Get a handle on it Dude!

Dude is fond of fishing, especially if it means he gets to ride along in the boat. He's not much help out on the water, but he sure enjoys it.

After we have the catch back home, he starts to become a bit more helpful. Here you can see he's pulled a nice size channel cat out of the bucket so I can start cleaning the fish. Thankfully, catfish have barbs that double as handles. This allows the Dude to pick up those slippery creatures when he's in the mood for a little fish licking.

He's not called Mr. Lickerson for nothing - he enjoys giving those fish a little tongue bath.

Anyway, my little buddy loves to interact with creatures of all sorts, and fish are no exception. Whether it's licking, pawing at them, or simply getting a nibble in here and there, it's all in a day's effort for the Dude.

Even "the Dude" takes a vacation.

When the mood strikes us, and the weather is cooperating, "the Dude" and I go on vacation. Our favorite vacation spot is a little lake in northeast Texas. It's a nice place to be because it's private, peaceful and loaded with fish.

People say that east Texas has some of the best fishing on the planet, and I'm here to say that isn't far from the truth. I always tell folks, "They don't jump into the boat, but that's not far from the truth."

This photo is Dude and I relaxing on the front porch of the lakeside cottage, enjoying the nice warm day under the shade of many trees. I'm ready to go fishing, seeing how I've got my "fish wrestling" shirt on, and my little buddy is ready to go as well. When isn't he ready to go?

No matter what kind of fishing I'm up to, Humper is up for it too. Whether I get the fish on the dock or in the boat, he likes to paw at them and give them a few little bites as well. He knows that there are small animals in the water, and he just waits patiently for "the pack leader" to haul them in where he can get a chance to investigate.

I haven't seen Humper swim, and I'm not certain he can, so I'm careful with how excited I let him get when I land a big one. I'm also careful about him being in the sun too long when we're out on the boat, so I bring along a long ladle that helps me wet him down with water from the lake so he'll stay cool while I get in a few more casts.

My faithful Boston Terrier companion is at home just about anywhere he goes, whether we're running errands around town or on vacation in Texas. It seems he enjoys life with the pack leader as much as the pack leader enjoys life with him. He must know that he's not a water dog because he prefers to stay on the porch or run along shore, but when it comes to fishing, he's eager to hop in the boat - he knows there's critters in them waters.

Dude's #1 fan - it's Megan!

I never thought that I'd run into a real fan of my buddy Humper Go-Play Lickerson, but I've done just that here in Michigan. While visiting with friends and family, I met our new friend Megan, a wonderfully interesting young lady with an amazing resume. She's completing high school a year early following a program of homeschool study, an important volunteer in her community, one of the best writers I've ever had the pleasure to read, and she's bi-lingual.

Oh yeah, and she's a big fan of the Dude. I'm convinced that she is Dude's #1 fan. After all, you see who is sitting on her lap. What a lucky dog! Am I just the road crew?

My dinner invite for the evening with Megan was carefully crafted to include a regrettable caveat suggesting that my canine friend was the real dinner guest, but everyone would put up with me if I would simply be his driver for the evening. Okay, so I was a bit hurt, but I figured that I'd get over it. And, I did. I accept my position as the Dude's road crew.

Had I missed the dinner, I'm not certain that Dude could have gotten over the hurt as quickly as me. He loves meeting new people, and especially attractive females, so I didn't dare risk an upset puppy over a silly thing like me taking a back seat to my four-legged travel companion.

The evening turned out great. The meal was wonderful and I was so pleased that they didn't make me eat out of a plastic bowl on the concrete patio while Humper sat at the table with a proper place setting. Of course, the best part of the evening was the great company.

It didn't take long before Dude was given a tour of the house and started helping out on the patio, in the kitchen and in the office. He was quite comfortable going downstairs and upstairs on command, and performing his limited repertoire of tricks like the ever popular "spot check".

We're having so much fun here in the Great Lake State that we've decided to stay a while, using Internet resources from friends and family to make our posts.

Dude has good horse sense...kind of

My buddy Dude enjoys time with people and animals. He's particularly fond of horses, but he's never had a close encounter - until today. While attending my nephew's Birthday party, complete with a pony, my canine companion got to come face-to-face with a tiny horse. And, even a tiny horse is a large animal for my pint-size puppy.

Hey, it's a different day, so let's do something different - maybe something a bit risky as well - let's play with animals much larger and stronger than ourselves.

While mom held the reins, and Dude perched on dad's lap, the Dude got to sniff and lick at the muzzle of a pony. The pony got a snoot full of Dude as well. Both seemed very satisfied and the encounter was over.

What pleases me is that my little buddy trusts me to never put him in a bad spot, so when he was called up on dad's lap with a horse looming overhead, he didn't hesitate, he simply waited until there was sufficient room and then hopped up on his perch. What amazes me is that the Dude gets to enjoy such a full life of adventure and new experiences. And, I think it amazes him as well.

Earlier that day, my Humper Dude was chasing around with this same pony. Perhaps 7 times as high, 5 times as long, and about 20 times as heavy as my pup, the Dude was a featherweight "in the ring" with this super-heavyweight. Nevertheless, the nimble Dude held his own, steering clear of the galloping pony and playfully dodging in and out of its path. Both were having fun.

The handler was concerned about possible injury to my dog. I told her not to worry, that sort of risk naturally comes with a life of adventure and fun, and I thought he had good horse sense in more than one way - when the going gets too rough, Dude knows to back off and keep distance between him and the other animal.

So, the day included Dude in the saddle, rolling down the driveway on a skateboard, and running through the pond as well. Quite an exciting and fun-filled day for the Dude, and it wasn't even his Birthday party.

It's All Dude, All Day!

I don't watch television for a range of reasons, mainly because there isn't anything on TV that is worth my time. I also consider the uber-commercial nature of TV to be an unwarranted intrusion in my life. I don't need advertisers constantly showing and telling me that I'm dissatisfied with my life.

When it comes to TV, I'd rather watch my dog sleep. And, that's exactly what Dude would rather have me do as well.

There's a television in my home, but that's for watching movies. And, there's a television cabinet at my cottage, and that's for watching the Dude while he sleeps.

It's my version of what you might likely hear on TV, "It's all Dude, all day, on the weekend Boston Terrier marathon." It sounds a bit like one of those week long or weekend long movie channels or sports channels. I know my Humper Dude won't ever have his own TV show, but he seems to be perfectly satisfied to be inside the TV cabinet in his bed. And, that's close enough for both of us.

Let's consider the advantages of having Dude in the TV cabinet instead of "on the set." First of all, he doesn't have to go through makeup and hairstyling. I'm sure he's rather happy about that. Also consider that there are no lines to memorize, no tele-prompter to read, and no long days at the studio. And, just think of all the autograph signing he avoids!

He knows that he leads a dog's life - a rather exceptional dog's life. One that is very special, even without being on TV.

A place at the table for a well behaved dog

Dude is like anyone else in the house - if he's well behaved, then he can sit at the table. Well, why not? He might as well join the party so he can see what all the people are doing up there on that table top.

The truth is that he likes the view from the chair, but doesn't much like the idea that the chair swivels. Nevertheless, he's glad to be in a better seat up off of the carpet where mere cats prowl.

We don't make a habit of feeding him from the table - at least not while he's sitting at the table. If we did, we'd feel obligated to put another place setting there.

And, can you imagine how difficult it would be to teach him to use silverware, drink from a glass and properly use his serviette? We're just not up to that kind of training assignment.

Talk about a challenge for Amy Vanderbilt!

So, we do have our limits when it comes to table manners and our Dude. When it comes to eating, he has his own place, but when it comes to social events, he can sit with the rest of us simply because he's part of our family and he's well behaved.

He'll never meet the standards of social etiquette at anyone's table but mine, but then, that's all that matters. He's my Dude at my table, and he knows it. As long as it's alright with the pack leader, it's alright with "the Dude."

The temporarily crippled Dude

My wonderful dog is quite a ground squirrel enthusiast. He spots 'em and chases 'em and knows exactly what their whistle sounds like. Most of all, he knows what their fur tastes like because he's had them in his mouth many a time.

The Dude is a terrier, and that means he is bred to hunt, chase and kill small animals that live in and on the ground. If he thinks there is an animal under the surface of the soil, then away he goes digging at the ground until he's satisfied. Sometimes that means he's digging for quite some time.

His favorite means of getting at a ground burrowing animal is to find them hiding in pipes and tubes around the property. Whether it's PVC, steel or corrugated black drain pipe, he knows that there's a good chance that it holds either a rabbit or ground squirrel inside.

One day while I was working outside, I noticed that Dude had been away from me for quite some time - an hour or more. I called for him, but he didn't respond, so I went looking.

Sure enough, I found him busying himself with a ground squirrel "stakeout" near the barn. He had cornered one inside a large piece of ABS tubing and had been trying his best to get at that little varmint.

He didn't make much progress except to chew up the tubing a bit and tear up the nail on his dewclaw. It was a bloody mess. This showed just how dedicated a hunter he was. He was willing to hurt himself just to get at this little animal.

Off to the vet we went as his nail had to be trimmed back or removed. A bunch of money later he was all bandaged up and limping around the house. It's funny that he didn't seem bothered enough by the pain to call off the "stakeout," but back in the house his pain was clear to see as he kept his foot off the floor and spent lots of time laying around in his bed.

After a couple of weeks and a bandage change, Dude was literally back on his feet and ready for the next ground squirrel episode.

Not so fast! From now on, the pack leader keeps an eye on the Humper Dude just to make certain his play isn't so enthusiastic as to cause additional vet bills. Until he starts paying the vet bills, his playful episodes with the local varmint population will be monitored with appropriate adult supervision.