A Very Special Thank You

Ossi and Eli want to thank Angela for L-Dawg's year of socks. While they wouldn't allow them to be placed on their feet for the photos, they did enjoy their sock "blankets". They also enjoyed their Christmas Eve walk. Thanks Angela!!!


...and a happy howl-iday to everyone!

The Injury

Poor Eli.

Last night, Eli ripped his "toe" nail in half either while playing or while out on a walk. L-Dawg bandaged it and brought him to the vet today where they took one look and said, "This is going to be bad." And it was. They had to nip his nail off and part of his little "toe". They said it was the equivalent of snipping off the end of a human pinky finger!
So they held him down and snipped. It was bad.
He cried, he fought, he bled, he peed all over the table and the vet techs because he was so afraid and desperate to escape.
But it will be okay and Eli will recover and grow a new pinky dog toe tip. In the meantime, he's spending a good deal of time trying to get his purple bandage off so it's been covered up with a teeny, tiny sock. Which he also hates. Poor Eli.
Eli and his paw cover

Corgi Brrrrrr....

It snowed here for the first time last week. Only about 1/4-inch and it melted by the next day but that means winter is here. That also means muddy paws and quick dog trips outside followed by faces at the door. If you wait too long to let them in, the boys will let you know that they're cold with several quick "let me in" barks! Because it's cold outside, Ossi and Eli have been enjoying lots of warm snuggling on the couch. L-Dawg would love to see them actually cuddle up with each other, but this is as close as they get... Corgi-boy butts

In the chilly mornings especially, they *really* love the blankets G-Maw Susie made for them.

Ossi and Eli say stay warm!!

Happy Hallo-woof!

Ossi and Eli "dressed up" as cats this year. We hope you enjoy the pictures as much as Ossi and Eli enjoyed taking them (okay...they hated their costumes and tried to eat their ears).





















Look at him 'roar'! (also known as a yawn after getting bored with the Halloween costume)

A Big Visit

Kerstin, Lennart enjoying breakfast (frukost) while Ossi and Eli beg for food












From the last week of September to the first week of October, Kerstin and Lennart came to visit from Sweden! Ossi and Eli were very excited about their arrival and loved having them here to snuggle with on the couch and to show off for. The boys were especially thankful for the snacks they received under the table while Kerstin and Lennart ate (see above for proof).
Eli loved it when Lennart would take a nap on the couch because he could curl up and snooze right next to him. The boys practically exploded with excitement when Jimbo and Susie came to visit Kerstin and Lennart -- all the G-Maws and G-Paws together in one place! Ossi and Eli learned some Swedish from all the "conversations" they had with Kerstin and Lennart. Both boys agree that K & L can come to visit any time.

The weather has been warm and sunny every few days and cold and rainy every few days so when it's nice the boys love to be outside. When it's raining, they stare out the window and sigh with boredom.

Ossi and Eli sun bathing After working with trainer Amy from the K9 Coach for just one session, the boys are doing great with their new walking skills. L-Dawg can now walk them both at the same time with no pulling, no barking and less going crazy when they see other people, dogs or anything with wheels (i.e. bikes, strollers, skateboards, etc). Amy is coming back next week so we can stay on track and also so we can learn how to properly greet people when they come over.

Thanks Lennart and Kerstin for coming to visit!! XOXO, Ossi and Eli

At the Cabin

Ossi and Eli at the cabin, stalking a bug










A few weekends ago G-Paw Jimbo and G-Maw Susie invited the Dawg family to a cabin in Wisconsin. Ossi and Eli had a great time. They went swimming in the lake, laid out in the sun and made friends with Mr. O --L-Dawg's 18-month old nephew. Every day you could hear Mr. O calling around the cabin looking for the boys, "Augie! E-why!" (which means Ossi and Eli when you're little). The dogs did great with Mr. O. They didn't steal toys, cleaned up when food was dropped on the floor and licked his toes while he was eating, which was delightful.
The boys were happy to be back and run free in their yard, however. A weekend away made them ever so thankful to be back at home.
Good job at the cabin boys! We're glad you made a lifelong friend in Mr. O!

Congratulations Graduate

Congratulations to Eli for graduating beginner dog obedience at the local PetSmart!
Praise from the instructor included telling us Eli is not the same dog that came in eight weeks ago, he's less fearful, more curious and more accepting of the world going on around him.
Also, B-Dawg taught him how to shake so he's got tricks now too!

Next step: Intermediate class with both Ossi and Eli to keep up the dog manners, (hopefully) stop the leash pulling and stop barking at everything with wheels.

Nice hat Eli!

Dog Days of Summer

It's getting hot in Minnesota. Time for doggie sunbathing!
















The boys are enjoying their first summer together in Minnesota and we're learning more and more about Eli every day.
For instance, we think someone used to smack the poor little guy with a hockey stick. The 10-year old neighbor boy stopped playing driveway hockey to say HI to Eli and Eli went crazy when he saw the hockey stick. We didn't figure it out right away so he nipped at the boy's arm (fortunately, he was wearing long sleeves and Eli just got some fabric). It was also a good thing that they're "dog savvy" neighbors. The little boy put down his hockey stick and gave Eli a treat from under the chin, instead of over the head. They became friends, but it was a scary moment! Now we're extra careful about who says HI when we're out walking. Everyone is happier with a slow introduction (especially if it includes treats).

And, in a monumental step, L-Dawg is working to cut out the afternoon walk. We still do a long morning walk and an even longer evening walk, but no one (especially two hot doggies) needs to be walking in the sun in the middle of a hot day. Besides, the boys keep each other plenty busy running around and wrestling in the yard. And if it's too hot, they beg to come inside to enjoy the air conditioning...then sit at the window and stare out (as seen below).

Eli, snoozing on his new blanky made especially for him by his G-Maw Susie.










Eli is fitting in quite nicely at the Dawg House. His favorite pastimes include:
-inhaling food from his bowl
-when left on his own indoors, collecting and surrounding himself with a pile of B-Dawg and L-Dawg's shoes
-playing chase and wrestling with Ossi on the couch and in the dirt outside
-barking (loudly) at passing motorcycles, trucks and trailers. He is joined in this (and probably egged on) by his buddy Ossi
-snuggling up with his people and laying his head in their laps
-chasing birds in the yard
-peanut butter in the Kong

He is going on his third week at "dog school". While the class size at the PetSmart training class is much smaller than Ossi's was at the Humane Society, Eli has been a star listener so the two little naughty dogs in the class--Howie and Chowder-- get all the attention. We feel Eli could use a bit more attention from the instructor, but it's tough when you're not a Yorkie with a bad attitude or a little Beagle puppy.

Ossi is loving having a pal and begs to go to bed every night because he's so tired from playing all the time. The boys hang out so nicely and, so far, have only argued over a treat or two and an outside toy.

Both boys enjoyed their Memorial Weekend visit from G-Paw Jimbo and G-Maw Susie and they're both excited about pal Tucker coming over to visit Friday night. L-Dawg, however--knowing that Tucker has just generally been exasperated by Ossi's relentless playing in the past--is unsure Tucker will enjoy his visit as much as Ossi and Eli enjoy chasing and harassing Tucker. Poor Tuck. He doesn't know what he's in for!

Eli says a big "Thank You" to G-Maw Susie for making him a blanket of his very own. He loves it.

Welcome ELI

Last weekend, Ossi got a little 'brother' Eli (seen above). Eli is a Corgi/Border Collie mix so he looks like a black and white version of Ossi--stubby legs and all.

The Dawg family was drawn to Eli because of his posting on Petfinder.com which said he was a "play machine" and would not be a match for a dog that did not like to play. Well, Ossi is a dog that LOVES to play and with their similar backgrounds (rescue dogs, Corgi boys) we figured it would be a good fit.

The first meeting with Eli didn't go great. Both boys were very good, but ignored each other at Eli's foster "mom's" house because there were so many sniffs to sniff. The Dawgs thought, based on that, it probably wouldn't work because part of the idea in getting Dawg#2 was for Ossi to have a playmate. But L-Dawg couldn't give up on Eli and talked the wonderful people at Second Chance Animal Rescue into bending the rules a bit so Eli could come visit Ossi's house. What a great idea that turned out to be.

The boys played and played and chased and wrestled and played some more until they both collapsed from exhaustion. Ossi shared his space and his toys (not happily, but he did share them) and Eli took full advantage of the hospitality. He was already part of the family.

The boys play together very well and Ossi seems to enjoy having a buddy around to play with any time he likes. He doesn't mind sharing his indoor toys, but seems to be less generous with his outdoor toys. The only things the boys have really fought over were treats (i.e. Eli takes too long to get a treat out of the Kong so Ossi steals it and eats two treats--if Eli tries to take his treat back, Ossi is waaayyy unhappy).

For his part, Eli has settled in nicely. He gets fed at particular times of the day and now Ossi does too because Eli can inhale an entire bowl of food in less than 30 seconds and will steal Ossi's if it's left out. He follows the human Dawgs--particularly L-Dawg--around everywhere and enjoys laying his head on the side of the bathtub when showers are being taken. When he's being serious, he can have a big German Shepherd bark in a 33-lb body, but mostly he loves to give kisses on your nose.

So, welcome Eli and here's to all the new adventures the Dawg family will have with eight stubby little legs around the house!!

Thanks for the Memories Gimli

Gimli the foster cat (seen here curled up in the sun) went to her new home last weekend. The Dawg family was sad to see her go--well, most of the Dawg family. Ossi has a new lease on life. He's been prancing around the whole house just because he can.

After the last photo of them very tentatively sitting next to each other on the couch, things really went down hill. As Gimli gained strength back, she realized she really, really hates dogs and would growl and hiss at Ossi and attack him any chance she got. B-Dawg and L-Dawg had to separate them, closing off part of the house for Ossi and the other part for Gimli. Confined to their respective areas, they both desperately wanted to be where the other one was located.

Gimli' s new family reports that she's been feeling a bit shy in her first week with all the new sniffs and sounds, but that she's starting to love her new home. She loves to look out the window at the birds, bunnies and squirrels around the feeders and her new favorite hobby is pressing her nose up to the fish tank and licking her lips every time the goldfish go by.

We're happy she's happy in her new life and Ossi is glad he no longer has a kitty visitor that despises him. Now he can go back to barking at James, the tail-less cat next door and being King of his Castle (something he's very good at)!