Author: Dackel Princess

Thirteen Things about My Pets

1. My first pet was a Siamese cat named Smokey. He was a Blue Point, and a real sweetie.
2. I thought I was a cat person for many years, until I got my first White Shepherd puppy, Max. Then I got Shubi and I was hooked. Although I love cats, I discovered I am a dog person.
3. Max was 8 weeks old when we got him. He was from Tucson, Arizona.
4. He was the sweetest dog until he discovered he was a boy. Then he made me crazy until he went to Doggie Reform School.
5. I thought he just might eat Shubi when we brought her home. She wasn’t even 4 pounds! He was 128!
6. I needn’t have worried. Shubi took control and he adored her.
7. I never planned on getting Shubi. We were visiting our friends in Munich and I casually said we should get puppies together. The next day I owned Shubi!
8. She was the very best animal I ever had.
9. Max died at age 12 1/2 and Fritz came to us two months later.
10. 2 months later Shubi became ill. We were told she wouldn’t live long. So, I started a search for another wire-haired dachshund.
11. Greta arrived a couple of months later, and took control of the house.
12. Shubi passed away two years after the doctors told us she would. She was 10.
13. Looking forward to when Greta has puppies, gives me a lot of comfort.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
(leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)
1. Wendy
2. Shelli
3. Janet
4. Dr.GoofyGirl

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A Creature Of Habit

I’m a creature of habit. I have certain things I do and I like to do them at certain times. I don’t like my little boat to be rocked, which is why I was very unhappy last night, when, at 10 PM, my usual bedtime, another episode of “The Apprentice” came on. There are few things in life I will stay up past 10 PM for and “The Apprentice” is one of those things.
Now before you all think I am a total wimp, let me say, in my defense, I am sick with a sinus and ear infection and I was feeling kind of lousy last night.
Okay, back to the show. The first pitted Lenny against Michael. Both performed poorly and the biggest difference in the two projects was that Michael’s team outperformed Lenny’s. I felt bad for Lenny. I liked him. He is driven and a good worker, he just isn’t strong in the idea department. Michael’s problem was his inability to make any decision, but his team just went ahead without him.
The next episode had Andrea vs Leslie. No question, hands down, Andrea was going to win. I don’t really like Andrea, but she is smart and well organized and can lead a team. She is someone to watch. Leslie and her team didn’t know or understand their market and got greedy. The bottom line was Andrea understood so much more than Leslie.
So there I was wide awake at 11 PM. Well past my bedtime. Hubby had physical therapy the next morning and really needed me to get him up and fix him a good breakfast. I wanted to go to sleep fast. Of course, just because my boat was rocked and I was out of my little routine, I had trouble getting to sleep.
I just hope that they don’t sneak another one of these back to back episode deals in again for a while. I’m really grumpy when I don’t get my beauty sleep.

I Can’t Believe We Ate The Whole Thing

Sunday night was a gourmet dream come true. For our anniversary dinner we went out to The Woodshed for dinner. There were specials on the menu and Hubby and I, after 18 years together wound up ordering the exact same things, fixed the exact same way. There is something to be said for “growing together” over time.
For our appetizer we had Lobster Crepes in a Newburg/sherry sauce. This was to die for! Then we were served a tossed green salad with blue cheese dressing and fresh hot bread. I was starting to feel very full, but we still had the main course to go. This consisted of 3 lobster claws, and a petite (hardly small) prime rib of beef cooked medium rare. Baked stuffed potatoes and assorted green vegetables rounded out the plate. I ate all the good stuff, and nary a green bean, although for appearance sake I did eat one. When we left we sort of waddled out the door to the car where we both flopped in heavily lamenting “I can’t believe we ate the whole thing“.

Sex And The Single Dachshund


Bernie, Me and Greta
Yesterday we brought Greta to meet her intended husband. Bernie is a two year old boy, born in the USA to German imported parents. His lineage is marked with nearly as many champions as our little Greta. He lives about 45 miles from us with his charming human parents, B & E.
I was so anxious and excited to see this little man and to see how the two of them got along. I gave Greta a bath, lest her beau think she wasn’t a well groomed girl, I brushed her and even offered her a little lip gloss, which she declined.
We arrived just before 1 PM at B & E’s home. I had Greta on a little lead, but as soon as we got inside, I took it off.
For Bernie, it was love at first sight. The little man, an absolutely gorgeous Rauhhaardackel (wire-haired dachshund), just couldn’t take his eyes off of Greta. He followed her around and around and around. At first Greta was nice and sort of smiled at him, but once she saw him sitting there, staring at her, with his tongue hanging out and lust in his eyes, and she knew she had him hooked, she turned into a real *itch! Yes, the female species of dogs is aptly named. She was stand offish, she growled, she bared her teeth. The more she rejected him, the more he found her truly captivating! She sniffed him, stole all his toys and bones and didn’t want any sex at all! Hubby says she is a typical woman!
We were there for about 2 hours, and during that time, Bernie was relentless. I tried to soothe him by telling him that in a couple of months, she will be putty in his paws, but I’m not sure it helped.
We plan to keep getting them together so that they become good friends before the actually have “their night of passion”.

Happy 18th Anniversary!!!



Eighteen years ago today, Hubby and I exchanged vows on Cape Cod and became husband and wife. All I can say is, where has the time gone?
I remember that day as though it was yesterday.
It was bright and sunny and the day was filled with promise.
The wedding was a small one with only about 35 people in attendance. My daughter, Mandy was my maid of honor and my step daughter Jessica was my bridesmaid. My Uncle George walked me down the isle and gave me away. My father played the organ. He didn’t really want to give me away “again”, as he claimed that it hadn’t stuck the first time.
My mother sat in the first row with my Uncle Betty. I remember during the service when we had said our vows hearing Uncle Betty start to cry with happiness. She was like that. All tough on the outside and a marshmallow on the inside.
For this wedding (unlike my first), I had planned everything from the flowers to the food. I’d searched high and low for a gown and finally found one while visiting a friend in Florida. I remember carrying the gown on a flight back to Boston from Miami. No one was with me when I found it. I just knew when I tried it on that it was the right gown for me.

Hubby and I wanted a traditional service, with traditional vows. It was the most beautiful of weddings and such a wonderful way to start our life together.

So today as we celebrate 18 happy years together I make a toast to my husband, my lover and my best friend.

“Happy Anniversary, Darling“!

Hubby’s Knees

Here is an x-ray of Hubby’s knees. On the right you can see the left knee that was revised. In other words they redid the old artificial knee with new parts as well as removed the cysts that were there. You can see it looks fine and dandy now. My boinic boy!
On the left is the right knee that will be done in roughly 8 weeks. The doctor called it a BOB knee. When we questioned him as to why he called it a BOB knee he said, It’s Bone On Bone!!! You can see, it truly is.

Check This Out

I found this website a year or so ago. I love the way this artist portrays dackels. It is obvious that he lives with them and loves them as much as I do. His drawings make me think of Greta.
My friend Uschi gave me two of his books of drawings for Christmas this past year. I was so thrilled (still am), and I sit and stare at the pictures quite often. Martin Blank’s
website is in German, but it is worth the time to click around and check out the beautiful art work of his.
Oh, to have this kind of talent!

Friday Fill Ins

# Where oh where did I put my…
brain
# I’d rather be…
In Germany visiting Uschi!
# My hair…
Actually looks good!
# This week has been….
A good one!
# I’m such a slacker, I really need to…
Finish packing up the ski gear!
# Just for me, next week I’m going to …plan a quiet time in the jacuzzi soaking!
# Oh boy! This weekend should be…Great! It’s out 18th anniversary and Greta gets to meet her boyfriend Bernie!

Stripping!!

Some dogs, like Greta do not shed. Their dead fur must be gently pulled out, in other words, “stripped” from their body. It doesn’t hurt, rather, it feels like a good vigorous brushing to them. Ears need to be stripped to the point where they have just little wisps left and then gently trimmed at the edges. Below you can see the before and after pictures of Greta’s ears.



Next I will be stripping her body to get her winter coat off and give her a cleaner, sleeker look. It’s a fun, learning experience. Once Hubby is up, I’ll get some pictures of how I actually do this.