Wild Walk

Hey Zippy!!!!  I am feeling wild......Do you want to go for a walk??????

Oh YES!!!!!  Let's go!!!!!   

Going for a walk....going for a walk!!!

Maybe we will see a deer or a turkey or something else fun to chase. 

It is so pretty and peaceful here!  Where are the rabbits!

Little did Zippy and Bumble know.....there was a massive fog bank approaching.    Shiver.....

In just moments the entire area was covered in a thick cool fog.

Hey Zippy, do you think we should try to make it home???  We are going to be lost!

Zippy....Zippy....ZIPPY!!!!!

Bumble I am over here! 

Where!!! 

There you are!!! I am so glad to see you. 

Oh no......I just had a really bad dream.   I am so glad it was only a dream.  I will have to lay off of the turkey next year. 

Danza

Danza is the horse in front.

She is a gentle horse with a big personality.  I am very thankful to have her here.  She is also the horse

that is in my banner picture.  We have owned Danza for 9 years, but I have known her since she was just a wee little foal.   I used to go to my Aunt and Uncle's house to see the babies in the spring and Danza was one of those babies. 

This picture was taken about five years ago. 

Danza is the horse that anyone can ride, but also a horse that is fun to ride.  She still has lots of pep.

She is also the smoothest ride here.   Now I will tell you that she is 22 years old. 

Some people tend to dismiss older horses, but I think that they are gold. 

Just ask my niece. 

 

Yes, I am very thankful to have this horse. 

Bumble and the Toilet Brush Holder

This story begins on a bright sunny spring day.  Bumble was just a wee babe. 

My mother had given me this lovely toilet brush holder that looked like my first bulldog, Miss Thatcher.  I was on the phone on that beautiful spring day and Bumble was inside playing.  I could hear her scurrying around and continued on with my phone conversation.  Then...suddenly.....I heard the most awful scream.  It sounded like someone was in great distress.  I ran toward the noise and my told my friend that I would have to call her back.  I threw the phone aside and I rushed into the bathroom to see what was happening.....I was not prepared for what I saw. 

It was Bumble with her head stuck in the toilet brush holder!!!!  Oh my, what to do!  The screaming was getting louder and more frantic.  I kept thinking how am I going to get her out of this???  My first thought was to get a hammer and crack open the toilet brush holder, but I really hated to do that.  I also thought that I might injure poor Bumble.  Then I realized that the only reason that her head was stuck was the fact that she also had her front paw in the hole.  So, I pulled her little fat paw out and she was free.  Now just imagine that cute, sweet little Bumble with that ceramic bulldog shaped toilet brush holder on her head.  What a site!  My only regret is that I was too upset to grab my camera and get a picture of it. 

After I rescued Bumble she helped me with my gardening. 

Oh Man...I am so embarrassed.

Have you ever seen anything as cute as this????  This is Bumble when my dear husband brought her home just so I could see her.  I had already told him no more dogs and then there was also the Zippy factor. 

Brian....I forgive you for talking me into this.  Of course how on earth could anyone resist that cute little bundle of joy. 

Groovy Little Hippy Van

On the way home from the pumpkin weigh off, we spotted this wonderful van.  Truly a work of art.  I regret that I did not get a shot of the front bumper because it had daisies painted on it.  Very cute.   For sale too.....if only this starving artist had some cash. 

The van was drawing a nice crowd of people!  The fun thing about this van is that everyone that looked at it left with a smile on their face. 

Even the interior was colorful!  The ceiling and side panels all had shag carpeting.   I think that the mini mules would look fashionable riding down the road in this. 

New Coats

The winter here is pretty cold and windy. The animals all get a nice thick coat every year, but I know that May, the mini donkey, needs a little extra protection from the elements. A donkey apparently does not grow the same inner coat of hair that most horses and mules do. So....May gets a new water resistant insulated coat for the really windy cold days that would keep her inside. The mini mules grow the most hair of all in the winter and will stand out in the cold just to cool off. Nothing seems to bother them. They end up looking like little Yaks.

I was worried that he mules would chew on May's new coat. The funny part is that they were a little scared of it. They would run from May and she would run after them only scaring them even more. I had her blanket too tight in the front....I just wanted to throw it on her to see how she would react and what the others would do.

Ollie is trying to figure out if that is May inside the blanket. May does not look too happy about the situation. I am sure she will change her mind when she is able to be out with the others when the weather is colder.

Miss Bumble also got a new coat. Here she is sporting her new duds. I think she makes a good model. So feminine and refined. She is a little embarrassed however, because she had to have a little extra room in the girth of her coat.

Zippy is modeling the more sleek version of the coat.

Here he is coming down the drive......I mean runway looking very confident and comfortable in his new apparel. These coats were all hand made and I really love the quality of the fabrics. It also makes me feel good to know that I purchased them locally. Being self employed is not always an easy thing. I know, because I am. I always do business on a local level if possible. Here is a link to the place that I purchased all of these well made garments. http://custompetandtack.homestead.com/index.html

Fun Pictures

Have you ever taken a picture and then looked at it later only to see something strange? The above photo was taken using an old point and shoot Olympus camera. I found a roll of film popped it into my camera. After finishing the roll, I took it to the one hour photo at a local drug store. Anxious to get my pictures of Zippy skateboarding, I went to the counter and the person at the photo counter told me that I had double exposed my film. The bulldog in the picture is my beloved Thatcher. That photo was taken at least 10 years earlier than the one of Gus and Zippy. They actually were tolerating one another at the time. I really like the photo it makes me smile to think about Thatcher and the fact that Gus and Zippy were actually friends at one time.

I took this picture about a week ago. I love the look on Zippy's face. The only problem is that he has a few extra legs. After looking a little more closely you can see the edge of Bumble's mug.

This is my favorite one of all time. My neighbor went for a ride and took my husband and Danza along in his backpack.

Zippy's training adventure

When you meet Zippy for the first time it is hard to realize just how brilliant he is. He has many skills. This is a highly trained dog. He knows all of the basics; sit, stay, heel, stand, down, down stay......etc.

He has also trained me to retrieve. Enough on that. This story begins after Zippy learned all of his basic obedience. This story is about how I had to seek advice on Zippy's aggression issues with Gus. Previously I mentioned that Zippy and Gus do not get along and that they have had a fight or two that resulted in injury to both. Well I searched for a dog trainer that is also a behaviorist to help me in my quest for peace. I found a wonderful trainer in my area and really had a positive outlook on our situation.

I signed up for a nine week session. These sessions were one on one, just us and the trainer at his very nice facility. A beautiful indoor training room with all sorts of awards on the wall and magazines featuring this very experienced trainer and a wonderful agility course that I hoped one day that Zippy could learn to take on. I went in with high high hopes. The first day the trainer asked me all sorts of questions about Zippy and I showed him all of the things that Zippy could do. He asked me what I wanted to accomplish and I told him all about the aggression issues. This wonderful man looked at me and very seriously said "You do know that you own a Bull Terrier." That comment knocked me over. Of course I had thought about that... (A little background info...Zippy is my second BT and I have also had two other Bulldogs). Then he went on to say "You know they are a fighting breed." Then he went on to tell me about socialization (which we did) and other things to consider when owning bull breeds. I was still sitting there stunned. I guess I was stunned because I of course knew Zippy was a bull breed, but I was beginning to realize that maybe Zippy was going to have to live a solitary life. This was not good. I was discouraged. The trainer asked if Zippy had any strange behaviors. I said yes he hates ceiling fans. If you turn one on he flips out.

Well....needless to say, I went home that day thinking about doom and gloom. I did however decide that I would put my best foot forward and continue on with the training. I at least would have a WELL trained dog and to me that was the most important thing with a dog aggressive animal. I would work it all out and just keep Zippy and Gus separated. On the eighth training session I was going to talk to my trainer about continuing on the agility course. I was very excited and Zippy was advancing and doing a great job. He was even able to work side by side with my trainer's small male Jack Russell Terrier. I was very proud of him. Well.....I get to the training facility and Zippy actually greeted and played with a little mop head looking dog on the way in. Great! We walk into the training room (on leash of course).......and ..............the CEILING FAN was on!!!!!!!!!!!! OH NO!!!!!!! Zippy lunges forward and pulls the lead from my hand and goes wacko. In the process jumping onto the table where all of the beautiful magazines were featuring my trainer. Needless to say Zippy tore one of the magazines to shreds with his paws. My trainer's eyes got huge and he quickly turned off the fan. This all happened within a 30 second time period. I apologized over and over and told my trainer that I would replace his magazine. He then just looked at me with his shoulders down and said "That magazine can not be replaced, it is from the 80's." Man I felt bad. I just continued to apologize and somehow made it through my training session. The last week of training rolled around and I asked my trainer if he thought that we should continue because I wanted to see if Zippy could run the agility course. He said "No." Just NO. At this point I figured that Zippy would need a new career.

I had taken Zippy in for a session with a photographer that sells photos to magazines and calendar companies. About a week after the ceiling fan incident, the photographer called me and said "are you sitting down? Zippy is on the cover of Dog World Magazine!" He was also featured on a full page in the center of the magazine. I was so proud. I even sent my trainer an e-mail to let him know.

As a side note I would also like to say that Zippy and Gus still do not get along, but they can safely pass each other without aggressing. This has taken MUCH work and it has all been done using positive training methods. I do not know where I would be without my Yahoo training group PositivelyBTs and Terri. Thanks guys! Also Jane Killion's wonderful book When Pigs Fly!
Training Success With Impossible Dogs.