Ducks in our pool!

I glanced outside today just as two ducks flew into our pool and started paddling around.  I grabbed Colton and Kyle and we went outside to see them.  Kyle grabbed a bag of bread and they started feeding the ducks.

Later I decided feeding them was probably not the best idea.  They came back the next day, and the next, and the next - leaving presents for us both in the pool and on the edge of the pool.


One night my neighbor called telling me they were back.  I went outside, but it was pitch black and I couldn't really see anything.  I didn't hear anything either so I figured they were gone.  Just as I was getting ready to leave and go back out the gate to the pool, I realized our golden retriever, Abbey, had followed me in (she never does that because she knows she's not allowed in the pool).  She didn't bark, but ran as hard as she could to the side of the pool and then did a great big leap into the deep end.  I couldn't see her, but I heard a giant flutter of wings and a whole lot of loud quacking as I then saw the ducks fly straight over my head in their hurry to get away.  Ha!  They came back one more time during the day.  I just opened the gate and told Abbey to go.  She did.  They haven't been back since.


I think we'll save our bread for the ducks at the local pond.

a boy and his dog

Abbey (our dog) drives me absolutely crazy.  Because of her, I'm not sure I will EVER have patio furniture.  She would chew it to bits.  Although I probably would not choose to have a dog if we didn't have children, it's moments like these that I understand why she is so good for them...

That is her electric collar lying next to her.  Bryan takes it off each night before putting her in her kennel for the night.  That collar is the only thing that keeps her from ripping out all the drip lines in our flowerbeds and around our trees.  If she goes near them it shocks her.  If only I had a remote control...

You may wonder why she goes in the kennel each night?  We put her in there and cover it with a sheet - just like a bird.  It keeps her from barking at the cats that walk along our back wall each night.  Cats that belong to the same neighbor who complains when she barks????

our OTHER member of the family

Abbey and I have a historically love/hate relationship.  I do like dogs - REALLY.  But I think I loved them more before I became a parent.  Abbey is wonderful for our kids.  They love her and she loves them.  I believe having a dog teaches them responsibility, and they receive unconditional love from her. But...

She is definitely a fifth child.  She has managed to give me hours upon hours of extra work over the last year.  You see, Abbey is a digger.  In Arizona we practice drip irrigation for our plants.  Sprinklers are only used on the grass.  Because of Abbey I have become very proficient at replacing drip irrigation lines that she has ripped out over ... and over... and over again.

It became a source of contention between Mark and I.  Was it really fair for me to have to keep spending hours in the 100 degree plus weather fixing sprinkler lines over and over again due to a dog that everybody wanted but me?  

Thank goodness Mark found a solution.  He spent an afternoon installing underground electric wiring.  Abbey now wears a collar that warns her when she is too close to the wire.  If she keeps going, she gets a little shock (don't worry, it's made for dogs and doesn't hurt them - but they don't like it).  Now Abbey can't get in the flowerbeds to rip out anymore lines.  It has been working for over 6 months.  Our marriage is saved!  It's amazing how when she's not wreaking havoc, I like her a whole lot more.

After tackling the digging problem, we had to tackle the barking problem.  You see, our back neighbors have five cats who like to walk along the back fence.  Yet those same neighbors call the city to complain when our dog barks at the cats.  We now treat Abbey like a pet bird: she goes in her kennel on the back porch at night, which is then draped with a sheet.  No more barking!  It worked great.

Abbey is two years old.  I've been told she is considered a puppy for one more year.  Hopefully she'll grow out of all this stuff - but until then, we'll keep working with our puppy "teenager".