Hello readers. Frodo here. It’s about time I got to say a few words. The beatnik has been the “busy” one around here lately. Although…the other morning, yours truly got to go on an hour long walk with my old buddy Jackson. Aka Pigpen. Just me and my buddy. Oh – and yes our humans as well.

It was a crisp and dry morning. Although in typical Pigpen style, my friend was able to find any open, muddy puddle or stream – and he would run through them with wild abandon . I truly like Pigpen- but that behavior is rather incomprehensible to me. Still, we had a lovely walk.

The other day, I noted that her highness was doing an awful lot of house cleaning. That futile task that humans must do – which is doubly futile when you are owned by a canine. Or two. And the ground IS becoming muddy. It’s a pity one cannot use a power washer indoors.

But back to the clean-a-thon. We knew something was up. And it was actually the beatnik who noticed the telltale evidence of the reason for the cleaning. He walked by the stairs and began to growl. And he never growls. So something was amiss. I went over to see why he was growling – and there it was. Right on the landing. A suitcase. Her highness is leaving us.

She is headed to North Carolina to visit her aunt and uncle and cousins. She began planning this trip last fall. And as her luck would have it, she is going in the middle of a pandemic. She has loaded her purse with all sorts of cleaning cloths and hand sanitizer – I pity anyone next to her on the plane who has sensitivities to scents.

Although precautions cannot be taken lightly, she has survived a PONdemic – so she will be OK. Our girlfriend, Char will be staying with us – so we will be just fine. She’s good at giving out treats. And I’ll be sure to remind her where they are…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Yo. It’s me again. Elroy. So I have to tell you about the second part of my weekend. I went sheep herding again!!

I LOVE sheep. I mean I LOVE sheep. So when we arrived at the farm, I could not WAIT to see them.

This time, I had three new sheep. Sheep who aren’t QUITE as dog savvy as the last three. AND I was in a much bigger pen. With more room for the sheep (and me) to run.

I was happy to see Heather, my instructor- and was rating to go. Yes – raring I was. In fact a bit over-the-top raring. I was barking and pulling and well, acting a bit insane. And this time, Heather didn’t use the flag – just a long pole to remind me about the rules.

Her highness videotaped bits and pieces of me. We took a break about half way through my lesson, and I was able to run loose in a huge field. But honestly, after a little run, I went right back to the pen and was waiting for Heather and her highness to come back. I couldn’t wait to go back with the sheep.

Now despite my exuberance and my love for sheep, let’s just say I kind of had a brain fart when it came to remembering Rule # 5. The one about not attempting to sample the moving lambchops. See this….

That’s what you get when you attempt to nibble a moving lambchop’s butt. A mouthful of fluff. So watch this video….it’s my true confession video. You see me doing not I TOO badly. Heather was able to let me loose. But you will also see a brief instant when a tuft of wool suddenly appears in the middle of the pen – seemingly out of nowhere. But if you watch REALLY closely, you’ll catch yours truly sampling the moving lambchop butt. Then you see Heather shout at me. After which I return to my pleasant herding persona.

https://youtu.be/wXZGkVLzJE4

I apologize for breaking Rule #5. I’m not sure WHAT happened. Like I said – a brain fart. Luckily the sheep was fine. But I do promise to be more respectful in the future. Heather said it happens. And thankfully, I can go back.

When my lesson was over, I got to watch a pretty 10 month old Border Collie girl with my sheep. She didn’t bark. Or go crazy. I think I need to be more border collie-like. I need to crouch more. Just joking! Picards don’t herd like border collies. We herd more upright. Still. That little girl was sure impressive. I watched with awe. Just wait till next time. Now that I’ve seen the technique, I’ve got it. No worries. And no more sampling. Besides – who wants fluff in their mouth?!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Elroy here. Yo. I had an exhausting weekend. I mean it was all great fun. But by Sunday afternoon, I was beat. I think I need a vacation.

It began with a bath on Saturday morning. Out of the blue. It wasn’t like I rolled in anything, but I found myself after our morning walk, and after breakfast, being called into the garage. I learned from the PONs that when you are called to come into the garage, it is not always because you are going in the car. And you can just TELL when it isn’t going to be joyride. For example, her highness didn’t have a coat on. And she had that “look” that tells you something is about to happen that will not be anywhere near as fun as a joyride. So, like the PONs, I refused to go. Her highness had to get a leash to take me in. Sure enough – the full salon experience. Wash, blow dry, brush and nail trim. The Boss didn’t recognize me when I came out. Nah – I’m just joking with you. I looked exactly the same. Exactly. But I did smell like lavender.

It was AFTER that, that we went in the car. There was clearly some reason for the fresh smelling moi. Dog show. The Halifax Kennel Club show.

Now her highness was late – as usual- so didn’t get my entry for the pageant in on time. So, instead, I was recruited to do a stint with Meet the Breed. It’s a chance for the public to meet and learn about various breeds of dogs. They have a chance to talk with the owners and/or breeders and can see breeds up close and personal.

So ya basically sit on a table, and people come over and say hello. I, personally, like to thank them for coming over by giving them a big kiss. I had four different people who came by and said they remembered yours truly from last year – so they wanted to say hello again. I think I have a fan club. The Boss said the membership in my club is probably about 10. On a good day. He’s so sarcastic.

Anyway, the typical questions by newbie visitors were: (after they ask what the heck I am) 1. Do they have much energy? 2. Do they require much grooming 3. Are they barkers?

Her highness would say we Picards have plenty of energy, but can also easily learn to settle and relax at home. After the first few years.

As for grooming – it was kind of funny because the other dog “on” during the same time slot (we are scheduled for one hour stints) was an Afghan. So on a scale of 0-100 for grooming, I was a 10 and the Afghan was a 90. Or something like that.

I’m not much of a barker. Other Picards might be, but the Boss does enough for two of us, so I let him do the work. So it was a “no” to the barking question – with the caveat being that all dogs are different.

One man wanted to know if he could have some hair from my brush. I was worried he was going to make a voodoo doll or something. What did I do to him? But apparently he has allergies. So he tests a dog’s hair or fur to see how he reacts. He put it in a little zip lock baggie – he obviously came prepared! Smart idea – better to find out beforehand rather than getting a dog and then saying oopsie.

Meanwhile, while I was just shaking paws and kissing babies in true political style, one of my distant relatives was cleaning up the green carpet at Crufts! Yup – a Picard. Picards fall under some category called the AV (Any variety) Imported Breed Register in the Pastoral Group. These are generally rare breeds, who do not yet have huge numbers of dogs in the UK. So as I understand it, they take these dogs and group them together. In the case of the Pastoral group there are at least 6 breeds that fall in the category – Bergamasco, Hungarian Kuvasz, Hungarian Pumi, Swedish Lapphund, White Swiss Shepherd Dog and the Picardy Shepherd (like me). All of these dogs compete in their own little sub group and the winner goes on to the compete with the other best of breed winners (of the less rare breeds) in the Pastoral group. Anyway, there were 35 male dogs across these different breeds competing . And a PICARD, named Nelson got second place among all those boys. That’s a big deal. But what’s an even bigger deal is that we are cousins. Kind of. Well at least distant cousins. Because we both have the same grandfather! His father’s father was a dog named Flox – and my mother’s father was Flox too! If you look at pictures of all of us, you will see the family resemblance. For sure! So congrats to my cousin!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of my weekend in tomorrow’s blog. I had my second herding lesson. Let’s just say, I kind of forgot the rules a bit….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Yo. Elroy here. I’m here to remind everyone today of two things. 1. The Crufts dog show is well underway in England. It’s her highness’ favorite show. Doggie Disney World. She’s been a couple of times and no doubt she will go again . If we let her.

2. Not only is Crufts happening – today is the most important day there. Well – at least the Boss and I think it is. It’s the day for the Pastoral group judging. It almost sounds like it’s a group for religious dogs – but nope – it’s the herding breeds – like me and the Boss. And trust me – we are no saints.

If I read the info correctly, there are 35 PONs and 5 Picards entered. And 619 Labrador Retrievers. Really. I’m not joking. But the Labs aren’t in the Pastoral Group. They are in the Gundog Group. They can carry rifles. Just joking. I’m so funny. Anyway what breed do you think had the biggest entry in the Pastoral Group – with an entry of 363? The geniuses of the dog world – the Border Collies. And speaking of those guys, here is one of the winners from the Freestyle competition. Surprise. Surprise that it’s a Border Collie.

https://youtu.be/pCtMpyHaDpg

Her highness thought we should try this routine. Except she envisioned herself ending up with multiple broken bones after tripping over us. Yeah – she’s DEFINITELY not coordinated enough to do this with us. Just the THOUGHT of us trying this makes her laugh. A lot.

So we’ll have to see if we can watch the group judging online. The Boss and I can bet biscuits as to who will win. Actually, he wins no matter what because I usually spit out my biscuit or I eat it so slowly and drop the pieces that he gets at least half of mine. As well as his own. He’s pretty smart…

Time to go play dog show.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Frodo here. I spoke the other day about humans – and their unpredictable habit of not always communicating accurately when it comes to us dogs. Sometimes they even lie – like when her highness goes out and she announces “I’m just going to get groceries.” I am fully aware that her “grocery visit” may also include a stop at the local second hand store to look for “treasures”, as well as stops at the gas station, the book store and Starbucks. So she lies. And we know it. But not much we can do about it – except perhaps chew on the corner of a carpet.

But there are two words that humans DO communicate very clearly. And they are generally conveyed in a rapid, rather frantic manner. The words? “Drop it!” And her highness uttered them twice the other day. At moi. AND at the beatnik.

On our morning walk, we went up to the public trail. And at the trailhead, there is a garbage can. Unfortunately, not all humans have good hand eye coordination, and they sometimes “miss” the can. And this time, someone missed depositing a pizza crust.

I spotted it, but her highness did too, so she steered me in the opposite direction. The beatnik was too busy sniffing the ground for canine greeting deposits. So we started up the trail but discovered it was icy. VERY icy. And her highness had not worn her boots with the cleats. So she announced that we had to go back. We trudged along and we were just about past the garbage can. Suddenly, the picky Picard, who spits out bananas and still occasionally stares at his food bowl as if waiting for it to miraculously turn into a sirloin steak, grabbed the pizza crust. Her highness yelled out the magic words “drop it!!!” but of course, the beatnik did no such thing . In an unbelievably swift move, her highness had his mouth open and she yanked out the pizza crust from the back of his throat before he even knew what happened. She ceremoniously tossed the soggy remnant in the garbage, and wiped her hand in her attractive dog walking pants. I just watched the whole episode with fascination. He just stared in shock.

So not to be outdone, we had another incident requiring the “drop it” battle cry in the afternoon. Yes, this time it was aimed at yours truly. In the afternoon we went down to the lake. I was free and the beatnik was on leash. One wonders if he will ever be allowed to be free on our trails. Perhaps when he is 15.

Anyway, on our way down to the lake, both of us discovered the remains of some animal’s poop. And let’s just say, whoever it was had digestive issues. But that didn’t deter us from a careful examination and even a slight taste. At which point her highness screamed “noooooo.” To appease her, I went and ate some snow. Frankly, the appetizer wasn’t all that tasty.

We went to the lake and she took the 4000th photo in the same spot. She’s so predictable. We then headed back to the house, at which point, yours truly left the trail and went into the woods. Her highness could see me – but could not reach me without tree trimming equipment. The brush and branches were thick. So she could see me – and she noticed that yours truly was not only inspecting something, I was having a good chomping. She shouted the magic words “drop it.” To no avail. She repeated the words in a louder voice. As if I hadn’t heard her the first time. I wasn’t finished with my snack. By the time I came back on the trail, her face was flushed. I quickly raced on ahead of her as she shouted something about “no snacks for me.” No matter. I had already had my treat. Whatever it was.

Yes. I do know dogs who take the “drop it” command very seriously. As we should. But not the beatnik and I. Although I DO think that the effectiveness of the command is directly related to the proximity from the speaker. I HAVE been known to follow the request if her highness is within grabbing distance. But obviously, the other day, she was juuuust far enough away.

Ah yes. We like to keep her thinking and alert. No wonder she likes to take an afternoon nap. If we let her.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Yo. Elroy here. So guess who I had another play date with? Yup. My gal Willow. And this time she brought along her Labrador friend, Echo. Both girls gave me a run for my biscuits. Her highness didn’t bring the Boss along, because the snow was kind of wet and when we had gone for our morning walk, he repeatedly had to stop to remove snowballs. That makes him pretty grumpy. So he enjoyed some extra treats at home, while I took the girls on tour of the golf course. The ENTIRE golf course. We walked for over 1.5 hours. Well, the girls didn’t walk. Especially Willow. She loves to run. And sometimes I just gave up trying to catch them.

My favorite thing to do was to lie down on frozen ponds. And either attempt to swim on ice…

Or I would just lie there and watch Willow run around.

I DID have my moments of playing with the girls…

And sometimes I got a little TOO playful with poor Echo – who happens to be 10 years old. So her highness had to remind me to watch my manners. I was told to leave her alone – so I would just do my own thing for a bit.

And then I would return to my relaxing dog yoga position for a bit.

Willow and I did some rock climbing together , because we Picards like to get a good vantage point to check out our surroundings.

In the next photo, you see me encouraging her to climb higher. To see if the view is good. No point of both of us going up if the view is lousy.

And here’s a shot of Willow and I on patrol…

And a shot that her highness caught of Willow and her human…

At one point, her highness realized that she had left her mittens on the ground when she had stopped to take some photos. As she went back to get her mittens, Willow’s human caught this shot of me – watching where her highness was going…

As soon as her highness was out of my sight, behind the huge pile of rocks you saw in the other photos, I left this vantage point and raced to see where she was.

Of course, we had to gather for the obligatory attempt at a trio photo – which is NOT easy to get!

All in all, it was a wonderful walk! And probably THE most miraculous part? Did you happen to notice NO long line on me? AND I never took off! OK. I guess that’s not entirely true. I did have the odd moment when I pulled a Houdini disappearing act. BUT I always came back! Maybe I’m maturing. Or maybe I just preferred the company of those two lovely canine ladies.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

It is Frodo here. It is March 1st. Hurray. Winter will soon be over. We hope. And today I have the privilege of reminding all of you about a special birthday. It’s Frederic’s birthday. Frederic who you might ask? Why Frederic Chopin – a famous composer who some have referred to as “one of music’s earliest superstars.” And why would I be interested in a famous classical composer? Because, of course, he is Polish. Or should I say was. He died in 1849 at the young age of 39. But he sure did a lot of things in his short life.

And why, besides the fact that he was Polish, would I be interested in him? Well. Because he wrote a famous piece of music called the Minute Waltz. But it takes more than a minute to play. That part I don’t understand. BUT – the music is also known as the Waltz of the Little Dog. Because Chopin liked dogs. Apparently, Chopin had a friend who owned a little dog by the name of Marquis. And Chopin really liked that little dog. And as he was composing one day, Marquis was running around chasing his tail. Somewhere in the middle section of the waltz there are a series of notes that are supposed to represent the little bell that Marquis was wearing and ringing, as he raced around in circles. The dog was the inspiration for the piece.

Here is a short video where you can listen to the music. And see some crazy tail-chasing dogs…

https://youtu.be/BlB3DFH2oWY

That piece is great fun. But sadly, Marquis was also said to be the inspiration for the last section of Chopin’s Funeral March – when poor Marquis died. I guess Chopin really DID like that dog.

So today we HAVE to celebrate Chopin’s birthday. How could we NOT celebrate a famous Polish guy who liked dogs and even was inspired to write about one? I think this calls for pierogies all around.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.