Hey everybody- Squirmy here! Livin and lovin large.

Well I have some good news and bad news. I’m almost finished honking like a goose. I feel much better. That’s the good news. The bad news….I passed on my cough to the Boss guy. Yup. He started coughing yesterday. So now HE sounds like a goose. My Enforcer was worried – because he is older ( mind you everybody I meet is older than me!) – and he was sounding like a GIANT goose. So my Enforcer called the vet, and got some special medication for his cough. Which smells an awful lot like the stuff she bought for me at the drug store. Anyway, it will hopefully make him feel better quickly. He’s still hungry, and he wants to go on his walks, but he sounds a lot like me the first night I started coughing. I keep sitting right next to him to make him feel better. So far the Coyote seems OK.

In the meantime, I continue to terrify my Enforcer with my imitation of a Crash Test Puppy. I seriously love to climb up and jump off things. Here she is carrying me up and down stairs and I get outside and now jump up on the garden bed in the middle of the driveway (which is like 3 feet high) and up the retaining wall that I talked about the other day. Of course I also fly OFF those walls as well. AND I can now easily jump on my Enforcer’s bed!!!! Which is great because it makes it much easier to steal her pillows!!!!

Oh plus I have a favorite new toy which will probably not be around very long. It’s a huge inflatable rubber ball with a fabric cover. I think it’s for horses. All I know is that when I first saw it sitting in the yard, I didn’t want to go near it. And when it rolled, well I thought it was out to get me!!! But within minutes, I was fine with my new rolly friend and I attacked it. I quickly figured out that if I could grab the cover, I can control the ball. In this video, you see me grabbing the cover and at one point I somehow manage to pull the plug on the ball. I stop because I hear the air coming out. But not for long…

There is actually a dog sport called Treibball where dogs move balls like this around a field – following specific directions. Think herding without the sheep. Here’s a sample video:

https://youtu.be/QBJ9DVp9dyM

And here’s an explanation of the sport:

https://www.k9ofmine.com/treibball/

I’m thinking my attack strategy is NOT advisable in playing the game. For now, I just get some exercise – since I still can’t play with the Coyote. He screams from the deck sometimes when he watches me play with it. I think he likes the big ball too.

So that’s my news today. I can’t go on any adventures or to any classes until my cough is 100% gone – probably for at least 1-2 weeks. So we’re back into quarantine again. Just keep your paws crossed that the Coyote manages to evade it. Heck, he’s already damaged with his muscle sprain. We have to keep my Enforcer in good health because the rest of us are currently on the injured list. And I guess I better be careful jumping off those walls. And the bed….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Yo. Readers. Elroy here again! Happy Labor Day from three very hard working guard dogs. We take our jobs seriously. We guard against intruders – like the guy who delivers oil- and other interlopers like bunnies, birds, moths and the ever-dangerous falling leaves. We are particularly vigilant and quick to bark when it’s dark out or when Her Highness is in the shower. One can never be too careful…So Happy Labor Day to all workers – and all retirees!!!

Now I must tell you about my excellent adventure to the beach yesterday. It is THE best story.

Her Highness and I picked up our friend Marg, and off we went yesterday morning. I was so excited. Mind you, I didn’t really know where we were going.

We took the “scenic” route to our destination, which from a crate in the back of Ludwig is not all that exciting. But the two leggeds appeared to enjoy the coastal views.

We finally arrived at the beach, and what was the FIRST thing we saw? Come on. Guess. Beach bathers? Surfers? Beach umbrellas? Beach balls? Children building sand castles? Nope. In perfect blog story fashion the FIRST thing we saw was…….a llama. Sounds like some kind of children’s story book, doesn’t it. But I’m not joking. And here’s the proof:

The llama people parked right next to us. Her Highness didn’t quite know what to say, so instead of mentioning the llama, said something about dogs. Talk about the “llama in the room.” The guy said something about their dog too and off they went. For a walk on the beach road. I hadn’t been to this beach before, so I was thinking this just must be common here. I couldn’t wait to get over the dune to see if I would find a zebra.

Anyway, when I got in the water, the only thing I was interested in doing was drinking it. Here’s a tip for people who have never taken their dogs to salt water before. It’s not advisable to drink ocean water. Because it will “return” like a wave, from different ends of your body if you drink too much. Needless to say, Her Highness wouldn’t let me drink the water.

We had a fabulous long walk – which in the packed sand was good for my muscle. Her Highness tried to get me to walk in the water- but that was rather futile as all I did was stop and try to drink. Despite the fact that I also drank water that Her Highness brought for me.

It’s a long beach- and home to some shore birds called Piping Plovers. I saw no signs of their bagpipes, but lots of them running and flying along the shore.

Dogs are supposed to be on leash so as not to scare the birds. That’s why I couldn’t run free. That’s my idea of a joke. As if the birds were the reason I couldn’t be off leash. But that’s my story.

I had a good time walking, watching people and their dogs- and listening to the sound of the waves. As usual, Her Highness tried to get photos of me – and I refused to give her ears up. Still, I don’t look too bad.

All in all it was a great adventure. A wonderful day. All was right with the world. Despite the fact that I DID have the poops when I got home. Precipitating a call to the Emergency clinic because Her Highness Googled salt water poisoning ( which is a very serious condition) and she just wanted to be SURE I didn’t have it. Thankfully I didn’t.

Really. What would our house be without at least one call to the Emergency Clinic each week. We’re at two for this week. The other night it was to check which over-the-counter meds she could give to the goose in the house. The goose is the shark with his kennel cough. Her Highness knew he didn’t need to be seen by a vet as he was happy, hungry, and energetic- but he did sound like a goose. Long story short – she found out through her “dog village” that he could take human cough medicine. A certain type – WITHOUT any xylitol. He slept better that night, and already seems to be on the mend. And last night not even one cough!

So that’s the story of our weekend. Llamas, plovers, a goose sound-alike and no emergency room visits. Life is good. Very good indeed.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Howdy there blogees. Elroy here. Remember me? The handsome guy who injured himself during an exuberant interlude with the Shaggy Shark?! Well I’m here to tell you – muscle strains are NOT fun. I am tired of not being allowed to run around. But the good news – it IS getting better.

I went to see my therapist Liz yesterday. And although I’m still not back to my Olympic body, she could see and feel a difference in me. The last time I was there, she even had a difficult time manipulating some of my muscles. I was compensating on my good side – which was tense – and I was very sore on my bad side. But this time she could really massage the muscles on both sides, and could push those muscles deep in my groin area. I was quite cooperative. Now there are two words you rarely see together to describe me – in the same sentence: “quite” and “cooperative”. Let’s face it – I do, and times, tend to march to my own drum – which only I can hear! Anyway I was great with Liz- and still even kissed her good-bye – even though she said I STILL can’t run around yet. I go back to see Liz in 3 weeks again. I was told CAN go for a beach walk – which I think I may be doing tomorrow. Without the PONs. But don’t tell them – they’ll get all barky and loud. It’s only fair I get to do SOMETHING fun. I’ve had to watch them running around the backyard- and it does make me jealous. So time for some “me” time.

It was because of my jealousy and boredom that I led the troops on that walk about the other day. The one where Her Highness probably permanently scarred her vocal cords from screaming at us to return. Look – I didn’t know the other guys were going to follow me. I just needed to stretch my legs a bit.

The Shark didn’t go to his handling class yesterday- something about Her Highness snoozing on the sign up sheet. And he was supposed to go back to obedience tomorrow night. Unfortunately, just yesterday, Her Highness read that someone who attended handling class last week had kennel cough. And like clockwork, last night the shark began coughing. Yup. It appears he got the bug. He was up on and off through the night. He seems fine otherwise. Kennel cough is one of those things where you can be vaccinated, and because there are so many strains of it, you can still end up with it. There’s not much to do medically for it. Just try not to over exert. Tell that to the shark. Now we wait to see if the Boss and I get it. Paws crossed we don’t.

Her Highness is bummed that they now won’t be able to go to obedience tomorrow. They’ve been practicing- AND the Boss likes to join in. Those PONs will do anything for food. You should see the two of them doing synchronized spins and twists. I feel like I’m watching the circus. I’m always invited to participate in their sessions but I say “Meh.” Food is overrated. I’m content to watch. Although when they do practice “down stays” – that’s one exercise I like. You don’t have to do a THING, just act like a log, and you get a treat. My kind of exercise. The Shark is surprisingly better at sit stays than down stays. He has his own quirks too.

Well time for our morning constitutional. We’ve actually been letting Her Highness sleep in until 6:30 lately – and one day we let her sleep in until 7AM!!! The sunrises are getting later and later. Yup. Fall is in the air. Must be almost time to pee on a pumpkin. Good times!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Greetings blog readers. Frodo here. Finally. That wiggling, wild Annelid seems to be taking over lately. Mind you, his juvenile, innocent view of the world can be rather delightful. I must admit, I have really begun to like the imp. He follows me like a shadow, and does everything I do. He even likes to snuggle with me, which I find rather endearing. Sometimes.

While I was initially the Grump when he arrived, and the Beatnik welcomed him with open paws, our roles have actually reversed. Probably because the Beatnik views the shark as a dangerous being, even though his biting HAS improved. Or at least some of his needle teeth have fallen out. Either that or we are all growing thicker skin.

I must say, he is a smart, and rather DETERMINED young fella. Take the following drawing, which he did, to explain a recent escapade:

If it looks wild and confusing, it should. It describes him and his actions to a tee. Allow me to explain it. In the diagram you see a gate – which goes to our newly fenced back yard. Sometimes we enter and exit the fenced yard from the house (through a door not on the drawing), and other times we actually enter and exit from around the house. In this instance, we were leaving the fenced yard, going around the side of the house and to the front door. There is a three foot garden wall just about ten feet from the gate, because the land slopes. The gate was opened, and yours truly ran out and easily jumped up the wall. Meanwhile, my miniature sidekick tried the same trick. But he had walked up to the wall, and it was too high for him to jump. Her Highness told him to come around the wall, which he did. That is the green line in the drawing . He went around the wall and made it almost to the front door of the house. But not to be beaten by a wall, he changed his mind and ran back down around the wall and this time took a running leap at the wall and made it up. This was a wild spontaneous action, performed completely independently. It happened so quickly, Her Highness didn’t know where he was going when he raced back past her toward the gate. He was quite proud of himself that he scaled that wall.

In other news, he has pretty much decimated the vegetable garden. Between an obnoxious chipmunk who keeps eating the tomatoes, and the shark who keeps trampling them, the crop this year will be sad. Here you will see the shark doing excavation work, followed by a frenzied zoomie and a brief veggie garden stampede. Her Highness is trying hard not to laugh…

The Beatnik seems to be feeling better, but Her Highness will not allow him to run free until at least after his therapy appointment tomorrow. He’s still not 100%, but seems to be almost back to normal. He is just itching to play in the yard again. But I have a feeling Her Highness May want to wait another week or so – just to be sure his muscle is all better.

Now excuse me while I go and hide. It’s almost time for our walk, and if it’s not raining now, it did last night. And we all know how I despise wet feet. Wish me luck.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.