winner dog

After taking a break from racing last year, NewMama and I were concerned that dogbert may have lost his edge as we entered this year's WV Hot Dog Festival in Huntington, WV.  Could Ramsay perform at least as well as he did in 2011, when he placed 3rd out of 60 in the wiener dog race?  Thankfully we were pleasantly surprised:  Ramsay once again blew by everyone in his qualifying heat!  In a hotly-contested and close final heat, Ramsay was only narrowly edged-out and ended up with a more-than-respectable overall 2nd place finish out of about 65 doxies!  Our sure-fire, two-part lure waiting for him at the finish line:  NewMama and grilled chicken.  He never ran so fast!

We also tried something new this year:  the costume contest!  We have been itching to show off the awesome Sherlock Holmes hat that our buddy Baxter's Mom made for us (thanks, Baxter's Mom!), and this was the perfect way to do it!  Our littlest detective placed 3rd in the costume contest at the Hot Dog Festival.  Although we wished for a higher place, we couldn't argue with the creativity of the winning costume, which was Duck Dynasty-themed.  Not bad for our first costume contest.

SherDOX Holmes fared better at the Furry Friends Fashion Show yesterday in Morgantown, WV:  1st place award, $100 gift certificate, AND assorted doggie goodies!

Only one more competition is on our radar this year:  Dachtoberfest in Frederick, MD in October.  Hopefully we'll make it!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

For some strange reason, none of our local stores had anything dog-related for St. Patrick's Day.  So we were unable to get him anything new to wear.  Perhaps it's the proximity to Easter?  Not sure, but regardless - Ramsay was not very happy.  His only recourse was to raid my closet...

death of the spider

WARNING:  NERD, SPOILER and "OMG YOU'RE THAT OLD"ALERT!

Like many little boys I grew up admiring and following superheroes, and Spider-Man has to be my all-time favorite.  Whether he appeared in comics or on television (ala cartoons, live action series, or kids' shows...does anyone remember Spidey on "The Electric Company"? Google it!), I could not get enough of the web-head.  You can imagine how ecstatic I was when the newer live-action movies came out (can you believe that was already 11 years ago?!), and how much I appreciated last year's "reboot" of the movie.

So it came as quite a shock when Marvel Comics recently announced the death of Spider-Man's alter ego, Peter Parker.  More shocking was the manner in which he died, and the character who replaced Peter as the webslinger (I won't spoil THAT part for you if you don't already know). 

Ramsay, who has spent hours sleeping through appreciating the comics and movies with me, has become protective of our beloved superhero and is still reeling from the plot twist.

christmas - the aftermath

Ramsay was a good boy this year, and SantaPaws rewarded him accordingly.  Looks like dogbert was happy with his haul!

you MIGHT even say it glows!

Dear Rudolph,

You are hereby given permission to take Christmas Eve off, as our Dachshund Ramsay has bravely volunteered to lead Santa's sleigh with HIS nose.  All he asks for in return is kibble and peanut butter!  We are hoping that you will return the favor by asking Santa to bring us lots of EXTRA toys and goodies!

Thanks!

Sincerely,

docsdox and NewMama

As usual, Ramsay will never tell, but as far as we can gather, he was sticking his nose someplace it didn't belong and was bitten by some type of insect - causing an allergic reaction.  We would have let it resolve itself, but he kept scratching at his nose.  One late night trip to the emergency vet, and a steroid and Benadryl shot later, and he was almost back to normal.

Hallo-wien 2012: The Doxiteer

It's Ramsay's 3rd Hallo-wien, and NewMama and I have been throwing around a couple of costume ideas.  We wonder what dogbert makes of all the dressing up?

Ramsay's secret blueprint, revealed.  When asked where he obtained the information he refused to give a name, only saying that he had been in touch with a coyote who was a "super genius".

scrappy

dear diary,

yippee-skippee!  my friend scrappy-doo from daycare got permission from his mom to stay at my house for vacation!  we had SOOOOOO much fun chasing each other around the house and playing "whose toot is it anyway?" (after eating some treat-ums that made us gassy), and sharing (sometimes) my toys!  we got to play "neighborhood watch" (it was SOOOO cool - we got to bark at everyone walking by my house) until mom yelled at us for being bad neighbors, but that didn't stop us for too long 'cuz we just growled at people instead (BOL!).  we got to go for rideys together to daycare and got to share our bowls too - i still think his kibble tastes better, even though it looks exactly like mine, and i'm pretty sure mom and dad gave scraps better water 'cuz his tasted better.  i was sad to see scrappy go home, but it's ok 'cuz we still get to play at daycare.  i can't wait 'til next time he comes over!  

-ramsay

Much thanks to Ms. Riki for letting us take care of Scrappy!  It was a pleasure having him!

- docsdox & NewMama

look who turned 2!

August 31, 2010:  dogbert's birthday!  Our little guy has come such a long way since then, and we could not have asked for a better dog.  Judging from his birth pictures, we could never have guessed how handsome of a doxie he would become.  Kudos to our breeder for producing such fine dogs.

As she did last year, NewMama baked a cake for Ramsay - except this time she tweaked the recipe a little and baked it for less time.  Result:  a cake that smelled good enough to be human food!  We kept Ramsay's feeding light that day in anticipation of a birthday feast, and to our pleasant surprise he ate the entire cake in one sitting!  This was followed by the ceremonial introduction of his new stuffed toy buddies - two of which have already surrendered their squeaker(s) and stuffing to our eager pooch.

Happy 2nd Birthday Ramsay!  Here's to many, many more!

BOL!

Sometimes we just have to sit back, shake our heads, and wonder, "Where does he get this stuff from?"

the longest walk

May 5, 2012.  Pier 46, NYC:  Team docsdox participated in the ALS Association's annual "Walk to Defeat ALS".  We walked to honor one of our dear family members who has the condition.  It was our first fund-raising effort and in the end, we managed to raise just over $4000!  Not bad, considering there were only three of us soliciting funds.  It was a great time for us to be with family and friends, and we look forward to participating again next year!  We encourage our readers to support their local ALS chapter, and to remember us when we raise funds for next year's walk!

Ramsay did quite well during the six-mile (round trip) walk, and behaved for much of it.  True to his racing nature, dogbert felt the occasional urge to race past our fellow walkers, dragging poor NewMama with him.  But overall, he did well for his first time in NYC.  As one might imagine, he is STILL sleeping it off!

boredom...

Many of us have heard the saying, "Idle hands are the Devil's playthings".  Apparently it also holds true for paws!  

It has been a LONG TIME since Ramsay has been THIS bored.  He DID miss daycare late last week, and has had to deal with shorter morning walks because my schedule has started earlier in the day lately.  Plus, on the day this happened we DID forget to leave him a rawhide or 'busy bone' to keep him occupied while we were at work.  Whatever the reason, we get the message and will fix the problem!      

v-day 2012

Top 3 reasons why we love sending Ramsay to daycare:

1.  Socialization:  We take care of the socialization with people.  Daycare has helped him to learn how to act around other dogs.  So far, so good - albeit with the occasional lapse in manners when meeting a new dog.


2.  Entertainment:  When Ramsay is at daycare, he's not at home trying to turn our sofas into his personal scratching posts - mostly via incidental contact with long toenails while climbing up onto the back part to lounge.


3.  Exercise:  Dogbert plays so much at daycare that he barely makes it home awake!  We usually find him curled up on the sofa or in his crate until at least the FOLLOWING evening.


Unfortunately, Reason #3 took it's toll on our Valentine's Day plans for the little snausage.  He had not mustered enough energy to play with his toys until tonight!     




PS:  Please stand by, as our blog updating may be erratic for the next several weeks.  There are certain pressing matters that demand our attention and will take us away from the blog for a short time.  Hopefully our little handful of readers will continue to check back in periodically - for those random times that we may indeed be able to sneak a post in.  Thanks for reading!

christmas booty!

Well, it looks like Ramsay was a good boy this year, as Santa was very generous!  Between Santa's gifts and those from relatives, the little snausage did very well.  Over the Christmas holiday, dogbert behaved like quite the canine (and doxie) embassador.  Although we visited several houses with lots of people, Ramsay maintained his composure and most importantly, didn't have any accidents!  We are grateful that family members allowed us to bring him!

Christmas photo shoot

NewMama and I decided that this year, we would feature Ramsay alone on our Christmas cards.  Two sets of shots and several doggie treats later, we finally came up with a winner - although there WERE some memorable photos on the cutting room floor.  Here's a sampling...

sleepyhead

As winter rears its ugly head we find Ramsay entering hibernation mode, spending a decent portion of his free time sleeping - sometimes alone, sometimes with one of us, ALWAYS in some funny or cute position!

Speaking of sleeping and resting, the docsdox family is praying for the speedy recovery of our fellow doxie-buddy and neighbor, Ace, who underwent surgery on his back this past week.  His Mom says he's home with his brother, Julius and is resting comfortably!  Go, Ace!  We'll see you around the neighborhood soon!

the german water dog

Ramsay's relationship with water has always been a fickle one.  He has never minded being bathed, and lately has even started positioning himself under the bathtub tap to maximize his exposure to the warm water.  He willingly takes swigs of water from the hose whenever we're watering the garden - to a point where he has gotten himself soaked!  In contrast, he was tentative at best getting into his Pappy's swimming pool this past summer, and often had to be held by his life vest and "dipped in".  At that point, he would promptly swim back to the steps and get out - content enough to just stare at the pool water.  Imagine our surprise when little "dox cousteau" willingly waded into the cold lake! 

trick or treat 2011!

dear diary,

mom and dad took me to grammy and pappy's house to celebrate hallowiener.  this was my first REAL hallowiener - last year i was too young to know what it was all about.  my cousin hubert told me that all i needed to do was give little kiddies some chocolate and they would give me lovin'!  i thought that was a great idea 'cuz we have so much extra chocolate laying around - might as well put it to good use 'cuz i'm not allowed to eat it (and dad eats too much of it)!  well, whaddaya know?  it worked!

i wonder what other stuff i can give away to kiddies to get hugs in return?  i thought i saw some of dad's girl scout cookies in the pantry.  hmmm....

can't wait 'til next hallowiener!  i'm already planning my next costume!

-ramsay

the hunt for red october

leaves, that is...

As a hobbyist photographer, there are certain "holy grails" that I like to pursue (eg:  sunsets, night-time shots without flash, the greenest foliage against an interesting array of clouds, a landscape with untouched snow, etc.) - however futile that quest may be.  I've been able to capture certain of these, but others remain elusive.  One of these is catching autumn leaves in peak color.  During a recent weekend off, Ramsay and I took a chance and headed to the lake - despite the somewhat overcast weather.  As I sought leafy goodness, Ramsay occupied his time with his own pursuits...  

Doxie Day in Morgantown!

Last weekend, our neighbor Robin organized the "4th Annual Morgantown Doxie Day" at a local dog park!  Robin told us that in the past, there have been as many as 40 doxies in attendance.  This year looked pretty close to that - especially in this particular dog park, where the "small dog section" is somewhat long and narrow.  How conveniently doxie-proportioned!  It seemed just about every permutation of the Dachshund standard was represented - the only notable exception being the absence of wirehairs!  We know that there is at least one pair of wires in the area, as we bump into them on the rail trail now and then.  Maybe we missed them earlier in the meet.

Ramsay was a good canine citizen that day, and played very well with his fellow snausages.  There was only one time when we felt he got too excited - he ended up barking at a chocolate-dapple long hair - presumably because he wanted to play fetch more than the other dog did.  Eventually the other dog left and order was restored.  

The best part was that Ramsay got to play for an extended period with his best snausage-buds:  Ace and Julius (Robin's boys).  We often see them during walks around the block, but it's only for a short time, as it's early in the morning right before we all go to work.  A romp at Stanley's Spot was just what the boys needed to really connect!

We cant wait until next year!  Hopefully we'll be able to attend more of these meetups before it gets too cold!

weird science

A couple of weekends ago, during one of our pilgrimages to TJ Maxx, NewMama and I stumbled upon a carved, painted doxie that looked too cool to pass up.  We wondered how Ramsay might react to it, since it is so close in scale and proportion to a real-life snausage.

DISCLAIMER:  no poopie snakes were harmed in the making of this comic...