Copley Has A Great Picnic

A few weeks ago we attempted to go on a picnic with some friends (human and canine).  The picture above is what we ended up doing instead.  By "we" I mean me, Ben and Kerrigan.  Copley had a great day enjoying a picnic with his friends in a beautiful mountain meadow.  At least one of us got to enjoy the day.

We had packed up Copley, Kerri and a giant picnic to take up a mountain an an effort to get out of the impressively oppressive Vegas heat.  We met some friends and started a caravan up the mountain to meet even more friends, then our car broke down, then another car broke down.  To make a long story short we ended up leaving Copley to have a fun picnic with his friends Harvey and Mosby.  It is times like this that I am so grateful for amazing friends that I totally trust my dog with.  We were looking at the prospect of a tow truck ride in 100 degree heat and a long day at a car dealership- neither things that having a full sized dog at really seemed like a good idea.  Since then I have realized it is not normal to trust your friends so much with your pets- but I know that not only was Copley in good hands, but he enjoyed hanging out with some of this favorite dog buddies.

While Copley enjoyed his picnic we took Kerri on her first tow truck ride (the driver also has a chi at home and was so nice) then she took her first trip to a car dealership (where she was a big hit- they even brought her a little bowl of water in the waiting room).  Luckily the car only needed a little bit of warranty work and we were out for free in less than two hours.  Later we ended up picking Copley up at our friends house where he was having a great time barking at the neighborhood cats with his buddies.

So it may have been a bit of a bust of a day (and I had like cooked for days for this picnic) but it left me grateful for a few things-

• A dog that is so well behaved that she is not trouble inside a car dealership
• Friends who I trust totally and completely with my dogs
• Hyundai warranty and roadside assistance
• My new camo chihuahua sling by DreamChii that we not only used that day in the tow truck but have since taken hiking and to stores and we LOVE.  It both holds the dog close enough to your body that they don't swing around but also folds up tiny and looks like a tote bag for when the dog is just walking around.  Since I am a believer in my dog walking where ever she can I like a bag that just looks like a bag, not a giant dog purse when the dog is not in it.
• Also a husband that thinks gender norms are stupid and chihuahuas are cool so he is willing to wear said chihuahua bag out in public.  Then let me post about it on the internet.

So not all bad right?  We are going to try to do another picnic again soon- please put a good word in with the universe for us on this one.  I really would like to spend the day relaxing in a meadow.

Its Getting HOT Out

I hate to say it, but summer seems to have sprung upon Las Vegas a little early this year.  For the last three days it has hit 98 degrees and stayed there most of the afternoon.  This being my 4th Vegas summer I know what we are in for but I was not quite prepared for it to happen this early!  Kerrigan was not prepared for it to happen at all.

Saturday we went to Pet-a-Palooza (I would link you to the event site but they seem to have ripped it down nice and fast here).  It was an OK time, we got to visit with some of our animal rescue friends and our training place was there but boy was it hot.  It was even a little too hot to enjoy and we only stayed for about an hour.  Copley stayed at home because he is only a few days into his antibiotics and I hear it can make dogs sensitive to the sun.

I only took a few pictures-

Hiding from the sun while we enjoy some lemonade

 

 

Hot.  Look at that cure little tongue panting!

I am beginning to question the wisdom of getting a black dog.  She gets hot so easily poor little thing.  To help beat the heat I have pulled out some of my favorite summertime treats for the dogs.  I made goat stock ice cubes, froze some kongs with yogurt in them and bought a kiddy pool for splashing in the yard.

We also are happy to enjoy some good ole air-conditioned indoor fun, like chewing on bully sticks!

I am in the process of teaching Copley to go to and stay on that pink blanket so I have a more portable option than the crate for when I need him to stay put somewhere.  Right now he only gets his bully stick on that blanket and he has to stay on that blanket to keep it.  Things seem to be going well in that department.

You may notice the new snazzy collars they are wearing too.  I am going to make a post about it once Kerri's final tag gets here.  They are really cool collars and really cool tags, I can't wait to get everything in!