Takin' a Walk with C

Some days, if it's not too hot, and it's not too late, and if C isn't busy, we go for a walk. I'm ready anytime!

We walk all around, but one place we don't go is out this gate. There must be something really exciting out there! Well, every few days the garbage cans are out there and that's pretty exciting to me. I haven't told you yet how I feel about the garbage cans....that's another story.

A wise dog once said "The squirrels are always slower on the other side of the fence." He got that right!

Our neighbors got a bunch of chickens!!! I like to stick my head through the fence as far as I can and give those birds the border collie eye! The fence seems pretty sturdy but maybe someday I can bust through and pay them a visit! BRAWWKKK!!!

I already told you that I love to hang out at the pond, and the best thing to do there is swim.

I'm really good at the doggy paddle! It gets me where I need to go.

The second best thing to do at the pond is watch the other animals swimming around.

Didja know they taste like chicken? That's what I heard anyway...I prefer my meat warm-blooded, thanks!

So we go through the woods, up on the berm by the pond, and then down the hill to the pastures. There's always something moving around down there, like a rabbit or some skinks or a snake. Just sniff around -- I promise you'll find something!

Some little critter was just here....

...or maybe it ran in here....I'll take care of that later.

Here's a tip for taking a walk -- make sure you're hydrated! You should drink water before you go, but I also like to drink a whole lot of water when we get back to the house...I can slurp for a full minute, and then I usually go over and put my head on C's knee, or her shoulder if she's sitting on the edge of the porch. She loves it! At least she seems very enthusiastic.

After I take a walk, and have plenty to drink, I like to chill on the porch. Come join me sometime!

C is leaving this morning on a trip with AM and leaving me and M here by ourselves! We'll be hangin' in the barn, chewin' cardboard and makin' art. Actually I'm not that artistic, and M hasn't developed a taste for cardboard thankfully, as I don't want to share! Talk to you when my typist gets back in a week or so! Ciao!

I'm Back!

Geez Louise! What's a dog gotta do around here to get someone to type a blogpost!!! I told C, "I got followers out there who're gonna think I got hit by a truck! It's time to post!" She makes excuses ("too busy") or stalls ("as soon as summer school is over") or gets snippy ("it's low on my priority list") or downright insulting ("Followers? All four of them?")!!! That last comment was a little bitchy, or beyatchy, or however the humans are spelling it these days. Did you know that the B word is not an insult in the canine world? It means "like my mother" and there is no sweeter female than my mother! Sweet, and plucky as can be, especially after Dad abandoned her with five pups to run off with the next beyatch in season.

But, I digress.

I need to catch you up a little with what's been going on with me. First of all, how do you like my new Squeaky? The others were Squeaky Squirrel -- this one is Squeaky Raccoon. I love him!

The last Squeaky, Squeaky #4, kinda bit the dust. Basically, I eviscerated him. That means I tore his insides out, which is a blast! That wasn't the end of him, but he got sorta flat, and dirty, and a little down and out.

So, time for a new toy! Squeaky Raccoon is a flat guy anyway -- no stuffing at all. I can still rip him up though, and he's bigger than Squeaky 4 and good for tug-of-war and I'm happy. Hey, that reminds me, here's tip to stay cool this summer. Lie down on a tile floor froggy-style. Press your inner thighs against the cold tile floor, and you can really beat the heat!

By the way, I usually remove the squeakers on the first day. It's not that I don't like the squeaking -- I really do! But I love removing them even more.

So here's some news -- this weekend I spent Saturday night at Bed, Bath, and Biscuit! It was pretty cool -- I had a patio suite and a big bone to chew. I was pretty excited on the way there.

Here's a close-up of me enjoying the fresh air! I love a high speed ride down a farm to market road!
So that's all for today but check back in a couple of days -- NOT weeks this time! I wanna show you around my place a little more. 'Til next time -- hasta la vista, baby!

Living With Cats

I'll say this about that -- it ain't easy! Cats...they're another breed, ya know? I'll admit to being pretty fascinated with them -- I have no idea what makes them tick! I'm not allowed in the bedroom for some reason, and you can find our cats in there lounging most of the time. They're incredibly lazy and don't earn their keep around here at all! They look pretty cute and sweet, don't they? Don't be fooled -- they're not.


The gray one, that's GrisGris, is not a bad sort, but if you look up the word scaredey-cat in the dictionary, you'll see her picture. Wherever I am, you won't find her. Our paths don't cross that often. When they do, she always makes sure she is high up on something, and she gets all pissy and hissy if I try to sniff her butt. M and C always take her side!





But, like I said, she's not so bad. She doesn't deliberately try to get me in trouble.

That's the other cat's job. That would be Llano, the stripey one. She thinks it's her house and treats me like I entered illegally. She taunts me! She'll sit in the window and watch me outside; she lies on the bedroom floor when M and C are around and dares me to come in; when I'm tethered in the kitchen she comes and sits just out of my range. She's smart -- I'll give her that. She seems to know exactly how long my tether is, right down to the inch.

Ok so she's smart, but she's also an evil psychotic! Look at that expression on her face -- like I ever did anything to her! Sometimes when I rush in from outside and she's standing there in the kitchen I do lunge at her, but it's all in fun! She SO overreacts! She growls and yowls and tries to draw blood. Geez...like I was gonna hurt her!

M and C always take her side of course.

I've tried to make friends with her. I've offered her my Squeaky Squirrel and many other toys. I've tried to play tag with her like she does with GrisGris. No matter what I do she is unfriendly and downright disrespectful!

It's not really fair...there are two humans and two cats, and only one of me, so I think the cats should be willing to play with me, but they alternate being aloof and bitchy. Sorry...but it's true!

There is one thing I like about living with cats though, and that's this box. Problem is it's in a room that's off limits to me, the cat feeding room.

C put this ridiculous barrier across the doorway -- it's so ghetto I could easily push it out of the way, but I know I'm not supposed to. It's more of a visual border than a real barrier, and whenever I try to push past it, someone always shouts out "Hey!"

I'm just not sure what the big deal is. What would be so bad about me keeping that box cleaned out? Wouldn't that be beneficial to all concerned? Sometimes the humans are as hard to figure out as the cats.

Let me know if you have any insights! Til next time! Woof woof!

Flyball

So did I tell you about my flyball class? Yeah, I'm takin' a class -- it's my third one. I had intermediate obedience (skipped beginner cause I was homeschooled), beginning agility, and now flyball. Agility was fun and challenging, but I'm all about speed and that's what I like about flyball!

In case you've never played, here's what you do. You start at one end of a long room (yeah, indoors; it's Texas in the summertime!) and you run as fast as you can to the other end of the room, jumping four hurdles on the way.

Then you step on this pedal and a tennis ball pops out! I try and catch it as it pops out but mostly I have to chase it down. Then you race back to the starting point, jumping the four hurdles again. If you've seriously never seen this done, check out some pros!

Sometimes when I get the ball I try and get Sammi Jo, my trainer, to play "Try and Get the Ball Away From Me," but for some reason Sammi Jo won't play that. My favorite part is running -- I am FAST!

So fast I beat the camera!!! Pssst! Anyone know where I can get a competent photographer?

Talk about fast, you should see Lily! Wow -- she's like the queen of flyball! She's very intense, but a total babe!

Here's me and some of my flyball friends. That's Gator in the back trying to start something with me.

That's Slick in the front, trying to start something with me. The other two guys are Scamper (brown and white border collie) and Grogan (brown lab/vizla cross).

When C tells me we're going to Biscuit (Bed, Bath and Biscuit -- where my class is!) I get so excited I have to run a lap around the house before I jump in the car! Just takes a few seconds -- I told you I'm f-a-s-t!

Shadows

I really like this picture of me 'cause it looks like I have three legs and my eye looks badass.

I love my pond!

So the other day I was telling you about things I like, and I got to thinking. Yes, I said thinking! I know I said I was a man of action, and I meant dog of action, but I have my reflective moments also! So I was thinking about other things that I like, and I realized that some of the things I like would r-e-a-l-l-y gross you out if you're not a dog. (Somethings might just gross you out a little, like that morsel below my paw that I've been gnawing on for a few days.) I'll try and focus on things that humans don't think are disgusting. What I'll do for a few readers!

So how about this -- a cool dip in the pond in the good old summertime! I LOVE my pond, and on hot days I'm in and out all day long! It's great for cooling off, but it's more than that. It's just a great place to hang out and play. Here I am, the terrifying alligator, stalking my hapless prey!

I heard C say once that if she fell off the dock into the pond she'd probably have a heart attack before she reached the shore. Huh? I don't get it! There's nothing but a bunch of fish, frogs, snakes and turtles swimming around. Nutria? I don't think so! I'd be the first to know!

The most fun is being in the water, but scouting around the shoreline is also way cool. And, you can do that any time of year.

Of course, you can find a lot more in the summertime, especially if you wade into the cattails. You wouldn't believe all the action in there! Amphibians and reptiles galore, not to mention the birds and mammals!

Did you know that turtles get out of the pond to go lay their eggs? I don't know why we have so many turtles -- something always digs up their eggs and eats them, and it's not me! I'd rather eat the turtle than the egg! Whoops...sorry. I wouldn't do that. I've never done that.

If you're a dog, come on over for a swim! If you're a human, I can cool you off by shaking on you when I get out. Everyone seems to react enthusiastically to that!

Till next time, keep cool! Woof woof!

Hi, I'm Sparky!

Thanks for checking out my blog!

I've been looking at some other blogs online, and I thought, "Wow! How boring! I know I could do better -- I think I'll write a blog!" C agreed to be my typist; it drives me crazy when my nails slip on the keys.

My blog is going to be full of things I like, with lots of pictures. I'm not going to blab on and on about my deep insights. That doesn't mean I'm not insightful -- I'm actually incredibly smart. But, I'm more a man of action than words. Frankly, I'm not that verbal, although I'm definitely into some late night barking.

Here's a picture of something I like -- where I live. I'm in charge of six acres, and I make sure nothing goes on that I don't know about. Hey, did I mention that I'm half border collie? I got my smarts and my markings from my Dad, and my sleek short hair from my Mom.

I like surveying my property from upstairs in the barn. A nice bird's eye view, and nothing gets past me!

Here's something else I like -- Squeaky! This is actually the fourth Squeaky Squirrel that I've had...Squeaky is not very indestructible. This picture of Squeaky the 4th was taken a few days ago; now he's in two pieces. I'm not sure how that happened. I like the tail end the best -- it's the part that still squeaks. I just love to walk around the house with that in my mouth, squeaking and squeaking and squeaking -- it's great!

Squeaky reminds me of those maddening creatures outside -- they move a lot faster than Squeaky. I can't think of anything I would rather catch than one of them!!! They've been taunting me for months and someday one of them is going to pay!

Here's something else I love -- tug-of-war! I'll play it anywhere, anytime, with anything or anyone. I'll use a rope, or my leash, or Squeaky, or anything. This picture shows that I can win lying down!

Thanks for reading, and by the way, I love comments and followers!! Check back in a couple of days -- I've got a lot going on!