Fetching with Artemis

I don't usually do fancy stuff like "click here for a bunch of photos after the jump" or anything, but I figured it's worth warning everyone.

This blogpost is less "lots of words about something funny"and more "here are lots of semi-blurry photos of my dog".

Sorry.   It's the best I can do with my life right now.  I did mention I have poison oak on my hoohah.... but did I mention that it migrated?

I thought poison oak of the vajayjay was bad.

It turns out that poison oak of the butt crack is even worse.

YEAAAAH.

Also, I know everyone is just sooooo turned on at the mental image of me with butt crack poison oak, but sorry, I'm already married.  What can I say?  You snooze, you lose.

Oh, did I forget to mention that patches of the poison oak became infected, and I developed cellulitis?

It's okay. I know you're disappointed, but not everyone can be me.

Anyways, here's a bunch of photos of Artemis playing fetch to scrub that mental image from your brain.

Lots more photos after this pic:

I love playing fetch with Artemis.

I know all labs love to play fetch, but her intensity is amazing.

Although she's still completely obnoxious for the first five minutes after she meets new people, for the most part she's one of the most laid back dogs I've ever owned.

I find that pretty amazing, considering she's still only 10 months old.

The thing is, she's only laid back until you ask her to retrieve.

Then she's all business.

(If you stare at this picture long enough, after awhile she doesn't even look like a mammal.)

(This one's not much better.)

As soon as she gets the ball in her mouth all of that I'm-a--wolf-about-to-pounce-for-the-kill body language shuts off and she reverts back into her normal, happy-go-lucky self.

She charges so hard after the ball (or bumper, or toy, or whatever I ask her to retrieve) that even though she loves it I try not to let her retrieve more than about two times a week.  She's still a growing puppy, and while I haven't read any literature supporting my instinct, I figure it's like any growing thing - you really don't want to stress their joints too hard.

Besides, if I throw it, she will absolutely give everything she has to get the item back to me, no matter how far or how buried in the brush or how deep in the water it is.  I feel like I need to take this borderline god-like responsibility seriously.

The best part about our fetch sessions it is how much the boys enjoy playing with her. I'm all for activities that tire all three of them out.

The only downside with this arrangement is that there are two kids, and only one dog. 




This means that while we play fetch there is always one kid who is gloating:

...and one kid who is, well... not:

That's okay.  Life goes on, and we switch off throwing the ball every five minutes, so eventually they're both equally happy (or miserable.)

Besides... Artemis has enough fun for all of us:

Run.

Derp.

Run.

Derp.

 I seriously love my dog.