Well it began yesterday and continues right through until Sunday.  To dog lovers, it is what my human calls  Doggie Disney World.  It’s Crufts – the World’s Largest Dog show and as you may recall, my human went last year.

It was the FOURTH time she visited the annual extravaganza held in Birmingham, England.  Crufts has it all – agility, obedience, Discover Dogs (booths where you can meet and learn about EVERY breed), the beauty pageant, flyball, heeling to music and LOTS and LOTS of shopping.  I mean LOTS of shopping.  You can find every type of grooming torture tool imaginable, attire (human and canine), toys and treats.  My human bought our realistic stuffed bunny last year – the one who has unfortunately undergone dissection.  We have not been able to find another.  I guess we’ll have to let her go back again some day just to find us one.

This year, over 24,000 dogs are entered in the Beauty Pageant.  Each day, several groups are judged.  We’re waiting excitedly for Sunday – when the Pastoral Group breeds are judged.  In North America, we call it the Herding group.  I like Pastoral.  Makes us sound kind of holy.  More like holy terrors.  We will be watching the 58 Polish Lowland Sheepdogs entered – some of whom we “know!”  Now I didn’t realize that 2016 was the first year the Picards appeared at Crufts – and so I can’t tell the number entered – as far as I can tell they fall into something called the Imported Breed Register – I guess because they are still a rare breed? There are 34 dogs listed in that group – but I don’t know how many are Picards.  We’ll just have to watch and you can too – the show will be streaming live!!!!  Check it out! 
http://crufts.org.uk/

I looked back at my blog stories about Crufts from last year, and I think for those going, the following bears repeating:
… they could have a reality TV show – Survivor Crufts – with points awarded for participation in the various activities – or challenges.  You have to make it through 5 exhibition halls WITHOUT buying anything at the one million vendors, you have to sit through at LEAST one breed judging that has more than 50 dogs – with extra points if you sit through ALL the Labradors, you must attend obedience trials for at least 20 dogs and you must stay until the whole program is done at the end of the night. Oh and you have to talk to people at 5 different Discover Dogs booths. And that’s just for one day. 

But as always, a good thing like Crufts has to be marked with challenges.  Leave it to humans.  The big scandal at Crufts this year?  Bows.  Yes you read that correctly.  Hair bows.  Apparently in some places, Shih Tzus are shown with fancy bows in their hair.  But in the UK, they are not shown with bows. So the judge said elastic or rubber bands will be the only thing allowed.  So a controversy has erupted – with complaints from overseas exhibitors.  My comment?  COME ON visitors.  Get with the program.  When in Rome, follow the Roman rules! Seriously -you think your dog won’t look good without a bow?  REALLY?!  Are you afraid your dog will fall apart because he/she is not decorated like a Christmas gift?  Just scrap the bow.  Fluffy will get over it.  I doubt he/she will suffer from PTMBD. Post traumatic missing bow disorder.  Uh-oh – I can see the ShihTzu hate mail rolling in…there goes that readership…

Anyway, we wish all of our PON and Picard buddies THE best of luck!  Without any bows.  Have fun, behave, and don’t poop in the beauty pageant ring!  We’ll be watching!!!  And wishing we were there!!!!

Well it was back to the vet last night for some blood work.  Looks like my au naturel approach to diet to combat these seizures (along with my medication) isn’t exactly working just yet.  I hate to share this, as I hate to be downer dog, but I had two more seizures – on Monday and Tuesday.  Same description, short – around a minute.  In the middle of the night.  And isn’t that the WORST time to be sick?  Everything seems gloomier when you are sick in the dark of night.   Otherwise- during the light of day, I’m happy, have a great appetite, my weight is the same, and I have TONS of energy.  So we need to figure out what to do next.  As my human understands from her on-line veterinary degree, this can take time to work out.  She was also in communication via email with a very helpful vet who has loads of experience with dogs and epilepsy – and diet. Apparently seizures can actually increase during the winter months – and when I think back, they really ramped up again starting in January.  So they are going to look at my blood work and compare it to my results when this started back in August.  The good news is that with Big Brother my human can check on me when she is at work – and thankfully I haven’t had any when she wasn’t home.  

In other not-so-great news we have another problem here.  The moles have continued to make our lawn look like a construction site.  I mean a SERIOUS construction site – like they are going to build a highway.  Actually, they DO have a highway – it’s a series of tunnels.  ALL over the lawn.  In the fall my human chose to ignore the initial excavation.  She figured they would go away during the winter.  Seems the little pests were simply settling in for an active spring – and as the snow melts, the ground continues to erupt every day.  She called a number of pest control companies.  Most do not list moles as the vermin they control – you have mice, and rats, and wasps, and raccoons, and ants – but hardly any list moles.  Probably because when you look up mole control, you see that they are very difficult to control.  And most companies do not answer their calls.  She FINALLY got a hold of a guy named Gary – who, when he heard it was moles, said he would call my human back.  He was probably looking up how to control moles.  He actually did call her back – it seems trapping is the only way.  Either that or pour gasoline down the tunnels, and light them.  Just kidding – although my human DID read that some guy did that and blew up his lawn.  She’s about ready to try it.  And she did have another idea.  Ferret poop.  Yes – you read that correctly.  I guess ferrets are the natural enemies for moles (and rats and mice) so just the presence of their poop will send the little guys packing.  So my human contacted some local ferret lovers association.  And requested poop.  Honestly – I couldn’t make this stuff up.  Surprise. No one has returned her call.  In the meantime, she thought she would put some dog poop in a tunnel to see if that would send the buggers looking for a new lawn to destroy.  I guess moles don’t consider us dogs much of an enemy.  She ended up with some poop on her boots as she stomped down the earth and the next day there were MORE tunnels.  We all watched the proceedings with great interest.

In the good news department, the clocks change this weekend, so while we will loose an hour of sleep, the days are getting longer and we are seeing more SUN!  Time for longer  walks in the morning!  And more time to play outdoors after work.  And that is HUGE!!!!!  Who doesn’t like more time to play?   Even if it means jumping over tunnels to retrieve our toys.

Have a good one!

So I mentioned the other day that we have a new vehicle. Which as we now know, can fit two fairly good sized dog crates.  My human has yet to try and fit Frodo and I into one crate.  I’m thinking that may be a bit of a tight squeeze.  But we certainly DO fit together behind the FG’s crate in the back of the vehicle.  But wouldn’t you know it – just after we get our vehicle – THIS comes out.  Check out these wheels:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3pBdivA8WA

While many HUMANS would say that is a PERFECT vehicle for dogs, here is my CANINE review.  First off, I don’t love baths at the best of times.  So the thought of having a bath available for every road trip and at ANY time or place is a bit concerning. Plus can you see yourself standing there and trying to dry a PON?  There goes the battery on the vehicle.  And that skinny ramp?  Let’s see that Saint Bernard in the video go up that ramp.  And the treat thing – come ON.  How long before we pounce the heck out of it trying to get out the treats.  We could destroy that on the first road trip.  And do we REALLY need a video camera?  Big Brother in the VEHICLE now too?  And the harness.  Einstein can chew through bungee cords in NO time.  How long do you think THAT would last?  The no spill water bowl is a nice touch.  But picture that with the FG who likes to SWIM in water bowls… It appears the fabric in the vehicle is easy to clean – which is nice.  For humans.  We dogs don’t care about that.  

While my canine review is not overwhelmingly positive, I guess the bottom line is that it IS NICE that manufacturers are starting to consider the canine demographic – after all we ARE taking over the world.  But for now, I think we’ll stick with Ludwig.  

Happy trails!

So yesterday morning, my human took all of us for extra long walks because she had the day off. I suppose the word “off” is a bit misleading.  We dogs always keep her “on”.  First it was the FG’s turn for a walk.  They went up the road to the public trail.  The trail passes through the middle of the golf course.  So they took a detour onto the course.  And of COURSE, my human tried to get a photo of the FG.  She had him sitting on a bench – she thought it would be cute.  I should have mentioned the day was bright and clear – but the temperature was FREEEEEEEEEEEZING.  Like -13 Celsius  which is like 8 degrees Fahrenheit for my US friends. CHILLY.  She put the leash down, took off her oversized mittens and tried to get the FG’s attention.  It was critical that she get the shot quickly as her fingers were freezing.  Well the FG and I do not like photos.  Really.  You have NO idea how hard it is to get us to look at the camera – especially outside.  Which is totally different from Einstein.  You tell him to put a paw here, angle his head this way, stand on this rock – and he’ll do it.  Seriously.  He could be a dog model.  He loves the camera. 

Anyway, my human had put down the FG’s leash and stepped back to get the photo.  And in her infinite wisdom, decided to toss a rock in the air to get his attention.  She narrowly missed beaming herself in the head, and that got the FG so excited, he leaped off the bench, grabbed the leash and was G-O-N-E. 

He raced.  He dashed. He zigged.  He zagged.  And he all out sprinted as FAST as he could.  Just imagine what the open expanse of a golf course looks like to the FG.  My human has finally figured out that there is NO point in calling, cajoling or offering treats.  He’s like one of those animals that you see that has been released from captivity – and there is not much that will convince him to stop running.  Back and forth.  And JUST out of reach of my human.  So she has a new strategy.  She just ignores him and walks away. Really.  She pretends she doesn’t care and just leaves him.  Mind you, she does keep looking back over her shoulder. Well the FG is young – so he hasn’t figured out her strategy yet.  So he comes racing past her.  And she ignores him. She changes direction, and he races that way. I would love to see the whole thing from a drone.  A woman walking back and forth, with a dog racing around her with what appears to be an ever-changing destination.  And while it LOOKS like HE doesn’t care that she is walking away- he is VERY concerned where she is going.  EVENTUALLY when he exhausts himself from racing around, he stops CLOSE to my human.  So she grabs the leash.  And they happily continue home.

My walk with Frodo was not nearly as eventful.  Einstein posed for photos, while I sniffed the ground.  My human thought to herself on the way home that she never thought she would see the day when a walk with the two of us would be EASY.  I think it’s called maturity…Or just good treats.

Have a good one!

Today is March 5 – and the Monday of the first full week in March – which means it is “Fun Facts with Names” Day.  Of course it is.  So a little research revealed the following meaning of our names:

Viktor comes from the name Victor (with a “c”) and it is a Roman name meaning victor or conqueror.  Seems appropriate. It appears that it is a very popular name in Scandinavian countries.  Several early saints and three popes were reportedly named Victor.  Clearly I don’t fall into the holy category

Frodo was popularized in the Lord of the Rings and it seems to be a Germanic derivative of  “frod”meaning wise.  That’s spot on for Einstein.

Then we have Elroy.  It’s believed to be an altered form of Leroy.  The french meaning is “the king.”  I guess that’s about right – he sure thinks he is a king especially when he is standing on the top of a snow pile.  

My human realized the other day that Frodo is frequently called “Vikel”.  or “Elvik”.  I guess because she is usually calling either me or Elroy – probably for some naughty behavior – so those are they automatic defaults.  Then we have “heyheyhey,”  “staystaystay,” and “nonocomeon.”

I sometimes wonder if we dogs really DO live up to our names.  It’s kind of dicey.  I mean calling your dog Evil (and my human does know an Evil) could be asking for trouble.  And then she knows an “Angel” who is not ALWAYS wearing her halo.

I’ve noticed that Elroy responds to his name probably less than 50% of the time -especially when he is running around outside.  So I started thinking that maybe he needs a NEW name.  Here are my ideas, given what I now know about him…

Zag (short for Zig Zag) – which he does when he darts around outside and my human is trying to catch him.
Squeaky – because that is his favorite thing to do when he is bored.
Wile E. – as in Wile E. coyote – the cartoon character.  He looks kind of like a coyote when he gets up in the morning.
Charger – because he is like a rechargeable battery that never runs out of energy.
Vator – short for Excavator for his love of digging holes.
Zel – short for Gazelle – because when he is running, that’s what he looks like. 

Those are some pretty good options.  Mind you – he DOES look like an Elroy.  Really.  When you think of the name Elroy, that’s what an Elroy would look like!  Elroy was a cartoon character many years ago on a show called the Jetsons.  It was about a space aged family.  Which is perfect – he often seems to be in outer space.  And if you look at the character, he’s cute and has spiky blond hair.  Just like our Elroy.  So, I guess we’ll keep the name after all.

Bottom line with us dogs – we’ll come to whatever name you pick – especially if treats are involved.

Have a good one!

So yesterday was Saturday.  A day that humans sometimes sleep in.  Except in this house.  Yesterday at 5, I had had enough rest.  So I started staring at my human.  Humans can tell when we are sitting and glaring at them.  They can “feel the stare.”  So my human opened one eye – looked at the clock and groaned “It’s 5 AM!!!!! And it’s SATURDAY!”  She mumbled “5 more minutes.”  That’s her typical plea. So I gave her that.  EXACTLY 5 minutes.  And I was back.  Breathing on her.  So she got up, woke up the FG who as we now know, is NOT a morning dog, and took all of us out for walks.  The beauty is – now it is starting to get lighter in the morning.  So Frodo and I dragged my human down the road and to the trail.  She couldn’t argue that it was still dark out – heck, you could already see 10 feet in front of you.  Besides, she was wearing her headlamp.  So we had a good walk. The FG had gone out before us.

When we got home, my human said “I’m just going to take my shower.”  Which was odd – she had not had her breakfast…She went in the bedroom and closed the door.  We all settled down to wait for her to come out.  Little did we know, she TRICKED us and went back to bed.  After 45 minutes, Einstein figured out the ruse and stared barking.  And then I started barking.  And the FG started squeaking.  We put an end to THAT rest.

My human did some laundry and cleaning and then announced that she needed to get some groceries.  And she needed to go to the Dollar Store for poop bags.  To pick up our PPP.  Now while the quality of many things at the Dollar Store is not always great, $1.25 for 60 bags is not a bad deal.  But I don’t get the price.  $1.25?  Why isn’t it a dollar?????  Anyway, little did WE know that the Dollar Store is also WELL stocked with Easter and Saint Patrick’s Day attire.  Great.  She came home with a BIG bag.

When she came in, she took us out for pees and then said she wanted to change.  And while she was changing, SOMEONE took one of the 3 new boxes of poop bags that had been left on the counter, shredded the box and spread out the 60 bags.  And I don’t need to tell you the famous 4 words my human uttered when she came in the room.  She, of course, had to snap the obligatory guilt photo – which doesn’t really show the extent of the poop bag smattering.  She made ME pose with the FG, because she ASSUMED I had SOMETHING to do with it.  I was presumed guilty, perhaps because of my previous larceny record – with the oven mitt.  But after my human took the shot, she AGAIN thought of Big Brother. And low and behold – I was INNOCENT.  This was a solo crime – committed entirely by the FG.  So in THIS case, Big Brother was a good thing.  I was exonerated.  For a change.

Today the FG has another handling class.  I’m still not sure who is handling who.  And then, if the weather is good, I have a sinking feeling, there may be a date with a camera and some Dollar Store purchases.  Heaven help us.  The treats better be good.  VERY good.

Have a good one!

Well the other day, the Canadian Kennel Club released the list of the 10 most popular dog breeds in 2016.  And it reads as follows:

1. Labrador Retriever
2. German Shepherd Dog
3. Golden Retriever
4. Poodle
5. Havanese
6. Shetland Sheepdog
7. Bernese Mountain Dog
8. French Bulldog
9. Yorkshire Terrier
10. Schnauzer (Miniature)

I think there are some “no surprises” there – and a few that I didn’t expected to make the list.  The first 4 seem to always be on the list– they may vary as to the ranking, but those breeds ARE very common.  But I was kind of surprised by the Havanese and the French Bulldog.  NOT that I don’t like those guys, but it doesn’t SEEM one sees them around anywhere NEAR as much as the top four.  Or even as much as the Sheltie.  My human remembers back in the day when no one knew what a Bernese was.  When she got her first one, people thought it was a cross between a  Saint Bernard and a Newfoundland.  Boy – times sure have changed!  They make the top 10 list now!  I’m not too surprised by numbers 9 and 10 – they’ve been around a long time – and lots of apartment dwellers like small dogs so they fit the bill.

It’s interesting to note, that south of the border, in the US, the list is a bit different.  Check it out:

1. Labrador Retriever
2. German Shepherd Dog
3. Golden Retriever
4. Bulldog
5. Beagle
6. French Bulldog
7. Yorkshire Terrier
8. Poodle
9. Rottweiler
10.  Boxer

So  we have 6 breeds that make both lists.  Note the PON and the Picard didn’t make either list.  Which in some ways is OK.  Lots of times popularity results in overbreeding to “meet the demand” and ultimately that can result in health issues.  My human says if anyone reads my blog, they may never want a PON or Picard!  Perhaps I need to insert a disclaimer at the top of my blog stating that not all PONs or Picards behave the same.  And that these stories are written for entertainment only and should not be taken as a serious reflection of the breeds.  Nah.  Let’s face it – PONs and Picards are both breeds who are clever, comedic, crafty and sometimes a tad stubborn.  And adorable.  And the stories are TRUE!   Maybe the disclaimer should say “beware – once you have given your heart to a PON or Picard, your world will never be the same.”  That works.  Perfect.  And really…come to think of it – that works for any breed and, as we all know,  the stories are part of your wonderful journey with dogs!

Thanks so much for joining ours each day!

Have a good one!

Time for an Elroy update…

Remember the dog show and crate fiasco?  How could one forget – I rambled on about crates for two days.  So after ALL the agonizing, all the construction work on VARIOUS crates – including the NEW one, my human has estimated that of the 10 HOURS the FG spent at the show site, he probably spent 30 minutes IN the crate.  Seriously.  He didn’t LIKE hanging out in the NEW crate.  So he would squeak.  And when he would squeak, my human would put him on the grooming table.  I’m telling you – at 9 months old, he has TOTALLY learned human control.  Mind you, he has learned it from the best.  So he COULD have stayed in the soft-sided-hacksaw-repaired crate after all.  He wasn’t IN it long enough to chew it.

And we have discovered something about the FG – he is NOT a morning dog.  I’m serious.  We PONs like to get up E-A-R-L-Y.  For us, sleeping in is 6AM.  But when we go to let the FG out of his pony sized crate, my human opens the door and he just lies there – looking at her.  At the same the time Frodo and I are spinning in circles and singing our “good morning wake up” song .  84 verses of it.  The FG slowly emerges – as if we are disturbing his beauty sleep.  Now this is NOT to say that once up he doesn’t have energy.  And he is a VERY smart dog.  For example, when my human gets home from work, she will let him out with a leash attached.  And he has learned that if he holds the end of the leash – he can run much faster.  And my human cannot catch him when she wants him to come in.  Sometimes he drops the leash and like a movie in slow motion we watch as my human carefully approaches and JUST as she leans over to grab the end, off he goes.  He knows the radius of the leash.  He runs back and forth and around the property 48 times with reckless abandon through the woods, over the snow banks and across the snow covered lawn and he also likes to “hide” on my human.  

He eventually comes in – when she rattles the food dish.

I must confess,  I have finally begun to play with him outside.  These were taken after one of the blizzards.

Inside the house, we  lie next to each other and chew a bone, and we sometimes sleep near each other.  I don’t let him trim my hair like Frodo does – I draw the line there. 

So after ALL these months, I can FINALLY say, I actually like the guy.  He’s entertaining.  Not to mention, it’s nice to have someone in the house who seems to be in trouble more often than me!

Now.  Can we get a kitten?

Have a good one!

Baaaaaaa.     It’s March 1.  Time to think SPRING.   In weather lore, they say that if March “comes in like a lion it will go out like a lamb”.  Well,  no lions to be seen today – we definitely have sheep-like weather, so I am hoping that we will NOT see the reverse in the forecast.  We still DO have snow in areas, as can clearly be seen in the photo, but we had LOTS of rain the other night so the piles are going down and the sidewalks are CLEAR. Mind you, I’m not so sure we should believe any more weather forecasting having to do with animals – remember the beaver-wanna-be –the groundhog’s forecast.  Just after he made his prognostication for an early spring, we were hit with several blizzards. 
There’s still a warrant out for him.

So.   You’ve heard of rescue organizations for dogs.  And cats.  And circus animals.  But have you heard of a rescue for blueberries?  Or cauliflower?  It seems that a local Nova Scotian company is doing just that.  They basically take the fruits and veggies that don’t make it to stores because they have some “imperfection” that would make them undesirable for sale.  Humans like to buy food that doesn’t have marks on it.  Not us canines.  We don’t care WHAT it looks like.  And clearly, we will eat LOTS of things that humans don’t even want to touch, let alone EAT.  Anyway, this company is taking the blemished fruits and veggies, and making them into “high protein mixers and toppers” for pet food!!!!  They are even using stuff like lobster shells.  Is that brilliant or what?  Instead of making this otherwise good produce into compost, they are using it in another way.  Wish I had thought of it.  That’s even a better idea than my pet snowshoe concept.

I had my first meal of raw last night.  I wish I could tell you that it tasted yummy, but I inhaled it so quickly, I’m not even sure.  And you should have seen the LOOKS from Einstein and the FG.  Jealousy with a capital “J”!!

Well, time to go and see if I can find any lambs.  Or maybe some spring bunnies….

Have a good one!