I now star in my very own video on You Tube. My Dad made the video. It is inspirational, as well as very good because, well, because I am the star.
Do you ever get cold in bed? Sometimes, between the air conditioning and the overhead fan, I start shivering so hard I wake up Mommy. So she has started putting a lightweight shirt on me at night.
So, after a good night’s sleep in my sleep shirt that Mommy made me, and after my brekkies and after my potty out front, I decided to get in my red chair and watch what was going on in the neighborhood. What I found in my chair shocked me!
Mommy! I think Mr. Elephant – you know Mr. Elephant who was my Guardian Angel Lexi’s Elephant – is dead! What’ll I do!?
Oh, goodness! His bee-hind is still warm and smells like him. Wait! He moved!
*whispers* Oh my dog, Mr. Elephant. I thought you died. Please don’t ever scare me like that again! Psst, I love you.
I am Xena, the relieved Schnauzer Princess Warrior
Before I tell my story, I want to wish Noodle, my almost brother-in-law, of the Adventures of Noodle, a very happy birthday. Noodle was Lexi’s boyfriend, and they had lots of wonderful adventures together. So, from me and Lucy and Mommy, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NOODLE!
Well, it’s been six days and Louis and Laila are still with us. And they are still alive and unharmed. Just wait til I tell you why I said that. Monday morning, Daddy got up extra early to go in to work. He doesn’t usually go to work on Monday and neither does Mommy, but he had a lot to do. The invaders were sleeping in my kennel in the living room, and he tried to sneak past them. He was trying to be quiet so they didn’t wake up Mommy. When that didn’t work, he let them out of my kennel, which is right next to the back door, and was about to open the door for them when Laila peed on the floor. While he was trying to get that cleaned up, Louis ran around the house lifting his leg on everything! Daddy tried to get that cleaned up, too, but, well, he had to go to work. So he woke up Mommy and told her what happened. That was probably his second mistake, right after letting the invaders out of my kennel. We won’t get into that, though.
Soooo, in order for Mommy to keep her sanity and in order to help Daddy stay out of trouble, we now have a protocol. It goes like this.
2. The first thing in the morning, Mommy fixes their breakfast and sets it out back on the patio. Then she takes them out and removes their diapers. They stay there until it is time for her to go to work. Then she goes outside and puts their diapers back on them before bringing them in and telling them to go into my kennel. (grr)
3. After work, Mommy fixes their supper and sets it out back on the patio, then takes them out back, removes their diapers, and leaves them there until me and Lucy eat our supper.
4. Then Mommy goes back out, puts their diapers back on them, and brings them in to spend the evening with us.
The funny thing is, I have started liking them being here. I firmly told Louis, “No!” and he has stopped sniffing my bee-hind and trying to climb on me. And I keep trying to get Laila to be my friend. I gently put my paw on her and wag my tail. She mostly ignores me, but last night we all played together, even Lucy and Louis.
Mommy admitted that she had hoped I would make some friends my own size and have someone to play with besides Lucy, who is 87 times bigger than me. I still get to snuggle up close to Mommy all night long, and now I get to stay out of my kennel during the day because Louis and Laila are in it. And I get to play with them after supper. Maybe, just maybe, Mommy knew what she was doing.
Love and wiggles, Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Lucy: We had an invasion.
Xena: It wasn’t good, but at least it wasn’t alien balls this time.
Lucy: Their names are Louis (L)and Laila (R). Louis is a Brussels Griffon and Shih tzu mix. Laila is a shih tzu and poodle mix. Mom grooms them, but this time they are staying with us, for about 87 days, I think. They are the couple who kept having puppies, but now Laila has had her big girl surgery.
Xena: Louis kept sniffing our bee-hinds and jumped on me from bee-hind. Mommy and I both yelled at him for that. Sometimes I stand with my bee-hind against a wall, now.
Lucy: Laila was OK except she kept pooping and peeing in the house. Mom put one of Xena’s Big Girl Time panties on her, and that took care of that. Louis has finally figured out he will never be popular by putting his nose or anything else near our bee-hinds. The only things we still don’t like is that they are Mom hogs.
We’re hoping everyone (including us) has a good week.
Wags and wiggles, Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess (and Louis and Laila)
Xena: Our friend, Miss Vickie, made us special scarves for this great holiday. We hope that all dogs everywhere get great scarves on this special day.
Lucy: Uh, I think what Xena meant to say is, we wish for everyone on the earth to be able to live happy and free from cruel owners and rulers.
Xena: Sure, that too. And don’t make any big boom noises today!
Love, from Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
As most of you know, we are back working on Freestyle. We also call it dancing. I finally got my Freestyle certificate after about 87 weeks of finishing the first class. 
I love to dance! Sometimes my peeps put on music and dance downstairs where they have a real dance floor. Lucy and I sit off to the side and watch, and sometimes we ask to dance too. Then Mommy will take turns dancing with us.
Anyhoo, this last time going to Freestyle was pretty scary. As we were driving down the highway, the sky got darker and darker and then it started spitting at us. I had on my Thundershirt, which helps me to be brave when I’m riding in the car. I also had on my car harness which keeps me safe. But suddenly the sound of the rain hitting the windshield got super loud, and I wasn’t wearing my super hero cape.
I panted and shook most of the rest of the way there. But once there, the sky turned blue and all I could think about was dancing! Mommy is my choreographer, and sometimes I show her new dance steps that I make up. She loves it when I do that and puts them into our routine. This first video is our very first attempt to dance our routine to our new music. I did great, but Mommy, well, just keep in mind it was our first try.
Mommy actually forgot to include the Viennese Waltz move I made up! Ugh! So she tried it again.
Oh well, maybe Mommy will have it learnt before we go back. I’ll keep working with her, cause she’s worth it.
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Xena: Lucy, sometimes you lay just like a lizard – a giant lizard. Maybe I’ll start calling you Liz or Lizzie. 
Lucy: Shhh, I’m trying to blend into the carpet like a lizard does so I can catch another one. They’re pretty tasty.
Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
OMD, could it possibly be another alien ball from outer space?
Sometimes Mommy drops food when she is cooking, so I always watch the kitchen floor when we are out there together. Suddenly this tiny, red (alien?) ball appeared. It didn’t talk to me or flash lights at me, so I started pushing it around, trying to figure out what it was. I still don’t know what it was, but it sure was juicy!
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
If you missed how my birthday started, or if naughty Mr. WordPress removed it before you saw it, Mommy fixed it and you can check it out here. Mommy got home from work and we got another good meal. Then she gave me…another ball. Can you believe it? This one has spikes and when she squeezed it, it squeaked and started flashing a light. This one was from a different galaxy than the first one, but still from outer space.
I guess these were all teases – or maybe tests to see how brave I have become – ’cause then I got my real presssie. A new treat puzzle! It’s called a Dog Brick by Outward Hound. Mommy filled it with cheesy goodness and you can see what happened next. (You can skip the part where Mommy is loading it with cheese if you want.)
At first I was skeptical, thinking it might be another alien, but it didn’t yell or blink lights at me, so I decided to check it out. It was easy, except for that last piece where the lid popped open. I suspect Mommy will make it harder next time “more of a challenge” is what she says. Anyhoo, I love my new puzzle!
We ended the night with a special treat I never had before – doggie ice cream!
Come on Mommy, we are doing a good “Wait.” Please say “Free!”
Nom, nom, nom, slurp.
Yep, it’s as good as I heard it is.
Love, Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
My day started with a good breakfast.
That’s mine on the right: ground deer meat, egg, broccoli, yellow bell pepper, apple and a flax seed supplement sprinkled over it. Mmmm.
Then I went downstairs to the freestyle play room with Mommy. I practiced “touch it,” “tugger,” and the one I invented, “waltz.” I am very good at all of those!
Touch It: In this game, Mommy says, “Touch it!” and I run over to the paint can and touch it with my nose. That gets a piece of cheese thrown to me before Mommy calls me back to her side. We take one step back and do it again. And again.
Tugger: We stand next to each other. First, Mommy walks around to my other side and we stand still for a moment before I get a piece of cheese. Then I walk in front of Mommy to her other side, and sometimes I get a piece of cheese then, too. We keep doing that until we run out of room.
Waltz: This is a fun game. It’s a lot like Tugger, but we both keep moving, with me starting. Then, as soon as Mommy gets mostly around me, I turn and circle around her front and then she circles around my front and so on until we run out of room. It makes Mommy dizzy, BOL. We usually end with me doing a back leg pivot before she falls down, BOL, BOL.
So, just when things seemed to be going great, I realized I was in trouble. Mommy swept me up in her arms and carried me into the groom room. I got a bath and nail trim. She said it was because I was itching all night. I was glad to know it’s not a birthday ritual.
Back upstairs, I found a bag waiting for me.
I wasn’t sure what to do with it.
Hmmm, what is this? After Mommy cut open the packaging I saw that it’s a ball.
The ball moved and talked. That was scary different.
I decided to hide hang out in my kennel while Lucy kept poking the alien ball from outer space.
We’ll be celebrating more when Mommy gets home from work. Hopefully, it will all be non-scary alien balls fun stuff. I’ll let you know tomorrow how the rest of my second birthday turns out!
I am 2-year-old Xena Warrior Schnauzer Princess
Gratuitous pictures of our cousin Morty WHO WE STILL HAVEN’T MET!!
Morty and Achilles
Hi’ya Morty! *waves paws*
Hi Lucy and Xena. Maybe we can do Face Time!
Meanwhile, I’ll eat some grass and wait for new adventures.
Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess, still waiting to meet our new cousin.
Sunday I went to Freestyle with Mommy and learned to “touch.” 
See that orange cone thingy behind me? Miss Julia stuck a treat inside it and then gave me a different treat every time I touched the cone with my nose. I really, really liked that game. I always keep an eye on everything going on there. 
Other than Freestyle class, not too much has been happening this week, so me and Lucy, we thought you might like to see some short little videos of us. (He, he, I bet you thought you were going to get to see us in shorts – like clothes – right?)
While I was gone having fun with Mommy, Lucy was in the back yard eating all the meat off of a raw deer rib…and some of the bone, too.
Most days, Mommy says, “Who wants to get their teeth brushed?” and we both come running. I always go first. Our “toothpaste” is coconut oil with Neem essential oil in it. Sometimes we get Lavender essential oil in it too for flavor, but we like it either way.
Then it’s Lucy’s turn. Mommy got a red finger brush for Lucy, but Lucy kept trying to bite down on it. So, to keep her finger safe, Mommy went back to using a regular toothbrush. Did you notice me walking under Lucy? I do that all the time!
I’m still woofing at Daddy to fix the video of me and Lucy howling, and he keeps saying he is too busy right now. Grrrr. Hey, wait, maybe that’s what he’ll do for me for my birthday next week! Yeah, I bet that’s it! And lots of belly rubs and chair naps, too.
I am Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess with clean teeth
I’ve been thinking about my birthday coming up on the first official day of summer – June 21. I know boxes have been delivered from Amazon that Mommy has whisked away without letting me see what’s in them. I think it’s going to be a good birthday.
I’ll be two years old. But I’ve also been wondering if that means I’m all grown up and what changes I need to make. Should I stop saying “Mommy” and “Daddy” and instead say “Mom” and “Dad”? Do I still get to spend time in Dad(dy)’s lap? 
And sleeping between Mommy and Daddy at night?
Mom said that me at the table reminded her a lot of Angel Lexi.
I wonder how old I will have to be to get my own seat at the table like Angel Lexi. There’s just so many things to think about now that I’m almost two.
Relax, Xena, you’ll know what to do. Everything will come in it’s own time. You will make new friends like I did with Spike here. You still have a lot to learn, and lots more treats to eat. And it doesn’t really matter what you call our folks, they will always love you, until the end of the world.
Wow, it’s so wonderful to have a Guardian Angel as great as Lexi. She helps me a lot. Now I’m thinking about last week when it was just me and Daddy -well, and Lucy -at home alone. I saw a little white moth flying over my head, like it was saying “Hello.” I looked up at it and watched it go past, like the schnauzer in the picture on the yard flag Mommy got.
Then the little white moth flew over Lucy to say hello, and Lucy looked up too – and ate it! So far the score is Lucy-2, lizard – 0, moth – 0.
And now I’m thinking about the times lately that Lucy and I have been watching out the window and started howling together. We stop, look at each other to decide whether to continue, and usually let out one more good howl. Daddy might have recorded the last one. I’ll ask him to give it to me to show you soon. 
So maybe I don’t have to change anything. Maybe new things will just come while other things stay the same, just like my Angel Lexi said. I think I will just relax and go on to Freestyle practice with Mommy.
I am Xena the almost two-year-old Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Lucy: My Easter Bully Horn is all chewed up – more like shredded – at the big end. I can’t figure out what happened. 
I wonder if my sister did this… I’m going to find out.
Xena, stop right there.
‘Fess up, Xena. Did you shred the end of my bully horn?
Xena: I didn’t mess up your stupid bully horn. You probably did it yourself. Or it was Brownie Bear. You know he was trying to get it. Yeah, that’s it. You wait here for a minute and I’ll prove to you it was Brownie.
OK, Lucy, come on in. Here’s the proof.
Brownie Bear: *yawn* Where did this come from?
Lucy: Grrr. You chewed up my horn!
Brownie: I need to stay up here with you for a while, Ludwig.
Late that night, in bed…
Mommy, Lucy thought I chewed up her Bully Horn and I didn’t and I didn’t know how to make her believe me so I blamed Brownie Bear ’cause he really might have and then I might have put the horn by him while he was asleep and I was a bad girl for maybe doing that, wasn’t I? And do you believe me that I didn’t chew it up?
Mommy: I love you so much, baby girl. Yes, I believe you, and you are still going to have to tell Lucy the truth about Brownie Bear and tell Brownie you’re sorry.
*yawn* I will Mommy, I promise, as soon as I wake up tomorrow.
And no more making up things that gets others in trouble, you hear?
I *yawn* promise I wo…zzzzzzzzzz
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Today we are celebrating World Parrot Day with Kismet. She’s hosting a party and everyone is invited!
We asked Mr. Google about parrots, and here’s some of what we found:
World Parrot Day was started on May 31st 2004 by the World Parrot Trust. Its aims are to highlight the threats to captive and wild Parrots around the world. At the very first World Parrot Day the World Parrot Trust handed in a petition calling for the EU to ban the trade of wild birds in Europe. This has since come into force in 2006/2007.
What makes a parrot a parrot? The most defining and recognizable feature is a thick, hooked beak, which most species use to crack open their preferred food of nuts and seeds. They also have feet that are known as zygodactyl, meaning they are arranged in sort of an X-shape, with two toes pointing forward, and two pointing backward. This helps them hold on to tree branches, and also lets them manipulate food and other items with their claws.
A Cockatoo, but NOT Sidney
A Sidney the Cockatoo story by Lucy: Many of our lifetimes ago, Mom worked as the office /clinic manager at a veterinarian hospital. A big cockatoo named Sidney came in regularly to board, and he and Mom developed a bond. He would sit on her shoulder and they would chat while she worked at the front desk. One day he kept trying to bite her necklace. After repeatedly telling Sidney, “No!” (she was good with that word way back then, too) she said, “If you do that again you are going back in your cage.” When he laid his huge beak against her cheek she thought she was going to get bitten for sure. Instead, Sidney said, in a low voice, “Sawry,” meaning he was sorry and didn’t want to go in his cage. One time, his owner’s adult daughter brought in her dog to be boarded while Sidney was there, sitting on Mom’s shoulder. Upon asking how Sid was doing, Mom told her that he had been talking up a storm. The daughter looked more closely at him and asked, “Are you sure that’s Sidney? Sid doesn’t talk. No one in the family has ever heard him talk.” That’s when everyone realized that Mom was his favorite person. She hoped they would offer to give him to her, but that didn’t happen.
A Blue and Gold Macaw but NOT Mary Lou.
A Mary Lou the Blue and Gold Macaw story by Xena: At the same vet’s there lived a blue and gold macaw in a humungous cage. That cage was bigger than my kennel. It took at least two people to roll it up front every day. It was a trick to get that cage moved without getting bitten. Mary Lou was not a nice bird. (Unlike Kismet who invited us to her party today.) So one person would push, causing M.L. to run over to that end of the cage to try to bite the person’s fingers. That person would let go and the person at the other end would pull, causing M.L. to turn and run to that side for the same reason. They would keep doing that until that cage was moved to the front near Mommy. Mommy tried to make friends with that bird, but Mary Lou didn’t like anyone!
I think that’s all we’ve got, but before we go I want to remind Kissie that I hung out with a bird named Pirate Pete on Talk Like a Pirate Day and I didn’t eat him!
Your friends, Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Xena: Not too much happening around here. Mommy and Daddy have been super busy doing things NOT with us and it’s been a bit boring.
Lucy: We still get our after-lunch walks every day except on Tuesdays and Thursdays when they are both gone to work so that they can afford to feed us “better than they eat”. That’s what they say. And we still get our after supper walks except for the one day last week that it was so late that the sun was going down. Oh, and the one day last weekend that we ate supper early and then they left. OK, I guess it really has been a boring week or two.
We did find out something interesting, though. Mortie has a waddle, BOL. You can see it in this picture. 
Aunty Jen told us that this kind of pig is originally from New Zealand where there are lots of poisonous snakes. (Our friends from http://www.jaspersdoggyworld just let us know there are no poisonous – or other -snakes in New Zealand.)The snakes bite the waddle and the poison doesn’t spread. So now we don’t know where Mortie is from or what the waddle is for!
Xena: It’s been 87 days since I went to Freestyle class. My Big Girl time is finally over and I want to go dancing. Sometimes I sit on Mommy’s lap and watch what the other dogs are doing in their dance routines. If I like it, I try out the moves when we get home. That way, Mommy thinks I’m good at making up new dance steps. She laughs and tells me what a clever girl I am.
Our next set of classes begins this weekend, but I. Can’t. Go. My folks are going far, far away to Indiana to celebrate Daddy’s aunt’s 95th birthday and our sitter, Miss Christy, is staying with us. I think she should take me to Freestyle, and I could show her what to do.
We’re joining Rosy and the Gang for Nature Friday.
We got something called a Yard Flag. It looks a lot like me when I was a puppy. It makes Mommy smile every time she sees it.
Lucy: What doesn’t make Mom smile is our not-a-year-old azalea bush. She took a picture of it to the garden center where she got it and asked if it should look like this. 
They said that’s what it’s supposed to do, and will bloom again in the summer and in the fall. And they gave her a one-half refund on the “organic” fertilizer she bought in March to use with the fescue grass seed in the dog lot. She found out the tiny little pebbles are made out of people poop. Ewwww! Xena and I ate a little tiny bit of it before we heard, “No!” We both had the squirts and puked on and off for three weeks. We weren’t allowed back out there for 87 days. So she figured half her money back was better than none, since she would have just thrown it away.
Xena: We’ve been watching this grow in front of the house. 
I heard that a boy named Jack might be coming to visit and we might get a golden egg or even a harp. Mommy wants to know if anyone has a guess what this plant is. I still think it is a magic beanstalk.
Do you remember Mommy’s hostages that she planted after the Hated Bush got gone? 
This time, it really wasn’t me who chewed something up. Mommy mixed up some essential oils and stuff and sprayed everything. It did seem to kill the tiny red and black bugs crawling all over the giant beanstalk.
That’s all on our news around home. Love and wiggles, Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Mommy got me and Lucy new bully horns for Easter.
As usual, Lucy got the big horn and I got the tiny one. And, as usual, we both want the big one. 
The difference this time is there is someone else after the little one.
Hey Brownie Bear, get your own bully horn!
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Lucy: We haven’t met our new cousin yet, but we got lots of pictures and some stories. Aunty Jen got home safely to Nashville after picking up Sir Mortimer aka Mortie from Indiana. Turns out that Mortie is half mini kheune and mini-Juliana. 
He got to ride in her lap on the way home. This was all new for him, and we kinda understand how scared he must have been, and how being tucked in Aunty’s arm and listening to her heartbeat must have helped.
Once they got home, she had to introduce Mortie to Ella and Achilles, without a clue as to how they would react.
Xena: I mean, they might have been thinking that their Mommy just brought home the bacon, why isn’t she frying it up in a pan, right?
Lucy: Xena!
Xena: *hangs head* Sorry. I know, I know, Cousins don’t eat Cousins. And Siblings don’t eat Siblings.
Lucy: Where was I? Oh yes. So Aunty Jen still has the playpen that Angel Cousin Piper used to sleep in last year. New Cousin Mortie was happy to take a nap in it, all snuggled down in his blankie. 
Ella quickly showed her maternal instincts.
Xena: I’m telling Ella you said she is matted and stinks, Lucy.
Lucy: I’m ignoring that. So, Ella laid by the pen and growled at Achilles every time he came near. We don’t know if she was protecting him or claiming him. Mom thinks it might have something to do with her remembering Piper in that pen. Ella and Piper were very close and she grieved a lot – along with everyone else – when he left to cross the rainbow bridge. Now she’s got little Mortie to watch over.
Turns out, Achilles loves Mortie, too.
They even napped together.
Xena: We can’t wait to hear more, and especially we can’t wait to meet Cousin Mortie.
Lucy: We’ll be back soon with more stories.
Love and wags, Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Hi friends, this is Lucy and Xena, and boy have we got news for you!Lucy: You remember our Aunty Jen, right? Here’s a picture of her with Achilles from this spring. 
This has nothing to do with Achilles. At least not yet. And we hope not later, either. This has to do with one of our Aunty Jen’s dreams for the last five years. That’s longer than either of us has been alive! She’s been following a particular breeder up in Indiana.
Xena: For a schnauzer, right?
Lucy: No! For a …
Pig!
Can you believe it? We are going to have a cousin who is a six-week-old Mini Juliana piglet. His name is (probably) going to be Sir Mortimer Hamington. We’re all going to call him Mortie.
Xena: I might call him Hammie, he, he.
Lucy: Aunty Jen and Uncle Bill are driving north this week to adopt him. Mom and Aunty Jen agreed that we have to get together every other weekend so that we can all get used to each other.
Xena: Is he good to eat?
Lucy: NO!!! He’s going to be our COUSIN! NOT our SUPPER! And I may have to pig sit sometime! My world is turning upside down! 
Xena: A pig, and no bacon or pork chops. I think my world is turning upside down, too! 
Xena: Uh, what do pigs eat….
This is Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess, waiting to meet our new cousin Mortie (or Hammie)
We are thankful for all the good-hearted people in the world who make a difference in dogs’ lives.
We are joining Brian for the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
Love and wages, Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
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