Changing weather

Every change of season I find that I can't wait for the next one to come. All last winter (with all that snow!) I couldn't wait for spring, and I said I wouldn't complain. Then all spring, I couldn't wait for summer, and I said I wouldn't complain. And now I find myself looking forward (!?!?) to winter again.

I guess every season has it's ups and downs in terms of our job. Winter is great because theres no mud, less people at the park, no bugs, and the dogs don't try to escape to the dirty water holes. But it's cold, and it gets on your last nerve quickly. Especially in February.

Spring is great because you're sick of the snow and cold, and it's just nice to not have to wear a toque again. But it's wet and rainy and muddy and dirty.

Summer is fantastic - shorts, sandals, sun, the dogs are tired from the heat... But the bugs get to you, and the heat gets to you, and the number of people at the park increases.

And on and on. So after about a month or so of each season, I find myself waiting for the next one. Maybe global warming will bring us 1-month-long seasons and I can be happy!

Maple and Kiji LOVE playing together!

Definitely fall

You could smell it at the park. And the path is already covered in leaves. It's a bitterwseet time of year for us. On one hand, the weather is nice, the air is crisp, there are familiar smells, Thanksgiving, Halloween, all that fun stuff. On the other, there's rain and mud. I swore this year I would get some rubber boots.

Snoopy had fun yesterday, diverting all of us to the water hole for an unexpected swim. He's been very good this summer about not doing that, but I guess it was a little too warm for him yesterday, so he insisted.

Spencer came out again, and didn't look out of place in the slightest. She happily trotted along beside Fred and I, and I'm pretty sure she smiled the whole time.

Mon/Tues/Wed

All in one go! Puppy keeping us active and out of the house, so haven't been on the computer that much recently...

Spencer (Oliver's older "sister", who I walk seperately, after the big walk) is now back in the pack one day a week. After over a year off and of private walks, she was THRILLED to get to ride in the van and hang with all the other dogs, many of whom she remembers from the good old days. Oliver was very protective of her all walk long, and kept running back to her to give her a lick and make sure she was okay!

Great weather this week, which means everybody is happy, including me. Rainy, grey weather really does make a difference with many of the dogs, and they tend to be a little down when it's like that (as am I). Let's hope the fall continues like this.

A quick reminder that a few of the dogs do not, still, have proper identification tags (you know who you are!). Microchips are not enough, as if your dog gets seperated from the pack, we need to have a phone # or something readily available on them so I, or you, can be contacted immediately. The odds of this happening are very slim, as most of the dogs don't venture too far from me, but still, it's better to be safe than sorry. Many of the dogs possess tags that not only have their home numbers on them, but my cell phone as well (or at least on a seperate tag).

The week is over, and it was a quick one

Sorry for the lack of updates this week. Having a puppy around the house really eats up a lot of time. Wesley's integrated into the pack very well now, and he trots along with everybody else.

The bigger, woolier dogs (Zool, Mika, Toko, et al) are all in their element now. Chillier weather and no humidity = happy dogs.

Kiji's getting "bakyard walks" for the time being after cutting her paw last week. Kodiak's back into the swing of things (and doesn't even notice his protective boot anymore), and Snoopy's beside himself with the cool air.

Here's hoping this continues into the forseeable future. We'll be doing our "no rain" dance for a little while, as we all want to avoid the worst time of the year, dog-walking-wise : fall. Rain and mud + dogs = dirty dogs, dirty van and dirty Alex.

Chilly dogs

This time of year is when the dogs get crazy. The cooler weather means no over-heating, which means excited dogs.

Kiji is off with a cut dew claw, but should be back next week (fingers crossed).

Molly is off again for a couple of weeks while her mom is attending something work-related, out of town. She'll be happy to get back to the pack when she returns!

Here's hoping for no more rain today.

Change of season

Boy, has it been cold these last couple of mornings. Not a very gradual change of season thus far.

Zool had a blast yesterday - hopped out of the van at Snoopy's house and ran to the door to greet him! She's pretty fast when she wants to be.

Wesley has been integrated into the back of Cindy's truck now, which is a big step for such a little guy! He only got told off once or twice (which he needs), and came home dead tired (which is good).

What's with the fog this morning?

A rainy Friday, Sept 12

So everybody got wet! Some of them dirty! But everybody had a good time, in the rain and all.

Princess looked spiffy in her dayglo green bandana (I was able to see her when she went into the tall grass now!)

Caught Felix eating dirt today. DIRT. He and Ellie both eat poo, yesterday Charlie ate garbage at home, but dirt? What do these 3 dogs have in common? All three are Yellow Labs. Big surprise.

According to the "dog facts" widget on the right hand side, the Great Dane is the tallest dog. No kidding. Thanks for THAT little tidbit of information, widget.

Valley weather

So for the past couple of days I've been wearing pants (not shorts) and a jacket. We go from 35 degrees and humid to 8 degrees in the morning. Not complaining, really. There's no snow. Yet.

Zool was full of beans yesterday. She's much like Snoopy, in that she'll pretty much entertain herself, except for the odd time where she'll actually want to interact with the other dogs. She loves this cooler weather though, being a bigger, longer-haired dog herself.

It must be a Monday

I got peed on today. Not by one of my dogs, of course, but one of the other walker's dogs.

I was minding my own business at the end of the walk, when the other walker pulled up and let her dogs out. I assumed one of her dogs came up and licked my leg, from behind, as I felt a lovely, warm, wet feeling on the back of my leg. But upon further inspection, it was not. It was yellow.

Apparently this dog onced peed on her son, WHILE DRIVING. Slightly dominant behaviour, no?

So that was Monday.

Wesley!

All right, half time at the Jets game, so time to post some pictures of the new dog!

This is Wesley. He's 3.5 months old, some sort of small dog mix, and lives with us. Oh, and he eats slippers.

Thursday fun

So Ellie has come back this week, and has fit back in like she never left. (her mom is a teacher, so she was off for the summer). Everyone has been happy to see her, and she's back doing what she does best - leading the pack and sniffing ahead to make sure it's safe for everyone. (it usually is)

Somebody pooped in the van today. I think I know who. I won't name names... Dogs formed a perimeter around the offending pile, so nobody sat in it (don't worry!). Funny to see, at that point, 7 dogs all hugging the van wall and staring at poop in the middle of it all. I cleaned it up at my next stop... Thanks (insert dog name here)!

Our puppy, Wesley, has been hanging out with Cindy's group, as she has far less dogs that would give him a hard time (*cough* Kiji, Oliver, *cough*). Being 7 pounds, he's definitely an interesting little toy for the bigger, more hyper dogs to play with.

Camera batteries dead, will upload pictures of the little guy tomorrow, hopefully.

Good god it's hot

Where are we? The Equator?

Dogs don't like it, I don't like it. Well, some dogs don't like it... Fred was dead to the world when I dropped him off this afternoon! I'm sure he slept well, in the closet.

Felix was back today! After about a month off. That was one smiley Lab!

So when I dropped off Oliver yesterday, and brought Spencer out for her pee and poop, she insisted on bringing her bacon-chewey-treat with her. She walked across the street, had a pee, and practically ran back to the house, making sure the bacon-chewey-treat didn't fall. She was so into this thing, she didn't even take a cookie from me. Hmmph.

So the dog walkers finally have a dog. He's 3.5 months old, and is, from what we can determine, a Papillon/Pekinese cross. He has short little legs, and floppy ears. Pictures tomorrow