Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Rummy's 1st Mouse

We are very proud to announce, Rummy caught his first mouse 2 nights ago. And better yet, last night, he caught his 2nd mouse. So far, he has caught 2 mice, on back to back nights.


 Rummy and his very proud catch, a mice

 
 Rummy was out taking his usual potty break in the evening, when suddenly, he came to the door with something dangling in his mouth. He was a little unsure about what our response would be, so he hovered outside. Rob was the first one to spot his catch, and he was very happy, he told Mum to grab her camera.

 
 And so we went outside, and praised Rummy and made a huge fuss over his major accomplishment. Rob gave him real treats to make him see how pleased we were with him. Bear in mind, no one taught Rummy how to catch those mice, and we have a few of them on the property, and they're wild. But he has allowed the terrier side of him to come out, and he has stayed true to his form - a ratter. Terriers were bred for ratting, amongst many other gifts that Airedales possess, but this is extraordinary, because Rummy is only 5 months old, and untrained.
 
 The poor dead mice

 
 We allowed Rummy to walk proudly with the mouse hanging off his mouth, and stayed with him, while he poked at, sniffed at, nibbled on, and chewed on his catch.

 
 Rummy's dead mice

 

 
 Gromit and I were also very surprised that Rummy did this on his own. It was pitch dark outside, how did Rummy see so well that he could catch a fast running mice? It must have been amazing to watch but no one was around to see in the dark, how he did it.

 

 
 Gromit and I come closer to Rummy to investigate that dead mice in his mouth

 
 Rummy was willing to share his dead catch with us, but we wished he would just let it go so we could have a bite at it too

 

 
 Gromit inches closer to Rummy's dead mice, and Rummy allows his best friend to sniff

 
 After a while, Rummy decided that he wanted to bury the mice and he and Gromit proceeded to dig a big hole in the plant bed. Rob and Mum yelled "No".

 
 The mice is in the yellow line. Gromit was having fun poking at it.

 
Gromit had a few bites at the dead mice, but no one ate it in the end. Rob took the mice and threw it into the trash bin. The 2nd night Rummy caught a mice again, we didn't make a big fuss anymore, but we still praised him and made him feel happy about it. He wanted to take it into the house this time, but Mum yelled "No". She didn't want a stinky mouse in the house. No way.

Hugs,
Kimi

Our New Year Weekend

Sergay and Mary-Anne came to stay.
And we decided to go take a hike together in a nearby state park.

 Gromit and I examine some strange smells at the edge of the water

 
 Happy doggies who hike together stay calm and happy.
From left, me Kimi, Gromit and Rummy

 
 It was a calm and cold day. There was hardly a soul at the park, which was nice because that meant we could go offleash. It was fun running back and forth and investigating smells and things.

 
 Gromit and I had a good time, investigating leaves and scents that were around. We followed the humans, but they were very nice to let us have time to do dog stuff, which is to sniff around and let our noses examine the world around us.

 
 Doggies catching up with the humans.

 
 Sergay follows Gromit's lead. What's there? Oh, its just a squirrel. Its a good thing it climbed quickly up the tree, Gromit really wanted to eat the squirrel, but Mum said, "Let's go" and he gave up that idea. Lucky squirrel.

 
 Gromit dashing through the woods like a happy camper. He seems so content and happy most of all when we are hiking.

 
 Rummy goes on the leash, because he didn't come when he was called, and had to have his offleash privilege taken away for a while. He walks loose leash with Rob to show he is well behaved, but my baby brother still needs to learn his off leash recall work.

 

 
 Rob and Rummy in a moment of discipline. Gromit is never far away from his best friend Rummy.

 
 Rummy on a Sit-Stay. After a while of showing he is being good, Rob lets him go offleash again.

 
 And off we go.

 
 Then we came to the water front. As we live on the peninsula, there is water all over our neighbourhood. Lots of little lakes and ponds too. We take turns dipping into the freezing water of the Puget Sound. The water was so clear and clean, we could see right into the water.

 
 Yippeee... Rummy stays on the shore because he hasn't gotten enough confidence to come into the deep water with us.

 
 Gromit and Rummy chase after me

 
 Gromit tries to lure Rummy into the water, but Rummy is still a little unsure. Its too cold, or Mum or Rob would teach Rummy how to swim and go into the water. It'll take time.

 
 After we went home, we were tired.

 
 Rummy cuddles up next to Sergay but Gromit is still game for fun. He takes the Ruffian toy which is loud and squeaky to Sergay and asks him to throw it for him. He had a lot of fun with our guests.

 
Sergay and Rummy

 
 Gromit and I sit nicely and patiently, waiting for Rob to give the release command before we dash out off for a potty break.

 
Chilling out nicely with friends over the New Year weekend was very nice indeed. Bliss...

Hugs,
Kimi

Bone Sharing

We share bones like good doggies.


Gromit on the left, Rummy in the center and I'm on the right.


Mum sets down the blanket in the hall, and we all chill down, relax and chew on a beef rib each. We all have our share, so we don't fight. Mum won't tolerate any food possession, so we learn to eat in each others' presence and be calm.

This is a great test for Gromit and he has come so far with his re-training. No more food possession or food aggression. We are all very proud of him. Good job Gromit.

Hugs,
Kimi

New Years Eve (2009)

I'm very sorry, we have outdated blog entries, but we've been mighty busy. My human and I can't believe it is already 2010. Wow!! This year Nov, I turn 5. How time flies.
Happy New Year to Everybody... We hope this year brings you better fortune, good health, peace and may all your good wishes come true.



 My brother Rummy lays close to Gromit's side, even though he is on the treadmill.

Rummy and Gromit are inseparable. They are very very close. I must add that Rummy is closer to Gromit than he is with me. I'm not jealous, I think its great that my baby brother has a buddy he loves so much. When Gromit goes home, Rummy is going to be very bummed.

 
 When we came out to the living room, guess what we found? A heap of cotton wool, disemboweled from a soft toy. Must be Gromit who did it.

 
 Yes, see the guilty party with a happy grin on his face.

 
 Rob and Rummy help clean up the mess while Gromit looks on.
Gromit didn't get into any trouble, because he wasn't caught in the act. Besides, he seems to have learned in our house that only food should be swallowed. Gromit had many issues with eating everything he saw. He has had US$5000 worth of medical surgeries done on him because he used to eat all kinds of stuff, that isn't food!!

 
 From left, me Kimi, my baby brother Rummy and Gromit

 
 Gromit

 

 
 As I've mentioned before, Gromit and Rummy are tight like peas and carrots. They love to lean on each other, cuddle and stay close to one another. Wherever one goes, the other is not far behind.

 
 Rummy and Gromit taking a nap

 
 How many dogs are in this picture?
3 Airedales in a pile

 
 Rummy play dominates Gromit, and Gromit loves it.

 
 I get into the action as well, and we do a 3 way bitey face. FUN

 
 Gromit play bows to Rummy, and says "Let's play"

 
Who's got the toy? Is it a game of tag?

In our house, the Christmas tree comes down on the 12th day of Christmas. And by the time you see this post, the tree has already come down. We were good with the tree, didn't chew it or pee on it at all.

Hugs,
Kimi