How Many Dogs Do You See?

The good thing about Ann (my other mom) having the summer off is that we can take more dogs out to play than normal. Gretchen can usually only walk four at a time, but they have to be really good on the leash in order for her to move forward. Otherwise she’s unwrapping leashes and that is no fun at all. But today, Ann went with us and we walked five dogs (including me), which means it was five times the fun!

Plus (it’s like a math problem) we met our friend Harry (the Wheaton Terrier) at the park and all of the sudden we weren’t just five dogs playing, we were six dogs playing.

Oh how the fun just kept multiplying!

Harry is an older fellow, but he’s very sweet and he really enjoyed all the company. He especially enjoyed playing with Ollie and Perrito who in turn, enjoyed playing with him.

Of course, Ollie enjoys everyone and Perrito thinks any new dog has been brought to the park just for him so Harry had his hands full as you can well imagine.

But Harry handled it all in stride, dividing his play time equally between Ollie and Perrito. They appreciated it, though I personally think Perrito would have liked to have Ollie all to himself.

Take a look at the pictures from this morning’s walk and decide for yourself…

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t how I exactly remembered it, but with six dogs on the field it was hard to keep track of all the activities. Lucy playing fetch, Perrito chasing Ollie, Ollie chasing whoever was running, Harry sniffing the ground, Oshi observing it all (he rarely takes part) and me, lying in the middle of it all hoping someone would notice how cute I am.

Oh yeah, and Lucy showed her acrobatic side….leaping up for a ball and then back down to the ground. Phenomenal!

Of course, after awhile, it was time to take everyone home and for me to get a nap while my moms ran off on errands. Don’t worry, they came back (they always do) and Gretchen and I headed out to retrieve the Retriever, Mr. Wilson! We walked around the park, across the other park, and then met up with MORE DOGS!  It was totally unexpected, but there they all were…Lulu first, then Gemma came along, and finally Gus.

How many dogs do you see?

Well, there were five of us (plus parents making a total of nine bodies ion the field). We played fetch…chase…and stood around looking beautiful…

And then Gus decided he really liked Gemma and the two of them went at it…very cute, don’t you think? Of course, Wilson and I were all about fetch and luckily, Gus’ dad was into throwing the ball for us!  Good dad!

As you can see, it was all about dogs today…lots of them. Gretchen and I had to laugh, though since all the dogs (except for Lucy) were some shade of brown. It was the brown dog day plus Lucy.  She didn’t seem to mind.

Me either.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Five Signs You’re Having a Great Summer!

1. You leap about and chase after balls in a big open field with your friends.

(Lucy gets the award for being the most athletic!)

2. You rest in the shade of a beautiful tree with a really big smile on your face.

3. You share in the wonders of nature.

4. You swim and dive at your friends’ pool while a cute baby and her dog watch your athletic feats of grace and splash.

5. You share your evening with your new friend.

Yes, there are many signs you’re having a splashy summer…many, many signs.

Until tomorrow when summer continues,

Rubin

]]> http://www.wagsnwords.com/2009/06/june-30-2009/feed/ 0 http://www.wagsnwords.com/2009/06/june-24-2009/ http://www.wagsnwords.com/2009/06/june-24-2009/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:15:58 +0000 Rubin http://www.wagsnwords.com/?p=2349 Continue reading →]]> Tweet

Summertime…

It’s officially summer now that my other mom, Ann is officially done teaching. She’s very happy because she gets to work in the garden and take naps in the afternoon. I’m happy, too, because I like to help her in the garden and sleep by her side while she rests.

Monty came early this morning and after a long walk, he helped Ann in the garden as well…until I decided we should romp.

My favorite way to get Monty to play with me is to stab him in the neck with my nose.  He resists at first, but the more I jab, the more irritated he becomes and then it’s game on!

Only Gretchen says we have to take it easy since Monty has kind of a bum front leg. So there is no jumping off the deck and our time is limited to one minute.

It’s amazing how much wrestling we can get in in one minute.  We have to work quickly, but in 60 seconds of playing today, I think I was thrown to the ground at least ten times and Monty bit at my neck five times. Here is a time elapsed sequence of our fun…

Notice, no matter how fierce we look or how high Monty leaps, Ann just keeps working in her garden. I told you she loved it!

Next, we picked up Oshi and Perrito next door and headed to the field for some fetch. Even though it’s cloudy today, it’s very muggy so we got pretty hot pretty quickly. Still, we had a great time.

Instead of chasing his own ball, Perrito thought it wouuld be more fun to chase us. Oshi, on the other hand, watched as he always does. Perrito eventually got tired and he watched after awhile as well.

When Monty gets tired, he always lays by Gretchen’s backpack. We’re not sure why, but no matter where she sets it down, eventually Monty will end up there looking happy and content.

After a little rest, everyone wants to play more fetch so they race out into the middle of the field and wait for the ball…

“I think we have to remind her to throw it, Monty. Don’t worry, I’ll do it,” said Perrito.

Eventually, Gretchen can get Oshi to run a little, but it takes lots of effort and he only goes a little ways then he stops and watches some more.

By the time we were done, everyone was pretty tired. Oshi and Perrito went home to rest and Monty stayed with me while Gretchen went to walk Gemma who is still healing. They went for a long walk and visited the summer gardens around the neighborhood. First stop, a meditative pose at the Bradner Gardens.

But soon Gemma wanted to continue the walk…”This Cone of Shame is hot, Gretchen. Let’s keep moving, okay?”

So on their way they went down through the garden and then onto the wooded trail above the lake where Gemma ran along the shady trail dragging her leash.

Finally, Gretchen found a flower that looked just like Gemma and made her pose in front of it. It made Gemma smile to know that she looked like a flower.

On the way home from Gemma’s, Gretchen realized she was supposed to walk Lucy today so she headed up there to pick her up. Lucky for Monty and me, she brought Lucy to our house for a short visit, but then Lucy got to go to the big field and play fetch all by herself. She really, really liked that.

Gretchen says that she likes it when Lucy doesn’t have the ball because her ears go straight up. Unfortunately, Lucy gets a little impatient and barks and whines for the ball to be thrown. Still, she’s cute, isn’t she?

So Gretchen throws it and Lucy is very happy…

We’re about to head out for our last walk of the afternoon. We have to take Monty back, which makes me kind of sad since he is my best friend, but we have to go out to dinner tonight and Monty unfortunately can’t come with us. Maybe next time, buddy!

Still no real rain, but there isn’t supposed to be any now, is there?  After all it is summer time!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

PS — Grandma, I’m sorry I didn’t proofread today. We’re kind of in a hurry, but I hope my mistakes are few.  Love you, Rubin

Focus

Every dog has an ability to focus though some are able to do it a little more successfully than others. I focus on my moms (Gretchen and Ann) and pay close attention to what we are doing next — be it a nap, a meal, a walk, a game, a cuddle. I also focus on play and can be motivated to do just about anything if we are playing fetch or swimming or practicing agility. I can also focus on food, but only special kinds of food.

Captain, my half brother, is staying with us the next few days. His focus appears to be limited to tennis balls. When he came into our house, he searched out all of them and one by one Gretchen put them away in the cupboard so he could focus on getting comfortable in the new space. By the time he’d sniffed out every tennis ball, there were 13 of them in the cupboard.

13.

Lucy, too, is ball focused and has always shown a preference for tennis balls. But today, both Captain and Lucy showed their foci-versati (Latin for flexible thinking)…and it posed a bit of a problem.  Gretchen carries tennis balls with her in the dog walking backpack. We find a lot of them on our walks and she picks them up (or I do) and stuffs them into the side pockets. But she also carries my favorite blue and orange ball because I like it the best. We happen to have a number of those blue and orange balls, but usually Gretchen only carries two, sometimes 3 of them with her.

Today we only had two and that, my friends posed a foci-versati problemo! As of late, Lucy has shown more interest in my blue and orange ball than in any tennis ball. It’s been okay because again, we usually have two. Only when the three of us — Lucy, Captain, and I — went out to play this morning, two blue and orange balls was one too few.

Captain wanted the blue and orange ball, too.

Oh boy. It was a dance of who will get to chase the ball now.

Lucy has it…

Captain wants it but for now, he’s content with a tennis ball…

But then Captain gives a pleading look at the orange and blue ball…

Captain gets it…

Lucy wants it…but this time it’s MINE!

Lucy got it back…

But now I have it and am teasing Lucy with it…

Oh boy, it went on like this for a long, long time…back and forth, back and forth. Needless to say, we got lots and lots of exercise!

Eventually, we all got tired…even Lucy though she wasn’t as tired as Captain and me. Still even in our exhaustion, we kept our six eyes focused on the two balls.

We took Lucy back to her mom, good and tired, and picked up Ollie along the way. We went for a long walk and Captain looked at me and said, “You have the best job in the world, little brother!”

“Focus,” I said, “It’s really important to focus.”

Because Captain and I were tired, our walk with Ollie ended at our house so Captain and I could get some water.  Ollie was happy to be at the house.  He could hardly contain himself and once I had some cool water, I focused on playing with him. He liked that very much!

Ollie felt bad for Captain since he wasn’t involved in our wrestling match so he invited Captain to play. Captain was focused on a tennis ball he found in the bushes. “Wow,” commented Ollie, “He’s totally focused on only one thing!”

“Yep,” I said. “I guess we should just let him be.”

So Ollie and I continued our games of wrestle and leaping off the deck…

Again, Ollie tried to engage Captain in a game of chase, but Ollie only ended up chasing Captain…not the other way around.

Captain kept looking for more tennis balls since he knew the orange and blue ones were tucked away in the backpack. Though he liked playing with the orange and blue ball, his focus returned to tennis balls once at home. He was disappointed to find out that all the tennis balls were in the cupboard.

That's not a tennis ball!

Eventually, we all got tired…

Gretchen leashed us up again and we headed the long way through the park and back to Ollie’s house. He did what he always does and raced up his porch steps and through his dog door to get a drink of water. Captain and I headed back to the house where we had a really long nap before we headed out again for a swim in the lake. We have photos, but I’ll save those for another time.

We ended our long day with a walk and a game of fetch at the park with Monty. No pictures of that, but Monty comes tomorrow and I’m sure we’ll have lots and lots of fun and lots and lots of photographs of our fun focus!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Anatomy of a Dog’s Laugh

While many humans may see dogs as limited in our emotions, if you truly know a dog, you know that we each come with our own personalities, or as I’ve referred to it often, “dog”-analities. While humans study the body language of other humans, true dog-lovers know that canine body language is a powerful indicator of what we are saying.

Take, for instance, little Ollie. When we take him to the field to play fetch, he’s not that interested in playing fetch. Rather, he follows Gretchen around and stands as close to her as he can possibly get. And then he looks, with his hopeful eyes, watching for any movement from Gretchen that communicates to him what he should do next. He is attentive when allowed to roam free and often, hugs closer if he hears a sound that frightens him.

I, on the other hand, am also attentive, but when I am startled, I bark and run toward the thing that startled me. Not Ollie. He tucks in closer whereas Lucy ignores it all — oblivious to all hazards, she is solely focused on fetching the ball.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that much can be understood about each of us, if you pay close attention to things like our body positions, our ears and tails, and most importantly, our smiles. Our smiles, as you can tell from Ollie’s above, are each uniquely different and we each smile at different situations  in different ways(see photos below). They are, as humans have said, a window to our souls and today we had lots of soul-exposing windows!

Okay, enough philosophizing. Today was a great day that started off with a solo walk –  just me and Gretchen. We went to the lake and I got to swim and swim and swim in addition to practicing my “wait” command for agility. I’m getting pretty good at it. Gretchen and I made a deal that when we go on solo walks (which I suppose are really duo walks) she won’t photograph me. I appreciate that. I want her focused on the fun we’re having and not on the camera. Of course, this means no photographs of me being the diving and swimming star that I am.

Oh well.

After our walk/swim, we had breakfast — she had oatmeal with fresh blueberries and I had my usual with last night’s chicken leftovers. Yum. Then we walked up to fetch Lucy and Ollie and along the way ran into Nini, one of my favorite aunts.  Nini teaches at the school nearby and she had her class out at the park when we came by.  Gretchen handed me off to Nini while she went to retrieve Ollie and Lucy and soon, we were on a walk and Nini snapped our photograph. It’s rare that Gretchen gets in the photo, but Nini was amazed by Gretchen’s leash handling abilities and wanted to get a photograph. So thanks, Auntie Nini.  Maybe next time, I can get my photo taken with you!

We decided to head to the little field to play some fetch since I’d already been swimming and Lucy isn’t much of a swimmer. We had lots of fun a the park and the best way to share it with you all is through photographs (okay, I’ll admit it’s a good thing Gretchen brings her camera on these outings!).

First, Lucy played fetch, but this is when things got interesting. As you can see, she does not have her yellow tennis ball in her mouth. She has my orange and blue ball.

How, pray tell, did that happen?

I was pretty tired from all the swimming so while I played some fetch, I mostly hung out in the shade with Ollie close by. I kept my ball close because I know Lucy covets it.

Ollie could care less about my ball or any ball for that matter and since it was warm, he found the shade quite delicious, too.

So Gretchen threw the tennis ball over and over for Lucy who retrieved like a machine, dropping the ball at Gretchen’s feet and begging her to throw it again!

Occasionally, Ollie gets up and frolics around a bit…but mostly, he hangs out by Gretchen or by me…

So there we were, hanging out in the shade when Lucy comes up and starts staring at me. Here, my friends, is a good time to notice the differences in our body language.

Can you see the innocence in the first photo, the alertness in the second, the trust I exhibit in the third? “Just try it,” I’m saying and well, guess what? She did, but she waited patiently for her opportunity.

Ollie provided it…he decided he’d had enough sitting in the shade, enough waiting for Gretchen to offer him a treat and he tackled me. Next thing I know, we’re in a wrestling match and my orange and blue ball is lost…to Lucy!

What’s a dog to do? Luckily, after the wrestling match (that I let Ollie win) it was time to go home so we leashed up, Lucy gave up my ball, Gretchen put the camera away and we all headed north into the sunshine.

After Lucy and Ollie were dropped off, we headed south again to get Gemma. Now, talk about body language…Gemma has it in spades. She was raring to go when we got to her house and so we took a long walk through the park, across the street to the other park, and then we came back to our house since everyone needed a drink of cold water. It’s pretty warm today.

Besides, Gretchen said that Gemma had asked to play with me at home and well, since she is a paying client, we couldn’t very well say no. So into the backyard we headed after our cool drink of water and what did Gemma do? She hung out in the shade by the rock wall. It took a bit of enticing to get her to engage, but once she did, we went at it like we usually do!

Yes, I’ll admit…I was tired and hot, but I still had lots of fun. The only thing that would have made it better? If Gretchen had filled the pool, but Gemma is still recovering from her surgery and we decided it was best not to get her healing stitches wet. Instead, we got to drink from the hose and Gemma really liked that!  And then we began our game of chase. Woo, that was fun!

And then we wrestled some more…

And then…well, I’ll let our body language speak for itself…

Unitl tomorrow,

Rubin

Yes, It’s This Hot

As of now (3 in the afternoon) the official temperature is 82 degrees. That’s hot, well, at least to me it’s hot.  And the day is not over. In the Pacific Northwest, the real heat of the day doesn’t hit us at noon. It hits around 5 in the evening.

What’s a dog to do?

Not born with sweat glands, I must pant. Gretchen likes it when I pant because, as a puppy I had to have my bottom right canine removed. It came in crooked, making my other teeth all crooked and my bite all wrong.  So they had the doctor remove it. While this gives me a bit of a lisp when I talk/woof, it also means that my tongue falls to one side.

And when it’s super hot like today, my tongue falls to the side a lot!

But when it’s hot, I also get to go swimming and I don’t think I can describe how fun it is to go swimming.

Today we picked up Ollie and Lucy earlier than usual and headed to the off-leash park by the water. After a short walk from the parking lot to the fenced-in area, Gretchen released us. I went straight for the water whereupon a large lab name Chip stole my toy. Yeah, that’s what Chip has in his mouth in the picture to the right.

Usually, I’ll be a bit more pushy trying to get my toy back, but maybe because it’s so hot or maybe because Chip was kind of big, I let him play with it for awhile. I drank some lake water and swam around a bit. Eventually, Chip gave up my toy and I was ready for some retrieving action.

Though I went straight for the water, Lucy went straight to Gretchen’s backpack to try to find a ball.  Gretchen had one, of course, and Lucy was content to race across the sandy enclosed field chasing after the ball.

Lucy had to fight for her ball at times, though. There were a number of big dogs at the park today and they were interested both in Lucy’s ball, but also in Lucy. Lucy’s a nice girl, but she doesn’t always play well with others. Who can blame her, really. She’s little. She’s fast. She looks like something big dogs might want to chase and chase they did.

Again and again, we heard Lucy give her warning growl and bark telling the big dogs to back off. They listened. What she lacks in size, she makes up for with chutzpah!

Now Ollie…well, when he first arrives at the park he hasn’t a clue what to do with himself. He races off and then runs in circles just waiting for someone to notice him. He’ll stop and smell something for a split second, but then race off again bouncing speedily with a huge smile on his face.

The last time we were at this park, there were hardly any dogs at all. Today there were more visitors, but still the park was pretty much ours to play in. And the last time we were at the park, Ollie just waded into the water a bit.  He watched me swim, but he showed no interest in immersing himself for a swim.

I guess that’s why we were all surprised when he waded out a bit farther than before and then, all of the sudden, started swimming.

Ollie came out of the water happy and content — drying himself off with a hearty shake!

Lucy even gave it a try…brave little girl!

Gretchen didn’t get a photograph of Lucy actually swimming. I think she was as stunned as I was, but Lucy did it and she swam very well! Of course, she made it back to the shore very quickly because, after all, there’s more fetch to play!

We played at a variety of games at the park. Gretchen would throw the ball for Lucy and Ollie would chase after her. Then she’d throw my toy into the water and Ollie would chase after me. And sometimes, Ollie would just run around for no reason at all and Lucy would search for the culprit who stole her ball … Chip, no doubt!

We were all pretty refreshed and happy by the time we piled back into the car. We dropped Lucy and Ollie off and then went back home for some lunch. I ate my breakfast (I wasn’t interested in it this morning, but it sure tasted good after a swim) and Gretchen ate some lunch before we headed back out into the heat to fetch Gemma!

I got very excited when I realized we were heading to Gemma’s house. She can be a little pest, but when I let myself relax, we really do have a fun time!  Of course, it was really hot by the time we picked her up so our afternoon was play time followed by a cool drink and rest.

First, we went to the park to play some fetch…

Then we cooled off in the shade…they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and that is very true for dogs. I’d lie down with my back to Gretchen and Gemma would mimic me. Sweet…

Then we’d wrestle in the shade followed by some more fetch…

We went for a walk through the park and then Gretchen decided we needed some water because (have I mentioned this?), it was very hot! But little did we know, we were in for a treat. ICE CUBES!

I love ice cubes, but Gretchen had to teach Gemma how to crunch on them and lick them with her tongue.

There’s nothing like an ice cube to cool me down so I got a little frisky and wanted to wrestle some more with Gemma. She was game! We played at wrestling outside in the shade…

Then inside wrestling…

Then we rested in the shade…imitating each other again…

Then back to wrestling again…both outside and inside again…

We took Gemma home — all of us exhausted — and then Gretchen and I headed to the lake for my swimming lesson. No photographs of that because, well, we were both swimming.  I know how to swim, but Gretchen’s trying to teach me to swim next to her. I do pretty well, but I get kind of nervous the farther from shore we go.  This is frustrating for Gretchen because I turn into her and try to herd her back to shore.  Of course, when we turn back for shore I’m way out in front showing her the way. She also gets frustrated because every time she ducks her head under doing the breast stroke, I get nervous and swim right at her. The same thing when she does the crawl stroke. I don’t know…it’s something about all that splashing and her head going under the water that gives me a fright.

On the way home, I peed a thousand times and while spending the last hour posting this blog, I’ve had to get up 5 times to relieve myself. Gretchen says I drink more lake water than any dog she’s ever known. Whatever. It was fun and now I’m thoroughly tired!

I just checked the temperature report again…it’s now 84 degrees. 2 degrees in an hour. Man, it’s hot!

Heads or Tales?

It was really, really warm today. So warm, in fact, that I’m pretty exhausted.  I debated spinning the tale of our adventures today, but instead, I think it’s going to be head shots — that is, a pictoral run through of my work today. We took lots and lots of photographs today, so with minimal description, let tell you about our work.

First, as the picture to the left portrays, we started off our day with Rufus and Riley. You can’t actually see them in this photograph though their tails and ears are right behind mine. We picked them up earlier than expected, but that was Gretchen’s plan — walk the dogs before the day got really, really hot.

So here we are at 9 in the morning and it’s already 70 degrees! Whew!

It didn’t take long for all of us to get hot. While I keep moving when I’m hot, Rufus and Riley decided smelling was much more their speed, so this morning, they did a lot of smelling. Okay, I’ll admit, I joined them!

Here’s our adventure in photographs…

Me first, no me. No, I wanna be first!

Okay, we'll take turns.

Slow down a bit Rubin! It's too warm to go any faster than this!

Has the grass gotten taller or is it just me?

Come over here, Riley. The grass just got mowed!

Ah, that's much better!

After our time with the boys, we headed back home, parked the car and walked up the street to get Monty. He was very happy to see us. He was even more happy when we stopped by to pick up Lucy. The two of them pranced up the street together like lovers in Paris.  Jeez, they are goofy. We actually ended up walking back to the house so Gretchen could drop off Monty and me (for a wee rest) while she took Lucy out with the boys next door — Oshi and Perrito.  Before they left, we had some fun in the backyard first.

Let's play ball! Come on, guys!

We're supposed to rest, Lucy.

Okay, let's rest in the shade then.

Soon after, Gretchen and Lucy headed out with Oshi and Perrito. The boys were happy to see her, but they were a little overwhelmed by the heat. They headed over to the field so Lucy could get her daily fix of fetch. Perrito played with her a little, but after a few chases down the field, he was bushed. Oshi was bushed from the start and just hung out in the shade while Lucy did what Lucy does best.

You're really fast Lucy!

She's out there, still running! Can you see her?

Yep, I'm fast fast fast!

This heat makes me sleepy!

Whew, I'm hot and that Lucy, she's still going!

She'll get tired soon, just wait.

Yes boys, I'm a bit tired. Thanks for leaving me some space in the shade!

What did I tell ya? This heat will take even the fastest down quickly.

Fastest? Yep, I guess that's me!

Next up, Gerta. Lucy came home and hung out with Monty and me while Gretchen fetched Gerta. Even before they started though, Gerta was already tired from the heat.

Maybe if I hold my ears up, I won't be so hot!

Maybe if I look like I'm smelling something really interesting, I can hang out in the shade for awhile longer!

Do I look good in purple?

Enough purple...where's the shade!

No shade on this street and this pavement is kind of hot.

I think I see some shade up ahead. Come on, Gretchen. Get a move on!

I guess we all complained about the heat today and never once gave a moment’s thought to how hot Gretchen must have been. She certainly got red in the face and sweated a lot, though!

Maybe that’s why, after walking Gerta, she came back to the house to pick us up with cooler ideas in mind. She took Lucy back to her mom and then Monty and I retrieved Teabiscuit.  She was happy to see me, but still a little leary of Monty. He didn’t take it personally and when we headed toward the lake, none of us worried about anything anymore!

Get it, Teabiscuit. I'm still leashed up because I'm not a very good swimmer!

Don't worry, Monty, I'm a great swimmer only my mouth is too small to get the ball when it's in the water, darn it!

I'll get it!

We wanna help!

I feel much cooler!

Me, too!

Yeah, good idea. Let's rest here in the shade before we hike back up those stairs!

After we dropped Teabiscuit back at her house, we rested back at my house while Gretchen ran some errands. When she returned, I expected a quiet afternoon hanging out on the back porch, but instead, Monty and I were given a very special treat! We got to go swimming at Doris and Steven’s house!!!! Glorious!

Before I show those pictures, let me just say that Monty is still healing from his pulled leg muscle. While going swimming at Doris and Steven’s is always great fun, it was also a therapeutic trip as well. We both had to wear our lifevests and Gretchen, because the pool is unheated, wore her wet suit.  She played physical swimming therapist to Monty, while I showed off my prowess in the pool!

Why do I feel like a dog stuffed in a small suitcase?

Can I just swim around freely like Rubin?

Haven't I had enough therapy yet?

Okay, I really am a piece of luggage!

You need a slimmer fitting suit, Monty. Like mine!

Who's going to throw the ball so I can jump into the pool?

As you can see, the day ended on a very fun note. I got to leap into the pool again and again while Monty swam around with Gretchen. It was glorious, I tell you, glorious!

And that, my friends, are the heads and tales of our Friday.

Have a great weekend!

Rubin

The Power of Treats

Dog Whisperer, Cesar Milan, says that he can rehabilitate damaged dogs by introducing them to his pack of 30 dogs. That’s all well and good, but I say you can have more power if you have treats in your pocket. Well, at least it works for the packs we walk. The only way Gretchen can get a photo of all of us all at once is when she pulls out the treats.

See how well it works for Ollie, Lucy, and me?

It really works on Lucy most of all because if Gretchen didn’t have treats she’d be stuck trying to get Lucy to hold still.

Lucy never holds still, but then again, Ollie rarely does either. I’m the only one trained to stay still.

I mean, look at us! Even Riley and Rufus lift their noses from their constant sniffing to get even the tiniest snippet of a treat from Gretchen’s magic pocket.

I guess I’m a pretty lucky dog because I get treats all the time. Well, not all the time. I have to be a good dog — I have to walk by her side without pulling, I have to sit at busy intersections and wait for her okay to move ahead, I have to give up the ball after I’ve fetched it, I have to do so many things that none of the other dogs have to do to earn a mere morsel from her pocket, but hey, I’m trying to be a good role model.

While the power of the pack might help rehabilitate dogs, the power of Gretchen’s magic pocket treats can get even the most stubborn, obsessive, and goofy dogs to pay attention. I mean, even though Riley has his ears on backwards, he’s seriously focused, wouldn’t you say?

We spent the day, as you can tell with Ollie and Lucy first and then Rufus and Riley. Here’s how it all went down…

Lucy played fetch…are you surprised? Me neither.

And while it looks as if I laid around all morning, I actually played fetch as well…

Just not as much as Lucy. In fact, for every ball Gretchen threw for me, she threw five more for Lucy. That’s how tireless she is.

Right after this shot, Lucy ripped the ball out of the chuck-it and jumped onto Gretchen while shoving the ball into Gretchen’s hip. Tireless I tell you, tireless.

Ollie doesn’t play fetch. Ollie hovers until, for some unknown reason, he takes off running.

Then he stops just as suddenly as he started and does something else crazy like roll around in the grass.

Or decide that the ball is not exciting, but the chuck-it sure is fun to chew on!

Or just hanging out with me…

If Gretchen had a wider angle lens, you’d see Lucy in these pictures, too. She’s at Gretchen’s feet focused on you know what! Okay, I can get a bit focused, too!

After our game at the little field, we took Ollie and Lucy back home and then drove to meet up with Rufus and Riley. Though the skies weren’t as blue today and the wind was threatening to bring in rain, it was still really warm and when it’s warm, it’s hard to get the boys moving. Gretchen said it’s like dragging bags of flour trying to get those boys down the road so she’ resorted to, you guessed it, TREATS!

Once she gets them focused on the treats, she runs backwards down the trail and we all follow after…yep, me too because she had some extra yummy treats today!

See, those boys are happy and tired…they had to run to earn any treats from Gretchen’s pocket and you should see how those stubby legs can move when the treats are that yummy!

Okay, it doesn’t work all the time. Sometimes their noses are overpowered by things they find in the grass.

But these boys don’t move to fast and once Gretchen yells out “TREATS!” their noses refocus on the hand that feeds them!

While the boys are entertained by their noses, I spend my time scratching my back on the rough cement trail. Awe, that feels nice!

I tell ya, there’s nothing better than a nice back scratching, playing with friends, and some good old treats from the magic pocket. Don’t ya think Rufus and Riley?

"Treats? Oh yes, treats are very nice, very nice indeed!"

"Yum, yum, I say, yum, yum...but could somebody get my ears put on the right way?"

I’ve just had the last of my dinner that I ate in parts tonight. I think my belly was a bit full from all the snacks I had today.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

To Hail and Back Again

Thankfully, Gretchen is feeling better. She started to eat again and that is always a good sign. Therefore, I have been relieved of my doctorly duties and am back to just one job — dog dog walker. But even that job has its responsibilities, too. Like today. We’ve had warnings all morning of thunderstorms and ice pellets, but when we set out to pick up Lucy and Ollie, it was just cold and windy — no sign of that nasty lightning or thunder. (I don’t know about you, but thunder is a frightening act of nature. It makes my bones rattle and sends me into fits of worried barking. I don’t like the stuff at all!)

But once we got to Ollie’s house, the clouds opened up and we got nailed with hail. Ouch, I say, ouch! Gretchen put a raincoat on Ollie and I was just about ready to ask for one myself (NOT!), when the skies cleared, the temperatures rose, and we found ourselves walking in warm sunshine. Nice. We headed down to the lake, but our usually fetching spot was being mowed by the Park Service so we ventured to a new field (smaller, but just as nice) and had ourselves a little romp in the wet grass and sandy pit of the swing set.

Ollie and I play chase in the sandpit of the swing set! What fun!

Meanwhile, Lucy plays fetch in the unmowed grass.

I guess it was a good thing Olllie still had on his raincoat because the grass was wet from the hailstorm and we all got a little muddy…well, expect Lucy. She’s way too fast to let even a little bit of water stick to her. Ollie and I are like sponges — we soak it all up!

I played fetch as well, but mostly I let Ollie chase me around. He really loves that! You can tell by his smile. Lucy smiles, too. You just can’t see it because she ALWAYS has a ball in her mouth!

By the time we walked Lucy and Ollie home, the sun was full-force. Gretchen got so warm she had to de-layer — taking off her raincoat and her fleece shirt. She ended up walking in a t-shirt and wished she’d been wearing shorts instead of warm pants.  But who could have known?

Next up, Gemma. Yes, Gemma. We haven’t seen her for quite awhile, but today was a lucky day. She was VERY happy to see us and VERY excited to head out on a walk through the park for a romp at the tennis courts.

"I haven't tugged on your ears in ages!"

"And your neck! I haven't gnawed on your neck for awhile either!"

"You're so nice to let me gnaw away at you!"

Because the sun was out, we got kind of hot kind of fast.  Even Gemma got a bit tired and rested in the shade on the cool court.

"I'm hot!"

"I could use a drink of water!"

Then we walked back through the park, across the busy street to the other park where Gretchen let us rest in the shade of a tree. All that running around in the sunshine was tiring!

It's nice and cool here in the shade.

"Let's go to your house, okay?"

After our rest, we walked through the park where a small group of children were playing kickball on the field.  I wanted to chase that ball, but Gretchen wouldn’t let me off leash.  She was probably right because I was rather tired from our walks and our romps and I needed to cool off a bit.

Gemma asked if we could go back to my house, which sounded like a great idea because I knew there was a cool bowl of water waiting for us. Little did I know that after a nice long drink, Gemma would want to play more.

Gretchen didn’t take photos of us racing around the back yard and rolling in the shade of the cool grass, but that’s exactly what we did until we both finally dropped to the ground in exhaustion. We took Gemma home after that and I bet she rested just as much as I did.

By the time the day ended, the sun moved behind gray clouds and the cold rain reemerged. Good thing I was done with my day because I didn’t feel much like going back to hail.

Have a great evening and we’ll see you tomorrow. May there be sun again!

Rubin

PS – Gretchen just told me that I made a pun — to hail and back. It took a long time for her  to explain it to me, but once I got it, I laughed at myself! I’m such a clever little fellow sometimes. Very clever indeed!

Windows of Opportunity

In my short life, I’ve learned a lot about humans. They enjoy using odd phrases like Window of Opportunity.  I first heard this phrase when I was a pup and Gretchen took me to the off-leash dog park, the one by the lake.  I had just learned to swim and was not only thrilled to be surrounded by playful dogs on the beach, but equally excited by my new floating toy.

"See! I can share my toys!"

Then I saw someone else’s toy — a bright orange rubbery ring that sailed far out into the lake and bobbed in its brilliance like a beacon.  Before I knew it, I was swimming swiftly out to retrieve it and once retrieved, I refused to give it back.  I’m a pretty good dog, but given a chance, I’ve been known to “borrow” the toys of my canine friends.  Gretchen calls it stealing and on that day way back in my youth when I raced off with the orange ring and refused to come back, she said to another visitor at the park that I looked for a “window of opportunity” to steal (borrow!) toys.

Well since then, I’ve learned that this phrase (Window of Opportunity) can be used in all sorts of situations. Take today, for instance. If it weren’t for all the leaves on the trees and the flowers in bloom, you’d think it was November — windy, cold, and rainy.  It’s so stormy, in fact, we all woke up in the middle of the night to the rain and wind smacking against the windows. Both Gretchen and I worried about our walks scheduled for today and so we waited for a “window of opportunity” to venture out.

"Can we go back to my warm bed now?"

In this instance, the phrase means we waited for the rain and wind to calm down a bit before we leashed up to fetch Lucy and Ollie. Luckily, the window was pretty large and though it spit on us (another phrase we use a lot around here) we avoided the great soaking we feared. Still, Lucy was none too eager to venture from her bed (my former puppy bed I bequeathed to her in a weak moment…loved that bed).  When we went to fetch her, she peered out from her bed (under her afghan) and refused to get up.  Generally she pops right up when she sees us, but today she just glared a “You’ve got to be kidding” look at us.

Ollie could have cared less. He bounced with excitement the second we walked through the gate and

Blurry Happiness!

bounced all the way to the tennis courts in anticipation of playing and racing and more bouncing.

Lucy warmed up (literally and figureatively) once she realized we’d be playing fetch with my collection of orange and blue balls — she LOVES them because they are squishy and bouncy and don’t require much of a throw on Gretchen’s part to achieve a great distance.

How to Squish a Ball by Lucy

We decided to play at the tennis courts because last night’s rain left the field soggy and wet and just as squishy as the ball Lucy loves to chew on.  Besides, everyone would have walked away soaking wet and that never makes for a pleasant day!

As you can tell from the photos, the wind shook blossoms from the cherry trees. They were scattered every where and even the worms were flooded from their homes making all the birds very happy.

The day was spent chasing the orange and blue balls and sliding on the wet surfaces. The slippery nature of the day made for lots of levitating photographs!

"Come back here!"

"Whew, I almost lost it!"

"I can fly!"

"I can almost fly!"

"My ears can fly, too!"

It was a busy day. Lucy was as focused and intent as she always is…and Ollie and I had fun slamming into each other (sometimes into Lucy, too!)

"I could chew on this all day!"

"Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

"This one? That one? This one? That one?"

Squished into a Window of Opportunity!

Luckily, our window of opportunity stayed open for quite awhile. Rain didn’t really fall on us until we were on our way home after Lucy and Ollie had already been returned.  We were lucky, I suppose, and hopefully we’ll find the same luck with windows this afternoon when I get another walk!

Enjoy the day and stay dry!

Rubin