• Tuesday-What'sUP January 11 - 11:33 pm

This is Mandy, the Labradoodle, out enjoying the deep snow that the Keweenaw received in the past week or so. We went from a melting rain, to days and days of snow in a row, which Mandy seems quite pleased with. Her legs are buried to the point of looking like she doesn't have any in that first photo from Judy Byykkonen. After a few runs around the yard, Mandy decided to check out what was going on inside the house and she must have liked what she saw, because she stuck her snow-covered face right up to the window, where Judy snapped off a shot right away. Silly dog, with a face full of snow, makes you wonder if she can even see, but one thing you can tell for sure... she's a Yooper dog, she loves the snow!

The first photo looks like a rabbit, which has me wondering: Has anyone ever heard of an eagle or a hawk swooping down and snatching up a small pet? Sounds tragic, but I bet it does happen.
I remember years ago, reading about an incident that took place somewhere in Europe, about a couple that was camping in the mountains and a large eagle came down and snatched up their infant child that was playing on the ground nearby. They never found the child.

Labradoodles are such nice dogs! It's fun to watch our Scottish Terriers in snow. With only 4 in. long legs and their long skirtings or kilts, snowballs form fast. But they don't let that stop them. Determination is their number 1 asset!

Good Morning. I love the Labradoodle in the snow! What a happy dog.

Alex, yes, eagles do swoop down & snatch small pets, like Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terriers, or the like, as in usually those that are classified as Toy breeds by AKC, at least out near the west coast, etc. There are places where you can't let your dog out alone, even in a fenced backyard, sadly, because of that. I wish I could remember off the top of my head just where they were really having problems with that in the past few years. But then coyotes and bears can be big problems, too. I'm thinking that the cute Labradoodle may be big enough that one would not have to worry about that, but I don't know for sure.

ETA Janie, we shovel a path for our little guys in our backyard, so they can run around to their favorite little haunts, like the spruce trees, etc.

Any dog will fall victim against a pack of coyotes. It's been proven here even in the city limits.

Cats too. We have found many (strays or dump offs) cats partial remains on our farm.

Add to that list Horned and Snowy Owls as well!! I remember as a kid (or to Uncle Chuck, a pup ;-) a snowy owl once grabbed the neighbors chihuahua and flew off with it; granted, they were running an illegal "puppy mill" so they probably didn't care.

As far as coyotes, our Basenji loves to "talk" to them from our back yard. It is quite funny when the coyotes are howling ours will answer them, only to have the coyotes go dead silent!! I'm probably thinking the coyotes are wondering "what weird language is this guy speaking?? Our Basenji truly is from Africa though, so I'm guessing the coyotes don't understand anything outside Texan; even their howls sound like they are saying "ya'llll".....

Hummm, I don't know why but the BeeGees song Jive Talkin' came to mind. :)

As to the ability of large birds of prey taking small animals, the golden eagle has been used for hunting fox, rabbits, and wolves in Mongolia for centuries. They are trained to take down a wolf and hold it until hunters arrive on horseback....their way of 'shopping' for fur clothes. An eagle's talon strength is amazing!

What a cute dog! We talked to the gal in Baraga at the DNR office last fall about a problem with eagles and coyotes in her neighborhood snatching small pets, so I think it is not uncommon.

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Years ago, the Gazette had a story about a lady in Lake Linden, who was out walking her small dog and an Owl tried snagging it. The lady's dog was on a leash, and she won the tug of war. So, Alex, you bet....little dogs to a big bird, are called "SNACK".

Great pics today....LOL! Labradoodle. heehee

Love the pix! Capt. Paul, I'm not knowledgable about dogs (into cats, mostly) but I was thinking that the Basenji was the breed that doesn't have a 'bark'. Am I wrong? (as usual) ;-]

Love that dog. He just has a look on his face...pure personality :) And these issues are why my Smudge only goes outdoors on a leash. Our senior conplex is surrounded by corn fields. Just right for coyotes, birds of prey. Poor fellow wants so bad to be outdoors. But he doesn't like cold wind and snowy paws. So he window sits a lot.

No Shirley, you are correct!! Besenjis are known as the "barkless dog" because they don't bark per-say, but rather, they yodel, howl, and make other un-canine sounding sounds. Ours can actually bark, but he doesn't like to; he'd rather howl and make other weird noises around the house. His "bark" is more of a one time woof than anything else.

Wikipedia actually has a pretty decent article on them, found here. He looks almost exactly like the one in the top photo, including the colourations.

There is another good article about the Besenji as well here.

Notice that the nose (with the hot air) is clear of snow. With all the fur that this labradoodle has this guy is still warm but quite a picture.
Last night on ABC news they were showing the cutest pictures viewers sent in and the best was a dog that had stuck his mug in the deep snow and all you could see were his eyes. The body was all black.

Love the dog - it is a hardy fellow! My Westies have been insisting on wearing their sweaters outside here in Colorado, it so cold and snowy. Whether here in Evergreen or when we are in Eagle Harbor, my Westies NEVER go out alone. Mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes here in Colorado and in Eagle Harbor (closer to Agate Harbor), we have seen bald eagles fly by. I wish they could run free but this way they are alive!

Thanks, Capt., I feel better now.:) That is such a sweet face, with lots of personality....I love those ears!

Today's photos remind me of a joke that I recently received via email (it almost has the feel of a Yooper joke):

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Quote:

I just talked to a friend of mine in Minneapolis (or North Dakota, etc.).

He said that since early this morning the snow has been nearly waist high and is still falling. The temperature is dropping below zero and the north wind is increasing. His wife has done nothing but look through the kitchen window.

He says that if it gets much worse, he may have to let her in."

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Alex: That sounds like a story that someone who decided to get rid of their child fabricated. I've watched eagles struggle to carry a dead fish that probably only weighed 2 to 4 lbs. at most and couldn't hold onto it, much less a child. Beautiful dog photos, man's best friend without a doubt.

Mandy is actually an indoor pet but she loves to go out and play in the snow from time to time. She does cheat a bit when I snowshoe in the deep fluff-she follows right behind me and sometimes steps on my snowshoes and has been known to send me facefirst into the fluff.She weighs 65 lbs. so I am not too worried about birds of prey with her but we do keep our little Yorkiepoo more chaperoned.lol

Hi
Our Alaskan Malamute preferred non-bark vocalizations as well. I guess you could call some of her vocalizations "yodels"; we always said she was "rooing". She would "roo" at us if we left her alone in the house too long. She would also mutter under her breath if asked to do something she didn't want to ("mugwumps"). The only time I remember her barking was at the garbage-man.

She of course had no problem at all with snow & cold.

Nice doggy.

Very nice pics!