Puppies!!

Everyone seems to love puppies, and since it appeared to be puppy day at my dog park on Saturday my Mom got to coo over them. Sure, I get that puppies are cute and they have that puppy breath and all, but they are sooooooooo annoying! All they do is jump and bite on everything and then if I try to put them in their place they cry. Bah! 

Well, like I said earlier, it was puppy day at the park and unlike most days I actually tried to play with the puppies this time. There was one little guy that was running up a storm so I chased her all over! Then she tried wrestling with another puppy but I just sat and yelled at them until they started running again. I don't like to wrestle because I'm too skinny to be rolling around and pumping into others and always end up getting hurt. Overall, it was another great day at the dog park, despite it being puppy day!

It's snowing

Today it started snowing at my house and it was so pretty. Although I did get my Mommy in trouble because when she opened the door to go take a picture of it I ran out and started chasing the neighbors. Ok, not "chasing" but I did bark up a storm and sprint over to them to say hello. I just wanted to say hi! Then one of the girls told my Mom to put leashes on us, but she said it in a mean way so it made my Mom mad and then she got mad at me. I wish I knew why people don't like it when I run up to say hello to them. I like to run, especially if they run away from me! Oh well. At least I got to go outside while it was snowing and enjoy the cold beauty of the day for a few minutes. 

Miss Molly and Bacchus

Last night I got to chat with (through my Mom) my great friend Miss Molly. She and my Mom used to work together and Miss Molly came to visit us a couple of times. She's the sweetest, most caring person I've ever met and she loves dogs sooooooooooo  much!  She'll also play ball with me for as long as I want. Miss Molly is currently living in Korea, which explains why she hasn't come to visit with me in a long time. Miss Molly also has a dog of her own and he is also a Catahoula hound!! His name is Bacchus and I am very excited to meet him some day. He looks like a big 'ol ball of love and I'm glad he found Miss Molly. She is a wonderful person and deserves to have a great dog take care of her. This post is my shout out to my wonderful friend and her baby boy. Wishing you safe travels and a quick passing of the next 27 days on your way back to Bacchus!

Texts from the dog

There is a dog that texts his human and he is pretty dang funny. I wish that I could think up some funny stuff like he does, but unfortunately my brain works in more of the professional ball playing and cuddling realm. However, I can sure enjoy a good text post so I am including a couple of my favorites and a link to their website. Which, having perused their website I learned that they have published a book. I may just put that on my birthday wish list! Enjoy.

http://textfromdog.tumblr.com/

Fleas

Fleas are on my mind. Judeau and I both caught ourselves a coat full of the nasty, biting beasts. I can't even remember the last time we've had fleas, and with how annoying they are I am glad for that! For those of you who have been lucky enough to have never dealt with fleas, they are tiny wingless insects found just about everywhere and they feed off warm blood through tiny pinpricks, causing incessant itching. Fleas can be difficult to get rid of because they reproduce very quickly and are able to stay in larvae form for up to a year waiting for a host to feed from before hatching. Also adult fleas can live for a couple of months without feeding, so if you leave on vacation thinking they will be gone by the time you get home, you will be sadly disappointed when you get home and they flock to you. Now that the fleas are officially in our house and pissing Judeau and I off, I have to make sure that my Mom keeps us up to date with our flea treatments and she has to keep cleaning and vacuuming daily until the little bastards are gone. Luckily I know my Mom is on top of it and loves us enough to jump on this issue ASAP. Slowly we are feeling less insane and the crazy itching has been getting better.

Driving dogs?

OMG!! I want to learn how to drive too! Only I'd go way faster than these guys...

Dog Park Dreaming

Today I laid around and thought about what I think makes a good dog park. I have been to many different parks and they were all different. The one constant was all but one were fenced in, which gives a better sense of security to both dog and human. Although the one dog park I visited that wasn't fenced in was fun because I was able to visit with non-dog people and people with food! So a large fenced in area with some shade would be where I'd start if I built my perfect dog park. For the inside there would have to be water fountains or dishes so we can keep hydrated while we play. Grass seems to be difficult to keep when a lot of dogs are running around, so either I'd have a HUGE place to spread the fun out and be easier on the grass, or I would put wood chips down. Wood chips also help keep me from getting super muddy and having to be washed off before going back in the car. Wood chips would also make it so the area wouldn't need to be mowed and mowing cuts all the tennis balls up so I can't play with them anymore. Now my dream dog park will be fenced and have wood chips. Then there also needs to be a lot of tennis balls. I don't like sharing so there has to be enough there for every dog to have there own. An obstacle course might be fun for some dogs, so I would put one of those in a corner of the park. Judeau doesn't like to play while he's at the park, he just likes to pee on everything, so I would put some benches and enough trees spread out to keep him busy sniffing around. There really isn't much needed to put together a great dog park and now that I'm thinking about the qualities I have liked best about all the ones I've been to, I think my dream dog park would be a combination of the one in York, Pennsylvania and the new one in Paso Robles, California. The York park because of its 13.5 acres of fenced spaces, beautiful trees, grass and hills and the Paso Robles park because of its drinking fountain, pool, toys and wood chips. 

This is the layout of the 3 dog fenced in dog areas in the John C. Rudy park in York, PA. The first area is approximately 2 acres, the second is 6 acres and the third is 5.5 acres. 

These is a picture of dogs I don't know playing at the York dog park.

And this is the only decent picture I could find of the park in Paso Robles. Apparently my beloved Mommy doesn't take enough pictures of me at dog parks...

Tryon hike

I had a fantastic day today!  My Mommy surprised Judeau and I by taking us for a car ride where we met up with my favorite person, Miss Cheryl!  Then we hiked around the beautiful forest and got to have the mud smoosh into my toes as I tried to pull Miss Cheryl along the trail faster and faster. Man it was such a great time! Afterwards, we all drove to where Mom and Miss Cheryl go to school. That part of the day was super boring, but we did get to run around a little and meet some new people, that was nice.  Now I am home, have eaten dinner, had some water and am snuggled up with my Mommy all warm and cozy. I hope we all get to do it again soon, because I really enjoyed the exercise, fresh air and sniffing all the new scents. 

History

Today I decided to do some research into my heritage.  I know that I was adopted from the pound in San Antonio, Texas at a very young age. According to the vet I am a Catahoula hound/greyhound mix. Most people have never heard of a Catahoula hound and all I know about them is that they were originally bred in Louisiana to hunt wild hogs. 

According to wikipedia.org Catahoula's aren't really hounds, but a cur, which is a mixed-breed or random-breed dog. Catahoula's are an American dog breed and is named after the Catahoula Parish in the state of Louisiana. They are believed to be the first dog breed developed in North America. We are also called the "Catahoula Hog Dog", reflecting the traditional use in hunting wild boar, and in 1979 a bill was signed making Catahoula's the state dog of Louisiana. 

I find that very interesting and it makes sense that I come from working stock. I always seem to have a ton of energy, I love to run and sprint around and my Mom is always telling me I'm a bossy pants. Although, wikipedia.com also said the Catahoula temperament is gentle, intelligent, independent, energetic, inquisitive and loving. I am happy to say those traits definitely describe me! And since the average life span is 10 to 14 years means I still have some great years ahead of me. Here are a few pictures of me on my adoption day almost 8 years ago, hope ya'll enjoy how tiny, cute, and lovable I look.  :D

SQUIRREL!

A big fat squirrel lives outside my home. It purposely teases me whenever I look out the window or as soon as I step outside it races across the yard right in front of me. I really want to chase it but I'm not allowed to and end up choking myself if I do try to chase it. How can I get that fat fuzzy tail if I'm not allowed to chase it and it isn't around when I do get outside without a leash? Someday, I will get that tease of a squirrel and then it'll really be sorry!

Game time

I love to play ball. However, I'm super picky about what type of ball I will play with. I only like tennis balls. There's just something about how a fresh can pops when you open it and that stale, compressed air smell that waifs from the can. Then I get the bright yellow, fuzzy ball and it's just so perfect and squishes just right! People have tried to get me to play ball with them using other types of balls, like a half-deflated soccer ball, a baseball, and even those hard rubber ones. In fact my Mommy tried to help make it easier to play ball at night by getting one of the glow-in-the-dark rubber balls, but it just wasn't the same. I refuse to even hold anything but a real tennis ball in my mouth. Sometimes I get squeaky balls, but since they look and feel very much like the fuzzy tennis balls I like them too. To be honest, I'm not really sure why I'm so picky when it comes to which type of ball I will play with. Maybe it's just my stubborn nature or maybe it's that wonderful mouth feel of the fuzzy outside. 

I can play ball for hours. I love the rush of wind flowing all around my body as I sprint to catch the ball and bring it back for another throw. The feeling of pride I get when the neighbor kids are seeing what my all time record is for catching the ball in a simple toss. I've even perfected being able to carry two tennis balls around at the same time to give myself a further challenge to catching them. Maybe one day I will get one of those tennis ball launchers so I can still play when all the humans get tired. 

Mommy's home!

YAAAAAAAAAAY!! Today we went to the airport and picked up my Mommy!  I am sooooooooooo excited to see her again!  As much fun as I've been having, I still missed my Mommy a lot and am very happy she came back for me.  I was actually so excited that I jumped out of the car window to give her lots of kisses.  That night I got to snuggle with her all night like we usually do when she's home even though I was listening for any movement that Miss Cheryl made in case she wanted to take me with her some where.  The next day a bunch of us went for a hike in the woods and Judeau and I got to show Mom what good dogs we were while she was gone!  She let us off leash so we were able to run up ahead of the group and scout around, then we ran back to the group to make sure we didn't get too far ahead and we did that over and over throughout the whole hike.  My Mom was super slow and kept falling behind everyone else, so I told Judeau to go and check on her a few times.  Overall, that day was a blast and I hope that I can still get out often to burn off some of my extra energy by taking hikes and running around new trails.  Now it's time for a nap!

Snowy Christmas

It's been awhile since I've taken the time to blog, mainly because my Mommy left Judeau and I for her holiday break and we spent the week hanging out with Miss Cheryl. On Christmas day, Miss Cheryl took us and a few of her friends up to Mt. Hood to go play in the snow!  I just love the snow and being able to run around like a silly pants.  One of her friends, Mr. Alex, even brought some yummy smelling fresh bread that I really wanted to share with him. Yum Yum! 

I really enjoyed staying the week with Miss Cheryl and being able to go running just about everyday.  Geez, one day she tried to kill me by running me for 16 miles!!  But I fooled her. I spirited and pulled her along almost the whole way. hahahahahaha! 

It was a beautiful and fun-filled day, hope all of you had a fantastic Christmas also!