Taking a break

As I said previously, Molly hasn't been well enough to help me blog properly for a little while now. She's been putting herself under pressure to try to find the energy to get my blog up to date but hasn't managed it yet. I told her that it doesn't matter & that both I & our friends would prefer it if she concentrated on looking after herself. Molly begrudgingly agreed that she should put her very limited energy into more important things at the moment. She still takes photos (often with the help of another family member) & makes notes when I do things to make her laugh but it's going to be a while til we write any more posts together. Thank you for following my blog up til now & I hope you'll still be here when we return.

Lots of love from Toto (& Molly) x

Apologies

Molly isn't really well enough to help me blog much at the moment, hence no proper update for about a month. She said she doesn't want anyone reading this to worry about her though, she's ok & I'm looking after her.

Molly has got some very rough notes about what I've been up to, lots of photos & even a few videos courtesy of her younger brother, so she's hoping she'll be able to get some of it shared at some point because I continue to be very mischievous & have lots of adventures.

If we don't blog again in the next few weeks then we hope everyone reading this has a lovely Christmas & New Year. I'm looking forward to playing with wrapping paper & generally causing chaos, hehe!

One year ago today...

Out with Molly!

Me & Molly are currently in the process of putting together a proper update post but in the meantime we wanted to tell you about today. We went on a walk together for the first time in 6 weeks! I was a bit of a nuisance when I saw other dogs (I really wanted to play with them!) but apart from that it went very well & I even walked nicely by Molly's scooter for part of it.

Molly thinks she looks silly in these photo but she needs the sunglasses due to her light sensitivity.

Overdue update

Apologies again for another not very eloquent blog post. And sorry it's been a little while since our last one, most of the text of this has been written for a while but we had to wait til Molly was well enough to use her laptop for long enough to help me select, edit & add the photos.

Since my last update I have:

- socialised with visitors.
- stolen a slipper from the downstairs bathroom when the door was open (all footwear is kept in there because I can't resist playing with it) & then once the door was closed again I helped myself to a shoe that was on the washstand.

- had a very sleepy day after a neighbour's party disturbed my sleep the night before.

- had more fun playing with the squashes on the stairs when the only person at home was Molly & she wasn't well enough to come down & stop me, hehe!

- returned from a walk with my coat full of grass seeds much to Molly's dismay as she then had to pick them all out. 

- mostly not been at all fazed by the fireworks we heard at Halloween & for Bonfire Night. I ignored most of them but did have a bit of a bark at them in the garden (& then continued back in the house) one eve. I was guarding my territory & protecting my family! And then some ******** [naughty word Molly said!] set off a few fireworks at 5am one night! I moved from where I was lying at the foot of the bed & sat just next to Molly's shoulder to guard her. Luckily my barking (of course I barked, which dog wouldn't if fireworks woke them in the middle of the night?!) didn't wake the rest of the family.
- found a wig to play with!

- not made much mess when I was left home alone, just knocked a few things off Molly's bedside table when I climbed up there to explore on one occasion.

- given Molly a very enthusiastic greeting when she returned home.
- slept with my eyes open!

- shot out the front door when Molly's dad opened it to see if her mum was home from work. I did return without too much hassle though.
- posed with the rest of the family for a photo in the garden. I wasn't very good at looking at the camera until Molly's dad thought to put a piece of food in front of it & ask me to "wait"!
- stolen Molly's place in her bed (on numerous occasions) when she went to the toilet.

- found various parts of a big dead bird on evening walks with Molly's dad! Initially he made me leave it but the second time he allowed me to carry it round in my mouth. That made me very happy as I was very proud of what I'd found.

- got very upset & thrown a tantrum when the postman walked past our house but didn't come to see me!

- got very excited on my morning walks when I've seen anyone wearing red because I assumed that they were the postman who always has treats for me!
- chilled out on Molly's bed.

- been quite confused when a rabbit ran towards me rather than away from me on one of my evening walks! I did lots of yapping because I just didn't know what to do!

- stolen a full toilet roll off the holder in the bathroom while everyone else was around! I was caught though when I was heading down the stairs with it just as Molly's mum was coming upstairs.

- had some lovely cuddles with Molly on her sofa.

- tried to assist Molly's dad when he had to carry Molly up the stairs. Apparently jumping up at them wasn't helpful. Humph!

- been accidentally trapped in Molly's parents' bedroom a couple of times when the door swung shut as her Dad left the room. I made a lot of noise & was quickly rescued though.

- been to the vet because I've got an infected tick bite. So I've been given a week's course of antibiotics. I'm very good at taking them because I know I get food afterwards.

- watched a nature programme on TV.

And Molly has read a dog training book which she thinks could potentially be really helpful. We'll keep you updated.

Mischief, food & cuteness

Apologies for the strange format & lack of eloquence of this blog post, Molly didn't have enough energy to help me write lots of paragraphs today.

Since my last update I've got up to lots of mischief as usual. Here are a few examples:

- Molly's dad recently had a head injury. He's fine but I've had fun running round the house with his bandages in my mouth.

- I 'helped' Molly's dad when he switched a couple of mattresses.

- I still hate having my harness put on before walks so one day I evaded Molly's mum for half an hour when she wanted to take me out!

- When Molly's younger brother took me on a walk one evening he let me off the lead because he knew there were no other dogs around. But I found an interesting scent so followed it into a field & then ignored his recall attempts before ambling back in my own time & expecting food as a reward!

- On that same walk I decided I didn't like the dog in one of the village pubs so made sure everyone knew it. Apparently I'm no longer welcome in there, oops!

- I turned the TV downstairs on one morning for company.

- I wound Molly's dad up by insisting on playing with him when he wasn't in the mood.

- I tried (yet again) to play with Molly's mum's knitting & when she took it away from me I stole the band off the ball of yarn & chewed it up.

- I chewed up the foam earpiece covers on Molly's younger brother's earphones.

- I was very noisy when I was shut downstairs while Molly's dad cleaned her bedroom floor (apparently he didn't want my 'help') & again when I was shut out of the way of the supermarket delivery man (& accidentally woke Mollly's dad with my barking, oops!). Humph!
- Molly's parents bought some squashes & decided to store them up the stairs. I've had great fun rolling them down the stairs & around the kitchen floor. Sorry for the poor quality of these photos but you get the idea!

I also had fun playing with my flirt pole again.

Lots of things this week seem to have been related to food!

- Regarding the bird we mentioned in my last update, I left the skull on the living room carpet as a present for the people I live with. Luckily Molly's younger brother found it & he wasn't fazed.

- When a neighbour brought some cake round I demonstrated my excellent self control by sitting at her feet & showing her my cute puppy eyes. It didn't work but then when Molly's dad ate a slice he dropped crumbs on the carpet so I cleaned them up.

- I followed the postman down the drive in the hope that he'd give me more biscuits. He didn't.

- And when Molly's mum was topping up the chicken's food I helped myself to a mouthful. Yum!

Molly says I'm very cute so here are a few examples:

- I've got a lovely new collar. Although Mollly hasn't managed to get a good photo of me modelling it yet.

- I still sleep on Molly's bed quite frequently but sometimes I now sleep on the side nearest the wall so if anyone is going to fall out it'll be Molly, not me!

- When Molly had to shuffle to the bathroom on her bottom I was very concerned about her because I know humans are supposed to walk upright on two legs. I kept a very close eye on her & barely left her side til she was safely back in bed.

And finally here are a few photos of me:
 

Finding my own evening meal

A couple of days ago I was sick on Molly's duvet during the night. I was completely fine in myself though so she wasn't worried & knows it's just one of those things. She's never cross at me when that happens.

I was sick again this evening & Molly was really sympathetic - until she realised why! I'd eaten a bird! I didn't think Molly would know but apparently the fleathers all over the carpet & in my beard were a give away. She's not sure though if I found it dead or injured or killed it myself. She said I'm a dog, not a cat, but I'm not sure what that means. Miniature schnauzers were bred to catch rats & I'm a carnivore so it's only natural.

When I was left home alone yesterday Molly's mum didn't make a very good job of "Toto-proofing". She very kindly left a paper bag full of knitting patterns & magazines on the floor for me to play with. That was fun!

Today Molly did too good a job of "Toto-proofing" & didn't leave me anything fun to play with. Humph!

I slept in my own bed downstairs for a couple of hours this afternoon which is a rare occurrence. Usually though I sleep on Molly's bed. She tried a new mattress last night so I had to test it too.

I must go now, it's about an hour & a half since I had my tea & Molly's dad is home from work so that must mean it's nearly time for walkies! Hopefully he'll take me to chase rabbits tonight.

Having fun & plenty of cuddles

Sorry it's been a while since we last updated. This is going to be another bullet pointed post, I hope you don't mind.

- Molly hasn't had chance to go out with me again but hopes she soon have the energy to start teaching me to walk nicely with the scooter. I always pull on the lead & although it's just about manageable if the person who's walking me is on foot, it's a bit more problematic if Molly is on her scooter. So she says we need to work on that.

- When Molly went out once on her scooter without me I waited really well while she put a temporary ramp up to get it over the step out the front door. There weren't any distractions outside though.

- On that trip out Molly got barked at by another miniature schnauzer who was scared of her scooter. That made her realise just how good I am with it!

- I still hate my harness being put on so Molly's dad decided to try to make it more appealing to me, hence everyone else laughing at him crawling around with my harness on his head.

- I went to the groomers again. I really like it there & was well behaved while they cut some big knots out of my beard.

- I was a bit calmer when one of Molly's friends, who I see regularly, came round.

- The supermarket delivery man bought me a packet of food bags to play with. Apologies for the poor quality of these photos but Molly wasn't the photographer & I wouldn't stay still due to my excitement!

Once they were confiscated I discovered a big packet of toilet rolls on the stairs so tried to drag them around. Unfortunately they made quite a noise so Molly worked out what I was up to! After that I entertained myself with stealing a pair of knickers, playing with some sandpaper & attempting to chew the lead of a pair of headphones!

- I still give very enthusiastic welcomes when anyone comes home & cry at the door if someone I want to play with goes out - regardless of who else is left in the house!

- If Molly "Toto-proof"s the house properly before leaving me alone I don't chew anything up.
- I've been driving everyone mad by watching out the window & barking to try to scare away people who are at the other end of the street!

- I was very put out when I discovered someone had closed the curtains so I couldn't watch out the window.

Luckily Molly's mum made a gap for me to look out through.

- Molly & I showed her mum how I understand "Where's Mouse?" as long as there are no other toys nearby for me to get confused with. She was very impressed.

- I won't let Molly's mum knit in peace - I prefer to play with her!

- I accidentally scratched Molly's face when I got a bit too excited & jumped on her in bed.

- I've actually slept in my bed (downstairs) for very short periods during the evening.

- I've become even more cuddly.

One evening I curled up alongside Molly's arm & one morning she woke up with my head just a couple of inches from hers & my paw in her face!

- I've discovered a danger of sleeping on Molly's bed - if either of us wriggles too much I fall off! I think Molly needs a bigger bed.

- I'm getting better at getting "off"' Molly's bed at night when she needs to change position or rearrange her bedding & wait patiently on the floor til I'm allowed back up. Unfortunately though I no longer understand/don't respond to (Molly isn't sure which it is) the command "up" or any similar commands or gestures to get me back up on the bed!

Molly's new scooter

This morning I was bored so had to make my own entertainment. First Molly found me shredding the post. I was chewing up my second piece of junk mail but luckily she stopped me before I chewed up her mum's theatre tickets. Then I played with a pair of Molly's dad's denim shorts & after they were confiscated I started helping myself to used tissues from a bin & pulling them apart, hehe!

To tire me out Molly got the flirt pole out & attached Skunk to the end. I was so excited! We played with that in the garden for about 5 minutes until Skunk's label ripped so he detached from the bungee cord.

After that I spent a few hours dozing in the sun on Molly's parents' bed before doing lots of barking when various delivery men came to the door.

One of the deliveries was Molly's mobility scooter! I was very intrigued when it was being put together, especially when Molly put some pieces of my food on it to make me more comfortable with it. That worked - not that I was scared in the first place!

This afternoon when Molly's dad took me out Molly came with us too! I wasn't fazed by her scooter at all & just took it in my stride. I enjoyed showing her how I chase rabbits & despite still being hit & miss with my recall I did listen when Molly called me back from running to greet some other dogs.

Here are a couple of photos:

Being loved & bad beard days

When the supermarket delivery man came last week I was upstairs with Molly & her dad so they put the door to & started to distract me with food to keep me out of the way. But then we heard that the delivery man missed seeing me so I was allowed to go downstairs & say hello. Everyone loves me!

After my groom a few weeks ago Molly was really happy with the result but noticed that my beard was still knotted. This has got worse (because I like to explore by sticking my nose in everything) but I won't cooperate enough to let Molly work the knots out so I'm going back to the groomers next week to see what they can do.

One night when I was asleep on Molly's bed I heard the front door so ran downstairs excitedly to find out who had come round to see me. When I saw it was just Molly's younger brother I huffed at him & ran back upstairs to reclaim my warm spot on Molly's bed.

The last few times I've been left home alone Molly has been more thorough in her 'Toto proofing' so I haven't been able to get hold of anything I shouldn't. I did help myself to a letter off the washstand one morning (I wasn't home alone but Molly's mum was in the shower & everyone else was still in bed) though which I shredded. I don't think it was important. Molly's dad said that I still have some of my puppy behaviours but then Molly pointed out that I never did this as a young puppy! Hehe!

I was well behaved when we had visitors this morning, including a child. I did lots of barking to start with because I was trying to protect Molly but I also wanted to investigate the new people. I quickly calmed down & they thought I was lovely.

Last time we promised you some more photos so here are a few: