A Swimmer's Tail

Oh dear!  Look at my silly droopy tail. 

I can't even sit down properly because the kink stays in my tail and won't lie flat on the floor!! Whatever happened to me??!

Well it all started when Mummy and daddy took  me to Chug's house for 'Independence Day'. I love going to see my friend's Bryan and Tonya. They are Chug's human parents. Sadly Chug went to Doggy Heaven but luckily I still get to go to his house to play. 

My regular followers will know that I love Chug's house because it is right on the water. Whenever I go there, I run in and out of the water the whole time and only stop to pee on Chug's parents garden because I swallow so much water when swimming to fetch tennis balls.

Independence Day seems to be a day when I do a lot of things on my own because humans sit around, eat BBQ food and drink wine and margaritas. That is all fine for them but it means that they don't spend as much time throwing tennis balls into the water for me to fetch. I spent most of the afternoon swimming around in the cool bay water. Eventually daddy decided that he was so hot from sitting in the sun that he had to jump in the water and join me to cool off.

We swam for hours - it was great!! After we finished swimming, daddy hosed me down with fresh water so that I was soft and fuzzy. I noticed that my tail was sore and had already developed that annoying kink. Can you believe that all that aquatic fun gave me "Swimmer's Tail"?? I kid you not! Apparently it is very common for dogs like me, who love to swim, to over do it and sprain their tails. 

That all said, I am not sure if it was all the swimming with daddy...

 ...or from giving daddy a tow.........!!

Dog Spa Mud Treatment

Phew! What a scorcher of a day! 

Chasing tennis balls along the trails on Mt. Tam was especially toasty work today. Luckily there is always a handy place to cool off...and the added bonus of mud means my skin will be extra soft afterwards! 

Mummy's Birthday 2013

Today is mummy's birthday! It is also a year ago since mummy's mummy passed away, so daddy and I wanted to make sure mummy had a wonderful time and wasn't sad.

As a special surprise, daddy and I took her to Sea Ranch, which is on the coast. We rented a great house just a bone's throw from the beach. It is really cosy and has a lovely deck that overlooks the sea. No, it isn't the property below!! That's a beach hut somebody made out of driftwood but I liked it a lot nonetheless. I would have stayed in it as it is even closer to the sea!

Daddy and I made sure that there were lots of fun activities for mummy's birthday. 

We organized a game of hide-and-seek, which involved burying a tennis ball and then seeing who could find it the fastest. I loved this game a lot. I would find a great place to hide the ball but cheat by putting a piece of driftwood near its location...

Then I would pretend to find the ball and dig furiously to uncover it, all the while pretending that I had no idea where it was! Mummy and daddy fell for it every time.

Then we organized a game of basketball with a tennis ball. I got a chance to show off my skills again....Chocolate Dunk!! 

Here I am assisting daddy with a field goal.

Here I am demonstrating an alley-oop. Daddy lobbed the ball toward the baset and I jumped up, caught the ball in midair, and dunked it. Or would have...it helps to have a hoop of course but we still got to practice our moves!

After all the high energy activities, we finished the day at the beach off with some low ket ball games. Mummy got to take some cool shots of daddy and I in amongst the driftwood and beach flowers. Mummy loves this picture of the two of us. We do look pretty dapper!

By the time we got home, daddy and I were pooped! We had to chill out and stretch on the deck...

The next day we all went for a long hike, following the rugged and wild coastline. I love this area and so does mummy. The two of us feel very invigorated and love to just stare out to sea and let our thoughts and senses wash over us. At times like this, I bet mummy had the same nose as I so she could really breath in all that fresh sea air!

Daddy and I like to find cool places to pose, such as rocky outcroppings. Here's a great one of the two of us waving - daddy with his arm and me with my tail. I love that both daddy and I have big smiles!

Mummy is not as sure in this photo. Although she is smiling, she is also hanging on to my collar as if she is afraid that I may turn as wild and rugged as the coast and go running off into the wildflowers!

...and here we are in those wildflowers after all!!

The next day we went hiking along the coast again, which offered up even more great vistas and smells...and photo opportunities.

At certain points I had to be on a leash as we walked very close to the cliff edge and mummy and daddy were concerned that I might fall. I do have a tendency to be less than aware when I am a following a particularly tasty scent! 

After all the fresh air and hiking, everyone was pretty tired. So this time we all had a chill out!

Winter 2012

Since mummy and daddy sold my Tahoe house, we didn't get to visit the mountains and play in the snow as much this year. To make matters worse, mummy and daddy checked me into the dog kennels while they went to a fancy resort at Squaw Valley. What were they thinking??! 

I was not happy and was very scared to be left alone after my recent seizure. I spent the whole time standing at the door to my room, barking and barking and barking. 

I was supposed to spend two nights there and mummy and daddy promised to pick me up and spend the daytime with me. However, when they came to pick me up after the first night, I was so shaken that they decided they couldn't risk leaving me there any longer. They were worried the stress might bring on another seizure. They felt really bad.....as they should! 

To redeem themselves, mummy and daddy did take me back to hike around Mount Judah. It was wonderful as they took me through an old, disused railway tunnel, and I got to skitter about on the ice. There was an amazing ice formation flowing down from the ceiling. Mummy said it looked like a frozen stalactite....I have no idea what she is talking about but I wagged my tail anyway and pretended to understand. 

When we got through to the other end, daddy took a great photo of mummy and I on top of all the ice that had flowed into the tunnel throughout the winter. 

And when we got back to the other end of the tunnel, I took the opportunity to ask mummy and daddy what they were thinking and to remind them never to leave me at the kennels again!

MILOWGN II

Check me out with my new car!! MILOWGN Mark II. 

I'm getting a little older now so getting in and out of the Mark I was getting harder. Not to mention, mummy can't lift me in and out of the car as I now weigh just over 80lbs!! Not that I needed help in and out if the car...I just like to stand on the edge looking helpless and see how long it takes for mummy or daddy to succumb to my cuteness and carry me...

As with all new cars, they have to be thoroughly tested before they get my seal of approval. This new MILOWGN is quite spacious in the back and the seats fold flat enough for me to wriggle right up to the front (as usual).

After I have checked all the options and comforts thoroughly, the MILOWGN II gets the final seal of approval. After all, it has been "Lab Tested"!

Daddy Love

A picture...

...because sometimes words are not enough to say how much you love someone....

I've got the remedy!

Well my dog walker, Leigh, has recommended some wonderful holistic remedies to help me with the stress of my recent seizure. At first I thought she said that they came from the "Bark Flowers" but it turns out it is "Bach Flowers". 

There are 38 remedies and they were discovered in the 1920's and 1930's by Dr Edward Bach, a well-known bacteriologist, physician and pathologist. Each remedy is associated with a basic human emotion. Taking the remedy helps us overcome our fear and face it with courage. Apparently it works just as well for dogs! 

I'm taking one that has a few things in it:

• Star of Bethlehem - This one is for "Burdens of grief, trauma and shock and their after-effects". This is the one to help me recover from the seizure I had.
• Mimulus - This one is for: "Everyday fears of objects, people, circumstances; nervous anticipation of a coming event or situation". This one is to help me overcome my occasional fear of "things" and of other random on-coming dogs. You should see the way my fur sometimes raises along my spine!!
• Larch - This one is for: "Low self-esteem, lacking in confidence...". This one goes along well with the Mimulus remedy. While I don't think I have a self-esteem issue, I do sometimes randomly bark and snap at another dog because I am afraid of it. My mantra is to strike first - like Jackie Chan - but Leigh says that is because I lack enough confidence in myself and I then mis-read the other dogs intentions and get caught in the "fight or flight" mode. She may have a point there....maybe....

The good news is that the drops have to come on a treat! Either 4 drops, 4 times a day or 8 drops, 2 times a day on a small treat. Either way is fine. Of course I would prefer 4 drops, 4 times a day - that is more treats!

If you are interested in learning more about the remedies for yourself or your dog, here is a link to a website with some brief information on Dr. Bach and the 38 Bach flower remedies. The Bach Remedy System