Farley here.
I love to dig. I’m a wheaten. That’s what I do. So what’s up with the crab that doesn’t get that?
I dig, dig, dig, and then . . .
“Ouch,” I bark.
“What? I’m supposed to chase the crab. It’s not supposed to bite my nose!”
dogs
Farley’s Friday: When I Was A Wheaten Puppy
Farley here.
Some things change. Some things don’t.
Kristina brushed my hair today, and I noticed it was all blond. I don’t look in a mirror very often, so I was a little surprised.
I’m pretty sure I was born brown and black, and I don’t die my hair . . . so what the heck?
I guess my hair changed colour. But what didn’t change?
You can see by the photo below, where I’m 8 weeks old, I’m not exactly excited by a ball. Well I’m still not.
Sometimes my owners throw a ball for me, and I might chase it, but I will never pick it up. How humiliating. That’s for humans to do.
Do you pick up a ball for your owner?
Woof Woof
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Farley’s Friday: How a Dog Beats The Heat
Farley here.
Cold fronts, warm fronts, what’s a dog to do?
Some days it’s just to hot to bear, and other days, I love the cool weather. The cold front passed through and we’re back to high temperatures.
The first thing that happens is my owner cuts my hairs. She’s always worried about me overheating, I just wish she’d taken classes on how to groom a Wheaten Terrier. I need to look my best when I head to the beach to meet the girls.
I don’t like to swim in water over my head, but there’s nothing like a cool walk in the water. So I have a little sand on my face. What’s the big deal? This shot was taken before Kristina ‘groomed’ me. I’m too embarrassed to post the after shot.
Woof woof.
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Farley’s Friday: Cold Front Happiness
Farley here.
I love a good cold front, but Jasper stole my stick. I want to run with it and he wants to pull at it. We both have lots of energy because it’s cold. So not cold really, but only seventy degrees instead of eighty.
“Let go!” I bark.
“No way, dude,” Jasper barks back.
I get my teeth deep in the wood and pull hard.
“Yikes,” Jasper barks. “Where’d you go?”
I run behind a tree, dart to the side and behind a another tree, but whoa . . .
There he is, waiting to take my stick again.
“No. No. No,” I bark, but he gets it and takes off.
The chase is on. Gotta love this cold weather.
Woof Woof.
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Cold Fronts In The Bahamas
It’s not all sunshine and warmth in the Bahamas, although you might think it is when looking at the photos I post.
The clouds roll in, the temperature drops, and we have to get out the warm clothes. Then it’s time to switch from water activities to land activities and take the dogs hiking.
We don’t go in the water, but the dogs do. On this hike, Jasper, the springer spaniel, was stung by a spotted eagle ray. Really it was his own fault, since he picked it up. The ray escaped unhurt, but Jasper needed treatment, and I think it was painful.
But back to cold fronts, the wind clocks around so it can be hard to find a protected anchorage. When the trade winds blow and the wind comes from one direction, it’s easy to drop the hook in a safe place.
When the wind is going to come from more than one directions, most annoying at night, it’s more of a challenge to hide. Sometimes we just have to suck it up and take the wind and waves, but usually we can tuck in and be mostly protected.
On the good side, rain can come with a cold front, and it’s a free boat wash for us.
Thanks for reading . . .
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Farley’s Friday: My Doggie Eyes Communicate
Farley here.
So this week my human is reading The Genius Of Dogs: How Dogs are smarter than you think.
Well I could have told her that. Kristina keeps reading me tidbits that I already know.
Here’s what I do when I need to tell her something:
- Tap on floor with my nails during the night if I need out. That seems to wake her up, but not my male human though. He sleeps through everything. If she won’t wake up I breathe in her face. First time I did that she seemed a bit startled. Humans don’t like to be woken up with someone breathing in their face I guess.
- Whack my water boil against sliding glass door when I need water. Seems to really get her going at 3am.
- Stare at cupboard, then at Kristina, then at cupboard where my treats are kept. She knows this means she should open the door and hand me a treat.
- Give her my most intense stare when I’m hungry. I can even do this in a run by stare and she knows it’s my “feed me stare.”
- Press the top of my head on the sliding glass door when I need outside quickly (if there’s an emergency – I don’t like to throw up inside.). Kristina wants me to bark in this case, but that’s too undignified for me. I’m not a barky kinda guy.
I can even ask Kristina questions with just a look.
When we’re hiking, if I come to a place on the trail where I have to make a choice on direction, I look back at Kristina and she points, telling me where to go. I’m a big eye contact guy, but I do know words too.
If we come across strangers, I glance at Kristina. If she waves away from the people, I don’t approach them. If she says “okay” I run and greet them.
Kristina says her last dog was more word oriented, and that I do better with hand signals. Whatever . . . I’m still a genius.
How do you communicate with your humans?
Woof Woof.
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Farley’s Friday: Dog Friends
Farley here.
Is it possible for a dog to have too many friends? No way.
I run free with Labs, Springer Spaniels, Jack Russels, mixed breeds, Poodles, Retrievers, and Australian Doodles. My best girlfriend is a mix of Pit Bull, German Sheppard and Coon Hound. Her name is Holly, and I go gaga every time I see her, but don’t tell Cali (Jack Russell), because she thinks she’s my girlfriend.
This is my best bud, Jasper. He’s crazy and always gets me into trouble. We were playing on the beach and look what happened to him.
I’m the smart one, and I know I have to go for a swim before getting in the dinghy, especially if I look like Jasper does.
He makes a run for the dinghy.
“No, stop!” I bark.
“Are you kidding? They’ll make me get all wet if I stop,” he barks back.
“My alpha human is going to get mad. Don’t jump,” I bark.
Too late. He’s off and leaping. Sand is spraying everywhere. Kristina and Jasper’s human are laughing. Matt is trying to head him off, but alas, Matt missed him.
Into the air he flies, his toes touch the pontoon, and he lands in the bottom of the dinghy.
He turns and looks back at me. He’s laughing. “Matt’s not looking at you. Go for it,” he barks.
I whip around Matt’s leg, bound from the beach, and I’m in too.
Now if only we knew are to start the dinghy . . .
Woof Woof.
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Farley’s Friday. Where is my bone?
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Farley’s Friday: Dogs and Kite Boarding
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Farley’s Friday: Sharks Go Bump On The Sea
Farley here.
Man, I’m a brave dog. The shark came at us, and I got aggressive. Got to protect Kristina. That’s my job! I could’ve taken it if Kristina had let me. But let me back up a bit.
I like kayaking with Kristina. She likes to paddle me around, and let’s face it, I like to sit and watch the scene slide by.
We paddle (and by we, I mean Kristina) from deep water to shallow water. I know this to be true because the water changes from dark blue to light blue and I see the sandy bottom.
I see a ray and get distracted for second, but not for long. Another shape is to our left.
The shark aims for the ray but then sees us at the same time I see it. It hunches its back and turns on us. Here is where we get lucky. Going from deep to shallow water causes the water to bunch up and create big waves. A wave hit the back of our kayak right when the shark hit the front. The kayak turned sideways and the shark glanced off the bow.
I jump out of the cockpit and onto the bow. It’s a bit slippery up here, but I don’t care. I’m on a mission.
“Get away, get away,” I bark repeatedly and am surprised when the shark doesn’t listen.
Kristina grabs my harness and she yelps – not me. I’m too brave to yelp. I guess I hurt her leg when I jumped forward, and she was yelping at the pain (not in fear – she says).
The shark turns at us and hunches its back again. This time it doesn’t bump us. It swims in a circle and does its dance one more time. I growl to let it know I’m serious. Mr. Grey Suit swims about twenty feet away and stands off. I scared him! Ha!
Kristina is holding my harness and having trouble paddling. She keeps telling me to sit. Eventually, I get the message and settle down. She paddles us to safety and away from the beast.
What type of shark? I don’t have a clue. Big and grey.
Happy New Year.
Woof Woof.
Thanks for reading . . .
