Just Roo It!

It's half-time and the SoccerRoos are down, but they're not out! C'mon SoccerRoos!"

 

Why Charlie* Eats So Fast

Call him anything you like. Just don't call him late to dinner.
*He's the little guy on top

 

World Pup Soccer

The rules say no handballs; they don't say anything about mouths.
Staredown
Uh oh... personal foul
Yellow card!
Arguing with the ref

 

Joke of the Day

Q: How high can your dog jump?

A: How high do you keep your food?

And lest anyone be concerned - a nail trimming was handily accomplished at the vet's this week, using a jar of peanut butter to keep the animal sedated. :)

 

Could This Dog Even Do Anything Bad?

No pictures, but if I ever wondered what I'd look like with a Heidelberg dueling scar, I wonder no more. Charlie says it's my own fault for trying to pin him down for a little "work" when he was feeling playful. In any event, it's time for a toenail trim. And I know just the vet who can do it!

 

Wordless Wednesday Thursday - Vegan Dog

We Be Yammin'

Charlie loves rawhide chews, but since he believes they're meant to be consumed immediately and has the teeth with which to do so, I often buy him off with a yam chew. Yam chews certainly don't last as long, but I haven't had to pull one out of his throat yet, and there's no worry about other digestive consequences. We just finished the batch I made in March, so it was time to make some more.


They're easy to make with a food dehydrator and tasty, too (I have this on the best authority, and I don't mean Charlie ;) ). 10 pounds of yams makes 2-3 pounds of chews, so they're even economical, compared to buying Sam's Yams. I blogged the recipe before. But since then, I've made an improvement -- perforating the slightly cooked yam slices before dehydrating them; it really makes the drying go better and faster.


Here's the short version of the "big dog" recipe:
1. Buy a bunch of the biggest yams you can find. 10 lb. fills my 6 round dehydrator racks.
2. Slice the yams into 1/2" - 3/4" slabs.
3. Cook the slices on a plate in a microwave -- about 4 min. on each side.
4. Perforate the slices all over (on both sides) with a fork
5. Dehydrate @135-140' F for 10-20 hrs.
6. Feed and repeat.

"Bone" Apetit!

Paging Dr. Mom... Dr. Mom to the OR...

"Charlie, this is NOT a happy situation!"
"Rut roh... I'm in trouble now..."
"Can you fix Joey?"
"That's his tail, Mom! Don't sew it there!!"
"He seems better..."
"Let me check..."
"CHARLIE, leave Joey's nose alone!!!"
"What?"

Wordless Wednesday

Farmer Charlie

Pouncer has decided that the just-rototilled garden is her new litterbox, and Charlie has decided... well let's just say he wants to scrounge around inside. At first I didn't realize why he wanted in so badly. Today, however, when I was planting, it became pretty obvious.

I'm going to build a more permanent fence, but until then, this makeshift one will have to do.


Fortunately Charlie respects babygates and fences. But, maybe if he stretches his neck far enough, mom won't notice...


Organic fertilizer apparently also smells yummy!

 

Too Tired to Even Hold His Head Up...

Outtakes

When you're out taking pictures with Charlie, you get a lot more pictures like this:




than this:

 

Playtime Dreams

Today is showery, with the sun occasionally peeking out, so we're spending the day inside.


Charlie's asleep, probably dreaming about how much fun we're going to have when the weather turns nice again, just like we did last week:

Garden Helper

For some reason, gardening with Charlie as a helper is more work....

"Wha'cha doin'? Want me to help with that?"

"I'll take care of those!"

"Hey, I said those are MY weeds!"

"And what are these? I can help with these, too!"

"Grrrrrr, you nasty weeds!"

Approach Avoidance

There are workmen in the house mounting a new TV on the wall, and Charlie is alternately intrigued by them...

... and freaked by the sound of their reciprocating saw making cutouts in the plywood shear wall.

Whenever I leave the room, he stays close by my side, jockeying to keep me between him and the scary noises, for example, as I try to work in the kitchen.

Poor guy -- it's probably time for some extra treats!

 

Charlie's New BFF

You'll recall how much Charlie likes his mailman. Well, I don't remember exactly when and how it happened, but things have changed since October.

No longer does the mail carrier leave treats outside the door for Charlie to retrieve with the mail...

...nor is Charlie babygated upstairs at mailtime, anymore...

... because Charlie and his new best friend now do a daily greeting ... one-on-one.

"Hi, buddy!"
Charlie lies at the head of the unbabygated stairs or at a nearby window, watching and listening for the distinctive *snap* of the mail slot, whereupon he races to the door, barking ferociously. But now, when he sees it's Jeffrey, the bark turns from ferocious to demanding, or even quiets entirely, while Charlie waits for us to come open the door, so he can squirm through and let the greetings begin.

Of course, the very best greetings involve both snuzzling and treats, and these are no exception.

Catching a treat in mid-air.
So Charlie now has the mailman eating out of his hand. Only it's the other way around, really. Thanks, Jeffrey -- all of us around here think you're "paw"some!

 

Time for a Trim

I love Charlie's featherduster feet, but after watching him lose his footing today and almost fall off the terrace wall (when admittedly he was annoying a sun-lounging Pouncer, which he oughtn't to do and perhaps served him right...) I decided it was time to take action.

I'm no expert groomer, but I watched a couple of YouTube vids, got out my scissors, and we headed outside.

"You want to trim my paws? You and what army?!!"
Charlie, as you can see, was not too keen on the whole thing.

"Leave my paws alone."
He's all about being in "control" plus I think it must have tickled a little when I cut the underpaw fur.

The feathers are as long under the feet as on top of them!
Eventually, though, he relaxed in the sun and we got through it.

Trimmed and sure-footed!
I don't think I would ever be hired to do this, but fortunately Charlie agrees that it's more important to be able to catch the kitties than to wow them with your good looks!

"Where'd that Pouncer go?"