July 24, 2026 - Tired Dachshunds!

 In May (I think), we added a chain link fence that's about 25 x 25  and it's inside the wood fence. There were too many places the dogs could dig under the wood fence or fall off the side of the retaining walls so I didn't feel comfortable with them running loose in the whole back yard. 

They have been LOVING being able to go outside and run.

When we got Oscar, I was talking to the breeder about the kind of puppy I wanted and I told her I wasn't crazy about a lap dog but I wanted one that was spunky and liked to play. She said "I know EXACTLY which one you want!" And, it was Oscar. She was so right!

By the time we got Cooper, I was ready for a lap dog and he is a snuggler. Oscar doesn't like to be snuggled but Cooper surely does.

Cooper wants to run . . back and forth, back and forth. He has no interest in chasing a ball or playing with a rubber frisbee. I can throw the ball probably ALL day and Oscar will go get it and bring it back to me. Neither one of them wanted to go back inside this afternoon and I probably let them stay out too long. When we went back inside, Oscar was huffing and puffing enough that I was kinda concerned. Cooper just wanted to sleep!

I had to move him to reach my camera and he didn't even notice. 

Until it gets cooler, I'll go out with them for 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the afternoon. Ten minutes of playing results in about 4 hours of sleeping for them and uninterrupted cross stitching for me.

I'm hoping Oscar will lose a few pounds if we do that every day. 

Vince told me that he thinks I should go out and work with Cooper bringing the ball back when Oscar isn't out there. Maybe that's what it is - maybe he doesn't get that he's supposed to bring the ball back to me. I'll spend some time with him tomorrow one on one and see if he gets it.

They're so different! Cooper runs full speed like a race horse and his mouth is wide open and you can see every tooth in his mouth . . which is funnier because his face is black and his teeth are so white. Oscar isn't as fast as Cooper but he runs with his mouth closed! If you have a dog and he runs, does he run with his mouth closed or wide open?