This Is How I Roll

Sometimes I relax in my yard near my mum and just watch.

Other times I like to roll around and wiggle my body with my ball in my mouth.

I see you with that camera, watchin' me, Mum!

And this is how I look after I've finished rolling.  My coat grabs lots of leaves and small sticks, especially in the late summer or fall after the leaves have begun to fall.  My mum brushes me a lot when there are leaves on the ground!

What about you?  Do you like rolling around in the grass and leaves?

--Nona.

Are You Teasin' Me?

I can't believe my mum is posting this photograph of me all wooly and overgrown.  She thinks I look adorable this way.

And, she held a biscuit in front of her face so I would look at the camera. 

I told her to look into my eyes and I asked her if she was bein' kind.

She gave me the biscuit.  Thanks, Mum.

by Nona

Bath Time

Two Fridays ago my mum and sister took me to the Doggie Day Spa for a bath.  It was good for my mum because she could stand to give me a bath instead of having to kneel.  But it wasn't so good for me because I don't like water -- except to drink.

Mum thought it was a nice place.  This photo is before they got me wet.  Thank goodness Mum didn't take photos while I was drenched. 

They thought it went pretty well.  Mum wanted me to be very clean when I went to the vet to have my teeth cleaned the next Wednesday.

Now my teeth look pearly white!  Mum tried to get a photo of me smiling but I don't smile for the camera.

Mum asked about a groom while we were there for my bath and a nice lady came out and greeted me.  She said she'd clipped Airedales before and would clip me if my mum wanted.  But that lady's schedule is booked and she can't do it will the end of October, which is after Mum's next surgery.  So maybe I won't get a clip for a while, unless the weather cools and Mum feels like she can handle it herself.  She did it last year but she didn't have surgery last year.

Maybe the next time you see a post I won't look so woolly.

Thanks for visiting and reading.
Nona.

It Was a Crummy Summer

Hi, friends.  Nona here writing to you

A long, long time ago, in June, something unhappy happened to my mum.  She and I were both unhappy -- her because she was in pain and me because I was stuck at home without all the attention my mum usually gives me.

This is me the day before it happened.  Everything was fine.  I was just snoozing away like the world was going to go on the way it always did.

But the next morning, my mum and my sister got up really early and went away, then my sister came home without my mum.  Before she left Mum told me she would be back later, but she didn't tell me she wouldn't be like herself.  When she came home, they wouldn't let me greet her at the door, and when they finally did let me go to her she had this cage in front of her and I couldn't get close enough to give her a real greeting.  She slept on the fold-out couch in our family room.  And she slept a LOT!

I was worried about her.

She walked with the cage in front of her but she hardly walked at all at first.  And she didn't let me on the couch to cuddle, either.  My sister was the one who took me out for walks but only when it wasn't too hot for the sidewalk to hurt my feet.  We had a really hot summer so I didn't get many walks.

Mum isn't going for long walks in the neighborhood yet, but she's going out to the yard and throws the ball for me so we can play.  And she lets me on the couch for cuddles and gets my food ready and things are mostly back to normal.  Mum tells me it's still too hot for me to go for many walks but my sister takes me when it's cool enough.  My mum's slowly getting back to normal.

It was a pretty crummy summer.  I was hoping fall would be better but mum told me the other day that this is going to happen all over again in October.  Sometimes it's rough being an Airedale.   I hope your mum never has a problem like this.

Nancy here.  The cage Nona mentioned is a walker which I used after a knee replacement.  And it's true, Nona didn't get the usual amount of attention from me during those first weeks after surgery.  We're mostly back to normal, though I think she didn't mind missing toe clips.

Nancy and Nona

When I Was Groomed, Mostly

In the spring months my mum stripped my coat.  She thinks its easier to care for a coarse coat than a clipped one.

I wasn't happy about being stripped the first day because I didn't understand.  After she explained it to me, I was comfortable and relaxed.  My mum spent a lot of time with me and I loved it.  And my coat was nice and black.

This photos shows me when I was mostly groomed, except my legs and face, especially my eyebrows.  She still had some work to do on those.  I have cowlicks in my eyebrows so it makes it hard to get them just right.

How does  your mum groom you?

--Nona.

Woolly Nona

Greetings, friends.  Nancy here.  I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post again.  We're glad to be back.

As it does, Nona's hair grew and grew and grew.  She was an adorable woolly 'dale.

She looked cuddly and she was happy to be cuddled.

But with spring on the way, I knew I needed to do something about her long hair.  Clipping takes a few hours but her soft coat would just get softer and lighter tan and more grey than black.  On the other hand, stripping her could take weeks.  I dithered.

I finally began stripping her a little over a week ago.

After my husband lets her outside early in the morning, she races back upstairs to cuddle on the bed.  When I wake up, I spend time cuddling, petting, and stripping her coat while she settles in for a little nap.  I took this photo about 10 days ago and we've made more progress.  Her black saddle used to be long and grey.

I think an Airedale's hard coat is much easier to keep neat and clean.  Thank goodness it's not too cool outside these days.

But Nona loved the snow.  In fact she loved it so much she snow-plowed and sometimes rolled around in it! 

You gotta love Airedales!

We hope you're having fun, whatever you're doing!

--Nancy and Nona.