Swiss Lick Swissies

Swissy play date!

Monday, November 8th, 2010 | Beowulf, Indigo, Litter Mates and Swissy Friends, Ozzy | No Comments

We had such a gorgeous weekend, and we were lucky enough to get together with Indy’s sister and one of her people. So I have pictures for you today!

When Vasey first arrived, she set the tone with Ozzy. She was mean and growl-y, but in a good way if you know what I mean. She was setting boundaries for him without actually biting. It took about 90 seconds, and Ozzy was firmly in line. Good girl, Vasey!

Then we got them outside, and the play started.

Ozzy turned into a submissive puppy. I wonder how long that will last?

Beowulf kept his distance, of course.

And Indy tried to photo bomb.

Indy and Ozzy definitely ganged up on Vasey. It was rather amusing.

Vasey is not very lady like, is she.

Now you get the opportunity to see the inside of a Swissy mouth. Calm down…

*Giggle*

The best way to double team a Swissy is to smoosh her up against a garage.

One of the humans felt the need to instigate.

I wish I was able to get more in the frame here, but the double play bow happened very fast.

And again/still with the double teaming!

I’m not sure what they all found so interesting about this particular branch on the bush, but if you look closely, you can see that a fair bit of the bark has been chewed off. Indy was actively trying to pull it out of the ground. Weirdo.

Go figure, after a couple rounds of crazy play, they crashed on our kitchen floor.

Happy Monday!

Tags: Beowulf the Basset, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Indy the Swissy, Ozzy the Swissy, Swissy

2011 Calendar!

Friday, November 5th, 2010 | Litter Mates and Swissy Friends, Random Stuff | No Comments

I thought it would be fun to try making a calendar this year. So, I requested photos from friends, Swissy family, and online acquaintances and started working!

First, Dan had to teach me the basics of Photoshop. I’m sure that was much easier than teaching me to drive a manual transmission vehicle back in 1996, but I could be wrong. Second, I had to try and organize the many, many fantastic pictures I received (plus my own) into months. It’s not as easy as you thing. Finally, I had to pick a place to sell them. I considered ordering them myself and having a set amount premade, but I can’t really afford to shell out that kind of dough right now…

So we have them online at Zazzle! (Just in case you were wondering, Zazzle is the linky.)

I will admit that I love money, but I don’t feel right selling something like this and pocketing the cash. Instead, all proceeds will be donated to the GSMD Rescue Foundation. So buy early, buy often. I’m sure this is just what you need for that hard to buy for friend during the Holidays, right?

Tags: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, GSMD Rescue Foundation, Swissy

Swissy Play Pics

Monday, October 4th, 2010 | Beowulf, Indigo, Litter Mates and Swissy Friends, Ozzy | 2 Comments

We had a Swissy Play Date over the weekend. It was perfect weather for Swissies (50s, maybe 60), albeit a little cool for the humans – mainly because of the wind. Indy’s sister Vasey joined us, along with Juli and her friend Brutus. Brutus is Ozzy’s brother from another mother. He is also Indy’s nephew. That makes him Vasey’s nephew too. (SMRT!) Brutus is being cared for by Juli and her family while his people are off getting married or something silly like that.

I was not the best with the camera. I will hang my head in shame when I am done posting. But I did take some pics for you to see.

For example, I have Vasey playing one of her favorite games with her human.

And I have a handful of Swissies about to be very disappointed – the human is not there to get them treats.

Isn’t Juli pretty? I love all the white she has.

We had a little play before I got too lazy.

See?

Ozzy is learning to pose.

This little bugger is Brutus. Brutus looks entirely too much like his aunts Indy and Vasey. It’s confusing in pictures, especially because of the red collar.

And here’s my nervous girl…

I could not forgive myself if I did not show you Beowulf, too.

A good time was had by all! We hope to get together with them again soon.

Thanks for looking!

Tags: Beowulf the Basset, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Indy the Swissy, Ozzy the Swissy, Swissy

Play time!

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 | Indigo, Litter Mates and Swissy Friends, Ozzy | 3 Comments

There are some days, like today, when I just want to get away with posting pictures. I’m feeling rather sickly, so I’m not even sure if you’ll get any witty commentary along with the pictures…so I guess I’m saying no promises.

We decided to go hang out with Mardi and Shiloh the Swissies yesterday. And their humans. It was a fun way to spend time on Labor Day. We’ve met both Swissies before, but this was Indy’s first time with Mardi, and Ozzy’s first time with Shiloh. Ozzy and Mardi have a history, if you remember. Beowulf hasn’t really spent any time with any of them, except for when he was a bit stoned one day.

There was the normal butt sniffing with a surprise visit from a Rottie. (Can’t remember her name!)

Then Ozzy and Mardi picked up where the left off over a month ago.

Crazy kids!

Pretty girl Shiloh posing.

I got Mardi to sit still from a distance one time.

If I crouched down for a picture, she’d charge. It was a great game.

Ozzy’s head is under there somewhere.

I feel like I’ve seen them do this before. Oh, wait…I have!

Pretty Indy.

And Ms. Shiloh ready for her dancing debut.

And then just smiling.

Thanks for looking!

Don’t forget, you have until 9/9 at 5pm central time to comment on a post. Each comment enters you in the contest to win a 2HD collar!

Tags: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Indy the Swissy, Ozzy the Swissy, Swissy

Wordless Wednesday

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 | Indigo, Litter Mates and Swissy Friends, Ozzy | No Comments

Tags: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Indy the Swissy, Ozzy the Swissy, Swissy

Playtime for everyone!

Monday, August 2nd, 2010 | Beowulf, Dogs, Indigo, Litter Mates and Swissy Friends, Ozzy | No Comments

While someone was playing around in Vegas this weekend, I took the opportunity to socialize the dogs and introduce them to new situations. Are you at all convinced that I was super glad to be at home for 4 days with a puppy that doesn’t like to sleep past 5:15am? I should probably work on my delivery.

Despite my sarcasm, I did actually have a nice time at home with the dogs. As you already saw, Ozzy and I spent some time with puppies on Thursday. On Friday, we went over to Indy’s sister’s house for some play time.

Vasey and Ozzy had some fun first.

Vasey trampled her human’s plants.

She was kind enough to show Ozzy how to do it.

Indy and Vasey had some “adult Swissy” play time, which included running around like crazy dogs.

Indy rolled around while Ozzy cuddled.

Vasey thought that looked like fun, so she tried it too.

Why is it all Swissies love to roll around on their backs? There was no raccoon poop or anything…

After we did that for a couple of hours, we went home to recharge for Saturday. That was the big day, as it included our first ever trip to a house with a pool! I was hopeful that after Indy’s introduction to water in May (Lake Michigan at Bark in the Park) that she might be someone who enjoys swimming. So we tried to lure her into the pool. (All Saturday pictures courtesy of Jodi and Clare May.) It’s setup for dock dog diving, and has a nice ramp.

(Please ignore the lady in the bathing suit.)

She went in very slowly her first time, but was completely willing.

Although once her feet were off that ramp, she was not too pleased. She enjoys water, but likes her feet to be on solid ground right now.

See?

But I didn’t keep her in long. She was able to get out on her own, and wasn’t too upset.

She actually came back on her own a second time and went most of the way into the pool with a float coat on. She was most of the way down the ramp on the third try, but then changed her mind. I’m not sure if she was distracted or what, but I was very happy with her.

I did bring Ozzy into the pool for a “swim,” but I did not let go of him at all. He wasn’t entirely pleased, but wasn’t entirely upset either.

(Again, please ignore the funny looking person.)

We also met Toby the Swissy (who won our pack giveaway last year!) and his humans, in addition to our hosts Leonbergers, cute mutt Huntley, and new ESRA foster, Sierra.

None of the host dogs are worried about the water at all, as you can tell by the lovely and damp Cleo.

Thanks for looking!

Tags: Beowulf the Basset, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Indy the Swissy, Ozzy the Swissy, Swissy

Puppies, puppies and more puppies!

Friday, July 30th, 2010 | Litter Mates and Swissy Friends, Ozzy | No Comments

Ozzy and I were lucky enough to go play with some of Teri Stanger’s puppies this weekend. They are just over 7 weeks old, and start going to their homes within the next week. I did this last summer and had a hard time leaving her house without sticking one in my pocket then, too.

Here are some pics…

This is Mardi. She’s the only girl in the litter, and is staying in this area.

I think this one is saying “put that darn camera down and play with me!”

Ozzy is not used to being the big one and took a few minutes before he’d do more than sniff.

It’s nice that puppies learn how to sit before they go home. Ozzy was also showing off his mad skills.

I just love roly poly puppies!

It’s really funny for me to see just how much bigger Ozzy is. He’s all leg this week.

Then the toys came out to play.

Pretty much everyone got in on that action.

Then came nap time for some.

Although some just concentrated on being cute.

And Mardi felt it necessary to harass Ozzy again.

But some fell victim to nap time for a second time.

Even big ole Ozzy gave in for a bit.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

Blue Lou being cute.

Methinks someone went in to get food ready.

And a little more sit training.

Kisses.

Ring around the Swissy?

Yup.

Then Mardi and Ozzy got back into it. I think we’re going to have to keep an eye on these two as they get older.

Especially since she’s been biting his man-boy bits.

Attack!

Sigh. I just love puppies.

Tags: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Ozzy the Swissy, Swissy

Fun for the whole family!

Monday, July 12th, 2010 | Beowulf, Indigo, Litter Mates and Swissy Friends, Ozzy | No Comments

Yup, we had that much fun!

We decided to have a few friends over with dogs (all healthy and immunized, of course) on Saturday to help with Ozzy’s socialization and just to have fun. The house seemed very crowded, but there weren’t that many people. I think it was the Leos, Saint Bernards and Swissies that made it seem crowded. Of course, when it cooled off a bit outside and the yard was all shaded, it was even better!

I think you’d prefer pictures to reading my diatribe…

Ozzy having sleepy time around the time they started arriving.

My pretty girl, Indy.

Ozzy attacking his new BFF, Cash.

Ozzy and Rufus, the puppy addict.

Leos and Swissies!

Juli, part of Juli’s human, and Cash. Juli has a blog too.

Indy was nice to Vasey’s human despite the fact that they did not bring Vasey.

Remember our good friend Reggie? He’s another blue-eyed boy.

Juli in “jail.” Sticking the face through there must be a Swissy thing. No other dog breed visiting our house (our living there) has ever done it.

Pretty Leo girl!

Recharging.

Is my puppy! Back off!

Beowulf got love too. And he tolerated Ozzy. Probably because he had Cash to torment, though.

More recharging.

I don’t know why, but I love taking pictures of Swissies from this angle. Cash was more than happy to oblige.

I think Cash needs a Swissy puppy of his own to play with, although he technically is a puppy himself.

Ozzy likes to climb on dogs when he plays with them. Most of them are ok with it, including Cash.

Cash and Huntley got in some good play time too.

See?

And then all dogs (except for Huntley) got tired and crashed.

Then humans continued on for a while, but I don’t think I’ll post any of those pics…

Tags: Beowulf the Basset, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Indy the Swissy, Ozzy the Swissy, Swissy

GSMD National in Springfield

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 | Indigo, Litter Mates and Swissy Friends | No Comments

Yes, the National event was last week. Yes, I am just writing about it now. Yes, I am hanging my head in shame.

The event was held in Springfield, Illinois at the fairgrounds. Because I have a few things coming up that require me to take vacation, I wasn’t able to make it for the entire week. That’s ok, though. I didn’t have any dog to show, and we haven’t been competing in any working events. (Yet.)

Indy and I drove down on Wednesday night and made it early enough to see some of the Top 20 event. The building was quite warm, and the area outside was very wet and muddy from all the rain they’d had during the week. We stayed for a little while and spoke to a few people, then headed back to the hotel.

Getting into the hotel room for the first time (with Indy) was rather interesting. I had already carried our stuff into the room before I took the last load (computer bag, purse) and the dog. Well, we got to the room, and Indy decided she didn’t want to cross the threshold. She braced herself on the ground, pulled, and was out of her collar. As she ran around the parking lot freaking me out, my hotel room door was wide open with her leash and collar on the floor. In hindsight, I should have picked that up first and then hauled arse to get Indy, but I wasn’t thinking too clearly. I just reacted as I was worried about cars in the lot. We played chase for a bit. I caught her by the scruff once, then lost her and caught her again. My (cheap but favorite) Crocs sandals were muddy and ripped. Yup, ruined. But I did finally get her in the door after much embarrassment and perhaps a bit of anger. Go figure, nobody helped.

After things calmed down a bit, we wandered around the grounds and ran into a few people. We met a cute Entlebucher named Kip. Yes, I want to steal him. And I learned that his breed is pronounced “entleebucher.” I still want to steal him.

The next morning, we showed up for the “how to” weight pull event, and then watched the weight pull. I’ve never been able to make one of the Lake Shore Club pulls before, so this was great. I was able to try on a harness and determine what size Indy wears. I wanted to get her to pull the big cart since we’ve tried tires and other smaller things, but I didn’t want to do it during the event because I thought that would stress Indy a bit too much for her first time. Well, that never happened. I’ll get her at the next Lake Shore event…

It was a lot of fun to watch the event. I took some pictures (to follow) and pretty much passed Indy around to strange people as much as possible. Well, I guess only one of them was actually a stranger to her. She did very well. A wonderful Swissy named Bridger (check out the skijoring article for more about him and his human), won the event pulling 4009.8 pounds, which is over 35 times his body weight. It was fantastic watching the two of them–they are a great team.

So, I did take a few pics. The lighting was poor, and I have been too lazy to touch them up. My apologies. But I don’t want to wait any longer to post, or it just won’t happen.

Here’s Monty in the “intro to” part of the day. They start them off on a smallish tire to get them used to the harness and having something move behind them.

Indy and her nervous ears posing.

Our friend Tank resting between pulls.

People will do all sorts of things to get their dog to pull.

Moose Moose talking back.

Here’s Louie and his human. Brian is trying to convince Louie to pull. It was Louie’s first weight pull event.

Here’s Bridger and Teresa after the record breaking pull. I cannot take credit for this picture…

That’s it for now! Thanks for reading.

Tags: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Indy the Swissy, Swissy

RIP, Copper

Monday, May 31st, 2010 | Litter Mates and Swissy Friends | No Comments

Epilepsy really stinks.

Some of my favorite people had to let their wonderful Swissy, Copper, go to the bridge last night. Copper had been suffering from epilepsy for some time now and put up an incredible fight. But it was time.

Copper got to spend some time at the beach yesterday – one of his favorite places. Check out his beautiful Swissy Smile.

Please think good thoughts for Copper’s family right now. He would want all of us to remember the good times, I think.

Run free, Copper. I’m sure Gryffin and Luna were there waiting for you.

Tags: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Swissy