Saturday, June 28, 2014

HAPPY DOXIE BIRTHDAY TO DUKE!


Yes, our beloved doxie Duke is seven years old today.  These years with him have been a roller coaster ride of laughs, fun, love, and joy.  He came to us as a scared little eight-week-old puppy, but
that didn't last long.  In a few days, he felt right at home and his antics have given us many laughs.

Super Dawg
I had told my hubby:  "I want a dog with personality," and boy, did we get it!  Yes, he's a tad stubborn, but that's a noted doxie trait.  If we tell him to get up on the couch and lie down, he makes a beeline for the blue chair across the room in front of a window!  But he does lie down in the blue chair, so I suppose that's obedience--well, partial obedience, anyway.

He loves tug-of-war, too.  For only an eighteen-pound dawg, he's very strong, so the game exercises any human arm that plays it with him.

"What?  I thought you said TREAT"
After my recent surgeries, he made it his priority to stay by my side and take care of me.  I had trouble getting up from my recliner when I first came home from the hospital, so Clark would take my hands and pull me up.  Of course, my knee hurt, so I probably groaned and had a pained expression.  Duke promptly got between Clark and me, whining and barking at him--Duke thought Clark was hurting me, when it was only the process of getting up that hurt me.  We reassured him that I was okay, so he's never intervened again when Clark has helped me up.

His vocabulary is large, too.  By "vocabulary" I mean the words that he understands:  food, hungry,eat, breakfast, lunch, dinner, cheese, eggs and bacon, treat, toy,
ball, bone, squeak toy, sock, lie down, bath, go out, car, ride, mailman, cat, kitty, squirrel, geese, Mama, Daddy, and all the names of everyone else in the family, especially those of the grandchildren.  Notice a pattern of all the food-related words?

Of course, as most dogs do, he is overjoyed when we come home from anywhere.  Lately, it's been to my physical therapy sessions, which last about two hours.  Clark drives me because my recent knee replacement was on my right leg--not up to driving yet.  Duke wags his tail and smiles, giving us doggie kisses and being thrilled to see us.

He made his debut in THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES series in Book 2, I AM DACHSHUND.  Sarge takes Duke under his wing (or paw, to be exact) to teach Duke how dachshunds should act, as well as some of his own time-tested methods for obtaining human food.

All in all, I can't imagine how boring our lives were before he came.  Our children were married and lived out of town (well, one of them is only an hour away now), so the house was very quiet.  Duke has livened it up considerably, still wanting to chase his ball after we throw it down the hall for him. 
"Why should I get off your bed??"

In fact, we've talked about his remarkable talent for remaining puppy-like in middle age (in dog years, that is).  He has a gray hair here and there now, too.  But his fun-loving and comical personality from puppyhood is still intact.  He makes us laugh every day, and he gives us that unconditional love that only a dog can give--down here, anyway.

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em.  And in our case, we love Duke for the handsome, sweet, stubborn, intelligent, comical, loyal, and yes--the downright human--dawg he is!

Thursday, June 26, 2014

BABY ANIMAL PICTURES: SO CUTE!



It's no secret to those who know me that I love animals, especially baby animals.

Here is a collection of several beautiful pictures of baby animals that I know you'll enjoy. 

 


 


 


 



  animal-parents-33   

  animal-parents-31 


Which is your favorite, and why?  Leave a comment below.

Monday, June 23, 2014

DUKE'S STYLE



Fortunately, our doxie Duke has never chewed up something important, like the internet connection!  He has a chew blanket (his second one, by the way), and in many respects, he treats it like Linus  from the "Peanuts" comic strip--it is his calming agent.

We finally tossed the first blanket when it came to resemble Swiss cheese--more holes than blanket.  Now, the second is close to its demise as well.  Duke likes to chew on it at night while lying on the couch; next, he licks it lovingly, then falls asleep.  As I said, he never chews on anything important, and we hope he doesn't start eyeing electrical cords and the like.

This is more Duke's style:


He's a "chow hound," for sure!

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em!

Friday, June 20, 2014

STUBBORN DACHSHUND TRICKS



I find this chart extremely accurate from my experience with doxies, including present company, Duke.  I would love to see Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, attempt to make a dachshund stay, stop barking, and many other things!!

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

CAPTION THIS CUTE DOGGIE PHOTO


I can think of many captions, but I'd love to hear from dachshund lovers out there.  Leave your caption idea in the comments section below.

Happy captioning!

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

SHADOW THE DOXIE LOVES HIS FAMILY!


Sleeping with "sister" Alexa

Sleeping with "sister" Annika

Playing with "brother" Asher

Cuddling with "mama"

Riding to visit us!

Friday, June 13, 2014

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO THE TWO BEST MEN!


 And those two would be my husband Clark and my late father, known as "Papa Duke" in THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES series.  Both were/are awesome grandpas, too!

Here's wishing all dads and grandfathers a happy Father's Day, too!  May your day be wonderful and blessed, surrounded by loved ones.



Sunday, June 8, 2014

DACHSHUNDS AND MAIL CARRIERS

What is it with dachshunds (and most dogs) and mail carriers?  Duke goes berserk when he hears the mail truck on our street.  He wants Clark to take him outside RIGHT THEN . . . and do what?  All Duke wants to do is bark!  Perhaps he thinks he chases the mail truck off since it leaves Every. Single. Time he barks at it.




Friday, June 6, 2014

I'M B-A-A-A-CK!

Duke has informed you of my progress :).  I am doing much better than last time, and my knee is healing well.  I don't have the stamina yet to do much, but it's nice to be pain free most of the time.

Our daughter Bethany flew in from Arizona for ten days for my surgery, and she helped a great deal, giving Clark a break from cleaning, cooking, and laundry.  Our daughter Holly spent the first night in the hospital with me.  Clark is, of course, the best husband on the planet, bar none.  I could go on and on about the family, but you get the idea :).

The photos below were taken at our home four days after my surgery.  It was so good to have us all together, minus our son-in-law Kurt, who remained in AZ for work.  

Grandma and the boys: Clark, SIL Philip,grandson Asher
Bethany, moi, Holly

Clark and the girls
















I am doing very well at this writing, having begun my physical therapy.  I am able to do more than I could at this point in time with the last surgery.  I look forward to getting completely healed and doing things I haven't been able to do in years!

God is good, and our friends at church have taken good care of us in the way of meals, calls, cards, and visits.  We are so appreciative.

I'll be back soon!

Thursday, June 5, 2014

DUKE THE DOXIE SPEAKS

Hello doxie lovers,


This is Duke, Mavis Duke Hinton's dachshund.

If you have read I AM DACHSHUND, I am introduced in that book, the second one of THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES series.

I am writing on her behalf to let you know that she is still recuperating from her second knee replacement surgery--but she asked me to tell you that she'll be back soon, blogging away!

From my observation (and doxies are master observers, you know), she is getting along so much better than she did with her first knee surgery.  Why, she was able to do things for herself when she first came home, unlike the first time, when my human daddy Clark had to help her up from her recliner, etc.  And this time, her leg is hardly swollen at all!  Oh, if I forget and jump up on her lap on the right side, she lets me know right away to move away from her sore leg.  But I caught on pretty fast and don't do that anymore.

I like to stay close by her, though.  I want to do everything I can to help her get well so she will feel like playing with me again!  Daddy does sometimes, but all humans know that there's just nobody like mama, be they human or canine.

She got her 51 staples out on Monday, and I heard her tell Daddy that they did hurt somewhat, but she was glad to have them gone because they pulled sometimes.

She asked me to tell everyone that she'll be back soon, and to please check this blog for updates.  Don't forget to stop by now and then!

Until then, just remember that she is making good progress and is able to walk very well, but not very far yet, because she gets too tired.  She has already started outpatient therapy three days a week, and that will help her build up her stamina.

Thanks for reading this from me, and she'll be back soon!

Duke