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Henry and the Heat Wave

Henry cooling off unconventionally.

Here where we live in New Hampshire it has been really hot! There are warnings about not leaving us in the car, not playing too hard and making sure we are all drinking lots of water – mom always brings water wherever we go but it always tastes best from the river, better flavor I think. I’m very happy that our routine in this weather has been stay in the air conditioned house until 5 when mom gets out of work and then go to the river to play for a couple of hours.

We always meet new friends when we go to the river but yesterday was a little different. We met Henry. Henry is an 11 week old Plott Hound who doesn’t know how to swim yet. His daddy was keeping a close eye on him when he was near the edge so he wouldn’t jump in after me when I was getting my Frisbee. After I had cooled off enough we played Frisbee together in the field for a bit. (Well, I played Frisbee and Henry chased me and did his funny baby-hound bay at me.)

In between throws I would go for a dip in the river and then lie down and rest. Henry would run right over and jump on me and lick the water off my head or chew on my ears. At first, it was a little weird I couldn’t figure out what he was doing. But then I realized he was just trying to cool off too and since he couldn’t swim, I was his own personal cooling device. Silly fellow but I decided he was a nice little guy and I was happy to let him share some of the water that was in my hair. I do hope he learns how to swim soon or his daddy gets him a life jacket so we can play in the river together – and I don’t have to look like I grew a Hound appendage!

What are you and your pups doing this summer to beat the heat?

Skunked!

Zoey and Tucker on a Less Smelly Day

Last night I had a play-date with my friend Zoey. Zoey and I do lots of things together. We go hiking, we go swimming, skijoring, play Frisbee, go to the dog park… You get the idea, we’re good buds. Zoey is a hound and does most of her thinking with her nose so sometimes she goes for walks by herself for a little while (sometimes a long while). Zoey’s mom, Laura, usually tells me to go find her but I pretend not to understand and cock my head at her instead – Zoey will come back, she always does, she’s just busy with a smell – Plus, it gives me extra time to play while we wait for her, it’s a win-win.

Well, last night we went for a long walk and played Frisbee by the river then we went back to my house for some dinner and a frozen marrow bone treat (those are our favorite). After dinner Zoey’s mom said it was time for them to go and just like any night Zoey and her mom trotted down the stairs to go to their car. About 5 minutes later, her mom reappeared. Zoey had taken herself for a walk by herself again and Laura had decided to come back up and talk to mom while she waited…

And then, we could smell it. It was TERRIBLE! It was the worst smell I had ever smelled IN MY LIFE! There are smells that humans think are bad that we canines like. You know the kind- rotting fish at the ocean, the unidentified decaying carcass we found in the woods, the list goes on but you get the idea. We like to use these smells as perfume. They smell way better than any of those sweet smelling shampoos you use on us and make us smell like the wild animal we were always meant to be. But, this smell was different, and vile, and awful all at the same time. Zoey came running back and told me she had seen a black and white cat but when she went to say ‘hi’ it didn’t hiss at her like most cats do it turned around and the most god-awful smelling spray came out. Nope, this was not a cat- it was a Skunk!

Zoey’s mom was not happy, that is not a smell you want to ride home in a car with. But off they went to give Zoey a bath in tomato juice and vinegar with plans of a peroxide and baking soda follow up today. Poor Zoey!

Anyone else out there have a recipe for de-skunking us? Tis the season here in the northeast!

Finally Employed!

Mom Likes Me Clean, I Like Me Dirty

My name is Tucker Jetty Brooks – my grammy gave me my middle name, she says it’s because I’m fast like a dog she had when she was a puppy but I’m pretty sure it’s because it’s more effective when she yells at me.

I get yelled at a lot – Stealing the cheese bone from Owen, my Newfoundland uncle, dumping out my water and playing dish hockey with my bowl, running back and forth in the back seat of my mom’s car on the way to the river, rolling in the mud when hiking, but mostly for jumping. It’s something I have a really hard time controlling. You see I’m short – barely 18” tall when I have all 4 feet on the floor, but I instantly become almost 4ft tall when I stand on my hind legs. Being 4ft tall is way more fun! You can kiss people’s faces, you can see what people are making for dinner and most importantly it makes you LOOK more like a human.

Humans have jobs, and I have wanted a job ever since I can remember! In an effort to keep my feet on the floor, my mom got me a job at Lupine as a freelance writer. You’ll be hearing from me weekly on lots of things ranging from product reviews, to training tips, to my adventures with my friends!

I am so excited to be well on my way to officially becoming an honorary human!