Little known uses for your Brittany

Remember Studmuffin's puppy, Holly? Well, having a Brittany has definitely been an eye-opener for me. She is such a useful little thing.

For example, did you know that you can really develop your shoulder and upper back muscles walking your husband's Brittany? I eagerly put her choke collar on her, grabbed Kelsey's leash, and headed out to meet a friend for a walk. Fortunately my friend offered to walk Kelsey, so I was able to devote 2 hands to holding on for dear life to Holly. We walked for 2 hours, and she never stopped pulling at me and gasping for air. I had walked her about 4 times before I finally realized why my neck and shoulders have been hurting. Duh...

But, developing your upper back muscles aren't the only little known uses. They're really great at moving mulch. Say, you for some unknown reason you decide you no longer want mulch in your flower beds.....

Your Brittany puppy will prove to be quite effective at carrying it all over the yard. But, hey, it makes my zinnias coming up from last year's seed easier to spot!

Yes. This is the yard. Not next to the flower bed. The middle of the yard. The place that Holly obviously feels all mulch should be placed. Again. No mulch in the flower beds. Mulch in the yard.....

Moving on.

Let's say that your town had a town wide garage sale where you found a yard swing for $5. The only thing wrong with the swing is it needs to have the cushions replaced. Perhaps you are a person who is in the middle of multiple home improvement projects...You may decide to wait a month or two to replace your cushions. Maybe you plan to cover it with an old blanket in the meantime....

Never fear! Simply leave your newly purchased used yard swing in the yard with your Brittany puppy and she will quickly make the decision for you....


Don't let her calm demeanor here fool you. She was responsible for shredding the cushions and spreading the stuffing all over the yard. How sweet. Well, now I definitely have to do something. I'm thinking no cushions. Maybe just some wooden slats screwed on to eliminate the need for cushions (The metal frame isn't too comfy to sit on alone.)

So, there you have it 4 little known uses for a Brittany puppy

1. Double your workout by working your legs and upper body on walks!
2. Moving mulch. Hey, maybe your grass needs to be more insulated so it consumes less water!
3. Decision making with your exterior decor: Is it puppy proof? No? Don't even think about using it...
4. Demolition. Enough said.

Now, for a little known use for your friendly American Dingo.

Yes.

That's what I said.

American.

Dingo.

I heard your gasps of shock. Just click here to learn more, and you'll understand why I love my Carolina dog, AKA American dingo. I got Kelsey from a shelter in San Antonio. They referred to her as a Carolina dog, which I'd never heard of. They were very vague with details, but we spent about an hour with her and decided to take her home. When I went home and googled her and learned she was also known as a dingo I was disturbed. I wanted to return her, but I'm so glad I didn't.

Quick side note: I'm not sure Kelsey is an American Dingo. She could very well be a Mexican Dingo that swam the river. We went to Chichen Itza, and there were wild dogs that looked exactly like her running all over the place. Studmuffin teased me relentlessly about my "illegal alien" dog.

Kelsey is the most patient dog I've ever known. She will let our kids do anything to her. She will let toddlers climb all over her. Once I convince her that kittens are not for eating, she adopts them as her own and will smother them with love. If they attempt to leave the porch, she grabs them by the scruff of the neck and throws them back on. Until they are old enough to get sneaky and wait until she's not paying attention. We actually had a cat that used to "nurse" the fold where her neck met her collar. She never stopped it. And Kelsey never made her.

Now her patience is being displayed with Holly. I'm actually thinking Holly may end up being dominant even though she will be a smaller dog. I don't know if she is just showing tolerance for a puppy, or if she is just really that laid back. She lets Holly do anything to her. She even lets her eat out of her bowl. The only thing she will not share is a rawhide.

Kelsey is also an amazing hunter. She can catch any bird that she sets her mind to. She used to catch mocking birds almost daily in Texas. She would sit under a tree where they had a nest, wait for a bird to dive bomb her and she would leap up and catch it. She loved mocking birds. She also kept all of the cliff swallows off of our porch. However, she did not love the taste of these birds, so I was constantly hauling off decomposing swallows. Yuck. I cringe when I remember the giant craters she dug in our yard in Texas in her quest for gofers. She got rid of all our gofers, but I'm not sure 3 foot long holes that were 2 feet deep were preferable to gofer mounds... Last summer the farmer behind us plowed up his pasture and planted wheat. The result was that many of the field mice that lived in the grass tried to relocate to our house. Thankfully Kelsey kept their numbers down.

Speaking of rodents.....

Something is living under the dog house that's built under the deck. I don't know what it is. I've never seen it. I've only seen Kelsey laying in waiting for about 3 days now. I've also seen where she's considered tunneling under to get it. Today when Holly was being rambunctious, Kelsey sat patiently waiting.


And waiting. She would move from outside to underneath the deck. Where she would wait some more. I'm not sure what's under there. I would like to pretend it's a burrowing owl. I doubt I'm so lucky. I'm trying not to remember the rats that lived under our deck after the creek flooded behind our house in Arlington. I'd rather not go there...

One thing I do know: Whatever it is, Kelsey's determined it has to come out sometime. And when it does, she'll get it.

And it will be dead.

And I will be glad.

Although I will be glad even if she doesn't leave it at the back door. *sigh* But, then, I guess I can't have it all!