Ice - It's The Hot Thing Around Here

Not all - About half of our pack actually - Are totally addicted to ice. I recall the days of my youth when my mom would tell me to stop chewing on ice because I would ruin my teeth. Now how do you tell a Chihuahua that?

They stand in-front of the ice dispenser on our refrigerator, waiting anxiously for a a piece to fall to the floor. If and when that does happen, they grab it and take the ice under the couch to claim it. Yes! We have had ice attach to lips and tongues. Our ice lovers have learned their lessons and now use their teeth to grasp. Today's catch was by Ace and for the first time, they shared! Well, Ace did at least. He share his ice with Colada - but SHE grabbed it to hide under the couch.

The Big Tease

If you haven't seen the movie UP! you will totally not get the story I am about the share. If you have, follow along and you too will giggle....

We live in a house that is surrounded by several large Oak trees. With such woodsy surroundings comes creatures that call our yard home. We have hawks, possum, raccoons, squirrels and the occasional owl. Yes, some are animals that we must remain in constant lookout for but others have become too accustom to our canine residents. So much so that they are confident enough to tease our poor Chihuahuas until they are shaking! You guessed it - the SQUIRRELS!

The use the railings on our back deck to travel to and fro, which just so happens to leave them right in the line of sight for the dogs. It is usually Dude that hears the pitter-patter of their tiny little feet and I swear you can hear that "SQUIRREL" announcement (like in UP!) in his bark. this special squirrel bark is what alerts all of the other dogs in our house to come running and look. That's just what they do too! I snapped this photo today while the big tease sat up in the tree right outside the back door and I swear I could see him smirking as he looked down at the dogs barking intently to get to him. Yes, I haven't taken the chairs off the table since our last leaf sweeping - so chairs aside, this photo captured the intense SQUIRREL screams from 10+ Chihuahuas!

It's Pizza Friday Night

And with the girls in our house granted access to the kitchen because that is where Chicatoo is, they all got to chow down on the pizza toppings my husband conveniently drops while he's making dinner. They LOVE the green peppers, but just about any raw vegetables they will devour.

Sure Sign of a Cold Snap

We all have grown accustom to the wonderful weather lately so the second the temps drop below 70, we all huddle for warmth. Humans find blankets to warm up the chill and the Chihuahuas cuddle in the kitchen sunspots. I am sure this slight drop will only be temporary - Spring is in the air. Soon we will be bitching about the sweltering heat!

Dogs, Kids & Kitchens

At lunch time when the kids are in the kitchen making their meals, all dogs within sniff's reach are at their feet, waiting for even the tiniest morsel. They can usually be found at one's feet until the meal is done. That is when they scrounge for other items to chew on. That could be anything from twist ties that have fallen off of bread wrappers or plastic pieces ripped or cut off of packaging. It's always something!

Blue's Creation

The lovely job Blue did on the screen door of our camper has now become the rest of the dog's favorite peep-hole (and for some, jump through hole!)

The moment we open the man-door to come in, we are greeted with wet noses first. I totally need to add "Plexiglas Replacement" to my to-do list. Until then, we are using a baby-gate in the entry to block the licks and kisses.

And She Wowed Us Again

Rane has totally made herself at home in our home on wheels too! She has already had two walks around the park today and has really come to enjoy the "picture window" view from the back of the couch. she has also found a few new cuddle buddies - Chicatoo, Colada, Ace and Dewey. Napping is something we all do a lot of during camping weekends and she has totally got that mastered now!

That Was Easy

Fitting in when it comes to feeding time can sometimes be a bit of an issue. Baby is a food hog and will easily scare any dog that is new to the pack (and some that have been here as long as she has!) And it has taken many of our Chihuahuas a bit of time to grasp the "individual bowl" concept, especially since we went that way from free feeding. We mixed individual bowls with scheduled feedings. The schedule part went was easy breezy but keeping to one's bowl took about a month.

Rane has been here just less than a week and and has totally nailed the schedule AND sticking to her bowl without wandering. She actually walked to the back door to be let out after she finished her bowl!

Weather in Florida

The last couple days have been absolutely beautiful and the dogs have taken full advantage of that. They too are enjoying the perfect weather and temperatures, soaking up as much sun as they possibly can. If they aren't piled up in the dog beds in the kitchen, they are out on the back room, lounging on the patio chairs. Ahhh...to be a dog aye? They have the life!

The Switch

The boys are normally in the living room with us during the heat cycles because they are the loudest in the bunch. Being away from us is something they vocally express their disappointment with.

During our dinner feedings tonight, the girls were left in the living-room after their potty breaks and remained with us all evening. It was as if they missed their "spots" on the back of the couch so much that once they jumped up to them, they were not willing to budge - and of course - fell into a comfy slumber. Look at Colada and Ginny! Like they never left!

What Did I Tell Ya?

With 12 new toys in the house, I have had a couple days to see which of them is their favorite.  No matter how many times I have picked it up and put in to the toy pile, I can even bury it at the bottom, it is constantly being pulled out and played with. Tug-O-War is the much anticipated game in our house now, with their new chartreuse green lobster toy!

Santa Was Here...

...and he left a new toy under the tree for each of our dogs.  Each year they are allowed to rip right into the wrapping paper and chew out their new treasures. It has taken a while to teach them when they are allowed and NOT allowed to chew paper but I have never had to teach them the different between new and old toys. It is so interesting to watch how even in a huge pile of dog toys, they can sniff out and find their new ones and only play with those. I see many happy dog playing hours in our near future!

It's Beginning...

...to look a lot like Christmas around here!

For the first time ever, the dogs have NOT become distracted or fixated on the Christmas tree!  It's like they don't even realize that it's there!! We normally witness an attempted game of tug-and-war with a branch, a marking session on the tree skirt, or a batting of an ornament. not this year. It's just an item that is blocking their sunshine!

And since the humans in the house are totally in the holiday spirit, I drug out Dewey's Christmas sweaters to help keep him warm during this cold snap. Tell me he doesn't make an adorable little Santa!

Not Liking The Tease

The sun is teasing our poor Chihuahuas! It has them convinced that a romp outside would be a pleasant thing. Hell to the NO! It's still soooo cold outside and there seems to be no end in sight. With the majority of our windows covered to help keep the heat in and the cold out, the windows that run to the floor in our kitchen are the only place the rays of the sun shine in. The dogs will use the dog beds as a perch to look out to the sun, begging with their eyes to go out and play. Sorry guys - not yet!

No End In Sight!

The temps just seem to be getting lower and lower - So much so that the heater is now running during the day too! And as I said, all of the dogs have come to worship the rotating tower of warmth - and now my kids have joined in too!

Just Too Dang Cold!

The tile on the floor is just and the windows at floor level in our kitchen just don't retain heat. Since the boys have been kept in here and the winter "freeze" has officially arrived, the nights have become just too cold. Once the sun goes down, these 30 degree temps are brutal! We pulled the heater we use in the camper out and set it up by the doggy beds to give them relief. Little did we know it would also become a source for our own entertainment.

Their response was almost instant - the warmth drew them in and kept them fixated. Even the dogs in the living room opted to huddle and cuddle around the rotating tower of pleasure instead of laying with us on the couch. As the band of dogs grew, it also rotated within the area - Switching from close to the heater then far for a cool-down.

Searching For The Sunlight

The temps here in Florida have dropped as a cold front moves in and the warmth of the sunlight has been a precious commodity in this house.  The dogs search it out and stay in the warmth as long as they can without being pushed out by another.

This afternoon, they all seemed to cram into the one spot in the kitchen. Interestingly enough, this also helped bring my attention to the fact that Baby is probably going into heat. Consuming body-heat is a true Chihuahua trait, but humping and sniffing one's rear-end is a heat sign that is undeniable.

Happy Halloween

As we humans prepare for the night's festivities, I thought we should all get the dogs geared up too! We have a stockpile of costumes and every time we add a new ChiChi to the crew, I always seem to forget to find a tiny costume for puppy sized Chihuahuas. We didn't have one for Chicatoo to wear, but the rest we all pumped up in their new get-ups.

Next Best Thing?

It's doggy bed washing day. I normally wash one bed at a time but today I simply didn't have the time.(see my post from Wednesday!!!)

So the window was bedless and the dogs didn't seem to miss a beat! Their  next best thing was the rug that we keep in front of the kitchen sink. It's actually 4 times as big as a single dog bed, so the fact that they haven't figured out there is ore room there is mind boggling. Today they all took their afternoon nap in one rug pile!

Way Cool New Toy

I have found some amazing doggy finds at my local Walgreens in the past and have shared them with all my puppy families. The fabulous dog steps for $10.00. (The same that Target sells for $19.99) How about their bag of 50 pee-pads for $10.00? Now today while there I found SOCK MONKEY DOG TOYS!!! Holy moley! They are too stinkin' cute! And at 5 bucks a piece, I just had to buy a few for the crew.

Every time I bring home a new toy, they all go nuts to see it. This time was no different. Cosmo is our true dog toy addict and he was the first to check it out. The rest took their turns and they have shared our new sock monkey friend like a group of very well behaved children. So Proud! And now, so wondering if I need to go pick up a few of the Walgreens sock money dog beds too!