Hanging out with the Rott-n-kids on a nasty day.

  

The weather outside has not been conducive for long walks or romps in the backyard. So what else is left to do? Watch TV and take naps on the couch. Here are a few pictures taken in the last couple of days.

A few days ago Ruff wanted to know why his Mom was wearing a hat inside the house.

The good news is we are having lots of rain. The trees sure need it and we hope they recover from the drought we had last Summer. And in case you didn't notice, Mom always seems to have a few companions to keep her company. That's what it's like Living With Rottweilers.

NASA finally launches our Rottweilers "Face In Space" pictures.

Last June 9th I posted a story about a NASA (yes, that NASA) program where people could send them pictures of themselves and their pets and all of the pictures would be carried aboard the Space Shuttle on Mission STS-133. That space flight was supposed to take off last September 16th but got delayed due to technical problems. Well, STS-133 finally made it into space yesterday and the pictures of Axl and his Mom along with 194,180 other pictures went with them. We have to wait until March 7th to get a confirmation certificate but the news on the NASA web site is good enough for me. UPDATE: Here is the certificate.

Here is an interesting clue to doing a really cool thing. NASA is collecting photos that people post of themselves or their pets or both and will carry them into space on the next two space shuttle launches. Best of all, IT'S FREE. Go to this web site http://faceinspace.nasa.gov/index.aspx and fill out the form and upload your pictures. The shuttle launches are scheduled for liftoff in September and November. Here is one of the photos that I submitted:

Click pictures for larger view.

GO, NASA, GO, DISCOVERY!!! GO, ROTTWEILERS!!!

Happy Valentine's Day. Mom's extra special day in our house.

The three Rottweilers in our house stuck with Mom almost all day. Did they know what special day it was? Or maybe they just sensed it because of the extra love. It doesn't matter either way. We all wished Mom a Happy Valentine's Day.

Click the pictures for a larger view.

In our house, Mom is a very special person every day. That's why Ruff and Axl like to hang out with her. But today, even little Sassy joined them to keep Mom company.

But not everyone was so excited about all the pictures that I took. Axl gave me a dirty look because I was interrupting his nap.

Don't get me wrong, I love taking pictures of our Rottweilers. I have over 15,000 to prove it.  I'm thrilled when I get one really good one for every ten I take.

We went to Petsmart today and Ruff kissed all the girls again.

We had to replenish our supply of dog food and biscuits so we took Ruff to Petsmart in Florence, KY, today, which happens to be the Rottweilers favorite store. In the aisle where the dog food was we met a man who had a beautiful 7-month old female Mastiff puppy. She was 70 lbs, the man told us and she tried to get Ruff to play but Ruff was very reluctant because in his house the girls don't allow that sort of thing. 

Then we met two couples who told Ruff how handsome he was and he started to revel in all the attention. Ruff likes to make friends with the men he meets but he loves to give women kisses and he managed to do so once again.  

Then he met a woman who was pushing a cart with her daughter in it and we stopped and had a nice chat. I saw this woman standing down the aisle talking to the man with the Mastiff and I overheard him say she could pet his dog if she wanted. The woman declined the offer. Then the woman walked toward my wife and I and she stopped to pay Ruff a compliment. While we were talking Ruff was trying hard to make friends and he reached up and gave the little girl in the wagon a kiss. The woman was very much taken with Ruff's friendliness and he wound up giving her a kiss, too. I happened to comment to her that he attracts girls where ever he goes and has probably kissed more than a hundred women in this store in the four years we have brought him with us. I asked her, jokingly, to imagine what an 18-year old boy could do with a Rottweiler like Ruff and she laughed.

Later we got to the check out line and this same woman was on line ahead of us. Ruff jumped up and stood with his front paws on the counter and gave the little girl in the wagon another kiss. While we were waiting for our turn some more people came in the store and a yet another woman stopped to say hello to Ruff and she bent over and got some kisses from him. The woman with the little girl turned to watch this as she was leaving and I saw her smile. I looked at her and said, "See what I mean?".

When we got to have our items checked Ruff jumped up with his paws on the counter again and the clerk gave Ruff some treats. When the clerk came around to price scan the heavy bags of dog food in our cart he gave her a kiss. Then Ruff followed the clerk when she returned to the register and another female employee that Ruff has seen many times before came over behind the partition next to the register. As soon as Ruff recognized this woman he jumped up and put his paws on the top edge of the partition and gave her a kiss, too. While this whole thing was going on I saw another woman standing in the adjoining check out line look at Ruff and smile. She then made a one word comment and said, "Rottweilers!" 

I guess the well socialized, friendly types are all alike. So maybe Ruff isn't the only one who goes around kissing all the girls.

Just to give you an idea of what Ruff looks like when he gives a kiss to someone he meets at Petsmart, here is a picture of him kissing his Mom on Valentine's Day back in 2008. I would love to post some pictures of Ruff's adventures at Petsmart but there are legal complications that prevent using photos of people we don't know without their written permission. Ruff doesn't jump up on people unless they have given him some hint they would enjoy having him do it. He usually sits in front of them wiggling his butt in anticipation while stretching his head up as high as he can. And usually, they will just lean over to get their faces closer to him. I have never had anyone complain about his affection.

  

The food may be expensive but at least the entertainment is free.

Not a day goes by when our three Rottweilers don't manage to do something to make us smile or laugh. I have often told our friends that our Rott-n-kids provide us with almost as much entertainment as the television does. They all manage to do this by just acting natural. Take this for instance. Ruff was on his Mom's bed and Axl jumped up to see what was going on. 

Or last night when we were all watching television. At least the two humans were watching the TV, the two Rottweilers were sound asleep. Ruff had started to slide backward off the foot rest and didn't realize it.

I asked some of our Rottweiler friends to guess what Rottweilers do best and a lady in Cleveland, Ohio came back and said, "Hold down the furniture and keep it from flying away? Hey, they may *look* like they’re lazing about, but they are working hard keeping that furniture in place!"

So that's the way it is when you live with Rottweilers. I'm told my three are not very different from the one's our friends own. So when is the news media going to stop referring to the breed as being so dangerous. It's the bad owners that we should be worrying about.

 

I found a few more things that Ruff doesn't like.

Anyone who owns a Rottweiler knows they all have distinctly different personalities. And the more you own the more evident it becomes. We have had the pleasure of owning six of these wonderful canines and each in their own way has been an enjoyable acquaintance. Our 4 year Ruff has just as many likes and dislikes as any person you will meet. Ruff expresses himself with a variety of sounds and gestures, usually some low growls of disapproval, that let you know he is a very opinionated Rottweiler.

Ruff likes to watch television and here we find he shows off his opinions most of all. I have already posted a piece about Ruff enjoying the Wheel of Fortune and especially his affection for Vanna White. Since the day when he was younger and he met his first horse (October 7, 2008) Ruff is always on alert whenever he sees a horse on television. I think he remembers that shy moment when the horse walked up to him in the field and he got to see how big it was. That didn't stop him from going nose-to-nose and we are all happy the horse was used to seeing Rottweilers and wasn't afraid.

Following his contact with that horse, Ruff has always been fascinated by horses. Ruff watched the entire Belmont Stakes horse race (June 6, 2010) almost literally with his nose glued to the TV. And he seemed to like the chestnut-colored horses better than the others. I wonder why?

Now we know some things he doesn't like.

There are many things on television that Ruff does not like. Mostly, they involve scenes of violence in cop dramas, but Ruff doesn't like sports where people run around and jump on each other like football. Now we have found another sport Ruff doesn't like, Bull Riding. Today we watched a contest on television from Indianapolis and Ruff definitely did not approve of the bulls tossing off the cowboys.

With the advent of High Definition television all of these images on TV are crystal clear and that makes them even more lifelike. The end result is we are constantly cleaning nose prints off the TV screen. But watching Ruff's reaction to these things is almost as enjoyable as watching the TV  programs, themselves.

Ruff Attacked by a Sea Monster.

A few days ago we picked up a free rental video of "IMAX Under the Sea" and watched it on our Blu-Ray DVD player. The images of the fish were absolutely incredible when seen in 1080P High Definition. In one scene there was an ugly looking fish called a Cuttlefish and the camera looked like it was only a few feet away from it. The Cuttlefish stalked a Shrimp and in a flash shot out a long tentacle to snare it and Ruff immediately ran up to the television to see what had happened. While Ruff was standing right in front of the screen the fish caught another Shrimp and Ruff was so startled by the violence he fell over trying to jump back. His feet were sliding on the floor trying to gain traction in his flight to safety. This big brave Rottweiler then ran behind the couch to stand next to his Mom for protection. Needless to say, Ruff voiced several complaints after this.

   

The story about Axl and his blankie

As far as Rottweilers go, of the six we have owned (or who have owned us) the latest member of our family, Axl, is the sweetest, most gentle and devoted of all of them. And we have only had the pleasure and joy of knowing him for the last year and a half of his nine years. We adopted Axl when he was seven in August of 2009 after his previous owner's home was destroyed in a fire and she could not take him to her new home. Almost from the day he entered his new home, Axl became devoted to my wife Jackie. He followed her around the house, he lays next to her on the couch with his head on her lap when we watch TV and he sleeps next to her on the bed at night. 

When the first Winter came after Axl arrived my wife decided he needed a small blanket over him to help keep him warm on the bed. Axl never complained that he didn't want it or needed it, he just accepted it. My guess is that was because it was a gift from his Mom and that made it special.

Then the blanket started to go wherever he went and my wife would sometimes cover him with it when he took a nap on the couch in the day-time during the cold weather.

On occasion the blanket, now referred to as Axl's blankie, began to go with Axl wherever he went and when he got off the couch he often carried the blankie around the house with him still where his Mom had placed it, over his back.

Today was one of those days only something different happened that made me think of a scene from a favorite old movie. Axl walked out into the kitchen following his Mom wearing his old blankie still draped over his shoulders.

And when my wife opened the refrigerator door to get something it looked like a scene from the movie E.T. The Extraterrestrial.

You be the judge, don't take my word for it.

Hope you enjoyed our crazy adventures.

After the movie - Sleeping Beauty.

 

On second thought maybe this should be called Sleeping Beauty - after the movie. We weren't watching the movie Sleeping Beauty, Sleeping Beauty was sound asleep on the couch.

Sassy is such a flirty girl.

I walked into the family room tonight and saw Sassy on the couch. As soon as she saw me she rolled over on her back and gave me a look. When I came back in with the camera she was no longer on her back so I asked her to roll over again and she did.

Sassy is getting along much better now that she is taking her Rimadyl for her bad legs. Poor little girl has had a rough life almost since the day we adopted her but she has always been so sweet and loveable. She had surgery on both of her torn ACLs and has been on pain management for almost two years with Tramadol.

Snow, snow and more snow and the Rottweilers love it.

This Winter has given us more snow than any other on record, so far. We had 21 inches in December and just added another 5 inches a few days ago. Needless to say, Ruff, Axl and Sassy are enjoying every minute of it. Here are a few pictures taken this afternoon. The nice thing is all of the snow has come in small amounts, nothing like the 18 inches they got on Long Island in one day.

Ruff and Axl explored the woods in the back of our property.

Then the boys started horsing around. 

Little Sassy didn't approve and went after Axl to make him stop.

 And when Sassy says STOP she means STOP.

But Ruff wasn't listening so Sassy had to remind him. Sassy does not like playing.

As quiet as it is in our house the boys still manage to act like boys and play when ever they get a chance. And Sassy, as quiet as she is still sets all the rules and she will stare them down when ever they get too rowdy.

By the way, the Sun wasn't out so I had to adjust the expose on these pictures in the computer. 

After the excitement on Christmas Day, then came the big letdown.

  

Our friend Lucy had to go home and she took little Tinker with her. Ruff and Axl saw her leave but they continued to search the house following her scent wherever she had walked. Then after realizing Lucy and Tinker were really gone they seemed to suffer a big letdown. To our Rottweilers, a letdown is an excuse for a nap and so they did.

 

A surprise visitor on Christmas Day brought her little dog for a visit.

Our good friend Lucy came for a visit on Christmas and she brought her little dog Tinker with her. This was the first time our Rottweilers had met Tinker and they didn't seem to be bothered by her tiny size. Matter of fact, this little girl was just as bossy with the big boys as our Rottweiler Sassy. Just goes to prove that size doesn't matter in the canine world, the girls are always in charge no matter how big or small they are.

Tinker settled in right away and I got some pictures to share with our fans.

Axl had to wait his turn when Tinker went to the water dish. Our boys were extremely polite and let tinker go first.

Axl stepped away from his food dish for a moment and Tinker went over to help herself, one kibble at a time. I thought she might have had some ideas about eating from the Big Dog dish.

Tinker even managed to trot around the house with the two boys following her everywhere. I think she was enjoying their attention. To see her walk underneath them was very funny but unfortunately I did not have the camera with me every moment.

We posed this picture by placing Tinker on the couch between Axl and Ruff because she couldn't get up there by herself. It sort of reminded me of this next picture I took seven years ago when we first got little Sassy when she was only eight weeks old. Sassy was sitting between her adopted mother Mocha and Mocha's father Nikko.

By the way, this is Tinker when she was only a year old. We had found a shoe scrapper that looked just like her and she was checking it out.

Wishing all our Rottweiler fans a very Merry Christmas.

Here we are, Ruff, Jackie (best Rottie Mom in the world), Axl and me, all dressed up for Christmas wearing our Santa hats. So, from our house to yours, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

Click the picture to enlarge.

And we couldn't be complete without little Sassy who joined our family portrait at the last minute. Notice how Ruff and Axl have discovered the pom-poms on their hats. You wouldn't believe how long it took to get those hats to stay on just right.

Goats and Rottweilers love to eat everything.

For the canine species who were raised on meat our Rottweilers love fruits and vegetables just as much. And they each have particular tastes. Ruff and Axl seem to enjoy everything, apples, grapes, melon, oranges and every kind of vegetable. Sassy is a bit more picky. Last night my wife Jackie sat down in the living room with a cut up orange. While she was peeling it to eat Axl and Ruff sat in front of her and began mooching. When they lock their radar onto food they just stare at it and send out thought waves to tell you to share it.

Click the pictures for a larger view.

And, Yes, they did get to have some but I wonder if they would enjoy eating the orange peel, too?

Our first serious snow fall. Guess who enjoys it most?

Last night we had another six inches of new snow on top of three inches that fell a few days ago. With temperatures staying between zero and 25 degrees, the old snow never melted. After what we saw last year, the deeper the snow the more the Rottweilers seem to enjoy it, especially Ruff and his 9-year old buddy Axl. Here are a few pictures taken a little while ago. The first picture was from the snow fall, three days ago. The sky got very bright and clear and Ruff looked like he was posing for a statue. I love the way he gazes off into the distance over the expanse of clear snow in our neighbors back yard where he does not go to explore.

Click the pictures for a larger view.

Then this afternoon Ruff and Axl went for a walk out back, or I should say a run out back because they seldom just walk around and they began chasing each other. Their favorite game was to run around one of the trees after each other. First they would run in one direction for a few turns then stop and reverse direction. 

All this has happened and Winter doesn't begin until December 21st. It looks like the boys are going to have a lot of fun this year.

Hiberbnating through the Winter

Well, not really hibernating, just taking a lot of snoozes through the day. We have had our second snowfall for the season and it gives us all more reasons to stay cozy indoors. Our Rottie's love to take naps and it must be infectious just like when you see someone yawning. We all sat down the other night to watch a movie on television and when it was over I discovered that I was the only one still awake. This is our oldest Rottweiler, Axl, sleeping next to his Mom.

I have always wondered why anything that sleeps 12-14 hours a day could have such a short lifespan. God love 'em, you don't ever want them to suffer from any stress or tension. I just wish they wouldn't snore so loud.

Today we had the first snow of the season. Our Rottweilers are very happy.

The weatherman was wrong but the Rottweilers are happy in spite of it. Today we had our first snow and even though it was a little more than a dusting, Ruff and Axl had some fun checking it out.

After a terribly hot Summer with over 60 days of above 90 degrees temperature and a 5 month long drought, finally the seasons are getting back to normal. Just a few weeks before Thanksgiving we were more than 8 inches below normal rainfall. Then we had three soaking rains that delivered more than 5 inches of rain in two weeks. And following the last heavy rain we had some cold air move in to turn the last bit of rain into SNOW.

Of course, as soon as the boys came back in the house our old man Axl had to take a nap on his mom's lap.