Dugan the Dog Endures the “Dog Days” of Summer!

Dugan sez: I was chasing a strange cat yesterday, but I couldn't catch it. It was walking too fast!

In almost all respects, Dugan is a mighty hound. But not when it comes to tolerating heat. When it comes to hot weather, Dugan is a wimp! Dugan always has access to the out of doors. But this time of year he spends most of the day laying on the cool kitchen floor. Except for going outside to do his business, the only time he spends any amount of time outside is in the early morning and late evening when it is not as hot outside.

Some people do not know where the expression about the "dog days of summer" originated, and mistakenly believe it is because dogs act lazy in the summer heat. The brightest star in our sky (after the sun) is called Sirius. You can see it close to the constellation Orion the Hunter, just a little to Orion’s right (your left if you are in the northern hemisphere) at his feet. Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Major which is “Big Dog” in English. An interesting thing about stars is that they rise about 4 minutes earlier every day, so after a months time any particular star will rise about 2 hours earlier. Consequently, while Sirius rises around sunset in the winter, it will be rising around sunrise in the summer. In the olden days people in the northern hemisphere knowing that Sirius was rising at dawn in the summer, believed this brightest star must account for the extra daytime heat they had to endure. Because Sirius is in the constellation Canis Major, they called the hot summer days the “dog days”. Just a little astronomy lesson for those who care, and useless drivel for those who don’t.

I am posting some fun pictures of the “Prince of Irish Wolfhounds”. Some show Dugan doing what he does best in the summer, laying around in the kitchen!



Dugan really appreciates a good chin rub.


"Hey Master, how many more days until its cool enough for a walk?"


Dugan demonstrates his skills at counter surfing.


Dugan really likes a rib rub, and gets a charge when you give his rear leg muscle a squeeze and exclaim "such big strong muscles!"




Dugan the Dog, The Prince of Irish Wolfhounds, our own resident "Canis Major" lays in magestic repose while waiting for cooler days.





"Dugan the Bed Headed dog.

Dugan the Dog has another birthday!

Dugan the dog plays with a toy his own size!


Well, he did it again! Dugan the Dog had another birthday on May 29 and is the ripe old age of 3 years. Life certainly has been interesting and entertaining with the Prince of Irish Wolfhounds, and he is truly a genteel fellow. Just last week he caught another cat in his backyard and had it trapped against a fence. After he had chased it to the fence he did not attack it or try to torment it, but only wanted to play. Another thing he does to show he is a Gentle Giant is to take food directly from your hand without trying to be greedy and swallowing or biting your hand. He will gingerly and delicately take the food from your fingers (although he will still slobber a little on you).

I am posting some fun pictures of Dugan playing with a favorite toy. Dugan really likes to play with balls so we got him a ball that is more his size: a 36 inch soccer ball! It is actually more like a huge beach ball with a loose covering over it that looks like a soccer ball. It does not stay inflated tight for too long and it takes a while to inflate even with a small air compressor, so we don’t play with it too often. But he really likes get rough with it!






Dugan always looks cute when his ears set up tall.

Dugan the Dog on Parade!

On Saturday March 14, 2009 Dugan the Dog, the Prince of Irish Wolfhounds celebrated the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day by walking in Phoenix’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Dugan is a member of the Desert Irish Wolfhound Association, and the gang showed off some genuine Irish in the parade to the people of Phoenix. In Ireland, they say there are only two kinds of people in the world: Irish people, and those who want to be Irish. We did see a few fair complected people with red hair, but almost everyone at the parade including myself were wannabee Irish people.

Dugan walked with six other Wolfhounds, and they were a big hit with the crowd. Many of the adjectives sent Dugan’s way were: beautiful, handsome, majestic, huge. There were also the usual and inevitable references to horses, saddles, and riding and so forth. Any way, the Wolfhounds had a good time for the most part. The only problem was that while waiting around the staging area, it was full of noise and commotion from fire trucks, police cars and motorbikes, High School bands beating their drums and playing their brass instruments. By the time it was walking time, the Dogs had lost almost all sense of enjoyment. Next year we will wait till the last minute to show up in the staging area. We walked the Wolfhounds close to the people at the curbs. Dugan figured the parade was actually for his benefit, with a whole mile of people on the side of the road waiting for him to go by so he could greet them, and they could touch and pet him and lavish him with praise and affection. He really likes that!

The weather cooperated and it was a sunny day. Fortunately it was a relatively cool day and the temperature was in the high 70’s. Sometimes it is too hot for the Wolfhounds this time of year. All in all, it was a fun experience and we look forward to next year’s parade!


Much to his delight, the Prince of Irish Wolfhounds is greeted some pretty Human princesses.


The littler his admirerer, the more gentle Dugan the Dog conducts himself.








"Hey Master, is it time yet? I'm getting tired!"






Dugan the Dog pours on the charm as he is surrounded by this bevy of beautiful babes and sez: "It's good to be a chick magnet".


Dugan sez: " I'm just like the big strong men in this swat truck, I don't like flys too!"





This little dog looks on with envy as Dugan the Dog strolls by. In the world of dogs, there are only two kinds of dogs, Irish Wolfhounds, and dogs that wish they were Irish Wolfhounds!


As is the tradition with the Irish, Dugan celebrates the holiday by hitting the bottle for some much needed refreshment.

Dugan the Dog is a Lover, not a Fighter!

Dugan shows off to a new friend who came to visit at our house.




Dugan the Dog is a lover, not a fighter. I have never seen him display any anger or hostility. I have never seen him snarl or bare his teeth. I have never heard him growl except when we play a rowdy game with one of his toys. If we are playing rough and I happen to find my arm or hand in his mouth, he never bites down. He is truly a Gentle Giant.

Recently he happened to corner a strange cat in the backyard against the fence. He would only stand close to it and jump around in order to try to stimulate some play from the cat, but wisely did not get too close. When he meets other dogs he is always friendly. But sometimes other dogs are not nice to Dugan, especially some of the tiny breeds. I think they are afraid of giant dogs and react with hostility out of instinct. Dugan is always bewildered if anyone is mean to him. Dugan does have one exception to being nice to other animals; if he can catch any bird he will eat it. It gives him a terrible case of the gas!

As I have already pointed out in previous blogs, Dugan loves the whole of Humanity. He takes the greatest pleasure in meeting and greeting people young and old. His only disappointment in life is that he cannot personally greet every single “hooman bean” on the planet earth!

Dugan the Dog is a ginormous hound dog. He measures 36 inches at the shoulder, 7 ft from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail if he lies stretched out on the floor. If he stands up straight, he is about 6.5 feet tall. His mouth is substantial and his teeth plenty big. At the last visit to the Vet, he weighed 150 lbs. Considering the magnitude of his impressive stature, I am very glad that Dugan the Dog is a Lover, not a Fighter. And if you have not figured it out yet, we think he is one nifty doggy!

Dugan the Dog is a Helper Dog!

Having Dugan around is a lot of fun! One of the fun things he does is to take an interest in the things I am doing when I am working outside in the yard. This time of the year we have leaves falling off the trees, and it is necessary to rake them up. I usually put them in the garden area to decompose into the garden soil. Dugan likes to get in the middle of the leaves and paw around in them. Then he will lay down in them for a while and relax. He likes me to rake the leaves over the top of him while he lays there.

If I happen to be doing some shovel work he likes to start digging too. Sometimes he will start digging right where I am trying to dig, but most often he will find a convenient spot close by and start digging away. Dugan’s claws are industrial duty and he can really make the dirt fly.

It can be a little discouraging when Dugan gets in the way when you are trying to get stuff done, but I try to be patient and straighten things out later. After all, he is just trying to let that “Helper Dog” spirit shine through!

"Hold on just a minute Master, I need to teach this snake a little lesson before I help with raking the leaves."


"OK Master, get the trailer emptied out and I will help load it again."


"Here I lay with un-opposable indexes, and a perfectly good wheelbarrow at hand, whats a Hound Dog to do!"


The "Prince of Irish Wolfhounds" lays in majestic repose among the golden leaves, leaving no doubt he is a mighty fine hound.


"Oh Master, I am just a humble hound dog just trying to get by in the big world."

"Penny the Meower sez: No chance of finding a "helper cat" around here!"