Category: Fun Fursday

Can Dogs Be Religious?

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 30 Comments

It seems like maybe my dog might just be a Catholic…he sure seems very religious lately. If he starts following Pope Francis on Twitter, I’ll know for sure. I mean, he seems to be trying to baptize every living thing in sight these days. It goes something like this:

Find every possible tree or shrub and then sniff (pray), pee (baptize), repeat. Heavy emphasis on the pray and repeat parts. Most of the time, the baptize part is just a few drops. Gawd, I love male dogs. For the record he walked around that particularly tree twice and then circled back in the opposite direction once more before the ‘blessing.’ My neighbors are soo lucky he’s such a religious guy.

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So far he hasn’t done too much damage to the garden but I’m holding my breath. There’s so much material to work with, so I’m sure there’ll be some collateral damage at some point. On the plus side, the climbing rose near the front door has NEVER bloomed that much before.

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Is your dog ‘religious?’

Live, love, bark! <3

 

Critters of Hawaii

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 28 Comments

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Although I’ve posted several pictures of Hawaiian flowers and a few animals, I thought I’d share a few more pics of critters now that we’ve been back a week. I just can’t seem to stop reviewing all the fascinating images of flowers and creatures found on the Big Island. With apologies to anyone who saw similar photos on Facebook and earlier, here are a few of the more interesting  Hawaiian critters.

This little Gold-Dust Day Gecko crashed our lunch in Waimea hanging out just waiting to slurp up a few tastes of ice cream and whose tongues work like dogs do. These shy little guys love pollen, fruit and nectar but will take risks to sneak a taste of human sweets. Fast as lightning, they invariably scare the dickens out of you when they race by just out of direct view.

One afternoon we took the grand dogs to a dog-friendly beach. My son’s dog, Kono is a pro when it comes to swimming with her peeps and seems to enjoy it (she and Sam will NEVER be BFF’s because of it). Crazy Nala on the other hand, wanted no part of the water and wasn’t all that sure about Hawaii’s Green Sea Turtle either. That’s her barking in the background. Had to stop filming to keep her from attacking that old fella…well that and to stop laughing at that dingbat dog-you should have seen her raised hackles…at a turtle. Good grief! These creatures are quite remarkable and protected in Hawaii, where people are repeatedly instructed to stay at least 3 feet away from them. Green turtles, also known as Honu, should never be touched and are considered a threatened species by National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

The tiny coqui tree frog is rarely seen, but you will hear its shrill whistles ALL. NIGHT. LONG. This non-native, nocturnal pest had the misfortune of showing up at my son’s house which means this bad boy is invading areas not previously known. Smaller than a penny, they’re a scourge marching across the Big Island and who is now ‘residing’ in my son’s freezer (which is the most humane way of disposing of them).

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This Jackson Chameleon stuck like glue to my grandson’s face and arm, then scrambled on top of our hats. While it wasn’t painful, I was particularly taken by the strength of his grip-he wasn’t easily separated from either of us.

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Of course anyone who has been to Hawaii’s Big Island knows of the wild turkeys and feral goats, both of whom were too elusive to capture either on video or by pic. I did however manage to photograph some of the countless chickens, finches and thieving opportunistic red crested cardinals that live on the island.

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Hope you enjoyed seeing some of the many fascinating critters of Hawaii as much as I did sharing. Vastly different from creatures around my neck of the woods but intriguing nonetheless, proving again that Hawaii is such a terrific place to visit. Aloha.

Live, love, bark! <3

Red Nose Day – 2016

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 20 Comments

Red Nose Day_MG_6285-(ZF-0799-11403-2-001)Today is Red Nose Day, where entertainers all over the world make people laugh and raise money and awareness to lift kids out of poverty. We’re all doing our part today. How about you?

Live, love, bark! <3

 

 

Back to the Future

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 12 Comments

150102-back-to-the-future-mn-850_6c1cc5c2a0c7767b593e1bf9054a4d0f.nbcnews-fp-1200-800We all remember Doc Brown and his pal Marty McFly with the infamous flux capacitor which allowed them to go Back to the Future. It occurred to me recently there’s a bit of that whole ‘Back to the Future” thing going on around the Ranch.

Even though he’s rounding the corner quickly toward 11, Sam has suddenly readopted some definitely ‘Back to the Future’ behavior. Playtime, toys and puppy pouncing.

Sam has never been much into toys. Years ago when the sheep dogs were still with us, I collected a bunch of those Audubon stuffed birds with the realistic bird chirps and squawks. Frankly I adored them as much if not more than the dogs did; the memories from those days still elicit smiles recalling when they would proudly strut around tossing their heads with the birds in their mouths…but conveniently just out of my reach. It was as though they were taunting me to engage in a game of keep-away which I happily did. Recently I discovered the basket they have been stashed in while organizing my studio. I did a quick inventory of what still had its chirper in tact when Sam came in and promptly pulled a couple out of the room. I figured he’d probably go for the eyes and eviscerate them ASAP which has been his MO in the past. To my surprise he carried them off to the living room to toss in the air and then do a very puppy-like pounce on top of them, often making them squeak or chirp. The noise startled him and he looked quite puzzled at the noise but he’d toss it again and re-pounce and slap paws on the hardwood floors. Clearly this pup has figured out he is quite a wizard to make those long forgotten slobber-infested toys make such a strange but wonderful sound. It was hilarious particularly since he’s never expressed any interest in playing with toys before. His favorites seem to be a stuffed kitty, an adorable hedgehog and the Audubon chickadee.

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Sam has been pouncing and playing with them often during the day now so maybe…just like Doc and Marty, this pup went Back to the Future too in suddenly liking toys. Has your “one point twenty-one jigowatt” pup discovered some lost toy and taken an interest in it?

Live, love, bark! <3

Snowmageddon – 2016

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 32 Comments

IMG_2688 3Sam here. So Monday it was 72º and picture ‘pawfect’ for this hound. Mom took me on a couple lengthy walks in our neighborhood and it felt wonderful smelling all the scents of Spring. I even photo-bombed her taking photos of some daffodils along our route and answered loads of pee-mail. Color me a happy boy!

IMG_2707Well, jettison yourself ahead some 20+ hours and here’s what Springtime in the Rockies looked like yesterday, and that was before it started really snowing! During the peak of the storm, it was coming down 2 – 3 inches per hour! The airport was closed most of the day, schools and many business were closed. It was wonderfully quiet since no one was out driving around. I did however, miss all my fur-iends and we weren’t able to go to the hospital like we were supposed to go.

IMG_2714All day long though I kept wondering where was I going to pee now? I mean heck, I can’t stand H2O of any kind and when mom let me out in the morning to do my business, I just snorted at her. Puleez…you’ve can’t possibly expect me to stand out there in THAT, sniffing for the perfect spot in which to send all my neighborhood friends a pee-mail. The wind was howling at over 20 mph and I dashed out to briefly investigate while mom waited for me under the eaves of the garage. I stopped, looked at her and immediately ran back to the covered patio by the door. Um…nope, definitely not peeing in that weather. You can stay out there, dumb upright, but dad will let me in and fix me breakfast. Ahem…mom followed me back and dragged me out to the end of the driveway encouraged me to pee. I complied and then ran like a bank robber back to the house. The rest of the day I kept looking at her hoping she’d figure out a way to build a litter box for me but she let me down. In the afternoon she and dad went out to build a luge run shovel the walks.

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This was one of those super heavy, wet Spring storms that break tree limbs. Our neighbor across the street narrowly had a big limb crash on top of his car. It was too depressing for her to show photos since the same thing happened to her a few years ago when a couple of huge branches crashed through the fence. It even took a few guys built like Paul Bunyan to even move them off the sidewalk. Eek!

IMG_2713Any who, the luge contestants had a great time yukking it up once they finally got the luge run built. It took over 3 hours. Mom continues to ask me, “why did I buy a house on a large corner lot again?” as if I knew why she does anything. Pfft!!

 

 

 

 

IMG_2723In the end when it was all over (just before sunset), the sun tried hard to shine through the clouds and we saw some blue sky. That’s when we showed off the world that our neighborhood got close to 20″ of the white stuff (despite the forecast of around 4-8″).

Not sure how long I can ‘hold it’ but hopefully there’ll be enough melting today and Friday so I can get back to peeing and pooping in the perfect spot. A boy can only hold his legs together for so long.

IMG_2726Have you ever had to survive Snowmageddon? Were you able to smell it? I definitely tried.

Live, love, bark! <3

Fun Fursday

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 25 Comments

We had a power outage this morning which delayed this post but I didn’t want you to not have a smile today. I was cruising around Pinterest the other day and found this. Given Sam’s recent injuries, thought it might be appropriate. Is is wrong to laugh when you see images like this? Hope you have a super Fursday! Oof…Woof!

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Live, love, bark! <3

Fun Fursday

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 30 Comments

Sam here…this is what I’ll look like when I get back from hospice later today. But it’s okay, I won’t mind a bit. People will make me feel better about my sore leg which is feeling MUCH better, thank you very much. I’ll make them smile by letting them flatten and smoosh my head. See…everyone wins.  Oh, the things I do to make people happy. 😉

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Wishing you a terrific “Fun Fursday!”

Live, love, bark! <3

Fun Fursday

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 17 Comments

We arrived back in Denver last night, after fighting 50 mph winds along I-80 in Wyoming. Yikes…when it’s windy in Colorado it makes me crabbish so I always wonder how folks survive in places like that. Don’t know about you, but I needed a smile after driving all day yesterday. Having owned two Old English Sheepdogs before Sam joined to round out our little 3-ring circus, this one make me chuckle. Enjoy!

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Live, love, bark! <3

Fun Fursday

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 21 Comments

Wishing you a day filled with loads of smiles and fun. Sam is off to visit his grandma for a few days to make sure she is in fact getting better in paw-son.

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Live, Love, Bark! <3

A conversation with the dog

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 29 Comments

Hey Sam, come here. Let’s talk about homeopathy, boy!

I'm a what?!

Wait, what-e-op-othy?

Homeopathy, Sam.
ho·me·op·a·thyˌhōmēˈäpəTHē/ [noun]
the treatment of disease by minute doses of natural substances that in a healthy person or animal would produce symptoms of disease.

Uh, doesn’t sound like anything I’d be interested in or want to know more about.

Sure you do. You know that spot on your tail that hasn’t healed well over the past couple of weeks? I think you might benefit from a homeopathic remedy since you keep licking it raw.

I am not licking it. I’m…um…applying super healing dog saliva, yeah, that’s the ticket. Super healing dog saliva!

Oh good grief…well, it doesn’t seem to be working in any event so I thought we’d try something out of “Mom’s super homeopathic kit” to help you out. It’s that or a trip to the vet. Do you want to go to the vet>

Hmm, no! You do make a valid point there. Ok, tell me more about it, maybe I’ll warm up to the idea pay attention to what you’re saying. Is it magic fairy dust? I LOVE fairy dust!

Unlike drugs or fairy dust, homeopathic remedies use the original thing that started the problem. According to The Natural Canine, “homeopathy uses micro doses of natural substances, has no side-effects or interactions with pharmaceutical medications.” With homeopathy, the cure won’t be worse than the problem. Homeopathy principles date back to Hippocrates and even before him to ancient Hindus while modern day homeopathy was founded by German physician Samuel Hahnemann in 1810. It’s based on the law of similars whereby remedies containing minute amounts of natural substances stimulate the body’s defense mechanisms against specific imbalance. If given in large doses, they would produce the same symptoms. The healing power doesn’t actually come from the substances but from the energy released during the refinding process of shaking and dilution.

So you’re telling me something from your hocus-pocus bag will make me better? Nah, I don’t think so you’d better find me some magic fairy dust.

Oh Sam, you’re just being ridiculous irrational. Don’t you want relief from the itching that caused it? Personally I think you might have an allergy to some of the plants and grasses near Grandpa’s house. Remember how you were sniffing for bunnies and kept getting into the brush? After a thorough cleaning of the spot, I’ll apply an anti-allergy dose and you’ll begin to feel better in no time.

Oooh, yes, bunnies, Can we go see the bunnies again?  It would be nice not to have to chew on my tail 87 times a day. Is this something like the essential oils you use on my collar to keep ticks and other critters away? That stuff smells so interesting.

Yes, Sam, please focus-no bunnies right now. A few dabs of rose geranium essential oil is very successful for repelling ticks from dogs.

Ok, I’ll agree, but I still think I’d prefer the magic fairy dust.

Sigh. Wouldn’t we all like some fairy dust?

Next time, I’ll tell you what ingredients you should have around to create your own ‘hocus-pocus bag.’ Till then…

Live, love, bark! <3