Hey everybody! Squirmy Wormy here. It’s another super Sunday – and I hope you have a great one! I’m here with a quick update about life here in the circus!

So, I had my class on Friday. I was a little nervous, but most people probably wouldn’t even notice. I did a good job with my “stays” – I think all that practice while we do those Where’s Wojtek photos probably help.

After I had my class, the Boss had his Rally Masters Match. Here’s the scoop on that one. They buzzed through that course so quickly, they weren’t even sure if they would have passed or failed. BUT- they both had a blast. The Boss prances around a course and just LOVES doing it. And because he’s so happy and having fun, the Warden has fun too! She’s stressed before they start – but once they get moving, they forget about nerves, and just GO. They may have had a few mistakes, but at 11 years 9 months, the Warden doesn’t care. They may or may not compete in a real trial – they will think about it. For now, they are just having fun – and isn’t that what it’s really all about?

We took some more group Fall photos yesterday. Well – Halloween photos. The Warden broke out the head gear. Stay tuned for the shots in a few days. As is typical, you could put a pineapple on the Boss’ head and he doesn’t care. I’m better with it, but not for long. And the Coyote? Pitiful. Absolutely pitiful. You would not believe the things the Warden has to do to get his ears up. The noises. The acrobatics. The throwing of things. Somebody should take a video of HER. Above is a shot minus head gear. One of the good ones. Of 386 taken…

OK. Time to get this party started.

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

Hey hey hey blogaroos. Happy fantastic Friday! And it’s not just ANY Friday – it’s back to school Friday. I finished my last term of classes and then we had a little break last week – but we’re back to class today. Since I had my private lesson last week, the Warden has been REALLY consistent in working with me in training. Like the treats don’t come just for being cute. Or entertaining. I actually have to behave. It’s a new world order. Sort of. I mean she thinks she’s training me – but trust me – I’m still in charge. But don’t tell her I said so.

And today, not only do I return to school, but get this – the Boss is in a match tonight. A practice match – like I was in a few weeks ago. But he’s at the Masters level. He’s been doing a bit of training, but really, at the Masters level, there are WAY more opportunities for the Warden to screw up. I mean the old guy generally does what he is told, if he hears the instructions over his barking, but let’s hope the Warden knows what SHE is doing. She’s been studying the signs – and she’s just hoping there are a couple that are not on the course. She’s not good with anything that involves spinning herself. So if there is a spinny sign, they are toast. And they only signed up for one run. So it’s do or die.

Yesterday the Warden spent the morning cleaning the house. Isn’t that funny?! I mean she put all of us outside so she could dust and vacuum. We had the entire back yard to run around in – and it was a beautiful day. But did we play out there very much? Nope. We all put our olfactory art all over the deck door as we stood watching her cleaning. Like inspectors.

She got the dining room all cleaned up – and there was not a speck of anything on the carpet. She shouted through the door that she didn’t want to let us in. Well, she slowly slid open the door, and in we ran, bringing in our latest leaf collection. I said it before – it’s futile.

That’s all the news here. Gotta go pack my treats for school.

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

Hey blogaroos! It’s Squirmy Wormy here for your mid-week entertainment. I heard that the Boss was talking about me – and I’m here to defend myself. Kinda.

I mean I’m trying. I’m trying not to be trying. Does that make sense? But my little hormonals are going crazy right now and my behavior is totally unpredictable. The Warden noticed I seem to be “worried” when I go out. Like even on the trail we walk every day. My ears sometimes go kinda inside out, so she can tell I’m worried. At other times I’m fine. I also have a case of what Viktor would call namenesia. It’s when you forget your name when your human calls – particularly when you are in the presence of other canines, wildlife, or some super good smelling molecules (probably left by some other dog – or some rotting organic matter). I do come like a flash at mealtime, but right now, I’m not all that consistent in super smelly places like the park where the Warden took me yesterday. The place is closed for the season to vehicles, but people can walk in. We only passed one other person and her dog – but trust me, there were enough smells there to start a canine perfume factory. The Warden let me off leash to practice my recall work – and I DID come. But later, when she decided to give me some freedom, and she let me off my leash, I could literally not lift my nose from the ground. Even when she called. So as you might imagine, my leash was put back on.

I DID manage to do some successful sit-stays for the obligatory photos – including a new Where’s Wojtek shot. So I did behave a bit. As we were returning to our car, a guy came along with a German Shorthaired pointer. Off leash. The Warden had visions of the pointer bolting over to see me – and me going into a Cujo routine. But nope. His human had a Chuck-it toy – and that’s ALL that dog wanted. He didn’t even glance at the shaggy mop who was strangling himself on the leash on the other side of the road. As we walked by, the Warden looked at me and said “See how well that dog behaves? Why can’t you do that?” I looked at her, stopped and peed on another stick. What can I say? I’m in a phase. I bet that dog was just more mature….

In other news, you may have seen the group trio shot taken outdoors. The typical festive pumpkin thing. If you didn’t here it is:

Anyway, while the shot does look good, what you didn’t see, and what was thankfully not captured on camera, was when I refused to sit and jumped off the little bench and scraped one of my….ummm….orbs on a pumpkin stalk. Talk about rotten luck. I guess that’s what happens if you don’t sit and stay. Lesson learned there. That’s why I sat so well during the photos the next day. See. I am trainable.

Almost time to get this house moving. I’m the happy guy in the morning who races around joyfully, welcoming the new day. If you can’t be obedient, be entertaining. That’s my motto…

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

Greetings blog readers. Frodo here today for your reading pleasure. I trust you had an enjoyable Fall weekend- the time of year when it is utterly pointless for humans to vacuum if they are owned by canines. Particularly shaggy canines. Because no sooner does one sweep up the leaves in the house, than we dogs go out and bring more in. It is a truly futile battle. Yet – Her Highness continues to stay in the fight. Sooner or later she will admit defeat.

Well the Imp had his “emergency” training session on Saturday. I would like to point out that yours truly never needed emergency training sessions. My training has always gone smoothly. Except for the odd barking, my performance has always been predictable and of course, stellar. The Imp – not so much. He is apparently in some kind of “adolescent phase” – in which he prefers to “do his own freestyle training”. He was even rather sassy with our wonderful coach – to the dismay of Her Highness. Jane was unfazed by his adolescent outburst, but Her Highness was embarrassed by his behavior. I do believe he is a BIT spoiled. You combine spoiled, with pandemic restrictions since he was a young pup, adolescent hormones, and a “brother” with whom he plays incessant Humpty Dumpty wrestling games and it is a recipe for a naughty PON. I might add that he is also quite clever, so he is adept at “pushing limits” at times. Even I have had to tell him that I don’t appreciate his roughhousing.

That being said, while there was a moment of extreme stubbornness observed, when it came to the dumbbell- he miraculously retrieved it perfectly. That was the main reason for the lesson – and as always, he liked to prove Her Highness wrong. She said he wouldn’t pick it up. And he did…

Yesterday he went for a walk and was let off leash for a short time. He decided that it was essential to go deep into a swampy area. When he emerged, he looked like some kind of swamp creature. Add to the fact that he had an unsightly cling on, and was covered in sticks and burrs- he required an “emergency bath” when he returned home. The word “emergency “ seems to follow him quite a bit. Then, no sooner was he finished with his unscheduled spa treatment, when he ran outside and began to wrestle with the Coyote, rolling in leaves and dirt. Her Highness raced down the stairs and onto the lawn in her stocking feet to break up the cyclone, and to bring the Imp in the house. I believe I saw tears in her eyes…

Yesterday, Her Highness attempted her first round of individual Halloween portraits. I gladly participated, and did not mind the required attire one bit. I’m used to it. Initially, the Imp thought the objective was to don a serious pensive expression. He quickly realized that smiles are the objective – and he complied quite well. The Coyote, on the other hand, wore his typical sad, pathetic-looking expression- whether he was wearing head gear or not. He despises head gear – but even without it, it was very difficult to get those ears up. Her Highness tried a new distracting tool – a tennis ball, which she hurled over her head and behind her. This is a dangerous maneuver, as she often ends up hitting herself in the head with the projectiles. But you did not hear that from me. After taking individual shots, she decided not to attempt the always entertaining group shot. Perhaps tomorrow.

That is the update from our chaotic abode. Keep watching for those Halloween photos- they are sure to entertain.

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

Howdy doody blogaroos! Squirmy Wormy here on a super Saturday. Actually, according to the crazy calendar, today is National Fetch Day. Yup – a day to play a favorite game with us canines. And when The Warden saw that, she started laughing. She said it’s ironic that it happens to be today – because she had to set up an “emergency” training session with my coach Jane today. Because I’m having a BIT of a fetching problem!

You see, I love to play fetch. I’ll play with balls and bumpers. And I’ll fetch Tuggie wherever it is. Just say “Where’s Tuggie”, and I’ll race to find it and bring it back. So I’m a fetching machine. BUT- I DO have a fetching quirk. The UB or the unintelligent bell. More commonly and politically incorrectly known as the dumbbell. I will NOT fetch it. Let alone pick it up. The other night, the Warden tried everything in her power to get me to take that UB in my mouth. She begged. She tried to put it in my mouth for even a second. I kept my jaws clenched so tight – it was impossible. She played fetch with the Boss as I watched. She tossed the UB for him and he brought it back every time. She played tug with him and the UB. And I watched. And when it was my turn again, she revved me all up and tossed the UB. I ran right towards it, jumped over it and went to sniff the sofa. Epic fail. It was at that point that the Warden contacted the coach for help. We’ll see what happens- we go to class early this morning.

Meanwhile, I did do something amazing yesterday. The Boss and I were headed out for a game of fetch ( with bumpers) and as the Warden opened the front door, yours truly spotted a rabbit on the front lawn. I took off like a shot and off we went into the woods. The Warden shouted my name thinking it was hopeless. But guess what? I came back as quickly as I went. So I CAN be obedient. If I feel like it.

OK I had better go and get ready. The cheese is already sliced. Wish me luck!

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

Hey everybody- guess who? Yup. Squirmy act-like- you-will-kill-the-furnace-cleaner-guy Wormy here on a rainy Thursday. Yup – we had the furnace cleaning guy come over yesterday- and I made sure to tell him that it’s MY house, and if I wasn’t in a crate I would…bark more at him. Meanwhile, the Coyote squeaked at him from his crate and the Boss loudly ran up to him barking. That’s after the guy said we could all be free. The Warden didn’t think that was such a brilliant idea. Just the Boss was enough.

So the furnace is all ready for the winter, even though we have had temperatures in the high 60s/low 70s (for our American buddies). That’s low 20s for Celsius peeps. Mind you, that being said, we had frost one day. Go figure.

Otherwise, not much new. Oh – but today is National Dessert Day! While we canines DO longingly look at the Warden if she has dessert, she rarely, if ever caves and shares with us. She always goes on about the sugar. Hello? Like she needs it? ANY day now the big box of Halloween candy will be arriving at our door for the 3 kids who are brave enough to come down our long dark driveway with the sound of the Hounds of the Baskervilles in the distance. But the Warden HAS to be prepared- JUST in case a bus load of kids arrives. And then she eats the leftovers.

Anyway – back to dessert day. So since the Warden won’t share HER dessert, I found some that she could make for us. Here are some options…

https://www.puppyleaks.com/simple-dog-treat-recipes/

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/141949/doggie-birthday-cake/

Let me know if you make any of them. The Warden is much better at eating than cooking, so I’m not expecting any of these soon. Maybe for the Boss’ birthday. In January.

Ok. Almost time to go and try to pee on a pumpkin.

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

Howdy blogaroos. Squirmy stop that Wormy here on a ……super Sunday? Well…. Not totally super. Our company left yesterday, so now the Warden is feeling sad. We’ll have to perk her up. Heaven knows we keep things perky around here.

So when they returned from their island adventure, our sitter gave a full report on our behavior. I did my usual ricochet routine with her. The Boss barked away. And the Coyote performed his Picky Picard behavior with breakfast each day. He ALWAYS ate supper. I guess he’s going through another fasting routine.

Anyway, we really like the sitter – despite the fact that she shares EVERYTHING about how we behave. Like the fact that the Coyote and I twice got into a little “tiff” when our humping play went over the top. She had to break us up. The Warden thinks that happens when she goes away because we are vying for the number 2 spot in the household. The Boss is, and always will be, numero uno, and I SHOULD be number three, based on seniority…but sometimes if the Humpty game gets to be too much, I start thinking I should be number two. And keep in mind that this happens only when we have a sitter. I guess it’s called “testing the limits.” Anyway, everything is fine – and we ARE good buddies, and since the Warden has been home, she has reread us the house rules, and everybody is back to our normal state of nirvana. OK. Poor word choice. I should say our normal state of chaos.

I went to my Rally match on Friday night. Despite the fact that the Warden had concerns, given that we had not been training for a few days, I managed to pull off a score of 98/100. I would have had 100 if the Warden knew how to count her own steps when she is walking backwards. Sigh. She needs a LOT more training.

And speaking of training, here’s a cool new article about training vocabulary to dogs.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1280865

So to sum it up… they used Border Collies. And found that they are smart. Huge finding there…

They also learned that not all Border Collies are created equal. I argue that they are all equal in the smarts department, but not equal in WANTING to learn the new words.

I noticed that they didn’t try PONs or Picards. If there is food involved, we PONs can learn anything. Picards? Yeah they ARE smart, but well, the motivation level may not be quite as high. I call it “Independent Picard Learning.” IPL for short.

I’m afraid that since The Warden read this, she now has a goal to teach yours truly 3 words in a week. She’s starting with a low number. Not sure if she’s questioning my intellect, or my interest. I already know Tuggie. And ball. Well-golf ball to be specific. I kinda know Bunny – when we’re playing Find the Bunny. But would I pick Bunny over Tuggie when asked to do so? We’ll see.

Time to get ready for walkies.

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

Hey hey hey everybody! It’s me -Squirmy crash test Wormy here on this fantastic Friday.

We are currently holding the dog sitter captive. Just leave three bags of biscuits, a pint of blueberries, three stuffed Kongs, three marrow bones and three bully sticks outside the front door and we’ll release her.

Just jokin”.

We’ve been behaving PRETTY well. But we have to – the Warden returns today!

So according to rumor, she went with Sue and Keith to some place that does a whole special culinary dining experience thing. First they take you on their farm and explain how they grow things, and then they prepare the food using all fancy flavors. It’s all the same to me – I’d be happy to eat stuff at the farm level. Like the Boss who will eat tomatoes right off the vine. No need for fancy prep work – we don’t even taste what we eat – we do it so quickly. At least that goes for me and the Boss. The Coyote might enjoy the slow fine dining experience more. “Might” is the operative word – he’s kinda picky.

Anyway, apparently while the farmer was giving the tour, his loyal, well-behaved 2 year old Australian Shepherd, Harley stayed right at his feet – throughout the hour long presentation.

The Warden was impressed by Harley’s behavior. And a bit depressed thinking how none of us could do that kind of thing. I mean the Boss would be barking throughout the presentation, I would likely be rolling in compost, and the Coyote would be jumping on all the guests in an effort to get some pats. Yup. Farm presentation dogs we are not.

And speaking of behavior- the troops arrive home today – and get this – yours truly is in some kind of rally practice match TONIGHT. Now THIS should be fun.

OK. Gotta get ready to take the sitter for her walk. And gotta go study my rally signs.

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

Yo. Blog readers. Elroy here. Yup – me today instead of one of the Mops. They always seem to be doing most of the writing – and honestly, it’s all good with me. I’d rather be playing Humpty Dumpty- which has been getting me in trouble lately. And it’s not my fault – the little guy is equally guilty. Yup – even steven. Mind you 75% of the time I instigate things. My nose is like a magnet , and the Imp’s butt is like a piece of metal. Sorry for the description but that’s the way it is. Then once that happens, that’s the signal to the Imp that it’s game on. The game involves chasing, wrestling chewing and of course lots of humpty.

Anyway, either I or the Imp usually end up in prison if it gets TOO wild.

So get this, on a different note – we get company, and then what do they do? Pack up the car and take Her Highness on a little road trip. Yup. Gone. Leaving us to fend for ourselves for three days. Just joking. Our brave dog sitter has returned. As Her Highness walked out the door, she turned to the sitter and said, “God bless you.” That’s while the Imp was ricocheting off her back, the Boss was barking and I was doing my non-stop I-want-to-hump-the Imp squeak.

They went to some island. But not Bermuda or the Bahamas. Some Prince guy. Oh yeah – I know. Prince Eddie I think. Anyway, I’m sure there will be guilt gifts. Yawn. If they’re edible, I don’t really care. But the Mops will explode. That’s always fun to watch.

Time to go harass a Mop.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.