Thursday, December 27, 2007

Puppy kisses

Do you kiss your dog? I do. Especially Dax. There's something about Frenchie pulchritude that demands affection. So she gets it!
Roc is equally adorable, but doesn't really enjoy the attention. He'll put up with hugs, loves ear and chest scritches, but doesn't want to get kissed. It's almost like he's a human six-year-old boy saying "awwwww, mom!" He'll straighten his front leg and keep me at "arm's length."
Occasionally I'll respect his boundaries. But he's usually too irresistible!
My last Brussels Griffon, Whimsy, absolutely hated getting kissed on the top of his head. We let him have his way on the issue most of the time. But he was, possibly, the cutest dog ever in the history of the planet. (I'll have to scan a picture of him onto the computer - he was pre-digital photography.) And a friend of ours didn't understand why we let him get away with this particular foible. He'd even snarl if he saw lips approaching his forehead! (He never hurt anyone, just made nasty faces, which we laughed at.)
Our friend proclaimed that she'd never allow that sort of behavior. If she wanted to kiss her dog on top of his head - she'd do it! Then she got a dog. Who hates getting kissed on the top of his head. So I do it anyway.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Just a thought about celebrity

This morning I was watching "Regis and Kelly" while keeping an ear out for the municipal garbage truck. I wanted to give the garbage guys their Christmas present.
Brad Pitt was on - promoting his charity work in New Orleans.
It struck me as incredibly ironic that this man has the wealth and power to change the world because he's good at an incredibly trivial job.
I don't want to argue the value of the arts. I'm just saying that life is easier/better because Garbage Guys do their jobs.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Scratching our heads...

I got the results of Dax's blood tests back yesterday. She's perfect. Not fine, not okay, not even iffy. She's absolutely perfect.
So why is her fur falling out? Why is she always freezing? Why did she get snarky with her dog friends at class?
I'm planning to talk to a vet here who's into canine nutrition, holistic stuff, etc. She also does acupuncture, rehab, etc. I took Roc to play on her underwater treadmill when he had an issue this year.
If she doesn't have any suggestions for us, I'm planning to blame it all on Tessa.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Fun pics for the holidays!

Golly

Golly and MacDuff

Dax and Robbie


Ceilidh and her new favorite toy

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, all that good stuff!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Training and tagged!

Last night was Dax's and my first night at training in a while (vacation, flu, snowstorms - any excuse will do!) and I was surprised that she was a bit nervous at first. These are people and dogs she knows, in a place she knows. After we warmed up with a bit of heeling, Daxy seemed to relax a bit - until her buddy Buster (Cocker Spaniel) tried to horn in on her treats. My sweet little girl actually almost-snarled at him! Then she recognized who it was and settled - until her best-friend-in-the-world Ryder (Dobe) came up. And she snarled at him! I don't care how much she likes cheese - that behavior is not acceptable and won't be tolerated.
As she watched, from a "down, stay!" while Ryder and Buster got treats, her attitude adjusted nicely. I think we'll be going to training more regularly from now on.

Fuzzy Logic tagged me - 7 things that annoy me:

1: Shrieking children. Playing does not require sounds that make me wonder if I should call 911.

2: Drivers who can't decide which lane they're driving in.

3. Constant commercials for ED remedies. I was happy not knowing.

4. Spam. See #3.

5. Self-checkouts.

6. Self-righteousness.

7. Alarm clocks.

And 7 things that make me smile:

1. Seeing a friend's name on the caller ID.

2. My dogs.

3. Other people's dogs.

4. A bone-dry gin martini (tried North Shore Distiller's Gin?)

5. E-mail from friends

6. Watching Roc watch tv

7. Thinking about going to the Keys

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

This is Dax, happy and playful.
We haven't seen this Dax in a while. As a matter of fact, Dax is, more often than not, invisible these days.
She's under the covers. On the couch, in a dog bed or crate - wherever there's a throw, blankie or towel she can crawl under.
It was getting a bit ridiculous. It's really not all that cold in the house. So I took her to the vet. And I stood there and said "She's losing her hair, always cold, and lethargic - she doesn't even want to play." And the vet told me I'd just described some of the classic symptoms of hypothyroidism. She had a blood test yesterday. We'll keep you updated. But it's nice to think I finally have a dog paying attention to the textbooks.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Want to make the gods laugh? Make plans

It's been an interesting 10 days.
It's the busiest time of the year for us retailers.
Golly Gear is both bricks-and-mortar and online.
So our webmaster's (Fran's) computer died. Defunct. Kicked the bucket. Gone.
Two of us, trying to work at one computer and not get in each other's way in a 400 sq. ft. store.
Problem solved - I got the flu and was out for three days.
I've got to say that having dogs is a mixed blessing when you're sick. There's nothing quite as comforting as warm, cuddly bodies snuggling close when you're under the weather. And nothing quite as uncomfortable as having to get up and walk the dogs when you're feeling lousy.
Especially when the next event is 10 inches of snow, gifted to us by the weather powers on Saturday. The next-t0-last Saturday before Christmas.
Today is a beautiful day. The new computer is working (knock wood), I'm fine (knock again), the sun is shining and all is right with the world. After a good laugh.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Requiem for a PC

My computer died last Saturday. Poor old thing. It was a good computer, but now it won't boot. Hope maintains that I drove it to an early grave (poor thing was just over 4 years old). It was not unusual for me to have five or six pretty intensive applications open at a time. Well, I use them all! Edit a photo in one, paste it to another. Check the email, print out orders, invoices and labels. Count them up! And, of course, I like to listen to my music while I work! I guess I should have ordered a new PC months ago when Hope first started bugging me to. Hope stopped in today, her day off and was horrified to discover that I was doing the same thing on her computer! Well, the next couple of days are going to be spent configuring the new one, which was delivered today! At least I was able to copy all the pictures of my babies onto a flash drive!

Friday, December 07, 2007

Broken squeakers

What to do with toys that have broken squeakers? The benefit of owning Golly Gear is that we have ready access to all sorts of great stuff. And the benefit of having dogs is that we have ready recipients for items no longer "sellable." We recently had to stop carrying some latex crabs. Cute as anything, but they didn't squeak like they were supposed to. We still had a couple in stock when we discovered this, so brought them home for the kids. Dax loves them! They've become her favorite toys. They have nice claws, and nice wide bodies. Dax steps on the body with her front paws and tugs on the claws or the eyes for all she's worth. She doesn't care one little bit that the crab isn't squeaking!

Thursday, December 06, 2007

180 degree switch

Just occurred to me:
In the summer I bribe the dogs to come in the house.
In the winter I bribe them to go out.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

A good thing about winter

So the weather gods very unkindly dumped about six inches of snow on us last night. It was actually a really pretty snowfall - no wind and big, fat flakes gently falling to the ground. This is what the side street by our shop looked like this morning. The best thing about it? I got to wear my brand-spanking new boots. It's actually not easy to take a picture of your own feet on purpose. I've done it loads of times unintentionally, but that's another story. So - what do you think?
Are these cute, or what?

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Oh, how I hate to get up in the morning

I'm turning into a complete and total wuss. We've barely gotten a hint of winter and I'm already sick of being cold. The thermostat down at 65 degrees isn't helping - but we're such tree-hugging "do-be"s, that I can't justify turning it up to a nice, comfy 78.
It also doesn't help that Dax is an even bigger baby about the weather than I am. The dog I depend on to go for walks, play and be an active, energetic 3-year-old is found, more often than not, curled up under the afghan on the couch. Or plastered to the heating vents.
The only time I'm truly warm and comfy is snuggled in bed with my personal furnaces - Dax and Roc. I've never been a morning person. Mornings in winter should be outlawed.