Sleep aids

Over the course of recent weeks I have been spending a lot of time on my Facebook page. I am so much in love with Rottweilers that I get a lot of enjoyment looking at how other people live with their own Rottweilers. And, of course, I love sharing my photos and stories with them, too. And especially reading their comments.

I am usually on Facebook late at night and sign off just before going to bed. Because I only follow a few groups devoted to Rottweilers I decided to post a photo of one of my Rotts when then were sleeping each time I said Good Night. The humorous connection being the sleeping Rottweiler was a sign it was time to go to bed.

Well, I realized I would have to start collecting my photos of sleeping Rotts to save time scrolling through the tens of thousands of photos each night. And I was surprise at how many photos of them sleeping I had. It would seem this is their favorite pass time. So take a look at what I collected and be forewarned, just as a yawn is highly contagious so is a sleeping Rottweiler so you may feel yourself getting drowsy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And way back in the good old days when Axl was still able to get up on his mom's bed, my wife Jacqueline would cover him up with his own blanket and he would sleep on his own pillow next to her's.

They are both gone now and we miss them both very much. All that's left now are old man Ruffin and young girl Bess. They both sleep in my room and snore all night long.

How is Your Mush Bucket Holding Up.

How is Your Mush Bucket Holding Up.

For those who don’t know a mush bucket is something used by all dogs in general and old dogs in particular, to carry around their mush. Mush is what you give your dogs every day. It has another name, its called LOVE. Hugs and kisses are also referred to as mush, as well. Old dogs need more mush than young dogs because they live on love and love is a very powerful vitamin.

So to explain the reason why old dogs need so much mush it is because as they get old their mush bucket gets holes in it which causes the mush to leak out so it has to be refilled more often. So when one of my old Rottweilers come up to me and lay their heads in my lap I know exactly what they need. As I begin to scratch their ears and kiss the top of their heads I say to them, “Do you need some more mush? Does your mush bucket have holes in it again?” And the old Rottweiler will always agree by making some soft moaning sounds.

 

Indoor camera games

I took two photos of my pretty girl Bess this afternoon. Used only natural light - no flash. It was late afternoon and the sun was shining through the back doors and Bess looked gorgeous curled up in her chair. She also had a real sour-looking sad sack look on her face and I wanted to get a photo of it. When I brought out the camera to take the photos her sad sack look disappeared and then she began to smile when I started taking the photos.

Just before dinner Bess had moved to the small couch so I tried again for a few more shots. It quickly turned in a selfie-session and then Ruff joined in, too. One thing about the big guy, he may still be blind but his tongue seems to work on radar. Got a bunch of mixed pics here including a close miss of both Ruff and Bess giving me kisses at the same time and a real close up of Ruff that was another accidental photo.

Bess has grown up very nicely in spite of Ruffin's combat school training. She may not act refined like a lady but she is full of love and affection for me and for every person she gets to meet.

 

Finally, a break in the weather

It couldn't have come at a better time. After days upon days of humid, rainy weather, some very enjoyable high pressure has moved into the Tri-state and the temperature has dropped to to high 70s, low 80s. Best of all the air is dry and the humidity has dropped as well. Assessing the damage shows a major lawn mowing project was needed since the grass in the larger backyard has grown to over a foot in height. This problem with heavy rainfall is usually an annual springtime event but the consequences are the same. Rain makes the grass grow as well as making the ground muddy. While the Rottweilers have no objections to either rain or mud, humans do. Here is a photo I posted here back in 2011 that shows the problem with cutting grass after heavy rain.

So it did become a major project cutting the foot-tall grass. I had to do it in two passes changing the height of the mowing deck. And yesterday, I finished the job while the ground was dry and the air was cool and then I took Bess and Ruff outside to enjoy it.

I let Ruff off his leash so he could walk around on his own. He still can't see so he took his steps very carefully while he sniffed everything.

And Bess played with her favorite toy, walking around and swinging it over her head.

The fresh air and sunshine was invigorating but after coming back in the house everyone was tired and took long naps. And we all went to bed early.

 

Hello, everybody. We're still alive.

Sorry for the bland attempt at humor. I did not copy that line from the movie The Martian. I just responded to an email from an old friend who said he hasn't heard from me in awhile and he wanted to know how things were going. If you don't mind reading this I'll fill you in with the reply I sent him. Most of this stuff you probably already know so don't be shocked when I talk about my bout with cancer last year or the latest complications.

I am still dealing with the after effects of the radiation from the cancer treatment. With all the warnings and precautions they never told me about what the long term problems would be. A few months ago the Urologist was about to restart the Lupron injections to keep my testosterone low until my visiting nurse researched my list of health complaints and informed me she thought they were being caused by low testosterone. The Urologist advised me two years ago that the prostate cancer feeds on the testosterone so even after the radiation wipes out the cancer any new appearance of testosterone can regenerate it. So he planned on a three year program of six Lupron shots, one every six months. (Talk about the high cost of prescriptions, go look that up) But the radiation did more than kill the cancer, it fried my testicles and they no longer produce any testosterone. The only small amounts in my bloodstream are coming from my adrenal gland. So my Primary Care doctor has now got me on a prescription for Andro-Gel  to raise my testosterone levels. (The last blood test I had showed the T-level was 173 and the normal T-level should be 300-720.) And they plan to keep a close watch to see how much it goes up. By the way, the low T-level problem is not about sex. Testosterone does a lot more.

Other than all that, apart from having no energy to do anything, and paying the price for forcing myself to actually get some things done, I feel fine.

I spend my days hanging out with Bess and Ruff or I should say they spend most of their day hanging out with me in my tiny office. As you can see they fill up most of the floor.

As you can see, baby Bess has grown up to be almost as big as Ruff. And she is still very affectionate with him.

Bessie had her 3rd birthday on July 1st and I made one of our traditional meatloaf birthday cakes, topped with mashed potato icing and we all had it for dinner. I cut it into three pieces and ate it for dinner, too.

 

I have found a new way to pass the time while being cooped up around the house. I started up a Facebook page and joined a bunch of groups that post pictures and stories of their Rottweilers. You can imagine how popular the old pictures from my Living With Rottweilers blog is. In the 20 years since I started my first web site I have posted several thousand photos and none of these Facebook friends have seen them, so I have been sharing them on a daily basis. Here's a picture of me working on my Facebook page.

 

I am so glad the heat and humidity from our summer has finally gone away. The temperatures have finally become enjoyable and I have spent more time outside with Bess and Ruff.

 

Next big thing on the calendar will by the total eclipse on August 21st. This will cross the southwest corner of Kentucky, about a 4 hour drive away, and I am planning to drive down and take pictures - if the weather is good.

Take care and enjoy the rest of your winter.

Regards,
Nelson

p.s. If you read this blog on a continuous basis you may recall the trouble I found looking for an adult Rottweiler to be Ruff's companion after his beloved Sassy passed away in 2014. Ruff was so close to Sassy that after she died he went into a prolonged period of mourning that began to affect his health and I had to do something. I had the foresight to want an older female Rottweiler because Ruff was 7 years old at the time and Axl was 12. I realized that I was getting older as well and didn't want a dog that I couldn't take care off later on after Ruff and Axl were gone. As it turned out there were no adult female Rotts available to adopt or buy so out of desperation I jumped at the chance to adopt a 7-week old puppy. Well, the puppy grew up to be a beautiful lady Rott who now has two big loves in her life, me and Ruff. So I often talk to her and tell her I want to grow old with her since she is the last Rottweiler I will ever have. When she gets to be toward the end of her lifespan I will be 88 years old and I only hope I will be able to care for her. Long live this blog and long live Living With Rottweilers.

One thing I've learned over the years is I could never live without having a Rottweiler for a companion.