My day has gone to the dogs...

I am the happy owner of a darling old Westie by the name of Niki. I also have two grand dogs. These guys are still full of puppy energy, although they are each about a year and a half old.
Max is a 75 pound sweet heart, who my daughter and son-in-law got from the pound as a puppy. He and I are nicely bonded, as he spend quite a bit of his puppyhood at my house. I adore him, and he adores me.

Charley is about 35 - 40 pounds of muscular beagle mix. I never thought I could fall in love with such a sad looking creature. But, when he presses his warm little body up against me, I melt.

Max is part Husky, and is presently in my backyard. He loves it there. It's only in the 20's and is snowing furiously, but he is still gathering sticks, treeing squirrels, and ripping apart a pizza box. He must also be part beaver, as he is trying to bite down a large tree, and actually is making much headway. When I open the door to let him in, he runs the other way with his head high in the air. He does not want to come in. Ever.

Charley is just the opposite. He spent the first year of his life living outside. His home was under a porch. Now it seems he is loathe to repeat those days. He smells like an outside dog though, so I keep trying to encourage him to stay out there. So far, I am not having any luck. The only thing he seems to delight in back there is to bite off chunks of ice and lick them like popcicles.

Niki just loves going outside with these two wild nephews of hers. But, she cannot stand the cold anymore (it has gone on rather relentlessly around here) and I have to chase her down and bring her in to get her warmed up.

So, for the one person who might be interested, this is what I have discovered about dogs today:

It is very important that you pee in just the right spot. Then, after everyone has found just the right spot, is it also very important that you pee on the exact spot where the others have just peed. This takes up a good share of the morning.

It is also very important that you play a sort of doggy 'match game', trying to match the pee smell to the bottom it came from. This game goes on even longer, and is just plain gross.
Then you have to play an aggressive game of 'this is my stick and you may not have it even though I am shaking it in your face'. Next comes synchronized running. I haven't figured out what this means, although it looks much like a dance.

Next it's on to bark at, and corner, Niki. The only problem with this game, is that Niki cannot hear the barking. So, she doesn't get the game part of this, and ignores them completely, which frustrates them into barking even louder (we have no close neighbors)
I'm sure Charley's dog name is '"Lifts His Leg Charley" which is why I keep him where I can see him. Earlier today he settled down by me for a deep snuggle. Niki sat next to us, looking a bit hurt. Max quietly sneaked away...

Sneaking away is never a good sign, even for a good boy like Max. He ate the coffee grounds out of the trash. I doubt that he is even feeling the cold outside, and probably will not nap for a few days either.

Hmmm...maybe I should eat the coffee grounds...