25 things... about my dog(s). (facebook spinoff)

I refused to do this on FB about myself but I'll do it about my dog, weird...

1. He has an underbite!

2. He was a stray until we brought him home.

3. He has epilepsy (duh) and I think that it's increased our bond 100% over - you can only truly understand if you have an epileptic dog.

4. I love love love his mohawk.

5. He LOVES squirrels (a lot) and will sit and stare at them until I pick him up and make him move. Literally.

6. I rarely have to sweep my kitchen floor, since he hoovers it for me :)

7. He has an entire box of store-bought toys, but his favorite is a racquetball he stole out of BF's bag, and a little stuffed dog from a happy meal.

8. He rarely snuggles - only when I am deathly ill or he is hungry.

9. Metal water bowls are not acceptable. He'll only drink out of ceramic or plastic ones, unless he's at daycare...

10. One of his ribs was broken...I don't know how it got that way, but there is a noticeable lump.

11. Sometimes I think he is mixed with cat.

12. He doesn't like having his nails trimmed...for MONTHS I had to trim one nail per day. I can do all 4 paws now :)

13. I like the way his tail curls up when he walks.

14. He has a unique gait - it's kind of like a prance. I hum 'Stayin Alive' when we walk sometimes.

15. We could probably walk for miles and he'd be happy.

16. His best friend is Gretchen, and sometimes I wonder about how funny their babies would look (if they could have them).

17. He snores a little when he sleeps.

18. Sometimes he will go and sleep NEXT to his bed, not in it. Weird..

19. He has a bathroom phobia.

20. I really think he is plotting to eat BF's bird.

21. He LOVES fruits and vegetables, but I have to convince him to try them about a zillion times.

22. It's official, I am running out of things to say about my dog!

23. When we go for boat rides, he likes to sit right behind the center console.

24. He can hear the treat jar from a mile away.

25. Pirate is truly my heart dog - I don't think I'll every find another dog as wonderful as he is. We saved each other.

 Maska

1. No couches will ever levitate in my house with this hound around.  He's always holding them down.

2. Maska is the consummate comfort freak

3. He pays no mind to cats, squirrels, or other small game - but let a fox or a coyote appear and he's all revved up - well, about as revved as a good old porch dog can get

4.  Maska is the therapy dog I always take if there are going to be kids around - they can do anything and he just stands there

5. This is NOT a stupid dog (his previous fosterers might be, however - they couldn't teach him anything in a whole year)

6. Lazy doesn't even begin to cover it - this is a dog that would gladly sleep all day and all night, except to get up and eat

7. He puts up with two herding dogs - that alone deserves a medal

8. Despite his lazy streak, this is the dog that willingly accompanied my stepson on many bicycle rides when he was young - trotting alongside the bike (with no springer, just a leash) for miles

9. I trained him to brace, and he helped my fiance get up after falls several times - Maska weighs 70 pounds.  At the time, my fiance weighed over 200 pounds. Once or twice, he has helped me get up after I slipped on ice on the way out to the barn, too.

10. This is the most food motivated dog on the planet

11. Maska "sings" when I leave and when I come home.  His voice is the most rich, melodious hound voice I have ever heard.  He taught Sequoyah to howl, too - but she sounds like a freakin' coyote.  Sioux joins in once in a while - Mike used to call them my "symphony"

12.  This dog would eat sheets, paper, dishcloths, facecloths, socks, etc.  But, thankfully, he's trained to just bring them to the kitchen to "trade" his prizes or a cookie:-))

13.  Maska will share lots of things, but NEVER his rope tug.

14. This is a very socially appropriate dog, but he doesn't play with other dogs.  If I bring him to play group, he makes his way around the whole room getting all the humans to give him back rubs.

15. He once got caught in an embarrassing "playboy" moment - someone at the play group shot a photo of him with four other dogs all sniffing his penis at once.

16  Maska may have been a dump - picked up as a stray originally and lived in a shelter for five months, fostered for a year, given up by the foster family because the new BF didn't like him. (You should see the ugly dog they adopted to take his place - ugh)  Their loss, my gain.

17.  Maska is a total mushball, very friendly to strangers, but he once growled at someone who stuck their hand in my truck toward my face.  

18. This is the dog I take to the barn every morning so that I am not surprised by coyotes or deer

19. This is a hound, mind you, but he has never failed to come when called (yet) - and he once got out of the house when someone left the door open.  Instead of follwoing his nose out the drive, he followed my scent and came around the corner toward the barn to find me:-)

20. Maska loves peanut butter

21. This dog will keep you warm for hours if you use him for a body pillow.

22. The first day I got Maska he mounted me.  The snip occurred two days later;-)

23. Maska LOVES cats, and will try to approach them to say hello.  The occasional one will allow it, but most of them are horrified, and run away.  He always looks a bit sad when that happens.

24. Maska seems to like Sioux a lot more than the other two girls

25  After my Beagle, I vowed I would not get another hound.  Ya, right.  If any dog will convince you about hounds, it's this one. 

 moca:

1. she loves food, any food will do!
2. i had a hard time training her with treats because of it. she would literally fixate on the food so much, she wouldnt even notice i am talking to her..
3. she loves to play fetch in the apartment, but rarely outside.
4. she will fetch any toy, but prefers tennis balls.
   
5. she has favorite tennis balls, even though they are all the same. they came from a pack of 20, but if i throw the wrong one, she will leave it and bring the "right" one to continue playing fetch.
6. she has the softest ears!!
   
7. you can do anything with her! wirl her around, wave her arms around and make her "dance", she will let you do ANYTHING! she just enjoys the attention...
8. she rarely gives kisses. when she does, she just gives one or two with the tip of her tongue. moca kisses are very special and sweet!
9. she can sleep in ANY position. perfect for cuddling like a teddy bear all night long!
10. she has the worst farts EVER!!
11. she once chewed up my ipod shuffle. i was mad at her all day!
12. the only food she has ever refused to eat was raw mutton....
13. she is nervous around big dogs. probably cause she rarely sees any..
14. she loves stuffies. she has a few tiny tiny stuffies, she will lick and suck on. it's the cutest thing!
15. she never needed a crate until she figured out she can poop in the house, when noone is there at about 1 years old!
16. if i howl, she will howl with me. she does the cutest voice! always cracks me up!
17. she rarely initiates play with jason.
18. if i am being sweet with jason, she will immediately come over and either butt her face in mine or start to nibble on jason...
    
19. she is a submissive urinator.
    
20. she knows, when i am getting ready to leave. by the time i come out of the bathroom after doing my make-up, she will already be sitting in her crate.
21. she is rediculously clumsy!
    
22. her snoring has kept me up at night occationally!
23. she doesnt mind getting blow dried, except for her ears. will. not. let. me. dry. them.
24. once she's chosen a spot to sleep, she wont move for you. you'll need to push her away and even so, she will make her body as soft as jelly to avoid being pushed aside...
25. she stole my heart the first day i saw her! in fact noone can resist her!
    

 jason:

1. he is a nervous dog, always has been.
2. him and me, we didnt bond for months. he didnt trust me, and i never felt any special connection with him. now i couldnt imagine my life without him!
3. when i first met him, he was licking up moca's pee. but he was the cutest little thing!
4. he hates car rides. i think he get's car sick, although he has only vomited once!
5. i taught him how to fetch once, but he just doesnt see the point, so now, when i play fetch with moca, he learned to just lie down next to me and get belly rubs from my free hand...
6. he is so smart, i have a hard time training him, because he's always 5 steps ahead of me.  
7. he is dog agressive and i have come to accept that he will never play with strange dogs. he never fusses at dogs on leash though even passing them on the side walk. he KNOWS he's safe. now if everyone just kept their dogs on leash, i would get less grey hairs!
8. he is incredibly muscular and athletic. he has awesome balance and can jump really high!
9. he always initiates play with moca, and he's always the one running away having her chace him.
10. he is easily stressed, and usually ends up being crated (and much more relaxed as a result) when i have company and things get too "busy" for him.
11. he loves cats! i wish he hated them instead of dogs!
    
12. he also grooms himself like a cat. i think he might have grown up with cats the first few weeks of his life... it would explain A LOT! lol
13. i have no ideas what breed(s) he is.
    
14. he likes to snuggle, but always has trouble getting comfortable, and ends up having to move... when in bed he prefers to sleep on the foot end.
15. if he is sleeping and you so much as touch him a little bit, he will jump up and move.
    
16. he gives kisses like a pro! in fact he now gives them on command and knows to aim for my nose!
17. ge gives me a kiss every day when i take is leash off after their potty break!
18. every morning he anxiously waits for me to wake up. at the first sign of me waking up, he jumps on me, gives me kisses and we have a 10 minute snuggle, bely rub, kissy session, just the 2 of us. moca is too sleepy to bother in the morning anyways!
19. he will not go inside! after having housetrained him, i once tried to paper train him (police was scouting for illegal dogs, and i was concerned for their lifes!). he held it for 36 hours!! before he finally peed inside. i never did that to him again!
20. he used to be a real picky eater, but now he eats his food just as fast as moca!
21. he is super attached to moca. if she is not home, he will not play, and he'll whine and wait by the door forever.
    
22. he loves shredding paper. he always gets the empty toilet paper rolls. i will call him into the bathroom and he will come in oh so happy to pick up his new roll. then he'll take it and shred it on the rug in front of my front door.
    
23. he cosiders it his duty to chew a whole in every dog bed. he doesnt really destroy them, but in his opinion, every dog bed needs one hole!
24. when he gets ice cubes, he will ALWAYS take them into his crate to be consumed!
25. i wish more people would appreciate his sweetness and see the soft and loving dog that he is. live just wouldnt be the same without a daily dose of jason kisses!
    

Brown

1. We adopted Brown in 2001.

2. His foster mom found him years ago abandoned at a boat launch in the swamp. He jumped on their shrimp boat, like a true Cajun, and never looked back.

3. Since he's been with us, he's lived with us in 4 different homes and 2 states.

4. He loves tabasco sauce and Cayenne pepper.

5. We used to do education programs together at local schools and libraries.

6. He's now a grouchy old fart.

7. He's still, and always will be, a garbage digger.

8. Years of obsession with beef bones have filed down his front teeth to the size of super mini-Chicklets.

9. He grumbles loudly if someone even thinks of touching his back feet while he's lying down, but he doesn't have the energy to do anything about it.

10. He's at least 10, but he still flies up the stairs.

11. He knows when anyone is eating, is about to eat, or is even thinking about eating.

12. He puts up with nothing humiliating.

13. He constantly looks like he's pouting.

14. He'd go anywhere with us no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient.

15. He loves other animals and had a long-going obsession with our old hamster.

16. He used to groom our blind guinea pig.

17. He raised Charlie as a kitten, which explains why Charlie didn't meow until a year or so later when we got another cat.

18. It's still not unusual for Brown to get excited and run off with Charlie in his mouth like he used to when Charlie was his kitty.

19. He has white pair between his toes, and it's so cute.

20. When my neice was little, she used to torture Brown by lifting his lips and saying, "Look your teeth, Drown." She called him Drown.

21. He can carry a mean ear infection sometimes.

22. He's definitely the leader of the pack. Everyone follows his actions.

23. He'd rather die than pee in the house, even if it means holding it forever.

24. He's gone through at least 5 hurricanes with us, including 3 big ones.

25. He's my heart dog, and a big part of my life will be missing when he's gone.

1. Molly came from Glenda's care

2. Molly loves us

3. Molly loves cats

4. Molly is afraid of big dogs but like little ones

5. Molly is a picky eater and will sometimes go a day w/out eating - she tries to maintain her runway model look

6. Molly poops like a big dog

7. Molly likes to snack out of the litterbox

8. Molly is afraid of water and skirts puddles like a cat would (see #3) and shakes her paws like a cat would

9. She retrieves

10. She will carry items to the garbage can

11. She delivers notes to my son when he's in his room

12. She hates my neighbor's dog

13. She hates my neighbor

14. She adores squeaky toys

15. She has a lot of squeaky toys and the way to her heart is to give her one

16. She likes to carry my wallet around and will carry it into the vet's office. Keeps her from barking at people

17. She liks to sort our shoes, sadly we can never find the mate

18. She likes to hold our socks in her mouth when we are putting them on

19. She loves chicken wings

20. I'm running out of things

21. I judge my son's friends by Molly's reaction to them

22. I judge everyone by Molly's reaction to them

23. I like to use her as an excuse to not have people over to my house

24. She would love to raise a litter of kittens

25. I'm done

 The Aussie trio:

1. All 3 dogs have strong guardian instinct. I never fear that my house will be burglarized.
2. When I say "That's enough" (to tell them to stop barking), Lily runs to pick up something in her mouth and wiggles her butt for me.
3. Lily can bark amazingly well with something in her mouth.
   
4. Neiko and Lily are constantly carrying something in their mouths. Especially when someone walks through the door.
   
5. Abbie's favorite game is tug.
6. Neiko and Abbie are frisbee obsessed
7. Lily will steal the frisbee from other dogs, only to drop it once she has it. Her only goal is to steal, she could care less about the frisbee itself.
8. Lily has a super sonic butt wiggle
9. Neiko has a wide sweeping butt wiggle. Picture a hula dancer with a grass skirt. The grass skirt is his butt fluff swaying back and forth.
   
10. Abbie barely has a wiggle.
11. Neiko puts his head on my knee when I'm eating.
12. I'm such a sucker that it usually works.
    
13. Abbie sounds like a bear when she plays. Seriously
    
14. My dogs have more toys than I have clothes in my closet.
15. All 3 dogs lick the cats butt like it's a pez dispenser
    
16. I bet you'll never think of pez dispensers the same again after visualizing that.
17. Every morning, Abbie waits until I get out of bed, then jumps in front of me and does a big stretch (like a bow) along with a howl. I call it "Big stretches Abbikins!" and she springs up with a smile on her face then runs to the door.
18. Neiko grunts like an old man when he lays down.
19. All 3 dogs wrestle for who gets to lay on top of me on the couch or the bed. They each have their own sneeky ways to push the other one off. It's pretty funny to watch.
20. Abbie thinks she's my princess. This could be part of her problem with other dogs.
21. Neiko's favorite pass time is frisbee. He loves the big jumps.
22. Neiko and Abbie shake in anticipation when we go herding. It's amazing that they hold their down/sit stays
23. Lily loves to run. She made up her own version of capture the flag where I'm the flag and she has to get to me while the other dogs try to tackle her. I give her lots of praise when she makes it to me unscathed...then she runs way out and does it again. She just beams with joy when we play this game.
24. Neiko has this game where he will run full speed at me then leap up and hit me with all 4's on my chest. He loves this game and I just laugh. It is part of our frisbee training. He just likes to do it with or without a frisbee.
25. Abbie likes to eat everything but chew bones. I have to watch her 24/7 or she will eat a steak knife, hair clips, socks, and so on. She is my special child.
    

Apollo...

1. He's my big baby...he likes to be held, snuggled, have the covers over him in bed, he has to touch when we're on the couch together.
2. He knows when its breakfast/dinner time and will bang his bowl around until he's fed (same goes for water if he's out).
3. He LOVES tennis balls.
4. If there's water below he's jumpin' in...off docks, boats, rafts, etc.
5. He's a great swimmer.
6. He's my heart dog, defiantly without question. When I rescued him, without knowing anything about him, just the way it all happend and worked out...we were just meant to be.
7. I love it that he loves me more than Jeremy (hehe!).
8. He tolerates everything...the vets, groomers, being handled by strangers, me taking annoying pics of him.
9. He loves kids and is super gentle with them.
10. He loves car rides.
11. He's a terrible protector 99% of the time....the 1 time he did growl/snarl at a strange man at a rest stop on our way to upstate NY I was so glad! The man backed right off.
12. He's pretty picky about treats. I know- a Lab that doesn't scarf everything down!
13. He has approx. 20 collars.
14. He has 2 dog beds; 1 upstairs, 1 downstairs. And he will be getting a 3rd (from LL Bean) this Spring.
15. He has white fur on all 4 of his paws, in his ears, and under his tail.
16. He was very thin when I first adopted him...now he's a great weight.
17. I don't know how old he is.
18. He never destroys stuffed toys.
19. He doesn't mind getting the occasional bath.
20. He's OK with relatively no exercise (like when I had the stomache flu) and will still sleep all day.
21. Everyone that meets him usually ends up falling in love with him (like my Grandma who doesn't like big dogs).
22. He's a leaner.
23. He has an excellent "stay" and recall.
24. If the area is safe I usually don't have him on a leash. He doesn't go anywhere- he's totally velcro to me.
25. He's never been crated- ever. We attempted it but he busted through the crate so we never tried again. And he's been awsome; totally trustworthy.

1. Of his mother's three litters, Misha is one of the few survivors. His mother went a little crazy and starting killing puppies.

2. Misha didn't learn he could jump until he was about 1 1/2 years old. If something blocked his path he'd change direction, even if he could step over it.

3. Misha loves cats, he wants to play with them. But he will also tree/chase strange cats out of our yard.

4. He's not really driven by anything quantitative, but would do anything for some white chocolate.

5. He was never interested in a female dog even as a playmate (they usually intimidated him) until he met Becca's Lynn. He's obsessed with her.

6. Every time he sees goats or sheep he wants to play with/chase them.

7. He has absolutely no interest in birds whatsoever. Even if they're running around making noise not 3 feet from his face.

8. Even though he's skittish around new people and too many people, he has always remembered Papa and loves visiting him.

9. He went through a phase where he was terrified of other dogs, especially little puppies.

10. He loves hikes and I think his favorite part is playing in the creek.

11. Despite his fear of people he loves every vet and vet tech he has ever met.

12. He is allergic to corn.

13. I have never seen his full coat because he was shaved when he was younger.

14. A friend was over one day and I decided to trim Misha's butt fluff. He stood on the front steps for an hour or so and let me trim it with a pair of rusty scissors while my friend took pictures, that was the first time I'd ever attempted to trim him.

15. Misha doesn't have a reliable recall without fences, but he will return to me at an offleash dog park.

16. Misha's belly is white and his front feet are ticked with orange.

17. He is a world-class digger and dug out of his pen as a pup.

18. For a very long time he did not understand or have any desire to play fetch.

19. He can destroy anything he gets his teeth on. This includes house siding, drain pipes, and grills.

20. His favorite toy was a hedgehog that he had since he was a puppy.

21. His main objective with stuffed toys is to remove the squeaker.

22. A few days before he was born his mother was run over by the owners van. (She was between the tires, in the middle of the car.)

23. Is execptionally passive, so when he alerts or says something's up, I listen.

24. At about 27" at the withers, he's not as big as I'd hoped he'd be (but plenty big enough).

25. He will not cuddle with me, but will cuddle with Emily.

And an extra, if you will: Even when he was little and the mattress was on the floor, Misha would not get on the bed. To this day he won't get on a bed unless he's invited.

Gingerbread:

1. When he wants something like being fed or going out to the bathroom, he tries to make me understand by intently looking at me. If I don't get it right away he tries his very hardest to tell me by looking at me even more intently. It's not a stare, you can actually see in his eyes that he's trying to make me understand by telepathy or something.

2. He's 3 1/2 and hasn't done zoomies since he was about 2.

3. He likes stuffed animals and squeaky toys, but really loves chews like bully sticks.

4. He is terrified of flies and fly swatters. I think it started because smushing flies with a fly swatter is really loud and startles him. So now if he even sees a fly or a fly swatter, he tucks his tail and runs to hide in the bathroom.

5. He know the phrase "excuse me" and will move out of your way.

6. I got him from a pet store when he was 9 weeks old.

7. He smacks his lips when he's tired. It makes a sound that my husband describes as stirring spaghetti. lol

8. He walks on my right side on the leash and HE is the one that enforces that.

9. He loves to chase butterflies and blowing leaves.

10. He learned on his own to do a trick called "scarfing" my husband. It started because sometimes Gingerbread would lay himself like a scarf across my husband's neck. If I say "scarf him" he throws himself on my husband and expects a belly rub too. lol

11. He's extremely passive and it's very easy for other dogs to pick on him.

12. If I tickle my husband or we wrestle Gingerbread is in there within seconds to break it up. He suddenly "needs" attention and sits on his haunches to be picked up. It is almost the ONLY time he asks to be picked up. 

13. He's one of the most gentle dogs I've ever met.

14. He's fairly indifferent towards other animals. He's slightly interested at most.

15. He loves having people over to visit and gets most excited when my best friend comes over.

16. He's slept on the bed with me since he was 4 months old.

17. He's laid back around the house, but he's up to going for long walks and can trot along for miles without getting tired.

18. He's very photogenic and understands to sit still when he's having his picture taken.

19. He's my best friend in the world and I always ask him if I'm his, but he hasn't answered me to date. lol

20. His nickname is Tweetums.

21. He was really desctructive as a puppy. One night I came home to find my bedroom in such a huge wreck that I took a picture. The guinea pigs cage had been knocked over, there were shavings everywhere, he had taken the covers off our bed, shredded the egg crate on top, a phone book and a bible! When I came in the guinea pig came out from behind the dresser to say hi and welcome home. lol

22. His dirty little secret is that he's a (mostly) reformed poop eater.

23. He's not a "doggy" dog. He's not the kind of dog that licks your face or jumps all over you... he's kind of like a cat that follows me everywhere.

24. His paw pads are different colors; some are chocolate, some are pink and some are both.

25. He knows my husband's name, but I'm not sure if he knows mine.

Peanut:

1. He's 6 1/2 months old.

2. He has a really long tongue- kind of like an aardvark. His tongue sticks out a lot.

3. He wants to be held almost all the time. Sometimes I call him the puppy that loves too much.

4. He burrows under our comforter like a mole and usually sleeps under there.

5. He likes to snuggle up with Gingerbread, who doesn't really want him to, but tolerates it because he's nice like that.

6. He has separation anxiety and absolutely hates to be alone.

7. He makes a wide array of noises when he's sad; one of them is like a baby whining.

8. His ears don't both stand up anymore, the right one flops over in a fold.

9. He and one of his littermates are the friendliest Chihuahuas that I've ever met. For the longest time, when I walked through a store carrying him, he'd wag his tail wildly and try to go to every stranger.

10. He's a very energetic little guy.

11. He's very sweet and a people pleaser.

12. If he gets near your face you have to be careful or he'll lick you right on the lips!

13. He loves to steal socks, underwear and hair scrunchies. He actually sorts through the laundry looking for those items.

14. He's a pesky little brother to Gingerbread.

15. He's sensitive and submissive.

16. Anything that Gingerbread has is better than what he has and he needs it immediately.

17. He has pretty hazel eyes that people always compliment.

18. He's very good in the car and will settle right down and go along for the ride.

19. He is a counter surfer and a food thief, but the only counter he can reach is the coffee table! lol

20. He loves stealing tissues and shredding them.

21. He jumps straight up and down like a Jack Russell.

22. He is obsessed with the cursor on the computer screen. He follows it and tries to bite it. I have nose prints all over my laptop monitor.

23. All but one of his paw pads are chocolate, one of them is pink.

24. He had about 5 different names before I settled on Peanut.

25. He throws a party when I get home, even if I was only gone for a few minutes.

I only have time to start, so I will finish later.

1. Shadow is the fastest dog I have personally seen. 3 years ago, we went to a dog park once. He was literally, hands down, the fastest dog there. An awesome thing to behold.

2. He likes to lick the foot rests on the double recliner.

3. He chews his nails to keep them down.

25 things about Dahlia

1. Dahlia loves butter.  She's stolen it off the table, off the kitchen counter, and she's always VERY attentive to our every move if we have the butter out.

2. I have to drag her butt out of bed in the morning.  She's the only dog I've ever met who doesn't bounce right up when you get up or who doesn't beg to be let out at 4am.  Come 6:30am when I need to tak her out for a walk, I have to coax her out with dog treats.

3. She likes to eat near us, so I have to bring her bowl filled with food out to the table and set it next to my chair.  Otherwise she'll either (a) not eat at all, or (b) pick the bowl up and bring it out herself (yes, completely filled with food).

4. When she carries her bowl and it's full of food she somehow manages to not spill one piece of kibble.  

5. She loves having her neck scratched/massaged and pushes her neck out in a strange way to get as much scritching as she can.

6. She was one day away from being euthanized at a shelter when the rescue stepped in and saved her life.  She was doomed because she was a BBD (big black dog).

7. Dahlia is a very paw-oriented dog.  When you rub her belly, she reaches out a paw and touches you with it.  When you pet her on the back, she sits down and lifts a paw up to hook over your arm.  She seems to like touching people with her paw.

8. Dahlia hardly ever barks.  If someone comes to the door, she does nothing more than trot over and sit a few feet from the door waiting for them to come in.  She's the quietest dog I've ever met.  She can go weeks without barking.

9. She's very friendly with our upstairs neighbors' cats and allows them to bat at her tail and steal her food.

10. When she came into the shelter, they think she was pregnant.  She went in for a quick spay/abort, so she didn't produce more unwanted puppies.

11. She also had two different kind of worms when she came in and was a good 10 lbs underweight.

12. She loves children and will tolerate almost anything from them.  My partner's niece once fell on her (tripped near her and landed on her middle) while she was asleep and she did nothing more than look at her.

13. She has a defender personality type.  When we're at the dog park and there's a bully picking on a more timid dog, Dahlia will rush in between them and give a warning growl and a body check to the bully to push him away from the timid dog.  She's done it several times and the people at the park adore her for her "policing" of the more dominant dogs.

14. She is somewhat noise sensitive and has some threshold issues.

15. She LOVES the snow.  She came from an area of the country that gets almost none and moved to an area that gets an average of 120 inches a year.  So this year was her first experience with real snow and she went racing through a couple feet with a huge look of glee on her face.

16.  She's a smiler.  When she's happy or excited, she lifts her upper lip up and shows her top teeth.

17. She lives for her belly rubs.  Many times you have to give her a belly rub before she even wants to go out for a walk.  You ask her if she wants to go for a walk and she'll just simply roll over and stick her front paws out at you.

18. She won't sleep in the bed with us and instead prefers sleeping in her own (rather large) bed right next to us.

19. She was housebroken when we got her.  Hallelujah!

20. She loves to chase ducks.  She'll creep up on them in a fair imitation of the border collie crouch and then go racing after them with a huge grin on her face.  A couple times she went right into the pond after them and got herself soaked.  She was a smelly, wet dog after that, but she was very happy.

21. She is better off leash than on.  When off, she pays complete attention to us and isn't distracted by anything.  On leash, she gets more distracted and doesn't pay quite as much attention to us.

22. She loves to lay down with a squeaky toy and just make it squeak over and over again.  She has a TON of fun with her "attack a jack" which has 5 or 6 squeakies, one on each end.

23. If there are puppies whimpering on the TV, Dahlia is instantly attentive and watching to see what's going on.

24. Dahlia gives hugs, especially when you've just come home.  If you squat down to greet her, she'll put one paw up on you, balance herself, and then put the other paw on you as well.  Both usually hook over your shoulders and so she'll sit there with her paws on you and give you kisses on your face.  It's a wonderful thing to come home to!

25. The people at the shelter named her Dahlia (because she's black...The Black Dahlia...the murdered actress?  That's where it came from).  We liked the name, so we kept it instead of changing it to something else.

4. Shadow is still my lap dog. At 26 inches to the shoulder and at least that long and 65 lbs, he's too big for most people's laps but not mine.

5. Shadow teaches me. Training him has taught me a lot about dogs and humans.

Bevo

1. He is my heart dog. 
2. He is on the move about 20 hours a day.  When he does stop to sleep, he does so very lightly.  If there is any movement or noise, he is up to see what's going on.
3. He has a bite history because he protected my home. 
4. He was the ugliest pup in the world. 
5. Seeing him in motion is a thing of beauty.
6. Some days, he forgets to stop when he comes running to me.  I end up in a heap on the ground.
7. While laying on the ground, he stands over me with a goofy look on his face.  We call it the "Mom, why are you on the ground?" look.
8. He LOVES kids. 
9. For as rough as he likes to play with me, he is amazingly gentle around kids.  I turn him loose in a room of 25-30 kids & there is never a worry about him stepping on, or running over anyone.
10. He loves his cuz.  He breaks the squeaker immediately, & then carries the "gasping" cuz around for a day or two before he totally destroys it.
11. He can open doors, baby gates, the fridge, & freezer.  It's a little scary...
12. He learns new things almost instantly. 
13. I have always wanted a "high drive" Dobe.  After keeping a friend's schutzhund dog for a weekend, I realized that I already have that.
14. If given the choice Bev would only play with other dobes, or sighthounds. 
15. He compulsively straightens things.  If a blanket isn't perfectly straight, Bevo will fix it.
16. He loves to swim. 
17. He was horribly clumsy until he was around 14 months old.  He would trip & fall while walking on flat ground.  Then, one day, it all clicked.
18. He has never chewed anything inappropriate in my house...except for my arm once.
19. He could jump & clear our six foot fence by the time he was five months old.
20. He took the WAE & failed it.  He failed in style though.  He peed on the umbrella that was opened towards him.
21. He has never had an accident inside. 
22. He has a strange obsession with my socks & bras.  He swipes them & takes them to his bed.  There's nothing like having company over, & realizing that Bevo is sleeping with one of my bras in the middle of the living room.
23. He is aloof with strangers.  Until he decides that he likes someone new, he ignores them. 
24. He would love to be the only dog so that he could have my undivided attention, but he loves the other dogs & watches out for them when we are out in public.
25. He "kisses" me good morning, & good night.  When the alarm goes off in the morning, he comes up to my face & sticks his nose to mine.  He does the same thing when I go to bed at night.