Lucy is a Cougar

So every time we take Lucy and Kona to the dog park, Lucy always gets a lot of male dog attention.  She is a beautiful Great Dane but she was fixed years ago so I am not 100 percent sure why that is. 

This last time was no difference.  This time it was a big burly Blue Great Dane that thought Lucy was pretty awesome.  Well Lucy was not having it, not even a little bit.  She tried to put him in his place pretty quick.  She never actually bit him but she can get pretty aggressive when she wants.  She up leaping around, body slamming him like I haven't seen her in years.  Pretty tough girl for being a senior Great Dane.  Needless to say I am not sure that big knucklehead got the drift.  I had to break it up before she bit him, which I think she was about to do.  But, you know he kind of deserved it.... 

Lazy Lucy and Jealous Kona

Guess who got a video camera?  That's right, this guy did.  Here is my very first video starring Lucy with a cameo from Kona.  Watch the whole video as it is funny right at the end. 

Lucy The Farting Dog

Well we had to take Lucy into the vet to get her teeth cleaned, she really needed it and we did not want to put it off, but they had to knock her out to do it. 

We got her home and she was pretty groggy even the next day and she quickly got back to normal but one thing was that it messed up her digestive system for a couple of days.  The night after we got her back from the vet, she was snoring away and simply just laying the most noxiou gas I have ever smelt.  I had to get up a couple of times because I could not stand it.   Pretty much, could have bottled it up and sold it as tear gas, it was that bad. 

She is back to normal know but whew!!, it was a stinky couple of days.

Lucy Got Her Nails Trimmed Today

Well today we got Lucy's nails trimmed. They are too long and thick for us to do it at home so we go to the local Petsmart and they do it in their grooming section.

Lucy is not a big fan of doing it and makes every attempt to escape everytime we do. She is much better when I am right there.

I remember one time I dropped her off at the vet and the two youngish women very confidently told me that they had it all under control. On my way out I glanced back and the two young ladies are being dragged across the floor by Lucy. Lucy of course was really scared and when she is like that she drops little presents along the way. So needless to say I went aback to help out to get her where she needed to be. A roll of paper towels later everything was back to normal.

Okay back to the present, well the young ladies there at Petsmart also said confidently that they had her all under control. LOL. It was like history repeating itself. Lucy to say the least was not very cooperative and she was able to evade capture for alittle while. I let it go on for a bit, just because. LOL.

Well we eventually agreed that we would do it in the waiting area with me having a firm grip on Lucy. It calms her down and I am a pretty big fellow and able to keep her pretty much still. It was quite a workout though and by the end we had a small crowd of spectators, comprised of both humans and dogs. This little dachshund was especially interested and came up to Lucy and sniffed at her quite a bit. I think he was checking to make sure she was okay.

We really like dachshunds. Really brave and loyal dogs.

We are off to the dog park to work off some energy and say hey to all of the other dogs in the area.

All the best,

Hans

Lucy is Dreamng Right Now

So, here I am working on the store and Lucy is asleep right next to me on her dog bed. She is so funny, she must be dreaming of something that she likes because she is wagging her tail in her sleep.

I have seen dogs twitch their feet before but never wag their tail.

She does it from time to time and it always makes me happy because I am thinking that she is happily dreaming about something.

It Is Hot Outside

It is really hot outside. We were in the low hundreds today.

We stayed inside most of the day but went to the dog park early on. Here is a good picture of Lucy and Kona taking a quick swim in the river at the dog park in Shirleyton, VA. Well Lucy is watching Kona take a swim. Most of the time Kona forgets she is a Labrador Retriever and thinks she is human being, but not today. It is good to see the dog in her come out.

Back From Vacation

Michelle and I just recently got back from our vacation to Central Oregon. Michelle and I are both avid hikers and this one of the great water falls we happened upon while we were gone.

Michelle is really getting into nature photography and getting pretty good at it.

Lucy and Kona stayed in a dog boarding facility while were gone. They seemed to really enjoy it and actually acted a little wierd when they came home. It took them a couple of days getting used to being back home.

I think it was partly because of the great care they got at http://www.royalpetkennel.com/Royal_Pet_Kennel_Home.html. The employees there are awesome and you could really tell that they love dogs. If you live in the greater DC area, specifically in the Arlington or Alexandria, check them out.

This is an older picture of Koan and Lucy in their old backyard down in Houston. Lucy is getting on the older side for a dane, she is 6 but you would never know it by the way she runs around our new backyard.

Here is a picture of the Cherry Blossoms in Washington D.C. We moved here a few months ago and have finally gotten settled in. Lucy and Kona love it here. We have a dog park within walking distance from us. It is pretty cool because a river runs right by the dog park and you can take your dogs down there. Kona, our lab, loves going so she can go for a swim. Lucy loves to go because she finds all sorts of unsuspecting people to pet her. She literally pinned a dude down last time we went and would not let him stop petting her. She is such a nut.

We went to the Taste of Arlington and thoguht it would be a good idea to walk around with the dogs. It was not because there were so many people. So we sat on the sidelines with the dogs and Lucy and Kona made all sorts of new friends. My wife Michelle would go out and get the food and beer from the big block party that was the Taste of Arlington and the girls and I sat waiting for her to come back. Man I should have charged admission, we had so many people come by and want to pet Lucy and Kona. Mostly Lucy, which I think has given poor little Kona a complex. She is like that little kid, going me too, me too. (Kona gets so much attention at home) Having Lucy there was good for publicity for the breed though. Everyone loved her and she got almost as much attention as she can handle, which is saying a lot.

Lucy's Back

Hi everyone,

It ihas been a while since we have posted. We just got finished with a move to Arlington, VA and everyone is getting settled in to their new digs.

Lucy and Kona really love this place. They have a dog park, The Shirleyton Dog Park within walking distance of our house and they love it. A stream runs by the dog park so you can go down to the dog park and hang out in the stream on hot days. Both Lucy and Kona love hanging out in the water. Lucy usually can be seen soliciting other dog owners for affection. You would think she gets no love at home. Kona on the other hand can be seen swimming around trying to get everyone else's toys.

Traveling To Washington DC

Okay, this might not be the samrtest thing I have ever done, but I am headed to DC today only a couple of days after the most massive snowstorm to hit the area in decades.

what makes it extra special is there is another snowstorm coming in later this week which is likely to drop another foot of snow. Pretty sweet. I am hoping that I get in and then I am hoping the Metro is working as that is my way to where I am staying. I am keeping my fingers crossed. We shall see.

Lucy and Kona always know when I am headed out for a business trip. It might be my inagination but they seem like they get sad. I think they get sad and they go to their beds and sulk. I play with them a bit more than my girlfriend, I mean wife(still hard to stop calling her my girlfriend, we have been married for three days).

Dane Day At the Dog Park

We took Lucy and Kona to the dog park today. It was still pretty muddy and of course Lucy and Kona decided they wanted to splash around in almost every mud puddle there. Kona makes it especially fun because she likes to jump on me after. She is not really a jumpy dog, I think she just likes to share the mud. LOL.

What made today unusaul at the dog park was the amount of Great Danes there. There was at least eight which is the most I have seen at one time any time we have gone to the dog park. They were all different colors and all beautiful. Lucy had a good time interecting with all of of the danes. She really likes being around other danes, I am not sure why, but she does. She was a rescue so she spent a lot of time at the rescue with other danes. Maybe that is it? Kona on the other hand has no affection what so ever for other labs. They are just another dog for her.

Lucy always manages to attract male dogs. I am not sure why since she was spade for years. Today was kond of funny because it was a young english bulldog. He would not leave her alone. He was trying as hard as he could to get high enough but physics really got in the way. He certainly had a lot of heart though.

Sneaky Lucy

So today started out pretty well. That was until we left Lucy outside for a little too long. You would think she was some sort of scent hound by the way she acts. She found another pile of something smelly and decided that she wanted to roll around in it for a while. I thought it was just on her back and stomach so that is the only placed I washed. Oh no, it was all over her neck and paws and lots of other places. As a result Lucy and I have both had four partial baths today.

You should have seen the look on her face as I was washing her. She does not like taking baths outside. I should have gotten a picture but I had my hands full with a stinky great dane.

She is six now. She still seems like a child to me but with all of the grey hair on her muzzle it seems like she is pretty old.

Grumpy Lucy

Here is a good picture of Lucy. She just got done sunning herself and we had her sit for the picture. I am as guilty as anyone in assigning human emotions to my dogs but in this case I think Lucy is a little grumpy.

Lucy Loves Her New Backyard

Lucy is a pretty loungy dog. she loves to go outside and take some time to sun herself. She likes to patrol the backyard looking for any new scents, etc... Where Kona will come right back in after doing what she needs to do outside Lucy more often than not just wanders off into a remote part of the backyard and camps out.

Here is a picture of Lucy in her new backyard.

I have never, ever seen someone work so hard at their job. Here goes Lucy, off again doing a little product testing. Any of these big, floppy toy sare an instant hit with her. She loves them and loves to play tug of war with them. I do not pull too hard, I do not want to hurt her. She, on the other hand does not have that same limitation.

Things I will never do again

Today, I added to my list of things I will never do again. Well, not on purpose. That is I will never try to play keep away with a Great Dane using a piece of chicken. Nuf Said. That was really, really dumb.

Lucy and Kona go to the Vet

Today Lucy and Kona had to go to the vet for their annual rabies shot. we went to the local PetsSmart which had a Banfield Animal Hospital in it. You would thought we were going to a dog park or something. By the way, Petsmart is pretty cool. They have been doing a good job in increasing the variety of dry foods that they offer. some of them are normally brands I would expect to find in a small, high end pet store. Kudos to Pet Smart.

Rarely have I seen my dogs so excited to go into a store. Today they were just a little bit nutty when they went into the store and were quite a handful. Normally they are pretty good dogs but today they had all sorts of things, and people and other dogs to look at and want to go sniff or whatever.

Overall it was a good visit and they got their shots and had their nail trimmed.

To the simpler things in life

A few days ago I read that one of the better thins about a recession is that many people return to the simpler things in life that make them happy. Here at Lucy's dog House we have been impacted just like everyone else. Instead of getting down about it again today, I looked at Lucy and asked her, "Do you want to go for a walk?". She replied like se usually does, she pretty much started jumping around like a big hairy porpoise, she was so excited. So we took a quick spin around the neighborhood and everything seemed better. For both of us. As I write this Lucy is happily snoring away and I am happily blogging.

I think the author of the article I read the other day was a genius. Here is to the simpler things in life.

Blogging

I do not know what it is, I need to put a sign up or something or tattoo it on the back of my hand. I tell myself everyday that I have to blog that day and then all of a sudden the day is over and I have not managed to blog for the day. Okay well, that stops today. Well at least for today. LOL. We shall see how it all turns out.

Wow, Lucy has had a pretty wonderful day. Like most Great Danes she is a huge lounge lizard. She especially likes to lay out back in the grass. She especially likes it when the sun is nice and warm and she can spend hours out there. Luckily the bug situation here in Texas is not too bad right now, so I just leave the screen door open and she just comes and goes as she pleases.

I swear she stays out there until she can stand it anymore, comes in for a while, gets a drink and goes right back out there. Talk about a sun worshipper.

Oh, by the way, before any of you send me an email to remind me that I need to put suntan lotion on her, got you covered.