Since we moved to Switzerland, pack dynamics have changed a bit. Juno's hips have gotten a bit worse and she isn't as likely to play rough with Loki anymore. I'm sure it bums out Loki not to have a really rough tumble anymore. Still, he's bit of an idiot bully with her and tends to push her around now and then. Sometimes I step in and call him off and sometimes I let her handle it. Loki still gives into her when somethings important enough for her to defend. But it makes me sad to see her duck his bullying attempts to engage in play or tell him off when he's being a dork. Loki has absolutely no manners when it comes to dogs though if he's really ignored pretty hard, he doesn't push things. If he were human, he'd be that dude in the bar to start a fight by throwing a drink in some guy's face, then splits and doesn't stay for the fight.
So anytime I can catch Juno really giving him the smack down it warms my heart. Trust me, if you all ever met Loki, you'd all like him fine. Most people are quickly charmed by his gregarious theatrics. But after a while of knowing him, you'd all say the same thing: he deserves it.
Here's Juno just after a sneak attack on him from behind. She smacked him on his right back side, caught him off guard, he lost his balance and went boom in the snow.
"Doh! Catch ya on the back side Big Boy!"
"WTF?"
I almost cried it was so perfectly planned and so unlike Loki to be unprepared.
"Mom, Juno pushed me and I went boom in the snow! Boo-hoo!"
"Hey Big Boy, there's more where that came from! How about it?"
"I don't wanna play with you! You're so unfair. I didn't even see you comin'!"
Oh buck up Loki. It's not like you haven't done that to Juno at least 187 times this week already.
"There, there now. How about I duck my head a little and let you pretend you're alpha?"
"Now that's what I'm talkin' about Big Boy! Welcome back to fightclub!"
"Big Boy, flappin' those ridiculously large ears on your head like Dumbo isn't gonna make you any scarier. Just sillier."
"You're on my turf now Big Boy! C'est la Neige Baby!"
"Princess, I fly like a butterfly..." (plop)
"Now you ready for some real Husky action? Grrr..."
"OMD! I think she means it. Les Enfants in Tolochenaz were right! Woo ARE a Wolf Dog!"
"Sheesh. Show a little gum and the party's over."
***
In other news, I finally perfected a Bolognese sauce that works for me.
There are like 87,000 ways to make Bolognese. I tend to like mine with a bit more tomato. Besides, it's impossible to find chicken or beef stock here. So I added a little more tomato and some whole milk. But it means I'm going to have to make my own stock for the upcoming recipes I'm planning to try. This week's new dishes (for me): the first dish is Chicken Marsala with a side Risotto and the second is a Simple Pork Chop Coriander over potatoes. I'm staying simple because I'm still getting to know how to cook meat. The week after is authentic long-cooked Pasta e Fagioli and two beef dishes, one braised in Guinness! Stay tuned. And yes, the dogs had plenty of taste tests.
I love how direct dogs can be in talking to each other. I wish I could just body check someone who's getting on my nerves and have them figure out they had just gone a bit too far.
BTW, the Bolognese looks delicious!
Heehee. When I was learning to make pot roast (why? I dunno; it sounded like a good idea at the time - only to discover that I don't really like pot roast, but that's another story...) the dogs LOVED my failed attempts! We're also glad to see that Juno waits until Loki is least suspecting it and then nabs him - Fi has decided that now that Abby is SO MUCH BIGGER than she is, sneak attacks are the perfect payback! The Bolognese looks yummy. When does the next flight arrive (although we aren't gourmet cooks or neat freaks... we play well with dogs! *grin*)?
-Dr. Liz, et al.
Hummmmm it was Busgetti night at my house too. My mom made and canned the sauce this summer.
She wants to know what in the heck those Chocolate Peeps do fur Broth/Stock?????
The treatments aren't working as well now??? Sorry to hear that.
It looks cold in those pictures. Is it like -87 degrees??? Brrrrrrr
mmmm Now I want a good pasta dish!
Have the gold beads helped juno much?
BOL- that totally was the look on Loki's face! Maybe Juno has been plotting for months just to mastermind the perfect sneak attack! If so, nicely done, If not way to seize the day! One of Moose's girlfriends and one of my favorite doggies in the world soooo deserves a smack down so I know what you mean. Unfortunately her sister is not ever gonna do it! Moose does a good job from time to time but then the tables turn on him. It is nice to see the trade off dynamic though so I understand!
Now I am starving though... thanks!
We are thinking Loki and Q-tip might have a lot in common. Always wanting to start the argument, but never quite wanting to finish it off. I heard a scuffle outside this afternoon, went out to check and Q came running up to stand behind me. His tormentor? Cheoah. Yes, 38lb Cheoah had taken 57lbs of white fluff and turned him into, well, fluff. And I just know Q started it because he always does.
Sigh.
I love the action shots. There's nothing like snow for bringing out whatever playfulness is hiding within your dogs! It's wonderful that Juno was so rambunctious!
I get sad every time I read about Juno's hips slowing her down. I hope that there's a good solution. Fingers crossed.
If only my passport was khurrent, I'd be there to show that Loki!
Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
PeeEssWoo: And I'd make sure to pakhk some stokhk/broth
I'd be happy to send Morgan over to keep Loki occupied! Something tells me they'd get on famously. She has teeth, and she knows how to use 'em!
I love seeing them playing in the snow. You got some great shots, and as usual, the captions kill me!
Those boys... such wusses!
miss moo
Do they have dog parks in Switzerland?
I know what you mean. Nice to see annoying cracker dogs getting the smack down from their sore bottom yet still able to push idiots around sibling (or something like that). Sheesh. My mentals are not functioning.
I bet the snow makes Juno feel like a pup again.
Slobbers,
Mango
Oh, we are so sorry to hear that things aren't going as well for Juno. Maybe the change in weather aggravated things. It sure looks like she is enjoying all that snow that WE don't have.
Dinner looks great - maybe you need to share those recipes:)
Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara
It's good to see Juno acting like her old self. Someone asked above, but did she get the gold beads injected yet? Curious to know if they might have helped. Sounds like Loki just has a strong urge to be an alpha, but he's not mature enough yet to really go for it. So he makes half-attempts and seems surprised when he gets away with it, then he tries it on even more. Fairly typical teenage lack of judgment.
Looks like you got some more of that serious CH skiing snow. Good thing Mrs Wild Dingo has all those boots.
Jed & Abby
Wait ... no chicken or beef stock?! Aaaiiiieeee!
Ha ha! Great job Juno! Great pictures! 🙂
Mmm...that looks yummy!
Mochi & Bali
BLoody hell - I've been cooking meat for years and never heard of those dishes! You're putting me to shame! I just cook really boring, basic stuff - and a lot of the times, Paul ends up eating cereal for dinner - ha! ha! 😉
Hmm, Loki - Hah! Send him over to us for a week and he will have the bully knocked out of him by the Ultimate Big Bully!! 😀 I can promise, he doesn't really know the meaning of "rough play" till he's had a session with Honey!
Hsin-Yi
ps, that snow looks incredible!
Love the new header photo. 🙂
You asked what kind of camera we use. It is a Nikon D300S (for the good photos) and a cheap point and shoot for the other indoor pics that dad doesn't want to carry the big camera into. He does a lot of editing after the photos are taken in Lightroom and Corel.
You can see his other photos at:
http://barnhill-photography.smugmug.com/
I always like to see a girl give a boy a smackdown. I try to give Steve one at least once per day.
Are Juno's hips worse because she doesn't have her wonderful Dogtor Hilary? Or did she get hurt? Hopefully they don't get any worse.
Kat