Thread for excessively over-sharing photos of your pets

[Aroura]

Our cats Squeaker (top) and Loki (bottom) on the new cat tower we brought home for them for Christmas.  Poor things have been without any good climbing or scratching areas for too long.

This was a nightmare to get home, though!  Worth it for the happy cats.

[Mark]

@Aroura are you still in Germany? I hadn't realized you'd taken your kitties with you. I'll bet they would love such a thing.

[Mark]

Something I'm appreciating about my youngster, Smokey, is the way he so often wants to work with me.  In this photo he could play with my older dog Heidi, chase ravens or sniff pee mail but instead is looking to me to see if he can meld with me on some task together.


My first herding dog, a purebred Aussie named Fletcher, charmed me by being such a rogue.  

He never heard a command he didn't hear as an invitation for oppositional play.  But that dog had higher social intelligence than half the humans on planet.  He liked everyone and knew instinctively how to approach anyone including kids of any age.  So while he wouldn't necessarily do my bidding, neither would he do anything objectionable.  I dearly loved that dog and knowing him made me regret turning my golden retriever/lab cross Sophie into a kind of robo-dog.


Sophie was the second dog I ever raised from a young puppy.  

I did puppy classes with her and she excelled.  She'd do pushups all day as long as she was given alternating commands for down and sit, either orally or by hand.  Tell her to go to bed when we were eating and she'd be there quick.  In fact, she would impose the law on guest and new dogs in the household too.  Any dog that tried to run down the stairs ahead of me would be shouldered into the wall to allow me to descend unimpeded.  Anyhow, once I had Fletcher I kind of regretted training her so tightly.  Then again, she wasn't as graceful socially at least with other dogs.  God help the dog that pushed her too far so maybe it was needed.


So my boy Smokey, an aussie/heeler cross is very different from both of them.  He is good with other dogs but distrustful of people he doesn't know.  Stare at him too long and he'll growl at you.  All I've ever trained him to do is sit, down, come and stay but people think I've trained him to do a lot more than that.  He just loves to work together as a unit with me and is very good at figuring out what is needed.  But it isn't just a matter of following commands, he just wants to work together as a unit with me.

One of the things he just does of his own accord is to fall in behind me on a walk as though he'd been asked to heel.  On a walk we took on the Pacific Coast trail in September I noticed I was never seeing him.  So took this video of him as I walked just to see what he was doing back there.  Looks pretty happy, doesn't he?



The thing we do everyday to give him work is fetching the ball which I throw with the chucker.  He often catches them in the air, a flourish he brought to the game.  I think this is the highlight of his day every time.

[brewerb]

We won some professional pictures at an event about 6 months ago. These are pics of those pics (too big to scan, apologies for washed our colors).

[Mark]

With the two of them sitting side by side, which one is daddy is which his little girl.  I'm thinking the darker, fuller and bigger one has got to be the old man, true?  Lexi (sp?) is the daughter's name but I'm forgetting her dad's name.

[brewerb]

With the two of them sitting side by side, which one is daddy is which his little girl.  I'm thinking the darker, fuller and bigger one has got to be the old man, true?  Lexi (sp?) is the daughter's name but I'm forgetting her dad's name.

You got it, Nico (pic left) is the dad, 8yrs old, Lexy (pic right) in the daughter, 3yrs old. The males in this breed typically have the fuller coat/larger mane.

[Dom]

We won some professional pictures at an event about 6 months ago. These are pics of those pics (too big to scan, apologies for washed our colors).

Gorgeous dogs, and smart, too!

[Mark]

Here is a fun picture of my avatar boy, Smokey.  If I'd recognized the potential for how his shadow could work into the painting done on this slab of concrete .. I could never have gotten it to turn out like this.  Goes to show my method of shooting hundreds in order to get a couple is the way to go.  This was taken at the Albany Bulb where there is a lot of art done of found materials which is really quite good.

[julep]

Watson died a few years ago, and the boy is in college now, but this is one of my favorite pictures.  It came up on my laptop background a few minutes ago.

[brewerb]

Vincent (gronenendael), mom chewed his ear off removing the after birth.

[Marozz]

Here are my two pals, Harvey, the Golden Retriever and Homer, the King Charles.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

[julep]

Here are my two pals, Harvey, the Golden Retriever and Homer, the King Charles.

Your golden looks so much like our Watson!  Very handsome pair of dogs!

[Marozz]

Here are my two pals, Harvey, the Golden Retriever and Homer, the King Charles.

Your golden looks so much like our Watson!  Very handsome pair of dogs!

That’s a really nice photo of your young lad with Watson. Harvey is nearly eight years old and the little fella is a one and a half. He follows Harvey everywhere.

[Smercury44]

Vincent (gronenendael), mom chewed his ear off removing the after birth.

Is this the photo he uses for the back of his novels? So pensive! And adorable

[Mark]

Here are my two pals, Harvey, the Golden Retriever and Homer, the King Charles.

Your golden looks so much like our Watson!  Very handsome pair of dogs!

That’s a really nice photo of your young lad with Watson. Harvey is nearly eight years old and the little fella is a one and a half. He follows Harvey everywhere.

8 and 1.5?  Hmmm, I think we may have the same strategy.  Mine are 3.5 and 9.5, about a half a life time apart.  Always good to have an apprentice in the wings to help with grief management.

[Mark]

Vincent (gronenendael), mom chewed his ear off removing the after birth.

That's a very fitting name.  Is he one you're fostering as part of a rescue group for the breed?

[brewerb]

Vincent (gronenendael), mom chewed his ear off removing the after birth.

That's a very fitting name.  Is he one you're fostering as part of a rescue group for the breed?

Nope, that pic is like 3 years old. He was in a litter from a female that we co-owned (living elsewhere). Now on a farm in Wisconsin.

[brewerb]

Just in, Nico's daughter Gracie trying to feed the 8 grand kids, (4 weeks old). She's a bit overwhelmed. My wife and two potential owners are going to KC to check them out on the 28th. I've told her not to bring one home.

[Mark]

I've told her not to bring one home.

He he he.  That ought to work.

[brewerb]

I've told her not to bring one home.

He he he.  That ought to work.

Yeah, I got the look.

[Aroura]

@Aroura  are you still in Germany?  I hadn't realized you'd taken your kitties with you.  I'll bet they would love such a thing.

Yep, still in Germany. We're here until next summer at least. My husband would not take the job unless they guaranteed he could bring the cats. They are family. ?

Both cats adore the tower. It's the most peace I've had at night in a year.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Vincent (gronenendael), mom chewed his ear off removing the after birth.

So he can do Shakespeare?

[Dom]

Just in, Nico's daughter Gracie trying to feed the 8 grand kids, (4 weeks old). She's a bit overwhelmed. My wife and two potential owners are going to KC to check them out on the 28th. I've told her not to bring one home.

[Smercury44]

Leo says Meowy Christmas!