Reggie's Blog: An RVing Dog's Blog

I lost my job too!

2009-08-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I knew it would happen soon. I lost my paying sponsor for my blogs and therefore my blogs will not be regular anymore. I need a rest anyway. So, check back in a month or so and I'll try to bring you up to date on my life. Meanwhile, thanks for reading my blogs and enjoy the rest of your summer.

Dad was hiding while taking my picture yesterday on Red Road in Island Park, Idaho.

Dad said that a lot of people were losing their job thanks to a lot of greedy humans, so it's not surprising that I did too!

Walking down RedRock Road.. a goodbye for now.

Arf,

Reggie, the RV Dog

Riding around the Centennial Mountains

2009-07-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

You might think that I get tired of driving around with Dad on his many trips. Well, I don’t. It’s always fun to jump into the Jeep and lean my head out the window to smell all the animals along the road. I also enjoy jumping out at every stop that Dad points his black box at the flowers or other animals. I guess it’s the freedom to explore that makes me happy. Laying around the RV Park all day is OK, but driving with Dad is great.

We stopped in front of the west Centennial mountains. It's a beautiful day in Montana state!

This time Dad said we were going to drive completely around a big mountain range. I wasn’t sure what that meant but it sounded fun the way he said it. I took my favorite toy and jumped into the back of the Jeep. It was at least 15 minutes later that Dad finally came out and we left. (I get a little nervous that he might change his mind about taking me, so I like to hop in early and wait.)

The mountain range that we were going to drive around is called the Centennial Range in the states of Idaho and Montana. Dad said our RV Park lies at the NorthEast end of the range so we get to see the Eastern part quite a lot. We are going to circle it so we will get to see some of the western and southern part too. We should see some animals and of course, lots of flowers for Dad to point his black box at. I’m ready.

Dad found this Wild Rose that smelled so sweet!

Dad always drives slow so he won’t scare away the birds and the animals. The first bird that we saw was a big Red Tailed Hawk. He was sitting on a rock in a meadow looking for breakfast. It would be really hard work if I had to look for my breakfast every morning in the forest or meadows. It’s nice to have Dad fix it for me and serve it to me in the motorhome.

We spotted this big Red Tailed Hawk looking for breakfast at Red Rock Lakes Nat'l Wildlife Refuge.

Soon I spotted one of my favorite animals, a ground squirrel. He wasn’t on the ground though, he was on a fence post looking around. (Maybe he’s called a fence squirrel?) I barked and he ran away. I was proud that I could protect Dad from such scary creatures.

Dad loves the Western Bluebirds. He says they are so blue. (Duh!)

Dad stopped when he saw a Western bluebird flying. Dad pointed his box at the bird and he flew away. I don’t think birds like to be pointed at. There are lots of bluebirds here. Dad loves the bluebirds. I guess he like the color blue?

Dad said this was a ground squirrel. I think it is a fence post squirrel!

We drove along the mountains and stopped from time to time to let me sniff and Dad pointed his box at flowers. There were lots of flowers. I could smell them and most of them smell really sweet. I guess I like the flowers for their smells and Dad likes them for their colors. I don’t do color well and Dad doesn’t do smells well, so it fits!

I met a new friendly human on his bike machine. His name was Michael. He was going a far way.

We reached the Upper Red Rock Lakes campground and Dad stopped for a rest. I met a new friend named Michael. He was riding his bike machine from outside our country in Canada to Mexico. A very long ride. He liked me and I sniffed his bike machine. He was from a country far away called Switzerland. Dad says they have lots of high mountain there too! Dad pointed his black box at a Western Tanager, we walked down to the lake and then we left.

We saw a big black vulture bird eating a calf. Dad said a bear killed it. I bet the vulture paid him to do it!

Once we stopped because Dad saw a big Vulture (this is a big black bird with a sharp beak) eating a small calf. I was scared of the Vulture until Dad explained that a big Grizzly Bear probably killed the calf. (Then I was scared of the bear.! I wondered if the Vulture hired the bear to kill the calf, because I didn’t see the bear. If a bear killed the calf, shouldn’t he be eating it?)

We took a side road into the mountains once. I saw a creek flowing with water and lots of trees and flowers. I smelled a bear but didn’t see one (darn!). We reached the end of the road and I peeked over the end to see another road, but we couldn’t get to it in the Jeep. I guess the humans that owned this land didn’t want us to go any further. We turned around and went back to the main road, but we did stop a couple times for me to sniff.

On the south side of the mountains we saw a few deer. He just stared at us until I barked, then he ran away.

On the south side of the mountains we saw a lot of deer. I wanted to run after them but Dad wouldn’t let me out of the car to run. I enjoyed sniffing for the deer and I let Dad know when I saw them.

Dad said the willow trees that grow by the creek along the road is a great place to see Moose. But.. he also said they usually can only be seen near dark. They are afraid of humans and only come out when the humans go in. I don’t blame them since I understand that humans are allowed to shoot them. I bet it would be different if Moose had guns! I would also hide from humans if they were allowed to hunt dogs with guns. I was sorry that I couldn’t see a Moose. They are big and scary, but awesome to see and smell. Maybe another time.

A white Retriever was protecting the sheep. I wish I could do that!

I got tired looking out the window, especially after about 8 hours of riding so I laid down and tried to sleep. Suddenly I smelled something familiar, jumped up and looked out. I saw a whole field of sheep. I like sheep. There’s something about their smell I like. Then I saw a fellow Golden Retriever out with the sheep. He was a white retriever. He was in charge of the sheep and ran towards us to keep us away from the sheep. Dad says he was a working dog. I want to be a working do too! I could have lots of fun running after the sheep and protecting them.

Some big mountains were on the south side of the range too!

The mountains were nice on this side of the mountain range too. Dad stopped several times to let me out (and to point his box). By this time I was pretty tired so I laid down and slept. Before I knew it I was home and was happy to see Mom. She was sewing in the motorhome and soon I was asleep outside. Life was back to normal again.

There were lots of Sunflowers along the road for Dad to look at. They did smell sweet to me.

If you want to drive all around the mountains and creeks and lakes and see a lot of wild animals and wild flowers, come see me at RedRock RV Park this summer. Ask for Reggie. Most humans know me.

Arf

Reggie

Into the Montana Wilderness

2009-07-12T12:48:00.001-07:00

Dad says that wilderness is a place that used to be everywhere before there were so many humans. It’s where humans don’t live and rarely mess up the place like they do in cities. Some wilderness allows humans to visit but under strict rules of behavior. They have to behave just like us dogs do!

So Dad said we were going to drive into some wilderness today. That sounded fun to me. I was expecting to see a lot of animals that live where humans don’t. I love to smell and see non-human animals. It’s good for my soul.

We drove to a place Dad called Gravelly Range in the State humans call Montana. First we drove for a long time along a highway that follows this long river Dad said humans call the Madison River. There were men standing along the river with those long poles with strings attached to the ends that they dangle in the water hoping to attract fish. I stuck my head out the window of the Jeep and let the smells of the countryside fill my nose. Cows dominated the smellscape, but I did smell some Elk, Moose and even some coyotes and bears. But alas, I didn’t see them along the highway. I did see the cows and I barked at them to keep them away from us.

We crossed the Madison River on our way to the wilderness.

We turned off the highway and drove over a bridge to cross the Madison River. Dad stopped to point his black box at the river and I felt the fresh spray of the water hit me in the face. I liked that. We climbed a hill and were soon on a bumpy road up a road named Johnny Ridge road. There were lots of wildflowers and lots of trees along the road. We stopped and Dad took my photo next to what he called Wild Blue Flax wildflowers. I don’t mind since he always gives me a treat when I’ve posed for him. It’s boring, but I like helping Dad with his pointing box.

Dad paid me to pose in the Wild Blue Flax wildflower patch. We stopped a lot!

Dad stopped a lot of times and almost every time he let me jump out and sniff around. Dad just lay on the ground with his black box pointing at flowers and I had all the fun running around and smelling things. Once, I knew that a skunk had been there recently. (That’s not hard to know!) I also smelled a bear but he wasn’t close by so I didn’t tell Dad about it. It gets him too excited. Dad said there were lots of beautiful flowers. You remember that one flower is about the same to me as another, but Dad gets his jollies shaken with each different flower he sees. However, there was one flower that had a very strong smell that I remember. Dad called it Hooker’s Onion.

This Hooker's Onion smelled really strong. Normally, I'm not interested in wildflowers.

We drove over really rough rocks and I bounced around in the Jeep. I hit my head once on the top, but it didn’t hurt me. I was kinda fun as I put my head out of the jeep to look around. Once we got near the top of the road I saw snow. It was the middle of July and there was snow on the ridge. I love snow. I was born in a place with lots of snow, so I miss it. Dad said that was quite a view, with blue sky, snow, green grass and finally yellow wildflowers.

I was happy to see some snow up here. I missed the snow. It's in the middle of summer.

We turned onto Gravelly Range Ridge Road (according to Dad’s expert sense of geography) and soon were on a wider less bumpy dirt road. There were views of mountains and fields of wildflowers and lots of animal smells everywhere. We stopped many times and I could look over the valleys to see the whole world from up here. There were fields that I could run and jump and smell. It was lots of fun up here.

We got to the top of Gravelly Range road and you could see forever or at least to Black Butte mountain.

Dad said the yellow flowers were called Old Man of the Mountain. They didn't look like humans to me!

The most common wildflower up here Dad called Old Man of the Mountain. They were all over the place and Dad pointed his black box at me when I was standing in them. Dad said they were yellow and resembled sunflowers with a big eye in the middle of each flower. Another very common one was called Sky Pilot. Dad said enjoyed the combination of the purple and the yellow everywhere he looked around him.

I got to see a lot of wilderness from the Jeep window along Gravelly Range Ridge Road.

We stopped to eat at Black Butte. There was even snow there.

We stopped to eat lunch next to a big rock growing out of the ground. Dad said it was called Black Butte and that it was the insides of an ancient volcano that once spit hot rocks from the Earth. Wow, I’m glad I wasn’t here then!

I could get out and run around and look into the valleys below. It was fun.

We drove for almost 60 miles along the ridge of this mountain range. We saw about 2 other humans, so I guess it qualifies as wilderness. There were a lots of small birds and Dad saw a red-tailed hawk too. We didn’t see any bears, but we did see some antelopes and deer. In fact, once two of them were eating together. Dad says that’s pretty rare to see them together. I didn’t even scare them away and Dad pointed his black box at them.

We saw deer and antelope grazing together on our way home.

We turned off the ridge road and went down into the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge (whew, that’s a lot to type!) and followed a sandy road home. We stopped once in this large field with millions of wildflowers called the Lupine. Dad and I saw an Antelope and Dad pointed his black box at it.

Pronghorn was grazing in a field of purple Lupine wildflowers.

It was a nice day, but a long one. Dad said we drove 145 miles and it took us 11 hours to do that! I was tired of jumping in and out of the Jeep all day, but it was worth it. All the smells and the images will keep me busy dreaming outside the motorhome for days.

Arf

Reggie

Here's a map and virtual tour of the Gravelly Range Ridge Road that Dad made.

Canineland, a new country for dogs

2009-07-12T12:10:00.000-07:00

Dad was telling me that today is Independence Day in the United States. It’s like any other day to me. I went out this morning, peed, pooped and sniffed. A normal day for me. But, Dad seemed to want to tell me what Independence Day means to humans. He seemed to want to talk, so I listened.

He mainly said that Independence Day is the day that humans celebrate the birth of their country, their freedom from paying taxes to another country and just a lot of happiness that the USA is here today, a place that humans can call their own.

I was thinking about a canine independence while watching the 4th of July parade at RedRock RV Park

Well, that got me thinking about how us canine members of the USA should feel about Independence Day and the concept of Independence. What do we dogs gain from this arrangement? I do my best thinking outside of the motorhome. I concluded after a long afternoon outside looking at the strange humans waving flags, drinking smelly potions, making loud noises with disgusting little scary things (Dad said they were called firecrackers) and stuffing themselves with more food than they should eat in a whole week that dogs don’t benefit too much from this holiday or from the Independence that humans have.

We are very dependent on humans. We are limited to eating 3 scoops of the same food every meal, every day of the year. We are tied and kept on leashes (most of the time.) We must do stupid tricks to impress the friends of our owners. We can’t drive a car, ride an ATV, or fly in a plane except in the cargo hold. We are subject to hearing our owners tell other people how stupid we are. We must endure a lot of things that humans don’t endure.

That led me to think that dogs should have their own country too. Humans who were unsatisfied with their owners in 1776 because they had few rights wanted to start their own country to gain more rights. I want to use this blog to rally support for a new canine revolution (Dad told me this word meant fighting for your rights.)

Now you must know that I am a non-violent dog. I like to think I’m even really friendly and I even like most humans. I don’t want to hurt them. But they need to know that we have much bigger, stronger and sharper teeth than they do. In fact a dog’s front teeth (humans call them canine teeth, but to me that’s all my teeth) are vicious weapons. Every dog has a set and needs no license to carry them. We can tear meat faster than you can blink, if we want. Our legs and neck are much stronger than a humans, and in my opinion, we are better hunters than humans. We can jump in an instance and push pretty hard. What that means is that we could (if we wanted) make quite a mess with a human’s life (not to mention his face.) So, we are not without bargaining means to accomplish this task of making a new and independent country for dogs. I think if we ask politely and make our needs clear, the USA government would give us a new country. If not, we could form an army of dogs to make our threats clearer to those that would not listen to our reasonable demands. After all, there are about 73 million of us in the USA and almost 63% of human households own one of us. That’s a pretty big group to bargain with.

There's plenty of room for a Canineland in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Utah.

The way I see it, humans in the USA have a lot of land they aren’t using in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Utah. In fact, Dad says most of those states are owned by the USA government. We could make our country in those places that humans don’t live. Our only request is that humans have our permission to enter it. Owners could come to visit us anytime, but they would have to walk. No cars, no ATVs, nothing noisy or smelly like that is permitted in the new country. Us dogs enjoy the fresh air and humans don’t seem to respect that.

I think Canineland could be made from unused lands in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Utah.

I propose that we would call our new country Canineland. That would leave no mistake about who it belongs to. I would gladly serve as the Supreme and most Dominant Pack Leader of the land, at least to get things started. I’d get some of my canine friends to agree on rules and we would build a large pack of canine protectors of our land. (Dad says a country needs an army to make sure other countries don’t take it back from them.)

Humans could visit Canineland but not on ATVs.

Canineland would not have many rules. We would freely form packs of friendly canines and find places to live that give us shelter from the cold and plenty of food to hunt. We would only eat as much as we need (this would eliminate most of the fat dogs that you see today.) There would not be any leashes or tie ropes of any kind allowed. Any dog could live in Canineland as long as he or she got along with the other members of the country, or at least in their own pack. Those that were too greedy or too violent would be given back to their owners in the United States.

Humans could walk or ride a bicycle to Canineland. No cars, RV's, or ATVs.

Humans that visited us could stay for maybe 14 days and sleep in caves or on the ground, but no motorhomes or RVs would be allowed. Humans could come visit us using their bicycles. Humans could bring dog snacks if they wanted to be nice. Those that brought snacks would be allowed to visit more often. Humans could not bring those noisy and dangerous things called guns or rifles into Canineland. Also knives (those sharp shiny sticks that some humans carry) would not be welcome. Humans could not hunt. That would be the job of the dogs only. All other animals (except humans and maybe cats and cows) could live in Canineland as long as they didn’t become too unruly or disruptive to our life style.

Humans would be pests in Canineland. No hunting, no guns!

There would be no taxes to be paid. Of course, the Supreme and most Dominant Pack Leader would be permitted to accept gifts of food from other country canines. It’s the least the others can do for him for the hard work of serving Canineland.

There's plenty of land and water in Utah for Canineland! Humans should give it to us for our new country.

So, if you are a canine wanting more freedom in your life, think about joining my canine revolution. Send me email and I’ll let you know the time and place to meet to start our new country. If you can’t get access to a canine ready internet computer, just smell your way to see me in Idaho.

Other animals could stay in Canineland like this Pronghorn. (We need some entertainment.)

Power to the Canines. Long live Canineland! (At least that’s what I think about this today. Maybe after a while I’ll think about this again and let you know.)

No cats in Canineland. (We must have some standards!)

Come see me at RedRockRV Park near West Yellowstone and we can have some real doggy talk about it.

The national flag of Canineland. Join the Canine Revolution. Free our oppressed brothers and sisters!

Reggie

Along the Snake River with Reggie

2009-06-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad took me to breakfast at Pond’s Lodge in Island Park, Idaho. Well, really what happened is that they let me watch them eat breakfast through the car window and restaurant window. I’d prefer to be inside, staring at Dad or Mom until they gave me scraps from their plate, but instead I patiently waited for them to quit stuffing themselves because I knew we were going for a great long walk afterwards. Besides, Mom usually sneaks some pancake to me if Dad doesn’t eat it first.

We drove to the river where there is a place that humans and dogs camp and fishermen park. Dad said this is the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River, only about 6 miles from the start of the river. This river bubbles up from the ground into Big Springs, a great big pond with lots of big fishes. I’ve been there too! It’s a fun place to visit.

Mom let me go free after we got on the Coffee Pot Rapids Trail. (It's near Yellowstone Park.)

Anyway, we started on the trail and of course Dad brought two cameras. Mom walked me with my leash until we were out of the campground. There are so few humans and dogs here that I promised to behave and she let me go free. They call this part of the river Coffee Pot Rapids. Dad says they named it that because an old camper human lost his Coffee Pot here once. Dad lost a lens cap for his camera here once. Maybe they should rename it “Lens Cap Rapids.”

I thought I saw a deer! But it was just another dog coming along the trail!

This river is really cool. No I mean it. I can get in the river and it feels so refreshing and cool. The water isn’t very deep and at first its moving very slow. The water only comes up to the middle of my legs. I guess I could lie down in it to get fully soaked, but I didn’t. (I don’t like to get that wet.)

I could get water anytime I wanted. Mom and Dad forgot to bring water for them and they wouldn't get in the river with me.

I was running up and down the trail in front of Mom and Dad. The trail was along the river but the forest went to the edge of the river. I smelled a lot of interesting animals, but didn’t see any. I could smell the deer and elk and moose. In fact, we saw a lot of elk droppings on the trail. Then suddenly I smelled a familiar and scary smell and came across a pile of bear. It was a pile of bear hair and a few bones. Dad said it was a Grizzly Bear that had died on the trail. Now all that was left was his light brown hair and a bunch of bees that were buzzing around. Dad got me away quickly. He didn’t want my nose stung (I didn’t either.)

I think I saw a fish in the water. If Dad would let me, I'd jump in and catch it with my mouth.

Mom and Dad forgot to bring water for themselves, but I could get my water from the river. Whenever I got too hot, I found a place next to the river I could wade and lapped up water. It tasted real good.

Dad pointed his camera at this Sara Orangetip butterfly along the trail.

Dad started running around like he was crazy! Mom told me he was chasing a white and orange butterfly with his camera. Poor little butterfly. Dad should be nicer to such small insects. He pointed his camera at it a few times and then it flew away into the forest. Dad says her name was Sara Orangetip.

The heart leaf Arnica was the main wildflower we saw. Dad said more would come later.

Dad brought his camera for wildflowers too. He didn’t find many blooming yet. But one flower that he thought was very pretty was all over the place. (It has a great smell!) It’s called the Heart leaf Arnica. It’s a bright yellow wildflower (this is according to Dad since I’m so color blind.) He also found the striped coralroot (it stinks!) and a couple Indian Paintbrush just starting to bloom.

Humans toss string at fish but don't catch many. USE YOUR MOUTH!! It's better.

The river attracts humans that like to throw string at fish. Dad says they are trying to catch fish with the string. (I’d just use my mouth if I were them, it’s easier.)

This Night Heron was right next to me. He looked at me and flew away.

The river is VERY quiet at the beginning of the trail, except for the sound of the many birds. I heard the eagles that like to fish here. They fly high overhead and with their good eyesight spot a fish and dive for it, catching it in their claws. (Much better than using string.) We also saw the really big White Pelicans in the river looking for fish. Some had their heads under water for a long time. Dad says they are expert fishers too (and don’t use string but their beaks.) But when I ran into the water, they flew away. I wasn’t going after them, but they didn’t know it. Another bird that got Dad all excited was the Black crowned Night Heron. This is a big silly looking bird that I saw sitting on log right next to me. He looked at me funny and then flew away. They like to eat fish too.

Big White Pelicans like to go fishing here too. (They don't use string.)

Finally, the river got really mad and loud. I think it was afraid of going down the steep mountain. It threw up white water and crashed itself against big rocks and roared like a scared cat! I didn’t want to drink the water there because the river was running really fast and I was afraid it might take me with it. (Who knows where it would go when it’s so mad!)

Lots of humans in kayaks came to the rapids.

Suddenly we all saw a bunch of funny looking humans in weird little boats and wearing funny hats coming down the mad part of the river. Dad says they were in little boats called kayaks. They looked like little coffins to me. There were over twenty of them twenty (I can’t count higher than that). They would wait next to a rock in the dark water and then take off into the white water and be gone very quickly. Dad says they were brave to be on such rough water. One of them rolled over in the white water but came back up and went on. Strange things that humans do for fun!

The white water would take the humans down the mad river very quickly.

Soon, Mom and Dad turned around and headed back when the trail started to turn to big rocks. Reluctantly I followed them. It would have been fun to jump around over the rocks. But, I ran ahead and kept sniffing for new smells. This trail certainly has a lot of interesting smells. Dad and Mom were constantly saying how beautiful the views across the river were. Mom and Dad seemed happy. Dad said their muscles and paws were feeling very sore though because they don’t normally walk four miles so quickly. I think I must have ran a lot more than them because I kept coming back to see what was keeping them. Usually it was Dad pointing his camera at something. Keep up Dad! Geez!

Anyway, we finally made it back to the car and they drank a lot of water. Of course, I had water from the river and didn’t need any. It was a good day and I went home and slept all afternoon.

Come see us at RedRock RV Park this summer. Ask for me!

Arf

Reggie

Reggie at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

2009-06-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

I’m still in Idaho at RedRock RV Park. Dad reminded me that this is my 52nd blog here and that means a whole human year of writing these things. I hope you like them. I haven’t heard from many of you. I’d love to hear that SOMEONE is reading these.

I haven’t been able to be outside much lately because it has been raining a LOT and because I have that dreaded Golden Retriever disease: HOT SPOT again. Dad says it’s a skin disease that nobody knows WHY we get it, but it means that the hair over my “SPOT” has to be trimmed and an ugly and bad smelling yellow liquid gets put on it until it heals. Dad doesn’t like me to go outside because I scratch it and it bleeds because of my sharp claws. But, the hot spot is getting better and the weather is improving a bit so I think I’ll be outside again soon.

This weekend we had a sunny day and Dad told me to HOP in the car. I love that word. It means we get to GO in the car. So, I waited patiently in the back of the Jeep for Dad to fill the it with his camera stuff and we were on our way early in the morning. Dad said we were going to Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. It’s a very big place nearby that lets lots of different animals live there without much interference from humans. Mostly birds live there, but also Elk, Moose, Deer, Antelope, Fox, Coyotes and Bears.

What that means for me is that I get to look for animals. It’s not very far from the RV park and Dad likes to do his photography there (you know, he points that little black box he calls a camera at animals and flowers and presses a button. For what ever reason, I still haven’t figured out.)

The fox ran away from me when he heard my barking. Dad was mad at me.

I hung my head out the window and started to look for animals. I like to look for cows, dogs, coyotes, elk, fox, moose, buffalo, and sometimes even big birds. I bark to let Dad know there’s an animal he can point his camera at. He doesn’t seem to appreciate it though since he tells me to be quiet. Like the other day, we were driving along Red Rock road and I spotted a fox. Dad stopped the car and rolled his window down, grabbing his camera. I wasn’t sure if Dad saw him so I barked again. Well, unfortunately the fox thought I was trying to chase him and it ran away. (I was a lot bigger than him.) Dad pointed at the fox but he was running away. Dad was mad at me for a minute for scaring it away. It wasn’t my fault the fox was so sensitive to my barking.

It was foggy when we left on our trip. You could see the top of Sawtelle Peak (in Idaho).

Well, when we started on our trip, it was very foggy (that’s the white, wet, cold stuff that hangs in the air in the mornings sometimes). We could see outside, but only in a few places, like just the tops of the mountains. However, the fog went away soon (I don’t know where it went though.) and I was able to look for animals. The first one I found for Dad was a big bird. Dad says it was a Red-tailed Hawk. Well, just in case Dad didn’t see it, I barked and guess what… it was as sensitive as the fox and it flew away. Dad pointed at it as it flew. He wasn’t very happy with me. Sigh!

This Red-tailed Hawk didn't like my barking either!

Dad says this is the Wild Blue Flax wildflower. I was sniffing around when he took this.

The road is very bumpy and a little bit muddy due to all the rain we’ve had, so we drove very slowly. I could see a lot of birds and Dad stopped and pointed his camera a few times. Finally, after about an hour we stopped near the Red Rock creek and Dad let me roam around. The smells here are great because I can tell that lots of animals have been here. Dad was on his knees pointing his camera at tiny wildflowers while I ran all around. There are no cars or humans nearby so he lets me run free. It’s lots of fun.

This is Red Rock Creek. It flows to the Missouri River. I like to play here.

The big mountains are called the West Centennials. There's a big field for me to run in here.

We hopped back in the Jeep and drove some more. I didn’t see any big animals though. There were lots of things that Dad pointed out to me (he thinks I like to see them), like the snowy West Centennial Mountains, the wildflowers, the creeks, the lichen and the birds. I pretend to listen to him but I really just look and smell out the window for more animals.

I saw the Antelope (Pronghorn) and he saw me. I ran but Dad called me back.

When we stopped again it was in front of those great big mountains. There was a huge field full of grasses and wildflowers and I ran fast and far away from Dad (I could still see him on his knees looking at the flowers.) The smell of Antelope was heavy in the air so they must be nearby. I would love to chase them but Dad says I’d never catch them because they are one of the very fastest animals. Soon, I saw them at the edge of the forest. We just stared at each other for a moment. I decided to run after them, but Dad asked me (well, he kinda TOLD me) to come back NOW. It was hard to do, but Dad knows best. The Antelope sprang away real fast and I ran to Dad. He had a treat ready for me (I have him trained well.) Boy that was fun though!

My favorite animal to spot, the ground squirrel. Dad wouldn't let me chase him.

We drove on and I continued looking and smelling out the window. Then, suddenly I saw one of my favorite animals, the little ground squirrel. He was sitting on a fence. I immediately let Dad know and he stopped to point his camera. This time the squirrel didn’t run away, but Dad wouldn’t let me out of the Jeep. Darn! I could have had a good run!

Tracey & Jay Petervary are riding the Tour Divide race. Dad talked to them in Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.

While we were driving Dad spotted some humans riding what he called a tandem bicycle. It’s a machine that humans use to go fast (they can’t run like I can). We talked to them (well, Dad did, I’m shy around strangers!). They were riding their bike from Banff in Canada to Mexico, almost 2750 human miles along the Continental Divide. They were in a race (without anything to chase by the way). They hoped to ride the whole distance in 15 to 20 days. I guess that’s fast. I hope they stop to eat and sleep! Dad talked to several more humans riding bikes in the same race along Red Rock road. He also pointed his camera at them. They didn’t seem to mind. (I didn’t bark to scare them away.)

We stopped at the Upper Red Rock Lake Campground and walked down to the lake. There were White Pelicans and some ducks playing in the water (Dad says they were fishing for lunch). It was quiet there (except for me sniffing around) and we stayed a while to enjoy the quiet. (Dad sat and enjoyed the quiet, I sniffed around.)

We were on our way again. I saw some more Antelope playing in the fields, but Dad wouldn’t let me out to chase them this time. We stopped at the top of a hill overlooking both the lower Red Rock Lake and the upper Red Rock lake for lunch. Dad gave me a big dog biscuit and I was happy. It was so quiet there except for the birds chirping and a few cows in the fields mooing.

Unfortunately, we had to go home, but we took our time getting back to the RV park as we stopped a few times for Dad to photograph and me to, well, lift my leg and do other dog business, you know. One place we went was on the other side of the lake. It had a lot of sand dunes that were fun to run in. We saw some big hawks and an eagle fly by. But I didn’t see a Moose or a Bear. Maybe I’ll see one next time. I know that I’ll be out here again with Dad soon. I think he likes to take me even though I scare the animals sometimes. I’ll try to be quieter next time. I promise.

So, I hope you liked my trip as much as I did. You can come and see it for yourself. Come say hi to me when you do, please.

Arf,

Reggie

Measure Birthdays with your "happy age"

2009-06-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

Humans have an event that they call BIRTH DAYS. They apply this name to the event that happens on the day which they left their mommy and became independent to breathe air on their own. Dad says humans call this “birth.” I had a birth too.

I remember Mom holding me so tight as a puppy. It felt good and I was happy.

Humans do special things on their “birthday.” Humans measure this birthday by something they call the year. In this way, on last Saturday, I was 9 years old. I have seen 9 Springtimes in my life so far. Mom and Dad and Karen and Steve and Georgiana and Arlene and John and Gordon all told me to have a happy day. Steve and Karen gave me a special present of four little cozy babies to play with. They squeak and they’re soft to touch and chew. Thanks!!!! John gave me a nice treat to eat and Mom and Dad gave me a special blueberry dessert after my lunch bone. Dad took me on a long walk. So it was a a nice day.

Meeting new friends like me. Here's me and Brandy in Rockport, Texas. We had a good time together in the lake.

But to me, this seems like an arbitrary measurement of your life. If you are going to count the number of times the earth goes around the sun as your age and let that guide you on how you should act, you might as well count the number of squirrels in a field and say that is your age.

Going with Dad on his photography trips when I can be loose and play. That's a good memory for me.

Us dogs don’t live as long as humans and we should have another way to measure our life. Our life needs a larger number than the few times the Earth circles the Sun. Every such Birthday for humans is a special day. They mark the day and add it to a count they call their age. They use that number to determine many things in their lives, like when to kiss, when to drive, when to drink, when to quit having fun, etc. They compare their ages to each other and decide how one should act to the other based on this number. They give presents to the person on that day and feed them special food. Sometimes they get to go out and play instead of work. That’s OK with me. (I usually get a little piece of the special food, like cake, on that day.)

Playing with other dogs on a Dog beach in California was a happy day.

For me, I’d rather make the marks that count my life measure the number of days that are special in my memories. I think that a dog should measure how many special times happen in their lives. I don’t mean just a walk or getting to go outside. I mean really fun times when you do something very special. For each one of those, you mark it and add it to your “happy age”. Then, when you die, you’ll know how much fun you’ve had while you were here.

How could I forget the great and happy times on the boat at Lake Powell? I felt the water on my face.

Some of the fun and memorable times that would make my “happy age” would be:

1. The day I met Mom and Dad and Genevieve. That was special because I was with my new family for the first time.

2. My first day when I could run outside and play all day in the white fluffy cold and icy stuff humans call snow!

3. My first long walk with Mom and Dad in Nederland, Colorado when we walked along a nice stream of water and I could play by myself.

4. When I first met my good canine friend Casey.

5. My first trip to a dog park in Boulder Colorado. It was fun to play with the other dogs.

6. My first visit to a Pet’s Mart. I could go shopping with Mom and Dad too!

7. My first trip in the big motorhome. I was scared but also very excited. It turned out to be fun.

8. Swimming in Henry’s Lake and playing with Mom and Dad when they would throw a stick to me.

9. When I was a puppy and I got to sleep on Genevieve’s lap for as long as I wanted.

10. Meeting Genevieve’s canine friend, Megan for the first time. We ran in the tall grass and played.

11. Seeing my first cows and barking at them.

12. Running after squirrels and actually catching one of them.

13. Meeting my Uncle Johnny and Aunt Linda and their dog Gus. And later, Mia.

14. Going on photography trips with Dad when we can get out and I can sniff around as much as I want.

15. My visit to the beach in California. It was a dog beach and I met a lot of canine friends and got to run a lot.

16. Getting to “glide” with Dad or Mom on their Segway. I could go anywhere with them as long as I stayed out of the way of the Segway.

17. Riding in a boat on Lake Powell with Mom and Dad and getting to jump off on an island and play. Feeling the water spray in my face as we raced across the big lake.

18. Playing with mom on a beach in Pacific Grove, California. I jumped high to fetch a stick. It was so much fun.

19. The first time I met Dad and Mom’s Granddaughter Chloe. She smelled so sweet.

Chloe is my "sister". She's really Dad and Mom's grandchild. She smelled and tasted so sweet. I love her.

Swimming in Henry's Lake at RedRock RV Park is a fun memory. Mom was tossing sticks for me to retrieve.

Well, I think you get the idea. I won’t list them all. But I can think of at least 65 memories that make me happy. So I guess you’d say I was 65 by that measure. Maybe this way I can’t have special presents every time the Earth goes around the Sun, but when I think of my “happy age” it will always remind me of the good times in my life. And that is a very special present.

Running as fast as I can on the beach and in the water is so much fun for me.

So, when you have a birthday, think about what you did to earn that special day. Think of all the good things that happened to you in those years and add them up. If it is greater than your human age, then you are truly a happy person or dog. If not, you need to spend more time making happy times for yourself.

Meeting my good beagle friend Casey is a day I won't forget.

Arf,

Reggie

Mile Creek Montana

2009-06-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

I want to tell you about a trip we made last week to Mile Creek. Dad said for me to hop in the Jeep and we’d go exploring. That’s a fun thing to hear because I like to hang my head out of the window and smell and look at everything around me as we drive. I know that we will stop and I’ll get to run around and explore the smells. I was excited to go.

Mile Creek trail and Henry's Lake Mountains in Montana

Mile Creek is a small creek in a big grassy meadow next to big mountains in Montana, not too far from our RV park in Idaho. On the way, we pass many cow pastures, but sadly there are no cows in them yet. Dad says they will be here soon. They are being driven in large trucks from the south where they spend the winter. (It’s too cold here.) I like to protect Mom and Dad from the cows, so I bark at them. It’s fun to do and it helps Mom and Dad. We also drove to the other side of the big lake near us called Henrys. Dad stopped to see the lake and our RV park very far away from us. Dad said it was pretty. What do I know about pretty? I could smell some nice smells coming from the lake though. (A combination of fish, birds, skunks, last year’s cows and humans. Ah…)

Henry's Lake and the East Centennial Mtns. Our RV Park is at the base of those mountains.

Dad always drives the Jeep slow on our trips so that we can see birds, the cows, the coyotes and other animals. I don’t mind. That way I can keep my head outside the window without getting my eyes wet (like when he drives too fast.)

When we arrived at Mile Creek we had to drive through the water. Water splashed on my face as we drove through Mile Creek since I had my head out the window. It was fun.

Little Mile Creek is fun to play in.

Dad likes to come here because it has a lot of wildflowers. I like to come because Dad is so busy photographing wildflowers that I can run anywhere I like. I like to walk in the creek and splash. The water was running very fast and I tried to catch it. (I couldn’t) There is a trail and it goes up into a canyon high into the Henry’s Lake mountains, but we didn’t walk on that trail today.

Lots of Glacier Lilies for Dad to Photograph along Little Mile Creek.

There are two creeks. Mile Creek and Little Mile Creek. Today Dad said we would follow Little Mile Creek to see if there were different wildflowers. I didn’t mind because it was something new to explore. There was no trail, but I led Dad so he wouldn’t get lost. (I didn’t know where I was going, but I could always smell my way back.)

It's sure fun to wade in Mile Creek.

It was fun to go back and forth across Little Mile Creek. It was small but I liked to jump across it or to splash in it. Dad had to step carefully across the creek because he didn’t like to get his feet wet. My paws were soaked, but I didn’t mind.

I found these bones. Probably the Grizzly Bear forgot to clean up after lunch.

We walked along the bubbling creek, with Dad stopping to photograph flowers and me, well, I was exploring. I found some bones with teeth and barked for Dad to come to me. He came to see the bones. He didn’t know what animal had died but I was scared that I could look like that if I wasn’t careful. Probably some bears had come here to have lunch.

Dad took this photo of the Low Larkspur at Mile Creek.

There were plenty of flowers for Dad. He said there were yellow Glacier Lilies, purple low Larkspur, yellow Arrowleaf Balsamroot, purple Vase Flowers, white Valerian, purple tiny Hooked Violet, yellow Puccon, white and purple Shooting stars, Mountain Goldenrod and much more. To me they are just smelly sweet things. Nature is generous with flowers and their smells. I found some little buzzy bees that Dad warned I should not eat because they will prick my nose or tongue. I agreed but wasn’t sure he was right.

I wanted to bite this Bumblebee but Dad warned me it might prick my nose.

We walked up Little Mile Creek into the trees where the canyon started and then turned around. I had fun running and hiding from Dad in the high sagebrush. He would call for me and I’d come running. He’d give me a treat for coming and I’d do it again. Eventually, he got wise and quit giving me treats.

I had fun chasing this butterfly.

Once, I had fun chasing a white butterfly. He would flit in front of my face and I’d chase it. He could go higher than me so it really wasn’t a fair chase. Once he stopped on the ground and just as I was about to pounce on it, Dad told me to stop. He photographed it instead! I did all the work tiring out the butterfly and he got to have the fun! Not fair!

This storm was headed our way and we soon had to leave.

I played in Mile Creek a while and then Dad said that a rain storm was on its way so we had to go. I wouldn’t mind getting wet all over but Dad says that lightening and thunder would soon be there too and I knew what he meant. I don’t like the loud thunder and bright lights that come out of the dark clouds. I need someplace to hide from them. The car is a good place.

It's sure fun to play in the water.

On the way out, we saw two pronghorn antelope but Dad couldn’t photograph them in time. I think there were afraid of me and they ran. They run real fast. I don’t think I’d even try to catch them. Dad told me they are the fastest land animals in the world. They can run as fast as 60 mph. Whew… I don’t think I could even get close.

This Horned Lark was waiting for us when we left.

Dad was so excited when we left because he saw a Horned Lark bird. It looked like any other little noisy bird to me, but Dad said it was special because it had horns that stuck up and he’d never seen one. I’m glad Dad got some fun too!

If you are one of those humans that like to see wildflowers and other animals, you might read Dad's Nature Blog that he is writing this summer. He's trying to blog about new things that Nature brings our way while we are in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming this summer. See the link below to read his blog. (I think my blog is better, but you can be the judge.)

Dad thinks this Glacier Lily is pretty. I think it is smelly.

Well, come see us at RedRock RV Park this summer and I’ll take you on a exploration trip too. We’ll have fun together. We can even go to Yellowstone National Park (if you don't mind being in the car on on a leash.)

Arf,

Reggie

Reggie Takes a Rest

2009-06-03T14:43:00.000-07:00

Hello. I'm Reggie’s owner, James Perdue. Reggie has asked me to take over this week’s blog, mainly because after 48 weeks of steady writing for this blog he wants a week off. I could barely refuse him after his being so conscientious. He tells me that he may be getting Carpel Tunnel Syndrome of the dog paw. He reads the internet too much!

Reggie and "Dad" along the Madison River in Yellowstone Nat'l Park, a favorite place.

I thought I’d take this time to tell you a little about Reggie, the RV Dog. I can tell you some things he won’t tell you himself, either because of his modesty, his bad memory, or his refusal to acknowledge certain things about himself.

Reggie and "Mom" somewhere at an RV Park in Ohio. Do they look happy together?

Reggie is our third Golden Retriever. We thought no dog would top our last Golden, Prince, but I think Reggie has managed to do that. Prince died at 5 years and we’ve had Reggie going on 9 years June 21st. Reggie is a very special dog, even aside from his un-canine ability to type, surf the web and write using pretty good English.

We’ve been RVing with Reggie from about his 7th week and therefore he is accustomed to all the things that go along with RVing, mainly moving his home base so often and thus his base of smells and his sense of territory. I think he does that very well. He takes joy in sniffing out the new smells everywhere we land. Of course we do stay an extended time in Idaho each summer, so that kind of makes up for the rest of the year.

Reggie enjoys RVing. It gives him a chance to experience a lot of the USA. This is in Utah.

Reggie is an off-leash dog. Most dogs that we meet are not. In general it’s not a good idea to let your dog wander around or be off-leash in strange places. Especially if you aren’t sure of what he or she will do with that freedom. Reggie will not wander around even if he is off-leash, unless we are with him. Reggie loves to explore, run, and jump, but never far from us. Of course there are places that you just can't allow it, like National Parks. Reggie really doesn't like to be told he can't wander free, but he does it for me.

Reggie posing in front of the Centennial Mountains, near our summer "home".

On walks (and we take a lot), Reggie keeps within a few hundred yards of us, and if we are on a road with traffic he stays next to us. (Really busy traffic calls for the leash to be sure.) We walk down Red Rock road here where the traffic is mostly fishermen and ranchers and they are not frequent. He usually sits by the side of the road without being told when he sees an approaching vehicle. If I determine that he isn’t planning to sit, I use the word “CAR” and he sits immediately. Of course, that type of behavior can’t go un-rewarded. He always comes to me after I release him for a small treat.

Reggie waiting for me on Red Rock road in Idaho. He will sit if I give him a remote command.

In unfamiliar areas, I use the words, “this way” and he follows me. If he starts to investigate something I am unsure of, I merely say “ugh-ugh” and he stops. If he picks something up, I say “drop it” or “leave it” and he does.

Reggie "heels" along a "glide" with my Segway transporter in North Carolina.

I own a Segway personal transporter. Occasionally, I’ll take Reggie on a “glide”. If we have to be on-leash due to the rules, he’ll obediently walk along side me without getting in front of the Segway. He forgoes his normal sniffing unless I stop for him. Off-leash he will either “heel” next to me or wander around ahead of me if possible.

When we are walking where there are many dogs, we will leash him, but here, on the dirt roads outside of RedRock RV Park it is enough to ask him to “stay with me” when we approach another dog. That’s akin to “heel”. Once we are next to the dog I ask him to sit and stay. The other dog may be tearing at his leash to get at Reggie and he will just sit until I tell him it’s OK to investigate the other dog. I praise him after such encounters and he seems to be proud of his behavior.

If Reggie spots another animal he wants to run to investigate. Usually I’ll notice his behavior and call him back. He stops and comes back. I give him a treat. What more could you ask of a dog?

Reggie likes to nap and watch outside our motorhome. But, he gets lonely, or too warm or too cold or wet and he wants to come in. He has figured out that if he gently knocks or scratches on the steps to the RV, we will come and let him in. He will also do that if he smells something appetizing cooking, or if he hears one of us putting on our shoes getting ready for a walk with him. How he knows we are getting ready for a walk is a mystery to us.

Reggie waiting for me and my photography at Mile Creek in Montana.

While on our wildflower and photography walks, Reggie is great. He will patiently wait along the trail as I lay down to photograph a small flower close up. I may spend 10 minutes and he will wait. When I finally get up and approach him, he asks for a treat which I give him. Further, if I point the camera at him and ask him to sit for a photo, he does it graciously, but after the camera comes down from my eye, he comes to me to extract a photo tax.

Reggie waiting for me to finish wildflower photography in Idaho. He is so.. patient.

Although Reggie likes to bark at cows from the car, usually he will behave himself when a strange animal is seen from the car (like an Elk, Moose, Antelope, etc) when I’m photographing them. If I am photographing birds and he is loose, I’ll give him a hand signal to get down and wait so as not to scare the birds. He does that without question.

Reggie really likes the cold. RVing gives him the opportunity to experience it occasionally.

Last year I developed a little secret signal that says COME TO ME. I draw the air between my lips to make a very quiet high-pitched sound or almost silent whistle. After about 2 or 3 times of doing that and giving him a treat he behaved like we’d been doing it for years. He can be 300 to 500 yards away from me, or he can be sniffing around in the forest out of my sight and I’ll silently signal him that way and immediately he is upon me, asking for the treat. That beats carrying a whistle.

Reggie sleeps in our motorhome at night and gets the entire front of the RV to himself, including the couch. He rarely wakes us during the night. When I finally decide to get up for good in the morning he comes into our bedroom, and demands a pet and hug. He won’t do it if I’m just going to the bathroom. Somehow he figures out I’m up for good. Once he’s had his hugs, he turns and goes back waiting for me to take him for his morning walk.

Reggie has never met a human or dog he doesn’t like. He won’t overwhelm you with love, but if you invite him, he’ll make sure you know you are liked and welcome around him. He rewards your attention with his.

I could go on with more great behaviors by Reggie, but I’ll spare you. The point about this is that Reggie is a member of our household like any child would be. (Except that he behaves better than any child I’ve ever had or seen.) He is a great friend, companion and probably great protector, though that hasn’t been tested yet. I suspect that his good behavior is a combination of breeding, and how he has been treated by us. (Same as with a human child.) We know that rewarding him for good behavior gets us more than punishing him for bad behavior.

Aside from his big ego because he can type and browse the internet, he is a great dog. I hope that all of you feel the same about your dog as we do about Reggie.

I’m sure Reggie will be rested enough to continue next week. I hope he doesn’t mind me bragging on him so much. You can’t tell when he is embarrassed, after all, he is already red.

James Perdue, (Arf)

Memorial Day: remember the dogs that died for our country too!

2009-05-23T13:20:00.001-07:00

It's time to remember the Dog Armies and those that died helping our country win the wars against our enemies.

Dad says this is a day to remember all the humans that died in fighting wars to keep our freedom. That's why they call it Memorial Day. Well, that's fine and I'm sure that humans mourn their dead just like us dogs do, but I'd like to also dedicate this blog and this day to all the dogs that died in wars defending other dogs and humans and our great country.

I would have made a great messenger dog in the war. I could have run through the snow and help win the war.

Dogs were used in human wars from the beginning of time. Humans can't seem to keep peace between each other and can't seem to win wars without help from us canines. Our keen sense of smell, sight and general intelligence help identify the enemy better than any tool that humans can build. We can stand cold, heat and be without toilet tissue. Things you need to be a tough solider.

All of the abilities us dogs have that we use to defend the motorhome against cows and strange humans can be used in time of war to fight the enemy. We don't like strange humans or other stranger dogs or animals to come into our own territory. What's ours is ours and not theirs! Intruders get told on. We bark, we whine and we growl when an animal comes into our space. Our owners get notified immediately. We can even attack if asked to do so by our owners. Our teeth are great weapons. We don't like to use them, but we can if asked by our owners.

Dogs were also used to help find wounded humans in the battlefields. They would bring back something belonging to the wounded soldier and help the medical humans find them to save their lives. Some wore packs with medical supplies to help the wounded humans.

My canine cousins were great trackers and sniffers. We used to find the enemy when they were buried in caves and deep holes with their large weapons to hide themselves. These cousins sometimes were killed in the battles that resulted from trying to get rid of the enemy they found.

Some larger dogs carried supplies and stepped on land mines.

Other's were poisoned by evil gasses that humans used to kill each other.

Dogs were used to send messages back and forth between battlefields, risking and sometimes losing their lives for their human owners. These messages were often essential information to allow our humans to win the war.

Some of the brave dogs that didn't get killed were awarded medals by their human soldiers. They appreciated what the dogs did to save their human friends.

I guess that remembering the dogs that died in the war means to think about what our own lives might be like without them having lived and helped the humans. I suspect we'd have a very bad life indeed without all those canine sentries, messengers and trackers. The enemy would certainly have over-powered our human owners and we'd have no freedom today. My freedom to live with Mom and Dad in the motorhome might never have happened. Our enemies would be afraid of humans and dogs going wherever they pleased in a motorhome. We'd all be tied up in some nasty place with no loving owner or daily walks in the forest to look forward to.

I've dreamed of how I would protect Mom and Dad and our country in war. I'd stay awake all night and if I heard any enemy coming, I'd bark and wake up Dad. Dad showed me a picture of his Dad in the army. (I remember him from when I was a puppy. Sadly, he is not alive now.) His Dad helped win the second war with the enemy. His Dad was shot by the enemy in the leg. In my dreams, I imagined I'd be there watching out for him so he wouldn't have been shot. I'd have watched out for the whole family, and maybe even the whole United States. I could do it. I have the powers!

I am sad for all those lost dogs that helped humans win wars to keep our freedom. I'm even sadder that humans can't find a way to lick each other in the face and find a way to be friends with each other without killing. When that day comes, I'll be really happy.

I offer thanks to all my past canine cousins for the help they gave the humans in keeping our freedoms safe. Especially those that gave their lives early to win that freedom. They didn't get to know about relaxing walks in the forest or laying down on a comfortable couch in a motorhome and sleeping safely.

I have the freedom to be here enjoying the great outdoors thanks to my canine cousins that helped win our wars.

Arf

Reggie

Back to Yellowstone

2009-05-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

Last week, I told you about how happy I was being back at my favorite home, RedRock RV park in Island Park Idaho. Now, I'll tell you about going back to my favorite National Park, Yellowstone. We are only about 22 human miles from it. Now don't get me wrong. National Parks are not my favorite human place. They discriminate against us dogs because they think we will chase their animals and destroy their pretty plants. They won't let us run free. But.. they also have the best selection of wonderful smells and weird animals to see of any place I've been. So, you take the good with the bad. I enjoy going with Dad to Yellowstone because I get to hang my head outside the window and watch all the humans and other animals from the safety of the car. Dad lets me out often too, especially if he wants to take my picture. (plus a guy's gotta lift his leg occasionally!)

I'm waiting to see if Dad asks me to go. I hope he does...

So, we went to Yellowstone National Park yesterday. I could tell that Dad was getting ready to go someplace as he packed the car and I was a little worried about whether I could go too. I stood next to the car to make sure he knew I wanted to go. I was very happy when he told me to hop in the car after he put a lot of stuff in it. His friend Steve came with us, but his beagle dog, Casey, had to stay home. I was sorry that Casey couldn't go because I would have had a good barking and sniffing partner.

It was a very nice day to go because it was warm and sunny. Usually in the time of May, Dad says it is really cold there, but not today. (Dad says it got to be 80F whatever that means.. but it is warm outside when he uses those big numbers.)

One of my favorite places in the National Park is along the river. Dad says they call it the Madison River, named after human that was supreme pack leader many human generations ago. There are lots of those big cows that Dad calls Buffalo or Bison that eat all the grass and have big horns (he can't make up his mind what they are called.) Yesterday they were walking in the middle of the road and we followed them ever so slowly along with a lot of other cars. Sometimes I get a little excited and bark a lot at them, but hey, they ARE giant cows and they might hurt Dad if I don't scare them away. He doesn't understand that and yells for me to stop. They still don't move very fast even when I bark at them.

This Osprey was flying over our heads along the Madison River. He's a good fisherman!

Dad also found some eagles and a bird he calls the fishing eagle or Osprey flying over this river. They like to hover over the river looking for fish for dinner and they dive real fast to pick them out of the water. I wish I could fly that fast (or at all).

There was a lot of water everywhere, even not in the river. Dad said it was because the snow (that white cold stuff that is all around right now) is magically turning to water. So all the ponds, lakes and streams were very full of water. Dad thought it was very photogenic, but I thought it was just wet. The Canada Geese like it though because they have a lot of water to splash and play in.

When the water runs over a steep cliff the water gets very angry and jumps and spits, turns bright white and makes a lot of noise. Dad said this was called a waterfall. Makes sense to me. Water is falling. Humans are so clever sometimes. Dad took my picture in front of a couple of these big waterfalls. I had to jump up on a wall to have my picture taken and it was very scary up there because it was very far down the cliff on the other side. But.. anything for a photo treat. (Remember, Dad gives me a treat for every photo he takes of me.)

Later, we stopped where a lot of humans were standing along the road. Dad took photos of an bald eagle (a very big bird with a white head) and a black raven (a big bird with a black head and more) that was eating an elk that had died in the lake. Dad says that a Grizzly bear had probably killed the elk for dinner and the eagle and ravens were feeding on his leftovers. I would have liked to had some too, but it was on a small island in the middle of a lake and I didn't want to swim. (Dad probably wouldn't have allowed me out of the car anyway.) Besides, I wouldn't want an eagle or raven or a Grizzly bear to eat me either!

Lots of mountains covered with snow, like these Gallatin Mountains.

Most of the mountains in Yellowstone were covered with the white snow on top. They looked nice to me and Dad likes to stop and take his photographs of course. Sometimes I got out and could smell around. There were smells of squirrels, goats, bison, elk, pronghorns and a lot of things I couldn't even know their names. This place is wild according to Dad and a lot of animals live here. I still don't know why I can't wander around freely if all those other wild animals can! I can be wild if I want too.

We stopped at another place where some humans were looking far in the distance. Dad set up his big stick with the big camera on it and took a picture of a small little buffalo with his dead mother. A coyote (one of my distant cousins, I'm sure) was eating the mother while the little calf looked on at him. Dad said the mom probably died while giving birth to the little buffalo calf and the coyote was having dinner. It was sad, because there was no mother to feed the little guy and he was sure to die soon too without his mother's milk.

Later we saw a lot of mountain goats. They have sharp horns. They were very white and changing from their winter coats. They weren't eating any other animals, but were eating a lot of grass. A little further along we saw a couple pronghorns. They have long horns and like to run and jump a lot. I didn't bark and Dad was proud of me.

Dad also saw a Downy Woodpecker bird jumping from tree to tree and Dad chased him with his camera. Dad can be funny sometimes. (and embarrassing).

Udine waterfalls are below me. It's scary to look down there!

We didn't see many wildflowers this time, but Dad said he'd come back in a few weeks and there would be a lot of them to photograph.

Even though I can't run around free, it's nice to know that there is a place that wild animals can run and play (and eat) without humans putting up fences or shooting them. And for big trees, wildflowers and bushes to grow without humans cutting them down or burning them. The National Park is good for that I guess.

It was a fun day for me and I got to jump out of the car and sniff a lot. I hope you come to visit me in Idaho and you can see all of these things for yourself. Bring your dog. The park rangers at the entrance to the National Park give great treats if you hang your head out of the window and look really sad.

Arf

Reggie

Back Again

2009-05-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

Our motorhome (and me) at RedRock RV Park in Island Park, Idaho. I'm so excited to be here.

Dogs are known for their ability to smell well and remember smells I am told. This is definitely true with me. Familiar things bounce back into my head with the slightest sniff of them in the air. Most of these memories are good, but some are fantastic (that means really good). I'm now back in a familiar place which has those fantastic memories and smells. As soon as we turned our motorhome onto Red Rock road in Island Park, Idaho, I was up at the front window looking out, and the smells of the cows, the bears, the moose and the trees were so familiar that I started barking to let everyone know I was happy and remembered my summer home. I have spent 7 of my almost 9 years here in the summer so it is like a home for me.

Here's what the RedRock RV Park looks like from across the street (in the forest) in early May. See Henry's Lake (and me)

We see old friends, like Casey, my close beagle friend, and new ones like Mac that I met today. She's a small, little white fluffy thing with lots of energy, but we got to know each other and she settled down quickly. I get to see my human friends, like Gordon and Karen, Karen and Steve, and John, Georgiana and Arlene. They like me and I like them. Gordon always calls me in a high human voice from the top of his home (he has something Dad calls a balcony and he always tricks me because I never think to look up there for him.) Oh yea, I also got to see my cat friends that live with John, Georgiana and Arlene (they have 6 of those furry animals!). They look at me everyday when we go on our long morning walk from their big window in their motorhome. Sometimes they give me their paw to sniff when their door is open. So coming back to RedRock RV Park makes me feel really happy to see old friends.

I see lots of old friends, including John's cats (he has six) who like to see me too!

I scared some Geese off the land onto the ice of the lake. It's funny to see them walk on the water.

One of my favorite things is the walks with Dad and Mom. Yesterday we walked down to Henry's Lake. There was lots of that white cold stuff that Mom told me is called snow. It's fun to roll around in it because it is sometimes hard and lets me relieve the itching that is on my back. The lake is white in most places instead of black (Dad says blue, but I'm no judge of colors!). Dad says it's ice on top of the water, something like snow but much harder. The days are warming here and soon it will be all blue. I saw some big birds (Dad says they are Canada Geese) resting on the banks of the lake and I just couldn't resist chasing them. They flew onto the lake and walked around. It was funny to see something walking on the water!

There are a lot of familiar smells under the snow. I like to dig to find them. (some are squirrel holes and others are Badger holes,,,yikes!)

On the way to the lake I sniffed a lot of big holes that Dad says are the homes of Badgers. Dad tells me to stay away from the holes because the badgers have VERY sharp paws and will cut me if they find my nose in their hole. It's hard to resist I must admit though.

We walked down to Henrys Lake. It has lots of ice on it now (May 10th).

It is so quiet at the lake now, with no humans (except Mom and Dad and they don't really count), just birds and ducks (and me of course). Soon there will be those humans that Dad calls fishermen who look for their dinner on the end of a string in the lake. Now, I can claim the whole lake as my own (I'll share with Mom and Dad I guess).

All the mountains that are around us are white with this snow stuff and the air is cold. I like that because I'm always running around and I get hot easily, even with my summer coat as I have now (thanks to our visit to North Carolina and Texas and Arizona where it was hot.)

Dad and I started our daily morning walks down RedRock Road. It's fun to explore the smells and sights.

There aren't many humans at RedRock RV Park yet. I guess most of them are still packing, getting ready to come visit us. I like it when it is not too crowded, but I do like to visit other dogs, so I'm looking forward to when more dogs arrive here. I'm kinda like the park leader. I make sure they all feel welcome and obey the rules.

This morning Dad took me on a walk down Red Rock Road, and up onto the forest road. It was all white with snow. The birds were singing and we could see Henry's Lake and the mountains around it from there. I got to roll around and I slid down the road a bit on my back. It was fun. Dad made a lot of noise when he walked because his shoes crunched the snow down with every step. I was silent, but did fall through the snow ever so often. We heard the Sand Hill Cranes across the ranch and Dad even photographed a rare visitor to our area, the Clark's Nutcracker Jay bird. A great way to begin the day.

We saw this neat bird today on the fence post next to us on our walk, the Clark's Nutcracker Jay.

The aspen trees are waking up and growing fast to be ready for spring and all the humans that come to see them.

Dad says the trees and flowers are starting to wake up from a long winter sleep and getting ready for spring time. Right now they are stretching and growing fast (they don't have much time), but still they are mostly hiding their beauty. Most of the ground here is full of old and rotting flowers and leaves. I guess they are waiting for more humans to show up before they display their leaves and flowers. I'm sure Dad will be excited to see the flowers arrive so he can photograph them. So far he's only seen two flowers, the Sagebrush buttercup and the Wyoming Kittentails. But there will be more soon.

I've seen a few ground squirrels and smelled a lot more. They have been digging holes near us so I have a lot of exploring I can do, especially behind the RV park in the sagebrush.

Mom and Dad finally got the motorhome set up for the summer and my water dish and leash are outside where I can spend part of the day just looking at the sky and watching the other dogs walk by. Dad set up the bird feeder too, so before long I'll have the birds to watch too!

Soon Dad will be taking me on trips to Red Rock National Wildlife Refuge and Yellowstone National Park. That will be fun too!

Come see us at RedRock RV park this summer. You'll love it here like I do!

I'm so happy to be back here again, and I'm hoping that some of you will come to visit me at RedRock RV park. It's a great place in the country and I'm sure you'll love it too. Stop by to see me too, please. You can see the web page and learn all about it. (www. Redrockrvpark.com)

Until next week,

Arf

Reggie

2009-05-06T10:41:00.001-07:00

Dad says that next weekend is Mother's Day. That means that we are supposed to think about how we feel about our mother and do something to honor her or make her feel good.

Well, my real mother is not around here anymore. Her name is Rachelle, but I haven't seen her since my human Mom and Dad adopted me almost 9 years ago. I hope she is still OK, and I do miss her, but I guess if you'd ask me, I'd say that my human Mom has done all the things that Rachelle would have done if I'd stayed with her, but I couldn't, so she didn't. So, first I say to my canine mother, Rachelle: I hope you are doing well and I miss you, but that's all I can say for you, except maybe Arff, Arf, Arrrrf.

This is mom when she was about my age. Isn't she pretty?

As for my human Mom, (her human name is Donna), I have a lot more to say about. I feel very good about her. I bet you didn't think dogs had feelings like what you humans call LOVE. We do. What do you think that licking is all about? Do you really think that you taste that good? No, it's our way of saying, I LIKE YOU. Well, that's how I feel about Mom, except much more. So I think it is LOVE.

(Dad, these nice things I feel and intend to say about Mom takes nothing away from how I feel about you. You'll have your day.)

When I was small Mom made sure I was safe while we were in the car.

Mom really cares about me. (That's a requirement for a Mom I guess.) She cares that I am fed on time, she cares that I'm feeling good. She cares a lot when I get sick and she does everything she can to make me well. She seems to know when I'm sick when Dad thinks I'm just fine. She covers me up with a blanket when she thinks I'm cold (even if I'm not really cold). She leaves a window open to give me fresh air and allows me to sniff what's outside even when I'm in the RV (that is my job anyway). She takes me on long walks at night (when Dad is asleep). She picks up my poop when someone else might step in it (like me). She makes sure my food is just the right temperature. She cooks real chicken for me and takes the skin and fat off to make sure I don't get too fat (she doesn't realize that I'd prefer the skin and fat, but I know she's doing that to protect me.) She talks to me and plays with me every morning when I come into her bedroom (even when she's only had 5 hours of sleep and wants very much to continue sleeping). She brushes me and checks my coat for ticks and takes those nasty little insects off of me (even when she is disgusted by them). She lets me go where I want on walks (Dad goes where he wants me to go, but I'm in charge with Mom) She lets me sniff and sometimes play with other dogs. She takes the stickers out of my paws when I step on one. She lays down blankets every night for me to lie on. It is very comfortable to sleep there, thanks to Mom.

Mom plays with me and makes me happy.

When the sky makes loud noises and lights, she comes and sits by me and hugs me to tell me I won't be hurt (even though I know she is scared of the noises too.)

Mom takes me to meet new friends and let's me stop and play with them.

She congratulates me when I bark at the cows and keep them away from our RV. She makes me feel worthwhile and useful. She even helps me with my spelling when I'm working on my blog.

Mom walks a lot with me and gives me plenty of exercise.

So, if you haven't understood by now, I'll tell you. My Mom is a VERY SPECIAL HUMAN and I'd have to say I couldn't make it in this human world without her. So I think it is fitting that one day a year is dedicated to thinking hard about Moms.

Mom lets me walk where I want to walk.

Mom does lots of things for me that causes her to have to work hard, miss TV programs, lose sleep, worry a lot and think of me before she thinks of herself. I don't think all Moms do that. So I'm thankful when she does it for me.

Mom used to fly on Airplanes for NASA, just like the birds do! I wish I could fly.

You might ask me, what do I do for her?

Well, I don't do nearly the things she does for me, but I'd like to do more. I show her my appreciation by being near her when it is dark. I keep the large cows away and the vicious dogs that come by us on walks and those that appear on the television screen. I kiss her hand and face when I can to show her I love her and I spend hours outside, looking down the road and waiting for her to return to the RV when she goes away. When she returns I show her how much I have missed her by being so excited that I almost pee on myself. I try to poop where she won't have to pick it up. I take the treats she gives me to make her feel good. I do everything I can to let her know I couldn't make it in this scary human world without her help.

Mom, I don't get an allowance of money, and I don't have a job that pays me human money, so I can't get you a human present. But.. maybe if you read this blog you'll know how much I care about you. Never leave me and I'll never leave you. Honest.

Happy Mothers Day MOM. I Love YOU!

Happy Mothers Day.

Please tell your Mother how much you love her. She'll feel good and keep giving you treats (even when you don't deserve them.)

Arf

Reggie

Anticipation

2009-04-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

I'll always remember walking around the lake at Twin Lakes Resort in North Carolina. It was fun.

Dad says we are leaving North Carolina soon on our way back to RedRock RV Park in Idaho for the summer. He has been talking to Mom all about it. I can't wait. I bet you thought that dogs didn't have a view of the future. We do, and we have what Dad told me was yearnings. Things that we want to happen now, but can wait for them. Actually we have no choice but to wait for them because they aren't happening now. Once they happen, we feel even better than if we hadn't yearned for them. Dad says that's the joy of anticipation. Well, then, I am in great anticipation of getting back to my summer home near the lakes and streams, the great animal smells, the sweet smells of wildflowers, the high soaring birds that keep me company during the day, the frequent day trips with Dad to photograph and all the people I know.

I'll miss my friend Annie. But I'll be back to see her.

Megan is my friend too. I'll miss her sloppy kisses!

Don't get me wrong. I have enjoyed North Carolina. It was especially fun to visit my human sister, Genevieve and her new husband Ronnie. But it was even more fun to romp and play with Annie and Megan, their wonderful (bouncy) dogs. Dad and Mom were proud to see Genevieve get married, but Dad was kind of sad, losing a daughter to another man. But, he says, that is the natural way with humans. So.. he accepts it.

My human sister Genevieve married Ronnie in North Carolina while we were there. I couldn't go to the ceremony (darn!), but I was glad Genny was happy!

I'll miss North Carolina. The ducks had little babies while we were here. They were afraid of me though.

Every morning we walk around the lakes here at the Twin Lakes Resort, see the big turtles with the RVs on their back basking in the sun, hear the little dogs bark at me every time I pass, see the 9 little ducklings with their mother looking over them protectively as I sniff past them, watching the fish jump from the lake and splash loud noises, and playing with my little human friend, Owen and his friends. It's all been fun, but nothing like my summer at RedRock RV Park will be.

Here's RedRock RV Park before Spring arrives. Soon there will be flowers everywhere. See Henrys Lake in the back?

The memories of walking along Red Rock Road are still fresh in my mind and will be fresher soon.

I remember the daily walks down Red Rock road with Dad looking for Wildflowers. I remember the cows that crowd the fence along the road watching me pass like I was a human rock star. The smell of the cows and the horses are fond memories that I'm waiting to have again, and soon. Dad says we will be there in about 8 to 9 days, if the snow melts as it should.

I feel like a human Rock Star when I walk on Red Rock road and the cows come to greet me.

I remember walking to Henry's Lake and romping in the water, watching the ducks and big White Pelicans fly away from me. I even remember seeing the noses of the badgers sticking out of their holes as Dad tries to restrain me from investigating further. Badgers have very sharp claws and teeth, so Dad says it is best to stay away from them.

The sweet smell of the sagebrush and the squirrels that dart in and out of the holes under the sagebrush are all fond memories that I'll repeat soon.

I remember my favorite walk down the forest road, smelling the bears, and the deer, sniffing the wildflowers, turning over a rotting log and watching the insects scatter, drinking from the creek and being able to run free without Dad or Mom yelling at me! I'll get to do that soon again.

The forest road next to RedRock RV Park awaits my nose!

I know that we will have another month of cold weather there and maybe some snow to roll in. That feels really good on my back. I like cold weather, but this time I don't know if I'll get too cold with my haircut from surgery still leaving me pretty naked. I can always go into the warm RV with Mom and Dad.

I can't wait to get on the snow. Here we are on one of Dad's short trips to the top of Henry's Mountains.

Most of all I like the people that come to see me each day, including Gordon, the owner of the RV Park, and sometimes Karen (his human wife), Steve and Karen with their leader, Casey ( their wonderful beagle), Ron and Gloria and their dog, John, Georgiana and Arlean with all their cats (who greet me every day with an extended paw under the RV's screen door). There are also new people that come to see me each day and some bring their dogs to visit. I like meeting all the new people at RedRock RV Park. I especially like the tiny humans that visit me.

Ah, the sweet smell of the wildflowers near RedRock RV Park. I can't wait to refresh my memories.

Dad and Mom love to be there too. Dad likes the mountains, and they will be full of snow when we arrive to make them even more photogenic. Mom likes to walk to Henry's Lake and enjoy the quiet sounds of the water lapping at the shore. She likes to throw sticks for me to fetch. Dad likes to drive to Yellowstone National Park and take me. I get to watch the huge cows (Dad calls them Bison) and the huge deer (Dad calls them Elk). Sometimes we see a bear eating an Elk, or sometimes a small marmot run across the road. There's always something for me to see at Yellowstone. Sometimes he goes without me to photograph because they don't allow dogs just anywhere there, but I get to go enough times to remember the fun.

I love to roll around in the snow at RedRock RV Park in early May.

I remember the great hikes that we take along the Snake River. The smells are incredible. I smell the moose, the deer, the squirrels, the foxes, the other dogs that have been waking here before us, and so much more. I get to run down to the river and splash around whenever I want to. It's so much fun that I can't wait to be there again.

So, if I can't have it right now, I ANTICPATE and YEARN for it now and I'll know that soon, after a very long RV trip, that I have have it. I also think about all the cows and horses I can bark at (to keep them from attacking us) as we drive in the RV to get there. It's fun to be the guard for the RV. I really feel like I'm helping Dad and Mom. After all, I can't imagine what would happen if one of those cows walked in front of our RV while we were driving so fast. It might make a good meal for me, but the poor RV might get smashed!

So, if you are traveling somewhere in the United States next week, look for our big white Alfa motorhome rolling down the highway and honk! I'll bark back at you! Oh, and don't forget to come visit me at RedRock RV Park this summer. I'll be glad to visit with you and show you some of my favorite places to sniff.

Check back and I'll let you know when we get there and tell you about all the fun I'm having. I'm sure I will.

Arf,

Reggie

Litter hurts dogs

2009-04-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

As the readers of my blog know, I am a dog that is fortunate enough to travel all over the world, or at least that part of it that Dad calls the United States of America. I’m old enough to know that this freedom is a good one, because so many of my fellow canine’s are fenced in a backyard or chained to a post and rarely see more than the area around their backyard for their entire life. So, I am grateful for this. This gives me a different perspective on my life than a typical dog writing his blog. They don’t see everything I do.

Are humans really this disrepectful of their dens? Litter at a Florida beach. Some party!

Today, litter is on my mind. Not litters of little puppies (those days are long past), but trash. Pure and simple trash. Stuff that no one wants so they throw it hoping to be distant from it and not have to decide what to do with it again. It is all around you. Being a dog, my nose is much closer to the ground than most humans so I see it up close (I do see little humans crawling on the ground like a dog though). Their trash falls to the ground and is much more a part of my world than a humans world. I get to smell it (most smells are not those that a dog would like), I get to step on and in it, and I get to swallow it, due in part to the curious nature of us dogs. Further, in spite of opinions by humans to the contrary, it spoils my sense of beauty. Yes, dogs have a sense of beauty and trash messes that up. I enjoy a lovely babbling stream and prefer not to have little pieces of those ugly white sticks that humans put in their mouths and burn bobbing along the stream or stuck between the rocks along the stream banks.

This is NOT the litter I'm talking about. These guys are hurt by human litter.

Being a dog that spends most of his time in RV parks, I see a lot of trash. Not so much as to cause undue attention to humans mind you, but little pieces here and there. Some of the stuff my nose is drawn to includes lots of soda cans (smashed, or whole, or crinkled), brightly colored wrappers from candy bars (some of these do smell good), lots of crumpled bags, pieces of paper and cardboard of all shapes and sizes, old shoes and human underwear (phew!), plastic bags of all colors, cups from McDonalds, Burger King and others human eating places, sharp metal bottle caps, beer bottles (broken and whole), fishing hooks, rusty nails, sticky stuff that nobody would know what it is, discarded pieces of rotting food , and lots of those little white sticks that humans burn in their mouths (with and without little brown things on the end.) Now I’m as curious as the next dog and often will sample some of the more interesting of these discarded morsels. I gag on some, swallow some and often have a delayed reaction to others as I lose all my food and the offending morsel of decayed food. My nose is supposed to tell me what is OK to eat and what is not, but it doesn’t always work right. Sometimes I’ll step on a broken bottle and cut my pad and that really hurts.

I sniff around a lot and find a lot of litter. Sometimes I step on it and hurt myself.

Dad gets really upset with litter too. He is a photographer and most people do not like to see photos of lovely hillsides with discarded beer bottles, white fast-food cups or anything else that nature herself has not made directly appear in the photo. Dad also respects what nature has grown. He says that it has taken years and sometimes thousands of years to make a beautiful scene and only a few minutes for a human to mess it up. We don’t understand what makes humans want to spoil it by throwing their unwanted STUFF in such beautiful areas.

Some humans toss their unwanted bottles anywhere and others break them so I step on them and cut myself.

Dad was wondering WHO it was that threw the litter on the ground, especially the candy wrappers. He thought it was the kids. Maybe they haven’t been taught yet that it is bad to do that. After all there are a lot of things a young humans has to learn. Not to litter is just one and I’m sure their Moms can’t teach them everything at once. The other day while Dad and I were walking around the RV park here in Chocowinity, North Carolina, we saw an example of WHO was doing it. First we saw two young boys unwrapping a candy bar. Dad was sure they were going to throw the wrappers on the ground, but NO.. they both walked at least 50 dog steps back to a trash can and put it in that. A little bit later we were walking around the lake here and two older men passed us in a golf cart. Immediately one of them threw a candy wrapper on the ground and continued on to find a spot to fish. Dad picked it up. Boy, were we surprised! Maybe it’s not always those kids! Some humans just haven’t learned much in all their many years I guess.

Little white sticks lie all around RV parks and roadsides. Can't humans swallow them or put them in trays?

We stop at a lot of REST STOPS along the highways during our RVing trips. I like to sniff and pee and Dad likes to rest his tired muscles. Wow, this is a treasure trove of trash. There are piles of paper and cans and all sorts of stuff against fences, at the edges of forests and along the gutter. Sometimes we see a pile of many already burned white sticks and ash in the parking lot where someone dumped their ashtray onto the ground. What’s strange is that there are trash cans all over the place at most rest stops, but some humans decide that it’s just too much trouble to walk a few steps and put it there. Instead, us dogs get to step in and on it, sometimes cutting our pads, and sometimes getting poisoned by the bad stuff that we find and with a typical curiosity, sample. We also find lots of examples at rest stops and even at WalMart’s where people have left puddles of sticky black oil for me to step in. That really gets Mom mad when I come back to the RV!

Cans are the most I see. You'd think that humans would pick them up for the money they bring!

Even in really pretty places, like Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, there are often beer cans and bottles, water bottles, McDonalds cups, and straws and much more scattered along the roadway. When we are at RedRock RV park near Island Park, Idaho, Dad gets on his Segway sometimes and we go out together picking up the trash along the road. Then Dad can photograph it.

Even my arch enemy the squirrel is hurt by eating harmful litter.

Oh, yes, one more thing! Us dogs aren’t guiltless in this matter either. Some of my canine friends poop right on the trail so that I have to step around it or in it and Dad sometimes steps on it. Most humans don’t like to step in a dog’s poop. So, please do like I do and poop in the high weeds at the side of the forest or make sure your human picks it up and puts it in a trash can or buries it. It’s very easy to train him to do so.

Please don't litter. It hurts my feet, and sometimes I get poisoned by rotting food. Just pick it up and throw it in the trash can. Thanks!

I think that humans should know that their mother will not come along the road after them and pick up the trash they throw out of the car window. She is back home, fixing their dinner, so please let your friends know to stow their litter in the trash cans, their little white sticks of burning plant in their car’s ashtray and please help to pick up the litter you see that other thoughtless humans have discarded. You might save a dog’s life one day, and make the land more beautiful for others and that would be really nice of you.

Arf,

Reggie

Human Training

2009-04-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

I thought it was time to give a lesson to my canine readers about HUMAN TRAINING. It's not much fun to live in a house hold where the humans have not been trained. Oh sure, you get to do whatever you want, whenever you want to do it, but.. you have to put up with the consequences and that can be bad. If you don't train them properly, you are probably missing out on a lot of good treats.

Let me define Human Training. I think it means that you can cause the humans to do what you want and when you want to for some worthy cause. Humans are merely animals. Studies have shown that they will respond to the basic behavior/reward system as well as other more advanced species.

First, make sure that you choose the right TIME to train them. If they are distracted by other things, like the yelling kids, or visitors, or their stupid computers, you'll never get them trained. Find a quiet time, in a quiet place to begin training them. A time when they seem to be interested in what YOU are doing.

The stare is worth mastering. It is used a lot in training humans. They have this thing called guilt that responds well in training to the stare.

There are many things you can train them to do. We will cover some of the more basic items needed for your own pleasure and survival. Things like, sit, stay, down, feed me, pet me, give me a snack, come, let me out, let me in.

The stare works in training humans to FEED ME.

See, it worked. Here Dad is responding to my stare command to toss me some of his food.

Probably the most important one is FEED ME. Although many humans have learned to do this on their own, sometimes they need help in remembering that it's time for you to eat. The most effective way to accomplish this is to find your bowl and either move it with your nose until it makes noise or sit next to it and STARE at the human that normally feeds you. It's important to NOT give up. Keep staring until they feed you. This make take some time. In some cases, you'll have to get their attention first. A couple short barks will get their attention and then start staring at them. Soon they will remember and you'll not have to do this as often.

Sometimes you have to roll over on your back to get a treat. It's worth it to train the human properly.

GIVE ME A SNACK is a great thing to train them for. Often all it takes is a smile and a short bark, but mostly it takes performing some stupid trick for them. So, if they ask YOU to sit, do so and quickly. Lick your chops and stare at them. If they refuse you a treat, nudge their hand and sit again. Don't get up until they give you one. Sometimes you'll have to do something like roll over on your back or sit up and beg (for you smaller dogs), but whatever it is, always demand that treat by refusing to move until you have it. Sometimes they won't ask you to do a trick. You'll have to do one without them asking. If you hear them say the word sit or down to a friend, SIT or lay DOWN immediately. The humans think that is cute and often will reward you with a treat. Doing this repeatedly will train the human to associate the word SIT or DOWN to giving you a treat.

LET ME OUT is an important trick to teach humans. There will be times when peeing on the carpet is your only choice, but hopefully it won't come to that. To train your human, go to the door and stare at it. A little bark will get their attention if they are reading the newspaper or have their head in a computer screen. Doing this repeatedly will allow the human to associate your staring at the door with opening the door for you. Once they open the door, go outside quickly and give the human a treat by making sure to poop or pee as soon as possible. Humans seem to really like to see us dogs poop or pee.

Rock the RV by standing on the stairs to train them to LET ME IN.

LET ME IN can be just as important. Once you are out, often the humans will just tie you up and go back in. So getting their attention is important. In our RV, I have a way that works every time. I jump up on the bottom stair and the RV rocks. Dad or Mom comes quickly and after a few false starts, they learned that I wanted to come in. If you don't have a rocking motorhome, a few scratches to the screen door will do the trick. A variation of this trick is the TAKE ME FOR A WALK. Once you have them opening the door, don't go in, but turn and look away. After a few times, the smart human will understand that you want to go for a walk. (It works for me.)

Here Petting was accomplished easily after some very mild crotch smelling.

Go right up and lick their hand to get attention.

PET ME is a trick that you can show your canine friends. When your humans are standing around talking together and neglecting you, just go up to one of them and lick their hands or nudge them with your nose. Most humans will learn that a few affectionate pets to the head is all it takes for you to calm down. Some aren't so smart. For those, put your nose in their crotch. If that doesn't work, jump up on them. Finally, for the very dumbest, just lift your leg and pretend to pee on their leg. That usually gets action, though not always a petting gesture.

Just turn an RUN to teach the human the COME command. They will follow you.

COME is a difficult one to teach a human because they usually want to go some different place than you do. If you are in the backyard or off-leash in a field, sit down and make sure you have their attention. Once they are looking turn around and run the opposite direction. Hide behind a bush. They will come. It works almost every time. Just in case it doesn't work, keep an eye on the human and if he turns to walk the other way, don't let him get out of your sight. I suggest running before he does. Some humans are just mean enough to leave you out for the night without supper for that trick.

Just pull on the leash to get the human to go where you want.

If you are on a leash, the best method is to stop and stare at them for a few seconds and then pull with your strong neck in the direction you want to go. They will pull back, but eventually you will win, at least for a while. You might get them mad enough that you'll be dangling from the end of your leash (for you small dogs) or tied to the bumper of the car (for us larger dogs). Eventually, for most of the humans (especially the female ones and young ones), you'll get to go in YOUR direction when ever you give a small tug on the leash.

Mom responded to my running on the trail and she did the COME command very obediently here.

There are other tricks that I'll try to go over in other blogs in the future, but these are the most important. Others yet to come include SIT, STAY, STAND, GET YOUR OWN NEWSPAPER, GET RID OF THE CAT, TURN OFF THE TV, GIVE ME TABLE SCRAPS and my favorite, MOVE OVER I'M COMING INTO YOUR BED.

Well, until next time.

Arf

Reggie

2009-04-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

We finally reached the end of our trip to the East coast of the USA after traveling through 10 States from the big Pacific pond to the big Atlantic pond. Dad says we drove almost 2700 miles in the RV. Dad says this area is known to humans as Chocowinity in the state of North Carolina. To me it's just fishy. Don't get me wrong, I like fishy. We are next to a big river (called the Tar River) and that makes the fishy smells I guess.

Megan wants to be out with her Dad, Ronnie, who is riding my Dad's Segway.

I like it here though. I finally got to see my big sister, Genevieve for the first time in a very long time, like 14 dog years!. She has two dogs living with her now, Megan and Annie. I met Megan when I visited her last time. Megan and Annie act like they are chasing invisible squirrels all the time, running, jumping and nipping each other (and me) and such. They are fun but it becomes quite a bit tiring for me after a little while. After all, I'm still recovering from surgery. I'm really doing pretty good though, considering all I had to endure.

We are staying at a very big RV park with lots of water to see and interesting things to smell. It's called Twin Lakes Camping Resort in Chocowinity, North Carolina. The humans that named it either didn't bother to walk around it or they can't count very well because even me, with my not so good ability for counting, count three big ponds here. It should be called Triple Ponds Camp Resort!

The humans here have a lot of boats that carry them on the water from their RVs to the Tar/Pamlico River (this according to Dad's research) and then to the giant Atlantic pond. The ponds here are nice because Dad and I walk a couple times per day around them. The back pond is away from the RVs and I can go walking there without my leash! Hurray! Because other dogs have the same idea, I get to smell many of them on my walk. The ponds have ducks and today we saw a big tall heron with a fish in his mouth. They also have these little swimming animals that live in a small and round RV under the water. Dad calls them turtles. They come and lay on the side of the ponds until I come near and then they quickly drive their RVs under water so I can't get them. They should know that I wouldn't hurt them. I just want to smell them.

I just saw a turtle drive his RV into the water. Strange creatures.

There are lots of tall trees here too. That means there are a lot of squirrels for me to find. Yesterday I was looking out of our RV window and a squirrel stood up below me and stared at me. I got a little excited and barked but he stayed right there. Dad threw him a peanut and he grabbed it and he ran away with it. But, he soon came right back and asked for another peanut. Squirrels are all over this RV park so I'm not as excited now as I first was, but it makes for a more interesting day when I lay outside or take a walk to watch them run from tree to tree.

Some humans live at the RV Park all around the year or part of the year. Dad says a lot of them come here each weekend and use the RVs as a second home. A lot of them are right next to the water and many have pretty yards with flowers and little statues of funny looking humans. I guess they like to ride on the water a lot because some have boats tied next to their RVs. Dad and Mom said they wouldn't want to live here because it gets real hot and humid (that means water is floating in the air all the time so you are always wet!) and that I wouldn't like it at all. Plus there are those pesky, noisy mosquitoes that live here in springtime. They land on my nose and drink my blood, then my nose itches. So far I haven't seen any yet. But Dad says April is a good time to visit here. I'm glad its April now.

Humans here have little statues of themselves all over the place! Strange.

On the end of the weeks here lots of people come and bring their dogs and children. They play with balls and ride their bikes. I like to watch them when I'm lying down outside. Some come up to talk to me and pet me. Mostly the little girls do that. I like that.

Ronnie is riding Dad's Segway. Ronnie's a nice man who my sister wants to marry.

We came here because my big sister, Genevieve is getting married to Ronnie in a couple weeks. Dad says that married means that two humans who are in love decide it is cheaper to live together and share their food and house and everything else. Mom and Dad are married, but they still spend too much money, so I don't know if it is cheaper. As far as love goes, I'm not sure what that is, except that it is a word I hear a lot. Humans seem to think it is something important and worth having. Dad says that he and Mom love me, so it must be something good! Ronnie is a nice human and Dad let him ride his Segway. Ronnie liked to ride the Segway. I would too, but Dad won't let me get on it.

There's Dad and I on the big bridge at the RV Park. Walking here is fun.

I enjoy walking around the RV Park here. It is big and there are so many nice places to walk. There's a big bridge to walk across and a walk over the water that Mom calls a dock. Sometimes Dad glides on his Segway while I walk along the side. We can go faster that way. I like that! I am still wearing a sock on my back foot. My pad is still sore so Mom and Dad put a sock on me. It's OK. It makes it hurt less. Dad says he knows why dogs don't normally wear socks. He said that after I pee'd and stepped in it and got my sock wet. Hey, my backward visibility isn't so good. If humans had to know where four feet were at the same time, they'd have trouble too!

The ducks and birds on the big ponds are fun to watch too. I can also visit all the other dogs that live here. I even saw one other Golden Retriever walking around here. They leave p-mail and it says they are happy here. I'm not sure that cats are so happy. I saw a sign on one of the RVs that said: "So many cats, so few recipes." Not a cat lover I'm guessing.

Dad says we will explore this area in our car soon. He says that we are only 16 miles from Bath, North Carolina where the pirate Blackbeard used to live. I guess a pirate is a nasty human that uses boats to steal things from other humans with boats. Sounds boring to me.

We will also go to the big Atlantic pond soon and maybe even to a place Dad calls Kitty Hawk where humans first learned how to fly machines. Well, it will probably not be too interesting to me, but I like to ride in the car, especially when I can see cows and horses and other dogs. Maybe we will stop and I'll get to run off my leash. That will be fun.

So, come see me and visit the Twin (Triple) Lakes (Ponds) Camping Resort if you get a chance (in April).

Arf

Reggie

A Loaf of Sugar is fun to visit in Florida

2009-03-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

It rained all day long here in Greensboro, Georgia. I didn't want to go out because I would get very wet and my back foot is also still sore. So I decided to just sleep and sometimes look out the window. I was thinking about places we had been before that was NOT wet and was nice to be in.

I remembered a place that Dad called the Keys. It was in Florida, not far from us here (in Georgia) as Dad reminds me. Dad said it was called Sugarloaf Key. It was down near the very bottom of the United States of America and on a small island or key. Scary to be on the bottom of such a large country. But there was nothing to fear, so I enjoyed it. I was also quite a young dog and nothing could scare me there, not even the big seagulls or the snakes.

We were on one of our EAST COAST trips, driving from Colorado in early Spring to Florida. We left the snow and headed for the warm beach and the big lake Dad called the Atlantic Ocean.

We visited my friends, Misti and Bogie (sadly he's not with us anymore) in Florida.

It was one of my first trips in the RV (the old one we had) and I really was excited. There were so many different smells and things to see. We visited a lot of places along the way. We stopped to see Mom's sister Teri and her dogs, Mysti and Bogey who lived in Florida. They were fun to play with. But they were so small I had to be careful not to hurt them. They reminded me of big snowballs because they were so fluffy and white.

You travel over many bridges over the big Ocean for a long time to get to Sugarloaf Key.

When we left Mysti and Bogey, we drove for a long time over the water on very very long bridges to get there. We decided to stay a whole month (Dad says April 2002) at the Lazy Lakes RV Resort on Sugarloaf Key (we never did see the loaf of sugar there!). They had a special price for April and Dad loves places with special prices.

We were right on the water at Lazy Lakes RV Resort in Sugarloaf Key, Florida. That was cool! Really!

It was kinda warm there but the wind was blowing and when I was outside (which I was much of the time) it was OK for me. Our air conditioner had broken and for a lot of the time we just had all the windows in the RV open day and night. It was the same day and night: warm and windy. I don't think the temperature changed the whole time we were there. (Temperature is the way humans talk about how hot or cold things are. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but humans are funny creatures and have strange customs you don't always understand.)

One of the neat things at the RV Park was that we stayed right next to the water. The RV Park was next to a little lake and it even had an alligator in it. An alligator was a scary animal that I'd never seen before. Dad said it ate dogs for lunch so I stayed away from the edge of that lake. I didn't want to BE anyone's lunch.

Mom and I walking along the little lake at our RV Resort (that's me in the back of the photo, but really ahead, as usual.)

Well, every day we walked around the lake a few times. I could go without my leash on the far side where there weren't any humans. It was really fun. A lot of other dogs had been there too because I smelled a large number of them. The lake had steep edges, so you couldn't wade in it without falling in and there was the alligator to consider, so I just walked along the path next to the lake.

I got to rest half way around the lake. It was hot there!

Sometimes Mom would walk me around the RV Park so I could smell the other dogs that didn't venture out next to the lake. The small dogs don't like to walk far and their owners sometimes can't walk very well, so there were a lot of other dogs to meet and smell in the park. Once, while on such a walk, I saw a weird looking stick moving around and pounced on it. It was in the bushes so Mom didn't see it at first. But then, Mom screamed and I threw the stick around in my mouth until Mom demanded I put it down. Besides, the stick was really long and wiggling and was kinda hard to hold. Mom told me later that it was a snake and snakes were something that humans were afraid of. She said some of them could hurt me and humans by biting us. Well, I was just a puppy, what should I know about snakes?

I had a nice place to lie under the shade of this big shelter.

This is my friend, the Great White Heron. He kept me company all day.

Most of the time I just laid outside the RV watching all the birds and the people. One very big white bird seemed to adopt me because he was always right next to me. Dad says he was a Great White Heron, but whatever he was, he was tall with a very pointy long nose and mouth, but friendly. He just liked to stand and look around too. Sometimes, he would dive into the water for a fish, but most of the time he just stood on one leg and looked around. I felt that if we could have talked we would have been good friends. He'd have stories about all the animals and birds that live on the island and what he could see from so far above when he was flying. I'd tell him about all our RVing adventures and about the snow in Colorado. But.. birds are dumb and can't communicate very well (except with loud screeches or whistles and who knows what they are saying?) So we just stared at each other and enjoyed resting together.

We took walks around the RV Park at night when the sun was setting. It was never cold at night.

Dad liked to drive around the island and he let me go with him. He would look for places that I could get out and run around without a leash. We found a couple places that had a lot of sand and water and bushes. I even got in the water a little. It tasted really strange. Dad said that was called salt water and it would make me sick if I drank it. Once a big dog ran after me, but he didn't catch me. You have to be careful in strange places. There are strange dogs there that aren't so friendly.

We walked around Key West and went to the very bottom of the USA!

Sometimes we would take a car trip to another island. There was a place not far on another island called Key West. Dad says it really was the bottom of the USA. In fact we took a picture at a place that said it was at the very bottom. We looked far out over the big lake that Dad called the Atlantic Ocean and couldn't see anything but more water (and birds).

We met a lot of people that were on this big boat (in the back of me) at Key West. They liked to pet me.

We walked all over that island. I was so tired and it was hot when we couldn't find some shade. Once we saw a gigantic boat that had millions of humans on it. Dad said it was like hundreds of RVs all in one boat going from place to place but on the water not on the land. (I don't know how they do that. I fall and sink in water without swimming real hard.) We met some of the people and they wanted to pet me (and did) and they were nice. A lot of them said they had dogs at home but they couldn't bring them on the big boat. I was glad to let them pet me. They said it made them miss their dogs, but it made them feel good too.

This island had too many humans on it for me and Dad, and it had even more birds. A lot of them (the humans) didn't smell so good, but many of them were very friendly to me. One lady at a store even offered me some water. I was very glad to have some because it was so hot there. I was glad when Mom and Dad decided to go back to the Sugarloaf Key. It was so much quieter and cooler there in the shade. It's nice to go back home, even when you aren't sure how to get there sometimes.

Well, we had a long way to travel to get back home in Nederland, Colorado so we left at the end of the month and headed back. We got to stop in a lot of places, but eventually when we got home it was good. It was even snowing a lot. It was a good change after the really warm weather in Florida to have the snow to roll around in again.

When we got home to Colorado it was snowing. A big change from our time in Florida. I liked it too!

Life's fun when it's changing. And it does change a lot for me.

Arf,

Reggie

http://www.lazylakeskeyscamping.com/

Choo-Choo North Shore Resort, Georgia

2009-03-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

I've promised you that I'd share some of our RVing experiences at different parks so that maybe you'd know some of the good places to go too. So today, I'm telling you about the place we are staying right now, in the state of Georgia. Georgia is in the south of the United States according to Dad and their supreme leader is called Sonny Perdue, just like us. Probably a close relative to me!

Here's a picture of Donna and me from 2007 when we visited here before. I like it here.

We stayed here a couple years ago, so the smells are familiar to me. I remember that I liked this place, so maybe you will too!

We have been driving from California to North Carolina (this according to Dad) so that when we are in North Carolina we can see my big sister, Genevieve get married to Ronnie. But we are taking our time and staying in different RV parks along the way. We are staying in this place for 12 days.

The RV Park is on Lake Oconee and it has this beach thats fun to run on and splash in the water.

This place is on a big lake called Oconee. Dad says it is the second largest lake in the state of Georgia and only 60 miles east of a big city called Atlanta. Lakes are nice because you have a lot of water to play in and a long way to see around you, plus nice smells, especially the fishy smell. I like that. If I could find a dead fish, I'd bring it to Mom and give it to her.

Dad says this is an old courthouse in Greensboro, GA. I liked the grass on the lawn!

Yikes! I wouldn't want to spend time in this jail for humans in Greensboro, GA.

We are outside of the town of Greensboro. It's a nice place with old buildings, including a really old jail built of bricks and a couple nice parks where I can walk and sniff. Nice smells there!

We are staying at the North Shore Resort. See the choo-choo train car in the background?

The RV Park is called North Shore Resort. It's a big place (55 acres, whatever an acre is!) and has lots of places to walk and run. Dad lets me off-leash down by the lake where no one else walks or lives. There is a road that runs across the lake next to us that a big noisy machine called a TRAIN follows every afternoon. It makes a really loud whistle and makes a lot of noise with its engines. It's fun to watch. It looks like it is traveling on top of the lake. Its very long and a bit scary. At the end is a little house Dad says is called a Caboose. He says the dogs stay there.

There are cabooses and other train cars you can stay in here. Kinda fun to walk around them.

All of the buildings at the RV park are built with railroad cars just like those on the train we saw. There are cabooses, and freight cars all painted (according to Dad) a bright red color. He says that little kids like trains and its fun for them to stay in a caboose. He says that in addition to the places for RVs, people without RVs also stay overnight in the trains. They have beds and chairs. Sounds like fun as long as they don't make the loud noises that I heard the train make. It would be hard to sleep with all that noise going on!

Lots of hills for the RVs to park on next to the lake here. It'd be a fun place to stay a lot.

There are a lot of trees that make a lot of shade for us to walk in when its hot. We get hot walking because this place is on a hill and we have to walk up and up from the lake to our RV every time we go out. Mom says its hard to walk up hill but it's good for her heart. (I don't understand why, but Mom is usually right.)

I couldn't go into their play area, but they came to pet me. I like kids and they like me!

There are a lot of kids here on the weekends and they like to play in the playground. Dogs can't go in there, but I can watch from outside. The kids come over to pet me. They have something Dad says is called Miniature Golf where you hit a ball with a stick and chase it. Sounds like I'd like that kind of game. I like to chase balls too!

Mom plays with me sometimes outside our RV. I got this neat new toy and we played keep-away.

There are two big blue pools of water for kids to play in here called swimming pools. Kids are like dogs. They like to splash and swim in the pools. Except for the noise they make, you'd think it was a bunch of dogs. Some of them play with big balls in the pool and throw it with their hands to other kids. Us dogs use our noses but it's the same thing.

We take at least 2 or 3 long walks by the lake each day while here. It's a nice place to walk.

There are lots of dogs to visit too. I sit outside most of the day and many of them come to visit me. Mom lets us play sometimes on the grass next to the RV and I run around in circles as the little guys chase me. I let them catch me sometimes and lie down on my back. They like that. Only one problem. Two nights a big dog has left a pile of his stuff on our outside carpet. Maybe it's a gift for me, but Dad doesn't like it because he has to pick it up and wash the carpet. I must be asleep when he comes by because I don't ever see or smell him.

When the sun goes down over the lake, humans like to watch it.

I think you can come here too for a few days if you want. Just go to their web site and ask them. You'll like it here too, I'm sure. Tell them Reggie sent you!

Arf,

Reggie

http://www.northshoreresort.net/

Big Bend National Park

2009-03-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

This week we are in the big country of Texas according to Dad. This is a big place and I know we have been here before. We are next to a really big lake of water (Lake Bridgeport) and it has been filling up all week with the rain we are having. So.. Dad has not been able to go out much for photography here. He has seen some Red Cardinal birds and Mockingbirds, but the weather has been very gray and not good for photographing birds.

Lupines at Big Bend National Park.

Dad reminded me of a place in Texas we went a few years ago. I really liked it so I would like to tell you about it now. The place is full of desert (called the Chihuahuan) and bare mountains again (like Arizona) but even more so. The mountains are taller and the desert was full of flowers that Dad likes to photograph, and there was a great big green river called the Rio Grande running through this place. It was called Big Bend National Park. Yep, one of those parks where I have to stay on leash, but Dad went out a lot in the car and took me with him, so I did get to see a lot of the park.

It is as far away from the big cities and traffic as you can get in the United States according to Dad. Lots of Jack Rabbits and Roadrunners though. Those are animals that like to run fast and who I like to chase. It’s my kinda of place (if I could chase them, that is). It is at the very bottom of Texas and is next to the country known as Mexico.

Our RV was in Terlingua, Texas not far from the West entrance to the Big Bend National Park.

We stayed in an RV park in a place called Terlingua, Texas, that had a lot of places to walk for me. It was a very big RV park too. There was a big hill nearby that Dad and I hiked every morning (without my leash) and you could see forever from there. I really like being at the top of a hill. I can run up and down the gullys while Dad walks carefully along the ridge. (remember.. he only has two legs, or what Dad calls two-wheel drive). My “4-wheel drive” allows me to be more sure of myself on rocky mountains slopes.

Dad and I took a hike every day and I got to run up and down the hills without a leash! Hurray!

We saw a Roadrunner bird. I wanted to chase him, but NO, I was on a leash again.

The first day we went for a drive and a walk towards the West to see the river. We saw a Roadrunner bird. Normally I ignore birds because they are so common and I can’t seem to catch them before they fly away. But this guy runs like I do (except he has 2 legs) and I still can’t catch him. I know I run fast, so, he must run a lot faster. He is a pretty bird though. Dad was able to get one photo, but not as many as he would like.

We visited this movie set. I didn't find Rin-Tin-Tin or Lassie's scent, but I'm sure that was Clint Eastwood I smelled!

We stopped at this place along the road that was used as a movie set in many movies about the wild west. There were a lot of small buildings next to the Rio Grande River. I could go on a leash and smell where other dogs had been. I didn’t smell Rin-Tin-Tin or Lassie, but there were some interesting smells there.

Mom and Me and the Rio Grande river below.

The next day, Dad and I took a long trip on a bumpy and dirty road called River Road. Dad likes the excitement of going on these backcountry roads where he sees no people or very few at least. I enjoy it too because usually I can get out without my leash. I would prefer to see more dogs, but I could smell and hear the coyotes in the distance. We can climb the mountains near us or walk down to the river’s edge and get wet (well, I get wet, but Dad watches).

We climbed to the top of a hill to look over the desert along River Road.

Dad was all excited because there were so many Prickly Pear cactus and other cactus in bloom. Remember, the cactus? Those plants you have to stay away from because they have little armies with spears that stick you if you get too close. Now they are using pretty flowers to attract humans so they can spear them. Sneaky little guys for a plant!

The prickly pear cactus was in full bloom along River Road.

There were also white and red and yellow and pink and blue flowers. Dad especially liked the Rose Prickly Poppy. It was the month of March and Dad said it was time for all the flowers to bloom. We didn’t see any animals, except a vulture and an eagle and a lot of Jack Rabbits, but it was a fun trip to take. Dad says some of the larger mammals you can find here if you wait long enough include whitetail and mule deer, coyote, mountain lion, black bear, and gray fox or javelina. We saw some javelina on the way into the park. They are small black pigs with long noses. They are also smelly! Dad says there are a lot of bats here. Those are NOT birds but fly like birds. They also fly with lots of friends so duck if you see them coming towards you!

I was able to find some shade behind this bush while I was waiting for Dad to catch up with me.

It was hot along the River road and when we occasionally walked and I saw a bush with a little shade, I liked to lie down and wait for Dad and cool off. Dad says it gets between 110 and 120 degrees F in June and July here. I’m not sure what F means, but the way he said it, I wouldn’t want to be here then.

I couldn't go, but Mom said Santa Elena canyon was awesome. Here's mom in front of it at Big Bend Nat'l Park.

Next day we all went to a place in the park that Mom called Santa Elena Canyon. It was a very narrow place where the Rio Grande river was able to sneak through the mountains. Dogs were not allowed to go into the canyon so I got to stay in the car in the parking lot under a shade tree protecting Dads camera gear, while they went to the canyon and took some pictures. (Dad did show me the pictures.) I guess it was really awesome. There were even humans on little rubber boats that were floating through the canyon. Mom said she wished I could have come with her but the National Park rules….

Here's me and Mom with one of the pointy mountains of Big Bend National Park

We went on several short drives and one was especially nice up to Chisos Basin. At the end there are places to hike and I smelled a lot of other dogs (finally). There are a lot of places to see in Big Bend National Park and Big Bend is a very big park to see. Dad wants to go back, especially in the spring time. So I suspect I’ll see you there if you want to go too! Let me know when and we can lift legs together!

Arf

Reggie

Deserts and Cactus in Arizona

2009-03-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad and myself have been in a very interesting area for the last few weeks. The air is dry and warm (for a change) and the plants here are very sticky. Dad calls it the desert. I think it means that all the animals have deserted it because it is no place for a smart animal to live. (Of course, many humans live here so I'm not sure what that means.)

Dad told me we are in the state of Arizona. There is a lot of sand here (that's white dirt that is very soft and can fly when the wind blows it.) It's also very hot on my feet when we walk around. (In fact so hot that my pads are hurting!) Dad says February and March is cool for the desert and we wouldn't want to be here in summer when it is much much hotter. I agree with him. My heavy coat would make it unbearable (or un-dog-able) to be here.

I decided to stay in the car at Organ Pipe Cactus Natl Monument. All those cactus hurt my skin!

Dad wanted to do some photography. I agreed to go along, but only if he would keep the windows down! We went to a place near another country called Mexico called "Pipe Organ Cactus National Monument." Dad says over 29 types of cactus grow here. Remember that cactus are the plants that give you much pain if you get near them or walk on them. They have little spears that jump out and poke you. I guess they are trying to keep humans and other animals from attacking them. They do a good job at that. I have no need or desire to get near them and I especially don't want to eat them.

Do these look like a Pipe Organ to you? Think of the sound it makes.

This is a large place with brown jagged mountains and large sandy deserts that are full of cactus. A special cactus found here is the Pipe Organ Cactus. It is called that because it looks like a big musical instrument that Dad says is called, guess.... a Pipe Organ. (I can't imagine a sound from such an instrument that is so big and ugly as this cactus. Dad says they are found in large buildings called churches where humans use them to wake up their God on Sunday mornings. Don't ask me more, I don't understand any of this.)

Doesn't this Saguaro look like he is reaching for the others? Wierd human-like cactus at Organ Pipe Cactus Natl Monument.

Another cactus that is here that Dad calls the Saguaro. It is a funny cactus because it looks like a big human with a small head or without a head. There are many of these and each one looks different. Some have two big thick arms and others have many arms like some type of scary monster. They are very tall, much taller than humans and they have those little spears that can stab you if you get too close. Dad says they live over one hundred years so that they can scare lots of generations of dogs!

Here's a Saguaro Cactus spear army!

We saw two Saguaros growing close that looked like they were hugging each other. Two arms from each growing around each other. Some have their arms reaching to the sky like they were pointing at some special stars. It was fun to poke my head out the window and see all the silly forms of this cactus. Dad says these are plants and that they can't see, think or move. I thought my life had it's boring moments, but geez.. I wouldn't want a life where you couldn't see, think or chase squirrels, that would just be too boring.

Another interesting feature of this desert is what Dad said were dry creeks. No water was in them, just lots of pebbles and sand. I guess sand flows in creeks in the desert. That's really weird. I didn't see any sand flowing or moving, but I suspect they move at night when humans can't see it move.

Mexican Poppies were the only wildflowers at this time.

There weren't many wildflowers around this time of year, but we did see a few Mexican Poppys. Dad said the colors were "popping" Yellow and Orange (whatever that means). He said in a few weeks this place would have a lot of colorful wildflowers. We won't be here then but it might be interesting to you if you come down here after me.

Picacho Peak in Arizona has a big pointy head and lots of Saguaro Cactus to see.

While we were in Arizona, Dad and I also visited a place called Picacho Peak. It was a big mountain standing alone with a very pointy head and was covered with Saguaro and other cactus. Dad says they have mesquite, Paloverde and acacia trees; Crucifixion Thorn, Ocotillo, cholla, prickly pear and of course, Saguaro Cactus. You can see the mountain very well from the highway called Interstate 10, but Dad wanted to get close so we drove to it and walked around. It's was one of those state parks that you have to pay to get in, but we got there before 8 AM and didn't have to pay (I think the human that collects the money was still sleeping). One of the cholla cactus attacked Dad and he had to pull the spears out of his shoes. Luckily I was able to avoid getting speared. It would have been a big job for Dad to pull out a lot of spears from my skin and I can't imagine how painful that would be. It's good to stay on the paths around here.

Lots of sticky cactus at Picacho Peak in Arizona.

I got pretty excited when I saw some Jack rabbits and quite a few little leaping and darting gray guys that Dad called lizards. You should see the Jack rabbits run! They leap really far and I'd probably never catch them. But, they would be quite fun to chase. Dad said I had to stay on my leash in the PARK. Oh well! Other animals he said we'd find if we stayed long enough were cottontail rabbits, Mule Deer, Javelina (big ugly pigs), Coyotes (my distant cousins), ground squirrels (fun to chase), pack rats (ugh they are yucky) and lots more types of lizards and even slithery snakes. There are lots of flitty little birds too. Mountain Lions, Bighorn Sheep and Coyotes have been observed according to a sign Dad was reading to me. Not sure I'd want to see a Mountain Lion.

This guy is flying hanging from a colorful sheet with a machine strapped to his back. Humans are so smart.

Motorized parasailing is where crazy humans strap a airplane on their back and fly dangling from a colorful sheet.

After Dad got plenty of photos of the mountain and cactus we went further into the desert and saw these humans flying. They had strange airplane propellers strapped to their backs and large sheets and when they wanted to fly they made these machines really noisy and ran real fast with them to get into the air. Dad said this was called Motorized Parasailing. They started to fly and went real high off the ground. I tried running real fast (without the machine) but couldn't get off the ground more than a few paw lengths or so when I jumped up. It looked like fun but Dad said there wasn't any machine that would fit a dog. So, Dad took a bunch of photos and talked to the guys on the ground about how it works and what it would cost to get a machine like this. He decided it was way too expensive and a little bit dangerous to be several thousand paw lengths above the ground hanging from a machine and a sheet. I agreed.

Organ Mountains in New Mexico don't look like the cactus but are named after the Pipe Organ too.

Later, when we were leaving Arizona we visited another place in the desert called New Mexico. There, we visited another Organ Pipe place. This time, the mountains were called Organs! They had tops that looked like Organ Pipes I guess. The Organ Pipe cactus and the Organ mountain looked no where near the same to me, but then dogs have more advanced eye sight and intelligence than humans so it makes sense to me that humans would get it confused.

We walked up this road towards the Organ mountains in New Mexico. My feet hurt!@

We were planning to visit an area there called Dripping Springs but a big sign said, NO PETS. It was another discriminatory sign against dogs. Some day, when I really become President, I'm going to make some of these Park signs read: NO HUMANS, DOGS ONLY! That'll show them how it feels to be kept out of places! Anyway, it was just a place with water dripping down from a cliff. Boring stuff to me, so no great loss. Dad was hoping to photograph it, but he can look at the pictures on the Internet.

Organ Mountains in New Mexico.

We are now in the middle of Texas next to a nice lake, called Bridgeport. It is a little warm here, but a nice cool breeze makes it nice for me to lay outside the motorhome in the shade, look at the water and rest from all the excitement of the desert.

Arf,

Reggie

Priceless

2009-03-01T12:06:00.000-08:00

I overheard Dad and Mom talking about the operation to remove my missing testicle. They said I was doing a lot better. I'm still sore, especially when I just get up to walk, but I've got a good appetite now and except for my ridiculous hair cut, I'm looking good (if I say so myself). I would rate my doctor's as very good, except his hair cutting talent. They made me look like I ran into a large lawnmower.

What would Mom and Dad miss if I wasn't here anymore? Plenty!!!

Well, Dad was saying how the operation cost about $2000 in human paper money (including all the driving he had to do) and how many things he would have to delay buying because of it. It made me feel pretty bad that I deprived Dad of his new camera (poor guy only has 4 or 5 of them now). But don't get me wrong. Dad wasn't really complaining, just stating the facts about the consequences of Dr. Joe in Nederland NOT removing that testicle 8 and a half years ago.

So, I began thinking about what Dad and Mom would miss without me. It kinda made me feel good to know that I may have earned that $2000 and maybe quite a bit more.

Mom would be real Fat if I didn't take her on a daily walk.

What would Dad and Mom do if they didn't have ME to walk thousands of paw lengths or more per day (in human distances, that's 3 to 5 miles per day). Dad would look like a rolley poley ball and Mom would probably match him. Does Dad and Mom know how much it costs to go to human gym clubs? They should think about the amount of human paper dollars I've saved them each year just by keeping them exercising daily. Not to mention how many human years I've help add to their lifetime. What a deal! What's the value to Dad or Mom of living another 5 to 10 years? Priceless!

Dad would die early without those early morning walks with me. Notice our shadows on the other bank?

How do you put a price on the happiness that we've given each other? Every morning when I greet Dad and Mom in their bed and wag my tail and cry with joy, that's priceless!

Does Dad know how lucky he is to have ME, a dog, instead of a lazy cat to walk? Yesterday we saw a man "walking" his cat on a leash. The cat was lying down taking a long rest. For 10 minutes the man stood watching his cat lying down. What kind of walk is that? Dad, you should be proud and happy that I'm not a cat. Priceless!

Who would chase away those big ugly cows when we are traveling. ME, that's who.

Who would protect Dad and Mom from all the huge cows we see along the road as we drive? I bark and chase them away. They have never attacked us once. I can imagine the mess those cows would make in our motorhome if I wasn't there to chase them away. Priceless!

Dad might crash the motorhome if he didn't have ME as an excuse to stop at rest stops along the road. We stop to let me pee, but it really allows Dad to rest from the driving. What price is there on NOT crashing your motorhome? Huh, tell me! Priceless.

Who would be friends with Mom and Dad without ME? No ONE!

Mom and Dad, think of all the people I have introduced you to. You wouldn't have good friends like Steve, Karen and Casey without ME. In fact, I doubt anyone would be friends with you without me. Everyone stops at our motorhome to say hi to me. What price on good friends? Priceless!

What price does Mom place on just one lick in the face from me? Priceless!

Is there a price to the relief of stress you feel when you see me sleeping, or when you pet me? I don't think so. Priceless.

Who would Mom and Dad impress if they didn't have me to do my treat-tossing trick for their friends. When Dad places that treat on my nose and gives me a signal, it disappears into my mouth in an instant. He looks so proud and his friends clap and laugh. Priceless.

Who would snoop out the rare and exotic wildflowers without me? No ONE!

Who would protect Dad from the Bears when he photographs the wildflowers in Idaho? Dad would probably be eaten by the Bears if I didn't keep a sharp eye out for them. Priceless!

I watch out the windows on Dad's photo trips so we can get home without getting lost. Dad would be lost without ME!

Who would go with Dad on his photo trips and keep him company and help him find his way home? Mom doesn't go with him. A cat would shun his suggestion. Nope. It's ME again. I look out the window and make sure the animals don't attack us. I also keep track of the smells so we can get back if his GPS machine doesn't work. Priceless!

Who would protect Donna on her late night walks around the RV Parks? No one (but me)!

Who would dust the motorhome without my tail swishing back and forth all the time? Huh? I bet dust would pile up to the ceiling without my swishing tail. Priceless!

Who would let Mom and Dad know that someone was at the front door of the motorhome, or that a strange Dog was approaching the motorhome, without ME? Who would notify Mom when a dog appeared on the TV without me? Nobody. Priceless!

Who would protect the motorhome home in the dark and scary nights? I watch all night with my keen sense of awareness and make sure Mom and Dad know if someone tries to come into our motorhome at night. Priceless.

Also, who would protect Mom at night when she takes a walk in the middle of night? No one but ME again! Priceless!

Well, I hear that it is not human-like to praise yourself. I'm not human like, I'm a dog and have every right to say what I think about myself, right! So, you understand what I'm saying. I'm pretty valuable to Mom and Dad and without me, well, I shudder to think what they would be like.

All those future memories would be gone! Remember me as a puppy. I was so cute...

You also wouldn't have all the good memories and photographs yet to come when we can go out sniffing for squirrels and wildflowers, and all the mornings I wake you with my muffled cries. You'd still have my puppy memories, but there are many more to come. Could you put a price on those? Priceless!

All those future photographs without me? Nope. You'd need me!

Besides, who would write this blog?

Thanks to all of you that have wished me well in my recovery. I'm sure your wishes have helped me heal quickly. I'm hoping to be like my old self real soon (minus an overgrown testicle and missing some beautiful hair.)

Arf

Reggie

Pooping, Dogs and Humans

2009-02-22T12:00:00.001-08:00

I get it. Don't poop on the grass. Even a "normal" dog can understand this!

Dad said that this was an "indelicate" subject. He told me "indelicate" means humans don't like to hear or talk about it. But, when I accepted doing this blog, I said I wanted to write about anything related to dogs and RVing. So, what is more related than a dog's poop. Just think about it.

Isn't this a bit insensitive to dogs?

What is the first sign in an RV park that you see besides "10 mph". (I can run faster than that, but usually don't.). Well, it's "clean up after your pooch", (I don't like the word "pooch" by the way, a bit insulting!). or "scoop the poop", or "remove the do-do" or Be kind: don't be fined", or my favorite one "Dog nuisances must be removed". (Another rather human sign insensitive to us dogs.) In England Dad says they call it "Dog Fouling". Humans have a lot of ways to say clean up our poop.

What's a nuisance?

How would you like it if this was a picture of a human pooping. See!!!

First, it really is embarrassing to walk around the park and see big signs with graphic images of my fellow dogs crouching with threatening words exclaiming the consequences of a left-behind poop pile. How would humans like it to see signs around the RV park that said: "Lift the lid", or "clean your toilet bowl", or "no human excrement on the sidewalk", or "don't pee on yourself". You get the idea. It's downright dis-respectful to make such a big deal about our poop the way humans do.

OK, I do understand that humans don't like to step in it. I'm sure some don't mind, because I do find a lot of it still laying around, ever so often with a big human footprint in the middle of it. I also know that humans don't like the smell of it and the house flies that enjoy it. (That's a little harder for me to understand since it smells good to me, but I'll give that to them.) Each species is a little picky about something. But.. why take it to the extreme that they do? Aren't most dog owners responsible people? Don't they really know that picking up after their dog is expected by both dog and RV park owners? Why do we need signs. Geez. You'd think humans were irresponsible or something!

If you are irresponsible, or just don't like the thought of picking up your poop, humans have businesses that will come to your home and pick it up for you twice a week. That's pretty creative for a human. Making money on our dog poop.

Pay humans to pick up your poop if your owner won't!

I have read that our poop is like human poop and contains a lot of nasty little critters that might get humans or even other dogs sick if they touch it. If this is so, then just pick it up, trash it, flush it or bury it, just don't TALK about it so much. And don't put embarrassing signs up all over the place mentioning dog poop. OK?

Dad, please don't say "Can you Poop" so loud around my friends.

Mom and Dad are downright obsessive about my poop. One reason Dad gives me is that he can tell a lot about my health by how often I poop and how firm the poop is. I guess he knows best about that, but geez, don't be so loud about it. They constantly remind me to "potty poop". I give Dad a glare when he says that and try to get him to say it little softer, but no, right in front of my canine friends, he shouts out "Reggie.. can you potty poop for me?" Can you imagine a human walking with other humans and his wife says "Henry, have you pooped yet today?" or "Henry, how big was your poop today?", or "John, don't poop on the grass!" Never. So, give us dogs the same respect please! After all, us we are canine and have feelings too!

I'm glad I don't have to pick up my own poop like this guy!

I'm glad that Dad doesn't make me clean up my own poop. See the picture of the poor dog that has to do that. I really don't know how he carries those scoopers. It would sure take the fun out of a walk if I had to drag those around and clean up my own poop. What are humans for anyway if not to pickup your poop?

Humans have lots of different ways to deal with getting rid of poop. I've seen some with little scooper shovels, some that actually put a shovel under the dog as he goes, little green or blue bags they put on their hands like a glove and pick it up, (some even have perfumed powder in them for those delicate human snouts), some use bags that they drop in their own toilet, some kick the poop with their shoes into the bushes, and Dad uses a Walmart bag.

Dad always carries a Walmart bag or two in his back pocket. Mom often tells him to stick it in further so that other humans don't see it. I agree. Again, it's embarrassing to know that Dad is always waiting for me to poop. What will other dogs think when they see that bag poking out of his pocket? He's always ready to pick up my poop. He also tries to be sure that the bag doesn't have any holes in it. But when they do, and he's already picked up my poop he swears at Walmart for making such holey bags. (and then rushes to a water faucet to wash his hands.)

Even more embarrassing is when Dad or Mom has actually picked up my poop and walks proudly around the RV park with a little white bag stained brown at the bottom and smelling like the best smell you can imagine and I meet one of my girl friends. I'm not really so embarrassed. It's actually a bit of a power-trip to know that you have a human carrying your poop around for you. (I wouldn't return the favor, you can be sure.)

I've heard dogs compared unfavorably to cats in this regard. Now, I realize that cats have learned a trick that make us dogs look a bit sloppy and uncaring in human eyes. They actually learn to go to a assigned box, dig a little hole, delicately fill the hole with poop and then cover it up. Occasionally, I'll scrape some leaves over mine, but I've never had the urge to bury it. Too many dogs enjoy the scent of poop for me to cover it up. Besides, cats are not to be compared to dogs. Us dogs just are too superior in all ways to be compared to a cat. You wouldn't compare me to an insect do you?

I'd be afraid that I'd fall in. Isn't this going a bit far to please a human?

I've also known some dogs that have learned to go on the human toilet. I don't think I'd do that. I think I'd slip into the toilet and get all wet. That would show those cats though.

Well, I hope you understand my feelings on the subject of poop. I try to poop where Dad or Mom doesn't have to pick it up. We often go into the forest, and I almost never do my thing on the trail. I like to go in the middle of a bush, out of the way of controversy. If I can't do that, I'll try to do it in front of a trash can, just so Dad or Mom doesn't have to carry that bag around the RV Park too far.

So, I hope I haven't hurt your feelings or made you uneasy talking about poop. It's natural and green (or brown).

Arf

Reggie

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf88284385.tip.html

The Vet and Me

2009-02-16T18:06:00.000-08:00

Dr. Gill is my vet. He looks happier than I do here.

Oh me! I’ve been through a very bad time lately. I think I can write my blog myself this week, but I may have to rest after every paragraph. I hope you will understand. Dad told you last week how I had to go to the Vet so that he could cut me. Humans have a polite word for cutting up a dog: surgery. It’s just too smooth and nice a word to use for such a nasty thing!

I had been feeling a little poor recently. I had a few problems with my unmentionables (that’s Mom’s word for my Penis and nearby parts) and Mom wanted me to go to the Vet. Well, I always have liked to go to the Vet because they treat me well and give me treats. This time Dad and Mom introduced me to Vet Gill. He was a nice tall man with what Dad says is a turban wrapped around his hair. I liked him immediately. Of course the first sign of trouble was when the young human female poked a thin piece of metal up my rear end. Dad says it is to find out how hot I was. I told him I was just fine, but no matter. That thing felt weird and stayed up there for what seemed like hours. I was a normal warmth anyway. Geez!

Doctor Gill felt my bottom and my stomach and told Dad and Mom that he found some problems. Uh oh I thought. That sounds like more trouble. Of course when he was feeling around my stomach that tickled me. He found an infection (whatever that is) on my bottom glands and he found a big ball in my stomach that wasn’t supposed to be there.

So. he laid me down on a cold table and pointed some fancy human machine called an XRAY at me. Soon he was showing Dad the insides of my body on a large black sheet and pointing at a big white ball. I know I had not swallowed any ball. It would be way to big to swallow anyway. Doctor Gill said it might be a testicle (another unmentionable I think) that was not taken out when they made me less than a male dog when I was very young. Dad said that they gave me an operation to remove both of my testicles so that I would be a more calm dog. I don’t think it worked. Anyway, the Vet that was supposed to take it out years ago, didn’t. Hmmmm…. (Dad's not too happy with him right now!)

Dad said the Great Canine God was looking over me because this rainbow was pointing at me in the Vet's Office. I think he did.

So, Vet Gill recommended to take the big ball out of my body because it might keep growing and then I’d not be able to walk. I wasn’t sure how he was going to get a ball that size out of me. I certainly wasn’t looking forward to having him reach inside me with his arm to get it. I had no way to get it out. I tried shaking, but nope. It was still there. They never told me until later that they could actually cut me open and reach inside me and take it out with a couple snips of a sharp knife. I think I would have run away had I known!

So a couple days later, we went to another Vet place that Dr. Gill was working and before I knew it I was sleeping soundly. When I awoke, I had some really weird feelings in my belly area. I looked down there and saw a large line with little pieces of shiny metal all down my belly. I was really feeling weird, kinda like dreaming, but not.really. There were all these strange humans taking care of me. They were nice, but I just wanted to see Mom and Dad and they weren’t there. I was worried that they might also have a large cut on their belly too. I looked around and they weren’t there. I think I slept the rest of the afternoon and then I heard Dad’s voice outside and got real excited. Mom was there too. They came to pick me up and boy was I happy. I didn’t want any more cuts on me. (They didn’t have any cuts on them!)

Well, we got home and boy was I happy to be there. I was feeling kinda sore on my belly and it hurt to jump out of the car and walk the stairs into the RV, but it was worth it to be home.

Dr. Gill and Lynette helped me on the table. I just wanted to sleep.

Anyway, I’m sure you don’t need the details of my recovery from this insult to my body, but I did eat and it started to hurt inside again. Finally, I hurled everything I had eaten for the past three days and Mom and Dad took me back to Vet Gill. That started a daily routine of driving many many paw lengths every day to have Dr. Gill put a needle in my leg and a big bag of water above my head each day. I was told by Dad that it was to make me feel better. I slept a lot. I was not even interested in eating for 4 days! Imagine that about me! Finally I started to fell better, made a poop, and Dad and Mom were happy again.

They kept me locked up with this bottle of water hooked up to me. Can you see me running down the street with the bottle after me?

Now, I’ve been eating but they give me small portions and not my good ole food. I think they are trying to starve me to death. They seem to be very worried now that I can’t poop. Geez, give me a chance. You haven’t fed me enough yet!

Sorry for the gross picture of my staples and stitches (just a few of them). I got them out today. Hurray (and ouch!).

Today I got these metal things in my belly removed and I’m hoping that will make everything better. Maybe they will start feeding me more and I can get on with the more serious matters of chasing squirrels and scaring cats away from our RV.

Oh, Dad reminded me that I should tell you how gentle and good Dr. Gill (his full name is Dr. Kanwal P.S. Gill and his phone is 951-926-8000, tell him Reggie sent you!) and his staff were to me. (Hi, Mario!) They are at the French Valley Veterinarian Clinic near Temecula in California. Dr. Gill always handled me with gentle arms and hands (even when they were poking around in my gut and other unmentionable places.) He must really love dogs, just like Mom and Dad do. He has his own dog friends at home, so he probably has a lot of practice! Dad says he really cares about me and wants me to get well. I like that in my Vet! Dad says Dr. Gill saved my life, or at least made sure I didn’t die. (What a horrible thought!)

And one other thing: While I was sick, Dr. Gill and his assistant drove me over to the the California Veterinary Specialists (CVS) in Murrieta for an Ultrasound (another one of those weird human machines that only work when I’m on my back). They helped Dr. Gill make sure I was not sicker than I felt, or something like that. They were great people and they know a lot about my canine species, esp. in an emergency. Thanks for their contributions to my recovery too!

I had a better day than this guy we saw on the way home on Interstate 10 in San Bernadino!

Well, Mom and Dad are still wondering about when I’m going to poop, so if it means anything to anyone, I’ll report it here as soon as it happens. I’m sure the world needs to know this.

Arf and stay healthy… please.

Reggie

PS. I'm happy to say that the urge to poop hit me at 4 AM this morning. After waking up Dad and watching him bundle up, we went out into the cold rain and I did my thing. I hadn't done it for 5 days! Whew, what a relief it was (and 5 paw widths long too!).

Reggie is Sick or the case of the missing testicle

2009-02-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

Reggie has asked me to write his blog today. Reggie is sick and doesn't feel like doing anything but getting well. We took Reggie to the Vet last week due to some minor symptoms and the Vet felt a large and abnormal mass in his abdomen. After x-rays the Vet was sure that there was a tumor. It appeared to be the size of a tennis ball. After some thinking by the Vet he asked if Reggie might have had a testicle that didn't drop after birth. I said yes, but the Vet that neutered him assured us that it was removed after some trouble. Well, guess what! That Vet in Nederland, Colorado didn't remove it and it developed into a tumor. When it was removed last Wednesday, it was confirmed that Reggie had been only partially neutered and the large mass was indeed a testicular tumor. It did not appear to have spread but we did not chose to get a biopsy to confirm or deny the presence of malignant cells.

Reggie was a trooper though. He faced his impending operation with bravery. Though he was telling me right at the last moment as we left him at the Vet Hospital that he was going to miss us. We told him we'd be back soon and to be brave. He said he would.

The vet told us that standard procedure when a patient seems to be doing OK after surgery, is to give him drugs to reduce the pain and induce sleep so they can stay without a human watching them overnight. The vet said that if Reggie developed more serious complications after surgery, they could take him to a nearby 24/7 emergency hospital for animals to spend the night. They were planning to leave him alone due to his relatively good condition after surgery. We asked if it would be safe for us to bring him home that night. They thought there would be no problem. When we went to pick him up he was crying and as soon as he saw us that wagging tail went into overdrive, even with all those meds in him.

Neither of us got much sleep that first night and Reggie was spoiled with loving attention. Mom would gently stroke his head until he fell fast asleep.

Over the next 3 to 4 days Reggie improved quite a lot. We went on short walks several times per day. He even got really excited about a cat and squirrel outside our window. He barked to let them know that if he was well, he'd be out their chasing them!

He has a scar with stitches and staples about 10 inches long on his lower belly. He has been a good boy and not licked or chewed them. It is obvious that he is sore however in the way he moves. He does complain a bit about the steep stairs getting in and out of the RV and jumping up on the sofa to rest.

He had a couple good nights of sleep and seemed to be improving quickly. His vet gave him a prescription food that improves his ability to digest. However, Reggie being quite picky, decided after the second day he was tired of eating that bland food. So we started feeding him small amounts of his regular food.

Well, last night Reggie had a set-back. He threw-up all of his food and became very weak. We stayed up with him until 2:30 AM last night until he was fast asleep. He slept all night and at 8 AM he awakened and we went out. Unfortunately, he threw-up some more.

So, right now Reggie is feeling pretty rotten and we are waiting to hear from his Vet to see what to do next. He is resting on the couch, watching me do his blog. I know he'd prefer to be at the keyboard, but when a guys sick, he got to rest.

It's really hard to see the dog you love so much in so much discomfort. We are hopeful for his speedy recovery, but he still has some time to heal. I think we may have overdone our "care" of him seeing what appeared to be a quick spring-back to health.

I apologize for the serious nature of this blog, but we thought his fans would want to know that he is under the weather and hopefully their prayers and good wishes will be felt through that canine sense of perception.

I'll add to the bottom of this blog over the next week to keep you up to date on his progress. Hopefully next week or the week after, he will be back pounding the keys with his paws and relating the adventures of Reggie the RV Dog. I'm sure he'll have a different and interesting perspective on the whole thing to share with you.

Reggie's Dad

Feb 9, evening update: Reggie spent the day at the Vet. He spent 3 hours on an IV to get fluids balanced. He had several xrays and blood work. It's not clear what the problem is yet, except that he did have quite a lot of gas in his stomach. The blood work was good, except for his kidney which was just a bit off. So Tuesday we drive 70 miles to the Vet again for Reggie to spend the day on an IV hoping to flush his kidneys. Sigh.

Feb. 10, evening update:Reggie threw up again this morning. Reggie spent all day on IVs at the Vet hospital to replenish fluids again. He received several injections. He still isn't eating. As dire as it sounds to us, the doctor sounds optimistic for his recovery. He wants Reggie again on Wedesday. That's a 140 mile round-trip each day to the Vet. But... it's Reggie and I know he would do the same for me or Mom. Keep hoping!

Feb 13, afternoon. After spending each day Mon-Thur on an IV Reggie is now looking MUCH better. He's got an appetite, his blood work looks pretty good, he's getting back to some of his old habits (barking at cows, waking us up in the morning), and he was tentatively released for the weekend by the Vet. Plans are to have his stitches out on Monday. Here's hoping for a good weekend. I think he might be up to writing his blog about this mess, early next week.