Heidi in time-out

At least once a day, and usually at night, Heidi goes on a rampage. She bites at my toes or ankles or any part of me she can jump and reach. I don't know if she is psychotic, or what. She seems to encourage these occasions and responds to my admonitions to behave as encouragement to act as bad as she can. She streaks around the house fast as a speeding bullet and runs by me and snaps at me. Striking her with a newspaper makes her immediately attack again. If and when I can get my hands on her, I put her in her crate. I only leave her there a few minutes, and maybe that is the problem, but sometimes, soon as she is out, she goes on the attack again.
Maybe she is bored, but it seems to happen just as much when she is stimulated as when nothing exciting is happening.
I do notice, as long as I have company, she is good. Even if they stay overnight, she is good. Perhaps she is just bored with me, or thinks this is all a game.

Heidi's tail

Heidi's tail is doing better. It still doesn't have the pronunced curve in it that it did coming off the spine. I still wonder what traumatic thing happened to her little tail. Wish her bark would get traumatized. That is working very well, too well, in fact.

Doxie V Rottie II

More comparisons between my most recent dog companions.

Heidi leaves the kitchen if I run water, fry an egg, run the vent-a-hood, or turn on the microwave. She hides behind my recliner and peers out to see if danger has passed.
Bock lay like a pancake in front of the sink and I had to straddle him to rinse dishes, etc.

Heidi looks out the glass front door and barks at everything and nothing that passes her vision.
Bock would lay at the front door and not even raise his head if someone rang the doorbell.

Doxie V Rottie

Both are black and tan.
One has a tail, the other doesn't.
One is a male and the other female.
One was born in 1996, the other in 2004.
These are the two dogs who have been in my life in the last several years.

My husband brought the rott, Shiner Bock to me in the late winter of 1997. I believe he was about 3 months old at the time. My first sight of him was my husband getting him out of the car as he hurled all over the driveway. He got very carsick and always hated having to get in a vehicle. Shiner Bock and I were alone most of the time as my husband was living and working in the city and I had already moved to our new home in the country. When he wanted to go to bed, he would get miffed at me beause I continued to stay up. He would march back into the living room, sigh and act put out that I wasn't in bed yet. It was just like having my husband home.

I put his bed next to mine and he was very good about getting in it and staying there all night. He seldom barked. What a mellow dog he was. We were at least his third owners. My daughter-in-law bought him from a young man who had to move and couldn't take him with him. He was pretty much house trained when I got him. My son named him and then they decided they couldn't keep him and my husband bought him and brought him to me for company.

Heidi, on the other hand, wanted to crawl out of bed and cried all night at first. I bought a heavy duty laundry basket to keep her in and she crawled right out of it. When she got a little older, I would turn the basket upside down over her when I needed to contain her for short periods. It was a funny sight seeing that basket move across the floor. Eventually she could move it up to something that would tip it a bit and she could turn it over. So the next thing I had to do, in self defense, was buy a crate.

Tragedy

Heidi has wounded a member of her entourage. Her orangutang (sp?) has lost one of his arms. So far it hasn't been fatal. No vital stuffings have fallen out of him and he still makes his jungle cry. The rough way she treats him, I'm surprised he has lasted this long. Sometimes we have a tug of war over him. I read someplace, to never let your dog win in a tugging contest. I have tried to respect that. Her baboon is still in good shape. Occasionally when I win one of our contests of wills, she takes out her frustration on one of her "monkeys".
I wish Heidi would become more sedate soon. I didn't realize she would be so hyper. She has lots of attitude and issues. The house is not big enough for both of us. Who will win?

Sleepless in E Texas

I'm so sleepy I can hardly see to type. Heidi waked me at 5 a.m. Neighborhood dogs were barking and she joined in until about 6:30. Since I tend to go to sleep around 2 a.m., that is not enough sleep.
Now she is curled up in my recliner catching up on her ZZZZZ's.
Admonishing her to stop barking was like talking to the carpet. What to do?
I don't believe she would do this if she was penned in the bathroom at night like when she was younger, but I can't catch her. She watches me and knows when I am about to go to bed and she turns into a slippery eel.

A sad tail

A few nights ago, Heidi got away from me outside. She wouldn't come when I called, even though I offered "cookies". I finally left a "cookie" on the front door mat and went in for a minute. I was beginning to panic. I went out the back door looking and calling her. I went back to the front door, opened it and she ran in. She was gone for about 5 minutes.
I noticed immediately that her tail was tucked under. It is never tucked under as she never feels any remorse or shame.
She couldn't settle down. She paced all over the living room and couldn't be still. She got on my lap and I tried to examine her, but she immediately jumped back down.
I heard nothing outside like she was yelping in pain or anything. She didn't whine or cry when she came back in.
Her movements didn't seem impaired at all. She continued to pace for the next 45 minutes until I decided to go to bed.
Bedtime is always a turmoil, because she doesn't want to. I was afraid tonight would be even more chaotic than usual.
Instead, she went quietly to bed and I didn't hear from her anymore that night.
Her tail has been down since then. Two days after, her tail went up for a couple of minutes as she barked and carried on because cars had the temerity to park in front of the neighbors house.
Her tail is no longer curled under, but it is still hanging down. I don't know what could have caused this. Can a tail be broken? I certainly hope her jaunty little appendage comes back soon.

Heidi the cat

I created this post several days ago, but as I published it, my internet went off. Now I have to try to remember what I wrote.
No matter what kind of mess Heidi gets into, and no matter how she has to contort herself, she seems to always land on her feet.
I got her a cat bed when she was tiny, so maybe she really does think she is a cat.
I also give her little tuna treats with omega-3 in them.
When Heidi pees on a towel, she tries to cover it up with her nose. My mother said that is what cats do. She never does that when she pees all over my carpet. When she pees in her litter box, she also tries to over it up.
I finally discovered why I went offline. I replaced the telephone cord and was once more on the internet.
I don't know what happened to the cord, but I think her initials are H.E.I.D.I.

Heidi the meddler

I can leave Heidi in her bed on the sofa when I go to the nursing home to give Daddy his lunch. When I get home, she is still in her bed or greets me at the door. She does not meddle while I'm away. When I get back, she is into everything. I ask her why and she won't say. Does anyone know why this happens?
I know some dogs tear up the house when their humans leave and it is called separation anxiety. I just can't figure out what this means. It can't be for attention, because she gets plenty of that. Do you think she is just afraid she will get into some kind of trouble and her human won't be there to save her?

Heidi is very tired

Heidi had a very busy day today. She got to play with a 2 year old little girl. She also got to see several men. If I haven't mentioned in the past, Heidi loves men. Her tailwagging was just a blur.
At the end of the day, she was barely able to crawl in my lap and curl up. Keeping up with a 2 year old turned her into a wet noodle.
The little girl has never been around a dog before, but she grabbed the leash and walked her around and around the living room. When Heidi wanted to just stop and visit someone, she would tug on the leash and tell her to move.
I'm glad Heidi has met her match.

The yard man

Today was lawn mowing day. As usual Heidi threatened the crew with a fate worse than death. She ran from door to door growling and barking ferociously. In between times, she hid behind my recliner. That is her safe place.
If she wakes me up at 4 in the morning like she did this morning, the recliner may not be safe enough. I couldn't get her penned in the bathroom last night, so she had the run of the house except for the bedrooms. Now I know she doesn't like to be in charge of the whole house, but I couldn't catch her. So, she had to run all over the place carrying on and threatening all the monsters outside with what she would do if they broke in.

Heidi, the early months

I got Heidi on October 7, '04. She was about 6 weeks old. I carried her around in a little basket with handles on it. I used a washcloth for her blanket. She weighed about 4 1/2 lbs.
She loved to bite from the first and her teeth were like razors. At least now she uses some restraint and seldom breaks the skin.
The first night I had her, she howled and missed her mother, daddy and her brothers, but her human chose to sell her. My heart went out to her as I watched her grieve for the only home she knew.
At first, she wouldn't cross the floor from carpet to tile. Within a couple of weeks she took care of that problem. Finally, she could even go in the utility room from carpet to concrete.
Soon she followed me from room to room, as she still does. She is my shadow.
I used to laugh and make fun of little dogs saying all they could do was chew on your ankles if they were used as watch dogs. It's not so funny now. She nips at my toes and ankles when she wants my attention and wants me to throw a ball or one of her monkeys. She loves her monkeys. One is long limbed and has a loud jungle call and the other looks like a baboon. The baboon is bigger than she is and it is funny to see her running with it.
She seldom uses her chew toys. She prefers to chew the furniture and pull fibers out of the carpet.

Heidi barks

Usually, when I take Heidi in the car, she scrooches up in the back seat and doesn't make a sound. Last night I took her out and she barked at everyone she saw. She sounds ferocious, but she is really calling for attention. She gets quite put out when people don't notice her and talk to her.

One command Heidi does respond to is "STAY!!". Maybe it is the hard emphasis I put on the word. She will also sit if I am near her "cookies" (treats). Freeze dried liver is her favorite "cookie". Yummy!!!

Heidi takes her job as a lap dog very seriously. When I have a lap, she is mostly in it.

Bedtime is another ball of wax altogether. She begins to sense it is getting that time and I can't lay a hand on her. I am running out of tricks to catch her and she knows she can outmanuver me with one paw tied behind her back.

Weigh in day

Today is weigh in day at the vet. Heidi feels heavier, but maybe I'm just getting weaker.

I am going to ask the vet why my female dog likes to stand up to pee. Is it too much testosterone or too little estrogen? She puts her two front feet in the litter box, leaves one hind leg on the floor and props her other leg on the top of the rim of the litter box. What a mess she makes.

When I get back from the vet, I'll let you know what she weighs. She'll also get her heartworm medication and have her toenails trimmed.

I haven't had a manicure in at least three years. This little weenie has had at least 6 or 8.

As usual, she will disgrace me at the vet by puddling on the floor and threatening all the other nicely behaved dogs.

My vet is partial to dauschunds, as that was what she had growing up.
That was just luck that I picked the vet who had experience with them.

Later that day ---------

Heidi weighed 10.2 lbs, same as a month ago. I spoke with the vet's assistant and she told me some aggressive female dogs will pee standing up. Lucky, lucky me.

Heidi is depressed

Heidi seems depressed today. She is just lying around and greeted me in a subdued manner when I returned from the nursing home. (I go there daily at noon to feed my dad)

She hasn't tried to bite me. She ate her lunch. The poor thing must be suffering from something.

I think she would like a playmate, but my hands are full with just her. One more hyper animal and I would be overwhelmed for sure.

Maybe a nice little kitten would help her retain her DOGNESS. The only problem I have with a kitten is their ability to jump to things that are out of Heidi's range.

I had quite a shock to my system yesterday and maybe she is picking up on that. I'll elaborate later in another blog.

Introduction to Heidi

I would like to introduce you to the alpha female in my household. She is 6 ft tall and weighs about 200 lbs ( in her mind). Actually, she is more like 11 lbs and not very tall at all.

Heidi came to live with me when she was 6 weeks old. Life has not been the same since. I was lonely after my divorce and especially after leaving my job.

I thought a nice, sedate little lap dog would be just the thing for companionship. Wish I had got one of those.

I'd love to post a picture of my little weenie dog, but she ate the cables on my digital camera.

It kinda looks like the little black weenie dog on this pillow