The last few days the weather around here has been perfect. Cool at night, moderately warm in the daytime but not hot. Basically I think we have been experiencing the kind of weather they have in California all the time. For us, this kind of Fall like weather is very rare. We decided we had to celebrate, and what better way to celebrate than with a trip to the beach?
The puppies were so excited! They were surprised when we got up and started getting ready to go for a ride. They were even more surprised when we got to the beach.
The beach was perfect. The weather couldn't have been better. It was pleasant enough that it wasn't hot, but not cold either. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and there was just enough of a breeze to keep the mosquitoes away. When we first started walking, the sun was behind us and wasn't very high int he sky yet. On the way back, it was higher in the sky, but with the cool breeze, it was still pleasant. 
Everything is more exciting for the puppies at the beach of course. There were shells and birds and sticks. And more importantly, there was sand. Lots of sand.

Apparently mid morning is a dangerous time to walk the beach. We could smell people cooking breakfast at their campsites. Miss S and Mr. C were convinced that they needed to go help cook breakfast and kept pulling us in the direction of breakfast. 

After such an exciting morning, the puppies were totally exhausted. They played a little in the backyard when we got home, but after that, they all fell asleep on the floor while Mom made bread. Miss M volunteered her blog editing services for this post- she slept while Mom typed.

Saturday the weather was finally mild enough to go to the beach again. For the past two months or so, it has just been too hot in the evenings to take the puppies to the beach, and the mornings have been so muggy, that we just didn't even bother. Yesterday, we noticed that the afternoon was kind of pleasant. It was warm but not blazing hot, and the humidity wasn't too bad. So as it got closer to evening, we got the puppies all ready and loaded them into the car. They were excited to be able to go somewhere. We suspect that they thought they were going to puppy school because when we passed the turn for school, they all started looking around. They seemed a little concerned and all crowded around the front near us. When we pulled into the office parking lot at the State Park, they knew exactly where they were. When Mom got out to go check us in, the whole car was shaking from all the tail wagging inside.
The weather was perfect. It wasn't too hot, and the humidity was low there too. When we walked from the parking lot over to the beach itself, the puppies were all on their best behavior. There were people everywhere, but they didn't bark at them at all. They didn't even pay any attention to the kids we passed. They were just happy to be at the beach. The water was out a little further than it had been the last time we were there, and there was plenty of sand to walk on. The seaweed is long gone, so it was just nice, clean beach sand. We stepped into the water just to see what it was like, and it too was perfect. I started to wish I had worn a bathing suit. The puppies all walked in the edge of the water with us. They were so happy to be at the beach!
When we were checking in, one of the rangers told us that the mosquitoes were really bad and to make sure we had bug spray. We noticed that whenever we got close to any tall grass, there would be a small welcoming committee of mosquitoes just waiting for us to come a little closer. The only thing keeping them from swarming the beach itself was that the sun was still out, but that wasn't going to last much longer. We cut our walk a little shorter than normal so that we could get back to the car before the sun went down. When we turned around to go back, the sun was starting to get a little lower on the horizon and the odd mosquito or two was just starting to buzz around. When we got to the car, they were coming out in full force. Mr. C had two of them on his face that Mom quickly swatted away. We didn't have to ask him twice to jump up into the car.
The beach was still full of people blissfully unaware of their impending mosquito-laden doom when we left. They were lounging peacefully under awnings and playing in the water. I am pretty sure they are really itchy today.
All in all it was a really good trip to the beach- even if it was a little shorter than normal. The puppies had a great time and behaved really well. Today is a little warmer and the humidity is back up again, but it won't be long until we can start going to the beach more often again. Hooray!!
I didn't take any pictures- not even of the huge orange full moon rising over the water- because I didn't want to stop long enough to get the camera out of my bag. Any time we stopped, the welcoming committee would come towards us. So I felt like taking pictures was probably a bad idea. 

Yesterday, Miss S and Mr. M turned 1 year old! I can't believe that year went by so fast. I vividly remember getting the text one year ago today, that they had been born. At four weeks their mom rejected the whole litter, so we brought Miss S and Mr. M home with us. They were so tiny! They were so young that they still got cold easily. We had to keep a little fleece wrap on Miss S or she would start shaking. 

Back then, we could carry them around in one hand. These days we are doing good to pick one of them up with both hands.

We decided that we needed to do something special for their birthday. Grandma came over yesterday, and we had quite a bit to do. The puppies go to play with her, but we didn't have time to celebrate. Since the puppies don't really know anything about birthdays, we figured they wouldn't care if we celebrated a day late.
On Miss B and Mr. C's birthday, we made coconut bread and let the puppies all share about half a loaf. Since then, we have cut sugar and most of the flour out of their diets, so we wanted to go with something a little healthier instead. A doggie bakery opened up not too far from us recently, and we had been wanting to try it out anyway. It's called Buddy Bites, and if you are in the Seabrook, Texas area, it is totally worth trying. They have all kinds of toys, leashes, shampoos and other goodies, but most importantly, they have homemade, healthy dog treats. They make custom birthday cakes for dogs in the shape of a bone, but you have to order them two days in advance. We didn't realize this, so we got a birthday cookie for each of them instead. We didn't want the others to feel left out, so we brought them each a treat too. We really liked the Buddy Bites store and plan on going back there again soon. The next puppy birthday is Miss M's in three months, and now that we know that you have to order cakes in advance, we will be sure to call ahead so we can get a cake. 

The puppies smelled the treats in the bag before we even got them out and instantly knew that the treats were for them. Mr. M and Miss S had a hard time waiting. The suspense was unbearable.

Miss B, Miss M and Mr, C were very glad that they got treats too!

All in all, I think it was a good birthday. The puppies got to tear up a box and two plastic bottles. Plus they got fresh baked goodies that were made just for them. They don't know it yet, but Buddy Bites is dog friendly. Next time we go, we are planning on taking them with us. All I can say is that it's a good thing they have the treats in a case. I don't think they would be safe from Miss S. She loves treats.

What is one to do on a Saturday evening when there's nothing good on TV? Go to the beach of course. Today though, the beach conditions were crummy again. The tide was in really far, making the beach just a narrow strip of sand, the surf was up, and it was windy. That of course meant that the beach would be super loud with not much sand. On top of that, the parking lot was fairly full, and there was a school bus. From the check in point, Mom could see big groups of people squished in together on the narrow strip of sand. The puppies do really well around people, but when there are tons of people and nowhere to go, it gets a little stressful for them, and they get distracted more easily. So we decided to head over to the bay instead. The puppies had never walked over by the bay, and we figured it's good for them to do new things anyway. The more they are exposed to, the more relaxed they seem to be on their walks. 
We were glad we did. The beach was packed, but the bay was pretty much empty. It was still breezy enough to keep the mosquitoes away but quieter because of the lack of waves. We took the puppies up to the top of an observation tower. They loved it. They wanted to stop every few feet on the ramp up and down to look out through the rails at the scenery below. 

We tried taking a nice group shot at the top of the tower, but there was much too much to see. So we didn't get to many organized pictures. Plus, the puppies were anxious to get on with the walk.

There was a little trail leading off into the bush at the base of the tower. So we decided to check it out.

We followed the little path and came to a neat little foot bridge. There was a heron sitting on it when we first got there, but it flew off when it saw our pack. The puppies just watched calmly as it flew away. It was the first time they had ever walked on a bridge like that. In the beginning, Mr. M had the idea that he could just step off the side into the marshes. Mom caught him before he had more than one paw off of the bridge. We walked across the little bridge and then decided to turn around, not knowing how far the path continued and whether or not we would be able to find our way back to the car before dark. On the way back across, we stopped to watch the fish jumping in the water around us. Miss M found all of that very interesting. Mom had been taking pictures and had just put the lens cap back on, when she noticed Miss M leaning a little too far out over the edge trying to smell the water. She called to Dad to watch her, and just as she was finishing the sentence, Splash! In went Miss M. The water was deeper than she expected. Dad, who was still holding on to her leash, pulled her quickly back out of the water. The puppies didn't know what had happened, and Miss M looked like she was in shock as to how she ended up all wet. It was her first experience with deep water. On the bright side, the water cooled her off and she didn't pant at all for the rest of the walk. 

Overall, it was a very enjoyable walk. The puppies got to do something new, and we didn't have to fight the crowds on the beach side. We finished walking just as it started getting dark. Miss M of course got a bath as soon as we got home to rinse off the salt water. She then cuddled up on the bed with us to oversee the blog writing efforts. It was much better than sitting on the couch watching something lame on TV.

Some days, it's just too pretty to stay home. We tried talking ourselves into just playing in the yard and being lazy, but the puppies were enjoying being outside too much. The only thing keeping us from staying outside longer were the mosquitoes. The puppies took turns chasing each other around the yard, playing keep-away with a rock they found. Then they all just plopped down to bask in the sun for a while.

Finally, Miss S brought up the elephant in the room. "Can't we just go to the beach?" She had a point. Besides, who could say no to a face like this?

So after the puppies took a short nap, we all piled into the car, and off we went- except for the cats of course. I don't think the cats would really enjoy the beach that much. Plus, they don't travel well, and Mom was not in the mood to have to clean out a poopy car kennel... So, the cats stayed home.

We all had a really good time. There were plenty of people during some parts of the walk. Our puppies just kept walking, and didn't try to frantically go over and say hi. There were even other dogs, some making quite a bit of noise, but with a little bit of coaxing, they just kept on walking and didn't pay much attention to the other dogs. Their training really has made a difference. We can't wait to start the next set of classes.
Seriously, though. How could you not go to the beach on a day like this?

We've been playing around with the video function on the camera. So, here is a short video of the puppies walking on the beach.

Our weather seems to be continuing the lather, rinse, repeat pattern. Yesterday, we had thunderstorms in the morning. This was one of Miss M's first thunderstorms. At first, she was a little spooked by the loud rumbling , so Mom played fetch with her in the kitchen, which then turned into a group fetch and a game of keep-away with Mr. M. Once she got into the game, Miss M forgot all about the thunderstorm. Miss B and Mr. C were never scared of storms as puppies, but I read online when we first got them, that if a dog seems scared of storms, you should play with them and make it more like a game so that they don't mind storms at all. I'm not sure if Miss M would have been scared of storms, but she did really enjoy playing fetch in the house. Miss M and Mr. C then took a nap with us on the bed for a little individual time about mid-morning during one of the heavier storms. It was so dark outside, it made the room really cozy, and we all slept soundly, despite the thunder.

Everyone was sleeping soundly until the cats decided that they needed to make noise in the hall looking for the puppies or us? Sometimes they just make noise inexplicably. Cats...

Today, the weather was really pleasant. Not too hot. Nice and partly cloudy. Tomorrow we are supposed to have heavy thunderstorms again. So today, we decided that we should go for a walk on the beach to take advantage of the small, good weather window. The puppies were all super excited to be going somewhere, and were so glad to be at the beach. We must have been there right after high tide because there was a lot of stuff on the beach for the puppies to smell and check out. As we were walking along, I spotted a Portuguese Man-of-War laying on the sand. I was glad the tentacles were all bunched up beside it because the puppies walked right by it not too far away. I don't think they would have appreciated it very much if they had stepped on one of the tentacles. 
They are doing really well with "Drop it" and "leave it." Leave it even worked on some very tempting dead fish. Mr. M and Miss M both dropped various things they had picked up. So apparently they actually are learning at puppy school.
Miss S is very nervous about the group splitting up when we go out in public. There are garbage bins at intervals along the beach, but they are a short distance away from the surf. So any time the puppies decide to take a potty break, we scoop it and then walk it up to one of the bins. Whenever duty calls, one of us takes the poop to a bin, while the other waits near the water with the puppies. Miss S goes nuts when we split up. She sits still, but she whines and cries and makes funny noises until the other one of us is back. She does it with Mom and Dad, not just one or the other, which is kind of nice. She doesn't like part of the group to split off when we are out in public. She doesn't care at home, but it's different in public.
When we got home, both of the cats were waiting for us near the door. As soon as we were in the house, the cats just ran around the room loose while all of the dogs were out and moving around. The dogs didn't even pay attention to the cats at all. We are really impressed at how well the cats and dogs have been getting along and are glad that we took the introductions as slow as we did.

This weekend, the puppies had homework to do. They learned "this way" in class on Thursday, and we were supposed to practice it with distractions. Specifically, we were supposed to go to the beach and practice since there are plenty of distracting things on the beach- like birds and dead fish, not to mention the seaweed and seashells. The puppies didn't realize we were going to do anything other than just play in the yard today, and were not very motivated to do homework.

We were all a little tired in the first part of the day, so it was naps all around, but in the afternoon, the weather was just too nice to stay home. So off we went to work on their homework. The puppies surprise us sometimes with how observant they are, and today Mr. M surprised us. We don't usually wear our normal shoes in the house. We wear our house shoes, or the shoes that we use to take them outside. I put on some normal shoes to get the car ready to go, and Mr. M noticed them as soon as I walked out of the bedroom. He looked at my shoes, smelled them and started wagging his tail frantically. He knew right then that we were going somewhere. Once the harness bag came out, they all got excited.
When they realized that we were headed for the beach, they got super happy. Miss M started whining a little in the back once she saw the water at the seawall- she loves the beach and couldn't wait to get there.

There were plenty of distractions to practice their homework. Mr. M found a dead fish and immediately picked it up. He was so proud of his treasure, and so disappointed when we made him drop it and move on. There were plenty of distracting people that we had to walk past, and even a dog that was off-leash and decided to come running up to our puppies. That dog's people were not too far away and had to come over to us to get the dog to leave our puppies alone. Dad fussed at them and told them that their dog was supposed to be on a leash.

It was a very good day at the beach. The puppies had a great walk. There were plenty of distractions, but there were plenty of fun things to smell and see that were okay to smell and see. 
As an aside, before I had dogs, I used to hate it when I would go somewhere like the beach and then almost step in dog poop that someone had left behind. Now that I have dogs, I hate that even more. Seriously. You may like your dog and have to deal with its poop, but nobody else wants to deal with your dog poop. Whenever we go out, we keep waste bags handy so that we can pick up after them. It takes a little bit of effort, but it's not that difficult. You just pick up the poop with a bag and throw it away. How hard is that? We passed quite a few little poop piles on the beach today. I suspect that they were from dogs belonging to tourists or inconsiderate people from the city who think that nature is one big puppy toilet. I think that we should be taught more about respecting nature in school.

Today was a big day for the puppies. We started out by taking the kitties to the vet for their booster shots. The puppies of course, love going to the vet. They got to visit with everybody and got weighed. I think secretly they were making fun of the kitties on the way back because the kitties had to get shots and the puppies didn't. Mr. M slobbered all over the vet's wife- giving her kisses all over her face. Miss M tried to run and visit with a small dog that came in. I think she is just happy when she sees animals that are smaller than she is. Normally she is the small one- although at the rate she's growing, she isn't going to be the smallest for much longer.
After we went to the vet, we decided that the weather was just too nice to stay home. So we dropped off the cats- they were just glad to be home again, had some lunch, then loaded the puppies back into the car and headed to the beach. The puppies' trainer recommended trying the gentle leader head collars to keep the puppies from pulling so much on the leash, and last time recommended a tandem leash to put two dogs on a single leash instead. The tandem leash is actually really cool because now we can hold 3 leashes instead of 5. The gentle leaders are great. They really cut down on the pulling. Today's walk on the beach was unlike all of our other beach walks. Normally they get super excited and pull so hard that I can't wear any rings because the leash handle squishes my fingers together and it hurts. With the gentle leaders and tandem leashes, we had the smoothest walk ever. I was even able to wear rings without getting my fingers bruised up. Once we got the hang of the tandem collar, Mom started working with Miss B to get her to stay on the same side of Mr. C the whole time. 
They did really well. There were some distractions, which is fairly normal at the beach. At one point, Mom looked over and saw a wing sticking out of Mr. M's mouth. He had found a small dead bird on the ground and was proudly carrying it along like a trophy. He really didn't want to let it go. We haven't gotten to "drop it" yet. Mr. C and Miss B are actually pretty good at "drop it." We worked with them quite a bit on "drop it" when they were small, but somehow, we didn't get that one taught to Mr. M and Miss S. So Mom had to reach in and get the bird out of Mr. M's mouth. Although to be fair, Mr. C and Miss B have never been tested with something as tempting as a dead bird.
After our beach walk, the puppies were tired and happy. We were enjoying the walk too much to stop and take pictures. So I didn't get any good shots of us on the beach, although at several points, all five of the puppies were walking side by side in a line. It was great. All I was able to take a picture of was the sleepy puppies in the car on the way home.

What happens when you have 5 puppies around the house? You get lots of helpers. There is always a puppy around to help with the cooking. There are always plenty of puppies willing to help take the pesky shine off of your floor with muddy feet. They are very eager to help dig holes in the yard, I mean help in the garden- even though they are also very eager to carry off the new plants that you just put in and then play chase with them around the yard. Of the 12 cabbage plants we put in, I am shocked that there are still 7 alive. After they kept pulling them up, I thought for sure that none of the plants would make it.
This weekend, Mr. M and Miss S found a new task they wanted to help with- cleaning the ceiling fan. Well, OK, really they just were curious about the ladder and wanted to help climb it to see why Dad was up so high.

Mr. C keeps everyone motivated and tries to calm everyone down by letting them chew on his ears. It always amazes us how calm he is with the younger puppies. He is well over 70 pounds and could hurt them easily, but never even acts like he is going to try to hurt them. He lets them chew on him, he lets them pull his collar, he lets them lay on him, walk on him and take his toys without even growling at them.

Mr. C on guard while Miss M supervises the digging efforts. Miss M gets everyone started digging and then makes sure everyone is digging in the right spot.

After Miss M finds crabs for us on the beach, Miss S helps out by stalking the crabs.

Miss B is very helpful at the beach. She sniffs the water to verify water quality. Of course she also sometimes goes to the bathroom in the water too...

Miss M is very helpful by being super cute. She acts as the alarm clock- making sure everyone is awake in time for breakfast.

You never know what you are going to find when you go to the beach. You half expect the usual suspects: seaweed, jelly fish, crabs, dead fish, etc. You don't expect cowboy boots just sitting around in the parking lot. I'm not sure how it got there all by itself, or where the other boot is. I wonder if its owner even realizes it is there. It should have been our first clue that there would be  more distractions at the beach than normal.

We weren't planning on taking the puppies to the beach until tomorrow, but the weather was nice and they were all relatively calm this morning, so we decided to go ahead and go. It was probably good that they were in a calm mood because we saw all kinds of things they haven't seen before.

Our puppies are very good at noticing when things are different. The boot was definitely something they hadn't seen at the beach before. After slowing down to check out the boot, we continued on to the beach. We went a different direction than we normally go, and they perked right up when we saw a very large, very dead fish on the sand. They really really wanted to check it out and we really really didn't want to let them. So we kept on walking, much to their dismay, 
We saw a jelly fish that they wanted to play with- thankfully just one of the big squishy not so stingy kind. Usually we get the Portuguese Man of War type with the long blue tentacles that stretch behind them that will still sting your feet if you step on them in the sand. This was not that kind, which was a good thing since Miss M and Miss S were both licking it before we realized what it was.
We saw quite a few fish carcasses/ frames this time, and a couple more squishy jelly fish. There was vegetation that had washed in that Miss M and Mr. C both tried to carry along with them for a while. We saw several dogs- some of them not on leashes, and a few people. We didn't take a break to dig in the sand because we wanted to get back to the car before the sun started going down. It was in the upper 50's, but we knew that once it was dark, it would cool down quickly.
We paused briefly at the picnic area for Mom to take a picture, and then we were on our way. It was a fun day, and the puppies wore themselves out trying to check out all of the distracting things on the beach. They fell asleep in the car and didn't wake up until we were home.