Goobers' Day Out

Sometimes, when I've had enough of the Stellanator, I need to commune with nature and recharge my AireZen. When my girl sees me looking a little haggard she knows I'm in need of some Stanley Time ~ just the two of us. Alone. No annoying sissies.

So we went to do a little hiking, and look what I found. A spa. (I didn't know I was going to have a spa day! Hope I'm not getting waxed.)

You've got to lower yourself slowly.

If the mud is to your liking, then it's time for a little head dunk.

If you see the puparazzi, then motor on out of there...

...refreshed and ready for adventure!

After hiking through a meadow and some woods, we came to this cool spot. I had to consider my options.

Before I knew it, I was in the water relaxing.

My girl was having a minor heart attack because she noticed how close I was to that waterfall. (Of course, she wasn't so worried that she dropped the camera and came to rescue me. Nooo! Couldn't miss the photo op.) It was only 3 feet high, so it was no big deal.

But I came running as soon as she called me. (She had that tone.)

All in all a pretty cool afternoon of Stanley Time!

In the interest of fairness, and to give Stella a chance to have some experiences on her own, my girl decided to take Stella on a very different kind of outing. She went to Auntie Brenda's farm to meet Porkchop the pot-bellied pig and other assorted residents. Here Stella & Porkchop face off.

They found they had a lot in common and loads to talk about.

Here, Porkchop and Stella join forces to plot against Izzie, the LabraGirl.

As a thank you for her valuable help with Izzie, Porkchop volunteered to give Stella the grand tour of the farm.

Stella went NUTS when she saw the horses. You can tell by her body language that she's trying to get them to go along with one of her little schemes.

Strangely enough, they listened to her. They were practically eating out of her paw.

Once she had their attention she started barking out orders. (I think she's trying to help them organize a union or something. She said they're going to call it HAUL ~ Horses Against Uncompensated Labor.)

This video clip is not that long, but you have to wait until about halfway through before you get to hear Stella's orders. The hooman in the vid is Auntie Brenda.

The horses all lined up to get her pawtograph and a word of encouragement after her inspirational talk. (If she becomes a motivational speaker I'm going to make her live in a van down by the river.)

Oh, yea. Forgot to mention that Stella also had the good fortune to find a dead rat, and she roached all over that thing and came home smelling great! (Some pups have ALL the luck.)

Now it's back to thesis duty.

Love,

Stanley

T T & A

Look. I know what's going on around here. Stella thinks I don't have a clue about the BBTP (Big Brother Training Program) she's trying to run me through. I had gotten enough advice from other dogs on how to be a big brother that I was prepared for almost any contingency. (Special thanks to Wally for his DVD training series for new big brothers of sissies).

So, while Stella thinks she's running the show, we know who's really in charge here. The key is to know how to walk that gentle balance between lovable big brother and push over. And, you've gotta know how to handle T T & A ~ Tongue, Teeth, and Attitude. Whenever Stella's coming at me, it's with one or a combination of those three things bearing down on me!

If you enlarge this photo you can see how she's coming at me with her tongue, and this is just on the way out the door.

Now, we've ALL seen Stella's baby alligator teeth. As a one time attack, those teeth are no big deal. But when they are coming at you constantly, it's like she's trying to strip me naked, one hair at a time.

Most of the time she's out of her little house and I'm around, she doesn't just want to be near me, she wants to be ON TOP OF ME! (We got bored watching "Running With Scissors." The book's so much better anyway).

So, when this starts getting on my nerves and I need a little break...

I just bust out this face...

And I end up here in the car, or somewhere else alone with my girl for a little Stanley Time. This usually involves a really long walk, a road trip to get ice cream or to go to the dogpark, or we go to my new favorite butcher to stockpile meatables, bone-ables, and organables (they make this great mix of ground up beef heart, liver and tripe that is to-die for)!

Don't get me wrong. I love the little monster. She's pretty entertaining, and hey, she loves me! But one thing I've learned. When it comes to The Stellanator, I just have to pick my battles. So, I let her pull the Wubba out of my mouth after tugging for a little bit, I let her drag my nylabone away when I drop it to scratch myself, and I pretty much let her do what she wants around me most of the time. But when I want a break or really need some Stella-free time, my hooman girl allows me to tell Stella off or show her that I'm boss with a friendly little nip. You see, because my girl has noticed how sweet I am to my sissy most of the time, and because I really play up that pained expression I showed you above, she doesn't mind whenever I DO choose to stand up to Stella.

Now, who do YOU think's in charge?

Love,

Stanley