Thursday, February 28, 2013

Quick Thursday Funny

Hi, friends,

Here we are approaching the end of another week.  That's great, but I don't know that I'm getting much done.  I seem to go in circles....or to meetings all the time.  Then I can't remember what I'm really supposed to be working on.  lol.

A quick dog funny:

Last night we were watching the new episodes of "Duck Dynasty".  Do any of you watch that?  It comes on A&E.  The show is set in north Louisiana, and I work with guys who could BE on Duck Dynasty.  So on last night's show, it was the opening day of duck season, and the guys were all going hunting.  Their business is making fancy duck calls, and of course they demonstrated how the things work.  The dogs were lounging around, and then the TV went "QUACK QUACK".  Lightning jumped up, perked his ears, and tilted his head.  As if to say "What the heck was that?"  Ha.  It was a minor funny moment, but it made me giggle.  It really got his attention.  Maybe I should get a duck call to use to call him in.  lol.

Have a good day...
 

Friday, February 22, 2013

Finally Friday

WHAT A LONG WEEK.  Now it's Friday, and things will slow down at work for the day.  For that I am so thankful.

I think I'll explain what the picture posted on Wednesday was about...

As you probably guessed, he dogs were outside playing.  I had set up the agility jumps to play with Lightning.  I'm working on teaching Thumper the "Down" command.  He's not up to sit-stay-jump yet.  So that's why the jumps are in the background.

For Christmas Thumper got a stocking with stuffies in it.  One stuffy was a brown bone.  He just recently discovered it, and he was playing around in the yard with it when it squeaked.  Oh my.  The game was on then.  He ripped it open, flopped around the yard with it, pulling stuffing out as he went.  He did pause at one point to peak through a hole in the fence and bark at something next door.  I don't know what it was, because I was laughing at him standing there barking, with a tuft of fluff stuck on whiskers.  It would move with each bark and he couldn't figure out how to remove it....lol.  It must have tickled, because he went back to flopping around the yard, which is when he knocked over the jump.  I was about to pick fluff up before he really scattered it, when I heard a SQUEAK.  Huh?  Stuffy's dead.  Where did it come from?  Thumper.  He was holding the squeaker in his mouth, and he would bit it and make it squeak.  Silly dog.  I was afraid he might swallow it, so I did pry his mouth open and take it.  Then he was unhappy and sulky.....leading to this picture.

Meanwhile, Lightning comes running up to me, as it to say, "Do you see what he did to MY jump?  Go fix it, please?!  He's going to break it!"

Life with dogs...there is always a story.

Happy Friday.  Will be busy with baseball games this weekend so I will also say have a good weekend.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: Caption This

Let's have a little fun on the Wednesday.  What caption would you give this photo?  Happy Wednesday, friends.  Two more days til the weekend!




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Thursday, February 14, 2013

My Thundering Herd

The boys routine usually involves rowdy play each evening. People come home, dogs eat, dogs play. Most often it is wrestling, play fighting, or playing spin-on-the-bed. Sometimes it is keepaway. No matter what, this is their playtime.

They were extra energetic on one recent rainy evening, and I got this (poor quality) video. Had to share. Listening to it you would think there were far more than two dogs running on the stairs. I am so thankful that they play like this. Like brothers. :)

Monday, February 11, 2013

Monday Mischief: The Painter

Oooohh.....somedog got his tail in paint.....what is Dad going to say???  I am so glad it wasn't me who got in the paint this time.  Look - it was Thumper!!  BOL - your friend, Lightning.








Monday, February 4, 2013

Weekend Update

Saturday was beautiful.  Warm and full of sunshine.  I ignored the work at home and took the dogs for a walk in the afternoon.  It was wonderful, and nobody got hurt!

As I've mentioned before, Thumper is a handful when he's on a walk (or pretty much any other time, I guess).  I've had a couple of incidents with him recently that have left me a bit wary of taking him for a walk:
  • First, I took him to the vet for a checkup, and before I could get the door open good and grab his leash, Dumba$$ jumped out of the car and took off running across the vet's parking lot, which is on a very busy street.  I chased after him, finally caught him by stepping on his leash (Ha!  Good thinking, I thought), which brought him to a rapid halt while I tripped head first over him, in the vet's parking lot as she was driving up from her lunch break, no less.  Beyond the embarassment this entire sequence of events caused me, he then wiggled out of his harness as I was trying to gather my wits and get my head to stop spinning (a fall like that is really disorienting when you are older than 2, I guess).  We (the vet and me) finally got him to calm down, at which point I realized I had REALLY banged up my knees.  This is the reason I had to stop training for the 5K that is THIS WEEKEND.

  • Second, after taking a couple of weeks off for my knees to feel better, I tried to resume walking with him.  Thumper is the best running/walking partner...he doesn't fade after 1/2 mile like Lightning does.  So off we go one night, Thumper in his harness, me holding the leash, for our "test" session.  About 3 blocks from home, he decided to go mark a light pole, and he walked around the light pole and got himself tangled up.  I was completely unprepared for what came next - when he sensed he was "caught", he freaked out, started jumping around, and got out of his harness again.  I jumped forward, intending to grab him by the collar and calm him down, but I ended up on my knees in the street, comforting a freaked out dog.  That was the second reason I had to stop training for the 5K, and was pretty much the last straw in me walking him for awhile.
So this brings me to Saturday, when I had devised a way to handle him if he managed to get out of the harness (his regular color comes off his head even easier, which is why I still prefer the harness).  I remembered from obedience training with Lightning, using a long line.  I even found the long line I'd used with him, and took about 20 feet of it, and tied it to slip collar for Thumper to wear on the walk, in addition to the harness.  My plan was that if he got out of the harness with the 6 ft leash, I'd still have the 20 ft line and the slip collar as backup.  :)

It worked well.  I was less worried the whole time.  Yay.  He was still a handful (so much energy!), and I found myself looking at the two leashes connected to him as he bobbled ahead me.  The things we do...I had to laugh when I thought, "So this is how the balloon walkers in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade feel when they are tethered to the Snoopy balloon!"  haha..

Thumper started obedience training this week and is doing better already.  My dog trainer friend thinks he may have a future in agility.  Notice she didn't say "Obedience"?

Have a good day.  Hope your weekend was wonderful.