Wordless Wednesday: Flashback edition

Thirsty Moose!

Wordless Wednesday

Pooltime fun!

Since we got back, Moose and I have been lazing about recuperating from the long trip and since we returned to unbelievable heat I decided it was time to get my boy a pool this weekend! Here is a video of him romping around. At the end he got a case of zoomies (old man style!) but my camera memory filled up. It was hilarious though!

Awards

Mango and pee-wee oops I mean Dexter gave us TWO awards the other day and we are honored! We think Bolo's blog is fabulous so would like to pass the award to them! We also think Jack's blog is fabulous. His daily posts are short and sweet and never fail to make us laugh!

The honest scrap award means we are supposed to tell you 10 honest scraps about Moose. Moose said he felt more comfortable telling you himself so here he is:

1. I love Carrots! Sometimes when I get a little distracted or don't hear my name being called Momma will ask me if I want a carrot and suddenly I can hear clear as a bell and come running!
2. I have a little bit of a drooling problem and often end up with drool on my head or have a bunch of sticks, leaves and gravel hanging from the long strings of drool! Momma used to tease that they should bottle it for when you need something sticky and slimey at the same time, but then she found out that they already do! I am not sure what they do to my drool to make it into beer but I am awaiting a royalty check for their use of a depiction of me drinking water on the label!
3. When momma asks 'who do you love'? I give her a big kiss, but the truth is I only do this because she gives me crackers when I do it. I mean, I love her and all but unless she has food on her face I don't see the point of licking her!
4. I apparently have a 'defective' ear. My ear flaps lie down like they are supposed to most of the time and when I am smiling they go back a little like all labs but when I am out of my mind beside myself happy both ears go back but the one on the right flips up in a funny way (I guess it is funny b/c it makes momma giggle and call me 'defective')! She has tried to get a picture of it but this is an unpredictable event that is accompanied by ALOT of wiggling!
5. I love being tall! When momma leaves the house and forgets to put the yummy stuff on the floor for me, I can easily help myself to it... even if she leaves it pushed all the way back.
   
6. I woofel ferociously at anyone who approaches the moose lodge but the minute they get within petting distance I waggle all over the place! I figure, if they are not afraid of my ferocious act then momma must have already told them I am a big smooshy boy so they must be friends... right?
7. I know I am a Labrador but what is this business about retrieving??? You threw it, you can go get it yourself! Unless it is something tuggable, I do not see the point of bringing YOU things that I want to play with!
8. And while we are at it, yes I love water but honestly prefer to have my paws planted firmly on the bottom if it is all the same to you. I know they are webbed for swimming but walking or lying in water is just as good!
9. I was terribly afraid of stairs until momma convinced me it was ok. She did a pretty good job convincing me but there are some situations where things are not right (and I won't tell her what that means) for me to go up and down them. When I hurt my leg I got a free pass to avoid stairs, one good thing about being hobbled!
10. I miss Teddy somethin' terrible and wish I was not an only dog. Luckily momma knows this and feels so guilty about it that she takes me places to play with other dogs (at least she did before my leg got hurt).
    

So there you have it! Momma said I could pick whoever I wanted to know more about as long as they have not already been tagged so I am going to tag:

1. Parker
2. Jack
3. Rufus and Indie

p.s. Blogger is being difficult today so apologies for the wonky formatting!

Moose headed out to sea

Moose met his match!

At the park tonight Moose met a Newfie named Grady who was the same size as him (or bigger- hard to tell w/ all the fur) and he is only 7 months old. They played great together but Moose was pretty worn out! Grady's dad was worried they would fight and kept him on a leash which kept him from really playing but they had fun anyway!

moose at the beach

Return of Mini-Moose

Sarah (aka Mini-Moose) came back to visit this weekend and we had a great time. She loves swimming so it was nice to have her enjoy my pool. Moose gets really frustrated and runs back and forth but will not get in. I am convinced he never will. It is sad because he loves being in the water. He does not swim like sarah does but he likes to walk in as deep as he can stand and my pool is so shallow that he can stand in the shallow end so it is a shame he just won't overcome his fear of the stairs to get there 8-( anyways, Sarah had a blast so that was fun. She will chase tennis balls until she drops so I have to hide them from her and close the gate to the pool after awhile, otherwise she will over do it. Today we went to the RSMAS beach so Moose could get in on the water fun and we were lucky enough to find his buddy Darwin there. It was a hot and sunny day so the hounds had a great time in the water. Sarah spent the time retrieving coconuts and rolling in the sand while the boys followed her around. After the beach we had to take her back to her house though and we already miss her!

Baby Pool

I finally got a ramp to help my baby boy in the pool (officially it is for the car though!). It is not designed for pool use so it took a little work to make it sink and it still is not heavy enough to be very stable but still we (mostly me) were very eager to give it a try! Before taking out to the pool I of course had to let him get used to it. after leaving it on my bed for a few hours he got pretty comfortable using it so then it was pool time! He was pretty nervous about it but made it all the way in one time and part way a few other times. It took lots of encouragement and treats though (click for video)! I think he will like it better if I can make it more stable so I may try that, but also I think he will be more likely to use it if another dog is in the pool and for that it definitely needs to be more stable! Still, I was very excited that he made it all the way in (baby steps!)!

Two park Tuesday!

Tonight I took Moose to Harry Harris Park because I wanted to let him swim before he gets his Frontline treatment. Every month after I put it on him he will have to stay dry for 3 days (at least!) so it will work. I usually make sure I take him to the dog park right before so he Can splash around in the Kiddie pool.

He has never swam at this (HHP) park before though because I have never found a good place for him to get in the water. A friend told me her dogs swim there so this time I looked a little harder and found a spot that was a little more inviting! Of course my chicken hound needs more than an inviting entry, he needs a red carpet!

He crept down in his usual gingerly way but he eventually made it to the water and got his beak and paws in at least!

After we relaxed and watched the sunset we headed back to the car and he decided that he would splash around behind the mangroves -much less scary than the seawall! He is such a baby! Then just to spoil him we went to the dogpark. When we finally got home he got his monthly bath and some kibble. As I write this his sacked out on my bed right next to me (not even a little on the towels I put down for him!) smelling like a wet clean dog and making his usual grumbley noises. Such a good boy!

moose at bear cut

moose went for a swim on the beach behind my lab in miami.

Moose's Everest

Today I gave Moose his new stress relief supplement and took him with me when I went to the lab house to see if he would climb the stairs on him own without being shoved from behind. And miraculously... it worked! Abel went up first and called him up then I went up too and called him and at first he stopped but on the second call he just climbed right up! I could not believe the stuff worked! It has chamomile, passion flower, ginger and tryptophan in it, and my bet is on the tryptophan. Better living through chemistry as they say! After I was finished working we left and I had him do it a few more times and he did it 4 more times each with a little hesitation and only refused once but I think he was getting frustrated b/c he would get to the top and have to come back down again. I took a little video of one of the runs- turn your volume down if you watch it though! We have a ways to go before I will say we have conquered his bathmophobia though- he still won't leave the top step of the pool stairs! Still, I am very proud of my brave boy!

Look Who is Swimming Now! (Well, sort of)

Here are pics of Moose swimming in my pool. He was accidentally (wink wink) pushed in! He is a good swimmer but I do think he likes to stand up. I tried to show him that he was tall enough to stand in the shallow end and that the bottom step is big enough for him to stand on but we was still anxious to get out! I just don't think he will ever go in by him self though. I am a little bummed b/c I think he likes being in the water he just has some phobias. I ordered this herbal supplement for dogs that is supposed to help with anxiety. Most people use it for thunderstorms and car rides but one of the reviews described a dog who was afraid to walk on a newly installed floor so I am thinking it might help him get over his stair troubles (and T-storms) and maybe that will help him get in!
Last night we went to the Caribbean Club where the 1948 movie 'Key Largo' was filmed. Moose almost pulled my arm off trying to walk in- and he does not normally do that. I heard they allowed dogs there but this place welcomes dogs! The bartender had treats for Moose and lots of people came over to meet him and everyone fawned over him! He was a good boy thanks to his stuffed Kong and Abel who took him on 2 strolls by the beach while we were there!

Swim Buddy

We went to the park again tonight and as usual he found a buddy named "Buddy" (go figure!). It was the sweetest thing ever. They romped and played but the really cute part was when Moose climbed in the pool with him (pic)! Have you ever seen anything cuter??? OK maybe that is just the mom in me but I am so happy with how friendly he is- it was my #1 criteria and I have not been disappointed. He has been growled at barked at and even lunged and snapped at (last night on our walk) and all he does is take a few steps back! And with people he is perfect, very happy to see them but has so far greeted them with the same enthusiasm as they greet him, in the few cases that people have been indifferent to him, he has not forced himself on them. He has only jumped up on a person (me) once and it was at the vet and I think it was b/c he was a little worried about what was going on. Today he let me clean his ears even though he was not happy about it. He is such a good boy! We are working on 'lie down' and a 'reliable recall' and have a long way to go on both! I did find out today that he knows 'drop it' though- I have not had to use it so I did not even realize it!