At Home with Sunday - Tiff Howe and Ted

Please introduce yourself Tiff, and what you do

I am Tiff and I am a brand strategist and artist. I work for CanineCeuticals, a canine natural medicine company and freelance as a graphic designer. My art is still in it’s incubation period – I do a mix of ceramics and collage. While I learn and develop my practice, my collages focus on Australiana, nostalgia and dreamscapes. In my ceramics, I'm exploring letter forms, breezeblocks and bespoke dog bowls.

You can check out Tiff's art at @tiff_and_ted and tiffandted.com

And now, please introduce your best fur-riend!

Ted (Teddy) is a dachshund x staffy and is about 5 years old.

How did you meet Ted?

I foster failed through Lucky Paws Dog Rescue. It was 2021 and I had just bought my own unit and was so keen to start fostering again and have another dog in my life. (I had previously fostered Staffies through Staffies United Rescue – thanks to my heart dog Charlotte – but that’s another story!). 

So a month after I moved in I saw Ted’s profile pop up on facebook and I immediately put my foster application in. Later that week I picked him up from the transport company that bought him up from a rural pound in NSW. 

He was so small and malnourished, almost half the size he is now. He was so scared but also so gentle and sweet. A month later I applied to adopt him and in December of that year his adoption was approved! 

I remember that day so fondly as my friend and I were doing a photoshoot with Ted (I was working for a dog food company at the time) and I got the email from the rescue and I was ecstatic!! 

Ted is a Daschund x Staffy mix, so cute!! Tell me, what is his personality like, does he have certain daschie or staffy traits?

Ted is such a great combo. I definitely do see both breeds in him. He does that lil fast digging action into his bed and sleeps under the blankets like a dashie. He’s strong and stubborn like a staffy and a great guard dog from the posties.

He can get vocal when he wants to and loves to hunt which is classic of both breeds.

Physically, he’s got the short dachshund legs, but has a broad staffy chest and neck. This makes off the rack clothing really difficult for him. Hence why I love the custom Sunday Jumpers so much.

Describe your routine on a typical day 

A typical day for us is me waking up first and getting ready for a walk. Ted will stroll out from bed only after he knows I’m putting my shoes on. We will go for a bit of a sniffari around our neighbourhood. Ted likes to do lots of poos on his walk (multiple poo bags are a must have!), I like to listen to music or get a coffee from the local coffee shop. 

Having a pet is immensely rewarding and is also challenging. Tell me, what are some of the best parts about your relationship with Ted?

The best part is the company, he’s happy to sit beside me, no matter what I am doing or what mood I’m in. Seeing him live his best life – he’ll find a comfy spot in my bed or on the couch and just seeing him nap the day away, so content. That’s bliss.

And what do you find challenging?

His health and allergies. Trying not to let my own guilt get the better of me, and doing the best for him so he can have the best life possible. He came to me with chronic seborrheic dermatitis so it is just something that needs to be managed ongoing. I’m lucky to be in a position to be able to support him with a good diet and supplements but it can be so challenging when has a flare-up, he’ll be constantly itching and uncomfortable. It can be difficult (and expensive) to get under control.

I’m lucky to WFH so after our walk and breaky, I’ll work and Ted will go have a nap or lay out in the sun. He’ll come check on me throughout the day. Or sit on the chair next to me if he wants some attention. But otherwise he just chills near by until its around 4:30pm. 4:36 he’ll come bark at me. I’ll tell him dinner is at 5 – like it is every other day. He’ll bark again. I’ll tell him, no, he has to wait. He’ll huff and walk off. 5:05pm he’s back and he’ll screech bark or jump up at me, paw at my arm and just generally be a menace until I get up and feed him dinner. 

We usually have a little cuddle after dinner and Ted will put himself to bed around 8-9pm. That’s a classic day for us and I wouldn’t want to have it any other way!

What are your favourite things about Ted?

When he sleeps belly up his front paws tuck up. I think it’s the cutest. 

It’s the weekend, and you have the whole day to spend with your Ted. Describe the perfect day in or out with him.

Early morning walk where we both agree on the direction we want to walk. Lots of cuddles. Plenty of snacks. Zoomies and then some chill time. Probably a cozy nap.. Or two.

Last question, do you have a core memory of Ted that you'd like to share?

I think my favourite memory so far is when he got himself stuck up a tree. I imagine he was chasing a possum and climbed a tree in our yard. But then couldn’t get himself down, I heard him crying and I went out to find him wagging his tail at my eye level. When I finally stopped laughing I got him down. (PS, here's a link to a video!)