Absence makes the heart grow fonder - we hope!

Hi everyone - JD and Max speaking as one for the moment! Due to some things that are happening here we're going to have to take a little break from blogging for a while - we sure hope you won't forget about us whilst we're away!

"Please don't forget us!"

We're not taking a break for any horrible reasons - it's just that FH's job has gone CRAZY recently and any spare time she has she's spending on the laptop doing stuff for work instead of helping us with our blog - phooey!

"We'll promise to save all our noms for you if you promise not to forget us!"

PLUS FH and MH are also doing something called 'working on the house' - it seems like they're just making loads of mess as far as we can see, but again, it's taking them away from helping us with our blog - sigh.....

Max - "How could you forget these eyes?!"

We won't be away for TOO long - we hope to be back again at some point in November. But we didn't just want to disappear so we thought we'd let you know we're going to be popping off briefly..... And we might have to INSIST that FH does a quick update post at some point next week as we'll be turning a whole TWO years old then and we're sure the flashy box will feature heavily at some point during the celebrations!

JD hopes you won't forget his athletic prowess....

We also hope to be able to visit you at some point whilst we're away, although we can't guarantee it - well, you know how unreliable humans can be - sigh! We're gonna miss you all SO much!

....but he wouldn't mind if you forget about his bath humiliations!

We're so worried that you're going to forget all about us - we'll be back soon with lots more history posts (JD was thrilled that you all seemed to like his last post!) and suspense stories (Max guarantees he will have solved many mysteries by the time he's back!) and loads of photos of us just being cute! In the meantime, we hope these photos here will keep you going. So, until we meet again......(sob!).....

"We demand new staff - our current FH is failing us with our blogging endeavours!!"

UPDATED!! Wordless Wednesday Interupption - JD is in Surgery....

FH - I apologise to Max for cutting in on his WW photo but I just wanted to let our pals know that I've just come back from the Vets without JD - his paw unexpectedly took a turn for the worse last night and he's been kept in for surgery.

I feel so guilty about my quips about him only limping to try and get round me when he was being told off for being naughty now, but he's done this kind of thing before - he's too bright for his own good sometimes!

He was walking almost perfectly by Monday, he started limping again quite badly last night so we gave him a thorough paw inspection but could not see any reason why he would be in pain again. So we put it down to him possibly overdoing it and irritating the small wound where the grass seed had been. However, this morning he woke up very distressed and the entire inside of his front left leg was swollen and puffy - there was obviously a lot of fluid in there.

We got him to the Vet as soon as we could and they wanted to sedate him immediately to either drain or cut away whatever it is that is bothering him - it might not actually be a grass seed, the fact that we fished one out of his paw a few days earlier might actually turn out to be totally unconnected. They're going to try and carry this out under local anaesthetic but it will depend how distressed he gets - apparently most dogs need to have general anaesthetic for this sort of procedure.

So I signed the consent forms and left the Vets one dog down. Poor Max has been searching the house for him since we got back. I know it's not as if he's having a paw amputated or as if he's got anything seriously wrong with him, but this is the first time one of my boys has had anything wrong with them that I haven't been able to fix myself and I hate that. But I suppose, as a relatively new dog owner, I'm gonna need to get used to this kind of thing.

I wanted to share this news with our pals and ask you to send some good vibes our way - poor JD does have a sensitive stomach and I'm a bit worried about the effects the anaesthetic might have on him. I'll update this post as soon as we have more news from the Vets - in the meantime here is a cute photo of the boys to keep you all going....

Synchronisity!

**UPDATE**

FH - Hi everyone, thank you for your good wishes and positive vibes. JD is now back from the Vets, curled up on his favourite spot on the sofa - he'll probably sleep for the rest of the evening. He has three stitches in his paw and ALL his paws have been shaved by the Vet, as requested by us. They pulled a HUGE grass dart out of his paw - it had gone under his paw-pad and had been festering and (cover your ears and eyes Miss Mayzie!) had even sprouted a few blades of grass - ewwww! No wonder he was in pain, poor boy.

JD dreams about turning into a blade of grass!!

He needs to go back next Friday to have his stitches removed and our main problem will be to stop Max from nibbling his stitches! As soon as his stitches are out we're going to get both of the boys a 'nudie' cut. They were cut and groomed just two weeks ago, but in this hot weather their fur seems to be growing so fast you can almost see it getting longer in front of your eyes!

A very poorly paw indeed!

JD meanwhile seemed to have a nice time at the Vets - he came out with rice in his woozle as they'd even given him a light meal of boiled rice and chicken! All the nurses there were cooing over him and I think he was actually quite disappointed to be leaving!!

I know of dogs that have sadly lost their hearing and eyesight because of these pesky grass seeds so all in all I'm quite thankful that my poor boy 'only' had one in his paw. I still feel like a lousy owner for not spotting it though.....sigh!

Whatchu talkin' 'bout?

Max - I was very sad to hear of the passing of Gary Coleman - he's been a hero of mine every since I was a very young puppy and I perfected the 'whatchu talkin' 'bout?!' expression!

"I CAN'T have a biscuit? Whatchu talkin' 'bout FH?"

Max - JD can't do this expression, it's an exclusive of MINE! And BOY, do I enjoy aiming it at folks, he he he!

"Make room for me on the doggie sofa? Whatchu talkin' 'bout JD?"

Max - Goodbye Gary - you made our humans very happy when they were younger, watching you in Diff'rent Strokes - rest in peace.

"Budge up so I can sit down too? Whatchu talkin' 'bout MH?"

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday!

MIA, some sad news and some very unexpected news

JD - Hi everyone! We're sorry we've been MIA recently - FH has had a really hectic week, speaking at a lot of conferences, not in her usual work place, so she hasn't been around to blog for us OR to help us visit your blogs! We are MOST indignant!

Max - FH hasn't even had a chance to walk us during the week, MH has been giving us our daily constitutionals! MH really looks out for us, he's great!

JD - We know that FH is a bit grumpy as she's really missed spending time with us - we're glad her conferences are now over and we can get back to some serious FH time again!

Max - Whilst we've been out of action quite a lot has happened. We got a very sad piece of news earlier this week. One of the very first doggies we ever got to know, our great pal Scottie, moved onto the Rainbow Bridge - he was a feisty Westie of 11 years of age.

JD - Run free at the Bridge Scottie - we're going to miss you SO much, you taught us so many things, like the good places to sniff and how to woof at trains!

Scottie and JD investigating some pee-mail

Max - Some other unexpected news is that we won the category we entered in Norwood's fabulous Pawdance Film Festival - we're in shock!

JD - Yup! FH suddenly remembered the festival this morning, so she quickly logged on before she went to work and nearly fell off her chair to find out that we were in 1st place - but only just! I think we won by the skin of our teeth, but even so we're thrilled - thank you SO MUCH to everyone who was kind enough to vote for us!

Max - It now means we're in the final - eeekk! There are LEGENDARY doggies in the final, like Honey and Mango! We're SOOOO not worthy! But hey, if you want to vote for us again please feel free to do so, he he he!!

JD - Right, we're going to spend the weekend catching up with ALL your blogs - we're SO sorry we haven't visited you for so long. Gosh, we've missed you all SO much!

Max - Before we leave here's another little video of us. Honey did a post recently about a 'bomb proof stay' so we thought we'd post our 'flood proof stay'! You can even hear FH squealing near the end!



JD - We're off now to catch up on all the adventures you've had that we've missed!

A terrifying incident - (narrated by FH)

Tonight JD - my beautiful, gentle 'big boy' - was attacked by a pitbull whilst we were our on our evening walk.


It all happened so quickly. One minute I was walking along the side of a field with the two boys, the next second JD was viciously pinned under a strong, slavering dog, who was just focused on biting and biting.....

Now, before I alarm any of you too much please be assured that - amazingly - JD is fine. He's curled up on sofa next to me, snuggled into his brother and snoring gently. It's me that's a bit of wreck!

My boys love meeting other dogs whilst they're on their walks and I find that the majority of dog-owners are like-minded - after all, we all want our dogs to be well socialised and friendly don't we?! Plus, it's nice for us dog owners to get together and have a bit of a chat too during the walk! So, as my boys get a minimum of 2 walks a day they have a very large circle of friends, which always makes our walks a very enjoyable occasion.

However, I'm also well aware that not all dogs are well socialised. And I realise that there are many reasons for this - for example, a rescue dogs can be very nervous. And some owners simply aren't confident with their dogs, which rubs off on the dog! So whenever we come across a dog on a lead in an open area we will always stay away as we know there is probably a reason why the dog is being kept tethered and there is no reason to court trouble.

I also know that there are a lot of breeds have a bad reputation such as Staffies and Pitbulls. But I tend to get rather angry about this as it's usually the owner and not the breed that's at fault. One of my boys best friends is Daisy, who is a Staffie - they love her to bits and she's got the sweetest nature of any dog I've ever met.

Bit of a blurry shot I'm afraid, but this is JD with one of his most favourite dogs ever, Miss Daisy the sweet and wonderfully behaved Staffie!

Another great pal of theirs is Neo, the pitbull. He can get a bit grumpy if he thinks anyone is showing an interest in his tennis balls, but it's all a front! My boys really look up to him.

JD has a chat with Neo over the serious business of whether Slazenger or Wilson tennis balls are the best!

Now, both Daisy and Neo have very responsible owners. They realise that they own powerful breeds so they give them long and enjoyable daily walks, they ensure they socialise them with other dogs and people and of course they always ensure they do regular obedience training. And the end result is two delightful dogs. I really think this is great as I like that my boys are confident to socialise with many different breeds.

What was probably surprising about the pitbull that attacked JD tonight is that she was a dog that my boys know. Know and love in fact. She is a rescue dog who does not get on with many dogs, but she has got to know JD and Max over the past few months and we've joined her and her owners for a walk a few times.

Her owners are very responsible. They know that their dog is nervous - and strong! They keep her away from other dogs but do try to socialise her as much as possible without trying to frighten her. I was very proud that my boys were helping this dog overcome her fears and always enjoyed it when we met up on a walk.

I realise now that what happened tonight was due to a very unfortunate set of circumstances. I believe that this pitbull attacked JD because of three things - firstly, the owners had been on holiday for a week and had left their dog with a house sitter who hadn't walked her - at all. Secondly, we were just coming out of a field when we met them, which meant that we rounded a corner and took them 'by surprise'. And finally, the field that we were coming out of just happened to be on higher ground and I think the pitbull took my boys being higher than her as a threat.

JD is always the first of my two boys to greet another dog (or person!) so he was the one she went for. I believe her attack was due to a combination of pent up emotion through a week of no walks, the surprise of 'coming across' us without her expecting it and what she saw as an implied threat of JD being higher than her. But it was so fast! And it was terrifying - JD started screaming and was pinned right under her.

Her owners were amazing. In a matter of two seconds they were on her, one had her by the hind legs, the other by the neck and front legs and they lifted her off JD before I had even moved! I'm aware that I shrieked JD's name a couple of times - whenever he's upset or is a bit unsure about something he'll just stop what he's doing and look at me (or my husband) for us to help him out. We've always loved that we're his 'go to' option, that he puts his trust in us so completely to 'make everything better' for him. I knew he was looking at me, from under the pitbull and I hated that I couldn't get to him.

But thanks to her quick-witted owners she was removed from JD before her teeth made actual contact - I was mesmerised by her slavering and drooling as they held her aloft, squirming and fighting to get back to my boy. We parted company pretty quickly - I think they were as shook up as me, none of us had expected it.

This happened at the beginning of our walk - after it had happened I just wanted to scoop JD up and cuddle and fuss him and then go home. But as JD had not been hurt I knew that I couldn't make too much of it as I didn't want either of the boys to feel fretful. Plus, I knew that they'd wonder why their walk had been cut short, so I carried on going. Amazingly, JD didn't even break stride! Within 10 minutes we met up with 4 other dogs that we knew - JD went romping straight towards them and a great game of chase ensued! Dogs really can teach us about living in the moment!

The reason I'm sharing this is because, unlike JD, I'm not so good at living in the moment! I keep on replaying the moment that JD was pinned down and wondering what could have happened if the pitbull's owners hadn't been so quick. Basically, I'm shamelessly touting for a bit of comfort from my good pals in the blogosphere!

I'll leave you with a photo of JD, taken just a few minutes ago. As you can see, he's none the worse for his adventure!

JD - "ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!"

Alien puppy!

Max - Look into my eyes....


Max - ....can't see it? Well - look closer!


Max - Mwahahahaha! I see this as proof that - like my hero and larger-lookie-likie Groucho - I am part-alien!

JD - *SCREAM!* ....er, did I create enough of an atmosphere for you Max?

Max - You were brilliant JD, he he he! Anyway, the REAL reason that I am currently sporting one ghoulishly green eye is down to my butch, manly and macho ways.

JD - Yeah, sure Max, whatever helps you sleep at night....!

Max - You remember our wrestlemania post? Well, the other morning on the beach myself and JD got a bit over excited during a particularly thrilling game of bitey-face near the rocks and I - erm - got flung against one of them. It didn't even break my stride and I simply leapt back for more....

JD - ....sorry 'bout that bro'! Um, I sometimes forget how extraordinarily tall and strong I am!

Max - Erm - quite! Anyway, the result was a busted blood-vessel in my left eye which only became noticeable during the afternoon. Poor MH rushed me to the vet in a mad panic the second he noticed. Because my eye looked so gruesome at the time they weren't sure if it was infected so I had to have some extremely painful injections - it's a good job I am so butch, manly and macho otherwise I would have screamed even louder than I did! FH took me to the vets again this morning and as the swelling had completely gone away they were able to put some dye into my eye to check it out. I felt quite miffed to be told it was 'only' a burst blood vessel as I was hoping to milk it for as long as I could - the amount of fussing I got last night was unprecedented! Anyway, this is why I'm looking part-alien - I confess I rather like it!

JD - I've been looking after my little bro' as best I can. Playing with the special stuffie balls that Aunty Diana made for us seems to make him happy, they're just right size for our schnauzer mouths so I've let him play with them without taking them off him!

Just a puppy, hanging with his special stuffie!

Max - I'm hoping to make contact with Groucho aboard the mother-ship before the day is out - he he he!

Find out what all the critters are up to at....

Dealing with the gas bill....

JD - Today the gas bill turned up.

Max - Because of the recent cold snap it turned out to be rather large....

JD - ....so we kindly dealt with it for our humans!

"Take THAT Mr Gasman - ha!"

Max - There - that's better!

JD - Too right Max! What WOULD our humans do without us?

Max - Doesn't bear thinking about bro'...... *shudder!*

Being abandoned!!

JD - Hi everyone! This weekend is the half marathon in Spain that female human wanted to take part in.

Max - Unfortunately though, she didn't start training early enough, so she had to content herself with waving her pals off whilst she stayed home with us.

JD - We admit we were secretly pleased she didn't go. BUT we still want to report that she IS nevertheless in training for a local half marathon in May....

Max - ....AND she's even mentioned the possibility of a full marathon at the end of the year! Although she says she'll wait and see how she feels after the half in May before fully committing, he he he!

JD - However, this state of affairs does mean that recently she OFTEN goes out of the house WITHOUT us now!!

Max - Yes - it's shocking - SHOCKING!!

"Noooo, FH, DON'T go, DON'T leave us!!!"

JD - We know that she has to leave us to go to work (to ensure she can continue to afford doggie biscuits and treats to keep us in the manner to which we have become accustomed!!), but we REALLY didn't think she'd start to abandon us for other reasons.

Max - We TRY make her stay - we drape ourselves across her and put on our extra sad faces , but she must have a heart of STONE as she simply tells us to be good boys for male human - and then gads off anyway!

JD - "Try 'the drape' Max! If we pin her down she won't be able to abandon us!"
Max - "Good thinking bro! I'm also putting on my extra-sad face too....."

JD - What IS a puppy to do?!

Max - Oh, by the way - well done to all of you who guessed correctly on our 'guess the schnauzer' game that it was MY cute snooter poking through the blanket!

JD - I especially liked the wolfies recognising the fact that I'm just a few millimetres shorter than they are (*puffs up chest!*) by their comment that if it was ME wrapped up then the lump would be LOADS bigger....

Max - Hey - you're not THAT much bigger than me JD!

Join in the fun at Pet Pride....

Storm of the century!

JD - I'm just ...., what I mean is ...., erm it's just that .... arghhhhh.......!!

Max - It's okay bro' - I've got your back! I'm afraid, dear blog readers, that JD is just SO incensed that he can't even speak just now....

JD - ......!!!!....

Max - .... so, being the vocal one out of the two of us I am MORE than happy to take up the mantle and explain to you all that - as of THIS MOMENT - we are NO LONGER SPEAKING TO FEMALE HUMAN!!

JD - .....splutter!!!!....

Max - .... and it's all because of this. Look at us - I mean, just LOOK AT US!!!

JD - "Yes - you SHOULD lay down towels after dragging us round the streets in the wet!"

Max - There we were, quietly minding our own business, when suddenly and without warning, female human grabbed us, wrestled us to the ground, pinned us down and forced coats on the two of us....

JD - ....!!!!....

Max - ....and then she forcibly dragged us, kicking and screaming, out into the worst storm that Clacton-on-Sea has witnessed in decades....

Female Human - *Rolls eyes!* It was only DRIZZLING Max!

Max - *Stern glare!* .... it was awful, terrible! The rain was lashing down, the wind was gale force and it nearly swept us away....

Female Human - Oh for goodness sake Max!

JD - "Is it over yet?! Did we survive?!" Max - "At least it was dark JD - I don't think anyone saw us wearing these coats!"

Max - ....talk to the paw sister - talk to the paw!!

We DON'T have the technology....

JD - Hi everyone - we are without broadband again - a big truck drove into our exchange and took it out!

Max - So we can't post or visit blogs - this is being written at a pal's house....

JD - So, until it's sorted, here is a 'test card' (bit blurry as taken from the puppy-cam!) showing us lazing around waiting for broadband...

Max - We hope to be back on line soon!

Goodbye to our hero

Most of you probably know by now that our wonderful blog friend Mr Darcy has made the journey to the Rainbow Bridge. Mr Darcy was wonderfully gentle and kind and - along with everyone else - we immediately fell in love with him. We couldn't help but look up to him, and not just because he would have towered over us!!

We already miss him terribly, but we realise that it was simply his time to leave us, even though he was still young. Sometimes the very good and the very best amongst us are taken first and it's not our place to question why, we simply have to try and say goodbye and remember all the love and joy that surrounded them.

We're just so pleased we got to know you and your family Mr Darcy. Run free with the wind at Rainbow Bridge big guy - you were and always will be our hero and we'll play with you now in our dreams. Much love to your family - JD and Max.

(If you haven't done so already please visit Mr Darcy's family to let them know they're in our thoughts at this difficult time.)

Goodbye gorgeous girl

Female Human - I'm taking over the boys' blog as they are very sad just now - as am I. We all found out a few minutes ago that Stephy, one of our our beautiful, fun, cute and gorgeous Schnauzer blog friends, sadly and very tragically passed away today - she was only 5 years old. We're all glad we got to know her and our thoughts are with her family at this very sad time.


We would like to send a white rose of remembrance to this very special little girl and let her know that we loved her from the moment we first saw her.

We would like to ask that you please take the time to leave a kind message with her sweet little Schnauzer daughters Fatty and Ally and her loving humans at their blog to help them through this painful time as they must be feeling so sad just now.

RIP little Stephy - you will be sadly missed by everyone who knew you.

There are now four of us.....!

JD - Our humans brought 2 new doggies home the other day!

Max - They didn't even consult us beforepaw - how rude is that?!

JD - We're not quite sure what to make of the situation. I mean, these two other doggies seem nice enough we suppose....

Max - ....but they're a bit aloof. For example, they don't join in with us when we play zoomies in the garden....

"Hi guys - fancy a game of zoomies....?"

JD - ....and they don't like to play 'bitey face' either!

"No? Um - how about a game of bitey face then? Not that either? Sheesh- you two are hard to please....!"

Max - Sigh - they're hard work! Still, at least they don't eat any of our treats!

JD - Yup - that's a very good point bro!

Join in the fun at Pet Pride....

Find out what all the critters are up to at....

Awwwww!

JD - We've lost our broadband connection at home!

Max - It's not right!

JD - Which means we won't be able to blog for about a week....

Max - It's not fair!

JD - ....and we won't be able to visit your blogs either!

Max - There should be a law or something!

JD - We're going to miss catching up with you all - still, it's only for a week I suppose....

Max - Something should be done!!

JD - Anyway, please don't forget us, we'll be back soon!!

Max - I'm off to start a protest about this right now!!!

Ouch!

Max - Poor JD's been stung on the lip by a bee and is having a bit of trouble eating. He's feeling a bit under the weather and is being a little clingy with the humans as a result, so I've been looking after him by been cleaning his ears (he likes that!) and have let him have all the best sleeping spots. Here's a picture of him snuggling on our sofa....


Max - Initially he was resting his head on our male human's lap, but our male human eventually had to move, so he kindly moved the pouffe along to prop JD up instead!


Max - If JD still isn't eating by tomorrow our humans have said he'll have to go to the vet - eek!

JD - Zzzzzzzz.....!

Max - PS - please visit Charlie's blog to read shocking news about dog-meat trade and find out how you can help stop this awful thing happening to our brothers and sisters - thank you.

Find out what all the critters are up to at....

Rain rain - go away!

JD - It's been wet and rainy here this weekend....

Max - ....stoopid rain!

JD - We got very wet on our last walk....

Max - ....so had to be dried off when we got in. I felt cold and damp so I climbed onto our nice soft sofa to warm myself up....


Max - ....and my humans even tucked me in to keep me nice and snug. Mmmmm - comfy!


JD - I tried to get comfy on the floor....


JD - ....but the sound of Max snoring soon alerted me to the fact that the sofa was the best place to be!!

JD - Ahhh - that's better! Hope it's warm and sunny where you are!

Max - Zzzzzzz!

Find out what all the critters are up to at....

It's just WRONG!

JD - Look at this. Just - LOOK - at - this!!


Max - It's not right!

JD - It's very, very, WRONG!

[Comment from female human - it IS a shame that all dogs are banned from our beaches during the summer, just because a few people don't look after their pets it now means that we all have to go without. They're really going to miss it - that's why we took them there last weekend, so they could have one last, long enjoyable romp before the 5 month ban kicks in.]