Cooling Off

Our Florida days are hot, hot, hot at this time of year.  Every day it gets up in the 90s.

Ralphie can hunt for hours in the backyard...chasing those lizards and bugs.  He really works hard, like it's his job.  Obviously, dogs don't sweat... panting is his sweating...and boy he pants a lot under our sweltering sun.  Finally Ralphie got smart and let's say quite daring...

Ralphie now sits on the top step of the pool to cool off!  Yep, he's getting smarter every day.  Haha
He actually takes a swim on his own now too...from one side to the other.  Gosh, I think I have a water dog now!!  He is just way too much fun...I just love him so much!!!

Ralphie swims alone now ... no need to be held.  Boy he's getting to be a big boy!!

Pool Fun

Ralphie is getting more daring and more sure of himself as he gets older.  Finally he's starting to love the pool.  He had so much fun fetching and swimming for the ball in the pool ... and this is on his own!  Ralphie is more fun and more fun each day.  Seriously I am having a ball with him...so many laughs and I absolutely adore his high energy and playfulness.  Right now he's snoozing on the sofa next to my feet ... he's out cold ... snoring away ... he had quite a day...

Naughty Boy!

Ralphie stays home with Ollie a couple days a week while I'm at work.  The other days he goes to Erica's place for the day and she takes him to the dog park.

At the beginning as a small puppy I crate-trained him.  Ralphie did very well with the crate.  Then I thought I'd take the next step and leave the crate open but close the kitchen door so he doesn't have run of the house.  He did okay at the beginning but as he was getting bigger he started jumping up on the sink, then onto the breakfast bar and then leaps onto the sofa in the living room.  I knew I couldn't continue to let him loose in the kitchen with the door closed because of this danger of jumping.  I can just see him breaking a leg.  Then I thought I would give it a whirl at let him have the run of the house.  He does pretty well most of the time, no major damage.  I always leave a test for him before leaving the house in the morning.  I'll leave out a pair of old shoes to see if he would chew them...he passed.  I'll leave a magazine or napkin on my coffee table...sometimes he passes and sometimes...well today...see for yourself... LOL

Naughty Boy!

Dog Park People

Ralphie and I go to several dog parks in the area.  We do have our favorite, Enterprise Dog Park located in Clearwater, however it's not the closest one.  We go to a small dog park in my area soon being rebuilt to an awesome-looking park.  We go to the county dog park where very few people go.  Then we recently tried out a 'shaded' dog park that was highly recommended by my neighbor.  Every park has it's own style and it's own regulars.  The regulars are the dogs and owners who frequent that particular park...that would be us at Enterprise Dog Park.

I've realized we dog park people are seemingly a little different from maybe what someone would think is the norm.  It doesn't matter which dog park you're at, we're all the same.  We spend a lot of our time at these parks to keep our dogs happy and to see them have fun.    It never fails we dog park people always ask the owner their dog's name...never or rarely do we ask their name.   Truly we really just care about the dog.  We never ever forget these dogs' names!   We know each dog's ailment or health issue ... yes, we know who is on meds for rashes, mosquito bites, eye problems, ear problems, etc. etc.  We also know the age of all the dogs and how much they weigh...and we REMEMBER this information!  We know all about the dog's naughtiness at home and at the park.  We're all so proud of our much loved pet.  We all stand around admiring our pet and think our dog is the best.  We think our dog is the smartest.  We all think our dog is the 'popular' one at the dog park.  We're all about the dog and that's pretty much it.

YES, YES, YES Ralphie is a handsome, healthy one year old, 56 pound Vizsla who has slight mange again, on his meds, gets a lot of mosquito bites, his ears bug him once in awhile, and he's really smart and loves to show off his tricks at the agility park, some of his best friends are Jake, Rambo, Jessie, Gus, Boomer, and Kong, loves to be chased by all the dogs, he's the leader,  and he's VERY popular!!  LOL

Ralphie at the Agility Park

Ralphie loves doing his 'tricks' at the dog park...take a look.

My Fall

Ralphie is getting big and strong.  He's about 56 pounds and a strong powerhouse one-year old dog now.  Shame on me for not taking precautions of his great strength.

Ralphie was home all day yesterday while I was at work.  It was obvious he was restless by the shredded paper napkin left on the coffee table and shredded plant leaves that I found when I got home.  After the rain, I took Ralphie and Ollie out for their walk to do their business.  I was lazy and didn't put on Ralphie's Lupine harness (which I LOVE and works!!).  So I hooked him and Ollie up to their collars to take our walk.  Well, Ralphie pulled sharply and I slipped on my neighbor's wet driveway and fell.  I got a rush of dizziness and nauseousness. I felt sick to my stomach probably from the excruciating pain in my shoulder.  We turned around to go home ... I just wanted to lay on the sofa to overcome this sick feeling.

I'm not the type to run to the doctor or ER right away.  I have to scope out the injury myself through word of mouth and Google.  Erica recommended to ice it and take 3 or 4 ibuprofen, which I did.  I didn't go to the ER...well at least not yet.  This morning I wake up ... can barely move my shoulder, can't lift my arm...but no bruises, no bones sticking out, no swelling.  I'm thinking it may be a bad sprain or dislocated shoulder.  More than likely I will be visiting the ER today or tomorrow if I don't see any improvement.

LESSON LEARNED ... Know I have a strong, powerful dog now; he's not like Ollie, an 8 pound Yorkie...don't be lazy and take the time to put on his Lupine harness to stop his pulling, continue to train him to walk like a show dog.

Happy First Birthday Ralphie!!

Today is Ralphie's first birthday...I cannot believe it, seems just like yesterday he was an itsy-bitsy little puppy.  He's brought so much joy to my life this past year.  He makes me laugh every day! 
Of course, I had a little birthday party for him...LOL  Well it was a fun BBQ for us!