Hear Me Bark

Attack of the Standard Poodles

The humans and I drove to Morgan Territory Regional Preserve yesterday for our monthly Poodles-at-Play hike. Despite the rain, we hiked through slippery mud for 3.5 miles. Along the way, I ran across hills with my pals, stopped to play at a small pond, and got chased down and attacked like a gazelle being hunted by a mountain lion. Yes, you heard correctly; I was attacked.

The brother and sister pair, Tommy and Sally, came out of nowhere and started chasing me. At first, it was all in good fun, but when I signaled that I was tired of playing, they ran me down and started nipping and pulling hair and ears. Because it was such a terrifying experience, I shrieked in horror and whimpered pitifully as I tried to escape. Seeing Tall and Short rushing toward me, I hightailed it to where they were. Tall grabbed me on both sides of my body and started getting me away from Tommy and Sally, who were being pulled away by their humans. Short squatted down and I ran over to her, tail tucked and whimpering. I have never heard the sound that was escaping my mouth and hope to never hear it again.

After making sure I was physically okay, Tall and Short didn't make a big deal over the situation and encouraged me to run and play, which I did within a couple of minutes. Thank god for my huge ego and confident disposition. I was running around like normal before I knew it. I know Tommy and Sally just got carried away and I plan on remaining their friend. However, next time they decide to attack, I'm going to kick their ass. I'm pretty sure Tall and Short would have my back.

Despite that incident, the hike was a lot of fun. Also, I'm pleased to report that I came home tick free. Was it the concoction Tall mixed up or just luck? As long as I didn't pick up any of those blood suckers along the way, I don't really care if it was the repellent or luck.

Point Isabel: My New Favorite Place

After hearing about Point Isabel -- a magical place where dogs and their people frolic along the Richmond Inner Harbor (pretty much a stone's throw from the Golden Gate Bridge) -- for more than a year, we finally went yesterday. But first, my incompetent humans went the wrong way and we ended up in San Francisco.

Point Isabel was glorious. Here I am with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background:

 

 We met my friend, Brillo, and her human for some muddy fun. As you can imagine, after more than a week of non-stop rain, it was a big mess. But I loved it. Check out all the water I splashed up while fetching; that's Brillo looking on:

 

As the humans strolled along the concrete path, I chased my ball through mud and puddles and over hills and valleys. As you can imagine, I was a filthy mess when it was time to go. Mud and grass were intertwined in my leg, chest, and belly curls. All this mud made me think that I could play with the mud puppies mentioned on this sign:

However, this was a very misleading sign. Instead of dirty puppies running around, the building was lined with bathtubs. I whined in horror when I realized what was in store for me. After all, I just had a bath on Friday.

I needn't have been upset though. The human who washed me was very nice -- and handsome. When he returned me to my humans, he said I was such a good girl and that it would be a pleasure to wash me next time. Wowza! The only thing I didn't like about him was that he put a bow in my hair and on my collar. You can bet the humans had a laugh at my expense.

To see more photos from today -- and I promise they're good -- visit Hear Me Bark's page on Facebook.

My Shadow and Me

Two weekends ago, my humans met a nice human, Mike, and his dog, Martin (a.k.a. Marty My Shadow) at the dog park. We ran into them again last weekend.

Marty doesn't consider himself a ball dog, but he does enjoy a good stalk and chase (as depicted in the previous photo). I feel this relationship is mutually beneficial for everyone. First, I get to play fetch to my heart's content. Second, Marty loves to chase me. Third, the humans get to have a nice chat with Mike and vice versa (I guess). The fetching and chasing goes on for at least 30 minutes and sometimes more.

As we've been spending more time together, I find myself developing some affection for Marty and I think he feels the same way. Perhaps he'll be my new boyfriend. After all, dogs who play and rest together stay together.

 

Pack It Up

Yesterday, the humans pulled out my dog pack from the closet. I hadn't seen it for so long that I thought — and fervently hoped — that it had gotten lost. Luck was not with me today, friends.

As part of the humans' plan to improve their overall health and to help get in my daily exercise, they decided to start our day with a 30-minute walk. The humans, familiar with my high energy level, understand that an ordinary walk won't even scratch the surface with me, so they've decided that I'll wear my pack each day — and it will be filled with two cans of my food. I was not pleased to learn this.

I saw the pack and tried to scurry away, but Short blocked my path as Tall circled round to "saddle me up." At first, I found the pack to be awkward and was forced to walk sideways, but I eventually straightened myself out, especially when Tall starting flashing delicious chicken treats. We walked along the Bay and back to our street in about 30 minutes and I even peed and pooped while wearing my pack. That process was trickier than you might think.

Maybe this won't be so bad after all, especially if I continue to get yummy treats and have the opportunity to spend time with both of my humans.

 
Note: For those of you who are interested, my pack is the Ruff Wear Approach Pack II in size small. I believe this particular model has been discontinued, but the newer model is listed on Ruff Wear's Web site. However, I cannot vouch for the comfort or quality of this particular pack.

Labradoodles, fetch, and Charly!

The humans played a cruel game with me this morning; they made me wait until almost noon to play fetch and get some exercise. As far as I'm concerned, this is unacceptable behavior.

However, my first fetch session of the day proved very exciting. We went to McKinley Park for a change of scenery and ran into two black labradoodles who were just a little younger than me — Juno and Sadie.

 

I enjoyed chatting with these girls, but was dying to play some ball so we cut our visit short. I played some serious fetch while Short Human took photos with her fancy camera. She manages to get some great action shots.

After playing at the park, the humans took me home for a nap. After I awoke and ate dinner, we headed over to the dog park for another game of fetch. Later, we went to Aunt Charly's house for a visit. The usually calm, composed Charly even wrestled with me for a few minutes.

I did let my excitement get the best of me at Charly's house, however, and ended up stealing a lick of butter from the counter top. Oops! I also ruined one of her toys and stuck my head in her bag of kibble for a snack. My humans were embarrassed, as usual, but oh well!

Dog Park Escapades

As usual, I started my Saturday off with a trip to the dog park. There were five large dogs there, including me. A few minutes after we arrived, a small, very cute Jack Russell terrier (JRT) entered the park with her humans. JRT was running around having a blast, and three or four dogs (including me) were tailing her. We would tire of chasing her and mill about to play with balls or sniff a tree. Soon after, I was out chasing my ball when JRT zipped past me. I decided to chase her, but realizing I dropped my ball, I ran back to get it. In the meantime, all hell broke loose. Two of the large dogs caught up with JRT and knocked her to the ground, and a fairly noisy, scary dog fight ensued.

JRT's humans were off strolling at the other end of the park and started running toward her. The other dogs' humans started yelling and running toward the fight. Tall ran over to me and held me by the collar. The next 5 minutes or so were filled with growls, yips, and lots of human yelling. JRT's humans chased away the other dogs and picked her up and one of the larger dogs jumped in the male human's face. Big mistake. Just as JRT's humans put her leash on, the dog was back trying to attack her again. JRT's human kicked the dog, whose owner began yelling. Tall and I sat in the dirt watching and being quiet.

Both of us were relieved that I wasn't involved. Just as we were about to leave, we saw a brown standard poodle coming through the gate, so Tall decided we could stay a little longer. I was glad because I love playing with other standards, especially my new eight-month-old friend, Cecil.

I hope the pleasant experience of meeting Cecil — as well as the temptation to meet other standard poodles — will balance out today's bad experience for Tall. After all, not taking me to the dog park will make her life a lot harder.

Get Your Own Personal Petcast

Just in time for hot summer days and stormy summer nights, Weather.com has launched a special weather forecast for pets and their humans: Personal Petcast.

When you first visit the site, you are presented with options to personalize your furry pal's forecast. The site lets you choose dog or cat, size, hair length, age, and whether your per is overweight. You can even add your pet's name if you like. This information, combined with your zip code (or city/town and state) takes you to a page that gives you:

• The high and low temperatures for day and night.
  
• Chance of precipitation.
  
• Pet comfort index (ranked by one to five paws).
  
• The best day and evening time to walk your dog.
  
• Mosquito activity.

The site also includes fun stuff like a user-submitted daily dog picture and links to pet videos. There's also a section called "Dog Care Clinic" that gives helpful tips like inside car temperatures (ouch!). Oh, and you can even see a chart that shows flea activity in your area. Here's my personalized petcast for today:

I think this is a really helpful tool for pet owner's. I plan to check the site regularly, paying special attention to the best times for a walk. Then I'll bug my humans when it's safe to go out.

Fun and Ice Cream

It's been a busy day for me. I've played fetch at the park three times — can you believe it? Apparently, Short Human might have strep throat, so Tall has been trying to tire me out so I'll be good. I do feel bad for Short and even napped with/watched over her while Tall was out running errands. I'm just hoping her illness won't keep her from attending Poodlepalooza, which I'll fill you in on later, tomorrow in Davis.

While Tall was running errands, she picked up a frozen treat for me at the store called Frosty Paws. My friends, this was one of the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. And it's for dogs only! Thank dog there are three more cups in the freezer! Here's me enjoying the Frosty Paws (note my adorable pink tongue):

I'm resting now because I have a big weekend in store for me. I will be attending flyball class in the morning and Poodlepalooza in the afternoon. We're also supposed to go on a hike Sunday, but will have to play that by ear to make sure Short is feeling better. I'd hate to hike without her.

Hiking in Sunol Regional Wilderness Park

Today we went on a Poodles at Play hike in Sunol Regional Wilderness Park. The hike was great fun and the scenery was gorgeous, but the best part of the day was meeting my cousin Audrey in person and playing with her. Like me, Audrey is very athletic and can jump really high. Doesn't it look like she's levitating?

The trail is amazing, and I highly recommend it. I enjoyed the mountains and especially the streams. At one point during the hike, I decided to relieve myself in one of the streams. Short Human took this photo a few minutes after a conversation with one of the other humans about how it's okay to drink the water because it's so clean. Ironic, isn't it?

Our next hike is in February, and I'm looking forward to it very much. I can't wait to run with the poodle pack and explore more of California.

LOST on Wag Wednesday

Tonight was the season premiere of ABC's hit show, LOST, and the humans were incredibly excited to watch. I went to Wag this morning to get thoroughly tired out so the humans could watch their favorite show uninterrupted.

As usual, I had a blast at Wag. My pal today was Sir Percy Ward, a golden retriever. When we weren't playing chase or wrestling, the Wag humans played fetch with me as much as I wanted, which is AWESOME. Now, I'm totally exhausted, as the humans planned, and must rest. Good night!