I don't know why we watch this stuff

But we do. Then we record it and watch again and we watch other people's dogs doing the same nonsense.

And we smile.
Correction: or maybe we don't because the darn thing is too dark!

The hazards of weeding

The chickens like to eat dandelion greens and the minute delicacies that live in the roots. It's a cheap means of getting them their salad greens, so every once in a while I dig up the plentiful weeds from what is called a lawn, for lack of a better word. This evening Miro helped by putting his head in my line of sight everywhere I started wriggling the trowel into the hard-packed dirt.

Being Airedale-experienced, I know it is highly dangerous to let the dog get his head anywhere below yours when you bend over to tie shoes, pick something up, or weed. The Airedale head will inevitably pop up straight into your nose, chin, or eye; and you will go out the next day looking as if you have been in a fight. On me, it's not a particularly romantic look. As a result, every time Miro got between my head and the weed, I moved my head away and groped around, trying to dig up the dandelion without being able to see it. The chickens grumbled over the poor pickings.

Noting my apparent interest in dirt, Miro dug a few small holes; but I was not able to persuade him to dig up any dandelions. Probably I was just teaching him the joys of digging holes in the back yard, a lesson I'll pay for later.

Got a water-biter!

This is a big deal because none of my Airedales since the first has delighted in biting the water running from a hose. What an opportunity to get extra wet and muddy! (For both me and the dog.)


Miro discovered the hose when I carried the chicken waterer across the yard to refill it. The chicken pen is a very attractive place, as it contains yummy chicken poop that dogs are not allowed to get at. The flappy, squeaky toys that produce the poop are of secondary interest. Not only did the metal waterer come from this delightful place but also it had some of those gourmet treats on top.

You know what it's like to try to get some domestic chore done while trying to keep mini-jaws-of-death away. You hurry, you scramble to get it done as quickly as possible, you dance a jig in your attempts to keep the wanted object(s) away from the dog.

When I turned on the hose, Miro was already pepped up. Snap. He backed up a couple of paces in surprise. He launched forward. Snap snap snap. Water, water everywhere....

Alanis meets Miro

Alanis came home from the kennel looking like a fuzzy bear after they washed and put conditioner on her coat. Then they brushed her out so that all her fur stood on end. Very fluffy and cute.

In the back yard, the big monster sniffed at Miro. He turned and ran to the back door, then came dashing out again.

This is the way he handles anything scary--run to a safe distance, then come roaring back to meet the Big Scary Thing. Alanis was very happy to find a playmate. She wagged her tail and sniffed him all over. She wants to pounce and wrestle the way she would with a grown dog but it's clear that she holds back.

When Miro Monkey-butt is too obnoxious, she makes a rumbly lion noise and he backs off. When Alanis is too rough, the puppy rolls onto his back in submission, and sometimes she rolls him over a few more times.


It's impossible to get good photos of the two in action because my camera is too slow. Between the time that I hit the button and the shutter clicks, the dogs are halfway across the yard and all I get is a blur like this:


Oh, well.

Miro Meets Chickens

What are those those things?

Hmmm, interesting.


SQUAWK!

What th--?


Birds! Look, I can point!

Well, sort of.