Posts
T'was a busy weekend. Awake by 0600 on Saturday for the Reeds Lake Run, then get ready for my little brother Ryan's bachelor party! I had about two hours at home between the race and getting back in the car to drive to Midland for his celebration which included grilling out on a softball field, playing frisbee golf, taking in a minor league baseball game, then hitting the cursory bar for a few drinks. Poor Ryan had to wear a plastic ball and chain around his ankle all day (amazingly he was still good at frisbee golf while wearing it!), a giant sombrero, and a t-shirt with a picture of a pinata and the caption "I'd Hit It". I wish I'd remembered to take a photo! I didn't get home until after 0300!
Sunday Amanda and I took Eddie to meet his future "parents" and otherwise tried to take it easy. However, Haven and Beacon started giving me those soulful looks of "let's go do something!" so I decided to take them to the river. After all, the weather was perfect - upper 60's, sunny, and a light breeze. My legs were a bit tired from Saturday's two races but good enough that we bypassed the river access near the parking area and jogged half a mile on the trail up and over a large hill to the prime river access point.
Rather than throw sticks for fetching, this time I took the dogs for a walk, or rather a "wade", up the river! The recent dry spell had lowered the water level enough that I could walk the 50 yards across the river without getting deeper than my knees. Even the dogs were mostly walking or bunny-hopping in the shallow water. We waded about a 1/4 mile upstream to a section of small rapids where there were a couple "nozzle" points that had rather strong flow. It was strong enough that I had trouble standing and the dogs had to swim as hard as they could just to stand still. We had fun playing in the rapids - I walked up the "nozzle" then back through while the dogs went for a theme-park-like ride through the chute!
Finally we jogged back to the parking area, a dirt cul-de-sac next to an old boy scout cabin. Haven loves to eat weeds (I have no idea why!) and there were some nice, long, un-mowed weeds in back of the cabin. As she bent down to grab a bite I was about to scold her when suddenly a whitetail deer fawn sprung out of the weeds! Haven was startled for just a split second before she gave chase, and Beacon soon joined her as they pursued the poor little deer around the building.
The fawn was a bit taller than my dogs, but clearly much scrawnier and probably only weighed 50 lbs to my dogs 65-70 lbs each. As the trio rounded the corner I heard the fawn start bleating like a goat, crying "Mmmaaah! Mmmaaah!" over and over - I feared that my dogs were going to kill it! I sprinted around the opposite side of the cabin, hoping to head them off and get between the predators and the prey to prevent serious harm.
To my surprise, when I rounded the cabin the fawn was nowhere to be seen! My dogs love to scarf their food, but no way did they eat that fawn. :) Beacon was in the parking lot scanning every which way trying to spot the deer. Haven, however, was one step ahead - she was sniffing underneath a wooden staircase. I walked over to grab Haven when the fawn clambered out from under the stairs right past Haven, who merely sniffed it as it started to run away again.
Seeing it run excited my dogs enough to give chase. While faster than me, the fawn wasn't nearly strong enough to outclass adult canine speed and my dogs closed in quickly as the fawn raced down the road. Knowing I couldn't accomplish anything by chasing, I ran back to the car and opened the back door, hoping to signal my dogs that it's "time to go" - usually they'll jump right in. Then it occurred to me... What if mommy deer hears the bleating and comes after my dogs? Luckily I was the only "adult" around!
When I turned back to the action, I saw one of the most improbable sights of my life - the fawn was standing frozen with Haven and Beacon motionless on either side of it!!! I so wish I'd had a camera right then. The fawn must've tired out or realized it couldn't outrun the dogs. Haven and Beacon started to sniff the fawn when Bambi decided to go on the offensive - it reared back and head-butted Beacon just like a goat would do! Beacon was startled and jumped back. Bambi lunged again and Beacon got down in a dog's "play bow" with his front paws down and butt in the air.
Beacon put a couple juke moves on the fawn, feinting left and right and when Bambi went for another "attack" Beacon ran away back to me for safety! I was really cracking up at this point. A little fawn put the smack down on big bad Beaks! Confirming my idea to open the car door, Beacon jumped right up onto the seat and I quickly closed the door to finally contain one dog.
Looking back to Haven, she was trying to sniff the fawn just like she would greet a new foster dog. She was trying to make friends! But the fawn was understandably less trusting and kept trying to head-butt Haven, moves that Haven was easily able to dodge. Finally I think Haven got tired of this belligerent potential pal and she came running back to me to see what happened to Beacon. I got her in the car just as Bambi turned to lope out of sight down the road.
Amanda couldn't believe me when I told her the story and she really wishes she could've seen it. I'm still amazed that the dogs didn't injure the fawn, but even more incredible is that they wanted to play with it! That image of Haven and Beacon standing either side of the fawn is permanently etched in my memory... Classic. I'll probably never see something like that again, but still I hope that someday the dogs will encounter another fawn and try to play with it. My dogs never cease to amaze!
A review of six dog frisbees... can any withstand the jaws of a Labrador Retriever?
About a year ago Amanda and I decided to teach our dogs to catch a frisbee. We weren't sure how well our dogs would take to the activity so we bought a cheap plastic disc at Petsmart for $1 and starting throwing. After getting clunked in the head a few times, they finally figured out that frisbees were meant for catching! They really enjoy it, especially Beacon. The problem is that Beacon has yet to learn to treat these toys gently.
After he filled that first plastic disc with puncture holes and bent it until it was unflyable, we figured it was time to upgrade. For $15 we bought a Soft Bite Floppy Disc, which offered some advantages: it's made of flexible nylon with a soft rim - surely Beacon couldn't deform it, and nylon is tough. Not tough enough! Beacon quickly started putting holes in the fabric and $15 a pop is too high of a replacement cost.
One of my co-workers is a world class Airdale trainer and she suggested we try a Flippy Flopper, which she uses with her dogs. While her highly trained dogs have learned to control strength of their bite - they've worked as both powerful police dogs and gentle bird retrievers - ours haven't. Both Beacon and Haven were able to puncture the nylon fabric until the discs were so riddled with holes that they wouldn't fly as far.
The problem with flexible frisbees is that Beacon seems to think they're alive and he shakes them violently when he brings them back to us. While he bit the frisbee, we bit the wallet and shook out another $15 to try a Booda TurboDisc, a rigid disc with a hole in the center to make easier for dogs to grab it off the ground. See, that was one way Beacon made holes - when he missed a throw he'd press his mouth hard against the disc on the ground and bite down, grabbing a mouthful of dirt with the disc! It turned out that the hole in this frisbee made it a poor flier. Besides, Beacon put holes in this one, too!
Since Beacon can apparently put holes in anything, we were desperate for a good, durable frisbee. We put down yet another $15 for an Easy Glider, a thick foam disc that hopefully had enough squishy foam mass to hold up when punctured. This frisbee flies amazingly well and is easy to control - a sweet people disc. But not for dogs, as Beacon managed to rip a large hole in the middle and it no longer flies very well.
Back to the drawing board, we stopped by Chow Hound and bought a Kong Flyer for a relatively cheap $10. This frisbee is made of tough but flexible rubber with a stiffer rim. We tried this out today and so far, no damage! It's only been through one fetch session with Beacon's jaws, but there are no holes yet. This disc is also a great flier - I was able to throw it farther than any other dog frisbee we've tried.
Update: It turns out that even the Kong Flyer is vulnerable to dog teeth. Beacon was able to make holes in it, but due to the nature of rubber they sealed up nicely and the disc never lost any flight ability. Over time, though, the holes add up and once sufficiently riddled with tooth punctures Beacon was able to "connect the dots" and rip a large gash down the middle. Nevertheless, the Kong Flyer is easily the best-flying and longest-lasting frisbee of the discs reviewed here.