Munchkinland Furkids

 

 

Hi Sandra:

Well,spring has finally arrived!! I bet you have a bunch of

sweeties on the way .Our man Izzy is quite the imp.He keeps

things hopping here.he is the toast of the neighborhood,everyone

knows him. We love him more everyday..even though he is terribly

spoiled (don't know how that happened)! This is april fools today,so he

and dad thought it would be funny to fill mommy's pillow with dog food.

Not very comfortable.Speaking of dog food..we are very worried about

our wee man,he eats Beneful but i think i'll start making him food.

I found a book on it by that Good Dog man. Anyway..i wanted to wish you and yours a wonderful Easter. Give all the furry ones a scratch for me.

Thank you again for our bundle of heaven.

 

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Sophie is so spoiled already, hard to believe! She sleeps with me now and
if I put her down she jumps at the side of the bed to get back in

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, we've all adjusted (I think), I'm sure there will be many different milestones and changes as time goes on.  We have had a fantastic few weeks, her personality has grown so much more, now that she's comfortable and learning about each of us.
We went to the vet for our vaccination and Lexi now weighs 940 grams (1lb 14 onzs), so she gained 7 onzs since we've had her, but she's still very much a baby!  Everywhere we go people stop and oggle her, they think she is the cutest dog in the world and so friendly (we completely agree)!  The vet described her as "spunky" and acknowledged that she's quite smart (she was witnessed sitting for me).  She comes when you call her (as long as she's not doing something she deems as much more entertaining), but will stop if she hears her name shouted in panic (ie about to go under the fence or run too far away).  Away from the house we tend to put her on a harness, but she does like to run much more without it.
She will play fetch (especially with the tiny stuffed sheep she has, which I actually had to sew already last night).  When she wants to be picked up or come up on the couch she will sit (sit pretty) and then when I say up she will crawl into my hand (she tends to do the sit and up only for me, occasionally for Greg and the once for the vet, but she doesn't listen to the kids, I don't think they have the same tone in their voices).
She has made it to sleeping in our bed, which only took one week.  I came home from working a night shift and there she was curled up next to Greg and his only response was that she slept through the night!!  So she sleeps btw us, usually up high btw our pillows, with at least some part of her body touching one of us and will sleep through the night.  She is so much fun and very loving!
Most of the training we have had to do has been with the kids, she's not a toy, don't pick her up when she's sleeping and the shuffle instead of running.  That's a big one, especially since Lexi loves being outside (rain or shine!!) and loves chasing the kids, so we had to teach them to run backwards, or sideways, anyway that they can always have their eyes on her.
I have attached a few pics, we gave her a bit of peanutbutter in her kong one day and while she licked it she really wasn't too impressed.  And bath day was this weekend, she didn't bark, growl or fight but she wasn't happy until we were done, but she was so fluffly, soft and cute after!
 
I hope all is well with all your family members, things are great here, we couldn't be happier!
 

 

As promised, here are some choice pics of Dara's fun at Fundy National Park.    There is one picture where there are a lot of people and four dogs.  Yes, Dara is there, but she's in my backpack.  LOL!  You need to look close.  She did walk on our hike, but it was 8.9 kms, so that was too long for her to do the whole thing on foot.  There's was a fleece blanket in the bottom of my backpack that she snuggled into when she needed a nap.  She had fun watching everyone from high up in her perch.

It was really, really hard to catch her for pictures a lot of times (when she wasn't sleeping), because you're right...she has the zooms.  Boy can she fly!  The only time we had her on the leash was during the hike.  We stayed in the Fundy Chalets where there was a park full of little kids very nearby.  She had a blast running at top speed, biting toes, then taking off again.  No one could catch her unless she wanted to be caught, or unless Peter or I called her.  She knows we always carry puppy kibbles in our pockets, so if we call, she's always right there. 

When she was tired, she would curl up on the boys' pillows.  In the morning, we had to let her up on the bed (after her pee, of course) so she could get her snuggling in.  As you can see, she likes to be right up on your head.  If she's not snuggling, she's digging a hole to China on your pillow or sticking her tongue up your nose or in your ears.  Ewww!  Hahaha!

And as for her getting along with Hera, Hera has finally figured out a way that she can play with Dara without hurting her...  She lays down on her back and rolls around while Dara tries to sneak in and pinch her on the lips or ears.  LOL!  But as you can see while they waited in the back of the truck for us to load up the trailer, they get along great, despite the size difference.  And when we drive short distances, Dara sleeps behind Peter's neck.

Hugs and puppy kisses from Dara! 

This letter is from a Shih-Tzu owner.......

 

    Laddie is thriving !   He is so active !  A happy little guy, 
growing fast !   I just took them for a walk outside here...being 
careful not to let them over where the turkeys go...Lucy rolls in 
it...yuck !   I think I will stop putting out corn...it's a good year 
for acorns so all the turkeys are down the road, gobbling acorns from 
the big trees.

   Laddie saw his vet earlier this month, had a shot and goes back in 
another week.  Greg said he is very well...Laddie ran around on the 
floor and showed Greg how he comes and sits when asked.   It was a 
very happy experience for Laddie...he and Lucy insist on sitting in 
the same dog car seat...I had got one for Laddie but he refuses to be 
separated from Lucy....wherever we are !

   Lucy is training him...it's quite a sight to see them march out 
onto the deck together...Laddie watches her , then he does it !   
What a blessing !   Today Laddie went down the front steps by himself 
(on the leash).  he can go up steps easily.  He now can jump right 
over Lucy's back when she is lying down...he pulls her ears, hangs 
onto her and they are so attached, it's really fun to watch them.   
When Lucy has a daytime nap, Laddie lies right beside her with his 
head on her.   Laddie sleeps in my bed at night, very cozy.

    They just had "lunch"...dry food with a few spoonfuls of Scots 
Broth over it (their passion !)    Laddie on puppy food but he tries 
Lucy's whenever he gets the chance.   I must try my scanner...I have 
some pictures that a friend took of Laddie and her dog, Patches (a 
service dog).    My friend, Jo-Ann showed the video she took of 
Laddie to her friends...I hope I will get a copy !    My daughter 
Laurie and Ailie (16) came last weekend and they loved him !    So he 
is very socialized, very relaxed around people.    He also gives 
kisses whenever he is picked up.     I'll get busy with the camera 
soon.   best to you,

 

 

Hi Sandra,

Just wanted to send a note wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  I meant to write earlier, but it's been so busy lately.  I'm sure you can relate.    I am going to send new and updated pictures of Dara soon.  She's soooo adorable!  She's also a spoiled, saucy brat!    If you don't pay attention to her, she does this silent bark.  If you still don't pay attention, she'll bark.  She's fully house trained, does any trick you teach her quickly and with ease and still hates having a bath.  Actually, she's a lot better now about it.  She just runs around the house like crazy afterwards and rubs herself on the furniture until she's dry to her liking.

I bought my husband a new Lazy Boy chair for Christmas.  It quickly became Dara's.  She'll growl at the kids if they try to push her off or sit on it when she's there first.  It's funny to watch the boys and her together.  You'd swear they were siblings sometimes.  They love each other to bits and Dara can't wait to wake them up for school in the morning, but other times, she protests loudly and growls at them if they bug her.  I'm the only one she never growls at.  I think it's because I'm the only one allowed to feed the dogs.  If I let everyone do that, they'd be really fat! 

She has a new winter coat and scarf and she has a hoody.  She only likes those when it is raining or snowing.  My husband is too embarrassed to dress her in them, but I think she looks adorable!    I'll be sure to send you fashion pics soon.  She's definitely the princess.  If you're on the couch and she wants loving, she'll just take it from you whether you want to give it or not.  She pushes her head against your body and arches her back until you rub her down.  When I wear anything with long sleeves, she'll jam her face up inside them while I'm giving her scritches.  She's so silly!  She's a big sook and we love her to bits. 

She'll be spayed in Jan or Feb.  That makes me sad only because she'll be away from us for a night or two.  We take her everywhere.  She likes the car now and doesn't shiver any more.  She'll even eat out of her shiney bowls she used to be so afraid of.  She's everything we ever hoped for.  Thank you so much!  We saw a Papillion puppy at the pet store her in Saint John the other day and it had the same colours as her, but it looked sickly and ugly.    I'm thinking that one came from a Puppy Mill.  It just didn't have the same joie de vivre that Dara has and it's eyes were droopy.

Ok, I'm done...  I talk too much.  LOL!  Have a Happy New Year!  I'll send pics soon!