February 2016 – Page 2 – Viktorsviews. The Next Chapter.

Cracker Jack

February 19, 2016Leave a Comment

February 19. On this day in 1913, Cracker Jack put their very first prize in a box of the caramel corn treat. Cracker Jack was actually “invented” in the U.S back in 1896 – but it wasn’t until 1913 that the famous toy prizes were added. My human remembers the toy prizes when SHE was a kid- she said they were VERY cool. Today she thinks they are pretty boring – a sticker or fake tattoo. But I suppose – what kid wants a toy in a box of food, when they have an iPad to play with?

In 1916, the Cracker Jack packaging included the logo of a sailor, Jack and his dog, Bingo. The sailor boy was modeled after the grandson of one of the inventors and Bingo was modeled after a dog who had been a stray – and who had been adopted by the man who created the unique wax packaging for the product. Frankly, I think it was Bingo who sold people on the stuff. I mean we dogs CAN sell anything. The other day, I talked about the Superbowl commercials with dogs, and through the years, we canines have been in lots of different advertising. Here are a few examples:

· The terrier, Nipper was a well-known figure in RCA Victor advertising.

· The symbol for Hush Puppy shoes was a basset hound.

· Spuds Mackenzie, a bull terrier, was used in advertising Anheuser-Busch brewing for many years, until those Clydesdales took over.

· Since 1999, a bull terrier has been the mascot and symbol for Target stores.

· Gidget, the Chihuahua was famous in Taco Bell ads.

I’m sure there are others. However, I have searched for PONs in advertising and had very little luck. The CLOSEST I could come was this commercial- but I don’t think it’s really a PON. I actually resent that the CLOSEST thing to a PON is an advertisement for stinky dogs. Mind you, the car IS kind of funny…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn1OhI2awLA

And speaking of PONs being ignored, what’s with this Westminster thing? I mean has a PON EVER won? I admit the German Shorthaired Pointer was cute – and there WERE some nice dogs in the grand finale at the end -but my money was on either the German Shepherd – since we herding breeds need to stick together – OR the Skye terrier – because if you saw one from FAR away – you could think it was a PON. If he had longer legs, you changed his coat and his body shape. OK. Maybe he doesn’t bear any resemblance to a PON, but since he came in Number 2 last year, I thought he deserved to win this year. I mean WHO would go back to that thing twice? Anyway, that’s over for THIS year. Congrats to all the winners. Which means congrats to EVERY single dog – since we are ALL winners in the hearts of our humans. And if you REALLY want a prize, and you didn’t get one of those fancy ribbons, go and buy a box of Cracker Jack. A prize is always GUARANTEED!

Suck it up!

February 18, 2016Leave a Comment

February 18. On this day in 1901, a man by the name of Hubert Cecil Booth took out a patent on the first suction vacuum cleaner. All modern vacuum cleaners are based on his early model. Honestly, I’m surprised my human doesn’t have a portrait of him over our mantle. We seem to go through vacuum cleaners like people go through toilet paper. Well. Maybe not THAT much. But seriously, my human should be writing her very own vacuum-cleaner-review-for-pet-owners-blog. I mean this woman has tried everything from – very expensive models to very cheap models. She has had canister vacuums and upright vacuums. Hand held models, and models capable of sucking up water. She even got a vacuum as a Valentine gift many years ago. Some women get excited about flowers. My human can’t contain her excitement over a new vacuum.

We are actually awaiting delivery of a new model that she ordered on-line. She went to a store looking for a particular model with VERY specific features. The store didn’t carry it, but by the time she finished talking to the salesperson, he was looking up the one she wanted on-line to see where he could find one for himself. I won’t give out the details until it comes in and she has the chance to review it.

We dogs, of course, have our own opinion of vacuum cleaners. We play a game of block-uum. We each lie strategically in the path of the oncoming vacuum. So my human must continually get us to move. It’s great fun.

So today we celebrate that amazing invention that makes my human’s life so “wonderful”. Honestly. Humans are sometimes just so weird. But we still love them.

I did it MY WAY….

February 17, 2016Leave a Comment

February 17. According to the Crazy Calendar, today is My Way Day. A day to do everything the way YOU want to do things. My human thinks every day for dogs is My Way Day –especially if you are a PON. Did I ever mention that we CAN be a BIT stubborn?

For example…the other day we went out for a run outside. It had been snowing – and we had a great time. When we came inside, it was time to eat. And when it is time to eat, we are expected to sit and wait until our human tells us it is OK to dive into our food bowls. The only problem? I REFUSED to sit. I mean REFUSED. At first my human thought it was because I had some snowballs on and between my legs. But so did Frodo. And he was sitting. So she asked me again. And I refused. And she asked AGAIN. And I refused. I refused at least 10 requests. At which point my human told Frodo and Paxton that they could eat since they were drooling all over the floor. She decided that MAYBE it WAS because of the snowballs so she took me in the “grooming room” and put some warm water on my legs – just enough to melt the snowballs. They were GONE. So we went back to my food bowl and she told me to sit. You can see the battle here – two strong Polish personalities fighting it out. You guessed it, I refused to sit. I just looked at her like I had NEVER heard the word before. She asked again and I refused. At which point my clever human told me to “get ready” a command she uses if we are going to do obedience heel work – and I am supposed to sit next to her. Well. She TRICKED me. I quickly went next to her and sat right down. So CLEARLY I COULD sit. So in a rare moment of human brilliance, when I was seated next to her, she told me to “stay”, said “good sit” and then told me I could have my dinner. So she won. And she got HER way.

So although my human THINKS every day is My Way Day for dogs, I do disagree. If I had MY WAY, there would be open access to the dog food 24-7. I would be allowed to sleep on my human’s bed all the time. All grooming tools would be banished and there would be no such thing as the DFZ. Although lately, we have managed to get “OUR” way in sneaking in there.

Anyway, I do intend to take full advantage of this holiday and will exercise my full right to have MY WAY. I can hardly wait for supper time. Again. And I’ll be humming along to Frank Sinatra in my mind…

God Bless You. You need it….

February 16, 20161 Comment

February 16. Supposedly on this day in the year 600, Pope Gregory the Great instructed that the correct response when someone sneezes is to say “God Bless You.” I bet you always wondered who started that…

We dogs have two kinds of sneezes. The first is the regular old sneeze that happens when something tickles our nasal cavity and we try to get rid of it by blowing air out our nose. And the other is called a reverse sneeze, which is a reflex that happens when we bring air into our noses because something is irritating the upper area behind our nostrils. When dogs have a regular sneeze, our heads go down but with a reverse sneeze, our heads go back. When the cause of the irritation is gone, the sneezing stops.

My human had a Labrador who had a reverse sneezing episode once and she thought he was dying. Of course he wasn’t. If a dog sneezes frequently, he should probably be examined by a Vet to find the cause.

Dogs also sneeze to communicate. For example, when playing with another dog, if the play gets a bit too rough, one dog may start sneezing – to signal to the other dog to bring things down a notch. Dogs may also sneeze if they are stressed or confused. Sometimes if you watch a dog in the obedience ring, you might see them sneeze. I wonder if we pick up the fact that our human is nervous – so we also act nervous? Could be.

Humans have to be good observers of our behavior – to make sure we are feeling OK. Like the other night….

We were all getting ready for bed. It was around 11PM. We had been out for our final pee of the night, and my human was washing up in the bathroom when she heard the urky gurky sound in the bedroom. That telltale sound that a dog is about to throw up. She raced into the room and sure enough – Bucket Head was doing his thing. With Frodo and I anxiously awaiting the results. My human dragged us away and put us in the bathroom, while she looked after Pax. He did NOT look well. She took him in the kitchen and kept watching him. He kept licking and licking and smacking his lips. A sign that he was feeling kinda nauseous. So she took him outside and he got sick again. My human brought him in – and he could not stop licking and smacking and he clearly looked uncomfortable. Which made my human panic- because big dogs can get this dangerous condition called bloat – which can be life threatening. She didn’t THINK it was bloat because his stomach was not distended – but she wasn’t taking any chances. So she raced downstairs to tell her mother she was going to the 24-hour Emergency Vet Clinic. Her poor mother said she was coming too – she put some clothes on over her pajamas and got ready to go. In the meantime, Frodo and I were wondering WHAT was going on – while we were sequestered in the bathroom. My human DID let us out before she left – and we were QUITE annoyed that Paxton was going for a car ride.

It’s about 18 kilometers (11 miles for my US friends) to the Clinic. THANK GOODNESS it had stopped snowing – like it had been all day. The Clinic takes cases of possible bloat VERY seriously – so he was whisked in. They did an exam and some Xrays. The good news – it wasn’t bloat. And it didn’t appear to be anything serious – just an upset tummy. My human remembered that he HAD disappeared into the woods for a few short minutes while we were out for our run in the morning – but she hadn’t thought much of it – he wasn’t gone long. Although she HAD also seen him quickly gobbling some rotten dried grass near the lake too – so it’s likely he just ate something and it upset his tummy.

The Clinic gave him a shot to stop his nausea – but actually by the time they gave it to him, his lip smacking had pretty much stopped. He was happy as a clam with all the attention. His tail was wagging, he was leaning on people – he was totally back to being Paxton. So off they went back home and they arrived around 1AM– with both my human and her mother feeling tired but relieved. And Pax thought the car ride was just great. He jumped out barking and happy.

Frodo and I of course mobbed him when he got home. What a way to get attention. I must remember that trick.

Pax was on a restricted diet on Sunday but yesterday was back to his regular food and he is doing fine.

So several morals to the story:

· Eating dead grass is not a good idea

· When you are owned by dogs, what YOU think is the end of the day may not BE the end of the day

· If you dogs want a late night car ride, smack your lips. A lot.

· Humans need to be good at observing our behaviors.

· Erring on the side of caution during a potential emergency is really nothing to sneeze at!

Westminster Dog Show…

February 15, 2016Leave a Comment

February 15. Around 140 years ago, a bunch of guys got together in the bar of a Manhattan hotel, and they shared stories about the great accomplishments of their hunting dogs. As they sat around bragging about who had the best dog, someone decided to form a club – having to do with dogs. And so was the start of the Westminster Breeding Association – named after the hotel where they first met. In 1877, they changed the name to the Westminster Kennel Club. They held their first annual dog show in 1877 and had an entry of 1201 dogs.

According to the Westminster website, today marks the 140^th Annual show. Last year, an agility event was added to the long-standing beauty pageant, and this year the Inaugural Masters Obedience Championship is also taking place. It’s about time they realized we dogs are not JUST pretty faces.

This year, there are 12 Polish Lowland Sheepdogs entered in the beauty pageant and 27 Bernese Mountain Dogs. Who do you think has the largest entry – with 51 dogs? Labrador retrievers. Of course. Followed closely by Golden Retrievers with an entry of 50. The lowest entries with just a single dog are the Harriers, the Anatolian Shepherds, the Neapolitan Mastiffs and the American Water Spaniels. You would feel kind of badly if you didn’t win your breed, wouldn’t you?!

Seven new breeds were added to the line-up this year – the Bergamasco (8 entered), the Lagotto Romagnolo (9), the Berger Picard (20!), the Miniature American shepherd (14), the Boerboel (11), Spanish water dog(10) and the Cirneco dell’Etna (10). I want one of those Berger Picards – a herding breed from France. They look cool. But so far, my human is saying “no.” We’ll see about that.

I see that Westminster has also added a “Meet the Breed” feature at the show. A chance for people to meet and learn more about specific dogs. Kind of like what our Kennel Club does – in fact, Frodo participated last year. All of these new features look like Westminster might be taking a cue from Crufts – the world’s largest dog show which takes place in Birmingham, England each year. I’ll be talking more about Crufts in the next little while – because THIS year, my human is going there. Without any of us. I’m a bit too upset about it right now to discuss it further, but I’ll get over it. I hear it will be a GREAT place to buy guilt gifts.

But back to the show at hand. You know after my human watches the show, we will all be groomed. That’s the one thing I hate about these shows. We have to play simulated dog show after my human sees all the nicely groomed dogs. Ugh.

Anyway – good luck to all the dogs competing in the Big Apple. And may the BEST dog win! Because of course, that ALWAYS happens. Doesn’t it?

˙© Linda Wozniak

Valentine’s Day.

February 14, 2016Leave a Comment

February 14. Valentine’s Day. The day for hearts and flowers and candy and dog treats. Not necessarily in that order.

The origin of Valentine’s Day is said to go back to the time of Emperor Claudius II. He must have been a cranky guy – he didn’t want men to marry during wartime. At the time, Bishop Valentine secretly performed marriage ceremonies – and he was caught. While he was awaiting execution, he supposedly fell in love with the jailor’s daughter and wrote her a note and signed it “from your Valentine.” And so it began…

In 1537, King Henry II of England declared February 14 to be the “official” Valentine’s Day. In the late 1800’s Richard Cadbury made the first box of Valentine’s chocolates. Today more than 35 million heart-shaped boxes will be sold.

Today over 1 billion Valentine cards are exchanged. It’s probably one of Hallmark’s happiest days. Apparently teachers receive the most Valentine cards. I wonder if “teachers” includes dog trainers?

73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine’s Day are men. And 15% of women send flowers to themselves. That explains those roses that arrived yesterday. JUST kidding. Our human didn’t send them to herself. We did.

I found this shocking – only 3% of pets receive Valentine gifts. Come ON humans. Don’t forget about all the unconditional LOVE we provide. Now I KNOW the dogs in THIS house will be among the 3%. Just don’t bother with flowers, though.

And in keeping with my Valentine tradition, I’ve written a poem for my human. So here goes:

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

We three dogs are

So happy we picked you.

You groom us and feed us,

And take us on walks,

One of us steals things,

The other one talks.

You walk us in the morning,

You walk us at night,

When it happens to be raining

We may put up a fight.

We like to chase birds

And sometimes the bunny,

When we run off in the woods

You don’t think it’s funny.

Having three dogs

May not be economical

But our antics entertain you

We REALLY are comical.

We may be unruly

And sometimes just plain BAD,

But we really DO love you,

And hate if you’re sad.

We wait by the door

From the moment you leave,

And when we hear your car

A HUGE sigh we heave.

And when you return

No matter how long you’ve been gone

We break out in tail wags

And bark out our song.

Oh human, OUR human

You’re our Valentine sweet.

We love you and adore you.

Now give us a treat.

From Paxton, Frodo and Cocoa

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!!!! And don’t forget to be in that 3%!!!

Call me Ziven. Or Izak. Or Cocoa….

February 13, 2016Leave a Comment

February 13. According to the Crazy Calendar, today is Get a Different Name Day. Which is timely given that my human’s mother is visiting. I have talked about this before – for SOME reason, she thinks my name should be Cocoa. And that’s what she calls me. She’ll be doling out the banana pieces in order of age. “First Paxton” she says as she gives the big guy his piece. “Now Frodo – and be NICE” she scolds as he tries to take her fingers off along with the banana. “And now….” she hesitates, “Cocoa…I mean Viktor.”

She doesn’t know why she calls me Cocoa. She has never had a dog named Cocoa – but that’s who I am in her eyes. She can call me ANYTHING – as long as there are treats involved.

I’ve talked before about how humans agonize over a name for us and then make up a VARIETY of OTHER names as well. I’m Viktor, Vik, Baby V, Viktorino, and Trino. Is it any wonder I don’t come when called? Yeah – THAT’S the reason why. If I were going to change my name, I have already talked about using Alvin. Like the Chipmunk. I could definitely be an Alvin. Or as you may recall, I also liked Balthazar.

Or…let’s look up some Polish names –and their meanings…

I could be…Arek- which means “The exalted one”. No – that would be better for Professor Frodo.

Cyryl which means “Lordly”. Not a chance.

Dobry which means “good”. Who am I kidding?

Izak which means “laughter.” Now that’s not bad.

Piotr which means “rock.” Sometimes my human says I act like I have rocks in my head. Nah.

Ulryk – “world ruler.” I like the sounds of that….

Wiktor means the “conqueror.” Which is basically my current name. So skip that.

Ziven means “vigourous or alive.” That works.

So let’s see – I like either Izak, Ulryk or Ziven.

Heck, maybe I’ll just alternate names. One day I’ll be Izak. The next I’ll be Ulryk. I mean that’s what happens around here all the time any way. The bottom line – I’ll go by any name if food is involved and if there is no food, it doesn’t matter – I automatically have temporary name deafness or what I call namenesia. Hearing loss, name identification and treats are closely linked. Trust me, I know ALL about it.

So it’s Ziven signing off for today. Have a great Saturday!

Happy birthday Abe!

February 12, 2016Leave a Comment

February 12. Today is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, the 16^thPresident of the United States. Now while some may know Lincoln as a humanitarian who helped to put an end to slavery in the U.S., what some may not know is the fact that he was an early animal rights advocate – who loved all animals. He was against hunting and cruelty to animals in any form. In fact, here is a famous quote attributed to Lincoln: “I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.”

Before Lincoln became President, he and his family had a dog named Fido. Really – his name was Fido! Apparently Fido was nervous around loud sounds, like bells and firecrackers and crowds, so when Lincoln was moving to the White House, he thought it best that Fido remain with a family in his hometown. But he had special instructions for the family – Fido was not to be chained outdoors and was to be allowed in the house. Fido had his favorite sofa – which Lincoln had moved to the new family’s home. Lincoln and his family reportedly fed Fido scraps at mealtime – so the new family was instructed to carry out the same routine. So I think Fido had it pretty good!

The first photo of a Presidential dog was of Fido. Some speculate that Lincoln took the photo before he left for the White House – to remember Fido by.

Lincoln was also said to like cats. But we won’t hold that against him. Just kidding. Sort of. His children also had ponies, goats and white rabbits – and a turkey that was initially raised to become Thanksgiving dinner. When his son became quite attached to the turkey, Lincoln spared the bird – and he didn’t end up on the menu after all.

There are even several books written about Lincoln’s love of animals. My human and her Book Club are currently reading the book “Killing Lincoln.” Obviously the ending is no surprise. Personally, I think one of the animal books would have been a better choice.

So today we celebrate and toast the birthday of Honest Abe! Two paws up! And while I do admire the man, I’m just so thankful that they don’t sell Stovepipe Hats at the Dollar Store…

National Inventor’s Day

February 11, 2016Leave a Comment

February 11. Today is National Inventor’s Day. A day to celebrate all those clever people who create things that we less-creative–beings use every day.

So I decided to look up some “dog inventions” – things that are supposed to make life with us dogs so much better. As far as I can see, not ALL inventions are such a great idea…

For example, there is a pet escalator for your home. It works kind of like those things that help disabled humans to get up and down stairs. This one is actually designed for obese dogs. I kid you not. And it ONLY costs $2300. First off – no dog in THIS house would sit on such a moving object without jumping off. And it SEEMS that maybe Fido SHOULD be using the stairs if he is obese?! I give this one a paws down.

I nearly died when I found the Ikea Hundstol – a highchair for dogs. After a bit of exploration, I found that it was an April Fools joke. THANK goodness. Imagine the size highchair that Paxton would need.

It looks like the Freedom Leash didn’t turn out to be such a great invention – I don’t think you can even buy them any more. The leash supposedly had a retracting spinning mechanism allowing a human to walk two dogs at once – holding onto one device. I could just SEE what Frodo and I could have done to that thing. No wonder you can’t find one.

Here’s another gem – a dog muzzle that looks like a duck’s bill. Seriously? Embarrassing enough that the dog HAS to wear a muzzle – and you make him look like a platypus besides?! Paws down on this one.

The Breeze Guard Car window screen. Ever see our screen door to the deck? A screen for a car window? That would last .0059 seconds with us. Paws down for this one too.

The Bow Lingual Bark Translator is supposed to be able to translate what your dog is saying. This was obviously created as a joke. But the best part was reading the reviews about it. Some people, I THINK, thought the thing would REALLY work. And they were disappointed when they tried it out. Hmmmm…..

There is this device that you attach to your garden hose, and when your dog steps on it, he immediately gets a blast of water for a drink. Like we PONs EVER want a blast of water shot in our faces…

An inflatable dog bath. Kind of like those inflatable kiddie pools only smaller. I can see all the “fun” when it deflates…

Now there ARE some good inventions…the portable camping chair that has a built-in soft-sided dog crate under the seat seems like a good idea. For SMALL dogs obviously. And LED collars and leashes are good at night. The poo trap that is attached to a dog’s rear end – like a horse uses in a parade – is just plain silly. Make sure you don’t ask Fido to “sit” after he uses it.

My human has a great idea for an invention. She was looking on-line for a plow-like device that Paxton could pull behind him in the driveway to clear the snow. She couldn’t find one. So there you go all you inventive folks – the dog snow plow. And when you make your millions, be sure to remember us!

Storm stayed

February 10, 2016Leave a Comment

Today is Ash Wednesday. And the beginning of Lent. 40 days of behaving. It will never happen in this house.

We had a blizzard on Monday. A real, honest to goodness blizzard. High winds and LOTS of snow. Of course before it started, my human had to take us out for a good run to exhaust us – she knew we would be stormed stayed for a bit. The photos you see are pre-storm. The winds were stronger than our jet engine hair dryer. It was crazy. We loved it. Well – I did. Frodo was annoyed that it messed up his hair.

My human’s mother was talking yesterday about “the losing battle.” You know what she’s referring to – she puts my toys away in the toy bin and no sooner does she finish, than I pull them all out. Just like when my human is vacuuming. I actually think she thought she could get away with it this time. Nope. I never forget my job.

So far we have been behaving. Although, Paxton was a bit naughty. When my human took Frodo and I out for our run, her mother was in the other room – and she glanced up from reading – and saw Paxton DASH across the room from the kitchen. She went to see what was going on. He had stolen a whole roll of paper towel from the counter, and was about to make confetti. Busted. She took it away from him – get this – in exchange for a treat! We have her pretty well trained.

I like how she slices up our banana for us. My human just tears off pieces – which I think, sometimes results in us getting varied sizes. Her mother is much more fair.

Well time to go and stare at her. Maybe I can convince her to slice up another banana…