Silliness & bed

I'm eating better now but was consistently leaving a bit at the end of each meal so Molly has cut my food down slightly & we'll see how that goes. I weighed 9.5kg last time she checked.

Talking of food, I was being my usual excitable self one eve when everyone was trying to watch TV so they tried to distract me with a pizzle. Yum yum!

I seem to think that each time Molly's mum sits down on a chair or sofa in the living room, that she's there solely to play with me, hehe! I made her plan to finish reading her book quite challenging the other day!

Molly sometimes lies on the floor to play with me so I had great fun chewing her hair last time she did that. She said I'm a silly dog! I also insist on washing her legs with my tongue when she gets out the shower.

One evening we had 4 different guests call round within a short period of time. I used all my enthusiasm up greeting the first two though so was exhausted & very calm for the latter two! One of them was surprised to hear that I was a puppy because I was so chilled out! Molly pointed out that I'm rarely like that! Molly's older brother was one of those guests & he also came round for lunch today. I think he's going to come back later, yay!

Molly rediscovered a draw back of my dog flap when I came in from the muddy garden, ran upstairs & jumped on her bed to say "hello". Apparently the muddy paw prints that magically appeared on her bedding were my fault!

I also caused mischief by shredding a picture that a child made for Molly's mum - how could I resist feathers & sellotape when it fell on the floor?! I was found out when I was spotted prancing round the garden with sellotape stuck to my legs, hehe! I also took a slipper belonging to Molly's dad up the garden to play with & "helped" Molly's mum with her gardening.

Molly's dad & I have a new favourite walk. I think we mentioned going to a local reservoir to chase rabbits in a previous post. Well, we go there quite a lot now & I love it. I get to chase rabbits, geese & swans (yes, I'm that brave!) & sometimes play with other dogs too.

Molly's dad made me a flirt pole (Google it if you don't know what I'm talking about) which looks really promising, we just need to work out how best to keep a toy on the end of the bungee cord because the first time we tried it I had great fun until Skunk came off.

I kept a close eye on Molly one day when she was particularly unwell. Luckily she was in the living room so I was happy to stick around. She spends most of the time in bed & I'm not so keen on being in her bedroom.

Talking of beds & bedrooms - apparently this isn't my bed!

As you can probably see from the photos above, I'm very scruffy & really need a hair cut! My grooming appt is getting closer but we think something might need to be done about my eyebrows in the meantime so I can see! Molly & her dad are still also working on trying to get rid of some of my tangles but they said my tummy might need shaving. Molly feels guilty that I've got so matted but I get knotted really easily, she hasn't got the energy to groom me as much as required & when she tries to do it I wriggle around, don't cooperate & just make it really hard for her. She's going to ask the groomer's advice on how best to have me clipped because she wants me to be recognisable as a schnauzer but would like my coat to be a bit easier to maintain if possible.

And finally, Molly finds it funny when my ears stick up.

New collars & a bad beard day

I think we mentioned a few weeks ago that Molly ordered me some new collars. She chose the ribbons & then Andrea from Laizy Daisy Collars on Facebook made the collars for me. They arrived in the post on Saturday & we're both really pleased with them. Here's the professional photo that Andrea shared on her Facebook page.

I've only worn the Nightmare Before Christmas collar so far. Molly keeps trying to photograph me with it on but because I'm so scruffy at the moment if I look at the camera (like I like to do) then you can't see my collar at all!

Molly found it quite a challenge to take photos when I wasn't looking, but she got a few. There were more but Molly realised that her mum had put my collar on upside down this morning (hehe, what a silly thing to do!) so she decided not to share any of those photos. But here are the ones where my collar was the right way up.

We'll share some photos of me wearing my button collar in a future blog post.

Molly has continued to persist with grooming me & has managed to get a few of the big matts out. There are still lots to go but I'm getting used to being groomed so am already relaxing more, although I still like to chew the brush! Today Molly didn't hide the brush as she approached me & I didn't run away - that's progress!

Molly has been at home on her own for much of today as everyone else has been out at work. So I've been taking my guarding duties much more seriously & have barked a lot to warn her when anyone has walked past & sometimes for no obvious reason at all!

As you know I'm not a cuddly dog but I did enjoy some nice cuddles with Molly on the living room floor last night. One eve she tried to play rough with me like her dad & younger brother do but she was rubbish!

On a few occassions over the last week Molly & her mum have watched TV together downstairs. They don't do that very often. I get jealous when the TV gets more attention than I do so I make a nuisance of myself. I don't bother Molly but I like to jump all over her Mum, pull her hair clipper out & chew her hair... Hehe!

I've had one little walk with Molly since my last blog update. We just walked to the small field at the end of the road where I run around between Molly & her mum to get some exercise & practise my recall. But I wasn't very good at recall that day, I'd just sit on the grass & look at whoever had called me! It did tire me out though.

I had an early walk this morning with Molly's mum before she went to work. Most of my walks though are with Molly's dad. I had a run in with another dog in the woods one day last week. Molly's dad said he had no idea why I had a problem with this other dog but Molly suspects it was at least partly due to me being on lead while the other dog approached me off lead.

I had the most amazing walk at the local reservoir a few evenings ago. Molly's dad let me off lead because there were no other dogs around for me to abscond with so I had great fun chasing rabbits & geese! I didn't manage to catch any though.

I got frustrated when Molly's dad wouldn't let me help him clean out the chickens so threw myself at the fence & barked & barked.

I did help Molly's mum though when she was cleaning her bedroom floor. She was using a brush to get all the hair (mine & hers) up from the carpet so I aided her by trying to eat the hair she'd picked up when she dropped it! Molly insisted on removing it from my mouth though, humph!

I'm usually food obsessed but this hot weather means I've been less hungry than usual & have skipped breakfast on a couple of days. Molly was a bit worried until she realised it was linked to the heat.

I also gave Molly a fright one night when she woke up to a loud bang. She thinks I fell off the sofa in my sleep! I wasn't hurt & wondered what all the fuss was about!

Molly said I had a bad beard day today.

It was because I slept like this!

While Molly has been typing this on my behalf I've been trying to play with Lion in her lap. Apparently this isn't very helpful

Riverside Park adventure

Here's the post I promised at the end of my previous one.

Yesterday Molly's mum took me to a local riverside park that I'd not been to since I was very little, so that was exciting. But what made it even more exciting was that Molly came with us! She was having a better day so we put her wheelchair in the car & headed out. Molly made sure I encountered wheelchairs when she socialised me as a young puppy & I'd seen her in one briefly before but this was the first time I'd been for a walk with one so she didn't know how I'd react - whether I'd be nervous of it, whether I'd try to chase it... But I wasn't fazed by it at all so we were able to have a lovely walk. The plan initially was just to find a quieter area of the park where Molly could sit down while I ran around but we had an actual walk! Molly's mum pushed her in the wheelchair & Molly held my lead so I could run around & explore as we walked along. I did run round the back of the wheelchair a couple of times & get the lead tangled & I attacked Molly's shoelaces at one point but apart from that everything went smoothly.

There were lots of people around as it was a nice day in the summer holidays. One little boy we passed seemed quite interested in me so Molly invited him & his sister (as well as the adults they were with) to say "hello". I was very well behaved with the young children & didn't do any mouthing.

Molly kept me away from most dogs we saw but I was allowed to play with one. She was called Milly & was a springer spaniel/pointer cross. She was quite fast & could jump really high! She was very friendly, as was her owner. Molly even let me off my lead to play with Milly so we chased each other round before relaxing together.

Here's a photo of us both sitting for Milly's owner.

And here are a couple more photos from the walk.

Barking, being fickle & my harness

Molly says I can be quite a noisy dog at times. I don't bark for no reason - although sometimes Molly thinks I do because she can't always hear the sounds I bark at! I bark to warn Molly when I hear things, such as our neighbours talking in their garden or someone walking past outside. I do warning barks more & at quieter sounds when Molly is home alone because I know I need to protect her.

I also bark to try to let Molly know when I'm frustrated. Sometimes I get frustrated when she doesn't give me my food quickly enough at dinner time but usually I get frustrated when I can't/am not allowed to play with a person or a dog or think I'm missing something exciting! I hate it when I can hear or see someone from the family outside the front door but can't get to them to join in. Humph!

I bark when people I love leave the house without me. It's not because I'm home alone because I'll still do it even if other people are in the house, but sometimes I just want to be with that specific person. After Molly's younger brother walked me one evening he then went out for 20mins. Molly was upstairs & I knew she was there but I wanted her brother so sat at the front door & barked in the hope that he'd hear me & come home. Molly distracted me with food but as soon as she put the food away I returned to the front door & lay there til her brother returned.

Molly said I'm quite fickle because my favourite person in the family depends on who walks me most! Molly isn't able to walk me much at the moment so she's not really my favourite any longer, much to her disappointment. I know that if I'm not around her though I won't miss anything because she's currently quite boring. Whereas if I hang around her younger brother or dad they might take me out for a walk!

After a particularly late walk with Molly's brother at the weekend I slept so soundly that I didn't jump on Molly to wake her up til gone 8.30am! She loved the lie in as I usually try to persuade her to get up nearer to 7am!

Molly has been trying to do some extra training with me when she's well enough as she hopes that'll improve our bond. She finds it very frustrating though because I really struggle & take a long time to learn anything new. Molly doesn't know if that's due to me or her & tries her best to be patient. She never gets cross at me but she loses heart.

Training sessions make me really tired because I have to think hard.

One morning I took a food reward from Molly's hand a bit too enthusiastically & hurt her. She said "Oww! Careful" & although I didn't understand those words I could tell from her tone of voice that I'd hurt her so I gave her an apology lick to say sorry. That made her smile.

On Monday Molly had a few things delivered so each time someone came to the door she distracted me with one of my interactive food puzzle toys in the kitchen. Initially I didn't touch the puzzle & just barked at the kitchen door but I soon realised that Molly would take the food up as soon as she'd finished at the door so I started to bark for shorter periods & begin trying to get the food out of the puzzle sooner.

After each delivery Molly refilled the puzzle & put it out of my reach ready for the next time but I didn't understand why I had to wait for it, so I stood up at the kitchen counters, gazed wistfully at it & even gave Molly lots of licks in the hope that she'd let me have it. I also got really excited when Molly washed it up but unfortunately I didn't get to use it that time.

I got rewarded with some food after Molly removed some sticky balls & burrs from my coat, so I might cooperate better next time. Molly said my coat is getting more matted & it's still a few weeks til my appt at the groomer so she might have to try to get some of them out.

This photo shows how scruffy I am at the moment!

We both like the scruffy look but it makes grooming much harder for Molly & it takes longer & hurts me more :(

Molly weighed me this morning & I was a bit heavier than last time. I'm not fat though so Molly is just going to keep an eye on my weight & depending how things go she may need to cut down my food a little bit. I hope not!

When Molly picked me up to weigh me this morning I accidentally scratched her because the weighing scales were near the drawer that my harness lives in & I was scared she was going to put that on me, so I tried to escape. I love my walks & I'm fine once my harness is on but I'm a nightmare to put it on. Molly has no idea why because it fits fine & I've never (as far as she knows) had any bad experiences with it but I'm not just being awkward, I'm genuinely frightened of having it put on, so much so that I won't even venture near it for food! Molly even changed the harness (when I outgrew the last one) & I was fine with the new one for a couple of days but then became scared of it again. If anything gives me the idea that I might be going out then I make myself scarce & don't let anyone catch me because I know the harness is coming. So I have to be caught & have my harness put on before the person taking me out gathers anything else for the walk, puts their shoes on, brushes their teeth, goes to the toilet... or I run away. Molly's mum has had to abandon plans to walk me a few times because she can't catch me if I don't want to be caught.

Molly doesn't use the word "walk" before she's caught me/put my harness on because I know what that signifies so she talks about going "out" instead. But I'm cleverer than she realises & have now worked out what that means too. So after she asked her dad if he would take me "out" one eve I wouldn't let anyone near me! To get round this Molly's dad distracted me with a really fun rough & tumble play session, before picking me up to put my harness on.

Talking of walks, some new people took me out for a walk a few days ago. I think I've mentioned my little friend Libby before, well, 2 of her teenage brothers volunteered to take me out. I was very well behaved for them & had a good time. Molly loves how confident I am. Once I knew they were friends (by how Molly & her family treated them) I happily trotted off for a walk with them, despite having never met them before.

I also had fun socialising with some other visitors to the house but one wasn't too pleased when I was very persistent in licking her feet, hehe!

Molly is also very impressed by my confidence with loud noises. When Molly's dad did some drilling in her bedroom Molly wondered if I'd be scared but after sitting & watching for a few seconds I went over to get a closer look even while the noisy drill was in action. Nothing fazes me. Well I say nothing, but some balloons on a lamppost made me a bit nervous the other day when the wind caught them & made them move unexpectedly!

I made Molly laugh when I took my blanket from her bedroom (after I'd been playing with it with her younger brother), carried it downstairs, upstairs, downstairs again & then out into the garden! I don't usually do things like that.

I made her laugh again when I tried to chew the wheel of her office chair but I quickly decided that there was nothing to be gained there - much to Molly's relief!

I like to sleep on Molly's bedroom floor but have been venturing a bit futher under the bed over the last week. Molly felt the need to take some photos to show you.

I think I must have mentioned previously how much I love being in the garden. I've had lots of fun getting up to mischief this week.

I love playing with & chewing brushes.

And this WAS one of Molly's mum's favourite plants. Oops!

I was going to tell you about a really good adventure I had with Molly but she said this update is long enough so we'll be back with a post about that soon. Thanks for reading.

This week

Apologies for the bitty format of this, Molly isn't feeling very well, hence the bullet points rather than full paragraphs. Sorry too about the weird font, we can't work out how to get it back to normal.

This week I:

- went to the pub!

- got very excited when Molly's older brother visited - so much so that I had to be distracted with a chicken foot.

- had fun playing in the garden with Molly, her dad & her younger brother.

- made lots of noise when people I love were out in the garden without me because I knew I was missing something.

- shot out the front door when I was supposed to be greeting the postman because two dogs passed & I just had to say 'hello' to them. Molly's mum wasn't too pleased when she had to run out after me in her nightie, hehe!

- walked to the little field at the end of the street with Molly & her mum & had fun racing around between them before flopping down exhausted!

- had more walks with other family members.

- met a shitzu who didn't like me when I was out with Molly.

- met lots of other dogs when walking with other family members.

- bravely licked the end of the hosepipe but then Molly's mum turned it on at the wall without realising the end was also turned on so I got quite wet!

- modelled a mask Molly decorated to help a friend celebrate their birthday - lots of food was involved to bribe me to stay still.

- ran around with & then chewed a ball pool ball until it was confiscated because Molly was worried I might swallow bits of it.

- had great fun playing with the rake, lawnmower & vacuum cleaner while Molly's dad was using them.

- contentedly stayed home alone (thanks to a pizzle & some tripe, yum yum)

- 'helped' Molly's dad in the garden

- thought better of 'helping' Molly's cousin replace the fence in the garden because it was raining!

- chewed Molly's magazine as she was attempting to read it.

- let Molly work a big knot out of my coat.

- really enjoyed having my monthly flea tablet.

- stole various fruit/veg, such as squashes & tomatoes, from plants in the garden.

- entertained Molly by doing a very half hearted "down" (I put my head & front paws on the ground but left my bum in the air) when I was asked to.

- got involved when Molly sat on the edge of her mum's bed & gave her a hug. I had to lick Molly's face & then climb on her to get to her mum.

- stood up on Molly's bed to reach down a cuddly toy hedgehog that I wanted to play with/chew. Molly didn't realise I could reach that shelf.

Rain & a bath

Hospital stole Molly again since I last updated you. She only had to stay in overnight but I was very happy when she returned so I let her know it with a really enthusiastic welcome home. And I didn't know what to do with myself when Molly's dad and younger brother both returned home from work at once, I was so pleased to see them!

Molly also had to attend some outpatient appts one day & has more coming up next week. And she isn't well enough to walk me at the moment which makes us both sad.

I have enjoyed some exciting walks with other members of the family though. I particularly enjoy the ones where I'm able to socialise with other people. Molly's dad took me to visit her nan one day & on another walk we went to see Molly's mum at work & also met Molly's younger brother at the village club.

I made Molly & her mum laughwhen I lay on the doormat just inside the open French windows & let the rain know just how annoyed I was by barking & growling at it!

Talking of getting wet, Molly & her dad insisted on giving me a bath because they said I was smelly! Now Molly keeps sniffing me because apparently I smell lovely. I disagree though so am keeping my eye (& nose!) out for some poo to roll in when I'm out on a walk!

I found the whole experience of having a bath quite traumatic (so much so that I wasn't interested in the liver paste that Molly smeared round the edge of the bath tub!) but quickly returned to my normal happy self once I was out. I made Molly & her dad laugh when I opted to dry myself by rubbing myself on the grass, rather than using the towel. I like making people laugh.

Molly also brushed my teeth. I love eating the toothpaste but apparently that's not particularly helpful. Oops!

I proved to Molly that I could still remember how to do a "stay" despite it being a while since we last practised it together. And I'm getting much better at leaving shoes/slippers/socks alone if I've got company but if I'm alone &/or bored I still run off with them because I know it gets me attention, hehe!

I think that's all we've got to report but here are a few photos:

^ Sound asleep on my antler. It was surprisingly comfortable!

Cuddles & sitting on the stairs

Molly hasn't been able to walk me since our last update but I've had walks with everyone else in the family.

I've had a few late night adventures recently. One eve Molly's younger brother had a friend round & he gave me lots of attention. Molly's brother said "Where's our visitor?" & I ran to his friend. I understand "Where's...?" so Molly's brother thinks because I didn't recognise the next words I went to the person who's name I didn't know but Molly thinks it was just a fluke & I would have gone to the novel visitor regardless of what was said.

They went out for the night & Molly's younger brother came home at 2.20am. Molly knows the exact time because I heard him creeping in so barked & barked to warn Molly, then raced downstairs to investigate. He gave me lots of fuss.

Molly leaves her bedroom door open at night so I can go downstairs & out the dog flap if I need a wee. When other family members go to the toilet or move around in the night I usually stay asleep or wake but don't move, but in the early hours of one morning I got very excited & pestered Molly's mum for attention when she went to the toilet.

I've been unusually cuddly with Molly over the last few days which has made her very happy.

I let Molly brush my chest with much less mouthing than I'd usually do. She's not sure if it was a fluke or if I'm getting more tolerant of being groomed. We'll see...

Molly's parents grow tomatoes in their greenhouse so have built a gate to keep me out when the greenhouse door is open. But someone left it open the other day so I went in to explore & helped myself to a tomato. I'd never had one before so wasn't quite sure what to make of it but I did eat it all (once Molly had checked it wouldn't harm me).

I've discovered a new way to sit on the stairs which is surprisingly comfortable. What do you think?