An unexpected visitor came for the weekend and brought along another Rottweiler.

My daughter Karen gave us all a big surprise a few days ago and drove down from Long Island to spend the weekend with us. And Karen brought along her own best friend, a Rottweiler whose name is Boo Bear. To say the least we had an enjoyable and very exciting few days together. This is the first time we ever had four Rotties in our house at the same time.

Boo Bear is in training to become a service dog and often wears his vest and collar but for most of his visit with our three Rottweilers he was able to enjoy just being a dog. I was impressed with how calm he was coming into a home he has never been to before and meeting three strange dogs who were very eager to play with him. One of the first things Boo did was go up next to my wife Jacqueline and give her a kiss.

And during most of the quiet moments Boo spent his time laying next to Jacqueline, almost as if he realized she needed his company. This seems to be a natural inborn trait of Rottweilers which makes them wonderful companion dogs.

But except for one rainy day the weekend was too nice to stay indoors so we all went out for some play in the backyard. Boo was wearing a bandage on his right front paw because he got a small cut on one of his pads but that didn't prevent him from running with Ruff and Bessie.

Ready, Set, Go....

Now that is an action shot. And Ruff was doing a great job keeping up with the younger Rotts. His limp was all gone and he was running faster than I've seen him run in a few years.

Karen had to leave early Monday morning for her 800-mile drive home. It was a nice visit and we were glad to see her again. Now that she knows she can do this I'm sure we'll see her again soon.

A gorgeous day for a walk and a chance to enjoy the fall foliage.

Clear blue skies and a warm sunny day is a temptation for a long walk that's hard to resist. Combine that with an opportunity to see what Mother Nature has done with her new Autumn colors and the fact that all three of my Rottweilers were eager to go for a walk and my camera was close at hand and.... Well, here it is. Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

And look who is coming with us.

The only disappointment was this was the only tree that had changed color. The Bradford Pear trees and the Gum trees have only started to turn color.

Last but not least old man Axl finally gets back to the house. Can't blame him one bit because of his age. But I think he may be in better condition than I am.

Ruff was the first one to get back to the front door. I'm so glad to see that the meds the Vet gave him yesterday have cleared up his limp. Although the walks lately have not been like they were a few years ago when he and his buddy Axl use to chase each other around the back yard. Hey, we're all getting old.

Ruff and Bess went to the Vet's office today.

The past seven days have been a hectic week of doctors visits and some would be better off left unmentioned. But most of our visits to the Vet are on the good side. It has always been a treat for the Rotts to go there and I always get pulled into the place because they're in so much hurry. I try to time my visits when they aren't busy so I don't need to spend a lot of time there. Also because Ruff and Bess make such a grand entrance everyone takes notice, some smiling and some taking a few steps back. Then again, Bess is curious about any dogs she sees there. The waiting area is partitioned into three seating groups separated by a three foot high wall and Bess usually climbs up on a chair to see who is on the other side.

Maybe Ruff is starting to feel his age but I got worried about a limp he started having a few days ago. I have seen him try so hard to play with Bess outdoors but he could never keep up with her. And Bess plays hard and fast. I saw her slam into Ruff broadside one day and she knocked him clean off his feet, so I wasn't sure if he was dealing with a battle injury or the onset of old age.

The exam didn't point the finger either way. His limp was caused by some inflammation in his spine between his shoulders. I left with two prescriptions to give to Ruff for the next ten days and we'll see what happens.

On the way out to pay the bill I asked one of the tech ladies if I could put Bess on the big floor scale. I took Bess along for the ride and to keep Ruff company. When she got settled on the scale it read 94.4 lbs. A whole 3 lbs more than her last visit. Apparently Bess has decided to grow a bit more and has filled out her over-sized feet very nicely.

I took this picture in my den yesterday while Bess was posing on her dog bed. I say posing because that is not the way she normally sprawls across the bed, usually with her head laying on the floor. She has turned out to be the most beautiful Rottie girl I ever had. And I think she knows it, too. She poses very well, when she knows the camera is pointed at her.

14 candles for the best old Rottweiler in the world.

We didn't have an overflow crowd for Axl's 14th birthday but everyone in his family enjoyed his party and his birthday cake. And that "birthday cake" turned out to be the best meatloaf I have ever made. Let me show you how the party went. I wrote the recipe at the end of the post.

Checking everything out. The camera is on the tripod and I'm using the hand-held remote. Took a test picture to make sure.

Mr. Axl gets his first look at the cake.

And a sample taste because I wasn't sure he knew what this was.

And a birthday kiss. And if I captioned this photo I think I'd say he had an Oh, Gosh, look on his face.

Now for a bigger taste of the special meatloaf with mash potatoes icing that I made for him. He did seem a bit confused watching me light the candles. I'm wondering what went through his mind. Did he think I was cooking the meal in front of him?

I had to help the birthday boy blow out the candles. Now everyone gets to eat.

Even Mom and Dad had some. I told you it was the best meatloaf I ever made.

And, yes, we even saved some for baby Bess. I couldn't handle all three of them at the same time, anyway.

This was the absolute best birthday party we ever had for any of our Rottweilers in the last 20 years. And as far as Mr. Axl is concerned, I hope it won't be his last. 

Thanks to all for your nice birthday wishes.

3 lbs of chuck chop 80% lean chop meat
4 whole eggs
1 cup of parsley flakes
1/2 large white onion, chopped fine and fried
2 cups of spaghetti sauce
1 bag of cubed turkey stuffing mix with herbs (cubes were crumbled)
1 cup of Club crackers also crumbled
1 cup of water

Blend all ingredients thoroughly. If you have a large mixer it helps. 

Oven 380 degrees bake for 90 minutes until internal temperature is 175 degrees (well done).

Cover with mashed potatoes.

WOW! A whole set of pictures I forgot to post.

STORM WARNING. July 13th, when the weatherman interrupts the daily TV shows and tells everyone to get themselves to the basement, you don't stop to ask questions.

Well that may be easier said than done when you have an invalid wife and an old Rottweiler who both can't walk down the stairs. So we took the long way around and went out the front door and down the long driveway and came in the basement through the garage door. And that's where we hung out for the next three hours. It was to our good fortune that we have a nice finished basement with lots of couch space and another TV. So of course I took along my camera.

If someone hadn't just commented on my last post asking how much Bess weighed I wouldn't have discovered this set of pictures. So please notice how big Bess looks laying on the couch looking down on old man Axl. And that's our big boy Ruff scrunched up behind her.

Later on Bess decided that her Mom needed some attention.

The storm passed over us, no damage was done and we all had an exciting afternoon. 

The only problem that I can see after the fact is why did I forget to post these pictures. Is my memory getting bad? Actually, I think I know what happened. Almost all of the pictures posted this past year have been taken with the Nikon D40, my older camera. When I was moving everyone down to the basement I grabbed the new Nikon D3200 and I keep the pictures in different folders. OK, now I feel a  little better. 

The count-down has begun. Saturday, Oct. 10th is the really big party.

This time I planned everything well in advance. I got 3 lbs of chop meat a week ago and just took it out of the freezer to defrost it in the refrigerator and I have lots of mash potato mix. Plus, I have a box full of birthday cake candles. Old man Axl is going to have one heck of a birthday party.  

You know, when you stop and think about it, there is no difference between making a meatloaf and covering it with mash potatoes and feeding it to some Rottweilers and doing the same thing for the humans in the house. I won't be making little, individual-sized loafs, I am going to make a large, cake-sized loaf and its going to have 14 candles.

One more thing, regarding that gorgeous Rottweiler plush toy with the big red embroidered heart, our young lady Rott Bess barged into my photo session last week but I forgot to post the picture. And I was just reminded after reading my previous post that it was two weeks ago, not last week. Time sure flies when you're busy.

The absolutely best Rottweiler gift I've ever seen.

Alright now, who doesn't agree that Love Is Living With Rottweilers?

A few weeks ago I was looking for a special baby gift to give to a friend and I came upon a company in New Jersey that made the most adorable plush toys and offered the option of custom embroidery. If you are in the market for something huge or something small then you must check out Big Plush. In the process of placing my order I decided to add a big red heart with the message: Love Is Living With Rottweilers, just because the mother-to-be was not only a friend but also a fan of the blog and owned a Rottweiler. In the course of dealing with Big Plush I got to talk to a lovely lady named Melinda who ran the Customer Service line and also to the owner of the company Mike Matuska. That's what kind of a company this is. 

Before they sent me the finished product Melinda even emailed me a photo of herself holding my new Rottweiler along with another photo of my customized heart before they attached it to the toy. The custom heart and embroidery cost only an additional $20. What makes this such a special gift is the Rottweiler is attached to a 3 ft. wide grass mat and I could just picture it at the foot of a baby's crib.

The finished order arrived today and I just want to show you the pictures I took tonight. And I forgot to mention, it comes with a big red rose in the Rottweilers mouth. How is that for love. I could have had the heart attached to the grass mat under the Rotties face but I decided to have them sew it on the the dog's butt.

 That rose is made of soft fabric but it looks so real you can almost smell it.

Here are some professional photos of this plush toy that came from the Big Plush web site. I do not know the names of the two pretty girls, but I was told they are models, not employees.

I took this photo and pasted my design for the heart to show them where I wanted it attached.

As I keep looking at these pictures it occurred to me that the red heart could almost be a brand logo for this blog. I can't think think of a more appropriate message because every day I see the love in my three Rottweilers and every time I read a comment sent to me I can tell that every Rottweiler owner feels the same way that I do. So let me say it one more time:

LOVE IS

LIVING WITH

ROTTWEILERS

This blog does not run any ads but I feel free to heap praise on any product related to dogs that I may find. And while I haven't done that often, this is one item that I think you may want to consider for a Christmas present. You can use that same love message if you want because I don't think you can trademark the word LOVE and I'm not going to. The Big Plush web site offers other special features besides custom embroidery and you can have a ribbon included with any message you want and some of their plush toys can have recorded messages in your voice. They list the plush Rottweiler for under $75 and it includes free shipping. Go ahead and make someone happy. Send the nice lady an email Melinda@bigplush.com or call them on the phone at 1-800-238-9481 and visit their web site www.bigplush.com and look over the largest plush toys you'll ever see.

 

Early evening, just before sunset.

We needed a break today. The last few days have been really bad around here. Too bad old man Axl won't leave his Mom to go for a walk with us but he seems to know she needs him more than ever. Even when she is taking a nap the only time he leaves her is to go outside to pee. The look in his eyes when he lays his head in her lap tells me how worried he is. And that's one of the reasons we needed to get out of the house so I took my big buddy and his girlfriend. The Sun was about an hour before setting and the long shadows made some dramatic pictures. I am still waiting for the leaves to turn into their Fall glory but the wet Summer may have delayed this a few weeks.

I managed to grab some spare time and cut the grass out back the other day. Now it makes it look like a real park. I just love all these trees here and the dozen more that I planted years ago are starting to fill in scenery very nicely.

Hopefully this will be the last time this year that the grass will need cutting. I've noticed in previous years that when the leaves begin to fall they get stuck in the grass when its too high. When the grass is short like it is now they just blow away.

 

A walk in the woods

I don't hold much faith in climate change but the seasons do seem to be sliding. June and July were more like Spring than Summer. August was like a monsoon and now September has brought us day after day of 90+ degree weather. So I have been using the garden hose and a root feeder to water the Fir trees I planted in our Enchanted Forest about 8 years ago. I can tell you that those trees have really grown. They were only about 5' tall when I planted them but now they are almost 20' tall. Here's a picture taken 7 years ago and it has just made me feel cool and comfortable looking at it.

And here are my Fir trees today. When we walk in between these trees it is like going into a forest. Oh, by the way, we all went for a walk in the woods today. I had to move the hose from one tree to another and I brought my helpers along.

I think we should have taken along a bowl for some water. 

It was hot.

 

Grandpa Axl seems to be spending a lot of time with Bessie.

Yesterday afternoon Bess and me had a visitor come in the den. Old man Axl came in and after a few minutes of ear scratches, kisses and other greetings, Axl decided to lay down next to Bessie on her day bed. I've seen Bessie lay down next Axl when he's in his Mom's bedroom and she gets very lovable with him, smothering him with face licks and ear washes. Now it seems that Bess has become an attraction to Mr. Axl, as well.

And the feelings are mutual.

We are closing in on another important event around here. Next month on October 10th, Axl will be 14-years old. He is still able to get around on his own with only some minor weakness in his hind legs but he has no other health problems. He gets to sleep a lot and he snores louder than any other Rottweiler we've ever had. Heck, if I was his age I'd be taking naps on the couch every day too. So its time to start making plans for another birthday party. And not to be left out, baby Ruff with be 9-years old in November, almost a full month after his best friend Axl.

 

Grandpa Axl and Bessie, this morning

My little helper was distracted this morning while I was putting Mom's shoes on. Old man Axl was laying right next to me, still half asleep, and Bess thought it was more important to wake him up with some kisses than help me tie shoe laces. Which was okay with me.

So, off to fetch the trusty camera. I haven't posted new pictures in awhile and I always welcome the excuse to do so.

I am always amazed at watching the interaction between Bess and Ruff and Bess and Axl. Ruff and I did most of the raising of the little girl (if you can call it that) while Grumpy Grandpa Axl quickly set the rules he did not want to be bothered. In the end Grandpa Axl turned out to be a big sweetheart and wound up being treated by Bessie with total respect, which later turned into puppy love, and Ruff became the boy-toy for the bigger and faster growing little girl.

Once in awhile Bess even tries to get Axl to play with her which leads me to some concern because he is not too steady on his feet. But I still see Bess trying to push one of her Kong toys into his mouth to initiate a game of tugs like she does with Ruff. I have to remind her that the old man is very delicate and she has to be careful around him.

Bess does not take instructions very well. I am no expert on how they get to learn new things but Bess seems to always try and push the envelope all the time. Like walking out on the pool cover.

The way things were going last Summer it became obvious that the in-ground swimming pool was not getting much use. The joke around here was it cost me $50 every time I jumped in the water. It was also a terrible waste of time maintaining the chemical levels and the frequent vacuuming. So last Fall when I closed up the pool for the Winter I made plans not to open the pool at all this year. I bought an extra large, heavy duty cover to lay on top of the safety cover and secured it all around with covered trays filled with water to weigh it down. 

Ruff has always been allowed to go out back and knows not to walk too close to the pool edge and when the water trays were put in place it created a defined path that was not to be crossed. Of course it wasn't like that when he was very little.

And when he got bigger he and Axl used to run across the cover and through the snow playing. This picture was taken 5 years ago when Axl was a spry, young 9-year old boy and that's the pool diving board behind them.

 I did not allow Bess to go out back until I was sure she understood what the water trays were for. I kept reminding her not to step over them. Only this past month has she and Ruff been allowed out back without supervision. So once in awhile I would look out the kitchen window and see the little explorer trying to test the strength of the cover. The safety cover is anchored with springs at the end of the support straps and it works just like a trampoline but not for that purpose. The springs allow flexing to bear the load weight of snow and rain water. 

We all know how much kids enjoy trampolines and Bess seems to be no different. But the collected rain water has to be pumped off or it gets too heavy, and sometimes frogs and birds come out and swim in it just like they would in any pond which is what attracts Bess's attention. And it scares me to death sometimes when I catch her walking out on the cover. Hopefully, some day she will learn.

So now there's one more thing I have to yell at her for. The little girl has eagle-eye vision and can spot the smallest movement a hundred feet away. When we go out front I need to see what she sees before she sees it, and if I do I'll tell her, BESSIE, NO SQUIRRELS! otherwise she'll be dashing across the street. And our next door neighbor has an oak tree in his front yard that is always dropping acorns so you know what that does. Now when she's out back I'll open the door or the kitchen window and yell, BESSIE, LEAVE THE FROGS ALONE.