Zeke The Lab.com

Zeke & Mom, Sunday Hike

2012-01-09T20:59:00.003-05:00

Great day for a hike in the National Forrest.

Still enjoying the Christmas presents.

2012-01-04T08:35:00.000-05:00

Look at my squeaky gator, look at it!

Happy New Year! 2012

2012-01-02T20:34:00.003-05:00

We went to our neighbors' fantastic oyster roast for New Year's Eve. Fireworks, oysters and snacks - it was a great time!

Miller didn't enjoy the fireworks so much, so he climbed into his momma's lap.

Zeke , Sadie, and David.

Zeke giving some love to Kent.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T12:18:00.002-05:00

Wag N Splash

2011-12-12T18:15:00.002-05:00

Last week, we finally used the awesome voucher we got from Lowcountry Dog Magazine for a free swim at Charleston's indoor doggie swimming pool - Wag N Splash.

This is Lori, we set an appointment up with her and she works with the dogs who are nervous about swimming in a pool - perhaps like Sadie, they had never seem one before.

Once Zeke got over his hesitancy of the floating doggie ramp to get in and out of the pool, he started having a blast! We couldn't make him stop swimming.

This whole experience was great, and Lori was great working with Zeke and Sadie. We will definitely do this again.

The Cisco Lab

2011-12-05T16:23:00.001-05:00

This one is for all fellow networking geeks who also love their dogs. Zeke is rocking a Cisco Systems shirt and being a chocolate labrador, that makes him...wait for it...

A CISCO LAB!

In honor of mom passing her CCNA exam today.

Thanksgiving video at the beach

2011-12-04T09:33:00.001-05:00

Miller turns 1!

2011-11-28T20:40:00.001-05:00

Miller turned the big one year old this week and what a great way to wrap up Thanksgiving weekend than with a Dog Birthday party!

The birthday boy himself, Miller Boykin.

Zeke and Biscuit.

Biscuit, a neighbor dog.

Avery, Miller's lil' sis was in town visiting.

Some birthday wrestling.

Time for presents! Miller got some really cool toys and tasty treats.

Miller and S.A.S are mezmerized by the new red ball.

Formally yours, Zeke.

2011-11-07T09:47:00.003-05:00

Zeke is sporting his new bow-tie collar from Silly Buddy. We were so pleased with the quality of the collar and bow-tie as well as great customer service. They have definitely made a repeat customer out of us. Unfortunately they have temporarily shut down their etsy shop because of an arm injury, but you can follow them on facebook to keep up with how things are going as well as see other pooches sporting their classy looks.

Fall is here.

2011-11-03T17:53:00.000-04:00

The chilly turn in the weather means it officially feels like autumn is upon us. Luckily for Zeke he likes playing in the cooler weather.

Trick or Treat!

2011-10-31T17:51:00.002-04:00

This year Sadie is going trick or treating as a Barista and Zeke as a Navy Chief Petty Officer. Hope everyone has fun and gets lots of biscuits.

Critter Costume Party

2011-10-30T21:55:00.000-04:00

Last night we went to a Critter Costume Party at Gas Light Art and Wine Gallery that was a benefit for the Marion County Animal Shelter. We had a great time and Sadie won best costume for her spooky skeleton costume. Hopefully they raised a bunch of cash for this good cause.

Peyton - the scary witch. She and Zeke were vying for some cheese snacks.

Pretty Princess Petie - rescued from MCAS.

The House Dog at Lost Dog Wines.

Chief Petty Officer Zeke.

Sadie with her prize winnings!

It's not a 'goodbye', it's 'see you later'.

2011-10-29T21:36:00.001-04:00

This is Remington the foster lab playing fetch with his new kid. He went to his new home today! A little bittersweet because he is such a fun lab to have around, but we are so happy for him to get to be with his new family.

We'll miss you bud, you are a good boy.

We will definitely have to have Rem over for some play dates so he and Zeke and neighbor dog, Miller, can get some serious games of tug on.

Second Place at Paws in the Park

2011-10-26T19:13:00.001-04:00

Paws in the Park is the great annual event held by Charleston Animal Society at Park Circle. But since it is traditionally a little earlier in the month of October, mom doesn't usually have Zeke's costume finished - so he reuses the previous year. "What Can Brown Do For You?" Zeke the UPS guy was a big hit! He took second place in the costume competition and got a sweet trophy. Thanks to Miller's parents for the picture.

Cool shirt, bro.

2011-10-13T19:12:00.000-04:00

Remmy checks out Zeke's super cool tie-dyed Google shirt.

Hanging Out This Weekend

2011-10-09T19:10:00.004-04:00

Fantastic fall weather, fun foster brothers and cool neighbor dogs make for a great weekend. Here Zeke, Miller, and Rem (L-R) show how much of a blast it is to three-way-tug. They are putting a hurting on that little tug rope. We need to find (or make our own) a tug rope that is designed for serious tug games like this.

And this is how we all crash on the couch. It's a good thing we bought that big sectional - and its too bad it doesn't come in a lab fur resistant model.

Taking Foster Bro to the Pond.

2011-09-25T15:14:00.002-04:00

This is our newest Lowcountry Lab Rescue foster boy, Remington*. We took him to one of our favorite ponds for a swim. We believe it was a new experience for him, as when he took his first launch he sunk completely underwater for about 3 full seconds (giving us a scare) before coming up and trying to ascertain what just happened. It did not take long for his lab genes to kick in and within 30 minutes he was swimming around like a fish.

There was a bunch of this...

And some more tugging over who had the bumper.

Clearly, two bumpers are better than one.

*We called our first foster puppy Remmy/Remington, but this is not him - Remmy the pup is living happily in his forever home.

Paws in the Water, Tail in the Sand.

2011-09-19T10:02:00.004-04:00

Last weekend of summer = great time to hang out at the beach with your favorite labs.

Zeke morphs into a highly focused retriever at the beach.

Sadie had a great time.

Zeke and his shamless self promotion ideas.

see a dog about a horse

2011-08-17T08:31:00.002-04:00

This is in no way representative of how Zeke feels about Don (the super-duper trail master at Marrington). It was just a convenient spot in the absence of a fire hydrant and mom found it funny. Zeke didn't even know what the sign said until I told him later.

Spoiled or Lazy?

2011-08-15T07:58:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I was informed that Zeke slept in the bed till past 11:30 and this morning I find him crashed out on the couch. It must be tough to be Zeke.

Helping Dad Around the House

2011-08-13T12:24:00.003-04:00

I like to help Dad work on home projects. He picked up this cool work apron for me at Lowe's.

Sometimes Dad really gets the wood chips flying so I have to have some goggles to keep my eyes clean.

We have lots of fun around the house, I really like it here, especially the yard.

Chillin' with Mr. Miller

2011-08-10T07:26:00.002-04:00

It's probably not news to anyone, but it's really really hot outside. We have been trying to beat the heat by playing inside. Our neighbor, Miller, came over to visit some yesterday and we had a good time tugging.

Mom's Working Dog Park Visit

2011-07-31T15:37:00.004-04:00

Charleston Animal Society has a Chocolate Lab that was hit by a car on John's Island, they don't know who owns him, he was hurt pretty badly. He was in surgery for 7 hours getting his pelvis bolted back together. If you can help with some cash please donate to Charleston Animal Society, they do really great things there.

Mom is at work today so Dad brought us to the Dog Park, we only stayed about 30 minutes because it was so very hot. Seemed to be lots of Pit Bulls here today, but they were pretty friendly and this guy was good looking for a Pit, I think his name is Phoenix.

Let Zeke Google that for you

2011-07-18T20:51:00.002-04:00

We are celebrating at Zeke's house today. Mom just had her first official day as a Googler (well she is still a noogler now) and Zeke just had to try on mom's new hat.

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-05T11:20:00.002-04:00

This is Josiah, a Lowcountry Lab Rescue foster boy. He was hanging out with us on the fourth for a cookout and lab type fun.
Zeke and Miller spent some play time together yesterday.
Sadie prefers to be patriotic in the shade.
Zeke loves his country!

Just before the lick

2011-06-19T07:55:00.004-04:00

After Zeke drinks water out on the trail he likes to give dad a big ol' wet slobbery 'Thank you' lick. He is such a sweet puppy! Happy Father's Day to Zeke and Sadie's dad you are the best - they didn't get you a card but isn't a blog post even better?

2011-06-08T06:21:00.002-04:00

Zeke and Dad chilling on the couch and watching the Bravos play. I like how they can share a pillow.
And here is Zeke with his treat from Vermont. Cinna-roos, from Pupcat Bakery, we found them at the farmer's market.

Been trying to post for a couple days but Blogger has been fighting back!

staying over with friends

2011-05-25T21:08:00.002-04:00

While Dad and Mom are out of town, Zeke and Sadie are staying over at their lab friends house and they have already been swimming!

back at the beach

2011-05-17T15:24:00.002-04:00

Greek Zeke - Lunch with Sarah

2011-05-10T14:39:00.003-04:00

Today was Zeke's annual vet checkup and since we had to be up in that part of town Zeke and mom had lunch with their good friend Sarah at the Continental Corner.

Everything looked good for Zeke except he was deemed to be slightly overweight. That is something we are working on.

a few random pictures

2011-05-03T11:09:00.002-04:00

I'm just now getting around to figuring out the best way to get pictures transferred off of my new phone so here are a few from a while back:

Zeke with Sunshine, an LLR foster girl, whom we kept for a week while her foster parents went out of town.
Zeke and mom hanging out a Riverfront part on a lovely spring day.

The Destroyer of Wiffle Balls

2011-04-26T19:09:00.002-04:00

Note to self: Don't leave Zeke alone with a wiffle ball. The white amalgamation pictured above used to be a functioning ball... and he wanted it back.

Dad's Favorite Swimming Hole

2011-04-18T16:07:00.006-04:00

Part 2 of Dad's Favorite places to take us to swim. This is in the Francis Marion Forrest. A very cool place, you may have seen some of the shots taken when we hike there.

Sadie really was in the mood to swim today.

Mom's Working

2011-04-10T17:48:00.004-04:00

Mom has a new work schedule, so we are home with Dad on the weekends, he tries to take us out for some fun on Sunday's. We have been going to one of our favorite swimming holes. The weather was overcast and a little misty but my sis and I had fun. I really prefer to fetch from the water .

Dad, I am ready for a treat!!

Sadie with her intense look.

Final Four, Baby!

2011-04-02T19:36:00.002-04:00

Come college hoops time Zeke bleeds Kentucky blue, he wanted to get in the spirit by donning his basketball workout gear. We are geared up to watch some exciting final four action. And though we are typically pro-dog in this household tonight it's going to be 'Boo Huskies' and GO CATS!

and another foster update - Dixie

2011-03-23T18:18:00.002-04:00

So Dixie the super fetcher has been in her new forever home for about a week now. She is doing great! Here ares some pictures with Dixie and her new family.

Remmy Update!

2011-03-23T10:44:00.003-04:00

Just got an update from Remmy's forever family. He is doing well, going by the name "Chunk" these days and getting ready to start clicker training! We miss you Rem, but are so glad you are doing great.

Zeke and the Two Sadies

2011-03-18T14:10:00.002-04:00

Zeke has another neighbor lab friend - her name is Sadie - so we like to call her "Sadie across the street" or SAS. She came over to play today so we had the lab rainbow going on in the back yard!

Bed Bugs

2011-03-15T15:28:00.003-04:00

For the past few weeks now we have been noticing our bed being unmade and disheveled when we returned home at the end of the day. Legitimately, the blame was initially placed on Zeke's mom as I'm typically the one responsible for any slovenly behavior in our house. And I can honestly admit to times when I can't be sure if I've made the bed or not. But after having repeat offenses I began to make sure the covers were taken care of before I left for the day. And we would still come home to pulled back sheets and relocated pillows. So it had to be one of the dogs or some random Goldilocks-esque crazy person who breaks into our home during the day for naps. Today I was off of work and happened to walk by the bedroom and notice this bed bug. Now, we've known that Zeke likes to sleep on our bed while were gone, however we're unsure as to what has brought on this recent desire to yank down the comforter and snuggle down. I've got to figure out how to set up a webcam to record this crazy lab.

Dixie the Foster Girl

2011-03-07T19:34:00.003-05:00

Our new foster, Dixie. She was rescued by Lowcountry Lab Rescue from the Animal Shelter in Chesterfield, SC. Not sure how long she will be with us, we were just an emergency foster home because they needed to get her out of the shelter.
She was brought in with a litter of pups, supposedly the guy who dropped her off came back some time later wanting to get one of the pups. The puppies were taken by another rescue. Dixie needs to gain some weight back and get vetted up. Looks like she has a hotspot by her ear.
So far she seems to be enjoying playing fetch with the tennis ball and frisbee. She definitely has a lot of energy and is giving Zeke a run for his money.
We have to wait till her milk dries out before she can be spayed.

Sunday Hike and the newest addition to the household.

2011-03-06T17:51:00.004-05:00

Zeke apologizes for the length of time in between posts. He has been meaning to update but mom has started a new job and things are kind of crazy around here. However this morning we did get a hike in... around the mile marker 15 of the Swamp Fox Passage.

Here is one fellow traveler we met on the trail. An eastern corn snake (aka NOT POISONOUS) and as it was still pretty cool he wasn't moving much, just sticking his tongue out at us.
Not too long after we started out, the forcasted rains began. We trekked on through because it had been such a long time since we were able to get out and enjoy the woods.
On the way back Sadie and Dad take the muddy route while Zeke and mom chose to balance beam on the logs to avoid the muck.

Then this afternoon we heard about this story from facebook: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/06/2113332/sc-animal-control-accused-of-shooting.html

and here is another article about the situation:

http://www.examiner.com/pet-rescue-in-national/allegations-of-south-carolina-animal-control-officers-shooting-dogs

While the investigation is pending it seems like something bad is going down in Chesterfield, SC. Some of the rescue groups are working to pull as many animals as possible from that shelter. Lowcountry Lab Rescue picked up two and we are doing a temporary foster for one of the girls. Her name is Dixie and we will post more about her --including pictures --soon.

Tucker at Dock Dogs

2011-02-20T14:00:00.001-05:00

Zeke went to support his buddy Tucker jumping in the Dock Dogs competition at SEWE this year. Here is a video of his 19' jump! He should be competing in the finals this afternoon.

a belated 'Thank You'

2011-02-15T18:45:00.002-05:00

Zeke enjoying one of his birthday presents, this one a Loofah squeaky toy from Julie and C. With a guest appearance by Remmy.

Happy Valentine's Day from the Lover Lab

2011-02-14T15:53:00.003-05:00

Zeke and Sadie's Valentine was a carob dipped treat bone from Ocean City that their dad brought back to him. We had a nice family lunch together today.

Happy Birthday Zeke - 3 years old!

2011-01-29T18:30:00.004-05:00

Yep, Zeke turned the big three today! He had a great birthday party and a bunch of his friends (two legged and four legged) came over to help celebrate. We had doggie cupcakes and pupcream ice cream treats and Dad cooked up some mean hotdogs for the people.
Today was also Remington's last day with us, but we were so happy to have him stay for the party.
Next door neighbor buddy, Miller, had a fun time playing with the big dogs.
Zeke's girlfriends - Darlynn and Laidee, wouldn't be a lab party without them.
The Fox family.
Uncle Vic and Cindy came and brought Max. The dustmop/Yorkiepoo. At first he was a little intimidated by the dog madness, but then he got accustomed to the place and he was a lightening quick runner.
Sadie was pooped by the end of the party. That's how you know it was a success, everyone needed a nap afterwards.

Icebreaker.

2011-01-17T18:54:00.004-05:00

Zeke says DOUBLE BONUS when both mom and dad had a three day weekend together!

We went for a swim Sunday morning, but didn't properly account for the cold weather. We thought there was a little ice in the pond, but when the bumper hit the water it just thumped and then skidded across the ice. Not a good sign. Zeke was a trooper though -- dad drove him to the other side of the pond and he dove in and went into ice breaking mode.

Today we went for a mini-hike at Marrington and then some potential adopters came over and checked out foster bro Remington.

hangin' with the foster bro

2011-01-05T21:05:00.003-05:00

Zeke is being such a great big brother to foster puppy Remmy. They are having a great time tugging and chasing the ball.
Tonight Remington got a bath, and then got all cuddly in the towel.

If you want to give this little guy a home check out Lowcountry Lab Rescue

and Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T13:18:00.002-05:00

Zeke rung in 2011 in style (on the couch watching Ryan Seacrest), but he understands moderation and doesn't party too hard.
And also introducing Remington, our new foster pup. Remington is with Lowcountry Lab Rescue and we are fostering him until he finds his forever family. He is about 8 weeks old and full of puppy energy.

Happy Christmas

2010-12-25T17:50:00.002-05:00

Zeke and Sadie had a great Christmas and got a bunch of cool presents. Like this twisty chew in their stocking.
A squeaky snake
And a little ducky. Plus a monkey knot rope toy and some deer antlers!

Zeke shares some Christmas cheer

2010-12-24T09:06:00.002-05:00

playing with his home girl C.

Spreading the Christmas Joy: Tasty Treat Style

2010-12-22T18:44:00.003-05:00

Zeke has met some new dog friends in our new neighborhood so he wanted to do something special for them during Christmas. We took McGruber's homemade peanut butter and banana recipe and baked up some tasty treats for the neighbors. We had fun delivering them too!

Christmas Photo

2010-12-15T10:16:00.002-05:00

Zeke got his free 5x7 in from the grand opening photo session.

catching up

2010-12-10T11:58:00.003-05:00

Posts have been few and far between, but Zeke isn't slacking up. Mom has been busy with school, but we have still be having our lab fun.
We went to the 'grand opening' of a new pet supply store (odd because we always thought it had been the same store) but anyway, Zeke got a free photo session and Sadie tried on elf hats.
We also went to the annual after thanksgiving Carolina/Clemson football party at Zeke's girlfriend's house. The price of admission was a bag of food for the local animal shelter.
Always a good time for labs to play!

Christmas Parade

2010-12-04T11:02:00.003-05:00

Zeke attended his first Christmas parade today. The parade route runs close by our new 'hood, so we just walked up and got some prime seats. Both the Mopar Club and the Boy Scouts were toting dog biscuits as well as candy, so it was a pretty good parade by our standards!

Santa's coming in on the firetruck!

First Night of Hanukkah!

2010-12-01T19:31:00.004-05:00

Happy Hanukkah all! For the first night Zeke got a new Quackers to rip up.
Sadie and Zeke wasted no time in commencing the destruction!

Our Pre-Thanksgiving Ritual

2010-11-24T14:06:00.003-05:00

We like to go play at the beach. It's off-leash time and the weather was pretty favorable today. Only snafu was when Dad threw the bumper too far and the ocean started carrying it away but Zeke couldn't see it. Mom decided she didn't want to lose a bumper so she swam out and got it (of course Zeke swam with her even though he didn't know where the bumper was)

Happy HOWL-o-ween!

2010-10-31T21:24:00.002-04:00

What can brown do for you? Zeke the UPS guy won the 'most creative' category at the Pet Helpers Halloween Costume contest today! There were tons of cute costumed pooches, hopefully we will have the slideshow up tomorrow.

Sadie took her Ray Lewis costume off, but still agreed to pose with the scary pumpkin. We didn't get many trick or treaters and the ones we did get, got woofed at by Z man. Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween.

Liquor and Labs!

2010-10-30T20:42:00.004-04:00

To kick off HOWL-o-ween, Zeke tried out his costume and trotted downtown to Lowcountry Lab Rescue's Halloween Fundraiser/Costume Party/Wine-Tasting held at Gaslight Art and Wine Gallery on Meeting Street. It was such a great time! Zeke got to hang out and encourage people to come in and buy raffle tickets to support the good work at Lowcountry Lab (where our family got Sadie).
Lady Laberty (who was accompanied to the event by her pal Uncle Sam) won the costume contest and graciously posed with Zeke for a picture. What a pretty girl!
Go to Gaslight Wine and Art Gallery and try some Lost Dog Wines. Mom can attest to its goodness. Plus they are super dog friendly!
An LLR Alum dressed as a butterfly.
Zeke made friends with Beau (the BIG yellow lifeguard) and Solomon the black lab, they were all such good boys!

More pics from trick or treating coming up tomorrow!

Zeke to the rescue

2010-10-28T18:25:00.004-04:00

Zeke was on facebook and saw that the Charleston Animal Society needed our help! Their dryer was broken and they had a bunch of wet towels and blankets that the pups and kittens in the shelters needed. So we loaded up and went down and picked up a few loads of wet towels and brought them home and dried them and dropped them back off. It was pretty cool use of social networking because lots of other people in the area saw their message and either brought clean towels to them or picked up and got their dried.

Surprise at Montreux

2010-10-24T18:56:00.004-04:00

Though we are big fans of Hanahan (or hanafan, as we like to call it) and our new place, we still enjoy some of our old dog friendly haunts in Summerville. This morning we had the opportunity to have brunch at Montreux and while Zeke, Sadie, Mom and Dad were enjoying the weather and their food, we saw this little guy run across a busy street and onto the sidewalk where we were sitting. Dad went over to him and got him to stay with him. He had a collar and a Halloween bandanna but no ID tag. Thankfully our dog loving waitress brought him some water and we put him on a spare leash while we tried to get a hold of animal control. While we were waiting someone rode by looking for him, evidently they go on a lot of walks downtown (including lunch at Montreux) and I guess this fellow decided he needed a walk and some french fries and decided to take off. We love a happy ending!

Magnolia Plantation

2010-10-22T19:35:00.003-04:00

Zeke and mom headed out to Magnolia Plantation today. They are super cool about pups at the plantation. Dogs are welcome everywhere but inside the house tour and in the petting zoo.
Zeke inspects some of the fall flowers. (He did not eat any, picking the flowers isn't allowed, so we assume neither is eating the flowers)
The gardens come right up against the Ashley River.
Zeke decided to take in the boat tour. On the tour we saw a bunch of egrets and herons and other marsh fowl. And of course there were a bunch of gators, we are not gator fans. They have named the two biggest gators "Little Wally" and "Big Wally". Here is one of the pictures of the ugly reptiles.

Dogs are also welcome on the tram nature tour.

Zeke and the pumpkin patch

2010-10-20T08:37:00.000-04:00

Well, technically it was more like Zeke and the nice man selling pumpkins and mums on the side of the road. But there were a lot of pumpkins and Zeke helped pick ours out.

And mom had to pick her out some mums too, now we get to go home and carve it up!

Magnolia Hunt - Stack's Nursery

2010-10-16T17:27:00.003-04:00

Mom's on the hunt for a magnolia tree to plant in our backyard, and we stopped in to Stack's Nursery in Summerville, that just happens to be dog friendly. Zeke and Sadie got to peruse the trees and shrub selection with Mom and Dad. The staff there were very friendly and helpful.

A few more pics from Paws in the Park

2010-10-12T08:10:00.002-04:00

At the Paws in the Park this past weekend, Zeke also entered the costume contest. Which we're pretty sure was rigged. He wore last year's Halloween costume, Super Z.
Another contestant, a yellow lab, as a shark.
Boston Terrier AKA Surfer Dude. He got second place, which was probably deserved.
Here are the winners. Alvin took first place with his costume of a sheep. But he conveniently had a wardrobe malfunction just before his turn to go on stage and played upon the kind hearts of the judges. It was also revealed that he was a personal friend of one of the emcees. Sounds a little shady to Zeke.

Paws in the Park (Zeke's second annual)

2010-10-10T16:11:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the Charleston Animal Society's Annual Paws in the Park event. They had a walk around Park Circle to raise money for the SPCA and then had vendors, contests and games (see above where Zeke doesn't quite grasp the point of this particular game).
Dad and Sadie got to go with Mom and Zeke to the walk this year, it was their first time, and I think it was pretty fun for them.
Zeke entered the Best Kisser contest (and did NOT win). He did however jump off the stage once he saw mom in the crowd taking pictures. Here is a picture of him giving some love to SPCA Kay.
Zeke tries his paw at Puppy Putt-Putt. His favorite part was snatching the ball after it had been hit.
No, this was not a look-a-like contest. This is Sear Sauls, one of the sponsors for the event. But it's always a good thing to make sure your camo and your dog coordinate properly. So props to the two of them for that.

pretty flowers on the hike

2010-10-03T12:50:00.002-04:00

Zeke found some beautiful wildflowers while we were out hiking this morning, so he posed for a picture before attempting to munch on them.

Play Date with the Fox Girls

2010-10-01T22:07:00.003-04:00

After a few weeks of rescheduling, Zeke finally got his girlfriends to come over and play at the new house.
There was some serious frisbee going on.
Here Sadie is called in to settle a frisbee possession dispute.
Get your face off of my frisbee.

Road trip: Hilton Head Island

2010-09-26T13:38:00.004-04:00

Mom and Zeke got a spur of the moment chance to head to Hilton Head to visit with family and play at the beach, how do you say no to that?!?We got up to see the sunrise and play during the early morning off-leash hours. The sun was a little hidden by the clouds but still very beautiful.
And yes, it's return of McGruber to ZekeTheLab.com, he was waiting for us in Hilton Head.
You couldn't ask for better weather and the water felt great.
We also took the opportunity to check out HHI's local dog park in Chaplin Community Park.
Then we hit up one of several dog friendly eating establishment's on the Island. The folks at Main Street Cafe & Pub were all very nice. They brought out a BIG bowl of water and asked if the pups preferred ice or not. And just about every one of the wait staff came out to say hi to McGruber and Zeke.

After such a long day of playing hard and swimming, the guys were ready to crash, but what a fun trip!

the haul from Pet Expo

2010-09-23T22:16:00.002-04:00

Dude check out all my frisbees we got for FREE at Pet Expo. Here is my full story posted at LowcountryDog.com. Zeke graciously gave that micro-disc to his little cousin Mojo.

Tomorrow mom and Zeke are heading out for a road trip! More on that later.

jake the boxer

2010-09-16T12:30:00.002-04:00

Met Jake at the Dog park yesterday, he was a very fast runner. Also while there Sadie and Zeke got ambushed by some little mops masquerading as dogs. Maybe the sectioned off area for the under 25lb crowd is actually for the safety of the big kids.

more fun at the new house

2010-09-15T08:15:00.002-04:00

Hanging out with some family over the weekend! Zeke and Christopher decided that a good game of tug was more interesting that football. I know a couple other people who would agree.

Dog Day Afternoon

2010-09-12T15:53:00.002-04:00

We are back from the second ever Dog Day at Whirlin' Waters Water park, and it was was a great time. Lots of water lovin' pups out enjoying the Big Kahuna wave pool and the otter bay pool for the little pups. Zeke and mom even took a walk around the lazy river. This year they had signs up saying no people past this point in the water but as it started getting more crowded the line started creeping deeper into the pool.
Zeke probably would have swam till he exhausted himself, as it was we made him get out and take breaks
Another great turnout this year, and so much fun seeing all the dogs running around the water park.
Zeke enjoys taking the tough way out of the pool. I think he did it to impress chics.
And all the fruits of our labor are displayed in this tired puppy curled up under my desk.

New house!!!

2010-09-04T16:57:00.003-04:00

Where the heck has Zeke the Lab been? Well he has been busy moving into his new house (complete with awesome back yard)!Zeke welcomes people at his new front door.
The yard has big trees and plenty of room for fetching.
All the packing, moving and unpacking has us all worn out. And Zeke is having to get adjusted to his new sleeping spot, but it won't take us long!

Sandy nose!

2010-08-28T07:45:00.000-04:00

From swimming and playing at the lake.

Doggie-hawk

2010-08-21T17:21:00.003-04:00

The latest in dog haircut trends. This guy got a doggie hawk before coming to the park. Very nice.

a dog park bonanza

2010-08-16T08:42:00.003-04:00

Over the weekend we went to different dog parks on three consecutive days! Friday at James Island County Park, Saturday at Wannamaker and Sunday at the Summerville (Wassamasaw) Dog park. Zeke wore himself out swimming at James Island and then Sunday was fun because their dog friends were at the park - timing is everything.

jake's house

2010-08-13T08:14:00.002-04:00

Sadie and Zeke got a chance to go visit their friend Jake and play with him at his house.
Jake digs his tennis balls.
Didn't take long to get tongues dragging from playing in the heat, but they had a great time.

Lab lover's morning

2010-08-09T10:24:00.003-04:00

It was all labs at Wannamaker this morning. Met a new friend, Belle, who is two years old and loves to tug like Zeke. She is also very interested in whatever toy someone else has, but her and Zeke had a great time playing.
Then we met Tyson, 10 weeks, learning the ropes of being a big dog.
Cooling off at the water station. Tyson thought the bowl might be just the right size for a swim.

Yappy Hour!

2010-07-26T08:16:00.002-04:00

Zeke went to Yappy Hour at O'Brion's last week. They do a weekly thing to benefit Pet Helpers.
Traditional pub fare, that tasted awesome!
Some of the dogs there available for adoption (Willie up front)
Afterwards we went to the big dog park on James Island, where we met Dez - a chocolate lab-and his new dad Pierre. His neighbor had to move and asked him if he wanted their dog and he took him and turned out to be a real prize. Dez is a smart boy with a great launch into the water for a tennis ball.

Just a Swingin

2010-07-24T14:13:00.004-04:00

Zeke and Sadie went to Wannamaker dog park this morning, then we walked around the park some to check out some of the newly opened nature trails. Along the red trail someone had the foresight to hang up a swing, so we all took a short break to relax and do some swangin'.
Zeke decided that he should get up on the swing with Dad and Sadie but with limited space he ended up sitting on Sadie.

Millbrook Dog Park Pictures up - finally!

2010-07-21T15:12:00.005-04:00

I'm way behind on getting these pictures up, but when we went to the Duke Canine Cognition Center we spent the night with cousin Jenn and then went to check out the Millbrook Exchange Dog park. Which we have found listed on the top twenty dog parks in the country by two different publications -- so how could we miss such an opportunity.

At first, I thought 'well what is so special about this?', but once you get inside it's really very lovely. Nicely wooded and lots of room to spread out in the shade and enjoy some time with your puppy. Which was a treat because it was very hot the weekend we were there, but with so much coverage it was comfortable.
Zeke and mom made a complete tour of the park.

Interesting approach to waste management, this way I suppose the city park guys don't have to come into the dog area to haul away the trash bins.
An area in between the big dog section and little guy section was gated separately with a covered area and several picnic tables.
Zeke and his cousin Jenn, thanks for giving us a place to crash, we had a blast!

good weekend

2010-07-19T10:04:00.003-04:00

Zeke had full and fun weekend. Saturday he went to the dog park and went running with mom while she rollerbladed. Then Saturday evening some family came over and he helped play a game of wiffle ball (he is an excellent fielder). On Sunday we got up and went for a swim and a short hike, then capped it all off with lunch at McAlister's Deli.

Graduation Day!

2010-07-13T21:07:00.010-04:00

We're so proud! Zeke is now a graduate from Intermediate Class at Pet Smart. Today's class was a whirlwind of testing all of Zeke's skills and some fun games. We played 'Tic Tac Toe' and 'X Marks the Spot'. Thanks so much to our trainer Lisa.
Graduating Dogs (from L-R): Moose [teacher's assistant], Betty, Buddy, Scamp, and Zeke

And here is the link to the album with the rest of the pictures

saying bye and graduation tonight

2010-07-13T07:17:00.003-04:00

Well, my new friend McGruber has gone home. So no more tugging with pip-squeaks for awhile.

Tonight however, is graduation night from intermediate class! We skipped last week to go to North Carolina, so I hope we got what it takes to graduate.

McGruber visits!

2010-07-10T08:49:00.002-04:00

McGruber has come to visit from West Virginia! He plays with Zeke.

And naps with Sadie.

Day one of the Triangle Trip

2010-07-06T22:02:00.003-04:00

Today was Zeke's big day at Duke, we got there early to give Zeke a chance to see the gardens.
It was really hot out, so we didn't get to explore too much. Plus part of the gardens were blocked off for construction.
At last! The secret entrance to the Canine Cognition Center. (Just go past the camel)
Zeke had a blast with the tests/games. His task was to identify which cup had the treat based on pointing. He was a champ and he made two new friends!
Zeke's first elevator ride in the parking garage. He was pretty unsure about this experience.

The rest of the day was pretty fantastic. Playing games for treats and riding in the truck. Cousin Jenn went with us to do a quick stop in at the Millbrook Dog Park we are going to check out tomorrow.

Great 4th of July weekend!

2010-07-05T08:14:00.005-04:00

So Zeke and his mom have been a little slack with posting, but that's only because we have been having such a fun time.Zeke got a new squeaky toy! (And surprisingly has yet to destroy the squeaker part)

Dad was off with the long weekend so we went to two different dog parks! Above Zeke meets a Saint Bernard who was trying to enjoy a cooler than normal morning at Wassamasaw park.

Zeke eventually wore out the evening we went to Wannamaker Park and decided resting on the picnic table offered the best view.

We also logged another 3 miles on the Swamp Fox passage. Scheduled for today is baths and nail grinding (not fun but necessary) .

And TOMORROW! Zeke is going to the Raleigh/Durham area. First his is going to be a participant in the studies at the Duke Canine Cognition Center. Then we are going to celebrate a belated birthday with our cousin Jennifer and maybe check out one of the top dog parks in the nation. So we hope to have lots to share when we get back from that trip.

making new friends at wannamaker

2010-06-25T07:58:00.003-04:00

We tried to head out early to the dog park yesterday morning to avoid the worst heat of the day, it still did not take long for everyone to get tired. Here we are in this big dog park and everyone (dogs and dog parents alike) was kinda camped out in this little shady section.

We met Craig, a yellow lab who came to play but unfortunately got stuck with a bunch of dogs who mostly wanted to lay around in the shade. We found out Craig is the Tour Guide dog who did the video dog park tours for LowcountryDog.com. And his mom and dad made the video we linked to from Whirlin' Waters Dog Day, how cool is that!
Zeke and Midnight, a pretty darn big black lab!
Here is Bentley a 7 month old Great Dane puppy, who despite his tall stature, found a way under the picnic table.

bama trip 2010

2010-06-22T07:46:00.002-04:00

Zeke made the trip back to Alabama to visit with family again and play in the lake. This time around he finally got over his fear of jumping off the dock. We're not launching record breaking SRS leaps here, but it's a start.
The trick to getting over that fear was having mom jump in first and then call Zeke in.
C'mon in Sadie the water's nice. (Sadie could not be convinced jumping off the dock was the best way to get in the lake)

Zeke watches the sunrise and contemplates life before the ride back to South Carolina.

can't beat the heat

2010-06-15T09:10:00.003-04:00

You really can't get up early enough to avoid the serious heat we have going on here. We took a walk early and then went to All is Well to pick up some new antler chews for our upcoming. Now we well spend the rest of the day trying to cool off.

doh! no camera

2010-06-14T09:09:00.002-04:00

Didn't have the camera with us this weekend but the good times still happened. Zeke and Sadie made new friends at Wassamasaw Dog Park with Buddy (named after Buddy the Elf) and Cali. They had a great time playing Friday evening. The goal of the rest of the weekend was to try and stay cool so that meant play time was mostly restricted to early in the morning and late in the evening. Planning on heading to the lake next weekend to visit some family.

Riverdogs Dog Day

2010-06-08T08:10:00.002-04:00

Dogs and baseball, what's not to love! Zeke just had to have his picture made like a real Riverdog player.
Charlie T. Riverdog the mascot stopped by to say hello or woof or whatever they said.
A little lab meet and greet at the cooling off pools.
Our neighbor one row behind us. Her family brought good treats!

Next dog day is the 27th of June.

playing at the boat landing

2010-06-07T05:44:00.002-04:00

We were out exploring the tri-county area this weekend and ended up at the boat landing in Russellville. Found an area that had a sandy slope and was open (i.e. lower gator potential), so we took the opportunity to cool off and fetch the bumper.

Saturday in the (dog) park

2010-06-05T16:37:00.003-04:00

This morning we loaded up and headed for Wannamaker Dog Park. And man did we luck out, got to meet two really cool labs.
This is Cocoa, a 4 month old chocolate lab baby girl. She had no fear of running with the big dogs and loved to splash in the water bowl.
Cocoa did not like having her picture taken, but the lab paparazzi was determined to get a photo of her interacting with her older male doppelganger Zeke.
Then we met Doug the black lab, who was from Lowcountry Lab Rescue just like Sadie. But how he found his mom was such a great story: he was at the beach with his foster and got free and ran right up to this stranger, his foster parent came up apologized and asked if she wanted to adopt him. They got the opportunity to play some more and every time Doug got called back he came straight to her and sat at her feet. So he new who needed to be his new mom!
We just had to get an alumni shot to post on the LLR facebook page.

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-01T10:34:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was way fun! Dad was off for the holiday and we all had a big time!
Monday we all went to Marrington for a walk and then McAlister's for lunch. Zeke wanted to show off his new scarf.
Sunday we went to Wannamaker and spent some time at the dog park (Zeke met Dozer, see above) and Zeke went running with mom while she roller-bladed. Sadie and Dad hung out at the park and she got to play with a great dane.
Saturday we took a hike in the national forest. And covered another 3 miles on our quest to hike the Swamp Fox passage this year! At the halfway creek campsite there was a water station that the kids enjoyed. Sadie in particular thought it was very refreshing.

School is back in session

2010-05-26T08:31:00.004-04:00

Zeke started his Intermediate class last night. We were supposed to have it with Michael teaching (the trainer from our beginner class) but he had a bad accident with a ladder and is out of commission for awhile. Here's hoping to a speedy recovery for you, Michael!
Here is Betty Blue a shepherd mix and her momma.
Week one is working "sit" with distractions and "wait". Zeke is pretty good with wait... distractions are another thing all together.

There is the potential for a couple more chocolate labs to join up with the class. Which would of course be awesome.

back in the saddle

2010-05-22T16:05:00.002-04:00

After a long week of taking it easy*** post surgery, Zeke is back at it today, we stopped by our favorite pond and had some swimming time. Going nut-less hasn't slowed down Zeke in the least.

***taking it easy with a lab is a very relative term, one day after surgery Zeke thought he was at full speed and wanted to return to standard duty. So we tried to gradually work him back up to normal activity.

The Big Snip

2010-05-17T10:08:00.003-04:00

Zeke was dropped off this morning to be neutered.

Updated: Zeke's surgery went fine. He is now resting as comfortably as possible on the couch watching Dr Who

checked out.

2010-05-15T14:32:00.004-04:00

This 5 month old little girl has found the best place to lay on a hot day at the dog park. We had to take care of some business very near Wannamaker Dog Park so Zeke stopped in for a few minutes.

dog parks, lunch and swimming

2010-05-13T15:22:00.002-04:00

Today Zeke went to Wannamaker dog park and played with Darwin the Airedale and his sister Abbey, but he didn't get to go in the water area (AKA mud hole) with them. Shortly after we got there a guy brought in his corgi sized dog who had every dog in the big dog section chasing after her, but she was super quick and agile no one could catch her. It was like her game, eventually everyone gave up and then her and her dad left. Kinda random, but funny to watch.

Then we picked up BBQ to go from Willie Jewel's and had lunch with dad. Zeke found out he likes corn fritters, what's not to love really. After that we had a quick swim to cool off and headed back home for nap time!