Dog-a-nalities

I’ll be the first to admit, no two dogs are alike. While people have “person” alities, we have “dog” analities. Or something like that. Take, for instance, how different dogs approach the same situation.

Today is a perfect example. We started the day with Ollie, which is a normal Thursday beginning, but we headed off on a field trip — something not so normal. Despite Gretchen getting lost, I figured out where we were going right away and I laid down in the car trying not to get too excited.

Ollie had no clue where we were headed, but he sat nervously behind Gretchen’s seat drooling and panting on her shoulder in anticipation. When we arrived at Luther Burbank Park and headed to the off-leash area, Ollie bounced the whole way. Still, he hadn’t a clue where we were headed. He just knew it was different and new and therefore exciting. And when he got to the special destination? What did he do? He raced around like a wild man releasing all his pent up excitement.

What did I do? Race for the water, of course, because any chance I have to go for a swim is a chance I gladly take.  Ollie, he’s not much of a swimmer, but he certainly cheered me on from the shore!

The park was fairly empty. When we got there we were greeted by about three dogs. One was very loud, but very fun because she liked to chase me. Her name was Abby. The other dog was very shy. Her name was Milkshake. She chased us, too, but Abby and I were really going at it!

Look us peel out!  It was so much fun. And then everyone else joined in and that is like the best beginning of any day any dog could have.

It was great because in between all the running around, we could cool ourselves off in the lake. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves! Different dogs, different dog-a-nalities!

Whew!  That was exciting, wasn’t it?  Well remember, that was just the beginning. Next up were Rufus and Riley though Gretchen made me go home and rest a bit while she took the boys out in the sun!

Now, talk about dog-a-nalities!  These two show theirs off the second Gretchen leashes them up. They get very excited, race up the stairs to the front door, and immediately put

their noses either to the ground or in the air (where Gretchen has the treats!).

Whereas Ollie takes off running when he gets to a park, these two do the opposite. It’s all heads down and noses working for these fellas. They can work a park, I’m tellling you. Gretchen tells me they spent about 15

minutes today sniffing every inch of the grass. Since the day was so warm (76 degrees!) she let them relax in the park a bit before they continued walking.  I bet the boys were very happy to work their noses as much as they worked their short legs.

Here’s their photo spread of the day and their dog-a-nalities!

After the boys smelled their walk away, Gretchen came back and got me so I could go with her to walk Gerta. I like Gerta. At first, I was a bit overwhelmed by her enthusiasm, but now I know she’s just happy to see me! It was really warm by the time we went for our walk with Gerta, so we spent some time at the park lounging in the shade. Gerta really knows how to lounge!

Her dog-a-nality is kind of clownish really. She loves to roll around in the cool grass and when Gretchen tells us to sit and stay, she’ll sit, but she’s not so sure about the stay! Okay, in this picture I’m sitting and staying, but let me tell you, it was really hard since there was a squirrel racing up a nearby tree.  Luckily, Gerta didn’t see it. She only saw the treats in Gretchen’s hand!

Despite Gerta’s crooked teeth and wonky bent legs, she’s really quite a charmer, don’t you think?

Next up, Teabiscuit!  I’ve missed little Biscuit of later (after we spent the weekend together) and apparently she missed us, too. She wiggled when she saw us and actually came up to me to tap her nose to mine. Now that’s progress!

We walked down through Madrona Woods where Gretchen made us pose together. Can you see that Biscuit is smiling?

Okay, so maybe she isn’t exactly smiling, but she’s a lot more comfortable with me than she used to be. I, on the other hand, am kind of tired in this last shot and a little annoyed that it was taking us so long to get to the lake. It was hot!  I needed to cool off and so did Teabiscuit! She finally pleaded with Gretchen to let us go swimming and Gretchen, after a short scratch at the neck, agreed.

That Teabiscuit is quite the swimmer!

She didn’t let the waves or the cold water dissuade her at all. She just bobbed along like a cork at sea. It was great fun to watch. Once we were all cooled off, we walked back up the hill (and let me tell you, it’s a hill with hundreds of stairs to climb!) and Gretchen tried to pose us on a bluff with Mt. Rainier in the distance. Unfortunately, you can’t see the mountain, but we look awfully cute, don’t we?

No two dogs are alike, I tell you. Ollie is pure excitement. Everything is an adventure for that little boy. Rufus is a serious goof and Riley is a happy curmudgeon (if that’s possible). Gerta is a puppy in a guard dog suit and Teabiscuit is a brave seafarer in a tiny body.

And me? Well, I’ll leave that up to you!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

The Ears Have It!

There wasn’t any wind today, but our ears took flight anyway. I’m not sure why that was, but as you’ll notice in today’s post, ears are a-flying!

Today was not as busy as yesterday nor as busy as tomorrow promises to be, but still, I worked hard for my food. First up, Mr. Ears himself — Ollie. He was, as usual, thrilled to see us and bounced down the hill with great joy that the sun was out and we were headed for a playdate at the little field.

We played chase, fetched balls, and yes, let our ears flop in the nonexistent breeze.

While my ears are expressive, Ollies really know how to speak a whole different language. Well, his ears and his smile, that is.

As you can see in the background, I rested in the shade while Ollie showed off his bouncy, expressive ears. It was warm today and while I love to play fetch, I have to rest every now and then to catch my breath and cool off a bit.

Gretchen tells me it’s going to get warmer. I can’t remember last summer, but today was perfect. I can’t imagine it being any warmer.

But that’s beside the point. I was telling you about ears and since Ollie was first up, let me show you some more of this guy’s ears.

I even tried to get my ears to do what his ears can do, but it took a lot of effort on my part and frankly, it was too warm to try too hard.

Of course then, after we’d taken Ollie back home, we drove to Rufus and Riley and if you don’t notice their ears, I’m not sure you’re really paying attention.

I mean, just look at those babies. They are almost as long as my legs and certainly bigger than my head. Oh, this is Rufus by the way. He’s a good fellow and Gretchen tells me his ears come in really handy (eary?) because they help him pick up scents. Okay, makes sense (different kind of sense/scents…god, human language!), but I didn’t get to really see him in action until today.

Quick story: We’re walking along the Chief Sealth Trail heading north when over the ridge ride 3 police officers on motorcycles. One says, as he passes, “There’s been a bear spotted around here,” and then he smiles. I can’t tell if it’s a “yeah right” kind of smile in disbelief or “watch out” kind of smile in be wary (I couldn’t see his ears under his helmet), but regardless, we pretty much stay on the path until Gretchen hauls us up on this hill to get a photograph and what do we see?

Nope, not the bear, but a place in the grass where someone has been lying down. Someone big. Rufus puts his ears to work right quick and sniffs around like something really important is happening. I do the same and Riley, who himself has some pretty significant ears does the same.

Was it a bear? How would I know, I’ve never met a bear, but later, when we pass the police guys again, Gretchen tells them about the spot on the hill.  We were safe, she told us, because no bear is going to hang around while three loud motorcycles drive by.

It turned out that she was right, but for a moment I was a bit uncertain of her judgment.

Meanwhile, ears were aloft…yesterday it was Rufus. Today, Riley!

We headed back to the house after our adventures in bear land and both Rufus and Riley walked slowly. It really started to warm up so it was no surprise that when we got back to their house, they went straight for the water bowl!

Next, we drove up to Gerta’s house where she greeted us with a happy smile and an excited tail wag. We walked north through the neighborhood. Gerta wore her backpack loaded down with lentils and dog food and I walked beside her.  When I first met Gerta, she wanted to play right away. It takes me awhile to warm up to another dog, so I’ve never been as excited to frolic as she has. Yesterday, she wanted to play when she first saw me, but once again I put her off.

We walked through the neighborhood, side by side, and Gretchen let us rest (it was warm, remember) in front of a beautiful vegetable garden. While our ears may not be as expressive as Rufus’ or Riley’s, if you know anything about dogs, you can tell that our ears are saying we are content and happy and comfortable with each other.

Right after this picture was taken, two women walked by and Gerta got all gushy. The women were very happy to meet us, but nothing could match Gerta’s excitement.

Gerta rolled right over (even though she had on that backpack) and let the woman rub her belly. It was pretty funny because Gerta was kind of stuck once she swung the backpack onto the ground. But she didn’t mind nor did the woman and the two of them “cuddled” for awhile as we looked on.

And then it happened. I just felt an overwhelming need to play with Gerta.  This doesn’t happen often with me, but the sun was out, the feelings were warm all around me, and well, something about Gerta’s ears just prompted me to give her a little playful shove.

And she responded. The only one of us who wasn’t ready for the game was Gretchen who stood trying to hold two leashes, her camera, and maintain her ground against two strong dogs. She did it, though, and even managed to snap a couple of photos.

What do our ears say here?  PARTY TIME!

It took Gretchen a moment to pull us back in line, but in the back of her mind, I know she was trying to figure out how to get us to a fenced in field where we could really play and romp and chase and solidfy our growing friendship.

Gerta would like that. So would I.

You can tell how much we’d like that by our ears.

After we dropped Gerta off, Gretchen took me home. This was a good thing because I was pretty tired and I needed a rest before my agility class late in the afternoon.

Gretchen headed out to pick up Teabiscuit who prefers having Gretchen all to herself.

Teabiscuit is like all dogs (though I don’t think she feels this way) because her ears are windows into her moods as well. Gretchen says she really likes to play fetch and when she’s ready, she lifts up those ears as if to say, “Yes, yes, yes. Throw the ball!”

Look at those ears!  She lifts them up and down depending on her mood.  She is a shy dog and anyone can tell when her shyness kicks in. Her ears fold back against her head and her tail (also an expressive appendage) tucks underneath her body.

When happy, like right before playing fetch, her ears jump up and puff out. Her tail does the same thing and with a prance, she races after the ball or trots alongside Gretchen full of confidence and pride.

It was warm yesterday (something I know I’ve already mentioned) and this limits the amount of fetch as well as the vigor with which we walk. Teabiscuit, though small, gets warm as well and Gretchen took breaks in their time together to cuddle in the shade. Teabiscuit likes to cuddle. She asks for these cuddle sessions with her ears. Can you see how they are different in expression than the previous photo? They are softer and more pleading (as are her eyes) and Gretchen knows that this is a request for a little loving.

So they sat in the shade for a moment, cooled off, and cuddled up.  Hard for Gretchen to get a photograph of that, but you can picture it, can’t you?

Gretchen always carries treats with her and every dog we walk knows that. Some (those with more acute noses) find them as fast as lightning while others just wait until they are offered. Teabiscuit is the latter, but is more than willing to work for the treats.

What do her ears say? Well yes, her ears tell a story, but in this shot her ears aren’t the only thing talking!

I ended the day with another agility class where I practiced stopping on a dime (well, actually on a cookie), playing on a teeter-totter, and weaving myself through poles. Okay, I know how to do all of this stuff, but I got to practice and if you could have seen my ears, you would know how happy I was/am!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin