The Hike

Ogre and I went on a wonderful hike up in the mountains on the 4th. We hiked along side the Taylor River and got about 3 miles in before my new hiking boots rubbed my heel raw and we had to turn back. We also forgot about mosquito repellent but I got out with only one on my elbow.

The trail was very rocky all the way in but at certain points little creeks crossed over the trails which gave the dogs the opportunity to drink along the way. The trail was an old logging trail at one point and a developer had planned to put houses along there, but thankfully the deal fell through and it was made into a hiking trail.

I caught this picture of the river as we hiked in.

The dogs had a great time but had a hard time walking over the large rocks in the middle of the path. We asked a ranger on the way out why the trail wasn't in better condition, and we were told that not enough people used the trail to consider making it in better shape.


There's a small campground right next to the trail head and we stopped to eat a small lunch and I grabbed the camera to take pictures of some of the flowers.


I have no idea what the red flower is, but it really grabbed my attention. It's quite beautiful.

I hope everyone had a safe 4th. Have a great one.

What's a Basset Hound?

When we went to the beach this weekend, we had a lot of people stop and ask us about the dogs. Most people just want to pet and touch them. We had several requests for people who just wanted to pet their ears because they 'looked so soft'. Which they are.

While we're walking the dogs around we also hear a lot of comments. "Oh my gosh, what kind of dogs are those."
"Look at the weiner dogs!" Are you kidding me? "Oh, can we pet your beagles?"

"Those are bloodhounds right?"

So I decided to put together this helpful guide to help you tell the difference between those breeds of dogs, and the basset hound.

This is a basset hound:

Angus is fairly deceptive because he's whats known as a 'long legger'. Notice the long body, short legs, long wide muzzle, very long ears, and the very saggy skin. He has all of those things to help him scent.

Now for those breeds that aren't basset hounds:

This is a Dachshund.

Much shorter legs, shorter ears, long pointy muzzle. The only thing these two have in common is the long body. Not even close to the same dog.

Bloodhound:

Much taller, not so long bodied, same long ears, but clearly not a basset hound.

Beagle:

This is a bit trickier. Both are short, both have longer ears, but there is one major difference: the length of the body. While beagles are short with longish ears, basset hounds are much longer in the body, have much longer ears, and much shorter legs.

Just to summarize:

These are basset hounds:


These are not basset hounds:


Now the next time you see a basset in public, you will definitely be able to tell that it is in fact a basset and not a beagle, bloodhound, or dachshund.

The Coast

With the heat in the area the last few days, Ogre and I decided to escape to the coast to beat the heat.

When we left our apartment at 10 am, it was already 80 degrees and very sunny. By the time we got to the beach, it was 62 and overcast/foggy right on the beach.


We got out and let Angus have his first taste of the ocean, and I got to dip my feet in the very cold water.


We went and grabbed some lunch and walked the dogs and then I saw it: horses for rent on the beach. I usually go riding when we're at the beach and it's something I love. For $25 you get to ride for an hour along the beach. So much fun.

Everything was great after I mounted the horse. They gave me a lovely mare who they called May. She has a fab dorsal stripe going down her back. We started off and one of the guides who rides with the group starts screaming at me, "May likes to bite and kick, get her away from me!" Why do the give me the problem horse? Because when you sign up they ask you what kind of experience you have. I rode quite a bit as a kid and I only ride about once a year nowadays.

So I spent the majority of my trip making sure my mare had open space in front of her and no one was sneaking up on her from behind. Even when she was in the clear, she would actively look for horses to go after and bite. Lucky me. At least she listened to me when i pulled her head in the opposite direction of a horse she was going after.

Even though I hadn't ridden in a while, I wasn't sore at all after an hour in the saddle. I didn't even get that feeling like I'd been riding a barrel. I had a pretty good time.


All in all, it was a good trip and I'm glad we got to get out. I think the dogs appreciated it more than we did.

The Boy

We were very lucky that Angus didn't have the illness issue that Dove did as a puppy. He brought his own set of issues with him.

When Ogre and I decided to get another dog we went back to the same lady that we got Dove from and picked out a beautiful little lemon colored female puppy that we named Daisy.


Unfortunately, when I called the 'breeder' to find out when we could come get her, she told me that Daisy had died but didn't know what from and to come get our deposit. I was devastated. Not only because we'd lost our beloved Daisy, but because this woman decided it wasn't important enough to her to let us know when she was ill let alone dying.

After getting our deposit back from the 'breeder', we decided that we still wanted a new puppy and despite what had happened, we still wanted to bring one home that weekend.

I found the ad for Angus' litter in our local newspaper and I promptly called to go see them that night.

He was raised in a large house about 40 minutes away from us with a large backyard. They led out 4 puppies into their backyard for us to see. We liked him pretty much right away. Mostly for the cool lightening bolt pattern on his side.


He was such a cute little bugger.

We picked him up with Dove a few days later and tried to make his adjustment as easy as possible. Thank goodness for Dove. Without her I don't think he would have made it.

He was used to sleeping with his littermates and wherever he wanted, he was never crate trained. I would say for the first month when we locked him up at 10 pm, he would cry from 10 pm to 6 am when Joe got up for work. Nonstop.

We eventually worked through it. Then came his potty issues. We live in a 1 bedroom apartment, on the 2nd floor, so he didn't have access to a yard like he used to. Even now, if he has to go, you have to take him pretty much right then or end up with a pee trail on the floor.

Despite his many quirks, obedience, and potty issues, we love this dog. He is the first dog to greet us when we get home. When you sit on the couch, he's the one that crawls in the lap for a cuddle.

He's a good dog now and I'm glad we got him. I'm just glad it wasn't any worse.



Ogre and I are going house shopping tomorrow, so come back and see the possible dumps we went to look at.

I believe introductions are in order.....

When I set out to start this blog, I knew this would be the hardest post to do. I go through the typical questions: where to start, how much to reveal, blah blah blah. So I may just start and see how this goes. Let's start with location. I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.



About 20 miles south of Seattle. I'm lucky enough to live in a place where I have the water and the mountains in the same place.

I have been married for 3 years, to this man:



He doesn't wish to be seen, but he has given me permission to call him Ogre on the blog. Possible name change in the future however.

And now to show you the reason why my blog is titled the way it is:

This is Dove. The oldest of my puppies. She's as sweet as can be but a handful out in public. She's the dog that will leap at strangers in an attempt to show love. She's very sweet but a pain in the butt.


This is the boy. Learn this face. It's the face of deception. Do not be fooled by his good looks. Angus is a little over a year old and the most difficult dog ever. On the flip side of his obedience issues, he is a great dog. Super smart, he just chooses not to show it.

Now for a little bit about me. I'm a 26 year old, stay at home wife, with 2 dogs. I'm currently going to school for Medical Office Assisting. Or a glorified secretary and my father in law would say. But that's neither here nor there.

I spend my days doing the typical housewife thing, cooking, cleaning and taking care of these 2 beasts. Some where in between that I do my school work.

Please come back and see us, we'd love to have you. In the mean time, I'll just leave these cookies out for anyone who happens to wander by.