The Bad Dog Chocolate Caper

I don't know why my mum gave this post that title.  It wasn't really such a big deal.

My mum's been laid up after foot surgery and my pop had to take her for a doctor's appointment.  While they were gone I found 3 Symphony milk chocolate with toffee bars and a bag of Reese's peanut butter cups that Mum had hidden behind a bunch of other stuff.  It was work to get them but I succeeded and they were very yummy.  Except maybe the foil on the Reese's wasn't so great.

I don't know why Mum and Pop were unhappy with me when they came home saw the wrappers on the floor.  (I knew I should have eaten those wrappers.  Get rid of all the evidence.  I'm learning that!)  My mum loves chocolate, I love chocolate.  They seemed worried about me.  Mum said chocolate is bad for dogs even though it's never hurt me before.  Anyway, they called the vet and took me in to have me checked out.  Hooray!  I got to go somewhere!

What we all found out is that before milk chocolate is really dangerous, an Airedale can eat one ounce -- that's 1 ounce -- for every pound she weights.  So that 24 ounces of milk chocolate I ate was nearly nothin'.  I could have eaten 60 ounces!  My mum says she can't understand why I wasn't sick.  She said she could eat a lot of chocolate and not get sick but she couldn't eat 24 ounces.  And, she said, I'm littler than her.

I had to eat special dog food that was really yummy but I didn't get very much of it at a time.  And I'm out of luck now because they're hiding the chocolate even better than before and in higher places.  They won't even let me look at it or sniff it!  I knew I should've eaten those wrappers.

Remember, Airedale friends, eat just a little less ounces of chocolate than pounds you weight and you'll be fine.

from Hannah

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from Nancy, Hannah's mum:
Airedale moms and dads, hide your chocolate!  Once your Airedale gets a taste for it, it's all over.  She will climb ladders, jump through hoops, and dig to the ocean to get it.  She may even learn to open cupboard doors!

The Dog Breed Guessing Game with the Airedale

There was this little dog quiz online...

It says, "Known as the dog that can 'do it all,' this well-rounded pooch started as a guard dog, messenger, pest controller, and hunter.  Active and smart, this mid-sized, wiry-haired canine is recognized as a good police dog and family pet."

My mum read it to me and I knew exactly which breed was the answer, and I didn't have to look at the pictures or hear the choices.  It's US!  See:

It says, "Airedales, known as the 'King of Terriers,' are bold, brave dogs, bright, and often stubborn.  Not afraid to stand up for themselves, they make good family pets, and high-spirited, protective companions.  Airedales can get bored easily and need vigorous exercise daily, like a rousing game, a long walk, or a chance to run and romp."

That's me!  (Except I'm a Queen of Terriers instead of a king.)

from Hannah

Patricia McConnell Online

Do you know about Patricia McConnell? She is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist.  You might think she'd use lots of fancy words to tell people what she does, but her books are very readable and easily understood.  She teaches about interactions between dogs and dogs, and dogs and their people.  I read, loved, and learned a lot from her book, The Other End of the Leash.  I was thrilled to learn that she has a blog, The Other End of the Leash.  It, too, is very readable - actually a joy to read - even to the non-scientific among us.  

At her blog I learned that she is presenting an ASPCA webinar on December 6.  (For those who don't know, a webinar is an online seminar.  You register to attend, then receive a link to the webinar website.  You're able to listen (and possibly watch) and ask questions (sometimes online or sometimes via a phone call).)  This particular webinar is for animal welfare professionals, volunteers, and foster parents.

I volunteer with ATRA and I hope to be able to listen to the webinar.  I'm all for anything that helps me improve Hannah's life and my relationship for her.  It should be interesting and fun.

Registration for the webinar is not yet open but I'm sure it will be soon.

posted by Nancy.

Watch Me Surprise My Mum

This is the frog I was playin' with when she took the video below this one.

She liked to watch me playin' -- and then I really surprised her.

She laughed after she was finished being surprised!

I hope you're havin' a fun autumn.

from Hannah

My Favorite Toy

I have a basket of toys that I can play with any time I want.  Sometimes I spread them all over the floor.

But some toys my mum puts up high and says I can only play with them under supervision - whatever that is.

When I want to play with those toys I have to ask her to get them down for me.  I stare at the toy I want, then go to Mum and try to get her to go back to the toy I want.  She finally figures it out.

One of my favorites is the toy she calls Frances.  (It's the stretchy pink one up there.)  I first got Frances last Christmas time.  My sister bought Francis for my brother-in-law and then they let me play with her for a little while.  They saw how much I loved her and they gave her to me.  I've had 3 Franceses so far.

I like to flip Frances up and down, toss her around, and chew on her.  She is so much fun.  Sometimes my mum and I play tug with her.

My mum and I played tug with the last one and my mum broke her in two.  She had to buy me a new Frances. I wish my mum would let me have her all the time but she says she has to protect me, so she puts Frances back up high until she can watch me play with her.  Mum usually gets her down whenever I ask.  I think Frances is my Very Best Toy. 

What's one of your favorite toys?
from Hannah

Everything's Funny to An Airedale

One of the characteristics that endears Airedales to me is their sense of humor and their joi de vivre. But not everyone loves those traits.

I have an older friend who had an Airedale. Her husband wanted the Airedale puppy but she wasn't so sure. They picked up the puppy one evening and when they got home her husband put the puppy in the hallway and went to bed, leaving her to take care of it. She wasn't happy. She grew to love the Airedale as much as her husband and was beyond sad when they lost her.

Even though she loved their Airedale, she didn't really like Airedales because, she said,

"Everything's funny to an Airedale."

There's the truth of it! Airedales have a great sense of humor and they're always ready to laugh at you and at themselves. Not only that, they love making their humans laugh. They're ready for a good time most any time -- except when there's some business at hand, and then it's all work and no play.

Our Hannah is generally a serious girl. We think its because of the early abuse and neglect during her first two years. As she gains confidence we're seeing bits of humor now and then. It's fun to watch her blossom but I doubt she'll ever regain the Airedale spirit that she was born with.

To you Airedale readers out there: What do you do to make your humans laugh?

Thanks for stopping by.

posted by Nancy.

Just When She's About to Take a Photo

My mum likes to take photos of me, but she says it's awful hard to have a blog about an Airedale when the Airedale -- me! -- doesn't like to be photographed!

This is what I do just when she snaps the photo.

I turn my head to the right.

I look at Mum, hang my ears down, and look unhappy.

I turn my head to the left, look wild-eyes, and pull my ears back even further.

I turn my head to the left, put my ears low, and squinch my eyes.

Mum says we're gonna keep practicing because she's sure I can become a better model. I want to be a model like Wyatt and Stanzie & Molly, and Mitch. They are good models!

Thanks for stoppin' by.
from Hannah

Rainy Day Nose

It only took ten minutes and I had fun.

Little Messages of Love

You know how I know my mum loves me?

She feeds me care-its.

Every morning she shaves them,
washes them, and cuts them into pieces
(but not always into heart shapes).

She puts them with my kibble and bran.

I love care-its.

Other message foods she give me are

• let-us, which means let us play, or let us go for a walk, or let us go for a ride. I love to do all those things.
• oranges for orange-ya-glad about something or other. I'm glad I live with my mum and she's glad I live with her.
• ap-pulls for when she's gonna pull out my hair. She calls it stripping me. It's a good thing she only does it once a year because I don't like it too much. She says it keeps my coat black and wiry, which doesn't matter to me.

She never gives me grapes or onions because she says they could kill me. She also never gives me chocolate but one time I found some just layin' around and I ate it. Chocolate is my favorite treat but no matter how cute I am, mum won't give me any. She puts it up high or hides it a cupboard or closet.

I'm a really good Airedale because I never steal food from the kitchen table and I never counter-surf. But if the food's on the work table where mum works on her computin' and quiltin' and family history I think it's for me and than I take it.

Does your mum feed you care-its?

Rosie the Nurse

posted by my mum

It's taken me a lot of years to learn to read dogs -- their body language and their behaviors as pack animals. This photo was taken many years ago when I was still young in Airedale/dog language. I didn't read Rosie very well then. I just thought it was cute that she wanted to lay by her sister.

When I looked at this photo just recently everything fell into place. Rosie's human sister, about 3 years old, had been sick and found no comfort until she finally laid down on the floor near Rosie and slept. There was Rosie, protective, caring, gentle. I see now that Rosie might have been saying, "I've got it, Mum. I've got everything under control. I'm taking care of her and I'll guard her until you get back from making the beds."

Rosie was a character. I'll tell you more about her some other time.


This is a post for Sepia Saturday #139 which features a poster depicting a dog donating a bone for the war effort. My tie with the Sepia Saturday theme is that dogs give in many different ways. Rarely will an Airedale give up a bone but in other ways they can be completely selfless, especially when it comes to a beloved family member.

This is me, Hannah, speaking: you should to go visit Sepia Saturday and see if there are other Airedales or their mums or pops contributing photos this week. Or maybe just some other dogs.

Garden Party - the 2012 Airedale Rescue Quilt

My mum's too busy to write a real post for us but we wanted to tell you about this year's rescue quilt. Today's the first day everyone knows about it. Isn't it beautiful? Mum couldn't get the whole quilt on her screen when she took this screen shot. The whole quilt has a green border and my mum says the quilting is gorgeous. (You can see it below right.) I would like to have this quilt to keep me warm in the winter.

I'm in the quilt! Can you guess which Airedale I am? I was just new to my home when my mum took the picture that became the block. You can find which block it is at either of the sites below.

I think you should go have a look at the new blog for it and then to the rescue site. You'll be able to see each block up close. Then I think you should donate $$$ (or $$$$$$$$$) so maybe you can have it in your home. (And then if you don't want it you can give it to me. But I don't know why anyone wouldn't want it because it is so fun and beautiful.)

My Sister Has a New Toy and She Won't Share!

We rode and rode and rode.

Part of the time I stuck my nose out of the window.
(My mum took this photo through her rear view mirror.)

And part of the time I laid down.

While we were visiting I watched one of my sisters
bake an apple pie but I didn't get to try any.

I slept on this jello-y bed.

And my other sister came with her new toy.
I didn't know what it was at first because all they said
was that it was a "baby named Malachi."

Then it started making noises and I knew it was a new toy.
I love squeaky toys! I wanted to chew on it but they told me
I could only look and sniff because it's a baby boy.

I got a good sniff and I'm going to be ready for the next time!
We'll play, play, play - and I'll make him squeak, squeak, squeak.
It should be lots of fun.

No Airedales in Helsinki

My sister and her husband took this photo last October when they were in Helsinki. They said it was at the entrance to a public garden in the city. They know my mum loves us Airedales and they thought she would like the drawing. She likes the drawing but she doesn't like the "X" on the drawing. And neither do I.

Why wouldn't they want Airedales in the garden? Everyone knows that we Airedales love to dig and do excellent digging work. We are very helpful when it comes to turning over the earth and loosening the soil. Those people in Helsinki must not know much about us Airedales.

Have you ever seen a sign like this anywhere else but in Helsinki?!

"The Best Dog of All"

My older friend kept a scrapbook when she was a girl.  A few years ago when she was looking through it she found this article, "Training England's Dogs of War," clipped from some unknown and undated newspaper, probably published nearly 70 years ago.   She was pleased to let me make copies. I retyped the words for legibility.  (If you'd like to read the article or see a larger view of the photos, click on the images to enlarge them, then click again to make them even larger.)

The article describes the work of British Col. Ernest H. Richardson and his work in training Airedales to aid in civil defense and to go to the aid of injured citizens.




Of Airedales he says, "The best dog of all for the purpose of home defense work is the Airedale.   He stands well off the ground and is strong, speedy and immensely keen.  His intelligence makes him easily trained and readily teachable."



He said he has his older dogs help teach the younger dogs.  "My two best teachers are Topsy and Nancy, who have been with me for years.  They teach good manners to the young ones.  And they repress any tendency toward barking.  The younger dogs copy the older ones and learn their tricks quickly."   He details his training method on the page above.

He also trained Airedales for messenger work in conjunction with carrier pigeons, for sentry duty, rescue work, as watch dogs, and as airplane spotters.




Airedales are such noble dogs!   I was pleased to learn this bit of their history in the words of the person who trained the Airedales.

--Nancy.

My Mum's Memory is Mostly Missing

My mum suggested that we go see the bison at the park. She and my pop and my sister and new brother-in-law went in the rain a week and a half ago. So we went. When we got there my mum was surprised at the paths. She remembered that they had a sort of pavey coating on them and looked like this:
But the paths really looked like the picture below. You see what I mean about my mum's missing memory? My pop said we didn't have to go for the walk but my mum said that since we were already there and since it was such a nice day, we should walk. So we walked for about two miles.
And I ended up looking like this!!!
You see that mess of me?! Mum had towels in the car to rub me off and a towel on the seat to keep it clean. She forgot about what the paths at the park looked like but you know what she didn't forget? Yes, a bath! She said I had to have a bath. I don't like baths not at all. She finally relented and washed only the bottom half of me - my legs, belly, and lower sides. Whew! That was a relief. Now I'm half clean and half cleaner.

Maybe you want to know about the rest of the walk? We saw bison but I don't know what the big deal was. They were like rocks in a field.

I refused to look at them more than once. I was more interested in the kids and the strollers.
My mum liked the moon in the afternoon sky
and the silhouette of two trees against blue and some other pictures I don't want to waste time about.
I hope my mum finds her memory soon so I don't have to go places where I get so messy. My motto is "No More Baths" -- even if they are only half baths!

posted by Hannah