Yesterday we celebrated Chloe’s 10th birthday.  Despite the grey showing around her muzzle, she is still young for a dachshund.

She started off the day by trying to onto the couch only to bounce backwards twisting her back and hitting her head on the coffee table.

She was well enough to go to PetSmart to get a new ball where she managed to play with it in the car until we got home.  Then her little sister took the ball away…

By night time, Chloe was hunched up in pain.  She had one more Dermaxx which seem to get her through the night.  She’s still having some problems this morning and is going to the Vet.

I was out walking Odie the other day and noticed a car driving around the dog pound (neighborhood, in case yo don’t listen to Snoop Dogg).

The elderly couple was obviously lost.  They pulled over, rolled down window and asked,

“Is your dog’s name Oscar?”

I didn’t understand the question since I was expected them to ask for directions. So I simply answered, “no, his name is Odie!”

They pull away laughing.  Puzzled, I didn’t see the humor in what I said.

It took a few moments later understood the hot dog pun.

If you missed the Fifth Annual South Beach Dachshund Winterfest, the Miami Herald posted some really cute Dachshund pictures on their blog. Every year, hundreds of Doxies come to the Winterfest to enjoy the fun and sun.

The word on the street is that a Wiener Dog Pack or Dachshund Pack is slang for a 12-pack of soda packaged in one of those elongated cardboard containers that fit “nicely” in your fridge. To gain perspective on the size of a Miniature Dachshund, just run down to your Grocer and pick up a Dachshund Pack.

This one is too funny to pass up. Just listen and sing along.

There’s no other dog like a Dachshund

There’s no other dog like a dachshund,
Walking so close to the ground,
They’re stubborn and sly as a fox and
The happiest pet to be found. — Paul de Vries

Excuse the pun, but it’s raining cats and dogs here in Thousand Oaks today. I expect it will continue well into the New Year. Odie and Molly refusing to go potty is making it difficult for all of us.

I don’t know why these two don’t like the rain and I usually get wet standing outside with them until I make sure they go. Odie is really good and will hold it until the rain lets down but Molly who is not quite housebroken will hold it until she’s about to burst and then will find her favorite peeing and pooping corner.

On the other hand, Chloe seems to like the rain and will go outside. She certainly smells like wet dog when she comes back in.

Happy New Year,
Chloe, Odie and Molly.

tagTRAX: odie | rain | raining cats and dogs | chloe | wet dog

Yesterday, we took our Miniature Daschund Odie to see his Surgeon, Dr. Ian G. Holsworth for his three-month and final after surgery checkup. Odie, like all dogs like to ride and he was very happy to get into the car, but as soon as we got onto the freeway, Odie knew that we weren’t going to the market.

Every time we go for a “long ride,” Odie associates this with going to the Hospital where he had a lot of pain and Mommy and Daddy left him there alone for a week. But this time it was a short trip to see how he’s doing.

When Odie ruptured his disk three months ago, he became paralyzed within a few days. Ultimately back surgery and a lot of prayers saved his life. I don’t know how many said a prayer for Odie but we are grateful for the prayers.

The first week after surgery, I could see that Odie was slowly recovering, gaining strength and re-learning the connections to his hindquarters. After three weeks, Odie was mobile and able to get around on his own. This was a “big step” for the little Dachshund since I was helping him balance and holding him up when he had to pee and poop.

Odie’s strength and coordination started returning to normal. By Odie’s first post-op checkup you could see how well he had recovered. We were especially proud of our Doxie when Dr. Holsworth gave him an excellent recovery for this stage.

Over the next two months, walks with Odie helped improve his stamina and coordination. He would miss a step once and a while, but you could see it in his gait that he was on his way to full recovery.

I knew that this final checkup, Odie would get an excellent recovery from Dr. Holsworth. My eyes started tearing up seeing Dr. Holsworth walking Odie back to us.

Molly the Mini is out of her terrible zeros and finally made it to one! That is, today is Molly’s birthday. Molly promptly got us up at 6:00 AM and of course we waited one minute too late and she initiated the floor with the hot stuff you just like to step into.

I really wasn’t too mad since she came over and truly looked sorry for what she did. Plus it’s her birthday and she’s allowed a mistake or two on this wonderful day. I just hope it’s not number two.

I finally faced it that she’s not housebroken yet, but over the past three months she had very few “accidents.” Mostly I think that’s because I’m coming home for lunch to “let the dogs out” but she’s learning to go outside and she’s starting to “woof” by the door to let us know when it’s potty time.

Morning is sometimes difficult to get the Dachshunds outside. The time since Odie ruptured his disk, I’ve taken on the daunting task of carrying our Miniatures up and down the stairs. During the day, the stairs are blocked off, but at night they want to sleep in our (actually their) bed and run up the stairs to hop into it.

I truly believe running up and down the stairs caused Odie’s disk to rupture and I don’t want it to happen again. I guess we’re just going to have to get a single-story house.

Happy Birthday Molly
The Cutest Miniature Doxie

I’ve been so busy the past two months working with Odie that I forgot to post a picture of Pete’s Short Haired Miniture Dachshund. “Arfie” looks just like Odie when he was about the same age (~9 months old).

Arfie just got neutered last week and Pete has been trying to keep him inactive so Arfie can heal from the operation. But Pete tells me that Arfie is hopping and jumping just like he always does. But that’s what Miniature Dachshunds are like … always jumping off things about five times higher than they are.

Like I mentioned, I’ve been busy working with Odie to get his strength and balance back. Today he peed with one-leg-up instead of squatting like a b*tch. Two months ago he was paralyzed with a ruptured disk and now he can balance on three legs.

We still keep Odie penned up so he won’t hurt himself and to separate him from Molly. Our general rule is no “humping or jumping.” Both Odie and Molly are not too happy about that.

Molly loves sleeping on our couch. Of course she gets away with it ’cause she’s the cutest mini of them all. I know if Chloe could read this, she would disagree.

I sounds like Molly is going to become a barking dog. She still has that puppy bark which makes it sound funny. In a few months she mature into a big miniature doxie.

She’s still NOT housebroken. She has #1 down ok but once and a while has problems with #2.

All right, I know I’m not a poet…

Molly was spayed today which means we’re not going to have little miniature Dachshunds running around the house. She was “out of it” when we picked her up from the Vet still struggling with the anesthesia.

They shaved her nice soft belly fur and now she’s got a five o’clock shadow growing. In a few weeks it will grow back and we’ll both enjoy rubbing her tummy.

I really like this picture of my two-headed Miniature Dachshund. I managed to catch Odie and Molly fighting over a new ball without a blur. I almost photographed a Cerberus Miniature Dachshund with all three miniatures fighting over the same ball. Chloe is camera shy and often refuses to pose for pictures. When I grabbed the camera, she took off thinking I was going to throw the ball for her. (She needs a head start since she’s a little overweight for a miniature.) I think Odie may be a t’wiener (between a miniature and a standard) and is very quick and easily outruns Chloe. I’m not sure if Molly is a miniature or a t’wiener Dachshund but she’s as quick as Odie.

It is raining again in sunny Thousand Oaks, CA. With all the wet weather, Molly’s scents are washed away and she just doesn’t know where to do her business. If you watch her carefully, you can tell when she has to go: she just starts sniffing around.

After sniffing for about an hour and a half, I took her to the garage where it was dry. The wet sidewalk would not get consummated today with her “B” but right next to my car. Watch your step.

We officially named Molly “Ann’s Molly B” when we registered her with the American Canine Association last Saturday. There was another “Molly B” registered. I wonder if they chose “B” because it followed “A” or was it symbolic of “number 2.”

I have to admit that housebreaking Molly is becoming a chore. She has the peeing down pat but she still likes pooping around the house leaving wiener dog sausages for us to clean up. She knows it’s the wrong place to poop and should go outside but insists on doing it in one of her favorite corners or under the dining room table.

She’s figured out how to sit and how to shake. How come she just can’t poop outside?

Read: “How to Housebreak a Dachshund”.

Last Saturday, we decided that three doxies were too much to handle while my wife hosted a baby shower at our home. Molly was simple. Just leave her with our son for a few hours to watch. Chloe was easy. She just slept on our bed (actually she thinks it’s her bed). A little barking by both, but no trouble at the party.

Odie on the other hand, is difficult since he barks and scratches at the door. I decided to take him shopping for a few hours. Our first stop was PETsMART. We walk around the store for about one-half hour while he sniffed at every place another dog peed. He picked out a new purple 99-cent dog ball and we got a few treats for later in the day. It was very busy and everyone was looking and wanting to pet the cute Minature Dachshund.

Odie is not used to handling so he shies away from people. He almost got into a fight with a German Shepherd but they quickly resolved the issue with a little more sniffing. Odie was glad to leave PetSmart and we headed to his favorite sandwich shop: Quiznos.

I order a Ham and Swiss, Pepsi and a bottle of water for Odie then we drove to the lake at Westlake Village to enjoy our lunch. Sitting, in the car, I was admiring the lake while Odie was admiring the Ham and Swiss. He got a few tidbits and was satisfied. We still had about an hour before the party was over so we took a short nap in the car.

After a while, we drove home just in time when everyone was leaving. There were a few guests left and he was on his best behavior.