How Many Times??????

Does your dog ever keep doing the same thing all day long?  Which causes you to think YOU are doing the same thing all day long?

With us….it’s Stella’s bed.  The blue fleece bed that is in the downstairs hallway.

It’s not only a bed, but to her it’s also a toy….she is constantly dragging it around….flipping it over,  hiding things under it….and I am constantly flipping it upright….putting the stuffing back into it….putting the cushion back in it…what seems like 200 times a day.

It starts out pretty innocently.....

And as her activity increases......

It winds up upside down.....

Which doesn't stop her from playing on it....

And then you leave the room for a minute…..and walk back in to this…….

"Hi Mama.....I didn't do this...."

She looks pretty guilty to me....

Our house is a Schnoodle playground....

So Mama stuffs all the stuffing back into the hole that Stella chewed in the bed....

Mama puts the cushion back in the bed, puts it back in it’s place…..two hundred times a day……..

"I love you Mama!"

Stella’s Halloween Part II

Stella had another Halloween adventure….this one was on Friday night.   We took her to the Halloween party at the Planet Dog store!!!!

Papa came along with us as a chaperone and photographer….it was Stella’s first party and I think she liked it!!!!

There were tons of people there with their pups.....

Papa complained a little less when he saw they had adult beverages and snacks...

There was a bee.....

Some Geisha pugs.....

A little pirate....

Stella strutted her stuff in the costume parade.....

Sadly, Mama did not take the time to make a costume for Stella….so she couldn’t be IN the costume contest, BUT the super nice Planet Dog people did let her strut in the parade!  There were some very creative costumes there that night……

This cute, shy little Eyore....

This GINORMOUS Newfie......

A Sumo Wrestler......

A Border Collie...dressed as the Maine/Canadian Border......

That was a very original idea......

Stella posed with the other dog dressed as a squirrel...and a cute little Doxie, named Stella also, who came dressed as Squirrel Patrol!

This greyhound was dressed as a GREYHOUND BUS! Very funny!! He won second place!!

This is the first prize winner....adorable dog named Buddy...dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow! Excellent Costume!!!

It was a good time had by all!  Stella was VERY well behaved considering how many dogs and people were in the room….and that she was wearing a squirrel costume.  She was a very good girl!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!

From the cutest little squirrel I’ve ever seen…..

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!!!

 

More photos from Stella’s Halloween later!!!!!

Halloween is Almost Here!!!!!!!!!!

Our Sadie’s birthday was October 22nd.    What started out as a Birthday Photo turned into a Halloween/Birthday photo each year!!!  Then Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter were added.  Sadie was a very, very patient girl and we loved her dearly!!!!

Here are some of my favorite Halloween photos of Sadie….

Witchy-Poo

Sadie the Genie

Halloween Angel

Angry Bee

Sadie the Devil

Happy HulaWeen!!!

The Flamingo

This will be Stella’s first Halloween and she’s got her costume all set to go!!!!!!

Stella….You Smella!

I knew it was a little risky to take Stella to the dog park yesterday.  It had rained alllll day the day before so there was bound to be mud, but yesterday was such a beautiful day…I caved in and brought her.

She had a BLAST!  There were a ton of dogs there and she ran and ran and ran and played……she was so happy, which makes Mama happy.

Once again….I brought a ridonkulously cute, fluffy, sweet smelling puppeh to the park….

I AM Ridonkulously cute aren't I Mama?

And came home with Swamp Thing.

The stuff in her hair was unidentifiable....and super smelly.

She was gross!  Covered in mud, dirt, drool from the other dogs…..and perhaps a bit of poo?  She was gross enough that I called Papa on the way home and asked him to get out the bath stuff for Stella…..because she needed one badly!!

"But I don't want a bath Mama."

I have to keep the door closed....and her collar/leash on until I wrassle her into the tub.

Let the fun begin.....

One Unhappy Schnoodle Pup

"A little warm water please...."

"I am NOT happy Mama."

She looks so tiny when she's wet...

You can really see the Poodle in the Schnoodle when her hair is all wet.

"Am I clean yet Mama?"

FINALLY....the Schnoodle is clean....

The tub is a mess....and I'm almost as wet and waterlogged as Stella

Miss Stella is shiny and fresh smelling again!!!

And Stella gets a chewy for being such a good girl!!!

She’s a Sneaky Schnoodle……….

When it’s very quiet in the house…..and Stella is not in your direct line of vision….it’s not a bad idea to go see what she’s doing.  Sometimes…..she’s just upstairs on her bed…..

"See Mama....I'm not getting into trouble...."

And then there are other times…..when you hear a little sound in the kitchen…..could have been just the wind, but more than likely it was a Schnoodle.    A sneaky, naughty Schnoodle.   Like last week……it was a nice warm night out….a good night to grill.  I had a couple of steaks on the counter soaking up some salt, pepper and garlic powder.

I hear a little sound.  Just a faint little sound.  I look around…..no Stella……huh.   I walk into the kitchen and see her run out the door into the dining room.   I look around….nothing seems amiss….at first.  Then I look more closely…..

Looks normal right.....nothing to see here.....

And then you look at it from a different angle and see this……..

What could it be? The stovetop didn't look like that before.

We have learned that when we’re preparing any kind of food….to push it way, way to the back of the counter…..because someone has very long legs….and a long tongue….and isn’t afraid to use either.

This is evidence of Stella's frantic attempts to get her paws on our dinner.

Clearly….she got up on her back little legs…..and put her paws on the stovetop (which fortunately wasn’t on) and was trying with her front paws and tongue…..to get at our steaks.    You’re a sneaky, naughty girl Stella.

"I'm Sorry Mama."

Stella’s First Snow….Sort Of……..

"What the heckity heck is that Mama????"

So it snowed here in Maine yesterday.  Yay.  Yipee.  It’s just not right for it to snow in October….it’s not.   It didn’t start until late….after dark…and it was just kind of a slushy mess for a little while….didn’t really amount to anything.

Miss Stella is a southern Belle from Louisiana…..she’s never experienced cold weather or snow.  She didn’t really seem to notice the difference when she went out in it last night.  That will change in a month or so when she goes out to do her business in three feet of snow.

Like this......

Won’t that be fun Stella?  Won’t it????  Don’t worry…..Papa will go out into the yard everytime it snows and shovel you a little pathway so you can go do your business.

Stella….What the Hella???

If  this keeps up….our cute little Schnoodle is going to be bald.  I may have to just groom her with Nair instead of the clippers.  So we went to the dog park the other day…..

And this is what happened……

And...she got into the prickly, sticky bushes again....AGAIN!!!!

Yup, all twisted into her face...the top of her head...feet...butt....

Kibbles...check..brush..check..scissors..check..patience...um.

Clippers....check!!!!!

She starts out...by laying down...not the best way to clip her, but if she's happy...Mama is happy.

What started out as the removal of 10 or so burrs.....

Turned into this......

I should have saved all the hair to make her a sweater...and hat...and booties.

I moved her up on the table...which is waaayyyyy easier.

And this is what's left of Stella's hair....

I got a little carried away. I trimmed her tail....

And her cute little feet......

The right side of her face...where all the burrs were...is a teeny bit crooked.

The left side....looks a little better.

Her body hair is shorty short.....feels like she's covered in velvet.

All in all....I think I did o.k...if you kind of squint...and stand way back from her.

"Put down the clippers Mama....I don't have much hair left."

I’m a little afraid to take her to the park today.   She hasn’t got much hair left.

The Schnoodle got Stuck…..

So Saturday we were heading up to Ellsworth to visit with friends….and I thought, “Why…I should take Stella to the dog park to WEAR HER OUT before we load her into the car for a 3 hour car ride.”  Genius right?????

We go to the dog park.  It had been rainy the day before…the ground was still a little wet.  There were only three other people there with dogs….and “The Kid” was there.  ”The Kid” belongs to a mom and dog that we see at the park on a pretty regular basis.  She’s a friendly kid…loves dogs…BUT…and I warn you here is where my OCD goes off the charts.  Here’s a photo of “The Kid” on a different day a few weeks ago…

Here she is....LAYING ON THE GROUND of the dog park.

Does this photo make anyone else’s skin crawl or make them want to dump that kid in a tub of bleach and scrub her with a wire brush?  Ick!  It’s not a beach….it’s not a sandbox….it’s a dog park….where hundreds of dogs pee and poop all week long!  She LAYS ON THE GROUND!  She sits on the ground and runs her hands thru the sand like she’s on a beach in the Caribbean.   I can barely look while she rolls around on the ground with the dogs…then touches her face….hair….EEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

So back to Stella.  Stella finds a few friends to trot around the park with.  She’s having fun.  I watch one of the dogs roll in a mud puddle…and then roll through the dirt….watch the Dog Dad hang his head and probably silently wish he had a guinea pig instead of a dog that day.

I look at my watch and wonder if I should bring Stella home….she starts doing her crazy run with another pup…I decide to let her have a few more minutes of playtime, and there was my mistake.

She loves to run up into the wooded area and then come racing down the hill and onto the small grassy area with a dog chasing her.  Today….she came out of the wooded area….across the grass…and then immediately started grinding her face into the gravel and dirt.  What?  I start heading for her to see what’s she’s doing….and find this……

She had run straight through some prickly brushy stuff and gotten it all caught in her hair!

I'm lucky she didn't get any in her eyes.....but it was inside her ears....all in her face....and on random spots on her body.

Has your dog ever gotten into this stuff?  There is no way to get it out….except for cutting it out.  I loaded her into the car and held tightly to her leash so she wouldn’t try to grind her head on the seats and get anything in her eyes.  I called Papa on the cellphone and asked him to get the scissors and brush ready.  She would also need a bath….and I had to do all of this in 1/2 an hour so that we could load her into the car and drive for three hours.

On this day I WAS like Edward Scissorhands……I got the scissors and just started hacking away…..I had to clip her cute little beard….

Cute little beard before.....

I had to trim hair from inside and around her ears….her tail…her leg…and a couple of spots on her body.  Then…with all icky sticky things gone….I wrassled her into the tub and gave her a quick bath.   We went as fast as we could and 45 min later we loaded our green apple smelling puppeh into the car.

Annndddd then I got looking at what I had done…….I did have three hours to inspect my work….

Her beard is gone.....her hair is shorter around her ears.....

And I went a little too short in this spot......that's what I get for hurrying. Sorry Stella.

We both survived the trauma….Mama was thankful she didn’t get it in her eyes……..and we had a wonderful weekend up north.

Tomorrow….Mama will have to get out the clippers and scissors and see if I can give her a better haircut.

Another First for Stella the Schnoodle!!!!!

Did your Mom ever cut your hair as a kid?

Mine Did.

Or did you ever cut it yourself???

You can understand why Stella would be a little apprehensive about me cutting her hair.  In an effort to save a little $$$…Mama decided to give “Home Grooming” a try today.

Who Wants a Haircut?

"Not me Mama!" (Schnoodle shakes her head)

"I'm sure Papa doesn't want you to do this Mama."

Stella's looking a little Shaggy lately.

Her feet look HUGE, but it's just all hair.

So here we go.......

I felt a little like Edward Scissorhands (one of my favorite movies-See VodPod box to the right!)!  Since I didn’t have a proper table, Stella opted for laying down on the kitchen floor.  I spun her around….flipped her on her side….fed her treats and praise, praise, praised her!!!  I’m not even sure how long it took….all I know is that I was covered in Schnoodle hair…and Stella was not.

It doesn't look like much......

But it was.....ooooohhhhh...it was!

There was even some of her cute little white chest hair.

I think Mama did a pretty good job!!!!

Welll....maybe not so much on her legs...that can be fixed.

And maybe I went a little too short in some spots....and a little too long in others.

I think I did a good job on her chest/tummeh area!

As promised....I took her to the Dog Park afterwards....and then she got a Chewey.

And Mama had a well earned frosty cold adult beverage!!!

I think….given it was my first attempt….all turned out pretty well.  Tomorrow I’ll get Papa to help me while I trim up around her cute little face…and try to straighten out the hair on her legs and feet.  All in all Stella…..I think you turned out beautiful….it could have been worse.

A Camel? Really?

Stella could rock this cut!!!!!

I’ll post more photos after I’ve got her all trimmed up tomorrow.