Wordless Wednesday 1/19 -- Three Amigas

Snow Flight

Bunny here, writing a little about our day after Christmas fun.

You may have noticed that certain hounds here at our house were rather unfairly neglected on Friday and Saturday while a couple of humans who call themselves "Mom" and "Dad" were off attending all sorts of family Christmas get togethers.  It turns out that no hounds were invited to these festivities.  I can't imagine that they had any sort of fun at these get togethers, and Mom assures me that it was truly a torturous experience.  After smelling Dad's gloves Friday night, I'm not entirely sure I believe that, but I'm a generous little hound and I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Sunday, however, they redeemed themselves.  We had more snow on Christmas and the world was a wash of white.  Blueberry and I got all bundled up in our coats and we went with Morgan, Mom and Dad to the dog park to stretch our legs. 

It was glorious!  There was a Sibe there, along with a Sibe-Golden cross and a small spaniel.  They were more than happy to run in the snow with us.  We had the best time.  I believe our pictures speak for themselves.

We came home tired, happy dogs and took a long Winter's nap.  Now if I can just get them motivated to go see that waterfall!

 

German Shepards And Greyhounds Are Different

Bunny here, writing about a few discoveries I've made about life with my new sister.

I was pretty excited to bring Morgan home with us.  I figured she was really just like me underneath with just bigger ears and a longer coat.  It turns out that I may have been mistaken about that.

We went shopping Sunday night at Petsmart.  Blueberry and I went with Mom while Morgan went with Dad.  It turns out that German Shepards don't shop like Greyhounds.  Blueberry and I like to drift down the aisles, inspecting the goods.  Some of it smells good, so we spend some extra time checking that out.  Morgan kept herding us all back together.  I told her that I'm just fine.  We went into the next aisle with Mom and then saw Dad being pulled down the aisle when Morgan almost lost sight of us.  She seems to have a compulsion about knowing where we all are all the time.

Then, we went down to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  They heard about Morgan and really wanted to meet her.  So, we went down after our shopping to say hello.  I had to introduce Morgan to everybody because it turns out that she doesn't trust just anybody.  I'll have to explain what being famous means to her later.  I'm sure she'll love it once she figures out what it all means.  Of course, she may be hired on as my bodyguard by then.

While we were down there, we decided to to out in the back yard and stretch our legs.  I had a lesson for Morgan out there.  I'll let the video explain it for me.

I think I'm going to like having her for a sister.  One thing I do need to find out is where German Shepards do their shopping.  Morgan won't wear the same collars and frippery as we Greyhounds, but she wants to look good, too.  Do any of you have any favorite places to shop?

Status Symbols

Bunny here, taking over the keyboard for my turn to bark about what's on my mind.

We've been visiting the dog parks a lot this Spring.  I love it!  Last year it was so rainy that we hardly ever got to go because even when it wasn't raining, it was too muddy to go in and enjoy it.  This year has been perfect.  It's been warm, but not uncomfortable and most importantly, it has not been raining so much.

We meet a lot of different dogs at the dog parks.  So far, we don't have any regular friends there, but we meet a lot of friendly pups.  Two things never seem to fail when we go, though.  First, the humans will ask if I'm a greyhound or a whippet.  Then their dogs will challenge me to race.  The people get all excited with comments about how they've never seen a greyhound run before and how fast I am.  Of course I am!  It's what I've been bred to do for thousands of years!  I'm not being conceited about that, it's just a fact.  Some dogs were bred to hunt rats.  Other dogs were bred to herd sheep.  Most dog breeds had a specific purpose and job and we still have instincts related to those things.  Sure, it was easy for me to hang up my track jacket for a princess crown and a couch, but that doesn't mean I don't like to stretch my legs on occasion. 

It had made me think a bit about some things.  I'm not sure why all these dogs feel the need to try to beat me.  I'm also not sure why it's such a big deal to their people.  What I do know is that I'm fast, and they aren't going to beat me for a long time!  Sometimes, I'm even too fast for the camera.

Not All Dog Parks Are Created Equal

This weekend found us with some extra time on Saturday, so we decided to go and check out a new dog park that we've heard a lot about.  I was a little leary because I checked out another new one a couple of weeks ago and Bunny and I were both disappointed in it.  We have a regular dog park that we love, but when it rains, it turns to a mud pit.  I'm not adverse to letting the girls get dirty, but I am adverse to letting two or three muddy dogs into the back of the van.  I'll just say that there's a whole lot of carpet back there.  I also worry about them running like crazy in the mud and slipping and getting hurt.

There are several things about a dog park that play into the mix.  Of course, there's the facility itself and how it's set up.  Also important is where it's located.  There's also the very important dynamic of the other dogs who are in the park.  I will admit that there have been times we've left our favorite if it looked too rough or if certain dogs came in that were really unruly.  It's just not worth the risk for something that is supposed to be fun.  It's also not much fun for the girls if there are no other dogs there.  Bunny's favorite game in the world is chase, and Blueberry isn't going to be the leader!  That's where Her Royal Blueness draws the line.  I don't blame her for that.  Bunny is a bit of a show off at the dog park.

Anyway, we went to this new park after having heard some raves about it from a friend at work.  It's not as close to our house as the other one, but it was a rainy weekend and I knew better than to try going to our old standby.  I'll also admit that I was pretty curious about this park.  It's always fun to try to get action shots when we go, which sometimes works and sometimes does not. 

I am happy to report that it lived up to its reputation.  Bunny and Blueberry had a great time playing with a Sheltie (who learned the hard way that he can't outrun a greyhound) and a husky/pit bull mix puppy who was adorable.  It was green and grassy, plus the cool weather with the hint of rain in the air put the girls in the mood to really play.  Bunny ran so much that she actually laid down in the grass and rested.  That is highly unusual.  We even saw a squirrel with a death wish running along the top of the fence on one end of the park.  It was lucky for him that Bunny was too busy showing off to see him dart off the fence and up a tree inside the fenced in area.

It all made me curious about what others look for in dog parks that they visit.  What are your favorite things about the places where you let your dogs play?

Spring Break Adventures Begin

Hello, hounds and humans!  Bunny here, with my report about the beginning of our weekend.

Friday was Mom's last day of work for three weeks.  I was waiting to greet her when she got home and I was hoping that we'd take a walk to celebrate the beginning of her break.  What we did was even better!  Dad came home and changed his clothes and then we all loaded up in the van -- even Lilac came with us.

We drove to the dog park.  It was glorious!  At first, we were the only dogs there, but after a little while, a pair of schnauzers and their entourage showed up and went into the little dog section of the park.  They barked at us a lot, so Blueberry and I showed them a few things and tried to liven them up a little.

We ran and ran until we were good and tired.  After that, we loaded up in the van again, but we still weren't going home.  We also got to go shopping at Petsmart.  There were people everywhere in there who wanted to pet me, and of course I let them.  It was great that so many of them were admiring us.  We don't have pictures from in there, though. 

I have to say, this break is off to a good start! 

Catch Me If You Can

Bunny the speed demon here, writing about my weekend adventures.

We got a call from Aunt Julie Saturday morning and she wanted to know if we wanted to meet her with our Australian Shepard cousins, Ruby and Nipper.  Of course we did!  The weather was not good, but we still wanted a chance to stretch our legs.  We got ready and headed to the park.

Since it was cold and rainy, we wore a little gear to help keep us warm.  I finally got to try out my new raincoat, but I almost wish I'd worn my winter coat.  It didn't feel much like Spring!  Ruby and Nipper don't need coats.  I sure was glad to see them.  Nipper was very glad to see us, too! 

Nipper

Ruby

Of course, they foolishly thought that they could beat me in a race.  We had many challenges, but I always won.  Nipper even cried a little when he couldn't catch me, so I decided to take it easy on him.  Please ignore Aunt Julie talking.  Some humans!


Anyroo, we kissed and made up after the racing was over!

Here are some more pictures of our fun. 

I hope Spring is here to stay soon!  At least we showed Old Man Winter that our fun wasn't going to be spoiled by him.  After it was all over, though, I was pretty cold and I did settle in for a long winter's nap!

Smokin'

Hey there, hounds and humans!  Bunny here with a little post about our walk last night.

It was a beautiful spring day and Mom and Dad were both home, so I was a happy girl.  Blueberry and I wouldn't both have to share Mom.  Sure enough, we headed out towards the park.  It was a glorious walk full of people to admire me, dogs to sniff and greet and rabbits to patrol for.  I really didn't think I could ask for anything more. 

However, we went a different way in the park, up around the baseball diamond to see if we'd be able to run in there this year if Mom and Dad take gates up there to use with us.  We met someone Dad knows and his dog, Walter, a very pleasant goldendoodle.  As we were chatting, he mentioned that sometimes he lets Walter run in the tennis court.  After they left, Mom told Dad that we should try it.  They let us loose to stretch our legs and it was glorious! 



The best part was that I totally smoked Blueberry every time!  Have a great day and enjoy Spring!

Chasing Away Cabin Fever

We decided to get out and beat the winter doldrums on Monday by bundling up and taking the girls to the dog park.  Even Lilac went along, although she protested until we got there.  Then she had a lovely time.  I was surprised to see her running a little with Blueberry and Bunny, even.  We cut it short for her, though, because we didn't want her breaking any toenails out there or making herself sore or lame.  It was great to see her romping with the younger hounds, though.  Bunny, of course, had a grand time and it didn't take much for her to get Blueberry to run with her.  I thought we'd share a few videos that might give you a smile.