Ozzie Gets No Love

Ozzie is a funny little guy.  As a Chinese Crested, he's not a very good specimen.  His teeth are not fully formed, he has one bottom canine, one little top canine, a tusk and a nub.  Really, such a poor little show of teeth.  His hair is shaggy and corse, so if you shave him he feels like a brillo pad, so just clipping him is best.  His big black spot on his back doesn't grow hair, just fuzz so he would never have a proper powder puff coat.  He is too tall, too shy and will nip at strangers to keep them away.   Oh yes, and he has an annoying habit of poop-eating.  What a mess!  (Thankfully, Ozzie doesn't give kisses)

But for those of us in his pack, he is a cuddle toy who likes to sit up on your lap and look straight into your eyes with his brown-eyed racoon face before he leans his forehead up against yours, to just sit and love.  He will run to his own bed, but always whines to get under your covers in the middle of the night, just cause he's lonely or cold (not likely he sleeps in a comforter) and with a contented sign he snuggles up next to your side and drifts back off. 

This little guy is just a snuggle bunny, a ham who loves to run around the yard and then leap into your lap at full speed.  The one who's face is always at the back door first - paws up as high as he can reach (haven't had a clean back door in years) and pressing his little nose on the glass to get the first glimpse or just who is home.

I snapped this pic as he was napping the day away with one of the kids.  Yup, Ozzie gets no love....

Daddy's Girl

Typically, all animals end up around me.  I've always been like Dr. Doolittle, talking to the animals, or trying to save some animal.  I remember trying to raise a chick in my bedroom slipper when I was a little kid, but alas, I'm also a feeder, so many a chick be it chicken or sparrow I've overfed and likely caused it's demise. 

In any case, I dote my attention on my three Chinese Cresteds now and while Willie and Oz glue themselves to me at any opportunity, little Cee Cee is hopelessly devoted to my husband.

This weekend was a cold and blustery one, so she happily spent the weekend snuggling with her favorite human.  I got these shots and she just looked too happy not to post them.

Chinese Cresteds - Waiting for Daddy

You've surely read stories about how the animals in the house know when it is time for a family member to come home.  This is the case at our house.  Around 3:00 each afternoon the pack goes to "the waiting chair" to wait for my husband to come home from work.  Whether rain or shine, they seem to be able to sense this time and head off to sit in this chair and stare out the window.  If he has to work late, they will stay their post for hours, ignoring dinner and patiently standing guard to ensure a proper greeting at the door.   Little soldiers at the post...




Cee Cee and Ozzie, waiting for daddy



Chinese Crested Grooming



Oz sleeping - you can see his thick leg hair & sparse body hair

 Technically, Oz, Willie and Cee Cee are variations of the hairless variety as they have no undercoat and there are spots on their bodies that are naturally bald.  With that you would think that grooming would be a breeze, but not so!  In fact, quite the opposite, if you don't groom them, they begin to look like they have mange, as some spots grow thick hair, others don't.  For instance, Ozzie grows hair on most of his top side with the exception of his "black spot" on his back, where he grows only fuzz.  His sides are sparse and his legs grow thick hair.

Willie grows silky fine hair most everwhere except his sides, it would look like he was wearing a shaggy toupee if he grew out.  And Cee Cee only grows hair on her thighs, face and a strip down her back, sort of a hair chaps with a mohawk look...  Quite unattractive.

So yesterday was a spa day, meaning 3 hours of coaxing, trimming and cleaning up hair balls from our "hairless dogs".  Cee Cee and Willie both get a true crested trim, muzzles, body and half way down the leg.  Ozzie squirms too much and so he gets to have a little facial hair, but we trimmed his ears like a little spock.  He looks cuter with a little hairy face anyway.  It's part of his personality. 


Oz - happy in a new hair cut




Cee Cee lounging after spa day




Willie so handsome when he's trimmed



The Big Baby

This weekend we visited a relative who recently adopted two Weimaraners from a rescue shelter.  A willful and stubborn female who's sole purpose was to hunt the terrified Ozzie and a giant male who thought he could win the hearts of our suddenly tiny looking pack with his handsome looks.   Many a dog has tried to break into our little trio but they remain tight-knit and unbending, and rebuff the greetings of nearly every other dog.

Cee Cee, the alpha will sniff and decide if the new dog can proceed into the pack.  The answer is always "no".  If they disregard her, Willie will run behind me and Ozzie will run to the nearest sanctuary regardless of who, or where that is.  If Oz gets cornered by another dog, he snaps his ineffective little teeth in a great show of silent strength as he totally forgets the growling part of the warning.  If this doesn't work he eventually melts into a puddle, his teeth chattering like a wind-up denture toy.  I wish I had it on video, because it's quite comical, poor guy.

Willie might let out a warning bark, which must sound like "lets play" because nary a dog has backed down from it.  He then snaps the air once or twice and then thrusts his nose at the offender, his final - "you get back now" move.  Cee Cee will have moved in by this point and will either accept the dog (rarely) or she'll snap with her very effective teeth and then be in trouble.  And you can't blame them, they have done their best to get away or warn away outsiders, but aren't very effective communicators.



CC is growling, but Gun doesn't mind

 In any case, we were visiting on Weim territory this weekend so after the initial "hello" by the Weims and "OH NO" by the pack of tiny terrors, they elected to sleep under a blanket and hide the day away.  Fine, everyone was happy....except the big male, who tried his best to become a wee pack member.  He was so sweet and Cee Cee was just not having it. 





Ozzie's hideout...



Sneaking closer to the sleeping Oz....

DOG BISCUITS

These three little pups go through a lot of biscuits.  Willie will down anything you give him at anytime like he's never been fed, while Ozzie likes to take his biscuits and hide them around the house.  He currently has a stash in the front room sofa under each pillow and several layered into the blanket in his bed.  For awhile I was holding out on him, knowing he already had a stash but he looked so mournful when he didn't get a treat that I gave up and just collect them and recycle them back to the jar when he's not looking.  I always take care to leave a few in hiding just so he feels he has outwitted the competition.



The Angelic Face of the Biscuit Thief



Cee Cee on the other hand is an opportunist and will lurk around the house waiting for Ozzie's guard to let down and then steal them right out from under his nose. 

I've added a recipe for the pups favorite cookies on my blog HandsOnInTheKitchen.com.  Try them and let me know how your dogs liked them.

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Cee Cee La Rue

Cee Cee La Rue came to us originally as "Firecracker" and registered as "Whispering Lanes Hells a Blazing" - now That's a mouthful! Twelve pounds of tough, this little lady was alpha all the way. She immediately adopted Scott and I and set up house of the big bed, plopping on the pillows inbetween us with her little Queen like air of "I'm home, you can serve me now"...

When we first got her home we quickly decided Firecracker was just too much name to say over and over again. It was exhausting! So we studied our little vixen waiting for a name to pop out. We quickly noticed that she only turned in one direction and that was counter clockwise. She literally couldn't get her little body to go another direction. Even when jumping onto the bed, she had to start from the side that would allow her a big counter clockwise leap else she would back up to the bed and wait to be lifted. We attribute this to crate living as some research showed this as a pretty common trait in crated dogs. In any case, this was a habit she was not going to break.

Shortly after we brought her home I had set up a spot in the downstairs bathroom where she could have some space but not get into trouble and I went off to do some errands. Typically when I came home there was lots of happy barking - today only silence. I went into the bathroom, and little Firecracker had somehow got hold of the toilet paper and started turning in circles... she had managed to completely teepee herself to the roll. I wish wish wish i had taken a picture! In any case, Cee Cee for "counter clockwise" fit and that became her name. La Rue was added for her queenly posture...