Our Stuff

Here at Turkey Creek Garden, Fred and me

Hang around all day and do as we please.

We have in the yard our best, special spot

Where we drag up our favorite things, a lot!

Logs from the burn pile that mom thinks we can't reach

Plastic cups from the table that are so easy to sneak.

Bones that they give us to chew for the day

Hoping we won't dig up 

the sprinkler system 

while they're away.

Bubble wrap that's just so easy to steal

When the door to dad's workshop does not seal.

Our favorite blue carpet from old car remodels

So perfect for tugging, the mind it will boggle!

These treasures we keep in one part of the yard

Until mama gets mad, her eyes squinted up hard.

Then we know it is time to drop out of sight

'Cause mom's patience with us has taken flight!

She'll put on her flip flops, stalk out in the yard

Mumbling under her breath and working so hard.

The pooper scooper she'll use to rake it all up

Drop it in the trash can with a huff and a puff.

All our play things removed from our place

Everything gone, nothing left, not even a trace!

But when she is done and the yard is all clean

We'll come tails a'wagging, eyes full of love's gleam.

We'll sit when she tells us, then shake her hand,

Fetch sticks and balls at her every command.

We'll look up at her with our sweet puppy eyes

All the while our true intent in disguise...

Because when she goes back in the house for the night

We'll drag our stuff back out and soon set things right!!!

Love ya'll, 

Ethel

Sometimes clean feels empty. A bit of clutter and dirt gladdens the heart and affirms a life in progress.

 ~Terri Guillemets

What's A Dog To Do?

What's a dog to do

When he's hanging around with you

And sees there's a leak in your hose

That is sprinkling on his nose?

What's a dog to do

When the sprinkle becomes a puddle

All shiny, wet, and big

That calls out to him.... dig, dig, DIG?!!

What's a dog to do

Now the puddle's turned into a hole

Filled with muddy water sublime

But to lie down and rest for a time.....

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Labradors [are] lousy watchdogs. They usually bark when there is a stranger about, but it is an expression of unmitigated joy at the chance to meet somebody new, not a warning. ~Norman Strung

Just One

When we first started buying toys for the Garden Friendly Dogs, we of course bought two of each toy - one for Fred and one for Ethel.  But we soon learned that just one toy was all we needed because fighting over one toy is way more fun than each dog having their own.

One toy in both mouths! 

 They can spend an entire morning locked together just like this! 

 Big dummies!!

Love ya'll,

Shelli

I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. 

~Rita Rudner

Nap Time

This is just to say that some people enjoy their naps more than others....

Hope you get in a good nap this weekend!!

Love ya'll,

Shelli

No day is so bad it can't be fixed with a nap. 

~Carrie Snow

GFD

Now we can't let Fred and Ethel develop and inferiority complex due to new baby chicks arriving on the scene.  Today the Garden Friendly Dogs get their own update.

Fred and Ethel are now nine months old; teenagers!  Their digging has decreased tremendously, but their fighting has really escalated!  Being siblings, they have always "play fought" with each other.  From a very young age they would growl and gnash their teeth and act all "scary dog". But lately we have run out onto the porch a time or two when their fighting sounded menacing.  A little research let us know that at this age in their development, they are establishing dominance.  It is going to be facinating to see how this turns out, because while Fred is the male and one third again the size of Ethel, he is just so laid back and, as I have said before, not really the sharpest crayon in the box. Ethel may be smaller, but she is fast and smart.  This dominance thing will be very interesting!

 They nap on the cool kitchen floor every day at noon. I haven't introduced them to the chicks yet and am still doing a little research on the whole concept of dog/chicken harmony. Meanwhile, they are staying cool and just hanging out.

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Scratch a dog and you'll find a permanent job.
 ~Franklin P. Jones

Garden Friendly Dog Poem

Dog on table

Because she's able :)

Dog in pot

Because he's not :(

                                          Table...

                                          Pot.......

                                          Able.....

                                          Not.......

That is all this poem's got :)

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Chickens and Puppies

Time for a pet update!  

First, chickens......we don't have any :( 

So here's the deal:

After we finished the coop, I went to town to our chicken selling establishments to buy chicks, but they were either sold out, "getting some in two weeks", or didn't have the breeds I wanted.  The days kept slipping by as I tried to decide if I should just buy what was available or wait until I could get what I wanted.  Soon enough time had passed where if I did buy the chicks available here in town, they weren't going to be old enough to move from the brooder box to the coop by the time I left for France.

Each spring, my sisters and I take our parents on a spring trip.  This year we are going to France so that my Dad, a World War II buff, can stand on the beaches of Normandy. We are all very excited, except for my husband, James.  

He is staying home; the idea of a sisters' trip is a little scary to him although if he heard that there would be antique cars lined up on the beaches of Normandy he might make an exception.  Anyway, he let me know in no uncertain terms that he would not be responsible for baby chicks still in their brooder box while I was off gallivanting.

Long story short, I chose husband over chickens.  I think it will prove to be a good decision in the end.  I have put in an order at My Pet Chicken for eight baby chicks to be delivered by mail later this summer.  We are getting two Buff Orpingtons, two Golden Laced Wyandottes, two Light Brahmas, and two Barred Plymoth Rocks.

Now puppies...

So as you all know, the Garden Friendly Dogs have a digging problem.  Much of it I have been able to head off at the pass with a trusty layer of chicken wire, but we still have issues with the random hole in the middle of the yard.  

Now Cesar Milan lays out this whole training program that deters digging. It involves a "Dig Zone" in the yard where you teach your dogs it is OK to dig, hopefully deterring them from digging up all of your day lilies. 

James and I bought a big wading pool and filled it with sand.  Then I buried some of their bones and toys in the sand, and brought on the dogs.....

As usual, Fred-the-Skeptical let Ethel-the-Intrepid go first and being the sweetheart that she is, she gave the bone she got out to him.

Only after all possibility of danger had been dispelled, did Fred take a turn.

James has serious reservations about the success of this digging deterrent, but only time will tell!

Love ya'll, 

Shelli

If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit, 

for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man. 

All things are connected. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth. 

~Chief Seattle of the Suquamish Tribe, letter to President Franklin Pierce

Eat, Sleep, Dig

You may be wondering what the Garden Friendly Dogs have been doing while we have been busy building chicken coops and going to flower shows....

Well, they have been digging!!!!

 But once again, a little chicken wire and elbow grease solved the problem.  This time Ethel curled up for a little "togetherness" while I repaired her handy work.  I wonder if she thought she was making it up to me?

When they aren't digging, Fred and Ethel have been learning to swim.

James and I took them to the park a couple of times during the last weeks of winter and Ethel wanted in the water so badly that we decided as soon as it warmed up we would get them a pool for the summer.

Ethel took to the pool right away, enjoying the fact that Fred wouldn't get in at first.

James said the pool looked so much bigger at the store.  You can hear him say that he wasted his $8 and will have to buy a bigger pool.

Fred took his time acclimating to aquatic sports and had a little trouble understanding that he wasn't ever going to be able to grab the little orange fish painted on the bottom of the pool.

We have plans for this small pool after we get a larger one.  It will be used for Cesar Millan's solution to digging.  He says to bury bones and toys in a pool filled with sand and train your dog to dig in that space only....  Sounds "iffy", but everything else he has recommended has worked, so it's worth a try.

But all in all, the Garden Friendly Dogs have enjoyed warmer Spring weather while they eat, sleep, and dig.

Love ya'll,

Shelli

You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Kong

Fred and Ethel, the garden friendly dogs, love their beds!!

 From the time we brought them home.....

 

 and still today.....

 

they are passionate about a good nap in a soft bed.

 

They have three beds: one in their crate out in the shed where they sleep at night, one in the kitchen, and one on the back porch.

 

But sometimes not even a beloved bed can withstand the throes of boredom during cold, rainy days.

 

This is bed stuffing!! The remains of the bed itself are at the foot of the door. for some reason, their porch bed is the only bed they destroy.

 

Enter

KONG!!!

 

 

The Kong is a brand of dog bed made to withstand ripping, tearing, bored-out-of-their-mind dog fits!!

 

 

 It may not be as soft and fluffy as other beds, but it has withstood the test of time, paws, and teeth. We bought ours at PetSmart.

 

Well, here's hoping your dogs are surviving the last cold, rainy remnants of winter....

 

Love ya'll, Shelli

 

The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog.

 ~Ambrose Bierce 

 

 

Snow Day!!!

Even a retired teacher can enjoy a good snow day!!

You might wonder how we survived four days of sleet and snow with two energetic, five month old, forty pound puppies in the house.......

That's how!!!!!!!

Love ya'll,

Shelli

The Battle Rages On!! or I Am The Alpha Dog!!

 

 

The Garden Friendly Dogs had a surprise waiting for me when I returned from town recently......

 

Yep, a sidewalk covered with dirt;

dirt that came from big holes they were digging under the azaleas between the garage and the house.  Huh......

 

Well, I am the Alpha Dog and determined to win this battle of wills!!! 

So I gathered my weapons....

 

and went to work filling holes and covering all the area under bushes with chicken wire to deter their digging habit.

 

 

Next, I covered the chicken wire with pine straw and we are back to normal.

 

That was two weeks ago, and although they have been scratching around in the pine straw, no digging has occurred.

 

I don't know what it is about azaleas and the Garden Friendly Dogs.  They played with this bush so much that I had to take it into protective custody.

 

 

 So take that, Fred and Ethel!!

The Alpha Dog is still in control!!

 

 

                                                                                                                         Love ya'll,
                                                                                                                                  A.D.

Fenced In and Out

Remember when your new baby learned to crawl and for the first time when you left a room she might not be exactly where you put her when you returned?  Well that's how it was when the Garden Friendly Dogs started to roam.  As puppies they were quite content to stay on the porch, but soon were old enough to play out in the yard without us around.  That meant it was time for a fence.

We wanted an invisible underground fence, but they were too young to be trained to it.  So we put up the Ody fence.  Ody is our daughter's dog and when he came to visit us the first time, James and I made a temporary fence that gave him lots of room to play.  We made it out of metal stakes and that orange plastic netting you often see around construction sites.  It was easy to put up and take down.

So the Ody fence was put into good use while the puppies were getting old enough to train.  Meanwhile we had a representative from Invisible Fence come out to the house and give us an estimate.  We didn't want to take in the whole two acres as that would give Fred and Ethel access to the garden and the areas where all of my daffodils are planted, so instead we wanted to include a little less than one acre.  We were totally shocked when the man told us the cost would be $2500. Holy smoke!!!

After doing a little research, we found out that all underground dog fencing is made by the same company, PetSafe, and they offer a self installation option for only $500.  What a difference!!   We bought ours at Lowes.  Online reviews suggested 14 gauge wire instead of the wire included in the package and we used orange flag stakes that we also bought at Lowes instead of the white ones that came with the system.

It took us an entire Saturday to install, but it was very easy to do.  The training guide was very easy to follow and now, two weeks later, Fred and Ethel have a healthy respect for the "static correction zone " and are enjoying roaming their new territory.

However, being garden friendly dogs, measures had to be taken to keep them IN the yard, but  OUT of the flowerbeds.  So James, who is a saint, spent this Saturday installing a long term temporary picket fence around the main flower beds at the back of the house.  The GFDs had already dug up some of the roots around the sweet bay magnolia and standard gardenia. In a couple of months all the day lilies will be coming up and the hydrangeas will be blooming, so it was time to pitch them out of those areas. It is not the most attractive solution, but I am hoping that if they grow up unable to get in these beds, then these areas won't even register on their radars in future years.  We'll see! 

In the mean time, they are happier dogs and we are happier owners.

                                                                                                                   Love ya'll,
                                                                                                                              Shelli

 

Properly trained, a man can be dog's best friend. ~Corey Ford

The Realization Sinks In

Fred and Ethel, the garden friendly dogs, are now fourteen weeks old and the realization of owning two big dogs is sinking in!!

On their second trip to the vet (which was only three weeks from their first visit), Fred had grown in size from about 9 lbs. to 17 lbs. while Ethel had gone from 8 lbs. to 14lbs.  The vet said he expected them to be 60 - 70 lbs. at their adult weight.  Holy cow!!! That's way bigger than their mama! They have outgrown two collars and three beds.
 

Their sweet puppy antics have turned into bad teenager shenanigans....

like digging up flower beds...

and getting into places they shouldn't be!

 There is a hole around every tree in our yard.

 

As you know, I am reading books by Cesar Milan, the dog whisperer, for guidance on raising garden friendly dogs.  He says that puppies get into trouble when they get bored so I have been diligent about changing chew toys on a rotating basis and making them more "jungle gyms" to ward off their boredom.

Since we don't want to break the bank buying chew toys, we use lots of things from around the house and they love them just as well as store bought toys.

Homemade jungle gyms are easy too.

 

The orange thing in the background is our temporary dog fence.  We will install an underground fence soon.

As far as the digging goes, any area they dig up in a flower bed is immediately forgotten by them once I recover it with pine straw.  The holes at the base of the pine trees aren't very deep so I'm just ignoring them, however they recently started on a few random holes out in the middle of the lawn, and well, that just can't be!! 

Ironically the shape of the holes they dug perfectlynmatched my emotion upon seeing them!!

Now Cesar says that you should buy a child's wading pool and fill it with sand.  Then bury a toy in the sand and let the dogs dig for it.  Next, take the same toy and bury it in an "off limits" area.  When the dogs start to dig for it, stop them and walk them back to the wading pool.  Supposedly, they will learn that there is only one place they are allowed to dig and I'm sure they would , but.....

 .......there are a few problems with this method here at Turkey Creek Garden.  First, there are no wading pools in the stores in January and by the time there are, my yard will be as pitted as the surface of the Moon.  Second, I don't really want a wading pool sitting in my yard year round. So I have decided that when the Cesar Milan method doesn't fit our needs, we are going to go with the other dog whisperer I know, my grandmother, Dovie Wiggins.

 I can actually hear Grandma Wig's voice in my mind. After a good laugh she would say, "Shelli Lynn, those are just dogs.  A swimming pool!! I have never heard of such a thing in all my days! What you need is some red pepper!! Just a little in each hole and they won't come back!"

She was right!!  I hated to do it and spent time on the Internet making sure there were no dangers. In the end I tried it out.  After a couple of sneezes and a lot of barking at the betrayal of their former fun places to dig, they haven't returned to digging in the old holes.   Every now and then I see them stick their noses into the holes, but they always walk away and as of yet, (knock on wood), no new holes have been started.

So for now, all is well with the garden friendly dogs and I have to say that I love them with all my heart!!

                                                                                   Love ya'll too, Shelli