Greta – Page 10 – The Dackel Princess

Three Dog Day

Today I needed to take the three dackels in for their yearly exam. All three did well, I mean, we all knew Anneliese would, and Greta and Arnie were totally fabulous too.

They had their blood tests for heart worm and they were heart worm free, and Greta and Arnie had their shots. Anneliese will have hers after she delivers.

Yes, we are thinking in very positive terms, as far as little dackel babies go. In fact I have an appointment on March 21st to have her examined and her little belly palpitated, to see how many little babes are in there. Then about a week before her due date, we will have an x-ray done to see just how many are inside.

Greta has finally lost the weight she gained from her last litter. She was a reluctant dieter, and I had to prepare meals that would help to cut those calories and lighten her up. In one year she has lost 2 pounds!

Arnie was just perfect all around. He has to be the most loving dog that there is. He was jumping around spreading his kisses to all of the staff. He is a remarkable boy and I am so happy that we kept him!

Of course we will need to sell all of Anneliese’s babies. I’m prepared for that. I think. Maybe. No, I am. I know I am. Although I am sure it will be very hard.

A Three Dackel Day

Here is another post about my dackels.

It started this morning when I went into my bedroom to wake Hubby. I’d gotten up about an hour before, but I needed to shower and dress for an appointment, so I went in to wake him and say good morning.

As I walked in and pulled up the shade, what did I see?

Yes the adorable Miss Greta, curled up underneath the covers with her Daddy! I stopped and stroked her and talked to her, and I could feel her tail wagging. Greta can be the sweetest little Angel. When she wants to be! lol! In the mornings, when the puppies have gotten up and she is alone in bed with her Daddy, she WANTS to be.

Later in the morning we were having a tough time with the puppies. They kept sitting up on the back of the sofa barking at the birds.

Eventually I had to pull the shades because the barking was so loud. I truly think it is a plot by those wild birds to drive the dackels insane. Or perhaps the plan is to drive me insane, because the barking really drives me up the wall!

Later in the afternoon the temperatures began dropping. Anneliese was chilled and shaking, so I brought out her little doggy sweater. She loves the sweater!

She wore it around the house, snapped at Arnie when he got to close to it, and just kept it on. She stretched out on the carpet, snuggled in the chair next to me and eventually wanted to go outside.

So I let her out and I watched. My crazy dackel ran through a foot of snow with a joy, seen only when observing little kids playing in the snow, after school has been called off! She ran and ran and eventually I called her in. The sweater was totally covered with snowballs! I lifted it off her and hung it to dry. And Anneliese climbed up in the chair next to me and fell asleep.

Ah, it sure is a dog’s life, isn’t it?

Guess What?

Yesterday I was so busy driving all over the state of New Hampshire, I arrived home, made supper and sat down to write the blog. We watched a little TV, and then I started to get ready for bed. I turned down the bed and got undressed and into my pajamas, and then came back into the family room. That’s when I saw it! On the doggy blanket on my chair I saw the telltale signs that…

Greta is in heat!!!

Oh Greta! I knew she was going to do something like this. Why she just couldn’t have gone into heat a month ago when she was technically due, is beyond me. Actually, I’ll tell you why.

Greta loves to have her own way, and she enjoys making me crazy!

So, what does this mean? Well, it means poor Dori, my friend and house sitter, will be changing Greta’s little panties during the time we are away.

It also means that Arnie must be kept away from his mother during this time. Poor boy is so confused! Suddenly he is seeing Greta in a whole new light. If you know what I mean.

I’m also pretty sure that Greta will miss being bred this time around, as her boyfriend is going on vacation.

Ah, Greta! My super stubborn little dackel! I may want her to have more puppies, but somehow I know that the decision will ultimately be hers, and hers alone!

Greta News

On Friday my dear Greta showed signs of pain. Oh how I wish that my dogs could tell me what ails them! Alas, that is not the case. All I knew was that she seemed to be somewhat lame. My heart sank as images of a spinal problem danced before my eyes!

I picked her up carefully, and without even calling my Veterinarian, I drove straight to their office. They know me well enough to know that I want the best care for my dackels and that I know my dogs very well.

They took her off and did a full exam, and then we sat and talked about what the doctor found.

A soft muscle pull! Oh my heart felt such relief I cannot begin to tell you. He prescribed some Rimadyl for her and told me to let them know if she didn’t respond int he next 24 hours.

I am happy to report that Greta was back to her normal self on Saturday, although I will keep her quiet and on her medication for a few days.

I am so relieved and I know I will sleep better tonight than I did last night. This morning I got a phone call from the Vet to check on my Greta. He wanted to be sure that she was feeling better.

I thought that was so nice. It makes me happy that my dogs are cared for by such nice people.

Wag, Wag, Wag!

Greta went for a ride today. She’s been such a good girl lately and she really does love to go in the car, so when I went to get the mail today I brought her along.

She stood tall in the passenger seat with her front paws on the arm rest as we drove up the drive, watching the trees go by and feeling happy, wag, wag, wag. Eventually she sat down and looked out the front window as I drove along.

I brought her leash and this afforded Greta the opportunity to go into the Post Office with me and say hello. Wag, wag, wag!

She saw many people along the way who greeted her with smiles and ooohs and ahhhhs! She is such a friendly girl that she allowed them all to pat her.

She is really funny. She has such confidence and is so sure of herself that I just don’t worry at all about taking her with me.

I wouldn’t even think about taking Fritz. Oh he’d love to go, but the boy is too nervous and would be knocking down the little old ladies and men as they tried to get their mail.

Greta and I also stopped at a local Craftsman’s Shop. They love her and the pups there and I try to stop often and update them on the doggy happenings. After visiting a few minutes I was happy to leave because…Greta is heavy and I was carrying her!!!

When we returned home my little girl got to spend the afternoon with her Daddy as he picked apples off of a few of the trees. Her tail started wagging in the morning and just never stopped all day, as this was a perfect day for her!

She’s now collapsed on the floor, exhausted from her busy day, but very, very happy!

Wag, wag, wag!!!

Greta The Wild

Monday night I took Greta and Fritz out for their last visit with nature before going to bed. Usually they just trot up the hill and do their thing, but last night they ran down the steps and disappeared into the darkness! Ordinarily I would not worry, but we have a Mama Bear and her three babies living in the neighborhood, so I panicked! Not so much for Fritz. He’s smart and a fast runner, but Greta is bold and….well stupid. Or so I thought!

Fritz came right back, but not Greta. I ran for the house, threw the door open and yelled for Hubby to turn on the garage lights. I grabbed a flashlight and started to search for Greta. I walked through the mud and around in the darkness, I even yelled to Hubby that if the bear got me, well, it had been nice while it lasted!

Finally, I decided to come in and get the car. I walked up the steps and Hubby came out of the house and was laughing. I looked at him in horror! What was he laughing about?

“She’s inside.” he said.

“WHAT!”

Yep, she was inside. Apparently she had slipped in when Hubby opened the door to hand me the flashlight and come out to help me. She sat in my chair, and I swear she was laughing at me!

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Then on Tuesday morning I was working weeding in the garden. Hubby was checking his fruit trees and my neighbor, Aglaia was weeding her garden when we all heard Greta barking up a storm in the yard. Since we are all still worried about that Bear and her cubs, we all went running. What did we find?

Greta had two Labradors cornered in the Orchard! She had barked at them until they were trapped against the trees! Fritz had her back and she wasn’t letting them move! I hollered at her and then told the poor Labs to go home, which they happily did. They probably were terrified of that crazy dachshund!

I just can’t figure out that girl. 21 pounds and full of wildness!!!

Makes me laugh!

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Thursday was Weight Watchers and I lost 2.6 pounds! I feel like I am back on the road again. I have 9 pounds to lose and if all goes well, by the end of the summer this will be done!

The Week That Was (Or Will Be!)

I got a call from the hospital today asking to pre-register me for my upcoming surgery on Wednesday. Fine, I said, let’s do it. So we went through a list of questions.

Name: Maribeth

Date of Birth: November 17, 1958

Next of kin: Hubby

Primary Care Doctor: Dr. C.

Insurance: Yes.

Did I want to sign up for a new program that involves setting up an automatic payment with a credit card once the Insurance company has paid their share?

Hm. I had to think. What is the advantage?

Well, the advantage is that after the Insurance company pays their share we get a 20% discount off of what we must pay. By using the credit card we save them having to bill us.

I talked to Hubby about it over lunch and we decided to go with it.

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I had no sooner hung up the phone with the Hospital Office Personnel, than my phone rang again and it was the Operating Room Scheduling Nurse. She told me that my surgery will be at 1 PM on Wednesday which means Hubby has to have me there by noon. Then she needed to ask me her questions.

Medications: Yes.

Diabetic: No.

Smoker: No.

Drinker: No.

In four short questions this woman learned that I am a totally boring woman who drinks tea.

She told me I could have nothing to eat after midnight, although one 8 ounce glass of apple juice was allowed. Gee, isn’t that nice!

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Once I was done with her I was starting to make Hubby his favorite potato salad, when the phone rang again. It was my dentists office reminding me that I have an appointment tomorrow. Yep, I knew that! It’s on my long list of things I am doing this week.

I finished that, made lunch and once that was done Hubby left to go work on one of our town parks, and I finished making the potato salad.

The phone rang again, and it was my hair stylists office reminding me of my appointment with her tomorrow directly after my dental appointment. Yes, I must be beautiful for my plastic surgeon! LOL!

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Then Greta and I were off to the Vet for her exam. She is doing better, but still has a little mastitis and must be on antibiotics another week. She was a very happy girl to go out for a ride in the car, and to see everyone at the Vets office.

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Arriving home we met up with Hubby and now we’re cooking out the last of our marinated chicken breasts for dinner. Tonight is an easy meal night, and then tomorrow I will cook a little so that on Wednesday when I get home I can just sit and Hubby can wait on me!

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So life is busy, and I am trying very hard to keep things in balance all this week. I have to say, things are not usually so chaotic. It’s not that I am a lazy person, far from it, as I have four dogs and a husband to keep up with, but I do like my tranquility, my slow paced life and I will be glad when it is mid July and I am back to living my normal, quite existence.

Pups & Pounds!

I started to do a Thursday Thirteen and I realized that I was tired of that, so you have just me sitting here writing about a few little things.

Like Anneliese. Isn’t she just the cutest little thing?

She is so sweet too. Hubby and I were talking about this the other day and we are quite amazed at how truly wonderful the two pups are. I imagine we are incredibly partial having had them since the very moment that they were born, but to us, Anneliese and her brother Arnie are just the best! We have watched them grow, and learn to play with each other, and to become part of our little dog pack.

Here is Arnie with me.

He is my little snuggler and at night he sleeps down by my feet happily wound around them. Anneliese now sleeps by my tummy and Greta is now sleeping between our pillows. Yes, we have a full bed each night when we settle in. Only Fritz sleeps on the floor, and all I can say to that is, Thank God!!!

When my cousin, Janet was up visiting for her birthday she took this picture of me in a new outfit, showing off my weight loss. Yes, showing off, because after losing 40 pounds, I am enjoying showing off just a little!

I have about 8 more pounds to go to get to my goal weight and then the real work starts ~ maintenance! I think that will be the real challenge.

Meanwhile I’ll keep working on Weight Watchers day by day, a little at a time.

This & That

I took Greta in for an exam today at the Vets. The final diagnosis is that she definitely has no puppies inside of her belly! So, she was able to have her rabies shot.

I really hadn’t expected her to be pregnant, although she does have a little bit of a false pregnancy thing going on. I sure am disappointed. We’ll try again in another 6 months, and I hope then Greta will be more cooperative.

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The day did seem to slip by fast. I worked part of the afternoon printing up invitations to my parent’s sixtieth wedding anniversary in July. I designed the cover page, and my sister came up with the wording inside. I think they came out pretty well.

My sister found envelopes that will fit the invitations and Mom has made up her list. I just hope that my Dad is doing okay in July. You see he had a small stroke 2 weeks ago and it’s been a tough recovery for him.

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My grand nephew, Luke graduated from preschool and my sister took this great picture of him in his school cap! Don’t you just love it?

Luke is a great child and I really enjoy the times I can spend with him. He has a incredible sense of humor and makes me laugh so hard!

*****I was just looking through my stats and noticed that this is my 1400 entry in Dackel Princess! Guess I really do have a lot to say!*****

Negative

I had Greta in the the Veterinarian’s Office today for what I had hoped would be her first prenatal visit. Unfortunately, when the doctor examined her, she could not find any babies inside of my Greta. (sob!)

What we do now is watch her to be sure she is not having a single puppy pregnancy, but more than likely she just isn’t pregnant at all. (sob!)

I’d really hoped that she was. I’d had such plans for this litter of pups. The timing was perfect, I have all the gear I need to birth and house the pups and I am ready to go. But, Greta isn’t.

I talked to her on our way home. I patted her and told her that I loved her and that it was okay. She looked at me with those big brown eyes and I think she sensed that I was disappointed, even though I tried not to let it show.

Since we came home she has been attached to me like she has been glued to me. I keep reaching over and patting her and telling her that I love her, because when it comes right down to it, I don’t care if she never has another litter of puppies or not. I love Greta. I love that she fills up my life in her own little way. I love that she cuddles up to me at night and comes running when she hears my voice.

Still, I admit to being disappointed. I was so looking forward to being a grandma again.