Keli's Korner ~ The Westie and The Wauzer

It's my 2nd birthday and we're playing with a new Happy Birthday loofa dog. Later, we're gonna have zucchini pupcakes, 'cuz those are my favorites. Yesterday, we went to the Bark Park and you know what? It was like it was Westie day -- we met one Westie who was leaving when we were just getting there, and another Westie was already at the park! We had so much fun playing even though I'm only half-Westie. We stayed for like an hour and even Keli was playing with the other doggies. It was really fun, but we didn't get no pictures 'cuz the batteries were too low on the camera. Instead, here's a picture of a plate from Donna's collection -- it's for a first birthday, and it's not really a Westie or a Schnauzer, but I still like it. edited: Nov-14-2018 replaced photos from SewAmazin Flickr, uploaded to blogger; removed slideshow from SewAmazin Flickr

My turn: Penny, the patriotic pup: Last year's Memorial Day post from Keli See more of our recent photos on Flickr Thanks for visiting our blog, Penny updated: Nov-14-2018 replaced photo from SewAmazin Flickr, uploaded to blogger

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Keli, the serene princess, on her recent birthday Penny We didn't pose for new pictures for St. Patrick's day, so Donna recycled some of our old favorites and gave them a green, shamrocky twist. Here's a couple of the St. Patrick's Day Westie decorations she put up:   I wonder if we'll get to try the corned beef this year? I think we'll probably get some of the carrots and potatoes. Thanks for looking at our blog, Keli edited: Nov-14-2018 Replaced photos from SewAmazin Flickr, uploaded to blogger

Can you guess what this is? Or used to be before Penny finished deconstructing it? scroll down for more It used to be one of these: The good thing about this destruction is that we think we can make a ball of our own from fleece scraps. And maybe we can make one with a squeaker inside, too, that isn't so easy for these Westies to rip apart. Hmmm . . . . We could try putting this one back together, too, but Penny is having too much fun playing with the spoils.

This coming Saturday marks twelve months from the day Penny first came to her forever home: January 24, 2008 After we brought Keli home in May 2002, I always wanted to have a second Westie -- an "heir and a spare" to our first Westie girl, Wyndi . Keli had come from a breeder because at the time I was still missing Wyndi and wanted a regular Westie (not a mixed breed) for the "heir". The "spare" could be a rescued Westie mix sometime later on down the road. After a year or two I reminded Rich about getting our second Westie and we both agreed it would be nice, but were we really ready for all the extra work that a second dog required? Transitioning from a senior dog to a baby puppy had been stressful; did we really want to go through puppyhood again? So each spring I'd search Petfinder.com for Westies in our area -- usually a few months after Christmas, there were dozens of listings for young dogs of all breeds. Every now and then there would...

Christmas 2008

It has been 2 months since Penny has had an accident inside the house. We are not having any parties to celebrate, just very happy that she finally understands what it means to 'go' outside. With the cold weather coming, let's hope she doesn't regress . . . maybe after 6 months of no accidents, we'll have a cake or something.

The results of Penny's DNA test just arrived (click on any image to enlarge): Penny has both Schnauzer and Westie DNA; both are Level 2 (37-74%) explained below: These results are consistent with our expectations. I suppose it's possible that some of Keli's Westie DNA might have gotten into Penny's sample . . . they do play with the same toys and chew the same nylabones all the time. But the Schnauzer part is all Penny. This doesn't exactly tell us whether she came from a puppy mill where the Westies and Schnauzers could have been together or from a backyard breeder who intentionally mixed the breeds. Since both breeds are listed as Level 2, we're going to presume that she's a 50/50 mix, 'cuz the math is easier to comprehend. And I'll even go so far as to say her mama was probably a Westie and her daddy was likely a Schnauzer, since that would be a reasonable explanation why her medical records from her previous owners didn't mention any Sch...

. . . and your Mama, too? Ever since we found that picture of the white Mini Schnauzer just about a month ago, we've been wondering just what Penny's background could be. She's not suffering from any identity crisis, and we've decided that no matter what, she'll always be at least an "honorary" Westie. But since we get asked quite often, it would be nice to be able to explain why she has the floppy ears, curly tail and crazy energy. And why she doesn't look at all like Keli, except for her white fur and black nose (and we are asked fairly often why she isn't as white as Keli - is she dirty?). Our answer has been because that's the way she is, she's just a little bit different (and Keli is exceptionally white). We aren't Penny's first owners and we don't know whether she came from a breeder or a puppy mill. The medical records we did get when we adopted her all stated she was a Westie, not a mixed breed. But -- we've be...

We just saw this funny picture online: see more puppies That looks like me, right? But the lady who owns the picture says that's a miniature white schnauzer . Wikipedia has this to say about miniature white schnauzers . So I took a look over at Dogster at their group for White Mini Schnauzers and they look just like me, too. Maybe I'm not a Westie after all . . . maybe I'm a white mini schnauzer???? Can me and Keli still be sisters? I hope so. Will have to find more info about this . . . but this would explain A LOT! Thanks for visiting our blog, Penny,

Today we are celebrating my first birthday . . . we're not sure if this is my for real birthday, 'cuz I was adopted and my first people didn't tell me when my birthday is, but since we're pretty sure it's sometime around now, my forever people decided September 1 is the Birthday! And you know what else? It's Keli's half -birthday, so we both get to have special treats today! Thanks for reading our blog, Penny

Previously: Week One , Week Two , Week Three , Weeks Four, Five and Six Well, we made it to the end of the beginner education class! On the way to our seventh training session, I took Penny to the dog park for an hour to run around; I decided she'd either be nice and tired for our class or totally wired up and ready to go. She had a very nice time with the other small dogs and was actually kind of mellow by the time we got to class. At the beginning of the session, our trainer announced that we would be having a "practice test" to see how well we had learned all the previous assignments in preparation for our final session and the "real" test. As soon as she mentioned a "test", all the dogs in class starting howling and barking at once, as if on cue. I guess they didn't like the idea of a pop quiz! How did Penny do on the practice test? Not too bad, actually. We started out by walking around with our dogs (they were supposed to walk nicely...

Previously: Week One , Week Two , Week Three I've neglected to report on the past few weeks' training sessions . . . except for each week's class topic, they have pretty much been more of the same -- Penny barks a lot, but will do anything for a treat from the instructor. In the fourth session, we learned about Loose Leash Walking combined with Take It and Leave It, Come when called, and Stay. Loose Leash Walking is still a work in progress, even for Keli, so Penny is making slow progress in that area. Fortunately for me, she weighs less than 15 lbs. so I can control her when she pulls. But she does comprehend the idea of "Leave It" -- when we find something icky on the street while we're walking, she'll sniff, but will continue walking when I tell her to leave it. We'll keep working on that one with both Westies, probably forever. Surprisingly, Stay was not that difficult for her -- as long as there is a treat involved. Come when called was par...

There is a video embedded in this post : Keli doesn't know how much fun she's missing! -- Penny

Previously: Week One , Week Two Penny was well enough to attend the third training class last night. We had quite a busy day before that -- in the morning we went to our vet for the second part of her Lyme vaccine. This time she was treated by Dr. Shea, who chooses to believe Penny is named for her and not the stadium, since she is a Yankee fan. (Penny's "official" name is Penelope Shea; we are fans of the Mets and wanted to honor the stadium's final season when we re-named her. During the visit I also learned that a certain manager of our favorite team brings his dogs to the same veterinary practice.) Before Dr. Shea was ready to give Penny the vaccine, her assistant noticed a tick had attached itself to Penny's neck. I don't know how I missed it -- I brushed her very thoroughly the night before. I was grateful they found it and removed it, because I know it would have been extremely difficult for me to do it, even if I had help. Then it was time for...

Previously: Week One A day before our second training session, Penny started have "accidents" in the house. We had been doing a pretty good job with house training up to that point; a #1 accident now and then but no #2's in a while. But this didn't look right either, so we called our vet and had some tests done. It turns out she had giardia . Penny tested positive for giardia when we first brought her home and she had been treated with one type of medicine for a week. We were a couple of days past the date for re-testing her when the accidents started up. This time she received another type of medication, and hopefully that will clear it up. We decided it would be a good idea if Penny stayed home for our second training class, since she wasn't really in control of herself and we didn't want to expose any other dogs. So I went by myself. And you know what? She isn't the only barker in class. I just didn't notice it the first week. For week t...

Last night Penny & I went to our 3rd training session. We really like our instructor and the other dogs and people in our class. I am sure that Penny has made an impression on them as well. She is the problem child -- the one who can't sit still, can't stop talking, and has to be the class clown. She barked so much last night she was sent to the "bad girl" room to learn to be quiet. It's lucky she's cute. I haven't gotten around to posting Penny's Introduction yet, but as background information, we adopted her when she was about 4.5 months old. Her original owners gave her up because she barked too much. And she spent a couple of weeks at a shelter before coming home with us. I don't remember her barking too much the first few days she was with us . . . but at our first visit to the vet, as soon as she entered the waiting room it was non-stop, ear splitting, excited barking directed at strangers and even worse, at other dogs. Penny needed...

There is a video embedded in this post. Penny likes to play with the big purple ball. She thinks she can get it in her mouth, but instead she just covers it with slobber. It's really gross, but she thinks its hysterical. She manages to get herself stuck in all kinds of corners and other obstacles, like the tunnel. Sometimes she gets a running start and tackles the ball, rolling over the top of it. Some day I'll get that on video and we'll show it as the sequel to this one. Keli and Penny both have new toys for Easter. Click here to see all their latest photos added to Flickr .