Tuesday, September 30, 2008

A True Temperament Test

Frankie says, "Hey dad, watcha doin?"

Hawk says, "Uh, why are you looking at my food like that? You already had your supper."
"Hey, little dude. This is MY chicken."

"You know I'm bigger than you, and I can hold onto this chicken longer than you can."

"I have to hide to eat my own food! Darn puppies!"

Hawk and Frankie met the day before, and this was the first time they were together around food. With a raw chicken back at stake, Hawk never even bristled when the pup came over and started investigating the chicken back. When Frankie reached up and grabbed the food in his father's mouth, Hawk just held on, never growling or reacting in the slightest. Once the puppy let go, Hawk just ran over and hid behind a palm tree to eat his chicken! What a good boy, and what a real example of a sound temperament.

Friday, September 26, 2008

The RUFF Life in Florida

Hi from Florida! Dis here's Hawk. My mom sorta took over my blog, and I'm takin' it back, at least for today!
Life here in Florida is pretty ruff. You can see in the pikture (dat's me on the right!) wiff da Resident Dogs that we have no fun in this back yard. There are only a few thousand lizards to hunt in the bushes, and we only have about 10 squirrels to chase around the yard at any time of day. sigh. Oh, the pool? You see the pool? Well, those stoopit Sporting Dogs, they just get right in that water. Are they crazy??? I almost drownded the other day when my mom MADE me get in that pool. That's enough for me, no way, no how. NOT going in that pool. So, these other dogs in the pikture, that's Sally on the left. She's a Weimaraner. I like her, cuz she's like the other gray dogs I know. I wag and follow her around, but she won't look at me in the eye. I think she's scared of me, becuz mom sez Sally had a bad life before she got 'dopted. And the fuzzy white dog? That's Candy, and she's pretty cool. She races out of the house to chase something, and I just run to follow. I don't really know what we are chasing, but it's fun to tag along.

Candy isn't really good at sharing, though. I don't normally play wiff toys, but my Gramma showed me a big dog toy, and I tried to pway wiff it. Candy stoled it, and took it away. But I'm not a fighter, so I just looked at her and watched her take away my toy. She took it and put ALL her toys on her bed so I couldn't play wiff them.
So today, we had another BIG adventure. Did you know they have dog shows in Florida??? Well, they do. We went to Dee-Land today to set up for the dog show. I got to see Miss Susan (Susan Line) cuz she was all the way in Florida for her Weimaraner specialty. I luv Miss Susan, she showed me in the group when Miss Sherri took Powell the Cardigan in. She's really nice and she luvs me too!
The best thing of all today is that I got to see Miss Cheryl and Bitsy, and... MY BABY! Frankie is so cute, and we played and pounced, and I can't wait to play with him some more! Here's a couple of piktures of him. Isn't he cute???

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Pool Safety-"I'm a Sinker, Not a Swimmer!"

OK, so we have now established the fact that Hawk will *not* be aspiring to become an Olympic swimmer. Mom and dad have a big back yard, lots of grass and plenty of lizard-hunting opportunities in the azaleas and other natural areas. They also have a pool.

Hawk has a real aversion to water. He won't walk out in the wet grass, he hates to swim, although he's gotten better about tolerating all the bathing that comes with being a show dog. When we went to Eukanuba last year, Lori took Hawk out into the ocean at the Long Beach dog beach, and Hawk was not nearly as amused as I was!

So, because Hawk and the residents Candy and Sally (both rescues, a Brittany and Weim) love to race around the yard and run like banshees, I wanted to be sure Hawk could find his way to the steps of the pool if he were to fall in. He would never get in on purpose, but you never know. I put Hawk in at the steps, and he did OK on the second step, climbing up to the first step and then out of the pool. Then I put him in at the side of the pool, about 6 feet from the steps. I set him in the pool in the "dog paddle" position, topline level with the surface of the water. He swam like a good dog, right over to the steps.

The third attempt, since he was soaking wet and I didn't want to be soaking wet, I carried him with my hands under his front legs, and set him in the water back feet first, then front feet. He started paddling before I let go of him, and then, well, then he sank... EEEK. Yes, he sank, straight down, like his tushy was full of lead. For a split second, I figured he'd level out and swim, and almost in slow motion, his little head just disappeared even as I was reaching to grab him. Poor little guy! I didn't want to pull him out of the pool until he realized he could swim to the steps, so I just reached under and helped his back end get up to the level of his front end. Then he swam right to the steps without any issues.

And after that, he stayed far, far away from me in the back yard! I think he's forgiven me, and I guess if nothing else, he will be even more aware of the pool. I don't leave him out unattended, but you just never know. I know I've heard stories about kids and dogs that drown even while people are standing nearby.

I think Hawk has enjoyed the lizard-hunting, and I know he thinks it is great fun to zoom around with the resident Brittany. Candy has energy to burn, and Hawk just feeds off of that kind of stuff. Tonight, we get to go for a walk around the neighborhood. :-)

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Half Way There...

Oh-Oh, Livin' On a Prayer... oops, sorry, high school flashback to Bon Jovi there.

Well, we're in Memphis, y'all. Hawk and I left Kansas City bound for Orlando this afternoon. I made my reservations for the end of September, since the weather would be cooler. Uh, Kansas City is having record highs, and I watched the forecast for 83 degrees. eeek. Two more degrees and Hawk would likely NOT be flying. Even at 83, it is a concern. But thankfully, Don and Jacque have about everything anyone could think of to make travel with dogs easier. So, this morning I unloaded 5 of my dogs at their house in exchange for an Ice Bed.

Man, that thing is handy. 8 pounds of ice, waterproof material. The QuikTrip let me fill the ice bed from the fountain ice dispenser rather than try to pour a bag of ice into a floppy ice bed. Squeeze the air out, put on the cap, and wrap in a towel. I would venture a guess that Hawk is much cooler than I am at this point!

I want to also say that I'm very happy with NorthWest and the way they have handled Hawk so far. Our first plane was Pinnacle, a Northwest Airlink. I got on board, and asked the attendant if the dog was on board. She says, "Oh, are you Hawk's mom?" OK, since she knew his name, I guess he made it. She wanted to know all about him, and I always cringe when people ask what kind of dog he is. Uh, he's a Swedish Vallhund. Try explaining that in the 2 seconds as you move along down the narrow aisle of an airplane!

So, I arrive in Memphis, and I see the NWA Priority Pet Van picking him up. I got to the next gate, and VOILA! He's in the van, waiting to get on the next plane. Glad to see the little Doodle.

On to Orlando!

Friday, September 19, 2008

Just SIX Days Left...




...until I get to squeeze this little cutie in person! And after I received these pictures by email today, it's going to be a LONNNNGGGGG six days. It's such a shame that Cheryl makes that puppy work so hard, isn't it??

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Perhaps a future in modeling?

What a ham! Baby Frankie, 8 weeks old, with the casual over-the-shoulder glance. ha. Cheryl was kind enough to send me new photos, since I'm anxious to see the little man. And thanks to Marie for taking some *really* cute shots like this one!





We are gearing up for our trip to Florida at the end of September. Hawk is going with me, and I'm hopeful to catch some sort of Family Portrait of Hawk, Bitsy, and their Boy. I know, good luck with that!!





Hawk would rather be about anywhere else right now, it's damp, raining constantly, and he is pretty sure he is going to melt. I think having spent his first 10 months in New Mexico, he does not have the appreciation for wet grass that my other dogs have. They love to charge through the grass, spraying water everywhere. Hawk, well, let's just say that my scooping duties include the concrete patio when it's raining in Missouri! Frankie apparently inherited his love for water from his mom Bitsy. He did NOT get it from Hawk, that's for sure. Cheryl says that Franklin goes to the water bowl, walks in with all four feet, and then sits. What a nut!