Bell And Her Collar part 2

I finally got a picture of Bell with her collar in her mouth. This can not be comfortable! And she was NOT happy with me for taking a picture before I took it off of her. I guess I forgot to take the collar off before she went to bed. But honestly, you'd think she'd learn not to do it by now just because it's uncomfortable. I really hope she outgrows this behavior.

With No Bathing Suit

It was Nicki's turn to go hiking with me today. And little did she know she'd end up swimming when she intended on 'wading'! I noticed there were two beaver dams on the small river that we walk by on our way to the trails. I also noticed the water was quite a bit higher because of those two dams. I don't think the rangers have been through that area yet because they always take the dams down when the beavers have been busy....something about water flow I guess.

I'm sure Nick likes water. She never hesitates to jump in if she gets the chance. So I thought she might enjoy a quick dip before we hit the trail. What I didn't realize is that she has always been going into shallow water and has never really been actually swimming. Well this time she blindly jumped in and found herself in chest deep water. The look on her face was priceless! If it's possible for a dogs face to register shock...she did it! And she immediately started trying to throw herself out of the water...or was making a feeble attempt at swimming...I couldn't tell. Whatever it was it had me laughing my butt off! After all she HAS webbed feet. What does she think they are for?

The rest of the day was for exploring interesting smells; peeing on stuff; looking for the animals that were making those weird noises and investigating new terrain. She had a great day. I came home exhausted and sweaty. She came home wet (went in the brook again on the way back) and exhilarated, ready to play rough and tumble with Bell as soon as she got in the door. What a lovely day it was!

Bell And Her Collar

For a few weeks now Bell has been getting her collar stuck in her mouth. I have no idea why she does this but I'm glad Nicki isn't doing it. Perhaps she's trying to chew it because the collar has a pink (I need my dogs to be color coded for identity) material woven through the metal loops. Bell loves to chew cloth....and eat it. And she doesn't stop there. She's also developed a fetish about the small decorative stones in my house plants. I've often caught her clicking them around in her mouth while she trots through the house. And the lawn deposits she makes are extremely colorful too!

It's second nature for everyone in the house to ask Bell what's in her mouth and then open her mouth and take it away from her. It happens almost on a daily basis. As soon as someone asks her what she has in her mouth she becomes a statue. She never fights it...just stands there and waits to have it taken away. At least she's docile about it. But come on! Does it have to be the collar too??

I bought these metal collars for the dogs because Bell was grabbing Nicki by the collar and leading her around the house. Then it progressed to chewing on Nick's collar until it came off and she'd eat it. She ate everything but the buckle!! When I changed to metal choke chains (large so they are not restricted by them) I bought them with cloth woven in the middle to make it easier to tell who was who. Within a week Bell had eaten the cloth out of Nicki's collar so hers is now just plain metal. I thought it would stop there but NO, Bell decided she wanted the cloth in her own collar. And now she regularly gets it stuck in her mouth and around the back of her head. I've taken to putting her in her pen at night 'naked' for safety reasons.

I'm beginning to wonder if Bell is trying to make it difficult to tell her apart from Nicki. It's already not an easy task. Bell has a white streak on her chest but it can't be seen when she's standing...or getting into trouble. They are sisters but not exactly 'identical twins'. Nicki looks more like a hound; long lean body and head with long ears; howls when she has something to talk about. Bell looks like the Lab part of her parents; slightly shorter and thicker than Nick; shorter nose; and will bark rather than howl most of the time. But when one of them is doing something wrong I often just call them Dog because I can't tell who it is from every angle. Believe it or not they know themselves as both 'Dog' and 'Girls' (for when they are both engaged in wrongful deeds).

I've often said I don't really understand Bell. She's a sweet dog and a great watchdog for the house. But she seems to think following through with a command (sit Bell...sit...sit....sit....oh come on just sit already!) is a punishment or at least something that should be done in slow motion. She's all about food all the time or she has a desire to learn to cook because she's always in the kitchen. Nicki would always rather play. Bell is more aggressive in her play also and I often have to keep an eye on them so Nick doesn't develop any more bald spots.

I guess in time I'll have them all figured out. After all I haven't even had them for a year yet. But for now I think we'll all just go take a ride. Bell loves to drive!

K9 Witness Protection Program

Nicki and Bell have just informed me that our government has an unusual program set up to protect dogs that have (through no fault of their own) become embroiled in events that may endanger their lives. It's called the K9 Witness Protection Program. It provides a new identity for any dog that may be in a predicament that puts them in danger. It runs much the same way as the program (of similar name) provided for humans.

These are a few of the candidates in the program. Isn't our government wonderful??

Obviously the last picture is of an entire family that had to go into the program!

And The Eyes Have It

Meet Basil the seeing eye dog!