We are joining Rosy for Nature Friday!
Tag: Mommy
Brownie Bear and the Bully Horn
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
World Parrot Day
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 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 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
Nature Friday, Mortie has a Waddle and Other Non-News
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
Mortie’s First Day Home
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
Upside Down World
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)
Modeling, Woofs, and a Surprise
It’s been a beautiful day, an outside kind of day. It ‘s been sunny with temperatures in the low 80’s F (26 C). I was enjoying getting my picture taken, and I was especially enjoying being allowed out back in the dog lot. It had been “off limits” for a couple of months because Mom spread grass seed and a natural fertilizer. Boy, was that natural good to eat, but it sure did make us sick! Most of the new grass has grown in and there is still straw over the parts that are still bald, he, he, bald yard, he, he.
Xena was running all over the lot and sniffing along the perimeter. She was really happy because she doesn’t have to wear her Big Girl Panties when she’s outside. Before long, Xe ran up and gave me a play bow to get me to chase her. She led me up to the side fence facing the woods, where I turned around to give Mom another good camera shot. (That’s a technical term in the modeling business.) I have really started to enjoy posing for pictures. I’m thinking maybe I could make a career out of modeling. Although I really do like my job as a reporter. Wait, I’m getting off-subject. (That’s a technical reporter term.) 
XeXe was really intent on something outside of the fence. She kept woofing something at me while I was trying to give Mom a good shot. Anyhow, I finally got Xena turned around to face the camera phone. I didn’t want to be known as a camera hog (another technical term).
I was shocked when Xena said, “OK, OK, are you happy? Now leave me alone, Lucy! I’m doing something important out here. I brought you over to help, but all you want to do is get your picture taken.” She kept her mouth closed the whole time she said that so that the picture would be over with fast. I don’t know how she woofed at me with her mouth closed; maybe it was the beard. Anyhow, I have never known my sister to be a serious type of girl, so I didn’t quite know how to take it.
Offended, I went back to my original spot and casually kept an eye on her. 
Next thing I knew, she was barking her fool head off at something. Her bark sounded different than usual, maybe a bit less sure, but still insistent.
Mom was following Xena’s stare, trying to figure out what she was barking at. I also went over to check it out, but stopped several feet away when I saw what it was. 
Yep, a four-foot long snake on our side of the fence! Once we all backed away — at Mom’s urging — it wove its way back and forth through the chain link fence and into the woods from where it came. I guess I owe XeXe an apology…nah. But I am going to tell her how stupid brave she was.
Lucy, Ace Reporter and Model in Training *wags and wiggles*
Note from the Mom: Xena was very brave, indeed. I am very thankful it was a non-poisonous garter snake!
This One’s for You, Angel Lexi
I know you liked squirrels, Angel Lexi, and that you even had a back yard living arrangement with them when you were young. It didn’t make you too popular with the other dogs, but you couldn’t have cared less.
Yesterday, Angel Lexi, I was walking down the street with our Mommy and Daddy and saw a squirrel laying in the street. I wondered if it was bathing in a sun puddle, or maybe had gotten tired and fallen asleep. I tugged on my leash, wanting to go over and greet her, and when I reached her, she didn’t move. I don’t know what I expected, but it sure wasn’t what I found. I sniffed her body and could smell some blood under her head. I gently nudged her head, asking if she was ok, but she still didn’t move. Before we continued on our neighborhood walk, Mommy reached down, picked up the squirrel and laid her in the grass by the road. 
On the way back home I wanted to check on the squirrel again. I could tell that something very important was missing, and looked to Mommy for help on what it was. She explained that the squirrel’s soul had left her body because she was dead. This was my first time staring death in the face. The poor little girl’s eyes were still open, and they were brown, like mine. I was starting to feel really sad about this whole thing. I just stood there staring at the dead squirrel and thinking about what to do.
Finally, I said a silent prayer for Angel Lexi to find her and take her to meet the Big Guy. Then I tried to nudge her eyes closed with my nose, but they came back open, so I left her in peace.
This video is In honor of the little friend I will never know, and of my Guardian Angel Lexi.
With love,
Your sister Xena
Hostages and Peeing Eels
Xena: After the Demise of the Hated Bush as well as the removal of all the other bushes by our brother Andrew, the front of the house looked bare. Mommy had decided on some plants called hostages because they are peeing eels and she doesn’t have to keep planting them every year. I promised to help pee on them, but Mommy assured me the plants would be better off without my help.
Lucy: Uh, Xena, they aren’t hostages. They are hostas. And I don’t think eels pee on them. The word is something else.
Xena: I know Mommy didn’t call them Something Else!
Lucy: No, no, I meant…oh never mind.
Xena: Yesterday we drove almost an hour to pick up my older brother Adam, and then drove almost another hour back to our Freestyle dance class (Adam came with us). The little farmer’s market that is in that area was open, and we got some hostages.
Brother Adam helped carry the heavy stuff and dig and plant. 
First they raked all the old stuff off to the side. Then they found bare spots and put down new landscape cloth. Isn’t that cool? It’s like they wanted to dress the ground! Then they cut holes in the cloth and planted the hostages. Next they raked the old stuff back over it. Brother Adam carried a bunch of bags of black mulch from where Daddy had unloaded them out back. Adam and Mommy, they cut the bags open and covered everything but the new hostages and the few bushes that were left – and, of course, us. I know all this because me and Lucy, we snoopervised. 
Where are you going, Lucy? 
Lucy: The work is done, nothing more to do here. Let’s skeedadle before Mom catches us for a free photo shoot. Besides, the sun is in my eyes.
Lucy: I told you to run, Xena. Xena: Where’s the cookies? Lucy: We’re working for free, just like brother Adam. Xena: Where’s brother Adam? Lucy: Mom sent him to mow the grass.
Love, and Happy Easter and Happy Passover from Lucy and Xena and the Mom, and the Hostages with Peeing Eels
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Demise of the Hated Bush
It happened! Mom can be a force of nature when she gets her mind set on something. Since Dad said, “No.” to the brush killer, Mom had to come up with plan D. If you remember, plan A was for someone who wanted big bushes to come dig them up and take them, but the roots were in the rain water drain running away from the house and we only lost one bush that day. Plan B was for Brother Andrew to cut them down, but he got obsessed with busy power washing the shed and doing some other stuff out back and it got late and he had to leave without cutting any bushes. Plan C was to kill them by spraying brush killer. We heard the Hated Bush laugh when Dad said, “No.” (If you missed that whole story, you can read about it here.)
So on to plan D. Mom told Brother Andrew she would come pick him up to finish the job. That way he was trapped and couldn’t go home until the Hated Bush was dead. We know the Hated Bush just chuckled under its breath, not believing Bro Andrew would actually get to it before dark, ha, ha. You tell me if it was right. 
It didn’t stand a chance. *sigh* Mom made sure that was the first bush killed. My ex-boyfriend buddy Riley came over too, and we snoopervised. Xena tried to get in on the action but we ignored her. This was a job for big dogs.
When Bro Andrew came in and said he was done, Mom said, “No, no, you missed one,” and sent him back out. So he went back out and even dug up most of the roots. End results:
The little azalea bush that we helped Mom plant last fall was allowed to stay. Now Mom is planning on raking the dirt and mulch to the side, laying down more landscaping fabric, planting hostas, raking everything back and laying down new mulch. Whew. That sounds like a lot of work. I hope we don’t have to help. We would much rather do zoomies. (footage taken from last spring when the Hated Bush still felt secure in it’s home)
Love and wags, Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Purim Hustle, Bushes and Allergies
PURIM
Xena: Hey there. I think I told you that Mommy is now the office manager in a synagogue and I’m not allowed to go, right? Well, they recently celebrated something called Purim. It is pronounced like Pour Rum, he, he. It’s where you’re supposed to get drunk and act stupid.
Lucy: Xena!
Xena: I’m telling the truth. Look it up. They even wear funny costumes. Well no one got drunk, but they did have a talent show. Daddy dressed in his polyester leisure suit and him and Mommy danced a Hustle.
The people were clapping and cheering. I think maybe they really were drunk, BOL.
Then parts of a book of the bible called Esther were read in Hebrew, and every time the name Hamen was read, the drunk people booed real loud and swung their noisemakers. I don’t think I would have liked being there, ’cause that would have scared me hurt my sensitive ears.
THE BUSHES
Lucy: Mom advertised that she had four big bushes in front of the house that anyone could have if they dug them up themselves.
Xena: Why did she do that? Why would she give away our bushes?
Lucy: A couple reasons, Xena. 1. She’s “sick and tired of having to trim them”. That’s a direct quote, by the way. And 2. She’s too cheap smart cheap to pay someone to get rid of them for her. So she came up with this scheme. She especially dislikes that big green one cause it is so tall and cause it gets prickly and cause stingy insects live in it in the spring. She even told the Hated Bush that it was going to a new home soon where it would be loved and cared for. I guess she didn’t want it coming after her. Anyhoo, a nice couple wanted them all, so they came over and started trying to dig up that yellow and green one next to the Hated Bush. 
Then they discovered that it had something called a water root that had made its way into the main tube connected to the gutters, the one that carries water away from the house. They ended up sawing off the water root and dragging the whole thing into the woods. They said the Hated Bush probably had a big root in there too. Of course the Hated Bush would do something like that, right? One down, three to go.
Xena: Were those the people I was barking at?
Lucy: Yes, they are sure to remember the noisy little dog that lived in the house with the Hated Bush.
Xena: Grrr.
Lucy: Riley and Andrew came over the other night. Mom had asked our peeps brother Andrew to do a favor for her. I heard Mom whisper to the Hated Bush, “Now you’re going to die! Then you are getting hauled off to the dead bush burial grounds!” I think it might have shivered…or, it could have just been the wind.
Xena: But the bushes are still there!
Lucy: Uh huh. It seems Mom just can’t get rid of them. Brother Andrew power washed the shed and did some other work first, and then it got dark out and he had to go home. Now I’m hearing something about some brush killer that is in the shed. If she does that, we’ll have to stay away from them cause they might try to take revenge by poisoning us. But I heard Dad say, “No.” That’s really weird. Only Mom says, “No.” He said we’ll wait on Brother Andrew to come back.
ALLERGY UPDATE
Xena: My allergy shots are not totally working yet so my allergy dogtor said to get some new shampoo called Head and Shoulders with Zinc. It’s a very special shampoo to help me not itch. I got some new conditioner, too, that my allergy dogtor makes himself. It smells nice and makes my hair super soft. The only problem is that I have to get a bath every two to three days.
Lucy: What’s the problem with that.
Xena: I don’t like it. I’m also taking a very special pill called Xertec. So far so good.
Lucy: That’s Zyrtec, Xena.
Xena: No, no, it is the same as my name. Xe for me, Xe.
Lucy: Why do I even try?
Lucy and Xe Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Grooming with Mom- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Lucy Ace Reporter on the Groom Beat here. Today I am reporting about news in the lives of our Mom’s grooming clients instead of on new dogs coming to be groomed.
We have the Good:
Why is this mess good, you may ask. This is Maggie. Previously, we asked for POTP for her Mom, who was battling breast cancer. During the final stages of the battle (wait, don’t cry yet, it’s good, I promise) Maggie didn’t have time to come for a groom, and ended up looking like this when she came a couple of weeks ago.
When her Mom picked her up (yes! I said her Mom!) she looked like this. 
Her Mom had been going through reconstructive surgery and is better now. She didn’t even have to do something called chemo. We want to thank everyone for all the POTP’s that helped give this story a happy ending continuing.
Next, the Bad: 
Do you recognize Maggie (L) and Dora? No, no, they’re not bad. They’ve been coming to us for years and we know and love them. Here’s the bad: their grandpa died and their grandma is not handling it well. It’s causing a lot of stress with their folks which, of course, trickles down to them. We know that some of you have recently lost close relatives and close friends, too, so you can empathize with Maggie and Dora. POTP for their family, please.
Finally, the Ugly:
Roxxii is pretty adorable, right? It’s what happened in her family that is so ugly. Her Mom’s boyfriend died suddenly, and her Mom was right in the other room when it happened. They are young people, and no one should ever feel so bad that they should die like that. Her Mom is having a real, real hard time right now, so we ask for lots of POTP for her, too. Because she isn’t in a good condition to keep Roxxii brushed, she asked Mom to just shave her hair short. Mom thought she might get cold, so she gave her Xena’s first-ever hoodie,
Xena: But what if I want to wear that hoodie?
It’s too small for you now, Xena. That means you can’t wear it cause it doesn’t fit you anymore. Our Mom was wondering what to do with it, and this seemed like a good way to pass on the love you always felt when you wore it.
Xena: Oh, OK, I hope she feels loved in it too. I feel cozy and loved in my Sock Monkey jammies tonight.
Sometimes it seems like there is too much bad happening all around us. Let’s all remember to be kind to each other with a friendly word or pat on the head.
Your friend, Lucy.
Freestyle Lesson #4 with Critique
I sure do go through a lot of different emotions when it’s time for Freestyle. Here they are in the order I experienced them yesterday.
-
- Anticipation: We’re going to Freestyle! Yay!
- Fear: I’m riding in the truck *shudder, pant, pant*, I’m riding in the truck *shudder, pant, pant* the whole 40 minute drive there.
- Dominance: We pulled into the parking lot and I immediately forgot to be afraid. Instead, I saw the other dogs outside getting ready to go in (code for pottying) and I grrr-ed and postured.
- Fear of Humiliation: We got inside and I had just gotten on Mommy’s lap when I realized I forgot to “get ready to go in.” I didn’t want to poop in front of all those other dogs and have them laugh at me or see me as less dominant. I started shaking again.
- Excitement: It was suddenly our turn to show everyone our homework and I just knew we were going to ace it.
- Exhaustion: I slept most of the way home.
I threw in an extra turn and, after hesitating for only a split second, Mommy made it work with our short little routine. I think I did everything right. Of course, the first comment was, “She’s just so doggone adorable!”
Someone took a video. She didn’t do as good a job at videoing as I did at dancing, but here it is anyway.
That’s me getting my treat at the end. I thought you might be interested in reading the commentary afterward. It was all about things Mommy could do better.
- The opening shape: Stand up straight, Keep front leg closer and use her toe to make a better line.
- Praise on that yahtzee turn. That’s the one on the left side of your screen where we both turn outwards at the same time.
- Although Mommy wore all beige clothing to try to diminish her and highlight me, it didn’t work. They suggested she try all black.
- Use smaller hand motions.
- At the very end, finish getting her long legs down on the floor before I am completely in my down, he, he.
It seems that Mommy has a lot to work on, so we better go get busy.
I am Xena the Freestyle Schnauzer Warrior Princess
From Agility to Freestyle with Xena
Hey friends! I graduated from my Agility too class and I can prove it. I got another piece of paper saying so.
Strangely enough, it has Daddy’s name on it too. He has never, ever gone with us. I don’t think he even knows what Agility too is. Mommy says I should give him a break ’cause he’s my Daddy and he loves me. I love you too, Daddy. ❤ 
Now we are going to focus on Freestyle for a while, and will probably go back to Agility again after we perform in Freestyle in April at the Chattanooga Obedience Club meeting. We’ve started working on our performance a tiny little bit. Last Sunday we worked on opening shapes. But I don’t think Mommy’s knees are up to what the teacher asked us to do. You can watch it here if you want. You can hear the teacher, Miss Julia’s voice asking us to try it different ways.
Our homework is to use an opening shape (we hope one that Mommy can get up from a little more gracefully) and turn it into a movement, then into a closing shape. We have two weeks before our next class, so we should be OK. At least if Mommy stays off her knees. *sigh* We worked on all kinds of turns, too. Miss Julia asked me and Mommy to demonstrate the yahtzee turn, and we did it perfectly! (Mommy’s been working ahead with me at home ’cause she already knows all this stuff.)
Did you see me scratching at the end of the video? Allergy season has started to hit, and I have only been getting my sea rum for 2 months, not quite long enough for it to work good yet. Mommy had an email conversation with my allergy dogtor and now I have to get more baths (drat) and almond butter covered Xertec (yum). He’s trying to take my beef-chicken-egg diet away from me, too, but Mommy thinks if it was the food that I would have itched all winter, and I didn’t. So phthh! to the allergy dogtor on that one.
Gotta go practice my Freestyle now.
I am Xena the Dancing Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Stuck
As Mommy was leaving for work today she gave me my new treat puzzle that I love to play with. It didn’t take me even 87 milliseconds to solve that puzzle and gobble up all the treats. That’s when I noticed that Rudy and Jen-Jen Bear didn’t make it into my kennel before Mommy closed and locked the door. 
I really tried to help them. I was able to get one of Jen-Jen’s legs in, but she yelled that it hurt, so I had to stop. 
Rudy, do you want me to try to help you get in the crate with me?
Rudy: Uh, no thanks. I’ll just wait here until your Mom gets back.
Jen-Jen Bear: I’m stuck. You’re not going to just leave me stuck like this, are you, Xexe? All the blood is rushing to my head and my leg’s starting to go numb.
Uh, yep. Don’t worry, I’ll carry you around with me the rest of the evening after Mommy gets home. Monkey and Winter Bear are in here with me, so I’m just going to play with them for a while. Then we’ll all take a nap. You know I would come out there and help you but…
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Visiting Our Aunt and Uncle
Xena: Auntie Jen must have heard me say I missed her, ’cause she invited us to come to her house near Nashville. I get a bit nervous on car rides, and I panted for the whole three hour trip even though Daddy held me and pet me the whole way there while Mommy drove. At least this time I didn’t puke in the car.
Lucy: That’s only because Mom didn’t feed us before we left home.
Xena: I had a much better trip home. Auntie Jen put lavender oil on my ears, then Mommy put some on my paw pads after we got in the car. I only panted a tiny little bit once or twice. I hope we have lots of that oil around.
We returned the Santa toy that Achilles forgot at our house a couple of weeks ago. 
He was so over-the-moon happy that he played with it all weekend.
Lucy: He ignored me all weekend, too. 
Xena: That’s ’cause he remembered the talk I had with him when he was at our house! And he let me ride the horsie he got for Christmas. 
At first it was a little scary. I mean, I had never ridden a horsie before. 
I thought maybe I should watch for traffic behind us like Mommy does when she is driving.
Then I said, “giddy up,” and urged horsie to go faster while I hung on tight. I rode bareback my first time out!
OK, Mommy, horsie said he’s done. You can help me off now.
We all played outside, too. 
Here we were playing follow the leader. That’s cousin Ella in the lead.
As the day got later, something strange happened. 
We think that aliens were coming down and making shadow monsters out of Lucy and Ella. The girls ran into the house with me and the monsters disappeared.
That Saturday night the peeps put Achilles in his kennel and left. The rest of us got free run of the house and we were all Very. Good. My folks brought home pictures of what they did while they were gone. 
They went ballroom dancing to celebrate Daddy’s birthday and Auntie Jen’s birthday. In that picture they were doing something called a foxtrot, he, he.
That wraps up our big out-of-town weekend. I heard that this coming weekend, Mommy and Daddy are going to something called a Convention in Knoxville. That means that our most favorite doggie sitter – other than our Auntie Jen and Uncle Bill – is coming to stay with us. We lo-o-o-ve Miss Christy!
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Pee S: I can’t wait to tell you the stories about how I stood up to two dogs who got nasty with me and They. Backed. Down! I am getting very, very brave.
Pee Pee S: I don’t never start the trouble, neither!
Freestyle–Woohoo!
I went to my very first ever Freestyle Dance class and I am so psyched! Hey Lucy, come look at the videos of me dancing with Mommy!
That’s my very first time around the floor. Can you tell how excited I was? I wanted to be sure everyone knows that I am really into this.
Lucy: But you…
Xena: I did so good that I got to do a special move called a Serpentine. I don’t think Mommy followed me very well; I had to keep coming back to get her.
Did you hear the teacher talk about the special move that Mommy did to help me switch sides, and hoped she could remember it? No? The recorder must have gone off before that. Well, I’ll ask Mommy to keep watching the recording so that she does it again. The teacher said the move would catch on and even get named after me!
Lucy: But you….
Xena: So now I go to Agility every Monday and to Freestyle every Sunday. Woohoo! Woof! Woof!
Lucy: *sigh* Good job, Xena.
I am Xena the Schnauzer Warrior Princess and almost Freestyle Champion (woohoo!)
The Good Child
Late last summer Mommy got me a super duper seven month flea collar. She had tried very, very hard to repel those nasty fleas using different natural ways, like using blends of essential oils on us and diotomaceous earth on the yard, but we just kept on getting bit, and I kept reacting strongly to the flea bites. That’s when she gave up and got this flea collar from our vet, Dr. Karen. I think Mom spent all her money on it ’cause she said she has never paid so much for a flea and tick collar in her entire life. 
When the weather turned cold, Mommy took the collar off of me and sealed it in a plastic baggie for when the evil fleas return in the spring. Well, we got springy weather AND my allergy test showed I have a flea allergy, so back on went the collar. That is, until Lucy chewed it off my neck.
Mommy was not amused. She stood perfectly still, looking at it like she had never before seen anything that a dog had destroyed. #poormommy. We found a few small pieces on the stairs. Other than that, we think Lucy might be protected from fleas until after her next good poop.
Lucy: I’m not going to get any fleas now for seven months. The collar box said the collar’s good for that long.
Mommy could not bring herself to throw away the collar. Or to tell Lucy that she was wrong.
Now I have a duck-taped seven month flea collar. I wonder how many more months I have to go with it like this. Probably just until Lucy chews it off my neck again, he, he.
I am Xena , the Good Child.
Pupdate on Collar: Looks like Lucy continues to be protected from fleas. She chewed the collar off my neck again. My neck is 10 inches around. The collar is now 9 inches long. Mommy said you can do the math, whatever that means. I just saw it dropped in the trash. #poorermommy.
It’s real cold again, so I hope those evil fleas are gone for a while, or at least until Mommy can get me a new collar. Phhhthhh on Lucy the flealess!
Return of Our Friends
Xena here. Something bad happened. Our Uncle Bill’s Mommy fell down really hard. Her hip broke, and so did her leg, and her shoulder shattered. She is very old, and we feel very bad for her. So first, before we go any further, we want to ask for POTP for Miss Pat.
Our Aunty Jen and Uncle Bill drove the three hours from their home near Nashville to be with Miss Pat right after she fell. That’s why Achilles and Ella got to stay with us. Aunty Jen left them at our house while my folks were gone teaching a ballroom dance class. She locked Achilles in the new, gigormous kennel, and Ella took over Xena’s kennel. (That was to ensure that Ella and Lucy didn’t go on another destruction spree.) 
Achilles
When Mommy and Daddy got home an hour later, Achilles met them at the door. He really is Achilles-dini.
Ella was still in Xena’s kennel, and pitifully asked Mommy why she had to be in jail. Shortly after Mommy let her out she projectile vomited the little bit of kibble left in her tummy.
Mommy went up to the attic to pull out more dog beds. You can see that Angel Lexi’s bed got covered with red fuzz from my red blankie that was in the wash with it. The plan was for Achilles to sleep there because it is the bigger bed. Since he wouldn’t settle down, Ella claimed it. Silly girl, she didn’t even use most of the bed. I guess her head felt good on the floor.
The next day my folks had to go to work, so they jailed both of our guests. When Mommy got home (you know this is going to be bad, starting off like that, right?) Achilles-dini was loose again, but the door to the kennel was still locked. That is still a mystery. Now, here’s the bad part. The smell about knocked Mommy over. The big boy had left a steaming present in Daddy’s office, and I had to be in the house and smell steaming Achilles-dini poop all afternoon! *gag* Wait! There’s more! We couldn’t walk through the house without stepping in Achilles-dini pee. He left puddles and trails. I couldn’t believe Mommy wasn’t mad. She said it is because he drinks huge bowls of water all at once because he is so hot from his allergies. He takes medicine, but it doesn’t help enough.
Achilles-dini also decided the pretty hanging bulbs on the Christmas tree (yes, we still have our tree up in the front room because it make Mommy feel good) anyhow, he decided they are good to eat. No one has died – or even gotten yelled at (much) – yet.
Oh, and one more thing. I had a talk with Achilles. I told him in no-uncertain-terms that Lucy already has a boyfriend and he isn’t to be kissing on her. He understood and said OK, he could respect that.
BB, you know I have been called a “snitch,” but I can snitch on good things too, right? So here goes: Lucy behaved herself around Achilles-dini. Mommy is a notary public, and I will have her notarize my statement if you want, to prove it is true.
Our friends are going home today, and, until then, our folks are taking turns leaving the house for work and errands.
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess, the good snitch
Pupdates
Pupdate #1: My allergy sea rum came, but it is not sea rum at all. Or if it is, I don’t get to drink it. 
Instead, it gets shot into the skin in my neck. Maybe that’s what you’re supposed to do with sea rum. I don’t mind. Daddy feeds me treats while Mommy sticks me with the sea rum. I barely feel it.
Pupdate #2: Maybe you remember that Mommy was going to start feeding me special mushrooms to try to help with my allergies. She sent Daddy to the special mushroom store to get them. He came home with two things: one half pound of mushrooms and something called sticker shock. 
After those were gone, I didn’t get any more.
Pupdate #3: We forgot to show you one of our Christmas presents from Aunty Jen and Uncle Bill:
We’ve been practicing our song.
Pupdate #4: Grodd is gone. When Aunty Jen told us it was time to open presents on Christmas morning, Grodd was already sitting under the tree waiting for his pressie. My peeps brother Adam saw Grodd, and thought he was supposed to take him home. Aunty Jen texted Mommy, who said if Adam liked Grodd that much, let Adam have him. That ended the dispute about whether Grodd likes me or Lucy more. Grodd now lives with Adam.
That’s all for now.
I am Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess with Lucy and Chia 