Swimming at Sandgate

Sandgate Beach - This is an awfully big bath, Mum!

Jack here, reporting in from my snuggle blankie. It's been an absolutely beautiful weekend here in sunny Brisbane, so the humans decided to take us on an adventure. Dad put the horrible harnesses on us, and put us in the magic machine (or 'car' as the Mum calls it) and we set off to Sandgate. And we enjoyed ourselves so much yesterday, that we did the same thing today! Yeah! Ella is passed out on the lounge snoring. Dad is passed out in his chair snoring. And I'm getting Mum to type this quickly so that we can join in the snorefest.

Living the good life on our own private island!

I'm completely knackered after going for a proper swim for the very first time. Usually I paddle and then reverse out of the wet stuff as quickly as my paws can take me. But this weekend Mum and Dad were walking with me, and I was bouncing through the water happily when Mum started making the most awful squealing noise! She was saying, "Jackie's swiiiiiiiimiiiiiiing, look babe, he's swimming!"

What? OH NOES, WHERE DID THE GROUND GO?!!! And why is Mum's voice so squeaky?!

Jellyfish - "LEAVE IT" command? Love it!

Anywoof, it was pawsomely fun. Except when the nasty waves kept slapping me in the face and the humans sounded suspiciously like they might have been snickering about it, and offered such useful advice as, "Turn your face away, mate!" Oh Really? If you weren't making me swim towards you into the slap-happy waves that might have been a bit easier, HUMANS!

They also yelled "Leave it!" a fair bit,  but we didn't mind for once because there were scary looking things like this jellyfish! Dad says that this sort isn't dangerous like a lot of the other ones (Ella: I was not told that there are a LOT of other bad stingy sorts! I'm rethinking this beach business.)

Dad also saw a stone fish and even yelled at Mum to stay away from that one. They are very poisonous and can even kill you if the sting is untreated. (Ella: What? .... I'm never leaving the lounge again.)

 

Sandgate Beach - Dogs Gone Wild

We had an absolute ball but all that running and swimming has made me super sleepy so I'm going to tell Mum to put the lappytop and me to bed.  I hope all your dreams are as good as mine will be tonight.

Porky Pups

Ella says:

So, the nasty vet pinched me and told me I'm fat. Is that any way to talk to a lady?! He called me a Porky Pup. So hurtful. He wants me to lose at least 1kg, preferably 2, and said that Jack could stand to lose around 1kg.

Doesn't he realise how much work is involved to get extra kgs? The sad faces I've had to pull? The bins I've had to raid? The pet shop girls I've had to schmooze for treats? The Daddy I've had to... well, he pretty much gives me treats if I breathe, so not really too much effort there, heh heh heh. And of course, Mum, instead of defending me and pointing out that I'm just a bit fluffy at the moment, AGREED WITH HIM. Foul treachery! Check out my physique to the left. I'm strong and confident in my Big Beautiful Woofer fur.

This is what's going to happen to the vet next time he says something rude to us ===>

The upside is we're getting even more exercise and good foods in an effort to slim down. Dad (and Mum if she's not on late shift) have started taking us for a walk at 4:45am because it's getting super hot in Brisbane now and that's the only time cool enough to be enjoyable. For our overseas visitors, Brisbane is a sub-tropical city and we're headed into Summer. It was 36 degrees Celsius (97F) at our house yesterday! Even worse, it's so muggy that it feels like the air is a heavy wet blanket trying to smother us. Bleh!

Anywoof, Mum said that we're looking more streamlined already, and that we'll all feel better for being fitter. Oh really? I don't see HER evening rations being halved, do I?! Growl.

Dental Dilemma and Review: VetzLife Oral Care Gel (Part 1)

Jack here. We had to visit the vet the other day, and after rudely shoving his fingers into our mouths and other areas they don't belong, he made two nasty comments. I'll deal with the first one, and Ella will growl about the second one later.

Jack's worst tooth.

 First of all, he declared that our upper chompers need some extra help staying clean. Mum was a bit miffed as we're fed raw bones, piggy ears, and we have kongs and other fun things to chew on. The vet told her that all of that is excellent and would usually keep our teeth pearly white, but he suspects that our mouth structure and breed is working against us ever out-smiling Julia Roberts.

Ella's grotty incisors/canine.

He made some horrible suggestions to try over the next 6 months, otherwise he's going to "put them under" for a "good scrub and scale". Put who under what?! Scrub is something we run through at the family farm, and scales belong on the dead fishies I like to roll in, don't they? I'm so confused. Ella had her head buried in Mum's armpit by that point (she's such a lady), so she thinks I'm making it up. But I know what I heard!

Mum is too lazy to try for a less reflective photo.

VetzLife Oral Care Gel in Original Peppermint is the first suggestion to clean up our chompers. So Mum bought some like the annoying goody-two-shoes that she is. From their website: "VetzLife produces 100% All-Natural Oral Care products, including Spray & Gels, which help remove plaque and tartar, reverse oral disease, promote healthy gums, brighten teeth and helps control bacteria that causes bad breath. The secret is a proprietary blend of grapefruit seed extract and other all-natural herbs and ingredients."

We don't particularly like the taste (Mum note: I would have bought the salmon flavour, but they'd sold out). I've mastered the art of sucking my jowls in and clamping my jaw shut, mwahaha, so at least I'm going down with a fight! Since we have weirdo reactions to a lot of common medicines, we're only getting half the usual dose to make sure it's ok for us for the first few days. So far so good. Mum is going to take some follow-ups photos to check on the progress.

She's also supposed to start brushing our teeth. See above re: jowl sucking and jaw clamping and start laying your bets on this happening successfully. On the upside, we're also to continue getting our raw bones etc, and Mum also bought us some deer antlers, which are supposed to be good for toothie cleaning.

I'll keep you updated on our dental dilemma.

Snuggles
Jack

Wordless Wednesday - Kedron Brook