My Lazy Boy

Here is an "action shot" from our walk during my lunch break today.  As you can see below, Tucker was not interested in walking!  I do love it when he lays like this though :)

My Dog is Fratacular

At the State Fair a few weeks ago, I bought Tucker an NC State Block S collar from the Unleashed booth.  Since Jake and I are State alums, we thought it was only proper for him to represent our Alma Mater.  When I was talking with JP, Unleashed's owner, I mentioned that we were having trouble with Tucker pulling on his walks.  He recommended that we come in to get him a harness, so we did just that.  Unleashed on Lake Boone Trail is an awesome dog store that has tons of dog-friendly treats, food, collars, leashes, and of course, toys among other dog-related items.  If you are in the Raleigh area, I highly recommend them!  And treat your dog to a trip to Unleashed - Tucker loved it as he got lots of treats during the harness-fitting process.

So back to the harness.  Of course we had to get a manly harness for our son, since he is such a handsome boy after all.  So no pinks, purples or anything like that.  The best option that they had in Tucker's size at the time was a pattern called "Bone Hunter" in camouflage fashion.  Here's a picture of Tucker sporting his new look as he stopped to check out the ducks on one of our lunch walks this week. 

I think he looks mighty fratastic, don't you?  Camo and a Block S collar would make any NC State frat boy proud.  And the harness has been one of our best dog-purchases to date.  Tucker rarely pulls and I feel much more in control on our walks.  I'm very grateful especially since Tucker hit 78 pounds this week and at 10 months, has a lot more growing to do!

Going for a R-I-D-E

One of Tucker's favorite things is going for a ride.  Until Jake and I are completely, 100% ready to put him in the car, we cannot say the "R" word.  If he hears it, he will bark until you just have to get in the car, forgetting whatever else it was that you were supposed to do before you left or bring with you.  So here is a recent picture of Tucker on a ride, nose out the window, taking the world in as every Chocolate Lab should. :)

10 Months To Go!

It's amazing how time passes so quickly. Everyone keeps telling me the older you get the faster time flies. I feel like summer started yesterday! This is just a reminder that I need to kick it up a notch in the wedding planning world.

Here are pictures of some non-wedding related things that make me happy. These were all taken on my iPhone. I need to take a picture of Jake soon so that I have a more recent one of him. I guess its time to upload the pictures from my camera over the last few weeks!

Tucker watching a hummingbird at the feeder

I love these little guys!

These are the beautiful roses that Jake gave me for our 4 year dating anniversary and 6 month engagement anniversary! They smell amazing and the colors are beautiful. I think if I go with the Emerald and Aqua color scheme that I will be incorporating orange tones in the flowers to add a punch of color. Thanks for the inspiration and the beautiful flowers Jake!

Fun in the Sun

As promised, here are some fabulous pictures of Tucker and his friend Toby playing at the beach this past weekend. They both had a great time and got some really good naps afterwards as well! I'm very excited to take Tucker to the beach for the long weekend over the holiday - he will have other dogs in the house to keep him company, Jade and Katie, and maybe even Bridget too! Maybe I can round up some more wedding related items to post this week?

Things Tucker Likes...

Every time we are out and about with Tucker it is a new adventure. He will chase after anything that moves, whether its a squirrel or a leaf blowing down the sidewalk. I thought it was about time to start a list of the things that attract his attention..

• Bunnies
• Frogs
• Bugs
• Birds
• People, and he is especially interested in the people walking by that are clearly afraid of him (how they are afraid of him I have no idea)
• Ducks & Geese (still birds I guess)

There is also a list of dead things that Tucker has tried to bring home:

• Half of a dead snake (the mowers split this temptation in two - twice as hard to avoid)
• Runover frog
• A dead fish floating in the lake
• And a dead bird that had flown into a window...

Thankfully Tucker responds very well to the Drop command, especially when I have to use the really mean voice since I don't want to go anywhere near the dead snake/frog/bird/fish in his mouth!

Dog Days of Spring

This morning Tucker had us up around 8:30 for the day, which wasn't too bad. We took him for a swim at the lake but we didn't take the camera so we have no action shots to share with you. Let me just say that this dog loves to swim. Here are some recent pictures of Tucker just being himself. We like to hang out on the balcony (weather permitting) and of course he loves to sit in "his chair" and watch anything that moves.

(All images taken by Me)

In the bottom left he was definitely watching some geese in the lake across the street. If he could keep his mouth shut, Tucker would be a great hunting dog. He is very attentive and is easy to train. I'll have to make some videos of his tricks soon - I started teaching him to roll over this morning, and he already knows how to do the trick we call "Nose" - I put a treat on his nose and he pops it up into the air, maybe catching it, maybe not.