Quickie Update

Hi there - I've been enjoying reading all of your blogs, but I've been less than regular in blogging myself.  I have been snapping lots of pics the pups doing silly stuff, so I'm going to do a quick update here of random stuff.

1.  We are moving!  We stumbled across a house literally around the corner from us as it went up for sale.  1 acre yard, decent house, though a little bit neglected the last few years.  Can't wait to introduce the dogs to the big back yard and watch them run.  Makes my heart happy just to think about it.

2.  Thumper caught another mole.  The guys found it Sunday when they were mowing the yard.  He killed it and hid it this time, so I wouldn't throw away his treasure like before.  I have seen no evidence of a bitten nose this time, and I have not found any ringworm either.  (To recap a previous post - he killed a mole a couple of years ago and ended up with a giant ugly sore on his nose.  I blamed the mole.  I'd like to link to the previous post about his mole-hunting expeditions, but I can't figure out how to do that.)

3.  Since Lightining's surgery a couple months ago, he wants to play alot more, and he is a bit bolder in playing with Thumper.  Typically, if Thumper has a toy, Lightning ducks and hides.  T is top dog, way more alpha than Lightning.  So I was very surprised to Lightning take Thumper's ball, and play keepaway with it.  Or dog parade as I like to call it....Lightning marches purposefully around and around the furniture with Thumper following him step for step.  It eventually turns into chase-me-up-the-stairs, and then Lightning dives under a bed with the ball (Thumper is a bit too big to crawl under there).  Lol.  He's not such an old guy after all.  ;)

Go ahead and stare.  You shiny eyes don't scare me.   I've got the ball now.  HA!

NOTE:  When Thumper got the ball back, he tore it up.  Gutted it and left what was left scattered all about.  I guess if he can't have it, no dog can.  

4.  Thumper has mastered the "down" command.  So far, he knows "sit", "down", and "off".  Working on "stay" and trying to break him of pulling on the leash.  Thanks to some advice from Human Rescues Dog, I am feeling inspired.

5.  Lightning is giving me really dirty looks right now.  I think he is trying to make me feel guilty for blogging instead of petting him.  He keeps scratching his ears and looking pitiful, glancing glaring at me while he does it.   Now he's licking his toes....

On that note, I will wrap this up and go scratch his ears.  It's nice to be needed.

Good night and stay cool...it's miserably hot here.  Thank goodness for A/C.

Monday Mischief - On the Sofa

So this is what I have had to resort to keep the dogs off the furniture.  Lightning, especially, thinks his spot is on the big couch, but Thumper will sneak up there too.  Mischief - it's their middle names!

Lightning is less than thrilled about this arrangement......



Fine, then.  I shall lay outside but not on the ground of course and get hot and stinky. 
I will give her "the eye" and act like a martyr.  Yes I give up my comfy couch spot to a basket of laundry
and case of water.  But it's got my blankie.  Can I have my Blankie back? 







 

Greetings from Panama City Beach

Otherwise known as the rainiest-place-on-the-gulf-coast-full-of-boredboys-whose-games-were-cancelled-for-two-days. we are here this week for the end of season baseball tournament. Heavy rain crashed the party two days into it. Monday and Tuesday went as planned. From here on, we are at the mercy of the rain. Since I get a sunburn every time I go to a day time game, this could end up being ok. I hate sunburn.

I'm missing my pups. They are home with a house sitter. I've heard they are doing well. They are eating well. Lightning got some guts and took Thumper's bone, and when Thumper got it back, he would not let it out of his site. They both got a very thorough brushing too. House sitter said all the loose fur was making her itch. I thought it was just a figure of speech until she sent a picture of the eye drops and allergy medicine she bought for the itching. That kinda made me feel bad. I know my house contains more dog hair than dust (not saying there isn't plenty of that too) but I took it personally. I try to keep it clean, and I even hired a cleaning lady, though the thoroughness of the cleaning has been questionable lately. Anyway, house sitter said she got 2 dogs of fur off Lightning, 1 off Thumper, 2 off the floor, and 1 more out of the dryer (really?). Ha. Ha. How can they not be bald? Enquiring minds want to know.

Happy 4th of July to you all. Remember to keep the pups secured if there will be fireworks around. Our family has a deep connection to the military, and I am often reminded of the sacrifices made for the sake of freedom. Even if I disagree with the politics driving the decisions, I see the men and women and their families and the sacrifices that impact their lives long after the tour is over. I will be thinking of that as we celebrate the 4th. A sign in the hotel says fireworks are not allowed in Florida, which is ironic because there are places selling them everywhere we go. I don't know if we will see fireworks, but I believe our day will include a trip to the Ripleys Believe it or not Museum. Finally - something that got the Baseball Player excited (hunting sea shells with mom sure didn't). If he gets to choose dinner, I expect either cheeseburgers or pizza. Isn't the palate of a teenager adventurous?

Enough rambling - its 3 AM and someone's snoring has kept me awake. I've got a good case of insomnia now so I'll see if I can get caught up on my blog reading, provided the Internet connection cooperates. Oh the joys of being away from home. Hug your doggies for me....

Til next time,
S

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?