Farley

Farley’s Friday: Toys For A Wheaten Terrier

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

Farley here.

Kristina and Matt are getting ready to leave the country for months on end, and there seems to be an endless supply of presents for me.

A delivery person arrives almost daily and gives me a box.

I can hear him coming, step by step, along the dock . . . I can tell by the smell it’s him.

“He’s here. He’s here,” I bark.

Kristina opens the door for me and let’s me greet him. The guy comes so often he knows my name.

He hands over my present. “Thanks,” I bark.

Kristina always takes out whatever is in the box, like I care. But then . . . I get to rip the box apart, making a mess, shredding cardboard. The sound is so satisfying.

Farley and the Box

Once I’m done, I just have to wait until he comes back with my next box. Who knows why I keep getting presents, but Kristina says it’s something about no stores where we are going and we have to get prepared.

Woof Woof.

Farley and box 2

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Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten Terrier And His Dinghy

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley here.

I almost missed the maiden voyage of Allura: our dinghy.

Matt thinks he’s so smart. He uses our dinghy hoist to quietly lower the boat off the stern of Mattina. I hear the splash.

“Wait,” I bark from below. I know what he’s doing.

Then I hear it. One pull and the engine starts. Matt is smiling because it’s the first pull of the season.

I jump up the three stairs from the port hull, that’s my side by the way, and rush to the stern.

“Wait for me!” I bark.

Kristina is passing Matt a life jacket and I nudge her (gently) out of the way. I bound from the top step to the dinghy in one leap. I haven’t forgotten how to do this and am proud of myself. Once I jumped, current took the dinghy, and I went swimming. I try not to do that anymore.

Farley in Dingy

Purr goes the engine (and no it’s not a cat), yippee goes Matt, and woof woof go I.

We head out to the Intracoastal Waterway for my first dinghy ride of the season. I love my little boat.

Woof Woof.

 

 

Farley’s Friday: Can a dog be a lifeguard?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

Farley here.

I’m at the lake this week. That’s a cottage for eastern Canadians and a cabin for western Canadians, but to a dog it’s a place on the water.

Now humans are strange. They like to run, scream and jump off the end of the dock. See my concerned look?
Farley looking concerned

How am I not supposed to be excited about this? My humans tell me not to bark as they jump in.

Well, duh. Don’t they understand they can’t breathe under the water? I need to tell them.

“Stop,” I bark.

“Don’t jump,” I bark.

“No barking,” Kristina says and then like a crazy woman, she jumps in.

Well pardon me for caring. I chase her. And look what happens.

Farley Falling in Water

I don’t like swimming. Let me stress, “I DON’T LIKE SWIMMING.”

And yet, here I am chasing my humans. Kids, adults, they’re all nuts.

The things I do for love.

Woof Woof!

Farley’s Friday: Wheaten Terrier Catches His Humans

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Farley here.

Dogs can learn. This I know for a fact. Last week my humans escaped, and I was left with temporary humans for the week. Although I had fun, I missed my peeps.

What did I learn?

Suspicious activity: Kristina puts clothes in something she calls a suitcase.

“Are you leaving me again?” I bark.

“Don’t worry, you’re coming with us,” she says.

Should I believe her?

Next suspicious activity: Matt carries the suitcase toward the van.

Huh? Last time that happened, away they went for the week.

“Open the door, “ I bark.

Matt opens the side door, puts the suitcase inside, and goes back into the house for another bag.

Silly man. I grab the opportunity and jump into the van. I look left, I look right and I assess the situation. They can easily pull me out of here. Now, remember I’m getting smarter and learning.

I jump into the front seat. The door is closed,, so there’s no way they can get me out.

Farley in Van

“Ha, ha,” I bark. “You have to take me now.” I’m not as confident as I sound, so I wiggle and look as cute as I can.

So did I get to go on the trip? I did, I did, I did 🙂

Woof Woof.

Farley’s Friday: A dog goes fishing

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

Woof Woof, Farley here.

Is it just me or is fishing really fun?

I’ve been at the cottage for three days, and I’ve trained my alpha (That’s Matt by the way.)

“Come down here,” I bark. I glance at the boathouse and then at Matt.

Matt’s so smart he comes on command.

“Get the rod, get the rod, get the rod,” I bark.

Matt does as instructed.

Now, I do my dance. This really gets Matt laughing.

Put your left paw in, put your left paw out . . .
Put your left paw in, put your left paw out . . .

Every time I dance like this, he casts the lure and I bark.

If he catches something, I really go crazy. These alphas need a lot of praise. The more I praise him the more he’ll cast the lure.

Woof Woof.

Farley’s Friday: Dogs and Porcupines

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

Farley here.

Why am I trapped?

Trapped

My human, Kristina, is explaining to me the dangers of porcupines.

Like I don’t remember.

“If you don’t run up the hill, I’ll let you off leash,” Kristina says.

“Yah, Yah,” I bark and nod enthusiastically.

“You remember the vet?”

I shudder inside. What dog doesn’t remember the vet. Two years ago, I chased a porcupine up the hill behind our cottage. It stuck its head in a hole and left its whole body out for me to see. I don’t think porcupines are the smartest, but who am I to say, since I’m the one who ended up with quills in my face?

Kristina put the cone of shame over my head so I couldn’t bite at the quills and drove me to vet. The waiting room was full and everyone saw me wearing the cone. Very embarrassing.

The vet said she’d have to anaesthetize me and for Kristina to come back later that night.

I frantically looked from Kristina to the vet and then put on my most submissive pose. I held in the bark that wanted to burst out from me. The vet took me into a room without Kristina. Yikes. She said I was so good, yup that’s right – so good – that she was going to try to take out one quill without using anaesthetic. I sat calmly as she took them all out and Kristina got to take me home.

I bring my focus back to the present and run my paw over my nose to show Kristina I remember.

“You remember the pliers?” Kristina asks.

I groan and roll my head on the deck.

“I see you do,” she says.

Last year, I chased a porcupine again. I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I wasn’t.  Kristina didn’t take me to the vet. I knew it was going to be bad when I saw pliers in her hand and she said to Matt, “Hold him tight.”

They pulled out all the quills without the help of a vet. Kristina likes to learn these things for herself.

Now you have to remember I’m a dog. So today, I catch the scent of a porcupine and blast toward the hill. Kristina grabs for me and misses. Unlucky for me, Matt doesn’t miss. He catches my harness and drags me behind the gate.

Now I’m stuck. No running free for me.

“Why didn’t I listen?”

Woof Woof.

Farley’s Friday: Why choosing a human is important

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

Farley here.

One of the most important things a dog does is choose his humans. Humans often think they choose the dog. But any good dog knows it’s not true. Even some cats know this.

The human my choose a breeder or shelter to visit, but when I ask my dog friends they all say the same thing.

They know instinctively which human will be a match. And then here’s what you do:

  • Approach human
  • Wiggle, wag and generally make a fuss
  • Stare at human with doting eyes
  • If human is sitting, put head on humans lap. They seem to like it.
  • I’m a wheaten and wheatens are known for their ability to hug. So of course, run to human and hug them.

At that point they can’t resist.

I love my humans. I always seem to bark about Kristina, so here’s Matt picking a burr out of my paw. All I have to do is look sad, give him my best brown eyed stare, hold my paw in the air, and tada! I am taken care of. I don’t even have to bark.

Sometimes I wish I had thumbs
Sometimes I wish I had thumbs

I could tell the first time I saw Matt that he was the guy for me.

Woof Woof

Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten Terrier Sails North

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Farley here.

So my humans tell me it’s getting hot in the Bahamas and it’s time to start the sail north. Sound exciting? Not really, for a dog anyway.

When we travel, Matt and Kristina sail the boat and I do a lot of sleeping. Sometimes we anchor for the night and there’s not even a beach to go to. Sometimes there isn’t even land in sight over night. They’re crazy.

My problem. I don’t sleep well when Kristina is awake at night. I sit in the cockpit waiting and waiting to go to bed, but I just can’t do it while she’s in the cockpit. She needs my constant protection. Matt, on the other hand, can stay up all my himself.

As we head to Canada, Kristina promises none of this . . .

Canada can't always be like this, can it?
Not sure about this white stuff. Me thinks it’s cold.

And lots of this . . .

I think this was in Canada.
Green stuff. Much better.

But should I believer her?

Woof Woof

Farley’s Friday: Dog Walking or Human Walking?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

Farley here.

So I go for a walk with my humans. They have shoes on, meaning I should have known it was going to be a tough walk. They don’t wear shoes often and I don’t own any. Go figure. I’m a dog.

We get halfway across the island, we’re in the Bahamas, when I stop.

“My feet hurt,” I bark.

“What’s the matter, Farley?” Kristina asks. She always notices first when I’m in trouble. I’m beginning to think she has a soft spot for me.

I hold out my paw to her and look as pathetic as I can.

“My feet hurt. These rocks are too sharp,” I bark and then wag my tail, just to make sure I’m being cute.

She understands and gives Matt her most pathetic look. He laughs, and I know I’ve won.

Matt picks me up and carries me across the sharp bits. Do they love me or what?

Dog Walk

Woof Woof.

 

Farley’s Friday: Where Are My Puppy Friends

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley here.

I have lots of friends, but sometimes they disappear. Where do they go? Do they live on sailboats too?

Take Piper for example. I met her the same day I met my owners. She has different owners and she has an attitude.

Farley and Piper

Piper is a border terrier, and she’s cute, but really, look at her whispering in my ear. She told me her owners were nicer than mine. Ha! I don’t think so. We’d only been with them for five hours, so how could she know?

I’ve travelled across Canada, the United States and the Bahamas. I don’t think she’s done that.

I’m with my owners most of the time. I get walked at least twice a day and sometime more. I get real meat added to my dog food.

I may have to live on the sailboat, but she has to live in a backyard. So I ask you, aren’t my owners nicer?

I spent 5 weeks with Piper this summer, and we went camping together, with both our owners, so I have to admit hers are pretty nice too.  Piper still has an attitude, but she quickly learned Kristina spoils all dogs and settled right in with us.

Woof Woof.