Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Pirates and Alligators

I just found some old pictures on my camera from when I was fostering Ritter a few weeks ago.  I took Ritter, Ziggy and Tulsa on a walk by the river, and the walk went something like this:

We set off, with the dogs leading the way but not pulling (most of the time).  I had all three leashes attached to my belt which let me keep my hands free for important things like photography and skipping rocks.

We paused to watch the salvage ship at work.  It's busy digging up a pirate ship filled with treasure.  At least that's what I told Ritter.  

Then we stopped to watch the freshwater alligators (or so Ritter believes).  Ziggy wanted to go play in the water, but I said no. 

Things were progressing nicely until we came to several piles of bones on the trail.  I explained to Ritter that the alligators must have eaten one of the pirates.  I think he believed me.

The bones presented a challenge for me, since Ziggy is bone aggressive.  Fortunately there were plenty of pirate bones to go around.  Tulsa preferred to give hers a thorough sniffing.

Ritter was happy to roll in his pile of bones. Very happy.  Maybe pirate bones are like catnip for dogs.

Ziggy chose a bone to chew along the way, and I quickly got the dogs moving again.  We stopped once more to admire the view. Ziggy chose to lay in his favorite "frog leg" position, as close to the water as possible.

Tulsa and Ritter stayed with me up by the trail and enjoyed the cool breeze.  

Finally we had to go home, where we all slept soundly and dreamed of pirate treasure, or pirate bones.

10 comments:

Sheltie Times said...

When they wake up with alligator nightmares...

What a great trip out with the lot.

Stefanie said...

Oh! Thank goodness I finally know somene else that attaches a leash to their belt! I started doing that with my foster too and I absolutely love having my hands free for treats, cameras (I also take a lot of pictures of my fosters), and picking up poo!

Glad the dogs had fun on their little adventure - they really know how to enjoy life!

Dog Foster Mom said...

Stefanie, I use a hands-free leash system from Blue Dog Training. There are a lot of other ones out there too. Just make sure whatever one you use has a quick release mechanism so if there is a problem you can detach the belt right away. It's much safer than just using a regular belt which takes time to get off - time you don't really have if the dogs decide to get into a fight or get tangled in something. I love the hands-free leash - it also works nicely to keep the dog close when training and leaves hands free for treats and a clicker. Although I'm more often using it for taking pictures. :-)

Cupcake said...

What a wonderful walk!

Love, Cupcake

Kari in Alaska said...

I think Ritter is gullible ;)

Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com

Cyndi and Stumpy said...

That looks like a perfect walk! both Stumpy and i would be thrilled to walk by a river, whether or not there were pirates and alligators!

Happy, Waggin' Tails, FUREVER!
Stumpy and me

Bailey Be Good! said...

My mommy would love to put me on a belt system, but she said she would go flying! I guess I don't know my own puppy strength! Teehee!

Happy Tuesday woofs & hugs!

~Bailey (Yep, I'm a girl!)

Unknown said...

Oh my pirates and alligators that sounds awfully scary!

Two Grad Students and a Pittie said...

Looks like such an amazing day! Thanks for sharing!

www.twogradstudentsandapittie.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Looks like a wonderful walk. we really need to check into getting a hands free system!