Played hard today

Zach's buddies had a good time catching up on eachother's pee-mail. Also played with old and met lots of new RV dog buddies here at our monthly rally. We were able to jump on a boat and enjoy the ocean for a couple hours. We left Zachary in the comfort of his air-conditioned RV. He loves walking and was ready to go when we came home from our boat trip.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Motorhome packed

The motorhome is packed and we will head out this afternoon for a couple days of rest and relaxation. I hope to be able to continue to blog while we are away. Looking forward to seeing our RV buddies.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Packing the Motorhome

Zach became excited this morning when I plugged the electric for the motorhome. He has firgured out that going camping follows soon after this ritual. He is correct, we head out tomorrow for our monthly RV trip to meet our usual RV buddies. I had just locked the door to the motorhome when we heard thunder in the distance. We managed to get the bikes on the rack just in time. Again we were blessed with more rain tonight.
Hopefully the rain stays here and we have good weather for our trip.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Scared puppy

Lots more rain and thunder and lightning today. As usual Zachary wanted to be on top of or under us for safety. It is strange because this seems to be getting worse as he gets older. With all the summer afternoon rains, this is not good. I have tried playing with him and giving him a Greenie, to try to focus on something besides the thunder. Neither of these has worked.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Our blocks worked

After all the rain we had yesterday and today, work was needed in area we mulched out front. I had two places that the rain eroded away some dirt and mulch. To fix this, we placed 6 large 12"x 12" blocks to be used a splash plates. Zachary again was outside helping by chilling under a tree, while we worked. After checking our front garden after more rain tonight, our blocks worked.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Rainy day

We have had rain most of the day. We needed the rain, but not the thunder that came along. Zach does not like thunder one bit. He either wants to be sitting or laying on top of us or under our chair. He takes whimpy to a whole new level. Thank goodness we only had thunder for one hour today.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"
zacharys_fan_club@yahoo.com

Tired puppies

All of us in the house are tired puppies tonight. After finishing the edging and putting out 43 bags of rubber mulch, none of us are moving fast. Now you may think Zachary had it easy today, wrong. He was out with us the entire time we were outside. Our neighbors had a yard sale so there was lots of foot and car traffic to keep Zach busy for hours. All this was between on and off rain showers. We all got wet one time when the rain came out of blue sky. I think Zach stayed the driest since he was under a tree.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Helped in front garden

Zachary had a good time this afternoon as we started putting border around the front garden. While we worked, the boy was chilling, watching cars and people. We had him hooked to a tree close enough to us to stay out of trouble, but far enough away to keep him from getting in the way. He loved rolling in the grass and hanging out. Tomorrow we will finish with our helper, Zachary.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Relaxing

After a hard day of walking and chasing lizards, what else is there to do, but relax.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Zach's 2 cents

Several times a day Zachary wants to lay on my lap while I am at the computer. Today he made it hard to use my number keys on the right. What is really tough, is when he starts dreaming and his chin starts moving. Before I can stop him, he has typed a whole line.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Playing cards

Not wanted to be left out yesterday, Zachary asked if he could play cards with us. As you can see, he is checking to make sure he makes the best play.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Father's Day

Zachary had a busy day with Grandma and Grandpa who came over for Father's Day and also celebrate two birthdays. Zach could not decide who he wanted to follow. He kept following Grandma into the bathroom to help and being under foot. After a relaxing afternoon of dinner and cribbage, Zach was wired to go walking tonight. As soon as we walked out the door, we meet one of our neighors who walks at night with her cat following behind. We waited for the cat to get a head start before we walked around the block. The first time around, Zach walked fast trying to catch the cat. We passed them as they turned in to their house and continued around for our second lap.
Tonight he slept, and is now quietly chewing on his Greenie.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"
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Backyard Cranes

More of Zachary's backyard critters. Zach will run back and forth trying to get the Sandhill cranes to fly. They normally just squak and ignore him.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Zach helps a Dalmatian

When we were out walking tonight and a Dalmatian came running by where we were walking. He circled around and then walked a little way with us down the street. A lady walked out and asked if we had seen a Dalmatian. We walked back to where she was standing and her dog followed. The lady said he was deaf and he slipped out when her son went out on the porch. She slipped a leash on him as we were talking. She thanked us and said she was not sure what she would have done if her dog did not follow Zachary. We were glad we could help.

“Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy”
zacharys_fan_club@yahoo.com

Something out of place

Our former Westie was well know for letting you know if something had changed in his world or seemed out of place. Our current Westie is no different. I had water running into a built up area around the new tree in the backyard. I had walked away to go check the hose, and Zach started to high-pitch bark. I thought he may have seen a lizard, but what I found was pretty amazing. Zachary was barking because there was water running out 2 break-throughs in the built up area. He was letting me know that something was not right. As soon as I turned off the water he quit barking. I praised he for letting me know about the water.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Helped plant trees

Zachary had a busy day today. This morning while walking he met Ponche an Irish Setter. His owner Dave was not sure how he would get along with Zach, because of his size. Well after sniffing each other it was playtime. They played until both of their toungue were hanging out. This afternoon he helped plant trees, one in the front yard and one in the back. I am not sure who was more drity, Zachary or my partner. Before he came in, he was hosed off with water. He had fun though playing in all that rich soil.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"
zacharys_fan_club@yahoo.com

Cabin fever

Zachary misses going outside and chasing lizards which he does daily. We have been getting lots and lots of rain with Tropical Storm Alberto. I have been walking him between rain bands but several times we have gotten soaked. Depending on how long it takes for the storm to pass out of state will determine whether the boy will lizard hunt today.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"
zacharys_fan_club@yahoo.com

Visit grandparents

Zachary had a busy afternoon, he went to see Grandma and Grandpa. He loves going to their house since are so many new smells and lots to get into. He sometimes had to decide which of 4 people to follow. He loved being outside the best, new lizards and squirrels. He did real well at not falling into the pool as he raced around trying to catch critters. The critters won this time. He was a tired puppy when he came home.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"
zacharys_fan_club@yahoo.com

Cat encounter

As we went out the door to walk, I had to hold tight. Our neighbors cat, Lucie was sound asleep one foot from the door. Lucie so she could care less since she was raised with dogs. Zachary on the other hand was pulling as hard as he could towards Lucie. I managed to rechannel his interests, and we started our walk. As we came back to the house, Lucie was in the same spot to greet us. Zach had another opportunity to have an up close an personal encounter with a cat. With a little help from his me, he passed Lucie unharmed.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"
zacharys_fan_club@yahoo.com

Spooked by gun shots

While were outside tonight, Zach heard gun shots. We had just come home, so I know he really needed to go potty. Nothing doing, as soon as he heard the gun shots he ran back to the door. He beat me to the door and scratched for me to hurry up. If I remember our former Westie was not fond of loud noises either.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"
zacharys_fan_club@yahoo.com

Bye-bye trips

Zachary has been going with us more places since we do not have to worry about his crate. He is super curious about people passing by and where he is going. When we travel in the motorhome we will continue to use the travel crate for safety.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"
zacharys_fan_club@yahoo.com

Does not bark much

Zach is close to 10 months old now. Tonight when we were walking I realized how much he has changed over the months. At one time he would bark at everything including other dogs. Tonight 5 other dogs barked at him and he just kept walking, with our encouragement. All this without a sound from him. It is nice to be able to take him walking or places around town and he will behave.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Indestructible Ball

We finally found a soft flexible ball that Zachary cannot destroy. In the past we have used plastic balls and playground balls, both leak air from his teeth. This one has no air, but is soft to the touch. This ball drives him absolutely nuts. He wants to pop it so bad, but he cannot. I am curious to see just how long it lasts.

“Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy”
zacharys_fan_club@yahoo.com

Asleep at Computer

As you can see it is very hard to type when Zachary helps me at the computer. You may not be able to tell, but he is sleeping on my lap.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Crate free trip in car

Zachary had a big day, he went bye-bye without being in his crate. I put him in the backseat with his leash on and asked him to lay down. He did real well, only got up a couple of times. One time was so he could see me and not be behind my seat. The other was to climb and lay on blankets I had in the backseat. I think he had a better view out of the window on top of the blankets.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"
zacharys_fan_club@yahoo.com

Helped in the yard

Zachary was out most of the morning with us trimming hedges and changing flood light bulbs. He enjoys people and animal watching. Most of all he likes being inside or outside wherever we are at the time. He is so afraid he might miss something. He is sacked out now on the tile floor catching up on his sleep. Every once and awhile his little paws start moving and he makes noises. Just like when he is awake, he is on the move in his dreams.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"
zacharys_fan_club@yahoo.com

Puppy shoe laces & nipping

Last night we saw a minature wiener dog which we had not seen since he was a couple weeks old. He is 2 months younger than Zachary and wired for sound. He loves shoe laces and wanted to nip. It reminded of Zach 2 months ago, he is somewhat better now. We are still working with Zach so he does not nip.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"

Lizard patrol

Zachary is on constant lizard patrol. We can be walking around the bock and Zach will spot a lizard and the chase is on. This trait is so ingrained in Westie's that they cannot walk by one without chasing. Sometimes it would be nice if they were able to have a lizard free day.

"Happiness is being loved by a Westie puppy"
zacharys_fan_club@yahoo.com