Duna-The Thoughtful Boy

Duna is one of Grady's brothers. He is probably the calmest of that entire litter. While the rest of the dogs may be running all around us jumping for water, the tennis ball, or whatever, Duna always seems to rise above it all and calmly evaluates the situation. He has been like this since he was a wee little guy. As his human mom says, "Duna is very strategic". I just say he is a sweetheart.

Fearless Sasa-The Tree Climbing Vizsla

Just got a couple of pictures of Sasa up in the tree she leaped into. Sasa is Grady's sister. She is the second of Sara's puppies that is a champion and a wild child. Dixy is the other. Anyways, wanted to share the pictures and Susan's (human mom) commentary.

"Here are a couple of pictures the one of Sasa in the tree- she is actually about 20' off the ground in a huge oak tree. If you have a video camera we would like to borrow it- she launches about 6' up to get to the first branch and has no fear running further up the tree. The pictures just don't capture how awesome it is."

Another Photoshow

Have been meaning to put this out on the Blog. Still trying to perfect my skills using the software to put this together. So please bear with me.

We spent another lovely day at the beach on t Sunday with human and doggie friends. After the walk, we had a nice lunch and visit at Chipolte's. The photoshow includes pictures of Walter, Kate, Susan and Eddie. Good times. :-)

Update on the Prius with the McCain bumpersticker. Haven't seen it back in the garage since that day. Funny.

Compelled by Dennis the Vizsla's "Go-Go Gadget Ears"

I love seeing the pictures of the dogs ears flying in the wing. When I saw the picture of Dennis the Viszla going over the agility jump, it made me want to pull out a few of the pictures I have of flying dog ears. Hope you don't mind Dennis. Something about these pictures makes me think...boy, they are sure having a good time and how can I learn how to have fun with such reckless abandon. I haven't figured that out yet but the pictures bring a smile to my face. The doberman is our friend Flirtie. Her ears are always up.

Grady on Point

Here is a picture of Grady on Point. He was hunting pretty seriously, covering a lot of ground. I knew he was on a scent. I can just tell by the way he quarters back and forth and how his tail moves. About 30 seconds after this picture was taken, a jackrabbit came tearing out about 5 feet away him. Grady thought about chasing it but I commanded him to wait and he didn't take a step. I was very proud. This is the stuff he loves. Can't wait to start the training for his senior hunter title.

Dixy-Where Does the Energy Come From

Dixy is definitely my energizer vizsla. It is no exaggeration to say that she can go hard non-stop for hours. Today we went out to Hastings Island and as she usually does, she found a tennis ball. In order to try and tire her out, I use the water to my advantage and make her swim. She loves to swim and it uses a lot more energy than just running. Lucky for me. I only had a little over an hour today to exercise the dogs so, I had to use that hour effectively. The funny thing about Dixy will do the most unexpected things. Today, for example, I threw the ball and, as she always does, she leaped into the water to get the ball, swimming as fast as she could. Rather than turn around and swim back, she went up the other side of the levy, ran down the road, ran across the bridge and back to me. She did this even though she loves to swim and it would have been a lot shorter route. She is just a goof.

Free To Run and Play

Well I finally got the staples out of my stomach and I am free to play! My mom thought it would be cute if she took pictures of me before I went to the backroom and when I came out of the backroom. Me, not so much. But she does love me, feed me, take me on vacations so her nerdiness is a small price to pay. All in all, I have a pretty good life. Okay, back to the tale of having the staples taken out. As you can tell from the photo, I am not too keen on this process. Even though they are really nice to me, nothing good usually comes for me here. I know, I know, ultimately they always make me feel better. That's not the point! Hmmm, what is the point? Nevermind. Once it is all said and done, I am always dragging the vet techs to get back to mom. It was no different today, as you can tell from the pictures.

Mom took the other pictures to show the other creatures that live here. There were the two fuzzy creatures. They are not in the least bit intimidated by me. That frightens me. Then there are the exotic fish that are beautiful. Mom can watch them for a long time. I can only watch them for so long. Then I get bored. What's the point. Sorry again, I need to stay focused. And finally, there is boa constrictor. Mom couldn't get a good picture so the sign tells the tale. Finally, the last picture shows me on my first run since the surgery. FREEDOM!

All kidding aside, I want to take a moment to remember all the folks lost in the 9/11 attacks. As someone who works in the financial industry, we knew a lot of the folks who perished that day. We also know folks who, for whatever reason, were not in the buildings when they normally would have been. Thankfully they made it. Let's hope that, we as a species can start to find better ways of dealing with each other, That is my hope,

Sara Tells Her Tales of Woe

As you can see from the pictures, I still have to wear this funny collar and I still have the staples in my stomach. Mom took me to the vet's yesterday. I was pretty excited. I thought I was getting the staples out and then we would go for a walk. Well, no such luck. They said they wanted to wait the full 14 days before they removed them. Something about wanting to make sure I was completely healed. Whatever...I am ready to run. I am sure I am driving my mom crazy. I can't help it though. I have been very good for ten days. I can only contain my energy for so long. After all, I am a sporting dog and was bred to hunt all day. On top of that, it isn't easy seeing the other dogs leave with mom for their daily walks while I am left behind. No matter, once I get these staples out, I will run the others silly. I have a lot of pent up energy to use.

A Good Day for the Red Dawn Vizsla Clan

Today was a good day for the Red Dawn Vizsla Clan. Red Dawn Mr. Fritz took Winner's Dog, Best of Winner's and Best Opposite Sex. Fritz only needs one more point for his Championship. His brother, Red Dawn Grady's All Wound up took Reserve Winner's Dog. I guess the judge was consistent. I am looking forward to getting all of the boys finish. They are all close so hopefully by the end of the year.

One Reason Why We Live in Northern California

Today was just a spectacular weather day at the beach. It was about 75 degrees, no fog, and just the slightest of breeze. I took Dixy, Grady, and Jasper to Ft Funston at about 7:45am and then met up with the Kate, Walter, Susan, Eddie and the rest of the dogs at 9:00. The only downfall of the day was that Sara had to stay home and Colvin kept her company. Prior to meeting up with everyone, I took the dogs down to the beach and walked for a bit. It was so peaceful. Something about the rolling waves and the quiet makes for a really tranquil time. Of course there were the assortment of dead carcasses. Jasper found one particularly rotted and smelly one which he rolled in for a good five minutes. Boy did he stink. I figured I would get him in the water to get the smell off prior to returning him to Kate. I did a pretty good job of it really. He chased Dixy in the water quite a bit. Got most of the smell off and I was happy. That is until we walked back and he found it again. Well, unfortunately, Jasper was returned smelly. :-) It was really an enjoyable day.

UPDATE: I can see that Sara is definitely feeling better. She has a ways to go before she is able to romp around but the pain seems to be subsiding.

First Night Home After Surgery

Well, we had a restless night here at the Red Dawn household. Poor Sara could not get comfortable. Seems the dosage of pain medicine was just not enough. I don't think she slept at all. I finally had to call the vet and she upped her pain medicine dosage. Hopefully she will rest a little easier. At least I know she is generally okay. She hasn't lost her appetite in the least bit.

It is always so hard to see these pups in pain or discomfort. I can't rest myself. I worry non-stop until they are back to feeling normal. I know some may think it is weird but they are like my children and all I want is for them to be happy and healthy.

Sara is Home

I brought Sara home around 11:30am. She is a little sore but is resting comfortably now that she is in her own environment. One thing that never leaves Sara is her appetite. Even after stomach surgery, she still enjoys her food. She is getting multiple little meals for the next 21 days. It is great to have her home. I missed and worried about her. Now we can all relax a bit.

Sporting Breed Dogs and 106 Degree Weather

For those of you who don't know, sporting breed dogs (particularly pointing breeds) need a lot of exercise. When they don't get it, they can be pretty pesky. So when it is over 100 degrees, it is hard to get them the exercise they need without risking heat stroke for the dog and the human. My dogs are really needy this way and if they don't get out, I don't get a good night sleep. Because of that, it is always a challenge this time of the year because of the heat. I know, you are probably thinking, "but you live in the bay area, land of the fog". Well not so fast my friends. Forty-five miles northeast of SF is usually at least twenty degrees hotter than in the city. Fortunately, I live about 35 miles from an island surrounded by water. So that is where we went. The dogs ran, and then swam to cool off. No heat stroke for them. I, on the other hand, was another story but the things we do for our dogs and a good night sleep.

Because They Make Me Smile

What better way to end the blogging day than to post some cute doggy faces. At least they make me smile.