Crafting For Dogs March 31, 2008

As an artist and crafter, I can’t help but create cute stuff for Jasmine. While we were in Maui, we happened upon a little pet boutique in the town of Paia. Inside were cute treats, toys and accessories. I loved the different collars and leashes, but the first thing that came into mind was “I can make that!”

So I did. I found the proper hardware on the Internet. I had some great sushi print fabric that I had been saving for just this kind of occasion. And Jasmine is now sporting a spiffy new collar and leash.

I love creating things, and crafting for Jasmine has been SO much fun. She has a plethora of fluffy, soft pillows with washable pillow covers, blankets to keep her warm, and a spiffy dog paw print coat for walks on chilly days. I do draw the line at “doggie outfits” although my husband would beg to differ (a fleece coat does NOT a frufru outfit make). I would have made her some toys IF she liked toys, but this far, stuffed soft figures have not appealed to her.

I wrote up some detailed instructions on how to make the dog collar and leash set on a new blog–What I Made. Hope you can make one for your precious pooch…it was really lots of fun!

No Dining Alone March 28, 2008

Jasmine doesn’t like to eat alone. In the morning, she tends to wait for me to get up and go into the kitchen even though hubby has prepared and placed her meal on the floor and has left for work. In the evening, he fixes her dinner. If he’s in the room alone with her, she won’t eat. She will only eat if I’m present–and will tolerate his presence as well. During our vacation, she wouldn’t eat if the other animals were in the room (which gave the resident cat plenty of chances to torture her and prompted the mom to banish all other animals from the house while Ms. Jasmine was dining…no wonder she’s not invited back!).

Last night, hubby fed her as usual, and I walked out of the room while she was chowing down. Actually, I tip-toed out. I was hoping she didn’t notice my departure and would finish her meal without me. She got about 3/4 through her meal when she noticed my absence and ran into the living room. She stared at me, and I walked back into the kitchen to see if she had finished her dinner. Nope. She ran back in and scarfed away the rest and promptly trotted back into the living room sated and happy. Quirky little gal, isn’t she?  Or is it that she has me well trained?

A little light at the end of the tunnel…this morning when Jasmine romped into the room to wake me up, I told her to go eat her “dinner.”  She happily thundered down the hallway and I could hear the clang clang of her tags on the food bowl.  About a minute later, she ran back into the room to make sure I was up.  When I checked her bowl in the kitchen, it was empty.  One small step for small dog?

Learning How To Play March 27, 2008

Jasmine still doesn’t play–much.  The two weeks with her “vacation” family were good for her in that regard.  She learned a little bit about playing from the resident dog.  When the dog was chewing on its squishy fish toy, Jasmine started to chew on a rope toy.  Since she’s been home, she has played with her rope toy every day–albeit, only for a few minutes at a time.  It’s progress.  Jasmine also gets very frisky in the morning or after naps…she appears to want to play, but when I try to engage her, she just looks at me.  She just doesn’t know what to do.  I try to show her (I’m sure glad there’s no one around watching me), but I think it takes dog-to-dog play to really imprint.  It’s kind of funny at times.  I roll a ball to her, and she looks at it.  Sometimes it rolls into her.  She sniffs it and looks at me with a “what do you expect ME to do” look.  Dachshunds are really good at that look.

Jasmine’s favorite game right now is “climb on mom.”  I was laying on the floor last night, when Jasmine came up, climbed on my back and hunkered down on my butt.  I guess it was a soft, warm place to be.   She promptly fell asleep, and admonished me with a sad look when I finally roused her and got up.  Dachshunds are really good at that sad look as well.

Post-Vacation Bliss March 23, 2008

We arrived home this morning and promptly picked Jasmine up from our friends’ home.  We rang the bell, and the resident pooch greeted us at the door.  Jasmine was nowhere to be seen–that is, until she appeared at the end of the hall.  I called her name.  What did she do?  She ran away!

I walked down the hall to the kitchen/family room and Jasmine once again appeared.  I called her name and she nervously came over.  She squatted down when I tried to pet her.  I think she was glad to see me, but so very confused.   I sat on the floor, and she finally climbed on my lap and licked my face.  And when I put her in the car on her travel pillow, she sank in and just sighed.  She snuggled in and closed her eyes.  She was on her way HOME.

Apparently, Jasmine had asserted herself a bit when she was visiting and upset the resident cats.   Jasmine doesn’t seem to pay any attention to cats, but she likes cat beds as well as the resident dog’s bed.  She kind of usurped her host animals’ comfy spots and upset the cats to the tune of aromatic protests around the house.   Unfortunately, the jealousy that the cats have shown (the other dog has been fine) has precluded Jasmine from becoming an overnight guest in the future.  I understand–keeping another person’s dog is a lot of work, and if  it upsets your animals and your household to the tune of significant “payback”…well, it’s always okay to say no.  So, we’ll have to find another place for Jasmine to stay when we next go away.

Regardless, I’m so grateful for our friends’ generosity.  Having her in a safe, loving environment made it so much easier for me to enjoy our vacation.  I’m happy, relaxed and oh so rejuvenated.  And Jasmine, she’s a bit better socialized and less skittish.  We all did well (except for that darn cat).

Jasmine is laying at my feet on her poofy pink pillow, digesting a nice meal.  Her little snores are music to my ears.  It’s so good to be home.

A Second Home March 13, 2008

While we are on vacation, Jasmine is staying with the same friends who watched her while we were away for the Christmas holidays.  This time, Jasmine quickly settled in and is doing exceptionally well.  It took her less than a day to get comfortable with her “vacation” home, and she has even taken a liking to the resident dog’s day bed.  She follows the mom around the house all day, and she is eating well.

I’m glad that even in our absence, we could provide her with a little continuity.  She’s at a home she recognizes and with people who are kind and who provide a familiar, safe and loving environment.   It gives me a great deal of peace of mind and has allowed me to enjoy our vacation.   Of course, every time I see a dog, I wish it was Jasmine frolicking on the beach with us…

Vacation March 5, 2008

We’re leaving on vacation on Friday. Jasmine is once again staying with our friends.It’s going to be hard to leave that little face for two weeks. We’re celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, we can’t bring Jasmine with us…Jasmine would be in quarantine longer than we’d be visiting.

Well, at very least we know that she’ll be well taken care of and loved. But what will I do without that little nuzzle at 6:15 a.m.?

EARLY Morning Dog March 3, 2008

A few months ago, I suspected that Jasmine is a “morning” dog.  Horror of all horrors, I actually have an EARLY morning dog.

My husband gets up at 5:30 a.m. to get ready for work.  After showering and dressing, he takes Jasmine out for her morning business and then fixes her breakfast (which, unfortunately, she doesn’t eat until I get up).  He leaves for work, and she comes running down the hallway to the bedroom where I am sleeping.  Well, not really.  The sound of thundering hooves and jingling tags usually is enough to wake me up.

She jumps and scratches on the side of the bed, welcoming me to a new morning.  She whines and jumps, running from one side of the bed to the other.  I have tried playing “possum” and not moving or making a sound–one time for over 30 minutes.  She doesn’t waver in her determination to wake me up.   I have even tried picking her up and snuggling with her in bed.  No dice.  She squirms and sniffs and rolls around.

As soon as I’m up, her tail wags and she jumps with glee.  Mom’s up!  She goes tearing down the hallway and waits for me to enter the kitchen.  She then proceeds to wolf down her food.

While I’m not really thrilled about getting up at 6:15 a.m., it’s so wonderful to be greeted every morning by a happy, smiling dog.  You can’t be grumpy when a dog looks at you with love and joy.  You just can’t.