The Family Dackel

On Saturday I found I was running a temperature. Nothing too high, just enough to make me have chills and retreat under my blanket with my sunglasses on. I found a little nurse who simply would not leave my side, and seemed to enjoy sleeping curled up next to me under the blanket. Yes, Anneliese is really a little snuggler. A great love and a super kisser!

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Arnie and Anneliese

Arnie is developing into the neighborhood watchdog. He loves to sit in the front window and watch the people walking by below, the boats on the lake or the cars driving by. He is also fascinated with the recently returned ducks and is always so excited when Fritz walks by the window. Occasionally he gets up into the chair to check me out, but he sees that Anneliese is doing a great job, so off he goes.

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Arnie and Anneliese

Greta loves her independence. She will go out with Hubby and Fritz when they are in the yard planting trees or watering the new ones, she also loves to go up the hill and sit under the peach tree and watch the house. She is still the only doggy we have in bed with us, but once the pups are house broken I’m afraid we will be a three dog bed. For now, nighttime is Greta’s time for snuggles and cuddles and attention.

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Arnie, Anneliese and Greta

Fritz, follows Hubby all around. Inside or outside, up the hill, down the hill, it doesn’t matter. He is his Daddy’s boy and faithful beyond words. I think in my minds eye, when I think of Hubby I will always think of him with a White German Shepherd by his side. Fritz is Hubby’s 6th White German Shepherd. His third with me. As much as I have an affinity for my wire-haired dachshunds, he has the same with the White Shepherds.

all dogs

I hope that this fever burns itself out soon, in the meantime, I’ll stay warm, drinks a lot of herbal tea and snuggle with my puppies!

21 Weeks

Our puppies are growing so quickly. Twenty-one weeks old today! Arnie at 14 3/4 pounds, is growing faster than 11 3/4 pound Anneliese, but she is more mature than her bigger brother. Greta is a bit jealous of all the attention that the puppies are getting and so I have spent a lot of extra time with her showing her love and affection.

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Greta’s photo courtesy of my cousin, Janet

I am noticing that their little noses are getting longer and they look more and more like grown up dachshunds. Anneliese really takes after Greta, and I think Arnie resembles his Dad. One thing is for sure, they are best friends.

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Fritz works very hard staying on everyone’s good side. He is a good boy. Tonight when I was taking a hot bath he came in and lay down on the bath rug next to the tub and kept me company.

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In so many ways, he is so wonderful that it makes me wonder why, he is such a monster when we try to take him in the car. This is the first dog that we have had with “car anxiety”.

I finished all the cleaning, laundry and packed my suitcase for the surgery. I spent most of the day doing this, but as I went about the house I couldn’t have thought of a better place to come back to after my right eye is fixed.

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Just think. Hubby, Fritz, Greta, Arnie and Anneliese will be waiting for me and I will be able to enjoy the beauty of spring in Central New Hampshire.

The Same & Yet So Different

The funniest thing about having two puppies from the same litter is watching their differences. Arnie and Anneliese are about as different as Fritz and Greta in their personalities. Where Anneliese is tiny, but fearless, Arnie is large and a bit of a chicken.

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Anneliese’s Photo courtesy of Janet

Case in point. Today I was vacuuming. You know, with the big rug beater attachment that sort of growls as it vacuums the rug? Well, Miss Anneliese chased after me barking and trying to bite the vacuum while Arnie ran into the puppy room and hid in the crate.

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Arnie’s Photo courtesy of Janet

Outside Anneliese will run after Fritz, any ball that is thrown and even try to get to our neighbor’s dog. (Which would be a terrible mistake!) Meanwhile Arnie will play quietly by himself, follows the others, but at a distance and is, let’s say, respectful of the other animals.

Arnie tends to be my little lover boy. He loves to climb up in your lap and snuggle down and go to sleep. Where Anneliese loves to sun worship in the day and then wiggle her way into my lap and push Arnie out at night.

Anneliese is still so tiny at 11 1/2 pounds, and Arnie is a big boyish 14 1/2 pounds! Anneliese is slight of frame while Arnie is built like a long tank. Arnie has longer fur while Anneliese has a shorter and a more coarse coat.

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I held these babies in my hands from the moment they were born. I gave each of them oxygen, and rubbed down their bodies as I dried them off. I tied their collars on, and watched over them in the first few weeks of their lives.

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Me with the pups on the birth day

Seeing the way they react to Hubby and me and each other, and Greta as well, fills me with such wonder. What a really great experience!

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Greta and Anneliese’s Photo courtesy of Janet

20 Weeks!

Can you believe the pups are 20 weeks old? I was watching them today, as they frolicked and played and I realized how grown up they’ve gotten. Arnie is 14 1/2 pounds now and Anneliese is 11 1/2 pounds. Anneliese is 99.9% house broken now, and Arnie is 75%. Yes, he is a little slow, but we still love him. He is 100% paper trained, so even if I don’t get him outside for the big event, he will run into the puppy room and use the papers. Not perfect, but it has saved me a lot of time cleaning my carpets with the big green clean machine.

They’re both sweet little sleepers too. They love to cuddle
(Arnie)
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or stretch out in the sunshine
(Anneliese)
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and just be close.
(Arnie (blue) Anneliese (red))
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They cuddle with each other still and I wonder if this closeness they share will be life long? They both adore their Uncle Fritz.

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Greta still watches over them, but in many ways she keeps her distance too. Although today she played a wicked chasing game with the puppies until I thought they might tear up the rug! But it was so much fun to watch

Five months old. Wow! This is going so fast!

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(Anneliese)

The Puppy Playpen

Since the days have been sunny and warm I have arranged a playpen for the two puppies. This works out so well when I am busy and can’t keep my eyes on them. I just leave the door open and they can run in and out and have a good time.

Today hey spent a lot of the day just sleeping. I am thinking that they are going through another growth spurt. I weighed Arnie and he is just a fraction under 14 pounds. Anneliese is exactly 11 pounds. She is such a little squirt, but she has a mighty spirit! You should see her play out back with Arnie! She can literally roll him down the hill!

I’m having a good time with these two. They really brighten up my day. I really love watching them play with each other, as well as Greta and Fritz. And I just love, love, love the way they both cuddle up with me.

The Worst Is Over & Other Exciting Things

The worst is over and Hubby and I are on the mend. We both actually ate “real” food today, and started to regain our health. I went out and got my hair done, picked up the mail and Hubby actually got out of bed and put on clothes. He even took care of the puppies while I was gone. Of course he had the help of Fritz and Greta with the puppies so he wasn’t completely alone.

I arrived back from my “dip in the fountain of youth” to find a hungry Hubby and four hungry dogs. I put on my apron and “whipped” up an easy meal for Hubby and then fed all four dogs. Then the fun began as I tried to get the two puppies to do all their business outside.

Anneliese is pretty easy, in that when you bring her out she knows why she is there and will usually perform. Although she will often not perform all her business during one outing. Two, I can handle. Arnie on the other hand is still a bit of a dumb bunny. He will head for the newspapers in the puppy room and I will call to him. I’ll race outside with him and he will then stand there looking at me like I am the one who should be doing something. So we come back in and two seconds later he runs out toward the puppy room. I race after him, and run outside (grabbing my coat, hat and gloves) only to have him stare at me blankly again. I bring him back in and just as my fanny is hitting the seat he runs back to the puppy room.

I jump up as if shot out of a cannon, and race outside with him again. This time I forget my hat and gloves but I have the flashlight and can walk further out into the doggie poop mine field with my puppy. I finally help him find just the right spot and he goes! Woo-hoo!!! Then there are Milk Bones given all around in celebration.

I worry that I am truly insane trying to raise two pups at the same time. Then I look down in my lap at the two faces of the pups sleeping there and I realize that I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Rain Came Tumbling Down And Other Things

Our big snow storm of Sunday night, turned into rain while I slept. 3 or 4 or 5 inches of rain! It has washed away all of the snow and created giant puddles in our yard. Puddles so deep that Anneliese and Arnie hate to go outside as the rain water touches their bellies!

I was listening to the news and heard that a mud slide had happened in the southern part of the state, very near my daughter’s condo. My daughter’s home is on a HILL! I called her to make sure she was fine and also her home. She is, and so is her home, although there will be a detour for her to use to get home for a while.

Meanwhile, it rained here all day. The wind blew, the rains poured down and each time I took Anneliese and Arnie out I got soaked. I actually changed my clothes three times before finally giving up on staying dry.

My flu returned and I started to run a fever just as Hubby’s fever broke. I have warned him to stay away from me so we do not keep passing this thing back and forth. We did have a little appetite tonight and had french toast for dinner. (**A short note here, we never eat breakfast for dinner. It’s against Hubby’s religion or something, so this was a first. Me? I could eat breakfast at every meal. I LOVE breakfast!**)

Our little Anneliese is feeling the pains of being the smallest member of our family. I’m not letting her dwell on it and I am encouraging her to see herself as a big dog!

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Of course she will, always be, my little baby girl!

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Nor’easters, Stomach Flu’s And Pups

Okay, so Hubby and I are just about dead this weekend. Apparently the flu shot we got in October didn’t cover the stomach flu that has spread across New England. Since I am the one without a raging fever, I was sent to the store for the important items like Coca Cola, Ginger Ale, chicken broth, beef broth, bread for cinnamon toast and saltine crackers.

We both have lived on Pepto Bismol tablets and as I also have the incredible good luck of having a migraine, I have been taking Tylenol. I’ve got to tell you that I truly have had better days.

To top off all this “wonderfulness”, we are in the middle of a classic New England Nor’easter! Yes, the snow is coming down heavily, and sticking and well, just making a terrible mess! Nothing like a big snow storm to make you feel good when you have the flu!

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This is the great State of New Hampshire. The blue you can see on this radar image is SNOW! The darker the blue the heavier the snow.

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My own back yard.

Just when I had given up hope of feeling at all well today, Fritz and the puppies started playing and I was able to snap a few good pictures. You can see how much he loves the puppies and how much they love him.

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Anneliese, Fritz and Arnie

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Anneliese and Fritz

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Arnie, Fritz and Anneliese

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Arnie,Anneliese and Fritz

So now I will crawl under a blanket and try to stay warm and get well.

Wish me luck.