So what are Rajapalayams, Kombais and Chippiparais?  Nope.  Not some kind of East Indian spice.  They are actually dogs – native to India.  And while India does, in some areas, have a horrid practice of eating dogs (I cannot believe I am even typing this!),  they apparently do have many people who LOVE dogs and and they even have championship dog shows.  There was one last weekend featuring 209 dogs from 40 different breeds – and a large number of the competing breeds were native breeds like those  I just listed.  The Rajapalayam is a white colored sight hound – initially bred for hunting boar.  They are apparently VERY good guard dogs. They were almost extinct – but efforts by the Kennel Club in India have worked to save the breed.  The Kombai is also another boar hound.  They are supposed to be intelligent and very loyal pets – but they are also guard dogs.  They say that in demanding circumstances they will fight to the death.  Yikes.  And the  Chippiparai is another sighthound believed to have come from Salukis.  They say they look a bit like the Sloughi. They are also rare, but efforts, again, are being made to save them.

And speaking of dog shows, the big show in New York city is soon coming up – the Westminster Kennel Club show – February 13 and 14.  While people in the US can watch the show on TV, it can be tricky to get the show here in Canada.  Last year my human had to add a channel to our cable subscription to see it.  And this year, she had to add a different channel.  It is being shown on a Car Racing channel.  Seriously.  She was a bit suspect that it was the correct channel – but apparently it is.  We will all be watching for the PONs and the Picards.  And any other dogs friends who may be at the show.  We can hardly wait – I hope she makes popcorn. And you KNOW after it is over, we will all have to practice “dog show standing” together.  We do it to humor her.  And of course, for the treats.

Have a good one!

To begin with today, Frodo would like to thank everyone who sent him birthday wishes.  My human said he got even more wishes than SHE did when it was her birthday. Hey – he’s a popular guy.   And he got LOTS of extra goodies yesterday!

And the FG had quite the day yesterday, too – he got to go to his first ever conformation fun match.  For those not familiar withe  the show dog world – a match is basically like a real dog show – but it’s for practice.  And no points are awarded toward a championship.  But it gives humans an opportunity to practice with their dogs – before a REAL show. 

The match was about an hour from our house, and Elroy knew something was up when my human started fluffing and puffing him on the grooming table in the garage – first thing in the morning.  He was good in the car – quiet and well behaved in his crate.  He was saving his energy for the show.  And boy did he have energy when he arrived.  He’s never been in a venue with so many dogs, people, crates, grooming tables and noise.  Of course he peed 54 times before they even got IN the door.  And once in, his head exploded.  He wanted to meet every dog and human in the place.  Several times my human had visions of broken fingers as she was holding on to him with all her might.  She put him in his crate and of course, he HAD to do the Picard “squeak” – which he excels at.  In general, most the dogs there were quiet.  Except for Squeaky. 

Dogs are shown in groups – and there are 7 groups.  And the Herding group of which he, Frodo and I are members, is Group 7.  The LAST group to be judged yesterday – as they went in order.  My human actually had him out of his crate for a good amount of time and on the grooming table.  He thought he was pretty special – and was happy to greet anyone who came over to ask what breed he was.  My human joked the old “half coyote, half wolfhound” explanation.  A couple of people knew what he was – but they had never met a Picard before.  A couple of people asked if he needed lots of grooming – like a terrier – because his coat is quite coarse.  My human joked that his grooming was like this – and she quickly blew on him once and said “there – he’s ready.”  It’s not EXACTLY that simple –  you do brush him – but let’s just say when you compare him to a PON,  he’s pretty easy to groom. 

When it was his turn to be judged, he was actually fairly well behaved.  He didn’t drag my human on her knees and only jumped on her shoulders once.

As for results – let’s just say he won the “congeniality” award.  OK, there IS no congeniality award, but if there had been – he would have won. The BIG winner was his buddy, Conner, the Old English Sheepdog.  Not ONLY did he win the group – he won Best In Match!!!  Talk about grooming – now THAT’S grooming.  Plus someone joked that Conner’s human doesn’t have OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), he has OGD – Obsessive grooming disorder.   And it apparently happens quite frequently at home, according to his wife – especially when it is time to do household chores.  Well, one thing for sure, all that grooming is paying off – and Conner is one handsome dude.  Wouldn’t I just LOVE to chew on his ears a bit…I could definitely help with his grooming…

It’s a big day today – it’s Einstein’s birthday. Yup – my big brother, Frodo turns lucky number 7 today.  Time sure flies.

I’m not a big fan of astrology, but I decided to check out his horoscope.  He’s an Aquarius – which is ironic given his aversion to water.  I found a variety of sites that described dog personalities – based on their zodiac sign.  This one was interesting:
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/your-dog-is-in-the-stars-pet-personalities-and-astrology/

It is interesting as it says he is intelligent – and that is certainly a word I have used to describe Frodo.  Heck, I call him Einstein!  And the part about him wanting to do what he wants to do – well that DEFINITELY is Frodo. And he IS lovable.  When he WANTS to be.  He’s been a great buddy to Elroy and to all the dogs in this household – but he also enjoys his own space. Awkward as that space may be.

Despite his bad habit of incessant barking when he wants something, and his annoying PON-dini behavior – where he can escape from ANYWHERE, my human still thinks that he has been one of THE easiest dogs she has been owned by.  He’s the reason she decided to get me – a second PON because she thought I would be a clone.  Big mistake there.  But then, variety IS the spice of life, right?

So Happy Birthday to my big brother.  And please don’t forget to share your treats today!

So yesterday morning, before my human headed off to work, she decided to pay some bills on-line.  Yet another reason I am happy I am not a human.  Bills.

Anyway, she was rushing to do it and she gasped when she looked at her credit card bill.  Someone had charged over $1000 in purchases to her card – and it wasn’t her.  She didn’t recognize the names of the places where the charges were made – but they were not made in Nova Scotia.  She quickly called the credit card company to report the problem – and we were all instructed to be VERY quiet while she made the call.  Good luck with that.  Timex 1 and Timex 2 were barking, growling and rolling on the floor.  And I was sitting and staring at her – waiting for the alarm to go off which signals that it is time to get my pill.  I know when my pill will be coming – so I wait for it.  Some might think that my sense of timing amazing.  It’s easy to explain.  I just look at the clock.

Anyway, after several minutes on the phone with the credit card company, she was assured that she would not be liable for the charges.    And all was again right with the world.  Although my human wonders how someone would get her number and make those purchases.  She’s very puzzled.

So the big question.  How am I going to explain when $1000 worth of dog toys start arriving in the mail…

Have a good one.

So there was this thing circulating on Facebook.  Where humans were supposed to list a breed of dog that they would like to be owned by – in every breed group.  But they couldn’t list the breed that currently owns them.

So I decided to pick the breeds I would have – and interestingly, my choices were IDENTICAL to my human’s.

So here we go:
Sporting: Italian Spinone
Hound: Irish Wolfhound
Working: Lagotto Romagnolo
Terrier: Glen of Imaal
Toy: Havanese
Non-Sporting: French Bulldog
Herding: Briard

So we have a couple of candidates from Italy,  Ireland, France and one from Cuba.  Maybe I should be branching out more…

Humans are so funny.  They THINK they select us – but of course WE know it is the other way around.  

And if I had to pick another human (other than the one I own) who would I pick?  A movie star?  Nope – although the lifestyle MIGHT be nice, who wants to put up with even MORE pup-arazzi than I already have?  Veterinarian?  Nope.  Would be handy – but I wouldn’t want MY human hanging out with OTHER dogs all day.  Groomer?  NO WAY.  No offense, but who wants to be the guinea pig for new products or instruments of torture?  The current US President?  Agggghhhhhhhh.  No.   Queen of England?  Nah.  Too many corgis.  Who would I pick.  It’s really pretty easy.  A butcher.  Seriously.  That’s an EASY choice.  What dog WOULDN’T want to live with a butcher?

Tomorrow I’ll pick the breed of cat that I want.  On second thought, maybe I had better stick to fish.  Can you IMAGINE a cat in THIS house?!  Oh the blogs I would write….

Have a good one!  It’s FRIDAY!

Ah-ha.  So for a CHANGE, I am not the one in trouble.  This time Squeaky and Einstein have worked together – and they both caused problems for one another.

You see, Squeaky and Einstein LOVE to chew on each other and lick one another‘s ears.  And Frodo  recently ended up with a “shake-the-head” problem – because one of his ears was pink.  He had the problem a week ago and my human had to clean his ear and put in some drops.  He was fine the next day- because she caught the problem early.  Well Tuesday morning my human had us up EXTRA early because she needed to be in the office at 7:30.  Which means that in order for us to get our walks and breakfast and in order for HER to eat breakfast, the alarm goes off at 4:45. And on those days, everything has to go like clockwork.  But the clock stopped when Squeaky came out of his crate and she took one look at him.  His ear was going sideways.  “OH NO” she exclaimed.  This literally happened over night – his ear was all red.  Must have been all the licking by Einstein the day before.  So she whisked him into the garage aka grooming torture parlor aka minor surgical ward and examined his sore ear.  She carefully cleaned it – and thankfully still had ears drops left to make it feel better.  Of course as SOON as he was back in the house, Einstein wanted to examine the ear too.  And make it feel “better”.  At which point my human shouted “Leave his ears ALONE.”  She had to keep the two of them separated when she went to take her shower, and as always, they were separated when she went to work.

When she got home from work, his ear looked MUCH better.  She cleaned it again and put in more drops.  But TRYING to keep the ear lickers apart is no easy task. They are obsessed with doing it.  My human is threatening them with cones.  You know the line – “it’s all fun and games until somebody ends up in a cone.”    To keep them occupied, we had several rounds of Find the Bunny the other night.  My human uses a “bunny” which now looks NOTHING like a bunny.  She basically picks any stuffed–type toy and calls it a bunny.  It’s an alternative truth.   No wonder when we first go to look for it we have no idea what we are looking for.  But despite that – we all did well with the game, and it kept the licking down.  For at least an hour.

So anyway, I have two new nicknames for Squeaky and Einstein:  Timex 1 and Timex 2.  

Sorry but I couldn’t resist.

Have a good one! 

Several months ago I shared a movie trailer for a film that is soon to be released, called A Dog’s Purpose.  The trailer alone made my human cry.  But this week, a video surfaced which showed a dog in the film supposedly being forced to go into the water – and he was reportedly terrified.  I say supposedly and reportedly because my human could not bring herself to watch it.  She has a hard time watching videos of animal abuse – and honestly, just won’t do it any more.  Of course, since then, there has been a boycott on the film – and subsequent versions of the scene have apparently been shown.  Now I don’t know if the dog was abused or not.  It certainly IS possible that the dog was forced to do something he did not want to do.  And that would be awful.  But honestly, forcing a dog to do something happens in my house, too.  If given the option, I would NOT choose to be groomed.  But I do it – and I get copious amounts of treats during the process – so while I am being “forced” to do something I don’t WANT to do, it would hardly be considered abuse.  At least not in my mind.  But please keep in mind that I didn’t SEE the video – so it may have actually been abuse. And THAT we don’t condone. AT ALL.

But the other thing to keep in mind is that the movie was filmed 15 months ago.  With animal control officials reportedly watching.  The video that was just released was a short, edited version of the scene.  Note I said edited.  What happened before or after is hard to know.  But then again, IF it was abuse, it was abuse.  It’s interesting, though, that this video was released JUST before the film was to come out – perhaps to get the MOST attention.

Which brings me to the BIG thing to keep in mind.   That is who released this abusive segment of film.  None other than PETA.  Yup.  The organization who on the surface looks like it genuinely CARES about animals.  HOWEVER – IF you own a pet – of any sort, PETA is NOT, I repeat, PETA is NOT your friend.  PETA does NOT believe animals should be used in medical experiments, for food, for clothing OR AS PETS.   While some of their campaigns (like Save the Whales) might be a good thing – IF YOU OWN A PET, PETA IS NOT ON YOUR SIDE.  PETA advocates that you adopt a dog from a shelter – and you should spay and neuter.  Which is all fine – and there is NOTHING wrong with adopting a shelter dog.  NOTHING.  But read further – and THINK further.  PETA portrays dog breeders as evil people.  PETA says we have “enough” dogs in shelters and there is no need to breed.  So let’s take PETA’s stance.  No more breeding.  Adopt.  Spay and neuter.  No more puppies.  No more puppies.  No more dogs.  Ever hear the word “extinction?”  THAT’S what PETA wants!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  PETA does NOT want dogs as pets.  Purebred or otherwise.  PETA does not want ANY pets.     READ THE WEBSITE.  I think it’s ironic that an organization that supposedly protects animals is so dead set on seeing the extinction of dogs.  But then, they don’t believe in domesticated animals at all.  PETA says that humans are “selfish” to own pets.  And here is a direct quote from their website about pets: “They are restricted to human homes, where they must obey commands and can only eat, drink, and even urinate when humans allow them to.”  Yup.  As you know – life is VERY tough for the pets in THIS household… 

Because some of their work for wild animals may be good, people tend to overlook their REAL agenda with pets.  If you agree that 200 years from now there should no longer BE Polish Lowland Sheepdogs, or Labrador Retrievers, or Berger Picards,  or Poodles or ANY purebred dogs – go ahead and support PETA.  And don’t kid yourself – their campaign IS working.  There is a HUGE number of people who have been swayed to thinking that shelter dogs (spayed and neutered shelter dogs) are THE thing to own, and in some circles, it’s considered uncool to own a purebred.   And let me repeat –  there is NOTHING wrong with adopting from a shelter.  What the shelter dog supporters who support PETA don’t realize, is that in PETA’s plan – someday THOSE dogs will be gone too – along with the purebred dogs.

Now I am NOT saying purebred dogs are without problems – that’s a rant for another blog (!).   BUT if you love your dog – purebred or not purebred and if you believe in the unconditional bond, love and support in owning a pet – ANY kind of pet – watch who you support. 

Phew.  That’s my rant for today.  Who KNEW I could be so fired up about a political topic.  See – I SHOULD have run for President….

OK.  We made my human scream yesterday.  I mean really scream.  Not at us.  Well – maybe partly at us – but more like a scream at the universe – with her head back shouting at the heavens.

Yesterday was her day off.  Which means it’s a day she doesn’t go into the office and doesn’t get paid for that day – but she does all the work she doesn’t have time to do at the office Tuesday through Friday.  Go figure.  Humans.

Anyway, we were sure to get her up nice and early.  I told you that I think sleeping is overrated. She took us out in the dark and promised long walks in the light of day.  We had our breakfast and she was eating hers when she noticed Frodo standing and listening in the middle of the room.  She didn’t pay much attention – the radio was on and she figured he just heard the wind outside.  And then SHE heard the sound too.  A high pitched beeping sound.  Hmmmm.  She walked to the other room and heard where it was coming from.  The laundry room.  She opened the door and found water on the floor.  And the washing machine beeping madly with lights flashing.  She had thrown a load of dog towels in the wash when she got up – and clearly there was a problem.  She shut the machine off and quickly Googled the manual for the washer.   And she searched through the error codes that were listed in the manual.  This problem – do this.  That problem- do that. Our problem – call for help.  Drat.  But not one to give up so easily, she attempted some of the OTHER solutions.  Just in case.  The first “solution” ended up with MORE water flowing out onto the floor – but she actually thought this was promising.  She threw some more towels on the floor to sop up the mess and came into the kitchen to wash off some filter thing. And she just happened to glance at the dining room carpet.  Probably 8 feet of the border edge had been ripped out from under the carpet – compliments of Elroy.  He works fast.  As she went to tuck it back under the carpet, she turned around just in time to see me balancing on two legs, trying to eat a cookie she had left on a plate.

And it was at that very moment that a banshee scream from the depths of her soul erupted and was probably heard for a  5 km radius.  We just stared at her.  She is SO dramatic sometimes.  We just looked at her and then went about doing our things – I went back to chewing a bone,  Frodo rolled over and got in a more comfortable sleeping position under a chair, and Elroy moved onto the dog bed for a nap.

The bad news, her attempt at appliance repair did not work.  But the good news – the repairman was able to come yesterday!  Now THAT was a miracle.  I think someone upstairs heard my human’s scream and figured she needed a bit of relief.  When he arrived, she put the three of us on the deck – to keep us from getting INTO the washing machine with the guy. We promptly took turns peeing on the BBQ on the deck.

The good news also was that the machine could be fixed.  It seems SOMEONE put perhaps a bit too much soap in the machine – causing the machine to protest and overflow.  I’m not pointing paws, but let’s face it – she couldn’t blame US for this one.  So $100 and several soapy wet towels later, all was right with the world.  As the repairman was writing up the bill, he told my human she could let us in – as we stood on the deck staring in through the glass.  He had a dog – so he was used to dogs.  My human cautioned him that we are a bit “wild.”  He said “no problem – let them in.” She warned him to brace himself as she opened the flood gates.  Two barking PONs raced in followed by a leaping, exuberant Picard who practically took the guy out.  He grabbed a stool to sit on so he would have better leverage.  She had warned him.

As he was getting ready to leave, Elroy grabbed the ONE dry towel that had not been used to soak up the mess – and silently took off with it under the dining room table.  Of course he did.

So that was the better part of my human’s day “off.”  Minus several good walks with us  – which she clearly needed.  The freezing fresh air was good for her.

So that was our day.  Seriously – I couldn’t make this stuff up.  Hope yours was equally exciting!!!!

I think I might be Santa Claus.  Yes – you read that correctly.  I think I AM the guy.  Or at least I have some of Santa’s power.  You know those lines in the song “Santa Claus is Coming to Town?” – They go like this: He sees you when you’re sleeping, He knows when you’re awake...

So it was the weekend.  And in THEORY, humans SHOULD be allowed to sleep in a bit on the weekends.  Unless they live with Santa Claus. Or dogs.  

You see, last week we had some disappointment in our house – I had two seizures.  Things had been going SO well – I hadn’t had ANY since late October.  But for some reason, I had two last week.  They were short – less than a minute – and I rebounded quickly.  But they are distressing just the same.  And because they occur in the middle of the night, after one happens, my human doesn’t sleep well for the next few nights.  If I move off the bed, or stretch out, or make ANY kind of sound, she wakes up.  And when she wakes up, I wake up.  Because I think it’s time to start the day.  Even if it’s 4AM.  So my human will lie in bed and pretend to be asleep.  But just like Santa – I KNOW when she’s awake.  And I stare at her.  And if she begins to move her legs – like she is going to get up – I’m jumping all over her.  She’s pretty sneaky – she moves her head ever so slightly to see what time it is. And she even pretends to breathe heavily, like she’s sleeping.  She thinks she fools me.  But she doesn’t – I have Santa powers.  Actually, I think all dogs have Santa powers.  And really it goes beyond the sleeping thing.  Think about it.  We bring joy and happiness.  We’re jolly.  Generally.  And we leave “presents”.  OK the presents thing is a bit of a stretch.  But the rest applies.

So needless to say, we had some early mornings this weekend.  Which is fine by me – Carpe Diem!  Sleeping is overrated in my mind.  

Anyway – to all canines out there – don’t forget to keep practicing your Santa powers.  It’s an important skill. Now excuse me while I go and round up my reindeer…

So we all know that Frodo does not like to be “contained”.  Sequester him – and he WILL find a way out…

The other night my human had a friend over for dinner.  And while her friend was anxious to see us, my human suggested that we all meet AFTER dinner – as our table manners (i.e; begging, staring, stealing napkins) leave a bit to be desired.  So all of us were sequestered in the run in the garage.  In order to contain us (actually, in order to contain FROD0), my human had latched the door, put several bungee cords on it, placed a folded wire dog crate in front of the door and further barricaded it with two HUGE Rubbermaid bins.  Part way through dinner, my human heard Elroy squeaking.  So she went to see why.  Why was he squeaking?  He was missing Frodo and I who had managed to escape.  I basically followed Einstein, and was busily chewing the pocket of my human’s dog walking coat when she came in because, of course, the pockets always contain treats.  Frodo was wildly leaping up and down, trying to get into the dog food storage bin – which is luckily placed high up – out of reach. Interestingly, the barricade didn’t look like it had even been moved.  We’re kind of like mice, we can fit through even the SMALLEST opening.  But not Elroy.  My human called to her friend to show the escape artistry.  At which point I dashed into the dining room and was JUST about to take a mouthful of lemon tart dessert when my human ran back in.  I was too slow.  We were all THEN sequestered in the entry hall – where we could watch the ending of the meal through the french door.

Saturday morning we made sure to wake my human up at 5:30 so she could make the most of her day.  On Friday, she had PROMISED us that we would all go for a run on Saturday morning.  The only problem?  At 5:30 it is still dark.  So we went out for a quick walk and had to wait for daylight to go on our run.   Elroy got to go first.  And for SOME odd reason – and my human is not even sure why –  she put one of our 65 baby gates in front of the door leading to the entry hall.  So we could not get in the hallway.  She took Elroy for a run on the golf course, during which he was definitely answering his Call of the Wild.  My human came home exhausted after an hour of walking, hiding on him, throwing the fetch toy, trying to catch him, keeping him from eating inedible objects, keeping him from leaping on her when she put the leash on him, keeping him off the ice on the ponds (not to worry – they are ALL shallow)…a great time was had by all. 

And what did my human find when she trudged through the door and into the hallway?  Me.  And Frodo.  There we were.  This time, did Frodo knock down the gate?  Did he move it to slide through?  Did he go over it?  Nope.  He annihilated it.  He ripped one of the plastic panels out and it was in pieces on the floor.  And you KNOW what my human said…