Monday, May 20, 2013

Excellent Hygiene in the Royal Court

I have always been an advocate for excellent hygiene, especially when it comes to oral hygiene.
The Royal Court could quickly start 
smelling quite base without our taking great care.

Nessie the Monster, Duchess of Hagg

The Dog Drawer containing Enzymatic Toothpaste and 3 headed brushes  along with clickers , vitamins and various medications

So many things are eaten and enjoyed in our Land.  We are, indeed a privileged Royal Court. ~~Although, I will insert that as of late, our handlers have been quite obsessed with their own agenda and have much neglected us in all aspects in the past months.  They are building a new Palace, it seems, and want to ensure that it is well appointed before they allow us a viewing.  Humph! ~~  None the less, we are privileged.  We are provided for.  We have an adoring following and our staff, though somewhat preoccupied, are well intention-ed and are doing the best they can with so much on their plate.


We all must wait our turn.

Now.  Speaking of plates and the Royal China.....Oh, yes.  We eat from Royal China.  I have a special pattern called "Her Royal Hiney's Cuisine".  It is a basic white because it shows off the culinary designs much better.  The Chamberlains have a different pattern called "Royal Court" with special hand-painted dogs decorating the edges.  Our Royal Chef isn't too remarkable but she is sufficient to keep our bellies full.  She will, on special occasion, add some extra flavor that is quite pleasing to our palettes.  And she is prompt in her delivery.  Our meals are always on time.  

My Royal Chompers will be pearly white in no time.

With eating twice daily, though, it is imperative that we have our Royal Chompers brushed quite frequently.   So I thought I would share with you our special time.  We have a deliciously flavored toothpaste (tastes like chicken) and a special 3 headed toothbrush.   Lord Malcolm, of course, is the hardest on the poor handler and the very toothbrush itself.  He patiently waits his turn for brushing with no problem (he's always last, because he's so difficult).  He tries to eat the brush and it's hard for the handler to get his massive jaws to unlock so as to get to the Chompers without getting bitten.  But we women of the Royal Household are quite different.  We love getting our teeth brushed and will stay calm and relaxed while it's being done.

Lady McKenzie


Here's the routine........

*It's one at a time.......Nessie, McKenzie and then Malcolm.
*Lay down and roll over on our side.
*Have 2 quads brushed, upper and lower.
*Roll all the way over and spin around the other direction.
*Have the other 2 quads brushed, upper and lower.
*Move out of the way for the next one and wait patiently til everyone is done.
*See who can get to the tube first, to have some more of that yummy paste squirted into your mouth!  ^~^

Lord Malcolm is cute but a Royal Pain


It's important to brush, not only because of the smell our bad breath can create, but to take care that our teeth and gums last our lifetime with no issues.  Plus, we do love it when our adoring fans love our beautiful smiles!


We take special care to get all around every tooth...


...so you can enjoy our beautiful smiles!


Friday, May 3, 2013

NO BARK

And I mean it!
I really, really mean it!



OK.  I really don't have a picture or video of this, but here's my story......

So I've been trying to teach NO BARK for, hmm,  3 1/2 years.

You know how schools of fish just suddenly change direction all at once?  If the dogs want to bark, they all jump up at once and run in the same direction.  It can happen from a dead sleep.  They usually do this when I'm in the shower or still getting ready in the bathroom because they know I can't come and correct them.  (I don't ever give a command that I'm not prepared to enforce, and from the bathroom, I'm not prepared to enforce;  so whatever happens, I have to let it go).  If I can catch them (or even one) still in the room and not barking all ready, I reward with praise and sometimes a cookie.  Nessie has always gotten way more cookies for this than the twins.

Then McKenzie started to realize that Nessie was still in there getting cookies.  "Hey!  What's up with that" ?  So she started jumping up and running into the bathroom instead of to the front room window.  :0)  I thought Malcolm was a lost cause though.  He has always continued to bark at the window, but he's been doing it alone for a while now.  No one joins him. He was left there to finally figure out that he wasn't attracting too much attention from his sisters.  That couldn't have been very rewarding for him. 

About a month or two ago, he began to realize that he wasn't getting the girls riled up.  So he sauntered into the bathroom to find them both getting cookies.  All he got was my finger shaking at him and the command NO BARK.  And as much as he drooled, he never got a cookie.

The past two weeks have been hilarious!  I now have a pack that jumps up from a sound sleep, runs in a panic in one direction (toward the front room), stops, turns, and runs in the same panic in the opposite direction (toward the bathroom).  They do not make a sound with their vocal chords--just the sound of a herd of elephants running through the hallway.  I see them all sitting in the bathroom, some drooling, some inching closer to the cookie jar until I give them a cookie and praise.  :0))))))))))))))   My next step has already begun.  I don't give cookies every single time.  Sometimes they have to wait a long long time to get one and sometimes they don't get one at all.  But they always get the praise for doing the right thing.  It's so funny to see the 're-programming' that is going on.  Jump up and run into the bathroom.  HA!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!  :0)