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Category Archives: dogs

Big Valley Fun

Last week we took the dogs to Big Valley for a spin around the 8k loop. Sky and Frida were happy to be hooked up to long leads and pull us along the trail – as long as someone was ahead like a carrot on a stick. Luna and Nancy just ran alongside their dog and people friends. They are more sophisticated than those other dogs. Or smarter, or something. Sky didn’t quite ‘get it’. She thought we should run hard and fast to catch Frida and then she just wanted to trot alongside and back and forth and generally be in the way rather than pull. If she got ahead of Frida, then she wanted to hang back so Frida could catch up. We still have some work to do to perfect this.

We followed Laurie and Nancy til they got out of sight.
At the river, Sky was the only one to test the water. Imagine that.
Nancy has the curliest tail!
It’s not cold.
I think it’s cold.
Got treats?
Methow River
Looks like MA is working and Frida is not.
Holding Sky back.

Just an Everyday Dog Walk

My husband has decided to tell everyone that I’m a crazy dog lady and I have a bunch of friends that are also crazy dog ladies. Hmmm. Do you think that’s because I make so many of my images are of dogs? He does say it with a smile and he isn’t really complaining; at least not that I can tell. I think he’s just jealous that I get to spend so much time with these dogs.

Here are some images from today’s foggy dog walk.

Little icicles.
We were close to the top of the fog but the sun never showed this morning.
Ghost trees in the fog.
What’s she up to?
I love the little hoarfrost on her eyebrows and ears
Luna collects more hoarfrost
Hoarfrost on dead pine needles
This is the sunflower that grew out of the gravel in front of our garage. It is still standing. The finches have gotten most of the seeds from it.
Single ghost tree in the fog.
Ice from last weekend’s freezing rain.
Tag – you’re it!
I think she’s laughing.
Ready to go in?

Agility with Sky

Before we went to the beach we attended an agility trial at Argus Ranch Facility for Dogs near Black Diamond. It was Sky’s very first trial. We started training last spring and gradually added more obstacles throughout the year and finally she was old enough and ready to give it a try. It was very fun! And it was a real learning experience. She and I have a lot to work on but right now she looks like she has great potential. Watching the videos it is apparent that the only thing slowing her down is me! On her first run at her first event she got a qualifying score and a blue ribbon. She had seven other chances over the weekend and while we both had a lot of fun, there were no more ribbons. Like I said, we have a lot to work on.

Here is the video from that first run:

As you can see, she was ready to go before I was!

Something to Celebrate

Sky had her first birthday yesterday! Where did the time go? Do you remember when we first brought her home? What happened to that cute little puppy? She’s still adorable and we love her to pieces and she’s a pretty good dog.

So what to do? How about a party? We invited dogs and their friends to an evening picnic on the lake featuring sticks, lots of sticks. People even brought her fresh sticks since they knew her sticks burned or were covered in soot. We discovered that she can retrieve sticks from the lake longer than we can throw them. I’ll bet she jumped in the water close to 100 times last night. She’s tired today but still ready for agility practice. We walked, biked and boated to this sweet beach and had a very nice evening.

Happy Birthday Sky!

Traveling in style to the party
Jennifer could not be here but she sent along the birthday tiaras anyway
The one image that features all seven dogs
Luna wants to know what all the fuss is about
Sweet Mavi is 14
Little Bear
Here, I brought two of them!
A lovely evening on Patterson Lake

A Dock for Diving and Fishing Too

I had told MA that we needed a dock to see if Sky would ‘dock dive’. It seems a bit lofty to think of an eight month old puppy being ready to take on the big world of dock diving but her enthusiasm for swimming seems to be boundless. MA said she knew where there was a dock but the lake might still be frozen. She likes to go there before spring really arrives and other folks are fishing up there. So we loaded the dogs and headed into the mountains. Sure enough, we hit snow on a shady part and I fretted about going through it without snow tires but when I saw how much farther we had to go, I bucked up and drove my subaru through it without any problem. There was some snow that was pretty soft and squishy but we got through that too. Finally made it to the top and then had a reasonably short walk to the lake. Most of it was still ice-covered but not around the dock. And sure enough, Sky was happy to jump off the dock and swim for a stick or the tennis ball that she found in the campground. Luna was happy to watch. Frida jumped a couple of times too. After a while the dogs and I went for a walk and left MA to her fishing and when she was done with her worms, she had five nice trout for supper! On the way home, we saw a Dusky Grouse and he must have seen something he liked about us or my car because he soon puffed up in all of his courtship finery.

Sky retrieved sticks that the other dogs left behind
Reflections in water pooled on the ice
Chipmunks watched us
A Mallard drake walks on ice
A pair of Ring-necked Ducks
The male Ring-necked Duck
Ponderosa pines and a bluebird sky. What could be prettier?
If she can’t pick it up, she can climb on to it
Tiny puffballs
Clear cold water
Luna thinks this is not a good idea
Frida is a good dog to take fishing
Beautiful spot
That’s a keeper!
Just before Sky jumped in to see if she could retrieve it
Dusky Grouse