Blueberries

July 10, 2015Leave a Comment

July 10. Today is Pick Blueberries Day. Wild blueberries are the largest fruit crop in Nova Scotia – and Oxford, Nova Scotia is the wild blueberry capital of Canada. There’s some blueberry trivia for you – if you are ever on the game show Jeopardy. I’m not quite sure blueberries are ready to pick just yet – but it won’t be long. We dogs LOVE blueberries. And bananas. And apples…and…lots of different vegetables too.

So although I didn’t officially go blueberry picking at a farm– I knew this “holiday” was coming up, so yesterday I picked some blueberries. Indoors. From my human’s friend’s bowl of oatmeal. You would think he would have learned by now that I can’t be left alone for even ONE second with food on the table. But I guess he wasn’t yet awake – and when he left his breakfast bowl – which contained some yummy blueberries AND some bananas too – for just a second- I had just enough time to bury my face in the bowl before he shouted “Stop.” What can I say? I love fruit. It’s a healthy way to start the day. I thought he was finished.

Suuuuuuuuuuuure I did. When is the next Forgiveness Day?

My crazy human

July 9, 2015Leave a Comment

Great. She’s at it again. It never fails – my human sees someone doing something with their dog, and she wants to try it…

The other day, she went to something called a Tattoo. No – she didn’t GET a tattoo – a Tattoo is a military “performance” which involves military bands and marching. There is a BIG one here in Nova Scotia – and it includes lots of bagpipes. My human isn’t quite sure WHAT we would do if we heard a bagpipe. Chances are, our resident soloist, Frodo would join in with some singing – while Pax and I would probably run. It would be interesting. But I digress.

So my human went to see the big Tattoo the other day – which had ALL kinds of performances (not just marching bands) from countries all around the world. I hear it is quite the spectacle. Anyway, during intermission, there was a demonstration by a local K9 Police dog and his handler. It SEEMS this dog can differentiate colors – and he demonstrated that he could. So you guessed it – my human thinks I should try to do this. And she came home with this “great idea.” I think someone needs to remind her about those crazy expensive interactive dog toys that she bought at Christmas. The ones that Paxton tried to eat, and Frodo tried to claw apart. I was the interactive dog toy superstar – relatively speaking. But we never quite mastered the first toy – so the other two are collecting dust in the closet. Does she SERIOUSLY think she can train any of us to differentiate colors?

Honestly, I love her – but this woman comes up with the craziest ideas sometimes. Next thing you know, she’ll want to start writing her own blog!

Young again.

July 8, 2015Leave a Comment

July 8. Be a Kid Again Day. That’s a cool idea. Humans should try it. Go play on a swing. Go for a bike ride and ring the bell. A lot. Go down a slide. Build a fort. In the middle of the living room – with small tables and a blanket. Play hopscotch. Run through a sprinkler on the lawn. Read a comic book. Go fishing. Play softball – in the backyard. Play hide and seek. Run around. And around. Until you fall down.

Note that these are the things my human would have done as a kid. No mention of smart phones, video games or laptops. I think things were simpler when she was a kid 150 years ago.

And if I went back to MY puppyhood, what would I do? Fetch a ball. Dig in the garden. Bark at birds. Beg for treats. Do zoomies. Pee in the house. Hey – most of those things I STILL do. Except for the pee in the house part. We dogs live simpler lives, with reckless abandon. Just like kids. Haven’t I always said, we are smarter than humans??? More evidence. Clearly we have more training that we need to do with you. We’ll keep working on it.

Have wonderful playful day!!

Forgiveness.

July 7, 2015Leave a Comment

July 7. Global Forgiveness Day. Wow. That’s a biggie. IMAGINE if people would REALLY forgive people when they do something wrong. And countries would forgive other countries. This would sure be a very different world…

And let’s think about ALL the things that I would need forgiveness for….There can’t be THAT many…hmmm…..chasing squirrels. And leaping against the front door when it is time to go for a walk. And attacking Frodo when he comes through the door. Or down the stairs. And licking Paxton’s face. A lot. And staring at the door where the dog food is kept. And running off in the woods. And stealing Frodo’s and Paxton’s toys. And getting on the bed – when I’m not supposed to. And sneaking into the DFZ. And scraping all the new finish off the deck. In an effort to get at that bird’s nest. And refusing to go out when it rains. And squirming on the grooming table. And staring at my human when she is eating….

Yikes. This list is getting long. But WAIT a minute. All of this stuff is what we dogs DO. And if I didn’t do these things, wouldn’t life be pretty boring? I can’t ask for forgiveness for being a dog! And a pretty clever one at that! So forget all that stuff. I guess I’ll be the one forgiving today. How about I forgive my human for not completely filling my food bowl to the very top. There. Forgiveness accomplished. For today.

Kisses.

July 6, 2015Leave a Comment

July 6. International Kissing Day. In our household, none of us dogs are big into kissing humans. I mean yes, we do it sometimes, but not a lot. You see dogs who LOVE to lick people – but we would rather snuggle, or in Paxton’s case, sit on your feet.

On the other hand, we DO like to lick and kiss each other. I love to lick Frodo’s ears – and to mess up his face. Especially after my human has spent 2 hours grooming him. And Paxton, well I like to lick Paxton whenever I can. I LOVE to lick and kiss his face, particularly after he has had his share of cleaning my human’s yoghurt container at breakfast. He often has bits of yoghurt on his face – and it is my DUTY to make sure he doesn’t walk around with food on his face.

Some believe that we lick and kiss certain dogs that we think have a higher ranking than us. It’s true Paxton is the oldest – AND the biggest. And I DO respect him. But sometimes, well…. I try to challenge him too. It’s the baby-in-the-family syndrome. And the problem is that Paxton is so good-natured, he let’s me get away with murder. He puts up with my tormenting. EXCEPT if I try to push him out of the way while he is eating. THEN he gives me the warning, and I’m smart enough to back off!

So today go out and kiss someone. But again – preferably someone you know. And big kisses to all of you!

I need a Coonhound

July 5, 2015Leave a Comment

Well. Yesterday I was talking about all the Coonhounds from the US. And I joked that I need one. Well maybe I REALLY do.

There was a story here in Nova Scotia about a raccoon – and I learned something I didn’t know. It seems that a woman in a town about 2 hours from here, has a hunting dog – who looks to me to be a spaniel of some type. Anyway, the dog took off after some animal (sound familiar?) and when the woman went to find her dog she saw that the dog had been chasing a raccoon. And the raccoon was backing up into a pond – with the dog in hot pursuit. Who knew that raccoons when cornered will purposely draw the dog INTO the water – so they can then attack them and try to drown them?!!!! Well it’s good thing the woman knew it – because sure enough – it started to happen right before her eyes!!!! She ran into the water and fought off the raccoon – who WAS trying to drown her dog!!!!!! Long story short, the woman won the battle – despite having lots of scratches and bites – and her dog was saved. The woman has to undergo lots of shots to protect her in case the raccoon was rabid – but she doesn’t care because her dog is safe.

I would like to think my human would do the same thing…and I THINK she would. For example, about 4 years ago, in the early spring, the ice was melting on the lake – and had separated from the shoreline. Bucket Head took off one day and my human kept calling and calling him. She raced down to the shore and found him ON the ice – about 10 feet from shore. The ice went out quite a ways – and my human KNEW she didn’t want him to run out further, because he would likely fall in. And NOT be able to get out. She pleaded with him to come to her – but he kept racing on the ice and didn’t want to go back into the icy water. So my human, didn’t think twice – and went into the freezing water to get him. Bad enough she was in waste-deep water – she was also wearing rubber boots, which INSTANTLY filled with water. She went to the ice and coaxed Paxton over to her. She grabbed him by the collar and somehow pulled him off the ice and into the water – so he immediately went for the shore. She then trudged out and went quickly back to the house – as she was quite cold. Paxton on the other hand thought the whole adventure was great fun. Needless to say, we are not allowed off leash when ice is melting on the lake.

So those are the adventure stories here. As for whether a raccoon could draw me or Frodo into the water – it’s doubtful. Remember – we are the guys who jump around puddles, in an effort to avoid getting wet. Just the same – my human never wants to find out!

Happy July 4th!

July 4, 2015Leave a Comment

July 4. Independence Day in the United States. My human is both a Canadian AND a US citizen so we get to celebrate another national birthday. Paxton is also a US citizen – he was born in Michigan – so he is in charge of setting off the fireworks.

So in honor of all things American – time to look at those dog breeds that came from the US. When I went to research this topic, I was surprised how many there were. But many of them I had never heard of. Like the Alaskan Klee Kai. It looks kind of like a Malamute or Siberian Husky. It’s in the Rare Breed Category. And there are others in that Rare Breed bunch – the Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog, the King Shepherd, the Plott Hound , Olde English Bulldogge, Shiloh Shepherd, Boykin Spaniel and the Chinook to name a few.

Besides these lesser known breeds, there are lots of very familiar breeds who call the US their home – the Alaskan Malamute, American Staffordshire Terrier, the American Foxhound, American Water Spaniel, Australian Shepherd, Black and Tan Coonhound, Treeing Walker Coonhound, Bluetick Coonhound, Redbone Coonhound, Boston Terrier, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, American Cocker Spaniel, and the American Eskimo Dog. Those Coonhound varieties really seem to be prevalent. I think we need one – a raccoon keeps knocking over our garbage can. I bet if we had a coonhound, it woudn’t happen.

No doubt many of these breeds had ancestors in other countries – and they immigrated to America. The US is a melting pot of people – and I’m sure the same is true with us canines!

I’m also sure I’m missing some breeds – forgive me if I’m missing your favorite. I wonder if all these breeds like Apple Pie, grits, macaroni and cheese, Clam chowder, lobster rolls, Buffalo Wings, hotdogs, Philly Cheese Steaks, chocolate chip cookies and baked beans. My guess is, they probably WOULD like most of those American dishes – but they probably shouldn’t eat many of them – without some unfortunate dietary upset.

So happy Independence Day to all my American friends. Have a hotdog on me!

© Linda Wozniak

The full moon.

July 3, 2015Leave a Comment

Clearly it was the full moon. And I have a secret. The full moon brings out the WORST in me. I have been in BIG trouble the last couple of days. BIG trouble.

First there was my runaway episode. My human let all of us out for a romp in the yard after she got home from shopping. Frodo and Paxton were QUITE happy to run around and play. Me? I SAW something in the yard – and I ran out the door, raced across the lawn and BOLTED into the woods. Gone. And then my human could hear me barking. At something. She had visions of me with porcupine quills all over my face. She called. She shouted. She pleaded. She blew a whistle. She attempted to follow me – but the woods are too dense. Her friend who is staying with us called too. And blew a whistle. But I was on the trail. And my human could hear me barking further and further in the distance. She jumped in the car to see if she could spot me up the road somewhere. Nope. No sign of me. She drove to the next road over. There are only about 4 homes on that road – and she asked a woman out in her yard if she had seen a dog. Nope. No sign of me. By now, about 25 minutes had passed since my departure. Just as my human was about to cry, the phone rang. Her friend called. I was home. Full of sticks in my hair, muddy and smelling like a swamp – but home. My human was so happy, she forgot for 1 minute to be mad at me. After that, it was the cold shoulder for about an hour. But then, of course, I won her over.

Then my next escapade….the deck. My human and her friend have been working on the deck for about two months. The stain had peeled off – so it required a total scraping before a new finish could be applied. They have been scraping and scraping to get the old finish off. You would think Frodo, the dog who digs at everything would have helped. But he didn’t. FINALLY, last week it was done. And the NEW finish was applied last weekend. The deck looked FANTASTIC. Absolutely fantastic. And then, yours truly came along. I went out on the deck on Wednesday, and became OBSESSED with one spot. I mean OBSESSED. I kept sniffing. And sniffing. AND sniffing. And when I was left alone on the deck for 15 minutes, I began to dig and chew and sniff at that same spot. When my human came out she took one look at me and saw my new rust-colored face, she yelled “STOP”. Too late. I had removed all the new deck finish in a one foot square area. She and her friend were NOT happy.

They couldn’t understand WHY I was doing it. I had never done THAT on the deck before. So her friend went to investigate UNDER the deck. And GUESS what he found?????? A bird’s nest!!! Yup. I could smell those baby birds and I just wanted to say hello. What’s wrong with that???!!! Paxton and Frodo are clearly not as sociable as I am. Their noses obviously aren’t as good either.

I have now been banished from that area of the deck. Until it is repainted. And the birds are gone.

But seriously, NONE of this is my fault. It was a full moon!!!

Speaking of Frodo

July 2, 2015Leave a Comment

July 2. Today is Freedom from Fear of Speaking Day. Remember – I don’t make these up…

Anyway. I know that in some places in the world, people have a fear of speaking up – due to the political environment. And some people just have a general fear of speaking – maybe because they have a speech or language problem – or they are just shy. But in our household, it is EVIDENT that Frodo has NO fear of speaking. Ever.

He and my human have an ongoing battle as to who can speak more. And honestly, I think Frodo is winning. He barks when he gets up. When he wants food. When he wants attention. When he hears something. And when he just wants to hear himself speak. The BEST is when my human tells him to be quiet. It’s kind of like putting a stick in the water and expecting that it will block the flow of Niagara Falls. It’s actually fun to watch. For example, while my human is getting our meals ready, this is the typical scenario:

Frodo: “Speed it up. Speed it up. Speed it up”. (spoken rather loudly)

Human turns to him: “Be quiet Frodo.”

Frodo looks at her: “Speed it up. Speed it up.”

Human: In a louder voice: “Frodo – I SAID be quiet”.

Frodo. Silent for 2.3 seconds. In a quieter voice: “Speed it up.”

Human: In an even louder voice. “I MEAN it.”

Frodo: Silent for 5.3 seconds. In a whisper. “NOW.”

Human: Agggggggghhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frodo is obviously no wallflower, and he has NO fear of speaking. He would be good to have on a debate team. He always wins…..