This Giant Schnauzer really seems to appreciate her owner’s guitar playing!

This short video is incredible. You will love the light display this computer geek has designed for his house.

I really wish I could take credit for this video, but I can’t. My Giants are not nearly this well trained. In addition, the level of training and the time that was put into each of these 7-8 dogs is just overwhelming to me. It’s really HARD to train just two dogs simultaneously, let alone 7! This appears to be the video from a Hungarian dog training club

So that is the main reason I have this up on my blog: my acknowledgment to these owners for their dedication to training. But, I also have this here because one of the dogs is a natural eared, natural tailed Giant Schnauzer (or a very large Standard Schnauzer!) She looks just like my Cassie. And she also acts like Cassie too! Enjoy this wonderful video and hats off to the owners who made this!

This is a story about a owner who wanted her dog to become a service dog and began training when the dog was just a puppy. I think you will find this a very moving story of devotion, not only by the dog to the owner, but also of devotion by the owner to the dog. Enjoy.

Saturday night we took Chance and Cassie out Trick or Treating. We went to houses of friends who have dogs too. What a hit Chance and Cassie were!

Reisenschnauzer:

Reisen: Giant, Monster, King Sized or Royal

Schnauzer: Walrus moustache

Waschen: To wash

Cassie and Chance Wait To Get Beards Washed

The walrus moustache is characterized by whiskers that are thick and bushy in nature. Its name derives from the fact that the whiskers usually droop over the mouth, giving an appearance to the human face that is very similar to that of a walrus.

Most of us who own Giant Schnauzers share a secret we keep close to our hearts.

Their beards get filthy; they wipe them on the furniture, our legs, the carpet and nice strangers. They delight in shaking and splattering stuff all over everything. Every time they eat, drink, go in the yard or take a walk their beards end up filthy.

What I have never shared with you is that Mark took it upon himself years ago to wash Chance’s beard (and then Cassie’s beard too when she came along in 2004) every night after dinner. I have never thought to video this. It’s become so routine that I forget how unusual this is to watch. As Chance ages, I thought it might be time to tape it.

Here is the nightly ritual. First washing Chance’s beard:

Then rinsing Chance’s beard:

Then washing Cassie’s beard:

Rinsing Cassie’s beard:

Then the final payoff: Goodies

Late at night when the movie is over and the credits have finished, we sit in the quiet and listen to the peaceful breathing of two Giant Schnauzers as they float along in dreamland.

Do you know that feeling you have after spending nearly 2 hours grocery shopping? You’ve put every item in the cart, then take them all out to put on the belt, then take them out of the cart again to put in the car.

Then you drive home and now you have to take them all out of the car and drag them one or two bags at a time into the house. Meanwhile 2 dogs are dancing around your legs nearly tripping you on the stairs. Then they decide to take off out the door on a little “walk” of their own.

So finally you end up with bags outside the back door, bags on the steps and bags all over the kitchen floor, counters and table. There are 25 bags of groceries to put away and “somewhere” there is a container of ice cream. Sigh.

Then the door bell rings. Groan. It’s your neighbor and his daughter selling candy bars. You like this neighbor and there are always great conversations. You talk. And then you invite the neighbor into the house to check out the new dishwasher.

And you see your youngest dog chowing down on a $15 roast. So the decision is, do you yell or do you laugh?

So in-between laughing and yelling at her to get in her crate you throw the roast in the sink and declare that you are going to wash it and cook it anyway. And it was delicious.

Cassie Helps Put Away Groceries

I have a PTA degree and license. For almost 25 years my part time job has been teaching water exercise therapy classes to seniors. I have always focused on teaching them life skills, not just exercises. There is great therapy in learning how to stand straight and move with power and certainty. I like to emphasize functional skills over singular exercises. There is no greater exercise for a lifetime than walking.

I was walking Cassie to the store this evening and I saw a older woman using a leaf blower to clean her sidewalk. I have seen a lot of people this summer using leaf blowers to clean off their sidewalk or driveway. This really bothers me. In addition to ruining their hearing, they are losing a great opportunity to burn some calories and do a bit of strength training. We still use a broom to clean our sidewalks and driveway. In the fall we rake the leaves up.