Afternoon Winds Are Howling

It wasn't long after their lunch we went outside as usual. Like I said in my post this morning, I was going to take up the rope tethered to the anchor and put it back into the FJ.

Like they always do, no matter what ... if the back door to the FJ opens Sadie and Stella are jumping in without me saying a word. 

They like to ride and the past few months I have been taking them with me on short trips around town. So far Stella has not tore up anything when I spend time in a store but she does move to the front seat and looks out the front window for me. You can see in these photos it didn't take long for her to get in the driver's seat.

After I talked them into getting out of the FJ, they headed for the field while Heidi spent some time in the front yard. She seemed to like walking around but didn't get to far today ... not even into the backyard.

Sadie is becoming addicted to her walks as much as her food ... to the point that she wants to go for a walk every time she goes outside. That will never happen. Both of them don't seem to roam the field as long as they use to. This is the 'stare down' that Sadie gives me inside or outside when she wants to go on a walk.

Later in the afternoon I decided it was time to burn off some of their energy, after all they had been sleeping all afternoon while the winds outside were strong enough to move the large branches of the tall sycamore tree and rattle all of my vintage storm windows. 

As Stella shakes her head ready to go, Heidi wants to stay outside but she doesn't want to go with us on the walk. Once I would walk toward the door to let her back inside she would turn around and head back to the driveway, wanting to stay outside. So the bloodhounds and I took off.

As we got near the corner where Stella likes to veer right and take her time, I called her to 'come on' to keep her near me as much as possible. I didn't want to wait or have to go get her if she got too far behind. I still had Heidi loose at the house and even though it would be very rare for Heidi to get in trouble I didn't want to take that one chance of saying "what if ... ".

When it got to this point I was telling Sadie that I was walking home and Stella could show up when she wanted. I was tired of calling for her and being ignored. She finally figured out that Sadie and I were not waiting on her and she came sprinting, fast enough that I couldn't catch her with the camera for more than a couple of photos.

I guess it is easier for her to turn left running full speed if she holds her left ear up. The thing is she would never be able to hold her ears up on her own. Not possible. Flopping ears and fast speeds.

As we got near the house Heidi could be seen. I really expected to find her in the front yard enjoying the sun but she must have spent the time we were on the walk, just snooping around the house. 

Of course with Sadie being the 'leader of the pack' she had to make sure that Heidi was okay when she returned.

She might have a clean bill of health with her blood tests but for many months I have thought her back legs must be bothering her bad enough that she doesn't want to go on the walk in the field, when she use to love doing that. She never missed the chance to take the daily walk. 

The vet and I have rubbed, squeezed and moved those rear hocks but she never reacts as if they are painful. They look painful and swollen but they have looked like that for many years. The skin on those are very soft like they should be. I guess I couldn't tell when they were covered in white hair.

I've been discussing with a friend how can you help a large breed dog lose weight. Some people say cut portions of food and supplement with green beans. Others say weight management food or portion control and others say raw food. Any suggestions?

Sadie has been losing weight but I cut her portions many months ago and at the same time with warmer weather she is getting two walks per day. By the way she looks in the photos and the way she feels on the sides, I can tell she is losing some weight but she is a big hound. My friend's mastiff is 136#, so we have been discussing what to do with him. Their vet says the mastiff has to lose some weight.

I may go back and update older posts and hope when I push the update button that Blogger does not move that older post to the top like the newest post ... it did that to me a few times in the past.

It's above 60° but really  really windy here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Like Most Any Other Day

It might seem like every day is the same ... they're not. I am glad that most readers of this blog show up to just look at the photos, because lately the commentary has been pretty dull in this blogger's eyes.

Still, there are subtle differences in each day. Some of those you can pick up in the photos posted here, sometimes you might catch it in my rambling. Really, that's all it really is. 

So like life and blogs, there is an ebb and flow to what happens and what is written about.

Today didn't start out any different than most days. Heidi's skin color was the best I have seen yet when she woke up, but it slowly disintegrates as the day gets longer. This morning I had photos sent to me from a Florida beach that my friend is visiting with her family, to escape Chicago. Sadie and Stella went out first for a very short time and a surprise to me ... they came running when I yelled "come on".

No treat bribes were involved. I did not have to scream their names. I didn't have to talk to myself while they ignored me ... this morning they sprinted for the house.

You see the rope still tethered to the livestock anchor but it has not been used the past few days. Under a watchful eye, Stella has been out with Sadie unleashed, roaming the field and not going back to the neighbors drainage ditch ... so she is off probation. I'll take up that rope after this post and put it back in the FJ rear door storage net.

A little after 10am, I decided I would beat the hounds to the punch so to speak and take them for their first walk of the day before they started to beg to walk. As I was putting on my coach and one glove, dressing a little warmer today for the 47° temps and a strong cold wind .. they heard me and woke from their morning nap ... excited to walk.

Why just one glove?  I have to keep my camera finger exposed.

About everything was the same but like I said earlier, every day there are subtle changes. Today Stella decided to make that happen. She veered right as usual but stay there until Sadie and I were almost 3/4 of the way home. Luckily she came running when I called her name.

She moved back in front of Sadie and in front of me acting like nothing different had happened. She would still like to wander off and always looks like she is a little mad when I tell her to "come on".

It sure did look like in this photo that she had a scent of the squirrel that Sadie found the other day hiding in the grass, then chased it into the wooded area shown behind Stella today, and up a tree. I said "come here" and she left the scent and came toward me. I cannot afford to let her get into the chase mode and possibly take off near the highway in pursuit.

I guess they were both satisfied with their walk this morning. They followed me close on the way home and came trotting to the house without any problems.

I think I will pack up ALL the hounds today in the FJ, take the camera and do some local driving around and see what I can find. Similar to what Al and Pheebes does over at The Bayfield Bunch. I really need to get out of the house at times. Thank you Al for motivating me.

Another subtle change that you may have not noticed ... I have a new blog, a little different format with multiple posts per day, very short commentary and a few photos ... like instant shots and instant thoughts. The quality of photos are really much sharper than the Blogger blog.

At least it's sunny today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

The Hounds Love Their Walks

It was after lunch and after 1:30pm that Heidi finally decided to get out from under her blankets and take a trip outside.

She actually walked from the front yard to the back without any asking from me. That's a good sign that she is wanting to go in the back.

Although that was no further than "Winston's Patio" ... those red block are warm under the sun. They felt warm when I laid my hand on them.

Once Sadie and Stella saw her outside they were shocked and didn't move. Not really, Sadie was interested but all Stella did was pose for me as she chewed and swallowed something gross she found in the field.

No matter what, Heidi was not going to move off those brick slabs and turned to go back inside once she saw Sadie walking toward the house.

After they napped for a couple of hours, Sadie started giving me the stare down. That no longer means she just wants to go outside ... it means they want to go on a walk. As I let them outside they both stood in the driveway staring at me to see if a walk was going to occur. Once Stella realized where I was going, she came sprinting.

They really enjoy roaming the field and have become quite addicted to the two walk routine ... as much as they like being fed twice per day.

It was still cold most of the day but no complaints from 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.