Special Days

Lucy: gorgeous green

Xena: powerful purple

Our Mom had a birthday and our Dad made a big deal about it.

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He made her his special chicken dish and pasta and fresh broccoli. We didn’t beg at the table; we just wanted to stay close to Mom on her birthday. Honest.

Our Aunty Jen and Uncle Bill are crazy lots of fun. They sent her this happy birthday message.

Later in the week Mom’s friends at work had a little party for her and someone named Lester who had a birthday the same week. They sang happy birthday to her and Lester and had special sweets.

You might know that Mommy works at a place called a synagogue. I don’t like it cause I’m not allowed to go to work with her like I did at the Methodist church. But Mommy seems to like it anyhow, which I totally don’t understand. So, what I wanted to tell you, is their big sanctuary had been closed down for a long time, and finally got repaired. They had a big party to celebrate the dedication and reopening just before something called High Holy Days. Mommy and Daddy went to celebrate with them. They had something sacred called scrolls carried in from the chapel, where they had been worshiping after they couldn’t use the sanctuary. They passed the scrolls up the center aisle then danced around the sanctuary to music, carrying the scrolls, until they were passed up to the “ark” on the “bimah.” Mommy taught me those words. See, I could be a great help to her at work. Anyhow, someone took this picture.

That’s Daddy handing the sacred scroll to Mommy.

After that part was over, they ate and drank wine and visited with everyone and generally had a great time while we sat at home waiting for them.

Lucy: But we have been getting some good walks when the temperature cools off a bit in the early evening, just before twilight. Every day we get a nice walk is a special day. E”special”ly if we see people who pet me or if I almost get to chase a cat.

Dad asked why we don’t walk as nice on the leash as Riley (center). I pointed out that we also don’t spend 87 minutes every walk reading pee mail like Riley does.

I heard we’re all going to Aunty Jens and Uncle Bill’s this weekend. And I saw Mommy packaging our food. I’ll get Uncle Bill to hold me and see if Morty has gotten bigger than me.

And I’ll get to play with Ella, try to make friends with Morty again, and maybe even get another kiss from Achilles. So today is going to be another special day!

And I get to go home with my Dad, Andrew!

We can’t wait to get on the road! Kisses and wags from Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess and Lucy, and Riley, too.

Talk Like a Pirate with Lucy and Xena

Lucy! Lucy! Save me, yer favorite pirate (I hope). Smartly, me lass!

I be on my way, little lassie. Ye look like a bilge rat, but I reckon yer still me sis.

A few hours later…

Lucy: What happened to ye, little Bilge Rat?

Xena: Ye call me dat agane and I be sure to ferget ye saved me life. Ye see, some udder pirate took ze day too far and blew up me ship. I was havin a taste a grog and suddenly like, boom! I twas thrown into da briney.

Arr! I’ve decided to stay home and play with my inflatable pirate ship. At least, if it gets a hole in it, I’ll land on the floor.

Pirate Lucy and Pirate Bilge Rat Xena surviving Talk Like a Pirate Day and thanking Shoko, Tyebe and Bud from The Canadian Cats blog, as well as Da Phenny and Da Nelly from the Easy blog and Kismet the curmudgeon parrot from http://Kylascott.com.

Riley’s Tribulations

Hi friends. It’s been a ruff summer. There’s lots of fleas where I’ve been living with my Dad, Andrew. Dad had been working hard to get rid of the fleas on me with spray and a flea comb and had even put some top spot stuff on my back. That helped, but I still didn’t want to go in the house or the yard ’cause I was afraid the fleas would get me again. And with my flea allergy, even one bite turned into agony.

Amy the Enforcer decided to help me. She convinced my Dad (she’s his mom) that I should go on vacation to her house and spend time with Lucy and that dam schnauzer. The one that, when Amy brought her home, I cried out, “Oh sh**t! Not another schnauzer!” then jumped off the chair and ran into the bedroom. You know, don’t you, that Amy the Enforcer threatened to kill me with her bare hands if I ever hurt her precious schnauzer Lexi. That opened the door for Lexi to rule over me for years. And Lexi was never one to miss an open door. So you can see why I was so dismayed to see another one become part of the family. Uh, in case you are wondering, I had a DNA test, and I have absolutely no schnauzer in me. I am 50% pittie, 25% lab, and 25% mix of catahoola leopard dog, dog du Bordeaux, and boxer.

Jumping back to the here and now, the first thing Amy the Enforcer did when she got home and saw that Dad had, indeed, brought me here was reach into a box just delivered from Amazon and put a Seresto flea collar on me. Then I got banned to the garage for 24 hours until the collar had done it’s thing. Sure, she fed me and gave me water and walked me and even petted me. But it was lonely and I really missed my Dad.

Finally, I was allowed upstairs with Lucy and Xena. I haven’t seen Xena for a long time, and she seems to be pretty chill with me – well, at least as chill as a schnauzer can be, right? She doesn’t think she can boss me around, and seems to have forgotten that I deaded her favorite stuffie, that racoon, so I’m ok with her now. Lucy’s been her sweet self, welcoming me and letting me know she’s still my friend. We’ve even been playing just a bit. I do feel better now that the fleas aren’t still biting me, and will feel even better when I stop itching.

Then, the next blow (or cut) hit: my nails. I’m a fanatic about not getting my nails cut. I scream. I thrash. And I’m strong, yes very strong. A vet, 3 techs and Jeff all working together couldn’t hold me down to cut them. My nails have gotten very long because I’ve stopped chewing them. I heard that’s a bad habit. Amy the Enforcer said I had to have my nails cut before the dew claws grew into my leg, and she was just the little lady to do it. I thought, “Sure, lady, just try.” Wrong attitude. She dragged my 70 pounds into the bathroom, plopped me into the tub and got the bottom of the tub wet. Then she started cutting. I tried to scream but she gave me “the eye.” I tried to get away but the bottom of the tub was too slick. I started to lift my lip in a snarl to try to scare her but she is one tough cookie. She took the leash off my collar and tied it around my nose and neck, and I couldn’t open my mouth. Just a precaution, she said.

My nails are still pretty long, and I’m glad. Amy the Enforcer said the quick had grown out, which means it would have hurt and they would have bled if she had cut them any shorter. She did get one dew claw to bleed, but I don’t think she meant to. I licked it for a long time afterward and got some pity steak scraps. Not sure if it was worth it, but the scraps sure were tasty. I overheard her say that she will take a quarter of an inch off every week I’m here, and the quick (the hurty part) will recede. Umm, Dad, when are you coming to get me?

After It Rains Hogs

Xena: I’ve heard that the weather is always a safe topic to talk about, so let’s start there today. It’s been stinkin’ rotten hot. It’s been so hot we haven’t even had our walks. In fact, it’s been hotter than a boy in heat.

Lucy: Don’t you know that boys don’t go into heat?

Xena: Sure I do. But you’d have yelled at me if I’da said that other word that starts with a “b”. So I’m making the weather a safer topic, ya see. So then it cooled off a bit after it rained cats and hogs and…

Lucy: It’s dogs.

Xena: What’s dogs?

Lucy: What it rained.

Xena: Yes, it rained. Anyhoo, that cooled it off enough for us to go out and play. I dared Lucy to try to catch me, and off we were on a chase through the dog lot.

I ran and ran in circles, and sometimes Lucy ran off the patio and tried to catch me, but I was too fast! I was in Warrior Princess mode, don’tcha know. All the grass was gone right there in front of the patio door, causing the dirt to get all soft and wet. Lucy got me on my back there and rolled me around a bit. (I let her.)

Lucy: Yep. Then Xena got me on my back and rolled me around a bit. too. (I let her.) After we’d done that for a while, Mom came over to see how muddy we were. I wasn’t muddy at all. I have super hero hair. It glows in the sunlight and keeps me from getting too hot. Fleas and ticks slide off it like a 5-year-old child off a water slide. The cold can’t get through it, and now we know the mud doesn’t stick to it. I got a pass on a bath.

Xena: I have super hero hair too. It doesn’t fall out all over the house and end up in big piles around the walls and the furniture. All that nasty hair around the house belongs to my sister. Apparently, though, mine isn’t mud-repellent.

Wags, wiggles and shakes, Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess

Lizzie Lucy’s Lizard

Xena: You might think that me and Lucy are always competing and arguing, but it isn’t so. We play together and team up when it counts. On this certain day we both saw a lizard trespassing near the front of our house.

Me and Lucy, we’re a team.

Lucy: OK, Xena, you chase it and if you can catch it, it’s yours.

Xena: So Lucy laid down and I chased the lizard… right into her mouth!

Lucy: Thanks, friend. I want you to know how much I enjoyed that lizard. I saved you the tail, you know.

Xena: But Daddy took it from me and put it in my food dish for later. Then Mommy came home and said, “How disgusting!” and threw it in the garbage. Phth. I didn’t really want it anyhow.

“Lizzie Lucy” dreaming about eating more lizards.

Lizzie Lucy and Lizardless Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess

Just Swaggering on WW

Thanks to Comedy Plus for hosting the
Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop!

I Feel Like a Puppy Again

Xena: Hi, hi, hi! Guess what? Wait, I’ll tell you. Mommy read about how bad bennies are for people…

Lucy: It’s benadryl, Xena. Bennies are something else. We don’t get those.

Xena: Well, we don’t get the dryl stuff anymore, either. That’s what I’m here to tell everyone about. So anyhow, as I was saying, Mommy thought, “Hmm, if they are that bad for people, then they can’t be good for dogs, either.” She said you could read about it here if you want to. But keep on reading my story, too. Mommy thought I had changed because I had turned two years old. I was mostly laying around on the love seat and didn’t want to play. The only things I was still enthusiastic about were food and Freestyle. Friday morning, after reading that article, Mommy only gave me a Xertec for my allergies, and no bennies.

Lucy: Xena, I told you, it’s not bennies. And Xertec is spelled Zyrtec.

Xena: No, like I told you before, it’s XERTEC like my name XENA,

Sorry folks. Sometime Lucy thinks she knows more than me. So later in the day when Mommy called to let Daddy know she was finally on her way home from work, he told her that he didn’t know what caused this big change, but that I had been running all over the house with my stuffies.

Do you want to wake up and play with me, Ell?

I had started playing with Lucy again, too. I ran outside with my bully horn and even came back to get another toy to play with in the yard. Mommy knew why, and had conflicting emotions. She was very sad that she had been suppressing my joy, and very happy that I was still the same puppy she knew, and hadn’t really changed.

Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess is back!

So instead of those bad old bennies – Lucy, don’t even say it – I am getting a bath about every other day *pthhh* with BioHex Shampoo with Chlorhexidine and Miconazole. It has microsilver and ceramide in it. (Mommy helped me with those words.) Now I am hardly itching at all and I’m wide awake and ready to rumble! ( heard that last part on TV when the folks were gone.) Anyone want to play?

I’m my Mommy’s happy puppy again.

XOXOXOX Xena on Xertec (only)

A Successful Piglet Visit

First there was my meet and greet with Morty in his rope harness.

Then we did a proper “Hello, I will be your friend.”

Next, it was Lucy’s turn.

Lucy: I finally got to sniff someone else’s bee hind.

Morty enjoyed grazing on our clover, so Lucy thought it would make him feel more at home if she joined him.

We discovered that Morty loves his belly rubbed, just like us.

It started getting really hot, so we all came in the house. Daddy had paid someone to come fix our air conditioning, so it was much cooler. Soon, Morty left with his folks because he was going to be the star at a child’s birthday party. (He didn’t want to wear Angel Lexi’s star hat, either.)

After 87 hours they all came back and it was suppertime. We watched – with fascination – how Morty eats.

That’s water in the blue bowl, and piggy food mixed with fresh veggies in his food dish.

Morty, Ella, Achilles, Aunty Jen and Uncle Bill have to leave soon, so we’ll finish telling you all about our visit tomorrow.

XOX Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess

This and That on Flower Friday

Xena – The Visit Ends: Our visitors finally went home after peeing  being with us for 10 days. 

This is me, Xena, and my new friends, Laila and Louis.

Can I take this bone that I found home with me?

Sorry about ruining your big rug.

Bye, bye, Miss Amy. We liked being here.

Xena – A Hat? No Thanks.  Mommy decided once again to try putting Angel Lexi’s hat on me. A cast member gave it to her when she was in the Wizard of Oz. It has a star on it to show she was the star of the show.

Does my expression tell it all?

Lucy – No board, just groom: Chaz was supposed to stay with us last week, but something happened that his folks couldn’t go away. 

Instead, he just came for a groom. 

Xena – Heat and a flower or something like that: It was hotter than a witch’s ti…

Lucy – Xena! No! 

Xena – What? 

Lucy – The saying is “colder” not “hotter.” 

Xena – Oh. Anyway, it’s been hot. So finally one day there was a slight break in the heat and we convinced Mommy to take us for a walk. I thought I’d better leave as much pee mail as I could, ’cause who knows when we will be out walking again, right? And we even saw some pretty flowers.

Lucy – More visitors coming this weekend: I found out that we are finally going to meet Morty.

I’m not sure how that’s going to go, but we are all hoping for the best.

One thing I am sure about is that I can hardly wait to see Ella again. You know we are tight! So, when I heard she was coming to visit, I shouted out a “Hey, girl” to her. She promptly responded the same to me.

   “Hey girl, hey!”

That went on for a while. Then I said, “I can’t wait to hang out with you. Just one thing, Ella. This here is MY Dad, OK?“

She said as long as I understood that Aunty Jen is HER Mom, we’re cool.

                         Oh, solo mio…arrooo!

Xena –  Daddy is MY Daddy too, you know!

This is Lucy and Xena (she means Xena and Lucy) joining the LLB Gang (especially Rosy)  for Flower Friday. 

A Schnauzer Girl and Her Mommy

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Check, Check, Check: A Good Day

Hi friends, Lucy here. After yesterday, I was hoping for a good day today. I mean, yesterday wasn’t all bad. Xena and I went to the vet and I made all kinds of new friends. Everyone pet me and a policeman and a lady both wanted to take me home with them. The bad part was when a lady who works there stuck a needle in my front leg and stole my blood. It hurt, but I was very good. Mom explained that they will send my blood to Canada to get a DNA heart worm test done. That kind of test lets them know if there is even the beginning of a tiny heart worm growing inside me, and if there is, one shot will kill it. Xena had the same thing done, and she was mostly good about it, too. Anyhow, that’s why we don’t have to take heart worm prevention pills. We did get pretty bandages on our legs.

Wait…we gave them our blood, and you have to pay them?

Anyhow, today was a much better day. We got up and had real good brekkies. Good brekkies – check!

Mom made time to take us for a walk before she went to work. Morning walk – check!

Just before Mom left, she gave us each a treat puzzle. Mmmmm. Xena got a new one for her birthday last month, so she gave me her old one. I don’t even care that she chewed it up a little. I still love having it. Treat puzzle – check!

Later, after Mom got home, she took us for a second walk, and we had lots of mischievous fun. Afternoon walk – check!

Do you see my NPR leash? Did you know that stands for National Public Radio?

Read neighborhood pee mail. check!

Read more pee mail – check!

Sniff Xena’s bee-hind when she can’t do anything about it. – check!

This is Lucy, with a check mark by all the good things on my list.

Nightshirts and a Scare

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

Louis and Laila – Still Here

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.

1. Both Laila and Louis have to wear my big girl panties at all times, except when they are outside.

Laila: Ha, ha, Louis, you have to wear a diaper like me. Louis: I’ll never make an impression on the girls 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)

Laila: I would rather be inside playing with this bone I found.

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.

Louis: I’m hot, turn the air conditioning cooler, please.

Laila: Come lay on the kitchen floor Louis. It’s nice and cool.

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

Pup Invasion

Lucy: We had an invasion.

Xena: It wasn’t good, but at least it wasn’t alien balls this time.

Are you making our brekkies?

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)

Happy 4th of July

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

Working on Freestyle and My Certificate

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

Lizzy Lucy

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

Another Alien Ball?

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

Birthday Finale

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

Freestyle and Shorts

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