Monkey See Monkey Do

Much as I love her, Koira has some habits that I am not particularly fond of. Probably the biggest one is that she gets over the top excited and obsessive. When we go paddleboarding, Koira spends the entire time leaping off the SUP, swimming after the kayaks (I always go on the river with at least one other person, for both safety and fun), climbing back on the SUP and using it as a launching pad again. And barking the entire time, with a deep booming bell like bark.

Landshark locked, loaded, and launched!

She loves going paddleboarding. But she isn't the most enjoyable dog to take along in some ways. I said from the beginning that I hoped she didn't end up teaching Ptera all of her bad habits. 

Obviously Ptera is very excited by Koira's excitement and movement.

Honestly, I should have known better. I guess if I don't want Ptera to copy Koira, I can't take them out together. Because this little JRT has some serious terrier tenacity and high drive, which is just driven on even more by Koira's over the top excitement. I guess I am destined to have crazy dogs on the paddleboard with me. Or swimming after it.

Monkey see, monkey do. While Ptera doesn't spend as much time jumping off the SUP and swimming, she is confident enough to leap off into the water a few times before she gets cold.

Do your dogs teach each other things? I feel like it can work both ways. A well behaved dog with good habits and routines helps train a new dog to behave the same way. But when that same dog does crazy things like barking her head off and leaping into the water repeatedly (and then turning around to sharkbite the front of the SUP), those habits and behaviors appear to transfer as well.

I see some solo SUP trips in the future for me and Ptera, to try to get some more polite and enjoyable behavior, before the barking and craziness gets too ingrained.

Summer Pool Fun

With summer finally arrived in Oregon (not that I was complaining about our mild and somewhat wet weather while we had it), and our pool set up in the yard, the dogs are going out every afternoon for a bit of swimming.

Both dogs like balls, which makes it easy to get them motivated to get in the water and swim around. With the ramp giving them easy access to the pool, they jump in, swim around, and get out as they feel like it, while I throw their ball for them to have a bit more motivation.

Koira has a bit of a problem of trying to steal Ptera's ball. Which isn't an issue except that Koira will try this even when the ball is in Ptera's mouth (and while Koira's ball is still floating in the pool), which has resulted in the puppy going under water a few times. We're working on it, and I stay in the pool with them to supervise and make sure things are safe.

I love that even in super hot weather, having a pool means the dogs get to exercise as much as we want. I don't have to worry about them overheating, or about the pavement burning their paws, or us not having enough water along on a walk or hike. In fact, I actually have to make sure they stay warm enough, since the water is pleasantly cool and if there is a breeze (especially in the evening when the yard is in shade), the dogs can start shivering.

Ptera was very unsure about water when she first came home. I am happy to say that that is no longer the case. She doesn't absolutely love water like Koira yet, but she happily jumps in to get her ball. She is learning how to go to the ramp to get out of the pool, and her confidence seems to be growing every time.

The biggest struggle I have is when the dogs get their balls and then go down the ramp outside the pool, then drop their ball out in the yard. At least 50% of the time, Koira won't bring her ball back. And Ptera doesn't seem to realize she can climb the ramp with a ball in her mouth. So I spend a good deal of time climbing in and out of the pool to retrieve abandoned balls. Which gets frustrating for me, because that isn't really the fun part of things. So I generally end up ending the swimming sessions because they keep leaving the balls in the yard and I am getting frustrated and don't want to take it out on them. Even so, we all spend a good deal of time in the pool before it becomes an issue, and I try to head them off by grabbing the ball as they go up the ramp or just as they arrive at the platform at the top of the ramp.

Snatching the ball before she drops it out into the yard.

As we play in the pool more and more, the dogs get the system down, and figure out how things work. They figure out where the ramp is to enter the pool, they swim directly to the ramp to exit the pool, and they turn around when they get on the platform, excited for the next throw of the ball.

And while Ptera might be new to swimming, she is doing great with it. Not just her confidence in going into the water, though that is going up, but in her actual swimming ability. In the pool, I tend to alternate having life jackets on and swimming without them, so that the dogs learn both how to function with them on (for our river trips), and how to have a good, effective swimming stroke without them. And something I love about the GoPro is that it gives me a chance not just to take adorable pictures of the dogs in water, but I can get some adorable shots showing exactly what the dogs are doing underwater.

I need to get a good picture of Koira underwater too, but for now, Ptera's underwater power stroke is absolutely adorable.

Are you surviving the summer heat? Do your dogs like to swim to cool down?

Wordless Wednesday: Beating the Heat

I finally have the pool set up, with a custom pool ladder/ramp set up for the dogs to easily get into and out of the pool. Just in time for the first temps in the 90s since the beginning of June.

Impatiently waiting at the top of the ladder for the next throw of the ball

Easy exit from the pool is essential for safety, as is training the dog to go automatically to the ramp when they want out of the pool

Both dogs find this ramp super easy to use, and Koira remembered her training from last summer and went immediately to the ramp every time.

Swimming swimming swimming

My little landsharks, becoming water sharks.

Water brings out a bit of the crazy in Koira

4th on the Water

Much like last year, I decided to spent the 4th on the water with friends.

This was Ptera's first time on the SUP. She is a confident dog, so I wasn't too worried about her.

Koira is a bit on the crazy side when it comes to paddleboarding. She likes to leap off the SUP and swim after the kayaks, bite the front of the various boats, and bite the paddles as they go by. And then she asks to come back up on the board to start all over again.

Ptera actually jumped in after Koira a good number of times. She also fearlessly swam between the SUP and the kayaks, rode in every boat we had, and would jump back and forth between them when we were close enough together.

My fearless little girls had a great time. I just hope Koira doesn't teach Ptera to be totally crazy while on the water- she is already teaching Ptera to bark loudly when she wants something exciting to happen.

With a SUP, my kayak, and a borrowed kayak, we managed to have a great two hours on the water, despite car troubles my friend had that could have totally derailed our plans and ruined the fun, if we had let them.

How did you spend the 4th? Have you kayaked or SUPed with your dog?

Wordless Wednesday: Water Fun

Ptera just learned to swim last week. Koira has always been my obsessive water hound. And now Ptera is learning from Koira to be an obsessive water hound. So I took them to the lake earlier this week for a bit of fun.

Wordless Wednesday: Early Spring

Blue skies and sun out, we're making sure to soak up any bit of sun that comes our way.

Spring has Sprung in Oregon

I think spring has officially sprung in Oregon.

Our morning walks are filled with flowers.

Most of this week has been full sun and in the upper 50s or lower 60s.

I think it is safe to say we are enjoying it. The rain is supposed to be back starting tomorrow, but I think we are well on our way to spring.

Fit Friday: SUP

SUP stands for Stand Up Paddleboarding. And that is the new sport that we are getting involved in. Last weekend, I picked up a board, and then on Monday, I headed to the lake with the dogs in tow and board strapped to the top of the car.

On the dock, ready to go

I had never been on a SUP before, and my only previous experiences with surfing ended badly, with lots of falling and getting gashed open by the fins. But really, other than the look of the board, paddleboarding is totally different. For one, you can do it on flatwater.

Jacketed and ready

Ideally I will be comfortable enough with the SUP that I can take it on the river. For my first time, though, I thought the flatwater of a lake would be better. We went up to Foster Lake by Sweet Home and headed down to the boat dock. The SUP I have is 10'6" long and probably 30+ lbs if I took a guess. Large and sort of awkward to move around with, but doable for one person. It may have been insane, but I brought the dogs down with me right away and we all hopped onto the board. I started out kneeling at first, to get the hang of it, and to let the dogs get the idea of what we were doing.

Pallo standing, and Koira in a down while out on the board the first time. 

Honestly, they settled in quickly and seemed to take it in stride. Koira did jump off the board a few times to swim, but it seemed more like she just couldn't stand sitting still and had to do something more so than her not liking being on the board. She figured out that to get back on she just had to swim over to near me and I would help her up with the handle on her life jacket. There was a bit of barking and whining, but again, I think it was from excitement and wanting to do something rather than being scared or not wanting to be there.

Riding the nose

Pallo tried out sitting at the front of the board and at the back of the board. At the front, he got dripped on by the paddle when I switched sides, and at the back, I think he was a little less steady. I know he knocked Koira into the water once by deciding to change positions and actually walking underneath her instead of trying to go around- Koira didn't seem to mind much though. Neither me or Pallo ended up in the water at all!

After a bit of a jaunt out with me paddling on my knees, I took the dogs back to the dock and set them up in the car in the shade while I took the board out by myself to see if I could stand up. At first, it seemed totally insane that I would feel stable doing this, but it was only a few minutes before I started feeling more confident while standing. I then went back and got the dogs for another ride out. With me standing, they actually had some more space on the board. The longer we were out, the more stable I felt. I know I was using a ton of muscles though because I was sore the next day!

She was loving watching the ski boats go by with skiers or people on floats.

Overall, we had a ton of fun. I know I got a workout, and I am sure the dogs got some great core conditioning going on with constantly maintaining balance. I am sure that the more we go, the better we will get too. I do plan on picking up some non-slip pads of some kind for the board, though. The dogs seemed like they were slipping a little bit, and when Koira tried to get back on after taking a swimming break, she had a hard time getting traction with her feet, even with me helping her via the lifejacket. Plus, her claws made some marks on the board while doing that, which I would like to prevent in the future as much as possible.

WW: Our Monday Adventure

Guess what we did on Monday.

Wordless Wednesday: Mud Bath

Nothing like a nice mud puddle on a sunny day

Proper mud bathing techniques can take years to perfect.

Water Wednesday

The local park is flooded, which turned out Tuesday afternoon walk into a Tuesday afternoon swim. Which was actually probably better for Koira anyway, since she would have gotten an on leash walk, but was allowed an off leash swim.

We didn't stay too long, only about 30 minutes. The dogs had a lot of fun splashing around in the water, but I didn't want Koira to overdo it, since it was her first time of off leash play since being injured.

Koira was pretty cold by the time we were done, but not too tired, and no signs of being sore. I'll call it an overall win.

Wordless Wednesday: Shake!

Tasty Tuesday: Rogue Brewery in Newport, Oregon

Today is my birthday, and I am off to spend the day at the coast. Every year I try to go to the coast on my birthday, and I especially like stopping in at the Rogue Brewery in Newport for my free birthday beer and t-shirt as a member of Rogue Nation. My birthday also marks the Gotcha-Day for Koira, Pallo, and Theodore Trex. Though each was adopted on a slightly different date, all three of them were birthday presents to myself. So here is to 6 years with Koira, 4 years with Pallo, and the end of a great first year with Theodore Trex.

My water glass, and the beer sample glass (drained of beer)

 All of these photos are from our beach trip a little over a week ago. I gave in to the cravings and hit Rogue while we were there, even though I knew I would be back for my birthday soon.

Koira chilling with her provided water bowl

For those who aren't Oregonians or beer nerds, Rogue Brewery is a small, local brewery located just south of the bridge in Newport, Oregon. Their signature beer is the Dead Guy Ale, I believe. Rogue is popular enough that it is available outside of the local area- though not their more specialty varieties.  Rogue Brewery also has a number of eateries- one attached to their brewery south of the bay in Newport, one on the Bayfront in Newport, and a few located elsewhere in Oregon (Portland, Eugene, Seaside, etc). I've only ever been to the locations in Newport, however.

The outdoor seating area

One of the best things about the Rogue Ales Public House (the location on the Newport Bayfront) is that it has a dog friendly outdoor seating area. Despite the weather being sunny and clear, it was a bit chilly still when we went last time, so we were the only ones sitting on the patio. There are leash hooks on the walls so you don't have to hold the dogs' leashes while you eat. A dog bowl full of water is provided to the pups. And there is even a dog menu, which changes up every so often.

The front of the dog menu even features the Rogue Chairman, Brewer, in whose honor Brewer's Memorial Ale Fest is held every year (benefiting local animal shelters). You really know these guys love dogs and aren't just grudgingly allowing them in the outdoor areas. In fact, my dogs both became honorary Rogue Nation members, complete with their own Rogue Nation ID cards.

I'm not actually a big beer drinker, or drinker in general. I enjoy the occasional glass of wine or beer, but I go to Rogue for the food. I ordered something new this past time, and it was amazing. I haven't ever been disappointed in the food, though, so that shouldn't be surprising. I tried the Kobe Bleu Ball Sandwich, which is basically a meatball sandwich, but with the meatballs stuffed with Rogue Creamery Oregon Blue cheese. Basically, a party in your mouth. I'd be happy to order it again, but I might have to keep exploring their menu.

Pallo even got to help me with some of the potato chips. I figured he had burned enough calories on the beach that morning that a chip or two wouldn't hurt!

Basically? If you are on the Oregon coast, check out Rogue. Eat at the Bayfront ale house, tour their brewery, check out the distillery. While you are south of the bridge in Newport, you can stop by the Hatfield Marine Science Center (admission is by donation, suggested at $5/person) or even the full Oregon Coast Aquarium, which once housed the famous Keiko- the killer whale in Free Willy- as part of the effort to return him to the wild. And of course, make sure you hit the beach!