Just a quick hello

Hi Folks , Woody here.
Here is some more pictures of me and my cave.
Not much going on here, just watching is snow MORE and wondering when Miss W will stop putting yucky tasting stuff in all our food. We got about 4 inches of new snow but it is melting quickly.
I am getting excited about the big trip.
That's all for now. Bye!






Happy Tails!
Luv-Woody

My Cave

Here is my cave. Bridget and I can both fit in here, but for now we are just demonstrating the location... Since we are busted anyhow....

Over, Under or Through

Hi Folks, Woody here, reporting on the ever expanding skill set us pups are working on.
We've been stymied on our recent attempts at freedom (and house-dom) by new fencing.
An additional 3 feet has been added to almost all the play areas! RATS!

Me and the other "Bee"s have been working on digging skills. We are making Snow Caves - so we tell Miss W. She is so impressed with them! We figure if we hone the skills and train up the muscle groups once the ice and snow are gone we can tunnel right out of the kennel!

Meanwhile big brother Java Bean has developed a rather novel new idea. He just opens doors. He has discovered how to open every kind of door latch, most recently the one on the kennel where us pups grew up in! If we only knew then!

Miss W tuned into the activity when she looked out the window and silly Turbo was trying stealthily to gain access to the living room. Somehow...his big fuzzy behind was not easy to miss! Java had opened the door to the low-hallway and him, Turbo and Tula were considering freedom (or house-dom as it turned out for Turbo.

After Miss W returned those 3 to the kennel Java continued to demonstrate the technique for us all, but the latch was on so the door would not open. We have all taken note though - and just wait for the day when she forgets the latch. ...only the fences are now 3 feet higher.... man!!!

-Woody

I Love The Idea Of Flying - From Dahlia...your twin sister

I Love The Idea Of Flying

From Dahlia...your twin sister:

My mom was away at the Can-Am sled dog race when we got that last storm where you learned to fly. Miss. W came here to take care of me and my friends while they were gone. Miss. W was really stressed out taking care of flying puppies and all of my companions. At the time I knew nothing of flying.

My mom could not sleep while she was away because she was afraid that the dogs she left home might get out and run around. Again, the thought had never occurred to me that we could do that. The other dogs stayed in their kennels, so I did what they did.

I was so happy when my mom returned late on Tuesday. My mom and dad spent hours outside with us doing things like shoveling.

Wednesday my mom told me about you guys getting out and being bad. I thought to myself "Flying, that sounds wonderful!" I looked at the side of the kennel and knew if I willed myself I could do it. My dad was in another kennel, and my mom was with the boys on the tie outs. I ran towards the kennel and gracefully flew over the top!! I could indeed fly! Flying is wonderful! Now I do it every chance I get. For some reason my mom is making me live in the garage. A few times a day she comes to let me out. Only if I run around the yard I forgot to go the bathroom because I'm having so much fun. My mom or dad have to put me into my kennel so I can poop and pee. Then when I'm all done I fly over the back and run all around.

Life is good! I don't know what my mom means when she says "What am I going to do with you?"

Don't do it guys !

You could end up like Mum and Auntie Erif ! behind bars in a toaty wee crate eeeek

Still think it was cool though :o)

Steelie or worse !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Escapes . .. They must run in family

Dear Woody:

It’s Vail again, your favorite sister. I had a fun time last week too and it also involved a few kennel breakouts. I’m glad to see you are teaching your siblings to be creative and think outside the box. Do you think we were all programmed in the womb to attempt daring escapes at the end of February?

It all started last Thursday night, when I was hanging out in the backyard. Just outside of the fence I smelled a little critter and felt the need to dig him up. So I simply chewed through two layers what is supposed to be industrial strength plastic fencing (and is advertised as being able to stop a running deer head on). I can’t believe none of my other four siblings have never done this before. It was so easy and quick. I didn't go far and was just digging a hole a few feet away from my very tiny escape hole. My absence was quickly noted and I was soon brought back in to the yard while my dad made a quick fix of the fence. However, while he was in the garage getting some more fencing to really fix the hole I did it again because the critter still needed to be caught. Again I was quickly caught and returned to the yard. This time Dad really fixed the hole.

The next day on Friday, Mom’s friend came over to see Morgan, our new human puppy, and while all the humans were inside I had time to study addition sections of the fence for potential weaknesses. It did not take long before I found another area that was susceptible to chewing. Again I escaped to look for my critter. Unfortunately, my Mom decided to check on me and sees me outside of the fence. So she immediately hands Morgan over to our friend and rushes outside. I was so happy to see her outside of the fence too that I ran right over to show her where I am digging. I’m not sure why but she carries me back into the yard and into the house where I am forced to stay until Dad gets home..

When Dad gets home he fixes the fence again and I am allowed back outside. Friday is our usually play night with Souki, the beagle next door. So Souki came over to play with Cooper, Aspen, Denver, Boulder and me. We were all playing happily in the fenced in yard when an hour later Souki is barking. I look to see what she is barking at and discover that it is me because I am not in the yard. Again I am more than happy to come back to the yard when called. I still can’t believe that I have been unable to persuade my siblings to follow me.

All this resulted in a fun family outing on Saturday to a trip to Home Depot where we bought two rolls of steel fencing to reinforce the industrial strength plastic. As of today, Tuesday, no breakouts, although when my siblings went sledding this morning I didn’t follow them as closely as I usually do and ended up having a really long free run for about an hour before Dad found me in the woods carrying a chipmunk.

Crouching Puppy....Hidden Dragon

From Miss W's Weekend Notes:

This weekend the three Rainy puppy's turned into martial arts masters...and began their concentrated and organized Warfare Against Containment.

Saturday I woke up at about 6am to the sounds of Blossom's heart being broken. It had snowed again... I was not looking forward to more shovelling...
I got out of bed, looked over the snow banks and could not see much. I could only see dog heads in the kennel and they were all looking down the field, barking at *something*... then I went back to bed thinking the dogs had managed to bark away some wild life...good dogs....zzzzz...Poor Blossom always the 4rth wheel.....more shoveling...

A little while later the phone rang, it was hubby, up the road at Alisha's, reporting 3 loose puppies scampering about. He asked if he should load them into his truck and bring them home... YES!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaieeeeeeeeeeeh! Loose puppies!!!

So putting the evidence together, the pups had jumped out the rear of their kennels, attempted to wake me/break into the house by wading through the unused backyard area, and then taken themselves for a walk. They went out the field and down our little trail to the beaver pond. They took the right turn once the trail brought them to the road and headed up toward the farm, where we used to walk around the fields. Terry found them at Alisha's - right across from the farm.

The returned pups were put in the big play area, as I considered their kennel unsafe. Poor, lonely, broken hearted Blossom was turned out with the 3 reprobates and I left for coffee with hubby. Bad idea.....

Upon return home, only Blossom was in play area of the kennel. Woody was wandering around the yard outside of the kennel and Bodhi and Bridget were GONE! Woody came right to me and I rewarded the poor little guy with a life sentence in the kennel with a lid.

Now I had to find the other two!
A mad dash to Alisha's house was fruitless.

On no, only one more place to look. The "Ladies" - the mud-swamp "farmers" up the road with loose everything...

We drove into their driveway, and there were little tiny foot prints everywhere! Fortunately they had penned all their animals/pets/livestock before going to bed. Their one dog was tied up on the porch, but apparently is too lifeless to bark to let them know there are small white demons running around the yard.

I called and called and Bridget came running into my arms. I tossed her into the truck right off. We found Bodhi hysterically running around the bunny hutches. He was very angry to be scooped up and hauled to the truck. What a handful!

Once home Bodhi and Bridget joined Woody, sentenced to a life in the lidded kennel with no parole until we could figure out what the problem was. 3 pissed off puppies....

Hubby, Jesse and I shoveled out for 5 hours straight: all the fence lines, the back of the pup kennel, all the doors. The usual post storm shoveling plus a heroic effort to keep the fences from shrinking anymore then they had too.


We turned the pups out...early parole... to see what our efforts had gained us. RIGHT UP AND OVER THEN FENCE! It was like that gorgeous movie, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. They just ran at the fence like they believed, and up and over they went. All 3 were out in a flash. Bodhi we managed to get right away. But Bridget and Woody were headed for the deck to break into the house. I dashed into the house and out to the deck and helped them up. Then...for security sake I put them in crates with chewies. Loads of them.

Then I sat and cried. My puppies can fly... how can I keep them safe??? Once back in lock up, the pups we screaming. We dug and chiseled and dug, only gaining an inch or two.

Time to think up a plan B, so we went into the house. I made pancakes, Jesse made his awesome scrambled eggs with garlic and Terry made rum and cokes. He normally doesn't drink, was playing hooky from work to help me, and now I've turned him into a drunk!

Plan B: buy fencing. We thought we'd scab on extra 2x4's to the posts and overlap 5 foot fencing, gaining 3 feet. Problem: I still had to go take care of the Alexander's dogs, and hadn't even scooped poop at home.

I went to Agway in Plymouth - no fencing at all!!! Kim and Kelly told me they had bought the last at Rands. I headed to the Alexander's in Sanbornton, cleaned and fed fish, birds, cats and dogs. Then headed to Agway in Tilton. 100$ a roll! Ack! I bought two.

At home it was getting dark. Terry had gone to the farm to take care of a roof that was groaning under the snow load. Everyone was tired and hungry - including my 26 dogs. I did my own kennel chores while the guys went and got groceries and dinner. The poor puppies were still locked in that one small kennel with a lid, Bridget was still not eating, and things were grim. But we ate and drank ourselves to sleep, knowing we had to rest before getting the fencing up.

SUNDAY none of us can move... and guess what? 3 inches of rain is predicted on Tuesday. Terry and I spent the morning with kennel and barn chores and then loads and loads of roof clearing. Already the news has been peppered with stories of local roofs collapsing. Now with 3 inches of rain predicted, things were going to get much worse. I shoveled our deck too, and the house dog area.

Finally late in the day we get all set up and Terry's son Travis comes to help put up the new fencing. We wade through 8 feet of piled up snow outside the kennels and finally get the big play area done. Almost one whole roll, 10o feet! We let the pups out - let's see what they do? They run at the fence! Over and over. And run almost all the way to the top of the new fencing! But the rules of gravity do still pertain to them, and each time before they reach the top the pups fall down. They start howling and screaming, and dashing around in a temper. Especially Bridget. Anyone want a cute little white demon??? I am wondering if I should amputate a leg from each one.

I still have to get the Alexanders animals fed, and Terry has to do barn chores again. We both leave for a while, and the pups are still in the lidded kennel, mad as hens, and I wonder if I will ever keep them safe.

This morning I let them out to play while I did chores. They seemed to have figured out that they cannot get out as before, but they keep LOOKING at the high fence... and sniffing the ground under it... planning.... and scheming... SCARY!!!

Blossom, it should be noted, has moved in with uncle Turbo and Tula. She is very happy, and doesn't seem to miss her "siblings" (she is from another litter and is awfully cute with a think, fat coat and tiny little legs - bless her).

It is obviously time to run these puppies in harness more... and get them very very very tired.

That's all for now. I am at work and hoping for no new developments in the Warfare Against Containment. Jesse is on duty, and hopefully all goes well today.