Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier

Farley’s Friday: How a Dog Beats The Heat

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

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.

bahamas 2010 112

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.

Farley’s Friday: Cold Front Happiness

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

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.

stick

“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.

 

 

Farley’s Friday: Shady Beaches?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Farley Here,

If you’ve been to a lot of beaches like I have, you may have noticed there’s not a lot of shade. I spent the day on a sand spit with my humans while they went windsurfing and kiting, and found it kind of hot. While I life guard most of the time, I do get to relax too.

My human loves me. She used her windsurfing board bag to make a shady spot for me. She uses the gear for sports, I use it for comfort.

Farley with Board Bag

I got to spend the day chasing kiters and windsurfers along the beach, and when I got tired, I retired to my special spot, had a drink and napped. I can’t be life guarding all day.

Woof Woof.

Keeping Fit While Cruising: Kayaking

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

If you’ve been reading you may have noticed I like variety in exercise. There are so many ways to keep fit while sailing, and I intend to try as many way as I can.

Kayaking is one of my favourites. There are many types of kayaks. I chose mine because it was large enough for Farley, my wheaten terrier, to fit in. He sits in the cockpit, sort of half on my lap and half on the kayak floor. He adds an extra 42 pounds to the adventure, but I figure it’ll only make my arms stronger.

Kayaking Ladies

Other than keeping you fit, a kayak provides:

– a second car

– a way to have fun with you dog

– something to do while being social with your friends

– a vehicle to take you exploring

Let me know how you keep fit while living on your sailboat.

Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: Dog Friends

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

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.

Jasper

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.

 

Farley’s Friday: Dog on Guard

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

Hello, Farley here.

Sometimes I wonder why my humans don’t listen to me. I know things they don’t know but have a little trouble getting my message across. They just don’t get what all my barks mean.

A case in point. You see me below. Clearly I look concerned.

Farley On Guard

We’ve been deep sea fishing all day. I’m the first one to let everyone know when a fish is on the line.

Zing goes the rod.

I’m up like a shot. “Fish on,” I bark. That get’s everyone’s attention. Human’s get so excited about catching a fish. They’re weird that way. This bark is me telling them the fish is there.

After a long day of fishing, the humans drop the hook and all go for a swim.

“What are you doing?” I bark at them. This bark means don’t go swimming.

“There could be sharks here,” I bark again. This bark means I really don’t want you to go swimming. There are sharks around.

No one listens. They all go swimming. Then one of them notices there is blood on the stern of the boat and decides to wash it off.

“Stop,” I bark. This bark means you are going to attract the big guy. But, hey do they listen to me? Nope. At least all humans are back on board at this point.

Now guess what happens. The man in the grey suit visits us. I swear is wasn’t more than a few drops of blood, but within minutes the shark was at the stern of the boat.

“Step back,” I bark, and this time they listen. Now it wasn’t the same shark that bumped my kayak. I know this because it was too small. No big deal really for a shark experienced do like me.

Somehow, I have to get my humans to stop swimming and to learn my barks.

Woof Woof.

Farley.

Farley’s Friday: Sharks Go Bump On The Sea

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

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.

Shark

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 . . .