WATER! WATER! EVERYWHERE!

Kinsey was right. That last storm was winter's swan song. Today was just the nicest spring day anyone could want, sunny and 65 degrees.

It looks like the blacktail deer have finally left for the high country. They have kinda put a crimp in my afternoon frolicking. Kinsey has been afraid to let me loose when they were around and I don't blame her there. Those guys are big and feisty. Today the deer were nowhere in sight so we took off through our woods to check things out. Imagine, I have forty acres to run around on. Eat your hearts out city dudes!

When I first arrived here at Dancing Deer it was winter and I was scared to death of water, keep in mind I was just a puppy. The ponds were partially frozen over and Kinsey was scared to death I'd fall in and drown. By mutual consent we have avoided the ponds. Today we finally checked them out and guess what? I'm not afraid anymore. In fact, I'm liking water more and more. Yippee! This is so great because there are two ponds and streams and creeks and oh my goodness water, water, everywhere. I bet I'll be swimming in those ponds before long. I'm not sure Kinsey is as thrilled by all this as I am.  That pond water is kinda stinky and the bottoms are definitely mucky. Oh, well, that's her problem not mine. It's good to be a dog!

I don't know exactly what I weigh now. I was 25 pounds the last time I was at the vets and that was a couple of weeks ago. I must be growing cuz every morning Kinsey looks at me as sez "I swear you grow in the night!"

©Kinsey Barnard

Playing with the deer in the safety of my enclosure

Pretty much in there

Racing down a hillside after getting the whistle call

Me looking beautiful by the pond

I MADE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT!

Well, this is news. I finally made it through the night without having to go out. This is great news for Kinsey especially since it is the first night in six months she has been able to sleep through the night without interruption. Before I showed up she was having to get up several times in the night to let Uncle Koty out. Koty had Cushing's Disease and couldn't hold his water. Boy, did I get a ton of kisses and good girls. The antibiotics seem to be working real good on my infection.

I have decided to refer to Lakota as Uncle Koty. It looks like I am going to be mentioning him a lot. He seems to be everywhere we go and Kinsey tells me much about him. I can tell her heart is still broken from his passing. I'm not jealous or envious. Because I know that if she loves me only half as much as she loved him I will be the luckiest dog in the whole wide world. She loves me already. I can tell.

Yesterday we hiked way up the Blacktail Trail. On the way Kinsey showed me where Koty died. She has memorialized the spot with a little rock pile. No one but us will ever know what it is.

I distinguished myself on the retractable leash. I've got that down pretty good. I've made mental note of how far out it goes and can gauge pretty good when I'm getting to the end so I can slow down. If I'm getting a little excited and look like I'm going to forget myself Kinsey calls out "Be careful" and I come to my senses and stop before I hit the end. Every now and again I just sit down and wait for her to catch up. That seems to please her so I'll keep that up.

Kinsey bot a whistle for long range recalls. I got it right off the bat and came running the first time she used it. That got me fresh cooked chicken! I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what she wants because when I do I get the best darned treats. Kinsey says we have a lot in common when it comes to food. We both live to eat. Uncle Koty was just the opposite. He ate to live.

We seem to really be hitting our stride and life just keeps getting better and better. I am a very happy puppy.

©Kinsey Barnard

Just discovered Timmy's bed. It's not looking like Timmy will ever make it back home.

SAW THE TOBACCO RIVER FOR THE FIRST TIME

I got to see the Tobacco River for the first time today. It was pretty cool! I'm still a little leery of water though. Kinsey had a trouble keeping me on the trail because there was so much to smell off the trail. I got myself all full of tiny burrs. I was very patient about letting Kinsey pull them out of my nice long hair but it really wasn't any fun. Maybe I'll listen to her next time when she tells me to stay on the trail. Then again maybe not. :)

Before we went to the river we went to the dump. Where we live there is no garbage collection. We have to haul the debris to the dump ourselves. I got stuck in the back of the truck with the garbage. At first I was insulted to be keeping comapny with the junk. Then I realized it was only temporary. So, that was OK.

Wonder what neat thing we will do tomorrow.

©Kinsey Barnard

Looking out at the Tobacco River

Riding with the garbage

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

OK, it isn't my real birthday. It's my, I'm four months old birthday. I don't think I'm getting a party or anything. That's fine because it's been pretty much a party since I got here about a month ago. WOW, a month already. It's true, time really does fly when your having fun.

Yesterday, I hijacked this blog from my human. It already seems kind wordy to refer to my human as my human so I'm going to start calling her Kinsey which is her name. I mean no disrespect of course. It just seems simpler. She says it's OK by her.

Kinsey is a nature photographer. I don't really know what that means but I must be nature because, so far, all I've seen her photograph is me. One thing's clear, she really has an eye for beauty. :)

Kinsey is a single person which is turning out to be great. She has nothing better to do than lavish all her love and attention on me. My new home is forty acres of heavenly forest. We walk the property every morning and I get to race around like a tiny black rocket. Excruciatingly fun! Kinsey, has turned out to be my personal treat dispenser so I race around but never too far. When she calls, I come!

We went to the Flathead yesterday. I'm still not crazy about that darned crate. I'll jump right in it but the second I see that door closed I become a brat. Not sure why. I'll probably grow out of it.

Kinsey too me to Petco, where the pets go for my birthday. WOW! Was that ever fun. I instantly forgot every mannerly thing I have learned. I was so excited to see people, other dogs and those smells. Oh, my goodness, those smells. What a fabulous gift that was. I also got a new toy.

Kinsey has been very generous about toys. I've got a box full to choose from. The funny thing is the one she bot me yesterday was the least expensive of them all and I just love the silly thing. It's a tiny little, rubber bear that squeaks. I toss it in the air and throw it around like a kitten playing. Don't know why but I just love the little thing. Kinsey tried to take a picture of me playing with it but I manged to foil her attempts.

For a four month birthday this was a pretty great day!

©Kinsey Barnard

These are MY toys!

My New Favorite Toy

MOLLY GETS HER FINAL SHOTS & FLATHEAD FUN

Today Molly and I went to the Flathead to get her final shots including rabies. She weighed 19.6 pounds, a gain of over a pound in a week. All systems are go. Now that she has her documents in order we may have to sneak up to Fernie in British Columbia to see what their snow is like. It’s usually very impressive.

The trip down the mountain was a real thrill. Slid half the way. I admit it scares the poop out of me. I bot a new Expedition last Fall because my 1999 Explorer was getting a bit long in the tooth. I really didn’t want an Expedition. They are like driving a Texaco tanker. I soon learned they don’t make the traditional Explorer anymore. The “new” Explorer is a crossover thing that caters to suburbanites. I looked at all the other SUVs. GM’s were the closest but their SUVs are all designed for passengers not cargo. You’d have to physically remove the third row seats for the cargo space. The Expedition was the only SUV that gave me good flat cargo space with press button folding seats. I had had very good luck with my Explorer so I went with Ford. I must admit the thing is like driving on a cloud on the highway. I do feel safer driving Slaughter Alley which is the two lane highway to the Flathead.

I was worried about how the Expedition would perform on the luge. The luge is  a hill on the unmaintained forest service road I live on. I was afraid that it’s weight would be a problem descending the mountain in winter.  Turns out I was right about that. It does fine on the snow but when we start thawing and freezing the road is like glass. The Expedition’s weight just won’t allow the studs to get any kind of grab. I just slide and hope for the best. Oh, and to make it an even more fun challenge the hill is an “S” curve. Going up, on the other hand, is a snap. The weight works in my favor.

After the vet we went to MURDOCH'S, a wonderful western states, ranch store. I could live in Murdoch’s. As it turned out Murdoch’s has the best price for the dog food the breeder recommended, CANIDAE ALL STAGES OF LIFE . This is some very good dog food and I was very impressed that a breeder would feed it. Usually, they go for a less expensive, brand like Nutra Nuggets. Understandably so. They have many mouths to feed. We really lucked out in that the Canidae was on sale! Around $13.00 a bag savings. Woo Hoo!

Another great thing about Murdoch’s is it’s pet friendly so Molly got her first in store outing. Koty used to love going to Murdoch’s for all the wonderful smells and all the wonderful attention. Molly’s experience was equal on both counts. Everyone was all over the adorable puppy. Sadly, I have no photos because people photos have never been my forte. I just never think of it. I’m going to have start training myself to think differently about what I shoot. People love people pictures especially people with adorable puppies.

I had read in my training research that you might want to present your dog with a variety of treats on a plate and let it choose it’s favorite. At Murdoch’s they have a treat display Molly could walk right up to. I thought great she can choose her favorite. I am ready to conclude Molly hasn’t met a treat she doesn’t like. A different experience for me because Koty could have cared less. If there were live animals in the store, like chicks, he’d be all over that scent and drag me to their location in a Minnesota minute.

It was a fun day with the pooch! We both enjoyed ourselves greatly.

Still no sign of Timmy. I am not at all hopeful I will ever see him again.

©Kinsey Barnard