Jake & Charlotte: Happy-Go-Lucky

I have never seen these two ever really let anything get them down. They deal with Kylee screaming, petting them (aka. poking and prodding), stealing their toys, and sometimes crying.
There have even been times when one of them is sick and you would not be able to tell by their disposition. (There just has always been a surprise left behind for me to clean in their crate or in the office.)
You can always count on Jake and Charlotte to be jumping up and down when you arrive and not being able to sneak past them without at least five wet kisses from each pup.
Charlotte even has a new licking target: Kylee. Charlotte used to be pretty shy around Kylee, but not anymore. Now one of the first things she does is run up to Kylee, stand up on her back paws, and starts giving wet kisses all over Kylee's face. (I am still not sure how Kylee feels about this new found friendship.)

Snoopy: It's all in the Face

How can you say no to this adorable face?

Every time I tried to move away from Snoopy to get a picture of him, he would come running up to the camera. I definitely do not get an "A" for my photography skills, but I just thought this picture really matched his personality. He is so happy, go-lucky and just loves to play.

His other favorite activity is placing kisses all over Kylee's face. If she sat still and let him, I wonder how long Snoopy could go just licking Kylee's face. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? (Aka. Kylee) The world may never know.

Douglas: The Color Changing Pug

One moment Douglas is a sandy blond and the next a shiny black. How does he do it? We may never know.
There are several other pugs around Douglas' neighborhood that sport the sleek black coat, instead of his sandy blond. When we come upon one or two of these guys/gals Douglas loves to give a quick sniff and hello. But after that, he is ready to move on. The owner of this little girl Pug can get Douglas charging towards him from 10 feet away. Since he is a Pug owner he knows to how to get him excited and riled up. Douglas loves jumping up and saying hi. It is usually hard for me to get him to say good bye when it is time to part ways.

Riley & Murphy: Brotherly Rivalry

Whatever one has the other wants. Who ever is the first to scout out something good, the other will be right there sniffing it out and trying to steal it. It does not matter what it is: toys, treats, bark, dirt, etc, but it has to be good if someone else wants it.It has been really funny to watch this small rivalry between Riley and Murphy.It is usually Murphy who is interested in stealing things from Riley, but Riley can be in on it as well. Especially when we are inside and playing with toys. Riley can get so excited and obsessed with toys that he will do a funny pleading/whiny bark whenever I or Murphy has a toy he wants.

Rain Rain Go Away, Come Again Another Day

Even though Kylee and I were caught in the rain three times today while we were out doing our dog walks, we actually did not mind getting wet.
Kylee was able to test out her rain coat and rain boots for the first time. Before we had even gone outside in the rain, Kylee kept pointing to her boots and was very excited that she was wearing them.
She enjoyed splashing in puddles, but would cry anytime that she fell in the mud. (Typical girl) I thought if Kylee fell it would be butt first. Oh no, not with this child. She dove face first into a big muddy puddle. Afterward she was crying and I was busting up with laughter. I have a lot of scrubbing ahead of me-both her and her clothes.

Murphy: The New Pup in Town

There have been several new puppies that have moved to Murphy’s neighborhood. He has met at least two of them and is looking forward to meeting more new faces in the next couple of weeks. He has gotten together with Oliver, King Charles, and Nena, Pit Bull, over the past two weeks. We usually see Oliver the most often since he lives in the same building as Murphy.
Oliver is not threatened by Murphy’s size. He still gives him a hard time and will try to get Murphy down from all angles. I don’t know if Oliver will ever be able to tackle Murphy, but he has a lot of heart.
Sadly, Oliver's dog walker was released so I am not sure if he will be able to join Murphy much more in the afternoons to play and romp around. We hope to see you again soon Oliver.

Douglas: Oops

So sometimes the best pictures turn out from the ones that were accidents or taken by mistake. They seem to have the most character and capture the moment just right. (He kept following me and trying to lick the camera. He actually pumped into my hand which took the picture. Oops.)
Douglas is such a mover and a shaker that it is hard to get a picture where he is not a blur. Well, for this post I just gave up on trying to get the perfect picture. The result, some blurry pictures that really show Douglas’ personality that make you laugh and smile. (A lot of times this is all you can see of Douglas since he is everywhere: his bum.)
He is such a cute, bubbly little guy. (Sitting still was such a crazy thing for me to ask thought Douglas as I tried to take another picture.)

Jake and Charlotte: Ball, ball, ball!

There is only one thing on Charlotte's mind when she is ready to play: BALL!
She is like the energizer bunny when she is playing fetch. She will just keep going, and going, and going. I think the record for playing fetch nonstop has now been an hour. My arm felt like it was going to fall off after that.
Jake will feel spunky and hyper once in awhile and join in on the fun. He looks very proud of himself when he actually gets the ball before Charlotte. (This does not happen very often.) When Jake does get the ball, it drives Charlotte crazy and she tries to find ways to steal it back.

Snoopy: Whose Afraid of the Big Bad Broom?

On the return from our walk today, Snoopy was ambushed by an evil broom and dustpan.

He knows you have to watch out for those kind of things because they will bite you once you turn your back on them. Even after me touching it and trying to show him that it was fine, he still was not convinced. He wanted nowhere near that blue broom.
Since it was on our way up to his apartment, I gave him a lift until he thought he was safe enough to get down. Funny puppy!

Blue: Dumpster Diving

One day a week is recycle day where everyone’s recycling stuff is place out in a bin in front of their house. Blue thinks this day is called “Free Food for All.” She would try to stop at every bin (that made for approximately 30 stops) along the way on our walk.
There were a few bins in particular that really caught her interest. Some had containers with a little sauce or etc. left in them that she thought she could lick out. While another actually had chips leftover in them. That one completely caught me off guard.
Blue actually got a hold of it before I realized there was stuff left in it. I was able to quickly foil her plan though. Sorry Blue. The foot got it before you were able to get a bite. After that, security was heightened on the containers as we passed.

Mr. Bigglesworth: How Do You Work This Thing?

Kylee and I were in for a surprise today when we visited Mr. Bigglesworth. We were greeted by one hyper ice cream cone puppy.
Mr. Bigg had scratched his eye so until it heals, he has to wear this protective cone so he does not accidentally make it worse. It has not gotten his spirits down at all. He was still ready to go and run everywhere.

A few adjustments had to be made with the first several attempts he made at sniffing out the area and trying to take some potty breaks on nearby walls and trees.

After some trial and error Mr. Bigg finally got the hang of it. He seemed to enjoy the frish air nad being able to run around the courtyard. Anyone that saw him smiled at how cute he was, but also let out a small laugh to see a cone puppy.

We hope you get better soon Mr. Bigglesworth!

Kylee's View

I thought it would be funny to take some pictures of Kylee while she was out helping me walk dogs in the afternoons. The two main places Kylee is during our dog walks are on my back in a carrier or in the stroller.

What does Kylee usually see in a day?

-Dog
-Leaf
-Tree
-Doggy Bum
-Tree
-Other doggy bums
-Leaf
-And repeat

What a day!

Riley & Murphy: WATER!!

These two LOVE water!! I know this is true of most all Labradors. Every lab I have as a client loves to play in any water they can find. Whether it be a shallow puddle or a deep creek. This goes the same for Riley and Murphy.

I have not experienced taking them by a creek, but I am sure they would jump right in. Riley and Murphy LOVE their water bowl. They can drink so much in just one sitting. (You have to keep an eye out on Murphy though so he does not drink too much and have an accident.) Murphy will even lick up any spilled water on the floor from the bowl.

On our walks they will sniff, lick, and walk through any puddles of water they may find along the way and they try to make sure to not miss out on checking out a single puddle in their path.

Murphy: Ants in My Pants

Murphy just loves to watch these tiny insects go about their business. If he can find a trail of ants he is going to be entertained for at least 5 minutes. He will just go back and forth following the ants’ trail. He loves to get as close as he can with his face and nose to check these little creatures out.
One time he got a little too close for the ant’s comfort and I think it bit him. You should have seen how fast Murphy moved and the bewildered expression that was on his face. It was priceless. He has learned now though to give the ants their space, especially the big red ones. Those ones mean business!

Jake & Charlotte: SQUIRREL!

Have you ever seen the movie UP? Well, in this movie there are parts where you can hear what the dogs are thinking. There are several times that the dogs have come to their downfalls because they are distracted by a SQUIRREL.
Jake and Charlotte get so excited and don’t know what to do with themselves when they spot one. If they were given the choice between chasing a squirrel and eating their food, I honestly don’t know which one they would choose first; possibly the squirrel.
Since all of their attention is on the squirrel and what would happen if they actually caught it, many interesting situations have come about. Charlotte has been dragged a few times by Jake while he is in hot pursuit of a squirrel. Charlotte has also turned into a puppy pretzel with her leash running around her body, through her legs, and behind her tail. Another time she kept crashing into the stroller because she was not paying attention to where she was walking/running.
Jake looses complete track of where he is going and has crashed into so many things such as trees, rocks, bushes, signs. He always pops right back up and keeps going, hoping nobody saw that happen. These guys are hilarious to watch. You never know what might happen next when there is a SQUIRREL.

Douglas: The Pug Ambassador

During our walks, about 60% of the people we come across will stop to ask questions or make comments about Pugs or Douglas in particular.

Some of the people just love dogs and can't help themselves from petting such a cute smiling face. Others ask about his breed and how are their personalities. We come across Pug lovers and owners that just can't help stopping to tell us about their own Pug and to tell us about what great dogs they are. Since Kylee is usually always along for the ride, this give Douglas an additional attribute in his favor: he is great with children.
No matter the reason, you can't help but stop to give a hello and friendly scratch to such a cute little guy.

P.S. I did not take this picture. This is complimentary to Charlotte, Douglas' owner. I do not think I could ever get him to sit that still for me.

Riley & Murphy: The Full Body Tail Wag

How does a Labrador say hello? By wagging his tail until his whole rear end swings from right to left. This seems to be true with any lab I have ever met or taken care of. When they are truly happy and excited their whole body wiggles and their rear end just cannot stay still.
This is especially true with Murphy. When he does the full body tail wag he gets so squirmy that it looks like he has ants in his pants. It is the cutest thing.
(These two were pretty excited about playing with their favorite toy. We had been playing tug-a-war and I had ended up winning so they were waiting for me to throw their toy for them to chase. I have learned to throw pretty fast so I do not get plowed over by these two bulldozers.)

Snoopy: New Buddy

While Murphy has been taking it easy after his surgery, Snoopy met a new neighbor: Oliver. Oliver is a King Charles Spaniel who is still pretty young.
Don't get me wrong, Oliver definitely does not come anywhere close to being Snoopy's best friend like Murphy, but they enjoy getting together.
Whenever they see one another they will race up to each other, sniff, and then start running circles and chasing. I think Snoopy enjoys playing with and teasing a dog that is about his size. Enjoy it while it lasts Snoopy. Oliver is just a puppy and still has some growing to do.

Blue: Pulls Her Weight and More

There are several dogs that I have as clients and that I walk regularly that outweigh Blue by about twice her weight or more. I never really thought much about it when I started walking her. Boy was a wrong when I underestimated her power and strength.

This girl can shake a leg and try to get going where she wants to go! At about 7 to 8 year old and 35 lbs. this girl does not act or look her age. She loves to chase her balls, play with her leash, and run here and there (particularly at the beginning of her walk).

Murphy: Butterfly, Butterfly Come My Way......Almost!

Murphy's theme today seemed to be, "so close, but not quite close enough." During our walk today he spotted a little white butterfly flitting around the apartment complex. This pup was not about to be happy just watching the butterfly from afar. Oh no, he wanted to check this thing out nose to wing.
We chased this butterfly back and forth, right and left, and even up and down. Yep! Anytime that the butterfly thought about landing Murphy would charge after it and even jump into the air trying to catch it with his mouth.
There were a few times that he would get pretty close, but he was always a few inches short. Poor guy. He eyed that butterfly until it flew up and over the trees and apartments. Maybe next time Murphy.

Jake & Charlotte: Puppy Pops

What are puppy pops? If you asked Jake and Charlotte they would say they are the best and most delicious puppy treat ever. On hot days after a good walk or run these two are treated to half of a puppy pop. They have so many flavors to choose from as well: karob chip (chocolate chip), peanut butter chip, or yogurt chip.
It takes awhile for them to find the perfect spot in their backyard to find the exact location for optimum puppy pop eating. It may take a few times moving around before the best spot is found (especially for Charlotte). Sometimes she may even require you to move it for her.
Once they both get going, it is hard to get them to stop at only eating half of their treat. Jake knows what is coming so he will try at all costs to dodge you. When you do finally get a hold of his treat, be prepared for a game of tug and war. Charlotte is easier, she will just walk off.
Where can these treats be found? At your local specialty pet store: particularly DOGMA in Shirlington.

Sometimes I wonder how would it be to have a dog’s life?