Bye Bye Manhood

Hello horribly miserable puppy.

My poor, pitiful puppy.

This is Royal on the way home from surgery, still drugged out of his sweet little mind.

The same puppy who usually can't help but 'excitement pee-pee' from the sheer joy of seeing my husband or I after being separated for more than 5 minutes.....had no idea who the heck I was.

What have they done to my baby??

Sleepy Faces

Royal tends to wear his heart on his sleeve.


When he's tired, its written all over his pretty little face.


Of course, I find this incredibly cute.

So much so, that I continually annoy him by taking pictures when he's trying to fall asleep.



'Excuse me, I'm trying to sleep woman.'

Ok....maybe that's enough.

Learning to Swim: Take One

We recently decided to give Royal the opportunity to learn to swim.

And by opportunity, I mean we carried him into a lake....and put him in the water.

Don't let those ears fool you....he was excited.

And of course, he had no trouble swimming.....

Straight to the stairs so he could get out.

Now, some people might have stopped here. Thinking....maybe our puppy doesn't feel like swimming in the freezing water. But no, not my husband.

He called in for reinforcements. Enter Royal's big floating bumber toy.

Zach threw it in the water near the steps to see if Royal would jump in after it.

Instead, our clever little puppy enlisted help from his older cousin. Ok, so he picked the one who doesn't swim....but still....clever.

Colt quickly gave up, refusing to get more than his big toe wet.

Next it was Major's turn to help.

'See that orange thing? I really need it.'

Almost....

Doh!

What a team these three are.

Lake Life

Royal loves life at the lake.

It's a place with magical things.....like deer. And other Vizslas. And plenty of room to roam off-leash.

'Hey guys.....wait for me!'

This is where Royal can just be a dog.

And, without a doubt, where he is most happy.

Cousins

This past weekend we finally got a chance to take Royal to my parents' lake house....aka Vizsla heaven.

My brother was also there with his two Vizslas, Major and Colt. Up until this weekend Royal had never met his big cousins, and it was a much anticipated introduction.

This is Major. He loves to swim and can be a little territorial about 'his' lake, but we love him anyways.

Colt, on the other hand, does not like to swim. He prefers to spend his time chasing shadows.

Although you'd never guess it, Major and Colt are actually brothers from the same litter.

And since its always just been the two of them visiting the lake, we were a little worried about how they would react to the addition of a new puppy. Especially given said puppy's tendency to test older dogs' patience.

The first few hours were tense, but in the end, Royal became a (somewhat) accepted member of the lake clan.

I think its going to be an interesting summer =)

What's in a Name

Anyone who has spent any time at all with my husband or I, knows we have a special place in our hearts for Longhorn Football.

What can I say, its true love.

So naturally we had our puppy's Longhorn-themed name picked out long before he graced this great state with his presence.

Royal is named for the most winningest coach in Longhorn Football history, the one and only....the man, the myth, the legend....Darrel K Royal.

And, yes, our puppy bleeds orange.