We bought a new Rottweiler flag

I got an ad in the mail a few weeks ago for a series of Rottweiler Flags, with a different seasonal theme for each month of the year. With so much of my life centered around our Rottweilers, I couldn't resist adding this to our collection of Rottweiler paraphernalia. When the first flag arrived everyone who saw it said it looked like my 4-year old baby Ruff had posed for the pictures. Here is the ad that came in the mail. If you want to order one see the link below.

You can check out Willabee and Ward's web site at

http://www.willabeeandwardproducts.com/collectibles/product.asp?code=2591

Now here are two photos of Ruff sitting in front of the first flag we received. I tried several times to get him to smile with his tongue hanging out like in the flag but I couldn't get him to do it. Ruff has been loosing his baby face expressions as he gets older.

I just went back in some of my older pictures of Ruff, taken last year, and found the perfect match for his smiley face grin. Here it is.

Now you can see why so many people said the flag Rottie looked like him. You can even see his dimples.

Mom has biscuits.

 

You would think that after spending almost all summer indoors because the outside temperature hovered above 90 degrees almost every day that once it got cool we would be outside. Wrong. The weather did get cool and then dropped some 15 degrees below normal daily temperatures and out bodies hadn't adjusted to it. So we continue to spend more time inside the house.

So today my wife Jackie was sitting on the couch with her two favorite Rottweilers, Ruff and Axl and I gave her some dog biscuits to feed her friends. One thing led to another and our little girl Sassy joined in for a few pictures.

Click pictures for larger view.

All's well that ends well. Everyone got some biscuits and I got some nice pictures.

Mysterious visitor

   
This morning around 8AM I let Ruff and Axl go out into the fenced portion of our property that surrounds the pool for their potty break. Shortly after while I was in the kitchen making some coffee I looked out the window and spotted the dogs at the far end of the swimming pool, and one of them had a tail. In spite of the fact that I had not had my morning coffee yet I knew in an instant that one of those dogs wasn't mine so I went out to see who it was. The dog was a good size, about 60 LBS and was a solid color that was almost black with some reds and browns evenly mixed in from head to tail. I have never seen a dog like this so I could not tell his breed. He also didn't have any collar. The dog looked a bit overweight and he was old. I could see his gray whiskers speckling his muzzle. I guessed by his age and weight that he didn't climb over the fence into our yard and because we have a chain around every gate I thought someone may have put him inside the fence. Maybe someone who knew we cared about dogs and they couldn't take care of him any more so they left him with us. Our visitor seemed somewhat timid but not aggressive and our guys were quite interested in checking him out in their friendly fashion.

I went inside and got a bowl of water and a dish of dog food and left it on the sidewalk in back of the pool. I also took Ruff and Axl back inside so they could have their own breakfast while our visitor could find the dishes I left for him. I saw from the window that he did drink some water and I was very curious how he got in our yard. After we had our breakfast I went outside to find him but he wasn't in the yard any more. I have already checked the perimeter of the fencing to make sure there was no way our Rottweilers could get out of the yard so unless I missed something our visitor didn't go under the chain-link fence. How he got in and how he got out remains a mystery.

Now I know. Deer can run faster than Rottweilers.

  

We have a wide open back yard almost 500 feet deep beyond the fenced in swimming pool, with a tree lined creek running across the end. All of our neighbor's property on both sides of us are the same. The Rottweilers love this area as it gives them so much room to run around in. Last night after dinner, about 7PM I took Ruff and Axl for a walk down the back and all of a sudden they both took off in a run that I thought was their usual play thing. It was already close to sunset and the light was dim but still bright enough to see the expanse of the property. Then I noticed they had spotted a deer and were in hot pursuit after it. As soon as I saw the white tail of the deer standing up in the air against the backdrop of the darker trees behind it and the deer racing away in long leaps I started yelling for Ruff and Axl to stop and come back. By this time they had only ran about 200 feet across our property and our next door neighbor's property as well. The deer was getting further away by every second. The boys were extremely excited by this whole event and were very much out of breath when then came back. They both were supercharged with adrenalin from their chase and continued to be excited even after we got back in the house. In spite of his being almost 9-years old, Axl was actually running ahead of Ruff during the chase. It was a sight I will never forget and hope to never see again. I don't know how long they would have chased the deer if I hadn't stopped them in time.

I was standing about where the "A" marker is and the red line is the path of our racing Rottweilers.

Axl's adventures at the local library.

Last night we were invited to bring Axl to the local library to be part of the Puppy Tails program where small children sit with a dog and read a book to them. Everyone who has met Axl has been impressed with his very gentle demeanor and a woman who works with therapy dogs told us about this program and invited us to participate. Axl will be 9 years old next month and he has lived with us for the past year. I know the lady who purchased him as she used to be a breeder and Axl is a pedigree Rottweiler. She sold him to a handicapped woman after changing her plans and this woman who also was a dog trainer trained Axl to be a service dog and he lived with her for 7 years until their house was destroyed in a fire last July. I was lucky to be allowed to adopt him and it was only because his first owner put in a good recommendation for me. Axl has been my wife's constant companion since the day he came to live with us.

 

We brought Axl over to the William E. Durr branch of the Kenton County Library at 6:30 pm and the woman in charge of the program told us how it would work. They had four dogs come in to a large room and sit in opposite corners and each child would sit with a dog for twenty minutes and read a book. The children were allowed to pick the dog they wanted to read to. There were two small dogs and a yellow Lab along with Axl. Jackie and I sat with Axl and as the first group of children came in the room. The first child in the room was a little girl, about 4 years old and she walked right over to Axl and petted him and sat with her mother to read. Axl was a little nervous because he had never been there before so I guess he didn't know what to do. He just sat there and seemed to want to spend more time with his Mom than with the little girl. Axl did manage to give the little girl some licks and the little girl was petting him on his head a lot.

I was more concerned over Axl's reaction to the other dogs but after the first nose to nose greeting with the second dog who entered the room, nothing happened. The next two children that came in for the following sessions were little boys. All of these children had been to the Puppy Tails before and none were bothered by Axl's large size. When the first boy sat down to read, he came in alone without any adults. The lady who ran the program came over and sat on the floor with Axl and got him to lay on the carpet. By this time Axl was not as nervous as he was at first. She petted Axl and he almost went to sleep.

The Puppy Tails program is a serious effort to help get children to read more. Several adults came over to visit Axl including a few who worked with the library. The only concerns they mentioned was his large size and one did mention a concern about his breed. It seems that children do not share these concerns with adults as I have seen many children walk up to our Rottweilers in Petsmart and ask if they could pet them. Some even wrap their arms around them and give them hugs and all usually get a few face licks in return. People do not seem too understand that dogs are not born vicious, they are made that way by irresponsible people. That is why responsible dog owners must stand up to oppose Breed Specific Laws.

When the reading session ended we were told they had one cancellation and the fourth child that would have read to Axl didn't show up so we left the library around 7:45 pm. The woman in charge repeated her concerns about Axl's size and we left with the impression we would not be invited back. I thought the event was very interesting and would like to do it again.

We got back from the Puppy Tails reading to a dog program at the library just before 8pm and saw that my neighbor's two German Sheppard dogs were running loose in front of our house. Rommel and Maggie are two friendly dogs who are owned by a friend I used to work with at Delta who lives over on the street behind us about 1000 feet away. They have both come over for visits before and all of our Rottweilers know them.

Jackie went into the house and I let Ruff and Sassy out and me and the five dogs walked over to where the German Sheppard dogs live. Along the way across the wide open grass back yard they had a great time running around playing with each other.

At first I thought no one was home so I followed the dogs around the house and found the garage door was open with a TV on. The garage was set up as a rec room with chairs and couches. I yelled out asking if anyone was home and heard a woman's voice from inside the house. The German Sheppard's ran ahead through the garage and through an open door into the house followed by Ruff and Axl and me and Sassy right behind them. My friend from work wasn't home but his wife was. I had not met this woman before until last night when we were all inside her small kitchen along with five large dogs. I guess she was surprised to see her two German Sheppard's come home with their two Rottweiler friends. I introduced myself and we had a brief conversation and then we left and walked back to our house.

It was a very interesting and exciting evening, for sure.

After the movie, at our house tonight.

One picture is worth a thousand words or so they say. That would make this a very short post. Our favorite old Rottweiler, Axl, who will be 9 years old next month, spent the evening laying on the couch between me and my wife while we were watching a movie. It shouldn't make any difference that it was a funny movie about animals and that Ruff watched the whole thing from the other couch, and thankfully, didn't charge up to the TV and leave nose prints on the screen. Axl, on the other hand, slept through the whole thing. And did he ever sleep. After the movie ended my wife and I got up from the couch and Axl remained sound asleep with his head resting on the table I made from a slice of a tree, with his front legs dangling off the edge of the couch.

When we came back in the living room Axl hadn't moved one bit so I went and got the camera to record the scene. After taking a few pictures we sat down and watched the 11 o'clock news and then we carefully woke him up so he could go out and do his pees before bedtime.

By the way, this Summer has been one for the record books. We have had a severe drought and more than 60 days of temperatures in the 90's. It has been so uncomfortably hot we have not been outside very much at all. That would explain the lack of more posts and pictures. The weather has just begun to cool off and all we need now is some rain.

Another Ruff adventure at Petsmart.

   

On Sunday we took Ruff to Petsmart to buy some dog food and it was very busy in the store. Ruff likes to meet people so he really enjoyed himself. Ruff walked through the store like a celebrity and managed to attract several women who all stopped to pet him and a few even let him give them kisses. When we walked into the store there was a young woman working the register who recognized him and knows his name and in spite of having a few customers waiting to check out, she greeted Ruff, got some kisses and gave him a treat. It is that kind of attitude that makes us all look forward to shopping there. The customers waiting to check out all seemed to enjoy the display of friendliness.

On the way out of the store Ruff spotted a young female employee he had not met before so he jumped up on the partition by her register where she was working to introduce himself. She looked like a new hire and was very friendly toward Ruff. With his paws on top of the partition his head was at the same level as hers and he began giving her kisses. Then the girl pulled back and cringed and said, "Agggh, he put his tongue in my mouth." I was tempted to inform her she needed to keep her mouth closed when getting kissed by a large dog but we just left the store, instead.

Even though we didn't bring along the camera to record his visit to Petsmart I keep taking pictures around the house of my favorite subject. Here are two that were taken recently.

Is it Mom or the couch that attracts the Rottweilers?

We all came back from a walk after dinner tonight and sat down to watch our favorite 7 PM television show, Wheel of Fortune, and as usual Ruff and Axl climbed up on the couch. Only difference this time was that Mom had already sat down so Ruff decided the only way he could find room was to become a lap dog again. We all coexist with each other in the house and the Rottweilers seem to take us for granted some times. Axl has adopted Mom as his personal property since he came to live with us eleven months ago so when his best friend Ruff takes over Mom's lap, Axl seems hurt. Luckily, Ruff has a short attention span and soon left. Maybe he realized his 115LB bulk was making Mom a little uncomfortable. Axl didn't waste any time reclaiming his property.

So it goes in a house full of (three) Rottweilers. It's wall-to-wall love and tons of free entertainment.

Happiness is a house full of Rottweilers

Just thought you'd like to see how easy it is to find happiness with a house full of Rottweilers. Here is my wife Jackie sitting between her two protectors tonight. If a picture is worth a thousand words then these four pictures tell a long story about how much love our Rottweilers give us.

Our Rottweilers visit the cookie bank

 

Today wasn't the first time we took the three Rotts to visit the cookie bank. We take them with us in the van almost everywhere we go. Today was only different because we also took the camera. The bank where we do business has a policy of handing out biscuits to anyone who brings their pets to the drive through window so we have always called it the cookie bank. Of course, Ruff, Axl and Sassy were very excited when I announced that we were all going for a ride and they raced down the stairs to the back door. We drove all the way with the windows down so Ruff could hang his head out and catch the wind. He enjoys doing that. Axl and Sassy sat next to him and my wife Jackie took the pictures. Here is what we did.

This is what they were waiting for. The biscuits came back in the tube.

Now everyone is happy and it is time to go home.

Our weekend warriors on the road again.

  

This past weekend was a busy time for our Rott-n-kids. Saturday we all attended a fund raiser event at a local park to raise money for the Paw Park. It was called a Beast Bash (note the t-shirts) Ruff got to sample some homemade doggie ice cream and he also made many new friends. Notice the girl with the big smile. We saw this on several people Ruff met.

 

Interesting side note: As soon as we entered the park one of the security guards came over to check us out and was greeted by our three friendly Rotts. Turned out we were the only people who brought Rottweilers and I think he wanted to see if they were aggressive. HA! He almost got his face licked.

Later that day we went to see a Tea Party event and Ruff wore a sign I made just for him.

 Enjoy the pictures.

Axl and Sassy went for a swim

  

We had friends over for a swim today and the three Rotts followed us around the pool as usual. I decided it was time for Axl to try out the water since he seemed to be the calmest when we were swimming. After getting him near the pool edge I picked him up and lowered him in the water and held on to his collar to keep him away from the pool liner. He had a very powerful stroke with his front legs splashing huge amounts of water but he had no buoyancy and his rear end sank to the bottom. He was standing on the pool floor paddling madly with his front legs. After a few minutes I helped Axl get out of the pool. He didn't seem to understand the steps at the shallow end so after placing his front paws on the concrete walkway I had to lift his hind feet up the steps. 

 

Jackie went and got the life jacket we bought several years ago for Sassy. Sassy was the next to go for a swim. Sassy was swimming for about 3-4 minutes and while she was a little nervous, she wasn't as panicked as she was years ago. She has not been in the pool for almost 5 years and she seemed to like it. Since her ACL surgery four years ago she has been reluctant to do exercise. The water therapy should be good for her.

 

THEN  I thought about taking pictures!!!!! Then after getting the camera I put the life jacket on Axl and picked him up and lowered him into the water again. He did not resist going in a second time and with the life jacket on his rear end had more buoyancy and he was able to paddle with all four feet. Here is one of the pictures my wife took.

 

We did manage to get the life jacket on Ruff but couldn't get him near the edge of the pool to put him in.

Speaking of having the camera handy to take pictures, we had a moment a few days ago that makes me want to carry it around everywhere. Jackie and I took the boys out for a walk in the back and while we were there we spotted Axl very intently studying a small Blue Spruce tree we have. The tree is only about 5 ft tall and at first Axl was walking around the tree looking under the lowest branches. Then Axl began poking his nose into the higher branches and we decided to check it out and see what had caught his attention.

 

Sitting in the upper branches about 2 ft above the ground was a small mouse. The mouse was climbing around the tree trunk trying to avoid the curious dog. I didn't think Axl ever saw a mouse before because he was so very curious. It took some effort to get him away from the tree when it was time to come in the house. I send this little story to the foster mom who arranged the adoption and she replied: But Axl has seen mice – and eaten them!  He’s quite the mouser if he can reach them.  No need to worry about mice in the house with him around!

 

Nothing stands in Ruff's way when he wants to give kisses.

I came in from working outside this afternoon in the garden and Ruff acted like he hadn't seen me all week. He acts this way a lot.

Nothing stands in his way when he wants to give kisses and face licks. Not even a chair. Ruff simply climbed up on the chair and me and then he made himself comfortable sitting on the armrest and pinned my arms while he showered me with kisses. This is what its like living with a big lovable Rottweiler.

p.s. The camera is always there.

Little pleasures in a Rottweiler's life

 

Rottweilers love food. That could be the one statement to begin and end the conversation on the subject of food. They love all food. They love to watch people eat food. They love to watch people cook food. They love to inspect every food item you bring home from the supermarket. They love to pre-wash your dinner dishes. No one throws out uneaten food in a house with Rottweilers.

Rottweilers also love butter. This is one of the little pleasures in a Rottweilers life. When you finish buttering the toast, they willingly clean the butter knife. But the greatest of the little pleasures is cleaning the butter dish before it gets washed and refilled with another stick of butter. So it was today in our house.

Good job, boys.

Ruff thinks he is a lap dog.

  

When you live with Rottweilers and you love them as much as we do, you have to expect they will love you back. As big and strong as they are they sometimes don't seem to know it. Yesterday, Ruff seemed to be in an especially amorous mood. He started off in the morning by climbing up in my lap while I was working on the computer and gave me several minutes of non-stop kisses. Only after I had to push him away so I could catch my breath did he stop. 

Then later that afternoon Ruff got in the mood again while we were sitting in the family room watching television. This time he managed to do what he couldn't do when I was sitting at my desk. He climbed up on my lap and laid down to give me more kisses. Ruff is no lightweight. He weighs 115 lbs and this was the first time he ever put his entire body weight on top of me. He also likes to put his paws on my shoulders to hold me down so I can't escape his kisses.

As I have said many times before, Rottweilers are a lot of fun and living with them is quite an experience. Raise them with love and kindness and they give it back ten times over.

Ruff's favorite television show: Wheel of Fortune

 

OK, to set the record straight, we all love Wheel of Fortune in our house. We watch it every night after dinner. Ruff happens to be a big fan of Vanna White (along with other pretty girls, animals and all the food commercials) as well. I am fairly certain about what Ruff likes to watch because when most of the other shows are on he will take a nap and only wake up for a commercial. So here he is in his favorite chair watching his favorite TV show waiting for Vanna.

Ruff watches television even when he is laying on the floor and from the angle he looking at the television screen from he must be getting eye strain. The two older Rottweilers are sound asleep on the furniture, oblivious to the world.

Spending time in the house on rainy days.

Cabin fever in the Summer is not much different from cabin fever in the Winter. You sit indoors and look out the windows at really crappy weather. Of course in the Winter you also wish for the Sun to come out. In the Summer that shiny Sun makes the rainy weather feel worse. OK, enough of the nonsense. What this leads up to is just a few more pictures of some terribly spoiled Rottweilers who seem to enjoy life to the limit.

Here is a picture I took this afternoon. When I emailed it to some friends I told them it was from "That guy who sneaks around the house with a camera." I spotted my wife taking a nap with both of our male Rottweilers keeping her company. I called it OREO. 

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:

Here is how my Rottweilers are copping with the rainy weather. First, Axl naps on the couch. He has a magical ability to fall asleep in about 5 seconds and I am mighty jealous, but he does toss and turn a bit.

Then there is my baby Rottweiler, Ruff. Yeah, I know, he is almost 4 years old but he will always be my baby because I picked him out from his litter and I got to raise him when he was 7 weeks old.

Not to be left out, here is Sassy sleeping on the couch while Axl is curled up on the chair.

One thing I always have to look forward to is after every rain that is followed by some Sun, the grass grows twice as fast.