Tuesday 31 January 2012

Visitors

 We had visitors on Saturday.  Our other humans, Mark and Eliza, came over to see us.....and Mum and Dad too, I suppose.
Anyway, we had a great time with our visitors.
Firstly we gave them a terrific (about Level 4) welcome because we hadn't seen them for a while and we figured that they would have brought treats with them.  There was jumping and squeaking and wagging and slurping which made them feel really appreciated and in the mood to distribute the treats.
We scored chompy chews so the welcoming effort was worthwhile.

Then, the humans all settled down to eat scones with jam and cream so we waited and waited and waited (patiently) until they noticed us again.  We were sitting so beautifully that we scored half a scone each.....but no jam and no cream.  Pfft!!

After that, we played fetch and pull games with our toys.  Mark is good at these games.  We have taught him well.  Even Heidi played fetch which is normally beneath her dignity......and then.....Mum brought out our most favouritest, bestest, most terrificest toy........our squeaky lizard.   He usually lives in the top cupboard in the kitchen and we hardly ever get to play with him because I have tendency to try to rip his tail off.   Mark played with us for a long time with the lizard and our other toys.  It was great.  We didn't have time to play wrestling with Mark because the humans had to go to catch a bus.  I don't know if buses are hard to catch but Mark and Eliza seem to try to catch one regularly.  Ah well...we really enjoyed the visit and Heidi said it was just as well they left because it was time for Mum to serve our dinner.

After dinner we just had to have a bit of a snooze because visitors are really hard work. 
I am dreaming about that squeaky lizard and trying to figure out a way to get him out of his cupboard.
Heidi is curled up on the chair and Mum and Dad are being quiet so that we can sleep.  Zzzzzzzzz.





Wednesday 25 January 2012

Victory!!!!

Heidi has done it!  She slept almost all night on the big bed beside Dad. 
Mum and Dad went to bed last night as usual and, as usual as part of Operation Doona, Heidi went into the walk-in cupboard.  I curled up on the mat near the patio doors because someone has to keep an eye out for pussycats.  All was quiet for a while but then Dad started to snore.  Now, when our Dad snores, he is really loud so Mum sometimes goes into the spare room to sleep and that is what happened last night.  
Mum wandered off down the  hall and left Dad by himself in the bed.  Heidi saw her chance and hopped up beside him.  He didn't even know that Mum had gone because there was a warm body beside him.  Ha ha.....wags and wuffs.  Operation Doona was a complete success!
Heidi and Dad snored together in the big bed until 6 a.m. when Mum got up to go to the bathroom and unceremoniously ejected a triumphant HoHo from the bedroom.
Heidi didn't care.  She was victorious.  She has not stopped bragging about it since and is now resting on the couch planning her next campaign.

Sadly there is no picture of Dad and Heidi snoring together because Dad would not approve the photographic evidence, but here is the co-ordinator of Operation Doona enjoying her success.

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Rain, rain, rain.

We don't like rain. 
We do like the puddles it creates....but we don't like rain. 
It has been raining and raining and raining at our place.  It makes a lot of noise on the roof of the pool room which frightens Heidi, but not me, of course.  It means we don't get to go out for a walk or to the puppy park.  Pfft!!!
Even going out for a pee is a problem.  Usually a rainy day just means we have to be quick when popping outside for a pee and, if you stay under the eaves of the house, you can stay dry.  Mum puts towels near the garage door for us to wipe our feet on when we come back in.  Heidi is good at that but I have big feet and it is hard to get them dry so Mum has to help me sometimes.
Last night the water outside was so deep that it wasn't just our feet getting wet.  Assuming the necessary position meant that our bottoms were in the water too.  Mum accepted Heidi's formal protest about the appalling conditions and put some newspapers down in the back corner of the garage for us to use in case of emergency. 
I was tempted to go for a bit of a roll out near the palm trees this morning but Mum said if I did I wouldn't be allowed back in the house.  
Thought about it.  Considered my options carefully.  Decided to rip up some cardboards boxes instead. 
We are waiting for Mum to take us out for a quick walk.  It hasn't rained for a while so we think we should be able to go but Mum doesn't seem too keen.  Heidi has gone out strike and is picketing the lounge room with a puller toy in her mouth.  I am displaying my great watch-dog abilities by fending off (from a distance through the screen door) a group of magpies who are digging things out of the front lawn.  Surely Mum will relent and take us out. 
We don't like rain.  

Saturday 21 January 2012

Heidi's New Year's Resolution

Heidi has decided that sleeping on the floor, or on the couch, or even in our beds in the garage is not good enough for her anymore. 

She has decided that as a VIP,  (very important pet), she is entitled to a far more comfortable arrangement sleeping-wise.  So her New Year's Resolution is to sleep in the same bed as Mum and Dad. 

She considered this very carefully and constructed a plan that would enable her to insinuate her way into the bed without anyone really noticing.  In fact, she started putting her plan into action last year so that, by the time the new year rolled around, she would be ready to move on to the final step...entering the bed.  I am so proud to have her for a sister.  She is so clever.....devious but really clever.

Okay....so....about six months ago, when the weather was a bit chilly, Heidi thought the time was right for Operation Doona to be launched.  She began going into Mum's walk-in cupboard to sleep.  Mum was a bit surprised but she thought it was just that Heidi was cold and let it happen. Ha!!  Phase One.....complete.

As the months passed, Heidi continued to sleep in the walk-in wardrobe and Mum and Dad just accepted it as a new habit.  Heidi does have some some strange habits but that is a whole other story.
As the weather became warmer, Heidi moved out of the cupboard and closer to the bed, usually ending up on the floor right beside Mum or at the foot of the bed.  Mum and Dad thought she was trying to be in the cool air from the ceiling fan.  Ha!! Phase Two....complete!!

Then, last week, the moment was right.  It was hot so Mum and Dad had taken the doona off the bed so there was plenty of room at the bottom.  Heidi waited until everyone was asleep and quietly hopped up onto the bed and curled up in a tight, tight ball.  Nobody moved.  Success!  On the bed, under the fan....soooo comfortable....until....Mum decided to stretch out and roll over.  Heidi found herself back on the floor very quickly.   

So now, it has become a battle of wills.  Every night Mum and Dad go to sleep in their big bed.  Every night Heidi waits until the right moment and sneaks up onto the bed.  Some nights she gets to stay for quite a long time and some nights she is booted out almost immediately.  Heidi maintains these are only minor setbacks and that, eventually, the humans will realise that there is no point in fighting the inevitable and let her sleep in comfort. 

My only problem with this is that I can't fit up there as well.  I am just a little bit too big to be able to sneak anywhere.  So I content myself with lying across the doorway and watching as Heidi tries to keep her New Year's Resolution.









Sunday 15 January 2012

A trampa-moline story

This is a trampa-moline.  The small humans over the road have one.  Their parents put them in there, do up the zip so they can't get out and, then, the kids bounce around screaming.  I don't know if they are having fun or if they just want to get out.

Anyway, this is a story of a brave dog called Pepsi who lives with another dog called Harriet.  Their humans have one of these trampa-molines.  Birdies like to sit on the top of the netting and sing loud songs early in the mornings especially on Sunday mornings when things are usually a bit quieter.

Well, yesterday, when the dogs were relaxing outside in the early morning coolness, some kookaburras came to sit on the netting.  Kookaburras are by nature very noisy birdies. These kookaburras started laughing at the dogs and the dogs were not impressed by this intrusion into their Sunday morning.  So those kookaburras had to be shown who was boss in that garden. 

Pepsi decided that she could get closer to the pesky things by climbing into the trampa-moline, so up she got.  The kookaburras kept laughing.  How rude! They had never seen a bouncing dog.  Pepsi started to bounce a little bit, then a bit higher.  Harriet was barking, 'Go, Pepsi, go!!'  Pepsi bounced higher....and higher ...and then she managed to grab one of those kookaburras by the wing. 
Harriet kept barking.  Pepsi kept bouncing.  The kookaburra was squawking.  The kookaburra's friends were squawking.  Bounce, bounce, squawk, squawk, bark, bark! What fun! 

But, as usually happens, the humans appeared and stopped the game.  They said that everyone was making too much noise.  Then they took the kookaburra away from Pepsi and, because it had a sore wing, took it to the vet to be looked after. 

I am not sure if any mention was made of Pepsi's skills as a trampa-molinist but I would just like to say that Heidi and I are most impressed and have added a trampa-moline to our Christmas list for Santa's next visit.  We think we would be really, really good at trampa-molining and that it would would be of great benefit to us in our on-going battle with the pussycats and possums of the neighbourhood.

Wags to you, Pepsi!   Oh...an an honourable mention to Harriet for her unstinting support.

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Mum is going out.

I am feeling sad today.  Mum has gone out to work and we are all alone until she comes home.  We know she won't be long but it is very hot and we would rather be inside with the air conditioner on. 
Mum has left us bones and a big bowl of water with ice blocks in it and we can go in the garage or under the palm trees in the shade so we are okay really.  It's just that we like to have Mum around to keep an eye on her.  Heidi says I am a baby and a sook but I am not.  I am a big, brave dog and I just worry about my Mummy and I like to have her near me.
I know that she has to go out to help teach the children and that it's only for a couple of hours in the afternoons but I still get sad.  When I see her getting her teacher bag ready, I know she is going out and i put on my saddest face.  She just says, "It's okay, Troods.  I won't be long.  Don't get into any mischief."
Mischief??  Me???  As if!!!
Heidi is asleep in her nest behind the palm trees.  Wonder if I can steal her bone?

Wednesday 4 January 2012

Behind the bamboo curtain

Down in the bottom corner of our garden there is a deep, dark, interesting place.  It is where the side fence meets the back fence and behind the massive leopard tree.  On the other side of the side fence is the park and on the other side of the back fence is where Bundy, the German Shepherd, and Otto (aka the Rat), the chihuahua live. It is always shaded and mysterious looking and, because the trees drop their litter there, it smells really interesting to a curious dog. 
Mum doesn't want us to go down there.  She says she doesn't know what lives in there.  Well, how are we supposed to find out what lives in there if we don't go exploring?
Mum has put up a light bamboo fence across the corner.  It is attached to the fences and to the leopard tree and is about 1.8m high.  Pfft!
I can't see around it.  I can't see over it even where I stand up and jump and I am not a wombat so I can't dig tunnel under it.  Heidi has tried but with no success.

Yesterday, while I was studying the bamboo fence and smelling all sorts of good smells coming from the other side, I decided that I had to get into the deep, dark, interesting corner somehow.
So, when you can't go around, and you can't go over, and you can't go under.....what do you do?
You go through.  That's what you do.

I took a run up and the biggest leap that I could and went sailing straight through the bamboo curtain. 
Mum and Dad were sitting on the patio at the time and, boy, were they surprised to see a flying dog!
One minute, there I was in the garden and, the next, I was nowhere to be seen and there was a big hole in the bamboo.  I popped my head up to smile at them. 

But then.....what was that?  A rustling?  A scuffling?  The leaves and twigs seemed to be moving under my paws.  I started to be a bit worried.  Was this where the huge, fierce, scratching, vicious tiger that attacked Heidi lived?  I couldn't see anything but I could smell interesting smells and I could hear odd things so......I wanted to get out of there.  But how?  I couldn't jump out because I couldn't get a run up.
I couldn't go around and I couldn't go under. Eeek!!

I poked my head out the hole in the bamboo curtain and whined so that Mum andDad would come and help me.  They just laughed and laughed.  I could hear the tiger coming to get me.....rustle, rustle....so I really started to cry and whine and jump.  They still laughed at me.

Eventually, Dad came and undid the bamboo at one end and released me.  I got out of there as quickly as I went in....zoom.....and went to tell Heidi about my adventure behind the bamboo curtain.

P.S.  We are banned from that part of the garden until Dad comes up with a new fencing solution.

Monday 2 January 2012

A funny weekend

We have had a funny weekend.  On Saturday morning Mum and Dad got dressed up and packed little bags and went out.  Then, in the evening, Mark and Eliza (two of our humans who don't live with us usually) arrived and stayed all night.  Mum and Dad didn't come home. 
This confused us. We had a wrestling game with Mark and our usual late night treat but still, no Mum and Dad.  In the middle of the night Heidi decided to try to find out what was happening, so she went and hopped into bed with Mark and Eliza.  She tried to ask them where Mum and Dad were but they just tipped her out onto the floor and closed the bedroom door.  I knocked but they didn't let me in.

The next day, Sunday, breakfast was not served at the usual time but dinner was early because Mark and Eliza went out. Then, later on, they came back again and stayed all night again.  By this time I was really confused and wondering where my Mummy was.  Mark said I was a big sook.

But...today....yay!!!!  Mum and Dad came home.  We were very happy.  We did one of our best welcomes with jumping and vocalising and squeaking.  Now, everything is back to normal.  Dinner has been served at the proper time and Heidi is having her after dinner nap near the couch.
All is well in my world.