Tag: #bowserminischnauzer

The Sunday Schnauzer – Apres Bath

On By Widow BadassIn Adventures with dogs, Bowser the Schnauzer23 Comments

Somebody rolled in fresh horse droppings. Somebody needed a bath. Somebody is me. (I’m a dog; it’s what I do.) Daddy to the rescue!

This is how Oma found us, after Daddy cleaned me up. I forgave him the indignity of a bath since now we get to cuddle.
I like it when Daddy bundles me up. I won’t even move when my favourite human comes over and starts taking pictures. (Oma made me say the favourite human part.)
This is definitely my spot. At least, until Mommy comes home.
Don’t even think of moving me.
Na na na-na nah!

Rock on,

The Bowser 🐾

The Sunday Schnauzer – Our Chicken “Friends”

On By Widow BadassIn Adventures with dogs, Bowser the Schnauzer26 Comments

Bowser’s daddy brought home something very interesting the other day.

What’s going on, Daddy?
What’s Daddy getting out of the funny house he built?
A young chicken! (This one has turned out to be the biggest and the boss chicken and I secretly call her Lady Buffy Buff Orpington of Orpington Hall 🤭).
One of the Lady’s underlings. I think the grandkids have named this one Opal.

Bowser’s daddy brought home 3 seven week-old birds initially, and has since added 2 more to the flock. They are kinda easily spooked right now and thus hard to photograph. They are so young they don’t even cluck yet – they can only cheep cheep (which is adorable!!!).

Bowser’s rapt interest at anything that moves isn’t making the birds any more comfortable at the moment. However, they are protected from his curiosity in their fully enclosed coop and run.
Remember Bowser’s favourite toy – the totally denuded former soccer ball? I think we can all imagine this is what would happen if Bowser got hold of one of his new chicken friends. A livestock guardian dog he is not!

We hope you are enjoying a wonderful Sunday with your friends, chicken or otherwise.

Rock on,

The WB

The Sunday Schnauzer – Thimbleberries

On By Widow BadassIn Adventures with dogs, Bowser the Schnauzer24 Comments

Thimbleberries are ready, and in abundance this year! This is making our daily walkies even more delightful than usual.

So many delicious berries! We are careful to only pick a few each walk, and leave plenty for the wildlife.
Someone knows what’s coming.
Hurry up, Oma!
Nom nom nom.

We hope you are enjoying the fruits of summer as much as we are.

Rock on,

The WB

The Sunday Schnauzer – How Is This Even Comfortable?

On By Widow BadassIn Adventures with dogs, Bowser the Schnauzer27 Comments

Sometimes Bowser sleeps or sits in ways that make me scratch my head in disbelief.

The baffling yet ever popular head-hanging-off-the-couch position.
Not sure what this move is, but Bowser does it in the car too. My daughter thinks it means he’s uncomfortable – maybe even motion-sick – but why on the couch then?
Then there’s this one.
Bowser has his little toe beans bent back, for some strange reason.
How is this even comfortable? Yet he moved both legs to stretch them (while still sleeping) and then put this foot back into the same exact position. Weirdo.
A short video of Bowser sleeping quite soundly in yet another uncomfortable-looking position.

Do your dogs do this? Please reassure me 🤣.

We hope you are finding some comfortable places to sleep this weekend.

Rock on,

The WB

The Sunday Schnauzer – What We Found On The Trail This Time

On By Widow BadassIn Adventures with dogs, Bowser the Schnauzer43 Comments

Last Sunday, I showed you a cell phone (and a bag of trash) that we picked up on the trail. Well, this time we picked up (or truth-be-told, were picked up by) another dog.

This young female bounded out of a side trail and glommed onto the both of us immediately. She wouldn’t leave us, even when we met other doggos (and their minders) that were more her size and amenable to her…ahem…rough, playful energy.

No tags or ID to be found on her pretty collar.

We went to a nearby holiday trailer park resort but no one there recognized “Missy” (as another person on social media named her. More on that later…). I kept hoping that she would bound away again at some point but Missy followed us all the way home. I gave her food (a couple of cups of Bowser’s horrifically expensive schnauzer chow) and water and secured her in my daughter’s yard. I took Bowser to my place and posted about Missy on our community’s Facebook page and also on ROAM (as one person on the trail suggested). I also called Animal Control to come pick her up as she wouldn’t let me touch her – despite her apparent friendliness – and there was no way I could coax her into a vehicle to take her anywhere.

Missy was howling at being left in my daughter’s yard all alone, and when I went to check on Missy then Bowser was barking at being left behind at my house. So we all ended up together, waiting for Animal Control…

Missy in a rare quiet moment.
Bowser keeping a watchful eye on this stranger in his yard.
Despite the size difference, Bowser was acknowledged as the “top dog”. Rightfully so, Bowser wants me to add 😉.

Animal Control did show up about an hour later and they were no more successful at getting close to her than I was. Things escalated, and Missy escaped through the back fence and into the neighbourhood. I saw a lot of Facebook postings about her after that, and the next day another person was able to get her secured, and again Animal Control was contacted. By this time, all of us who encountered Missy were thinking along the same lines: that she had been “dumped” – abandoned by her owners – and left to fend for herself.

What was especially heart-breaking about this situation was reading on Facebook about how exhausted and scared, and also that Missy had returned to the trail and was found lying beside a pile of women’s clothing. Which makes me wonder if the clothing contained the scent of her former owners, or reminded her of them somehow. I really do believe she was abandoned, and perhaps that person had left the clothing there to get her to stay near that spot.

This time Animal Control were successful, and (not without a huge struggle) Missy was contained and taken away – hopefully to be adopted into a more loving home than her last one.

As someone who grew up on an isolated property on the outskirts of town, I am no stranger to animals being dumped. At least once a year a car would pull up at our house (usually in the middle of the night) and a dog or cat would be cast out, and then the car would accelerate away. I suppose they thought because we had a large property with pets and a barn, we would welcome more pets. Once in a wee while we did, but mostly we had to take them to the local SPCA as we already had enough animals of our own to care for.

Please love your animals and, if you can’t look after them anymore, take them to an agency that will try to rehome them. Don’t leave it to chance.*

Rock on,

The WB

*I know I am preaching to the choir here. None of my regular readers would ever be so cruel as to abandon an animal. I felt I had to close this post with this message, though. I apologize that it is not my usual cute little doggy post.

The Sunday Schnauzer – Dog Math

On By Widow BadassIn Adventures with dogs, Bowser the Schnauzer33 Comments

I’ve been working for a while now at the Come Command with Bowser. (With Schnauzers, it DO take a while. They are stubborn creatures. IYKYK!). He is pretty good at responding (and quickly) now that he knows there are treats involved. Usually.

Bowser, come! Running hell bent for leather, anticipating a reward.
Now that I’ve got your full attention… Pardon the dirty fingers. I did a spontaneous trash pick up on this walk. I usually plan these things better, and pack gloves to wear.
Nom nom.
Bowser’s Dog Math: only 1 treat instead of 2 = no treat given; treats fall to ground and not eaten out of hand = no treat given; one treat falls to ground and one eaten out of hand = no treat given. If you think your dog can’t do math, try showing him 4 treats and only give him 3.
Camera focused on proper “person” now! Get a load of that steely gaze. What focus! What concentration!
This walk’s trash haul. I can only pick up the small items and I only stopped gathering because the bag is full. Sad.
I also found a cell phone on this walk. Thanks to the power of social media, it was quickly reunited with its rightful owner.
The morning’s exciting (snacks!!!) walk over; time for a snuggle and a nap. When are you joining me on the couch, Oma?

We hope you are having an exciting weekend, with lots of snacks.

Rock on,

The WB

The Sunday Schnauzer – Doggy Masseuse

On By Widow BadassIn Adventures with dogs, Bowser the Schnauzer18 Comments

Have I mentioned before that Bowser likes to be petted as he drifts off to sleep? Well, he also enjoys a luxurious massage as he wakes back up. I did not see doggy masseuse on my retirement bingo card, but here we are.

Not quite ready to open those eyes.
Yep, that’s the spot!
That’s another good spot, Oma.
Don’t stop!
I said: DON’T STOP.

We hope you take the time to enjoy life’s little luxuries this weekend.

Rock on,

The WB