Hey blogaroos! Squirmy here on the LAST day of January! Holy moly that month went by quickly! It seems like just yesterday I was chewing on Christmas wrapping paper.

Well guess what?! OK you give up. I went to see Liz, my therapist yesterday. Not my psychotherapist- his name is Sigmund – I went to see my massage therapist about my stair running sport injury. OK. I’m joking. I don’t know a Sigmund. And stair running is not a recognized sport for dogs. Although I could maybe start it….

Anyway – back to Liz. Well. Yesterday she said she now understands how I got the nickname, Squirmy. Yup. Too many hours in my cell really helped to recharge my battery. I was on turbo speed. My Enforcer kept repeating “Just be calm. Just be calm.” All the while she had me in a death grip and was loading me with treats – so Liz could actually manipulate my legs. I was playing the role of an eel who drank six espressos.

But at the end of my session, Liz gave me the green light to return to my previous activities. Let the hump-a-thon with the Coyote begin!

My Enforcer was so pleased with the good news, she decided to take me for a little joy ride. We stopped at a hiking trail and went for a bit of a jaunt. Well – I was jaunting and she was trying to just maintain her balance as the snowy hard-packed trail was a tad icy. We walked for a bit, but when she saw a man approaching from the opposite direction – with two dogs, we did a complete 180. She had visions of yours truly taking her for a “greeting ride” on the ice – and she knew it was much more likely that she would end up injured than me. No sense of adventure.

After that, she stopped for a latte, while I got the crumbs that were in her pocket leftover from my Liz visit. Wow. Big treat.

After that we stopped at the world famous Peggy’s Cove lighthouse. The sky was blue – BUT the temperature was cold – and the gale force winds were FREEZING. Still, she managed to get me to sit for some obligatory photos….

When we got home, the Coyote was overjoyed to know that hump-a-thons could now resume. OK. My Enforcer doesn’t REALLY endorse that behavior. Like that would stop us.

So hallelujah- I’m free again! Yes – I’ll be careful. Lesson learned. Bwhahahaha. Who am I kidding?! Let the ricocheting off humans, animals and walls begin again! Squirmy is back!

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

Yo. Readers. Elroy here. Hope you’re all chillin’ and getting ready for the weekend. Mind you, since Her Highness retired, we live in an eternal weekend state. Works for me.

So it’s January 29. And any regular blog reader knows exactly what this day is. Just kidding. I had to look it up too.

Anyway, it’s the Boss’ birthday. Yee haw. Eleven years old. He hit the smallest two digit prime number. Yeah OK. I looked that up too. It’s also the fourth number that stays the same when it’s turned upside down. After 0, 1 and 8. Hold onto that little trivia bit to impress your friends. But wait. There’s more. The Apollo 11 was the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon. But there were no dogs on board so who cares? Oh yeah. And the walls at the base of the Statue of Liberty are in the shape of an eleven pointed star. Are you amazed by my intelligence? Google my friends. Google.

So here are some more trivia bits – but the answer is not eleven. Number one: How many birthdays (counting this one) has the Boss celebrated on the blog? Seven. Holy moly that’s a lot of barking and counter surfing stories.

Here’s a tough one. How many dogs has the Boss lived with in his eleven years? Get ready…..FIVE! Beamish the Labrador, Paxton the Bernese…..

Viktor – who you all know. Probably…

And then along came moi…

And our newest addition- the Shaggy Shark…

The Boss has been an excellent puppy nanny. And he has been the boss over every single dog in this house. Even the guys who were older than him. Why? Because he’s brilliant. And bold. Remember- Viktor used to call him Einstein. With good reason. You show him something once and he’s got it. He may bark out in protest if asked to do something- but it’s not because he doesn’t know what to do. He’s won all kinds of obedience and rally ribbons. Frankly with little practice. He knows how to read Her Highness’ mind. They have this spooky relationship. She thinks something. And he does it. He’s the best guard dog in the house because he owns the place. Well he kinda thinks he owns every place he goes. Yup. He’s bigger than life. He helped Her Highness get more dog show ribbons than any dog before. He got them despite having her on the end of the leash. He led her through every obedience and rally trial and every beauty pageant.

And ya know…. even though Viktor started this whole blog thing – there would be no blog if it weren’t for the Boss – because there wouldn’t have been a Viktor if it weren’t for the Boss. Does that make sense? The Boss was Her Highness’ intro to the world of PONs. And what an intro he was. He’s barky, brilliant, bold, boisterous and he comes by the title Frodo-genic quite honestly. He never met a camera (or treat) he didn’t love.

So happy birthday to my “big brother.” May your double digit birthdays continue for years to come.

Hope you enjoy a FEW photos of him just from 2020. It’s not hard to find some…

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

Hey blogaroos!!!!! It’s me – Squirmy Wormy! Yee haw I am feeling good. So good that My Enforcer is trying to get me drunk so I’ll fall asleep!!!! Not much chance of THAT!

But she DID give me and the boys a drink of beer the other day. Dog beer. Really. It’s beer for dogs. Made here in Nova Scotia!!! But don’t worry – it’s non-alcoholic. It’s basically made of bone broth, apples, carrots and some other yummy meaty ingredients. Well – let me tell you- when My Enforcer added it to our supper – we ALL slurped it down – even the Picky Picard!!! I think My Enforcer needs to get more cans – so we can properly celebrate the Boss’s birthday tomorrow. She can even get a can for herself. Tee hee. Something tells me she’s not into the bone broth beer variety….

Meanwhile, she is doing everything in her power to keep me and the Coyote from wrestling. Sometimes she thinks maybe we’re relaxed enough not to bother each other. Wrongo. We begin by attempting to bite each other’s feet and the next think you know – it’s a full on hump-a-thon. At which point, one of us is jailed. Then the squeaking Coyote begins his tune. No wonder her blood pressure is high.

Yesterday she needed to get out of the prison so she left us for about an hour. I was in my crate. All safe and secure. She came home all happy and glad to see us – and the feeling was mutual. Before she let me out of my cell, she went to wash her hands. And there was a piece of paper towel on the edge of the counter. Odd – she thought. And then she remembered what was in the paper towel that was supposed to go in the recycling bin outside. Half a black banana. When she had peeled it in the morning, it was pretty mushy – but the Boss and I still got a little piece. The rest was supposed to go out. No need to worry about that now. Somebody ate it. Now I couldn’t be a suspect as I was in my crate. And the Picky Picard doesn’t like bananas. So by process of elimination, it looks like the Boss ate it. Peel and all. I heard Viktor ate two one time. So paws crossed that it slips right through…. I’m so funny.

Anyway, have to get the party preparations ready for tomorrow. The Boss has a big day. Hopefully he’ll share any treats with his poor starving brothers….. I just want the beer.

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

Hey hey hey blogaroos! It’s wild and wooly Squirmy here for a terrific Tuesday! You’ll all be happy to know I’m feeling GREAT – and I’m thinking that my leg should be just fine in no time. In fact I’m feeling SO good – that My Enforcer is having a very hard time keeping me quiet. And I cannot be left with the Coyote for even 10 seconds before we start roughhousing and she has to break us up. One of us has to be in a crate while the other guy is free. We take turns. It’s because we play hard. I mean really HARD. And My Enforcer doesn’t want me to injure myself further. Our house is like a rotating prison right now. I think everybody in a 5km radius could hear her shouting at us to “break it up” at one point yesterday. And we weren’t even outside. That’s when the official prison sentencing began.

I’ve had frozen Kongs, bully sticks and have used my snuffle mat to keep me occupied. But I’d rather run. And jump. And ricochet off others. I can be free with The Boss – because all we do is lick each other. And make each other’s ears gooky. But we don’t wrestle. Like I do with the Coyote. If I’m in the crate, he squeaks. If he’s in the crate, he squeaks. So all day long it’s like listening to a door that needs oiling. My Enforcer is thinking about getting ear plugs.

Hey! Guess what came in the mail the other day?! Ok you give up! A portrait of moi!!!!! Check it out:

My Enforcer had it done by an artist by the name of Lee Ann Shepard. She’s a canine artist and you can buy prints of her work here:

https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/lee-ann-shepard

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/TheDogLover

Lee Ann also does commissions and My Enforcer had puppy paintings done of Paxton, Frodo, Viktor and Elroy- so I HAD to join the crew!!!!

I think she did a great job of capturing my wild spirit! My Enforcer is a big fan of Lee Ann’s art.

Today My Enforcer has a totally free day – but something tells me she may leave us for a while, just to get away from the squeaking. And me pounding on my crate to get out. Funny – when she’s gone, we just fall asleep- no pounding or squeaking – and she knows that because she can see us on Big Brother. But when she’s home….insanity reigns. Good thing she loves us….

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

Hey everybody! It’s me! Squirmy! Also known as Crash Test Smarty. Because I’m no dummy.

So on Friday I was supposed to go and see Liz – the therapist that the Coyote saw. Unfortunately, we had lots of snow so my appointment was rearranged for yesterday. So off we went – in the morning.

I should start off by saying I’m feeling much better. I still limp a little, but not as much as the other day. If left to my own devices, I would race and jump around like nothing ever happened!

When I went in to see Liz, I was shy for like 5 seconds. Maybe less than that. Once she gave me a treat, she was my best friend on the planet.

My Enforcer had been concerned that I wouldn’t stand or sit or lie still long enough for a good exam and a massage. But she took good treats – and honestly, I was an excellent patient if I do say so myself. Liz prodded and probed and stretched and massaged my muscles.

She thought the problem area was my knee -but even with all her probing, it was evident I wasn’t in a lot of pain. Which was a good thing. She said that at worst, I could possibly have a small tear – but from what she was seeing, she felt it was unlikely that it would require any kind of surgery. She said to still keep my appointment with my vet on the 9th, but she will see me on the 30th to see how things are coming along. It’s very possible that I have a sprain, and no tear to the ligament at all.

I’m still not allowed to go racing around – which is killing both me and My Enforcer. I’m getting lots of frozen Kongs and bully sticks. The Coyote just lies outside my crate and squeaks. He misses humping me. And I miss humping him. But we have to wait until I’m 100%. I’m not a patient guy.

So all in all – it was good news. My Enforcer was quite relieved to know that I should be back to normal in no time. Well I guess “normal” is a bit of a stretch for me. Ricocheting off humans, dogs and cupboards is probably not the behavior of a “normal” dog. But admit it – that’s what makes me so unique. And lovable….Sometimes. Normal is overrated anyway.

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

Howdy blogees. Elroy here today. Since I’m the most laid back dude in the household, I get to write the blog today. Everyone else seems to be in a tizzy – so I’m the designated writer. Go figure.

So let’s begin with the news that everyone wants to know. About the Squirmy thing. Well. It’s complicated. He’s still limping. But he’s clearly not in a LOT of pain because Her Highness can examine him all over, and he isn’t sensitive at all. No swelling of his leg at all. She sent a video of him to numerous people including Liz (my previous therapist); a dear friend’s husband who is a human physiotherapist ; our vet; and another good friend who breeds Bernese. And the consensus is…..it’s probably his knee – but unlikely to be a complete ligament tear. He’s using it too much for a complete tear. He has an appointment with Liz today which is excellent – because- get this- he can’t get in to see the vet until February 9th!!! Because he IS using it and does not appear to be in great pain the vet didn’t deem it an emergency- so they have to wait for her next available appointment. Which is the 9th. And in the meantime….well Her Highness is actually looking for a new vet clinic…..that’s another story….

While the Squirmster is out of commission, I got to fill in for him. He was supposed to go on a social walk with his buddy Tup again, but of course couldn’t go. So yours truly went with Tup – and his housemate, Ila. We walked for like 2 hours on a cool trail. Those guys were well behaved enough to walk off leash. Yeah – not me. I’ll probably never be off leash – except in our backyard. But I had a grand time-.and only tried to hump each of them once. That behavior was not appreciated by either of them. OK. OK. Probably not one of my more charming moves. But I did learn not to try it again. Those spunky Shelties put me in my place! Lesson learned. Oh and the photo? Her Highness cropped out the post that I was tied to. The words “flight risk” should appear under my photo….But as I said earlier, I DID walk along well ( except for those minor humping things) – and didn’t attempt to rip her rotator cuff- so it was a very good walk.

So fingers and paws crossed that the Sqirmster makes out well today. I really liked Liz – and Her Highness is so grateful that she squeezed them in today. She has TONS of orthopedic experience- so we’ll see what she recommends. When Her Highness contacted her yesterday- Liz did say not to PANIC. And to just sit down and have a glass of wine. That recommendation was not hard to swallow. Hey. I think I just made a joke. Who says only PONs have a sense of humor?!

Keep the Squirm in your thoughts and send him good virtual vibes. He and Her Highness BOTH need them.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Hey everybody. Squirmy here. I hope everyone is having a Thankful Thursday. And that’s after a Wondrous Wednesday. Yesterday was QUITE a day in the United States – and given that My Enforcer and I have American roots because we were both born there, we watched the proceeding with great interest.

Now I’m not a political kinda guy. And ooooo-eeeeee I know some two leggeds can sure get riled up about politics. Worse than arguing over the last biscuit in the jar. But no matter what you think about the outgoing President and the new dog-owning incoming President, the takeaway message yesterday was UNITY. Two leggeds are entitled to differences of opinions and different beliefs about policies – but underneath it all- they have to remember the importance of unity – and working toward happy lives for all individuals. At least that’s my peanut brain opinion.

So that was the good news yesterday. Unfortunately, we had some bad news too. I hurt myself. I was running down the stairs from the deck – even though My Enforcer warned me to slow down. But I couldn’t because I saw she had our fetch toys in her hand. So I turned around to see how fast she was coming and my back leg slipped between the stairs. They are open stairs. Anyway I pulled myself free – and ran down the last two steps but I wouldn’t put weight on my back leg. I didn’t squeak or squeal – but I was obviously lame. And while I didn’t squeak or squeal, My Enforcer did. She told me to stay put while she went back up the stairs, to go around inside and open the lower deck door to bring me in. Of course I didn’t stay put and I hightailed it (somehow) up the stairs. I jumped on her- but when I was walking, it was obvious I was favoring that back leg. She put me in my crate to get me to settle down. And I did. But when supper time came I still insisted on bursting out of my crate- despite her grabbing me by my collar. I only know one speed. It’s high.

We’re just getting rolling here – and it’s early – so keep your paws crossed that it’s better today. My Enforcer really needs to date a veterinarian. That would be her perfect match. And speaking of that – the last potential on-line dating guy (who actually owned a dog) – well let’s just say the date matching algorithm must have been broken. Dog ownership was their ONLY commonality. I say she should stop wasting her time. She already HAS three guys who adore her. Sure, some guy from on-line dating probably wouldn’t pee on her barbecue, or eat her gloves – but he wouldn’t be NEARLY as excited to see her when she comes out of the bathroom. I think she’s starting to think the same way.

Anyway – paws crossed for a lame-free day…

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

Howdy doody blogaroos! Yup. It’s me – Squirmy. The best bad dog in our household. And it’s an honor I’m proud to wear!

So today is January 19th and it’s something called Good Memory Day. They don’t really describe if this day refers to good previous events – or actual “memory.” So we’ll just take it as that. If so, I think it should be called PON Day – because we are known for our good memories. We are elephants in shaggy bodies. Small shaggy bodies. Without trunks.

I have a brilliant memory when it comes to remembering where animal poop is on our walks. I go back to the same spot every day to see if I can grab a sample.

It’s interesting – some sites on Mr Googly say that we dogs have an average short term memory of 27 seconds. Some say we can remember things up to two minutes. This article is good in summarizing different types of memory:

https://www.thelabradorsite.com/do-dogs-have-memories/

After reading a couple of articles about our short term memory, My Enforcer decided to carry out her own experiment to test us. We of course had to do the test one at a time because it would have been a gong show to try it with all three of us. The Boss went first, while the Coyote and I were sequestered in the front hall. First she showed the Boss a yummy treat. Then she had him watch while she placed it somewhere in the dining room. Like on a chair, next to a table leg, etc. He got to see where the treat was placed and then he had to go and wait in another room for 30 seconds. He was then told to “get it”. After 30 seconds he went right to the spot. He did it in two different spots. Then she increased the time to one minute. She also did this twice and he immediately went to the treat locations. So he did double the average time.

Here he is finding the treat on a chair:

Then it was time for yours truly. After 30 seconds I went right to the chair:

I did it again after 30 seconds. When the time was increased to a minute, I found it, but didn’t go right to the food. My sweet spot for fast finds was about 45 seconds. I blame it on my puppy brain.

Then it was the Coyote’s turn. Here’s the speedy guy after 30 seconds:

When the time increased to one minute, he was equally underwhelmed. He eventually found the treat, but it wasn’t direct. When My Enforcer went back to 45 seconds for him, he stopped to have a drink of water, which took about a minute , so he forgot the whole game. Or at least he didn’t want to play the game. Meanwhile, the Boss and I were watching from the hallway through the French door – screaming at him where to find the treat. It was a noisy game.

Anyway, here’s an interesting article about episodic memory in us dogs:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/11/23/503072612/your-dog-remembers-every-move-you-make

We didn’t test this “do as I do” type of memory. Probably because we were all exhausted after either participating in the short term memory test – or watching it. If the “do as I do” action involves something like opening a treat jar, I’m sure we’ll do great. But tapping an umbrella? I’m not so sure…

So there you have some canine memory tidbits for Memory Day! Now excuse me while I go and double check that there were no tiny pieces of treat left behind after our experiments yesterday. And then I’m off to find animal poop. Trust me – I know where it is…

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

Hey hey hey blogaroos. Squirmy here!!! Hope you’re having a Super Sunday!

I had a great day yesterday- going to my handling class with my girlfriend, Gena. I’m starting to get the idea of this running around the ring thing. Now I just need to train My Enforcer to know what to do. Honestly, she’s a bit of a handicap for me. But I’ll keep her. For a while anyway.

Today I get to share some info from the world of dogs. I think we’ve talked about the internet sensation, Pluto before. Well. The world has ANOTHER canine internet star! Have you heard about Tika? She’s an Italian Greyhound from Canada- and she is taking the canine fashion world by storm. It seems she likes to model her more than 200 outfits- and she has real opinions on them. She was quite disappointed that because of COVID, she didn’t get to wear many of her ensembles. Here’s her story in a short news clip:

https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/mobile/video?clipId=2117548

Holy moly’s ! I thought WE had lots of outfits. The Coyote didn’t like this story as he was afraid it would give My Enforcer ideas….

Let’s see. What else?

Oh! Oh! Remember we talked about the curfew in Quebec because of COVID. And we joked about renting dogs to walk after hours? We’ll get this – a couple was fined for going out after hours – because the wife was walking her husband on a leash!!!!! I think there are all kinds of things we could say about this – but My Enforcer said to just stick to the facts. Sometimes she’s just too politically correct. Come on! I’m a dog – I can get away with saying things. Let’s just hope he had better manners on a leash than we do – and he didn’t poop on anyone’s front lawn….

And lastly, today is a special lady’s birthday. The famous actress and huge animal lover, Betty White, turns 99 today!!!! Betty has owned many dogs in her life and she has been an advocate for Guide Dogs and has helped raise funds for canine cancer. Among many other things. There are lotsa videos of Betty and animals – but here’s a funny one with Jimmy Fallon from a few years ago:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/tvshowbiz/video-566/Betty-White-smooches-dog-appearance-Jimmy-Fallon-show.html

Happy birthday young lady!

Well that’s it from me. Time to enjoy another great day!

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

Greetings blog readers. Frodo today for your literary pleasure. Today I bring you a product review – and a story that illustrates the fact that we PONs have extremely good memories. Which may not be a good thing.

First the review. Her Highness is continually on the outlook for toys and chew things that will occupy our time – particularly during these COVID times – where she seems to spend an inordinate amount of time chatting with friends and family on the phone and on video calls. The imp has learned that when such calls begin, and she is comfortably seated in the DFZ, there are two things to do. A. Bark or B. Throw around a metal food bowl so Her Highness cannot hear her caller(s). If she knows she will be on a particularly long call, she may give us a frozen Kong or a Bully Stick to keep us occupied . And they work fine – but she is always exploring other options. So she decided to purchase these Lick Mats.

You basically smear the mats with something like peanut butter, and we canines must lick them clean.

She decided to test them out the day they came in. She applied the peanut butter and we PONs got the orange versions, while the Picky Picard got the green one.

All of us found them quite interesting – and fun. Her Highness had not applied a great deal of PB – she just wanted to see if we would like them. And we obviously did – working hard to clean them off. Of course the imp finished his first, and the Picard had cleaned up most of his- so walked away from it. The imp saw this as the perfect opportunity to steal the green one for himself – and to clean it up completely. He dashed under the table with his newfound prize and was licking away. However, “patience” is not a word used to describe the imp. He decided it would be faster to simply eat the mat in order to clean off all the PB. Her Highness saw him, just as he ripped off a corner of the green mat. She shouted at him as he raced around the dining room table- finally bribing him with a treat in order to get the brand new mat with the missing corner. And of course, the corner was gone….no remnants remained.

But before I continue the next part of the story, I will say that the mats DID occupy our time. Apparently one can purchase versions with a suction cup – to attach the mat to a wall like in a shower for use during bath time. Her Highness knows someone whose dog gets nervous at the vet – so it’s used during physical exams. I give it 5 paws – but with the warning that it cannot be left with dogs who chew things. Like the imp.

So back to his story. The size of the missing piece was about 1×2”. But the big question was weather it would “pass “ through the digestive tract. It IS soft, flexible plastic – BUT Her Highness was still worried. So. She pulled out her hydrogen peroxide and took the imp into the garage…

Now Her Highness has had indiscriminate eaters in the past and some were introduced to hydrogen peroxide more than once. The Lab and one Bernese knew the drill well. BUT they were not PONs. The imp saw/smelled the hydrogen peroxide and clamped his mouth shut. He had NOT forgotten his previous experience. Any attempt to open his mouth was met with a head moving side to side. And a bucking bronco routine. Within minutes, both Her Highness and the imp were wearing hydrogen peroxide. Even when she attempted to put peanut butter on the end of the syringe, he did not fall for that ploy. After 15 minutes of begging, instructing, and wrestling she finally conceded defeat. Both of them were soaked in hydrogen peroxide and little if any had been ingested. She crossed her fingers that the pliable piece would pass.

The poopology exam the next day was negative for the large piece. However, she did see a tiny piece of green – so hoped to see more in future samples.

But she didn’t have to wait long….Yesterday morning , while she was lying in bed waiting for the sunrise, she heard that sound which is more effective than any alarm clock. The urcky gurcky sound. The one we dogs make before we barf. She threw on the lights and sure enough – it was the imp who was about to toss his biscuits. And he did. And GUESS what came up? Yup. The green piece from the lick mat. Hallelujah.

We didn’t get the lick mats yesterday, but we WILL get them again. And as I said, when used PROPERLY, they ARE a cool device to keep us canines busy. They were safe and effective for 66% of dogs. In our household. The question is whether the PON with the good memory will remember not to attempt to chew it. Not to worry – it will be located right next to Her Highness while he’s using it. SHE took a licking the other day too….

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