frodopon

Rain. Ugh. And dark encounters.

October 17, 2018Leave a Comment

Yesterday was one of those days that drove my human that much closer to retirement. And it had nothing to do with work. But everything to do with the weather…

She should have known it was going to be a bad morning when none of us was in a hurry to go out. We heard the rain. And the wind. So in typical PON fashion, when the front door was opened, we stood there like we were statues. My human had to PUSH us out the door.

It was dark. It was raining. And all the pretty colored leaves were being whipped around us. My human begged “If you just poop quickly, we will go right back in.” Einstein listened. Me? Not so much. We walked down the road part way and Einstein did his thing. We headed for home and we walking-wet-potato-sacks started moving more quickly. HOWEVER, when we got to our driveway, my human walked right past it. She looked at me and said “VIKTOR – you NEED to hurry up.” Hurry up is the polite way of saying GO POOP! I trudged along as if I had been told I wouldn’t be fed for 24 hours. I FINALLY did my thing about 50 yards down the road. You should have then seen us racing home. The FG went out next. Luckily, the FG is a power pooper at the best of times – so he did not disappoint in the inclement weather. Thank goodness.

And speaking of morning walks in the dark – we made sure to wake up the entire neighborhood last week as well. Remember Max? The new puppy on the road who now towers over me and Einstein? The incredibly joyful, energetic, bouncy dog who is doing an excellent job of training his humans? Well it seems that Max is starting to do morning dark walks just like us. My human can spot their human and the telltale headlamp, and she often heads the opposite direction. Not because Max is bad. But we are. Well – Einstein is. Because after all, he OWNS the road. So he barks out his “greetings” if ANYONE dares to walk on his road. After years, he no longer does it when he sees Pig Pen or Pig Pen’s humans. But anyone else on the road? They MUST hear his proclamation of ownership.

Anyway, the other morning we were headed home and much to my human’s surprise, out of another neighbor’s yard there appeared a light. AND a dog. It was Max. And as predicted, Einstein went Cujo crazy. Not that he would do anything to Max – in fact he approached him and just smelled him all over, while barking the whole time. Poor Max didn’t know what hit him when we crazy PONs appeared out of the dark. Now, I’m generally quiet during these interludes. But on that morning, I started in on the chorus as well. My human did the apologetic “they really are friendly” speech as she dragged us home. Einstein stayed puffed up and grumbling all the way home.

I think my human should just retire. Then there would be no rushing around in the morning – and we could go for our morning walks at any time. We could wait for rain to stop. We could wait for daylight….

I vote RETIRE. What do you think?

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 34

Sad news

October 16, 2018Leave a Comment

What do you say….

In the past few weeks, my human has had two good friends who have had to make that difficult decision to send their dogs to the Rainbow Bridge. As someone once said, we dogs provide you with some of the happiest days in your life – and one of the worst.

First there was Jessy – a spitfire of a Sheltie-cross – who was the first dog owned by a dear friend my human. Jessy was a rescue – who initially required some consistent obedience to be a canine good citizen. But with some training and lots of love, she stole the hearts of her family – who went from being crazy cat people to being crazy dog people. She beat the odds when diagnosed with cancer and lived longer than anticipated- but that time is never long enough. They were shattered when they suddenly had to make that selfless decision that loving owners need to make.

And then there was Wiggles – owned by someone my human considers a matriarch in the PON world in the US. But interestingly, Wiggles wasn’t a PON! She was a lovable multi-breed dog who lived to see her 13th birthday. And after weeks of battling illness, her human also had to make that selfless decision….and her heart was shattered too…

So what does one say at times like this? That you are sorry – because you ARE- and you feel their pain? But it just doesn’t seem enough…That you wish you could make them feel better – but you really can’t because you don’t have the tools to mend that hole in their broken heart.

Just let them know you are thinking of them- and that they are not crying alone. Anyone who has had the joy of being owned by a dog knows that pain – and in a strange way, it’s kind of a special club. Everyone understands. And everyone also knows the joy of being owned by a dog – and they realize they cannot let this horrible time outweigh those countless joyful moments.

So our warm thoughts are with those friends today. You have given a piece of your heart to a special dog – but remember that the hole is replaced by memories that will last through your lifetime. And nothing will take those away….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days: 33

Photo shoots

October 15, 2018Leave a Comment

She can’t blame us this time. We didn’t mess up the Fall decor…

So for those who said it would be a day or two before someone peed on a pumpkin…I am proud to announce that the colorful orbs are still pee-less. But we do have a few weeks until Halloween. The ornamental corn hasn’t survived though. Something ate almost all of it. It was hanging on the pillar by the front door. Anyway, all the colorful kernels are gone. It looked a bit odd now, so my human tossed it in the woods. We figure it was either the birds…or a raccoon or a mouse. Who would be one fat, heavy mouse if he acted alone. For once we canines couldn’t be blamed.

Saturday was a nice day. Which in my human’s mind spells a nice day to take fall photos. The one you see was her favorite- but not to worry – there are more. Personally, I think the bloopers are the most fun. And yours truly has done my part to insure that there are some beauties. It all has to do with some crazy glasses from the dreaded Dollar Store. Now Einstein, the dog who would wear ANTHING, didn’t mind them.

But as for me and the FG…well you’ll see what we thought of them.

I heard my human rustling around in some bins in the garage last night. It sounds like she found some attire from previous years. Oh goody. It’s the first time I’m praying for rain- so we can’t do outdoor shots. She’s off today….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days: 32

Quoting Mr Pooh

October 14, 2018Leave a Comment

October 14. The anniversary of the release of A.A. Milne’s book – Winnie the Pooh. It was published in 1926.

Pooh has a place in the hearts of so many – and there are so manic inspirational and thought provoking quotes by the tubby bear.

Like last year, I’ve taken a few quotes and paired them with photos. Hope you like them!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up!

Seizure free days: 31

Music

October 13, 2018Leave a Comment

October 13. And according to the crazy calendar, it is International Music Day. If one does a quick search on the net for dogs and music, you can find ALL kinds of sites that have music that we dogs supposedly like to listen to. Like this one which includes 12 hours of music that we supposedly love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dau2XY1Yq2U&vl=en

Now before you shake your head and say that’s crazy – there have been researchers who have actually studied what kind of music we dogs prefer. I am NOT kidding. Wonder where they got the grant money? Through a record company? Hey Kanye – there’s another business idea for you. Anyway, I digress.

One study looked at shelter dogs and they tested the effects of five kinds of auditory sources: conversation, heavy metal music, classical music, pop and a control. Not sure what the control was. Anyway, the shelter dogs were quieter and more relaxed when listening to classical music. Another study found the same results – with dogs spending more timing “shaking and vocalizing” to heavy metal music”.

Interesting stuff. My human leaves the radio on for us – and it is mostly pop music. Must get her to change it up. Hello Bach. Good-bye Kanye. Sorry I just couldn’t resist. I just want to make my blog great again.

OK. I need to stop. Time to download some Chopin. He was Polish after all. It’s either that. Or polka music.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 30!

Contrafreeloading. The word for the day.

October 12, 2018Leave a Comment

Thanks to one of my loyal readers, I learned a new word the other day. It has to do with the picky Picard’s eating behaviors. Who knew that there could be a reason for it (besides intestinal issues- which I learned could also be a reason). The reason is called contrafreeloading. And it is real.

What is it you ask? The term refers to the behavior in which animals will choose food that they work for, rather than food that is simply given to them. In 1963, a behavioral psychologist did a series of experiments with rats and it was later replicated with chimps, gerbils, and birds. When given a choice between food in a bowl or food that was dispensed by pressing a lever, subjects preferred the food they worked for. Except one animal. Cats. Go figure. They prefer to be treated like royalty and fed freely. Which is interesting because they certainly have a prey drive!

Behaviorists who support positive reinforcement suggest that dogs can use their brains to earn their food – which they clearly enjoy. They say that by turning mealtime into a game, dogs are less bored and use their brains. Some people have dogs do things all throughout the day – and they are basically rewarded with their food for doing things. You sit, you get part of your meal. You stay, you get more of your meal. Alternatively, you can do things like place food in a treat ball (or dispensing toy) so the dog works for his meal that way. You can scatter or hide food and your dog has to find it.

It makes sense because we herding breeds are smart – and we like to think things through. We get bored – and need to keep our brains stimulated. Clearly the FG finds it boring to just get his food delivered. We PONs are smart too- and will also work for food. But we also have insatiable appetites – so you will never see us just staring at our food. The day we do, you know something is wrong!!!

I guess we PONs are really better freeloaders than Picards. Although….I must note here…that we HAVE been training the FG to countersurf. So he COULD become a freeloader too. Mind you, you DO have to work at getting food off the counter…standing on two legs is hard work…

Bottom line, we learned a new word this week – and maybe you just did too!!! And MAYBE, instead of just putting your dog’s food dish down automatically- sometimes think about making us work for it. Because we like to!!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days: 29

Pumpkin bets

October 11, 2018Leave a Comment

We’re taking wagers. Which we always seem to be doing….like how long the carpet will remain intact before the FG performs teeth crafting. Placing the chairs on their sides on all carpet edging seems to have deterred the chewing. For now. So the fortress remains.

This wager has to do with pumpkins.

My human went a little crazy with outdoor decorating. And it’s not even Christmas. She bought some “fall” decor – some mums, some stalks of corn, some dried corn AND some pumpkins. So what do you think are the FIRST words out of her mouth whenever we go out the front door? This is BEFORE saying: “Viktordon’tpullyou’llhurtyourselfandFrodostopgrabbinghisearandElroyyouarrgoingtostrangleyourselfand
PONsstopbarkingyouavebeentogetheralldaystopactinglikeyouhavenotseeneachotherbecarefulbefore somebodygetshurt.” The NEW statement…make that COMMAND, is “DO NOT pee on the pumpkins!!!!!!”

She has to say it EVERY time. And she has to keep an eye on each of us if we are loose – because WE are all vying for the title of Inaugural Pumpkin Pee-er for 2018. And it’s also a matter of time before the FG grabs one of the large orbs and attempts to take off with it. He has been eyeing the stems every time he walks by.

After my blog yesterday, we learned that LOTS of Picards have very strange eating habits. Some will only eat off a plate. Some will only eat outdoors. So our FG is not as crazy as we PONs think he is. It’s in his blood. I wonder if it’s in the breed standard…

My human got some new ideas based on feedback so we’ll let you know how they go. Like I said, you have to admire those Picards at how GOOD they are at training humans. This guy takes it to a whole new level…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 28

Food tricks

October 10, 2018Leave a Comment

So who is training who….

My human continues to battle it out with the FG on the eating issue. Yes, she knows that she should just put the food down, take it up if he doesn’t eat it, put it down again, etc. And eventually he WILL get hungry and will eat. But it kills her when she adds all kinds of yummy ingredients and he STILL looks at it and walks away. If the additional ingredients are moist, she ends up throwing away the whole bowl after two meals. So we have seen a LOT of food going in the garbage.

BUT. And here is the big BUT. He WILL eat treats. And he is right there when she is eating her yogurt and her banana in the morning. If he thinks that Einstein and are getting something yummy, he will come over to share in the bounty.

So Monday morning, after the burr-a-thon, my human had an idea. We PONs gobbled down our food. And the FG just snubbed his nose at his food bowl and looked all dejected. So my human picked up his bowl and put it on the counter. She called us all over – like it was treat time. And she gave Einstein one piece of kibble. And then gave me a single kibble. And she gave the FG one. She repeated the process, except, she gave the FG five kibbles. And he ate them. She continued. Einstein – one. Me – one. The FG – a handful. AND HE ATE IT. This is from HIS bowl. The same stuff that he snubbed his nose at only 10 minutes before. She managed to get him to eat almost his entire bowl of food with this technique.

Yesterday morning she tried again. But this time he wasn’t as keen. While Einstein and I were ripping her fingers off trying to get a single kibble, he just went to lie down. So this time, she put the kibbles right in front of him on the floor. Five, then six, then a handful. And yup – he ate them. Again she managed to get him to eat most of his meal.

Now I don’t know how long it will be before the FG realizes he is eating the same stuff he ealier refused. Once before she thought MAYBE he didn’t like his bowl – so she changed it. That didn’t make much of a difference after a few days.

It’s kind of fun to have a breed that is almost as stubborn as us PONs. And it’s also great fun to see how good he is at training humans. Now if I can JUST train him to open the garage door…

Have a good one. Peace and pawsup.
Seizure free days: 27

Burrs…

October 9, 2018Leave a Comment

Well we survived the Blessing. But sprinkling us with Holy Water certainly didn’t make one of us more holy…

Yesterday was a beautiful day. We PONs got the first walk of the morning just as the sun was starting to come up. I’m still a bit gimpy – but better. Still my human wouldn’t let me run around off leash. Drat.

Next the FG went out. It was light by then, and my human figured he needed a good run. So she took the long line, grabbed a fetch toy and headed up the the golf course, because it wasn’t open yet.

The first part of the adventure began with some “poop” issues. The FG ended up (pun intended) with some cling ons. So my human figured if he headed for a pond, she wouldn’t stop him. When they got to the course, she put on the long line and hauled out the fetch toy. His brain exploded. He loves to chase that thing. Bringing it back is still another matter. But my human heaved the toy and off he went. And he actually came back! She was all excited. But not for long. The next time he ran out, and came back but stopped about 10 feet away. My human had to retrieve the toy. She’s great at it. Next try, same result. By this time they approached a pond, and Flipper dove in. Cling on problem solved. My human heaved the toy. And he raced up a hill to get it. He grabbed it and then looked in the distance. He dropped the toy and off he ran. My human raced up the hill to see where he went. She spotted him with his head in some brush at the side of the cart path – in the rough. She called thinking he would never actually come, but much to her amazement, he looked up and dashed right to her. She was so excited. Until he got up close. And that’s when she saw what was to become a morning “project.” The brush he had gotten into was full of tiny flat Prong Burrs.

Dozens of them. You can see them a BIT in the photo, but the photo really does not do his mess the proper justice. They were clumped under his chin. All around his ears. All over his front legs. His back legs were mostly spared but not his back feet. He was a disaster. But frankly, he didn’t care.

My human sighed and marched him home. He was immediately taken to the Torture Palace, and put on the grooming table where the removal process began. She was able to get out some with a comb, but many had to be picked out. Neither of them were happy campers.

She ended up giving him a bath when most were out and between the shampoo and the dryer she figured she had 95% of them. When he was done he raced into the dining room and rubbed his face in the carpet. Probably not unlike the move he made that got him into the mess.

Guess who will be staying on leash again…I hate to think what would have happened if he hadn’t had the Blessing…..

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days: 26

Blessings and miracles and friends

October 8, 2018Leave a Comment

Well my human hasn’t been excommunicated. And we got to witness a miracle. Actually more than one…

Yesterday morning my human could not decide who to take to the church for the Blessing of the Animals. I actually needed the blessing most – because I have been limping again. Too much raucous play with Einstein. And for that reason, she wasn’t sure about taking me for fear I would get too excited and hurt myself more.

She called her best friend, Joanie who happened to be in town. She asked Joanie who to take. Joanie instantly responded and said “all three” – she offered to come and help. My human warned her that it would be chaos – but Joanie already knew that. She’s been around us plenty of times. She has extra insurance for bodily harm when she comes to visit.

My human spent the better part of the day strategizing how this would play out. The FG would ride in a crate and we PONs would be sequestered in the back. She arranged the crate in Ludwig and additionally placed some barricades so we PONs couldn’t escape through the side door when she would let the FG out. She selected her arsenal- a variety of collars and leashes. She decided Joanie would handle the FG, and she would handle us two PONs. The plan was made…

As predicted, when we pulled into the parking lot, Einstein took one look at the other dogs who had arrived and threw himself against the back window, growling like an extra-crazed version of Cujo. The FG started howling right on cue .

The priest had already come out and was making his way to the outdoor grotto – with his extremely well-behaved German Shepherd. My human shouted “ We’re here for the exorcism!” He had a laugh. A nervous laugh, but a laugh.

First my human got the FG out- and put him on a short leash. (Note: BIG mistake). My human accidentally let go of the leash and he walked away. He stopped to smell something so she quickly grabbed him. She then passed him off to Joanie.

Then it was our turn. She had to open the hatch without us jumping out and running to see the other dogs who had arrived. She somehow got Einstein out first and put him on a leash. He was all puffed up, ready to “introduce” himself to any dogs there. BUT not to worry. My human had cooked up hotdogs and had pockets full – so he was actually rather obedient while I got out and got leashed up.

Everybody out. Now to make our way toward the grotto. And that was when the first miracle, began to occur. The FG who had actually been sitting fairly well beside Joanie, while my human was grappling with us PONs- suddenly decided to bolt- and she lost his leash. And this time – he ran. Heading for the road. Joanie took off after him. Racing faster than my human has ever seen her run. My human somehow tossed me and Einstein back into the vehicle. I don’t remember much – I just know I was suddenly back in the car- it happened so fast. She closed us in and ran to join Joanie in the chase. Luckily the service had not yet begun – but all the other participants and the priest watched in dismay. Nothing like making a grand entrance. My human raced up a hill and around the corner by the church- to find Joanie who had just captured the runaway. Miracle number one. She looked a bit pale- and was holding on for dear life. The FG just shrugged.

My human marched him back to the vehicle and got a different leash. Joanie held him in a death grip- and he went with her to lie down close to the grotto where the service was about to begin. My human got us out of Ludwig and we joined the group. We didn’t care about the other participants. We had hotdogs being stufffed in our faces every 20 seconds so we were happy.

During the service, we were actually well behaved. By the Grace of God. Literally. We had the holy water sprinkled on us and didn’t attempt to attack the priest. Miracle number two.

When it was over, the priest who is from Poland asked what we were. He had never seen a PON before. Go figure.

We were loaded into the vehicle and both Joanie and my human just looked at each other. And breathed a sigh of relief. Did I mention she is a REALLY good friend…

After we got home, the last miracle was about to occur – although my human didn’t find out about it until after the fact. When Joanie was leaving our place, she realized her glasses were missing. She tried to think where she last had them and recalled they had been on her head when she arrived at the church. She figured she might have lost them during the chase. So, unbeknownst to my human, she went back to the church and searched around. Sure enough – they were on the ground right at the spot where she had tackled the FG. Miracle number three.

So three dogs blessed and three miracles. All in one day.

On this Thanksgiving Day, thank goodness for all our blessings – a roof over our heads, food in our bowls, toys to play with and a bed to sleep in. And among those blessings we cannot forget family and particularly friends – who always come to our aid when we need them the most…They put up with our shenanigans and are always there to help. And as we have seen, they are often the greatest blessing of all…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days: 24