Pretzel

Getting Comfortable 

Sparkle is a dog that knows how to get comfy. As you know for pervious posts, she will find the sunniest spot to lay in or curl up in front of the fire if its a cold day and if all else fails, there is the couch and my husband's chair. Sometimes she sprawls out, taking up more room then you think is possible for a dog her size. And other times its just the opposite, she is curled up in such a tight little ball that you question the reality of space and mass; where's Albert Einstein? Then there is this... Seriously, was my dog assembled incorrectly? Is she part owl? Is her head still attached to her body? Did she learn this from the cat? That doesn't look comfortable, but I guess she really wanted to see the TV show that was on. That's really the only reason I could come up with for her to even want to lay like this. 

The look of guilt...

So Busted...

This is the look of a dog that KNOWS she's doing something she shouldn't be doing. Anyone that knows me and Sparkle for that matter, knows that my dog is spoiled; perhaps rotten. But she minds, as much as a Dalmatian puppy can (or wants to). When she naps, she finds an empty chair or couch to sleep on. I've tried a bed, she thinks the couch, or my husbands chair if he's not home, is hers. She is coming along nicely on her obedience, coming when called, sit, stay, leave it, and some of the other more specific things related to showing and going into the Rally and/or Obedience ring. But in our house there are areas that we call AFZ, animal free zone. The most important of these areas is the formal living room and kitchen; I really hate dogs under foot while I'm cooking. And there is the upstairs, which the cat even honors that rule. But I'm sure this rule will change for Sparkle when she is older and no longer has to sleep in her crate. I know she would love to sleep with my little one, but #1, she's still to little to have a dog that weighs 15 pounds more then her sharing a bed and #2 my little one has to many stuffed animals that Sparkle, being a puppy, would love to chew on. Anyway, back to being busted. When the weather is nice and sunny, like today, I open the front door (with the glass storm door closed) to let the sun in. It bakes the entry way, but it's free heat, thank you sun, and the dog loves to lay in the sun. We have a nice rug in the entry way which always seems just fine for little Miss Spotty to sleep on. But I guess today she was feeling particularly more like a princess then usual because she was laying on my love seat in the formal living room. I guess it was my fault, I didn't put the gate up all the way and she just walked around it... But still, look at that face and try to tell me she didn't know she was wrong... That is the look of guilt people... So I took a rolled up newspaper and smacked my hand and said, "Bad Human" for not putting up the gate all the way. (Shame on you if you thought I hit my dog. If you leave opportunity for your dog to misbehave, you have no one to blame but yourself.) Then, after taking the picture, I told The Spot, "No! Off!" And shoo'd her out of the living room. The gate is now in its proper place. 

Greyhound Needed...

All shapes, sizes and breeds

I really can't say it enough, good socialization is key with any dog. Sparkle had a little adjustment period when she came to my house. She went from a farm with no foot traffic to my neighborhood that has A LOT of it. Even during the week, in the middle of the day there are people walking their dogs. Sparkle use to bark at all of them. Now they are all her friends, some "closer" then others; sort of like people. But sparkle is one of those dogs that believes all dogs are her friends, there is not a dog that she doesn't want to play with now. There is one exception. It's a black Water Spaniel, they used to walk by our house every day. And they just wouldn't bark at each other, they would try to go after each other, even with the fence. So one day last spring I was out walking Sparkle and I ran into the gentleman with his Spaniel. We decided that they should meet properly, we were both on neutral ground. That didn't matter, both dogs stiffened up, hair stood up, and they lunged for each other. They didn't so much as touch each other, luckily it happened right away and they weren't close enough to do anything. He no longer walks by our house. But it's just that one dog. She has play dates with some of her neighborhood friends (we have a big yard for the dogs to play in) and some of the people that walk by will let their dog run the fence line with Sparkle if she's outside when they walk by. There is just something about that Water Spaniel. So this weekend Sparkle had a play date two days In a row with Summer, the Golden Retriever. She is about a month older then Sparkle, so they can play and play. Summer's people were gone for the weekend so Summer came over to play to burn off some energy. But it doesn't matter if it's an Am. Staff or a Golden puppy, Sparkle is just to fast; no one can keep up with her. I need to find her a Greyhound friend. She just wants to run and be chased; all of her friends get frustrated and give up. But it's still a good thirty minutes of hard play and chase. Then its on to I have a toy... No I have a toy... Oh look, a different toy. And right now the snow is making that game really fun.

Crazy Tuesday

Personal Space

I don't have it. I can't even eat lunch without someone crawling into my lap. Tuesdays tend to be the busy day of the week. Kids up, ready for school, hair and lunches. Then with the wind chill warnings, I take my six year old to school; there is no standing outside waiting for a bus in that stuff. After I drop her off, me and the little one head to the grocery store to shop for the week; maybe another stop or two, but then home. Then it's my slow down time, my zen, my quite time; lunch. I'll usually take a comfy seat, watch some news and eat my lunch. I'll take 30-45 minutes to myself, before I start the Tuesday house cleaning marathon. Then around 3 or 4 I'll start dinner so it will be ready when we get home from the little ones evening activities.  Once we are home, it's dinner time, then baths... It is a go-go, non stop day. So my 30-45 minute lunch is just that. Today I sit down for my lunch and Sparkle joins me on the couch and promptly puts her head in my lap. Not a big deal, but then my little one joins her... Ok this is cute. The mommy in me just looks at this and does Ooo and ahhh, the Domestic Engineer in me says, this is going to put me back about 15 minutes. Telling the dog to get off my lap when I'm done with lunch is one thing, but now I have my little one cuddling on the dog... Can't resist the cuteness ... Way to adorable... Can't think straight with the beautiful blue eyes looking up at me... What was I doing... Was I suppose to get up? Then the ultimate Kryptonite... "Mommy, I love you." That's it game over I totally cuddled on the little one and the dog for 15 minutes... I am weak.

A good dog will make you laugh

It's a Dal Thing

I really don't like to compare one dog to another, like people, they are all a little different. And here's the "but"... Sometimes your dog will do something that is so like the dog you once had, you just have to laugh. I think it's great that Sparkle has so many of the "traits" that remind me of Kay'Lar. So to explain the picture, this is Sparkle chewing on her foot. Not just nibbling, but full on bring out the ketchup, chewing. It's not an allergy thing, Kay'Lar used to do the same thing, and around two years old she stopped doing it. Plus if Sparkle is sitting next to me on the couch, I can grab her foot and ask her, "what's this?" And she'll start chewing. Lucky though, unlike Kay'Lar, Sparkle is not a chewer of things she shouldn't. But they do have a few similar traits that make me laugh. They both will do a single bark when the doorbell rings on TV; compared to the multiple barks when it's really ours. And then there is the stealing of the catnip toys; it's catnip, not dognip. Then there's things that are all their own. Like Kay'Lar used to "toot" and scare herself. She would jump up and look around, funniest thing ever! And Sparkle likes to sleep in strange positions that make you laugh and ask, "Did I not assemble my dog properly?" They are many other things, but I don't have the time or the blog space. I just find it interesting that they have some of the same "odd" behaviors, when there is NOTHING in common when it comes to their pedigree... I just have to believe its a Dalmatian thing... Or maybe I can just pick out the "strange ones"; you know, so we get along.