Adventures in Dock Diving

Now that Oak has finally started swimming, he never wants to stop! He loves it in the water. It's great for his hips too, so I don't mind taking him as often as I can. Since he is enjoying the water and swimming, I've been thinking of trying dock diving. There are some classes around here that I can take him to so we can get started. I thought I'd try him out on a "real" dock first to see how it went and then sign up for a class. We have a friend who owns a dock, so we went up to his house yesterday to try out Dock Diving. The first task was getting him on the dock! He was very nervous about walking on the dock and it took about 20 minutes to convince him he wasn't going to fall in just because he was on the dock!



After that, we tried throwing a stick in the water so he would jump in and fetch it. I took a video of him.



As you can see the result wasn't quite what we were looking for! He's such a smart little boy :) Then we tried it with Jamie (hubby, too cold for me to go in!) in the water calling Oak. I took a video of his gracful entry into the water.



He must have gone at least 6 inches away from the dock! What a dive! He tried one more time after that and once again sunk under water. I don't think he likes the sinking part. More practice and we'll get those 20 foot jumps, I'm sure of it!

Fun on the Weekend

This past weekend was full of fun and new experiences for Oak. The fun actually started on wednesday since he spent wednesday, thursday and friday in daycare playing with his buddy Lite.
On saturday I decided to take him to the river swimming, since we hadn't been for a few days. He had a great time in the water, swimming, chasing sticks, finding bugs, and running around in the tall grass.



He was very good about bringing the sticks back to shore, although not necessarily to me, so I could throw it again.



Sometimes they got lost in the current and floated down river so we went down there to find them. That's when we spotted these footprints in the water. There were none on shore, just in the river.
I think they were blue heron prints. Oak was really no help in deciding what they were :) To bad we didn't get to see the actual bird!



On sunday we went to a soccer tournament all day. He got to visit with the grandkids (who he loves),



meet some old friends, and some not so friendly acquaintances (Beau doesn't really like Oak) This is Beau and Zanara watching the game.



When we walked closer Beau started barking at him, so we stayed in our little spot, and they stayed in theirs. Zanara, on the other hand, will put up with Oak if she has to(she does, she is Lite's sister!). Not that she is ever too thrilled to have puppies around!

He was also interested in making some new friends. He was facinated with the ponies and goats(there was a petting zoo at the soccer tournament).



He decided the food the kids bought to feed the goats and llamas was actually quite yummy and he tried to find every little kibble that was dropped on the ground and gobble it up.



He was a very good boy over all and a very tired boy, by the time we got home.

Daycare on Saturday

On Saturday Oak and I had to go over to the daycare/boarding house and take care of the dogs staying there for the weekend. Oak was very picky about who he wanted to play with. He spent the whole time playing with Lite only.



Maxie and Hobbs played with each other, although every now and then somebody, usually Lite, would grab something they all wanted, and they would all chase him around the yard. Mostly though, Oak and Lite wrestled(usually in the livingroom) and Hobbs and Maxie enjoyed a good game of tug of war.
They slept (sometimes in very uncomfortable looking positions!)



or just rested for a minute,



then they'd be off again.



Personally I wish I had just a teeny weeny bit of the energy these dogs have! Meanwhile poor Zanara spent most of the day napping.



These yougun's are just too crazy for her!

Oak and Lite

Oak had Lite over again yesterday to play. They had great fun running around the yard, playing tug of war and chasing each other. We have 2 apple trees in the backyard and one of them has a branch that hangs really close to the deck stairs. Oak likes to take apples off the tree and toss them around like balls. He was doing that yesterday, when Lite came along and grabbed his apple.



Look at Oak's face! He wanted his play toy back! Lite didn't see any reason to play ball with the apple, when he could just eat it!



Finally, Lite dropped it, and Oak got what was left of the apple back. He grabbed it and ran!

Soccer Fun

Oak and I went to my grandkids soccer game last night. He was a wonderful boy. He sat still(most of the time), and didn't pull me around.



He had a great time( see the big smile!), met some new friends,



and got to spend time at the park. Unfortunately, he didn't get to play with the soccer ball or the kids!

Introducing InThePink Dagda's Sacred Oak

I just got Oak's registration papers from our breeder today and I'm so happy I got the name I wanted for him. There are reasons for choosing "Dagda's Sacred Oak" for his name and I thought I'd explain it here.
My last golden MacCartney's Phoenix of Dagda CD died in september 2008 after being my best friend for 14 years. When I decided it was time for a new puppy, I wanted to have his name connected to Phoenix somehow. So I started looking at names for the new puppy and decided to check into Celtic Mythology again. Another thing that figured into my name choice is his father's name, which is Leaf (Hyline's Branch of the Tree).
Dagda(part of Phoenix's name) is the god of life and death in Celtic Mythology. He is the Father of All Gods, also known as the "Good God" and the Irish Lord of the Land. During times of peace, the Dagda would play his living harp, also known as the "Oak of the Two Cities" or "Hand of Fourfold Music." As he played, the music would cause the seasons to process in order...Spring to Summer...Summer to Autumn...Autumn to Winter...and Winter again to Spring.
The Oak is Dagda's tree. The Oak was the principal sacred tree of the Druids, symbolizing truth and steadfast knowledge as well as the turning of the year. During this time, Druids would carve a circle in the tree for protection against lightning. The Oak was representative of the trials that individuals experience in life while changing and becoming who they were meant to be. This tree represented the soul which, in Celtic terms, was the "Eye of God." Doors made of Oak were believed to keep out evil. The word "door" derives from the Sanskrit "duir," Ogham for Oak and a word which symbolizes solidity and protection. In the realm of the forest, the Oak is the King of Trees, standing mightily solid with great branches, matched only be even greater roots. Often struck by lightning, the force of the strike and the heat bursts the sap and stem of the Oak apart, leaving the trunk gnarled and withered...yet, the Oak still manages to survive for decades or even centuries.
Also while I was researching I found that in Celtic astrology the Oak tree was my puppy's tree sign(July 4).
So everything seemed to fit together perfectly and he became InThePink Dagda's Sacred Oak.
He looks totally impressed with his name, don't you think? :)

My FIRST Birthday!!!

Saturday July 4, 2009 was my 1st birthday, so Mommy is letting me tell you guys all about it!
The best part of it all was the fact that we were up a the cottage! YAHOO!!! It's only the second time I've gone in my entire life and I love it there. I get to run around free, go swimming, go for walks in the woods, did I mention go swimming, play etc., etc. etc.....
After breakfast we went to the pond for a swim. Mommy threw sticks in and I fetched them. She said I did real good. Last time we were here, I was too afraid to even try swimming, but this time I loved it.


While we were at the pond, Daddy drove up on the quad and we went for a ride up the Old Road(they rode, I followed). They kept stopping and waiting for me, cause I wanted to check out all the interesting smells.
When we got back to the cottage, Mommy gave me a BIGGEST, BESTEST bone ever to chew on. It was the yummiest!!


I chewed and chewed and chewed, then I got tired of chewing, but I didn't want anyone else to get MY bone, so I searched and searched for a great place to hide it. I finally found the perfect spot and buried it under a tree in the bushes. Nobody will ever find it there, I'm sure of it!
Then my new friend Cerbrus came over and we all went for a great, big long walk in the woods.


(This is Cerbrus)
We found so many neat things on our adverture! There was a turtle(I didn't actualy see it, Mommy said I walked right over it, but at least I didn't step on it!).


We checked out the tree stands. Daddy has bunches and bunches of them set up in the bush for deer hunting. I wish I could climb up there!


And speaking of deer, check out this hole they made in the ground. Daddy puts a salt lick here for them every year and over the past 20 years, they've created this great, big hole in the ground! The holes I dig never get this big, but that's because Mommy keeps filling them in. I had to climb down in it and sniff around to see why it was so special. It smelled really different.


Daddy wanted to show us all a rock he found the last time he was in the woods. He was looking everywhere for it, but we found it before him! He says its like a giant jigsaw puzzle and the pieces all fit together. Why would anybody want a rock? You can't eat a rock, I know cause I tried :)


I found lots of sticks on our walk. Too many to choose from, but some were just too big for me to carry :)


Then we got to the bridges! There were a couple of them, that we had to walk over. I wasn't sure I wanted too, but Cerbrus went right across, so I figured I had to "pretend" to be a big boy now and go across too. Mommy was very proud of me, and it wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be.


Then we saw a frog! Well, at least Mommy did, I was running around having too much fun and ran right by it! There are just too many things to see and no time to see them all!


We stopped at the pond and went swimming again. Even Daddy and Danny went swimming this time. They didn't fetch sticks like I did though. Don't know3 why, it's the best part of swimming!


We stopped back at the cottage so I could eat my me supper then, we were off again. Mommy and Daddy ate supper over a Cerbrus's house. I got to steal some of Cerbrus's food, then Mommy made me stop. I snuck back over to it again, but by then, there were only a few crumbs left. After supper Mommy and Daddy and their friends were going to play croquet, but I kept taking the ball. I'm sure they were throwing it for me, why else would it be rolling around on the ground? Finally they gave up and played soccer with me instead. Afterall, it's my birthday, everything should be about me, right?


After our soccer game, we had a fire and Mommy took this picture of the sunset. I'm not sure why, who cares if the sun is setting?


What a fabulous birthday! What a fabulous weekend! Now I'm going to sleep for a week(or at least an hour or two :)