The Sweetest Thing: May 2007

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Playing with the soccer ball is a new favorite activity. The puppies love to herd the ball, and Patrick is teaching them to dribble it too!

Here is Hank “dribbling” the soccer ball (with his head).

Ever the pragmatist, Dagny prefers to bite the ball and carry it instead. She will “dribble it,” but only when she feels like it.

Dagny Walking Hank

Here are Dagny and Hank fighting over the rope (I think she wants it more than him).

Monday, May 28, 2007

Naptime

. . . Why don't I get to take a nap every afternoon?

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Dagny and Hank Fetching Stick Together

Here is Dagny finally joing Hank and deciding that swimming is fun!

The puppies loved the lake so much that we took them back the next day to see if Dagny would be ready to jump in and join the fun. And, with a slight nudge from Katie, she did! She is not quite as strong a swimmer as Hank but very determined.

Anyone who has met Dagny knows that she is totally obsessed with playing fetch and will continue to run (or swim) back and forth until WE give up. Similarly, if we tell her to go find her hamburger or ball or sheepie, she will run from room to room, looking in every corner until we tell her it’s okay or she looses interest (she is still a puppy after all).

In this picture, Hank has already retrieved the ball from the lake, but Dagny didn’t notice. She has swum farther and farther out towards the middle of the lake, circling around and around, franticly continuing to look for the ball. Finally she heard us calling and swam back, but we thought we might be going in too for a little while there.

It may look like team work, but there is a silent battle raging for the stick.

The puppies love playing fetch! Here they are eagerly awaiting the next toss.

As she gained confidence in her swimming ability, Dagny resumed her normal behavior of stealing the ball (or stick) from Hank if she did not get to it first. Poor Hank!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Hank Playing Fetch

Hank is a water dog now!

Hank's First Swim

This is Hank's VERY first time swimming!

Puppies in the Tall Grass

Dagny and Hank running through the tall grass in the Off The Leash Dog Park

Saturday, May 19, 2007

A Day at the Park

Today we went to the puppies’ new favorite place, an off-the-leash dog park near our house. It is acres and acres of paths, high grass, dense brush, and lots of other new places to explore.

Here’s Dagny running down a trail.

We brought a picnic lunch . . . which the puppies were very interested in.

Katie and the Puppies

Dagny is a sweet girl.

We also found our way to a small lake where the puppies were able to play in the water. It took Hank a little while to get on board with the new activity, but once he did, he had a blast! Here he is, spread eagle, edging his way towards the water.

We threw some sticks in to try and coax them in.
Here is Hank contemplating how one gets to the stick and if it’s worth it.

"Maybe I can reach it if I just stretch far enough." - Hank

Splash!

Once Hank jumped in, he decided that being in the water was pretty fun.

He was very proud of himself. Finally Hank can play fetch without Dagny stealing all the glory!

Speaking of, Dagny was quite interested in the goings on but not quite ready to jump in too (she is still a little terrified of the water). She fell in a couple times, which was not fun, but she liked playing in the mud! Here she is watching Hank.