Well, the weekend is almost over and it feels like it just began.....sigh...

We're full of spaghetti, the music is playing and the dogs are settling down for the evening.  The puppies have played hard today and they are so much fun to watch.  Oh, speaking of puppies (see previous post), we have another sold and to deliver next week and so all I gotta do is figure out if want to swap him to Six for her ole beat up chevy or to Diesel, since Colo said he was willing to dance for the pup.  Hmmmmm.....decisions, decisions.  lol

I've gotten a sneak preview of Ice's next post and love it!  shhh....don't tell him I told, but it's a continuance of the nudist club story....shhhh.  Maybe he will even solve another mystery for Belle.  I dunno, since I was only privy to the story.  We'll see if he can explain the toenail thing to us.

Peanut was a very happy little boy today!  I went out and took Junior into the main kennel area for his bath and let Peanut out to be with him for a little while.  Peanut was beside himself with happiness, wiggling and wagging all over to see Junior up close.  Junior (June Bug) was a tad leary of that contraption Peanut has on his head, tho.  So Junior kept his distance for a while, but warmed up finally.  It was good to see Peanut so happy and I sat in the floor forever and pet him.  He eats that up now.  I wish he felt better and I could give him a haircut, but that's not going to be possible for a while, I'm sure.  Maybe if I just trim around his eyes so I can see them.  He has really sweet eyes.  I hope he recovers faster than I'm expecting and can live a more normal life.  Thanks everybody who are still pulling for little Peanut.  I'll keep you posted.

Junior got a really good bath and is now in the house with pregnant Prissy since Buster and LaQuinta will be "busy" for a couple of weeks and have to be isolated.  Junior just melts my heart every few minutes.  He walks up to me and offers me his paw very gently.  When I take it, he very gently and slowly licks my hand, then looks at me with such devotion in those big brown eyes that I just melt into a puddle.  He's my gentle giant for sure and is now sleeping at my feet.  I lub my Junior!  Okay, I'm a puddle again.....somebody come mop me up, please.  lol

My Gentle Giant Junior and Little Peanut

I'm pleased to see Scratch up and around and doing okay from his head injury.  I sure felt bad about that, so I dropped in to check on him a while ago and found him and D and Dazey and Six tryin on some of that flemsy sleep wear and bras and such.  Then I heard Scratch hollerin something about getting a room and I felt it the right time to vacate the premises.   I think I'll wait for things to cool down in the tomb for a while.  lol

Well, that's about all the nonsense I know for now.  Except for one thing:

Streamers Rock!!!!!

I'm sitting here pondering my next strategy in selling these remaining two puppies and making mental notes on my ongoing list of to-do's and not-to-do's for future reference.  We learn as we go when it comes to advertising strategies, but sometimes things just don't go as planned.  Sometimes what has consistantly worked in the past suddenly turns sour on us. 

We've had a lot of things working against us with selling this particular litter and we quite frankly had gotten spoiled with selling the past three litters within a matter of days or a 24 hour period.  But the weather has been a big factor this time, as well as being a naturally slow "post Christmas" type slump.  Our website has been our best investment thus far, but sometimes even that doesn't help.

Such is the life of a Schnauzer Lover........and seller.  We only sold three puppies (and later another one) with our ad in the city this time, so we decided to place ads in two other locations, which are south of us rather than north.  So I've gotten a big dose of the difference in cultures from the big city to the smaller communities lately.  Here are a few examples of the phone calls I've gotten lately from the smaller, more southern communities:

Ring.....Ring......."Hello"......

"Hey, are you the one with them dogs in the paper"?  "Yes, I am...."

"How much you gettin on them dogs"?  "Well, the males are $275 and the...."

"Oh, you got boys, do ya?  I'm gonna borrey me some money and git me one o' them dogs......"  "Uh.....we also have females.....and they are $325"

"Well, I'm gonna talk to my husband and call you right back!"...Click!

(I'm making note of the phone number on caller I.D. so to make sure I DON'T answer it when she calls back......she doesn't call back anyway)

Ring......Ring......"Hello"...

"Uh, I noticed your ad in the paper and I was wondering if you would swap one of your females for one of my males"  "No thank you, I have more males than I need at this point, but I'll be sure and keep you in mind"

(what is this, a swap meet?)

Ring......Ring....."Hello"...

"Hi, I was really interested in one of your puppies, but they are way too expensive for what I can spend.  I was wondering if you would take less money if I give you cash?"    "Uh........no, but thanks for your call anyway"

(Lady, this ain't no garage sale!!!!!)

Then was the girl that called and went on and on about wanting a Schnauzer for poor mother for so long, but could never afford one, trying to elicit enough sympathy from me that I would what?  Give her a puppy?  She never quite said that and I wasn't about to put it to that few words, for I knew she was ready to pounce at the first sign of me wearing down. 

(I run to check our ad to see if it has the words "give away" or "swap")

Just a sample of the calls I've gotten lately.  That doesn't include the calls and emails that sound solid and are gonna get right back to me......and I never hear from them again.  Oh well, just part of it, I tell myself. 

I guess I'll get some breakfast on the table and discuss the next strategy with the Iceman over bacon and eggs. 

By the way, is anybody interested in the cutest little male Schnauzer puppy that ever took a breath?  I happen to have two of them!!!!

Another of Biggie T's ideas!  Thanks, Biggie T!

I was browsing around on Biggie T's blog and saw the sign picture he posted.  I got this one in my email today, so thought I'd just post it too.

Well, it's past my bedtime, but wanted to check in with the latest Peanut news.  He went to the Vet this afternoon and Doc told me that he will have to put him to sleep again and do some more stitching.  Most of the skin that he stitched before died away, leaving the wounds on his left leg open, so he thinks there is plenty of loose skin to pull together again and stitch so that it will hold this time.  Otherwise, it will take forever to heal.  His right leg isn't so fortunate.  There isn't enough skin left to pull together, so Doc said that later he may be able to take skin from somewhere else to cover that. 

Poor little guy.  He wants so bad to be back with the other dogs and hates being isolated, but we simply don't have any choice for quite a while.  I try to spend as much time with him as I can, but he gets lonesome.  He was a good boy today at the Vet's office, but he always is. 

So, I gotta take him in Tuesday morning for more "surgery", if you can call it that.  They'll have to put him under, so I guess so.  I can go get him on Wednesday. 

The new fence is going up next week, which will be on the perimeter of our place, so any more "bad dogs" will have to go through two fences to get to our dogs.  I can't wait for it to be completed so I can breath easy again. 

I've been bathing and grooming the four puppies we have left all evening.  I had one female to go when we got a call from a lady that lives about an hour away wanting that female.  So I sold that one without a haircut, but the lady was tickled with her anyway.  I have a two hour drive tomorrow morning to meet another buyer from the city.  I agreed to meet halfway and it happens to be where my daughter and her family live, so I can get some visiting in too.  I hope Ice can sell the other two around here tomorrow so that we can rest on Sunday. 

Coordinating dogs is getting to be a challenge since LaQuinta is coming in heat.  We have to keep Peanut isolated and Sally and her pups also, so that leaves one pen in the kennel, which we will need for Buster and LaQuinta when she is in heat.  So that leaves Prissy for the house and Junior in the house also.  But I can't really trust Junior unattended in the house because he can't quite get it that he can't pee on everything.  So that's my dillemma.  LaQuinta isn't housebroken either, so I can't put her and Buster in the house.  So I'm constantly shuffling dogs til the puppies all sell and we can use Sally and the pup's pen for other dogs.  Whew!  Are you confused?  I am! lol

Well, I gotta get up bright and early, so I'm gonna turn in and get some sleep.  I hope I can sit down a while tomorrow night and catch up.  See you guys then!

Pup

p.s.  Scroll down for my Friday Fun Facts