Living here by this river, I must say, I've spent quite a bit of time at the river's edge either fishing, swimming or playing with the kids and dogs. I have enjoyed the last 5 years here immensely. And now, I don't think I would want to live far from the water ever again.
Watching my dogs play in the river brings to me a joy I've never felt before. Dogs have no other ways to tell you they're happy outside of the ever popular tail wagging and my dogs can wag some serious tail!
When I ask Pebble if she wants to go to the river, she gets really excited, wags her tail, wiggles her body and barks like she's telling me she thought I'd never ask. She is the swimmer, she is the canoe'er (if that's a word), she totally runs way far ahead of us on our 2/10ths of a mile walk down there and before we're half way there, she's already went for a swim and is running back to us to show us how pretty she looks with wet fur and sandy feet!
Iggy here, is only just 4 months old and as you can see, she's a lab mix. We have had her now since she was about 5 weeks old, if that. I can't tell you what she's mixed with, but with her blue eyes, I suspect huskey runs through her blood somewhere. I always just assumed that labs like water, but with Iggy, she wants no part of anything wet! She's your, "ooh, I don't like the way that feels under my paws" kind of dog and we can't seem to get her "in" the water.
Today, I grabbed her leash and basically pulled her into the water. She has a harness on and she's not that big so it wasn't that difficult, however, I had to get wet doing it! And did I mention its 1 day from October? So the water wasn't warm! Anyway, here I am, holding her at half leash and trying to get far enough into the water where her underbelly gets wet. I started to run with her because I knew if I ran, Pebbles and Spanky would run too. So we ran up and down the river trying to get her used to the water and she is so hard-headed that she tried every which way, short of tying me up with her leash, that she could think of to run toward the shoreline, in front of my legs, behind my legs, and at one point I think she tried to run through my legs. Quite the sight let me tell ya! I'm completely sure that I worked off every bit of the nothing I'd had to eat today! I think I'm beginning to realize she just may not be the water dog that the other 2 are. But, I'll keep trying to get her to be!
Spanky here, he's my man! kinda...He is a fun-loving guy who just wants to be everyone's friend. He doesn't bark, he loves to be photographed, he loves car rides, water, food, cookies, short walks and he hates everything else! He hates fireworks, loud noises, clapping, party hats and whatever else that you put in your hand other than food or a camera! We rescued him from becoming a pound puppy when he was 5 months old, he's part Beagle, part St. Bernard..I'm not kidding. He weighs in at 99lbs and is approximately 36" at the hip line. He's 3 1/2 years old. Lovely guy, just don't spook him or he'll go into hiding for the rest of the day.
He doesn't swim, he walks out into the water, and he can get pretty far in because he's so tall, but he gets out there just to get his body wet. We throw a stick in for Pebble and she rushes out to get it, he follows her until the water reaches his neck, then he waits. He waits for her to get back to where he can reach her, and he goes after the stick, puts one end of it in his mouth and the two of them carry it back together! That's his idea of being a gentledog I guess! Or maybe he's just out to irritate her. Either way, that's what he does.
These dogs fascinate me! I love watching the way they interact with each other. They are innocent and curious creatures. Pebbles is going to be 6 in December and she's old and set in her ways, Spanky is big and thinks he's little, has a spring in every step and he loves to sniff the shampoo smell out of your hair. Iggy thinks she's bigger than Spanky, loves to lick your face (the other two won't touch you with their tongues), fears nothing but the water, is very hyper and loves to play with toys. 3 different dog-dynamics surround me and I love to be a part of their lives. Its been said that pets are therapeutic and I believe that to be true. There is quite a bit of laughter in my home because of these dogs and I'm truly honored to have them as part of my family! I look forward to each and every day I get to spend with them. I hope we have many more years together!
kT
No comments:
Post a Comment