Elsa and Reggy

Almost three weeks have flown by and no updates to my blog.  Sorry everyone.  The excitement of getting two Doxie puppies, housetraining, feeding and playing with them almost around the clock, trips to the dentist (me) resulting in a filling, fighting an infection and a pulled tooth is my excuse, but there were other happenings:

The travel trailer got parked next to the house but not quite in its proper position. The reason for this was that the trusted Parkit trolley, which we use to turn the trailer around and move it to the full hook-up, went on the fritz and quit working. A replacement electric motor, still under warranty, is on order. Benno thinks that during the previous use lubricant from the small gearbox somehow got into the electric motor and gummed up the rotor. That caused the rotor to stick to the magnets, which in turn when powered up, fried the windings while Benno tried to use the Parkit, when we got home last month.  

Then there was the priority of creating a save area outside for the dogs to romp around.  Our deck is ideal for that, but we needed a gate and a foot high lattices all around the balustrade so the Doxie puppies would not get their heads stuck under or in-between the railing. Home Depot and Lowes in Windsor had what we wanted but we bought too much so another trip was called for to return the extra material.  Of course Benno had to cut, drill and mount the lattice and I painted the gate. Now we just wish for warmer weather so the little Doxie puppies can stay out longer.

While we had already bought the absolute necessary items for the pups, more exploratory fun trips to pet stores in search of better dog food, harnesses, retractable leashes, chewing bones and a couple more toys took up more time than anticipated. Hey, some dog food is only three stars we got educated and there is the five star puppy food as well, and it is better of course. HaHa! Immense marketing is trying to harness your dollar in the pet food business. In addition I took our little male Doxie to the Vet because we noticed that he seemed to be itching on his behind, so my man Benno looked at the poop with a toothpick.  Our male Doxie puppy had his vaccination shots and meds for deworming, but he got a booster shot and some additional medication for more deworming as a precaution. $75 thank goodness it is Canadian Pesos only and not the $ US!!

Our two oldest grandchildren, Heidi, 6 years old and Annaliese, 4 years old, were given the task of naming our little Dachshund puppies.  Heidi wanted to name the boy and her two top selections for a name were Ruffster, and Reggy.   The naming process for the girl Doxie seemed to be a bit more problematic for Annaliese and after much thought she came up with Elsa, and Meow Meow.  There is the Walt Disney film of “Frozen” with the fictional character of Queen Elsa, which must have made a big impression with most girls at the age of our granddaughters.  A name we certainly can get used to calling our female puppy.  Just imagine I am calling “Elsa” near a playground full of kids and all the heads turning around with questioning looks as to where she might be?   And as for our little male puppy, he is very sweet and playful, (we are thinking Sir Reginald, in short the name: “Reggy”) fits him well.   A visit to our grandkids, daughter-in-law and son consists of several hours of traveling time. Last weekend was a good test to see how well the Doxies would tolerate a lengthy car ride when we drove out so the girls could meet the puppies. It turned out to be a good experience all around.

For the moment our quiet and relaxed retiree lifestyle is in a bit of upheaval but in a good way.  Forget about sleeping in or leaving the dogs unattended for a while, you will be in for a surprise.  We are certainly more energetic now and they make us feel youthful just to keep up with them, as they can run like the greased lightning.  

We have rushed home! Why?

Why on earth would we leave warm and sunny Florida at the end of February to rush home to cold and snowy Canada?  The reason is in the pictures.

Last year available Dachshund puppies found new homes before we were ready or reacting not fast enough in the pursuit of a purchase. Further searches for puppies brought us to breeders located all over Ontario but none close to home.  So when we saw two advertisements for pups in January we contacted the owners to see if they would hold a puppy for us for when we come home in spring.  Of course they wouldn’t and we would prefer to select the right one for us. However, it looks like nowadays the pups are being released at a much younger age than our previous dogs and with March Break coming up we were told the puppies must be gone by then. So, we ended up in a panic race up the Interstate 75 toward Canada a few days ago J

The little pretty female was 8 weeks old when we picked her up in the Town of Lakeshore close to the city of Windsor, Ontario last Saturday.  On Sunday we drove to Grand Bend on the shores of Lake Huron, Ontario to get the 10 weeks old cute male Dachshund.  Both are lively little rascals. They get along well and can be a real handful if you let them.

In my experience it is easier to train only one dog, as the other one would not distract the puppy trying to relief itself.  The little girl already knew where she was expected to do her business, which we provided with a 24x24 inch plastic shallow tub from the TSC Store, a well known store chain for Ranchers and Farmers, holding a disposable, absorbent training pad from the same store. The male puppy had not been trained that way and was used to go outside or perhaps anywhere.  With our present cold temperatures I am not going to continue that practice until it warms up somewhat, so our patience is being tested.  But determination and training will get us there. 

For the puppies sleeping arrangement and playtime we have for a bargain price a portable playpen made for babies, which is netted on all sides with a plastic bottom.  That arrangement is temporary until we can trust our young dogs enough to roam freely in the house without leaving us a wet or soft present on the lovely virgin carpet.

You will be asking: “ aaand which names have you given them???” Our granddaughters Heidi and Annaliese are thinking very hard in coming up with the names.

Sure, we are now busier than we would want to be, but it is a lot of fun to watch puppies play and discover new things.  Stay tuned…..