirmed and how loud I yelped, she wouldn’t turn me loose. All that “nice Doggie” stuff didn’t impress me one bit. That was cruelty to an animal, and if I didn’t like her so much I’d report her. Decided I’d just sulk instead.

Then she gives me a treat–the hardest, toughest think I’ve ever had in my mouth. Delicious, though. She followed that with a dog biscuit and I thought I’d just save it for a while. Have you ever tried burying a treat in a place with a rock floor? When I head for the little planter box, I get yelled at. If I try to move the sofa pillows, I get yelled at again. After I pretended to give up and go to sleep she forgot about me and I put my treat in my special place between the cushions and the sofa back.

It’s still there this morning but I didn’t have a chance to enjoy it. I got an invitation for another car ride. Now, that’s something I can’t resist. Say “car” and I’m at the door in a split second. This one ended at the groomer’s, so you can imagine what I had to go through to get this new look.  When it was all done and they put me in that crate thing to wait for my ride home, I told them exactly what I thought. I reckon she has had enough practice with dogs that she understood every bark ‘cause she picked up the phone and says “I think he wants to go home, now.” She thinks? Huh!

So here I am–the new me. I've been shot, bathed clipped, dipped, and perfumed.  

And please, don't even think about offering me another car trip this week.

Woof!

Dandy's Yogg

Woof, woof!
 Now, you folks who know me, know I'm not at all vain, but facts are facts. I'm a good guard dog and I take good care of My Lady. And I don't look too bad, either. The trouble is, a dog  needs a little help now and then, if he's going to look his best. And I was needing help, big time. My hair was growing faster than the weeds in My Lady's yard. It was dragging those weeds and the burr clover was in bloom. That meant bad trouble in the near future. A trip to the groomer was in order.

That was not a good day. My friend took me and things didn't go right from the very first minute. They were a bit persnickety about puddling on their floor. Now this is a place for dogs, right? Did they provide a public puddle facility? There ought to be a law!

Well, I didn't exactly have an appointment––just a promise to be worked in. I guess they took one look at all my long hair and took a long lunch break, hoping I'd go away, 'cause it was four hours later before I got back to my house. I expect a great part of that time was spent on the slick trim I got.

If all that wasn't bad enough, when I finally got home, My Lady wasn't there to greet me. That was upsetting. That was very upsetting. I stay home when she goes away. When she returns, I'm at the door to greet her and I run around and tell her how glad I am that's she's home. I get my favorite toy out for her to play with. I talk my dog talk to her so she'll laugh. All that, and she wasn't there for me. I came home to an empty house. She has't  heard the last of this, that's for sure.

Would I pout? Of course not! I just ignore. I'm a pro at ignoring. I just lay in my bed and don't move––not even a twitch of an eyelash. You ought to hear all the goings-on when I do that. Whoo-ee, it's comical.

Of course, My Lady can't stand that, so she uses her "treat" trick and I give in. I'm not stupid, you know.

Sometime I bury my treats but not today. It takes a lot of energy to bury anything in a house with a rock floor. My Lady gets a little upset when I try out the sofa pillows, but I've found a place in a little indoor planter. Trouble is, I can't get her plants back the way she had them, so I get the bad dog treatment when she finds them lying out on the floor. Sometimes saving is not a good idea.

There's times when being a dog gets tough. No public puddlers, rules about where a fellow can bury his treats, and not even a mirror to look in while the groomer is working you over. I might have had a suggestion or two. Just look at that shine. Isn't that a slick cut?

Well, it's been a bit tiresome around here so the news can wait. I'll just take a nap.

Woof!

Dandy

Dandy's guard duty

Woof,woof, everybody.

 It's not easy to get my paws on this contraption nowadays. Seems like My Lady is holding it in her lap day and night. Well, now that I have a chance, let me tell you about my troubles.

I have a problem with My Lady. She’s nice enough, in general––well actually, I like her a lot, but personally I think she’s a little dumb.

Here I am, the best guard dog she’s ever had, and she keeps me on this, bark ,bark, bark, leash. Sorry about the cussing, but I get a little exasperated at times. 

Last week, for example, I was at my window lookout, and the neighbor’s big fat cat jumped up in the birdbath right outside my window. I barked and barked, but all My Lady did, was pat me a little and went back to this thing she calls a laptop, and didn’t let me out to clear the yard of this trespasser.

Oh well, it was just a cat, and I guess he heard me barking, ‘cause he left and hasn’t been back. Sometimes I miss those cats that once lived here.  I had a lot of fun scattering that bunch, especially that hateful black one that always bowed up every time I walked by.

Today I was outside––on a long leash, of course––there was a deer coming out of the brush, down close to my rock wall.  Well, of course, I didn’t want that thing coming up in my yard, so I barked a warning, but all it did was waggled those big ears and kept walking.

What happened next is hard to believe. Despite my warning, deer kept strolling out of that brush, until there were six of those big-eared dummies. Well, I barked and barked, but all they did was flop those ears a few times and look in my direction. They must not see very well, because I know if they’d seen who was on guard, they’d turned tail and left in a hurry.

Well, I barked until I was hoarse, and those critters finally decided to leave, but not in the big leaps I would have preferred.

After they were gone, my Lady unhooked my leash. Now  she unleashes me? Kinda dumb, wouldn’t you agree?  I could’ve saved myself a lot of barking, if she’d just wake up to the real world, and let me tend to things.

It makes a fellow want to retire from this watchdog business.

Woof, woof

Dandy

Dandy's Yogg

Neglect


     My Lady  borrowed this from a dog lover's post on FaceBook:
 "He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dogl You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." 
     Now, I had never before given much serious thought to a dog's life, but the quote above seems to be pretty descriptive of what we want to be. 
     I know that as an inside dog, I am one of the fortunate ones but I hear daily warning about the extreme heat being dangerous for all of us. Some are being left in locked cars and almost die before they are rescued.  Others are dying daily from lack of water or other neglect. These instances are seldom newsworthy. We're only dogs!
      Sometimes we get left behind when the family moves and no longer want the bother or expense of keeping a dog...or cat. I hate to admit this, but I've never known a cat to be helplessly kept in a back yard as dogs often are.  They are escape artists. How sad and how unfortunate that we much more intelligent (ahem)  dogs don't have the same skill. 

   

A well cared for and loved cat.

When I was new to this house, I was
 not sure I should be up here.

Checking out my surroundings. I think
I will like it here.

     A recent happening passed on from a North Texas resident, has My Lady upset. She says it is heartbreaking and I agree. It seems that a small dog was tied with a short leash that allow it to rest in the morning shade, but did not allow it to escape the hot afternoon sun. Day after day its water bowl was empty and was filled by compassant neighbors. The little fellow always greeted them with happy barking but he may not have been getting food or the heat may have been weakening him, for his barks became whines and then he was found dead. 

Another well-loved dog. but she's
a bit fiesty for an old fellow like
myself.

    Woof! That's a bad thing. I think someone should have reminded that dog's owner of what was happening. Maybe the police should have been notified. I have heard that there is a Humane Society that helps when animals have such bad troubles.

     My Lady keeps raving about "responsibility." I don't have a large vocubulary, but from the way she says it, I've decided it's a good word: Responsibility...  It has a nice sound, doesn't it? I think better things happen when there is responsibility.

     

     My Lady says to mention that three "C" words describe neglect: Cruel, Callous, and Criminal.

Being patient with my friends'
foolishness

Woof, Woof!
Dandy

Dandy'Yogg

Coon Trouble

     It’s mighty hard for a guard dog like myself to stay out of trouble if your people don’t appreciate what you’re doing! I’m doing my best to keep this persistent coon off My Lady’s porch but he keeps coming back. My Lady even put a long stick by the door to whack him with if he didn’t scat so I think she will be on my side if this ever gets serious.

I'm watching

      One evening she opened the door and that arrogant fellow just stood on his hind legs and looked at her. He knew he’d better leave the country when she picked up a stick. He looked rather impressive, though, all stretched up like that. I may need to rethink my strategy.  Anyway, since that first night when I let loose with my really big, get out of my yard, bark, I’ve enjoyed exercising my lungs, but My Lady seems to get annoyed at times. Especially when I start clawing the window glass while I’m barking. When she says hush she seems to think I should be quiet. Me? With that ring-tailed trespasser outside my window? Seem as though I get in trouble ‘most every night and have to spend time in my ‘bad dog ‘ spot on the sofa.

     I’m not real sure what she thought that night I heard something at the front of the house and sounded my alarm. That it was 2:00 in the morning and that I was looking directly at the door to the hall appeared to be a trifle upsetting to My Lady but she behaved very well and we both went back to sleep….after she locked the door. She patted me a lot so I didn’t get any ‘bad dog’ treatment that time.

I try so hard to make folks
understand

     I have two great places My Lady has fixed just for me, so I can watch outside: one by the back where that coon keeps coming, and one by a front window so I can watch cars on the street and visitors parking and lots of other interesting things.

      Yesterday she kept pointing and saying “Fox” and I finally spotted this kinda skinny fellow running around outside, He didn’t try to come up on the porch or get bossy with the cats so I didn’t see any reason to get excited about him.  He finally left and I didn’t even need to bark.

     I guess everything is fairly well under control around here. I almost slipped out the door tonight while My Lady was threatening that coon with her stick and could’ve caused some excitement! Don’t know which would have been worse … tackling that coon or living with My Lady after doing a bad thing.

Such is a dog’s life!

Kittens & Coons

Woof, Woof.    

        Just when I thought it was getting dull around here I heard a lot of squeaky stuff on the back porch that I couldn’t see but I looked hard as I could out the back window. I could hardly wait! When My Lady finally got around to taking me for a walk I gave that porch a real search and I found four little squeaky things. I brought one out to show off but I had to put it down double quick. My Lady said it was a baby cat, but it doesn’t look much like one.  I’d like to bring one inside to play with, but My Lady nixed that idea immediately. The Momma cat didn’t seem at all bothered  by my attention.even care.

     Those cats act as though they like me. Maybe I’m something warm to rub against. That may be what it is. They rub on me all the time…except for those two black and white ones. What’s going on with those uppity felines, anyway? Every time I’m out they try to pick a fight. You know I’m a peaceful fellow, but if they’re going to hiss and show their claws, I can still show them who this yard belongs too. After all, they’re just strays. My Lady asked for me!

     Well, now the little kittens are gone. I still look for them. I hope nothing bad happened but I’ll keep watching.

      But tonight! Oh boy, what happened tonight! I heard something that didn’t sound exactly right outside on my porch where My Lady feeds that herd of cats so I looked out and there was this huge animal with black rings around its eyes. It looked a lot like My Lady looked for about three weeks (still does some, but I don’t let her know I think so) This old fellow was trying to sneak up on the cat food and I didn’t like that a bit so I brought up my biggest and loudest bark and away he went.

Being good is sometimes dull

     I was sort of surprised at how loud I was and My Lady certainly was. She knew I talked a lot and used a lot of wimpy barking but this was my “Get your tail out of here “ bark. It worked, too, but that varmint kept coming back. Finally My Lady put my leash on and I knew the fun was over so I jumped into my bed. What else could  do? I sure didn’t want any more of that “bad dog” name-calling. I think she liked my loud barking, anyway. I showed her what I could do if it was necessary. 

      Meanwhile, since I’m not going to get to go outside, I’ll  have pleasant dreams about chasing that fellow into somebody else’s yard.

     Yep. that bundle of contentment up there in that pics on the left is me. I hadn't told you that  some of the pack took me down for a grooming, had?. 

Dandy's Yogg

A bad month

                              Woff, Woof!

     Things were going rather smoothly around here, My Lady was shaping up rather nicely to a dog’s ways, I was allowed to clear the doorway of cats if I wished, and somehow, I escaped getting a bath. Well, then My Lady got really busy with this contraption and was getting rather contrary: THEN one morning she had company and left with them….Early!  My Lady does not do early so I thought this was very strange.

      I waited and waited for her to come back but she didn’t. Other pack members came by and took me for walks and put out feed but they couldn’t talk dog talk so there I was, all alone and I didn’t know why. I really liked My Lady and I was pretty sure she liked me so this was a real puzzle.

     Well, two days and nights later she came back….kinda. It sounded like her but, whoo-ee, what a change! She looked a lot like one of my coon toys! And she was creeping around the house holding to things. There was a lot of confusion and people and telephoning and such, so I just went over to my spot and watched it all. I didn’t like this new development one tiny bit!

     I’ve done my very best to communicate my concerns to some of the pack. I’ve used every tone of yowl that I know and all the body language I have but they still don’t understand. They’re nice and sympathetic and they’re nice to My Lady so I guess I’ll just have to do my part and worry a lot.

     I talked her in to taking me out this morning and we sat a while in the sun. Those pesky neighbor dog came rushing over in My yard barking like they wanted to attack us both, but I just ignored them. I had My Lady to take care of and she told them to go so that was that. Some day I plan to try out my Bull Dog fangs on those pests. They need to be taught about property rights. 

I'm watching.

     Did you know that I suspect Bulldog ancestors? Of course the Dandie Denmont Terrior line is what I’m proud of and this Bulldog  linage does mess up my normally handsome face, but a touch of Bulldog might come in handy. We’ll see!

     Anyway, I stayed close to My Lady and just enjoyed the sun and wind and when she stood up I just trotted slowly to the front door and she followed. I think that I need to be careful with her. Something isn’t quite right and now she’s my responsibility. You betcha!

I heard something!

My Lady left this on this box and you might find it 
interesting. Of course, she's  prejudiced and I'm glad! But it is kinda interesting.
http://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/dandie-dinmont-terrier

Dandy's Yogg-

A New Year's Eve visit


Woof! Woof!

      During all those days with snow on the ground and with nothing to do except to look out the window and take naps, I got to thinking how nice it is to have company. That got me to thinking about what happened New Year's Eve.

     I’m a quiet kind of guy so I’m content with taking walks and naps, and talking My Lady into playing a game of tug-of-war with one of my toys, but when New Year’s Eve came, it was nice to have two of our regular visitors come to visit, but it wasn’t such a nice surprise to see a squirmy little girl dog rushing in the door. She was going in five directions at once and sniffing me    and barking like crazy. 

     Well, of course, I barked back and tugged at my leash so I could better handle this situation, but My Lady held me tight. This little newcomer must have been named Rosie, for that sure was yelled a lot.  Finally I got tired of the whole situation and went to my chair by the window. I couldn’t look out though, because if I turned my back on this Rosie dog she’d try to jump there with me.

      Oh, it made me tired to watch her run around, wiggling all the time and sniffing at everything. I left my chair a time of two but here Rosie would come, barking and kissing my nose in a most forward manner. I got plenty tired of it and when I’ve had enough, I’m through, so for the first time in my new home, I rolled m lip back and did a snarl that should have delivered a strong message.

         Well, that snarl and several more, didn’t impress that Rosie one little bit. I guess she was wiggling to much to get the message so finally when she crowded me again, I really got serious because I was ready to take a piece of hide. You can imagine how that went over with My Lady! She took me to my place in the corner of the sofa and told me to stay.

.

It was nice that she petted me a little and rubbed my favorite spot under my chin so I didn’t feel to badly about being an ungracious host but I sure didn’t like what that Rosie dog did next. She jumped up in My Lady’s lap and kept squirming around so I would be sure and notice her. I wish My Lady had dumped her out on the floor on her little wiggly rear!

     It was nice when midnight rolled around and Rosie went her way and I went mine and we settled down for the night.

 Things were much better the next morning and I managed to sneak over and eat Rosie’s food and drink her water. That made my day! 

      Well, you can imagine how boring this week has been, to make me wish for another visit from Rosie but I guess it wouldn't have been long before all that running and wiggling would have had me hunting for a place to hide. 

Woof!

Dandy

The Ice.

Woof, Woof!

These last two days have been rather trying, and I expect I’d better tell you my version of what happened, before My Lady decides to tell tales.

I was surprised yesterday when I bounded out the door in my usual fashion and my feet landed in this cold white stuff that was on the porch. Well that made me slow down, I can tell you! 

Airmail on a nicer day

 I always enjoy going to the end of the sidewalk. That’s where I stop and I sniff the air in three directions. My Lady says that I am reading the airmail.  That first step off the porch landed me in belly-deep snow, so I just turned around and headed back to the door where My Lady waited. The airmail could wait and that brief dip in the white stuff left my belly kinda shivery. Later I was allowed to go outside without the leash. Of course it didn’t take a genus to know that I wasn’t going to run off in all that white stuff. Later,I sneaked out again while My Lady was picking up wood. That was not the smartest idea I’ve ever had, but it sure was fun watching those cats hunt a hiding place. Still, I remembered the time once before, that had me mediating in my quiet corner for hours, so when she really yelled in that certain tone of voice, I scooted for that door pretty fast. I guess I was lucky to escape a whack with one of those sticks of wood!

It turned into a long afternoon. We couldn’t go get the mail, we couldn’t go shopping and that long cord to allow me to meander around the yard was buried three inches below the snow.  Anyway, I finally got so bored that I couldn’t stand it any longer so I begged and begged until My Lady consented to take me out again.

Now the moment we went out the door I spotted this piece of bread lying on the porch. Now to my way of thinking, that was an unexpected trophy, even if I don’t like bread. Well, I grabbed tha bread and away I went down the length of the porch. Okay, okay, I knew it belonged to the cats! That made grabbing it even more fun. Anyway, I was moving along fast, when I met a cat, so I did what my instincts told me, and I turned to chase that fellow.

 That’s when it happened!  I’m a little embarrassed to tell you that when I wheeled around, my feet lost traction and I did a belly flop right there on a patch of ice.  Oh my! My feet went every which way and I just wiggled along on my underside until I reached a dry spot. By that time the cat was out of sight so I very carefully turned and picked up my bread and continued on my way.

Of course, a trophy is meant to be saved, so I found a likely spot in the snow and started digging. That turned out to be a poor choice, so I moved to another spot which turned out to be perfect. Digging a hole in soft snow should be easy, but it wasn’t. The hole kept filling up with more snow but I finally got a decent hole and dropped that piece of bread in it.  I’d had enough of digging with my poor cold paws, so I just used my nose to start nudging enough snow over to cover my prize. That took a while and my nose got cold. When I was through I could feel snow all over my face. I think I heard My Lady snicker, but I just ignored her and headed for the door.

Now that it’s dark I’m ready for a long nap , It really hasn’t been such a bad day, considering that I got to chase a few cats and didn’t get scolded and, and I snitched a piece of cat-bread and got it buried, and have had a nice fire to lye by most of the day.

Woof.

Dandy

NOTE:  Always have a camera at hand when around the animals. The burying of that slice of bread was  hilarious! 

Mr. Dandie Dinmont

Woof, Woof.

All Right! You can make a note of this day, because I’ve established myself as a lean, mean, cat-chasing machine.  I know what every body has been saying: “Just wait until one of those cats gets serious about standing and fighting! That’s when we’ll learn who’s boss!”

Today was the day. At feeding time one of those silly, overeager felines rushed into the house for some reason. Silly thing has never been fed in the house. Well, here I was, staying just as I had been told, and this big boy comes rushing by. Now, he wasn’t supposed to be in my house so I went after him, just to remind him, you know, and there he was in a corner!

I’ll admit that he put up a good fight before he streaked past me and joined his buddies who were yowling around My Lady who’d forgotten to empty her dish of food into their pan! I guess she just couldn’t tear herself away from the disciplinary action going on inside.

It ended quite well, I thought. There’s no sign of damage and maybe that tabby learned that it takes a lot more than a puffed up tail and a few claws to come out a winner a fellow with a Dandie Dinmont heritage.  You betcha!

Here’s a photo of two of my distant (very distant) kin, all duded up.  He doesn’t look like he’s done any hard work lately does it? On the other hand, I’ve heard that in show biz, it takes a lot of hard work to become a winner. This other guy doesn’t look at all happy. I guess he needs some cats to chase.

I’m not exactly into this genealogy stuff, but there is sure a lot of good stuff about my family background on the Internet.  It’ll make a fellow proud.  OOPS!  Willful? Does that mean I’m hard headed?