I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat

Remember how I told you that we had a new pussy cat in our neighbourhood?  Well, there is not just one pussy cat but TWO!  
Heidi thought she heard something next door so she had a quick peep and was instantly on alert. There were two not just one.  She watched them for a while in their courtyard.

Then she called me to have a look too.  I had to peep in between the retaining wall and the fence palings to get a proper look but...yep...there they were.....lying on chairs looking very relaxed.
We gave them a good barking but it didn't worry them at all. 








Heidi and I had a council of war and decided that I would jump up really high and maybe get over the fence.  
So I tried but it didn't work.  Pfft!  Will have to come up with a better plan.


Meanwhile they are just laughing at us through the fence.  How rude!  
Pussy cats!  Phooey!!

An Interloper

Our new next door neighbours have committed the dreadful crime of buying.......a cat.  Can you believe it?
We are already having to put up with Kahlua, a brown feline being, who lives in one of the houses over the back fence and now we have another cat to deal with.

Cats are annoying beasties because they think they are cleverer than dogs.  This theory of theirs is based on the fact that they can walk along the tops of fences and we cannot. They like to do this whilst saying rude things like, 'Ha ha, stupid dog. You can't get me.'  This is very irritating and insulting.  Kahlua is an expert in irritating Heidi and me.  He even sits on the top of the fence and dangles his tail as he sings his silly pussy cat songs.  When I jump up to grab him, he flips his tail out of the way.  Why I could just.........!!!

Anyway, I was sitting in the pool room on Sunday, keeping an eye on the park across the road, when this new cat brazenly wandered past the window.  Well, I gave hime a jolly good barking and he ran away and sat right outside the garden gate.   I kept barking and Heidi came to help but the dastardly thing just sat there with its tongue sticking out.  Eventually Dad had to go out and shoo it off.  I was beside myself with indignation and it was only the fact that dinner was soon to be served that calmed me down.

Then, yesterday, I was out in the yard doing my regular patrol when I saw, under our palm trees, an interloper.  You guessed it.  It was the new cat.  How dare he?  I let out a blood curdling (according to Mum) squeal and dived in there after him.  He started spitting and squealing too and shot into the bushes.  I went in after him and was crashing around looking for him when Mum arrived on the scene demanding to know what was going on.

The cat used this diversion to zoom off towards the garage but Heidi was waiting there to block his exit,
(excellent double teaming by the brave canine defenders of the home), so there was more spitting and squealing.  Heidi had him cornered in the garage and I was on my way to assist when.......go on, have a guess what happened........yes, Mum ruined everything.   Sigh!

Mum slammed the garage door so I was stuck out in the yard.  Then she went over to try to grab Heidi which gave the cat a chance to nip in under the car.  Mum finally got hold of Heidi's collar and dragged her into the house and closed her in there.  Then she opened the big roller door and let the cat out.

Game over.

Heidi and I spent about an hour looking around the yard and the garage just in case the cat had come back without any success.  Mum says she hopes he has learned his lesson and won't come back into our place.
Having ruined our game she doesn't want us to have any more fun.  Humans!   As previously mentioned on this blog, humans have no idea about having fun.

Cats!!  Bah!!

Doctor's Orders

On Friday Mum put my leash on and opened the back of the car.  I thought we were going to the puppy park so I was very excited but then I noticed that Mum was putting Heidi back into the house and closing her in. 
Oh No!!  I was going to the vet!!!  Eek!! 
It's not that I don't like Doctor Sandra but she has a habit of doing funny things to me. 


As usual, when we arrived, I had to sit on the black thing for a minute.  Miss Hannah, the nurse, said I was 26 kg.  Apparently that is a good thing because Miss Hannah patted me and told me I was beautiful.  


Then we had to wait for a little while and I was a bit worried and a bit excited.  I was shivering so Miss Hannah came to cuddle me and told me I was soooo beautiful and that I didn't need to worry.
That was all very well for her to say; she wasn't the one who had to go in to see Doctor Sandra.  


Soon it was my turn and Doctor Sandra came out and said, 'Come on, Trudy.'  So in we went.
Well, it was pretty much what I had expected.  First I gave Doctor Sandra a big cuddle because I hadn't seen her for a long time.   She told me how beautiful I was and then I had to stand very quietly while she put the cold thing on my chest.  Then she had a good feel around my tummy and peered down my ears.  And then.......oh, the horror, the indignity,......she pulled up my tail and inserted......yes, inserted......something!!  How rude!!  I tried to sit down but Doctor Sandra had a firm hold on my tail so I couldn't.  At last she took the thing out of my.....well, you know.....and told me I was a good girl.  I was still feeling all insulted over the appalling assault on my person when things took a turn for the better.
I was given liver treats for being so well behaved and then Doctor Sandra told Mum I had a bit of 
'Tar - Tar' on my teeth and that I needed to eat bones more often.  Mum said that we have a bone once a week and Doctor Sandra said to make it twice a week or even more.  Yay!!!


After more cuddles we went home to Heidi who had done the only sensible thing given the circumstances.  She had hopped up on Mum's bed and gone to sleep.


I was exhausted.  What an effort!  Thank Goodness it only happens once a year.


Anyway, here I am following doctor's orders with some marrow bones that the butcher sliced up for us.

Mum gets the butcher to cut the bones up because if we have them when they are still big dinosaur bones we fight over them. 

Spa Day

Today we spent the morning with Miss Anna at the Doggie Spa.  It is one of our favourite things to do.  Mum takes us in at 9 o'clock and picks us up at about 1 o'clock.
I don't know what she does in between but we have a great time.
First we have a bath.  Not just any bath but a bath with rosemary scented bubbles to help relax us.  I usually go first and Heidi watches and laughs at me and then I have to stand in front of a huge fan and blow dry while Heidi has her bath.

Then there is the brushing and clipping.  We were very woolly today.  Miss Anna said she cut off enough wool to stuff a dozen cushions.  There was a bit of drama when Miss Anna found a grass seed trying to burrow into my belly.  Yuk!  She had to pop it out and disinfect my tummy.  Disinfectant doesn't taste very nice when you lick it.  Mum has put some paw paw ointment on now which is much nicer to lick.

I got to lie on the 'waiting couch' while Heidi had her ears plucked.  Ouch!  Ho Ho is so brave.  I guess she is used to it.  Heidi's wool is curly and she grows  some back inside her ears so they have to be plucked or she will get ear infections. 

To finish off, if we have been well behaved, we have a little treat.  Miss Anna lets us snooze on the 'waiting couch' while we wait for Mum to come to pick us up.  Sometimes we are allowed to play with Miss Anna's little dog but that didn't happen today because of a slight accident.

When we arrived at 9 o'clock, Miss Anna's dog was so excited to see us that she ran around in circles in the back yard and slipped into the fish pond.  She was covered in smelly green weeds (fish like weeds in their ponds) and Miss Anna said she was not a good advertisement for the spa and put her in the laundry.  So no play time just snooze time.

Now we look like a pair of skinny minnies but we feel a lot cooler. 
Thank you, Miss Anna.  See you in April. 

Stupid rain!

Stupid rain!  We are over it.....totally over it. 
No going for a nice long walk; just a quick wander in the park.  No playing outside in amongst the palm trees or sneaking under the hedge for a good bark at Otto, (aka The Rat), who lives next door. 
Everytime I do go outside for a minute, I have to have my feet wiped before I can come back inside.
I even got into trpuble for having mud in my ears this morning.  Well, how else was I supposed to fix an itchy ear?  You rub your head on the grass....everybody knows that!  It woasn't my fault that the grass was a bit muddy at the time.  Over it!!  Totally over it!!

Heidi has gone on strike and retired to the cupboard, only emerging if she hears the pantry door opening.
I am lying on the bed in the pool room looking out at the park.  No people to bark at.  No dogs to bark at. No birds sitting on the fence to bark at.  It seems that even stupid cats stay in when it is raining. Sigh.......What is a dog supposed to do? 

On the upside, there is a nice soft spot forming in the middle of the lawn which, if this rain keeps going for a couple of days, might turn into a puddly sort of slip and slide for us.  Hmmm.  Note to self: keep an eye on that soft spot.  Hope Mum hasn't noticed it.  She won't let us go out there if she knows it is there.
No idea of fun, these humans.  What could be better than taking a run up and sliding along on your belly through the soft squelchy grass until you hit the bushes under the white flowery tree?  Sheer bliss! 
Oh well, I might just have a snooze until Heidi comes out to tell Mum that it is time for dinner to be served.  By then the slip and slide might be ready.

Training Dad

This year Mum has been going out on some afternoons to help some kids with their school work. That means that she is not at home when it is dinner time.
Big problem! She is not at home and we cannot open tins...no matter how much some of us have tried. She is not at home so someone else has to be put in charge of feeding us....and the only available someone is...Dad.
This is not as straightforward as it might seem. Dad is not used to doing the dinner service so he does not automatically spring into action at 5.30 like Mum does. He seems to think that watching 'Deal or No Deal' on television takes precedence over our nutritional demands.
Therefore, a training program has been devised by Heidi to sort the problem out.
At 4.45 I go to Dad with the pulling toy and encourage him to play with us. He does.
At 5.00 Heidi goes to Dad and requests a neck rub. He rubs.
At 5.15 I go to Dad and put my head on his knee and gaze soulfully at him so that he can feel my starvation. He tells me I am a good girl.
At 5.30 Heidi goes to sit at Dad's feet using her very best and most perfect begging pose. He says how pretty she is and usually asks her if she is hungry. (Duh!!)
And then, if he doesn't get up and start serving.....I jump up onto the recliner chair with him and lie all over him so that he finally gets the message.
Yesterday, We only had to work through steps 1,2 and 3. Dinner was served at 5.20.
Another successful plan! Gosh, we're good.


And on a completely different subject.....

Freshly mown grass + rolling big blonde dog = big green dog! Fancy that!
Woof.

Big scary storms

We are not in favor of big scary storms. A bit of rain occasionally is okay but we definitely do not like the loud crashing storms that make the yard into a swimming pool.
Now, you would think that a pool in the backyard would be a good thing but, according to Mum, it is not. She dashes around making sure all the drains are draining and checking doors and windows for leakage and, of course, keeping us inside. Today the swimming pool came right up to the doorway and Mum wasn't very happy about it.
Heidi was in the walk-in cupboard so it was up to me to follow Mum around and keep her out of trouble. She was out in the rain (I wasn't allowed out!!!) taking sticks and grass out of the drain and complaining about her hair getting wet. When I barked a suggestion that I come out to help, I was told, quite rudely I thought, to 'Shut up!'.
So now, some hours later, we are not allowed out because of the wet yard. The swimming pool has pretty much gone away but it is still slushy underpaw. The rule in these circumstances is as follows:- When one goes outside and gets wet paws, one is then denied further access to the house until said paws are dry. So one finds oneself confined to the garage or the pool room.
Our friend Bonnie's Mum says that there should be gumboots for adventurous dogs.
Hmm....Heidi would wear them. I am guessing that Bonnie would wear them too. Well, not me!!!
I would have those things off my paws pronto! I am no soft wussy princess! I am a big brave tiger hunting dog. A bit of water doesn't worry me. I thought I would go out and check the palm trees for pussy cats and possums. That's why I am waiting in the garage for my paws to dry.
Humans and their rules....no understanding of the necessities of a dog's life sometimes.
Oh well, if I'm not allowed in the house, I'd just as well go and see how much of that swimming pool is left. Woof!