Tag Archives: dog

You Are Not Fitting Under There

Plenty of people walk their dogs in Juanita Bay Park.  They do not always like the areas because the decking is pierced steel and is a bit harsh on their paws.  This dog wasn’t bothered, though.  Instead, it seemed more intent on finding a way to get into the shore area which was out of bounds.  Watching it starting out under the fencing, I felt a little sorry for it!

Chasing the Ball

Beaches are great places for dogs.  Plenty of space to run and then there is the water to play in if they like.  As we were walking along Long Beach in Tofino. One guy was throwing a ball for his dog to chase and fetch.  The dog was having a fantastic time roaring around the beach after the ball.  The guy seemed to be happy too but I think I was almost as happy as the dog watching it having such a good time.  A couple of times it came towards me and I wanted the guy to throw the ball my way more often to get some shots but I think he was throwing it away from me to avoid inconveniencing me.  I should have said not to worry.

Dogs Driving Cars

B11I8262.jpgOkay, I will freely admit that this is not going to be the most informative post.  We were walking through Port Townsend and a car came by.  Nothing unusual in that.  However, out of the sunroof was a dog wearing goggles, presumably to protect the eyes from dust and debris while on the road.  This is not the sort of thing I normally see so I thought I would share.

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Dog Sled Demonstration

C59F1513.jpgUnless you live in the mountains, California winters are not a time for much thought about snow.  However, I did find myself thinking back to an event we went to a couple of time when we lived in Chicago.  Morton Arboretum is located in Lisle, west of the city, and was a favorite place for us to visit.  In any season it was a pretty place to walk.  During the winter, they would put on a demonstration of dog sledding and this could be fun to watch.

C59F1367.jpgA course would be set up through the trees so there were plenty of places in which you could set yourself up to watch the action.  The runs would take place at various times throughout the day and between them you could go and talk to the people and meet the dogs.  They were certainly energetic creatures and, I imagine, they would be a real handful to have in a house.  Let the buyer beware!

C59F1479.jpgThe snow was not too deep on this occasion so it was relatively straightforward to head out around the course and get set for the teams when they came through.  Most of them had things well under control but sometimes a single dog sled would appear and the dog might get a little distracted by all of the cool smelling stuff around them.  At this point, the person would appear to be doing more of the pushing and the dog less of the pulling.

C59F1635.jpgShooting in the snow is always a little interesting.  The brightness of the snow itself contrasts a lot with the shadows in the surrounding trees.  This is when shooting RAW really helps as you can get a lot more out of the shots.

Dogs in Coats

wpid9991-C59F3187.jpgNot a serious topic today. We were indoors on a rainy day. We overlook an area where plenty of people exercise their dogs (what a great euphemism!). Two little dogs showed up and they were obviously ready for the rain. Not great shots since they were through the windows but they made me laugh and hopefully will do them same for you.

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Doggy Antics

wpid6630-AU0E8936.jpgOur friends in Wichita have a great pair of dogs.  I have always struggled to get good shots of them.  They can look very peaceful and cute but, as soon as I try to get into position to get a shot, they immediately come and investigate.  Repeating that process never fails to interest them so the shots never are made.  I must have grabbed tons of shots of them on this trip, most of which went straight in the trash.  however, I did get a couple that were okay so here are the two of them at the best I can manage.

Agility for Dogs

If herding the sheep weren’t enough, there were other dogs being put through their paces.  An agility course had been laid out and a bunch of owners were running their dogs through the course.  From what I could see, there wasn’t a particular route that was supposed to be followed.  Instead, they seemed to go wherever they felt like it.

Of course, when I say where they felt like it, I don’t always mean the owners.  One dog in particular was very excited but not at all interested in the course.  it ran in circles and barked at its owner until she finally gave up.  They had another go a little later but that ended the same way.

Some of the dogs, though, were very skillful and could zip across the jumps and through the poles without pausing.  A fun thing to watch for a while, particularly when it was too hot to move for a bit!

Sheep Dog Trials – Insert Verdict Joke Here…

As part of the Scottish celebrations, there was a demonstration of sheep dogs at work.  This was something I always thought of a either a northern England or Welsh activity but I guess it is a big deal in Scotland too.  Anyway, a bunch of dogs were taking it in turns to demonstrate their skills with a small flock of sheep brought in especially for the occasion.

The dogs and the shepherds were certainly very effective.  They could move the flock wherever they felt like it (although the attempt to split the flock in two was a little less successful).  The dogs were really fun to watch as they zipped around the flock and then froze on the ground until needed again.

The sheep were amazing as well.  These creatures are obviously very fixated on one thing.  Eating!  The dogs could get them quite jumpy but a second alter they would forget everything and start munching on the grass.  I suspect if left alone, they wouldn’t move far at all as long as the grass lasted!

Scotties on parade

A weekend break has recently taken us up to Door County in Wisconsin. We stayed in a small town called Baileys Harbor. By coincidence, the weekend that we were there, the town was holding a parade of Scottish Terriers. His parade started off with a pipe band walking through the streets followed by about 200 Scotties been walked by their owners.

This might sound like a recipe for disaster. Scotties are hardly known for their calm temperament (I will resist making any comment on their fellow countrymen) so putting 200 of them together and adding some pipes might seem like it was going to end up being a noisy affair. However, it all went off very smoothly. The dogs all trotted along without any complaint – including no complaints about the outfits at some of the owners had decided they should wear just in case we hadn’t noticed they were Scotties. I really don’t think a dog deserves to wear a fake kilt with fake bagpipes for extra effect.

A lot of people turned out to see the parade. A couple of people asked us if we had come specially for it. It was certainly fun to watch but I don’t think I would make a five hour drive each way just to see it! Interestingly, a lot of people brought their dogs to watch the parade. I’m not sure whether they think that their dogs would be interested in something because it was dog centric or not but I don’t think the other dogs were really that bothered.