Snow Dogs

Everyone slept GREAT the last few nights! No middle of the night potty breaks or barking spats. Our secret: separate the trouble makers and turn on a couple fans to drown out any trigger noises. It has worked wonders.

This morning's snow has brought with it some ornery behavior. Zorra, the naughty husky, has found something worth digging at in the back yard. We tried calling her and using treats...nothing. Finally I give in and put my shoes and coat on. I walk up to her and when I'm inches away, she darts. Great, now we're playing a game. Normally that would be fine and I would play along to help her get rid of some energy...but it's cold. Eventually I catch up to her and grab the back of her neck to guide her back inside where it's warm. Success!

2 hours later: rinse, and repeat.

Zorra is back at it. This time I made a mistake. Since I couldn't seem to catch up to her, I went and found a leash to wrap around her neck when I got close enough. This worked great. No problem. Only ALL the dogs thought they were going to go for a walk. Jumping, whining, barking, spinning in circles. I would love to take everyone for a walk. But they don't seem to realize that I only have 2 hands. And again, it's cold. Much to their protest, everyone is now kenneled and napping. And I am back to work.

Ah, the adventures! :)

How many personalities can we fit into one house?

I've been dog sitting off and on since I moved to Iowa. It's always entertaining learning how the personalities work (or don't work) together. Sometimes it's 1 dog, sometimes 2 or 3. For the next 10 days we have SEVEN! Luckily I have my partner in crime, Sheena, to share in the fun :)
Here's the lineup:
Zorra - naughty husky
Kya - You may call me 'pretty pretty princess'
Sydney - I'm just here to be loved on, I don't know what the others are doing
Reagan - I'm too sweet to be involved in anything mischievous...no really
Savannah - I look innocent but don't get too close to my face...unless you have cheese. I like cheese.
Macie and Toohla - The little tykes - We can be naughty but are too darn cute for our own good :)

The first 48 hours have actually been pretty good. My biggest concerns were breakfast and dinner. 7 hungry dogs on a race to see who can eat the fastest. Luckily they've done this before. Macie and Toohla (little dogs) eat by themselves. Zorra and Kya (huskys) eat in their kennels. Sydney and Reagan (chubby goldens) devour theirs in about 4.5 seconds. Savannah (border collie?)....she eats in her own time, or faster if the chubbys stand over her.

That was easy.

They are having a little bit of a tough time sleeping though. They miss their mom :(

Today had a couple of entertaining moments. First, when arriving back to the house after a morning meeting, all the dogs were on high alert. Walking through the garage sounded like I was about to walk into a war zone - barking, squealing, whining, howling, scratching at kennels. On an emotional scale of 1 to 10, we were at about a 14.

After everyone went outside and spent some energy, I settled into my work in the office. The office is gated off so I have the space to myself to get some work done. Or so I thought. It didn't take but 20 minutes for the whining to start. I'm so used to tuning those noises out, I ignored it for quite awhile. But instead of giving up like I thought they would, they joined forces. The whining intensified in noise level and numbers. Finally I gave in and decided to see what the fuss was about. I walk around the corner and this is what I saw:

From L to R: Zorra, Kya, Sydney, Savannah (in back), Touhla, Macie. Wait that's only 6....where's Reagan. I look to the right and bam!

Yep. They're stalking me.

On to day 3.