Shasta has been nothing but a HUGE flirt at the dog park these past 2 weeks. Every male dog in sight she meets she will try to engage in flirting. Most don't even pay her any mind, she's so small, and given that she only chooses LARGE dogs to flirt with, it's hilarious.
When she spots a likely suspect, she will chase him down, sit in front of him with her little stub of a tail waggling at light speed. That alone is well worth the price of admission, but she continues to delight and amuse the viewing audience of dog owners who can do nothing but guffaw or choke on laughter as she wriggles round to face the dog, sitting in his path, every time he tries to move away from her. She sits RIGHT in front of the male dogs and "dares" them to have a go, then if that doesn't work, she rises on her back legs to wrap her front ones around the dog's neck, sniffing away at his ears or generally just try to get his attention and engage him in whatever the little nut has on her mind. Most of the dogs just shrug her off or ignore her but now and again, she gets one closer to her size that will have a few rounds of great fun with.
Every time we go to the dog park, there is something new and fun she does that continually amuses and amazes me. Mini-Schnauzers are SO much better than cable tv, but I wouldn't ever cancel my weekend Manchester United football matches for her. Those are still on the top of my entertainment list. After all, I can't have ALL the fun, now can I? My face needs a break from smiling and laughing so much at Shasta.
She went into heat last night. I sort of saw it coming the more time she spent cleaning herself, but was hoping it would be a bit later in the month until after I've heard from Masterchef about when we're going to Los Angeles for the show. I will likely now have to wait until May to breed her, but if she has a litter of puppies that are like her, you'll have your hands full with orders! Who wouldn't want one of Shasta? Or two even? :)
Richard and Shasta