Sunrise Over Portland

Today the Dog, the Lady and I got up at the usual time to go for our morning walk. The Sunrise was amazing. Kind of makes me wish we had left the house a half hour earlier. But, who knew the morning would bring this?

You can see Mt. Hood bottom-center just a little to the left.

Magnuson Dog Park Review

Cooper Dog

Last weekend Winter and I went to Seattle, Washington to visit some friends. On Sunday, the seven of us (Jay, Mia, Little Niece, Cooper Dog, Camille Dog, Winter Dog and I), visited the Magnuson Park off-leash area (a.k.a. dog park).

Usually, I loath dog parks because most are a small fenced in areas containing a shit-mud mix for the yard, a bunch of psycho dogs and overly protective owners. So, Winter and I always head for the hills (pun intended) where her and I can both run around off leash and not be bothered by unsocialized humans and their owners.

At nine acres, including a beach and shy dog area, Magnuson Dog Park is a doggy utopia. The main area is a raised mound that allows water to drain out of the park, and everybody picks up their dogs poo, so it stays mostly mud free. Every dog imaginable romps around chasing balls and each other, most of the time minding their manners and their owners. It is one of the best places I’ve ever seen for socializing a dog. I highly recommend taking your dog there.

Even Winter got a little lesson in socializing. She has a habit of greeting other dogs with her hackles up. She has done this since she was a puppy and has never picked a fight (except at home over her food). I feel as she ages she is getting crankier towards other dogs and I’ve been wondering how to tweek her socialization. But, ten minutes and 30 doggy hellos later she stops raising her hackles and enjoys doggy heaven on earth.

Magnuson Dog Park is equally good for watching people as urban eco-warriors, carpenters, grandmas, skaters and mad-scientists chit-chat with a chuck-it in one hand and a viente latte in the other.

The Dog and I are slightly overwhelmed by all the sights, sounds and smells - our eyes slightly glazed, not knowing where to look. Winter has lived in Wyoming and Montana her whole life, usually within 15 minutes of a trailhead, so we never saw the point of going to a dog park. Now that we are city-slickers we will probably be visiting a dog park or two. In fact I’ll try to review all Portland’s dog parks. Stay tuned.

Prints and downloads of the above photos

A Dog's Backyard

Reading a Newspaper, Part 2

It's sunny in Portland today. So, instead of laying around inside the house napping and waiting to be entertained, Winter get's to be outside in the back yard for a few hours. Being a mellow creature she lies on the porch, tilting her head occasionally, absorbing all the smells and sounds that drift her way.

For prints or downloads go here.

The gentle breeze and ambient noise of the neighborhood bring all kinds of smells and sounds through the backyard. So, her senses are used in a way that sitting in the sensory-sterile environment of the house can't provide. While this is no walk through the neighborhood or the mountains, she still gets to read her neighborhood newspaper and therefore get a little brain stimulation.

If her senses are working then her brain is also. An active brain is a happy and mature brain.

But for those days you and your dog can't get outside here's a link to some fun dog games.

A Dog’s Sense of Smell

Part 1 - Reading the Newspaper.

My dog reads her version of a newspaper.

Every morning Winter, my girlfriend and I go for a half hour walk through the neighborhood. Winter stops and smells the same spots every time.

Some she sniffs at briefly, like the corner of particular lawn or the third picket on a particular fence. Other spots, there are two or three on our walk, she smells for a long time. The chain link fence post as we enter the park is of particular interest. As Winter moves from region to region on the post picking up all the new smells from the last 24 hours, she usually smells deeply and huffs a few times, lips flapping with each exhale as if to say, “interesting, very interesting…”

I call it reading the newspaper because as we walk around the neighborhood she can smell who’s been coming and going. She picks up the same people and animals every day and some newcomers. The park fence post is like the “opinion” and “letters to the editor” pages because just about every dog in the area uses that particular spot to leave their mark. Through the scent left by the others, Winter can pick up on what they’ve been eating and what type of mood they are in.

So on our walk every morning, just like when I pick up the paper, Winter gets to read what the animals in her world have been up to.

Meet Winter

As an eighty-pound brindle Boxer-German Shepard mix she gets noticed. She will be seven years old on February 4. Winter likes sticks and balls and belly scratches. Not a short, light, one-handed scratch but a giant, full strength, two handed scratch.

In fact I give her a giant, 15-30 second, belly scratch every morning, because if I were a dog that's how I would like to start my day. I have done this just about every morning for the last seven years. Her tongue lolls out the side of her mouth and she smiles in bliss. Then, when I'm finished, she gets up and does a giant shake, ears flapping and skin rattling, to loosen up for the day ahead.

That's Winter (a.k.a. The Dog). Thanks for reading. Welcome to her world.