Howdy doody – Squirmy Wormy here again. I was going to start off telling you that according to the crazy calendar, today is Ginger Cat Day. But I don’t know much about cats or much about the fact that it’s National Tofu Day in the UK. Sure we dogs can eat a little tofu- but give me meat any day! Instead, I just HAVE to tell you about my Fun Obedience class. Guess what?! It was fun!!!!

So when I got there I was a bit in awe with all the new dogs to see. There were 7 of us in total. Or was it 8? My Enforcer was so busy watching me there could have been 50 there and she wouldn’t have even noticed. I think I was the youngest guy there.

We did a bunch of things to help us work on our bond with our humans. No problem there for me – My Enforcer basically had my supper in her pockets – AND some yummy dried beef lung. AND cheese. So I really didn’t care a whole lot about the other dogs or people. I was starving. Forget the fact that I had both breakfast and lunch. I’m a PON. Food makes our world go round.

So as a direct result of my starvation, I was extremely well behaved. Seriously. My enforcer said I could have definitely taken home a prize because a) I didn’t pee or poop inside the facility; b) I didn’t rip any of my Enforcer’s attire ; and c) no one left wearing bandaids because of moi. How do you spell WINNER?!

I liked the teacher very much and I even let her pet me without removing a digit. She is owned by Pyrenean Shepherds – and one was the demo dog for the various exercises. Holy hotdog, he was GOOD. He’s my idol.

I came home and the other guys smelled me all over. Probably because I smelled like cheesy beef lung. Don’t worry – they got some too – and they didn’t have to do 10% of the stuff I had to do. That’s ok. They deserve a prize for putting up with me!

So last night we each got to do some one-on-one obedience training outside. My Enforcer had to dig out and dust off all the obedience training props in the garage. Like the orange cones. I was initially fine with them, but having the current attention span like that of a bee in an Amsterdam tulip farm, I quickly tired of the cones and simply decided to see if they made good chew toys. That idea was quickly discouraged.

I can’t wait to go back next week! My Enforcer is hoping it wasn’t beginner’s luck. No problem- just bring good treats! And no tofu.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Hey you! It’s me! Squirmy!!!! Yup. I get to write again. Probably because I’m little and babies get lots of attention. And I’m soaking it up!

So what did I do THIS time? Well….. I went for my first handling class. And I think I won – because I was a handful!!!! It was me, 6 Australian Shepherds and a Corgi in the class. And guess who was the only one who tried to bite the instructor?! Yup. ME! I mean not totally attack vicious – but let’s just say I take a few minutes to warm up to folks. Well maybe not even that. I go up to people and actually jump on them! But touch my head before I feel I know you and well there’s a reason I’m called the Shaggy Shark. I was quite in awe of the other dogs and wanted to play desperately with the Corgi who was ahead of me in the line up- but I quickly learned that handling class does not include play time. Yawn. I haven’t been expelled- but I do have some homework. Nobody told me there would be after school assignments.

I forgot to tell you that the other day, my Enforcer had some dog friends pop in. Heather and Allan. They have – dogs and know all about dog behavior. Because I tend to be aloof with new people (unless I have my backup brothers), my Enforcer decided to let JUST me out to meet our guests. Well. I have learned from the Boss that you bark at new people. So I did that. IMAGINE my shock when Allan sat right down on the driveway to say hello. I didn’t quite know what to make of him. In the meantime, Heather “ran away” from me. And didn’t pay attention to me. What a strange couple. BUT, when I realized they were no threat, I quickly went over to both of them – and it was NO time before I was wrestling with Allan and attempting to ricochet myself off Heather. Good times.

Meanwhile, the Coyote went to his therapy appointment yesterday. Poor guy – he had to endure the pre-public bath just like I did before I went to my class! What’s up with that? Just because other people will see us we have to be fluffed? I like the at-home rugged look. Anyway, he endured the bath – only to go there and find out that the girl at the desk messed up his appointment. The therapist had left for the day. So no therapy for the big guy. Both he and my Enforcer were unhappy. I think they deserved a free biscuit for the mix up. Good thing my Enforcer had picked up our prize from Crazy Dogs. She could still give him a treat. He will go on Friday for his appointment.

Tonight I go for my Fun Obedience class. Not sure how those two words go together, but we’ll see. I think my Enforcer should just take the Boss and pretend he’s new to obedience. He’d look like a genius!!! Not so sure I’ll be quite that good. Mind you, I’m a pretty quick study. As long as you don’t try to touch me on the head….Good thing I’m adorable….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Hey everybody- it’s Squirmy here!!! And have I got stories for you today!

The first one isn’t really good news. In fact, Her Highness’ blood pressure goes up if she just THINKS about it. It involves an unfortunate jail break for a Picard we know – which entailed a race out the front door, up the driveway and over to two neighbors’ homes. That’s bad enough. BUT we PON boys had to follow the leader – and went with him. All the while Her Highness was screaming our names so loudly, she thought she could rupture her vocal cords. I won’t go into all the gritty details – suffice to say that I, 4 month old Squirmy – headed back home on my own, while the other two escapees were caught and dragged down the driveway. The story is NOT funny in the least bit. Frodo and I were heading out the front door for a quick pee – and for some reason we thought someone was there – so we started barking. The Beatnik had been in the other room – so Her Highness was shocked when he literally pushed his way past her and through the door. I thought it was great fun to chase them and thankfully the Beatnik – the ringleader – came to Her Highness instead of heading for the road. We all got the cold shoulder from her when we got back. She said nothing. Probably because she couldn’t breathe. Anyway – the story thankfully ended OK.

Now for some better news. I won a prize!!!! OK – all of us boys won it. There is a company called Crazy Dog Dehydrated Treats – here in Nova Scotia and they make SUPER yummy stuff. Anyway, for National Dog Day they asked people to post photos of their dog(s). Little did we know they were randomly picking a photo from those posted – and the winner got some cool goodies!!!! So you guessed it – WE WON!!!!

Here’s the link to our prizes:

https://www.facebook.com/CrazyDogDehydratedTreats/photos/a.562491733833982/3343520482397746/?type=3

Her Highness thought it very fitting that we get a prize from a company called “Crazy Dog”. I’m not sure why.

In other news – I am going to a “handling class” tonight. I guess they teach you how to handle stuff like stuffed toys, bones and fetch toys. I can handle those things really well – so we’ll see what else we’ll do. I guess they’ll also teach me how to “handle” Her Highness. That will be a bit more challenging. Paws crossed it goes well!!!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Hey everybody. Elroy here. Also known as Gimpy. Yes, my muscle is still sore. And I must say, I’m a bit tired of not being able to run around. I know it will get better more quickly if I take it easy, but it’s hard for an agile, fast guy like me to sit out and watch everyone else racing around the yard. I go back to my therapist on Saturday and I’m looking forward to it.

So besides my medical status, what interesting news can I share? Ah – I know. Did you know that today is National Dog Day? Yup- it’s a real holiday. Although clearly humans don’t get the day off, there are no parades and no special meals. Her Highness laughed when she saw this – she said EVERY day is Dog Day in this house. And it really is true. I mean while we do have our jobs as protectors and overall love machines who, when we are behaving, can provide unconditional comfort and support, we DO have it pretty good. I mean we have our meals prepared and provided, we are kept clean and brushed, we live indoors yet go outdoors to do our business- which is cleaned up for us, we have toys, beds and sometimes even attire!!! We are taken to the vet if we don’t feel well. When ya think about it, we kind of live like royalty – everything is at our paw tips.

Now I know that not all dogs have it so good- there are dogs who live on the streets and some dogs up needing to be rescued. But once they get a home, as a general rule, most enjoy a pretty decent lifestyle. There are a lot of people who say to Her Highness: “when I die I want to come back as one of your dogs.”

In honor of Dog Day, if your dog gives you a few minutes of freedom, you can try some of these dog trivia questions. There are loads of questions- see how much you know about us canines:

https://www.usefultrivia.com/science_trivia/dog_trivia_index.html

In other news, Joanie visited us the other day and believe or not- went home without any bandaids! Squirmy never bit her once. Well – not hard anyway. There WAS one slight incident when Her Highness and Joanie were standing and chatting in the yard, and the Squirmster ran full speed at Joanie and ricocheted off her stomach. Thank goodness he didn’t hurt her – neither she nor Her Highness were prepared for that move.

Joanie was able to get some good photos of us four. Her Highness supplied her with treats and a good toy – so she was able to keep our attention. Which is not easy with the little guy. Who is getting bigger by the minute. I don’t think he’s a PON. I think he’s a Romanian Miortic Shepherd. They look like a PON on steroids. That’s what I think Squirmy is. I mean the guy just celebrated his 4 month birthday yesterday – so we know he has more growing ahead….I just hope he won’t be bigger than me!!!!

Well time for my walk with the Boss. Be sure to give your dog something extra special today. And you can have a little treat for yourself too. Because really – where would we be without you?! But just remember – we’re still in charge….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Monday morning greetings dear readers. Frodo here. I sincerely hope you had an enjoyable weekend- as we celebrated one of the few remaining weekends of the summer. Personally, I prefer the cooler temperatures of the Fall, but we all know what follows that – so let us enjoy summer while it lasts.

Let’s see what is new here at the circus… The Shaggy Shark continues to wreak havoc – especially when he is having one of his frenzy outbursts. When Her Highness lets him out of his crate, (as we have mentioned before), if she has no stuffed toy to shove into his mouth, her arms are left scratched and sometimes bloodied. And no – he is not intentionally aggressive- he simply goes berserk. She can tell him to sit, which he does and when she releases him- he leaps at her in his Schutzhund moves. She honestly needs those padded arm things. If anyone knows where we can get them cheap, please send the link.

Her Highness has finally learned that to wear white pants with the Shark is an absolutely futile wardrobe decision. The other day she was getting ready to go out to see a friend but made the mistake of putting on white pants before she got the Shark situated in his ex pen. She took him out for a pee- and you guessed it – despite her attempts to keep those pants clean, she ended up with paw prints on her butt before she left. She had to change.

Yesterday, she played it smart and put her pants in the garage so she could change just before she got in the car to go out. She’s learning. Although REALLY – white pants and most dogs are NOT a good combo. You would think Her Highness would know that given all the dogs she has lived with. The Beatnik loves to wipe his face in white pants. The Bernese liked to make sure they left black hair on white pants. With the Shark, it’s footprints. She really should be doing laundry detergent commercials.

Her Highness has come to depend on yours truly to help with the Shark at certain times. For example, yesterday he was having one of his “moments” when he raced through the bushes and plants in front of our house as he was coming inside. Her Highness couldn’t see him – as the foliage is quite dense – but she could see the bushes moving as he raced through. Unfortunately, when he emerged (covered in leaves and sticks) he came out minus one stuffed toy that he had been holding when he went in. She told him to “find it” but she might as well have asked him to bake a cake – he had no idea what she wanted. So she brought him in the house, and took yours truly out. She instructed me to “find it” and I disappeared in the dense brush and emerged with the stuffed dinosaur in no time. I was rewarded with whatever she had in her pocket – which partly included tiny bits of a crumpled tissue. That was a bit of a mistake, but given all the treat crumbs in her pocket, it still tasted fine.

Meanwhile, the Beatnik walks around forlorn and depressed because he is still not allowed to run around in the yard. He seems a bit better, but his muscle pull is still evident. He goes back to his therapist on Saturday for a recheck.

Today we are excited because Joanie is in town. Her Highness has not seen her good friend since January! Joanie has of course not yet met the Shark. I noticed the bandaids are already sitting on the counter….

Time for our constitutional. Have a joyful Monday.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe

It’s Squirmy here again!!!! I think I’m liking this blog thing! I get to tell people all around the world about my exciting life! And let’s face it, when you’re just under 4 months old – EVERYTHING is exciting! I mean you can take me on the same walk – and I see and smell different things every day. And I get excited! Pull out a biscuit and I get excited! See a moth fly by – and I get excited! And I try to eat him. Let me run around the yard – and it’s an excellent adventure.

Now sometimes there is work involved. The Boss and I are continuing our excavation project. I’m not quite sure what the final result is supposed to be – I didn’t see the blueprints. Here you see the Boss checking the hole and I take over. The hole is getting deeper. I use that black stick as a measuring tool. I work quickly. It was my second shift as evidenced by my brown feet.

I’ve also learned that tomatoes are yummy. So I have started to pick my own. However, I am NOT supposed to pick the green ones. They can be quite toxic to dogs. I grab a tomato and I run. The enforcer yells “trade” which means she has something that I CAN eat – so I need to trade my bounty for what she has. So far so good.

My enforcer had a wonderful birthday and she told me to thank everyone for all the lovely birthday wishes. Her friend Marg came over to help my enforcer celebrate and she was our first overnight guest since I’ve been here. And guess what?! She went home with NO bandaids! I was an honest to goodness “good boy!” Shocking – I know!!!!

According to the crazy calendar, today is something called Be An Angel Day. I guess it’s about doing random acts of kindness, and being nice to others. Seems like humans sometimes need to be reminded of this. Mind you….SOMETIMES we dogs need to be reminded of it too. Especially like the other guys. They’re old enough to know how to behave. I still have this age thing on my side. You know what I mean – the “he’s just a puppy” excuse. So when you drag shoes out of the closet or pillows off the bed, you can kind of get away with those less than angelic antics. I figure I’ve got at LEAST another 8 months of the puppy excuse. Right? Please be an angel and just nod “yes.”

Now excuse me – I think the closet door is open…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

It’s Squirmy here!!! Living large and living my best life!!!! Holy moly I had quite the day yesterday!

It began in the morning- when I went for my little walk on the road. And I was walking along, checking out the view when all of a sudden- a DOG appeared. It was Jackson AKA Pig Pen going for a walk with his human. I saw him coming and stopped in my tracks. Other dogs on our road?! Who knew?! Well I guess everybody but me. Anyway, I went right over to the big guy and gave him a sniff, while I wiggled my butt. And I jumped on his human to say hello. Then after all the formal introductions, we went for a little walk with them! I thought that was pretty cool. And I didn’t even bite them.

Then later in the morning, I went with my enforcer on a little road trip back to Peggy’s Cove. I climbed on the rocks and watched people. My enforcer also took my photo. Like I was a movie star. You can see I’m getting bigger!! I also learned that some dogs own not-so-bright humans. We were just about back to our car, and another dog came walking right toward me. He was a little poodle-like guy. Really little. We stopped and my enforcer said I’m just a puppy. The man said, “oh he’s three years old and he’s probably going to lunge at your puppy any second.” Yikes! My enforcer pulled me back just as the mini fluffy bullet did lunge at me. He didn’t get me – but my enforcer would never have stopped if the man didn’t stop too. Um hello? If you KNOW your mini fluffy bullet is going to bite, why not just avoid other dogs? I just looked at him and kept walking.

I came home and was exhausted. Which my enforcer always loves.

Today the guys told me that I need to really behave. Because it’s my enforcer’s birthday!!!!! She’s ancient in dog years.

She tried to get a photo of us last night with a birthday streamer wrapped around us. The Boss said it was an epic fail – whatever that means. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I kept trying to rip it – so in the end we had birthday confetti. This is the best shot she got.

We DO love her. And we’ll be extra good for her special day. I might even share a biscuit with her!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe!

Salutations blog readers. Frodo here. Also affectionately known the Fun Police. And I take my job very seriously. Unless I’m busy chewing on a Kong. But, truthfully, I must monitor what goes on around here because someone must be in charge and sometimes, well Her Highness doesn’t always make the best decisions….

I know that the injured Beatnik (who appears to be slowly recovering) is not allowed to roughhouse with the Shaggy Shark. And yet if left to their own devices – they would do just that. It often begins with the Shark sauntering rather nonchalantly past the lounging Beatnik. The Shark often carries a toy which he then attempts to hurl or simply drag past the Beatnik. The next thing one knows, PONdemonium erupts and it is up to yours truly to shout out a warning to cease and desist. If my loud shouting doesn’t work, it is usually at that point that Her Highness steps in and separates the two offenders.

Her Highness noted the other day that our household has two dangerous noise levels. One is during a PONdemonium outbreak which involves incessant PON barking – often for no particular reason. I should add that of late, the Picard has also begun to partake in these bark fests. The danger at this level is in potential cause for hearing loss. No doubt her Highness will soon need hearing aids.

The other dangerous noise level is no noise at all. Total silence with the Shark generally means he is up to something. If he is not attempting to break into closets, he is chewing the corners off the already damaged carpet in the dining room. Or he is attempting to chew the rubber base off his food bowl. Or- in an action so reminiscent of brother Viktor, he is attempting to steal pillows off Her Highness’ bed. He was quite proud of himself when he emerged from the bedroom yesterday carrying a pillow larger than himself. It was rather amazing given that he can’t get on the bed. He is quite the lad…

Meanwhile, Her Highness made a huge error in judgment last night. We had a rainy day all day – so even though it was evening, the Sharks’s batteries were still well charged – as he had not done his version of the Indy 500 around the yard in the rain. He was barking at Her Highness to DO something. The Beatnik was on his bed – and I had no intention of entertaining him, so Her Highness decided to sit on the floor to play with him. How does one spell colossal mistake. It began with a frenzied game of fetch. Which would have been reasonably easy to control (despite his occasional attempts to bite her hands)- until the Beatnik and I decided to join in. The Beatnik attempted to sit on Her Highness’ lap, while I was attempting to chew the treats out of her pocket. Which further incited the Shark who decided to “attack” Her Highness from behind, grabbing her head. She shouted and attempted to scramble to her feet – with a bloody indentation in her head. All four of us were huffing and puffing by the end. It was at that point that Her Highness announced “break time for Wojtek” which signals a visit to his ex pen. He promptly fell asleep.

I expect the producers to be contacting us any day now about our reality tv series. The Kardashians have nothing on this household. Let’s be frank – nobody would buy it because they would think it’s made up. If they only knew…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

It’s me again -Squirmy!!!! You’ll know what? I’m starting to answer to Squirmy! It’s such an appropriate name for me!

My enforcer thinks I’m pretty funny. Sometimes. Other times she threatens to put me on a bus to New Jersey. And I just laugh – because everybody knows the border is still closed!

We know that we puppies go through various stages as we grow. Like the teething stage and various fear periods. And I have entered into the Kleptomaniac period. I am obsessed with getting in that closet – or mini warehouse that my enforcer has. That thing is chockablock full of cool stuff. The BEST thing is a basket full of…are you ready…..SHOES!!!! I am RARELY ever unsupervised- but IF she goes into the bathroom for just a minute, and I’m left out with the other guys, the first thing I now do is push that door open and go exploring. Of course, like all the doors in this house, it squeaks, so my enforcer immediately comes to see what I’m doing. By the time she comes out, I usually have a new piece of foot ware that I have stolen. I wait for her to see that I have it- and as soon as she says “hey what have you got?” I hightail it for the dining room. As FAST as I can possibly go. Now my enforcer KNOWS that she shouldn’t laugh AND she shouldn’t chase me – so she tries to keep a straight face while she offers the Boss some super yummy treat. And you know I have to see what he’s getting. So far, the value of those treats has outweighed the foot ware value – so I abandon my stolen foot ware. So far.

My enforcer was trying to see if ALL puppies go through the Kleptomaniac period. It was interesting to see that hunting breeds particularly like to steal. And busy breeds like Border Collies may do it just to burn off energy. I think that’s me. I’m like the Energizer Bunny. It takes a LOT to tire me out. Anyway, here’s and article about us klepto-canines:

https://wagwalking.com/behavior/why-do-dogs-take-things-and-run

Besides my new role as a robber, I also have started to become very serious about my role as a guard dog. If I hear something out of the ordinary, I bark a really serious big dog bark. Again my enforcer tries to keep a straight face. I guess my sweet looking shaggy appearance doesn’t really go with the Cujo mode.

Well time to go for my morning walk up the driveway. Then I come back and the other guys go out for their walk. And I bark the entire time they are gone. And even with the windows shut, my enforcer can hear me. Any suggestions on how to get me to be quiet are most welcome! Don’t bother suggesting something yummy to eat or chew. Doesn’t work. Although I DID actually eat a couple of biscuits yesterday- but not everything. I’m a chatty guy – what can I say? And I’m lovin’ life and have to tell the world that I do!!! I think I’m precious. Sometimes.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

It’s Squirmy here again. The other two guys are finding this weather too hot – so they didn’t feel like writing. I gladly volunteered!

So what’s new with me. Well I met another neighbor the other day. The nice guy from across the road was putting out his garbage, so my enforcer asked if he had a minute to meet me. He said “sure” so my enforcer went on to tell him that he should just ignore me – and not put his hands out unless he wanted to lose a finger. Just kidding. Sort of. She did say to not make a fuss about me – as I can be aloof with strangers. Yeah – well that was last week. I’m over the aloof stuff. I walked right over and jumped on him. And I didn’t rip off his fingers as he went on to pet me. My enforcer needs to chill – I’m a sociable guy. Sure I don’t love people getting in my face – but what dog does? OK – maybe a Lab or Golden – those guys are pretty laid back. Mind you, even they might not appreciate super closeness with strangers in the first 2 minutes. My enforcer read an article on Wastebook the other day – and it said that people who meet a dog for the first time shouldn’t do the one thing that most people do – put their hand out for the dog to sniff. This article said that we dogs have superpower noses – so no need to stick a hand into our personal space for us to smell you. We already have smelled you. Just stand and wait for US to come over – and then don’t pat us on the head – but rather a few slow pats on the back. If we’re all happy and waggy-tailed, then you can get less reserved with your pats. I mean I’m not suggesting you now slap us on the side, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, I was a polite neighbor and no bandaids were required.

My enforcer tries so hard to be sure I’m safe all the time – and because my bones and joints are still growing, she doesn’t want me racing up and down stairs or jumping off high surfaces. Well – she can control my access to the stairs with a gate – so she has that covered. BUT – outside is a whole other story. You see she had this little vegetable garden and it’s on a little wall. The wall is about 2 feet high. And do you know what? When I get my crazy zoomies, my favorite thing to do is fly off that wall. Up and down. And my enforcer cannot catch me – I’m so fast. So yesterday, she thought she would be clever and she put a row of lawn chairs blocking me from going up and down that wall. So what did I do instead? I PLOWED through that vegetable garden. Lettuce went flying and tomatoes went rolling. The ONE pumpkin came close to being severed from the vine and it’s not nearly finished growing. When I got myself tangled up in the tomato cages, my enforcer had to release me from my bondage – all the time I was in frenzy mode – snapping like a crazed shark. I was exhausted by the time I got out of there. Why do tomatoes need cages anyway? Are they going to take off and go to another part of the garden?!

That’s all my news for today. The coyote is still in quarantine- although he seems a tiny bit better. Still, we’re not allowed to wrestle yet. So I guess it will be me and the tomato cages for the foreseeable future.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.