New Bed and Dish

Rowdy got to visit his friend Niely again this weekend.  They had a lot of fun playing together and I had to give him another nickname as the 'Instigator'.  If Niely isn't playing with him, he will go up and jump up batting him in the face and getting him riled up until he chases him.

I got him a new dog bed this weekend at Tractor Supply for only eight bucks.

I had to lay him on it several times, but he quickly got the hang of it and spent most of the evening sacked out on it.  With Sarah's help we also got him an new double dog dish for his food and water.  I am constantly having to move his bowls inside and out and I think this will make it easier to move both of them at once instead of making two trips.

The L.S.

Yesterday the L.S. (that's 'little shit') almost managed to get out the door of my shop twice.  This is bad because there is too much traffic around my shop on three sides, so the possibilities of him getting run over are quite high.

The first time he almost got past me is when I opened up the garage door to use my air compressor to blow out an extremely dusty component.  No sooner had I opened the door that he shot out from behind the truck and was heading out the door.  He was there a lot quicker than I thought he would be, but I was watching for him and caught him before he got away.  I then took his leash and connected it and him to my workbench until I was done and shut the door.

The second time is when a customer came into the shop and wanted me to hear what his starter sounded like on his truck.  I shut the little counter door which has a magnetic latch and left the front door propped open so I could hear the phone.  While out by the customers truck, the L.S. managed to push open the counter door and headed out the front door.  I ran back and caught him again just in time and held him in my arms until the customer left.  That shifty L. S.!

Walks and Hello's

With all the snow we had and other distractions, Rowdy had not been getting his daily walks.  Sarah took him for a walk in the park beside my shop yesterday and today I took him for his usual walk through the neighborhood.  Though cool out, it was a really nice day and a lot of people were outside this afternoon.  Rowdy had to stop and say hello to everyone.  He's getting well known as several people, mostly kids called him by name.

Poor Doggie Left Alone

Both days this weekend, poor Rowdy was left all alone, outside in the back yard.  Saturday he was left out there from 11AM to 9PM.  When we got back, he was so happy to see us that he whined and jumped up and down, twisting and twitching like he was getting an electric shock treatment.  Sunday he was only left out in the afternoon, but he was still happy to see us.  At least the weather was nice and warm both days, so I didn't feel bad about leaving him out.  He was of course an outdoor dog when I originally got him, so he was used to being outside, but he's spoiled now!

Escape!

The little butt snuck past me and out the door of the shop today.  Lucky he wasn't run over, as we found him running around the local convenience mart next door, in the middle of the street.  I had the garage door open for a few minutes to sweep the floor and I was watching for him, but he must have been under the truck and when I was looking the other way, slipped out behind me.

Undivided Attention

I got tickled at Rowdy today!  I listen to a comedy radio show and on the way home from work today, the comedian was making a bunch of funny noises.  Rowdy was sitting in the seat, looking at the dash with his ears perked up, looking like the RCA dog, turning his head at each different noise.

Later at home, I was eating some cookies!  Rowdy was looking at me, so I raised my hand way up over my head.  He looked up at it and I slowly moved it to the right and then to the left.  With his ears perked up again, he followed it with his eyes and head as I moved it back and forth, never taking his eyes off of it.  Then I moved it around in a circle and his eyes followed it around!  Watching him, I couldn't help but laugh!

Home Again

Poor Rowdy!  After all the excitement of being with his friend Niely and everyone else this weekend, he acted depressed when we got home.  He did get a walk around the neighborhood today, the first in almost two weeks because of all the snow and we played tug-of-war with his rope toy, so that sparked him up a bit.  The rest of the evening he just sacked out! 

Also, I gave him his flea and tic treatment today after about a month and a half.  You're supposed to treat them once every month, but he hasn't had any problems with the fleas, so I put it off a bit!

Too Cold

It was 11 below this morning when I got up and I put Rowdy out to do his business.  He quickly finished and was ready to come back indoors.  What was so funny was, usually when I get ready to leave for work, he's at the front door and ready to go too.  Today when I headed to the door, he ran back into the den and turned around and just looked at me.  It was like he was saying 'It's too cold for my little ass out there!'

When I did leave, I couldn't take him with me anyway, so I locked him into his cage to keep him out of trouble.  When I came back a couple of hours later and got ready to leave again, he was at the front door ready to go.  Guess he didn't like being left alone worse than he did being out in the cold!  Of course it had warmed up a good 20 or so degrees by then too!

Skitzoid got his bath tonight!  Every time I dry him off and let him go, he acts like he's got the heebee jeebee's!  I'm taking him down to see his buddy Niely tomorrow.  I'm sure he will have a good time!

Nicknames

Depending on Rowdy's looks or behavior, I've come up with some nicknames for him at the appropriate times.

It all started when I first met him.  Since he was a stray that showed up at my folk's farm and he first looked like he was part dachshund or weenie dog, I would call him 'Hotdog!'  This went on for the five or so months, before I took him home with me and I only occasionally call him that now.

Next came 'Inch-dog!'  This was because, when I was sitting on the couch, he'd try to worm his way up on my lap by moving an inch at a time, each time I quit petting him.  This has metamorphed into 'Couch Otter' as the way he moves his neck and head, he looks like an otter moving back and forth.

Then I started calling him 'Skitzoid!' (from the word, schizophrenic) whenever he chases his tail, or tears through the house like his butt is on fire, or acts crazy after a bath.

When he gets up after a nap and stretches his body out, sometimes I'll call him 'Stretch!'

And of course, 'Little Shit' comes to mind when he's been bad or getting on my nerves!!!  I think a lot of people refer to their pets with this name, when they're not behaving.  I remember years ago when I lived in an apartment in Tulsa and my neighbor had a cat that got out.  He was standing at the top of the steps yelling, "Get, get back here!  You little shit!"

Snow As High As A Dog!

We got a record snowfall this Tuesday of over 14 inches.  I had to dig a walkway to my shed so I could get my tractor out to clean the driveway and street so I could make it out.  Rowdy spent most of the time in the house and when I let him out to do his business, he'd duck under the deck.  He tried to go out into the snow but with every leap, he'd disappear until he'd leap again.  After I dug the trench, he would run up and down the trench for exercise or just playing around.  As you can see, he was almost dwarfed by the snow!

This afternoon, when I was shoveling some more of that damn white crap, Rowdy ventured out in it and leaped around the yard.  The snow was a little harder now and he didn't sink into it as much.

Nap Time

A special thanks to Katrina for sending me this photo of Niely and Rowdy, snoozing on their pillow.  It was taken with her camera phone when we were visiting this last weekend.  It was so cute that I had to post it!