Meet Nikko -aka 'Tiny' - An Adoptable Dachshund Mix

Nikko, or 'Tiny', as we prefer to call him came to us from the shelter being called a Chi/German Shepherd mix. Seriously, I couldn't wait to meet him. How does a mix like that even happen?! I spoke to the woman at the shelter about him and she said, "Imagine you took a shrinking ray to a German Shepherd, that's what Nikko looks like" He does have the same coloring as a German Shepherd, I'll give her that - but that's really about it....well, maybe that and his, I'm-a-big-dog-trapped-in-a-little-dogs-body-what-gives?, attitude.

Tiny, I think, is a dachshund mix. Apparently my son thought so too, because the day after he came to us, we had this exchange:

Him: "Mom, what is that penis dogs name again?"

Me: "What?!!!"

Him "Errr, uhhhh, you know, the.....wiener dog?"

Me: "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah". "His name is Nikko"

So, I think it's safe to say if a four year old can spot the dachshund in him, it must be there.

Now for the mix part. We have narrowed it down to two things - He's either a Dachshund/Chihuahua mix or a Dachshund/Beagle mix. I know, two totally different breeds right? But if you google the mixes they both look just like him.

In any case it doesn't really matter because any way you slice it Nikko is a pretty awesome dog. And, if you really need to know you can buy one of those cool doggie DNA testing kits and find out exactly what he is.

Despite his size Nikko is a guard dog -- at least that is what he thinks and it's best if you just roll with it. He listens very intently to every sound -- he's got amazing ear control -- and will surely alert you to intruders...or people delivering packages, the meter reader, and best of all...the bill collectors. When you would like him to stop alerting you a simple, "Thanks Tiny, be quiet now" is all it takes.

Nikko loves kids and I would love to see him go to a home with kids.

Let me know if you'd like to come meet Nikko.

Nikko's Super Dog Stats:
Age: 3 Years
Weight: 14 Pounds
Favorite Toy: Stuffed Animals
Silly Thing He Does: Nikko likes to jump in the shower with you. He will jump in and stay in the whole time. He also loves swimming - hence the goggles - which was a surprise to me because I didn't think he could pull swimming off with the long body and short legs..but, he loves it and he's good at it.
Super Dog Skill: Nikko has super hearing skills. He can also do neat tricks with his ears - raising one straight up while the other ones is down all the way, or halfway.

Meet Oswald - Not For Adoption, Yet, (Just Kidding)

Meet Oswald. Oswald was the first member of Our Silly Dog pack. In fact, it was Oswald and his silly 'super dog' antics that inspired us to assemble a Silly Dog Pack.

Oswald is a Springer Spaniel/Husky mix but we have yet to have someone peg him as such. I met Oswalds parents. His mom is a gorgeous black and white Husky and his dad is a short, stubby, growly Springer Spaniel. Oswald was part of a litter of puppies that were on their way to the shelter. Most of the others in his litter were all black and white - like mom - and had those cute, perky husky ears. They were all vibrant and active, stepping all over one another. Then there was Oswlad, huddled in a corner, looking alone and afraid. Unlike his brothers (for some reason all that were left in the litter were males), Oswald was brown and white and had cute, brown floppy ears. He was tiny and timid and if my kids had had it their way we would have went home with one of the others. But, ever a fan of the 'under dog', I chose Oswald. He was so tiny, he came home in a cat carrier.

The only other pet we had at the time was our cat, Fluffy. She was also quite young and although she didn't necessarily embrace the arrival of Oswald, she didn't really mind him, either. It didn't take Oswald long to become a beloved member of our family.

Oswald spent most of his time in his early months with kids, and cats. As such, he has adopted traits from both of them. For example, he enjoys wearing clothes - like a kid, and he eats like a cat - if you give him a slice of pizza he will pick toppings off first, eat cheese second, and take tiny bits of the rest until it is finished - eating habits which are much more polite than your average dog.

The time that Oswald has spent with our two four year olds has helped (in our opinion) to make him a super foster brother. He gets very excited with every new dog he meets. He is not interested in dominating anything. If a dog comes in and they don't want to play, Oswalds attitude is very much: that's cool, and here, eat my bone - I'll just go hide under the table (eventually, they all warm up).

Oswald is truly a great dog.

Oswald's Super Dog Stats:
Age: 1 Year
Weight: 37 pounds
Favorite Toy: Sticks
Silly Thing He Does: We make Oswald sleep in our bedroom at night - if we don't he gets into trouble - if we don't get up as early as he'd like he fakes throwing up to force us out of bed. He has learned that simply making that sound will get me out of bed in a flash.
Super Dog Skill - Oswald is a super jumper. He can jump a five foot fence with ease.