Airedale Diet

Well, we let mom sleep in this mornin'....Lexie didn't start makin' a racket to go out till 5am. Mom was a lil' more alert...not much more..but a lil' more. She actually stood there for a minute watchin' us. Then she went back to bed. We were both back inside snoozin' on the couch when dad got up.

After he left, I relocated to his spot on the big bed w/mom.

Lexie may enjoy her time on the couch at nite w/mom...but my time is mornin's. I love to snooze in that bed next to mom. It's our time. She wakes up an' talks to me an' gives me scratches an' hugs. Then she gets up an' gets ready for the day. I get up an' follow her outa the room wearin' just my mantle of responsibility. Between mom, Lexie, our yard, an' the neighborhood, I've got a lot to do.

But first things first.....the kitchen. Mom always gets coffee.....I get a bite of my food an' wait for her. She then grabs her cup an' a cookie or toast an' we both head outback to see what's goin' on there w/Lexie. That's when mom shares her toast or gives us a mornin' cookie.

For some odd reason, mom's decided to fall victim to them advertisin' guys. She bought some granola bars, supposedly to be healthier. They're quinoa, yogurt, fruit an' nut. She took one bite.....mumbled somethin' to the effect that she should have known. Things haven't changed much since she was lil'....if it says "healthy" or "good for you" then chances are it don't taste good.

Now, we've already had our lil' cookie, but since she still had somethin' edible, we were still hangin' around her..just in case. She broke it into an' gave the first piece to Lexie..who gobbled it down right away. Not sure if she even slowed down enough to taste it. Then mom gave it to me. I'd been watchin' her reaction, so I was a lil' more suspect. I gave it a sniff or two...didn't smell like much. Even gave it a cautious lick. It was strange. Wasn't sure what kind of stuff mom was tryin' to give me....finally, mom laid it down in front of me an' told me that's all she had. (I was really hopin' for somethin' w/butter or bacon, if you know what I mean). With a sigh, I picked it up an' took it back in the house to my bed to give it a thorough examination an' then eat it. 

Now, I appreciate mom sharin' stuff.....but I wish she'd just stick w/the tried an' true.....bacon an' eggs, buttery cinnamon toast, pancakes, waffles, even cereal milk from her cheerios......I'm hopin' she's learned her lesson an' not waste her time or money on them healthy things. 

Lexie an' I are here to help....we'll call it the "Airedale Diet".....eat what you want, but allocate a good percentage of each plate to us. It's a win/win...easy an' makes everybody happy.

Lesson in Patience

Ok...so, mom finally gets outa bed an' gets dressed.  She goes to the kitchen to get her coffee, then calls me an' Lexie in there for our mornin' meetin'.

Lexie comes runnin' in from outside, an' I'm in there, already, 'cause I followed mom outa her room after she got dresssed.  You see, after Lexie an' I get dad off for work, I take his place in the big bed 'to protect" mom, while she's sleepin'.   Then I stay there in that comfy bed till she's really up & relatively dressed for the day.

Mom's got her coffee an' asks us if we'd like a cookie.  Well, "duh"...of course we do.  This is our mornin' routine...why she even bothers askin' us, I don't know.  Especially, Lexie....has anyone ever seen Lexie "not want a cookie?"

Mom's yammerin' away about somethin'..while we're waitin' on our cookie......patiently waitin'....hopin' she's gonna wind down soon an' hand out the goods......

Finally, she hand Lexie one of them lil' cookies outa our jar.  It's gone before mom can even put her hand in the jar to get me one.  (side note....don't know why Lexie likes cookies so much, it's not like she even tastes them).      Then mom hands me one.   I sniff it...snub it.  (You know, the closed eye quick jerk of the head to the right, so there's no mistake).   Lexie, of course sees this an' before mom can take her hand away, she grabs it.

Does mom give up?  Do we give up?  No.   Lexie's not givin' up, 'cause she's hopin' to reap any spoils that I turn down.  I'm not givin' up, 'cause I know mom's got a donut...an' she's sure not eatin' one of them doggy cookies.  Mom's not givin' up, 'cause...well, she now thinks it's a battle of wills an' she's not even had one cup of coffee.

It's now a waitin' an' starin' game.

Mom looks at us...we look at her.  We're both still waitin'....patiently waitin'....an' hopin'....

Then mom picks up her coffee cup...get a lil' squinty eyed at me...puts down her cup after a long swig......& picks up our cookie jar.    She gives Lexie a couple (they're really small)....then gives me one.  I snub it again.  She gives it to Lexie (who thinks this is a great game...an' she's winnin' as far as she's concerned).

Again...a lil' bit of an eye squint from mom.   Totally innocent patiently waitin' look from me.   A "wow this is great" look from Lexie.  Then mom pops the rest of her lil' donut in her mouth, picks up our cookie jar..an' gives me that ultimatum..."that's all there is...take it or leave it", an' gives me the jar to see (sniff) for myself.  

Dang it!   No donut!  Just them cookies!  Well....I actually like 'em...but I was hopin' for a donut, or part of one.  So, I go ahead an' get a couple of those lil' doggy cookies, an' Lexie gets another one (why isn't anyone keepin' count of how many she's gotten?  I dunno, but she thinks that fair is fair...if I get somethin', she has to, also..everytime.  Totally not countin' the in between times)

Mom goes back to her coffee.  Lexie goes back outside to watch for squirrels.  I go to the livin'room to the couch.  That way I'm centrally located in case, Lexie needs me outside an' I can keep up with mom.

Just when I get really comfortable...mom calls me.  I look up an' she's givin' me that secret hand signal she's got for me.   I go back in the kitchen...an' guess what?   She gives me a lil' piece of her donut she saved for me.   She's all proud of herself, thinkin' she's won somethin'.  I let her....it makes her feel in control an' happy.   If she don't know that I saw her put that last bite down when she picked up our cookie jar, an' that I verified that it wasn't in the jar....an' that..."hey...big nose here....I can smell a glazed donut"....then I'm certainly not gonna burst her bubble.    

There was another reason why I was waitin' on the couch.....waitin' ...patiently.....  

Early Spring Cleaning

Mom's been a lil' busy this mornin'. Seems she's been doin' some unplanned early spring cleanin' of her drawers. Oh, she's been plannin' on doin' that for some time, but not today. Thanks to AHS, she was given a lil' push to do it before spring.

At about 5:30am, Lexie an' I were makin' a racket, an' mom didn't bother gettin' up to see what was goin' on....or help. She told us to "pipe down" (don't really know what that means, we weren't doin' anythin' w/pipes) an' go back to bed. She didn't even get outa bed!

When mom finally rolled outa bed an' made her way to her bathroom to get ready for the day, she came to an' abrupt halt at the doorway. Neither me or Lexie came to see what was goin' on when we heard mom sayin' stuff...that was comin' across as kinda sputterin' noises. Dad didn't either.

She made an immediate about face an' headed for the kitchen in her pj's. She asked dad if he saw her bathroom...an' he said, "yes, good thing it wasn't dark", an' then laughed. She gave me an' Lexie that squinty eyed look, as we both were loungin' on the couch. Then she declared that it might take more then one cup of coffee before she heads back in there.

I don't know what the big deal was. We were just doin' our job. The overnite freezin' temps, is makin' our nice warm house enticin' to those lil' field mice....an' there's just a big wall between her bathroom an' the garage. Lexie an' I are always on alert when mom an' dad are asleep.....you may not think so, but we are. It's not like we sleep the whole nite away like they do..we've got regular house patrols. An' last nite, we heard an intruder...in mom's bathroom.

We tracked the intruder to behind mom's lil' dresser, but there was no way we could get behind it or move it. We discussed it (that's when mom heard us...again, we weren't playin' w/any pipes). So, there was nothin' else to do, but take those drawers out. (We've seen her open an' close 'em bunches ot times, so we know how they work).

First we took out the bottom one...but the openin' was still to small for either of us to really get back there....so the one above it had to come out. Actually, it wasn't that hard...even w/them round knobs....We got them drawers out. We even moved the drawers outa the way, 'cause we needed room to work. Then we investigated behind the dresser. We could tell he had been there, but he was gone now. But where?

Next, we had to got thru all them clothes in those drawers we pulled out....each an' everyone...to make sure he wasn't hidin' in 'em. Both of us knew mom wouldn't like a surprise mouse in her drawers.

Satisfied, that we scared that mouse back to where he came from, we went back to bed till dad got up an' let us out.

I think this goes in the "AHS, Good Job" file. We got rid of the intruder, an' helped mom w/her spring cleanin'.

Not sure why mom didn't take a "before" picture of all our hard work.

An' it's not even a Blue Moon

I'm blamin' it on a full moon...an' it's not even a blue one. Mom was on a roll, went out an' put a couple more plants in her greenhouse. Checked on the rest of 'em, then decided they were all on their own. The wind's blowin' so hard it'd be pretty much useless tryin' to wrap anythin' up. Then she put dad's oil less fryer in the garage.

It was about dark-thlrty then, so...she went to the back door an' called Lexie. I had been followin' her around, so I stepped out on the patio an' looked around. Mom called her again, 'cause she hadn't come runnin'. We both waited....I looked at mom for the go ahead...an' she pointed an' told me to go find her. I took off.

I did a full circle w/mom slowly followin' me (she was checkin' along the fenceline). After checkin' all her favorite spots, mom met me at the gate (you know the one....kinda like revisitin' the scene of the crime before). I sniffed at the gate, mom called Lexie...nada.....Mom took off for the house.

She checked the garage...thinkin'/hopin' she closed her off in there..but no Lexie.

Mom grabbed her keys an' a lead...no purse, no license, no coat...an' got in the hummer. Total "da ja vu", only this time..mom was a lot more worried....'cause I wasn't w/Lexie where ever she was.

It was almost completely dark by the time mom made a pass up an' down all three of the streets in our neighborhood an' then back down ours. Mom came back an' didn't even pull all the way up in the driveway.....she ran in the house an' rechecked the garage...then to the back. She had stepped out on the patio when we both heard barkin' ....it sounded like it was comin' from the front......

Both of us ran inside, an' I ran up the stairs....mom started to go out the front door, but followed me instead to my tower. Before she got there, guess who came runnin' down the stairs w/a big grin? Lexie!

Like I said...it's a full moon...an' not even a blue one...but Lexie, who hardly ever goes up to my tower w/me or mom...an' never goes up there by herself....was up in my tower..alone..doin' who knows what besides spyin' on mom drivin' up an down the neighborhood lookin' for her.

Mom said she's makin' an appointment at the hair dresser in the mornin'...not sure what that has to do w/anythin'....but I did check an' make sure all my pillows were still on my big bed up there.

The Nose knows...but I'm not tellin'...

Ok...so, I heard somethin' outside a lil' after 3am....dad got up an' let us out.  He left Lexie's lil' door open but, also, told us to "come right back".   It had turned cold an' clear after that front blew all the rain out, an' we were eager to see what critters were out an' about in our yard.  We zoomed outside w/out lookin' back, an' disappeared out into the dark....not for long, though...those motion lites came on before dad had a chance to close the big door.  We like the lites, but do have to admit it kinda kills any chance of surprisin' tresspassers.
Dad went back to bed, while we did our patrolin'.  As soon as we were sure everything was safe from any intruders, we headed back inside.  We had had a great time zippin' an' zoomin' all over...it's a shame that mom an' dad prefer to sleep at nite.   Anyway, just like we always do....we went straight to mom to let her know we were "right back".  W/grins on our faces, tails waggin'....we jostled each other to be the first to give her those kisses.  Lexie snuck in there w/the first couple....wet an' sloppy.  Those got mom kinda awake...then I got in there w/mine.  I like to give her slow an' completely across the face kind of kisses.  
All of a sudden she bolts up, looks at the clock (3:30am), looks at me...then of all things...sniffs my face.  I, of course, think this is great an' gives her some more kisses....do I get a smile? a hug?...noooo....I get a "ewwwwww"....an' a "what the heck have you been up to".  She even manages to wake dad up at this point & he's askin' her what's goin' on.  I'm still tryin' to kiss her to fix what ever the problem is...she's tryin' to not touch me an' tells dad that I smell like a cat peed on my head!!!..my nose, beard an' mustache to be exact!!!....she claimed it was so strong it was makin' her nose burn.
Lexie takes that opportunity to jump up in bed between mom an' dad an' lay down.  I think she was tryin' to smooth things over.  Mom gingerly patted me on the head an' tells me to go to bed....so, since Lexie took my spot, I layed down on my bed on the floor next to mom...who's still grumblin' about cat pee on my head.
When dad got up to go to work, Lexie an' I went out again..then were back inside the house before he left.  We never leave mom sleepin' alone in the house, our day doesn't officially start till she's up.  The first thing she does is put on her coffee...then comes over an' smells my head...again.  To tell the truth, I was kinda afraid she was gonna give me another bath, but she seemed satisfied that there was only a whiff of "cat" on my beard.....an' by noon...it was all gone.  
I'm not tellin' what happened in the wee hours of the nite....but mom walked the yard w/her coffee an' didnt' find any cat bodies...or any bodies for that matter.   (She said she was happy about that part).   Her best guess is that "somethin'" marked our yard somewhere an' of course I had to "put it to memory" so to speak.....or...maybe I actually caught somethin' an' it "sprayed me" in the face to get away....in any case, she's told me that from now on.....if I don't smell like me & my nose has been somewhere where it shouldn't.....her face is off limits....lol

The FOG

Fog.....mom doesn't like fog.  She says nothin' good ever comes w/fog.  All the movies an' books depict that...from monsters, aliens, serial killers an' things that go "bump in the nite", they all come outa the fog.  An' fog at nite?...well, she really don't like that.  You can't see anythin'...even w/a big lite like she has, nothin' but a big blank whitescape.  Sounds are muffled an' there's no way to really tell what direction it's comin' from.  Everythin' seems still an' weirdly quiet....just spooky if you ask her.   On the other paw....Lexie an' I love it!  'Cause we know that there'll be critters, two an' 4 legged, out an' about an' up to no good.
Kinda sets the scene, don't it?  Just add to that fog, that 'cause of the big thunderstorms we've had in the last few days, there's standin' water all over our yard.  So, you can just imagine how pleased mom was when Lexie an' I insisted to go out about 11:30pm.   As soon as she opened the backdoor, we zoomed out an' disappeared into the fog.
Mom answered a couple of emails, put up some stuff in the kitchen...generally got everything ready for mornin' before she shut everything, including us, for the nite.  Dad was already asleep, 'cause he had to get up really early for work.  It was about midnite.  Mom's not favorite hour, 'cause it ranks right up there w/"fog" pretty much for the same reasons, accordin' to her.  Nothin' ever good happens then. She opened the back door an' called us to come inside.
Nothin'.....not a sound.   Mom called us again an' again...she whistled....still nothin'...but fog.  She grabbed her big lite an' tried shinin' it out into the yard.....still nothin'...just fog.  Figurin' that Lexie an' I probably had gotten a 'possum or somethin', an' she was gonna find Lexie "guardin'" the prize, mom stepped out into the fog an' startin' on the side by the greenhouse began to make her way around the yard.
It was eerily quiet as mom first checked behind dad's shed, then under the fig tree, an' then the far corner.  That's where she first encountered the standin' water.  She tried to shine her lite down that far fence line, but it didn't do any good...all she could see is about 10' in front of her.  Havin' no choice but to try to find us, she started makin' her way down that side.  Her shoes were gettin' soggy, her feet wet an' cold...so, she decided about halfway to  make a detour down the middle of the yard an' bypass the side between the fence an' pond, where the standin' water seemed deeper.
Still no sign of me or Lexie....just fog.  
Mom made it around the pond an' towards the gate.   She didn't even get close to examine it.  She turned an' ran to the house, slammin' the backdoor almost at the same time as she placed the lockin' panel to Lexie's lil' door.  Not stoppin' for her glasses or a jacket,  still clutchin' her big lite, she grabbed our leads, then the hummer's keys an' ran out the door.   A quick check to the front of the house, the side of the house an' behind the hummer, she backed out the driveway an' headed down the street into the fog.
You have to understand mom....she's not one given to panic in emergency situations...she's the one that's calm an' goes into action....she saves the panic until after everything is over.   She drove first to the scariest place, down the street an' to the left....the field behind our house.  The fog was so thick that even w/the lites from the hummer, she couldn't see anything but white.  Everything was so still an' quiet...no cars anywhere, no movement, an' no barkin'.   She turned around an' drove down the other way down our street...drivin' really slow down the middle of the street w/all the windows down an' stoppin' an' callin' us an' whistlin'.   Almost to the stop sign, she saw me comin' down the sidewalk towards her w/my nose to the ground.  She stopped an' called me.....I ran towards her, crossed the street an' headed down towards home.  She turned the hummer around an'  followed me...when she got beside me...I stopped...she pointed at me an' at the house an' told me in "that voice" to "get to the house".....I'm no dummy...so I ran straight to the house...the porch to be exact.  Then mom saw dad walkin' on the sidewalk back to the house.  She told him that I was waitin' for him an' she was goin' back to find Lexie.  (He had heard her go out the front door an' then the hummer start, he knew somethin' had happened an' got dressed to help find us).
She drove back to where she had first seen me...still no Lexie.  She then drove to the far street where we go for our walks...no Lexie.   She turned down the middle street, but didn't really bother to look for her there...there were cats in driveways, just layin' an' watchin'.  There's pretty much chance we had been down that street.  So, she made it back to our street an' decided to turn left instead of right towards the house.   She got about halfway, when she looked in the rearview mirror an' saw Lexie runnin' after the hummer.
Mom stopped an' got out an' called her.  Lexie was hunkered down w/her tail waggin' furiously as she ran towards mom.  When we got separated somehow an' she lost sight of me, I'm guessin' Lexie was makin' her way back home an' trackin' me, when she heard mom an' maybe was startin' to panic a lil'.   We never go to that part of our street.  Mom barely got the backdoor open before Lexie jumped to get inside...she was so glad to find mom.   An' she showered her w/kisses all the way back to the house.  When they arrived home, Lexie jumped outa the hummer an' dragged mom to the front door.  
Our adventure was over..an' we were glad to be home.  We went to our beds an' fell into a peaceful slumber.  Mom on the other hand....didn't sleep hardly at all...all the "what if's" kept going thru her mind.
Mornin' finally came, mom an' dad examined the gate.  Not only were boards pushed out, but they looked like they had been kicked or ripped out, but from inside.  Some of them were literally busted in half.   Our neighbor said he heard us after somethin'..but then it got quiet, so he thought we had gone back in the house.   Everyone thought it was unusual....we never "hit" the gate.  We'll bark at somethin' like a squirrel, cat or dog....even look thru the spaces in the boards.  But never try to break it out.....so, whatever it was, we must have considered it a real threat to want to rip the gate apart to "get it".    It had to be really somethin' that was either in our yard or tryin' to get in.  The theories are possibly a raccoon or a person.  The police dept. reported several vehicle thefts & break ins that nite...an' mom did notice while drivin' around, that there was a blue car drivin' slowly down a couple of the streets.  In any case, dad (w/mom's help) rebuilt the gate, reinforced all fencin' around it, so once again, the outside world is safe from us...an' us from it.  Whatever threat that was...is over as far as we're concerned.  Lexie an' I chased it away...an' for that we're satisfied an' content in our yard.  We really  don't have any interest in gettin' out of our yard.  
Mom still hates the fog, especially at the midnite hour.

Puppy Class

Ahhh...puppy class...such great memories. Seein' all the posts from new airedale owners brings back such great memories. Some of these folks are just now findin' out that us airedales are really really not like any other dog...duh!

An' they seem to be shocked at what happens when they take their lil' black n' tan bundle of joy to puppy school. Well, here's just a lil' insight....we are independant thinkers...never ever forget that. Puppy class is such a great place. Why do we like it? Well, it's a perfect place to either show off or be the class clown. Sometimes both, lol. We learn stuff so quickly that we get bored. After about the third time bein' told to down or sit...well, it just don't make sense to do it anymore. We'll be off lookin' for somethin' else to do. If you have a great instructor, he/she'll be familiar w/our antics an' give more challengin' stuff for him to do why the rest are tryin' to figure out how to get their dog to lay down. If you get upset or embarrassed......that's just gives us more reason to act like a clown....sorry, but that's how it is. If you find yourself getting frustrated an' losing patience on somethin'...go to somethin' else...'cause you'll just hit a stonewall, we are a lil' stubborn an' just won't do it. One of the keys to gettin' what you want from us, is communication....an' findin' out what motivates your guy/gal. "Why?" and "What's in it for me?", are the things goin' thru our head. It's not the same for every airedale. My sis, Lexie, will do anythin' for a cookie. She's a real "people pleaser", just eats up all the attention. Me?...I'll do it for mom 'cause she asks...I'm not food motivated at all, but I am a lil' bit of a show off. But if I'm busy, an' I know she's ok....I just might make her wait a lil'. Most of us will do stuff if it's fun...remember if it's boring, that comes under that "Why?", an' we're not gonna do it. We love games an' challenges, but things have to make sense to us. Training is as much for the owner as it is for us. When I went to puppy class, I already knew how to do everything, "sit, stay, leave it, come". The rest of the class was made up of a bunch of dogs that hadn't a clue how to even "sit". I was lucky to have a great teacher an' she used me as the "demo" dog, so I never got bored. An' me an mom got to work on more advance stuff out in the aisles of the petstore where the classes were...a lot. Ok...I was the "teacher's pet". ( I told you I liked to show off). The only thing was, I never took treats while in class...not even from mom. I just don't take treats when I'm out in public. I'm not "food motivated". This came in handy when we had to do that recall w/all the toys an' treats strewn about, lol. One thing I wouldn't do in class, was "tricks"...none of that "rollin' over" "balancin' stuff on my nose" business...that was beneath me...thank goodness, mom agreed. Anyway, I sailed thru that class w/flying colors. Graduation day came an' we got to demonstrate in front of lots of people in the local Petsmart. My turn came...I did my "sit/stay"...mom walked to the middle of the store, turned....then called me. She was so proud, as I picked up my lead w/my mouth, an ran towards her...her smile was so big....as I ran past her to the back of the store where they kept all the dog food an' treats. I had wanted to check that place out for weeks...an' I finally had my chance, so, I took it. I did a quick recon...then ran back out to find mom. She was mortified...but everyone else was clappin' an' laughin'...so, I figured I aced it!! lol