Wednesday, January 25, 2017

More about the Dog


I realize that since we got out dog, Delphine, in September 2015 from The Barking Lot, we have not had a vacation away from home.  Leaving her behind while we hit the open road was not an option for me, yet we were hesitant to take her with us and subject her to long trips in the car.  Until we can figure out a good mode of travel that suits both the dog and Robert, we have opted to stay home.  Although I do dearly miss our travels, I thoroughly enjoy time spent at home with the dog, not to mention the money we have saved.

So until our next big vacation - whenever that will be - let me update you on our dog.  'Delphine' was her shelter name and it never quite fit and most everyone had difficulty pronouncing it, let alone remembering it, including Robert.  Plus, she never answered to it, so one day I just happened to call her Boo Boo Bear and the name stuck!  Out of that came nicknames like, Boobs and Boobies, which, surprisingly, she answers to!

She loves to sleep, especially when she can sleep on our clothes!

Although Boo Boo may not be a world traveller by any means, she has had a few closer-to-home adventures since she came into our lives.

One of her first adventures with us included snow.  In February 2016, San Diego County was hit with a pretty good storm system which brought snow down to the 3,000-foot level, so we only had to open our front door to play in it.  Boo Boo seemed oblivious to the white stuff all over the ground and was only excited, because she sensed how excited I was.

She is really good at sensing our emotions, whether they be excitement, anger, or happiness.  If we happen to raise our voices or make sudden loud noises, like laughing or cheering, she comes running and stands beside us with a very worried look on her face.  I often wonder what happened in her past life to make her that way, but we will never know.

Anyway, she didn't make any snow angels, run, dig, or even pay much attention to the snow, except when I threw a snowball at her and then she started running and playing with me.

In May of 2016, Boo Boo joined me in A Walk for Animals, a charity walk through the San Diego Humane Society.  I didn't realize just how well-behaved she was until we got into this large crowd of people and crazy dogs.  Dogs barking, growling, running amok, yet Boo Boo stayed right by Robert's side not once ever pulling on the leash.

She barked a few times when I would disappear from sight and then she'd see me coming back to her, but not at other dogs, well, once, when one got too close to Robert.

She is very very protective of Robert.  If anyone touches Robert, such as a handshake or a hug, she barks and runs over to put herself between Robert and whomever is touching him.

Sometimes she barks at me when I hug him, but it's never in an aggressive way.  It's as if she wants hugs too, which of course she gets and kisses too!

Since the drive to where the walk was held was over an hour from our house and then the walk lasted several hours, it was an incredibly long day for her.  She did better than we thought she would in those circumstances, however, she does need her naps!

She is a sleeping maniac and gets grumpy when she cannot take her nap during the day!  She has three beds in the house, four if you count ours, and she uses every single one of them.

In the evenings, usually on Friday and Saturday when we stay up later than normal, she will make a chuffing  sound at us when she thinks it's time for bed.  When she realizes that we are not going to bed, she will eventually wander off to our bedroom without us, but it is really cute how she tries to get us to go to bed when she thinks it's bedtime.  Oh, and she snores!

Last summer, we took her to Dog Beach in Ocean Beach, but she didn't quite enjoy it as much as we did.  There were dogs everywhere, obviously, and she didn't know quite what to do.

Her herding instincts kicked in and she'd start chasing a small dog and then get confused, because it would get lost in the mass of dogs running amok. She wouldn't know which way to go so she was constantly running in circles.

And she didn't like the water.  There were no crashing waves, but she was very hesitant and would only go in up to her belly and that was because she was following Robert.  He would try and coax her further to see if she would swim, but she'd have none of it and come back to shore and stand with me.

Boo Boo absolutely loves car rides!  Sometimes, Robert will take a drive around the block just because she loves car rides!  She gets buckled into the backseat with her doggie seat belt and is just content to sit there and look out the window.  We take her just about everywhere with us, even if it's just to the corner store for ice cream!

She also loves a hearty game of fetch!  Regardless of whether its outside in the rain or in the living room, she loves chasing after her toys.

We play soccer with her in the yard and she absolutely destroyed her soccer ball and then attempted to eat the leather casing!  Now, she has a Chuckit! ball that she can't pop or eat.  She also likes playing frisbee, tug-o-war with her big ropes and gnawing on her rawhide chews (she especially likes pig snouts in case you want to get her a gift for Christmas)!

Some of her other adventures included going to a dog park, although when we went, there was only one other dog there.  She stayed right by Robert's side, but because of where we live, there really is no need to take her to a park to play.

We live on 5-acres surrounded by open land so she can pretty much play wherever she likes!  Robert also takes her hiking just about everyday, so she gets plenty of exercise.

I've also taken her to a neighborhood park a couple of times, just so she can experience different smells and places (and she loves car rides)! But really, she is content to be wherever Robert and I are, whether it's at home in her bed between our recliners while we watch TV, laying in the middle of the kitchen floor while I make dinner, or laying in the sun on the back porch watching Robert working in the yard on his tractor.  She loves interacting with us and seeks comfort from knowing her pack is together.

Boo Boo has been such a wonderful blessing in our lives and we couldn't have asked for a better dog.

We love her and I think she loves us too!  You can also read A Letter To My Dog on my other blog.

Her favorite toy to play soccer with!
Destroyed!
She loved this frisbee, but left it in the yard and it disappeared.
We think the neighbor's dog stole it, but she has another one now.

Getting' ready for a car ride!