Dog Walking

It starts every morning before sunrise our routine of getting the dog off the boat and taking care of business. All dogs need a job. Happy's job is too whine and bother me. According to the experts petting a dog is good for seniors and lowers their (the two legged) blood pressure.

Happy sitting next to dock box

Happy is allowed to make his own decisions most of the time. He has to wait for me to remove the drop boards so he can exit the cabin. The cabin ladder has four rungs and one extra step and he does very good but needs a little assistance starting the climb up.

\GSD as a Cone head

After he gets up the ladder he goes into the cockpit then climbs over the side board and jumps on to the dock where I have placed a carpet and a horse blanket for his landing target. Then as I cuss I remove myself and look for him. There are small crabs that live on the rocks and they also live on the docks and Happy searches for them. 

My Oakley hat and glasses

The first walk in the morning last about a half of an hour. Then we go back on the sailboat for breakfast. Happy has kibble steamed rice and what meat I cooked the previous night.  After he has been refueled we start out for another walk. Our directions are limited because the main channel in LA Harbor blocks us from going east toward Terminal Island.

Hidden galaxy next to my sailboat

So we either head towards the beach which is a mile away or the closest park where he loves to chase the swallows or walk around the harbor.

Playing with friends

As Happy has gotten older he loves to bark at strangers and sometimes I really can't figure what the hell he is barking at. We have foxes and coyotes and this morning he must has seen one behind a screened fence and he kept barking at the fence. All of the marinas have lots of dumpsters and the closest park lots of trash cans so all day long people are picking the beer cans and plastic bottles and walking or riding their skateboards or bicycles with their booty catch. One very old frail and small woman that seems at times hardly able to walk collects the recycleables and this morning Happy started barking at her. She sat on a bench on Miner Street and waved back to us. An hour later in our walk she was still going strong but slow. 

Epic Mag as seen during dog walk

The dam dog the last two days doesn't want to stay in his bed in the cabin and yesterday he pulled out most of the stuffing out of his bed. Luckily he has two beds. 

morning nap

But when I finally get him to go to bed he sleeps for several hours. My Samsung Phone has a tracking app that recorded how far I walk. Saturday we walked eight miles. I used to use Map My Ride for that but it became too anal a project. The last time I checked it was Sunday but at time I am not often sure what day of the week it is. My watch (Garmin with GPS) and my smart phone display the time and date but I just look at the parking lot and if there are lots of cars it must me a weekend or holiday. 

Growing Pains

I have a friend Pat that has a Labradoodle. Pat and Karma would walk with Dede my former first mate that passed in her sleep on the boat after 14 years of faithful service and Dede and Karma would play several times a week. So without Dede I didn't do much dog walking. Most dog walkers have a regular route and a schedule. After Smarty Pants Frances (AKA) The Bean or simply Beanie bought me a puppy I started to start looking around for Pat and Karma but never saw the two out walking.

Hansome Happy posing

Finally two weeks ago I saw them and Happy got to meet them. Karma was larger (taller) that Happy by maybe two inches.

Riding with the dog can be dangerous

This morning we saw them again in the park and I am pretty sure Happy is taller now than Karma.

Happy Tongue

The dog and I. He is almost seven months old and is still a pup but he is larger than most all the dogs we see during our morning walks. Our schedule starts when the sun rises which is so much better now when he was very small and had no bladder control or pooping machine. He climbs the ladder from our cabin after I remove the drop boards. He then wanders around the dock looking for small crabs that live here. We climb up the gangway depending on what tide it is and Happy goes to the green patch of grass between the two marinas.

watching crows

As he has gotten older he doesn't have the urgency to pee or poop after spending the night in our sailboat. He would rather explore or meet people. This morning he as waiting at the gate for me and was getting petted my a mother and daughter from New Mexico. Happy has lots of friends that  know him my his doggie name of Happy not Stinker or butthead as he is often called.

Happy likes to meet other dogs

We have been to the local dog park in San Pedro but it is about two miles away and we live across from a large city park that has no shortage of grass, dirt and other dogs. There are several marinas in San Pedro where we live and there is a sidewalk that runs around it. So all day long people stroll, ride their bikes or walk there dogs. 

Off lease in park

German Shepherds are not known as bird dogs but Happy loves to chase them. There are Ground Swallows or Bridge Swallows that fly close to the ground and often tease Happy. He loves to chase the swallows but in an open area there can be other dogs that distract him which makes for more chasing that this old fart needs.

Happy loves cones

In the grass between the marinas there are gophers. The fresh dirt in the morning smells tasty to Happy and he is always ready to dig the gopher hole deeper. The city park people put cones on top of all three holes. Happy thinks they are chew toys. 

Happy Tails Growing Up

Have not blogged recently and after a period of being off the keyboard catching up is difficult. My Galaxy S6 is full of recent dog pictures and MP4 files. Sorting them out can be difficult. Most dog owners take pictures of their dogs just like loving grandparents. I was at the local small grocery store here in San Pedro yesterday and the young woman that takes my money was showing be her new puppy pictures on her smart phone.

Not sure how old Happy Tails is. His papers did not get an actual birthday. At six months Shepherds loose their baby teeth and he has been doing that. Pups have 28 teeth and adults have 42 the more to bite you with.

My other dog Dede was a champion for going for rowboat rides whereas Happy needs more experience.

In between fitting his life jacket I had to add 4 inches for his chest growth. When you see a puppy or baby everyday you don't see the growth. We were weighing him using a fish scale attached to his harness but he exceed the 50 pounds the scale could measure. He used to love to sit in my lap but now it is becoming difficult. 

GSD are not known as bird dogs but herding animals. My old dog Dede loved to herd other dogs in park but right now Happy loves to chase birds or bark at them. In the 22nd Street Park where he plays there are many ground swallows that fly close to the grass in circle driving him nuts.

It is sad but the area around Cabrillo Beach and Whites Point are filled with feral cats that have been dumped. There are signs posted that feeding the feral cats are against the law.. Many cat lovers feed these feral packs and of course the plastic dishes all wind up being blown into the water. A morning dog walk on 22nd Street by the sea food eatery may want  you to puke from the cat shit in the bushes.

There are two feral cats that hang around our marina. At first they were living off the rats and mice but several divers that clean boat bottoms started feeding them. Eack morning this black cat in the tree waits for his Monday to Friday feedings. The cat actually follows the drivers in the morning when they walk for coffee. Happy gets there early before the divers and chases the cat. The cat goes up his tree and Happy can't (yet). Rin Tin Tin could climb trees and Happy is learning.

Most toys don't last too long with Happy and the Easter Bunny wasn't any different. 

Malibu Kayaks

I was given this dual kayak in pretty sad shape but I cleaned it and repaired two cracks in it and it is ready to go. Taking a dog out here next to the boat is risky because if he falls off he will have to swim and getting in back on the dock is a hell of a chore. I had a neighbor who was from Los Angeles Fire Department and a LAFD diver. He had a Lab that loved to jump off the dock and swim but it took two healthy firemen to get the lab out of the water. Happy needs to learn at the beach.

Happy has several two legged friends that find balls for him and there isn't any shortage of discarded ball if you walk or ride a bicycle. Recently I had to buy a battery for my Nissan so I could drive to LACMA.

The Magic Flute

I am not sure how long I have been without a car battery maybe 9 months or so. If I wanted to drive the Nissan I would take a battery out of my boat where there are 4 fully charged 12 volts each day by solar panels. My daughter was having a 

Premieres

and I didn't have a reliable battery so smarty pants (as I often call her) sent me the money to buy a battery. Actually Frances sent enough money via PayPal to pay for parking, gas money and a six pack of beer plus chips for a dog sitter.

Happy Staying

After I got "Giant Butts" AKA Happy Tails on a rainy day where my Nissan's battery quit and "The Bean" had to bail me out Arlo (Grandson) was holding the baby puppy  and we took several trips to get the Nissan and dog food and a crying 5 pound puppy into a sailboat. That is when I started reading dog books and have probably twenty plus under my belt. I require a belt for my pants and shorts because the cost of dog food exceeds my normal diet cost. (Starving for a puppy love) .

With the addition of a battery to the Nissan the two of of could roam by car to various parks that were not within walking distance. Happy walks probably 5 miles a day with me everyday but now using the car we could go up the hill to or the local dog park. There are several great places in parks for dogs here: http://www.laparks.org/park/averill

The down side of our new mobility was somewhere shithead got fleas. The dog's name is "Happy Tails" but he has many other callings: Stinker, Butts, Butthead, Dede 2, Shithead

When you live on a sailboat and in the middle of the night your fucking dog starts to scratch banging his leg  the floor of the fiberglass boat like a bass drum it becomes impossible to sleep. 

So I waited until my SS check came in and we went up the hill to PetCo for some flea stuff. The last time I bought this for Dede was half the current price. So $76.00 later we went back to the car where I found my keys and my neck chain were not on my neck but in between the front seats and all the doors and windows up tight. My Nissan is not a coat hanger kind of car and needs a professional lock smith. So $85.00 later and thanks to the locksmith on 9th Street we were rolling again. 

Puppy's Internal Clock is Broken

Most days someone who has not seen us in a week usually comment on the dog's growth. I am not quite sure when he will reach adulthood but he will not be a year old for another six months and I am guessing as the papers I have on him do not show an actual age.




Ten days ago my son Dylan visited us and we went sailing together. Happy Tails or Trails as Dylan calls the dog went for his first sail on the Ericson. If the pup started to whine we put him down below in the cabin and he was quiet. After a while I put Happy back up in the cockpit. When in the dock Happy wanders around the deck and loves to play hide and seek. Also at the dock he jumps down off the boat but can't jump back on yet. Picking him up is getting to be a chore.

The YouTube video of sailing with son and pup needs a little explanation about the start of our adventure. My normal push off is very simple I disconnect all the dock lines put the tiller to the side and walk down the starboard side and push the boat out pushing the stern south and get on mid way put the tranny in reverse back out and when clear switch to forward an motor down the channel.

Well best plans are sometimes altered. My grill was next to the dock step, The old Schwinn was locked to the dock step and my sabot was sitting on the dock finger end so there wasn't any way for me to push clear and Dylan was in the cockpit on the tiller. After I got on board the wind had already turned us part way around and we were getting ready to play bumper boats. The video doesn't show everything but we didn't hit anything and Dylan was filming while dodging.

One of my pets

Happy is not that happy when he has to wear a life jacket and Dylan said he would jump in a save the dog if he fell overboard. My boarding ladder in a rope version and that would have been quite a chore to get the dog back on the deck without an overhead winch.

After 4 years of drought the rain started and this made walking the pup a wet operation but he didn't seem to care. With the sun shine we have started walking several times a day and we probably put in an easy 5 miles a day. Or night because he has not learned how to tell time.

Last night I was up at 2 AM but it could be 10:30 PM or a 4:30 AM wake up.

A neighbor gave the dog a new toss toy that he destroyed and in my dock box I have a collection of torn or broken toys. There are always plenty of sticks to find while out walking and after the rains there is lots of bamboo in the water and they make great chewables.

He has started to chase birds. There are lots of pigeons on the sidewalks and he loves to send to a flight. There are several Blue Herons that visit and one night Happy started barking at the Heron and he also took flight. There are two feral cats that were hunting mice and rats on the rocks but three bottom cleaner/divers started feeding the two cats in the parking lot where the drivers suit up so Happy likes to chase the two cats when the divers are not there. 

When out walking he loves most everyone, people or dogs, in the dark he will bark at strangers. After our sailing adventure Dylan and I rode bikes and Happy chased up. A day later I tried it by myself and the dog refused to cooperate. 

Dog proofing a sailboat is an ongoing chore. He loves the black wires that go to my solar panel regulator. Several covers after being installed usually last only a day. He has not started counter surfing and only eats from his dish but he likes to pick up his dinner bowl and chew on it.

I have a fold down dinner table that I use for my laptop. Today Happy has been very nice and allowed me to use it without a paw in my lap.

My dear and departed First Mate DeDe was not afraid of pit bulls and was attacked twice when we lived in Lake Forest. In fact DeDe used to boss a large male pit around here on the dock. Happy is five months going on six months and is already larger that most Pits we see. Yesterday we met a lady riding a bicycle with a Pit in tow. The Pit's name was Lucky. Lucky and Happy became instant friends. 

I am not sure about my opinion about people riding bikes with a dog on a leash. In San Pedro there are several marinas that get visits from dog walkers and several have dog/bicycle combinations. More on that later.