A NEW DAY AND A NEW DOG

"Are you sure I'm 12?...I feel more like 2"

I could have sworn that they gave me the wrong dog at the end of daycare today.  Isabelle came out of the dog area and into the office and jumped up on the half door to reach up to see me.   This dog who has been moving around like a senior all of a sudden showed me her younger side.   The staff at dog daycare said she was more active in coming to see them today and she had a definite spring in her step.   Once out the door she sat next to me and bounced her front feet off the ground to get my attention.   I'm not sure if its the cooler temperature today, the glucosamine kicking in, the positive effect of daily walks or just Isabelle feeling comfortable in her new surroundings.   It doesn't really matter what the reason was...it's just so cool to see her so much more energetic.   She makes me smile with her cute little ways and the changes in her may be subtle but she is definitely changing.  

On Friday night I took Isabelle to a friends place and she fit in with the other dogs well.  She made herself at home and laid down for a good nap on the patio and when we were finished with dinner she made the rounds, around the fire and made sure she got everyone to pet her.   Most dogs would just go to one or two people who were closest but she made sure she gave all 4 of us equal time to give her attention, one after the other.  



Walking in the water...off leash.

On the weekend we went down to the beach and I decided to let her off leash.  She can't run too fast afterall and it wouldn't be too hard to catch up to her.   She stuck by me as we walked up and down the beach and she helped herself to brief dunks in the water as we went.   She will actually stay in sometimes and walk a bit in the water even without me joining her in there.  It must feel good to take some weight off and to be cool.   At the end of our walk back up the beach we stopped to sit for a minute or two and she flopped down next to me.  Her head raised up and that nose started working madly on a scent.   She got up and started to head back down the beach again.  I let her go to see how far she would go before turning back.  Well, she was probably a couple of hundred feet away and wasn't turning back.  I all of a sudden remembered seeing people heading along the beach with chairs and bags and realized she must have picked up the smell of lunch!   I ran after her and caught up in time to ensure she didn't steal some food.   I can't believe how good this dogs nose is.   No other dogs on the beach were concerned with the picnic except Isabelle who could smell the food from really far away...and it wasn't even cooked food on a bbq.   Once turned around she was happy to follow me again. 

When we were at the beach again today she was jumping over the logs.  Not stepping over them like earlier in the week but jumping.  Check it out...

Another accomplishment for the weekend was Isabelle's bath by garden hose.  I've been trying to figure out how to get her bathed as her belly won't clear the edge of the tub and I can't lift her up and over.  My first thought was to use a product called Sea Suds which is designed for salt or fresh water bathing and is environmentally safe but had visions of people giving me crap for foaming up the river and having to explain to everyone what I'm using.  I obviously haven't washed my truck in quite a while because it took way too long to occur to me to wash her at our carwash station with a hose.  It was a warm day and she let me soak her down and wash her.  She is now quite a bit fluffier and her coat is very soft.   She is also really enjoying getting brushed every day and she awkwardly rolls onto her back to make sure we get her tummy too. 

Riding home in the truck.