Smells Like BBQ Chicken

See this?  This is the face of mischief. 



I'm so tired and I smell chicken.....

 It is adorable, sleeps on my pillow as soon as I get up, and smells like barbecued chicken.  Why does it smell like barbecued chicken?  Because yesterday while the dad was grilling, he stuck his head under the grill to lick up the yumminess that was dripping to the catchpan from said grill.  The yumminess then dripped all over his head.  If the warmth of it took him by surprise, he didn't show it.  He was too entranced in licking to notice.

I tried to clean his head.  I just smeared the greasy stuff all around and made him look worse.  Then the dad attempted to hose him off.  Poor dad.  He's not used to bathing dogs.  He did not secure Thumper before the shower began, and Thumper ran off like a banshee and dug himself a hole behind my gardenias.  Then he rolled in it the freshly dug dirt and smeared his head, neck, shoulders, ears, nose, and eyes in it.  He looked camoflaged by the time his dirt-bath was over. 

After the laughing was over, big brother felt bad for him, since he now smelled like a dirt-covered barbecued chicken and had been terrorized by dad and the water sprayer.  Big brother took him aside and more properly bathed him to get the dirt off.  He even dried Thumper off so he could go inside again.  We thought all was good until he dried thoroughly.  And he still smelled like barbecue chicken.  This morning, as I petted the silly boy, I realized my hand was getting filled with the grittiness of dirt.  He worked that dirt into his coat alot more thoroughly that I thought he had!  Looks like Thumper will be getting another bath today.  We will need some super-duper shampoo to get this boy clean.



Thumper, you smell like chicken.
Why do you do these things? 


PS - please excuse the darkness of the photos.  Unlike the dogs, I have to get up and leave for work while it's still pretty dark.  I didn't want to use the flash and ruin the moment....:)

 

Happy Saturday friends! We got up early, had our blue buffalo, and now we are enjoying a morning outside. Mom says it gets too hot for people and dogs later on so we should enjoy it now. We are. Watching squirrels in the morning is awesome. I wish one would fall in my yard! The backyard neighbors get all the fun.

Barks and drool, Thumper
(and Lightning too)

Woe It's Monday

Thumper says, "Mom says somebody keeps stealing her weekends. I'm gonna keep my new ball safe in case they are still here! I love my ball. It's the best."

Where Does Your Dog Go?

I've spent alot of time lately at the ball park.  In fact, outside of work, my life is pretty much two dimensional:  baseball and dogs.  Usually these two things don't go together very well.  I don't want my dogs at the ball park, and usually they aren't allowed, anyway, by park policy.  I don't want my son hitting or throwing too close to the dogs (for fear they would try to fetch a fastball...they are retrievers, after all.  ;).  So at home, we try to maintain separation to keep the dogs safe.  I've never even considered taking a dog to watch a baseball game.  With my luck, one of them would eat somebody's nachos, burger, AND candy and then leave me a present in the car on the way home.

So where is this going?  A couple of weeks ago, an aunt of one of the players was visiting for the weekend, and she brought a tiny Chihuahua-something mix to the ball park with her.  It was cute, furry, and solid black.  It looked like a little fox...if a fox were to be black, anyway.  It was incredibly hot that weekend, and the game schedule was long on both Saturday and Sunday.  This  little dog was out there the entire time, leashed and confined to the space around the lady's feet.  As time dragged on (5 hours on Saturday and 6 on Sunday), I noticed how stressed and tired the dog was.  By the end of Saturday's games, the noise, strange environment, and heat seemed to have really gotten to him, and he would bark and lunge aggressively at any one who passed.  I felt bad for the little guy.  They returned with him the next day, and he yapped and growled the whole time.  The dog was miserable.  The people watching were annoyed.  Unfair to everyone - people and animal. 

Recent trends have people including their dogs in all kinds of activities that have always been "people-only".  I like the dog parks that have been built, and trails that allow dogs to run or walk with their people.  I like that there are Petsmarts and Petcos etc, and that there are drive-thrus that will give your dog a treat if he is with you.  Pets have become more mainstream, but are there places that you think are still better off dog-free?  Let me know your thoughts.....

As far as the baseball park goes, I think my dogs are better off at home than they would be with me at a baseball park.  I know my dogs, and while they would at first enjoy the excitement and new people, before long the strange environment, heat, and noise would get to them.  Lightning would want to go hide somewhere.  I expect Thumper would start barking and acting all big and bad, because that's what Thumper does when he's stressed.  My dogs are not tiny dogs, and misbehavior from them would not be tolerated by park officials.  For their sake and my peace of mind, they stay home.  Anyway, that's my thoughts, at this point in my journey with my dogs.  What are yours?