More of Blaze singing

Another song for Blaze's first album.

Here We Come A-Caroling...

So, when unpacking I uncovered my old tin whistle, which I haven't played in a long time. I picked it up initially when I was travelling through Ireland in 1994 and have messed around with it now and again over the years, but as with all things musical, I am pretty hopeless (as you will notice in the video). But when I found it I started playing a little, and a couple of songs came back to me. I noticed that when I started to play Blaze came running, and part way through a song, I heard a low howl accompanying me just for a moment from his bed in the corner of my office. Over the last couple of weeks I have picked up the tin whistle a few times and encouraged Blaze to sing along. This morning I decided to try to capture the moment and in the spirit of the upcoming holidays, I thought I would share Blaze's lovely singing voice with everyone (seriously, he is far less tone deaf than either Dan or I). Enjoy!

Old Dogs, New Tricks

At our recent housewarming party, Tazzy managed to win over everyone with her charm, good looks, and baby-sitting skills. She had three young children, who we were initially told were afraid of dogs, playing with her all night, she was super tolerant, and soaked up the attention, as well as the bounty of food they managed to drop for her. Even Dan's boss admited later that he is afraid of dogs, but thought she was simply wonderful. Tazzy then proceeded to provide some evening entertainment for everyone by showing off some of her tricks. Blaze accompanied her a little, but because of the number of people, and specifically, the number of scary little people known as children, he didn't get to stay out for most of the party.

As mentioned previously, the idea of training a dog is a bit novel here, so perhaps the crowd was easily swayed, but everyone seemed impressed by their little circus dog act. One women said to me " You must have trained them when they were very young, when they could learn so many things." She was suprised when I said that both of them were rescues that we adopted, and that we didn't think either of them had much training as puppies. She was even more surprised when I told her that they continue to learn new tricks all the time. The week before the party, they each learned a new trick. When I tell Tazzy "Shhh" she now lays on her side and puts her head all the way down, and on hearing "relax" Blaze lays down and rests his head either on the floor or on his paw. They love to learn, and mostly they are limited by my imagination trying to figure out what I should get them to do. But don't worry, I'll keep working on it.

Tazzy's bored...

So this morning I was in the kitchen unpacking groceries, when I heard talking that sounded like it was coming from inside the house. I was pretty sure I didn't have either unannounced visitors (Blaze would never allow that) or ghosts (he probably wouldn't allow that either), so I walked into the living room to find out what was going on. Tazzy looked at me from her spot on the couch, wiggled, then went back to what she was doing when I entered the room, which, apparently, was watching television. She was lying on top of the remote, watching FOX (and she really did look like she was watching it). Luckily, at least we don't get FOX news here, mostly just Simpsons and House repeats, so at least it was safe for her to watch. A few minutes later she came strolling into the kitchen, so I guess her curiosity was satisfied.

For now I am going to chalk this up as an accident, but if it happens again I will start to wonder...

My Fearless Protector

Blaze is the type of dog that needs a job to do. He thinks his job is to protect Tazzy and I from anyone (or anything) that might harm us. Sometimes this can be a problem, because his idea of what might harm us can be very different than mine. For example, he is very wary of new people, though he is getting much better, and I taught him the phrase "go say hi" to make him go and let the new person touch him so he can see that they mean us no harm. He is also scared of some objects, so he has learned "touch" to go and make sure things like the plastic bag blowing in the wind is not going to swallow any of us whole.

Here in Portugal he has found a new enemy, and spends a good part of his day defending against them for me. You see, our house here has no screens, and with the extremely pleasant weather we have been having, I have been working with the sliding glass doors open for much of the day. This causes the occasional uninvited visit from some very large (and very loud) house flies. One day I was sitting and working at my computer, when Blaze lounged straight at the glass door, worried, I went to see what he was up to, and he did it again. Then I noticed the fly, Blaze was watching it intently, and when it came low enough, he went for it. Each time he missed by a couple of feet, as the fly was too quick for him. It went on for about 10 minutes, until, finally, he was victorious, and the fly became a late afternoon Blaze snack. He then looked at me with a guilty look on his face, as though he ate something he wasn't supposed to, so I told him "good boy," which made him very happy. He has since continued to serve as my diligent protector from flies, and his accuracy, speed and skill for fly catching has increased dramatically. Now Tazzy even joins in the game occasionally, though she does not take it as seriously as Blaze. Recently I even saw him lying half in and half out of the sliding door, and he nabbed one on the threshold, before it even had a chance to explore the house. He seems to enjoy the game, and I enjoy the fly-free house, for which I concede the dog-nose smudge marks on the sliding door. And each time I see him catch one, I tell him "good boy" and he gets very excited for a moment, but then the excitement passes, after all, he has a job to do.

Awww...

Sorry for the double post in both blogs...but I thought this picture was pretty cute. Tazzy is definitely one of the cuddliest dogs...ever. When I decided I couldn't take anymore of the hard plastic lawn furniture that we currently have in the living room until our furniture arrives, I tried to make myself comfortable on the floor to watch TV (and then nap). Not only did she let me use her as a pillow for quite some time, she then allowed me to position her on my feet when I went to bed and stayed there for most of the night (I was cold and wasn't feeling well). What a good girl.

Playing on the beach

As promised...a couple of pictures playing on the beach. The first is Blaze chasing Tazzy through the shallow surf. While Blaze usually takes this game very seriously, and is very focused, Tazzy usually has a big grin on her face, and just seems to have a good time running.

Here the dogs entertain themselves by wrestling while Dan and I read.

I'm not sure what it is about the beach, but humans and dogs alike seem to love it. We meet lots of doggy playmates there, though several of them have followed us down the beach quite a ways while we run. Usually with their owners yelling futilely behind them and the dogs very blatantly ignoring them. I guess not everyone has worked on recall as much as they should. While Tazzy has surprised a couple of people by putting her nose in their book when they haven't looked up to give her attention, they have both been very well-behaved on the beach. They haven't stolen any food, followed people they shouldn't have, and are even getting much better at waiting to say hi to dogs until released.

A dogs life

In Portugal, it seems everyone has a dog, though I am not really sure why. The idea of dogs as pets and part of the family has not really caught on with the general population here as it has in the US, and it seems most dogs spend their days tied in the back yard, barking at everyone who passes by (as opposed to Blaze and Tazzy, who have the luxury of running from inside the house to outside in the yard to bark at those passing). Yes, most of them have shade, and water, and seem to be fed regularly, but they seem to not have any training, and get very little human interaction, and I can't imagine the families would miss them greatly if they were gone. In these cases I wonder, why do they have a dog? Is it that you are supposed to? Or for protection? Or one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time? Don't get me wrong, there are some dogs in Portugal that live very good lives, we see them romping on the beach and playing games and they seem to have people that love them very much. And I know there are dogs in the US that lead much more miserable lives than the majority of dogs here. But I just wonder, is it an education issue, a cultural issue, or something else entirely?

The beach is great...but we can't drink the water

For the first time, these previously land locked dogs have experienced the beach and ocean. While Lake Champlain was great, it is nothing like the Atlantic off the coast of Costa Nova. Here the beaches are wide and long, and the waves break strongly right on shore. The dogs weren't allowed on the beach until October 1, but now they are good to go until June. We have taken them running there a couple of times, and while we go slow and get tired easily in the sand, they run circles around us and can't seem to get enough digging, chasing, and wrestling. Tazzy, who is an avid swimmer and loves the calm waters of the rivers and lakes at home, ran into the ocean and was immediately knocked over by a wave. She is much more cautious now, and prefers to wade rather than swim in the rough water. Both dogs quickly learned that there is something different about this water. It tastes funny. They keep testing it to see if anything has changed, but a tiny slurp and they realize the water bottle from home is much better.

One of these days I'll try to remember to bring my camera and post a picture or two of them playing, it is great fun to watch.

One of the best things about Portugal (for a dog)

Apparently the chickens come slightly more whole than they do in the United States. Tazzy and Blaze get to benefit, and they each get 1 chicken foot of their very own. Tazzy's disappeared in about 5 seconds, Blaze held on to his and carried it around the house for quite a while. I guess he wasn't quite sure what to do with it, but he knew he wanted it badly enough to let Tazzy know she wasn't going to be getting seconds when hers was gone.

Settling in...

Since, like us, the dogs also don't have their belongings until the boat gets here, they have to make do with what they have. Blaze loves the safety of his crate at home, and so here he decided that the closest thing to a den was the space under the stairs. He begin lying there quite a bit on his own, so we put a blanket there and now it is his "spot" except for the rare occasion that Tazzy steals it and he is relegated to the other pile of soft stuff that is by the sliding window.

Getting here...

This was my first experience flying with my dogs, and it was rather stressful, but everyone got here just fine. To begin with, we arrived at Newark later than we hoped, and had to check in the dogs in a separate location. Luckily two nice ladies who were waiting for their dogs to get off another flight helped me put together the crates and reassured me that the dogs would not be overly bothered by the experience. After we got the dogs and crates stickered, watered, zip tied, and paid for, Dan had to return the rental car, and I went to check in (which I somehow managed to do for both of us without him). We got through security, grabbed a couple of sandwiches, and made it to our gate just in time to see the second dog loaded onto the plane. When we arrived 8 hours later, we also got to see both dogs unloaded while we were on a bus to the terminal, though it would be another couple of hours before I would see them again. Once through customs and with bags in hand we were told three or four different answers to the question "where do I go to pick up dogs?" Increasingly frustrated, we waited for them to appear, and when nothing happened, asked again and were told to head to the cargo terminal, which was not easy to find, once there I was told the receipt we had from Continental was not the form we needed to pick up cargo, but at that point they would not even tell us if we were in the correct spot to pick them up, though the threat of a loud irate American making a scene eventually got them to at least release the information that yes, that was where Blaze and Tazzy were being held. We had to head back to the terminal to ask the Continental ticket person for the correct document, and they had no idea what we were talking about. So back to the cargo area again, and this time an angry Dan finally got them to call the airline, who sent a representative over to help us. A total of 2.5 hours from when we saw them get off the plane, a trip to the airport vet office, a few miscellaneous fees later, and our first real lesson in Portuguese bureaucracy later, we were finally all reunited. They were extremely excited to see us, but otherwise didn't seem too phased by the experience.

About Tazzy

Like her adopted brother Blaze, Tazzy also came from Aussie Rescue. We adopted her in November 2005, described at first as "shy," Tazzy is anything but. She LOVES everybody, and everything. From little kids to big adults, and she even became a 'mother' to five orphan kittens we fostered from the humane society, patiently cleaning them after every meal, and checking on them and letting them cuddle with her to stay warm. She whines excitedly when she wants to say hi to someone new, and the whine gets even more frenzied if it is an old friend. She is good natured and always happy, and while perhaps not as bright (or maybe just not as motivated to please) as her brother Blaze, she tries hard and no one can resist her adorable little wiggle.

Likes: Tennis balls, fetching tennis balls, swimming, fetching balls from the water, catching a frisbee (if there aren't any balls), wrestling with Blaze, cuddling on the couch, sneaking onto the bed, meeting new people, lying on my back for belly rubs, spending time outside in the yard

Dislikes: ???

Words I know: Dinner, Sit, Down, Roll, Crawl, Beg, High Five, Spin, Go lay down, Come, Wait, Get the ball

Pictures:

Momma Tazzy cleaning one of her kittens

Tazzy's first political rally

What's going on out there?

Safety first, hiking during hunting season

About Blaze

Blaze was adopted from Australian Shepherd rescue in September of 2004. His past abuse and lack of socialization made him extremely fearful of new people and situations. But something about the look in his eyes drew us to him as he very tentatively investigated us while we visited him at his foster home in Manhattan. We took the plunge and a week later picked him up and brought him to live with us in Vermont. While it took a long time to get him to come out of his shell, a sweeter, more devoted, intelligent dog we couldn't ask for. After having Blaze for a year or so, we decided to try an agility class to build his confidence. He (and I) loved it so much we decided to take another class a few months later. Eventually we joined the local agility club and even competed in a couple of trials this past summer. Blaze just loves to figure out what I want him to do, and what he can do to earn treats, which is why agility and any clicker training gets him about as excited as this dog gets.

Likes: Being as close to Katrin as possible, liverwurst, agility training (especially the teeter-toter), the things that come after the words "dinner" and "treats," clicker training new tricks, hiking, ambushing Tazzy when she is trying to fetch the ball

Dislikes: When Katrin leaves, swimming, meeting new people (though I am trying to get better)

Words I know: Sit, Down, Wait, Through (tunnels), Weave (through poles or legs), Come, Down, Roll, Go lay down, High five, Beg, Up, Spin, Twirl, Walk it (teeter-toter, dog-walk), Over (jump), Dinner, Treats, Walk, Go say hi

Pictures:

Coming down off the dog walk

Photo credit: Cindy Telley (http://www.petartnh.net/)

Going over a jump

Blaze and Corina, our ex-neighbor and his best friend before Tazzy came along


Fall foliage hike in Vermont


Studying while I was working on my Masters degree

Canoeing on Green River Reservoir

In Memory of Hobie

Hobie was our skinny little cat who ruled the house. Both dogs knew who was boss. He was a stray picked up off our street corner when I was walking home from class one evening in May 2005. At the time he was the skinniest cat we had ever seen, and while he gained a LOT of weight those first couple of months, he never really filled out to where he should be, despite the buffet of both dry and canned food that he was always offered. What he lacked in size, he made up for in personality (and vet bills). Shortly after we took him in, he went to the vet where his age was determined as 'pretty old' and many of his rotting and infected teeth were removed. Following that he was much more comfortable and had a great couple of years in the retirement home that we provided for him. He was extremely talkative, and would great us each morning or whenever we got home with a series of loud meows, and when he knew it was time for his canned food he would meow constantly until he got it. One night my husband proclaimed 'you can't have your wet food until you meow 33 times' and it didn't take long until he was happily eating away. He was also a very affectionate guy who loved to be pet, learned to beg for scraps while I was cooking, and spent many hours snoozing away the Vermont winters on his heated cat bed. We had planned to bring him with the rest of our family to Portugal, but 2 weeks before we were scheduled to leave he collapsed in a seizure and died at the vet within an hour. Our vet believes it could have been a stroke, but we will never know. So he stayed at his home in Burlington, with his ashes scattered in his favorite haunts around our house and on the corner where we found him. He is missed.