Heidi – Page 2 – The Dackel Princess

Happy Tuesday!

As Springtime arrives we here in New Hampshire are dealing with “Mud Season”. Many driveways and back roads are becoming impassable. Cars sink up to their axels. And cars at the store are just plain muddy.

I take the two girls out for walks and almost every time we get back, one or the other or both are covered in mud.

My darling Heidi.

Monday found Heidi feeling a little bit off her game. She was tired and clingy and just wanted her Mama. I was worried. But after a three-hour nap, she was back to her crazy puppy antics!

Happy Tuesday!

The Friday Five ~ March 18th

This week found me thinking about the past. Oh, I didn’t dwell, but I spent time recalling happy times. sad times, and times when I found great growth in life. So, it was a good week all in all.

So, here is this week’s Friday Five.

It’s Spring and we are having a lot of melting. Our puddles have puddles and everything is muddy and gross. Of course, Heidi thinks this is so much fun and tried to eat the mud!
I was walking the dogs in the yard today and I slipped and fell. While getting up I noted I was wet, muddy, and slightly yucky. The dogs were so impressed. I swear they wanted me to “do it again!”
I have been slow cooking the corned beef all day. I just added the celery and cabbage to the corned beef pot and the carrots, potatoes, and onions are prepped and ready to go.
Lili had a great birthday.

She had her usual crunchie food, but today I gave her some poached chicken on top. Happy 8th Birthday to my love.
Heidi is growing by leaps and bounds. She is sixteen pounds now, and such a beautiful girl. She is also my love. I scoop her up in my arms and snuggle her and then I thank God for sending me this cherished girl.
Yes, I am a lucky doggy Mama. Lili and Heidi are such wonderful companions!

Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the time no matter where you are!

Heidi, Sweet Heidi!

Heidi is growing up by leaps and bounds. I have to say, she is a really wonderful dog and I am blessed to have her.

Now here is a little thing that she does that I find incredibly cute. When I am sitting in my recliner she comes up the steps and sits looking at me until I move my laptop, magazine, or writing table off my lap. Once that is done she hops between my knees and goes to sleep.

Isn’t she cute?

Over and over she lets me know that the space between my knees is just for her.

Heidi’s favorite spot!

It cracks me up and makes me smile every time. Once she gets into the spot, she goes right to sleep.

At almost 22 weeks she is, for the most part, house trained. She will go to the door and woof when the time is right!

You know, Heidi has got to be the sweetest little puppy ever. She is filling up my life and making me feel very loved. It is why I love this breed so very much. They are funny and warm and loving!

What more could a girl want?

Fun, Fun, Fun!

Yesterday while I started to deep clean the kitchen and family room, Heidi and Lili began to really kick up some dust playing.

Me and my baby!

Heidi is so funny to watch. She runs around so fast, like a speeding roadrunner. But her favorite game with Lili is that she runs around the island in the kitchen over and over and over, while Lili tries to follow her. Then when she knows Lili is falling behind, she turns and jumps out in Lili’s face, surprising her.

I just stood there in the kitchen, silently watching until the laughter burst out from my lungs!

Lili is so patient with Heidi and allows her to play these silly games with her.

It does my heart good to see the two of them playing so nicely.

After the big play session, it was time to crash with Mama.

A sleepy puppy!

Baby Feet.

Seventeen Weeks!

I’m not sure if I have shared with you this story. But when Heidi was born, the small “Red Collar” puppy, I just knew she was mine.

Red Collar Puppy!

Now the breeder prepared me that she was not sure which pups were going where, but she noted my desire.

Each day that pictures were shown, I grew more and more certain that Miss Red was mine. It was cosmic. I just knew.

Miss Red

Soon the Breeder confirmed that Heidi was mine, and they began using her name with her.

Now at 17 weeks, and after being with us since January 1st, Heidi fits right in, as though she has always been here.

My girl.

I joke that she is “Velcro Puppy” as she follows me everywhere and when I am seated, she is always either next to me or on top of me.

She is simply the sweetest of puppies. So loving, and gentle with me. I swear this was meant to be.

A Day in the Life of a Little Dog

Each morning I get up before the sun. After the pups have their breakfast, we go for our first walk. Up, up, up, the driveway, and then back down.

The Ice Fishing Derby was being held this weekend. We can watch from our front yard!

This coming back from one of our walks. Down, what I refer to as the impossible driveway. Yes, I wear ice treads!

After the long walk, lots of snuggles with the mommy!

Heidi sitting on a crocheted blanket I made that is wonderfully warm, but pills and sheds terribly! Needless to say, Heidi loves this one, and in some ways, I do too.

She is just a real cutie pie and she has totally stolen my heart and made my world a better place.

Heidi ~16-Weeks

I thought today I would write a little about Heidi at 16 weeks. I finally feel like we are getting to know the pup she is becoming. It’s quite amazing, but as she settles in, I see this whole new pup.

She was the smallest in her litter which made her a bit feisty. I think it was because she knew early on she had 5 other littermates to get under control.

The breeder told me that she was pretty fearless and that she did not allow any of the others to pick on her. And at first, Heidi spent a lot of time putting Lili in her place. She was bold and bossy. At times I wondered if it would have been a better fit with one of the less feisty pups!

But, Heidi is now settling in. At 16 weeks she is getting calmer and cuddlier. I so love those moments!

She is 99.9% house-broken, so I have more time to relax and actually play with her without fear that she will have an accident.

She loves to sleep between my knees and I often find her that way when I am watching TV or typing on my computer.

She loves to go for walks, even when the snow is up to her belly. She is still light enough to walk on top of the snow piles without sinking. But at 13 + pounds, she will be sinking down into it, I am sure!

I brought her with me to the UPS Store today and the owner could not believe how different she looks in such a short time.

These dackel babies look like small adorable compact pups at first, and one day you notice their backs have gotten longer, and their chest has sprung, giving them the classic outline of a dackel. Also, Heidi has gotten the cutest real dackel nose now.

Here is one of the best things about her. She is not a barker! Oh my goodness, Anneliese sure could bark up a storm, so having this adorable pup who tends to be very quiet is a nice bonus.

How lucky I am to have this little ball of fur in my life. She is everything I’d hoped for and so much more!

The Weekend Wrap ~ February 7th

Over the weekend I was busy teaching Heidi a few more commands. My correction on her biting was going nowhere until Lili actually nipped at her and since then she has been leaving us alone. It’s almost like Lili was her doggy mommy teaching her the ropes.

I brought out Arnie’s old bed and put it down. It is quite similar to one that they had at her birth mother’s home. She has just had the best time sleeping in it, rubbing her body in it, and jumping into it.

They originally called it a calming bed in the advertisement when I bought it for Arnie. All I can say is that it appears to be working for Heidi. (Also known as the crazy puppy girl of New Hampshire!) She looks so small in that bed!

Lili is settling in with her new sister. I think it was hard for her as she had adjusted to being an only dog. But after a while, she has warmed toward Heidi and they are now cuddling as well as playing together.

We are now walking three to four times a day. Even in the cold. I dress Heidi in her heavy sweater and cape and then put on my layers. The only one who breaks a sweat on our walk is darling Lili. But then, she wears a beautiful fur coat!

My next purchase will be a doggy car seat for Heidi. I want to get one that I can use with a harness. Heidi loves to go for a ride, but she does not always want to stay put.

This week I am hopeful that I can begin to get the house cleaned up and things put away. I just let a lot of things go while I have been caring for baby Heidi, but now that she plays for a time quite nicely, I can get a few things done.

Have a great week everyone!

This & That February 2nd

Tuesday started early with Heidi and Lili. It was -3 degrees, while I was outside with the two of them so they could commune with nature.

Hiding her eyes from the bright sunshine using a toy!

I came in and started the coffee, as I was quite literally frozen to the bone!

I decided that when Heidi showed high energy levels to dress us up and go for a walk. And so I did. Several times!

We walked around the house, up the driveway, and then she learned how to not only go up the cement steps but also go down.

She did perfectly fine both going up and going down. As I’ve mentioned the steps were built for our dachshunds. And oddly, Heidi seemed to know just what to do with them, as if she had been on them before.

Her training is going very well. She will come when I call her, even if she is doing something she shouldn’t. She will sit and down on command, and I am trying to teach her to stay. But that is hard for a little baby girl.

I can hardly wait for Thursday when she goes in for her next shots. She will be 15 weeks old, and I am very curious about her weight. I was watching her today and she really has grown.

We have the Pond Hockey Tournament this weekend, and the town is already getting full. It’s an enjoyable time here, but we are now expecting another storm! Thursday Night into Friday. I sure hope it misses us.

Lastly, all this walking up and down the driveway, through snowdrifts, and around the outside of the house is certainly getting exercise for me as well as my little Heidi. (Lili too!) I know Heidi gets tired now at night, and so do I.

Training

Monday morning found me working with Heidi on some simple command and response training. She is learning to sit, down, and stay. The sitting part is going very well. The down is a bit more challenging, as I see her little face asking me “How much further do I have to go down?” And the stay, well it’s early yet.

The sleepy student after her walk.

Heidi is very motivated by food, proving once again that we are spiritually related. She is smart as a whip and is learning to listen when her name is called.

When we built our home we had the outside cement steps built so that our dackels could get up and down the steps easily. Monday was Heidi’s first attempt up the steps and she did it beautifully!

And as each day passes, Heidi and Lili become closer and closer. I almost felt that Lili was cheering her on this morning when I was working through her commands. Lili sat, downed, and stayed as a stellar example for Heidi to follow.

Sisters!

Have a great day!