Howdy blogaroos. Squirmy here. In our home bound but still active household. The humans are staying close to home which results in more walks for us canines every day! Gotta like that!

So today I wasn’t sure what to write about, but Frodo gave me an idea. He’s a chatty guy – and he always has an opinion and something to say. Always. Like I mean ALL the time. He shouts out orders and it’s pretty clear what he wants. At meal time, he repeatedly tells My Enforcer to speed things up. Every meal. Every day. He also barks and shouts at me if I’m bugging him too much. And his message is loud and clear.

So he thinks it’s pretty funny that people have started experimenting with these talking board things, where a dog pushes buttons to say words aloud in order to form basic sentences. I think we may have even written a blog about it before. Frodo sees no point in it. Why take the time to press words when his point is already well made?

My Enforcer is a bit skeptical about it and it appears that there are others who also question our canine ability to use language with these devices. It’s pretty clear that we canines DO communicate in a variety of ways – for example with the use of different kinds of barks. I mean I have a very different “come on Coyote let’s play” bark than my “it’s a delivery guy and I must protect our home at all costs” bark. And we DO understand many words. The dog who was a master at that was Chaser, a border collie who knew like a thousand words. But do we want to put words into sentences to communicate? My Enforcer says she is doubtful. We dogs can be trained to do lots of things – and we can certainly learn patterns – but whether we have the intent to use the words in the same way as humans is the big question.

This article examines the “sentence talking dog” idea. It has links to some videos of Bunny, a sheepdog cross who reportedly uses her device to communicate needs and wants…

https://neurosciencenews.com/animal-communication-18280/

So the jury is out on whether we communicate in sentences like humans. YES – we absolutely communicate. But in grammatical sentences? Not so sure.

After watching the videos we got to thinking. We know how stubborn…er…determined we PONs can be. So can you imagine what it would be like if we were using one of these devices AND we did use language in the same way as humans? It would probably sound like this: “I want out. Now. Throw the ball. Now. Isn’t it time for supper? Now. The treat jar is getting low. Get away from me with that brush. Time for another walk. Now. I hear birds. Time to get up. Now. Somebody stole the bread off the counter. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me…”

On the flip side, we have the Coyote, whose comments would be more like this: “Sit? What’s that? Hey – a bird. Hey- a bunny. Hey – a leaf. Can I hug you? Put the camera away. Treat? Nah I’m good.”

What a nightmare it could be if we did have one of those things. My Enforcer said we are NOT getting one. To begin with, it’s highly likely that we (or at least yours truly) would try to rip the buttons right off the board anyway.

So those are my thoughts for the day. If anyone is using one of those things, let us know. And we’re curious about what you think. One very good thing about the device would be how it does stimulate our minds – and does involve lots of work with our humans. And really, that alone may be reason enough to use one. Mind you, I think I would rather play fetch….

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

Howdy doody blogaroos! Squirmy Wormy here. I survived my first birthday celebration with treats and cake and dancing and drinking and games and a band and…OK. Some of that is a bit of an exaggeration. But it still was fun! And thank you for all the great birthday messages!!! I heard from people all over the world! How COOL is that?! I can’t wait to be 2!

What else is new? Oh yeah. Wildlife. It seems Spring has sprung in full force and all the woodland creatures are emerging. The bunnies have changed from white back to brown – and I hate to admit this, but sometimes I don’t even see them! Like here where I am literally less than 10 feet from Peter Cottontail, and I didn’t even notice him!! Can you see him?!

My Enforcer was pretty surprised that I missed him.

On the other hand, she was VERY, VERY happy that I missed a different critter the other day. While I was busy sniffing around (on leash) trying to find THE best place to poop, My Enforcer and her sister saw something crossing the road not far from us at all. A smallish, weird prickly fella. They are called porcupines. I never even saw him, because I was in poop exploring mode. And I didn’t notice him when he walked right down our driveway. My Enforcer said he was a young guy – the adult porcupines are much bigger. She said it would NOT be a good idea to meet up with him. So no more running around our property off leash early in the morning or at dusk. I guess that’s when those guys usually like to get out. Hey – do porcupines get ticks? Just wondering. Here’s some basic porcupine info, in case you’re ever on Jeopardy and the topic is the walking pincushions.

https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/animal-facts-porcupine

So I didn’t chase the porcupine BUT – and here’s a big but- I DID attempt to be a sporting dog the other morning by flushing a pheasant!!! I was actually off leash and went in the bush and kaboom- out came a big pheasant who caused both My Enforcer and her sister to jump. That was pretty cool. I’ve also learned to chase geese off the golf course , but I’m only allowed to do it if there are two or less. They always fly away. I try it with robins too – but they also fly away. Once they take flight, I give up. And I DO run back to My Enforcer when called. I know that’s hard to believe. Although, sometimes I do attempt to grab goose poop on the way back. It’s almost as good as bunny poop.

Other than that, I’ve been busy ricocheting off our guests, The Coyote and My Enforcer. Good times. Because of the COVID, the humans can’t travel around much which suits us canines just fine.

Time to get everybody up for walks…and another episode of Wild Kingdom. Inside and outside our home.

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

Hey hey hey blogaroos! Squirmy here! Happy Sunday! And happy April 25!! Which is a BIG day!!!! It’s my first birthday!!! Yippeeee! I’m a big boy now!

The other guys said I’m no longer a puppy. Although that’s somewhat debatable as I still ACT like a puppy. And believe it or not, I still come by the nickname Shaggy Shark quite honestly. Yup. I still haven’t grown out of my nipping and attack mode – which I have pretty much been doing since I was a little guy. The only difference now is that my teeth are less sharp….

So it’s been quite a year. I left my mother and moved to a whole other country! So I speak and understand both American and Canadian. I came to Canada’s Ocean Playground and met my two canine siblings – who tolerate my crazy behavior VERY well. And I’ve learned a lot from both of them. Frodo (The Boss) has taught me how to bark incessantly. He has also shown me how to get LOTS of treats when My Enforcer is trying to “train” me. Pretend you don’t understand. You get more treats that way. Elroy (The Coyote) has shown me how to watch birds, and bunnies and blowing leaves. He’s fun to play with and he’s pretty tolerant of my biting. Although he does let me know when he’s had enough. Even he has his limits.

What else have I learned… oh- if you sit and wait while your food is being served, you get it more quickly than if you jump around. I’ve learned how to behave in my rally classes – because that’s where you get the REALLY good treats. I’ve learned to play fetch and Find The Bunny – and I’m good at both. At least I think so. I’ve learned to come when called because you get really good treats. I’ve learned to attack the vacuum cleaner, and to hide when I see bags from the Dollar Store. Which usually mean some kind of weird attire. That being said, I AM following the Boss’s lead on posing. It’s an easy gig – look at the camera and you get a treat. I’m getting prettying good at it.

What else have I learned…oh – I’m good at countersurfing AND I can ricochet off inanimate objects as well as living beings like humans and other dogs. Now mind you, neither of these skills are highly rewarded. But still – I can do stuff. Oh. And I’m pretty easy to groom.

I still don’t lift my leg to pee, but I like to sniff pee -AND I have found that bunny balls are delectable.

I can escape from a crate with three latches – but I still haven’t figured out carabiners. Yet.

I’ll eat almost anything- but I’m still not fussy about lettuce. But new grass – that’s awesome!!!

I’m officially a Pandemic Puppy. That explains some of my wild behavior. At least that’s my excuse!

Oh … oh….and one more thing – I love to do Zoomies around the dining room table EVERY single morning. Because I wake up in a joyful mood each day – and I’m just SO excited to see what the day will hold! It’s a fun way to start the day!

So I’ve had a great first year. Thanks for reading about my adventures- I look forward to sharing more with you – hopefully for many years to come!! Here are some highlights from my first year!

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

Greetings readers. Frodo here on this the 23rd of April – which according to my calendar, is an occasion called World Book Night. It is, according to my sources, a day to encourage and inspire others to read more. Sounds like a brilliant idea.

I found this link to inspire you with a host of dog books. See how many you have read:

https://www.rover.com/blog/best-new-dog-books-novels/?amp

Her Highness refuses to read any books where the canine protagonist dies. She just cannot do it. I feel the same way when I read books about humans.

In other news, none of our guests has needed to visit an Emergency Room because of the imp. Yet. They are learning to hold their stance when the freight train is about to ricochet off of them. We have all enjoyed the extra walks we have had since they have been here.

Her Highness survived her COVID vaccine, and despite a sore arm, had no noticeable side effects. While that is good COVID news, our happy hamlet has had an increase in cases which is not good news. The uptick in cases has resulted in a significant lockdown in a variety of human activities. Again.

And speaking of ticks, the little parasitic arachnids have awakened from their winter slumber and are out in full force. The imp had a live bloodsucker crawling on his coat the other day, promoting a swift removal by Her Highness. The tick went to tick heaven, if there is such a place, after meeting his demise with a large mallet in the garage. I believe the word is overkill, but there is no question that the tick was dead.

Until Her Highness decides whether she is brave enough to give us one of the tick medications, we are all sporting bandannas when we go out, sprayed with a natural repellent. We all smell like walking citronella candles. So far, the aroma therapy appears to be working. Time will tell…

Speaking of walks, it is about that time. We must get our charges moving. Good thing they are not allergic to citronella…

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

Hey blogees. Elroy here today to update you on our household news and to provide you with a history lesson. Yeah. I know when you hear history and academia, you don’t think of yours truly. But this is an interesting story – so I’m happy to share it.

First- news on the home front. Guests are still here – and yours truly actually has the official title of “good dog.” I know. I know. Hard to believe. But the Ricocheting Ranger has rightfully earned the “bad dog” title. It feels good to have passed that moniker on to him. He’s nutso. And I look like a saint. Lovin’ my new status.

All three of us canines actually went for a walk the other night – because we have three humans. I actually got to do some running – and didn’t pull my charge into the ditch. How cool was that?!

We’re getting lots of good exercise- and so are the humans. It’s a win-win all around.

In other news, today is the birthday of John Muir. Not the news anchor from ABC news – the OTHER John Muir. The guy who was a Scottish-American conservationist and naturalist – who co-founded the Sierra Club, and is called by some the “Father of the National Parks.” He lived from 1838-1914, and was an environmentalist who loved the wilderness and sought to preserve wild spaces. And that’s all nice, but what I found interesting was a story he wrote about an adventure in Alaska – with a dog. And the dog wasn’t even his! Here’s a summary of the story which is considered a true dog classic. I hope you’ll enjoy the story of Stickeen as much as we did. Sounds like Stickeen was one smart dog. Must have been part Picard. Stop laughing.

https://americacomesalive.com/john-muirs-dog-stickeen/

Today Her Highness goes to get her Rabies shot. Wait. The Boss said it’s not RABIES. It’s her first COVID shot. Thank goodness. Although she still has to wear a mask when she goes out, she can stop wearing it with us canines at home. Just kidding. That was my attempt at humor. I’m clearly hilarious.

OK. Time to take the humans for their walks. Hope y’all have a super duper day.

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

Hey blogaroos!!! Squirmy here. And guess what?! You give up! We have COMPANY!!!! My Enforcer’s sister, Susan and her beau, Keith are here!!!! All the way from Nouveauland. Wait. The Boss said I’m wrong. Make that Newfoundland. Close enough.

Anyway, they drove and saw mooses and drove and saw washed out roads and drove and took a fairy (I’m not sure how they caught one – but that’s what they said) and they drove some more. And they finally got here just after My Enforcer put the vacuum away. For the third time.

Wait. The Boss said I have some things wrong again. He said it’s not mooses. So it must be meese. It’s not mice. A moose is way bigger than a mouse. Plus the Coyote said that’s not the kind of fairy they caught. Like not like Tinkerbell. No. It’s a ferry boat. Good thing it wasn’t the Titanic.

Anyway, I gave them my big dog ferocious bark when they arrived. I was in my kennel, the Coyote was sequestered behind a gate in the bedroom- and get this- The Boss was FREE. I have a feeling that it MAY have something to do with behavior. I mean the Coyote does get excited and jumps on people when they first arrive. And I ricochet off them. So My Enforcer kept us sequestered just for while they were first coming in and bringing in their suitcases. After that they were fair game. Here the Coyote and I are tag teaming. He had jumped on Susan from behind and then I jumped on her lap. She was squished. It was great fun. For us anyway.

We really like having them here – and it has nothing to do with the fact that they brought us some super yummy treats. Yesterday, Susan went on the morning walks with us – and get this one – I went with the Coyote for a change. We got to show Susan how we both enjoy climbing on rocks. Note we are both on leash….

Then The Boss and I showed them around our property. Well – with My Enforcer. It’s not like they haven’t been here before – but it’s been awhile. We were off leash. We don’t run away. Usually. You’ll note the Coyote is not in the photo. Because he does run away. BUT he was left in the house with super yummy treats. I almost didn’t go for the walk….Treats or walk are a tough call.

Anyway, we love having them here – and we promise we’ll be on our best behavior. Well – the Boss and the Coyote promise. All bets are off with yours truly. I’ll TRY. But wildness is just who I am! They were kind of amazed to watch me do my laps around the dining room table. It kind of goes like this – do a lap, ricochet off a human, do a lap, ricochet off another human, do a lap, ricochet off the Coyote, do a lap, ricochet off a human, do a lap, jump over the Boss….(he doesn’t appreciate the ricochet moves), do another lap… You get the picture…

BUT I did go to rally class last night – and I was good! The only screw up (as usual) was because of my human. Go figure.

Well time to do my good morning song and get those guests moving. I’m sure they want to make the most of their vacation- and don’t REALLY want to sleep in after 6:15.

Let us know if you’re interested in staying with us in the future! We’re taking reservations. And we pay YOU!

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

Howdy blogaroos! Happy Saturday! Looks like a rainy one here – so I’m thinking it will be short walks today. Get ready for 84 rounds of “Find the”….whatever. I can’t wait.

So I hear today is something called Blah Blah Blah Day. It’s actually not a fun day. It’s supposed to be a day when you follow through and do the things that someone has been nagging you to do. You humans are good at that. Somebody tells you repeatedly to do something (like take the car in to get that rattle fixed, or make an appointment for a hearing test – so the TV level can be turned down from max) – but all you hear is Blah Blah Blah and you don’t really listen. So today you are supposed to do those nagging tasks. At least one of them. I hope My Enforcer doesn’t follow through on her nagging about grooming us. She should clean the garage instead.

There’s an old cartoon depicting us canines and the fact that most of what we hear and understand from you humans is Blah Blah Blah. But that’s not totally true. We understand a WHOLE LOT more. In fact we understand everything you say. We just choose to ignore a lot of it, because you humans are pretty repetitive. And let’s face it – sometimes you kinda lie. Like when you’re leaving and you say “Be good boys. I won’t be long.” Your definition of long can be 30 minutes to 3 hours. In this case, we would appreciate a bit more specificity. Because we ARE listening.

One of my favorite lines is “What did you do?” Or “Who did this?” These utterances we fully understand as they usually occur after someone has done something naughty. Like shredding the toilet paper on the roll. Both questions are useless because in the first one you can clearly SEE what we did. And in the second, you probably already know the answer – and if you don’t it’s not like we will snitch on one another. Don’t bother with the questions. Just state the facts.

Another good line is “What are you chewing?” We all understand that line well and in fact, just hearing it will cause us to either run and/or chew the thing even faster. Just get out the treats and we’ll decide if we want to trade that piece of bunny poop we found for the treat.

The Coyote is a master at Blah Blah Blah statements. Like we’ve talked about before. Like when playing Find the Bunny. And My Enforcer says “Find it!” He looks at her like she has two heads. “You hid it, you find it,” he says. He treats everything like a Blah Blah Blah statement.

Anyway – good luck with your tasks today. Don’t work TOO hard.

Oh oh – and SOMETHING is going on here. My Enforcer has been cleaning like crazy. So that means either she is going away (which is unlikely) OR someone is coming to visit!!!! Maybe I’ll have more victims to ricochet against. We’ll see who it is….

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

Hey hey hey blogaroos. Squirmy Wormy here. For your entertainment. Because that’s what I am. An entertainer. One ball of a crazy, wild entertaining whirlwind wrapped up in a leash. Yup that’s me!

But today I get to share some educational, historical stuff. For example, if this was a Jeopardy answer, what would be the question: two Pomeranians and a Pekingese. Give up? The question would be: What dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic? Really. That’s a fact. And I bring it up because on this day in 1912, the “unsinkable” ocean liner sank in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. And our very own city of Halifax played a roll in the recovery effort afterwards. Sadly, we have three cemeteries that have victims buried here. Here are more details on all the canine passengers:

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/news/remembering-dogs-titanic/

Frodo and Elroy have both been on cruise ships before. OK. Maybe a ferry boat isn’t the same as a cruise ship. I guess that’s a bit different, But they’ve both been sailors. Maybe I’ll get my chance this year. I’m kinda obsessed with water, and My Enforcer thinks I might enjoy swimming. While on a walk, I run to every pond and puddle and just stare at them. I didn’t go in the lake last year, but I’m thinking I will give it a try this year. When it gets a bit warmer.

What else is new? Oh – I had another rally class the other night. It was the first time that when I was told to “stay” while My Enforcer walked the course, that I actually stayed in place. I usually get up and go to read the signs by myself. Because we know My Enforcer usually gets them wrong. But anyway, this time I was told to “stay” and I did. I guess I am maturing. And I CAN behave. When I WANT to.

Well let’s see what kind of trouble , errr I mean adventures, I can have today! I hope you get to do whatever floats your boat today! I’m so funny….

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

Greetings blog readers. Frodo here on this auspicious day. National Scrabble Day. Both the imp and the Coyote yawned when I shared this important bit of news- so I have the honor of writing today’s blog.

As Viktor did several years ago, I will share some words that contain the word “dog.” Because let us face the truth – we canines are at the heart of everything. For example, we have the word “dogma.” Which is a doctrine, principle or statement of ideas. The dogma in our household is that canines rule and humans obey. Simple. And true. The word dogma will score you a measly 9 points in Scrabble, however, you will score substantially more with undogmatically or even dogmatisms. Dogmatisms are arrogant, stubborn assertions of an opinion or belief. We PONs know all about stubborn opinions – particularly when it comes to meals being served on time. The word dogmatisms will give you 16 points.

The word dogcatcher will score you 19 points. Thankfully the local animal control agents have not been called to imprison any of us. Yet.

The word dogtrotted will give you 13 points. It means to move at a smooth steady pace. Which is noted should the Coyote ever find the front door left mistakenly open.

A lapdog is defined as a small docile dog that can be cuddled on the lap. Someone needs to tell the Coyote the definition. He believes he is one. The word will give you 10 points.

Watchdogging is a serious activity that all dogs in this house engage in. Whether we are warning about the delivery man, the pheasant in the woods, or a leaf blowing in the wind, we take our job seriously. The word will score you an appropriate 24 points.

Those are just a few of the words contains “dog”. There are many more – and you can find plenty here – should you be a real wordie:

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/words-containing-dog#w15

As a final note on this day of words, here are two canines who took the time to make a video to celebrate Scrabble. We couldn’t do that here as it is QUITE likely one (or more) of us would have eaten the Scrabble tiles….

https://youtu.be/07ICLQEhgRo

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

Howdy blogaroos. Squirmy here. I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend and a sunny Sunday. Because we know that many humans have heliophilia- which means a love of the sun. Yup. My Enforcer and her friends are still doing a new word each day. So that was one of their words the other day. The Coyote is a real heliophile. He finds every sunny spot in the house, and that’s where he plants himself.

And speaking of plants – guess what My Enforcer and a good friend did the other day? Why they moved the garden boxes OUTSIDE our fenced area!!! While they were doing it, The Boss and I were sequestered in the house – but get this- The Coyote was allowed outside and got to watch the proceedings! At one point, My Enforcer kinda regretted her decision to leave him out there. He actually plopped himself down in one box and then attempted to dig in the soil. This photo was before he was really covered in soil- and in this shot you can’t REALLY see all the stuff on his face. He kept turning away because he didn’t want the photo evidence.

And then get this. She moved the boxes on the other side of the fence and far enough away that nobody could lift their legs and pee through the fence and onto the boxes. I still haven’t figured out the leg lifting thing – which My Enforcer thinks is just fine. Two dogs peeing on the BBQ is enough, she says….

Oh yeah – so today is something called “Good Deed Day.” I suppose it means I should behave – but no guarantees. Instead, I decided to do a good deed here – which has LITTLE to do with dogs. It’s about a word. And the word is orbisulate. What the heck is THAT you may wonder? It’s when you eat citrus fruit like grapefruit and it squirts you in the eye. Now we dogs shouldn’t eat grapefruit, but we can have a little bit of orange or lemon (as if we would want it) and it won’t kill us. But we shouldn’t really eat a lot in the line of citrus fruits in general as it could be tough on our stomachs.

So what’s the good deed? Well it seems some guy made up the word “orbisculate” – and now his family is trying to get the word in the dictionary. They need people to use the word, in order for it to be accepted as a real word. Here is their story:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/03/10/orbisculate-dictionary-krieger-covid/

https://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/2021/04/ellen-degeneres-more-celebs-helping-get-cny-invented-word-orbisculate-in-dictionary.html

Sharing their story is our Good Deed for today!

Anyway, I hope you heliophiles have a wonderful day and I hope your fruit doesn’t orbisculate. Don’t forget to do a good deed today. No deed is too small, if it’s something that someone else will appreciate. Like giving your dog an extra treat…

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