Sunday, December 28, 2008

Ho Hum

I actually bore myself with these wintertime entries, but the show must go on.

By the way, I hope all husbands stayed out of the doghouse this Christmas (thanks, Toni).


Let's talk about my dog, Sadie, who has been climbing the walls due to cabin fever. She spends her time hauling a nasty, saliva-soaked rope-toy back and forth from Cliff to me, laying it in our laps and then stepping back briskly, staring at us in hopes one of us will either toss it or have a tug-of-war with her.

Cliff and I have been pretty faithful in taking our daily walks, but yesterday the weather was too extreme. Going up and down slick hillsides in pouring-down rain isn't safe for a couple of old codgers like us. Try explaining that to Sadie, though. She doesn't get it. Our walk is the highlight of her day. She lives for that walk.


Back at the old house, I kept Sadie on a leash when I took her out, because any time she saw another dog (they run freely in this neighborhood) she was off like a shot, and might not show up again for an hour. Until she returned I'd be frantic with worry, since we live a few hundred feet from the highway where my last dog was hit by a car and killed.

Now that we're farther away from the road, I don't use the leash; I let her out, she does her business, and then comes back to the door. Well, at least 99% of the time she does. It's the 1% that drives me crazy.

Last night when I let her out, she glanced over toward where our nearest dog-neighbors live and was off like a shot into the darkness, with me calling after her in vain.
About a half-hour later she came slinking back, tail tucked, head hanging in shame because she knew she'd been bad. I sent her off to her bed, which I moved far away from its usual spot beside my bed. Because I didn't want to look at her for awhile. This morning, of course, she and I are on speaking terms again.

Sadie has way too much energy to be cooped up in a house with a couple in their sixties. She sheds enough fine, short hair to make a new dog once a week. But she's my dog, and I love her. Let's see, she's a medium-sized dog in good health: I figure I have her for at least ten more years; let's face it, she could very easily outlive me!

But if I should outlast Sadie, my next dog will be smaller, and of a non-shedding variety. I'm already studying the various breeds. I really don't care for poodles, they seem uppity to me... although a poodle mix might work.


I recently learned through my blog-reading that Yorkies don't shed, which surprised me; but Mr. Google confirmed the fact. Cliff's brother, Warren, had a Yorkie he dearly loved that was actually with him when he died.
On the positive side, they're cute little feisty dogs, and seem very bright. However, I've been told they have sensitive stomachs and are sometimes hard to house-break.

I continue to ponder the situation as I sweep and vacuum handfuls of dog hair from my floors. Only ten more years to go, more or less.


Thank the good Lord for my Dyson.


14 comments:

  1. Glad you and Sadie are on speaking terms again! lol! Don't you just hate it when they do that though! I don't let my two cats out at night as we have all sorts of wild animals out back but occasionally one of them will sneak out and I am out there with the flashlight calling and hunting for them to no avail. I could wring their necks when they do that but then are so thankful when they show up in one piece!

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  2. Phhhhhhtttt! on the dog hair. I have a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. They have -2- coats. An under and an outer-- which both shed. I laugh and tell people that corgi hair is an addition to your wardrobe ;p Still, we love her dearly and I just try to brush her and vacuum often.

    Yorkies are adorable... and I have seen very smart ones and others not so smart. Just be sure to meet the parents and maybe some other pups they have had. If the parents/older siblings seem smart, then your chances are better... although they are all individuals and there are never any guarantees LOL! But, good genes are always a plus!

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  3. I sweep or vacuum everyother day...otherwise i have doghair dust bunnies the size of bowling balls....my 2 have made a race track thru the greatroom, over the bed in the guestroom, then back thru the greatroom and up on the bed in the master bedroom....only to be repeated over and over and over ...unless food is being prepared in the kitchen...then they become my suce-chiefs.....Lord, please let the weather clear soon!!!!

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  4. hehehe on the dog hair, i could dust mop every day & there'd still be hair every where! 3 dogs are way too many, esp for an older person in my health. but i love them sooo much, can't imagine a day without them, my furr babies.
    the older two, won't be with me more than a couple more yrs probably, but the younger has 10-15 more to go. i cringe when i think of them leaving me.
    huggies...

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  5. We had to give up having a dog when we moved back here for retirement as we're not able to provide the exercise a dog needs, especially in winter. We have a herd of 'inside only' cats that keep our 'shed hair' coffers full. Ours can't go out due mostly to the owls, foxes, and other 'kitty snack lovers' in our backyard.

    Meeting a Yorkie's kin is a MUST DO prior to bringing one home. They seem to be all over the place in temperment.

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  6. I'd like to have that dog hair back again. It's a little lonely here at my house with only my old dirty bird and her/his ??? feathers to clean up now. Having senior pets meant loosing my cat and my dog this year. I still have the dyson. It does wonders for the hair by the way. When I retire, I'll probably get another dog, but not right now. A friend of mine has a Yorkie named Dickens and the name fits him to a tee. I really don't know what I'll have next. My pets have always found me somehow and I never had to look very hard at all. 'On Ya'-ma

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  7. My son's dog is a Miniature Schnauzer and she does not shed at all. She's 15lbs and is very smart. That's what I want if I ever get a doggie. Poor Sadie, cabin fever is awful.
    Have a good day!

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  8. Sadie looks so cute laying there looking at you like that. They can worry us at times but them make up for it with the love they show us. Ours has really been tearing the fiber fill stuffing out of their toys. Helen

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  9. Scampi is an Italian Greyhound and barely sheds. He also has no tolerance for cold and needs a coat for outside. Summer is not so good either. Heat will do him in. They are smart dogs. The problem is they are pricey! If he had not been a throwaway I would not have him.

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  10. Sadie seems like a good dog. Too bad she can't run around like she wants. Maybe you can put up a run or a fenced area for her..

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  11. I bet it is hard on Sadie being cooped up, but I like you wouldn't want to be out in that kind of weather. Just hang on....Spring is a coming.....

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  12. Tugie said to tell you that she is not "uppity"....just very loyal and sweet to her owner. lol She said to tell you that the owner of a poodle gets to choose if they are uppity or not.
    Just passing on her sentiments. lol

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  13. "The green skirt polka" Frieda says was our second heavy date, a dinner-dance, we dance to that song all night. The most meaning full song to both us describing our earlier feelings it was written and preform after our marriage fact.
    By the carpenters online included "a kiss for luck and we were on our way"
    You mentioned Captain Kangaroo. On those winter days when my winter starts were say a might slower, I'd sit on the floor with my children enjoying the Captain, Mr. Greenjeans, and guest artist Crystal Gale with her guitar also sitting on the floor singing her ballads for us children of all ages.

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  14. I CAN JUST SEE THE "BAD-DOG" slinking in ...
    DOGS: I have had many breeds; I used to raise dogs.
    My absolute favorites are POODLES! I had the toy poodles, always said that despite their fancy hair-doos ... poodles are definately NOT sissies.
    Poodles were originally hunting dogs. The Standards are quite large, the Miniatures are cocker-spaniel size. I had the Toys; they were all outdoors dogs.
    They are smart ... yes ... often opinionated ... loyal (sometimes zealous) watch-dogs.
    As with all dogs, you will find geniuses, show-offs, & ditzes.
    THEY ABSOLUTELY DO NOT SHED! PEOPLE WHO ARE ALERGIC TO DOGS HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH POODLES.
    EVEN ABOVE MY GERMAN SHEPHARDS ... I LOVE TOY POODLES!

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