Doggy Heaven

(Camano Island, WA) We just couldn't resist another opportunity to go to Camano. Since it's a three day weekend the hiking trails are usually a little bit more crowded anyway so there was no doubt where we would be headed today! As always, we had a great time.

It was a little more overcast than a couple days ago when we were here but the temperature was still very pleasant. And as you can see there was much more water in the slough.




And the water temperature must have still been warm as all the dogs were eager to swim....but still not quite so eager to dive!



Oh, he wanted the toy so bad! Even with much encouragement from Mike the poor little guy just couldn't bring himself to jump off the dock. He cried and cried and whimpered and whimpered but he just couldn't do it. I want to know how he stayed on the dock - look both his back feet are off the dock!



After a fun swimming time we took a walk down the dike. The dike trail you see to the left of the slough is where we walk.



The dike is lined on both sides with scads of blackberry bushes. This is the perfect time of year as the berries are so nice and ripe.



Even though these berries are big they have no seeds. I ate my whole way down the dike - I'm not sure I've ever had such sweet blackberries. And I wasn't the only the that ate their way down the dike. Sparkie has always picked various kinds of berries off bushes and eaten them. She found these berries to be especially tasty.



Boogie didn't want to miss out on something that might involve eating so he went to take a lesson. But we wasn't all that impressed so after a minute or so he moved on.



Sparkie and I were still eating berries when I glanced down the dike to see Boogie romping around, throwing something up in the air and then pouncing on it. Oh what does he have now! I figured it was probably a big clod of grass so I kept on eating berries. But as I watched and saw how much fun he was having playing with whatever he had I thought I'd better go check it out. As I approached he laid down with his toy.



When I got to him he was so proud to show me his new toy! I wasn't quite as excited about it he was.



What good little hunters we have. The girls each caught a mouse when we where here a couple days ago and now Boogie caught one. Who needs a cat! Here Sparkie shows off her great pointing stance.



On our way back down the dike I noticed this huge log floating down the slough.



The dogs always think "the bigger the stick the better." So I decided to make Slugger think this was a stick that we had thrown in the water for him. Little Slugger tried his best to get that "stick." But no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't get it. He just wouldn't give up - so we had to throw a ball in for him so he'd give up on his giant stick.



Here I was trying out my new lens to see what it can really do. So here you get a close up view of a weed! I can get much closer to close up things and still get them in focus even though this isn't a true macro lens. Okay, so next time I'll try it on something better than a weed!



Nothing bothers Boogie - he is one curious and courageous little puppy. He looked over the part of the diked that was shored up, walked the length of it, peered down and hopped along. It didn't scare him a bit but we were a little concerned. But it was no problem - he managed to maneuver it all just fine.



Slugger spent a fair amount of time rolling in the grass and dirt. But he doesn't just plop down he bashes himself into the ground really hard. We don't understand the point of this but he is quite determined. This time I think he was a little too vigorous as you can see by his face.



After a couple hours of pretty intense play we figured the dogs should be tired so we headed to the pond so the dogs could take one last dip to get cleaned off. Boogie had the toy so we had to get it from him first.



When we got it and threw it into the water, Slugger actually dove off the dock to get it! Then he didn't want anyone else to have it. He ran out into the middle of the big field and started running around with it. Mike chased him but couldn't catch him. So Mike called all the other dogs to come out and help cut Slugger off so he could get the toy back.

So much for the dogs being tired! They spent the next 25 minutes chasing Slugger around the field.



















Even with all three dogs and Mike chasing him they couldn't get the toy. Right next to the field they were playing in there is a grass runway that is in the neighborhood of 600 yards long. The dogs were still trying to catch Slugger when suddenly a plane comes in to land on the runway. This scared Slugger big time and he dropped the toy and ran away. Now we finally know how to get a toy from Slugger!!



Now the dogs must be tired! I had to take one more shot of the beautiful scenery we got to enjoy during our time here today.



Debbie
9/2/07

Hippity Hoppity

(Woodinville, WA) What a happy day for Sparkie! Mike picked up 160 pounds of rabbit to try and stock us up for our nine month trip. Of course that means that the freezers are totally packed so there is no room for any food for the other dogs...or us for that matter! But Sparkie certainly takes precedence since she can only eat rabbit. The rest of us, well, we can just scrounge on anything.

We spent most of the day just trying to get ready for our next big trip. But we did manage to make a little time for the boys to go swimming.

We let Boogie watch Slugger swim for a while so that we could learn from Slugger that swimming is fun! (Although I'm not sure Boogie bought into that!)



After a bit, it was Boogie's turn. Mike carried him around in the water for a couple minutes to help him see that he was safe.



The first thing Mike tried to teach him was where the steps were. He was so cute. Mike would put him on the top step and he would never try to get out of the pool - he would just sit quietly on the step.



After he got comfortable with that Mike helped him swim to the step from just a short distance away.



He is a quick little learner! After just one quick little session, Boogie was swimming right to the step all my himself from a few feet away.



Oh what a man. Look how calmly he is now swimming all by himself.





We didn't want to overdo it. So we let him quit while he was still happy. Then we let him watch Slugger again for a while. I don't know if he was tired or trying to get a closer look.



The most fun he had during the swimming session was to run around the pool house growling and carrying this little toy.



Another day of learning - so much for a little puppy to learn!!

Debbie
9/1/07

A Day Back Home - Sorta

(Issaquah, WA) We really like the Issaquah area so we took one last opportunity to hang out in our old "neighborhood." We started out by going to one of our most favorite hiking spots on Tiger Mountain. We chose one of the lesser traveled trails so the girls would have some off leash time.

As we started the hike, Mike told the girls to stay close as this is bear season. What! I had no desire to see a bear. Mike has seen a number of bears on his hikes but fortunately the only ones I've seen were the ones that meandered through our yard. And I wasn't at all keen about them being in my yard at the time either!

Sure enough, in no time at all we came upon some wildlife. The almighty garter snake. He was so cute just sunning himself on a log trying to stay nice and still so the dogs wouldn't see him. It worked - none of the dogs noticed him at all.



The next sign of wildlife was just that - a sign. This tree looks like it is a huge favorite of the pileated woodpeckers. Notice how large and rectangular the holes are.



After hiking about an hour we hadn't seen anyone around and Slugger was being a really good boy so we let him off leash too. Not five minutes later, Wazzu was up ahead on the trail and froze and stared into the forest. Sparkie knew just what that pose meant and she went running up to Wazzu. They both took off together into the forest at full speed. Mike was very worried it was a bear they were chasing. Before he could finish telling me that, Sparkie started barking her scared bark - just what she does when she sees a bear. The second Slugger heard that bark he went tearing off into the forest. Mike called them quickly and Wazzu came back immediately but she had all the hair up on her back - that has never ever happened in the forest so we were pretty sure they indeed were having a bear encounter.

So Mike threw down the leashes and tearing off into the forest. About that time Sparkie came back so I was busy making sure they stayed with me. I heard Slugger bark and could hear Mike calling Slugger. About 30 seconds later Slugger came tearing out the forest as fast as he could. So I yelled into the forest telling Mike that Slugger was here. I then hear Mike yell "WHAT" - I told him Slugger was back. I then hear Mike coming running back toward us yelling - if Slugger's back then who was I chasing? Great, the dogs are all back with me and Mike's in the forest chasing a bear! As you might guess, we moved on fairly rapidly staying very close together.

The rest of the hike was fortunately very uneventful other than the fact that Sparkie started having stomach cramps and eventually lost her breakfast. Poor Sparkie, she's been having episodes like this more frequently recently.

Our other little bit of excitement was when Boogie met a slug. Like with everything he finds he picked it up in his mouth. YUCK! Poor guy, he licked and licked for the rest of the hike - he just couldn't get that sticky slime out of his mouth. I had no clue how to help him. I sure hope he learned his lesson!

We then ate at our favorite lunch spot in Issaquah before going to visit at Seattle Agility Center. We hadn't been there in quite some time. Doug & Diana have sure worked hard on the yard and surrounding area. It is absolutely beautiful. Being in what used to be the river floodplain they have the most excellent soil. Every single plant was flourishing. We got a nice little tour and while we were sampling the different foods from the garden the dogs were enjoying playing in the yard. It's really like a beautiful little haven away from the rest of the world. Wazzu and Slugger especially enjoyed seeing Diana again.

Finally we decided to drive through our old neighborhood. As we got to the entrance we saw that there was a house for sale. We were really hoping it was our house so that we could go through it and see if it is being kept up well. Darn, it wasn't our house. Other than the last two lots now having houses on them, nothing much has changed - it's just a beautiful as always.

Interestingly enough, when we drove into the neighborhood the three big dogs got all excited. They were so happy as they were sure they were going to get to finally go run around their yard. It was so obvious they knew they were back "home." Oh, such disappointment when we just drove by. I felt so sorry them. They had really wanted to go explore all their old trails. But based on the price of the house for sale next door, we won't ever be moving back into our old house!

After a full day out and about, little Boogie was a tuckered little guy.



Debbie
8/31/07

Quick Sand?

(Camano Island, WA) Here you will see the debut of my new lens. I think it's too early to tell.

We went to one of our favorite places today. My friend Shari has a place on Camano Island that is one of my all time favorite places. It is so beautiful and it's a great place for the dogs to play off leash.

We hadn't been here since last year but that didn't stop the dogs from remembering where we were. After our arrival here today there was no doubt in our minds that this is Slugger's all time favorite place. We were still a couple miles away when Slugger started crying, whining, and barking. He kept it up the entire time until we got there and had driven the entire length of the property. I really didn't mind him being so happy - it was cute that he was so excited. But I really didn't want him teaching the puppy to start crying in the car. Somehow Boogie stayed still and quite until we had stopped and I let him out of his crate. What a good boy!

First stop of course had to be the pretty pond.



Slugger didn't even wait for his toy, he just jumped right in.



We threw a little stick in for Boogie to chase which he thought would be fun to chase until he realized he actually had to swim! Forget the stick - getting back to shore was all he had in mind.



He decided it would be a better idea to explore the pond via other means.



The water was way out today. Where you see land we most typically see covered with water. But it was clear enough today that we got a glimpse of Mt. Baker.



It was a warm and beautiful day - perfect for a walk down the dike. The dogs were each off running around doing their favorite activities. Surprisingly enough, Slugger didn't go in the mud. That's always been his favorite thing here. And with the water so low there was a LOT of mud here today. If you look on the near side of the picture and you see the light green grass - that is the water line when the tide is in.



Today Slugger seemed to prefer just digging in the dirt that was just above the mud line. Fine with me! He still managed to get his nose a little dirty.



Since this was Boogie's first time here, Slugger thought he'd better teach him the ropes. And Boogie was an eager student.



Sparkie thought since the water was so low that she'd jump across the slough. She made it over with plenty of room to spare. After running around for a few minutes she decided to be just as acrobatic coming back. Her plan was to jump down to the edge and spring up in one leap back to our side. Great plan...usually. She did this huge jump down and as she landed she was prepared for her huge spring across. But instead she sunk WAY down into the mud and muck and couldn't move.



She was petrified. So were we. We thought she had broken her legs. Mike knew the only way to get her out of there was to get her to calm down and move slowly. When she started trying to slowly get out she made some progress - but it took a lot of time! We were so relieved to see that she could walk and wasn't limping one bit. But she was sure dirty!



She was mud from her chin to her tail.



There was no question that she'd have to go swimming before the trip home! But she still had other plans. Today just wasn't Sparkie's most graceful day. She tried to dig on the water side of the dike but as she got digging she slipped and fell down the side.



Boogie however seemed to know just how to dig - notice the flying dirt.



Oh gosh, now we have three dirty dogs!



Boogie is pretty courageous. He just goes everywhere. Here he is practicing his dogwalk on a log that is probably 15 up from the empty slough. It didn't phase him a bit.



Slugger was up ahead on our walk back down the dike and scared up a heron. I told the heron to fly toward me but he didn't comply.



By now the dogs were getting tuckered....or at least we were hoping so! But we needed to get them clean before driving home so we made another stop at the pond.

Mike threw the ball just a few inches for Boogie. He tried to get it but swimming and trying to open his mouth far enough to get the ball proved to be too much so he gave up on the ball and swam to shore.



Mike really wanted to get the dogs to dive into the water so they'd get clean from head to tail. But they weren't too keen on the idea. Poor little Slugger leaned and leaned and whimpered and cried. Even though he really wanted the toy he just wasn't brave enough to dive in.



Mike figured Wazzu might be able to show Slugger how to do it. She came closer but wasn't quite brave enough either.



Sparkie had to swim extra long to get all the mud off her. Fortunately it was very warm out so she was a willing swimmer.



Finally with everyone all clean, Mike and Sparkie took some father-daughter time together on this beautiful day.



Thanks so much Shari for sharing your beautiful place with us. We all had a great time!

Debbie
8/30/07

Friends

(Woodinville, WA) Today was the day for friends. This morning while Mike was out hiking with the big dogs, my friend, Shari, came by with her two dogs. We played with the dogs in the yard. After wearing them out a little bit, I let Boogie come out to play too. They didn't really interact too much which was just fine. It was pretty hot so mostly they all just laid in the shade while Shari and I visited. It was a really nice morning.

Then in the afternoon when the dogs got back from hiking we headed over to Queen Anne to visit our friends who used to live next to us in Maple Valley. They adopted two of our foster dogs (Rottweiler/Bloodhound mixes) a number of years ago. Slugger and Bo were just a babies at the time. Even though Leah (Bo's mom) didn't like other dogs all that well at the time, Slugger loved her. And she put up with him very nicely. There really isn't much Slugger loves better to this day than visiting Leah and Bo. He gets so excited and he just kisses and kisses and kisses. This makes Leah growl a lot (a very friendly growl) - which excites Slugger even more. And Leah and Bo really enjoying seeing us too. Dogs have such good memories.

We all enjoy visiting with Nancy, Terry, Leah and Bo. Their place on Queen Anne is beautiful and just perfect for them. They now spend half the year up here and half the year in Arizona - which is just perfect as that way we get to see them in both places each year.

Debbie
8/29/07

Play, Swim, Tunnel

(Woodinville, WA) Today we made our way north for our last few days in the Seattle area. Our friend Karen is so nice to let us stay at her house. The dogs love it as they actually have a yard to play in together. And play they did!

But they played different games this time around! This time they had a puppy to play with. Wazzu is really enjoying playing with Boogie.



I'm not sure if it's bringing new life to her or wearing her out!



I'm not sure I've ever seen her sleep so soundly that her tongue fell out the side of her mouth. That must be one tuckered Wazzu Puppy.

That meant it was now Sparkie's turn to take over. Ever since we got Sparkie her first instinct has always been to use her paws. And that has stayed the same when playing with the puppy. Although maybe she just loves him and wants to give him a hug.



When they finished that game they moved on to playing with tennis balls. Pretty brave little puppy to try to take the tennis ball right out of Sparkie's mouth. Boogie has learned that Sparkie is pretty much a push over but for a while Sparkie stood her ground.



After a nice long play session and a short nap, it was time for some swimming for the boys. We let Boogie get comfortable in the pool area by letting him watch Slugger, the pro, swim.



He thought it was really pretty interesting until he realized that it was his turn! We put a little life jacket on him but it was a little big and he would get his leg caught in it when he tried to swim so we took it off.



The first thing Mike tried to teach him was that there was a step that could be his little safe spot. Doesn't he look like he is really enjoying himself?



This may not be his favorite activity but he is a smart little guy and after just a few minutes was swimming a few feet all by himself to the safety of his step.



I'd say his first time swimming was a huge success. We didn't push him or make him stay in the pool too long as we really wanted his first experience to be a good one.

After that we laid out in the sun to dry off and enjoyed the beautiful flowers.



We even started teaching Boogie how to do a tunnel. What a nice day.

Debbie
8/28/07