Togo's owner asked me to take some photos of him in action, but the results were so horrible that I'm embarrassed to show them to her. I know what the problems are, and I should have said I'd be happy to take photos of Togo some other time. Yesterday, the lack of a lens filter and the blinding midday sun reflecting off of a bright white dog caused all sorts of problems.
Togo is a magnificent dog, though, and the photos really don't due him justice. A big, beautiful, pure white Shepard, Togo LOVES playing fetch. I mean, he REALLY LOVES playing fetch. I don't think you'll see a photo of Togo without a ball in his mouth. If you do see him without his ball, you can bet your butt he's chasing after it!
As you can see, Togo is playful and fun-loving. He's also gentle with the smaller dogs, friendly and affectionate towards people, and he seems happy all the time. Also, although you might not see it in this photo, he's soaking wet!
He is drenched because he swam across the pond to get his ball when it was thrown into the water. Boy, this dog can swim! He practically ran across the the surface of the pond in his eagerness to reach the ball, and then he swam like a duck until he caught the ball and then swam all the way back to land. And don't forget - that water was COLD! It was icy, icy cold! If I do get another shot at photographing Togo, I definitely want to get a picture of that running on water action!
I like this photo because of the mischievousness in Togo's eyes. You can see how much fun he get out of all this running, chasing, and swimming activity. He's just about grinning with joy - which is exactly what I like to see in a dog. A dog's happiness is definitely contagious to humankind!
We saw the cutest Brussels Griffon at the park on Saturday. She was very well behaved, very friendly, and she had the longest legs I've ever seen on the breed. In fact, she was one of the largest Brussels Griffons I have seen!
According to the American Kennel Club, the Brussels Griffon should not exceed 12 pounds. But as you can see, she is very close in size to my 24 pound Lexi.
They are said to have almost human facial expressions, which certainly held true for this little dog. You'll also notice that her tail is cropped. I read somewhere that dogs with cropped tails often have trouble communicating with other dogs, because tail action is part of the language of dogs. Wagging tails, tails held straight up in the air, tucked under tails, drooping tails; all are an integral part of dog-to-dog communication. This dog didn't seem particularly affected, but in general I don't care to see a dog with it's tail cut off in order to meet some strange human concept of attractiveness or usefulness.
We also saw an absolutely gorgeous Long Haired German Shepard. As far as I know, the long hair was once thought to be a fault for a German Shepard, one that would disqualify him from being shown or from being bred. Now, however, there are many breeders who specialize in the long haired variety of German Shepard. I can see why. At the same time they manage to look fiercer and larger than their short haired cousins, yet somehow they remind me of a big, cuddly stuffed toy!
Here the two varieties of German Shepard are circling around each other to check each other out. Clearly nothing was amiss, because they peacefully parted ways and went off in different directions.
Visiting a dog park can be the high point of your dog's week, and I don't want any negative statements from my last post, Dog Park Play, to scare anyone off going to one. My friends and I went to the dog park at Callahan State Park today, and everyone had an absolutely wonderful time. Little Lexi is without a doubt the social butterfly of the group. Here she is with one of the many new friends she played with today, and you can easily tell her new pal is having a blast, as well!
These two handsome guys made a big hit with everyone, but Lexi was the playmate of choice. (By the way, the German Shepard isn't sticking his tongue out at anybody. Dogs lick their noses all the time, and if you watch for it you'll see it frequently. They do when they are excited and happy, and they do it when theyre nervous or startled.)
She greets the Shepard politely, but he seems more intrigued by her resemblance to a sheep than he is interested in playing with her.
The German Shepard's companion, on the other hand, is a whole different story! This good looking dog (who could almost be a mixture of Greyhound, Shepard, and Pointer), took a liking to Lexi right away - and the feeling was mutual!
They started playing right away, completely oblivious to the presence of other dogs like Carolyn's Murphy, who is in the foreground.
Like her brother, Socrates, and like most terriers, Lexi has no clue that she is a small dog. She, too, likes to play with the big boys. And it was quite obvious that these two were just PLAYING at fighting. Neither dog was at all frightened or anxious. They were both having tons of fun! (Look closely and you'll see some more tongue action here!)
These two are having a great time hanging out together, no question about it. This kind of fun is what going to the dog park is all about!
