Well my human has done it again.  We’ll see what happens THIS time.  Sometimes I think she is just a glutton for punishment.  What has she done?  She has entered the FG in a herding instinct test at the end of the month.   

We know that for Einstein and I, the instinct test fee was not exactly money well spent.  Remember?  First Einstein went in the pen for the test and just glared at my human.  He’s not really one to enjoy a fenced-in muddy pen.  And yet he HAD been with sheep when he was younger – so my human THOUGHT he would be interested.   He kind of liked sheep.  “Kind of” being the operative words.  My human actually found video footage of his first encounter.  And it really wasn’t all THAT exciting.  But after he was given some time – and was walked around the sheep – he DID catch on.  These photos show those results.

But for the test?  Nope.  Maybe it was performance anxiety.  After he failed the test, she then brought ME in.  And she had really high hopes for me.  My performance?  Ditto.  I sat in the middle of the pen like a stuffed PON.

So then remember how she decided that maybe if I went without Einstein to a test that MAYBE I would do better?  So several weeks later she entered me in another test.  And she drove over an hour again to get there.  And she was all excited.  And the result was EXACTLY the same.  I sat in the pen and stared at her.  We didn’t even get our allotted 15 minutes of test time.  The judges, for some reason, remembered me from my previous performance.  They said to take me home and love me.  But don’t bother buying any sheep. 

So now it’s the FG’s turn.  And while we know his mother was great with sheep, we are not holding out any high hopes.  My human can’t bear to have her dreams dashed yet again.  So she says she is going in with absolutely NO expectations.  Good plan.  I mean I’m not suggesting she should aim low – but the reality is that either we WANT to chase the sheep.  Or we don’t.   My human’s excuse was that we had obedience training – so we didn’t like to work away from her.  Bwhahahahaha.  I don’t think anyone bought it – but it made HER feel better.  

In the meantime, I suggest she start playing some sheepherding videos on the TV.  Maybe he’ll get the idea.  Honestly, I think she should sell tickets to watch him.  She will DEFINITELY need to have someone take some video.  Finally a chance for a viral video.  I can hardly wait…

Have a good one!  Peace and paws up!

OK so I just don’t get this Picky Picard thing.   Being picky about food is SO foreign to the PONs in this house – it’s like saying grooming is a FUN thing to do.  My human THOUGHT she had outsmarted the FG by doing things like adding parmesan to his food.  Or adding other tasty treats like bits of dried liver.  Or by feeding him by hand.  Or by changing his food.  And all of those tactics DID work.  For a day or two.  But on Thursday, I honestly thought my human was going to cry.   None of the tactics worked – and he refused to eat.  Yes – she knows you can put his food down and take it away after 10-15 minutes.  But the problem is, I then OBSESS over that food bowl.  It’s put in the garage – but honestly, I KNOW it is in there.  So I stand and stare at the garage door.  Constantly.  And I squeak.  And moan. 

Sometimes if the FG doesn’t eat his breakfast, my human puts his bowl in his run with him if she goes out, and he generally eats it while she is out.   But Thursday he picked out the dried liver and spread the rest of his kibble around his run.  And neither the hand feeding or parmesan worked when she returned.  Even begging did not work.  And not to worry – he is NOT sick.  He has tons of energy and WILL eat treats.  Or garbage along the side of the road if my human isn’t paying attention while they walk.

So she didn’t know WHAT to do. One thing she did notice was that when she takes him on his walks, he is always happy to be rewarded for good walking with a piece or two of kibble.  So she tried something yesterday morning… She basically FILLED her pockets with the amount of food the FG would usually get for breakfast.  And every now and then, on the walk, she would stop and offer him some.  Which he happily ate.  So my clever human was able to feed him his entire meal, as they walked along.  BINGO.  She has outsmarted him again.  But we’ll see how long THIS lasts.

Never a dull moment.  Ever….

Happy Saturday!!!!!

Peace and paws up!

So every now and then, after my human manages to snap a halfway decent photo of us canines, someone will ask her how she does it.  I decided to share with you her ingredients for canine photography.

1.  First you need a dog. Or two. Or in our case three.  The higher the number, the higher degree of #2.

2.  Patience.  Which ironically is not my human’s forte.  But she must have some, or the recipe would not work out.  If patience is really lacking, alcohol consumption may or may not help.  That’s optional.

3.  Treats.  Really GOOD treats.  Not a piece of the same old kibble we may get for meals.  That is way too boring.  We are talking something extraordinary.  Like dried liver.  Or cheese.  Or sirloin steak.  And we must get a whiff before you begin.

4.  Noise makers.  If you want the “ears up” attentive expression, you must use SOMETHING to gain our attention.  A squeaker may work.  Or a whistle.  Or you can try any variety of human noises.  But keep in mind, they only work once.  After that, you need a new one.

5.  Pocket rocks.  When my human attempts outdoor photos, she picks up rocks and loads her pockets with them.  Rocks are perfect.  For throwing in the bushes to get attention.  Or in the water.  Or behind her.  Just do NOT throw them straight up – as you can end up with a minor head injury. 

These are the basic ingredients for taking canine photos.  Oh and you need a camera.  Or in my human’s case, a smart phone.  Like her iPhone.  Which always seems to turn off JUST as she has managed to position all of us. And as SOON as she is all set, one of us has moved.  It’s kind of like an interesting game of canine chess.  You never know where the next move will be.

So there you have it.  No doubt our neighbors have heard some rather interesting noises during our photo shoots.  And no doubt a FEW colorful words as well.  And although we may grumble about her pup-arazzi  routine, we DO enjoy the treats!  Did you say “cheese?!”

Peace and paws up!

You know, I’ve always thought I had a pretty good life.  Food in my bowl, roof over my head, toys to fetch, a human bed on which to sleep,  fun “siblings” to play with (should the urge arise), a pretty well-behaved human – yup I thought life was pretty sweet. But now my perfect life is even MORE perfect.  I was introduced to something I never had before.  And frankly, I can’t believe I have waited for 5 years to discover this.  The amazing discovery?  Bones.  Real, honest to goodness non-vegan, non-vegetarian meaty rib bones.  Where has my human been hiding these all my life?

It started when she went to the pet store to get our food.  She has decided the antlers are obviously not for us – or at least not for Mr. Brittle Teeth Einstein.  Now we DO chew on those hard nylon-type bones, but the idea of us ingesting plastic isn’t a great concept either.  There are vegetable chews that SEEM really hard – but my human remembers buying them once and within MINUTES we had eaten large chunks.  So she decided to buy some REAL frozen bones at the pet store.  Yeah – I KNOW she can get them cheaper at the grocery store, but the salesguy was good.  So she happily came home with 5 lbs of frozen bones – which actually cost less than one nylon-type bone.  Go figure.

It was a gorgeous day, so she took us all out on the deck.  And each of us got a BIG rib bone.  And our heads just about exploded.  Well, mine did.  And so did Einstein’s.  Mr. Dainty Chew – the FG, took his over to a corner and politely nibbled.  We PONs on the other hand, attacked the things.  Einstein was so excited, he didn’t even want to lie down.  My human sat and watched us like a hawk about to swoop down on a mouse.  If it appeared we were getting TOO excited and breaking off TOO big a piece, she was prepared to take it away.  She watched as we pawed and gnawed and chewed.  Honestly, I now know what dog heaven looks like.  The path is lined with REAL bones.

Anyway, after about 10 minutes, the FG had had enough.  But we PONs were FAR from finished.  My human watched us a while longer and then went in the house to get some biscuits.  She traded a biscuit for each bone, collected them and put them in a bag back in the freezer.  By this point we were huffing and puffing as if we had just completed a marathon.  And then I had to lick and remnants off my paws.

I think the key in giving these things to us IS to watch us.  The LAST thing we need is one of us swallowing a bone.  Now THAT would be bad.

Anyway,  I always knew I had a pretty wonderful life – and who KNEW it could even get better?!  Peace and paws up!

So Monday morning, I got my human up at our usual time of 4:45.  She kept mumbling about vacation as she rolled off the bed – I FORGOT she was off!  Just as well – who wants to waste precious vacation time relaxing.  Mind you – I didn’t get to relax much on Sunday night.  First she tricked me into thinking I was getting a brushing.  Which I did.  And which I needed.  And then, when I thought she was finished – she quickly whisked me into the TUB!  Up until this point, while I was being brushed, Einstein had been wanting to come into the grooming torture room aka garage, because he knew I was getting lots of treats.  But as soon as he heard the water running, he ran.  I must confess, that although I’m not a huge bath fan, I do smell and look quite marvelous now. Not to mention the fact that between the airplane jet engine dryer and numerous fans going in the room, I was dry within seconds.  OK make that minutes.  Well, in less than an hour.  But seriously, it didn’t take long at all.

Monday, the FG was the next victim.  But if there’s one thing he has not learned from us PONs, it’s how to be wiggly and difficult to handle during brushing.  He just stands there rather stoically – and he doesn’t even WANT treats. He smelled quite wonderful when he was finished too. 

We KNOW who is next.  My human is going to have quite the time trying to find him when she decides to bathe him.  He keeps watching her whenever she moves toward the garage door.  And he runs.  She saved the worst for last.

But even BEFORE the FG had his bath, my humans decided she “needed” a new photo of the three of us.  As IF 694 photos that she already has of the Trouble Trio isn’t enough.  And she managed to snap this one -she gets SO excited when after 592 attempts she gets a photo she likes.  Seriously.  She needs to get a life.  And I hope she isn’t planning on an entire month of baths and photos.  Her dream is our nightmare.

BUT the good news – GUESS what she found at the store yesterday?!!!  A BUNNY!!!!!  No – not a real one.  A stuffed one.  Remember the stuffed one that I decapitated?  And the replacement bunny that she bought at Crufts – which quickly became an amputee?  Well she FOUND another bunny!  He’s not EXACTLY like the last two – but he’s pretty close.  She says he is a “rainy day” toy – for playing with inside when we can’t go out.  Bla bla bla.  Humans and their rules.  

Well – time to get her moving. Hope your day is bath and photo-free.  Have a good one!

Peace and paws up!

OK. I am ANNOYED.  REALLY annoyed.  Since July 29 and until today, there has been a big event  in Halifax.  It was the Tall Ships regatta – and 30 huge masted vessels from 10 countries were in the harbor for all to see.  The waterfront was bustling with crowds who came to see the ships, listen to music, eat some great food and possibly have a beverage.  Or two.  Every few years a gathering of ships like this takes place – and at the end of the festivities, there will be a giant Parade of Sail.  Which happens today.

So all weekend I was hoping to go.  But no.  My human was “busy.”  Then suddenly, last night, she started feeling badly that she had not driven into the city to see the ships. So after supper, she got ready and looked at each of us.  She knew if she took me and not Einstein, he would bark until we came home.  And ditto if she took him and not me.  And if she took BOTH of us, the FG would go crazy. And taking all three of us would be suicidal.  So that left one choice.  The FG got to go.  

My human gave me and Einstein some special treats and off she and the FG went to the big city.  Now keep in mind that the Halifax waterfront, which boasts one of the world’s longest boardwalks, was TEEMING with people.  MOBS of people.  She parked far away and started walking toward the ships and all the action.  And the FG IMMEDIATELY pooped.  She figured that would happen – that’s why she parked so far away.  She S & D’d (scooped and disposed) and off they went. 

So the VERY first people they passed had to stop and pet the FG.  And of course ask what he was.  He was timid for .0008 seconds and then wanted to jump all over them.  And that set the stage for walking through the crowd…

Mr. Sociable wanted to say hello to EVERYONE.  My human wished she had a T-shirt saying “He’s a Berger Picard.”  Everyone was asking what he was.  At one point he saw another dog and my human said you could see the thought bubble over his head:  “One of my kind!”  Of course he wanted to greet every dog too.

But in the end, he really WAS pretty well behaved.  My human did not end up in the harbor and no small child lost an ice cream cone.  Came close.  But didn’t.

As my human was headed back to the car, and the less populated area, she passed a couple sitting on a bench.  The woman asked you know what.  And just as my human replied, the man, who had an accent said his brother has one.  “Where?”  my human asked him.  “In POLAND” the man replied.  Poland?! Seriously?!  What’s his brother doing with a Picard in POLAND?!  His brother should have a PON!!!!!!  I think he just said that.

The FG came home and went right to sleep.  He was exhausted.  And Einstein and I got MORE treats.  So we were happy.  But I STILL would have liked to have seen the ships….Next time.

Peace and paws up!

Well well well.  Exactly one year ago year ago today, my human met a special guy.  It was actually the result of some on-line “dating”.  She  remembers the instant she saw him. She had driven for hours and hours to meet him with her good friend, Glenda and it was a beautiful day. 

He had dark eyes and sandy colored hair.  And the most enticing expression.  He won her over within nanoseconds of their meeting.  And life in our house would never be the same. Yup. A year ago today my human met Elroy for the first time. 

So did you know that as early as the 17th century, humans began to describe the barking sounds that we dogs make?  Back then, our barking sound was described as “waff”.  By the 19th century, it appears that our barking changed to “woof”.

And of course, there are other sounds to describe the sounds we dogs make.  Like yip and yap and arf, and bow wow and grrrrrr…

And here’s a site to tell you how to woof in a variety of languages:
http://stories.barkpost.com/woof-other-languages/

This whole topic began because yesterday I described the FG’s boof.  Now in our house,  a boof is not a bark – or a “woowoowoo”.  It is not a full out “get the heck off my property” kind of sound.  And it’s not a “rowf” which means hurry up and get my supper- that’s Einstein favorite.  And then we have the “mmmmmmm” with a melodic tone that rises and falls when we are bored or want a treat.  And then we have Einstein’s rarawwwwww when he yawns in the morning.  No a boof is none of these.  A boof is quieter than a woowoowoo.  And one makes a single boof at a time.  It’s not done in sequence.  It’s a “I’m bold but scared” kind of sound.  It’s a boof.

Now you may be reading this and thinking that my human has lost her mind since her vacation started.  But there are scientists who actually study the acoustic properties of dog barks in response to different situations. And they have found that we dogs interpret the sounds of other dogs and humans can also tell the differences in our sounds as well.  And like humans, if we have a high-pitched bark in response to something, it usually signifies something happy.  Whereas a low-pitched bark signifies warning, or that we are not happy.  Just like humans!  And did you know the longest recorded barks (for a Cocker Spaniel) in a 10 minute period was 907 – or more than 90 a minute.  That’s even more annoying than Einstein.  Clearly that dog had a LOT to say.  Now HE could have run for politics…

So no new critter sightings when we got my human up at 5:30 yesterday.  I got her up – I wanted her to make THE most of her first day off.  She was not impressed.  She took me out, waited for me to pee – and then pretended she was going to get dressed to take us for our walks.  So she went in the bedroom and closed the door.  But she TRICKED us – she went back to bed.  We actually let her sleep until 6.  And then Einstein began to rowf.  He had enough sleep.

Have a super Sunday!  Peace and paws up!  May all your rowfs today be happy – and rewarded with good treats!