Melicious Details

Taking my wildebeest for a walk

I know it's hard to tell, but that is actually an 18 pound Border Terrier named Trio.

After our walk this morning, I showed Clyde this picture.

Clyde:  Are you going to put that on Miraculous Melissa?
Me:  It's Melicious Details.
Clyde:  Right.  That thing.
Me:  You can't remember that it is called Melicious Details?
Clyde:  I have my own vocabulary.

Tomato Time

It's tomato planting season at our house, where we research the best, sweetest varieties of tomato plants to buy, we head off to the nursery to purchase them, we weed out the tomato planters we built last year, we turn over the soil with a shovel and bring in a few wheelbarrows of mulch, and then we put each little plant in the dirt.  And by we, I mean Clyde.

Last year, no one loved our home grown tomatoes more than Trio.  Cue the True Blood theme song:

Teddi Times Four

When you don't have any children, you can turn one of the bedrooms in your house into something else.  Like a yoga studio, which is (really, I swear) why these walls are mirrored. Now that Teddi is almost completely blind, she often walks directly into a corner.  It's too bad she can't see the special effect she's created.

Dog Names

If you want to come up with a clever and original name for your dog (like for example, Tango) this list will help you know what not to pick. 

I think it’s important that a dog’s name is easy to say both in a normal voice and a loud yelling voice, and that it is a name that you can mindlessly morph into something else for no explainable reason.  Tango is often called Mango. And sometimes Mango Pango Fandango.  I know.  It’s ridiculous.

Speaking of dog names, I had this conversation with my Dad on Father’s Day:

Dad (pointing to Tango):  What's that one's name?
Me:  Tango.
Dad:  I can never remember that one's name.
Me (looking at my mom):  Let me know when he says that about me.

If you have any suggestions for the new list I am creating of Really Super Creative Dog Names, please send them to me!

Camo

Tango doesn't realize his collar shows.

Tango Time

Yesterday morning the Dyrdogs were having our daily breakfast club meeting (which means watching the Today show while I make little bite-sized pieces of my peanut butter covered english muffins for an audience of three adoring terriers sitting at my feet) and Matt Lauer was doing a segment in Buenos Aires, featuring one of the things Buenos Aires is most famous for, the tango.  As in the tango, not Tango, but it's confusing if you're a dog whose never been to Argentina.  Every time Matt said the word tango, Tango would snap his head around and look directly at the TV with an annoyed expression on his face like WHAT??  Matt also talked about a store in Buenos Aires that carries hundreds of styles of gorgeous hand-made tango (again Matt is scowled at by the border terrier face) shoes.  You go in to the store, tell them your size, and they just start bringing fabulous shoes out for you to try on.  I'm planning a trip to Argentina right away.

And although this looks like a photo of Tango peeing on Natalie Portman, I swear it is not him.  We like Natalie Portman.  If Tango was going to pee on a celebrity, we would have picked Paris Hilton.

Teddi Takes a Tumble

Four days of the doggy dementia drug only made Teddi worse.  It would have been hard to imagine MORE click click clicking of dog toenails on the hardwood floor, but that's what we got. Ted is in the 12% of dogs whose adverse reaction to Anipryl includes hyperactivity, restlessness and abnormal repetitive movements. She walked nonstop up and down the hall and around and around and around the kitchen and living room for 3 1/2 hours before we could get her to lay down. She has the most intent and purposeful look on her face while she does this. It's like she's on a mission to be somewhere at certain time. Only she can't remember where.

The next day, after not attempting to go up or down a flight of stairs for at least the last 6 months, she decided it was important to give it try.  So down she went, rolling like a furry little football the entire 15 steps.  By the time I knew what happened, I found her standing at the bottom of the stairs, shaking off the fall.  She was fine and started right back with the click click clicking all over house.

Doggy Dementia

Teddi's vet suggested that Canine Cognitive Dysfunction is the likely cause of her (Teddi's) strangeness these days. Especially the nonstop pacing and wandering which is going to give me Human Cognitive Dysfunction by like tomorrow due to the endless click click click click click click click of 20 little dog toenails on the hardwood floor.

You and your dog should take the CCD quiz, so you can see all of the symptoms.  Out of 15, I think Teddi has 10.  She thinks she has none, but she can't really remember what the question was by the time I get done reading it to her. There is a drug to treat CCD which Teddi just start taking, so I'll let you know how it goes. I will do anything to help Teddi live a long and happy little dog life.  I don't mind at all that she has to be carried up and down the stairs, that she requires pretty much constant watching because her sight and hearing are so bad, or that taking her for a walk requires a lot of patience for someone like me who wants to WALK FAST and Teddi's speed these days is all about slowness.  I just really want this new drug to stop the clicking!!

Meet The Dyrdogs

My family consists of my husband Clyde, who prefers to remain silent, three terriers and me.  My husband and I refer to the dogs as the kids.  When we talk about all of us in the third person, we refer to ourselves as the Dyrdogs.  Well, I do.  Sometimes.  Those words have actually never been said out loud by Clyde. 

When people ask me what it is like to live with three dogs, I tell them to think about 12 muddy feet.

Since Clyde and I have been married (an event that happened a long time ago in a decade that starts with 8) we've had a total of five dogs, all terriers.  I wonder what this says about us.  In another post I might someday write about our first two dogs (Raleigh and Jacey) but it would make me sad to write about them right now because they are in doggie heaven.  But someday I will, as I can dredge up some good stories and not be too sad once I have a glass of wine.

Today we have Teddi, a black and tan Norwich Terrier who is 14 years old in human years , which is (14x7=98) Oh My God 98! in dog years.  She can barely see, is mostly deaf and has only 6 teeth.  She's very forgetful, especially that part about waiting until you are outside to pee.  She worships Clyde and other than 1. eating,  2. sleeping,  3. going for a walk or 4. riding in the truck she likes to sit at his feet and stare up at him adoringly. And sometimes she also sits and gazes up at the large fantail palm in the living room with the exact same look on her face. 

If you don't know what a Norwich Terrier is, did you see the movie Best in Show?  If yes, picture Winky.

Terrier #2 is a Border Terrier named Tango.  Do not ask me why I named him Tango.  A Border Terrier is the dog that ended up in a full body cast in the movie There's Something About Mary.  From now on, I am only having dogs that can be described by saying "did you see the movie..."  Tango thinks being a Border Terrier is an important and full time job .  Border With A Capital B means to the edges of all of the space around him that he can see and hear.  Any person, car, other animal, or maybe just a shadow that appears to be breaching the perimeter of The Border must be met with really really loud barking. 

Our third child is also a Border Terrier and is Tango's brother, although he arrived 15 months later in another litter. He then became Terrier #3 at our house and his name is Trio.  I think you can figure out the whole naming scheme I latched on to at that point.  Trio is mostly black although official Border Terrier people call him blue which I think means they (the official Border Terrier people) are color blind.  At least once each day I thank god Trio does not have the extreme case of My Mission Every Waking Moment is To Be Ready To Bark affliction that Tango has.

Tango has also developed some kind of dog self esteem issue which compels him to wake up every morning and immediately feel the need to dominate his brother and remind him that he is the supreme and all powerful alpha dog and don't you ever forget it, Trio. I used to work with people who behaved just like that. Trio then spends the entire day looking hopeful that maybe TOMORROW will be the day when he is not the lowest ranking member of the pack.  Teddi remains blindly (perhaps that is an unfortunate choice of word?) confident in her role as the Queen Mother of All Dogs.  The Boys and virtually all other dogs just stay out of her way because of the fierceness of her 6 teeth when she does that lip curling thing.