I love your hound! What kind is she. I have a Basset and do basset rescue but love all hounds. It seems like either you love them or you don’t like them at all.
To Artlady re Blue
The hound in my signature is Blue. He is a Treeing Walker Coonhound. We also have a girl. Her name is Dani. Together they keep our 20 acres on Nighthawk Summit pretty safe from bears and cougars in camp! They are relentless! Unfortunately for my husband, who hunts for his one deer in October, they also keep the deer on the run as well! We don’t bring them up in Sept or Oct AT ALL anymore! 
Dani on left, Blue on the right.
Dani is the best ‘spotter’!
C’mon…ya can’t sleep all day! Hey! Wake up Sleepy Head!
(Dani at 6 wks old, “Aunt Katie” on watch!)
“Spotting” a chipmunk in the wood pile. :shrug: Why bother?
Ready to drop down over the hill on a ‘hunting expedition’!
One last gooood look before sunset.
Even Charlie, the Saint Bernard, gives the cliff a ‘once over’.
Those two dang hounds MUST be seeing SOMETHING! What’s all the commotion?
Left? Right? I don’t see it!
Oh, it’s you! Why didn’t ya say so?
All that trouble for nothin’! Where’s my easy chair?
Uh oh, Blue has it! Sunning himself in the late afternoon light!
BTW guys, this is MOMMA’S afternoon knitting chair! Scram!
Hackles up!! Something down there FOR SURE this time, guys!
This is not a false alarm! C’mon guys! Let’s go!
Nah, I’d rather ‘lurk’ and wait for that Shih Tzu to look away from her
knuckle bone! I’m needin’ it [I]bad![/I]
Patience is the key. She can’t chew on it forever.
Back at home…late night knitting companions! If you own a dog, you never knit alone!
Like I said…never alone. Move over guys! Katie moves in on the action.
If you get desperate enough, you’ll teach ANYONE to knit!
Dani the hound, as a youngster, and Katie the faithful Shih Tzu!
Yarn bags make a darn good Shih Tzu bed!
A man, 3 dogs, and a can of sardines. What a buncha beggars.
When you have dogs, you never eat alone either.
Blue and John.
Charlie, Katie and me. Potty break for Katie! Brrr.
Charlie (it rained!)
Katie (has to be tied up on the mountain, to protect her from the coyotes that lurk)
Dani and Blue!
Time for a glass of wine and a campfire.
Like I said, when you have dogs, you never drink alone either! :teehee:
Thanks for the smiles! 
Six months ago my son got a beagle puppy, named him Schaub after some football player and I have to admit, I fell in love with the breed. I even love the baying they do. Reminds me of my old coonhound, Duke, that some idiot poisoned.
You have some lovely dogs. Love them. 
Yes, have to admit…I love my dogs.
The Shih Tzu is my ‘baby’ that will never leave home!
My Saint is my protector…sorta! :teehee: His 220 lbs is ominous.
The Hounds are the best kept secret in America. They are such a nice breed.
They aren’t for everyone, which is why they are spayed and neutered.
All of our dogs are spayed and neutered.
Two boys, two girls.
It makes life bearable sometimes! Unconditional love and appreciation goes a long way!!!
I love it when beagles bay…Juneau has had a beagle friend or two over the years, he likes them too.
My baby (of our three) is my Shiba Inu, Keiko. She is definitely NOT a dog ‘everyone’ should own, so I totally understand what you mean. (I’ve heard some Shiba horror stories from inexperienced owners…)
Your dogs are as gorgeous as your knitting, and I’m pretty sure you know how much I love your knitting
In the neighbourhood I used to live in, I think it was a Shiba Inu that tried to attack me as I was walking down my street. I had to call the SPCA on them to keep their dog under control…
Thanks for the pictures, they are wonderful! It’s my goal to someday own a black and tan coonhound. I agree, hounds are a well kept secret. But they aren’t for everyone. I, too, am a big spay/neuter advocate. We wouldn’t have nearly so many dogs in rescue if more people would heed that advice. You have great “babies” and it looks like they are having a great time up there.
Love, love, love your babies. They are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing the pictures. On the couch while you’re knitting reminds of my girl except she usually has her head in my lap and is covered by whatever I’m knitting. I tell everyone that a little bit of Sunshine is knit into every gift.
ArtLady,
I’ve been wanting to comment on Blue…he’s so adorable!! I’m glad you posted all of these pictures. All of your dogs are beautiful. Besides being a wonderful knitter, you are quite the photographer too!
I have a catahoula hound (mix), and two rat terriers. They like to help me knit and crochet too. My cats fill in when the dogs are busy. They especially like to help on the oddball pet snuggles. (note to self: make some for your own critters)
Ours are all spayed and neutered too.
Thanks for sharing!
Those dogs are absolutly gorgeous!
Yup, ya gotta love dogs, in good times and bad times…meaning…my [B]sliding glass doors [/B]are NEVER squeaky clean! Always some sort of slobber on them! Oy! :teehee:
Our [B]yard [/B]is a wreck half the time! Our [B]deck [/B]has to be re-stained more often than not! Our 6’ cedar [B]fence[/B] is patched and re-patched. It’s hard to keep hounds IN. They’re escape artists!bAnd to make matters worse…‘possums, racoons and an occasional rat like to walk the top of the fence! That drives the hounds[B] insane. [/B]They manage to get ole Charlie rollin’ too! When they’ve been boxed up for the night, Charlie takes over for them.
You have to box up the hounds at night, or you and the neighbors would never sleep!
We keep them in those airline approved crates at night, all covered up so they can’t peer out the window and see wassup! :teehee:
You’ll love this!
Here is a Shih Tzu, snug in her nest! (it was chilly…so I brought her little nest outside where I knit when we are in the mountains)
KATIE
But if she turns her back…A HOUND DOG takes over the Shih Tzu nest!
DANI
And BLUE, too! Dani moved…Blue took over!
This has got to be common to the breed!
The following two dogs are now deceased. EMILY, my little Llasa Apso, snug in her nest:
But, later…in the camper at night…look who has taken over the Llasa Apso nest! Yes, [B]Abbey[/B], the HOUND DOG! (BTW, she is a female from the same mother and father as Dani, but several years later)
ABBEY, in the Llasa Apso nest…EMILY, the Llasa Apso, on the floor!
How in the WORLD can a 60# HOUND DOG coil herself up into a nest the size of a Llasa Apso???
Where there is a will, there is a way…that’s what they say…and I’m a believer!
love, Love, LOVE the pics!!
Artlady, I so enjoyed your photos of your beautiful dogs and your mountain retreat. Thank you for sharing them. I have six retired sled dogs (since I am retired from it) from ten to fifteen and an elderly cat. You definitely are never alone without your dogs - mine don’t show the interest in my knitting yours do but the cat sometimes gets involved. I had an Aussie for fifteen years who died last year and was my constant companion.
I loved seeing the dogs and the comments to the pictures. Very entertaining!
My “mixed terrier” Shiloh was supposed to be 20 lbs! Ha!! Had her to the vet last wk. and she weighs 46 lbs!! Since I weigh 94, she DRAGS me everywhere!! Almost pulled me to the ground last week, really scary. Must get her a trainer so I can control her. She’s only 7 mos old and still in the “puppy” stage!! I don’t see how you walk yours. Any secrets, besides have a lot of acreage as you have!! LOL
What amazing pictures of your babies!. My Buddy is a rat terrier/jack russell cross. I will try to post a pic of him soon. He too helps me knit by wedgin himself between me and the side of the recliner and laying his head in my lap as I knit. Once again BEAUTIFUL pics!