Uh…excuse me.  I THINK I messed up the hair on your nose..

OK.  I must admit, Jaws really DOES entertain me.  AND I discovered something VERY cool about him.  Because he is becoming a giant, he can EASILY take things off the counter.  JUST like Paxton!  

The other morning, my human had juuuuuuust finished buttering her English Muffin, and she turned her back for .087 seconds and in that flash, Jaws managed to put his two paws on the counter and just about started to lick her muffin.  My human swung around and quickly pulled him off.  But not to worry – she didn’t throw out the muffin.  You humans would NEVER take a drink from a dirty glass, but you’ll eat the food we just licked.  Go figure.  

He’s so huge that he’s even taller than our buddy Jackson, the Lab from down the road.  He and Jackson had a great play fest the other morning. My human was hopeful that the wrestle-mania chase fest would result in one tired Picard.  Nope.  It just revved him up to chew on Frodo more when he came home. 

The other cool thing he does is distract my human.  He walks to the door and paws on it – like he wants to go out.  AND he often does it while she is eating a meal.  So I watch carefully – because if she is not paying attention, I can help her finish her meal while they go out.  I must confess, she IS starting to catch on.

He went to another performance puppy class last week. He still can’t juggle – but his performance at being class clown is really improving.  He actually IS learning – despite having my human at the other end of the leash.  They make an excellent klutzy pair.  The Terrific Tracy and her assistants, Wonderful Wendy and Nice No Nonsense Norma, are VERY patient people.  VERY.  My human is always so busy trying to multitask with Jaws, that she doesn’t always “hear” the instructions.  So when it comes time to try a task, she hasn’t a CLUE what the heck she is doing.  Not to mention her innate klutziness.   But Terrific Tracy is used to it.  Did I mention that she is patient?!

I am ALMOST willing to play with him outdoors.  But not totally yet.  But I have to hand it to him, he keeps trying.

Well time to see what’s on my human’s breakfast menu.  Jaws may need to go out for a pee….

Have a good one!

So yesterday was Responsible Dog Ownership Day.  And I am proclaiming today as Responsible Human Ownership Day.  Because really, that’s the way it is if you have a dog in your household.  So  all you dogs, here are the things that you need to do to be a responsible owner.

1. Protect your human, home and property.  Alert your human to anything unusual.  Like a delivery person, the neighbor’s kid selling cookies, rabbits, or blowing leaves.  You MUST be a responsible guardian.  At all times.  Even in the middle of the night – which is a perfect time to practice your security skills. With lots of barking.
2. Eat anything and everything your human provides for you.  Don’t be fussy.  Your human has supposedly worked hard to make the money to buy you your food and treats so ALWAYS take them and be grateful.  We are VERY responsible in this area.
3. Behave when being walked.  No pulling or acting wild.  Unless you see a rabbit.  Or blowing leaves.
4. Greet your human with excitement and exuberance EVERY single time they return from somewhere.  Even the bathroom.  
5. ALLOW your human to groom you.  Let’s face it, we dogs don’t REALLY worry about our appearance – or how we smell, but humor the humans and let them make you look and smell the way THEY want you to look.
6. Allow them to sleep on “their” bed with you.  You don’t have to give them a LOT of space- it’s OK if they are hanging off the edge.  But allow them their rest.  They need it to take us on our 34 walks each day.
7. Help your human to stay in shape by making them go on those 34 walks each day.  You are looking after their health – it is YOUR responsibility to ensure they get enough exercise.
8. Make SURE you stay underfoot in the kitchen.  While they may say that you are a hazard, we know that we are there to act as cleaners in the event that something should drop on the floor.  It is our responsibility to be good custodians.  And the same is true for leftover food items on the counters.  
9. When they are trying to “train” you to do a new behavior, like “sit” or “heel” – follow the commands – but do so sporadically.   It’s called  intermittent reinforcement.  It allows you to get more of those treats that they worked so hard to pay for.
10. And lastly, it is your responsibility to love your human and let them know how much you love them.  Wag your tail.  Cuddle with them.  And just “be there” when you see that they need you. Provide that UNCONDITIONAL love that we canines do so well.  That is really your biggest responsibility of all…

Have a good one!

September 17. According to the crazy calendar, today is Responsible Dog Ownership Day.  It’s a day for humans to celebrate owning canine companions, and a day to increase positive canine awareness in the public.

And how does one become a responsible dog owner?  First off – train your dog to be a good canine neighbor – with good manners.  No jumping on people, no biting, and no chasing children or other animals (except rabbits).  Provide exercise and a healthy environment for your dog. Tying a dog to a rope and leaving him out in the yard on his own day and night is NOT an example of responsible ownership.  As a responsible owner, you must also look after the health of us dogs.  You must feed us the best food you can afford, AND if we are in need of veterinary care, you should take us in for medical care. You must also make sure that you clean up after us dogs.  And be respectful of those areas that do NOT allow dogs – like baseball diamonds in the summer or playgrounds. The point is that you should set an example that living with dogs is FUN, and AMAZING but it should not interfere with the lives of others who may not like dogs.  Hard to BELIEVE that there are such people who exist, but rumor has it that there ARE a few.  Those poor people need to see he positive virtues of owning us canine companions – whether we are therapy dogs, military working dogs, working dogs or household pets. 

If your area has licensing for dogs, you SHOULD register your dog.  Let’s face it – all of us dogs like to be licensed – we never know when we might need to borrow the car.  Or have a drink.

So cheers today to all of those good dog owners.  And although the humans are the designated “owners” – let’s face the truth – it’s REALLY the other way around.  But we’ll LET them THINK they are in charge.  At least for today.

Have a good one!

 

September 16. According to the crazy calendar, today is National Collect Rocks Day.  A day when all you human rock collectors celebrate your need to search for pebbles, stones, minerals and gemstones.   My human was a rock collector when she was a kid.  Her sister always said she had rocks in her head.  It’s a fairly cheap hobby.  You don’t need much equipment – maybe a hammer if you want to break up large rocks and something to carry home your treasures.  Some people call it rockhounding – and it has nothing to do with dogs.

But, interestingly enough, there ARE dogs who like to collect rocks.  But not for the purpose of displaying them on a shelf.  Some dogs EAT rocks.  I mean REALLY eat rocks.  It’s a condition called Pica – where dogs eat non-food items.  Most sources say it is a behavioral thing and dogs CAN be trained NOT to do this.  It can be a dangerous behavior – if a dog eats too many rocks, he might have to have surgery.  I found a story about a pug who ate (and pooped) 100 rocks.  Now THAT is crazy.

Jaws likes to grab the odd rock – and the behavior is often seen in puppies.  But he is quite happy to trade a rock for a treat.  Unlike a shoe.  That’s not as exciting a trade for a treat. 

So I hope you will have a rockin’ and rollin’ kind of day.  And how can you not – it’s FRIDAY!!  Let the weekend begin!

So we’ve had lots of drama in our household the last little while – between my human’s mother being ill, and ME being ill and Jaws working hard to learn how to train my human – we have been just a tad busy.  And now that things are settling down, my human has decided to add more drama to the mix.  She has decided that Harold must go.

Harold, as some of you may recall is our vehicle.  Our trusty 2006 Subaru Forester.  Harold is the ONLY vehicle I have known.  And while Harold is running well, and he did pass his safety inspection, he does have some “issues.”  Besides the canine olfactory art on the back window and the dog hair stuck to the ceiling.  For example, you know how when large vehicles like trucks back up you can hear a beep beep sound?  Well, when Harold backs up, you hear a screeching sound.  It’s not good.  It’s fine when you go forward, but in reverse, well everyone does get out of our way.  He also has a problem with his rear struts.  I know when my human says “strut” to me, it means I should heel briskly alongside her.  Harold’s struts are another issue.  And so are his brake pads.  Whatever that means.  So while these are not HUGE issues, my human doesn’t know if she wants to invest more money in Harold.  

So the big debate.  WHAT vehicle to get?  I want to go along when my human car shops.  I mean it is critical that we canines LIKE the vehicle.  And it must be big enough to handle at LEAST one crate.  Mind you, if the crate is to hold Jaws, we are going to need to buy a tractor trailer.  When one looks up best All Wheel Drive SUVs for dogs, a number of options come up.   We need an AWD vehicle because of our luge run driveway in the winter.  And living in the semi-boonies, an AWD vehicle is pretty handy.  This summer, my human was collecting stickers from this gas station because they had a big contest and one of the prizes was a vehicle.  That would have solved the problem.  But I hate to say this – she didn’t win.  Hard to believe.  I mean the chances of winning were about the same as me being well behaved for a week.  Or Jaws NOT chewing on something.  Slim.

My human isn’t thrilled about the negotiating that goes on when buying a vehicle.  Kind of like “trading” a treat for something we dogs have stolen.   You THINK you might get what you want,  but you never know. She doesn’t really enjoy the “pricing game.”  I suggest she take all three of us along.  Let us loose in the show room and say she won’t collect us until they give her the best price they can.  Mind you,  that may not work in her favor…

Well Jaws went to something called a “handling class” the other night.  As IF he can be handled.  It’s a practice class for dogs who hope to compete in beauty pageants, or as they say in dog show terminology – in conformation shows.  There were mostly other puppies in the class – including a handsome Old English Sheepdog boy and a cute Bearded Collie girl.  Of course he would be most interested in those two – they are most “PON-like.”  He would have loved to mess up their hair – like he does with Frodo, but that would NOT be acceptable in this venue.  My human was a bit concerned how he would react in this new activity.  He was a BIT shy with some people – kind of like Frodo and I were when we first did the beauty pageant gig.  But he’ll get over it.  He ran around the ring and didn’t pull my human over so the venture was deemed a success.  If he can figure out where his feet go, he might be able to try this thing.  

You know, it’s funny that when people show dogs  they are called handlers.  The word “handle” means to manipulate, manage or control.  As if you humans REALLY control us.  Let’s face it, if we don’t WANT to do something, we won’t BE handled. And lots of times when points are lost in the Obedience or Rally or Agility rings it is because of HANDLER errors.  Not dog errors.  

There IS an art to this handling thing.  Some people start doing it when they are kids.  They call it Junior Handling.  And some people get PAID to do it.  They are called Professional Handlers.  I think my human started this stuff when she was too old.  It’s hard to teach an old dog….well you know the rest.  But I’ll give it to her – she does TRY hard.  I think she’s better at handling us in the performance rings than she is in the pageant ring.  Probably because the first time Frodo was shown in the pageant and he was competing in the Group, he pooped in the ring.  Which is actually acceptable in the pageant ring.  Not desirable.  But acceptable.  Whereas in the performance ring, if you poop in the ring, you automatically lose. My human still has visions of that moment when all the handsome dogs were standing in the ring being judged, and Frodo responded to nature’s call.  He didn’t get any ribbons that day…

Remember, at the end of the day, it’s us dogs who REALLY control what happens in the show or performance ring.  And honestly, we do all of this show stuff just so we can hang out with you.  For US, that’s what it is all about.  We just let you think you are in control….

So.  I’m thinking that Elroy is really here to stay.  And I must confess, I AM starting to get used to him.  I mean it’s not like you can ignore him.  He’s everywhere.  And he’s getting HUGE.  He celebrated his 4 month birthday yesterday and to “mark” the occasion, he lifted his leg to pee.  Another milestone.  He has outgrown one collar, and I think this second one will soon be retired as well.  He is still totally unaware of where his feet go – I still think he is a klutz. I don’t know if that’s a Picard thing, or an Elroy thing.  And those EARS.  One day up.  One day down.  One ear up.  The other ear up.  If his head has to grow into them, he is going to have a noggin the size of a grizzly bear.

He LOVES to steal things.  Like poop bags from the one pocket of my human’s ugly dog sweat pants.  Good thing that one pocket is deep – it holds treats AND poop bags.  And when Jaws steals something, he is GONE.  Now humans are NOT supposed to chase us when we steal something.  They should try to entice us to “trade” for something better.  Like a treat.  Yeah – good luck with that.  When Jaws goes into the pilfering party mode, no treat is good enough to get back the treasure.  It’s quite amusing to watch my human circle the dining room table with Jaws gripping his bounty and darting back and forth under the table and my human waving some paltry treat.  

The nails thing is moving extremely slowly.  And they had a major setback.  My human had this “brilliant” idea that MAYBE he was ready to try clipping on the grooming table.  Wrongo.  She must have been delirious from lack of sleep.  She went to clip a nail, he pulled, and you guessed it – she clipped it and it bled.  Well.  THAT was IT for Jaws.  He wanted NO part of nail clipping ANY more.  My human took him off the table while she looked for the styptic powder. And she suddenly realized that the styptic powder jar was almost EMPTY.  So Jaws was walking around, bleeding everywhere.  My human dashed into the kitchen and grabbed a bag of flour.  She poured some into a container and went to grab Jaws who was bleeding as if she had amputated his paw.  She managed to wrestle him and stick his foot in the container with the flour.  Flour of course went EVERYWHERE – so it looked like a scene from some kind of macabre TV cooking show gone bad.  Blood and flour everywhere.  

I admire his coat – it requires minimal brushing – at least SO FAR.  And it doesn’t take long to dry when he’s been swimming.  And flour comes off it really easily.

He definitely DOES have a HUGE Paxton-ism. He LOVES to take off in the woods.  He is always attached to a long line – so he can’t go far – but if he had his way, he would, without a doubt,  make a run for it.  Perhaps when I am totally adjusted to my drugs, I will join him.  I do miss Paxton and our adventures in the woods…

I must say, he actually DOES have MOMENTS when he will fall asleep and he isn’t  sequestered in his crate.  And he is kinda cute when he’s asleep.

Well, it’s Monday and my human has Mondays OFF.   SHE thinks she is going to do things like laundry and cleaning.  But of course WE have other items on the agenda.

Have a good one!

9-11.  A date that is etched in the mind of many humans.  A date when the world became different.  Dark.  Suspicious.  Angry.  Frightened.  Sad.

In the aftermath of the tragedies, though, the resilience of the human spirit shone through.  Humans helped humans.  And canines helped humans too.  Dogs helped in the searches and later, served as comfort dogs.   The last surviving Search and Rescue dog, Bretagne, a Golden Retriever, went to the Rainbow Bridge this year at the age of 16.  You know she is with those humans she helped to find…

Today, take a moment to think of those people who lost their lives in the tragedies.  And take a moment to say a little thank you prayer for those who put their own lives at risk (human and canine) to help others.   And pray that the light of goodness, continues to outshine the darkness of evil.  Now – and for generations to come…

At the 24 hour Vet clinic

Well I am here to report some good news.  Remember the “special person” who was in the hospital?  I am finally allowed to report that it was my human’s mother.  She’s OK now – so I can tell the story.

Our favorite computer-loving, independent, octogenarian was actually visiting with US over a week ago when my human noticed something odd.  Her mother’s speech was suddenly not right.  She was having a mini stroke.  My human called the ambulance.   You know,  it was interesting because we would usually go CRAZY with strange people in our house – but we watched from another room and were unusually quiet…

I won’t go into all of the details – but suffice to say that her symptoms thankfully resolved and after much work in the hospital to find the right medications for her, she has finally gone home.  Feeling like herself again.  Fantastic news.

It is critical when someone observes the symptoms of stroke that the person go to the hospital as quickly as possible.  Think of the acronym F.A.S.T. – which stands for facial droop,  arm weakness, speech difficulties and TIME.  If you see these symptoms get help quickly.  Stroke is s serious condition.

Humans can have a stroke at any age.  And dogs can have strokes as well.  The symptoms in a dog can include difficulty walking, a head tilt, abnormal eye movements, blindness, strange behavior or falling to one side.  They don’t say anything about speech. I’m not sure why – Frodo sure does a LOT of speaking…  Usually a dog that has a stroke has an underlying health problem – like kidney disease, hypothyroidism or cardiac problems.  The treatment of stroke in dogs is similar to humans – with medication for blood pressure and/or sometimes blood thinners.

In other health news, I almost HATE to say this  for fear I will jinx myself, but I  have had no seizures this week.  And my medication has been reduced and the side effects seem to be wearing off.  My human is VERY hopeful that we have things under control. 

It is the weekend, and for SOME odd reason my human is THINKING  she is in need of a RESTFUL break.  She said she would LOVE a weekend where she doesn’t have to go to a hospital or Veterinary clinic.  

And I must say, one thing that I learned from the past 2 weeks is that if you wish for something in  life, it shouldn’t be about having the nicest dog toys.  Or the best treats.  Or having the fanciest dog bed.  You should wish for good health.  Because if you don’t have THAT, nothing else really matters. Take good care of your health.  Eat those blueberries your human gives you.  And those carrots.  Go for a good long walk.  Lie in the shade – not the sun.  Watch that you don’t eat junk.  If you’re not feeling good – see a doctor.   And savor EVERY minute you DO feel good.  

I wish every one of you a happy, HEALTHY weekend!! Oh and if your blood pressure for some reason is LOW, let us know and we’ll come over to raise it up!  Have a good one!