Night shift

Lana, cooling down

I hesitate to complain about the extreme heat we've been having lately because my mother lives in Kansas where this has been going on for the past month or more while we've only had it for a few days at a time.  But the dogs are feeling the heat and although I've done what I can to keep them comfortable, there's just no real comfort out there during the day.  Consequently, the foster dogs have become nocturnal.  They sleep during the day as much as possible, in the shade, in front of the fans, and they are active, playful, and far too noisy at night. 

Lana, Cooper, Dixie, in the area I was mowing

I've been taking the gang of four out to the pasture just as the sun is going down and they run like crazy, even though it's still really too hot in my opinion.   I've been mowing while they run, but I'm just sitting on the mower, while they are running.  I hope that will make for a quiet night, but it hasn't been so for the past two nights.  I've been up until after 2:00 a.m. waiting for them to quiet down, providing food, rawhides, and in one case, medication to shut them up. 

Dixie and Cooper, as it was getting dark

Hank is one of those dogs who can't play without barking it seems, and that causes a couple others to join in the conversation.  He may be wearing Nero's bark collar soon, I can't get by on 4-5 hours of sleep for very long.  I think the routine needs to be:  1. late evening pasture time; 2. cool down; 3. late meal; 4. rawhides.  That's what finally did the trick last night, I just need to make it happen before 2:00 a.m. 

Am I the only one who likes butt shots
of dogs running?  I love the motion and
the carriage of the tails.

Heiland is now my dog and I put him together with Gypsy Jr. this morning.  They ignored each other at first and then got into a fight.  I walked away.  She is a tough little bitch and made it clear that she's in charge over there.  I put Sparky in the space where Heiland had been.  He's fine by himself and it will let me do things with him one-on-one.  Gypsy Jr. and Heiland will establish a relationship, they both like the water, and I expect they will be playmates by this evening, which will be good for both of them and quieter for me.  I need to find out if Heiland is spelled "Heiland" or "Hieland".  It's a Fluvanna person's idea of a German name, so it could be an entirely arbitrary choice and a made up word.  It's supposed to mean something in German.  At least two readers here speak German, what say you? 

Hank, of course

Dixie, Hank, and Lana, back in the dog yard
after the pasture run.