Our crazy doodles are always at play.  They love chasing each other, chasing the ball, catching the ball, wrestling, stick stealing and as pictured above, Tug of War.  It's fun to watch them interact with one another and great that they're burning off a bit of energy before coming back inside.  Just like with children, sometimes they can get a bit exuberant, so we always supervise their playtime to ensure no one gets hurt.

Here are a few pictures of some of the games played in our back yard:

At 6 months old, Joplin is one of the best stick stealers around.  Reo's letting her know she's not happy about this stick stealing thing.

Moose has long legs and a LARGE mouth making him a natural at ball catching!

No one can touch Reo when it comes to the high jump.  It seems she just may have springs in her back legs.

The gold medal for ball chasing and retrieving goes to none other than Tuli!  She is amazing at this sport.  She has exceptional focus and speed and 9 times out of 10, she is the first one to the ball.  She then faithfully runs back to you and drops the ball at your feet, then does a little dance letting you know she's ready to go again.

Casanova and Storm prefer wrestling to other sports.  They are both quite large and look like a couple of bears when they wrestle.  Even though Cas could easily win most of these matches, he always lets the girls win...even the smallest of the girls, 40 pounds lighter,  beats him.  Such a gentleman!


What games do your furry friends like to play?  Maybe we could introduce some new sports to our dog's playtime!

I took these photos of a bee hovering over a thistle in our back yard. Our yard is filled with many things that bees just love making it a nectar-filled smorgasbord.  From the clover that fills the yard to the ripe and juicy pears that fall from our pear tree, bees have plenty to feast upon.  While it's fascinating to watch these little guys in action, they can be very dangerous to your dog.

Dogs are curious creatures and may find a bee, or wasp or hornet, an interesting object to chase and play with, making their noses and mouths great targets for a stinger.  Or they could simply be walking through the yard and step on a bee who is collecting her nectar from some clover.  

If you think your dog has been stung by a bee, you should immediately seek the advice of your veterinarian as a bee sting can be life-threatening to your dog.  We like to keep Benadryl in the house at all times.  Your vet may recommend giving your dog a dose to reduce swelling and itching.  

Here are some signs that your dog may have been stung by a bee:

     ~   Crying out, running in circles, salivating
     ~   Mild signs include: swelling of the area; scratching, rubbing, licking, or chewing at  
         the sting
     ~   Severe signs include: profound swelling of the face, throat, or neck; hives, vomiting; 
          difficulty breathing; collapse


Of course, the best course of action would be to do everything you can to prevent the bee sting.  When the pears are ripe and falling from the tree, the pears must be picked up before the dogs can come outside.  We have a temporary plastic fencing around the thistle to protect the dogs from encountering the bees that hover there.  And we mow the lawn at least weekly so that the clover doesn't have a chance to get out of hand.  If you have a flower bed in your yard, you might consider putting a barrier around it to keep your inquisitive canine out.

Remember, a bee sting could be very dangerous to your dog, so if you believe she has been stung, don't wait.  Call your veterinarian immediately.  

Call it curious, call it nosey, call it inquisitive.  Whatever it is, our dogs are the biggest Nosey Rosies I have ever seen.  They seem to need to know what's going on at all times. 

 Yesterday, while playing in the back yard, they kept sticking their noses into a hole they've dug.  So Jerry went and found an old bucket and laid it over the hole.  These two walked around it for a while, keeping their distance, until Indy got brave enough to check it out with her nose.  They were so amazed by this curious new object in the back yard.  I think they have expected it to spring to life and start chasing them!

Privacy in the bathroom?  Forget about it.  If I go into the bathroom and don't quite get the door closed all the way, eventually someone pokes their nose in.  Sometimes a couple of them peek in.  They can't stand to think that you're behind that closed door doing something they can't see.  Surely they must be missing something exciting!

Our moms need lots of quiet and privacy when they are whelping their pups, but we still need to know what's going on in the rest of the house, so we keep the doors open but put these gates in the doorways to keep the other dogs out.  They stand there, being as patient as they can, and watch as the puppies are born.  It's really quite comical.  They look like a nervous family in a hospital, anxiously awaiting the birth of their loved one.

I'm wondering if all dogs are like this, or just ours.  And I often wonder exactly what they're thinking when they're checking things out.  What's going on in those curious minds?

A dog's nose is wet, cute and squishy, but it plays an important part in how she interprets her world.  While humans rely on their eyes to collect information about their surroundings, a dog uses her nose.

It is estimated that dogs can identify smells somewhere between 10,000 to 100,000 times better than humans.  

Whereas humans have 5 million scent receptors, a dog has many, many more!  A Dachshund has about 125 million, a German Shepherd 225 million, and a Bloodhound a whopping 300 million!  Sort of makes us humans inferior! 

These powerful sniffers are perfect for some very unique jobs that couldn't be accomplished by humans.  Sniffing out drugs and bombs, finding people buried in avalanches, tracking down criminals and detecting cancerous cells are just a few of the amazing feats that dogs can perform.  

With noses that sensitive, make sure you do your dog a favor and keep yourself smelling clean....and go easy on the cologne!  Wait....don't clean your socks though.  Yea, keep those socks nice and smelly.  That's the way they like 'em!