Flying Glasses

As I was thinking of a title for this post the word 'flying' caused me to stop and think a bit. That word flying can apply to a Dachshund quite a bit. They make amazing leaps and jumps for their size. If you think about it further that word applies to a lot of what they do except for sleeping and even then I bet they dream about it. In this case Dolly has gotten to be an expert at making my glasses fly off my nose. One quick flick of her nose and they are gone. She can lick my face better when they are gone. If i insist they stay she can usually manage to do her duty without smudging my glasses. How and why she does this is beyond me. I have never fussed at her for the few times she did get them dirty. The only thing I can think of is that she has seen me clean them afterward.

I do wish I knew what she was thinking and that she could communicate her needs better. If she could talk I imagine that there would be times I might not like what she was saying.

The past couple of days I may have gotten an ear full.  Her forced inactivity was starting to wear on her. We had not gotten her outside except to potty and then right back in. Below zero temps and ice was the cause. I still have two vehicles buried in the snow. I settled for just having one going and it took a few days to get it dug out.

It was quite obvious to me by her actions and by the looks she was giving me that she had enjoyed about as much as she could stand of me. I was that bad man who prevented her from flying around the house or out in the yard. Gretchen recieved all her affection because she was the one taking her.
outside.

This all changed yesterday evening. Richard and I took her on a long car trip. I let her ride on my left knee and look out the window as much as possible. If we were in a parking lot I'd roll the window down and let her stand in it. That's one of her favorite activities because she likes watching people walk through a parking lot. occasionally somebody will look at her and laugh. She loves that. Sometimes they even come over and talk to her. I believe that is her main goal, get people to talk to her. She will snort and then start sniffing them while wagging her tail. She like new scents.

Best of all I let her stick her head out the window while i was driving. I had her halter on and was hanging on to it. I drove fairly slow too. Go over 30 and she comes back in. Sometimes she has stuck it out to 40 if she is really determined. I don't blame her. Anymore I don't like a lot of wind either. Never bothered me when I was young. I miss those days. A person should start out old and end young just so that they can appreciate being young.

This morning Dolly was almost her old self again. I say almost because when she got up she did not immediately want to go outside. She was content with being in my lap and giving me some occasional affection. We also started a new game today that seemed to go well. Gretchen brought her into the bedroom. We put her on the bed and both laid down. She had a nice large flat area to walk on and we play fought with her. She never did like rough play and we kept it even more gentle than usual. The nice thing about a Dachshund is that you can let them win. I once had a German Shepherd that you could not let win because in his mind that meant he was dominate over you. The few times he beat me was actually funny because he was quite proud of himself. Even though he almost always lost he was always trying me, he never gave up. In a few ways Dolly is the kinder, gentler version of him.  She is actually braver than he was because when he was a pup there was many things he was afraid of. Like overpasses on a highway, other dogs, and even a few cats.

Nothing Noteworthy Today

Another day that nothing much happened. She's a bit under the weather today but nothing serious. If it keeps up tomorrow she goes to the vet..  We were snowed in until this afternoon when my son finished shoveling out the driveway.

Earlier today she decided that she needed to rest on my upper chest. She was actually wanting to go outside again even though she had just been out. Anyhow she laid down underneath my chin and slept for an hour. I was stretched out in my recliner at the time.

Peanuts and Snow Paths

We learned that the dog that is Dolly's friend is named either Peanuts or Peanut. I'll go with Peanuts for now. This is the dog that does not like seeing her on a leash or in a halter. He is still friendly to us, he even let me pet him for the first time. He is a mixed breed and looks to have a bit of beagle in him. He has the lines of a beagle with black and tan coloring.  A day or so ago when Gretchen picked Dolly up in her arms Peanuts started whining because that is when it is time for us to go in.

We had 16 inches of snow here. Gretchen shoveled out some snow paths, otherwise we have not even got a good start towards digging out. Snow paths come first because of Dolly. We are not sure how her tunneling through snow will affect her healing pelvis. She still refuses to potty inside the house or even close to it. With her it's the further the way the better. Yesterday she did it on the carport but that is because she had to. We were under a blizzard warning yesterday the first one since 1983 I believe.

Dolly loves the snow paths. It is something new to explore. She wants to run and explore them. When not running she struts. She almost looks like she is smiling when she struts. It is a sight I enjoy watching. She usually makes me laugh at least once a day.