Murphy: Mischievous meets Mayhem

What is one inquisitive dog and one adventuress toddler best at doing? Finding new and interesting situations to get themselves into.
You leave it to these two to find something you have never seen before, but have walked passed many times before. Or to find a new use for something you never gave a second thought to.

During one of our walks Murphy hopped on a railroad tie to make sure he had the most optimum view of this rain gutter. Kylee had to hurry and see what Murphy was so interested in. Once she got a closer view the two decided to poke their heads in this tube and see what interesting noises could be made. Murphy would sniff and then bark. Once he heard his bark he would be surprised by how it sounded and would look at Kylee and I inquisitively.

What a funny pair these two make.

Jake & Charlotte: Fetch

Charlotte LOVES anything that makes a squeaky noise, especially if it looks like a squirrel or a ball. After walks she loves to get one of her stuffed squeaky toys from her basket and have you throw it for her over and over. Sometimes she gets into it so much that she starts to growl and will make you play tug-a-war with her in order to get the ball back. (This is pictured below: she thinks she is so tough).
If Jake is feeling pretty spunky at the moment he will join in on it too. He has to have his own toy to chase, otherwise Charlotte always gets there first and that is no fun.

Charlotte always outlasts Jake in the game of fetch. After about 5 minutes or so Jake gives up and either hides with his squeaky toy to chew or plops down on your lap for a nice belly rub.

Blue: Gutter Treasures

What treasure can be found in a rain gutter? I have actually not found the answer to that quite yet. Blue must know something I don’t though. Every gutter we come across she must stop, stick her head in it, and sniff. I am just waiting for her to find something miraculous one time.
Maybe when that time comes I won’t be so spooked and grossed out by these gutters. (Especially the ones that have gross things coming out of them. Yucky!)

Roxy, Jake & Charlotte: Thanksgiving Pups

Over Thanksgiving these three pups had a chance to play their hearts out until they could not play anymore. Roxy had the opportunity to play with and go on walks with Jake and Charlotte for two of the days and she seemed to love the extra company.
Roxy made herself right at home with some cat watching. She made sure that the cat did not even think about coming past the baby gate.
I am not sure who was more excited and enthralled by the jack-in-the-box, Kylee or Roxy. She would watch it so carefully, and then jump every time it popped out.
Afternoons were spent at the Utah Dog Park where everyone could run to their heart’s content, play fetch, and meet other dogs. Charlotte found some competition from Roxy in playing fetch. She did not know what to do when Roxy caught the ball before her. She tried very hard to make sure this did not happen too often.

At night we played Speed Fetch. What is this? Two squeaky toys, three dogs, and a lot of running. Jake even decided to get in on the game. After only 15 minutes of playing, everyone was lying down and panting. Jake learned quickly to just plop down on my lap, roll over and enjoy a belly rub while Roxy and Charlotte did all of the running.

Murphy: Leaves

Murphy and Kylee have been enjoying all of the fall leaves. I am not sure who enjoys them more.
Murphy just loves digging his nose right on in and seeing what mysterious things he can find. No pile is too large for Murphy. The larger it is, the better. That just means there might be more treasure hidden in there for him to find.
There are a few areas in Murphy’s complex that offer the best spots to explore and to play in. There are just so many trees in these areas that there is always a bounty of leaves to check out.

Snoopy: Harness Inspection 101

Kylee takes her job as my dog walking assistant very seriously. She wants no slip ups and the best given to each and every dog she walks. So when it comes to proper harness placement, Kylee takes no precautions, especially for Snoopy since he is a little on the small side.
Snoopy received a nice, new, bright red harness a few weeks ago which he just can't help but show off during his walks. Kylee made sure to give it her thorough once over examination before Snoopy was allowed out to start his walk. We definitely do not want any loose puppies on our watch.

Murphy (Nunn) & Charlotte: Hot Commodity

I do not know what it is about this little stuffed horse of Kylee's, but most every dog wants it. Murphy (Nunn) and Charlotte are the two that are drawn by the half chewed on hair and dirty white spots the most though. They just can't resist sinking their teeth in for at least one good chew until Kylee gets her hands back on it.
Murphy will follow Kylee everywhere and give her the puppy dog eyes in order to try to get her horse. If that does not work, then he will try to worm his way between her death grip to sneak her horse. This tactic does work once in awhile, but Kylee is never too far behind to retrieve it.
Charlotte does the tactile jump and grab. Once we put Kylee's horse on the table, thinking this would keep it out of Charlotte's reach. Wrong! I did however get the answer to a previous question: I always wondered how the dining room table's tablecloth would become crooked and hang over more to one side. The answer: Charlotte jumps from a chair to the table, grabs the horse or whatever looks tempting, and then makes a mad dash off before anyone sees her.
Even Jake wanted in on the action, he just can't quite might it up to the top of the table though.

Jake & Charlotte: Friend or Foe?

Whose afraid of the big bad wolf, the big bald wolf, the big bad wolf? Apparently Kylee is a wolf dressed in sheep's clothing. Charlotte keeps warning everyone of this, but no one seems to listen.
It is so funny to watch Charlotte with Kylee. When she first met Kylee it was over Thanksgiving last year and Kylee was only 4 months old. It definitely was not love at first sight. It took a few months for Charlotte to feel comfortable enough to come up to Kylee, greet her and give her a few licks. Jake on the other hand, could not help but lick Kylee to death. That was love at first sight.
Charlotte's opinion of Kylee now can change within 30 seconds. She can be scared of her and not want to walk past her, and then be completely obsessed with her and end up sitting on Kylee's lap giving her kisses. There are even times Charlotte thinks Kylee is just there for her to play with and hang out with. Charlotte is one funny girl and keeps Kylee on her toes.

Douglas: When Boy Meets Girl...

Douglas has gotten together with Roxy once or twice before, but this time he actually showed a little interest in her more than usual. Douglas is usually a sniff and then move on to the next great thing. He does not like to linger for a long hello. During our walk around Fort Ward though, they were little buddies, following one another around.
One of Roxy's best buds, Liam (almost 2-years-old), came a long for the walk too. Liam definitely sparked Douglas' attention. Douglas would play follow the leader whenever Liam would walk in front.
Douglas also got a jump start on checking out all the new scents from the leaves that are starting to fall. He just could not get enough of sniffing everything that he saw.

Zeus: Play Hard, Sleep Hard

So what has Zeus been up to while his mom has been away?

Just a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Other than puppies, Kylee has been right up there on Zeus’ VIP list. He always wants to know what she is up to and usually wants to be a part of it, no matter how crazy it may be.

Kylee tried to help convince Zeus that his dog carrier was not that bad after all. She kept trying to fit into it and when they did not work, she pretended it was her horse and tried to ride it. Zeus thought it was pretty funny, but was still not falling for it. (Good try Kylee.)
Who needs baby wipes when you have Zeus, the bum cleaner? Kylee escaped her diaper change and started to run around. Zeus got one good lick (don’t worry, Kylee was clean) and he was just beside himself. He kept chasing Kylee as she ran around and around the apartment.
How can you catch a Zeus? Kylee and I rigged up a little contraption that Zeus just could not resist. We tied a sock on Kylee’s tricycle and as she rode around the apartment, Zeus could not help but chase after her and play tug-a-war.
There was so much excitement from Kylee and everything going on that Zeus finally just wore out and could not take it anymore. He collapsed on the floor at 9:00 PM. Nothing could wake him from his sleep coma. Poor guy, too much play.

Murphy: Puppy Kisses Make it All Better

Kylee kept falling while we were on our walk with Murphy. If she wasn’t tripping over a branch, a rock or leaves, it was over her own shoes. (I think she was just having an off day.) After about the third or fourth fall, she just sat in the dirt and cried.

Murphy immediately stopped what he was doing, (sniffing the ground for exciting new scents), and came bounding over to Kylee. He gave her the cutest puppy dog eyes and looked at her like “What is wrong?” This stopped her crying. Murphy then gave Kylee a few kisses to lick away her tears and that got her to actually start laughing. For the rest of the walk Murphy kept a watchful eye on Kylee to make sure she was coming and was not too far behind. Murphy to the rescue!

Blue: Playing in the Leaves

Blue has waited all year long for the leaves to fall and collect into big enough piles that her neighbors would start raking them.
What pup would not love to dive right into big piles of leaves and dig around?
Without fail, Blue will adventure into every pile of leaves we pass during our walks. No pile is too small or too big for Blue to check out. Sometimes she she starts sniffing in them, her head will completely disappear! Next big excitement for Blue: snow if there is any this coming winter.

Snoopy: Personal Trainer

Do you have an extra pound or two you would like to lose? Well, have no fear! Snoopy is here! He knows how to whip you right into shape. Try his special program called “Nip Ya in the Butt.” If you even think about quitting, he will give you a little motivation to keep you on going.
(Warning: No children were harmed in this image.)
Meet Kylee. She was worried about her thunder thighs. Over the summer all the other babies seemed to stare and point at her at the pool. Well, she is getting a head start on working those thighs before next summer comes around.
Then she will be ready to strut her stuff in her two-piece. If Snoopy can get her into shape, he can get anyone into shape.

Riley & Murphy: Happy Birthday Murphy!

Happy Birthday Murphy!

Murphy is now officially one-years-old! It is crazy to think back in January and February when Kylee and I first started to take care of him, that he was just a little brown rolly-polly puppy. He could not even walk up and down the stairs. Boy has that changed, he now leaps and bounds up and down them.
Murphy can now outmaneuver Riley, has a deeper bark than Riley, and can wear me out playing tug-a-war. But he still squats to go potty.

Murphy: Must Be For Me

What is this? I honestly have no idea. Murphy was quite intrigued by what we found. I am guessing someone was a little bored and decided to get a little creative with some sticks.
Murphy decided to get a better look at it and thought it made for a perfect scratcher. He tried to rub his face and back on it, but the sticks just kept falling down.
So then he decided it must have been created for him as an easy way to access fetching sticks. Look at all of the sticks he now had access to without having to do the work of collecting them. Aren’t people thoughtful?

Snoopy: Style Baby

Who cannot be concerned about all of the latest trends and styles? You never know who you are going to be seen by or what you might end up doing. You must be prepared for anything. This is Snoopy’s motto.
Today he thought he would try out a new style for his ears today. You have to work with what you are given and sometimes it might not be much. But as Snoopy knows, you make most anything work for you.

Douglas: The Wag Hotel (Part 2)

There was never a dull moment for Douglas. Poor guy is going to have to catch up on his beauty rest once he returns home. What dog could not enjoy 5 walks a day, plenty of scratching and treats, at least 2 games of fetch, and trips to the dog park? What a life!

Douglas did not waste anytime at settling in and feeling at home. As soon as he arrived he scouted out the area, found a squeaky toy and went about business. (Looks like Sadie has some competition for her Santa Clause toy).
Later that day Roxy game over for a playdate. Douglas had some competition in a game of fetch. No matter how fast he ran, there were times Roxy would just get to the ball faster than him.
He even tried perching on the beanbag, but he forgot Roxy can jump. Sorry Douglas.
There were several trips made to the dog parks, Utah and Shirlington, where Douglas made some friends and had some fun. Douglas is usually more of a people dog, than a dog dog, but he really enjoyed playing with and chasing some puppies and dogs that were about three times his size. They had legs like pogo sticks compared to his, but he made a good effort at trying to catch up.Kylee made a best friend, Douglas. She loved playing fetch and feeding him his treats. A game of fetch could not be played without Kylee throwing and chasing after the ball. One of her favorite activities was having Douglas follow her all around the apartment when she was holding his ball. They would go around and around for sometimes thirty minutes. I don't know where they get all of their energy to just keep going and going.

Riley & Murphy: Wrestling

Thankfully Riley and Murphy have one another to wrestle. I am great at playing tug-a-war and chase, but not as great at getting real rough and wrestling. This is the pregame stance from Murphy before he gets ready to pounce on Riley. (Notice Riley looking the other way, pretending he does not see what is coming? Oh, but he was ready and had a surprise for Murphy all of his own).
The days that you can almost always count a wrestling match to commence is after a wet, rainy day. For some reason it just brings out the crazy and silly side of these guys. You try to dry them off and they are zipping everywhere. For some reason today though they decided no toys were needed for a good chase and romping around.

Blue: Doggy Pals

Blue is a very friendly and outgoing dog. She loves to greet anybody walking past and will drag Kylee and I across the street just to say a quick hello to the mailman. When it comes to other dogs though, especially in her territory, that can be a different story. Not with the neighbor's dog though. It is all tail wagging, slobbery kisses, and a little bit of romping around.
It has been such nice weather the past two days that Blue's little buddy (well, actually big buddy) has been outside lounging and sunning himself. So Blue has taken the opportunity to drop on in during our walks and say hello. (By the way, I would love to ask his owners how they trained him to stay in the boundaries of his front yard, even when they are not home. Amazing!)