Kool Kisses

Kool is a kisser. He loves to kiss me. While both doxies love to lick, Kool is definitely more of a kisser. Whenever I come home after a long day and let them out of their kennels, Kool puts his front paws on my leg until I lean down or pick him up. He goes crazy kissing my face. It tickles! And he doesn't just kiss...he nips a little. When I've been gone for an especially long time, he pretty much just nips...no kissing. I think he is just so excited to see me, he can't help himself!!

When I came back from vacation and picked the boys up from Carme's house, Kool went insane! He just kissed and nipped and bit and kissed. It was quite funny.

And it's not just me who thinks he's adorable at this. I took him home to Ohio with me in February of 2008. My mom and I took him to Petco for a Valentine's Pet Party. There was a kissing contest. I knew Kool was a little kisser, but I wasn't sure if he'd do it on command or if he would even kiss the employee judging. Well, it was just perfect. As soon as she picked him up, he gave her a little peck on her cheek! What a sweetie! He won 2nd place! So proud of my little boy...

So I know it's not just me that he likes to kiss. He kisses my boyfriend, he kisses Kim when we walk together, he kisses everybody. Kool is just a kissing fool!

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Krazy Kool

Kool always seems like such a quiet little guy. He's pretty relaxed and laid-back. I mean, yes, he gets excited when he sees people and other dogs, but for the most part, he embodies his name...just cool.

However (and there is almost always an "however"), there are times when I cannot believe he is the same dog! He cracks me up with the crazy stunts he pulls. I think I've told you about the time he climbed up on my nightstand in the middle of the night. Well, this is just as weird...

Kool likes to hang out in the bathtub. Not when he's getting a bath (although he's a pretty good boy when it comes to that) or when I'm in the shower. Just to hang out.... At first I didn't really realize what he was doing. But I've caught him twice now. I hear these weird noises coming from my bathroom, like toenails on porcelain. Yes. Kool has jumped into the tub and is inspecting all of my soap and shampoo. I have no idea why he does it. One night, he woke me up with being noisy in the tub. What a weirdo.

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BADGER!!!! (aka My Friend's Cat)

I'm not sure if anyone is familiar with the history of dachshunds. They're German, and their name means "badger" hound. They were bred for their long bodies to fit into badger holes and hunt them.

Well the boys' instincts have kicked in, and they have decided to go on a badger hunt in my house. Kool and Swift have been introduced to my friend's cat previously in her home. She mostly stayed away and hid under the bed. They didn't interact much, but my friend has a dog, too, so I didn't think it was going to be a problem if I cat-sat. Oh, how wrong I was...

The first night when Kim dropped Nymphy off, the boys were so excited. They jumped and jumped, trying to get to her in Kim's arms. I put the dogs in my bedroom and let Nymphy explore the house a little. When Kim and I decided it was time to let them be together, I let the boys out. Poor Nymphy...she ran and hid behind my hutch. The dogs kept barking at her and whining. Eventually she got brave and hissed and swiped at them....they yelped and backed away. We thought everything would be fine, so Kim left.

Well, the boys did not want to leave Nymphy alone, and the poor kitty got so scared she pooped!! I locked up the dogs and cleaned her up. I decided that was enough for the night. I let Nymphy have the run of the house and kept the boys in my room. Over the next couple of days, I tried to let Nymphy and Swift and Kool spend some time together. It became a pattern - Nymphy would find a new hiding spot every night, and every morning, the boys would try to find her. They would run to all of her old hiding spots before they found her new one. It would cause a riot, so I would rescue Nymphy and lock her in the bathroom while the dogs had their walk and breakfast. Then they would go in their kennel during the day.

One day, Nymphy had had enough. Swift just would not leave her alone. She was under the couch, and Swift could fit under as well. (Nymphy isn't used to being chased under beds & couches. The dog she lives with is huge!) So Nymphy hissed and scratched at him, but it didn't stop Swift. He'd just yelp and whine and continue barking. I couldn't get to Swift because he was under the couch, but I finally pulled him out. Well, Nymphy got him good! He was bleeding everywhere! I put him in the bathtub to clean him up, and his only wounds were on his snout and on his ear - they just bled a lot.

That was the last straw. If cuts and scratches weren't going to stop the dogs, nothing would. I decided to keep the animals away from each other until Kim came to get Nymphy. I'd take turns letting either the boys or Nymphy out. Of course, the boys knew where Nymphy was when she was locked up. They'd scratch at the door and whine and bark. I couldn't believe how badly they wanted her. I could just hear them thinking, "Mom has a badger locked up in there, and I can't believe she won't let us get her!!!!" :) I'm sure Nymphy was glad when Kim came home!

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The Boys on Vacation

I took a business trip to Denver a couple of weeks ago. I left the boys at my friend, Carme's house. She and her husband have owned dachshunds for years, and now they have one long-haired dachshund named Rocky and a cute little mutt named Chewy. Rocky is a bit older than my guys (probably around 8 or 9), and he is definitely the alpha dog at his house. It's quite interesting to see Swift (who is the alpha at our house) interact with Rocky. Of course, Swift brought his new orange squeaky. Well, Rocky loves squeakies, too, and since it was his house, he decided that orange squeaky must be his toy. I think Swift was a little taken aback that another dog would dare take his squeaky. Kool just lets Swift do whatever, so Swift is not used to having to share toys. But it all seemed to go all right. Swift stayed with Carme and Jerry a little over a year ago, and he and Rocky got into a little fight over the ball. Rocky got him good and ripped a little patch of hair off of his snout. Swift looked pretty funny for a while, but it grew back. This time there were no fights; I think Swift is learning to give in a bit, which is definitely good for him!

One of the nice things about Carme and Jerry's house is that it's a house! They have a huge fenced-in backyard so all 4 boys can run and play. It took Swift and Kool a little getting used to running free with no leashes. I felt bad when I had to bring them back to the apartment, and they were limited to leash-only walks. :( That's all right. Gives me more motivation to take them to Marymoor!

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but Swift has quite the crazy tail. It never stops moving! When I went to pick up the boys, of course, all the dogs had to come say hi to me...except Chewy. He stayed pretty far away. Jerry told me that apparently Chewy's face is the exact same height at Swift's tail, and poor Chewy kept getting hit in the face! He learned to keep his distance from Swift. Awww...poor Chewy!

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A New Squeaky Has Arrived

So I finally gave in. I bought a new orange squeaky. Swift went over the moon for it. I actually like this one much better. The squeaker must be broken or something, but it doesn't squeak nearly as much or as loud as the old one did. At first I thought it was just because it was new. But Swift has had it for a while now, and it does the same thing. Some nights, he just sits and squeaks it, but no noise comes out. I love it! I never have to take his ball away again.

This proves that Swift knows the difference between his toys. When old squeaky died, Swift would favor one toy every few days, but he always switched it up. Now that we have a new orange squeaky, he rarely ever plays with anything else.

I love watching Swift play with squeaky. You can just tell it is his absolute favorite thing in the world to do. He gets so intent, and his tail wags like crazy. He's such a cutie-pie. He reminds me of the hamster from the movie, Bolt. "Ball, ball, ball, ball, ball...." He cracks me up!

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Showing Off and Hamming it Up

Swift is such a little show-off. I had friends over on the weekend, and Swift just couldn't help himself. The only trick he knows really is how to sit up on his hind legs. He looks like a little prairie dog when he does it. It is absolutely adorable, and he knows it! When he wants attention, he just sits up on his back legs. He's even learned how to do it on the couch and the bed! Of course, he won't do it for the camera, so I don't have any pictures of it. What a cutie.

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Do Dachshunds Get Hiccups?

They certainly do! Swift gets hiccups all the time. He's been better lately - not so many. I think it's because he eats his food so fast and he's been slowing down recently. I've started watching the boys eat because I had a theory Swift was eating Kool's food. Swift was getting pretty chubby, and poor Kool would want dinner twice a night. So I started watching them, and sure enough, Swift would gulp down his food and then start eating out of Kool's bowl. And Kool, being the sweetheart and non-confrontational dog that he is, would let him. Kool also didn't eat a lot, so sometimes he would just walk away and let Swift finish. Once I started putting water in their food and letting it soak, Kool would gobble down his food almost fater than Swift. Maybe it's because he's a little older and likes the soft food. If Swift tries to eat Kool's food now, I yell at him and pull him away. So I think he's learning that only his food is his and he's taking his time to eat it.

All that to say, well, Swift got the hiccups last night in bed. I know that when I get hiccups, they hurt sometimes, so I feel bad for the puppy. How do you get rid of hiccups for a dog? Well, I was thinking of all of the ways that humans try to get rid of their hiccups, and I thought, "Maybe I'll try to scare them out of Swift!" I waited a bit and just breathed in and out very slowly so as not to disturb him. All of a sudden, I yelled, "BOO!" Of course, Swift jumped up and looked at me as if I were crazy (which is probably true). But once he settled down and lay back down, did he have the hiccups anymore? No. It worked!

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