What a difference 4 months make!

This was my little sister Caoimhe when she came to live with us on 1 July 2011 - a sweet little bundle of schnauzer furryness.

Her puppy toys were all she needed to keep her happy - such an innocent little pup!

4 months later - she's not such a sweet pup - with her eye on the wine and puppy toys long forgotten!

She's trying to let on she's a wine taster - just a little drop and she'll spit it out - oh no!
Of course we dogs would never really be allowed to drink wine. Water is our only tipple although Leigh is adding some apple cider vinegar to the water now to try and keep our beards whiter - I'll let you know if it works. We're having visitors this week so I may not be able to blog for a little while but I'll keep following my blog-friends when I can.

Convalescence and Calming Bands

I had a little message from our schnauzer pals Dex & Lou wondering if all is well here so I thought I would do a little post to let you know we're all still OK. Here's me and Caoimhe lying on the rug by the cooker to keep warm - it is getting very cold here now at night. Judith & Leigh have both been quite poorly with colds and coughs and sore throats that made their voices all squeaky but they're getting better now so I've been able to get going on the computer again :-)

Caoimhe is taking no chances on getting a cold and has a little jumper on to keep her warm. I have one too but I try not to wear it for photographs. Actually Caoimhe has been in disgrace a bit here too because she is so-o barky with dogs and people she meets. Sweet as anything at home and then as soon as she goes out and sees a dog or some person decides to try and talk to her she goes WILD! So Judith & Leigh are trying all sorts of remedies to try and calm her down. She's had her food changed for some new crunchy kibble, she has some herbal calming tablets...and this strange thing called a 'calming band':

It looks a bit scary to me but it's just a soft piece of elasticated fabric that fits over her nose and lets her know when she's barking - well I think unless she's deaf she ought to know! But it does seem to be working so she will wear it at her training class tonight and see if she can manage not to bark at all the other dogs there like she usually does.

She's giving me a cross look now for telling everyone what she's like :-)
Anyway as there haven't been any exciting outings or visits to blog about recently I thought I would make you smile with this picture of some very quiet schnauzers.... just a small part of Judith & Leigh's schnauzer toy collection:

Dog of Courage 2011

This is a photo of my brother Kaska which some of you may have seen on an earlier blog of mine. This picture was taken when Kaska got his wheels to help him walk after a spinal injury. It was entered in a competition run on-line by the Diana Brimblecombe Animal Rescue Centre as a 'Virtual Dog Show' with many different categories. Kaska's picture and the story of how he has coped with his disability won him the Dog of Courage award and a rosette and shield:

His awards arrived in the post today!

There were many lovely photos of dogs in the competition and other heart-tugging tales of dogs of courage. If you would like to read Kaska's story - and see the others too they are on the website at:

http://www.dbarc.org.uk/dogshow.html

He won category M. .and I did actually win a little rosette myself for coming second in the most appealing eyes category (K)...and there was a cute little schnauzer pup in the first category too. Schnauzers did well in this competition!

Here I am with my rosette. I did try to see if I could eat it but unfortunately not - that's why Leigh moved it out of the way of my mouth for the picture! An edible prize would have been welcome in my view. P.S. I have managed to qualify for Crufts after all at a Championship Show in Wetherby but there's talk of me having puppies next year - whispers going round that I'm not supposed to hear so I will have to wait and let you know when I find out if the rumours are true! Here's one more picture of my brother with his awards as today's blog is really for him:

My Favourite Blogs

I have been honoured by my blog friend Tooki with 3 lovely awards and although I haven't been able to fulfil all the demands that go with these I thought I would just make a mention here in thanks to Tooki and all the other blogs I follow for their inspiration and entertainment. They all make me smile and brighten the day whatever else has happened. Until I started blogging I did not realise just how many four legged friends and their humans were out there sharing their adventures and the ups and downs of their lives all over the world. So here are the ones I follow whenever I can:



Tooki - your blogs are so informative about life in Sabah and I love to read about your celebrations as well as your many furry friends!
http://www.tooki-mimopakl.blogspot.com/

Rubie - my mini schnauzer Australian friend - you always make me laugh over your adventures with your cousins and your comments on my blog! You cheer me up whatever has happened in the day - thank you!
http://www.rubieadventures.blogspot.com/

George the lad - my Welsh Terrier blog friend has such interesting visits to steps throughout Britain ( and his flat brother has been right round the world!) He loves historic places as we do.
http://www.georgethelad.blogspot.com/

Momo and Pinot - the cutest cavaliers I have ever seen with their lovely family and sweet little brother. They always make me smile with their lovely photos.
http://momo-cavalier.blogspot.com/

Matilda the smart wirehaired dachshund in Japan who visits beautiful places with her family. Another interesting blog to follow.
http://www.iammatilda.blogspot.com/

Dex and Louis - my other schnauzer friends from the UK who have a good life in the West Country furtling in the woods and fields near their home. I enjoy their adventures at home and out and about!
http://www.schnauzerdays.blogspot.com/

Wyatt and his sister Stanzie in the US are 2 lovely Airedales with a blog that has recipes and information as well as the interesting exploits of the canine pair and their family. I always enjoy reading what they are up to.
http://www.wyattgardens.blogspot.com/

Yuki and Rocket - such beautiful young schnauzers who have a blog with stunning photos of these 2 sweet dogs. Really cute!
http://yukithedog.com/

Isaac - another schnauzer - well they are my favourite canine - blogs about his adventures in Ireland and has many profound comments on life in his blog from a schnauzer's point of view!
http://isaacthewonderschnauzer.blogspot.com/

And 2 new friends I have found recently are:
Stewey - an amazing Pembroke corgi with a wardrobe that is AMAZING - a really cool dog with a wicked sense of humour :-)
http://www.steweyunscene.com/

Finn - a beautiful Golden Retriever in the US with an informative blog about her life and the challenges she sets her owners!
http://www.finnhoward.blogspot.com/