Dog Camp & Spa

Clay's mother had this sign made for me
for Christmas.  It's not installed yet but
I think this is where it will go.

Toquima arrived today to spend a few days
with us making him the first official visitor
to the dog camp and spa.  He's shown here
with the new boxer, Frank.



Toquima and Frank, with
Trooper and Maya behind.



Maya and Trooper, as cute together as ever.



Toquima, Trooper, and Maya







Max and I hit the trails today.

This is a map of the five mile hike and Max
and I did today.

Back to the trails

Between the trip to Ireland and Christmas, it's been a couple weeks since I've been on the trails, but we got back to it today in a big way.

First I did 3.4 miles with Sparky.  The map on the right shows our route mapped with an app called Map My Walk.  Sparky didn't care about the app or the route, he was just happy to be out there again.  We had a good time. 










I got back home, finished up my work and rested a bit, and then headed out again with Max.  We did a shorter hike, 2.2 miles, but it was enough for me even though Max was still pulling strong right up to the end. 

I'm not sure who needed it the most, Sparky, Max, or me.  We all needed it and it was good for all of us. 

Maya and Ochie playing outside

Frank

I wanted to get both dogs out on Saturday because Sunday is predicted to be chilly and very wet.  I also picked up four new bales of straw for the dog yard, shed, and kennel.

Ochie and Frank are spending the nights in crates up in my office, and Frank is spending most of the day indoors as well.  He made it clear that he's an indoor boxer.  Sweet boy.  He's a little food aggressive but I really can't find anything wrong with him.  He's going to be a good dog for some lucky boxer lover.

Boxer Day

Frank gives a nice boxer hug.

Today was Boxing Day in the U.K. and in many former British colonies.  It's St. Stephen's Day in Ireland.  But it was Boxer Day at our house because we took in a new boxer named Frank.  He's a good looking, young, male boxer, who was adopted out of a shelter in Georgia.  He came to live with some nice folks on a Keswick horse farm but Frank wasn't too friendly with the resident dogs, stalked the cat with malevolent intentions, and wasn't good with the horses either.  Frank is sweet and friendly with people, however.
 

He's not a big boxer and he's very lean
but he has been putting on some weight.

I went to meet him late this morning and heard his story.  He was reportedly doing somewhat better with the dogs at this point, but not the cat. He had been a stray and was probably having to fight for any food he could find.  It had only been a couple weeks since he was neutered so there was some reason to hope for further improvement at least with the intra-species relationships.   I met him, liked him, and brought him home to give it a try.

Meeting Trooper

Meeting Ochie

Meeting Mad Max

I put him in a kennel by himself at first as I usually do, but decided to accelerate the introduction process.  He wasn't running the fence, barking, or displaying any aggressive behavior.  I put a leash on him and brought him into the dog yard with Trooper.  No problem.  Everyone likes Trooper.  I brought out Ochie, who immediately wanted to play with him.  Frank wasn't quite ready for that yet and he snarled at Ochie a bit, but everyone does.  Then I brought in Mad Max, still no problem.
 

I'm a sucker for that boxer face.

Maya was on one of her unauthorized walkabouts around the neighborhood so she missed introductions but she showed up again finally and I put her into the shed along with Ochie and Frank when we went to town for dinner.  Everyone came out alive and well when we got home this evening. 

Frank and Ochie are in adjoining crates in my office for the night, and I think Frank will be just fine. 

Happy Boxer Day. 

Turnover

Richmond moved to a new foster home today, as I had hoped he would.  To make a short story even shorter, a local foster home found themselves without a foster dog and they wanted one.  It's a home I know, like, and trust.  They came to meet Richmond and took him away on the spot.  It will be a good move for the dog, he'll get more time, attention, socialization, and training than I can give him here.  It was a good move for them, for us, and most importantly, for the dog. This is a big step on the road towards his new life.

Max will be back on Prozac by the end of the day, and I think I'll bring Ochie inside soon and start working on his house manners.  We are down to eight dogs now, and assuming that Sparky is ours, we really just have two fosters.  That's a good thing, especially with the winter mud season upon us.

Richmond

He loved having the space to move around in the dog yard.
He checked it out thoroughly and left plenty of marks.

The day I left for Ireland I had been planning to drive up to Orange to pull a shepherd named Richmond from the shelter.  I put that off until today because I couldn't leave Clay with a new dog not knowing how he would fit in with the others.

He was sort of a "to rescue only" dog it seems, because he was stressed in the shelter, was not good with small dogs, and is just too big, strong, and untrained for a casual adopter.  He managed to both shit and barf on the way home, soiling both crates in the back of my van.  He doesn't travel well at this point but that's just stress from being taken by a stranger to a new place.  He's said to be four years old and he's been neutered and vaccinated.

Meeting Trooper

Once we got home I put him in the dog yard and started introductions.  We started with Trooper because Trooper is really good with new dogs and the two were fine together.  Richmond looks a lot like Trooper, same coloring and markings, except that Richmond's ears are fully erect.

Meeting Ochie

Meeting Max

After Trooper, I introduced Ochie and those two were fine.  Ochie just wanted to play and Richmond both wanted and needed to do so.  I added Max to the mix without any problems.  Maya was inside so she hasn't met him yet but she made her presence and her opinion known through the open upstairs window.  I don't anticipate any problem there.

Max's prozac ran out while I was away and he has reverted to a heightened level of neurotic behavior. I'll get him to see a vet on Monday and get him back on it asap.  He will have to be on it permanently, I expect.  I'm not sure yet what his adoption prospects will be.

Richmond is a great looking dog and he seems nice but I obviously don't know much of anything about him at this point.

Trooper and Richmond

Ochie and Trooper

He seems very happy to be out of the shelter.  He's a great looking dog.

Ireland wrap up

Kate is doing well and I'm heading home tomorrow.  Here's a few more pics to wrap up the trip.

This is the new dog bling I picked up in Dublin.  There was a pretty good selection in several stores.

I got this one at Newgrange for Gigi.  I came dangerously close to buying Gigi a very pretty gold pendant with a Celtic design.  But the thing cost 40 Euro and I didn't want to be that guy.  

Ruby with a new tug toy I got her today.

Deborah came out this afternoon and brought her dog, Mojo.  This is Mojo and Ruby sitting for a biscuit.

Mojo is only still when he's sitting for a biscuit.

Deborah brought out some beers, including canned Guinness. It's not as good as the draft in Ireland, but it's better than no Guinness.

This says a lot about the Irish.  

Deborah is the friend and artist who created the labels for our home brew.  She made this for us and brought it out today.  I love it.

Kentucky dogs

We are back in Kentucky. The flight home went well, all on time, but it's been a long day. I'm going to shower and go to bed but here's a few pics of the Kentucky dogs. They were all happy to see Kate and even happy to see me. 

Aggie

Jack

Louie

Sarge

The new girl, Ruby

Frank and Rickie