Think About It

We’ve got two. Kyle and Katie, brother and sister, litter mates.

We’ve had them since they were eleven weeks old, and they will be celebrating their birthdays on December 15th, of this year.

They are a Harrier-Beagle mix. Most everyone is familiar with the Beagle breed, not as many people are familiar with the Harrier.

This is a Harrier:

And this is a Beagle:

Our dogs are right in between. They are slender like the Harrier, and certainly taller than the Beagle.

Their tales are more Harrier like. The tails are thinner and solid black in color, ending with a 3/4 long white tip. My guess is that they are more Harrier than Beagle.

Here’s a picture of Kyle and Katie reposing after a hard days play.

Thoughts

BLL - Big Lovable Lug. That’s Kyle, one of our Harrier-Beagles.

Kyle has a sister Katie, who is a good bit smaller than her big brother. Katie deserves her own post, so stay tuned.

Now, about Kyle.

He is 100% unbounded joy. When he sees you his tail starts wagging, then the wagging moves right up his body to his head. He is so happy to see his owners he just bounds with joy. He is a big, goofy, jump like a deer when playing dog. He’s all boy.

If there is a puddle of water in the backyard, Katie will walk around the puddle. Not Kyle. Oh no, he’ll run right through the puddle, then run back through it again, then decide there must be something buried under all that water and proceeds to furiously dig a hole to unearth his treasure. As he digs he, throws water and mud in all directions. As his head disappears into the watery hole we fear for his safety, but he’s fine.  His head comes out of the hole, soaking wet with so much mud you can hardly see his face, and now, soaking wet and covered with him, he concludes there was nothing in the hole after all, and he decides to come into the house.

We see him approaching the house looking like a mud wrestler who lost,  so we get towels ready to wipe him down before he comes in.

Just as we’re about to let him in, Katie decides that she misses her brother, and at the instant we open the door for Kyle, Katie gets between us and the door, and Kyle bounds into the house spraying mud all over everything. His body is muddy, his paws look like mud meatballs, and here he comes, wagging his tail, jumping on the bed, with the biggest smile you ever saw. He shakes his body to rid himself of the excess water and treats everyone near him to a mud bath. Any discontent with the mud he brought into the house is washed away by the joy he exudes which is infectious.

Like any young boy, Kyle is a handful of times, but we love him.

Kyle, our big lovable lug.

Thoughts

We just came in from our daily walk, and the puppies are doing very well. The occasional squirrel is a distraction, and when Kyle and Katie see a squirrel, the only thing on their mind is, “Get that squirrel!”. Other than that, they’re doing pretty well.

When I first started training them I used choke collars on both the dogs. The collar worked, in that it choked the dogs, but also had a detrimental effect. It seems the metal of the choke collar was wearing away some of the hair on their neck. We were concerned that it might be an allergic reaction, but the vet assured us it was just the metal of the choke collar rubbing against their fur that was causing the loss of fur around the neck area.

He suggested a gentle leader, which is a device that fits around the dogs muzzle and neck. However, the dogs have full use of their mouth. They can drink, eat, bark, etc. It does not restrict their mouth movement at all, and the loop around their muzzle rests gently on the muzzle, so causes no trauma to that area.

Using the gentle leader, has been a great improvement over the choke collar. Almost immediately their pulling decreased by 90%, now we’re working on the remaining 10%.

I’d like to say that our walks are pull free, but they haven’t gotten there yet. But, each day brings us closer to the goal.

The gentle leader is a great invention that works. It’s certainly worth a try.

Thoughts

I love getting mail, and I love the sound of the UPS truck bringing some new goody to my home. Of the two, receiving a package from UPS is the clear winner in the, “Who do you like to receive things from contest.”

Today, I’m expecting a package from B&H photo. Nothing big, just a lens filter. Low cost item. Yet, every five minutes I open the living room door, poke my head out, and listen intently for the sound of the UPS truck.

I do have to leave the house today, so I may not be home when UPS arrives. I’ll still get the package, no signature is required, but I will miss the thrill of hearing the truck come down the street, then stop in front of my house, and watch the man clad in brown disembark the truck and make his way to my front door.

Am I the only one?

Thoughts