Monday, May 30, 2005
This weekend I took a much needed break from work and enjoyed a 4-day, mini vacation. On Sunday, we went to the doggie beach with the boys’ life vests and boogie boards in tow. Since it was Memorial Day Weekend the beach was pretty crowded, but the water was warm and there were plenty of dogs in the water swimming. It was hot, so the boys were very anxious to go for a swim.
The boys splashed around a bit in the area near the shore and then they hopped on their boogie boards so that we could go out a bit further in the water. We got out in the water a little bit above my waist and the boys were having a great time just floating on their boogie boards and going up and down with the waves. At this point, I was really wishing that I had a waterproof camera so that I could get a picture of the boys just relaxing in their life vests on their boards, but I was happy just being out in the water with the boys.
The boys were doing great just floating until Henry caught a glimpse of one of the buoys that was used to mark the swimming lane in the ocean. The buoy was bright orange in color and about the size of a soccer ball. It was a very thick plastic and it was tethered to the bottom of the ocean with a cord. When Henry first spotted the buoy he was about 30 yards away from it. I saw that Henry was fixated on the buoy and knowing Henry I knew exactly what he wanted to do. See, Henry has this thing about fetching in the water. Whenever he is in the pool it is his mission to pull everything out. He pulls all of his water toys out and puts them on the deck. He fetches the pool noodles and brings them out of the pool and he even tries to grab hold of the rafts and pull them out of the water as well. In his mind, he is saving them.
So when I saw him pacing on his board I knew he was about to dive into the water. Sure enough he did and he was headed straight for the buoy (don’t worry he was on his leash and I was swimming with him). After a long swim (for him anyway) we were at the buoy and he was trying to bite it and push it back to shore. I was trying to let him know that the buoy was not a toy and that he could not fetch it, but he wasn’t buying it. I brought him back closer to the shore a bit, but he was still fixated on the buoy and saving it. I was so proud of him for being so brave and swimming so far in the ocean and he was so proud of himself too. While he wasn’t happy about leaving the buoy behind, I managed to convince him that the buoy needed to stay in the water.
When we got back to our spot on the beach I got the camera out to take a picture of the orange buoy, but wouldn’t you know that I didn’t put the battery back in the camera after it was finished charging! I was really kicking myself, but at that point there was really nothing I could do!
So instead of pictures of the boys swimming at the beach, I had to settle for posting pictures of Henry swimming in the pool today.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Things are starting to heat up here in sunny Florida and this will be the boys’ first Florida summer. I always keep a close eye on the boys on our walks and while they are playing in the yard to make sure they don’t get too hot. Lately, I have noticed that Henry seems to be getting hotter a lot sooner than Benny. I figured this is likely due to Henry’s thick double coat. (Ben has a very short and thin coat). So I thought, why not just give Henry a haircut? We got out the clippers and gave him a little buzz. I was worried that his fur wouldn’t look right after the cut, but it isn’t even real obvious that he has had a haircut. Mainly, we just thinned out his coat.
I was surprised how still he sat while we were shaving him. He wasn’t afraid of the clippers and he even seemed to enjoy his first haircut a bit. As you can see, after his cut he was quite proud of himself and rewarded himself with one of his bones.
Sunday, April 3, 2005
Today, Henry celebrates his 3rd Birthday. Last Sunday, Benjamin turned 3 as well. It is so hard to believe that the boys are 3 years old already. It seems like only yesterday that they were crazy little puppies.
They have slowed down quite a bit, but they are still pretty rambunctious. It seems like not a day passes without them chasing each other around the pool or wrestling all through the living room.
It is safe to say that the boys have brought so much laughter and joy into my life this last three years. So in honor of that here are some pictures of Henry from over the last three years. And if you missed Benjamin’s last week, here is the link to his.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
For the boys, one of the best parts of the new house is the pool. They love to chase each other around the pool and Henry can’t wait until the water is warm enough to go swimming. Benny, on the other hand, is not much of a swimmer. So when we saw this little boat at the pool store yesterday, we knew we had to get it for Benny so that he could be in the pool with everyone else but not have to get wet. But, as soon as we brought it home, Henry had other plans and he decided that he needed to take the boat out on its maiden voyage.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
It seems there is someone on the loose in the neighborhood leaving chewed pieces of blue gum strewn about the neighborhood. For Henry, this is the greatest find on his walks since he came across a trail of cheerios last fall. It has been a bit frustrating for me because I have pulled at least 7 pieces of gum out of his mouth since Monday.
Both of the boys have done a great job learning the “drop it” command, but when it comes to gum Henry just refuses to drop it.
Hopefully, the blue gum bandit’s bubble will burst soon so our walks can get back to normal.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
It has been very chilly here lately and we are in the midst of a snow storm. The heavy snow is yet to come, so we decided to head out and play while there was just a dusting on the ground.
The boys both had their coats on and were running around like mad stopping to gobble up snow along the way. They kept trying to shake off the cold and any snow that may have gotten on their coats. Luckily, I was able to snap a picture of Benjamin as he was giving himself a good shake!
If the boys are up to it, we may try to venture out later after there has been some accumulation. If we do, I will be sure to post some more pics.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Both of the boys love peanut butter, so I occasionally give them a Kong with some peanut butter smeared inside. After I give them the Kong they will spend the next half hour licking it to get all of the peanut butter out. After the peanut butter has been cleaned from the inside, Benjamin has no interest in the Kong itself. Henry, on the other hand, loves to just chew on the rubber Kong. He will chew on it for hours after all the peanut butter has vanished. While he is chewing on the Kong, it makes this horrendous squeaking sound that goes through me like nails on a chalkboard. Since it is something that he really enjoys I try to tune out the sound as best I can and I let him chew it for as long as he wants. He works so hard chewing it that sometimes he chews himself to sleep.
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