Cabana and I love going to the off-leash dog beach, and it's an absolute CRIME that we go there just once or twice a year. We only live 30 minutes away, but we don't go more often because (these reasons need to be read in a high-pitched whiny voice) it's almost always foggy and windy on the coast, Cabana gets all sandy and stinky, and it costs $7.00 to park our dern vehicle. 
But our crazy northern California temperatures have been in the 70s this past week, and since the coast was clear (ha ha, by that I mean no fog), I made it a priority to go there. And this time, we got to go with our friend Susan and her English Springer Spaniel, Maggie. 
Cabana has lots of doggy pals, but none are as special to her as Maggie. I don't think it's anthropomorphizing to say that they are true friends. When Cabana and Maggie see each other, it is pure joy--for them and for anyone who is watching. In fact, people at the dog park comment all the time on how these two girls play. They sneak up on each other, pounce, go for the other's hind legs, while all the time running and rolling and growling playfully. They never get upset with each other--they just are so comfortable and in sync when they play. I never get tired of watching them.
Cabana thinks the beach is great no matter what, but being there with Maggie was really the icing on the cake. 
I hereby resolve to go to the beach more often this year, at least 6 times. So this was my first time in 2012--I'll post about our 5 subsequent visits, so keep me accountable! This was Maggie's first time ever at this dog beach, but I'm sure she'll be back. Hopefully, with us!
If I had to pick, I'd say English springer Maggie is Cabana's favorite gal pal at the park. Cabana and Maggie are always so happy to see each other and can roughhouse endlessly. The humans get such a kick out of watching their antics, sneaking up on each other for a surprise attack, playing leap frog, or biting on the others' hind legs.
So when Maggie's owner asked us to watch her for a few hours earlier this week, I didn't hesitate to say yes. 
Plus, it was a great opportunity to utilize Maggie's cuteness to showcase my handmade dog collars for my Etsy shop. 
Cabana is a fabulous model, patiently posing for me in our photo shoots--but I welcomed the chance for variety. And some colors look so much nicer against Maggie's gorgeous black and white coat.
I gave this collar to Maggie in payment for her modeling services. I just love the red and silver against her coat--stunning!
These collars and others have been posted in my Etsy shop. Blog readers can receive FREE SHIPPING, just enter OURSFORAYEAR in the coupon box.
Phew, modeling is hard work. Good thing we have two spots for sunbathing on the carpet!
Kira continues to learn and improve by leaps and bounds everyday. She adores Cabana and is ALWAYS giving Cabana kisses. A kiss here and there would be fine, but the constant unsolicited affection wears on Cabana's good humor until, finally, Cabana will protest with a growl or a bark. You tell her, Cabana--after all, Kira needs to learn to mind other dogs' social cues.
Kira is fabulous on leash. She's just so happy to be next to Cabana that I almost don't even need to leash Kira. I don't know if it's her temperament or her breed or because she was a stray? Kira knows what being lost and alone is like, and she doesn't want to experience it again, so she stays close and checks in often.
At the park, none of the other dogs will play with Kira. They come up to her for a meet and greet, but they don't solicit her to play. I suppose they know she's still too tentative.
But when Cabana plays with her springer friends, like Maggie above, Kira is right there, either trying to get in on the action or maybe just getting front row seats? It will be interesting to see if this changes over the next week or two.
In this video, Cabana is playing with her pal Bodhi. They LOVE to rough house with each other. Kira does her best to keep up with them. It's so cute how she runs after Cabana, no matter what.
Today, Cabana and I took a class at the Marin Humane Society called "Dog Park Survival Skills". There were 8 dogs in the class, one of which is Cabana's dog pal Mindy, a tri-colored springer spaniel. It was confusing to Cabana and Mindy to be there with each other but not be allowed to greet or play. 
The class was okay, but honestly, I didn't feel like I learned a ton. They talked about body language, group dynamics, human responsibility, and prevention tactics. I would have liked more depth on everything, especially the dog body language component, but it was only a 2-hour class, which isn't much time. 
The fun part of the class was for the dogs to actually get to meet and play. I could tell Cabana was interested in this male dog named Darwin from the moment she saw him. She likes those rambunctious male types. 
First, Darwin and Cabana had to meet each other on leash politely, where ideally, we want the dogs to arc around each other and sniff each others' bottoms. But Cabana was so amped up and eager to meet Darwin that she kept trying to meet him head on, which is an etiquette no-no. I think Cabana would have been much more polite off leash, plus Darwin was sending definite "let's play" signals so she already knew they would be fast friends.
When they were finally allowed off leash, they had a great time with each other. Cabana's play style would please Twilight fans (which does NOT include me, I am compelled to make perfectly clear)--in vampire style, she loves to have her neck bitten. She always presents her neck to the other dog, encouraging them to grab her scruff. Darwin's owner said that Darwin doesn't usually do that when playing with other dogs, but he definitely did that a lot with Cabana, a confirmation that she's encouraging that behavior. 
Finally, Mindy and Cabana got to play, too. Mindy didn't even want to play with the other dog she was supposed to be playing with, but instead came running over to Cabana. It was really sweet!
The instructors encouraged us to call our dogs out of play often, to help keep the play mutual and under control, and to let our dogs know that when we stop them, it doesn't automatically mean it's time to go home. I saw some things that I still need to improve with Cabana--when she was focused on Darwin while on leash, she was totally blowing me off. She couldn't have cared less about me at that moment--dog distraction, it's her nemesis. Other than that, though, I was pretty proud of her.
Today, I dropped Seamus off at the shelter so he could be there for people to see and meet. If no one adopts him this week, we'll probably do another mini-foster next weekend. I was afraid that Seamus would be really unhappy to go back to the shelter, but when we got out of the car, he seemed fine, like, "Okay, I know this place. Whatever." I told the shelter director what I had observed about Seamus--he's housebroken, very teachable, extremely social, doesn't beg, doesn't bark, doesn't dig, no real bad habits at all that I could see. However, he was VERY stressed in the car, panting and breathing heavily, but we took him on a number of short car rides, and by this morning, he had already improved greatly. Anyway, I was really happy to have so much positive information to give, and the director thanked me profusely. 
But I miss Seamus a LOT. This morning, my husband went for a 2-3 mile run with him and said he was a great running buddy, was awesome on leash and kept stride with him the whole way with barely a pant. There are so many things to love about Seamus, like how fascinated he was with squeaky toys. It seemed like he hadn't played with one before, the way he cocked his head at the sound and threw them in the air like a puppy.
Cabana will miss Seamus' huge crate, provided by the shelter. I would put a frozen Kong in his crate at night so he wouldn't be too unhappy in there. The first night, he whined for about 5 minutes. By the third night, he didn't need the Kong anymore--he went to sleep without a peep. Here, Cabana tries out the crate and checks to see if there's anything left in his Kong. She probably thinks, "That lucky guy, how come HE gets to sleep in a crate with a Kong and I don't?!" Freedom is so overrated, especially where peanut butter is concerned.
Seamus got along so well with all of Cabana's doggy pals. He rivals Cabana in his good social skills.
In this photo, Seamus is the little one! Big Leo makes him look like a dwarf.
Could two dogs get along any better? Cabana loved running and playing with Seamus...
...even when he was biting her on the butt.
Here's a full minute of them playing bitey face, which is probably more entertaining to me than to all of you. But it's sweet the way Seamus always lets Cabana have the upper hand.
Arrrgghhh, I KNOW he's a great dog, a perfect fit for us, and handsome, too. But please refer to the title of this post! We don't need a second dog, we don't need the expense, we don't need the dog hair, no, no, no!
Let's change the subject. The winner of the treat pouch giveaway is RAISER ERIN! Thank you again for all your wonderful feedback. I will post photos of the updated treat pouch with new and improved features soon!
WHY is Cabana smiling? Because today...we went to doggy Disneyland! 
A golf course in our town went bankrupt this winter, so these gorgeous fields are just sitting there, with no one using them. Cabana and I sheepishly joined spaniel friends Maggie and Mindy for a surreptitious playdate on the disowned lawns. No one else was there to apprehend us--but it's much too much of a good thing for it to last for long. 
There was so much open space and green grass galore, filled with sand dunes and gullies and ponds. Each dog got to claim their own private swimming pool. Here's Mindy's pool, complete with birds flying overhead. 
Shaded by willow trees, this pool is Maggie's. 
And look at the size of the one Cabana claimed!
But of course, swimming all together is much more fun.
The dogs had a great time, and we have now been spoiled so thoroughly that no other dog park will ever come close to the splendor of that golf course grass.
By the way, the golf course is for sale at a mere $2.5 million. Any takers?
While it's a fact that Cabana loves dogs of all kinds, we have found ourselves gravitating toward spaniel breeds. Or maybe spaniels gravitate toward us? Whatever the reason, most of Cabana's favorite playmates are different types of spaniels.
Bodhi is a Blue Picardy Spaniel. He's lanky and rambunctious, and Cabana is rambunctious right back.
Jagger is a large liver and white English Springer Spaniel who lives around the block. On walks, Cabana always looks for him, wondering if he is tied up in his front yard so they can have a quick meet-and-greet.
Sweet Maggie is a black and white English Springer Spaniel and is one of our favorite "regulars" at the park. 
Mindy, a tri-colored English Springer Spaniel, and Penny, a Brittany Spaniel, are also favorite "regulars".
We see Maggie, Mindy and Penny at the park at least 3-4 times a week. They are great pals with Cabana, and best of all, they love to run...
...and run and RUN! I don't know what we'd do without our spaniel friends. And I hope we never find out!
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This is Beau, a gorgeous 9-month old German shepherd. We've seen Beau a few times here and there since he was a tiny pup, but lately, he's been coming to the soccer fields to play on a regular basis.
Cabana and Beau hit it off right away, becoming instant romping pals. Maggie likes to get in on the action, too. Beau is a big guy at over 90 pounds, but being a young gentleman, he knows how to tone things down for smaller dogs (which, in comparison to Beau, is just about every dog).
Cabana doesn't go into a submissive roll for just anyone, but I think Beau's sheer size makes Cabana feel she should do it often. In this photo, Cabana looks like she's either scared or drunk--but neither is the case. One of Beau's favorite things to do while Cabana is laying quietly on her back, is to gently gnaw each one of her legs in succession. He does it so tenderly, it's kind of sweet. He also tries to put Cabana's entire head in his mouth, and it almost fits!
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