H2O

I think I've created a monster. A cute little monster, but a monster nonetheless.

At first, Dieter wasn't so sure he liked water. His experience getting bathed at Petsmart was not a good one. He was about three months old, or thereabouts, and he carried on like only he can do. And the first time he got all muddy and we hooked him up on the deck so we could wash his feet and tummy off, he again carried on like he was the lead in some doggie melodrama.

However, he's evidently had time to rethink his hatred of water. Now, he trots around the yard with me and "helps" as I try to fill up the bird baths. More of the water goes into Dieter's mouth than into the bird baths. It's also quite handy that one bird bath is lower than the others--perfect Dieter height--so when he's thirsty, he trots over for a slurp. He also assists when I water my plants. Watering the plants is a misnomer. It's more like watering Dieter.

We have a bowl out on the deck that we keep filled up so Dieter can cool off when he's playing frisbee. This video gives a good example of what's involved in plant watering and bird bath filling. (Additional commentary: so I don't come off seeming totally clueless, when I was holding the video recorder, it was hard to see that the water from the hose was going into the bowl. Poor Lloyd, I kept telling him: "Put it in the water bowl." I'm lucky he didn't turn the hose on me!)

Since Dieter seems so predisposed now to water sports, maybe I should consider teaching him this trick I saw on YouTube. It involves three GSDs, a man speaking pidgin Japanese, and a seltzer bottle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dK7b3DtpYb0

I think we'll do this outside though.