Keli's Korner~The Westie & The Wauzer

Christmas Stylin'

2011-11-17T10:59:00.000-05:00

We don't really like to wear dresses for the holidays, but we do like to look special and these bandana-style collar slipcovers and scrunchie neck ruffles keep us looking stylish.

Penny models a Poinsettia and Roses Bandana style collar slipcover. She wears a size Medium - which means the triangle section has a "drop" of about 6 inches from the top of the bandana to the point. The channel that her collar slips through is about 3" longer than her collar so it covers it completely.

Larger or smaller sized bandanas are scaled up or down so that the triangle section is longer or shorter for bigger or smaller pups. Large bandanas are about an inch longer with a 7 inch drop; Small bandanas are about an inch shorter with a 5 inch drop. The channel is custom sized in length and width, depending on actual collar sizes.

Keli (below) models a Large Classic Christmas Plaid Bandana collar slipcover - the plaid fabric is a cotton/metallic blend so it is just a bit sparkly! But, it is also very lightweight and a little bit slippery, so we added a button and elastic loop on the end to help keep it from bunching up on her collar. This button is pretty for the girls, and we have plain gold buttons to sew on for the boys.

"Leave a peppermint stick for old St. Nick"

Here's Keli again wearing a Peppermint Candy Bandana style collar slipcover.

We have a scrunchie neck ruffle made with a different Peppermint Candy fabric, too.

The good thing about Scrunchie Neck Ruffles is that even the pups who prefer harnesses instead of collars can wear them.

Penny models this Christmas Stripes and Dots scrunchie neck ruffle. The colors are just a little bit Grinch-y, don't you think?

Penny's ruffles are based on her neck/collar size. Since she wears a 14 inch long collar, we make her ruffles so they fit a 14 inch circle; they stretch a little, but rest very comfortable on her neck.

We make up sample scrunchies in 14- and 16-inch sizes for most, and we make custom sized ruffles for each pet. We even made one for a cat once!

Penny and Keli model the Classic Christmas Plaid scrunchie neck ruffles below.

We have several sets of scrunchies in coordinating red and green fabrics, too. Keli models the Berry Red scrunchie, Penny models the Berry Green scrunchie.

Keli models the Green and Gold Striped scrunchie; Penny models the coordinating Red and Gold Striped scrunchie.

One last photo - Penny models the scrunchie we call Santa's Helper, because the gold swirls on the green fabric remind us of one of Santa's elves.

We keep adding to the collection when we find fun fabrics, so if you'd like to see more, visit the Dog Collar Slipcovers and Dog Scrunchie Neck Ruffle sections of our ArtFire shop!

Or you can visit our Dog Collar Slipcovers and Scrunchie Neck Ruffles set on Flickr.

Thanksgiving Dressing

2011-11-05T09:26:00.001-04:00

Thanksgiving is less than three weeks away, but we're already dressed for dinner!

Keli likes this Tiny Autumn Leaves Bandana-style collar cover. This is the plain version, made of fabric with gold, rust and brown autumn colored leaves.

Collar slipcovers are worn over your collar. On the end near the buckle is a buttonhole opening for the leash loop/D-ring to slide through so that the entire collar is covered. This also helps to prevent the slipcover from sliding around on your collar.

This variation of the Tiny Autumn Leaves has a Turkey Applique on it. We really like turkey, but we don't ever chew on the bones.

Sometimes a flock of wild turkeys visits our neighborhood! We bark at them when they wander through our yard but they just look at us and walk away. This turkey is a machine embroidery design from Planet Applique.

Doesn't Penny look elegant in this Autumn Maple Leaves bandana? This fabric has been in our stash for a long time! The leaves are pretty shades of gold, rust and brown with little bits of gold.

We like pumpkins, too! Penny is wearing a Pumpkin Homespun bandana.

This is another machine embroidered design from Planet Applique that we reduced and omitted the jack-o-lantern face. The fabric is cotton homespun plaid in harvest colors - orange, green and brown.

Each of these bandana style collar covers is available in our SewAmazin studio on ArtFire; they are made and sold with permission based on a design by Penny Sanford Designs: http://pennysanford.typepad.com/. A portion of the sales price of each bandana is donated to WestieMed.

You can see more holiday bandanas in our Dog Collar Slipcovers and Scrunchie Neck Ruffles set on Flickr and in our ArtFire shop.

Happy Howl-a-ween

2011-10-24T23:56:00.001-04:00

It's been quite a while since we dressed up for Howl-a-ween ... Penny was only one year old! (See some of Keli's old costumes are here).

So we were pretty excited to be models for these Halloween scrunchie neck ruffles and bandanas!

(They're all still available from SewAmazin on ArtFire.)

This first set looks just like the originals we wore in 2008, but in sizes that fit us now! We call them Howl-a-ween Stripes (left) and Howl-a-ween Checks (right). They'd be fun to wear for Mardis Gras, too. They're made of cotton fabric and have fuzzy yarn trim stitched around the edges.

Here we are wearing another version of the fuzzy edged scrunchie neck ruffles - the fabrics remind us of that Beetlejuice movie! They're a little bit spooky.

Penny (left) is wearing Howl-a-ween Weird Spots scrunchie - don't they look like eyeballs?

Keli (right) is wearing the Howl-a-ween Black & White Worms neck ruffle.

These are Howl-a-ween Cats bandana-style collar slipcovers.

And here is Penny wearing a Candy Corn scrunchie neck ruffle that's a little bit wider than the others.

This is a reversible bandana style collar slipcover, called Boo Bats - 'cuz on one side the fabric has BOO all over and the flip side has bats on an orange background. With the reversible bandanas, we get two looks in one slipcover.

Here is another reversible bandana-style collar slipcover called Trick or Treat. One side has those words printed on it and the other side has black cats on a bright green background. Penny is trying to find the 'C-A-T', since we keep using that word.

One more reversible bandana-style collar slipcover with those Worms and Spooky Spots that look like eyeballs!

Somehow Keli got a stain on this one, so it didn't make the cut for the shop. To hide the stain we embroidered a black and purple hairy spider applique on it.

~ All of the bandana-style collar slipcovers are made and sold with permission from a design by Penny Sanford Designs. A portion of each sale is donated to WestieMed.org.

~ The scrunchie neck ruffles are my own design; beginning September 2011 a portion of each sale is donated to Ramapo-Bergen Animal Rescue, Inc. (RBARI).

Patriotic Pups!

2011-06-01T17:08:00.000-04:00

Just before Memorial Day we started making some new dog collar slipcovers with a Red, White and Blue theme in Straight, Ric Rac, Scalloped and Triangle/Bandana styles. These will be great to wear for Flag Day, Independence Day, Veteran's Day and other patriotic celebrations.

~ All of these samples are available now in our SewAmazin ArtFire Studio and can be made in custom sizes in a variety of fabrics ~

Here are Keli (left) wearing a Straight slipcover and Penny (right) wearing a Ric Rac slipcover. Both are made with cotton quilting fabric in flag/navy blue with white stars and red stitching for accent. The Ric Rac slipcover has Scarlet red trim. We just received the same star print with a Red background and plan to make a sample using white trim.

We used more of the same navy blue and stars fabric to make a couple of Scalloped Ruffle slipcovers. Keli is wearing a longer, 6-scallop slipcover and Penny is wearing a 5-scallop slipcover. The sizing on each one creates enough gathering for a lightly ruffled effect.

The plain Scalloped slipcovers are nice, but we decided they needed something extra. So we experimented a bit and came up with these red yo-yo "poppies" to add to the 5-scallop version. There are three yo-yo's added to the 3 center scallops; the middle yo-yo is extra-large while the other two are large. They were made using a Clover yo-yo making tool in each size, then hand stitched to the collar slipcover.

We only added these to the 5-Scallop slipcover because it didn't look quite so nice on the 6-Scallop version.

Here is Penny wearing the new and improved 5-Scallop Slipcover with yo-yo Poppies - it still has a bit of ruffle to it:

And here is Keli wearing the same 5-Scallop slipcover on a longer collar. It has almost no gathering but it still looks very nice on her, too:

We also made some new Reversible Triangle/Bandana style slipcovers.

Continuing with the Patriotic theme, this first bandana slipcover is made with Lady Liberty fabric on one side and Patriotic Stripes on the other side.

The slipcover is fully reversible - there is a buttonhole on each side to hold the leash loop securely in place.

Here is Keli wearing the larger size slipcover, showing the Lady Liberty fabric:

And here is Penny wearing the smaller size slipcover, showing the Patriotic Stripes fabric:

The next bandana, Kisses and Blue Stars is done in red, white and blue colors, but it could really be worn all year round. For this one, I machine embroidered a design on one side. Kisses One Dollar is from Embroidery Library and is stitched on a white background. The other side of the bandana blue stars fabric.

Here's a closer view of the embroidery, with Penny modeling the smaller size slipcover - this would look really good on a darker colored dog!

And here is Keli wearing the larger size slipcover, showing the Blue Stars side:

Can you tell they both had baths and haircuts in between photo sessions?

I'll be adding more patriotic themed collar slipcovers all summer long - to see them, you can visit my Dog Collar Slipcovers Set on Flickr or shop in the Dog Collar Slipcovers Section of my SewAmazin ArtFire Studio.

Spring Holiday Fashions

2011-04-04T12:02:00.001-04:00

Here we are on our first modeling assignment, showing off Spring and Easter fashions made by SewAmazin. The dog collar slipcovers in this collection were made based on designs by Penny Sanford Designs and are sold with permission - a portion of the sales are going to be donated to WestieMed to help take care of ill or injured rescued West Highland Terriers.

We like these Easter Egg Reversible Triangle collar slipcovers -- They look like bandanas!

To wear them, we slide our collars through a pocket or channel (kind of like putting a curtain on a rod) and our old plain collars are all dressed up for the holiday.

There's a buttonhole near the end of the slipcover where the D-ring for attaching our leash slips through so we don't have to take off our slipcovers to go for a walk. It also helps keep the slipcover from sliding around on our collar.

The flip side of these Easter Egg slipcovers is bright blue with multi-colored stripes. We think that blue side is nice for boys and can be worn all year, not just for Easter.

And they're totally reversible! Both sides are finished cleanly with no seams or hems showing, AND both sides have an opening for the leash attachment loop. There are two ~~three~~ sizes in this color combination available now in SewAmazin's shop - ~~18" long (modeled by me, Keli)~~, 16" long (modeled by Penny) and 14" long for smaller dogs or puppies.

Sizes are based on collar length in one inch increments and the amount of gathering desired. We like our Triangle slipcovers about 2" longer than our collars so they gather a little bit.

Here I am in the Happy Easter slipcover, which comes in two versions on the reverse side. We couldn't decide which pink we liked better, so we asked for one of each!

One flip side is daisies on a pink background and the other is pink with mod white flowers. Both of these are very pretty and we'd wear them all summer.

The fabric on the front side was carefully cut so that the words Happy Easter would be centered on the triangle! All the stitches are done in coordinating pink thread.

There are still a few of these available in the shop in my size (18" length) and Penny's size (16" length).

Here is another style of slipcover that we think is very pretty on us Westies - Penny is wearing this Pretty Pink Dots Scalloped slipcover and it is just too cute!

This style completely covers the collar and has a buttonhole opening for the leash loop.

Penny's size is about 18" long (about 4" longer than her collar) and has 5 scallops that form the ruffles. It could be worn over a shorter collar and would be even more ruffly! Or it could go over a longer collar and be a little less gathered.

My size is about 21" long (about 5" longer than my collar) and has 6 scallops.

The Scalloped Slipcovers are available in a variety of pretty spring colored fabrics in the shop. If you don't see the size and color you'd like, click on one of the Contact links to request one made just for you.

Here I am again in this Abstract Easter Eggs Straight collar slipcover. Don't those circles look like funky eggs rolling in the grass?

This slipcover is very simple, maybe the boys would like this one too. The top-stitching and buttonhole for the leash loop are all done in blue.

Wouldn't this would be nice with my name embroidered on it? I think I'll ask for that on the next one.

I like this simple slipcover too - but it's a little bit fancier for us girls.

This is the Easter Egg Ric Rac slipcover and it's almost like the straight slipcover, but it has ric rac sewn into each of the side seams and pink stitching.

Both the Straight and Ric Rac slipcovers are sized slightly longer than my collar - about 1" or 2" fits nicely and doesn't gather too much.

There are Ric Rac slipcovers in two sizes listed in the shop; if you don't see what you'd like, you can have one made up just for you.

There's Penny again, modeling the Lavender Gingham with Bunnies fabric made up as a Triangle slipcover. She likes it hanging down in front sometimes.

We like this fabric so much, we've asked for it to be made up in all the different slipcover styles!

It's already available in 3 sizes of the Triangle style, and we've asked for it in the Scalloped style and with white Ric Rac.

I like to tease Penny - when I say 'bunny rabbits' she starts barking and looking all over to find them. She doesn't know she's wearing them.

This is another one of my favorite slipcovers - Spring Tulips Reversible Triangle Slipcover. It's says Spring all over.

This one is completely reversible, too - the flip side is a coordinating small floral print.

The tulips are soft peachy-pink on a creamy background. I really like pink tulips, but when we try to grow them in the garden, the squirrels and chipmunks dig up the bulbs and eat them! So all we can grow are daffodils and hyacinths, that don't taste so good to the squirrels.

A few weeks ago, we started practicing our modeling for St. Patrick's Day and this Reversible Triangle slipcover. (There's a little patch of snow in the background above my nose in this photo!)

There are a few St. Patrick's Day slipcovers still in the shop - this one has Shamrocks on one side and a daisy filled diamond pattern on the flip side (Penny is wearing that side below).

We also have a single fabric version of Swirling Shamrock triangle slipcovers ~~and a Shamrock Scalloped slipcover~~. If you buy one of our Easter slipcovers, maybe you'll want a St. Patrick's Day slipcover for next year; you can save a few dollars on shipping by buying them together now.

All of the collar slipcovers are made of cotton quilting-weight fabrics that have been pre-washed. The slipcovers can be machine washed and dried if they get dirty or they can be hand washed. They may need to be ironed lightly after they dry.

You can see photos of all of our slipcovers in our ArtFire Samples Flickr set or by visiting SewAmazin's ArtFire Studio.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-16T22:25:00.000-04:00

Keli wishes you a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

*****

We've been away from our blog for a while - we didn't have anything new or unusual to share for a while.

We have Big News to share now: Very soon you'll see us more often! Since we're so photogenic, we're going to be modeling some new Westie accessories handmade by SewAmazin that you can buy in our new online shop! We can't wait to go 'on location' for some of our photo sessions - those should be fun adventures!

We'll also have some nice things for Westie owners, too!

It's that time again ...

2010-05-03T14:06:00.004-04:00

.... time for us Westies to get a nice short haircut!

It was about 80 degrees around here over the weekend and we were panting like -- well, like dogs. No matter where we tried to rest, Penny and I just couldn't get comfortable.

So we asked for haircuts.

Actually, we had a little bit of a trim about a month ago, but it mostly grew back already.

Here's some before and after pictures ~ first, look at Penny:

Isn't she a fuzzy beast? What a chub-o.

And here she is afterwards, looking quite svelte:

I don't look too bad before; mostly my ears are long and my neck looks fat:

We both look much cleaner now, and we haven't even had a bath yet:

We'll probably both need some more trimming after out baths;
we have a few stray bits of hair in the wrong places.

I hope it stays warm out so we can sit outside and dry off in the sun.
I love to lay out on the deck.

What is this.......

2010-04-27T22:18:00.003-04:00

Pink Snow??????

It doesn't feel squishy ...

But it is covering EVERYTHING!!!!

Cupcakes, One More Time

2010-04-24T17:32:00.000-04:00

Here is a pair of new Westie cupcakes I decorated at Easter.

They are similar to the Valentine's Day Westie cupcakes, except the ears are made with a paler pink sugar and I added tongues made from Starburst candies. The bodies are chocolate cupcakes but the heads are made of white mini cupcakes.

And since I mentioned Easter, here's a peek at the cupcakes we made then:

The green grass cupcakes with Hershey eggs were my favorites. The Chicks and Bunnies are a bit less polished, but I learned that I need to keep a lot more bits and pieces of candies on hand for molding ears, noses, etc. I ended up using sugared fruit chews from Trader Joe's, cut and manipulated into shapes for the bunny ears and chick beaks.

Next time, I need to make cupcakes that Keli and Penny can eat; they're not happy they missed out on these.

A Westie Snow Maze

2010-03-19T11:30:00.001-04:00

Today is so warm and sunny, it's a little hard to believe that only a few short weeks ago, we had almost two feet of snow on the ground.

What do you do with that much snow and two fickle terriers who want to go out to sniff and explore, but who don't want to get snowballs stuck on their legs and bellies?

Plow a snow maze for them:

^ It's not quite an Olympic bobsled track, but they like it

The day after the big February storm, both Keli and Penny could barely contain themselves and could not wait to go out and romp and roll around in the new snow. But after they came back inside covered with snow balls stuck all over their legs and bellies, they refused to go back out. again.

After most snowstorms (even the little ones) we usually clear a small area for them to take care of business; after a few days they usually get bored with this small area and try to walk on top of the frozen crust of the deeper snow.

We were all starting to get on each other's nerves after being stuck inside for so long -- the Pesties needed some exercise, but a long walk was out of the question. While Rich was clearing the snow from the sidewalk for the third or fourth time, I asked how difficult it would be to use the snowblower to clear a winding path in the backyard for them, and the Westie Maze was the result.

For the first few days, Keli was obsessed with the new path and wanted to stay outside and sniff and dig for what felt like hours. Penny alternated between almost tunneling underneath and climbing on top of the new mounds of snow. Rich and I were both happy to be able to walk with them and not get snow inside our boots.

We can't take complete credit for the maze idea -- we were somewhat inspired by an episode of It's Me or the Dog on Animal Planet, where the owners of a wacky Jack Russell terrier set up a series of tunnels as a mini agility-type course for him to run around and play to burn off excess energy. Penny has a tunnel to play with in the basement, but Keli is petrified of it and won't go near it. We needed something they could both do outside on leashes, and since the snow is tall enough to build forts it seemed like a good idea to plow a meandering path in the back yard.

I don't know why we didn't think of this before; maybe having two dogs made it seem worthwhile. Or more urgent.

Here's a link to a slideshow with more photos and a few short videos of our February 2010 snow.

Hello, Westie Valentine Cupcakes!

2010-03-15T13:08:00.005-04:00

Well, both Valentine's and St. Patrick's days have come and gone and I'm finally getting around to posting photos of our experiment with cupcakes. In my previous blog entry, I had just purchased the book, Hello, Cupcake, and was anxious to give the Westie cupcakes a try. I have to admit, I wasn't able to find a suitable reusable replacement for Ziploc bags, and in the end I purchased a small Wilton cake decorating kit with a couple of decorating tips and plastic icing bags. The kit also had icing food coloring which came in quite handy.

Below is the whole pack of Westie Valentine cupcakes; some of them are wearing pink ruffles:

And here is the very first cupcake, not a masterpiece at all! I tried to use miniature M&M's for the eyes, but they're much too large for this face:

Here are two of the best finished cupcakes. The eyes and nose are mini chocolate morsels and the scale is much better:

The cupcake Westies with the pink ruffles are supposed to resemble last year's Valentine's Day photos of Keli and Penny.

To make these cupcakes, I followed the recipe in the book for jazzing up a white cake mix from the grocery store, and the results were quite delicious! One box of cake mix made about 18 regular and 24 mini cupcakes. About half of them went right into the freezer for future cupcake decorating. The icing is canned white vanilla icing, also from the store; I used some of the Wilton food coloring to make it pink. I don't really think we needed white cake to make the Westies, so next time I bake, we'll probably have chocolate cupcakes. Yum!

Here is a link to a slideshow of all our Valentine's Westie cupcakes, if you'd care to see more.

Hello, Westie Cupcakes

2010-02-12T10:42:00.008-05:00

While I was out shopping this week, I spotted this book: Hello Cupcake!

Of course I was drawn to it because of the cover. The fact that I had a coupon for 40% off helped seal the deal, and it ended up coming home with me.

As I read the table of contents, I was delighted to see an entire entry devoted to Westies, although the authors seem to be as confused as most other people about the difference between Scotties, Westies and Cairn terriers, since they include black and multi-colored "Westies" in their instructions. Regardless, they are really cute and look delicious!

There is another set of instructions for Pupcakes, featuring many other breeds, Schnauzers included.

I've read most of the instructions, and they seem pretty clear and simple to follow. The only drawback is that for most of the piping and decorating, the authors use a *lot* of Ziploc freezer bags. This may be an easy to find and inexpensive tool, but it seems to be unnecessary plastic ending up in the trash, so I'll be looking for an alternative method.

Wouldn't these be nice treats for Valentine's Day?

************

It's been quite a while since we've posted here ... we've been on an extended break. We haven't abandoned our blog, but it may be a while before we're able to post on a regular basis again ...

Another Visit to the Bark Park

2009-09-25T15:05:00.003-04:00

Well, summer's over and we made lots of visits to the Bark Park this year, and made lots of new doggie friends there.

Keli seems to be particularly fond of the boys she meets at the park.

Penny makes friends with just about everyone.

We hope we get to visit the Bark Park all year long!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Attention all Wauzers! Join our Flickr group photo pool @ http://www.flickr.com/groups/wauzers/ and share your photos and stories!

Penny's Happy Birthday

2009-09-01T13:23:00.004-04:00

It's my 2nd birthday and we're playing with a new Happy Birthday loofa dog. Later, we're gonna have zucchini pupcakes, 'cuz those are my favorites.

Yesterday, we went to the Bark Park and you know what? It was like it was Westie day -- we met one Westie who was leaving when we were just getting there, and another Westie was already at the park! We had so much fun playing even though I'm only half-Westie. We stayed for like an hour and even Keli was playing with the other doggies. It was really fun, but we didn't get no pictures 'cuz the batteries were too low on the camera.

Instead, here's a picture of a plate from Donna's collection -- it's for a first birthday, and it's not really a Westie or a Schnauzer, but I still like it.

There is a slideshow embedded below:

Thanks for visiting our blog,
Penny

Join our Wauzers Group on Flickr

2009-08-05T12:22:00.003-04:00

Hello friends,

We've noticed lately that we have had a *lot* of visitors to our blog who are searching for information on Wauzers.

Other than this is the name for Westie-Schnauzer mixed breeds, we don't know much, except what Penny tells us.

So, we've started a new group on Flickr, a photo sharing site, where we can share our photos and maybe some stories about our Wauzer friends.

Please join us on Flickr at the Wauzers photo pool and post a photo of your Wauzer, ask a question or post a comment in the discussion area. See you there!

Every Westie in the Pool!

2009-06-04T16:07:00.006-04:00

Last summer, it was hot dog day in June when we tried to get out the old pool to cool off, but it had a hole in it and we had to wait a day to blow up another pool before we could have our first Westie pool party.

This year, we didn't have to wait, 'cuz we got a new pool from PetSmart in May. It's a little smaller than the old pool, but we think it's just right for us. We're ready for the heat this year!

Penny jumps in first, but Keli isn't quite sure the water is warm enough yet:

Come on in Keli! We can both fit in here:

This is actually quite nice, once you get used to it:

View a slideshow of us testing out our new pool:

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T08:49:00.004-04:00

My turn: Penny, the patriotic pup:

Last year's Memorial Day post from Keli

See more of our recent photos on Flickr

Thanks for visiting our blog,
Penny

Daffodils

2009-04-29T14:36:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago we decided to inspect the daffodils:

Keli:

Penny:

Holding Hands

2009-03-18T12:14:00.003-04:00

This would never happen while they are awake:

Looks almost like they are holding hands in their sleep, doesn't it?

Keli (left) and Penny (right) were very tired yesterday after having had a nice long walk in the afternoon. They both decided to follow me upstairs and fell asleep on our bed while watching TV. Normally, they would never sleep this close to each other and I don't think they even realized their paws were touching, they both were sleeping so soundly.

Excuse the blurriness - photo was taken with the camera on my cell phone, then cropped and edited.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-16T13:18:00.003-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Keli, the serene princess, on her recent birthday

Penny

We didn't pose for new pictures for St. Patrick's day, so Donna recycled some of our old favorites and gave them a green, shamrocky twist.

Here's a couple of the St. Patrick's Day Westie decorations she put up:

I wonder if we'll get to try the corned beef this year? I think we'll probably get some of the carrots and potatoes.

Thanks for looking at our blog,
Keli

Guessing Game

2009-03-11T11:35:00.007-04:00

Can you guess what this is?
Or used to be before Penny finished deconstructing it?

scroll down for more

It used to be one of these:

The good thing about this destruction is that we think we can make a ball of our own from fleece scraps. And maybe we can make one with a squeaker inside, too, that isn't so easy for these Westies to rip apart. Hmmm . . . .

We could try putting this one back together, too, but Penny is having too much fun playing with the spoils.

Fun Visit

2009-02-22T08:47:00.005-05:00

We had visitors last week -- Elora, Jenna and Jack came with their mom, Laurie.

It was after lunch when they arrived and they brought some chocolate brownies, but we weren't allowed to eat them ('cuz chocolate is bad for doggies) but all the people ate them and said they were delicious. Me and Keli had biscuits and lamb jerky treats instead.

Jenna drew this picture of me and Keli from her memory; can you believe it?

Doesn't it look almost just like us? We even have an oval rug just like that in the dining room!

While they were here we went for a walk, and we played downstairs and I showed everyone how I roll upside down inside my tunnel and pushed my tent over and over. I can be very entertaining.

Keli jumped up on the couch next to Jack, and he wasn't even afraid of her:

Then after a couple hours it was time for everyone to go home and after a few minutes me and Keli were really tired so we made Donna take a nap with us on the couch:

That's me in front, then Donna, then Keli. Keli was so tired, she was laying upside down! Rich took our picture with his new Blackberry Storm.

The couch looks funny 'cuz Donna's making new flipcovers for us (you can find out more 'bout that on her SewAmazin blog). I sure hope she's finished soon, 'cuz I miss takin' naps on that couch.

I sure hope they come back again sometime 'cuz I had fun.

Oh well, that's all I have to say for now. Thanks for visiting our blog, Penny

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-12T11:20:00.004-05:00

There is a slideshow embedded below:

Keli & Penny play Hide and Seek

2009-02-01T19:31:00.002-05:00

We have a new video uploaded at our SewAmazin YouTube Channel; watch it below or click on the link to watch us play hide and seek:

Penny's Story

2009-01-22T10:00:00.001-05:00

This coming Saturday marks twelve months from the day
Penny first came to her forever home:

January 24, 2008

After we brought Keli home in May 2002, I always wanted to have a second Westie -- an "heir and a spare" to our first Westie girl, Wyndi. Keli had come from a breeder because at the time I was still missing Wyndi and wanted a regular Westie (not a mixed breed) for the "heir". The "spare" could be a rescued Westie mix sometime later on down the road.

After a year or two I reminded Rich about getting our second Westie and we both agreed it would be nice, but were we really ready for all the extra work that a second dog required? Transitioning from a senior dog to a baby puppy had been stressful; did we really want to go through puppyhood again?

So each spring I'd search Petfinder.com for Westies in our area -- usually a few months after Christmas, there were dozens of listings for young dogs of all breeds. Every now and then there would be a listing in our area, but I was always too late with my inquiries.

Until January 2008, when a little Westie puppy named Wendy was listed by a local rescue group, Angels for Animals Network. There wasn't even a photo on her page, but her name was so close to Wyndi, and since the rescue group had Keli's "middle" name (Angel), I took it as a sign that she was meant to be our puppy, so we sent in an application and waited.

Within just a couple of days, Keli and I were in our local PetSmart meeting this new puppy. She was almost 5 months old, had been in a shelter for about a month and had just been spayed and microchipped earlier in the week. Keli seemed to like her well enough so before we knew it, "Wendy" was riding home with us.

We don't know much about her first owners or where she came from; we were told that they gave her up because she barked too much. We do know that they took her to a vet for her puppy shots and that they probably had her from the age of 8 weeks to 16 weeks. Around the end of December 2007, they decided to take her to the shelter.

This puppy was so skinny we could see the bones in her hips and neck; her fur was thin and so full of knots and tangles, it looked as if she hadn't been brushed for weeks. Right away we noticed that she was very "mouthy" -- every time we touched her she tried to grab our hands with her mouth. We decided she just hadn't had the right discipline (or enough human contact) to know that it was bad manners to nip. Yet she was eager to please us and craved our constant attention and affection.

She probably didn't have many chew toys at the shelter, right at a time when she was teething. She was so happy chewing on Keli's rejected toys and bones that first weekend! Later we found 8 puppy teeth scattered on the carpet. It must have been such a relief to get those out of her mouth.

The photo to the right was taken on her 3rd day home -- by then she had already decided she was going to nap in my sewing room while I worked on my projects. Except for a little barking and a total lack of house manners, she was the sweetest little thing and we couldn't understand why anybody would ever give her up.

After we decided she was staying with us for good, we had to change her name from Wendy to something else; even though that is one of things that drew us to her, it was just too similar to Wyndi. We tried out a bunch of names, but none of them seemed to suit her. Finally, one of us said Penny, short for Penelope and that seemed right. And for her middle name, Shea, to commemorate the final season at Shea Stadium.

The first few days were a little chaotic. We were prepared for the "puppy" stuff from Penny, but we weren't completely prepared for living with two Westies at the same time, especially when the older one is used to being the only pampered pooch in the house and the younger one doesn't understand that there are rules that need to be followed. There were a few skirmishes and growlish arguments when Penny ventured too near to Keli those first few days. In time, Keli adjusted to and accepted the new living arrangement. She even learned to share space on the couch, as long as Penny didn't actually touch her.

On her first visit to our vet, we discovered that Penny had kennel cough. Within a week, she had "shared" her cold with Keli, and so they were both on antibiotics. While Penny barely slowed down to sneeze, Keli was miserable and spent days on the couch. We set up a humidifier for them both and cleaned their snotty little noses for weeks.

They even sleep the same way

Penny was constantly, voraciously hungry those first few weeks. At mealtime she would gulp down her own generous portion of puppy food and then rush over to finish Keli's too. Keli did not like that, so we had to separate them whenever we fed them.

At first Penny had her meals inside a playpen in the kitchen. When this became too cumbersome, we started feeding her inside a large crate. Penny didn't mind this at all. After a few months, she finally graduated to having no barrier at all, just supervision during meals. Now, even when Keli licks her bowl clean, Penny double-licks it, just to make sure.

One nice side effect is that Keli actually does eat her meals now, perhaps because she doesn't want Penny to get her food.

The only time either of them shows aggression over food now is when we are handing out biscuits or special treats, and it is usually Keli who acts out first. So we make sure to supervise and control who has a biscuit and when.

Penny's informal education on how to behave nicely began right away, and she was a quick learner. We would have several play sessions in the basement playroom every day to burn off some of that puppy energy (it was winter and too cold to play outside). At first, she tried to snatch the toys from my hand before I had a chance to toss them across the room, so we began teaching her to Sit and Lay Down. Only after she was down and calm did I toss the toy for her to chase and bring back. And she would chase the ball and bring it back over and over and over again. (That was my first clue that she might not be a full-blooded Westie, because neither Wyndi nor Keli would ever fetch a ball more than few times.)

While Penny ran around chasing balls and squeaky toys, Keli would sit nearby watching and asking me to pet her. Eventually, Keli decided she wanted to chase the balls and run around a little bit, too. Occasionally they would "wrestle", but when Penny played too rough we had to give them a time-out.

After playtime, we would have an informal "training" session; the Westies would follow me around and when I stopped, they were supposed to Sit and Watch Me or Lay Down, and when they both did what I asked they would get a treat. At first Penny seemed confused and didn't know what was going on with this game. You could tell she was watching Keli and then imitating her so she could have her treat.

Another big change to our routine was going "out". Keli and I do not care much for the cold weather, so during the winter months she usually only needed to go out 2 or 3 times during the day. She can usually "hold it" all day long if she has to.

Penny was not housebroken when she arrived here, so from the very beginning, we took her out every 2-3 hours. She had lots of accidents in the house, but she very quickly learned that it was GOOD to go outside and BAD to go inside. When we caught her "in the act" we'd tell her "no" and "shame on you" and she did seem to feel guilty. But she did it anyway.

After a few months she was getting more sneaky about "going" in the house; we'd take her out and she'd take care of business, but then after we came inside she'd sneak downstairs and leave us another little present. The "shaming" routine seemed to be amusing her! We decided to say nothing when we found her accidents, just clean up and focus instead on praising and rewarding the good outside behavior. I have to say that a few lamb jerky treats after a successful trip outside worked wonders in reinforcing the good behavior.

Most of Penny's first year with us is documented here in Keli's Korner (and in photos at our Flickr photostream) so I won't repeat all her "firsts"; you can read all the blog entries about Penny here. Here are a few of the highlights:

When she was recovered from kennel cough and cleared to be around other dogs again, we enrolled in Basic Obedience training at PetSmart (see Penny Goes to School);
She loved playing with her big purple ball until it popped and still romps in her tunnel;
To cool off in the summer heat, we had a Westie Pool Party in June (and again in July)
After her first birthday in September, we began to suspect that maybe Penny wasn't just an unusual-looking Westie and was perhaps part Schnauzer; a doggie DNA test supported our theory that she is, in fact a Wauzer (Westie/Schnauzer mix).

Penny has come a long way in her first year with us, and still has much to learn -- she is still a puppy after all. She is our comic relief and can be so silly and entertaining, we are very thankful that we decided to take a chance on her. Without her perpetual enthusiasm and constant search for fun, we would not have had nearly as many smiles and laughs around here in the past year. And even Keli is starting to enjoy her company more and more.

Valentine's Day 2008

Penny's First Bath

Penny's "First" Christmas 2008