Christmas wishes

We have three dogs in the house for Christmas, our two and daughter Kirsten's Zoe. That's Zoe, the 6 lb toy poodle in the photo, waiting for Kirsten to come back from a shopping trip.

We'd planned to adopt Zoe but she's little; she also has something wrong with her hind legs that prevents her from coming along on our long walks -- her former home had three toddlers. We wonder if they dropped her, in addition to her having loose and deformed joints (common with little poodles).

Anyhow, last year Kirsten was around about the time we found Zoe. They fell in love with each other. Zoe is the perfect companion for Kirsten, who has arthritis and takes a while to get moving. "By the time Zoe gets going, I'm warmed up, too." They do two walks a day and Kirsten's careful to feed and groom Zoe regularly. The doggie adores her!

Our two toy poodles got groomed by Yvonne in Woodinville (best groomer ever?) and were ready for their treats.

These two rescues often are mistaken for siblings or twins. They're not related, rescued from different homes in different years via Craigslist. Missy (left) is 8. Ziggy (right) is 6. They're such good fun, especially when they're playing together and rolling around on the dining rug.

Fall walks

We're big walkers around here. The dogs love to get out into the occasional sunshine and don't seem to mind the Seattle drizzle. They're trained to walk together on the coupler. More accurately, Ziggy takes Missy (who would run ahead) for a walk at my heels.

When we get back to our driveway, I unclip them and say, "Go home!" They head for the front porch.

"Up!" and they jump on the porch bench while I go inside for a towel to dry them off or wipe their paws.

"Good dog!" and the clean one jumps off the bench to wait at the door.

"Shake!" and they shake their coat clean of raindrops.

When I open the door, they wait on the front rug. "Wipe your feet!" I wipe their paws on the entry rug. I've noticed Missy - the smarter of the two - wiping her feet on the outdoor mat a time or two. When she does, she gets to skip the indoor foot wipe.

They love routines. And I like my clean house. Good doggies!

Who's in charge here?

The dogs hate to be walked by children, but they love Kinsey our granddaughter. Looks like they're resisting her being in charge (see Missy's heads down?) She's the boss though, very deliberately, since day 1. Oh to have such power as a youngster :-) Good girl. And good doggies.

Falling back into place

Seattle autumns are nothing to brag about. The grey overwhelms us from morning until night, even memories of sunshine eluding us. We skipped our morning walk since it was raining. Ugh.

It's a strange thing. When the rain falls, it's hard to remember that it's ever sunny here. And when it's sunny, our friends start whining about the heat... when temperatures hit 80o. Never mind if it get to 90o. Then it's totally "unbearable" for those cold-weather aficionados. I crave the light and warmth every day. I only have to wait 9 months until mid-July when the sun's out reliably again...

The dogs and I love morning walks when the wind is still and the sun has come out. Since we're in the forest, we have to hike to the top of the street to get sunshine. But it's worth it! (On the days it appears.)

Next week it's back to the groomers. I found an excellent groomer in Kalispell who gave them a great cut @ $60 for both dogs. My groomer moved from a failed business (working for someone) to open her own shop. She's now closer to our home, too.

"No perfume, no bows, please. Big topknot." That's the standing request. They prance in the door after being groomed. Good doggies!

Poodle days

 We're almost "back to normal," once again at home. I took time off for a dissertation (whew, that's done!) and 2 months at the cabin in Montana. The dogs went through it all with me, of course.

Relaxing on the cabin floor after a
morning walk

Missy and Ziggy loved the stay-away as I recovered from studies. We like the quiet gravel roads where they run off-leash, explore new smells, and take me on daily walks to the post office a mile away. (I wrote a postcard a day to get us out of the cabin and into the little town.)

Dog play 101

Now we're back into the routine of morning walks, afternoon writing, and redoing the house decor. OK, I'm actually decluttering the rubbish from over a year of dissertation neglect.

One of the fun things I'm looking forward to as I get out and about again is buying new collars for the dogs. They've had utilitarian ribbon collars since I got them. I think we'll celebrate fall together with nice new neck-gear. I'll post photos once I find them.

Fun and games on the office rug

Meanwhile, hope you enjoy us being back and will be reading updates as they appear.

Oh, they're such good doggies!

Rolling around so Ziggy and groom
the other side

Sunny walk

What a great walk we had this morning. I have to get in shape for a few hikes in May so we've picked up the pace.

My new insight is that the leash is less important than the perception of a leash. Guess that's as true of life for people as dogs. Good doggies!

Update sent to previous owners

A note sent to the wonderful people who gave me their poodles...

The doggies are happy and healthy. You can see that they weren't all that excited about "Wait!" for photos before they could go for a walk. We then had a nice jaunt (about 2.5 miles) around the neighborhood. The walking coupler that means one (untangled) leash, and they trot beside us like little ponies.

THANK YOU both for trusting me with your doggies.  Other news:

• Our first grandchild is 9 months and is learning not to bother the dogs. Both dogs have trained themselves to walk away when she crawls over, too.  No fuss, no growls. Well-socialized and compliant pups, I must say.
• We love the new small dog park in Kirkland and go there a few times a month for fetch and playing with other little dogs. Both dogs are UTD on vaccines so I don't worry about them getting sick.
• They get along great, walk and sleep together, love to play fetch in the house and park, and have kept me company while I finished my dissertation. I'm done ( YAY! I graduate the first wknd of May) and we're all looking forward to longer walks and more play. They are wonderful companions and part of our family.
• I found an excellent groomer who makes them look like show dogs once a month. Between, they look straggly but clean like the photos (after 2 weeks, I give them a shower). I'll try to remember to take a picture of them when they come home from Yvonne's - they look fabulous until the rain curls them up again or they take a mud bath at the park.