Doodle in a Dog Park

Another routine Jeff and I are attempting to cultivate is the weekend dog park/Starbucks jaunt.  The dog park has been on our radar since long before we actually brought the Milt home, but first we needed to wait on vaccinations, and then we were worried about our unregistered dog roaming about.  The conundrum with registration is the City of Dallas charges $30 for registration if your dog is unneutered versus $7 if he or she has been fixed.  So we have been stalling until we neuter the Milt (usually done at about six months) before we register him.  Due to this, there is always the threat of dog cops picking us up at the park, but I think it is highly unlikely!

This dog park is situated on White Rock Lake (manmade of course - it's Texas!), and it is conveniently located only about 15 minutes away from our apartment.  The lake is just about nine miles around, so it is fun to go and swap out on the Milt - one of us will walk or jog while the other keeps an eye on Milt's shenanigans. 

Weighing in at a proud 47 lbs., Milton more than qualifies!

Milton would appreciate the privilege of associating with everyone at the dog park, but sadly the small and large dogs are split up, for good reason, of course.  Milton does spend an awful lot of time goofing around!  I wish I had more pictures of other dogs playing with him, but I felt a bit awkward snapping up close pics with my big honking camera with all the other dog owners co-mingling in such close proximity.

A face off is about to occur

Poor Milton obviously did not get his way

More than anything, Milton loves getting good and dirty at the dog park, just like daycare.

Muddy socks

Happy as a pig in mud

As content as a clam in water

Milton is beginning to like chasing after a tennis ball more and more.  Jeff contributes to that by only allowing Milton to play with his tennis balls during "fetch and catch" practice.

The throw (notice the ball in the top right corner), and the chase begins!

Milt's after it, running hard.

Circling around for the kill (note the awed onlooker in the background)

Skillful pickup (that man is still rubbernecking our dog's agility!)

Victory!

Sweet happiness - a dog and his ball.

Besides the walking path, the other main benefit of this park is the ability for the Milt to splash around a bit!  Full-blown swimming is just not a passion yet for our dog.  We think he's getting there though - soon enough.

My two boys

Placid puppy in pristine water

Quite frankly, I'd like this dog park routine to start picking back up.  As Jeff is always reminding me, "The family that runs together, stays together."  I suppose watching the Milt run around counts for something too!

Puppy Photo of the Week

Every night our family has a little routine.  About 15 minutes before we are all about to hop into bed, either Jeff or I take Milton out for his final walk of the day.  We go down the stairs, cut through the parking lot, wander about the gardens, take one, hopefully, two bathroom breaks, and wrap around to the pool.  To Milton, this pool stop is the equivalent of a bedtime bath.

Milt never breaks routine and consistently climbs down to always the first step of the shallow end where he promptly sits and then slowly begins to lie down.  He will stay like this taking it all in for about five minutes, and then he climbs out all ready to go home.  This is obviously Milton's sweet and simple way to decompress after a long, hard day of playing and sleeping.  Personally, I think Milton is pioneering doggie skinny dipping.  Dogs are just like humans in even more ways than we realize!

Late night dip

Calendar Boy 2013?

The Milt and I are proud members of the awesome doodle website - Doodle Kisses (www.doodlekisses.com).  DK's slogan is, "Where Doodle Owners Can Connect," and that is certainly the truth as I have met two very good Dallas friends through this site.  The website features photographs and videos, blogs (I post there too, and it is a wonderful support system!), upcoming events, and my favorite, discussion forums and groups.  These forums have been amazingly helpful in answering some of my most pressing, embarrassing, ridiculous questions regarding the Milt.  Such a vast collection of doodle owners provides a wealth of knowledge for all of us newbies. 

Every year DK comes out with four doodle calendars - doodle puppies, goldendoodles, labradoodles, and mixed doodles, from photographs that the members submit.  As soon as I caught wind of the calendar frenzy, I wanted our Milton in!  The only trouble is this contest has some very strict rules regarding the pictures because high quality must shine through.  Of course I have a million and one photos of the Milt, but many are full body with a distracting leash amidst a messy background.  The calendar is looking for glamor shots - landscaped up close facials that would ultimately make for phenomenal calendar spreads.

So, what is a girl to do?  I enlisted the help of my good friend and star photographer, Alicia.  She and her supportive husband, Alan, met the Milt and me one afternoon at a local park where we shot and shot again for a solid hour.  Alicia's patience and Milton's concentration (due to all his daddy's training) were both outstanding!  We arrived home, and Milton took a very long nap which tends to prove that sometimes mental stimulation can be equally as taxing as physical.  To check out Alicia's other amazing photographs and perhaps book her one day soon, please visit the site below:

http://aliciaskinner.com/

Now scroll on down through Alicia's handiwork, and please do send some positive thoughts our way that one of the below will be picked for the upcoming 2013 Doodle Calendar!  The results should be known in just a few more weeks...!  Milton has been waiting in eager anticipation - no, wait - that's me!

 

My personal favorite

                                                                                        

Halloween Arrived Early this Year

This past Saturday, my doodle friends and I, with our respective doods, of course, attended Barktober Fest 2012 at Fort Woof in Fort Worth.  As can be imagined with the crisp fall weather (temps in the 50s), the Halloween spirit, and dogs on parade, it was a magical morning!  Here is our little party:

Leo the Lion and Lindsay

Hops the Bucking Bronco (Thuy)

Newton the Monster (Thuy)

Milt the Frog (me!)

Fort Woof is a tremendous dog park with a common middle ground flanked by separate small dog and large dog play areas.  The event was nicely organized with adoption dogs and lots of vendors giving out free swag, like all-natural dog food, doggie disposal bags, and even pig ears! 

Our crowd spent some time in both play areas.  Milton was lucky that his mid-size weight allowed him to play in both; however, I did swiftly kick him out of the small dog park when he latched on to another little dog's frog costume and proceeded to run him around.  I don't think Milt liked the frog competition!

Milton and Hops fooling around with a pretty cool boxer onlooker

A delicate flower

A turtle waddling along

Leo battling a bumble bee

Sometimes the humans dress up too!

The highlight of the event was when a couple of our dogs participated in a "Stupid Dog Tricks" contest.  It was actually commented by a local radio celebrity, T'he Great Gordo!  Thuy and I felt pretty professional as we coaxed our dogs into the ring.  The bad news was we could only showcase one trick, and our dogs have such a vast repertoire.  Actually, I think it's more like we need to show all of the tricks together to achieve the wow value!

The dogs practicing before they go on!

Thuy picked "sit pretty" for Hops which required him to sit up on his hind legs.  Likewise, Milton performed his trademark "crawl," but once completed the commentator remarked, "I hope you folks didn't spend too much time teaching your dogs these tricks!"  Needless to say, Milton and Hops would rather wrestle than perform.

We didn't stick around long enough for the Costume Contest, but we did catch a glimpse of a dog obedience school performance.  The show consisted of the dogs perfectly parading around, and the below shows the dogs' amazing ability to sit still while festival goers ran around attempting to distract.  After Milton's lack of heel at the festival, Jeff and I are really seeing the need to up training in this area!

Perfect concentration

Overall, Barktober Fest was the perfect way to spend the day.  The cold weather precluded us from eating lunch out, but I think all the boys were quite tired, including this one!

Sleepy frog

Something tells me we just might become regulars at this Halloween doggie festival!  Good thing I bought the Milt an extra-large costume to store away for next year.  Happy Early Halloween, everyone!

Three girls and their boys

Puppy Photo of the Week

I know you're all thinking, wait, Milton can't possibly be a year old yet!  Well, he's not.  I turned 27-years-old today!

Milton wishing his Momma a Happy Birthday!

This picture was taken last night after my wonderful husband devoted a few good hours to baking a family heirloom - the notorious red velvet cake!  This cake envelops the trifecta of Crisco, margarine, and butter, not to mention, white sugar, powdered sugar, and two, yes two, bottles of red food coloring.  It is a delicious beast only appropriate perhaps once or twice a year.  For this tasty birthday delight, I thank my mother-in-law for sharing!

It is crazy how in the short span of a year, I acquired a fantastic new job as a writing teacher, received a precious puppy that Jeff and I are wild about, and we are in the midst of serious house hunting.  My how a year can change your life.  On that note, Happy Columbus Day everyone, and, as always, thank you for reading my blog!

A Losing Battle

Last week Milt came home from daycare with a slight limp.  Our goldendoodle was playing a little too rough with the big boys.  After that, Milt tried to milk that injury for all it was worth.  He thought it entitled him to additional rest in extra comfy spots, like:

The Couch Incident #1

The Couch Incident #2

Relaxing in the recliner

Lounging on the bed

The Milt freely climbs up onto our living furniture, averting his eyes throughout, while we are in the room or quietly sneaks off to hop on the bed, despite owning his very own dog bed.  These repeat incidents (a solid four this weekend alone) are probably due to the fact that Momma laughs and runs for her camera, while Daddy drags the boy off with a firm, "No."

Why do we resist the Milt so much?  At this point, I really don't know.  I'd love to have him all snuggly next to me on the couch or in bed, but the amount of dirt that boy drags around is unbelievable.  It is simply entrenched into his fur and soaked deep down into his paws.  By week's end, his fur has gone from a pearly white to a light blonde and finally sinks into a dull brown color.

I think we fear Milton would ruin or break our "stuff," especially once his full weight is reached.  Dog owners, if this is not the case, let me know because I now prefer sitting on the floor with my Milt, and it's not too comfortable.

Puppy Photo of the Week

Saturday evening we joined some good friends for a BBQ.  When we received the initial invite, I asked, "What can we bring besides the Milt?"  Somehow I always manage to wheedle the Milt into all of our social activities.  Despite the torrential downpour all day Saturday, I thought it was still a good idea to bring him.

Since these are very close friends, they didn't renege on their inclusiveness; however, as soon as we arrived, it was clear that Milt dog was just too wet to remain inside.  So, we had to kick him out with their two terriers who are not altogether fond of our doodle.  Oddly enough, Milt usually likes the rain, but when it was a deluge of water on a stormy night, and he was stuck outside when the rest of his pack is inside, he was not too happy as is evident by the picture below even though you can't hear his whiny squeals.  

Wet dog

After the fifth or sixth time Milton beseeched us at the window, we actually did bring the party outside to join the boys.  We are not quite as poor at parenting as we may seem!