Dackel Princess

Happy/Sad

Today was a day filled with mixed emotions. Most of the day I was on an emotional high because Anneliese is really getting the entire house breaking thing. Even in the mud and wet she is out there doing her thing, making me the proudest Mom around! Arnie doesn’t really like the ankle deep puddles of wet grass and mud, but he does go out and he does walk around with us.

Today was also the day that the two of them decided that Puppy food isn’t nearly as tasty as Greta’s food. I fed them breakfast and they looked at it, turned up their little noses and walked away. I could see them looking at me wondering if I was worried and would run over and feed them a steak or something. Ha! I have had dogs long enough to know that if you just change the mixture a little it will become more appealing. So, I mixed two spoons of Greta’s food into the puppy food, and a few minutes later then bowl was empty!

The little puppers went for a gazillion walks, played outside in the sunshine with their balls, and raced around the family room with their toys. We only had one accident on the rug (Arnie is blushing), so the “Big Green Clean Machine Carpet Cleaner” came out and the spot in question was cleaned and deodorized.

I had physical therapy today and the therapist has decided that I need to go back to the doctor. Shoot. I’d hoped to be back to normal by now and not having the swelling or the discomfort. I came home and called for an appointment (With Hubby’s knee replacements, this doctor is sort of on retainer for our family). The good doctor’s secretary got me in the same day as Hubby is seeing the doctor for his one year check up.

The house is quiet and he pups are asleep and soon I will be going to bed as well. Tomorrow will be here before you know it, and we’ll have another day of house training to work on.

PS: Little Anneliese steals my heart more and more each day. Thank you Greta, for this little gift!

Mud Season

In just a few days, mud season has descended upon New Hampshire! How do I know this? Perhaps it is because when I went out with the puppies today to walk them around the yard (in a vein attempt to encourage potty training!) I squished and sunk into the lawn.

So my last venture out tonight with the two babies I wore my ugly, heavy duty, rubber boots! These boots are so big, and so ugly and weigh so much that I sank even deeper into the mire! But my feet were dry and the puppies slogged along with me until little Anneliese stopped. She sniffed. She moved around and then sniffed again! Then…..well, I will let you fill in the blank here, but let’s just say I was thrilled with her little gift!

I praised her, like a puppy has never been praised before! I broke out the cookies and presented her with one. What a good girl! We came back into the house and I undid their leashes, and then sat to remove my boots and put my slippers back on. I also have these wonderful fuzzy socks that I have been wearing and what does my little lovely do? She grabbed my nice fuzzy sock, and ran as quickly as she could under the sofa!

I finally got my sock back, played with the two of the puppies for a while before finally putting them to bed. Ah yes, I just love warm, dry feet and puppies who are working at becoming house broken!

For Sale, 1 Amazing Wire-Haired Dachshund

Hi Everyone, I’m posting this entry today because I really hope that someone out there will know of someone who is looking for a nice boy like Arnie. I’d hoped for him to be shown and to be used as a stud dog here in the US so we can expand the gene pool a little bit with some strong German blood. I truly hate to advertise in a newspaper because then you do not know anyone who answers your ad. But if someone wrote to me and said, “I’m a friend of …blog” then I would at least feel better.

Please ask a friend today and let’s see if we can find Arnie a good home.

Another Walk

The clocks moved ahead on Saturday night, and somehow the world did not come to an end, despite what the media was telling us! In fact Sunday was a rather pleasant day, with 45 degree (F) temperatures and sunshine after a small rain shower in the early morning. I was able to take Anneliese and Arnie for a nice walk up the driveway,

to visit another neighbor and then walk them around until they figured out what the small amount of grass around our house right now is for. Fritz seems less threatened when the puppies are on leashes. Slowly, the old boy is getting used to them.

We kept them out as long as we could,

Anneliese & Arnie

but then we noticed they were starting to shiver, so we brought them in and wrapped them in warm towels. I must say that tonight, they are sleeping like truly exhausted little babies.

The Pups Are 13 Weeks!!!

After weeks of sub zero weather we were treated to 40 degree temperatures and almost no wind. Arnie and Anneliese are 13 weeks old now and so I thought it was time for them to go for a proper walk on a leash. Arnie took to this like a duck to water, but Anneliese was a bit more stubborn. So I walked with Arnie and carried Anneliese. I walked up to a neighbor’s house to show off the babies, and then as we were walking back, Anneliese decided that she wanted to get down and try this walking on a leash thing.

I set her down in the snow and she walked gingerly along for a time, before discovering what fun it was to run! Now ordinarily this wouldn’t be a problem, but I am still not up for running, so I had to rein them in a bit.

The two also played outside in the snow, running after their balls and making Hubby run after them! We even had Uncle Fritz out with the puppies and he did pretty well. Slowly he is getting used to the little buggers.

I brought them in at lunchtime, and they collapsed in their bed.

Arnie

Arnie & Anneliese
After lunch, while the pups slept, we snuck off to the movies. We saw “Wild Hogs”, with John Travolta and William H. Macy, Martin Lawrence and Tim Allen. I have to tell you that I haven’t laughed so hard at a movie in a very long time. These four men, really did a great job and even Hubby was laughing out loud. I hate those movies where you see all the funny parts of the movies on the TV before you go. Not so, this movie. It was fantastic and if you want a way to lighten your mood, then go and see this movie. You will not be sorry!

Back home we came after the movie to find our little fur family waiting eagerly for our return.

Anneliese

We took everyone outside again and let them run around and work off some energy. They played and ran and rolled and had a good time until it was time to come in and have their dinner.

I got out the three bowls, scooped an entire large can into a large dish and then mixed in two cups of kibble for Fritz, got our Greta’s food and scooped 1/3 of a cup of wet food into her dish and broke it all up and then got out the puppy chow and scooped out 1/2 a can and broke it all up. The puppies get theirs first, then Fritz and then Greta. Then I stand guard so that everyone stays with their own dish!

At 6 PM, Hubby and I sat down to dinner and we put the pups to bed. After their big day they fell asleep quickly.

Anneliese

Greta is asleep on the couch, Fritz has gone to bed in our bedroom and Hubby is asleep in his chair. Ah, it was a good day!

Saturday Scavenger Photo

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Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Architecture

This is my friend Uschi and I standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.
It was commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm II as a sign of peace and built by Carl Gotthard Langhans from 1788 to 1791.
It was built as the grandest of a series of city gates constituting the passages through the customs wall encircling the city at the end of the eighteenth century. It is the only gate which survived, because it constitutes the monumental termination of Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of linden trees which led directly to the residence of the Prussian kings until the destruction of the city castle. The entire construction and ornamentation of the gate reflect the extraordinary importance it was granted by its builders.

Birthday Party Pictures!

Today was Greta’s birthday and we got her a cake. She was so excited biting into the cake before it was even cut! LOL! Here are a few pictures of Greta celebrating.

Mmmm, Mmmm, good!

Happy Birthday Greta

Today my baby girl is three years old. Last year I totally forgot her birthday because Hubby was having surgery, but this year I plan to get her a small cake and sing Happy Birthday!

My Greta is sweet and loving and has given me so much over the last three years! Have a long life, good health and much happiness, Greta Girl!

Playful Pups!

Anneliese is really stealing my heart. I’m afraid that Arnie is too. What a splendid pair they are. I had them out this morning for a couple of hours after I got done sewing my braided rug. That rug is older than Hubby and at this point it should just be tossed in the dump, but I have a feeling the rug will be here for a long time, so I had better just shut up and keep stitching.

Back to the pups. What fun it is to watch them play with each other and with Greta. My favorite of their play events is when they are all running back and forth between the family room and the kitchen going 100 miles an hour! Greta loves to play this way with the pups and from time to time she will stop and roll around on the floor with them.

Anneliese likes to come over and stand on her back legs and almost dance to get me to pick her up. Then she will settle into my lap either showering me with kisses, or chewing on a bone. Arnie loves me too, but he would rather be playing rough with Greta all the time.

They’d been out for a while when I noticed the Fritz hair had gotten pretty bad. So I pulled out the vacuum and started to vacuum. Anneliese disappeared under my chair and Arnie ran for the puppy room where he promptly wee-wee’d on the floor. Poor boy! After the big bad vacuum went away, I coaxed them both back out and the play resumed.

I sat down with them on the floor and they came over and settled into my lap. Soon I noticed that their heads were slowly drooping. So I picked them both us and put them to bed in the puppy room.

They were out most of the afternoon once Hubby and I finished our lunches and then I fed them their dinner and they have literally crashed in their bed.

I sure hope a good owner for Arnie can be found. He is a beautiful boy and needs a loving family, but also one that will allow him to have his way with certain wire-haired dachshund ladies. I hope this miracle family comes along soon, because it will get harder every day he with us, for us to let him go.

My Life, Cell Phones & Puppy Dogs

I am so late writing this edition of Dackel Princess, as I was out spending money wildly today. Hubby and I had to break down and buy new cell phones. His dates back to 2002 and mine is over 2 years old. I probably could have waited a while longer, but I just knew that if I did, my phone would die, and then we wouldn’t be able to by the phones cheaply. We got a pretty decent 2 for 1 deal. In any case, after that we did our grocery shopping, picked up Hubby’s new glasses and I bought some new make-up at the Clinique counter, and got a special prize for doing so. (More make-up! Yay for me!)

The phone purchase put us way behind our schedule so when we came home it was a mad rush to put away the food, cook dinner and feed the doggies! I did it with a little help from Hubby, who peeled the potatoes, and soon we were all eating our respective meals!

Then the tough part of my day began. I’ve never been able to understand why they must radically change cell phones so that each time you “get a new one” you essentially must learn a new language. Once I had finished the dishes, I sat down with my owners manual and started to study our new phone. A few new features that I like very much, but some are simply a waste of time. And my clock. Now this is something I am very upset about. I can’t have it showing all the time on my phone. I must flip it open in order to see what time it is. I stopped wearing a watch years ago because I keep my cell phone on my belt. Oh well, next time (2 years from now), I will know that I need the darn clock on the outside to work all the time! Darn!

I programmed my phone and then Hubby’s. It took me a couple of hours. How I wish I were a Geek who could type faster with my thumb! Oh well, since it’s only every two years that we do this I think I can stand it.

Anneliese and Arnie are both doing splendidly! They went in for their check-up and shots today and they are just perfect! They enjoyed their ride in the car and seeing everyone at the Vets. They are good little puppies even if I have to spend part of my day tomorrow sewing my braided rug back up after some fierce puppy play.

I can also report that we had a bit of a heat wave here today with our temperatures getting up to 16 degrees (F) before starting to fall again.

Ah, spring!