My Dogs don't love rain!

It's been so rainy today, none of the dogs want to go outside. I don't either - rain and cold don't make a lovely spring day.

I'll have to let them out, or kick them out, at some stage though. The young pharaoh hounds, brother and sister Lah Dee and Missy are asleep on the dog sofa, their mother is asleep in her crate in the other end of the house and schnauzer Nena is asleep in her crate. It's very peaceful.

Having the dogs separated like this is now the way it has to be. The four of them had a battle for supremacy last Sunday and blood was shed. I hate dog fights and I'm glad it ended with only bad injuries, not terrible injuries. 

Missy was the loser for the day - much bleeding from one leg and a trip to the vet on Monday and another trip Thursday. I wish we could go back to having the dogs all loose in the house, but I'm not going to risk it when I'm the only human in the house.

It was sweet when all four dogs would sleep on the sofa together. It's sure not sweet when and all in brawl erupts with teeth and snarls all around.

Oh well, at least dogs like to sleep for many hours every day - it makes for a quiet day with them sleeping and not getting nasty with each other.Owning a pack of dogs can lead to interesting times, but I'll be happy if times stay quiet and boring. It's easier and it's cheaper!

The Reason Why Bitches are Called Bitches

I really should know better, but yet again ourdogs have proved they are not always sweet and lovely.

Yesterday I was inside and I left all of the four dogs we have outside. I'd been out with them earlier and they were all friendly with each other - one adult male pharaoh hound (Lah Dee, two adult female pharaoh hounds ( Ananka and Missy) and one adult female schnauzer (Nena).

Ananka is the mother of the other two pharaoh hounds and Nena is the oldest dog. All seemed fine and then I heard a huge snarling and crashing around and Lah Dee who was in the back dog run was barking like a mad thing. I rushed outside to see Nena had Ananka by the side of her head just below her ear.

I got the whip we have in the laundry for obtaining a little respect at times like this, encouraged Nena and Ananka to break up the fight and then put Nena inside. My heart was beating fast and I was trembling a little. I'm not sure what started the fight,but I know that I'll try not to let it happen again.

It may be that Nena is coming into season which always changes the pack dynamics around, or it may be that the full moon was rising up in the sky. Anyway, whatever the reason, I have learned my lesson now - don't leave those two girls out together!

You Can Teach an Older Dog New Tricks

We all live in imperfect times. This, however, doesn't mean we can't change some things to make them more perfect. Having a dog in your household that disobeys your every word is a pain in the you know what. You can work, though, to change your disobedient dog into a more obedient dog, maybe not a perfect dog, but better than it was.

You too can teach your dog to sit.

At our home we currently have four dogs - one Pharaoh hound male (La De Da), two pharaoh hound females (Ananka and Missy) and one schnauzer female (Nena). Nena is the oldest of our dogs and Missy is the youngest. All of our dogs have some idea of what Sit! means. Nena always sits when she is told to sit, La De sits unless there is something exciting happening. Ananka sits when we insist, as longs as we can catch her and Missy is the same as Ananka (her mother).

Pharaoh hounds are quite different in their level of obedience compared to schnauzers. Pharaoh hounds are clever like cats, schnauzers want to do what you want them to do, as long as they understand what you want. It was relatively easy to teach Nena to sit a few years ago as a five year old dog.

La De learned to sit early this year, as a three and a half year old dog. He now sits before he gets his tea, and whenever I tell him to sit inside. If it's not tea time and La De is outside, his sitting is erratic if his sister and his mother are being crazy barking at birds (this is what they mostly do when they're outside).

But La De is getting better with his sitting, as long as all of us in the family are consistent - if we sy sit, we all make sure we make La De sit. La De is a good boy and he obviously wants to do what we want him to do, because he loves the reward of being told he's a good boy and getting fussed over.

Our pharaoh hound girls though get most of their rewards in life from the joy of the chase, and they love barking and chasing the birds. They are both works in progress, and I still hope that one day, their sitting will be as good as Nena's and La De's.

I hope you can get some hope or comfort from this little blog post. Or you may have a totally obedient dog and if so I am incredibly jealous! But I love my dogs, even if they're not perfect, and I know that they are as obedient as I have taught them to be - any failings are my fault, not theirs (except for Ananka - her failings are all her own doing!).

May your pack be a good pack!

All's right in the world

The dogs are all curled up asleep, husband and son are off to play lawn bowls. Dinner is planned and it will be good. the only bad thing is that I still haven't got around to turning off the TV. I should - I don't like the Professional Wrestling.

There, done. Bye bye to those silly strutters, hello to sweet, sweet silence.

I do appreciate Randy Orton though. It's such a shame they give him story lines that don't meet up to my thoughts about him.

On to the real reason for this blog - not much really. As I said, the dogs are curled up asleep, some outside in sunny spots, some inside. All is good. The dishes are done, no washing to do today, I could get on with writing my novel, couldn't I?

Well I could, but I think we all know I probably won't. I'll think about some of the people in it though, perhaps. Hello guys! Keep thinking at me!

Enough silliness. Time for another cup of coffee, and some proper creative writing - typing up poems from Thursday and other things.

The Mystery of the Ripped down Washing

The mystery is solved. I was on the phone the other day, looking out of the window, and I saw Missy about to jump at the washing. I loudly growled at her, she came to the back door and I let her in.

I haven't had her outside with washing on the line since, just other dogs out, with Missy in, and the washing is staying right where I put it. So, now I know, I can act accordingly.

The problem with these sorts of things is not being able to get proper proof. Washing on the ground and a dog with a hang dog expression is not proof. Just because the dog may look 'guilty' that is not proof.

Dogs, in my opinion, do not feel guilt. They do not have emotions the same as people do. They are, however, very good at reading human emotions in us. The 'guilty' look a dog gives is usually a response to our anger. They will give that look whenever they see us when we are angry. We just notice the dog more when we think they should be feeling guilty. It is not a guilty dog, it is just a worried dog that looks guilty to us.

I know other people would disagree with me on this, and they often ascribe human emotions to their pet dogs. I don't buy it. I look at the dog's behaviour and see the situation from a dog's point of view. Dogs are our friends, they can feel strongly toward us, but in my opinion, they do not love us any more than they would love any dog member of their pack.

I am human, my dogs are dogs. I am the leader, they know that, but they will continue to act in dog-like ways. Missy pulls down the washing because it is lots of fun for her. I just have to realise that and deal with it, by not letting her loose with the washing. It is as simple as that!

I can't explain to Missy that I don't want her ripping down the washing, because she is a dog, not a person. Dogs are dogs, and I love them for it!

Dogs and Washing

Dogs and washing are important things in my backyard. We often have a dog or two in the backyard, and a few times a week we have washing in the line in the backyard.

Pretty normal, pretty common, right? Well yes it is, but it is also pretty common for things to go wrong. Most times, it all goes well. The washing gets hung up, the dog ignores it, then the washing gets brought in again once it's dry.

That's how it usually goes at our place. Or to be honest, that's how it used to go. The past few months, though, something has been going wrong. The washing would get hung up, the washing would dry, the washing would get brought back it, EXCEPT FOR THE BITS OF WASHING ON THE GROUND!!

Now, I don't want to point fingers, or cast aspertions at anyone, but the only dog that has consistently been in the backyard when the washing hits the deck has been Missy. Is she the culprit? Well, I can't be sure, but given the washing hasn't hit the deck when Missy hasn't been there, hmmm.

Today, my little pair of yellow knickers ended up in the dirt. Missy was the only dog in the backyard. Did she do it? don't know, I just know she was the only one there, and I have one fewer pairs of undies.

It's a good thing Missy is cute, otherwise, who knows what might happen to her!