Late Autumn Swim

I decided to take Bailey to McDonald beach before winter comes and let her play in the water. Little did I know that Bailey was gathering her courage to take a dip further than her comfort zone! So after a couple of false starts, she just ran out to the edge and lept into the deep end! She was having so much fun, she wanted me to keep throwing sticks. As I watched Bailey swim for the first time since our trip to Kelowna, I had to capture it all on video! (I'm very sorry there's a funny sound in the video, my finger was blocking the camera mic.)

Top Dog

On a rainy Thursday, Bailey and family decided to stand in line with other dog owners for 2 hours. Bailey mingled with the small, medium, large and gigantic dogs while sporting a Bosley's bandana and rain coat. Why do you ask would we do such a thing, right? Well, that's because we were waiting for....

CESAR MILLAN!!

There were so many people waiting to meet the top dog, that unfortunately we were unable to see him. But at least we were able to get a glimpse of him as he was leaving the store. 

"See I'm not a bad dog, I'm waiting calmly and submissively for Cesar Millan to return."

Relaxing in the Sun

"I'm so tiny, you can't see me!!"

(I've told her many times that she is a LARGE dog, yet she still thinks she's a pup and wonders why people sway sideways when she leans on them...)

I'm quite jealous because I'm still trying to perfect my downward dog and Bailey makes it look so easy!

Shes got... talent?

"Look, I can totally catch a flying biscuit! Wait a moment, my mouth is open but I don't taste anything!"

Beach Fun

A couple of weeks ago, we took Bailey to the beach and recorded a video of  her pawing vigorously at her tennis ball. My first thought when I saw this was that it was her own special way of playing with a tennis ball. But then my sister pointed out that the tennis ball was covered in sand and that Bailey was just trying to paw it off. I don't know, it looks more like playing to me. What do you think?

"Hey man, that's my tennis ball you're sniffing at"

Cushion Queen

"Yeah, I like pillows. You got a problem with that?"

Funny thing is that she really does love pillows. Even when she knows that it's not hers, she'll cuddle up to it and lay her head comfortably on the pillow. I'm okay with it, just as long as Bailey doesn't slobber all over it!

Summer Fun

This year was Bailey's first trip out of the city. As we were gathering our luggage, Bailey waited patiently and happily in one of the cars... Truth be told, we were all very happy that she calmly waited in the car for us because she would stick her head in everybody's bags and even tried to herd everyone!

When we arrived to our cottage, everyone was so tired that we just stayed in and hung out. The next morning I was so excited to be by the lake that I dragged everyone outside to convince them to swim in the water. Unfortunately, the water was so cold that everyone (except Bailey and I) stayed on shore. Well to be exact, when we reached the beach Bailey darted for the water and waded in the shallow end. After several minutes of whimpering, I gave in and jumped into the water with her! Best part was when I was in the water I was able to reteach her how to swim!!

Impressive thing was that Bailey started to swim by herself without me having to be in the lake with her after two days! On the other hand, thank goodness she didn't need me in the water to hold her because Bailey scratched my legs when she became frantic and scared. Seriously, do you remember when Bailey started her swimming lessons and how she was so crazy in the pool? Well, that was how she was at the very beginning with me!

Bailey had so much fun in Kelowna that all she does each day is, go frolic and swim in the lake, play with mom on the patio, sunbathe on the lounge chair outside (that's correct, I said lounge chair! After mom gave her permission to go on the chair, she would kick anyone off or sit on the person sunbathing on her favourite lounging spot!) and visit beautiful wineries with us.

When we finally arrived home Bailey was the happiest because with all the excitement and new environment, she didn't sleep very well. A couple of days later (yup, it took her two days to fully recover from all the fun...), Bailey clued into the fact that we weren't in Kelowna anymore and became quite depressed that she didn't have a lake to jump into everyday!

Birthdays!!!

The only days Bailey really loves are birthdays, not just her own but everyone else's in the family. That's because when someone's birthday is coming up, Bailey and I would visit the dog bakery and buy a special treat for her just so that she won't feel left out in the celebration. 

"Okay, I have my birthday hat on! Where's my birthday cake??"

After 3 years of many birthday celebrations, Bailey gets very excited and will do her happy dance when you mention "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Home Alone

From the title of this blog entry, Bailey and I were in fact home alone for a couple of days while most of our family went off for a vacation. So, this is what Bailey and I were up to before the family arrived home..

Visited Steveston Village and watched people by the harbour, but when you're sitting there with Bailey it's more like people watching you and tourists wanting to take a picture with your enormous dog.

I wanted in on some of this picture action, so I found this pretty garden in the Village and had a mini photo shoot. This dog sure knows how to pose when she's not distracted by pigeons!!

This is Bailey's "Can I go into the water and say hi to those birds on the poles?" look.

I don't think I've ever seen so many turtles in one area before! Bailey and I stood there for a while having a staring contest with them but eventually gave up because those turtles were so good at the game I don't think they moved an inch when we left!

Bailey officially hearts Granville Island. We spent a while walking around, taking in the beautiful sun and scenery!

What a lucky dog, I was basically Bailey's personal chef for the past couple of days and she had gourmet dinners!

And after a long day of fun, fun and did I mention fun? We headed upstairs for bed, but for Bailey it's more like sprinting up the stairs... because she knows that she gets to sleep on her favourite bed - mom's comfy queen sized bed!!

Easter Hike

So every time we go hiking, Bailey runs off to find a muddy pond to jump into. Not only does she frolic in the dirty water, she lays down and drinks it! This time she found a pond all right, but when she realizes that we were walking away from her does she notice that she's stuck in a deep hole...

Now this is unusual. I've never seen Bailey play in the mud! And at the time she seemed to really like to get her paws filthy dirty! I mean she was digging in the mud and playing with sticks. She even laid in the mud and at that point I really thought that she was going to roll around in it!

By the end of our hike, our dirty dirty dog magically becomes pristine white! And our car ride home is filled with lots of doggy snoring!

Where Are The Pom-pons?

I know the Olympics finished a couple of weeks ago and I've told Bailey a millions times that, but she doesn't seem to believe me! See for yourself...

But at least she'll be ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics!!

Picky Eater

For some odd reason Bailey refused to eat her food for the past couple of days. We thought there was something wrong, but as it turned out she was just being picky. Then it got the whole family thinking, maybe we should cook real food for Bailey. As my sister puts it, Bailey has been eating the same thing for the past 3 years. So maybe she's refusing to eat because she's getting bored of the kibble. Then my inner chef came out....

Day One and Two

Ground pork with couscous, topped with sliced apples and carrots.

Day Three and Four

Yummy tuna mixed in brown rice and green peas with a drizzle of yogurt.

Day Five

Savoury chicken in brown rice accompanied with green peas and egg. Sprinkled with a bit of cashews.

All of a sudden our picky eater didn't care if she had kibble for breakfast, as long as she had this for dinner she'll eat anything in the morning.

Olympic Fever

Looks like someone's excited about the olympics... The hat really suits you Bailey, what do you think?

Singing in the rain

Usually on rainy days like these, Bailey prefers to stay inside and keep dry (yeah I know, she's one odd dog). But ever since a little pup, she has never liked getting her paws wet from the rain. I can still remember the day we brought her home and she wouldn't go onto the wet grass, instead she sat on the ledge of the door way to keep herself dry! But every dog still needs to go for a walk, rain or shine! That is why I taught (with the help of Cesar Millan) Bailey to walk on the treadmill! Now she's in love with the treadmill on gloomy days, I mean look at the intense concentration in those eyes!

"Wow, this is such a mental and physical workout! I LOVE it!"

Cool Cat

"I am one cool cat uh... I mean dog"

Extravaganza!

Back in 2009, Bailey was asked to participate in a dog show. I enrolled her in two categories, most obedient and mega munch (this was to see who can eat the fastest). I can tell you right now, that Bailey is not the most obedient, she'd rather stare at the people (she's bit of a flirt) around the stage than to look at me. But at least she came to me when I called her.

In the picture above, this is the part where all the large dogs lined up and got ready for the mega munch contest. For this part, you'd think "oh she's a large dog, she can swallow her food whole. She'll get first place easily." I can tell you now that Bailey is the slowest eater. In fact, she would take her time chewing each kibble, all the while observing the crowd around her. At one point, she got so fascinated by the camera man near us that she stopped eating all together to investigate this black, furry thing that hangs on a rod. Even though she didn't bring home a trophy, we were still proud of her for participating and having a time of her life.

Happy Birthday!

Happy belated birthday baker's dozen!!! I can't believe you're all three years old! Hope you all had an amazing birthday filled with laughter, fun and lots of presents!

"What do you mean I'm not allowed to eat my birthday cake??"

Before this picture was taken, the cake actually said 'Bailey' but someone couldn't wait anymore and took a couple of bites...