Wilson, Winter and Snow, Snow, Snow!

Thanks to you guys that commented on my previous post, you made me and Wilson's week much better!

So as I have said before we live up here in Canada where the winters are very cold, now this never bothered me before. I just bundle up, make sure the reptiles heat lamps are keeping them warm and happy and then go along with my day, wither it be outside or inside. Well since having a dog, and a short legged one at that, I've had to re-think this whole winter thing.

He needed a jacket last year for when it got cold, but not cold enough that he couldn't go for a walk. Having a doxie makes this a very hard item to find unless I ordered one from the Internet which I didn't want to do. I wanted to be able to touch and feel his jacket to make sure it was warm enough for him. Well my mother and I finally found something for my little boy. Yes! ...... This year Wilson has gotten a bit bigger then what he was last winter, both in size and weight (hahaha..my bad..)and the jacket doesn't cover his back well and fits rather snug. Sigh..... If anyone knows a great place to order a coat online for dachshunds feel free to suggest it to me please.

The next hurtle that I had to deal with is the amount of snow we get. Most times it gets over his head, which makes bathroom breaks a fun adventure for him. Winter is the only time both Wilson and me wished that he was taught to use pee pads. Siiggh. So now my shoving duties include the sidewalk and a large area of the yard so my poochie can pick the perfect spot to do his thing and not get stuck and lost in the snow.

Next problem was some kind of protection for his feet. Some days when I let him out to go its really cold and I worry about how his feet feel. One time I sat there and watch him searching around for the best spot to go, too stubborn in that dachshund fashion to let the cold stop his hunt. I got to watch as he started to feel the cold and would lift one paw off the ground as high as he could, then the other then he would try to lift as many paws off the ground as he could, he then gave up and went to the bathroom on that spot. He didn't look very please about it as I came out to rescue him. My fears were confirmed, I had to get him booties. Now all those readers out there with dachshunds know that finding booties is a little bit hard. See doxies have large front paws made to shovel as much dirt out of the way as possible and their back paws are smaller then their front. All the boots I have found to this day come in sets of four... Two would fit his front paws and be to big for his back or vise versa. So now on the colder days I stick two pairs of baby socks on his paws and hope he doesn't try to take them off before he can get inside. He hates them but seems to understand that they keep his feet warmer.

As much as I may gripe about winter and all the problems it causes us, winter still happens to be mine and Wilsons favorite holiday. He gets so much joy running through the snow (I have a video of him somewhere 'dashing' through snow drifts with my mom singing 'Dashing through the snow..' haha and yes this video IS the reason why his blog is called a Dashing Dachshund blog), snow is something he can roll all over, or he can make sure that almost every where in the backyard has his foot prints on it, and to Wilson snow is one of the best gifts ever! To him snow is an endless material that he can dig in and not get in trouble. What more can a dachshund want? Well besides food. Winter means more cuddling time with everyone in the family, just sitting around watching TV or reading: adsorbing each others heat. Wilson makes winter even more special to me.

A few days before I went outside to do some shovelling, I bundled both me and Wilson up and went out since it was one of the warmers days. As I'm tossing snow about Wilson seemed to think he should help and jumped right in my way to dig the snow away from the sidewalk. Of course this didn't help much, in-fact he was kind of making more work for me so I thanked him and tossed my scarf off to the side and told him to find it so I could continue. He did so and I got to finish and then snap some great winter pictures of him sitting on my scarf waiting for me to get done.

This last picture is Wilson showing me that, yup, fun was had but he was doooonnneee. Time to go back in~!
Anyways, thats his jacket from last year, I'm thinking I'll donate it to one of the local rescue since he hardly ever used it last winter. And notice how puffy his fur is? Wilson seems to do this thing with his fur around winter where his under coat grows in and gets longer then his top coat making him look a lighter color then he is and a lot more poofie. This summer he took a Furminator to him so he wouldn't over heat and he went back to being a darker shade of red. Even his old trainer is surprised by how much his coat seems to change due to the sessions.
Anyways, hope your winters are going fun!
Later Anipals!

The "What is your dog crossed with?" question

Or "what kind of dog is he/she?"

[Taken from Wilson's twitter]

Because Wilson is a long haired dachshund I seem to get this question a lot. They all think he is cute and they sometimes know that he must have dachshund in him but because of the long fur they are thrown off. Which is completely ok, I know I do it a lot with other breeds of dogs that I don't know much about.

Its the people that fight with you about it that kinda peeve me off, but more about that later.

This kind of question happens often to me at the dog parks or when out for walkies. I always know its coming when I see that confused look cross their face. I usually stand there and let them ask, I mean they are standing as my little terror barks like crazy at them. (because i love dogs and dog people) I always answer with a smile and chuckle even on a bad day.

Now I understand why the few people with wirehair dachshunds were always so excited when I'm like "OOMMG WIRE HAIR DOXIE <3~~"

....

You don't see the wire hairs all that often in Alberta so its a special treat. But anyways.

So I was at Petsmart looking for healthy dog treats and some lady walks up to Wilson. I sure didn't see her (I do try to keep an eye out to make sure I'm aware where strangers, other pets and little kids are in adjacent to my pup like a good owner. But I'm human) and Wilson didn't notice her either untill she had reached down to pet him. In good old Wilson-dachshund fashion he flipped. Flipped meaning backing up, fur spiked, barking his sweet head off. May I also mention he has a loud and deep bark? Even when I'm used to it sometimes I'm still shocked. I almost jumped out of my socks; and clearly this lady felt the same. And here's the kicker. She GIVES ME the stink eye. As if its MY fault that she thought it was a good idea to try and touch my dog without asking(extremely impolite), scare my dog by sneaking up to him as he is trying to sniff out yummy treats and invaid my dog's personal space. Most dog owners ask, most adults don't sneak up on a dog. It's impolite.

I said sorry to her anyways, and got back to what I was doing. This distracts Wilson enough that he stops barking. (oh food, the power you hold). She sticks around and then asks me the normal question.

Me: Oh, he's not crossed with anything! He's a long haired Dachshund.

Woman: I know he is a dachshund, but do you know what else he is crossed with?

Me: He's not a cross -

Woman:(rudely cuts in) Yes he is, he's clearly a mutt.

Me: Uhh, no. He's a long haired -

Woman: I've had dachshunds before, they only have short hair. If you don't know, then you don't know. There's no point in lying about him. (sniffs and then walks off)

Huh?
She didn't even let me go into my speel about the three different types of dachshund coats.

And she called Wilson a mutt. Very rude! She even made the word mutt sound like a bad thing. Mutts are cute!

Mutt also means that the parenthood is completely unknown.

Silly woman.

I know that another great blogger that has had something like this happen with her long haired doxie - Alven. This is the link to the post here for those interested in reading what happened to another long hair dachshund owner.

Tehehe, sorry. Done my rant and feel ten times better!

Edmonton Humane Society Pawdcast- Another way rescues and shelters can advertise, inform and connect!

Hey guys, I'm really excited about this bit of new that I had to post it(even if I'm in class, hehe oops!). One of the Rescue/Humane groups that I check out often (I look at their website and follow their twitter, donate...etc) have started a Pawdcast, the first to do so in Canada! What a way to advertise, connect, inform and get the populations interest!

Its great that they are 'thinking out of the box' and using web 2.0 technologies to connect to more people and get them aware of just what they do and why!

If you have time please take a look, even if you are from the states.

Thanks!
(It does repeat about a minute in the leah training section, thats due to the pawdcast being recorded live. Stuff happens =D )

EHS Pawdcast - Episode 1 from fusedlogic TV on Vimeo.

Anipal Photo Hunt #14: MOM!

So for this weeks Anipal Photo Hunt we have to post pictures of ourselves, or a self portrait. I attempted to find a picture with me and a bunch of dogs or a picture of me with most of my pets at home. Well for the first idea I found a picture from when we were camping....NOOOOOOOO, camping chelsea looks bad. X that idea and for the second....Bahhh, you try asking a cat to sit still when she she can't 'bare' being seen with a dog.

So here you go!

Alright, alright. I cheated.

Here's a better one. And before someone asks, that hat is fake fur not real! I don't wear fur, leather etc, I don't use anything if its tested on animals either. =)

(Thats right, I'm doing the duck lips. My face just goes that way when a camera comes out. I don't like people taking pictures of me! Its a natural defense I think. ;D )

Pssssssss! By the way check out http://www.maxthequiltcat.com/ , our dear Max and his human have started a lot of great fun for their book launch! Don't miss out!

Attack of the 16(orsomething) pound Cuddle-Bug!

(Forgive the over exposure on the first picture, the sun was shining in and I didn't want to move due to a very fuzzy and snoring reason.)

(all pictures taken with my webcam as I was doing school work/internet fun times)

.........cute bugger

For Remembrance Day

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Poem by by Major John McCrae
Have a good Remembrance Day Anipals.

Anipal Photo Hunt #12: All Souls' Day

This weeks Photo Hunt is based on those loved ones that have past on...And there was one special cat that I have to mention. Warning: I do plan on telling Oryan story, both the good and the sad. If you do not wish to read then that's very understandable. Please feel free to scroll to the blog hop link and check out other blogs.

This is Sir CatsALot(left) and Oyran(right). Currently Sir CatsAlot lives with a lovely old lady that spoils him rotten. This photo is shared because of Oryan who passed away when I was in the last year of high school.

I am very sad that I only have about 5 pictures of him, cause you see I had him in the time where digital cameras were not affordable for a young teenager.

Even though this is supposed to be a happy time and post, I still can not help but feel extremely sad. But glad that we could love each other so much. I have never connected with an animal the same way as I did with Oryan, as my mom often says "You two were soul mates" I couldn't go anywhere without him trailing along, even when doing the dishes he would sit on top of the fridge, watching and waiting for me to be done. He was most content when he was in physical contact with me, and would greet me at the door like a dog would. This doesn't mean that I do not love Wilson or Mindy, but there is different kinds of love. And Oryan was at a different level then them. Sorry my babies =)

I was in grade 5 when mom decided to get a kitten. She wanted a black and white kitten but I had my heart set on a ginger tabby. Of course she told me that gingers where ugly so that was out. Turns out that this little family run pet store (Mom was against large corporate pet stores at that time) by our house had a b & w kitten. She bundled us kids up and headed over to look at the cat. Now all I really remember was walking by the kennels and stopping in-front of one, bending down and watched a ginger tabby look up, unroll himself and come charging over and attempt to run his face through the glass at me. I was memorized. I don't even remember my mom looking at the other kitten, or the store keeper (seeing me) start telling mom the ginger kittens story and her saying she might as well take a look at the ginger too.
It was instant love my friends. Mom says that as soon as I had that cat in my arms she gave a sigh of defeat and took him home, much to the extreme glee of a small child.

The story that the stores clerk told my mother was this; how a little girl had found Oryan outside and couldn't keep him. Wanting to give him a good home and not let him back on the street she had asked the store clerk if he could find a home for the ginger fluff ball. Oryan happened to be a large kitten and the store clerk thought he must be around 4-6 months old. To old for most people to want a cat. He promised the girl he would try, but he could only keep him for a few days till the store owner got back. No one showed interest in him, they all wanted the black and white kittens siblings. It just so happened that we showed up a few hours before the local humane society said they would drop by and pick him up.

He was a huge cat, just shy of 20 pounds, loved pickles (no really, they were his kitty crack. I couldn't even touch a pickle jar without him right there looking at me) and had a large amount of health problems. I still wish he was here, he would have shown Wilson and Mindy a thing or two. Unfortunately one night I hear him meowing and called him over. He didn't show up so I went searching and found him trying to drag himself over to me. His back legs where cold and he was in pain. We took him to the emergency vet where they told us that his heart(he had an enlarge heart) wasn't beating strong enough and blood had clotted in one of the chambers. One of those clots broke away and became stuck in one of his blood veins, blocking the blood to his lower half of his body. He was in incredible pain. We could of gave him blood thinners, but the vet said that it might make things worse. We could of sent him into sugary, but the success rate of this surgery was 50% successful and recovery was painful. But this kind of this would happen again after, and there was no guarantee if the next clot would go to his brain or somewhere else causing him extreme pain again. I couldn't let that happen and so my sweet Oryan was put down.

I still have his ashes, I can't part with them. I got a necklace made that has some of his ashes enclosed in a metal heart shape so I could take him with me everywhere. He's been to England and Mexico, this cat had traveled more then most animals. Most pictures of me shows me wearing him, I still wear this necklace to this day. Some people think that the necklace is disgusting.

So let me be clear.

I. Don't. Care.

Animal lovers generally understand, and he's always with me.

That's what matters.

Happy Side Note: Mom now finds gingers very very handsome.