Today I’d like to share two recent developments surrounding Carter – our recent trip to the dog beach and his urinating habits. Believe me the peeing story is pretty good so don’t wince and think about it being disgusting. Trust me loyal readers …
Friday morning we decided to take Carter down to Huntington Beach for his first Pacific ocean experience. Huntington has a stretch reserved for dogs to run and play in the water and it’s well worth the 40 minute drive. 95% of the dogs were off-leash but that is not an option for Carter because he would run and never come back, an unfortunate trait of wheatens. He did have a chance to play with some dogs even though he was relegated to the six foot leash and in general I think he had a great time. He wasn’t too sure about the sand and water at first, preferring to simply lay down and see what happened. I mentioned last week that Carter is crazy when it comes to sounds and on more than one occasion he was taken back by the crashing waves. But as time went on he let himself run around in the water, found the time to eat some sand, try the salt water and let himself get scared. The getting scared part …. he’s standing there with his back to the waves posing for a picture when a wave comes up from behind him and just overtakes him. He ran towards the shore while H and I both laughed, but eventually ventured back into the water. Of course getting the sand off his body and drying him out was a chore.
Click on all thumbnails for a bigger view.
So let’s turn our attention to Carter’s peeing habits.
When Carter was a puppy we noticed he chose to squat instead of lifting his leg to pee. Neighbors in the area said he might grow out of it and eventually start lifting his leg like all the other boy dogs. Two and a half years later and Carter still chooses to squat down to relieve himself.
Lately however he has picked up a habit.
His initial pee is still in the squat position, but H and I think he has been watching other dogs lift their legs to pee on trees around here. The last week or so he has begun to stop and sniff some trees while we walk, and will lift his leg to mark his territory. It’s not a long pee but just enough to let other dogs know that he was there. Not sure how he learned how to do it or why he started now but whatever.
So after his initial pee, his first ‘leg lift mark my territory pee’ he gets lazy in various degrees. At the next tree he will lift his leg but not pee, you know just going through the motions of pretending. After doing this once or twice he gets even more lazy and the leg lift decreases to the point where he barely gets his foot off the ground and fake pees.
So there you have it, a post about Carter at the beach and his urinary habits.
Ah, Bolsa Chica beach- that’s one of the more fun beaches as they allow firepits and kegs on the sand (at least used to… had some classic Cali type parties there but sand gets pretty nasty). Dogs and beaches go great together! But I can imagine what a mess it is to clean Carter up after being in the sand and salt water.
Isis has changed her peeing since being downtown too. She squats but walks while peeing- I guess she’s marking the most amount of territory possible. Be glad if Carter doesn’t ever fully lift his leg- it can get messy (peeing on own foot, etc).
I’m looking forward to see Carter in the fashion show- very cool!
Loved, loved, loved the pictures! Wish we could have been with you and Carter on the beach, it is one of our favorite places as well. hugs & kisses to all
[...] last week when I told you about Carter’s new style when marking his territory? If not, here is the post. He’s got pretty good form here considering he just learned how to do [...]