So a good news story – instead of a rant today.   I just read about a cool study going on in Australia.  They are looking at the use of assistance dogs with individuals who have dementia!  The dogs are trained to sense the mood of the individual and help if the person wanders or gets lost.  How cool is THAT!  I’ll be watching for the results of this one.  Yet another example of how brilliant we dogs are.  

OK.  ANOTHER rant.  I must be in a cranky mood lately.  I saw a news story that made my blood boil.   It seems that 19 states in the US are cracking down a big problem – fake service dogs.  FAKE service dogs!  What kind of human would put a FAKE vest on a dog and PRETEND that it is a REAL service dog?!   I mean REAL service dogs undergo months and months of training – and they perform a variety of tasks for humans with hearing, sight, and physical challenges.  They can also alert others if their human has a specific physical problem like seizures or low blood sugar.  Hey – maybe I can get a service dog for my seizures… But I digress.

REAL service dogs perform tasks that improve the quality of life of the humans they live with.   And to THINK someone would try to simply buy a FAKE vest and pass their dog off as a REAL service dog is downright…..AWFUL!!!!!  The challenge with the REAL dogs is that there is no national certification or registry that will prove a REAL service dog IS the REAL deal.  So it’s hard to create or enforce laws around this.  In the US, apparently, the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not allow places, which allow service dogs,  to ask any questions about what kind of disability the human has.  The business can ask what tasks the dog does – but cannot ask about the specific disability the human has or for any kind of documentation on the dog. Interestingly, dogs that provide “emotional support” are not covered under the ADA.  I think because the training for these dogs is quite different from service dogs.  And while service dogs are allowed in many environments, emotional support dogs may not be allowed in.  It seems that there needs to be some kind of registry for all of this – so that working dogs who help humans can continue to do their jobs.  And dogs who are NOT trained, cannot be mistaken for one.

None of the dogs in this house would be able to be service dogs.  Imagine me walking with a visually impaired person – and seeing a rabbit….  Clearly those dogs have LOTS and LOTS of training.

Anyway, paws up for REAL service dogs.  And may the humans who try to pass off their untrained dogs as service dogs…well…may you….ummmm…. let’s see…..ummmmmm…..step in poop!  Or just don’t do it again.

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.

Well we are officially into one of the two most dangerous times of the year for humans owned by dogs.  At least in our neck of the woods.  The first most dangerous time, of course, is during the winter months – when icy sidewalks can be definite threat to humans walking dogs.  As you may recall my human slipped and broke her wrist one winter while walking me and Einstein. And thankfully it wasn’t OUR fault.  We were not even pulling.  It was just a bad step onto a slightly snow covered icy patch. It was not a joyful time.

But the other dangerous time is now.  During leaf season…

And here is the scenario….When taking us out on the lawn – one or two or three of us poops.  And my human realizes she has no bag in her pocket.  Having no bag IS a rare occurrence.  My human has even found poop bags in formal wear.  But, it seems that when you NEED a bag, you don’t HAVE a bag.  Besides – it is only on our property –  so she just goes back in the house to GET a bag.  And then the “older adult” memory test begins.  WHERE in all the leaves is the poop?  It’s like that kids’ game – Where’s Waldo – except the poop is less appealing to find.  So where’s the danger?  Yup you guessed it.  While searching among the leaves, one human inevitably steps in the poop.  We  dogs just say, leave the poop on the lawn.  Don’t panic- it’s organic.  But every year it’s the same routine.  We just roll our eyes and look for another pile of leaves in which to poop.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up!

Today is October 16 and according to the crazy calendar, it’s Learn a Word Day. I COULD give you some real canine vocabulary words – but I prefer my own Viktionary terms.  And I have a few new terms for your ever-growing Vikabulary.

Canidascendaholic.  n.  A dog who likes to constantly climb onto something to assume a greater vantage point.  It can be outdoors, like on a rock or hill or indoors – on furniture- particularly the back of a sofa. 
  

Well, life as we know it is over.  Actually, Einstein is affected most by this change.  As we know, Einstein likes to get into the DFZ.  It’s his mission in life.  And the old wooden gates with the plastic inserts that were attached to the pillars were no match for him.  He just chewed his way in.    But now… we have new, custom-made METAL gates.   That have been made and installed specifically to keep us canines OUT of the DFZ.  My human had thought about getting doors with glass.  But she reconsidered when she looked at our other glass doors – with the olfactory art.  So she changed her mind, and found poor Don.  Remember the guy who was making our sign?  Now THAT I like!  Check it out!!!!!

But Don also made the gate.  Which may look attractive to humans, but not so much to us dogs.  And it is STRONG.  It can’t be moved.  There is no room to get under it.  And the thing is like 5 feet tall.  So jumping would be tough.  VERY tough. 

Aunt Glenda and her husband, Richard, delivered the gate for us – as Don  lives near them.  And they helped to install it.  We just watched – particularly Einstein – who was checking to see what kind of screws they used.  After they were done, my human, Glenda and Richard went in the DFZ and closed the gate.  Einstein walked over and inspected the handiwork.  Then he lay down and rested his chin on the bottom rail.  A more pitiful sight you have never seen. 

Richard also hung up our sign.  And while he was doing so, the FG casually walked over and promptly stole his power drill.  The FG picked it up and RAN – with my human shouting “hey-put that down!!!!!” I wonder if Einstein actually told the FG to do it – he will need tools to get that gate down…

So Einstein has his work cut out for him.  Guess he’ll be asking Santa Paws for some seriuos power saws for Christmas. 

Have a good one!  Peace and paws up!

October 14.  And on this day in 1926, A. A. Milne’s book, “Winnie the Pooh” was released.  Although Pooh isn’t a dog, he could have been because he is so smart.

I have taken some of my favorite Pooh quotes – and combined them with some of my favorite photos.  Hope you enjoy them – and have a marvelous Saturday!

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up!

It’s October 11 and today, according to the crazy calendar, it is Myths and Legends Day.  Now there are a LOT of ways to look at this day, so let’s start with just a FEW common dog myths:

•   A dog who is wagging his tail is happy.  NOT always.   You need to look at the WHOLE dog.  Not just his tail.  For example, if we are wagging slowly, or if we are wagging but the rest of our body appears tense or stiff, we may be feeling uncomfortable.  Wagging with our tail down may indicate submission.  Or anxiety.  Which can be seen after humans utter those ridiculous words: “What did you do?”

•   All big dogs or banned breeds have a greater likelihood of being aggressive. Wrongo.  It’s generally not the BREED that is aggressive, but the HUMAN who raised that breed.   And while it’s true that little dogs don’t inflict the level of damage that a large dog can, ANY dog CAN be aggressive under the right circumstances.  Again – this usually goes back to the human who they own. We dogs in this house are NOT aggressive.  Crazy – maybe.  But never aggressive.

•   Dogs are colorblind.  True, we dogs don’t have vision that includes seeing the same range of colors that humans have – BUT we don’t see in black and white either.  We see in shades of green, blues, yellows and grays.  So don’t try outfitting me with that ugly blue plaid raincoat.  I KNOW it’s not attractive.  I can SEE it.

•  You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.  While we canines like to use this as an excuse – the reality is that IF the treats are good enough – we CAN learn new things.  Admittedly, some old dogs may not be able to see or hear as well – so it could be harder or slower to learn – but never say never!  There’s still hope for us yet! 

Now in the category of mythological dogs and legends, I found a mythological canine for almost every letter of the alphabet.   And so many countries/cultures have stories about mythological dogs and lots of them are downright spooky.  Half-man- half-dog beasts,  ghost dogs, devil dogs, blood sucking dogs, two headed dogs – it was hard to find a happy dog from mythology!  One I found was Gytrash a legendary black dog from Northern England.  It seems lots of countries have “black dog” myths and legends.  Apparently Gytrash will meet strangers on lonely dark roads – and in some cases will be helpful and will lead them to the right road.  On the OTHER hand, Gytrash may be not so nice, and lead them astray.  Typical dog to me – sometimes we are good, and sometimes not so much!

If you look on Wikipedia for Mythological Dogs, you will find all kinds of dogs in mythology.  And this article is a summary of some of the stories.

https://www.thoughtco.com/dog-folklore-and-legends-2562493

We have our own myths in our house.  For example, it is a myth that we always countersurf when my human is not in the room.  Trust me – we don’t bother if we don’t smell food. 

But the BIGGEST myth in my mind is that humans train DOGS.  It is very much the OTHER way around.  From the time of our adorable little puppy looks and our sweet smelling puppy breath, we begin our work – and we ALLOW you to think that YOU are training US.  But WE train YOU. And OUR training goes on for our entire lifetime!   And then the story of our life, after we are gone,  becomes legend.  Every single one of us…

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up!