Howdy blogaroos! It’s December the 23rd. The last FULL shopping day for Santa. And I’m thinking this is IT for sending my letter via email or text to the guy in red. The problem is – I’ve been busy! I’ve had some classes this week, I’ve been on walks, I played in the snow (before it rained), I’ve been on delivery guy patrol – AND I’ve had to sit for several photo shoots. Yesterday the Warden said she is DONE with Christmas photos. You’ll see her favorite on Christmas Day- the snow shot we took a few weeks ago. And REALLY – she SHOULD have been satisfied with that. But no. It’s not Christmas until antlers or a Santa hat comes out. This year she decided to skip the antlers. But don’t be sad. She stuffed these little Santa hats with paper – and made us wear them. The Boss said they resemble dunce caps – but he doesn’t care – because these photo shoots involve treats.

Here he is on his own…

Then we add me…

Personally, I think I look like I just ate something that had a bad aftertaste. And that’s the best of 68 taken.

But then we add the Coyote. He was ALL excited to come into the “photo studio” aka garage while we were taking our photos. He was whining and crying to come in. And then, once the Warden wrestles (literally) to get all of us in place, the Coyote wants no part of it. I’m almost afraid to post these photos for fear someone will report us to animal control because he looks SO depressed. Check him out:

This is when he first sat down and realized that attire was required. He’s giving the Warden the stink eye. And I’m not exactly sure where the Boss is looking.

Here the Boss and I started rocking back and forth to Feliz Navidad. I’m really getting into it. The Coyote is mortified.

Now I’m bored…

Here the guys started making fun of me:

I think this is the best one. The Coyote is slightly less mortified. Note his hat has no pompom. I pulled it off. Maybe that’s why he’s cranky…

When the hats were removed, the Coyote was a BIT happier…

You’ll note the individual tree shots up above. That required duct tape to stick us to the floor (OK, just me) – so I wouldn’t go crazy around the Christmas tree. Those shots involved really good treats.

OK. Gotta go finish my letter. The Boss said the deadline for letters from naughty dogs was December 1st. I hope he’s joking…

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

Howdy blogaroos! It’s the Squirm man here to wish you a happy first day of Winter!!! Yup. It’s officially here. And we even have some snow! Although the fore-guess is calling for RAIN tomorrow. Yuppers. Lots of rain. So we’ll get to see if the latest pond that the Coyote and I started before this last snowfall, will hold water. The Warden wondered why I was so muddy one day- and she found the newest excavation site. It’s next to a large tree. Hope it doesn’t topple over…

So guess what?! Now the days will be getting longer! Yee haw! Right now we get up at daybreak and holy moly, after supper it’s dark out, so we feel like going to bed. Well at least everybody else in this house does. Not me. The Coyote thinks food is overrated and I think sleep is overrated. Hey remember those two nights of freedom that I had a couple of months ago – where I didn’t have to sleep in my crate at night? Well that parole didn’t last long and I’ve been in prison ever since. Yeah. Jumping on and off the bed, chewing sheets and trying to stand on the Warden’s chest wasn’t such a great idea. The Warden said she’ll let me free again. When I turn 10.

So the Warden finished a little project the other day. Her annual dog calendar. She’s been doing one every year for like a million years and a couple of years ago she started putting it on-line. She gets like fifty cents for every one that sells. I think she made $2.00 last year. And that’s because she bought two herself. Now this year she wasn’t going to do one. She thought NEXT year we would do a Where’s Wojtek calendar. She didn’t have enough of those photos to do one this year. Anyway, she wasn’t going to do our regular calendar, but a very nice long-time reader contacted her about it – so she did one after all. Thanks Jim. I only got 5 walks instead of 6 the other day because she was working on it. It can be found at:

https://www.prestophoto.com/bookstore/476769

After The Warden made it, she went to order one for us. Holy moly – the shipping fees the printing place charges are CRAZY. Really crazy. I mean they could send us guys ourselves to your home for the prices they are charging. She went with the USPS rate, which means we should have our calendar by April. And she’s supposed to be the smart one in this household?! Next year we’ll look at more affordable options – AND we’ll have it done before December. Jim, can you please remind her in like July? Thanks!

I still don’t have my Christmas list done. I’m running out of time. And paper. I’ll just send an email. Or a text. Anybody got Santa’s contact info? Will he have to wear a mask on his long ride? I’m sure he has his booster by now. Holy heck – he could be the ultimate super spreader.

OK. Time to enjoy the snow before it melts! Happy Winter!

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

Howdy doody blogaroos! Squirmy here on a snowy Sunday! Yup – another day of snowballs in the house. We bring them in – and we do a GREAT job.

We had snow a week or so ago – so the Warden decided to get us out to take a Christmas photo. It’s a good thing she did – because the next day it rained and all the snow melted! As always, the photo shoot was chaos. The Coyote either refuses to look at the camera, or if he looks, he has his ears all weird. After 4lb of cheese, the repetition of the word “stay” about 694 times AND a bunch of weird noises which I think the Warden learned in some on-line course for weird dog photo noises, she did manage to get a good shot. You’ll have to wait to see the result, but here’s a couple of shots of me running off with the Coyote’s scarf. I nearly strangled him getting it off.

The Warden is supposed to go to a friend’s place for a visit today, but if the snow keeps up, she’ll have to cancel. I’m secretly hoping the snow keeps coming so she stays home. Mind you, she did say something about indoor Christmas photos. She better cook up some steaks.

Not much new here. Shredding wrapping paper, barking at delivery guys, sticking our noses in every shopping bag that comes it the door – yup the typical Christmas preparation stuff. I went to class on Friday , but unlike the last day of school, there was no party. Mind you, if some fake dude dressed like Santa had shown up, chances are pretty good he might have lost some of the fur on his suit. Hey – that would have been a great distraction during our sit-stay practice!

I am told I better get my list in to Santa pretty quickly – time is running out. The Warden gave me some suggestions about what to request. I find that a bit odd. Do you think she and the guy in red work together?

OK. Time to get out in the white stuff. Chances are good that the Boss will attempt snow angels. IF it’s not too wet….

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

Salutations blog readers. Frodo here on Friday, the 17th of December. Exactly one week to Christmas Eve.

The Imp is rather excited. He’s assuming that the distinguished bearded gentleman in the ruby attire will be bringing him some wondrous gifts. Apparently he has some delusion that his behavior this year was better than last. I beg to differ. His ricochet tactics have not decreased significantly, and frankly, I do tire of him pawing my face. I do allow him to lick my face and hair, because it’s better than a paw in the face. The FG will occasionally play with him, but even he has his limits. I still have much to teach that boy. I must confess, I’m glad to see he is following in my rally footsteps, but he still has a way to go. A long way. Still – I do like the lad.

Today I’d like to share some research with you – primarily because it occurred at Her Highness’s old work site – Dalhousie University. And it has to do with us canines – and our receptive vocabulary.

https://globalnews.ca/video/8439994/new-study-finds-dogs-may-know-more-than-you-think

Her Highness didn’t participate in the study, but she would have been most happy to list our vocabulary terms. Things like treats and biscuits and hungry and time-to-eat. Interesting how so many revolve around food…

Of course we know the typical “training terms” like sit, down or flat, stand, stay, over, come, here, spin, twist…etc. etc. We know them. Whether we choose to DO them is an entirely different question. Perhaps that’s why she didn’t participate in the study…

Admittedly, we PONs respond to quite a few terms. The FG? Far fewer. Mind you- it probably relates back to the food aspect. We PONs will respond to things on the chance that we will be rewarded with some delectable morsel. The Picard continues to believe that food is a necessary evil. Try as I might, I will NEVER understand that.

Which brings us back to Christmas. My list would include anything edible. Including frozen blueberries and a slice of bread. The FG would prefer a subscription to the Nature channel on TV. I imagine a documentary about loons or sea gulls would make that boy quite happy.

Today the Imp has another class. Which means the FG and I will have total peace and quiet. You have NO idea how much we do enjoy his lessons. Because he is gone.

I hope as you enter the last weekend before Christmas, that you take some time to actually relax and savor the season. Yes – gifts are nice – but simply showing someone you care – by a phone call, or text can be equally meaningful. Take time to smile and give good wishes to strangers – even if they can’t see your smile behind your mask. Words carry power and a kind word goes a long way… Even we canines know that….

Happy countdown week.

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

Yo. Blog people. Elroy here. The mops are busy doing something- either being brushed or learning some new rally moves, so finally I get to say a few words.

Now what should I talk about? Oh yeah. It was pretty pleasant having the whole house to myself the other day while they went to read some signs and walk around a room. Not my thing. They get all shaky and excited about stuff like that. Not me. I’d rather lounge around the house, listen for any unusual bird sounds, and just watch the trees “blowin’ in the wind”. Because you know, that’s where the answer is my friend. But I’m not sure the question.

Yeah, those mops are something else. Sometimes I think they need to take a chill pill and be more like me. Like when we play that “find the bunny” game. Personally, I play along for a bit to look like I’m interested, but I’d much rather stand by the lake and watch the waves wash ashore. I mean the first time I’m told to find that stinky stuffed animal, I DO look for it. On the counters, the dining room table, on top of the fridge…Yeah – they’re never hidden there – but ya never know. The mops frantically search everywhere like they’re looking for the last morsel of food they’ll be eating for 24 hours. Yours truly has a much more methodical approach. And then when I find the stinky beast, first I stare at it. And then it is flipped in the air – to be sure it’s dead. Mind you – it’s stuffed. The next time the thing is hidden, it’s 50-50 whether I’ll find it. Not that I don’t KNOW where it is – I just think it’s a pointless game. Ya know where ya put it, but then ya act like ya don’t. And then I get treats when I do find it. And let’s face it, treats are overrated.

Yeah, I’m the kinda guy who likes to throw Her Highness into a different kind of frenzy than the mops. I like the slow frenzy approach. Like the other day, we went for our walk in the woods, with me on a long line, and I got myself tangled around a tree. Her Highness kept saying “go around” and indicating that I should reverse my direction to untangle myself. I just stood and stared at her. She must have said “go around” at least 86 times. I just stood there. She started to grumble and headed into the woods to untangle me, at which point I promptly untangled myself. Just tryin’ to help her get in her daily steps.

Sometimes, I must confess that Her Highness CAN be pretty smart. I mean not smarter than me – but pretty smart. We actually like to play battle of the brains. Here’s another example. So, I’m a Picard, and it’s in my nature to be inconsistent. And picky. At least that’s what I say. Like some days, I eat all my meals. Then other days, I say “meh – no breakfast for me.” So the goal is to get Her Highness to top up my food with tasty things, like dried liver bits, or Parmesan cheese. And for the LONGEST time, she fell for my ploy. She would either top up my breakfast, or just pick up my bowl and feed me more at supper. She has to pick up my bowl or the mops would eat EVERYTHING. But then, one day I said “no thanks” to breakfast, and she just picked up my bowl. So then at supper, she put down my bowl and it contained like 3 kibbles. Seriously. What the HECK? She didn’t say a WORD. I was STARVING. By the next morning, I decided breakfast WAS a good thing. I ate the entire bowl which was extra full. And I’ve been eating breakfast every morning since then. So I guess she kind of won this battle. But that’s for now. And don’t worry- I didn’t REALLY starve that day. I DID get treats and stuff. Her Highness just wanted to see what would happen – and IF she could get me to eat breakfast, without begging and running back and forth to try different tasty toppers. She must have read the idea somewhere. Anyway, it worked. Like I said – for now…Yawn.

Well, time to do some yoga and get ready to play dodge the shark. That Imp is still a menace, but all I have to do is look at him sideways, and he DOES respect me. After he flies over me. Good thing I have such a laid back nature – or this zoo would be even crazier than it is already!

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

Well howdy blogaroos. It’s Squirmy Wormy here – after an exhausting Sunday. Why? Because the Boss and I were entered in TWO honest to goodness real rally trials. Yup. Like real competitions. There was something like 58 dogs entered in the morning trial and a few less in the afternoon.

Now while we only live about 20 minutes from where the trial was held, and it didn’t start until 8:30 AM, the Warden had us up at 5 AM!! Why so early? Well. All Saturday night we had torrential rain AND thunder and lightning. And the pouring rain was supposed to last until mid-morning on Sunday. So…. She figured we would be soaking wet after our quick morning pee and poo – so she would need to dry us off before we went to the trial. BUT – the good news- the rain had slowed down A LOT – so that by 5:30 AM all of us had done our thing and didn’t require drying after all. Still -she likes to get to things early so we were packed up in Ludwig and on the road by 7:10. In the dark.

Now the Boss was on first in the Masters class. And truth be told – he’s still better than me. He knows all the moves. But unfortunately, he’s stuck with the same handler as me (who of course is the Warden)- and basically due to some handler errors, he did not get a qualifying leg in either trial. He watches the Warden ALL the time- so in the second trial he didn’t even see the jump coming – and crashed into it. But he shook himself off and finished the course brilliantly. The Warden was SO proud of him. They’ll try for Masters again.

And then there was yours truly. Now we KNOW I can be a bit…what’s the word…bonkers at times. Actually a lot of the time. So the Warden didn’t know WHAT would happen with me. I was in Novice. The Warden was allowed to take off her mask when in the ring – but she was SO nervous with me – she forgot – and wore it through my first run. I was a bit tentative my first few steps – but then, my brain woke up – and I had a BLAST. And guess what I scored? You’ll never guess. 100 out of 100. And guess what else? Not only was I the Highest scoring dog in my class – BUT, I got the highest scoring herding dog in the whole trial!

So two big ribbons – AND cash prizes. Unfortunately, my handler kept the prize money- she said it was hers. She better buy me some biscuits or something.

In the afternoon, I scored a 98/100 – enough to give me another High in Class AND more cash. So now I have 2 out of the three legs I need for my Novice title. But now there aren’t any trials until like March – so we have lots of time to practice. Here’s me with my morning ribbons. No envelope with the cash in the photo because, as I said, my handler took it. She said her rates are actually higher than what I won so I actually “owe” her money. She thinks she’s funny.

I have to send out a special thanks to our coach, Jane for helping and supporting us in our training. She has to put up with the Warden’s gazillion questions and she is always supporting and encouraging us to be the best we can be. She was there yesterday and I think she was pleased with our results!

So that’s the start to my rally and obedience career. Who would ever believe it? The guy who ricochets off people and does the zoomies around the dining room table. See – I CAN be good!

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

Greetings blog aficionados. Frodo here for your reading pleasure today. It has been quite some time since you’ve enjoyed the pleasure of my writing – the Imp is rather enthusiastic and a tad pushy – so the FG and I allow him to write more frequently. Besides – it keeps him busy for a few moments giving us much needed respite.

This blog is, how do some word it… ah a “shout out” to readers in Florida who might be interested in hosting yours truly for a few weeks. Or months. This winter. Well I suppose that’s not entirely true – but I do have a bit of a dilemma. Which began with a large snowfall here the other day….

I suppose I should not have been surprised that we had snow. The “official” start to winter is not far off, and let’s face it – December is a month associated with snowy songs, and movies. 

However, yours truly was NOT impressed with the large snowfall we had the other day. I was in NO hurry to go out for my morning constitutional because I had been following the weather channel all night, and I KNEW what lie ahead before I stepped out the door. The Imp went out first, plowing a rather erratic path along the driveway. He jumped and hopped his way along, finally stopping half way up to the road and he did his “business.” He actually would have stayed outside longer, but giant snowballs were forming on his body so he was quite happy to come inside.

Then it was my turn…

Whenever I go out for a walk, I always prance happily ahead of Her Highness. But not on a day when when it rains OR a day when the snow is up to my neck. And that was the case the other day. The snow was DEEP. And instead of my usual “leading the way” routine, I trudged slowly behind Her Highness, looking as if the treat jar was empty. In fact, I was SO downtrodden looking, that she actually questioned whether something was seriously wrong with me. She turned to face me and said something like “we’re not going far – just until you poop.” Poop? That’s all she wanted? I immediately stopped and produced what she was looking for. When she said “OK, we can go back home”, I whirled around and jumped and raced for the front door. I had a miraculous recovery from my previous trudging behavior.

The FG did not mind the snow. I believe that because he is taller, it was MUCH easier for him to navigate. He was in no hurry to come inside.

So that brings me to my request for Florida living. Or Texas. Or Mexico – or really ANYPLACE where I am not required to freeze my nether regions. 

But here’s the interesting part. While I do not enjoy the role of a snowplow, I AM quite happy to dig a little comfy spot in the snow and to lie down. I know. I know. That sounds contrary to my tale of WALKING in a winter wonderland.  But it’s true. When Her Highness let the other two maniacs out in the backyard yesterday afternoon- which was still full of snow, they BOTH ran around until they couldn’t move because of the snowballs. And one would THINK I would stay indoors, close to a cozy fire. But no. I went out on the deck, tromped down the snow, and made myself quite comfortable.  So perhaps balmy climates are not REALLY what I desire…It’s a conundrum.

Meanwhile, last night the Imp and I went to a rally fun match in preparation for our REAL rally trials on Sunday.  Yes – this Sunday.  This was a practice to see how we are both doing. The Imp is entered in Novice and yours truly is entered in Masters.  While yours truly is an extremely attentive, well-behaved participant, who LOVES to heel, Her Highness is fairly certain we will not pass – due to her own ineptitude about the signs. She was studying them in earnest last night – AFTER the practice. I believe some call it cramming. Anyway, I did relatively well, but I’m not crazy about jumping, so that likely will be my nemesis. A dropped bar equals a fail – and this twinkle toes has been known to drop a bar or two. Masters is a difficult level – and it’s probably been 8-9 years since I have formally competed – so our main goal is to have fun. That’s a given. The Imp is a wild card. He could score high – or could decide to do freestyle- resulting in a low score. It’s anyone’s guess. We’ll let you know the results – unless the event is carried on CNN – then you can watch it yourself. I am just jesting. I’m case you were immediately trying to find it on the channel guide. That’s all we would need would be network coverage- Her Highness was nervous at the fun match. She would need sedation for the real trial.

Anyway we shall keep you posted. In the meantime, I must go and hide. After our wintry weather the other day, today we have rain in the forecast. What IS a PON supposed to do in these conditions?! Maybe Florida isn’t such a bad idea after all. 

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

Hey blogaroos. It’s bored Squirmy here on a wintry Thursday. Well, the snow actually started last night – so it was a wintry Wednesday. Which sounds better. But it’s still snowing- so it’s a good thing we don’t have anywhere we have to be today. No classes. We have enough food and treats (thankfully). No other appointments. We can just run around the yard and leave our yellow signatures on the pure fresh snow.

We’re kinda bored since Aunt Sue left. We were just getting ahead in our training with her – she was even beginning to sing along with the bedtime song that the Warden sings to us each night. She made it up. And trust me – it would never make the Top 10 Billboard hits, but it IS kinda catchy. It signals to us that it’s time for bed. Once she starts, we head for the bedroom. We really could make a reality TV show…

Since the Coyote and I were both feeling bored yesterday, we decided to do some yard work. The Warden was busy doing something boring like folding laundry or futile dusting, so my compatriot and I went outside. The Boss just hung out on the deck in a position where he could watch us and the Warden at the same time.! There was no snow on the ground yet, but the lawn was wet from all the rain we’ve had lately. Like the other night. Holy moly – we had rain and wind AND thunder and lightning!!! Lots of thunder and lightning. Luckily, none of us are bothered by it.

But back to the yard work. The Warden was busy, but even though she’s absorbed in something, she still has this voodoo sense when we’ve been gone for a while – AND she hears nothing. Silence around here is like an alarm signal somewhere else. No barking, no sounds of anyone racing around, no chewing or wrestling sounds – and it generally spells trouble. Sure enough- the Warden went out on the deck and saw the reason for the silence. The Coyote and I were creating a new “pond” in the lawn. We have a series of holes that we have dug, trying to create a really good pond. The one we started yesterday was VERY promising. Until the Inspector saw the job and shouted for us to come in. She immediately regretted that move – because yours truly was particularly muddy and wet. But hey – I came when called, tracking in the mud from the excavation site and leaving identifying paw print tracks on the carpet. How do you spell filthy?

The Coyote didn’t look quite as bad as me – because I was the one doing most of the work. The Warden took one look at me, and after she snapped a few shots to commemorate the groundbreaking for the new pond, she whisked me and my big fluffy feet into the tub in the garage. I’m used to it.

The good thing about snow is no mud! But get this – the temperatures are going way up by the weekend- AND we are getting lots of rain! I’ll be able to see if the pond holds water. If not, it just might need to be a bit deeper.

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

Hey hey hey blogaroos. Squirmy Cujo Wormy here on a terrible Tuesday. And why is it terrible? Aunt Sue is going home today. We have enjoyed having her here- another victim, I mean human, to train. She’s not easy – she has kinda figured me out. She knows how to avoid ricochets, and she firmly tells me “no” if I get overly exuberant and start biting. She also knows how to shout out “Where’s Tuggie?” to avoid being maimed. That being said, she was just a little bit inattentive yesterday and didn’t notice that her headband fell off the shelf in the closet – which allowed yours truly to find it, and well, I thought it could use a hole for more air circulation. Busted. Guess I need to do some Christmas shopping at the headband store.

Anyway, I’m very depressed that she is leaving. We all are. All alone – just the four of us – until Santa arrives on the 24th. Mind you, I don’t think he’s staying very long.

So we’ll just mope around, chew the rug, I mean stare at the rug, go for walks….try to be happy….until she and Keith come back again. On the 27th!!! Yup! She didn’t cancel her flight for the 27th, so we couldn’t have been tooooo bad!!!

In the meantime, the Warden and I and the Boss need to get into some serious Rally training. Rumor has it we boys have BOTH been entered in a real honest to goodness rally trial. Soon. Super soon. I think we need some sedatives for the Warden – she’s getting nervous already. I thought this was supposed to be fun. Not nerve racking. If anyone has any words of wisdom to calm her down, feel free to share them. I mean how badly could we do? Don’t answer that….

OK. Time to take Aunt Sue out for her last walk before she goes home. Maybe I could tie her to a tree so she can’t leave. Or steal her shoes..Or chew a hole in her suitcase….

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

Happy Sunday blogaroos! Squirmy Cujo Wormy here. With another episode of Christmas with the Crazies.

So. If decorating this place with enough elves to form a weird miniature army with giant ears wasn’t enough, NOW we are being subjected to cheesy Christmas movies. Really. Aunt Sue and the Warden have been watching them every night – and we canines are forced to sit through them and pretend to find them interesting. The last one did feature a dog, but only in a small part. They all seem to star actors and actresses from some former TV show that only ran for one season. The good news is that they all have a happy ending. I think I could write one. In fact, maybe I should….like the story of these two people who each have a dog. One dog is called Snowball and the other is called Twink. And the two dogs like each other and they drag their owners together in the dog park. And those shooting star sparks start to fly. But one day, Snowball steps on a broken Christmas ornament and it’s in his paw, so Snowball gets cranky when he meets Twink . So the owners think they have to stay apart. But it starts to blizzard out and Twink charges out of the house when she sees a rabbit. And the owner can’t find Twink in the blizzard. But the other owner and Snowball, who had the sore paw but who has been miraculously cured, are out because they are on their way to the Christmas tree lot to pick out a tree. In the blizzard. So Snowball starts to track Twink in the snow and finds her hiding under the porch of the town hall where the Christmas pageant is about to begin. They all go inside and the two owners look happily at each other and profess their love for one another and the two dogs are all happy too and in the background the music playing is Silent Night. Oh oh oh and they have to have hot cocoa and gingerbread cookies and special treats for the dogs in the shape of stockings. Oh oh oh and the animals in the manger are actually dogs dressed up to look like sheep and a cow and a donkey. And they all live waggily ever after. The End. OK. I still have a few kinks to work out, but that’s the general gist.

In other news, I had my weekly class on Friday and I seem to have emerged from my weirdo fear period that I went through a few weeks ago. I’ve got my focus back – and the Warden was very pleased with my behavior in class. Actually she was more than pleased – she was kinda shocked. I just like to keep giving her that good old intermittent reinforcement.

I’m not sure what the girls have on the agenda for today – but the Boss said to put money on another Christmas movie tonight. Personally, I think they could be reported to Animal Control for cruelty to animals for making us watch them. I’m thinking I may hide – like in a closet with the elves if they do watch another one tonight. Wish me luck.

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