Pumpkin Please!

Mya was out of biscuits so I put an order in with Sara at

The Barking Biscuit Company.

She loves these Pumpkin Please biscuits. They have no grains in them, so they are perfect for my little girl.

Say "Pumpkin Please!"

Grrrroooowwwllllll

As we were going out for our walk yesterday (at the end of our driveway) the water meter man came by. He said "Oh, what a beautiful Giant Schnauzer". Not very often people know what she is. Then he said "Is she friendly?". I said jokingly "Oh, most of the time". He went to pet her and the low growl came out. He moved back and she moved back. He laughed and I apologized. I put her back into a sit. I don't know if it was the uniform?

There are some men that she just isn't happy around. I wish she was friendly with everybody, but is that a behaviour that has to be corrected or are we just too trusting of people.

Shake your Bootie

Mya can handle the cold very well. What she can't handle are snowballs stuck under her feet and salt from the sidewalks. Usually a few times on our walk she stops and gives me her paw. I pick the snowball out and we keep going.

Today, I remembered that I won a little pair of boots at our Giant Schnauzer Grand Slam. They were from our game "The Laundry Line". They are not fancy in the least. I wanted to get a pair of Muttlucks in the auction but I had run out of money by the time they came around.

So I put these little boots on her and off we went. First, she walked like a dog in high heels. It took a minute for her to get used to them. They were great! They didn't keep her feet very dry, but they kept the snow and salt out.

They came from Komatik Outfitters in Ottawa: http://www.komout.com/

That's Right

We have been practising our right turns on our walks. She's starting to get the hang of it. I think I will get that one perfect before I start left turns.

Relaxing

I always put Mya in the centre of my pictures. I was just watching a little photography show and they talked about putting your subject off to the side. I think I like it. Maybe I should have planned the background a litte better (ie, cleaned my house first!)

Cold

It's to damn cold to go out for a walk with Mya. I can't handle this cold. But she seems to enjoy playing in the backyard with her toys even in this cold.
Did I tell you I hate winter!

I am walking...je marche

Decided that I would bring Mya out for a walk without first checking the temperature outside. I knew if I checked the temperature and it was cold, I wouldn't go out there!

I made her walk over a manhole cover today. It didn't bother her at all. But the next one we approached, she walked around it again. Next time I'm going to make her sit on it.

Today, a squirrel decided to run right beside us. Mya HATES squirrels. They are the mortal enemy. She went wild. Even with the pinch collar on, she was hard to control. Even grabbing her head and body and trying to put her in a sit didn't work. Once the squirrel was out of site she was fine. But I wasn't fine. I was mad at her.

Manhole Covers

On our walk today, I payed attention to what Mya did when we approached a manhole cover. She didn't even look down at it, she just walked around it.

I was thinking that she probably sees it as an object on the sidewalk. She wouldn't step on an empty chip bag, so why should she step on this.

I guess it's not fear. Tomorrow, I'm going to make her walk on one and then later, sit on one.

Going for a walk

I have committed to bringing Mya out for a walk more often. Not only is it good exercise for me, but it allows us time to work on her obedience. I've been pretty slack with it and let her get away with things that I shouldn't have. So, today we start over, kind of like a boot camp.

I did notice a funny thing though. When we are walking, she will not step on a man hole cover. She will go out of her way to walk around it. Strange eh!

Always at my Feet

When I am in the kitchen cooking dinner or doing dishes, you will always find Mya in this spot. Notice that she is right between the fridge and the stove. I let her lay there and step over her if I need something.

An Interesting Blog

Everyday, I like to look at my favorite blogs. Someone told me about a blog about a lady who took in an orphaned Coyote. I had to go and have a look!

Her pictures are stunning to say the least. If you have a chance, go have a look at

The Daily Coyote

She updates the blog daily with the life of Charlie the Coyote.

Even if you don't agree with someone raising a Coyote in a human world, just have a look at the pictures. My take on it is that this poor little guy would have died without a human taking him in. I think when he's ready to go, he will decide when it is time.

A BIG Decision

After giving this a lot of thought (and changing my mind about my decision everyday) I have decided not to host the 2008 Giant Schnauzer Grand Slam.

It is a lot of work and I really love doing it, but I would like to attend a large gathering of
Giants without being the one organizing it. I would love to talk to everyone and meet all the Giants, which is something I don't get to do when I organize the event.

I would still like to host the Grand Slam but only every second year.

I really hope someone else will step up and offer to host the Grand Slam this year (without the auction, penny sale etc).

It's a New Year

I read something on a friend's blog that I thought was interesting. She asked us to take one word to describe 2007 and one word to describe 2008.

( I would link to her blog but I'm not sure she made it public yet.)

So, here is my shot at it:

2007 - Stagnant

2008 - Change

I'm not going to go into great detail, but when I look back at 2007, I see a lot of could have, would have, should have.

I have to make 2008 different. I have to change. I have to live. Heck, I'm going to be 40 years old this summer!!!

The Hair is finally Gone!

I have been growing my hair for 2 years so that I can donate it to an organization that makes wigs for Cancer patients. It was finally time to get it cut. I had 11 inches cut off.

Before

After
The ponytail that I have to send in.

Ok, so it's Mya's blog so I thought I should include a picture of her in there too!