March 31.  And it’s National Crayola Crayon Day.  I believe I first wrote about this “holiday” back in 2015 – and I wrote about the fact that Crayola has many great color names –  many of which would make great DOG names.  For example, some of MY favorites include: Yonder (from the color Wild Blue Yonder), Steel (from Steel Teal), Lumber (which would make a great name for a Bassett Hound), Sonic (from Sonic Silver), and Twister.

Although Crayola has produced more than 200 distinct colors since they began in 1903, we dogs cannot really see all those colors.  Contrary to popular belief though, we dogs are NOT color blind.  We actually DO see colors – but not in as great a range as humans.  One source on the net says we don’t see the rainbow like humans do – instead our colors look more like dark and light blue, a brownish color, shades of grey, and dark and light yellow.  So you know how you think when you throw that bright fluorescent orange toy in the grass and you expect us to fetch it and you think that we are being stubborn and running past it and ignoring it?  Nope.  We likely don’t see it.  Thank goodness I now have an excuse.

And one other thing… while I don’t advocate EATING crayons – for those who are wondering and who have dogs with unusual appetites – like the FG, Crayola Crayons are NON-TOXIC.  So far, nobody in THIS house has pooped a rainbow.  Yet.

Have a colorful day!

Let’s talk breakfast today.  They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day for humans.  And you know, our breakfast routine is really fun.  Well, it’s actually my HUMAN’S breakfast routine.  We eat OUR breakfast – and THEN we eat hers. As we should.

My human shares her banana with us each morning.  And while Einstein and I sit and swallow our pieces, the FG has to take his under the table and chew it.  It’s a BANANA for heaven’s sake,  how much chewing can you do?  

Now the yogurt container is REALLY fun.  My human has yogurt for breakfast each day and she has to eat it while standing.  Because we are crowded around her.  When she finishes, she holds the lid in one hand and has some yogurt on a spoon in the other hand.  I get to lick the lid, while Einstein and the FG share the spoon.  And then comes the container… Because Einstein is the oldest, he gets to go first.  My human counts 1-100, 2-100, 3-100, 4-100, 5-100 and then it’s my turn, with the same countdown.  Finally it’s the FG’s turn – so he gets no count because, well, he gets the leftovers.  Now for those who think there is nothing left – I assure you there IS.  In FACT, sometimes we EACH still get one more quick lick.  

IF my human has cereal for breakfast, we might get to lick the bowl.  She’s not big on sharing toast or English muffins.  She also doesn’t share her coffee.  I’m not so sure we dogs should HAVE coffee – can you IMAGINE the FG with caffeine in him?

And back to the FG and eating – how is it that he can destroy a carpet in .067 seconds, and yet it takes him 12 minutes to eat a baby carrot?  He has essentially ruined the area carpet in the dining room.  It is BEYOND repair.  I remember when he took his first little bite.  And my human painstakingly camouflaged the tiny hole with marker – so it wouldn’t be visible.  Bwhahahahahahhaha.  NOW you should see it!  It now has a fringe along the edges.  Everywhere.  And holes that look like giant moths have taken over our house.  In fact, it’s SO bad that my human couldn’t stand looking at it.  So in her not-so-infinite wisdom, she ordered a new area carpet. Which arrived the other day.  But now she’s afraid to put it out.  Let’s face it – if you don’t watch the FG ALL THE TIME, he gets into something.  Carpet, table legs, chair rails….But give him something edible, and it takes him forever to eat it.  In the time that it takes me to eat 6 carrots, he is still on number 2.   He is just SO interesting.

Well, it’s Thursday and the forecast is FINALLY calling for something called sun.  We have had snow, freezing rain, freezing fog (yes – the forecast SAID freezing fog),  rain, and general grey skies.  Hopefully this means we will FINALLY get some longer walks.  We need it.

Anyway, have a good one! And don’t forget to have a good breakfast.

March 29.  Let’s see what’s new in the dog world…

Well, here’s an interesting story.  Do you know what  NGHWD stands for?  It’s the New Guinea Highland Wild Dog.  Never hear of them before?  Well you should know about them because they are the rarest and most ancient animal in the canine family currently living.  They are said to be the link between the earliest dogs in the world and current domestic dogs – like PONs and Picards.  In 2016, an expedition to remote mountains in New Guinea not only found evidence of the dogs – they were able to obtain photos of these rare dogs, previously thought to be extinct!  The unique dogs come in a variety of colors, have triangular shaped ears, and tails that they carry over their backs.  If you want to read a detailed account of the expedition, and learn more about these guys, here is a great article.

http://www.nghwdf.org/hwds

I love reading about things like this.  The internet and social media have made our world seem so much smaller – but clearly, there is still lots we don’t know about our earth.  And that’s why we need to take good care of it!

Meanwhile, in other news, in Calgary, Alberta Canada, a whippet by the name of Toby, just broke a Guinness World Record.  For popping balloons.   Toby reportedly burst 100 balloons in 36.25 seconds.  The previous record was 39.08 seconds.  Personally, it’s not a record I would like to beat.  Now treat eating – count me in.  My human was so annoyed with me on Sunday when she came back from the extravaganza.  Besides the moose antlers and some dehydrated beef lung, she bought us these healthy snacks from a Nova Scotian company called Murphy’s Munchies.  They are made of grass fed beef liver, organic brown rice, coconut flour, spirulina, tumeric, milk thistle, coconut oil, honey and green lipped mussel.  Not red lipped.  Green lipped.  Who knew mussels had lips?  Anyway they are these small, hard green balls about the size of a blueberry.  

So my human gave one to Einstein.  He chewed it and enjoyed it.  She gave one to the FG.  He chewed it for 35 seconds and enjoyed it.  She gave one to me.  I swallowed it. She tried again.  Same routine.  I just slurp food back.  She even TRIED to hold it in her fingers so I would  chew it.  Nope. Pull and gulp.  I wonder if there IS a world record for treat eating….

Anyway, it’s mid-week.  Have a happy Wednesday!!!!

OK.  It’s a special day.  It’s my human’s mother’s BIRTHDAY and she turns…..I guess I’m not really supposed to reveal her age.  So I won’t.  I’ll just say it’s somewhere between 87 and 89.  Somewhere in that area.  OK – she’s actually 87 going on 55.  She’s a very cool octogenarian. She uses her email every day, reads Facebook and LOVES her iPad.  She was at our house for birthday cake the other night.  So we celebrated with her.  We dogs didn’t actually GET any cake – we were too busy chewing on the moose antlers from the extravaganza.  Isn’t it funny – all the bones or antlers can LOOK the same – but there is always ONE that everyone wants.  Happens every time.

And speaking of the extravaganza that WE didn’t get to go to… while my human was there, she apparently learned about something NEW for us to try.  She had heard about this before – but never knew there was an ACTIVE group in Nova Scotia.  It’s a group that runs barn hunts.  No – that doesn’t mean you go and look for lost barns.  What you do is go and look for RATS in barns.  Seriously.  But it is ALL well controlled.  The rats are placed in protective containers – so they cannot be hurt.  And the containers are then hidden in bales of hay in a barn.  At least that’s my limited understanding of this thing.  And then, a dog goes and tries to find the rats.  And it’s not JUST for terriers – who are used to finding vermin.  Apparently ANY dog can do it.  Or at least TRY to do it.  They hold workshops and trials.  So you KNOW my human HAD to put her name on the list.  I think I could probably get the hang of it – and I’m thinking Elroy would probably enjoy it too.  But not Einstein.  I just can’t see him doing it.  He’s just not the barn type.   I think my human is figuring if she can get ONE of us interested, maybe we can help to get the moles.  She figures we can’t ruin the lawn any worse than it is already.  

Well time to go on security patrol.  Ever since my human installed Big Brother, we feel the pressure to be on patrol if she is not home.  No lounging around anymore – we have to look like we are being ever-vigilant.  Unless, of course, we can manage to move just out of camera range.

So Happy birthday to my human’s mother today – from her favorite grand-dog!  OK.  ONE of her favorite grand-dogs!  And cheers to many more!

I am just SO annoyed with my human I could trade  her in.  OK. Maybe that’s a BIT dramatic – but ALL of us were VERY unhappy with her yesterday…

It seems there was a BIG event yesterday – The Doggie Expo. It’s an annual event that is sponsored by the Greyhound Pets of Atlantic Canada – which is an organization that has helped to find homes here in the Atlantic provinces for more than 4,100 retired racing greyhounds over the years.   They are a great organization and for 13 years have been holding the Doggie Expo as a way to raise funds for their organization and to raise awareness about what they do.  The Expo has grown and grown over the  years and yesterday there were more than 110 exhibitors who included dog clubs, rescue groups, veterinary clinics, and vendors such as groomers, trainers, photographers and folks selling every type of food, toy, treat and apparel imaginable.   And get this – ANY DOG CAN GO TO THE EXPO.   But did any dog from OUR house go?  No.   And WHY did none of us get to go to the closest thing to Doggie Disney World in our neck of the woods?!  Well, here’s the deal.  The event is popular.   VERY popular.  And it gets crowded.  VERY crowded.  VERY VERY crowded.  And while most dog owners are awesome and conscientious about their dogs, let’s just say that not everyone is.  There are some humans out there who are not always ….hmmmmm….the most astute about making decisions.  Other humans might say “that person is not the sharpest knife in the drawer.”  We dogs would say “he’s not the bounciest ball in the toy box.”  Or “his bowl of kibble is only half full.”  You get my drift.  So those folks don’t always pay attention to their dogs.  And it can make for a very stressful event when dogs are crammed SO close together – and some humans are not paying attention.   One example is not even noticing that Fee Fee is pooping as she is walking and they keep on going – leaving doggie poo for someone else to pick up.  Or step in.  And not every human reads the signals we dogs are giving off if we are stressed or worried.  Which can make for some tense moments.

So even though all of us are quite used to going to dog shows, and matches, and training classes, my human thought that maybe we should stay home. While she went.  At least that’s her excuse.

Allow me to share some photos from the show we didn’t attend.  
This is an overview of part of the arena.  

And here are some lucky Goldens sampling treats. 

OK.  These are called Snuffle Mats.  Apparently you put treats or kibble in between the fabric, so the dog has to sniff it out.  I’m thinking that would not work in THIS household.  We would either RIP the thing to shreds or, better yet, pick it up and shake out the treats.  No wonder my human didn’t buy one.

This was the booth of a great organization that helps senior humans if they cannot care for their dogs. And they also help in the care of senior canines.   What a wonderful idea!!!

Here is one of MANY treat booths.  I’m drooling just looking at it.

And here is none other than Auntie Glenda and Brick – who were there with the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Canada booth.   Brick was a great ambassador. 

The ONLY reason we have forgiven my human for going without us, is that she returned with a variety of treats.  AND some moose antlers.   Who can stay mad at a woman with moose antlers in her hand?!

Next year, I suggest that she get a P2 booth.  That’s what we will call it.  A booth to tell people all about PONs and Picards!  And THEN we can go.  And sit on the grooming table like we have all done at dog shows at Meet the Breed.   Perfect.  That’s one way for me to get in that thing.   Maybe next year….I’ll start making the display….

Anyway- congrats to the Greyhound people for putting on such a successful event!  Have a happy Monday.

Today is Sunday March 26 – and it’s the last Sunday in March.  And, according to the crazy calendar, is it Neighbor Day.  Although we can’t see any of our neighbors’ homes from our house – they are not THAT far away.  And we are very lucky that we have nice neighbors.  The neighbors on our road get together for social events – although I SHOULD point out that we dogs aren’t generally invited.  I’m thinking that even if we WERE – my human wouldn’t take us.  I mean people don’t want to have to guard the cheese tray all night.  And mind you, my human DOES enjoy an evening off from us every now and then. When we let her.  Like once every 6 months.

We have some NEW neighbors who moved in around Christmas time and they have a Labrador Retriever named Hudson.  My human has met them – but we canines have not yet had the pleasure.  Well at least TWO of us haven’t.  You see, the other day we were all hanging out in the backyard and preparing to take a walk to the lake.  When suddenly, Frodo put his nose to the ground, and he was G-O-N-E.  He vanished.  My human figured he would emerge from the woods – but he didn’t.  And for a CHANGE, I didn’t go.  The FG was on a leash so he couldn’t join the escape.  The whole thing was odd, because as we know, Einstein is the GOOD dog and he generally does NOT take off around our property.  My human called.  And waited.  And called.  And waited.  She put me and the FG in the house and took one of the trails, that are on our property, down to the lake.  No sign of him – she was looking for footprints in the snow.  She went back to the house hoping he had returned.  Nope.  She was starting to worry a BIT as about 10 minutes had passed.  She took a different trail on our property down to the lake.  No sign of him.  She walked up to the road.  No sign of him. She walked back to the house.  No sign of him.  All the time she was calling him. And then she heard barking.  Einstein barking.  AND another dog barking. And it was coming from the direction of the new neighbors’ house.  So my human cut through another neighbors’ property and came through the back of the new neighbors’ yard.  And the new neighbor came out on his deck.  My human asked if he had seen a shaggy dog and indeed he had – it seems Einstein went right up on their deck and was barking at Hudson through the glass door.  My human didn’t dare ask if he peed on anything – she was already embarrassed enough.  But no doubt he christened their deck.  It’s an Einstein thing to do.  She apologized that he had been there but the neighbor said it was no problem and he pointed my human in the direction of the wayward hound.  Long story short, she still ended up searching for him for about 10 minutes, but he actually eventually beat her back to the house.  When she saw him he just shrugged his shoulders, even though he could see the steam coming out of her ears.  He waltzed into the house when she opened the door.

So now I think that the FG and I will have to go up and say hello too.  The first chance we get.  It’s the neighborly thing to do.  But my human warned us we are NOT allowed to go on the neighbors’ property – unless we are invited AND she is with us.  Because she knows that if Einstein didn’t christen their deck, rest assured, you know I would be happy to do it.  My human says that dogs were probably the underlying inspiration for the quote “good fences make good neighbors.”  Well – certainly in our case…

Anyway, I hope you have a fabulously, neighborly day! 

Today is March 25 – and it’s the day the world celebrates Earth Hour.  The event, which began 10 years ago is to highlight the fact that we ALL need to be more aware about the condition of the earth – and how we ALL need to take care of the earth.  So to symbolize a commitment to our mother ship, we are asked to turn out non-essential lights for one hour from 8:30-9:30PM.  This event which began in Sydney, Australia has grown to thousands of cities worldwide.  By reducing energy consumption by even one hour,  tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions are said to be cut. While the purpose of the event is not primarily to reduce consumption, but to raise awareness, it’s cool if the reduction does happen.

Of course, with EVERYTHING, there are critics who argue that climate change does not exist.  I’m not going there.  I’m a dog – so I’m not getting into THAT argument.  But for me –  awareness about being kind to our earth IS a good thing.  I’m not planning a trip to live on the moon any time soon.  No trees to pee on there.  Ditto for Mars.  Anyway, take a minute to be kind to our planet today – whether you symbolically turn out your lights, you recycle that plastic bag, or you walk to the store instead of taking your car.  And here’s a cool video I found of some dogs supporting the lights out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjNKdUPSnG8

Have a good one!

March 24. And according to the crazy calendar, it is International Day for Achievers.  Which coincides with something that arrived in the mail this week.  A certificate.  For an achievement.   It seems Frodo received something called the Subaru Top Show Dog award because he placed 3rd in Canada in 2016 for Polish Lowland Sheepdogs in conformation.  Go figure. I have to confess, I don’t think there are many people in Canada SHOWING Polish Lowland Sheepdogs in the beauty pageants. Not that I’m trying to downgrade his achievement…well – maybe I AM. Mind you, he did compete and he did get the certificate – so I shouldn’t poo poo it or take away his thunder.  I thought the award INCLUDED a Subaru.  But apparently you have to accomplish more than a ranking of 3rd place Polish Lowland Sheepdog to win the BIG prize.  And even THEN, I don’t think that even the TOP DOG all breeds wins a car.  Heck, there’s not even a cash prize for winning Westminster.  The winner gets a polished pewter bowl.  For Crufts, the largest dog show in the world, you win a “replica” of the solid silver trophy and £100.  Big deal.  From MY point of view 100lbs of dog food would be better.

Anyway, all this dog competition stuff isn’t REALLY about the PRIZE.  It’s about the time we get to spend with you.  So congrats to Mr. Show Dog for his achievement.  Still – a Subaru would have been nice….

Happy Friday!!!!

March 23.  According to the crazy calendar it is National Puppy Day.  Oh yeah – and it’s ALSO Cuddly Kitten Day.  You think we could have two SEPARATE days – but no, we have to share the day.

So I started looking into the differences between puppies and kittens and found a site that explained why puppies are better.  Of course.  But as I went through their rationale as to all the “better” things about puppies, I actually started to realize maybe we were not REALLY better after all.  Just different.  Here are some examples:

1.  Kittens use litter boxes, which can become stinky and a nuisance to clean out.  But I started thinking that in the middle of a blizzard, lots of humans would LOVE it if they didn’t have to take their puppy outside.  And let’s face it, housebreaking IS a chore.  But once we understand the concept, we’re good to go.  Literally.  BUT – litter box or not, humans STILL have to clean up even with puppies.  Poop is just part of the both jobs.  No getting around that one.

2.  Kittens can claw at furniture.  True.  Puppies don’t claw furniture.  But do you want to see the teeth marks on the chairs in the dining room from Jaws?  Oh – and the carpet…

3.  Puppies Don’t Produce Nasty Hairballs.  True.  However, IF we get into something unsavory, , we TOO can get the urky gurkies and leave a lovely deposit – usually ON the carpet.  In the middle of the night.  But not to worry.  We clean up.  I’m not sure kittens don’t do the same.

4. Puppies love adventures and generally LOVE going for car rides -especially when we put two and two together and figure out we are going somewhere FUN!  As a rule, kittens may not LOVE car travel.  And some may NOT stop making noise while they travel.  It can be a challenging ride.  MIND you – if we puppies, as we get older, figure out we are going to the VET – we may not be happy either!

5.  Puppies love belly rubs.  And with kittens, rolling on their belly MAY mean they are just waiting to attack you.  Really.  That’s what I’ve heard.  Mind you, some of us puppies NEVER want you to stop rubbing our bellies – so we also will attack when the petting ends…

6.  Puppies can be in training to become service animals.  The puppies have this advantage for sure.  You’ll never likely see a seeing eye cat.  Or a military working cat.  Cats are a bit more “independent”.  Mind you, not ALL puppies pass the training program.  I’m thinking the dogs in this household, smart as we are, would not make good service dogs or therapy dogs.  My human jokes that she NEEDS therapy because of us.  

So while I’m clearly a puppy fan, I must confess that there are good things about kittens too!  So we’ll share our celebration today.  Now. Can we get one?

Have a purrr-fectly great day!

So how many of you know the name Mitch Seavey? He’s a pretty famous guy.  You see, Mitch just won the Iditarod – the famous 1000 mile Alaskan sled dog race which has been run officially since 1973.  There were certainly races before then – but the Iditarod race from Anchorage to Nome began in 1973.  As I understand it, there are actually two main routes, which sometimes change because of the weather and ice conditions and they even change in even and odd years.  This year, Mitch was not only the oldest guy (at 57) to win the race, but he and his dogs finished in record time – around 8 hours faster than anyone before.  He has actually won the race three times before – and get this – his son came in second place, who is, himself, a four time champion,  and his father also raced in five Iditarods.  Clearly it’s a mushing family.  The total race time for Mitch was 8 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes.  His dogs usually went at a pace of 10 to 11 miles per hour.  I didn’t know this, but mushers carry their dogs on the sled in rotations – to give them a break.  My human watched him as he was being interviewed after the race and she couldn’t help but note the emotion in his voice when he talked about his dogs.  The dogs must be well cared for and they are checked by veterinarians – because honestly, tragedy can and unfortunately, does occur.   But with careful planning and an ever-vigilant musher, dogs finish the race tired and healthy – they are well conditioned athletes.  They are doing what they were bred to do.  The two lead dogs in Mitch’s team were Pilot and Crisp.  I like the names. In fact, I may start calling myself Crisp.  It’s catchy.  Actually, the word crisp is synonymous with potato chips.  And dogs are like potato chips – you know you can’t have just one!

So cheers to Mitch and Pilot and Crisp.   Have a crispy day!