i think dash is enjoying this cooler weather. he was positively peppy on tonight's walk. usually he's dragging behind as far and as slowly as he can.
the other night he got the post-bath zoomies big time. so big that he BARKED. understand, dash doesn't bark. ever. except when he's in the car with a distressed cat. i've taken riley, dash and nephthys all together for their annual exams the last couple years. and as soon as nephthys starts meowing in the crate, dash is there, barking and pawing at the door. the first time it happened, i was dumbfounded. i didn't know what to do, and he wouldn't stop. i tried pulling him away and distracting him, but he was on a mission! so i let nephthys out to see what would happen. she crept out and stopped meowing, and dash was fine. then she crept back into the safety of her crate, and as long as the door was open, she didn't meow, and dash didn't stress. and then he slept right in front of her crate, all the way to the vet. it was one of the sweetest and most amazing things i've ever seen an animal do. when the same thing happened the next year, i just opened her crate, and all was well. but first i had to hear his gruff little bark again.
the only other time (until last week) that i'd heard dash bark was when my complex was being repainted. the men crawled up on the garage roofs to get into the backyards, and dash saw them through the backdoor and barked. i was laying on the couch and he was sitting on the floor next to me. riley had been barking his head off, because that's what he does, but then i started hearing barks that didn't sound like his. bark. and a few seconds later, bark. i looked down, and there was dash, as casual as can be. bark. he wasn't stressed in the least, but he knew those men shouldn't have been up there, and he was letting me know.
luckily i had my phone handy to catch his frisky barks last week. it may not seem like much, but trust me when i say this footage you're about to see is rare and so very special.
another reminder, i moved the blog and messed up everything, including the rss feed, so please update any bookmarks, links, subscriptions, etc. to weenoids.com!
i like to compare dash to an autistic child, because it's the best way to describe his special personality. he doesn't bark, doesn't play, doesn't really seem to be aware or interested in much of the world around him (unless it involves me or food). but every now and then, the dog in him comes out. and nothing makes me happier than seeing dash act like a normal, happy dog.
winnie likes to chew on an elk antler (from the daily coyote) while i'm getting ready for bed, and after months of not paying any attention, dash has taken an interest. i found him gumming it one night and practically had to fight him to take it away. and again the next night. and the next morning, he found it on the floor next to the bed and went to town. and then he PLAYED with it. i almost cried. my sweet, special dash is a real boy.
riley has a thing for certain toys. if it's tennis ball felt, he must kill it. if it's stuffed, he must kill it. if it squeaks, he must kill it. i gave up on buying stuffy and squeaky toys, because i was tired of picking up the innards all the time. then some genius thought of skineeez stuff-less toys, and riley lurves them!
then, someone created the mega-squeak - a toy with 16 squeakers. just like the giant tennis ball, i couldn't resist the novelty. and, of course, i had to buy the dachshund shaped one.
i love dash and winnie in this one, their faces are priceless.
surprisingly, it still has half its squeakers! riley's getting less dedicated in his old age. though he did finally succeed in ripping the head off, and it's become one of winnie's favorite toys to whip around. they're a bunch of cannibals.
saturday, the meetup group had wiener races. and there were winners. just not us. not even close. as in, these dummies barely made it out of the box. winnie actually got the furthest, because when someone (human) started running behind her, she hauled booty running from him. but then she veered off the track and got disqualified. oh well, there's always next year.
to see an example of my weentards in action, here's video from last year's races with riley and dash. i had to set the camera and then walk around, so skip to about 2 minutes in to get to the races.
