Road Trip to Exmouth - Day 1 - Perth to Geraldton

I managed to get leave between the Christmas and New Year public holidays, we decided to go on an epic road trip up to Exmouth, WA. I also got myself a car which would comfortably fit us, the dogs, and all of our gear.

I've yoinked this map from somewhere on the internet to show some major towns in Western Australia. We used to live out to the east in Kalgoorlie and make road trips down to Esperance.

On Christmas Eve, we packed up and headed off to our first stop - Geraldton, about 450 kilometres North of Perth.

Bender was hyper in the back of the car for almost the whole trip - he took ages to settle, but did eventually. Luxury of luxuries, we got to stay in a house at Geraldton. This place has a huge backyard. The dogs enjoyed the grass and the wide open space.

There was one problem. Bender ran to the back of the yard and he found his arch nemesis. A horse.

Of course, he barked. I had no idea what he was barking at, but I knew he was afraid. He was barking with a bit of a snarl on his face, but he was keeping his distance from the fence, and creeping backwards with each bark. N ran down there and saw the horse, who was totally freaking out and galloping around in small circles. He had run into a star picket in his pen and had a flesh wound on his chest.

N went next door to tell the neighbours that Bender had spooked their horse, and that it had hurt itself in a panic. The neighbour came around and was telling us the horse was only in the little pen because it had been recently attacked by a dog - no wonder it reacted the way it did. While N and the neighbour were chatting through the gate, Barbie slipped out the front of the house.

The neighbour had been saying that she really liked Greyhounds and was thinking about getting one as her next dog. Barbie slipped out of N's grip and stood in the front yard. N took her time getting out to her, and couldn't see her anymore. Barbie had headed towards the neighbour's house, as they have two dogs and I think she wanted to introduce herself.

I called her name - she looked up, then spotted the sheep across the road, so went over to their house. She refused to come back to me, and instead trotted circles in this person's yard, sniffing around very close to the house. She finally stopped and stared at the sheep. I caught her and bought her inside - she was not going to be trusted off leash on our holiday now, except for on one beach. Hopefully she didn't put the neighbour off Greyhounds for life!!

In the morning the dogs were given their Christmas presents, and I got the best present from N - a brand new camera to replace my ailing Panasonic Lumix FT-1 which turned out to be not-so-tough.

I didn't get any pictures of Barbie with her Christmas present - a new stuffie. She seemed to lose interest in it fairly quickly. Bender loved his toy though. Here he is enjoying it!

We left Geraldton after going visiting and headed north. We didn't get out of town until about midday. The dogs both settled into their positions on the back seat quickly, maybe a little tired from visiting and getting so much attention from so many people. We stopped at a few attractions on the way up towards Carnarvon (Banana Town) - but I'll tell you about that when I've recovered from New Years Eve.... so stay tuned for some beautiful pictures of what North West of Western Australia has to offer :)

Barbie's new Booties

Last time we took Barbie camping we went on a hike. It was hot and the road was rough on her feet. She got very tender and once she had cooled down she did her best to walk around with us, gingerly.

We have a road trip coming up, so I decided that I would buy her some booties. The only booties I had seen were the Ruffwear ones, and their sizing goes on the width of the dog's foot. I thought that they probably wouldn't fit Barbie's long, skinny sighthound feet very well.

A bit of searching on the internet and I found some booties that are sized by the length of the dog's foot called Muttluks - so I decided to give them a try. I ordered them hoping they would arrive with plenty of time to get Barbie used to wearing them - they were coming from Queensland and they arrived 3 days later! I was very impressed with the postage time! The shop was topdogs.com.au if any Aussie people want to order stuff from them.

When the package arrived, naturally Bender thought it was for him. Ever since I opened a package that had a collar for him years ago, he thinks all packages are his.

The instructions that came with the booties suggested that you put the boots on one at a time - starting with a front foot and leaving it on for 5 minutes, then putting one on the opposite back foot. I put two on and Barbie went back to her default position of lying on her sleeping bag.

I decided we would have to go on a proper walk for her to learn how to walk in them, otherwise she would just lie there. What could she acclimatise to if she wasn't even using her feet?
I put all four on, but she shook two of them off by the time we had gotten to the top of the hill - I must not have done the velcro up tight enough. She did the rest of the walk with two on - and by coincidence it was the front and diagonally opposed back foot. She actually did really well, though she did stop a few times to gnaw on the front boot! I told her off and she went back to walking.

This is a good sign. When I was trying to walk her in a harness she was walking slowly, and stopping because it was bothering her. She was, if anything, more animated than usual on the first walk with the booties on, because I revved her up a bit after I put them on her. Boots mean fun!

They seem to fit her well, though I think her rear paws are a bit smaller than the front, so the rear one she had on moved around a bit as she walked. I need to pay more attention to pulling the velcro straps tight around those skinny ankles of hers!

Hopefully you all approve of the lovely purple colour. I think Bender is a bit jealous now, I was going to get him Ruffwear shoes but I am not sure he will take to having booties on his feet as quickly as Barbie seems to be.

Wordless Wednesday

What to do when a stranger human is ignoring you?

As you know, we make frequent trips to the beach so that the dogs can feel the sand beneath their toes and the wind in their hair.

Recently we went to the beach in the late afternoon. There was a strong wind blowing and kicking up the sand. It was like being sandblasted in the Sahara. There weren't many other doggies or humans there due to the conditions.

The lack of the usual hustle and bustle meant that Barbie was paying particular attention to a lady who was walking along at about the same pace behind us. For some reason we stopped - I think Bender lost his ball - and the woman walked past and strolled up the beach. Barbie did one of her many zoomies along the beach, but instead of turning around and coming straight back to us, she trotted along behind this lady.

Barbie: Hello there. Excuse me. Hello?

(lady continues walking)

Barbie: (trots a bit faster to be alongside lady) excuse me - would you stop to admire my beauty for a moment?

(lady continues walking and does not even turn her head)

Barbie: (stops) well, that was disappointing. Oh, I have an idea!

(Barbie runs up behind the lady and rams her right in the middle of her butt)

Lady: (flails her arms around) oooooooooh!

(Barbie does it again, but this time lighter)

Me: Laughing uncontrollably, Barbie! Come back!!

Barbie: Oh really, why do I need to.... ohhh OK.

I wonder what compelled Barbie to give the arse headbutt - I think it must work with dogs?

Wordless Wednesday

Big dogs, small children

I know a guy who is scared of 'big' dogs. When he says big he means anything bigger than a kelpie or a staffie, so that includes Bender and Barbie. He is looking at adopting a dog but he only wants a small one. I don't think he has ever had a dog before.

I have been trying to convince him that a bigger dog may be a better companion for his two girls. After all, they will be teenagers soon, and need some protection.

We took Barbie and Bender to a family gathering on the weekend, and there were a lot of young kids there.

Who wouldn't love these beautiful faces? Of course, Barbie earned herself a new best friend.

Barbie hasn't had a lot of exposure to kids, but her lovely placid Greyhound nature helps. She does like attention from kids, especially if they are calm and gentle. As always, their interactions were very closely supervised by me and their parents. I showed this photo to my friend who has issues with big dogs, and he was almost shocked. I'm working on him. One day he will be adopting a Greyhound! ;)

It was a very hot day, and maxed out at 37 degrees. There was a lake in the middle of the park, and in some parts it had a retaining wall and it was a deep drop into the water. N had Bender on the leash, and I had Barbie. Bender pulled over to the lake and took a few licks at the water. I let Barbie walk to the edge because I thought she wanted to do the same.

Thing is, Barbie didn't stop at the edge, she just kept walking.

She fell in to the water, and it was deep enough for her head to go under. After half a second she surfaced, doggy paddling - at least I know she can swim now.

She then put her back legs down, and stretched up with her front legs to put them on the lake wall. She was at a pretty steep angle though to keep her head above the water. She then had a couple of goes but managed to jump up out of the water. I was impressed. It's funny how we learn something new about our dogs every day!

After spending all day in the stinking hot park - we took them to a new beach, down in Singleton, which is half way between Mandurah and Rockingham.

Even though they were both exhausted from spending hours in the park on their best behaviour, they livened up when they hit the water.

Barbie finally found some water that is a more appropriate depth for her to cool off in. Singleton is a great beach, though there are a lot of silly people who do not pick up their dog's poop! You could never get away with that at City Beach - if the Rangers didn't catch you, your fellow beachgoers would!

The Goldfields - Lake Ballard

Bender with a small statue on Lake Ballard

Well, I showed you Gwalia already, so I figured I should show you some more places that we went to when we lived in the Goldfields town of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

A friend of mine came from Perth to stay with us for a while, so we took her on a day trip to Lake Ballard. The place has lots of statues on a big salt lake that is dry most of the time.

The “Inside Australia”: exhibition was commissioned to mark the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Perth International Arts Festival in 2003, and an idea of internationaly reknowned artist, Antony Gormley. Apart from 2 or 3 passers-by the 51 sculptures are derived from laser scans of the inhabitants of Menzies. The sculptures stand scattered over 10 sqare kilometres of the salt lake, named ‘Lake Ballard’, approximately 55km west from the townsite of Menzies.

One of the statues standing proud on the lake.

There is a lot of walking to do - some people rode their bikes on the salt lake - you can tell cos you can see the tyre tracks until the next rains.

More walking!

Bender found some treasure.

It was an exhausting day, but Bender enjoyed it - apart from us stopping him from peeing on the statues. It's not that anyone would notice, but it just seemed disrespectful. It was so so hard for him not to pee on them as they were the only things sticking out of the ground on the huge salt lake flats.

Wordless Wednesday - Desert memories

Places we used to live: the Goldfields, Western Australia

Just checking out the view....

A long, long time ago, before Barbie and Mittens joined the household, Froufrou, Bender, N & I spent a year in the Goldfields town of Kalgoorlie.

We used to host backpackers through the website couchsurfing. It helped Frou get over her fear of strangers, and Bender had to share the back seat of the four wheel drive with random backpackers more than once on road trips to the surrounding tourist attractions.

We had a couple of Estonian backpackers stay with us on their way to work in a 'country pub'. Kalgoorlie couldn't have been more different to their home country. We asked them what pub they were working in, and they said Laverton.

A couple of weeks after I had loaded them on to a bus out there, we went for a drive out to Laverton to visit them and see how they were going.

Laverton itself wasn't that interesting, though we did have fun taking Bender to the pub, where we were allowed to sit with him in the beer garden. That kind of thing is not allowed in the city.

Anyway, we went out to an old abandoned mining town called Gwalia. A lot of abandoned townsites in the Goldfields are nothing more than rubbish and abandoned cars, but there are still houses at Gwalia.

The sad abandoned houses at Gwalia

Another vintage car which isn't going to be moving anywhere, and an old windmill used for pumping water.

Bender says, hurry up, if I'm not allowed to pee on it then I am totally not interested.

I managed to get him into the cab of this old train. It was pretty cool pretending to drive it, wasn't it Bender? Though I think he is plotting his escape in this photo.

I don't think this old car would be able to take us anywhere now.

Edgar Hoover's house

My American followers would be impressed to know that this grand mansion for it's time was the home of the US President Hoover before he became president. It has been preserved and is now the site of a museum. Bender was impressed with the green, lush lawn as he hadn't seen much lawn out in the desert.

Nicknames - inspired by Nibs and Ambam!

Our friends Nibs & Ambam did a post recently where they told everyone their nicknames. Everyone in this house has a whole list of nicknames, so I thought I would share.

Barbie is known as: Black dog, Needle nose, sticky beak, slowpoke, Princess, the Hound, Barbs, shadow, lazy dog

Bender is also known as: pup-pup, boof head, boofer, doofus, blondie, Mr Barky, Benderman, Mr Bender, "shut up!!!"

Mittens is also known as: evil cat, squirrel, possum, nutso kitty, fluffball

Froufrou is also known as: Frou, evil frou, skitsycat, barrel, froufattiefatfat, limpet, leech, lap barnacle

Wordless Wednesday - Greyhounds can sit, and they will!

Mittens Kitten - attacking her toy kitten

Mittens is actually my very own first kitten (as an adult). We had kittens when I was growing up but that seemed such a long time ago. We were in for a treat with Mittens - she was always up for a game! When she first came into the house, the yellow cat in the video was smaller than her. I had won it out of a skilltester machine to give to N as a present. Mittens decided she liked it though, and as soon as she grew bigger than it, I think she wanted to teach it a lesson.

Busy time of year gets busier

Poor Bender is in the wars again - he has an ear infection, so he has to put up with us squirting antibiotics in his ear twice a day til Wednesday. The vet says he has a peforated ear drum and it's been like that for a while. There was nothing in there though - I thought it was a grass seed when he started shaking his head. Anyway he is going to be susceptible to ear infections now - we have to keep an eye on it.

His anti-anxiety meds are not making him sleepy any more and they seem to have a calming effect on him, his on-leash reactivity seems to be getting better - though he is still pretty sensitive to loud banging sounds. He does seem to recover better from a freak-out though, so it must be making some difference.

Barbie is feeling the heat - we are going to buy a fan on Saturday so that we can direct it at her crate at night. I don't need the ceiling fans swooshing around at top speed but Barbie needs some extra cooling. She kept me awake with her panting last night!

With the change in the weather everyone is shedding like crazy and the house is full of drifts of hair. Barbie is shedding heavily because she had that mad-thick winter coat after her winter in the kennels when we were away in Europe. Bald thighs, belly and neck will be making a comeback for summer! Froufrou has a pretty thick coat as well and that comes off whenever you pat her. Mittens, who is long haired, but has a finer coat than Frou, doesn't seem to be losing much fur at all - but she does groom more than Frou, so maybe there are some kitty hair-balls in our future :P

Resisting the chase!

There is a lady who lives nearby who has two little brown Italian Greyhounds, or iggies. I have seen them around, and N has met them up close because their human is a massage therapist who N went to maybe a month ago.

Anyway, we were out on our nightly walk, and I saw a woman walking towards us with a dog on the leash. I told N to take Bender to the other side of the road as we are working on his leash reactivity. I was looking across at them when I saw a small, brown shape flying across the road towards them at high speed. This brown shape was barking it's little fool head off. I told N to look out, but the high speed dog turned and headed for Barbie. I realised then that he was an Iggie. He demonstrated amazing agility by sprinting towards Barbie, twisting in the air, landing facing the other direction and taking off again. His owner was yelling his name over and over but he wouldn't listen. He was just darting around all over the place, on and off the road. Barbie was completely non-plussed. She just stood calmly by my side. I was actually shocked that she didn't try to chase him at all. She didn't even tell him off for saying nasty things.

I was just worried he would run onto the road, and I could see a car coming, so Barbie and I moved as far away from the street as possible. By the time his owner arrived, with the other Iggie on a leash, he had calmed down and was sniffing Barbie's butt. She ignored him completely.

Now, I let Barbie off leash in safe locations, like at the beach and in fenced dog park areas, but I would never dream of walking her off leash in the suburbs. I really have to question the sanity of someone who would let a little sighthound like that, who clearly doesn't like other dogs, off the leash when cars are an everpresent danger.

Just 5 minutes before, walking down the same road, we saw a high powered car speeding down the street, doing at least 80kph and being chased by an underpowered Police car. If that car had been heading towards us, the Iggie's chances of coming out of it unscathed would have been much, much smaller.

Yes, yes, Bender is good to chase!

I just can not get over how good Barbie was. She did not show any signs of wanting to chase this very fast, small dog which hopped and twisted around in the air like a bunny rabbit!

Barbie Biking video

We went out for a short ride this morning with a couple of cameras trained on Barbie. The cameras are a Camshot bike camera which I bought from Torpedo7, and an OTEK DVS 550 mounted on the bars of N's bike. The bike is a Bike Friday New World Tourist folder.

She was pretty tired from a run at the beach yesterday so she is trotting pretty steadily. Usually I can get a few more turns of speed out of her, but not today!

Bender's experiment with Mind-Altering Drugs

I have written before about Bender's fear of percussive noises. It probably started about 3 years ago and has gotten progressively worse with each exposure. Now he can hear a distant car backfiring and freak out. It's not an issue when we are at home but it effects his behaviour when we are out on walks, as he shuts down and goes into flight mode, pulling as hard as he can on the lead to get home as quickly as possible.

N took him to the vet a few weeks ago for his shots, and they discussed his problem. The vet is a friend of N's and is very fond of both the dogs. Her advice was that an anti-depressant may help him cope with his fear, and working with a behaviouralist will probably help too - but that most behaviour specialists won't work the dog unless it is medicated to start with to take the edge off.

He is now on amitriptyline tablets (brand name, ENDEP 50), he's started with 100mg, to be reduced to 50mg in a week's time. The only side effect is that it makes him a bit more sleepy than usual. I've also noticed him drinking more and seeming more hungry. He stares at his food bowl from about 5.30pm now, when his dinner time is 6pm. I have never really known him to ask for his dinner unless we go past his regular meal time. Barbie won't let us forget when it's time for dinner (or walks) anyway....

He still has a phobic reaction to unfamiliar noises on walks, but it does seem to me that he can recover a little better instead of just being shut down for the rest of the walk until we get back to the house. I have been able to get his attention back at times, asking him to heel and giving treats liberally. We are also doing more heelwork any way on walks so that he gets into the habit of doing it when he is relaxed, so that it is easier to get him to heel when he is stressed.

Last night we had a really long and loud fireworks display happening near our house. We had just gone to bed when it started, and Bender got on the bed and curled up between us where he felt safe. We ignored him til it was over and then kicked him out. I mused I should be thankful that he doesn't turn into a destructo-dog when his phobia is invoked. Really, in terms of impact on our lives, his noise phobia isn't that bad. He's not digging through walls or keeping us awake by barking at the thundergods.

The hope is that once the medication starts working then we can start working with the behavioural side of his phobia. I have a feeling it will be a long road but I really just want my boy to enjoy his walks again.

He is due for a follow up appointment with the vet in a couple of weeks so I will update more about it then.

Dogs with Jobs - Guide Dogs WA Open Day

On Saturday we went to the Guide Dogs WA open day to check out the dog shows and talk to some people about their training. My curiosity about them had been reinvigorated by Mr W, who is a Labradoodle guide dog and works with one of my collegues. Mr W has just been matched with his human and he is two and a half, so still puppyish in some ways, but he has a very important job.

I had read a bit about the history of Guide Dogs in Western Australia, and it turns out the first Guide Dogs in the whole of Australia were trained right here in Perth. They were exported to the eastern states, and some even went to New Zealand, as well as being provided to the visually impaired in WA.

We saw the adult dogs ignore a kid kicking a ball right past their noses, heel almost perfectly on the leash even though there were some people in the audience trying to distract them, and do a restrained recall.

I think Barbie would have passed all those tests, but they were similar kinds of tests to the Canine Good Citizen Award which she earned in February of this year. I don't think Barbie would have the mental stamina to do what these dogs are required to do as part of their jobs though.

When they have their harnesses on they are trained to see themselves as 'bigger'. They have to judge obstacles so that their handler can walk unimpeded. They have to look out for narrow openings, potholes, signposts and overhead obstacles as well. They look for traffic (though the human makes the ultimate decision of when to cross the road), and they are trained to refuse the 'forward' command if there is an obstruction or danger. Imagine training a dog to use it's discretion like that!

Volunteer puppy raisers keep the dogs in their homes for the first 18 months to 2 years of their lives. During that time the dogs are taught basic house manners and obedience, and they spend time at the Guide Dogs WA headquarters and get lessons from their trainers. They always need people to do this job and it requires a fair bit of commitment. I know I would feel awful if the dog didn't make the grade in the end, even if it was something to do with the dog's personality or make up.

It would be a great 'job' for someone who loves having young dogs and the challenges that brings. It must be so rewarding to hand the dog over at the end to the human it will be helping!

It was not all serious, we got to pat some 7 month old pups. There was one in particular called Angus who seemed to lead all the other puppies astray! I also got to pat Mr W because he was out of harness for his 'quick quick' break. He has been working in my office for 3 weeks and I haven't even patted him yet.

I think I admire guide dogs so much because they represent a really sophisticated way of a human working with a dog. These dogs are responsible for the safety and mobility of their owners day after day.

Barbie's Revenge - The stereo remote meets a gristly end

OK, so some of the commenters on my last post suggested that Barbie should get revenge on me for posting a picture of her with a stuffy on her head.

Well I am pretty sure she has been reading the blog and may have gotten some ideas, so I came home from work on Thursday to find that she had been working her evil.

Now I have to get off the couch to make any adjustments to the sound system which is connected to the TV, and I can't leave the remotes on the coffee table where they used to live either!

Who said that grown up greyhounds are not destructive?

To be fair to Barbie, N had been home for a couple of weeks, and then went away for work again. The dogs were used to her being around, but for the 5 days she was away I came home to some new destruction every evening. The remote was most concerning because of the batteries, which she definitely had a munch at, but also because of the replacement cost of the thing. I haven't even had the heart to see what a new one is going to cost.

I also came home to a ripped up mobile phone bill (eh...), ripped up magazine, and they stole a packet of baby spinach leaves I had left out on the kitchen bench and spread thoughout the house. They also destroyed a stuffie in about 5 minutes right in front of me on Thursday night.

Dogs, who would have 'em?

Good thing they are adorable.

Wordless Wednesday

New greyhound bumper stickers & stuff

Ok so I have added some new stuff to my cafepress store (the link is now fixed), as Barbie has been busy providing me with inspiration. That and cafepress added laptop skins, which gave me an idea for a whole series of designs. Once you have a greyhound in your life, everything else seems incredibly slow. Laptops, cars and bikes all seem like they are moving at a glacial pace in comparison to your sprinting greyhound.

I also wanted to work a bit with the theme that greyhounds are not retired, they are redeployed to their new lives as companions and house pets. One of Barbie's many jobs around the house is 'resident snake catcher'.

I have noticed there are a fair few greyhound related designs on cafepress, but I think the ones with black greyhounds are the best!

Magic glowing collar

There are a few disadvantages to being a black dog - the sun is hotter, as your coat soaks up the rays, and you blend into the night so people could easily walk into you.

For safety's sake, I bought Barbie an LED collar off ebay so that she will be visible when we are biking together after dark. It cost $6.99 with free postage. The bike already has good quality lights as I use it as transport myself, and I got some little silicone lights to put on the Walkydog pole so that other cyclists and pedestrians can see it clearly.

The collar and the silicone lights use little 'coin' style batteries so I'm not sure how long they will last - so far I have only used the collar for our half hour walk, but hopefully we won't burn through them too quickly!

I made a little video on our walk tonight so you can see what it looks like when I'm walking about a metre behind her, letting her go to the end of her leash.

I wish they made these kinds of things back when I was into nightclubs and dance parties - they would be a hit!

Not Doris Day's next dog, but was a great experience!

Today was the day of the big PAWDITION for the Doris Day musical at the Regal Theatre. There was a variety of dogs there, a couple who seemed like theatre veterans and a lot of newbies.

We had to wait outside on the sidewalk, which was a little bit much for Barbie. There were a lot of people around and a lot of noisy trucks driving past. She was very interested in everything but I could tell she was getting tired by the time it was our turn to go in. The dogs were called in one by one and they had to go up on the stage with the star, sit on the lounge with the lights on them, and be totally at ease.

Three other greyhounds came to the auditions - these two were very sweet, but they didn't think much of being on the stage.

Barbie wore her new black & gold martingale and her 'canine good citizen' collar, but no doggie nail polish. The nail polish dries very quickly - which is good because the dog doesn't get a chance to ruin it, but being quick-drying, it stinks! As soon as I opened the bottle Barbie gave me a dirty look and went to hide in her crate.

Barbie didn't like the theatre at all when we first went in. We walked through the foyer, and then down the aisle. She was distracted by all the strange smells on the chairs, and then when we got to the stage, there were stairs. I was sure she would be OK on them but she decided she didn't want to walk up them. She turned into a statue from then on, so I took her out. We all went in as a group the second time and she was totally fine! Strange how she changed her mind so quickly, but too late to be in the running for the show.

The dogs that were chosen were both mixed breeds, one was a tiny Border Collie, and the other was the roundish black n tan dog in the first photo.

We got tickets for the show tomorrow night, which was a nice gift to say thankyou for trying out. It was good for Barbie and it fun to see how theatre auditions work.

Oh well, maybe next time.

Our very own Dewey Beach

While every greyhound that lives in the USA seems to be headed to Dewey beach for a big party this weekend, I decided that we really needed to get out to the beach too. Turned out it was sunny, beautiful, and pretty quiet as well.

It is getting warmer as Summer approaches, so the dogs spent a bit more time in the water. The surf was still a bit rough though, so they stuck to just wading through it.

There was the usual saunter along the sand, mixed with more highly paced games of chase.

"There is no way you are going to catch me, slow dog, especially if I curl my front legs up in the air like this!"

"Ah hah! You have made a tactical error brother, of mine. Heading in a straight line after the ball makes you a sitting duck. I am going to get you. KAPOW."

OK after all that running it is time to cool off a little bit! Barbie spent a lot of time wading, and she even chased the waves a bit.

I also made a video of the day for your enjoyment. Goes for just about two minutes, and in it Barbie makes a friend.

or click here to go to youtube if you are having problems viewing it here (sometimes embedded videos have a bad day and refuse to play)

Both the dogs are passed out on the floor now. They are look more satisfied than they have been for weeks. They haven't been out for a good offleash burn for a while. Last time Bender ripped off one of the nails on his back foot, right at the root, and we were waiting for some nail growth to cover the end of his toe. The little bit of nail that has grown back held up well.

The only problem is that all that extra winter fluff that Barbie is currently sporting is taking a bit longer than usual to dry. I think she is too tired to care.