doggie christmas...

its been a dog gone long time since I wrote here last.....I have been busy, tourists are in town and there is a lot of yappping to do keeping them in their place....there are more strange doggies on my walks and they also need to be shown who is boss....and of course I have had many nice family visitors to lick and cuddle and take for walks.....they love me to show them about town!! I had a great Christmas day, ate more than usual ( which is saying something), sneaked a few tidbits from various softies in the extended family and was so tuckered out by it all I forgot my guarding duties for a day and just slept!! Ah well 'tis the season and all that!!

I was quite happy with my lot of presents too, sant left me some lovely doggie treats and new rubber squeaky device to practice my guarding duties with.....then there was the minty breath freshners that great granny gave me and for which I am grateful, but do not really need, my breath smells lovely!!! And there was the furry toy that I could get my teeth into for a bit, until the old girl decided that fluff everywhere was not a good look when visitors were about! I got a nice new feeding bowl too, only it could have been bigger than the last one.....

So I am enjoying hte hullaballoo in town at the momnet, never a dull moment and walks are always full of surprises!! I jsut wish the old girl would stop putting me in the ocean for a swim....I can guard her better on the sand.......

ninja dog

yes call me ninja dog...able to leap tall poodles in a single bound and get a good handle on their wooly little rumps before they know what has hit them...able to attack wild breathing dragons ( vacumm cleaners) from round corners and wrestle them out of my poor unsuspecting humans hands...able to balance precariously but with utmost confidence in my ability on the verandah ledge in pursuit of a better view of the hairy mutts wandering my street...able to appear in deep asleep and in the same second leap to the front door to growl menacingly at a prospective perveyor of MY territory...able to sneak tuna patties out of the fridge right under my yet again unsuspecting human's nose...able I believe to do anything i choose in the pursuit of 'evil fighting' and any other activity I deem worthwhile.....

I have been on the ball lately its true!! Figuratively and well actually...my human has a big blue exercise ball that she lies all over and does funny things with her arms and legs upon...I have perfected the ninja art of big ball pushing and on my skinny but muscly hind legs I stand and push this thing around...great for upper body felxibility!!!!

And I have been extra busy protecting my nerighbourhood...it is school holidays and athere are more undesirables around than usual!! A dog cannot get too careful during times like these...vigilence is a must....i give equal time to looking out of all the windows in the house and all the viewing spots on both verandahs..and for better spying I have done a little decor adaptation too..chewing a viewing hole or two in the curtains.....I am sure my humans understand the dire neccessity for this.....and of course appreciate me!!!!

thoughts on the meaning of dog.....

D could be for 'do it again come on...you can roll over again..come on do it for us...'
or 'damn dog, it chewed my socks AGAIN, ( big sigh) lucky he's so cute....'
or Dinner...come on it smells so...good, ( pat on the head) eat up there's a good boy...'
( no prizes for guessing which one I like best!)

O could be for 'Oh my ####, you little#### you left your bone under my pillow again!!!!! Yuk!'
or 'open your mouth, let go of my shoe, come on, just let go PLEASE...........( long whiney sound from human) ...'
or "on your feet little man, we are going for a walk" ( you can imagine which words actually warrant a response from me !!!)

G could be for ' good boy, gorgeous poochy, great trick, go fetch or just plain GO..(depending on what I have recently been up to......) or glad you are mine, get away from there and finally my favourite one of all....God is just dog spelt backwards.......

The sleep of good dog....

My humans are funny....they walk real fast or sometimes run when I am with them and a big dog type starts to stalk me...they avoid ( and try to do so surreptitiously) cats and other furry things and they look sheepish when I do what after all I am really out and about to do...relieve myself! I can handle myself quite well with big dog types thank you, I can still see those damn cats and other furry things and will have my way with them if they step over the territory mark....and what’s natural is natural for dog’s sake so why not praise me for remembering to hold it in till I am outside!

It’s been so cold lately I have been sleeping under the covers of the big bed with the old girl and grumpy old guy. They are ok. But they can snore a bit....that’s why I really need to burrow in and get comfy down by their feet....it blocks it out a little. Apparently the old girl can sleep through a hurricane, because the other night I was trying to get back in the bed after greeting the grumpy old guy back from a late shift and she wouldn’t budge to let me in, I jumped on her head and scratched at her back and growled in her ear, but she just kept snoring!! And the grumpy old guy just sat there looking at me with a half smile on his face. The conceit of it!! I had to settle for the noisy arena on top of the doona and I just curled up and gave up in the bend of her knee.

I did get a little payback later when she made the bed in the morning and I pulled it apart and got back under! I kinda needed an extra dognap after my difficult night!

of "holidays" and other worrying stuff...

It’s been a long week/ I have ostensibly been on holiday at the dog holiday kennels....seems my humans needed to go away where fierce and protective dogs like me were unwelcome. Where is the logic? How would they protect themselves....I spent some nights worrying over them I can tell you!

On the surface I was all wagging tail and friendly overtures to the staff and other doggies at the holiday farm, eating tasty morsels and playing wildly with interesting toys and jolly puppy companions... but underneath I was all a twitter about my poor humans, fending for themselves, braving the scary world alone...I am sure they did not enjoy themselves!

I was strong though and went off with my new carer without even batting an eye. I did not want to make my humans worry...I am selfless like that! Then when they arrived to collect me, I made sure to lick everyone...my carers too so no-one would feel left out...and I gently let my humans know that they put me in a worrying situation by a little disdain and off handedness when they tried to pamper me and pet me in that irritating friendly way that humans have.

In the end I generously let bygones be bygones and took the treats they offered me! It was good to see that they were all ok!!! I guess they got lucky...but now they have me back to protect them, I know they will be fine. It’s a load off my mind! Enough to make me take an exercise run around the old house in excitement!

a little canine poetry....

heres a little poem I yapped up whilst looking after my poor flu ridden human, old gal ....( she has been needing a bit of TLC and of course I have obliged by staying close to her in bed and snuggling up on her feet to keep them warm....its a hard job, but someone has to do it!!!)

Ten ways to make a dog happy....
One, you can share that roast chicken with me...I like to share its cool
two, you can let me lick your plate clean too, its the least I can do
three, you can forget the bath, I 'm beautiful just the way I am...and so are you...
four, Don't fuss about the cushions, they weren't that great anyway and you know you wanted new ones...
five, let me fight the big fights when we're out doing a recky....I'm a big boy now you know(lol)
six, keep the heater on, the cold isn't good for anyone ( just thinking of you)
seven, let me play till late, I'll sleep when I'm ready....and you just sleep too much anyway
eight, you can share that cake and custard with me too if you like, it'll only go to your thighs....
nine, encourage me to keep fit and make that walk last even longer...or better yet, run with me...I like it when we both sound like Darth Vader...
ten, tell me what a good dog I am, I am you know!!!!

Rain and how to make your own fun!

It has been raining...really wet and I ahve missed my usual recky around the neighbourhood. Goodness only knows what manner of mishap may be happening out there...in the rain...only i do not know! I am sitting here looking out of windows and all i can see is water. I bark and whine a lot at things I think I see and my humans get mad, but you can never be too careful!

I went out briefly yesterday, and pottered around the church grounds next door... but it was raining still and I got pretty wet. When I came back in I rolled myself dry on the carpet and it was quite fun, but again the humans weren't impressed! Perhaps all this rqaian has made them depressed and angry....I am so.....patient about it compared to them...and I am the one who needs to go out and protect the neighbourhood!!

The verandah was wet as this morning. I could just barely look over the verandah rails without disturbing something that sprayed water at me. My food dishes were all full of water. I had to have my breakfast indoors.

All unsettling ...and I need exercise, so I have been chasing plastic bottles all over the house. ..they make a lot of noise and are pretty good for exercise!! Lucky the rain was so noisy that my humans were not disturbed by my antics!!! I wasn't sleepy at bed time though, jsut not enough to do in my days....so I did a lot of blanket rearrangement and pulled the covers off my humans to wake them up to play with me...I was not such a hit then!! But I did enjoy myself...gotta keep thse humans on theior toes! Especially the grumpy old man and old girl...make sure they know who really rules the roost around here!!

sickness and thunder....and good places to hide!

Oh my I am a poor dog lately...so little attention from my band of sick humans...they have been barking (coughing) a lot and being very idle...only just managing to take me around on my patrols....I have had to entertain myself by being extra vigilant on veranda watch and barking up a storm of my own!!!
This week we have had visitors though and all the humans seem to be in brighter spirits!! It’s been good to finally extract some extra attention for myself...I deserve it!! I have been growling ferociously at passing dogs of questionable attitude...I have been digging around the pot plants to make sure nothing untoward has been hidden in there...I have been rearranging the humans bedding in case any germs have been idling about in there and causing all this sick stuff...and if have been keeping everyone on their toes and not allowing them to lapse back into lethargy and get all sorry for themselves which just wouldn’t help them all get better!! What would this bunch of humans do without me!!

So you see I have not had much time for writing.....very busy keeping it all on track!! A few nasty storms out there in the weather too lately and lots of rain...I have had to do justice to the thunder and lightening and make sure that it doesn't eneter the house ...it needs me to bark twice as loud as usual and run around making sure all hiding places are still viable!!!

The humans seemed surprised when they found me huddled up in the grumpy old mans cupboard...but I was jsut pointing out a good place to retreat to when the final thunder hits...someone has to show them these things.....

Beach Patrol

A little foray to the beach for some border security turned into a mighty day for me! First there were some fierce ,big, hairy dogs about and it meant I was on guard at all times, waiting for them to put in one wrong move! They must have realized I was on their case because overall they behaved quite reasonably. Second I was forced to do some swimming, real heavy swimming! The old girl was obviously feeling a little fearful ( so many shark reports lately I gusess she needed someone to ward them off) so she dragged me into the deep with her….I was starting to feel like a navy dog you know? I don’t think she realized but I needed to be on shore..( to keep an eye on the big dogs) so as soon as possible I made a bee-line for the sand and I was pretty quick, (great doggy paddle skills she said….Honestly, how embarrassing, great dog-stroke skills I would say!). Anyway she kept taking me back in…..and I kept making my point by dashing for the sand…..the old girls getting a bit slow I think! Thirdly and finally I had a bit of a moment with one of those snappy creatures that hide in holes in the sand. They are not to be trusted…would you trust anything that hides in holes for the majority of their lives??????? I think not! Anyways lets just say I needed to rub my nose a bit after that…….the old girl laughed at me too….and to think I was protecting her! GRRRRRRRRR

I was glad to get back to my normal turf after that......and I justifiably caught a bit of nap too!!!

Catching up.......

Its been a while...I have been quite busy...my humans took a holiday and left me with running boy for a while...just the two of us in the fight against evil, minding the family home and the neighbourhood!!! I felt the weightiness of responsibility, believe me. I had a hairy meeting or two with a big dog or two...and survived to tell the tale....I may be small but I am feisty!
Running boy and friends were less willing to let me fight the good fight though so they took me away sighing heavily.....I think they were worried for the other Dogs.....its ok as long as everyone knows just who is boss around here! And then there was the verandah watch...I did alot of that, and caught up on my furniture rearranging and c ushion stuffing ( or should I say destuffing ) skills. Running boy was not too happy abut this, but I have to keep on top of my form and exercise is paramount....

I was pretty pleased to see the rest of the humans safe and well when they returned last week...I really don't know quite how they survived without me! But I cannot be in two places at once..although I am working on it. I gave them a big greeting just to show them they were missed...they need that reassurance, sensitive creatures that they are! And of course I did a little territory marking around them...one still has to have the upper hand....but the humans really kick up about this...easily threatened creatures too! Got to love the cute things though don't you!

Explosions and Aliens.....

There was a big night at our place about a week ago......lots of noisy oddly behaving folk all down the street....on and off all night....which nearly caused to me go hoarse with barking....and which of course caused me to have little sleep as vigiliance was paramount! Then there was the explosion! It wasn't just one explosion....but it kept going for some minutes....and there were weird alien lights in the sky at the same time!! I was not very happy.....I wasnt sure just how much danger we were all in! The Old girl picked me up and tried to make me look at the lights in the sky, but seriously, I really don't think this was a good idea...who knows what those evil aliens were trying to do to us......I wriggled free and showed her the way to handle this...I burrowed under the bean bag in the lounge...which is what she should have done too...I was so worried for her that after all had quietened down I threw up....a little embarrassing, yes, but even a wonder dog has their limits!

Then the next day, and I dont mind admitting, still a little shaken, I was taken for a bit of a beach rekky with running boy and his mates....all us men together to check on any damage that the aliens might have caused etc., but low and behold I was attacked by a deranged staffy...obviously affected by the previous evenings turmoil, and though I put up a good fight the boys and some others on the beach had to pull him off me.....I was unharmed physically because I am tough and we all know this, but my spirits were a little stressed out.......all this in 24 hours...really!!!! I am taking it easy for a few days I think...even an old hand at the fight against evil like me needs a holiday sometime.

A Strange thing.....

The Humans got a new thingy in the house today….it lives up on the ceiling and I am not too sure about it. It is soften quite still, just watching in an eerie sort of way….you know like a fly on the wall, you’re aware its there but it so….quiet and occasionally you forget about it. Then all of a sudden it jumps to life and just spins like a crazy thing on the spot….making a weird hissing sound. I am so sure it is waiting for the right moment to leap down and consume us in its spinning madness…….I have to bark at it and keep vigilant in my watching of it, just to let it know whose boss around here. Truly I do not understand the humans…why let this evil thing in the house at all? Maybe it just overpowered them? Its really put me out somewhat because I have other duties to perform too and this thing keeps me watching and waiting for so long….I am a bit angry with those silly humans….They keep telling me its alright too, and to quiet down….don’t they realize I am keeping them safe? No-one should just let strange things in the house…..its common sense that strange things cannot be trusted. Fighting against evil can be so hard with humans around…..( don’t get me wrong I still love those silly people….poor folk).

Of Heat and Flies

Ah its been a long few days of heat and those pesky spy on the wall flies……I must say however that the onslaught of flies has really given me a chance to improve my more balletic skills of ‘catch and destroy.” Stealth, patience, quiet, nimbleness of limb, and that unquantifiable something of balletic poetry in motion are what’s needed to catch those little blighters! You should see me delicately lifting one foot before the other, standing like stone (a little of the Buddhist monk in meditation I like to think), and finally pouncing with such a smoothness of motion……….poor little creatures don’t know what’s hit them! It gives me such a sense of satisfaction……my tail rises an extra centimeter after a bout of fly capturing!

No matter the heat I am there! Ridding our verandah of vermin……..my Humans are so lucky. Super -dog saves the day once again….

beds and blankets

The Old girl went away for a few days earlier this week. I had to put up with the grumpy old Guy...alright really except he sleeps so...soundly.....I resorted to lifting my leg on the bed in the end....and what do you know, he gets up...but in a grumpy way and bans me from the bed till the old girl gets back! No appreciation for all my protection and super dog skills......

I have recently found that sleeping with soft girl is a bit of alright though...so there's more than one bed to satisfy my needs!

I have been so busy too..I need my sleep. It is Summer and the tourists are making this town busy. I have to really assert my authority and keep that bark up...

The Old girl brought me a new blanket when she came back.....I must confess that even though I am a tough super hero type, I love the soft baby balnket...its such a comfort at the end of a tiring day.

The good life

ah..the dog blog....so hard to find the time some times.

Lifes little routines and challenges just seem to take up all of my days......like munching on the leaves of the mint bush growing on my verandah....chomping on a shell retreived from the beach ( both really good for teeth and gums you know)....napping in the sun, chasing a bird (air patrol) or catching a fly, beach patrol and neighbourhood watch, keeping up with exercise and hiding my treasures, not to mention dealing with any new dramas and threats to my humans that come along.

Thank goodness all has been pretty settled of late.....I have had time to smell the bones for a change ( and even eat a few).... take tonight for instance , enjoying some ambience on the verandah with my humans, I nibbling ( a little obsessively to be true) on a large Liver Treat...my humans drinking that funny smelling red stuff they seem to like, and all of us cosying up on the couch watching the rain...

Life is good.

The day of the Dinosaur.....

Dogness, I suffered quite a scare today!! Whilst doing my regular neighborhood watch from the vantage of my verandah…I spied something I have never seen before! Giant…I mean really huge…prehistoric –like…dogs. And with humans on top of them…seriously, humans on top…I kid you not. I was moved to a frenzy….this was work only a wonder dog could handle! I yapped furiously, I found a new bark I haven’t before discovered of wild, untamed, undomesticated proportions and I growled with a menace of feral intensity….I had to make a stand, let them know who was boss and I had to do it quickly! I went from verandah to window to front door and verandah again…. They were big brown things with swishing tails and the longest legs. No human of mine would be captured by these monsters, I’d show’em!

They sauntered past none the less, but I know they heard me….who wouldn’t have? Humans on the street looked up in my direction and pointed and I know they were reassured…… One of the creatures ( I cannot bring myself to call them dogs)…made a horrible noise…sort of Neighhhhhhhhhhhhhsh and it went straight through me……

I was a bit anxious for some time after…mainly because my humans would not let me follow these creatures down the road and run them out of town…….I had some trouble getting my tail to sit upright and as majestic as usual, and all the running about and yapping took it out of me so I was a little shaky……

It was some day……….there are strange and bad things out there….a dog can never close his eyes because of it……vigilance always vigilance….

all the good genes.....

I thought I’d fill you guys in on my ancestry, just to demonstrate my absolute appropriateness for the job of Wonder dog!

For a start although Mini Foxies are still relatively unknown outside of Australia and New Zealand, we are sure renowned where I live in NSW. There are several quite famous of us….. for example ‘Pasqua’ and ‘Fergus’ owned by Anthony Field of The Wiggles, and Ian Thorpe’s pup Tiny. ( poor choice of name don't you think?)

Those of my ilk have always been very much working terriers, and are actually in demand on farms across Australia. That’s why we were originally bred. Some of us like me have jobs in the towns and cities too though and we keep things on the straight and narrow in our neighborhoods. We’re all smart and have very good minds so we welcome the stimulation of our fight against evil! We don't welcome that silly baby talk that some humans seem to direct at us ough though....honestly its enough to make you growl.....

Hunters have always liked us for our size and speed, ( we are pretty wily too). We are the best defense against rabbits, rats, and snakes on Australian farms. We are renowned for our demonstrated tenacity, endurance, and extreme loyalty to our humans. I’d say compassion towards the poor humans too; they are such a vulnerable lot!

We are fierce when protecting our humans’ property, and can nut out a mystery with our curious, inquisitive and bold nature. And as for our looks…well the pics speak for themselves don’t they…… erect ears, articulate, oval-shaped foot, black, white and tan colouring and sleek fine hair, beautiful teeth….. Hmmmmmm. I could lick myself with pride!

Labrador love

I had a friend visit this week.....she's a big beautiful and sexy Labradour and her name is Rani. I am I beleive in love. Rani stayed two days and I was off my fight against evil a bit because of it! I just could not waste time on anything but her...I'm feeling a little guilty now but truth be told nothing untoward seems to have occurred in the neighbourhood or at home as a result. Lucky its been a quiet few day out there....

Rani and I had some great moments on the beach....but I did have to protect her from the other dogs.... she went a bit far out into the ocean for my liking too so I stayed on the sand and whined for her to come back in... I was watching for sharks you know, just in case.......she seemed not to hear me but I gave her a talking to when she came back in!

We shared our food too...I did let her have more though....she has those gorgeous curves to service....

Anyway, now she is gone again until next visit and I am back to my job protecting all and sundry...the humans in my pack reckin there's a little extra oomph to my bark today too.....

Bath Time....Blue Balls and weird grins

Bath time......I am not so sure about this...I like it luke warm and I like to have some distraction, like my liitle motorised ducky....it gives me practise at water patrolling.....but the drying part really irks me...wrapped up in a towel and then cosseted like some baby....the indiginity of it all....humans do it all the time....but thankfully not me...only once in a while..and that is definitely enough!!!

On the subject of things wet...Running boy had a wrestle with the Water monster today , I can't say I like this creature, it has lots of tendrils and flops about on the kitchen or bathroom floor like it owns the place...I have to work really hard to keep it from getting out of hand and runing boy seems to think it can hurt me so he tries to put me on the verandah away from it...I know if it can hurt me it can hurt him so I just stay vigilant....these monsters need to know whose boss...ME......

I am currently working on assserting my role around here....got to keep the humans in line...Old Girl was doing something with the big blue ball on the floor this morning...not that I object to her playing in her way....but this ball is my favourite exercise equipment...so I dashed up to her and gave her a little nip on the derriere...should have heard her scream...it could have been quite funny except it woke up the old grumpy guy with a start and he lunged into the lounge with a demented grin and hair all over the place...ostensibly to protect the old girl...honestly, like he doesn't know this is my job....and of course I have been awake for some time doing my job....I do not have hair everywhere ( I am sleek and well presented) and my grin really does mean business, not that his grin wasn't a tad scary in a weird sort of way.....

Anyway, he eventually retired back to bed and feeling sorry for him I went and lay down on the bed too....so he didn't feel so alone in it all.....and looking at him I think he needed a little protection too...its a vulnerable sight seeing the grumpy old guy in his sleep attire...

Showing my teeth......and a spot of painting

Its been a long week folks….the pack have been off supporting running boy in a surf competition and I have been left to mind the territory with Soft Girl who has been busy with University stuff…(lots of oil paints and brushes in her bag for me to amuse myself with!! Although she is not so good at sharing)…I have a little blue paint on my rear at the moment due to an angry brush stroke from soft girl who says my nose should not be pressed up against her work....how else am I supposed to check it out for foreign bodies? She is insisting on painting air patrol too, it makes me want to bare my teeth....but to humour her I just turn the snarl into a grin....

I am torn about staying as I know the pack are off with no -one to protect them…Dogness only knows how they’ll get on! But the Territory needs looking after.... and soft girl just cannot be left alone without protection so I am doing the duty…I do my recky in the mornings going from room to room and spending some quality time looking out of the windows checking the peripheries…then it’s the verandah for a bit of neighborhood dog watch.

I make sure I wake soft girl up early too so that she doesn’t fall behind in her work….she feigns grumpiness but I know deep down she appreciates it!

I’ve really been using this time wisely…working on my leaping skills…getting good elevation and springiness….I am currently into practicing via jumping from furniture to furniture…and apart from knocking over a few silly items that are obviously in my way its been a productive exercise…

I got into a bit of a scuffle with some really bad dogs earlier this week …we were walking up by the lighthouse when I spotted them…total ruffians…they pretended to be friendly, but I knew otherwise and I showed them my teeth just to keep them in line….sniffing around the grumpy old guy and the old girl like there’s no tomorrow…honestly some dogs have no sense of propriety! Unfortunately my showing the teeth brought out their true colours! The fight was on… that is until the grumpy old guy picked me up and took me away…..I was mortified…how embarrassing…didn’t he know I was doing him a favour….those damn dogs are still out there and what if they spy him when he’s alone, who can tell what manner of sniffing and licking will go on and what diseases these guys might carry????

Its an ongoing battle to keep these humans in line………grrrrr