Lola and her sticks

momofmany

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Lola absolutely loves sticks, and the bigger the better. Normal sticks aren't good enough for her, she prefers large branches or even logs. She regularly helps herself to logs from the fireplace pile.

She found this "stick" the other day. We measured it and it's 7 feet long. She carries it easily when she gets her mouth over the center point, but will drag it if she grabs it on the end. And yes, she has run up behind us and whacked us with her branches.

This is the back end of our property. The "boys" were waiting patiently for us to open the gate so that they could go for "big walkies" around the lake. There is a small lake right there (about 5 acres) and that is a huge treat for them to go for a daily romp.





We taught her how to swim the other day by throwing a stick in the lake. Once she realized that she can indeed swim, she now goes into the lake and swims just for the fun of it. Of course retrieving a stick makes the swim that much more fun!
 

ldg

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Oh that is hysterical!!!!!!!!!
Now if only she could chop the logs into that firewood.....


When you tossed her stick in the lake, did she dive right in there or did she run back and forth a bit first?

A good friend had a golden Lab that LOVED retrieving from water. Toss a rock in the lake - and the dog would dive.... and always come up with a rock! (Obviously not necessarily the same one
)

But that is a heck of "stick" !


Laurie
 

strange_wings

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Please watch her with those sticks and branches. Take them away when you're not able to completely supervise her.

Several years ago my dad's dog was outside and had a stick/branch similar to the one in the first two pictures. My dad never thought anything of it and would even give them to her.
I had went up the block for a few minutes to take something to my dad's gf and left her outside. Maybe 15 minutes later we pulled up and his dog snatched up her branch wanting to play and accidentally chomped down hard enough to break it off so that there was part of it stuck between her upper teeth/jaw. We ran over and while my dad's gf held the dog's mouth open I had to reach in and remove it. Risky because in her panic she could have bit or scratched me. Had we not been there when it happened she would have shredded her face trying to remove it.

I've also seen vet ER shows where dogs have manage to spear the roof of their mouths or the back of their throats from running with sticks...
 
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momofmany

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Originally Posted by LDG

When you tossed her stick in the lake, did she dive right in there or did she run back and forth a bit first?
The first time that we tried to get her to swim, she did run back and forth. Now when she knows we have a stick by her swimming spot, she dives in and waits for us to throw it. She's a very good swimmer. I always thought that all dogs can naturally swim, but we had a few dogs in the past that would get in the water and flail. Not our Lola girl! She's a little bit tubby so swimming is going to be very good exercise for her.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Please watch her with those sticks and branches. Take them away when you're not able to completely supervise her.
Thanks for the warning! We actually never let them outside unsupervised, and even with supervision, it's not possible to hide every stick that falls out of the 100+ trees that we have on our property. So she runs with the ones she finds and unless I kept her on a leash, there is no stopping her. Why leash a dog when you have 2 acres fenced?
 

wellingtoncats

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My dog Jazz was well known for her love of big sticks. She used to carry sticks around that were that long too - but much thicker!
I miss her.


Thanks for sharing, Amy!
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Momofmany

Thanks for the warning! We actually never let them outside unsupervised, and even with supervision, it's not possible to hide every stick that falls out of the 100+ trees that we have on our property. So she runs with the ones she finds and unless I kept her on a leash, there is no stopping her. Why leash a dog when you have 2 acres fenced?
I know it's hard. But a little warning can go a long way sometimes.


Must be fun to clean up and mow that much yard!
 
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momofmany

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Must be fun to clean up and mow that much yard!
Actually have 3 acres and about 2 of them are fenced. DH does the yard work where the lawn is. I get to do the gardens. Yup, it is a lot of work!
 

white cat lover

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Coco LOVES big sticks, too.....she is always trying to run in the front door with them!
 
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momofmany

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

Coco LOVES big sticks, too.....she is always trying to run in the front door with them!
Lola tries to bring her sticks inside all the time. We've taught her the phrase "outside toy", and if we remind her, she drops it right next to the door so that it is waiting for her when she goes back outside. We have sticks sitting just outside all of our doors, including one in the garage. Of course if we fail to remind her, she often forgets - she doesn't have the best memory.
 

pushylady

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oh your lucky dogs, living with you in doggie paradise! They're so lucky to go for big romps and swims everyday. They must be very happy pooches indeed.
As for those silly sticks...
I have my share of bruises on the backs of my legs from when dogs go charging past, stick in mouth, whacking me! I suspect they do it on purpose.
 
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momofmany

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Originally Posted by pushylady

I have my share of bruises on the backs of my legs from when dogs go charging past, stick in mouth, whacking me! I suspect they do it on purpose.
She's gotten me a couple of times and DH more often. Last time she whacked him with her 7 foot long stick, he hollered at her and she hasn't picked up that stick again. Poor baby sees it in the yard, looks at DH, and doesn't pick it up. *sigh* Woe is her.

When we take them out of the yard to the lake, there are areas that are stagnant and smelly. Of course they all like to go in those sections cause that is where the frogs hang out. We're trying to teach them that they can only go "swimming" in the section where there is a beach (yes, they import sand by the shallow part of the lake). But Sam has now taken to rolling in the sand after his swim, so it defeats the purpose of having him jump in the lake to get all the dog dirt off of him.
I guess kids will be kids.
 
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