A special Rottweiler Christmas card for all our friends.

This is the cover page of the Christmas card that we mailed out to our friends this year.

And this was the inside page, just for you.

Merry Christmas, everyone, wherever you are.

Four, One and Four. Snow totals since Saturday.

Nice thing about snow is it makes everything look clean and bright. After each snowfall the front yard gets cluttered with thousands of footprints and then we get another snowfall and it looks clean again. This weather lately is somewhat unusual in that we have had three snowfalls in four days. Instead of one big storm, the totals have been small and easily handled. So much for the human perspective, the Rottweilers seem to find everything perfect for them. Except they can't find their favorite spots after they keep getting covered.

Ruff looking all serious.

Axl was just rolling in it.

Sassy sitting in the snow.

The two explorers, again.

By the dawn's early light. The morning after the snowstorm the night before.

What a beautiful sight and a wonderful surprise from baby Ruff. We all went out this morning just as the Sun was coming up and the boys immediately began to explore. 

And a very big surprise from my baby Ruff. Sometimes I am amazed at how much they listen to me and pay attention and actually understand what I am saying to them. After taking the above photo I said to Ruff that I had to out to the street and pick up the newspaper. I always talk to him like I was having a regular conversation so I happened to mention that this used to be Mamma Mocha's job when she was alive and she was my papergirl and to my complete surprise Ruff trotted out to the end of the driveway and picked up the newspaper and carried it back to me without me even asking him to do it. When he did this I told him he could go to work every day and be my paperboy and I saw the glimmer of excitement in his eyes just like Mocha use to have when I asked her to go to work.

And then the boys went out to the pool area and explored their new surroundings again.

Later on today we will take a walk down to the back.

We got our first snow today.

This is what the front yard looked like at 11 o'clock tonight when I took the three Rottweilers out for their last pee before bedtime. The look on Ruff's face tells me he remembered seeing this stuff before. Looks like one of our neighbors shoveled the sidewalk for us without saying anything.

Hey, look at this.

Yep. it even tastes the same.

Sassy just walked out took a squat and then sat down.

Axl just takes everything in stride. Nothing bothers him.

The weatherman was reporting up to 4-5 inches in our area but it looked like no more than 3 inches to me. I'll have to wait until tomorrow and see what we got in the back. I'm sure the boys will enjoy going for a long walk.

Another day another photo.

There are several photo captions that would apply to this picture. Given a choice the two boys - Ruff and Axl - would like nothing better than to take naps while babysitting their Mom. Which is just what they did after dinner last night.

 

Not quite an off topic story.

One of my online news sites ran a story this morning that I immediately found very funny even though it wasn't intended to be. Here is the headline and opening paragraph.

I’M SO PRETTY: Taking Too Many Photos of Your Kids is a BAD Thing, Warn Experts

Parents taking too many pictures of their kids are being warned that it can be detrimental to their development as it might make them feel ‘overly important’.

The reason the story wasn't meant to be funny was because they were talking about our real kids, a.k.a. the human kind, otherwise called children. But we all refer to our Rottweilers (and Notweilers, too) as our kids but I think the point of the story may apply there as well. I know that in my baby Rottweiler Ruffin's seven year life he has had the bulk share of some 10,000 photographs taken and it has gotten to the point that when he sees me with the camera he almost begins to pose for another picture. So does this begin to explain the origins of the "spoiled rotten" attitude? Who cares. Here is another picture taken this morning after we came home from church.

These poor critters are so attached to us that they are unable to cope with our schedule changes. On Sunday's we get up almost 4 hours early to make the 7 o'clock Mass and they all cry their heads off when we pull out of the driveway. They do the same in the daytime when we go shopping and have to leave them home alone, but at 6:30 in the morning when its still dark outside it sounds terrible.

Watching TV with my two boys Axl and Ruff.

While the two girls in the house (my wife and Sassy) were both dozing in the family room last night, the male part of the family (me and Ruff and Axl) were in the living room watching TV. Axl spent most of the time snoozing but Ruff was wide awake.

I just adore this old Rottweiler's face full of gray hairs. He is just as beautiful sleeping (and snoring) as he is when he is awake and he is the biggest sweetheart. But when the couch got too warm for him Axl got down and went back to sleep on the cool floor. But a comfy couch does not remain unused for long in our house and soon my other best friend Ruff took possession of it.

Ruff, on the other hand, was not only wide awake but was interested in posing for some pictures while still showing an interest for what was on TV - especially the parts that had barking dogs.

But I got the distinct impression that Ruff was getting tired of the interruptions and wanted to go back to watching the TV. You can see it in his eyes. He didn't want to miss anything.

And that's the way we spent the evening.

Happy Thanksgiving.

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving and all through the house,

And then came the big Turkey Day.

FYI, the one that took the pictures is the one that cooked the turkey and is the one who is usually awake in the house.

 

Here's Sassy, protecting us from the evil ball.

Our little Sassy girl is somewhat of a loner, especially inside the house. For that reason I don't always get an opportunity to take pictures of her. This makes it seem like the two boys are getting all the attention. Well, today, the boys were outside and Sassy was indoors by herself. I had moved her sheepskin rug from the living room while I vacuumed there and Sassy decided to lay on it by the fireplace. But Sassy had another reason for doing this. The evil, screeching basketball was loose in the house and Sassy's job is to punish it and let no one near it. She has been doing this ever since we acquired this ball several years ago. Whenever the ball is squeezed it lets out a horrible screeching sound when the air goes back in. I don't blame Sassy one bit for biting it whenever is screeches except she hasn't learned that that is what makes it screech. I hope I explained that clearly.

This is the look on her face when the ball begins to screech.

 

Windy.

Windy, but not as much as yesterday that brought us some severe storms. So we had some time to explore the backyard and see if all our trees were still in Kentucky. Here is Ruff and Axl out by the Willow I planted 4 years ago. It has already gotten three times its size.

 This sure looks like a dirty look. Perhap Axl didn't want to come back inside.

 Ruff with his ever present red rubber ball.

All over for today.

 

Happy Birthday baby Ruffin, you are 7 years old today.

As the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun. And today we have another birthday in our humble rotten house. Ruffin, my baby Rottweiler, whom I picked out of the litter and raised him with the help of his adopted mother Mocha, is now 7 years old. I took a few pictures of Ruff this afternoon even though he will have a birthday party at dinner time. And I thought a little recap of his growth pictures would be nice to see.

"Someday I will be a Big Dog, too."

The Rottie Mom holding a meeting.

 

August 2012

Escape from Hibernation.

The dam has broken, the moon, the planets and the Sun aligned, NO, really, just the weatherman gave us a beautiful day and made us an offer we couldn't refuse. We escaped from the clutches of hibernation. We left the cozy warmth of our home and went for a walk with the boys. Geez, the way they acted you would think they've been cooped up in the house for a week. Actually, they have - the humans were getting adjusted to the cold. Anyway, here are the pictures. The first thing Axl did was trot over to the far side of the property and he didn't come back to have his picture taken until he had checked out all the trees. As soon as Ruff posed with his mom he picked up a stick a ran off with it.

And the weatherman says we have a chance for our first snow next week. That should be exciting. It always makes our Rottweilers act a little more crazy when the go outside.