Friday, June 28, 2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DUKE!

Today is our dachshund Duke's sixth birthday!  Our home has never been the same since we brought him home as a scared little eight-week-old puppy.  It didn't take him long, however, to make himself at home in our house as well as in our hearts.  He's sweet, loyal, LOUD (typical dachshund), funny . . . oh yeah, and evil, too:  when he gets his squeak toy, he keeps it about one inch out of my reach, all the while looking at me with a devilish gleam in his eye, growling.  I declare that dawg looks like he's grinning at me :).

Here are some pics from the day we saw him at the doxie farm to how he looks now:





Sunday, June 23, 2013

C'MON, LET'S MOVE IT, MOVE IT!

 
 
Here's the secret to getting a stubborn dachshund to come back inside--at least, it works like a charm for ours:
 
 

The voice is my hubby's (Clark).  Note that our dachshund Duke does not hesitate at all :).  When he goes "out back," a.k.a. downstairs, he knows he'll get a treat when he comes back up.  Smart chow hound extraordinaire, eh?

The culprit himself:

Saturday, June 22, 2013

DOXIES AND DOORBELLS . . .

The unvarnished truth!
People visiting our home for the first time are floored when they enter after ringing the doorbell:  they often look around the foyer at eye level, then gradually work their eyes downward, finally resting on Duke, who is standing there smiling and wagging his tail.

"What?  That little dog there produced that loud barking we heard outside??"

Yep, that's our Duke.  Shadow is the same.  Doxies go nuts over a lot of things (in our house, it's over cheese, treats, certain words), and a ringing doorbell ranks right up there.

As Sarge points out in THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES books: "Isn't the point of barking to be heard?"

Well, yes, I suppose it is.

                 
                                                                                                            
Duke doesn't chase people; he just
enjoys barking when the doorbell rings
 

 

Thursday, June 20, 2013

WHEN IN DOUBT . . .


    "When in doubt, just smile and nod.  
In other words, fake it 'til you make it!"

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE


Three doxies intently gazing at something beyond camera range . . . probably food, don't you think? 

Who knows what kind of contortions (or food offering) the photographer used to get them to 1) look in the same direction; 2) sit still at the same time; and 3) look completely mesmerized until the picture was taken?

And 4) I wonder what happened immediately after the picture was taken??

Monday, June 17, 2013

JUST A'FLOATIN' ALONG . . .



These three doxies look like they are really enjoying floating around in the kiddie pool.  When our granddawg Shadow was a puppy, he didn't want to get into the pool--so Holly put him on a float, and he stood on it as it made its way around the pool!  He looked so funny standing there to avoid getting wet.

Dachshunds--no matter what, you gotta love 'em!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!



Here's wishing all you dads out there a wonderful Father's Day.  Oh, I know dads don't get the attention that moms do on Mother's Day . . . but that doesn't mean we don't love and honor you just as much.

Two men have made my life so much better than it would have ever been without them:  Dad (now in heaven) and my husband Clark.  Dad was a fun-loving, gregarious sort of man
who went all out with things that he loved:  cooking, gardening, music (he learned to play the guitar by ear as a young man), laughing, telling his funny stories, etc.  And he loved his family very much.  I sure do miss him!

Clark is a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather.  Always selfless and doing for others, he's a very special human being, even if he won't acknowledge it :).  We all know how talented and loving he is!  I know he's saved our family thousands of dollars over the years with his handyman skills:  repairing, installing, updating, creating, and improving things around our homes and working on vehicles.  He never brings attention to himself (unlike moi), so it's up to me to tell the world that he is so wonderful. 

Thank you, Lord, for bringing this man into my life.


My late dad, Robert Duke, who loved
being a chef
 
 
                                      Clark and me
                                      with the grandkids

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

WHAT'S UP WITH DACHSHUNDS AND BEDS?



The cartoon pretty much sums it up.  Shadow, our granddawg (known as Sarge in THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES) "wrote" the following excerpt from I AM DACHSHUND, Book 2.

"The Defiant Paw"

Kurt had brought in the air mattress, and with its accompanying electric pump, he had it ready for linens in no time.  Mama and Bethany were preparing to put sheets on the bed when I saw my chance and jumped right into the middle of that comfy air mattress.  "Sarge, get down, boy!  We're trying to make the bed!"  But I like this big, comfy bed, and I want to sleep on it.  So I turned over on my back and just lay there, looking up at Mama. 


"Sarge, we said this ISN'T your bed, so get down, boy!"  Mama shoved me off again.  Since they wouldn't let me back up on that bed, I believed I should demonstrate how I felt about this bed.  So I sat down beside the mattress and took my paw and placed it on the edge of the mattress.

Daddy started laughing.  "Look at that 'defiant paw' on that mattress!  Sarge is like a strong-willed child with his own way of communicating his feelings to us, isn't he?"

Mama came over to me and picked me up.  "Sarge, you really can't help it:  dachshunds are noted for being stubborn, and although you ARE a good boy, you are one determined little doggie when it comes to something you want.  You are so funny sometimes!"

Well, Mama, a dawg has to stick up for himself, you know.  People are kinda slow to pick up on things sometimes, and even you don't always figure out what I'm trying to say--but you got it right this time.

As everyone headed off to bed, they continued laughing over my "defiant paw."  I didn't mean to be defiant; I merely meant to make perfectly clear what I wanted, even though I ended up not getting my way, as usual.  I did, however, enjoy my new doggie bed that Papa gave me for Christmas, the next best thing, which Mama placed beside the fireplace for me.

I nearly got myself into trouble this time by being persistent, but it worth a try, and at least I got my point across to them.  We dogs never know how people are going to react, but a smart dog has to take chances now and then.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

THE THREE FACES OF A DACHSHUND:



How a doxie looks to people:
adorable and cute/hard to resist
 
 


How a doxie views himself:
fearless, big as anything else out there
 
 
 
How a doxie REALLY is:
comical, loving, humorous, and
so much more!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

A-BARKING WE WILL GO, A-BARKING WE WILL GO . . .


 
 
There are all sorts of captions I could come up with for this picture of dachshunds.  Let's try a few on for size:
 
 
1 - "A-barking we will go, a-barking we will go, heigh ho a derry-o, a-barking we will go!"
 
2 - "C'mon!  Let's get in front so we can get the first treats handed out!"
 
3 - "Who said there was a cat out here?  Lemme at him!"
 
4 - "Er . . . tell me again why we're all barking and running?"
 
5 - "We look like a pack of sled dogs . . . but where's the sled?"
 
6 - "DOORBELL!!!"  (contributed by my daughter Holly, owner of Shadow)
 
Well, you get the idea.  I invite readers to come up with a caption, too.  Just leave a comment below.  Happy captioning!