Tag Archives: Dogs

Just Do It!

Dogs & Other Animals, ,

So, here is the promised update on the Hounds for Hattie event that the girls and I participated in on Saturday. As you may recall, Hattie Larlham facilities are homes for disabled persons. Above are the girls, Shelby and Nikki, in their Halloween costumes and in “plain clothes”. Yes, there was a costume contest. The Hattie residents voted for the best costume. Alas, Shelby and Nikki did not win although they did get a nice round of applause. They were good sports.

Dogs Ace and Oliver were two other dogs that came to join in the fun. They competed in the costume contest, tricks demonstrations, rally, and obedience. These dogs are actually brothers from the same litter! They are Havanese, the national dog of Cuba.

Gina, a labradoodle, came to participate in the fun and thrill the residents. As well as Griffin on the left. He is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. All of the above dogs are certified therapy dogs, certified by yours truly.

Panzer the Rottweiler did tricks and won the costume contest later. There were a couple other dogs who I didn’t get pictures of, but helped to make the event a success all the same. This event was started by my friend Becky and her daughter Rachel several years ago.

Shelby says if you ever have an opportunity to participate in such an event, do it! You won’t be sorry.

Happy Halloween!

Dogs & Other Animals, ,

Shelby and Nikki are getting in the spirit of the season as Halloween approaches. They participated in a costume contest at a special event for some of our friends from Hattie Larlham. The facility provides care for persons with disabilities. More about the event later.

Happy Halloween!

Good Dog!

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals,

Zekie is learning to be a good dog. If you’ve been following his antics, you know he is quite the challenging dog. But he is eager to please so his good behaviors continue to happen more often. Here he is (on the left) near the end of our hike at Shaw Woods over the weekend. He and Shelby are holding a stay so I can get some pictures.

Oops, he got distracted and wanted to see what daddy and the other dogs were looking at. He didn’t break that stay command though. And I didn’t even have treats! Good dog Zekie, good dog.

How Many Dogs Does It Take to Shower?

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Rescue Happenings,

How many dogs does it to shower? This is my view as I get into the shower.

For me, the answer is three. Three of our five dogs must be present. Baxter and Nikki do not participate. Baxter keeps an eye on the house and trusts that I can handle it. Nikki just doesn’t care what I’m doing as long as it doesn’t involve her.

Shelby, on the right, must be present to bite the bathtub faucet when the water is turned on. She started doing this back when the faucet squeaked every time we turned it on. You can’t have that faucet thinking it can squeak without repercussions. The faucet has long been fixed but Shelby stands by her tradition.

Zekie and Cassius, left and middle respectively, must accompany me because, hey, you can’t be that far away from mom. You never know when she might sneak out the bathroom window, never to be seen again. Or so their thoughts seem to go.

How many dogs does it take you to shower?

Blessed In a Big Way

Dogs & Other Animals, Rescue Happenings, ,

This face. This boy loves me so much that I can forgive him nearly anything. Zeke is what we in Rescue call “a handful “.

He has chewed his way out of multiple crates. The guaranteed one made of aircraft steel is still holding up. He has chewed up multiple metal bowls. He chased a jogger. He is not a dog for the uninitiated. And so of course I adopted him after a few months of fostering.

This has meant a two year hiatus on our fostering. It was worth it to save his life.

Zekie has shown improvement in his nearly two years with us. His leash reactivity is much better (although not 100%) with walkers and bicyclists. He is still reactive with other dogs when out walking. Oddly enough, he is ok with dogs that come to our home when he is not on leash.

His obedience skills continue to improve. In fact, he is very obedient. You just have to give commands all the time to keep him out of trouble.

Zekie is a loyal dog and one affectionate boy. He follows me everywhere. He waits for me at the door if I go outside. If he is not crated because someone else is home, he sits on the back of the couch looking out the window at the driveway awaiting my return.

This dog does everything in a big way. His excitement for walks is over the top. His desire for treats is intense. His drive for attention is beyond his control. And his ability to love is endless.

I am blessed.

Buzzard Hike

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

What do you do when your hubby isn’t home but you want something to do? Take dogs hiking! Although it was hot, Cassius, Baxter, Zekie, and Shelby all had a good time.

Nikki stayed home because, hey, it was hot and she’s 12 years old.

We walked at West Branch State Park on the path along the dam. These turkey buzzards watched us from atop the building. There seem to often be a lot of buzzards in the area. They must like all the wooded areas that surround us.

The pups were all well behaved on our walk and we enjoyed ourselves despite the heat.

A Grand Performance

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Gardens, , ,

Even though it is officially fall and only one more day until October, the garden is still putting on a grand performance.

The roses look better than they have all summer. Many of them are new this year so they may just be getting established.

Rosebud unfurling.

Rose in peak bloom.

Cleomes’ majesty.

Even Zekie seems to relax and enjoy the garden beauty.

The peaceful days of autumn are some of my favorite. Weeds have slowed and there is less garden work to be done. It is a fine time to read a book on the patio and enjoy the breeze and cricket song.

Fall Hiking

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

The summer heat is tapering off.

Except for today when I refused to go outside in the afternoon.

Cooler weather means a return to hiking for us.

Last Saturday I took Zeke and Shelby for hike.

And then on Sunday we took the dogs and hiked at Towners Woods. Although I am out of shape, it was a fun time. And I am in better shape than before I went.

We did try to hike this morning before it got too hot but Cassius re-injured his toe. He tore the nail off it while running at high speeds and turns in the pasture. The trail was rather rocky so it didn’t go well. We turned around and came back home when Cassius started having trouble. There were also quite a few mountain bikers using the trail so it was crowded.

But with fall being near, we should have numerous opportunities for other hikes. Looking forward to it!

Fall Approaches

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Gardens, , ,

As fall approaches, it is a lovely time to hang out on the patio. Cassius approves. The cooler weather allows more time for focusing on lounging, less time required to keep chasing shade. We move the furniture around when it is hot so as not to sit in the hot sun.

The flowers are not at their peak anymore, but they are still beautiful. The gladiolus are putting on their final show of the season. In a month or so it will be time to dig them up, dry the bulbs for a few days, then put them into paper sacks to await next year’s planting. There are still flowers to look forward to this year. The dahlias will open any day now. And of course it is chrysanthemum time.

And so, the view is good. Next year this new flower bed will be totally different. It went in mid-summer so I grabbed some impatiens to fill out the few plantings we had for it. We will plan over the winter and put in some perennials in the spring.

In the afternoon, there is still time for a snooze after a busy day of frisbeeing.

House Guest

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

We have a house guest for the next week or so. This is Paisley. She is staying with us while her family is on vacation. She is little but mighty at 20+ pounds. Full of energy and likes to play with the big boys.

Actually, I don’t think she cares what size the other dogs are, she just wants the frisbee.

Paisley is also affectionate. And she calms down nicely too.

She appreciates hanging out and chilling on the patio just as much as the others.