Muffins Mutt Shots...

I'm going to say spring has arrived here in Melbourne (I know it will probably come back and bite me now) so I thought it would be a good time for Mufftypup to have her first serious spring clip!

Yesterday I took a fluff ball to the groomers and just handed her over with just the briefest of instructions..."yep teddy bear cut would be great"....(oh such faith)....

It wasn't until I arrived home and realised I'd just handed her over without as much as a receipt! 

She could be anywhere after a few hours? 

But trying to calm myself to wait for the time for collecting I tried to busy myself doing lots of spring chores...but I became aware of just how much time we spend together...every time I bent down I expected to be interrupted by a licks, paws and an excitable pup...you come down to my level and its game on lady....

but nothing...its then that you realise just what a hold these little beasts have over us!

So here's the before photo...

 And here's the mug mutt shots.....

No matter which way I look at her I don't see a teddy bear....do you?

So what's your crime...pinching all the chicken?

Barking at the neighbours dogs as they pass the fence?

Rolling incessantly on your morning walks...taking far to much time when you should be walking?

Walking over the wet kitchen floor just after its been mopped?

Digging something interesting disgusting out of the garden?

Using those puppy dog eyes without a warning label?

Curling up tightly and snuggling into laps and not wanting to move for hours?

^..^

Name: 'Muffin'

Profile please......

Chin up....

Turn Left...

Take her paw prints and then lock her up....!

I don't want you to get the wrong impression here...

I don't know the above procedures first hand....I just watch a lot of tv!  :-$

Is it even the same dog I asked myself...but I've checked and it appears it is!!!

 At the moment I'm making sure she doesn't catch sight of her own refection in any of the glass doors or mirrors...at the moment she's oblivious and I'm thankful for that...because if she does catch sight of herself...then heaven help me!

I'm off to find her jumper...she's going to need it tonight!

Have a terrific Tuesday everyone...enjoy the season which ever one you may be entering. 

Guilty...Case Closed

I want you to take a good look at this guilty suspect. 

Yes...really guilty isn't she as you can see by the ears, they're right down flat to her head.

Always a sign of guilt and then there's that look!

Who would guess just by looking at her that she was a well pampered pooch, that had just had a lovely bath after our morning walk.

"Look Me Lord ~ we have the footprints as evidence"...

Yet more evidence...the grubby water after the second bath.

There's no question ~ she's guilty! Case closed.

Hmm....I'm not amused as you can imagine.

After our morning walk and her bath, I turned my back for a second to get on with my next job and this is what happened.

I'm not sure if she was digging in the garden but she was certainly filthy. 

Now you can see why I can't get to paint....but psst.... there's some news on that front...I don't want anyone else to know just yet, but there's a little paint landed on my silk.

Shhh...keep it to yourself for now

...

I'm away to try and carry on with it.

Hopefully there will be a post tomorrow to show you what's happening.

See you then.... ; D 

A Few Updates....

What a sporty weekend we're having....there's the fourth Rugby match blasting out here at the moment, as I try to hear myself type....we've had the football in between too, but the boys are happy, so I thought I'd nip in here with a quick update post.
I've not done one of these for a while so here goes.....
The main event is that we have a house guest. Yes, Zac arrived last night for his holiday, so Muffy's a happy bunny!

I couldn't resist snapping this shot of them looking through to the dining room. We were about to have a Sunday Roast and they weren't happy about not being included. They were sniffing all around the door frame trying to get the maximum smell if nothing else.

But then they did have their chicken dinner, so it all worked out in the end. Then the games commenced.... 

 I must try and get a video of all their antics. Its such fun to just sit and watch them at play. Today on our walk we tried using a joint lead (leash) It was so funny to see them trying to work it out, who got to take priority on which direction or sniff trail to follow.

At least you can see my handy work from the grooming course. I've had quite a few compliments on my handy work. Not sure how I'll get on when there's no experienced eye watching over me next time I have to clip her.

At the moment Muffin has just managed to fit into her bed. Zac has taken a liking to it, much to her disgust but well it is Zac, so she's curled up around him. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Anyone else would be given their marching orders.

Moving on with the update...remember the Flowering Hanging Mangers Well look how they've grown. They are still spreading out and only just coming to bud, but there's lots of potential there. I'll take another photo later in the season to show how they bloom {hopefully}

 And then the surprise news of the week....
I've been pottering about near the water tank off and on and noticed that every time I went near this particular spot, a startled dove would fly away. It happened so many times that I thought I'd take a peek and look what I found....

Unfortunately, I really had to take a few quick snaps not wanting to disturb the mother or the nest for too long. Apparently, they are notorious for abandoning the nest so I didn't want that responsibility. But the last news was my OH checked and the mother was sitting back on the nest so, so far all's well. They should be happy because we have a water bath which has fresh water daily and the huge seed block hanging near by. No need to scavenge here at this address. Unfortunately I was hoping that they may have spread the word to the lorikeets, but nothing happening there yet. But you never know?

I would love to give a final update on the painting but what can I say....no excuses I just haven't got back to it. I've managed to put the gutta on {the resist that stops the flow of paint over the silk - its like gum or glue consistency}and the design is done so we're beginning to get there, but it will be into next week before I can show you. Hopefully it will be worth the wait ; )

Muffins Grooming at Dog Diversity

I certainly set myself a challenge yesterday, but little did I realise that the challenge would be so immense. I know to drive through the city shouldn't have been an issue, especially when you rely on the sat nav to guide you. They can be invaluable - well, that is until they get confused and keep changing their minds....{is that possible? ....machines changing their minds?}
Anyway, after rerouting I didn't really go wrong but it was a little hairy at times. Its not ideal for example when the sat nav tells you to turn right when your in the middle lane with two huge trucks either side of you.
I think Muffy picked up my stress vibes because the trip was taking way longer than our usual visit to the parks or oval. She knew something was afoot. But we finally got to our destination.
Much relief all round I can tell you.....Muffin was a little nervous especially when she realised I was going to perform the procedure! My course tutor was so patient and took showed me each step meticulously explaining what was needed and how to complete each cut, clip, comb and snip!  And I did all the cutting....eek!

Once you complete the course they give you a DVD of the step by step guide to Do-It-Yourself dog grooming, so that you always have a reference if you forget any of the techniques. I also felt so confident (that's thanks to my tutor) that I bought these scissors. They have little teeth so you can cut without making steps in the coat - not a good look whatever the breed.

Here's my tutor....{if you read this then I apologise for not using your name - I remember it sort of rhymed with Neesie. Just let me know and I'll amend the post to show your name : D }

The other little pooch with the Mohican's hairstyle is 'Fritzel'. Again I hope I've got this little chaps name right. 

Can you believe that he came from the same puppy farm as  Oscar  He's so cute and obviously will have a much happier life now.

I realised that I was actually holding my breath with each cut and snip of the scissors, so no wonder I was shattered as we came to something like a shih tzu puppy cut. I couldn't believe that we had been so engrossed for nearly two and a half hours! At this stage I had Muffin resting her head on my arms and desperate for a snooze.  

We had such fun though (well I'm not sure about Muffin but I did) and my tutor even produced Muffin ribbons showing me how to make the little bows. Muffin is modelling them above. How cute is that?

I love this logo....

If your interested in learning to groom your own pet take a look at Dog Diversity

As we were heavily involved with the technical details of not having Muffin look like a dogs dinner or been clipped with a knife and fork (down to my inexperience and nothing to do with the course) the sky's darkened and the heavens opened. Was it Divine intervention....I shouldn't meddle in things that other's are quite capable of doing without my input....no it was one of the worse storms that Melbourne has experienced this year. Poor Muffy....as if she wasn't suffering enough already.

We had to make a dash for the car with the rain lashing down and thunder and lightening flashing across the sky. As your probably aware dogs aren't too happy in thunderstorms and Muffin is no exception. I had to put the radio on loud each time there was a flash and talked the whole way back to try and calm her.

It was a terrible drive back home with gridlock rush hour traffic and floods everywhere. Some of the underpasses where so deep in water that four wheel cars where making bow waves which were a worry. I'm not sure my car can swim! :{

I have never been so glad to get home and I'm sure Muffin felt the same.

Muffy crashed into her bed as soon as we got into the house and didn't want to show off her new look.