Well, I thought I've seen it all. These dogs never fail to amaze me. As you know from my earlier threads, my Westies love rawhide chews. Bella especially has the rawhide chewie fetish. Same time every night about 8 pm she starts to turn that female charm of her's on. She climbs all over me, gives me kisses, and makes all sorts of lovable gestures. We like to make her "talk" and keep asking her what she wants until she can't take it anymore. So finally with chewie in her mouth she is a happy little dog and then goes off somewhere to enjoy her treat. So this night I decided to see if she would "share" her chewie with me. To my amazement, she came over to where I was sitting on the couch, with her chewie in her mouth, climbed up on my chest as I was reclined and proceeded to try and shove the damp, soggy leather chewie into my mouth! The more I laughed the more she tried to feed me. I was in hysterics; these dogs really do understand and have thought processes! She wanted to share with me. After I rinsed and wiped my mouth I had to tell my wife. She was in hysterics laughing too. Never a dull moment.

On New Years Day me and my wife were enjoying a movie on TV when suddenly we noticed that Bella was choking. She had been chewing on a rawhide chewy when evidently it had become a small piece about 1 inch square. Immediately I grabbed her, turned her with her head facing down and gave her a few sharp slaps on her back between the shoulder blades. To my horror, it didn't work...she was still in distress and panicking. I had to hold her as firmly as possible and then force her mouth open. I felt the object which was lodged in the back of her throat and was able to pull it out with my fingers. While this was going on Wolfie ran outside and then back inside again. He was freaking. He must have thought we were hurting Bella. We comforted Bella and Buddy. Bella was definitely traumatized; I think she realized the severity of what had just happened. My blood pressure must have gone thru the roof during the ordeal.

My wife was very grateful for my actions but asked if there would have been something better I could have done. This got me thinking so I went online and realized it would have been safer and better had I used the Heimlich Manuever on the dog. I came across this article on how to give the heimlich manuever to your dog if it is choking. I now know what to do. The real scarey part is what would have happened if no one was home when this happened? So we decided to only give rawhide chewy treats to our dogs when we are home and not to keep rawhides that have gotten to a small size. I never thought this would have happened. Don't let it happen to you. Be prepared.

The pups had a ball on Christmas when they got their stockings full of goodies. Wolfie was so excited he was shaking. Here's some photos of my wife giving them their treats. When all was done, Wolfie grabbed the large rawhide bone which was stuffed with some sort of marrow. He wouldn't let go of it all night...he even took it to bed with him and kept it in his mouth because he knows Bella will steal it whenever the opportunity rises. He looked like he had a deformed mouth as he slept. They now go under the tree and sniff everything, especially the boxes of candy. Wolfie stole my wife's small jewelry box with a bracelet but she retrieved it unharmed. We let them rip up the wrapping paper from our gifts...it was a mess but they were such fun to watch.

It's the morning after Thanksgiving and the pups refuse to get out of bed! It must be true what they say about turkey making you sleepy. Well the pups had a feast of turkey and gravy mixed in with their kibble last night. They are really lazy today. Must be a dog's life all right. Come on, wake up pups, we have work to do!

It's funny how some scenes could be mis-interpreted, such as two dogs playing. Someone not accustomed to dogs could think that they are fighting when in fact they are just playing. I recall reading about someones neighbor who called the cops because she thought that the other neighbor's dogs were being encouraged to fight. They were just playing. Bella and Wolfie know where to draw the line They know if they have gone to far as to possibly hurt the other one and in effect say "sorry, I didn't mean it". Here's some photos I took of them "playing" together. They play like this when they are happy, especially after a meal of something they really enjoyed. They growl, grunt, bark, and have a heck of a time...they love it...they're not fighting, theyre playing. If they were ever fighting and their instincts for survival kicked in, their teeth would become deadly weapons. Thank God, other than one small incident, this has never happened. Judge for yourself:

Good puppies!

Yesterday our best friend died unexpectedly from cancer. We are still numb and shocked. Just can't believe he is gone. We had just visited him this past weekend. I am so thankful that we did. For over the past 20 years he and his wife and me and my wife would travel all over SoCal, going to resorts together, thrift store shopping, dining, casinos, etc. We were like little kids when we were together...chattering incessantly, telling jokes, fantasizing...we had great times together. We also shared our most intimate bad times together.

Our two dogs have been a great comfort for us in this difficult time. They sense the sadness we have. They are such a consolation. They make us laugh. They still want their walks. They need to be tended to. There is no time to be alone and in deep depression. The dogs just won't allow it. They still want to be held and petted. Last night when they were both rolling on the floor playing together I couldn't help but be grateful to God for allowing pets into our lives. There's a reason for pets being here. In a lot of ways they are our emotional therapists. Be kind to your pets. Don't be cruel to any animals. They are all precious.

Rest in peace my dear friend. Wolfie and Bella miss you too.

It may appear that Wolfie and Bella are copacetic with this stuffed "Peanuts" themed teddy bear but in reality they would rather eat it. Our daughter Molly just started making these by herself. One past night she brought several bears over to our house for us to see. The pups went crazy. Whenever they see stuffed animals they think it is theirs to chew up and tear apart. It's almost like they think they're alive. This picture wasn't hard to get them to pose but when I was done, Wolfie quickly followed me to see where I put the bear. Ha! He's not getting this so I put it up high out of his reach.

Below are a few samples of Molly's bears. If you think you might like to own one, you can go to Mollys Creations here for more examples and information, or email her directly.

Here are some photos for your dog blog!  The one of me with the green parrot "kito" I am trying to kiss him and he bit my nose, the
one of the really colorful parrot is one of the best beauties in the parrot world, the one of me with the two parrots Julio and
Chico I was intense as Julio was getting ready to bite and the other one is me and my parrot (chicken) wing addiction!  Forgot, the colorful Parrot's name is Sydney and he is a scarlet chested parakeet....Darren, BuffaloParrot.com.

Thanks Darren, beautiful birds. My pups are drooling!!

 

Recently my Daughter-in-law had the opportunity to go on a ghost hunt with Grant, Jason, Tango, Steve, and gang at the old Buffalo, NY Train Terminal. I got to thinking if there are dog ghosts (let alone human ghosts). When I was a kid my brother and me had a beautiful labrador retriever that died at age 5. Soon after she had died we both heard claws walking across the hardwood floors and a choker chain being dragged. We both slept in the same bedroom and heard this at the same time. We were spooked to say the least, yet we didin't feel threatened...as a matter of fact I think we felt reassured. Oh well, here are a couple of pics from that Buffalo outing with Ghosthunters; she is between Grant and Steve (nice pants!):

 

So, Listen up Dawg.

The other night I thought it would be fun to test my pups. At 8:00 pm (plus or minus 15 mins.) every single night, Bella becomes very vocal in communicating that she wants a rawhide chewy treat. She's crazy about those things. Well this night she was right on time only I pretended I was asleep. I watched the pups reactions as I squinted my eyes. At first, they just stared at me for about a minute. Then Bella got up on the sofa next to me and started to whimper. When that didn't work she let out a single short bark. Still, no reaction from me though it was hard to not start laughing. With my eyes mostly closed, she then crawled onto my lap. Finally in desperation she jumped down and went over to Wolfie and gave him a nudge. He immediately jumped up onto the sofa next to me and started gently pawing my hand. With that I pretended to wake up. They were elated! Of course I then rewarded them with their chewies. They were triumphant! Amazing how food can be such a motivator for animals. If you like this blog, you can donate to Wolfie and Bella's Starving Spoiled Dogs Foundation by acquiring a shirt or two from this site so I can keep a good supply of chewies and treats...Many thanks...Bluelittlewolf.

Things dogs will do as friends:

Lapse into Attention Deficit Disorder.

Visit you unannounced.

Take over your bed.

Give unconditional love.

Bark at ghosts.

Carry dingleberries into your home.

Run away when Billy Mays is pitching on TV.

Expose their private parts for all to see.

Have good manners.

Stare at you.

Forgive and forget.

Clutter your house with half-eaten chewies.

Live for today.

Bring you dead critters for presents.

Go nuts with elation when you give them a present.

Slurp when they eat.

Follow you everywhere.

Let you know when they don't trust someone.

Protect you.

Bite their fingernails.

Show appreciation when you do something for them.

Things dogs won't do as friends:

Stink up your bathroom.

Try to make a point with silly, inappropriate hand gestures.

Talk about you behind your back.

Talk incessantly about trivial nonsence.

Keep repeating themselves even when you tell them you already heard that.

Keep repeating themselves even when you tell them you already heard that.

Be anal-retentive.

Leave pee on your toilet seat.

Become closet smokers.

Be control freaks. 

Give ludicrous excuses for not wanting to do something.

Become obnoxious know-it-alls.

Make money and material things their main reason for living.

Be cheapskates.

Refer to acquaintances as "buddies".

Let Ladies go first.

Clutter your house with chotzkies.

Give absurd rationalizations for rude behavior.

Live in the past.

Insist their way of doing something is the only way.

Tell strangers your personal business.

Make sarcastic remarks.

Brag about their exploits.

Lie about their exploits.

Take advantage of your friendship.

Complain, complain, complain!

An idylic Sunday night in front of the TV with me and the wife watching the Academy Awards and in an instant a blur of white fur, primeval growling, and gnashing teeth...and that's how it was in a few terrifying seconds. It came out of nowhere. We were totally unprepared. Our two white, cute, lovable, darling, child-like Westie dogs were transformed into unrecognizable monsters. My immediate reaction was to shout at them to stop. Wolfie begrudgingly came towards me and I told him to "go outside!" He growled again in defiance. I repeated myself. He then went outside but immediately came back staring at us. We were in shock. What the hey just happened? Instinct had told us to not physically try to break up this fight. Neither one of us wants to get bit. Westies have unusually large, strong teeth for such a small dog. We have seen what they are capable of. They were beyond agitated. They were in high adenaline survival mode.

For the rest of the night we kept them separated. They both seemed spent. We had made it clear that what had happened was not acceptable. We both knew that being animals, they were not to blame. No one was. But we needed to understand why it happened. Luckily, no one was hurt. It was more of a scuffle than a fight to the death, but we have seen signs of Bella trying to exert her dominance over Wolfie when it came to getting attention from my wife. Just before the scuffle, both dogs were lying on either side of my wife on the couch. I noticed Wolfie get up and put his head next to Bella's shoulder...it looked innocent enough to me...but that's when all hell broke loose.

I have to remember that in a dog's world they go by the rules of the "pack" which have evolved over tens of thousands of years. I am the alpha dog of the pack...no question about it. But when it comes to Wolfie and Bella, Wolfie is the alpha dog and basically he was trying to remind Bella of her place in the pack, that he comes first when it comes to things of value...food, toys, and attention. She unequivocally told him to piss off and that's when things escallated. Wolfie is very layed back and it takes a lot to get him going. Bella is the communicator and is more territorial and aggressive. I've learned that it is rare for two dogs of opposite sex to fight; it usually happens between the same sex.

The day after this all happened I left the dogs alone until supper. They were both very timid. When I let them know I still loved them they seemed very relieved and started to play together. Now we have to figure out how to work things out so this never escallates into an all out battle. I was watching a TV program on dogsledding and you could clearly see the heirarchy between the dogs. And when they got into fights it was bloody and often one dog was killed. They don't experience remorse or jealousy but they have those instinctual "rules". What did I learn? This happens. It's normal. Don't ever try to physically break up a dog fight. Sometimes treating our pet dogs as kids can lead to this kind of thing. Maybe they become too attached? I don't know, I just hope it doesn't happen again.

This weekend I decided it was time to undertake the stressful job of cutting Bella's long claws. In the past I used regular snippers to do her claws and it was always a very traumatic experience plus it still left her claws jagged and sharp on the edges. So I decided to use my Dremel rotary tool. I have had no problem with Wolfie with the Dremel. He's a real trooper and will stay still until I'm done. Bella is a different story.

First off, let me explain that Bella weighs a mere 20 lbs...Wolfie weighs 30 lbs. Wolfie is layed-back, Bella is somewhat hyper. She is 20 lbs. of pure muscle and over-sized, sharp teeth. She is the strongest little dog I've ever seen. When I play with her with a rubber chewie, I can lift her into the air by her teeth alone...and she'll stay there till I let go. When she's rambunctious (often, after dinner), Wolfie runs away from her and hides. Still, she is a sweet, loving dog.

Getting back to the dremel. I did some research on this. I put a harness on her front two legs and another harness on her rear legs. I joined the two harnesses together and then with an adjustable strap over the garage joist, I hoisted her about  4 inches off the ground. My theory was to immobilize her. My theory was quickly disproven when I turned the dremel on. As I tried to do her first claw she bit the rotating dremel sanding bit and then my hand. She was wiggling all over the place. I put a muzzle on her. She got it off!

Finally, I put on leather work gloves tp protect me from bites and finished the job as quickly as possible. She was crying miserably. On top of it all, Wolfie was scratching on the garage door and wimpering incessantly. I got Bella out of the contraption and she ran to my arms. We were both shaking. I praised her and I comforted her over and over. After the ordeal, she felt proud of herself and let Wolfie know it. When I let Wolfie in, he immediately went to see if Bella was OK. Seeing she was, he broke into the "Westie" grin. Never again! She goes to the groomer next time.