Beat the Heat--Ossi Style

Ossi, taking a dip in the creek behind G-Paw Jimbo's and G-Maw Susie's house











It has been hot--very, very hot--here so we've had to find new ways to help Ossi beat the heat. As you can see above, he enjoys swimming and loved his time in the creek. Even though it wasn't really swimming because the water was so low he could walk all the way across. He would walk to the deepest part of the water, take a few drinks, and keep going to the opposite bank. It was like swimming in a giant water bowl! AND, since it is 95 degrees, Ossi dried off right away so no drippy, stinky, wet dog.



Ossi, in his cool hiding spot














Ossi has found that the bare, wood floors are a delightful place to lay when he's hot but he's been troubled because there's no soft spot to rest his head. Problem solved. His favorite new place to lay down is between the couch and the coffee table--he lays on the bare floor by the couch and sticks his head under the coffee table on the carpet. The effect from above looks like a sleepy, but headless, dog.


when push comes to shove, roll back your ears and pant, pant, pant!

Ossi says Stay Cool!

New Season-New 'Do

Ossi BEFORE "sunning" himself while lying on the cool bathroom floor.





























Ossi AFTER, waiting to be released from "upstairs"
jail.


With summer comes hot weather and with hot weather comes a new 'do for Ossi! The new groomer at Suds 'n Scissors suggested we shave him like a Lab...so that's what we did. He has been *SO* much cooler and is mighty appreciative now that the temperatures have soared into the 90s and 100s. Yikes! Actually, he doesn't much care for the hot weather. We take shorter walks now and even when he's outside he runs back to the patio door pretty quickly, begging to be let in.
However, if it's too hot for Ossi, odds are it's too hot for flies out there too. This has given rise to a new hobby...Ossi Miyagi's Fly Catching. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Karate_Kid (see "Quotes", in case you missed the reference)
It goes something like this:
A fly gets into the house
Ossi notices said fly and tracks it with "stealth"
When fly is buzzing around, banging against patio doors because it thinks it sees freedom Ossi
POUNCES, bouncing off the glass and leaving nose and paw prints on it.
8 times of out 10, Ossi kills the fly and either loses interest or eats it (gross, I know)
There you have it--Ossi Miyagi (just without the chopsticks)

Ossi is missing his new little friends Amya, Olivia and Elaina, but he is eternally thankful they visited for a few reasons.
Reason 1) They are close to the ground and frequently drop the food they are eating resulting in a delicious snack for Ossi.
Reason 2) Once they realized Ossi enjoys delicious snacks, they just started giving him things like potato chips and dog treats.
Reason 3) It helped him get used to being around kids.
In fact, since the girls visited, Ossi has been cuddled, petted, smooched and loved by groups of children from all over the neighborhood and the greater Twin Cities area and he seems to enjoy it! Now that's a big deal!!