I am messy but not a mess

One of the many fun things to watch is, when the dogs on our walks get dirty. They seem not to care at all. It does not matter, if they just had a bath or being expensively groomed.

They run into the pile of dirt like there is no tomorrow, of course we try to call them or run after them, who wants a smelly dog after all.

Deer poop and dead animal remains are there favorites. I do seem to notice that the once who just had a bath seem to roll more, then the dogs who did not.

My theory is, that they just want to blend in with nature and not smell like if they came out of the dryer with some strange fragrances. In nature it would work against them, if they would be hunting in packs to smell like lavender. Any animal would notice them miles away. Some instincts are still alive.

Even so they are our Babies, Friends, Companions and we like to humanize them, they are still dogs with instincts, who are capable of things we do not like to acknowledge.

Eating dead deer remains or running around with bird carcasses. They find leftovers from hunters left behind.

Woof, woof

Sabine

Not only humans can dive

We have a lot of talented dogs on our walk, but sometimes one stands out more then the others on certain days.

Most of our dogs love the water, they swim for the ball, the stick, just for the fun of it, or who knows, maybe even exercising.

Some dogs dive for a rock or a clam right at the beginning where the water is shallow, but today we had a real trooper.

This guy who does not come that often to the beach, has a problem with his poor paws who has to get used to the rugged beach every time he stays over at my house. He loves to swim and dive. He has an obsession with rocks and we are not talking about little rocks or pebbles. No some of them are huge rocks or the size of bricks. He used to push them with his nose until his nose started to bleed. The other thing was that he used to bite on his leg. Even so he can be a little bit obsessive, he does not do either of those things anymore.

So today he had an eye on this one rock and he was out quite far, he just put his head right under the water and came back with this big rock. It was incredible to watch. This dog who has

some different issues has no fear what so ever of diving and putting his head under the water.

If some of his hang ups could be channeled in a different direction, can you imagine what an athlete he could be.

Woof, woof

Sabine

Taking video's is not so easy

I am trying to take video's on the beach of running and playing dogs.

It is not as easy as you might think. The dogs are bouncing back and force, even

so I am trying to keep my camera study as much as I can, it still seems

to fast and to much movement just following them, that it makes me almost dizzy,

when I watch it later on the computer.

I love the barking in the video, but of course people are talking, which means I have to

cut the volume out and make it a silent dog playing video, because you never know what

people might say when they think nobody is listening.

Few month ago, I had forgotten to turn the camera off and it was still recording in my bag, I dropped off a dog at a customers house and we started to talk.

When I downloaded it later that day, I said what in hell is that, the whole conversation was on that camera.

My camera bag was in the car and I was in the house few hundred feet away. That was pretty amazing and scary at the same time.

So basically I will have to try and record the dogs when I have not to many people around me.

It is getting a little better and I guess, if I learn not to panic and trying to catch everything, I might get some decent stuff.

I certainly have enough material in front of me.

Woof, woof

Sabine

Oliver has arrived

We got the very much expected phone call, what time is good for you to bring Oliver over.

Anytime is good, ok we will be over in 45 minutes. After I hung up, I started to cry.

Oliver is this six year old yellow lab, who is very sweet and mellow, great disposition like our older boy Eric, loves to play and does not get bend out of shape when another dog is a little bit more forward then he is.

The owner brought him over and he felt right at home. He was playing with the other dogs and when dinner time came around as impatient as Eric. They both love food. Well they are Labs.

At nighttime Oliver climbed right into bed with me and put his head on my bosom. Like he never slept anywhere else.

This morning we all went to the beach and my biggest worry was, him just wondering off. Last time I had him, he did not listen at all when I called him.

He played, he swam, walked way ahead of me, but when I called he came running.

Friends ask me, how does Eric like his new brother, well he does not know, for right now Oliver is just like any other dog to him who is boarding with us, he might ask himself in a few month, when is that guy leaving?

Woof, woof

Sabine

The lost Umbrella

The next day after the storm it still kept raining, not much, to me, more like a drizzle, but still pretty windy.

So we are all walking, some come prepared, wearing rain gear, some regular cloth and one person, always brings her umbrella. The short black one you can see everywhere , when you are walking in New York City. Not necessarily on our beach.

It rains, there comes the umbrella down the slope. After a hug and hello, she kept on walking and talking to a friend way ahead of me.

I take pictures, my friend throws balls and sticks to entertain the dogs.

Since my friend with the umbrella was way ahead of us, now she is coming back towards us.

So she asks me, do you notice anything, yes I said the umbrella is missing. Yes, can you imagine, the wind was so strong and it turned over and I lost my umbrella, it flew swirling into the bay. It almost reminded me of Mary Poppins, at least she held on to her umbrella.

She told me that she was thinking about, going after the umbrella and starting to take her coat off.

Then decided against it, it is still pretty cold in the water, but looked for it in the water never the less. She knew that we were going a little bit further then she did, so please look for my umbrella.

Needless to say, we did not find it, we kept looking for the next few days, but still nothing, I thought maybe it would come back to shore all broken up, but not even that. It might be somewhere traveling thru the big ocean or being stuck on some old branch. Either way it has retired.

I guess like she said, it was not the value of the umbrella, or even if she could use it after finding it, but it had some value to her beyond money. I guess like saying good bye to an old friend, without seeing him or her again, without knowing when is the last time.

Woof, woof

Sabine

It looked like a broken leg

The day started out with some overcast, my friend said, where is the sun, oh I said, its there just hiding.

These days it seems that we walk longer and longer, specially when we can make it around the point.

It is such a treat, it makes be believe being on a lost Island, everything feels untouched.

Some mood slides, old beautiful trees on top of the bluff and plenty of driftwood. That part I like

the most, looking at the wood and trying to see something different, like animals or faces.

The dogs where chasing each other, up and down the hill, jumping and moving like bunnies, back and forth. I tell you, when 2-4 dogs come running towards you, you can only hope not to get hit. They are like a runaway train, you better get out of the way. It mostly works, if not you try to crouch down and hope you do not brake anything.

Well, I said, they were running and having a lot of fun, when suddenly you heart that awful piercing sound, I turned around and there was my sweet little dog and the hind leg looked almost like is was hanging.

Boy was I scared, I rushed over and she wined a little when i touched her foot. I was worried that it might have been broken, so I just held and rubbed her to calm her down.

After a little while she did and I examined her again and this time, she seemed less in pain. She put some weight on the foot and limped a bit, but it did not seem to be broken. What a relief.

What had happened was, that she run into a tree and bang her leg so hard that she was probably more in shock then in pain.

By the end of the walk she was fine and this afternoon she was running again like nothing had happened earlier.

Woof, woof

Sabine