The one day each year the Beagle and Chiweenie are guarenteed to eat people food is Thanksgiving. Gus and Cleo both get dark meat turkey with their dinner on Thanksgiving. It seems cruel to deny them such delicious food, plus it is a holiday afterall.
Most of the time we refrain from feeding them human food, as it is generally unhealthy for them. We cook food for them, but almost never give them food from our dinner table. They love homemade chicken and rice. Cooking the rice in the chicken water/broth gives it even more flavor. We even heat it up for them, which makes it even more yummy during cold weather. It is easy to cook a big pot and freeze the leftovers in serving sizes. Quart size freezer bags are perfect for our two.
The other treat I make for the dogs are oatmeal, peanut butter, honey cookies. I found the recipe online and they absolutely love them. Both dogs have missed out on these lately, because Gus is on a diet. His biscuits or as he knows them, "cookies", have been restricted. Gus has a stalky build, so we really have to watch his weight. Last month I had to buy him a new winter coat because he'd outgrown his old one. His tshirts all fit, but not his old coat. He loves his new fleece coat. When the weather is below 50 degrees F he shakes uncontrollably without a jacket or sweater on. The holidays approaching means colder weather, so I'm glad he is all set with a coat that fits.
The dogs probably have no idea that Thanksgiving is around the corner, but I'm sure they will be thrilled with their turkey dinner. Since they haven't had homemade cookies in a couple of months, they will surely enjoy it even more. Maybe they can have some homemade dog cookies for dessert after their Thanksgiving Day feast.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Nicknames
Augustus and Cleopatra both have several nicknames they know and respond to.
Augustus goes by the following: Gus, Gussy, Gus Gus, Chiweenie, Chiweenie Lovin, and Booper. We actually call him booper a lot, but when he is in trouble we always call him Augustus. Using his full name always gets his attention.
Cleo has fewer nicknames than Gus and, like him, she gets referred to as Cleopatra when in trouble. Her nicknames are Cleo, Cleopie, Beagle, Princess Cleo, and Beagie. Princess is actually Cleo's middle name.
We chose the name Cleopatra for the Beagle because I had named Augustus after an historical figure. We decided to go with historical names for our dogs (present and future) because my husband majored in history in college and loves the subject. In fact, we both love history!
Augustus goes by the following: Gus, Gussy, Gus Gus, Chiweenie, Chiweenie Lovin, and Booper. We actually call him booper a lot, but when he is in trouble we always call him Augustus. Using his full name always gets his attention.
Cleo has fewer nicknames than Gus and, like him, she gets referred to as Cleopatra when in trouble. Her nicknames are Cleo, Cleopie, Beagle, Princess Cleo, and Beagie. Princess is actually Cleo's middle name.
We chose the name Cleopatra for the Beagle because I had named Augustus after an historical figure. We decided to go with historical names for our dogs (present and future) because my husband majored in history in college and loves the subject. In fact, we both love history!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Introductions
Augustus (Gus) is a (nearly) four year old chiweenie. He was born December 1st of 2005 and I adopted him in early February of 2006. Not long after I brought him home, but after his first vet visit, Gus developed demodectic mange. His hair came out all over and before it started growing back the poor guy looked really bald. He has been mange free since march of 2006, thanks to a month of treatment on Ivomectin.
I adopted Gus when I was living in an apartment in town, and didn't start dating his daddy until June 2006. My now husband was not a fan of small dogs when we met, but it didn't take long for Gus to win him over and the two of them are inseperable now. In the fall of 2006 Gus and I moved onto my husbands family farm. Augustus loves living out here where he can run and play. He gets to dig in the sand for gophers and roll in (and eat) cow poo. He goes on adventures daily and couldn't be more happy to be out here in the country instead of surrounded by neighbors in town.
A couple months after Gus and I moved in, we decided to get a second dog so Gus would have someone to play with while we were gone to school and work. My husband (boyfriend at the time) wanted a german shepard and I wanted a chihuahua. Somehow we ended up compromising on a beagle. We adopted Cleopatra (Cleo) in November 2006.
Poor Cleo was nearly a year old when we met her, but had spent almost no time around humans. She spent the first 10 months of her life locked outside in a kennel with other beagles used for hunting. She had no training and was very distrustful of humans. For the first few weeks she spent at her new home she didn't even know how to play with a toy. We literally had to teach her how to play. Cleo has confidence and trust issues from her year of isolation. She is afraid of strangers and requires a lot of special attention and care when we have guests. Once she knows you she is a sweetheart, but if she doesn't know you yet she will bark at you until you introduce yourself. We are so proud of how far Cleo has come since we first brought her home. She has proved to be a wonderful companion for not only Gus, but us as well.
As a beagle, Cleo requires constant supervision and cannot safely be off the leash or out of the dog pen. Cleo always has her nose to the ground looking for food. She is definitely your typical beagle. We love to have baying fits with her. Gus tries to howl along, but the chihuahua in him leaves him with a very squeaky screech. Gus uses this same shriek as we ride the fourwheeler. He absolutely loves it. Cleo, on the other hand, does not like the fourwheeler at all. It terrifies the poor beagle. They both love going in the car, even if it is just to check the mail. We have taken them on overnight trips to their grandma's house and on camping trips. Gus has even been canoeing with us (the summer before we got Cleo). Sometimes they get to go see their other grandma, who lives just down the driveway. Her doggie is their uncle Char Char the chioodle. He also comes to visit them.
Once a month or so their daddy will take them to see his pigs. Gus has taken to shrieking so loudly as we approach the pig pens, that he scares the pigs to the opposite end of the pen. They almost never bark at the cows, but the horse makes them go completely berserk. Of all the other animals on the farm, they seem to like the horse the least. Perhaps they are jealous of the time their mommy spends with the horse. They see me out there brushing, feeding, and leading him around on what must look to them like a leash. They do not like to share their mommy or daddy with anyone or anything (such as computer, book, or sewing).
That is basically who the chiweenie and beagle are and what they enjoy to do. Life for them is simple, sweet, and adventurous. I just watch from the sidelines...
I adopted Gus when I was living in an apartment in town, and didn't start dating his daddy until June 2006. My now husband was not a fan of small dogs when we met, but it didn't take long for Gus to win him over and the two of them are inseperable now. In the fall of 2006 Gus and I moved onto my husbands family farm. Augustus loves living out here where he can run and play. He gets to dig in the sand for gophers and roll in (and eat) cow poo. He goes on adventures daily and couldn't be more happy to be out here in the country instead of surrounded by neighbors in town.
A couple months after Gus and I moved in, we decided to get a second dog so Gus would have someone to play with while we were gone to school and work. My husband (boyfriend at the time) wanted a german shepard and I wanted a chihuahua. Somehow we ended up compromising on a beagle. We adopted Cleopatra (Cleo) in November 2006.
Poor Cleo was nearly a year old when we met her, but had spent almost no time around humans. She spent the first 10 months of her life locked outside in a kennel with other beagles used for hunting. She had no training and was very distrustful of humans. For the first few weeks she spent at her new home she didn't even know how to play with a toy. We literally had to teach her how to play. Cleo has confidence and trust issues from her year of isolation. She is afraid of strangers and requires a lot of special attention and care when we have guests. Once she knows you she is a sweetheart, but if she doesn't know you yet she will bark at you until you introduce yourself. We are so proud of how far Cleo has come since we first brought her home. She has proved to be a wonderful companion for not only Gus, but us as well.
As a beagle, Cleo requires constant supervision and cannot safely be off the leash or out of the dog pen. Cleo always has her nose to the ground looking for food. She is definitely your typical beagle. We love to have baying fits with her. Gus tries to howl along, but the chihuahua in him leaves him with a very squeaky screech. Gus uses this same shriek as we ride the fourwheeler. He absolutely loves it. Cleo, on the other hand, does not like the fourwheeler at all. It terrifies the poor beagle. They both love going in the car, even if it is just to check the mail. We have taken them on overnight trips to their grandma's house and on camping trips. Gus has even been canoeing with us (the summer before we got Cleo). Sometimes they get to go see their other grandma, who lives just down the driveway. Her doggie is their uncle Char Char the chioodle. He also comes to visit them.
Once a month or so their daddy will take them to see his pigs. Gus has taken to shrieking so loudly as we approach the pig pens, that he scares the pigs to the opposite end of the pen. They almost never bark at the cows, but the horse makes them go completely berserk. Of all the other animals on the farm, they seem to like the horse the least. Perhaps they are jealous of the time their mommy spends with the horse. They see me out there brushing, feeding, and leading him around on what must look to them like a leash. They do not like to share their mommy or daddy with anyone or anything (such as computer, book, or sewing).
That is basically who the chiweenie and beagle are and what they enjoy to do. Life for them is simple, sweet, and adventurous. I just watch from the sidelines...
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