“I swear to Dog, Mom, I didn’t do this to Loki.”

It hurts just looking at this picture. Loki is having another round of Limp Tail Syndrome. The vet and I have no idea why. I never saw him injure it. He’s much too sensitive to Juno’s softer play style to really rough handle her to the point of injuring himself. He’s on an anti-inflammatory and as before, if it doesn’t go away, we’ll knock him out and take a photo of his hiney.

“Hey Big Boy! Can woo do this?” (swish-swish)
“Don’t mock me Princess!”

I don’t know what’s worse, the pain he’s in or the fear he has from it. In the middle of the night, he’ll come to the side of our bed with his eyes questioning. He’s uncomfortable and afraid.  I really hate not being able to communicate that it’s all right and he’s going to be fine. But I secretly worry that a second occurance of this may mean something more.  So for one night we invite him on the bed so he can lean on us. Only every few minutes he moves around and can’t get comfortable. Last night I broke down, narc’d him with Benadryl and made him sleep in his own bed. I have my own insomnia issues.

“He’s such an easy mark.”
“Woah is me.”

He’s so different from Juno. She took a nail through her paw, never winced and and walked around gaily like nothing was wrong.  Her hip dysplasia on film looks bad enough to disable any dog, but it doesn’t phase her. She never shows any sign of pain even when she should. But just crinkling the wrapper from their monthly tick control medicine is enough to make Loki bolt from the room.

“Big boy, you’re just a rough, tough, cream puff.”
“Did woo say ‘cream puff’? How come I don’t taste any cream puff?”

No day is so bad that can’t be fixed with a nap.
Don’t you just want to pull on those ears? I know I do.

That’s the usual tongue-in-cheek comment that follows when you tell the Swiss you’re not Swiss.

A year ago, I couldn’t get within 500 feet of a pasture of grazing horses or cows without an explosion of histrionics from Loki. Yesterday, I called them back to me when I saw a horseback rider approach during one of our off-leash walks. He sat patiently with Juno while a horseback rider walked past us only 3 feet away. As he waited for them to pass, he ate a multitude of chicken treats as if he were chain smoking them nervously. But no barks, no yips and no histrionics. Counter-conditioning rocks. Each time, he needs fewer treats. Someday he won’t need any.

Most of our walks through the farms and woods are off-leash and both dogs are making me proud each day.  Today we passed our usual pasture of donkeys but this time, they were at the fence line within his reach and as usual, he and Juno were off-leash. He was interested and really wanted to investigate, but I managed to call him off each time he expressed interest.

Busy towns used to frighten him. Now Morges and Lausanne are his and Juno’s favorite walking places. They happily go to town with no embarrassing crackeriness. Who can blame them? They get to share our sandwiches and ice creams each time.

Now if I could just get him to ignore the fence-fighting dog we pass by daily. Each time the dog charges the fence, Loki’s inner-cujo errupts.

What can I say?  He’s not Swiss. Nobody’s perfect.

Who knew a quote from Dolly Parton could symbolize my life with Loki so succinctly?

Loki is what they call an “edgy” dog, suspicious of many things.  And if his anxiety isn’t channeled, you end up with crackery.  Living here, in such a diverse environment and exposing him to so much has helped him, and our partnership, more than I would have ever imagined. 

We have a system, he and I, a mutual trust. He looks at me and signals when he’s unsure or anxious about something he encounters as suspicious. I respond with a job for him and a reward.  It’s that simple.

He’s become comfortable in busy towns and cafes and on farm trails with livestock and horseback riders. Coming from a mountain home with no neighbors, I never thought Loki would adjust to living with non-family members so close to us on three sides in fenced gardens. I imagined that, like our dingo, he’d never stop barking at them. But I was wrong. Working with basic life rules and his genetic predisposition to guard and work has made it easy to teach him when it’s appropriate to bark and when it’s not. Today he barks a few friendly “hello’s” to the neighbors when he sees them which sounds a whole lot different than the crackery he hands out to unfamiliar visitors.

I trust his instincts. Whether his alerts are regarding something benign and unnecessary for concern or they are warranted for real concern makes no difference. One night, months ago, while Mr. Wild Dingo was traveling, I went to bed leaving the living room/garden door wide open. Loki alerted me three times, refusing to go to bed, before I realized the problem. After shutting the door, all was right with the world and Loki happily went  to bed.

He’s got my back and I have his. So I have to put up with a little bit of crackery. I’ll take it in exchange for moments like that.

This weekend we celebrated Loki’s third anniversary with us and his 4th birthday. I’m one of those lame people that combines celebrations. Hey, when everyday is a celebration, who needs to add more, right?

The three years have been a tremendous learning curve for all of us. Loki has taught me more than any other dog.

 I’ve made more mistakes with him than any dog and our relationship has gone through ups and downs.  He holds grudges and it takes him a long time to shrug things off.  For a dog with his anxiety and his sensitivity to change, I should not have been able to change homes with him, let alone countries. But he’s managed to find his groove. I’ll never forget the first time he saw cows and horses in a pasture far, far away. He yipped and jumped and cowered and lunged and we weren’t even closer than 1000 feet. Today he can walk past a pasture of most farm animals, unleashed, somewhat confidently, but more importantly, without hystrionics or attempts to engage other than a few gazes. He’s made me proud.

For a dog afraid of 1-inch waves in a lake, it blew my mind to see him immediately take to the snow. He’s intense and playful, brave and fearful, silly and serious. And anxious. Oh the anxiety. It’s his achillies heel.  If only he had 1/10th less anxiety, life would be so much easier on us all, including himself. The flip side of the coin is his anxiety only teaches me to be calm in the storm, which is exactly what a dog without much confidence needs.

The two men in my life.  I suspect Loki likes Mr. Wild Dingo much better than he likes me. I’m so not even lying, nor am I hurt by it. Trust me, I have proof! Even so, he prefers me on the end of his leash, over anyone else, even Mr. Wild Dingo. It’s evident when he yips or throws a fit when anyone else takes his leash. It has  much more to do with expectations and a clear communication than it does preference of person. After three years, I’ve finally learned to read him and he’s finally found a way to tell me when he’s nervous so he can get a job to do and be rewarded rather than act in a way that results in correction. And that alone has made our relationship stronger.

Thankfully, he’s highly intelligent and enjoys working which makes it easier to help him overcome his fears.  He had a rough start in life.  But he’s on his own path and on his own pace. With each day and each challenge he builds confidence. And we share his challenges too, as they challenge us in patience. 

And since we spent the weekend drinking bottles of wine and eating the most delicious bird doused in Calvados liquer along with bowel from Normandy–that’s not a typo, it’s a Normand delicacy– at our French professor’s home, we made it up to Loki with a nice helping of ice cream and pie for his celebratory dessert.

Happy Anniversary Loki. You light up our life!

Last week I brought Loki and Juno for a trial test day at Bernard’s kennel. Let’s face it. The place is a dog luxury spa. It has a huge garden to romp in. There are no cages. Dogs have access to the garden and house all day long and they sleep in the house. They go on long off-leash walks in the country with Bernard and his dog and  they get to behave like dogs. Juno passed the test with flying colors.

And Loki?

Well, Bernard was brutally honest with me. While he got along with all the dogs, it was touch and go for a few hours. Loki protested for two hours, scratching the doors and trying to jump the 8-foot fence. I swear on my secret stash of Lindt chocolate bars that I saw Loki’s head pop up over that 8-foot fence three times as I drove off.  Bernard said he almost called me at 10 a.m. to tell me it wasn’t going to work. But then Loki calmed and cuddled with Bernard and all was well.

This week we head off to Provence for a short holiday and leave the dogs at Bernard’s spa. It pains me, but it will be good for him. He needs to learn to stand on his own four paws. He’s lucky to have Juno and Marley, their new hiking pal, staying there at the same time.

In the end Bernard said, “Juno is sweet, a little shy and not dominant. Loki was very nervous when you left, but he is not dominant.” Yeah. Right, Bernard.

 ”Do me a solid and make me pretty.”

He sure has come a long way from the cracked-out dog who would bite me anytime I got near him with a Furminator three years ago. Now that he’s growing in a thick GSD coat that gets itchy, he practically begs for regular furminations.  

“Thanks, I needed that!”

I don’t care if it’s all the doggie-rage. A French manicure is out of the question.

The Challenge: looking high or looking low.

Yesterday’s shoot didn’t go as planned. I was hoping to get some interesting canine snout shots from below. Instead I got this quiet moment while laying on the ground. This is so typical of Loki, talking and leaning on his favorite person. 

While the image appears to have the background cropped out, it’s not. The stark white background and  light on their heads is actually the effect of the white ceiling and natural light bursting in from the sky light above. The details of the ceiling and the skylight are lost during the development process.

Most of my best shots are by accident. I’m very bad at composition. I know a good shot when I see it, but setting it up is always difficult. One of my favorite examples is the shot of the little girl talking to the tulips. Mr. Wild Dingo took it because he had the camera, but it was my eye that caught it and I’m all, “Hurry up, get that shot!”  I still get a huge smile every time I look at that photo of the smiling girl talking to the tulips with the wind blowing through her fine strands of hair.

I think this shot will always elicit that same feeling.

His fine sense of style:

“Does this hat make my ears look big?”

His taste for good food:

“Is that pizza I smell?”

And his ‘tude:

“You get on my case, I bust-a you face!”

Looks like Juno found her Inner Woo! 

Click on video below to hear her sing.   (Warning: turn down the volume if at work!)

“Do  I look silly in these jodhpurs? I could take them off if you’d like.”

Is it me or do my Siberian’s jodhpurs look meatier? The stronger she gets, the more brazen she gets. This is yet another new move for JBJ since she’s been working out.

Since his wagger is out of commission, he’s happily wiggling his whole body in gratitude for all the friends who wish him well.

“This is for all the ladies out there who are worried about my wiggle…

“I still got it, babies.”

“There are plenty of other ways I can wiggle and entertain you.”

“And plenty of other parts that still work… Ladies…”

Notice the natural position of his tail, held at full-mast 95% of his waking hours.

THIS is my sad Formosan/German Shepherd dog with a Limp Tail:

If Ever There Was a Need for that Little Blue Pill…

As much as I’d love to crack all the Viagra jokes I can about this, that plus Loki is generally an easy mark, I just can’t. He’s in a lot of pain. Thanks to Mango and his DOH helping me google-diagnose Limber Tail Syndrome  on Sunday evening, I could actually get some sleep until yesterday morning when I can take him to the vet. 

I took him in when Juno had her water-treadmill physical therapy. Loki had to stay in another room, lest he distract Juno from her 20 minute workout. Within 30 seconds, the vet discovered he could open doors. Ooopsie, I forgot he could do that. My bad!

The vet dismissed over-use as defined by Limber Tail Syndrome and thinks Loki rough-housed a little too much, took a fall and went in one direction while the base of his tail went in another. I’m not saying I disagree with him, but I know Loki. His athletic dexterity is much too great for such a mistake. I’m pretty sure last week running him 3 times on the bike and two long-off leash forest hikes filled with cracked-out zoomies and his new sport “Juno herding” was probably too much.  Especially considering the first 6 months here he was confined to leash walking. 

He’s on metacam for three days and if not better by then, we’ll have x-rays to see if there’s a fracture. Though, I’m pretty sure this is muscle strain from over-use.

But go ahead and crack all the jokes you want. We could use a good laugh!

“I’m not looking! Is he looking at me? I swear I’m NOT gonna look!”

Prior to the photo above, we came across the group of horses in the field.

“Hey, I know you guys!”

Five months ago, I couldn’t get within 1000 feet of horses without him going cracker. Seriously. Not a peep this time.

No that’s not a dead horse. This group is so very playful and often frolic and jump around. This horse was on the ground itching his back.

As he got up, Loki got a little excited and yipped but it was happy so I knew he wasn’t nervous. A quick reminder to be quiet and he was polite again as we passed.

“Hey handsome fella! Did you know equine ryhmes with canine? Maybe we’re related?”

“He WAS looking at me! I KNEW it!”

We played a ton of recall games in and out of play and a few recall from a down stay.

Yup, that is the RM waaaaay back there!

The first sign of his recall, and he’s up!

“Oh my dawg! That was so fun. I wasn’t sure if you were gonna leave me there all day or what! Thank dawg and praise cheeses you called me!”

Every recall ended in a “high touch” partly to get his lard-ass moving and burning some calories and partly because it’s a reward for him, sort of like a “high-five” is for people. He’ll do a high-touch just because.

He did me proud yesterday and because of it, we’ll be doing many more off-leash walks here in safe areas.

Now for cooking news. Here’s a little ditty I cooked up last week:

Chicken Scaloppine, with tomatoes and capers (and probably some wine, I can’t remember) and a mushroom risotto.  Mr. Wild Dingo is starting to say stuff like “I’m really glad I married you” lately. I wonder why?

Mr. Wild Dingo often comments that I portray Loki as dumb. Then I remind him that it was he who nicknamed him Retardo Montalban. And as much as I’d love to use that name on this blog, I know it is a wee-bit politically incorrect. But it sure doesn’t stop me from using it at home.

And no, I’m not one of those people who doesn’t take the time to do any consistent training with a dog and then shrugs and says, “My dog is stupid because he doesn’t know how to (fill in the blank).”   The truth is Loki is wicked book-smart. All I have to do is get out a few training tools and he’s in. He loves to guess at what I want from him and it’s very easy to teach him anything. Inspired by the Jack Russel on YouTube doing house chores, I taught him to shut all my kitchen cabinets in less than 20 minutes and transfer it to other doors and drawers in the house. And if I had more time, I would teach him tons more and he would love it. He learns very fast and has a very long memory. Unfortunately for him, I just happen to run out of ideas of what to teach.  He’s in it for the self-esteem of learning more than the reward. Unless the reward is a tug, then he’s in it for that. 

For example, the other day I retraced our walking trail from the day before because I lost my hat. Loki, having done a little SAR and article search training, immediately found it. I didn’t even ask him to, he just did his job and as soon as he caught the human scent he pointed/alerted to it.

“You want me to find your hat again? Geesh, this is such a no brainer.”
In the above photo, he reinacts the find. The hat is just around the corner to the right.  

“Hmm. This smells like you Mom!”  Someone had found it and placed it on this post.

“Hey mom, I’ll trade you, a tug for your hat!”

This time (during the reenactment) instead of laying down by it or picking it up to bring it to me (both acceptable behaviors), he grabbed it and played with it. Serves me right for leaving my rewards at home. And that’s why my hat is dirty.  Sigh. I wish he had a better owner. He could be a better dog.

Juno on the other hand, takes much longer to grasp anything I’m teaching her. Though she’s equally motivated to learn (she leaps from her down when it’s her turn to learn whatever I’m teaching that day), it just takes many more repetitions and she often resorts to prior tricks that get her a reward. By the way, she is EXCELLENT at search. But that’s another post.

Their minds are completely opposite of eachother. Juno’s not book-smart. But boy she has a lot of common sense. And this is where Loki is, well, for lack of a better term, Retardo Montalban. For example, just look at all the effort he goes through to reach a very simple goal because he’s, well Retardo Montalban.

“Oh My Dog! That water is moving! It’s gonna get me!” Loki squeals on his brakes and turns around at the first sign of the wee-waves.

“Must dig…must dig!”
Near the water’s edge, he gets silly. I have no idea what he’s up to.

“Crap! I’m outta here!”
The wave comes in and he bolts. Juno mean time is calm as a cucumber and strolls through the water, taking the occasional sip from the cold, clear, clean Lac Leman (Lake Geneva).

“Get back Lac Leman-ness Monster!”
Juno’s all, “WTF is your problem dude?”

“I’m outta here again Princess!”
“Seriously Big Boy?”

“Must dig! Must dig!”
I still have no idea what he’s up to. At this point, I think he’s just being compulsive and acting out some anxiety. Which is not uncommon for him.

“I know it’s down there!”
“Ok, now I’m intrigued Big Boy. Did you SAR something again?”

“Hey Mom, can you believe this joker?”
“This is no joke Princess! I’m serious!”

“Ok, I give up. Why did you dig so hard in order to do your SAR thing?”

“I’m so thirsty! This is so delicious.”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
Without a doubt, he specifically dug a whole in order to get a drink of the water from the lake without going into the scary lake, dog-forbid he should get his feet wet or the boogy-man in the lake should get him.

“You mean to tell me you did ALL THAT WORK just for a drink of water that you could have gotten less than a foot away without any work?”
There was no doubt in my mind he had that goal from the very beginning with all the water he drank.

“Yes but Princess, the Lac Leman-ness Monster is constantly moving that lake and he’s gonna get me!”

“Oh Big Boy, you know I tease you about the Lac Leman-ness monster, right? I mean, you really believe my tale?”

“Tale or no tale. I don’t like all that movin’ around that water does! And this water here is delicious.”

“Ok, you convinced me. Maybe I should try it and see if it’s any better than the lake.”
“It is Princess! Because the Leman-ness Monster is not moving it!”

“Dude, it tastes exactly the same over here. And the lake isn’t even moving that much.”

“No way sister. I’ll just stick to my controlled water source, minus the Leman-ness Monster!”

And with that he sprang into his favorite yoga pose.  Remember from his days in Santa Cruz, his side crow poses?

Well here it is from the back side:

And this is why we proudly call him Retardo Montalban. And we mean that in the nicest way. (wink-wink) Bien sur!

In Cooking News

The chicken marsala rocked! Early culinary critics agree. The chicken and mushrooms melted in my mouth. I used a very expensive dry Italian Marsala. I actually opened the bottle to try it though I had a bottle of Marsala already opened.

Unfortunately my risotto did not. The recipe called for 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and that was way too much so it tasted bad to me, but it would have been passable had it not been for the pepper. In addition, this particular risotto was supposed to come out light and flaky and this came out sticky, which also passable for risotto but it would have been nice if it were light and flaky. It was my first risotto. I knew it was not a great side dish for the Chicken Marsala, as the flavors were too different, but I wanted to try it anyway.

The  Marsala is definitely a keeper. I’ll probably add some butter next time to lighten the color of the sauce. I don’t even like chicken much and I had a hard time sharing it with the critics.

Mr. Wild Dingo is traveling, that meant the second piece went some for the critics and some for left-overs.  Four paws up from the critics!

And Finally some Reader FAQs

No meat stock?
Technically I have found chicken and beef stock. It came in a small jar of barely two cups of stock and it seems more concentrated than stock I’m used to. It was $6 for that small jar! There are no Swansens over here. Serendipitously, I found out that the Swiss were the one’s who invented the Bouillon cube.  Seriously, the makers of Nestle were the first to put it on the market. As Chef TravelMax pointed out, “I’m not surprised. Another Swiss efficiency.” Unfortunately for real cooks, this is one efficiency that is a faux pas. So I bucked up and paid $6 for the two cups of stock. Since it seems quite concentrated, I added 2 cups of water which is fine for Risotto.

Are Juno’s Gold Beads Not Working?
Yes and no. We’ve seen moderate changes in her behavior and pain. But its not enough for us. We’d like to see more and so we are back with the holistic doctor. But it’s likely we’ll be going down the path of THR soon. It’s just a matter of exhausting holistic options, especially since it’s the holidays, there’s really not much we can do now until they are over and guests who are coming are gone.

Are there dog parks in Switzerland?
NO! Not at all! The Swiss are not at all inclined to let mere humans make judgements about whether their dogs can be off-leash. For real. And I have to say I don’t disagree with them.  I have a love-not-love relationship with dog parks.  I prefer very large open parks with  very little visibility of where the fence line is and tons of walking trails where Loki can casually say hello to other dogs (which he does well) and keep on walking with me rather than fret about who’s coming into the gate and acting like a lunatic (and not a good way). I think most of the U.S. does a poor job with dog parks and the ones they have probably should not exist. On the rare occasions I do go to them, its usually for training or for a play date at a low traffic time.

And finally: Are you just trying to make us all sad? All the beautiful scenery AND good food.
Yes.

“Hey Handsome, how about you and me paint this “cat” town a little canine before we blow out of here?”
“Cupcake, you crack the whip, I’ll make trip.”

First stop is the tree farm for a little off-leash time.  Juno  gives me ‘the paw’ one last time when I call her to come.

“You know what happens to the photographer who falsely cries ‘cheese,’ right Mom?”

“Princess, do you think we’ll get a spot on Dancin’ with the Stars?” 
“Stud, your paw choreography is workin’, but the tongue needs to hang a little more to the right.”

For a quick break, they make a stop at their favorite market and proposition the passerby. Summit market is very close to our home and whenever we go out for hikes, these two are always begging me to stop there. It’s not hard to see why.

“Hey Mister, we’re starving and could use a little meat.”
“No, we have no idea who that lady taking pictures is. Never seen her before in our lives.”

“Big Boy, stop looking so intense. You’re killing my helpless, in-desperate-need-of-juicy-deli-BBQ act. How are we gonna score any tri-tip with a face like that?”

Next we stop for a final visit to Dogtor Hilary, who gives them their final exam and a round of acupuncture needles for Juno.

 ”Look Dr. Hilary, until you hand over a couple of treats, I’m not going to cooperate.”

“Hey Princess, if you need me, call, I’ll be right over here, protecting you from afar.”
 ”Thanks Big Boy. Um, I feel so much safer. Not.” 

“Stop being such a tease Dogtor Hilary. Hand over that treat this minute.”

 ”Ooo, Dogtor Hilary, shouldn’t you buy me dinner first?”

“Well, ok, I’m a cheap date. I’ll take a treat instead.”

Next we head over to the Infamous “Cat’s Hill,” a 23% hill grade.

Every year, a famous bicycle race, the Cat’s Hill Criterium, is held on this course. In a 45-90 minute race, racers will climb that 23% grade 10-30 times.  In addition to the grueling climb, the course has plenty of technical elements from tight 90 degree turns to pavement cracks, bumps and lifting cement slabs that add to the adrenaline.  I raced it once. I like watching the race better.

“Hey cupcake? Why do you think they call this Cat’s Hill? I don’t see no stinkin’ cats!”
“Why don’t you tune in those ears to the local Wi-Fi and wiki-pawdia it, Big Boy?”

Next Loki and Juno stop by to pick up the mail. One good thing about having a ridiculously evil and stupid post-master who won’t deliver our mail, is that we are able to pay non-postal people, like the nice lady in this photo below, money to deliver our parcels to Europe. And US postal workers wonder why they don’t make enough money.

 ”Hey Lady, do you have a package that will hold a 67-pound product from Formosa? We’ll need bubble wrap for those ridiculously large ears.”
“Ha-ha Princess! Very funny.”

Later, they run into this black little fella who looks like a contestant for Dex’s Black Lab contest.

 ”Hey Big Cheese, that black labradog looks suspicious. I don’t like the looks of him.”
“Princess, I think he’s stoned!”

 ”Never mind him, Big Boy. I think I just discovered where we can get some fresh cat-iar.

  ”Hey Mom, why don’t you inquire within to see if they need some live models for Bow Wozer?”
“Ya, that black labradude over there isn’t much of a super model, is he?”

Loki and Juno sure have had some good times in a town named for cats. Many of the shop owners and shoppers have enjoyed meeting them and they always enjoy the attention.  But that doesn’t mean they haven’t had a few indiscretions. After all, one is a Cujo-cracker and the other is a Siberian. Trouble is in their DNA.

“Hey Mom, remember, What happens in Los Gatos, stays in Los Gatos!”

 See ya later LG! The cats can come out now.

“Oh my dawg Princess! There’s a labradoink out there in the big scary waters trying to kill a scary beast!”
“We must save him!”

The boxer goes in first.

“I will help you my friend!”

The husky and GSFD do what they do best–stay dry!

“Princess, lets supervise from the shoreline.”
“Good thinkin’ big boy. They will need some dry helping paws once they reach shore.”

Chaos begins when the brave labradoink reaches shore.

“Oh my dawg! It’s ALIVE!”
“Don’t worry Labradoink! We’re here to save you!”

The only girl in the group, the husky, makes a play for the brave boxer and labrador.

“Dudes, don’t get so bent out of shape.  Only thing that needs saving is this stick, after I’m done with it.”
“Yoo hoo boys! Would you like to warm up and dry off next to my jodhpurs?”
“Maybe after we’re done with this stick.”

Boys being boys, they each make a play for the latest new toy. Loki being Loki can’t decide if he wants to play with the labradoink or bully him and he tries to get in on the group stick play.  Thankfully the labradoink is more mature than to play such petty games and ignores all of Loki’s advances.

“Go ahead, blast yourself whacky at the stick Boxer Boy.”
“Thanks choco-lab man! Nom, nom, nom.”
“Hey does that stick need bitin’? Cuz I’m really good at bitin’. Not so good at swimmin’. But really good at the bitin’ thing.”

The husky grows bored and soon realizes that you just can’t compete with boys and their toys.

“Boys that stick is a dead as a five cent rawhide.”

Reading these episodes is a bit like watching the season finale of Baywatch, huh?

…Stay tuned tomorrow for the final episode tomorrow.

“Seriously Big Boy. This is no time to get your Daily Om on!”

Ahhh… so that’s what he was doing:

Is it me, or do I have one of the most ridiculously posing dogs on the Internet? I never get the same shot of him. Either he’s got a whole lot of easy-to-capture cracker goin’ on or I’m a gifted photographer.

I’m pretty sure I’m not that gifted. 

I’ve been wanting to go to a dog friendly beach for a while now to see how they’d like the ocean. But I’ve been chicken, knowing that Loki is, um, well, you know.  A few weeks ago, Mr. Wild Dingo and I took them to Lighthouse beach in Santa Cruz and let them off leash. They had a blast. So I took them back again.

“Daddy-O, whatchya scardy-cat of a little salt water? Come boogie board with me!”
“No way princess! I don’t want to ruin my goth mani-pedi!”

Lighthouse Beach is a very tiny beach that allows dogs off-leash. I’ve been reluctant to take them because I’ve heard it was crowded. Even in the middle of a work day (sorry all you nine-to-fivers), there were a handful of dogs there.

Check out the people in the background.  Loki pretty much garners this kind attention anywhere he goes. I have no idea why.

“WTF is THAT?”
“Look at the JAWS on that thing.”
“Hail Mary… Full of Grace… Say your prayers fellas.”

Honestly, I have NO idea why people gawk.

“Princess, look at this little fella askin’ for an invitation to smack down!”

“Catch me if you can, ruffians!”
“Princess, are we gonna take that kind of smack-talk?”
“Shut your yapper Big Boy! The game is on!”

“Come here little fella! Don’t start somethin’ you can’t finish!”

Juno has been hanging around Loki far too long. Look at the cracker face on her below.

“I wanna smack that little fella down so bad, I can taste it!”

“We got him cornered Princess!”

“Darn it, saved by the water! Princess! Step AWAAAY from the water! You’ll melt! Remember you’re made of sugar!”

“Nonsense! I am husky! I am super-strong! Nothing can stop me!  Ooooo….that water sure tickles! teee-heee…”

Will the confectionary-filled Husky take a chance and dive into the ocean?

What about the cracked-out German Shepherd Formosan Dog? Will his manicure be ruined forever from the harsh, open elements of salt water?

Who else will these two encounter? Friends or Foe?

…Stay tuned this week for another episode of Beach Bums!

“Nothing says “I missed you” like pillow entrails. I cared enough to shred the very best.”

I was in Luasanne, Switzerland house hunting for our move this past week. Loki and Juno’s personal chef, entertainer and companion kept me updated on how they handled being without me. “Loki and Juno are doing so well! They’re so well behaved,”  wrote Diane in her e-mails, “I’m going to miss them and I would love to come to Switzerland just to pet sit them!”

Um, sure Diane. And shredding pillows is considered “behaved” in what universe?  Are you sure you want to pet sit them again? Figures they saved the pillow mess just for me. Nobody ever believes me when I say these two are trouble.

“I had nothing to do with this Mom! Swear to dogs!”

Loki and Juno met Diane the week before I left and hit it off with her just fine. Loki even let her take his leash, something he never stands for when I’m around. Dog-forbid anyone but his Mom be attached to him. When Diane left, I warned her that Loki will definitely appear intimidating on her first day. “He’ll bark and act like a cracked-out Cujo ready to eat you,” I told her. “Oh I’m not intimidated by him,” Diane assured me. “He’s quite sweet.”  I smiled knowingly to myself.

Diane’s first email to me read something to the tune of: ”I must admit, I was quite apprehensive approaching the gate with Loki barking aggressively and was a bit intimidated.” Sigh. Do I know my cracker-dog or what?

Loki  has two greetings: Cracked-Out-Cujo, and “I’m your BEST friend in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!”  By the 3rd visit, they were best pals and Diane wrote: “Loki and I are buddies. Period. He follows me everywhere and I can play with him quite roughly very confidently.” Sigh. Just as expected.

I’m not sure if Juno ever warmed up to her more than approaching her quickly then bouncing away, but at least she wasn’t rude enough to pull a Cujo on her.

I’ll have more later this week with photos from the trip and of the Wild Dingo Estate Abroad. Regardless of the pillow mess, it was great to be home among the endless kisses. 

In the mean time, which one looks guilty to you, Internet? Let me give you a hint. And another hint. And another hint. And, sigh, another hint.

“SHE started it mom!”
“I resent the biasness I am being treated with. Prior convictions have no bearing on this case.”