The Flirtacious Miss Raina

It is Yorkie mating time at my house and I am so sick of it. Females are not receptive to mating when they first come into heat. Once they are ready they signal the males and all hell breaks loose. At least they haven’t mated on my bed this time. Males are ready to mate all of the time, but especially now. Gus displays his frustration by letting out this constant shrill bark. I feel like my hearing is suffering. Moose is also in “lust” right now and is barking. At least his voice is lower than Gus’, but he howls too. After a day of Gus’ “yarking” at Raina and Moose scratching at the back door, I put them to bed and retire to my room. I take Raina with me, but the boys still vocalize their yearning. Sometimes they decide to compete with each other and bark ferociously at each other from the safety of their crates. It’s hard to believe that those two used to play together. Since the first stirring of testosterone in their systems, they have to be kept apart or someone’s ass is going to get kicked. I am just too soft-hearted to let them injure each other.

Raina does not help things either. She will play coy and fetching with Moose just as quickly as she will with Gus. Monogamy does not exist among dogs. I had to pin Moose to the floor with my grabber tool the other day. I forgot Raina was not gated into the living room and let Moose in to be fed. As soon as I saw them sniffing each other, I went after Moose. Fortunately he is a little skinny dog and the grabber fit around his neck long enough for me to grab him with my hands and put him in his crate. He may have had nightmares about that grabber coming at him.

At least I know that all of this will mean little Yorkie babies coming in September. Raina is acting pregnant already. Two weeks ago if Wookie’s puppies were loose, Raina didn’t want anything to do with them. She would nip at them and growl. A few days ago that all changed. Now she washes them like they were her puppies and even lets them attempt to nurse. It’s a good thing it doesn’t bother Wookie. She is done nursing them anyway. I saw her on the couch staying out of their reach a little while ago. I don’t blame her, those little teeth are sharp.

Miss Wookiee-licious

Her name was not Wookie originally, it was Ewok. Her face looks exactly like the little Ewok that finds Princess Leia. It was a perfect name, but she would not answer to it. She likes Wookie. We have noticed that some dogs prefer names with a long E sound at the end. Maybe it is pleasing to the canine ear.

Wookie was just a baby when she arrived in my home. I didn’t get to know her then. She was my daughter-in-law’s dog. Wookie even worked as a demo dog at PetSmart for a while. Some of the folks there still remember her and ask about her when I go into the store.

I really got to know Wookie when she was pregnant with her first litter. I moved her into my bedroom with me. She decided that also meant that she slept on the bed. It was OK with me but she is a bed hog. She would wake me during the night and tell me it was play time. Maybe on her schedule it was but it wasn’t on mine.

I was a little worried about Wookie becoming a mother. Truthfully I did not think she was the brightest dog. That’s fine; sometimes a so-called dumb dog is the best pet. If you have read “Marley & Me” then you know what I mean. Wookie fooled me. She just likes being outside, so I just had not gotten to know her. She was and is the best mother. She has also turned out to be the best companion. She asks to sit in my lap rather than just appearing there like Gus. She is not demanding of attention but enjoys every moment of it that she gets. The only thing she and I disagree about is grooming. It is hard to brush a dog that is chewing on the hand holding the brush! So periodically she gets very extreme haircuts. Her topknot is very unruly. I try to keep it banded so that it does not fall in her eyes, but she rubs her head on things to remove the band.

Wookie’s favorite thing is eating. If we didn’t control her diet, she would look like a blimp. She also has a fondness for eating dog droppings. Yuck! Sometimes she and I race to clean up. Unless the dog that left the droppings behind has parasites, it isn’t harmful. Some dogs just have a taste for poop. She is also one of my best cleaners of accidental food spills. She has to compete with Reggie for those.

Spotlight on AsparaGus

Gus is my leaping dog. He will stand next to a gate and jump straight up. If he went forward, he would clear the gate. He did jump one of the gates when Wookie was in heat. I missed seeing him do it, but it is the only way he could have gotten into the room.

Gus is very affectionate and he thinks he owns me. If another dog is on my lap, Gus has to climb on but higher. He has also decided that his spot on my recliner is between my calves on the foot rest. If I have my ankles crossed, he will poke me with his nose to let him into his favorite spot. Gus uses that nose a lot. I am beginning to think this nose bumping is a Yorkie thing. Raina has always bumped my legs with her nose to get my attention. Gus will poke Raina in the ribs pretty hard. She will usually put up with it, but when she is not in the mood Gus will get a sharp correction from Raina.

When one of the dogs ignores him or has a toy that he wants, Gus’ voice becomes very shrill. He will “yarp” repeatedly until he gets what he wants or gets bored. That’s when I want to choke him!

He is a handsome fellow with a beautiful long coat. The only problem is that he hates to be brushed. I am going to have his hair cut short. I hate to do it, but he runs if he sees me with a brush in my hand. At his last grooming, I had to pay for over an hour of mat removal! It is easy to prevent mats in a Yorkie’s hair. The trick is that it needs frequent brushing. Even with it shorter, I am going to have to come up with a way to restrain him so I can brush him. What a monster!

Gus is now a proven stud dog, but I think he will always remain a puppy at heart. He was so gentle playing with his own puppies and seems to like playing with Wookie’s pups. If another dog or puppy has a toy, he wants it. He also has this crazy thing about squeakers. He just can’t leave them alone and will remove them from toys. I have to take the squeakers away from him or he will eat them! He also does not seem to believe that the stuffing belongs in toys. I get tired of retrieving polyester stuffing from the floor.

After a day of pissing me off, Gus will jump up on me and get into his cuddle spot on my left arm. That’s when all of the things that bothered me are forgotten and my Gus becomes my buddy.

Reggie and Me

Reggie is sitting there staring at me. Now she groans to make sure that I know she is there. I can’t figure out what she wants today. Usually she is a dog of simple desires. She wants food, treats and to be let outside. If I ask her if she wants to go out and she trots off to her crate, it means “no”. If she trots to the door and jumps on it that is an enthusiastic “yes”. That is about as enthusiastic as she gets. I almost forgot; the question “are you hungry?” will actually get her running. She runs straight for her crate, hops in and squirms around making her mooing noise.

I just checked and she has put her head down. I have the feeling I am being stalked. If I were to stand she will jump up and charge at me. I will still not know what she wants. I thought she could tell time by the position of the sun or something, but then I realized she knows that bedtime is after dinner. It should be 3 or 4 hours after dinner, but Reggie just knows that she has had her dinner and is waiting for her bedtime treat. She does not seem to care if it is only 10 minutes later or even last night as long as she gets a treat.

I want to take a picture of her, but the camera is in the kitchen and I know she will move if I move. This is a battle of wills.

We don’t know how old Reggie is. She came from the local shelter in 2005. Her heritage appears to be hound and dachshund. (Oh oh, she is sitting up again. She is getting aggressive, for Reggie that is.) She bays like a beagle on those rare occasions when she goes outside and something engages her hunting instincts. If she is feeling frisky, she will even do her vocalizing atop a tree stump. Her nose and face are grayer now and sometimes she seems to be feeling her joints. She is good with the puppies. She will bark if they get too playful with her. I have never seen her even try to hurt one. If they learn to wash Reggie’s face, the old girl will sit there forever.

I think she gave up on me. She has left the room. I am betting she is in Gus’ crate. She always seems to go in there, even when I take his bed and give it to her. Gus has the best vantage point for the door. It looks like she is still stalking me. I try to sneak up on her with the camera and Wookie is in Gus’ crate! After I disturb Wookie, Reggie practically pushes her out of the way. At least I got a halfway decent picture of Reggie.

She followed me back out to the living room. I ask the “outside” question and she trots to the door. That’s it for Reggie’s day until it is dinner time again. Like I said, a dog of simple desires.

Due to technical difficulties...

It seems that every time I have computer problems it takes 3 to 4 days to get things the way I want them. I learned the hard way about backups since I have now lost the pictures taken with my digital camera. Fortunately I can recover some of them from emails and my website. I am also lucky that my sister gave me a laptop. I am using it to write this while my desktop goes through a complete wipe of the C drive. This is the computer I use when pain forces me to stay in my recliner or in bed.


I received some wonderful pictures of one of my babies! Rina’s new mommy is a professional photographer and she has magical ability to photograph dogs. I had seen pictures of her Golden Retriever when she first came to see Rina. I loved those pictures and knew that Rina would have a wonderful home. I will post some of the pictures of Rina with her big brother on my “Earlier Babies” page. They look great together.


I have only one of my March babies left. She is so sweet and so good. I need to update the ads online. She has been sleeping in a crate since her brother left. Every morning I check and she has not messed in her crate. She runs to a newspaper to urinate when I let her out. She is timid about new things but does explore and will get comfortable quickly. Her daddy is being groomed next Sunday so I made an appointment for her to get her cleaned up and have her pretty face trimmed. Mouse will look so pretty!

The one thing I seem to have to do every day is scrub a floor somewhere in the house. I actually scrubbed all of the rooms except the living room yesterday. I need to get off my butt and take care of it. You see I am writing about it just to put it off a little longer. Silly me!

Bambam is now Hobbes

Everyone asks me how I can let my puppies go. I do it very carefully and sadly. I like for the new families to have at least one dog already or have had one recently. That way I know that they understand the responsibility of being a pet parent. I know I have made a good decision if I get pictures, even if it is just a few or hear nothing at all. I would love to hear that my babies are thriving, but in this situation I believe that no news is good news.

I have had 2 puppies leave in as many days. I now have only a female Yorkie available. So that she would not be alone last night, I put her in the crate next to her father’s. She did not cry or fuss. This morning when I let her out, she ran to the nearest newspaper to urinate. Unfortunately the BM went on the floor. I think she wanted to be near me and I was in my bathroom. I don’t keep newspaper in my bedroom so that the dogs will not go there. I think Mouse just wanted to be able to see me and would have gone on newspaper if one had been available. I checked the crate she slept in and it is clean. I am so proud of Mouse!

How do I let them go? I know from the moment they are conceived I am responsible for babies that will bring joy to another family. I know that someone out there loves Yorkies or Shih Tzus or Maltese and wants to find a puppy they can afford to add to their family. Even though I am with the puppies from the moment they are born, I know I must detach at some point. That is why I give them nicknames. Nicknames are not permanent to me. Even though the pups may begin to respond to their nickname, dogs will adjust to a name change very easily. They attach to the person who feeds them, talks to them and plays with them. I think it is more recognition of the person’s voice. Wookie’s 4-week old puppies react to my voice already and will come to the gate on their room when I talk to them.

Dogs have been a loving and wonderful presence in my life since I met my first dog as a toddler. I got my first dog when I was 5. Casey was a family dog, but I always considered him my dog. I think he did too. There have been a few gaps without dogs, but I think the longest may have been 5 years. I started introducing my son to my dogs before he could walk. I started with him inside the house in a highchair where the dogs could see him. I moved the highchair outside and then moved my son to a playpen. Eventually my son crawled on the patio in a diaper while the dogs sniffed and licked him. Luckily I had captured that moment on a Super 8 movie camera. When my son graduated from college, I created a montage of his art that included that clip of him crawling with the dogs. When he got married in 2006 he and his wife included their Corgis in the ceremony. My daughter-in-law’s dream is to have her own dog training and pet boutique business. I hope she will realize that dream. She is very talented at training dogs. We are just a family of dog lovers.