Sweet Sophie

I've been in Indiana, visiting a friend. She has Charlie's sister, Sophie, and I'm amazed by the sibling similarities. The two dogs not only look alike, but they have the same mannerisms, too! They both hold their heads the same way, lie in the same positions, grab your arm in their teeth when they get too excited, and squint when they're happy. They have their differences, but I constantly catch myself calling her "Charlie".

Sophie
Sophie again
Sophie, doing the Charlie "twist"
Sweet Sophie

Wordless Wednesday

New Old Friends

We had a great experience this past week, meeting Brooke & Greg from DWB (Benson's, Opy's & Angel Charlie's mum & dad) and showing them some of Portland.
They petted Charlie nonstop and fussed over him, called him a beautiful boy, hugged him and fed him treats. Charlie, of course, ate up every second of it!
We were all so sorry to let them go, but grateful for the opportunity to spend time with two of the nicest people in the world!


However... Charlie now knows it's possible for people to pay even MORE attention to him than we usually do. So the bar's been raised, and we're going to have to do our best to meet the new high standards.     :-)

 

Wordless Wednesday, A Day Late

Good Fences Make Good Dogs

Charlie is intrigued by the new garden I put in. He loves to eat dirt, plus Pouncer digs there and that's a big attractant. But when the veggies ripen, the attraction will increase exponentially, because Charlie's an omnivore -- he loves veggies as much as I do!

So I'm erecting a low bamboo fence around the new garden. Tall enough to keep Charlie (who doesn't jump fences or push babygates) out, yet low enough for me to step over.

"Mmmmm... 2010 -- a good year for dirt."
I've been using a jerry-rigged setup of sawhorses and 2x4s, but it's always falling apart as Charlie pushes the boundaries a little. So it was time for something better looking and more stable.

"I could help, you know. I could keep the kitties out of there."
Having taken a class on bamboo fence-building, I decided on a rustic Japanese yotsume-gaki-style fence. Gabbie's mom grows bamboo & donated canes to the cause, and I bought posts at a local feed store.

"Awwwww... you never let me have any fun!"
For the last week, Charlie and I have been measuring and cutting and digging and leveling and nailing... There's plenty more do do (namely, the pickets and a gate), but we have the bones of a fence; one sufficient to keep Charlie out and the vegetables in.

 

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!"