Well we can officially call the FG a rock hound. But before we get to that, I need to update you about him in general…

Something is going on with him. It is literally like a switch has been flipped. He’s crazy. No. I mean more crazy than normal. I think it started since that time change.

For one thing, he CANNOT walk on leash. He stops to sniff and then leaps as he continues on. His nose is working overtime.

He is also countersurfing like a PON. Big time. Her highness now has to watch him like a hawk.

He is also eating his meals. All his meals. And when her highness spreads kibble on the floor when she is going out, he’s right in there with me and Einstein snarfing down every piece.

Now these may not seem like a big deal, but trust me – things are different. For her highness, it’s like being owned by three PONs.

Anyway, yesterday morning he threw himself on the front door to go on the first walk shift. Her highness agreed to take him first – so she littered some kibble under the dining room table to keep me and Einstein occupied. For 37 seconds anyway. She then had the drag the FG out because of his newfound interest in that game.

They leaped down the road. Well the FG did. The thought of her highness doing that is too ridiculous to imagine – especially since she’s been working on all the leftover Halloween treats. Again.

The FG and her highness got to the beginning of the trail down the road and that’s when they spotted it. A rock. But not just any rock. A painted rock. The FG checked it out and was intrigued.

The rock is part of a local initiative called Maritime Rocks. People paint rocks and then hide them for others to find. When you find a rock, on the reverse side it asks that you post a photo to the Maritime Rocks Facebook page and then to either hide it again – or you can keep it. It was started to simply spread joy. School kids paint the rocks. Adults paint the rocks. All are different but all have the same happy intent.

This is the first rock her highness and the FG found. He was somewhat cooperative in taking the obligatory selfie. Then he tried to bite the rock, which was quickly discouraged. The duo decided not to keep the rock, but instead went on a longer walk and rehid the rock for someone else to find. They came home or should I say leaped home and posted the FG’s photo to the site.

Einstein and I are a bit jealous that the FG found a rock. Now we want to find one too. We need to keep our eyes open. It’s such a fun way to spread a little joy. Maybe we can even paint our own! Stop laughing….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

On Monday, her highness wanted to attend the funeral of the mother of a dear friend. The only challenge was that the funeral was in a town 3 hours away.

She had checked to see if Anna could come by after school to let us out and give me my pills- but since the funeral was scheduled at 2, she wasn’t sure she would make it back for my supper time meds. And she hasn’t shown Anna how to do that. She knew that Einstein and the FG could wait a bit for supper – but not me.

So the only solution? Road trip for yours truly.

Einstein and the FG looked a bit shocked as I got into Ludwig. They initially assumed I was headed for the vet – until they saw that her highness had a ziplock bag with food, a jug of water, a ziplock bag of medications and my food bowl. Clearly this was no vet visit. She gave the surprised duo some extra treats, and off we went.

Unfortunately, her highness made a mistake. She put the crate in the back, and put me behind it. For some crazy reason she thought she would let me be free for part of the ride. Big mistake. Before we made it off our road I had managed to bend my body around the crate and I was making my attempt to get into the passenger seat. I like to see where I’m going. One quick stop and I was ushered into the crate. Party over.

I did get to go out for several short walks, so I saw a bit of the province that I had never visited before.

The funeral ended just in time for my 3 o’clock meds. If you’re wondering- I stayed in the vehicle during the funeral. The temperatures are nice and cool now – and her highness also left the windows open. Taking me into the chapel would not have been a good idea. For obvious, reasons not the least of which is the fact that peeing on pews is frowned upon.

After the funeral, her highness went to the reception for a bit, and then I got to go for another short walk before we headed home.

She stopped for gas at 7- and got my meal time meds ready. She parked in a dark corner of the gas station lot, hoping nobody was watching her measure out syringes of my liquid meds. Picture the scene….I was secretly hoping a police car would have come along- just to hear her tell my story.

All in all, it was a good day. The other two stooges were let out by Anna – and they survived getting their supper a bit late. Mind you, it’s not like the FG cares.

Time for my morning constitutional. And MAYBE we will get to go to the fenced baseball field – it reopened to dogs on November 1. Something tells me that it won’t be all three of us at once though….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Well it’s official. Einstein is back to being himself -110%.

On Sunday, her highness examined his incisions and deemed that he could officially go coneless. There was much barking, jumping and rejoicing. By her highness.

Yesterday morning, though, she decided she would still do one more walk with me and the FG together. She figured Einstein would be 2 weeks to the day since his surgery – and starting today, he could go back to his full routine. So yesterday would be my last morning walk with zig zag.

I’m here to tell you that Einstein had other plans. As her highness opened the door to let me and the FG out (on leash of course), out of nowhere, Einstein bolted around her and out the door. He has never done this during the previous two weeks of his recuperation. Her highness shouted “Frodo you get back here.” He stopped, looked over his shoulder and trotted away. Meanwhile, the FG and I are standing there staring in disbelief. I mean this is the “good dog.” Her highness must have said, FRODO here,” about 38 times- breaking the primary rule of dog obedience training – which states you don’t keep calling when you KNOW we are not going to respond. Einstein trotted part way up the driveway and stopped to smell something. He then ceremoniously turned around to face her highness (and two fascinated canines) and promptly had a big pee. He then kicked his back legs, to add a finishing touch and trotted back to her highness- who happened to have a treat in her hand. She debated whether or not to give it to him – but caved – and ushered him into the house.

Zig zag and I then went on our merry way. I must say that with the time change, it’s nice to be walking without a headlamp. But the new daylight scenario made the FG even MORE crazy on our walk. I call it Time Change Fever. Actually, both of us were a little more crazy than usual. As a result, her highness shortened our walk. She was not thrilled about being dragged down the road. Spoil sport.

We came back and she took Einstein out. They took a trail down to the lake and her highness snapped some photos of the misty lake. Einstein sniffed around and then happily posed for some shots- he was just so happy to be out for a walk that extended beyond the backyard.

I cannot tell you how overjoyed her highness is that Einstein is feeling better. It’s been a rough couple of weeks – I hadn’t even mentioned that I had two seizures a week and a half ago. Just to add a little drama to the mix. That’s why we are thankful for every drama-free day we have. Much as we love our vet, we hope to stay away from that place for the rest of the year. Or at least the rest of this week!

And on that happy note – tune in tomorrow when I’ll tell you about my trip to a funeral. Yup – I went to a funeral. And a looooong road trip….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

What’s the one sound that can make any human (even the most sound sleeper), wake up faster than a sprinter at the start line of a race? The sound, that to two PONs in this house, signals an unexpected jackpot- like a win at the casino when you only had one coin to spend? The sound that is almost akin to the sound of kibble being placed in our bowls. Or the sound of the treat jar opening. What’s the sound which happens in the dark of night that causes lights to be thrown on and humans to jump out of bed? Why the unique and deadly sound of the urky gurkies. That’s my name for them. The sound we dogs make before we are about to throw up.

We dogs love it. Humans not so much. And we heard it the night before last.

On Wednesday, the FG decided he was doing one of his occasional fast days. It’s that Picard thing. He doesn’t do it all that often now- but every now and then he decides he is not eating – like some kind of cleansing ritual. It’s a concept that to us PONs is so foreign- it’s more frightening than any Halloween costume. (Speaking of which we only had 5 kids come to visit. Her highness will be able to grumble about eating Halloween treats until mid-November. And then the after- effects for 4 years.). But I digress.

The FG was fine – but he didn’t eat all day. He was happy, trying at every chance to give Sue kisses. He was totally himself. And when he announced his fast, her highness just ignored it. She no longer stresses if he doesn’t want to eat. She knows he will the next day.

Anyway, when one doesn’t eat, though, sometimes one gets a buildup of gases because one has an empty stomach. At least that’s my observation.

So at 3AM, the FG was comfortably sleeping in his pony sized crate- with the door open. Einstein was on her highness’s bed and I was next to the bed.

And suddenly, that horror sound to humans which is music to canine ears, erupted from the crate. Einstein and I rushed to the crate door, with her highness flying off the bed. I tried to throw myself ahead of Einstein who growled to get me out of the way. Meanwhile, the FG barfed up bile. Just bile. No food. Just bile. Still we PONs wanted to clean it up – but her highness, in one swoop grabbed both of our collars and pulled us back through the entrance to the crate. She pulled the FG out, trying to get him to avoid stepping in the puddle and somehow she did it. She closed the crate door while she went to get paper towel – leaving me and Einstein to stare inside. While the FG stared at us. The joys of late night pukes.

Sue is leaving us today. We are going to miss her! Not only did she give us lots of hugs and pats – but she also brought us toys!! Very cool fetch toys! One for each of us. We loved them – but because the destruction team will destroy them if left alone with them, we need to be supervised while playing with them. It was so nice of Sue to think of us. We wish she could stay longer. But I guess she needs to get home to Scout, her almost 2 year old PON. He’s a typically brilliant PON. He can open doors, climb fences and he knows that if he goes to his crate when told, he will get a treat. So sometimes he just goes in and sits and stares at his humans – letting them know he’s waiting for a treat. Sounds like a smart guy.

Anyway, we will miss the company- as will her highness. But her highness never has to worry about being lonely- we’re great company. Even at 3 in the morning….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Yeah yeah. The holiday we have anxiously been waiting for. Not. The time when animals are openly tortured by being made to wear horrible attire. I’m calling animal control.

I must confess, we didn’t have to endure total humiliation by wearing a full costume. Just the dreaded headbands and some lights. And keep in mind – we get LOTS of treats during these exercises. The lights were not bad – and even the FG smirked a bit. The headbands? Well didn’t her highness think she was being clever by dressing us as jesters. Ha ha. Einstein and I cooperated a bit – but as soon as you put a headband on the FG, he looks like you took away his fetch toy.

In addition to spending hard earned money on jester headbands (which would have been better spent on treats) , her highness thought cats would be cute too. Admittedly they were tiger and leopard prints, but seriously- they are CATS. The group shot is pretty sad…Just look at me…

The FG was lucky – you could hardly see the ears on him. I was totally annoyed with this get up. She tried to get a close up….and I do look better here..

The FG refused- I mean REFUSED – to look at her. Here is a shot during one of the chaotic attempts. I’m having major wardrobe malfunction because I had just been chewing on the leaves to my left…Einstein is also starting to have a problem and the FG is still ignoring the camera.

During an individual shot, Einstein was initially cooperative.

But he has his limits…

So we survived the headbands. BUT her highness had actually planned OTHER costumes for us. And she bought three of them. The thing is…these required modifications. And we know how handy she is when it comes to certain projects. She decided to take shots with Einstein first. And he fully cooperated. But it was an epic fail. So thankfully, the FG and I were spared the opportunity to participate. This is probably the best photo of them all…..

That’s it for this year. Now we get to watch her highness continue eating the Halloween treats that she bought for 50 kids. Remember- we usually get 6 on a good year….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

She’s been cleaning. AGAIN. How bad could this place have become since the last clean-a-thon that was completed on Saturday?! OK. Don’t answer that. Yesterday her highness looked at the dining room – and saw multiple leaves. Scattered everywhere. You can’t even see them all in the photo because we are sitting on them. So I guess I DO understand why she is cleaning. But really- it’s a losing battle.

Anyway – she was cleaning because we are getting COMPANY today!!!! And this is very cool – because her highness met this friend several years ago – through the net!!! She’s a PON person and she read my blog. And lo and behold – she and her highness are both in the healthcare field – in the area of communication. Her highness’ area was speech – and her friend, Sue works in the area of hearing. Both professions speech-language pathology and audiology work closely – and in graduate school, are both in the same programs – with two different streams. Anyway, her highness and Sue have been meeting for several years now at the annual conference in the US. And now Sue is speaking at a conference HERE- so today, after it’s over- she is coming to visit with us!!!! We’ve never had a PON person stay with us. Sure – lots of dog humans. But no PON humans. So Sue knows what to expect. She is prepared. She is used to badness. She won’t have to sign the waiver.

She has a PON puppy, Scout, who I am anxious to learn more about. I hear he’s a busy guy. (But of course he is.)

Well let me see if I can bring in a few more leaves before she puts the vacuum away. Like I said, it’s a losing battle. I think Sue will understand.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Well we knew it was inevitable. After all, Halloween is only a few days away. When we heard her highness rumbling around in the garage, we knew it had something to do with that Dollar Store bag she brought home a few weeks ago. The dreaded Halloween attire.

She decided to try and get photos of us outdoors. She loaded up her pockets with extra tasty treats and out we went.

I’m here to tell you the the FG and I could not have been less cooperative. We had a pact. We would NOT look at the camera at the same time. In addition, we did a variety of other things. If her highness said to lie down, the FG would sit. And not move. If she said sit, he would lie down. Meanwhile yours truly was chewing on anything I could. Pumpkins. Leaves. Mud. Attire.

While the two of us were driving her to sheer madness, Einstein happily did whatever she asked. And he smiled the whole time. Mind you, at one point even HE began to rebel. He got tired of putting his head on a pumpkin- and he began rolling back and forth in the leaves. So much for limited activity post-surgery.

After struggling to keep headgear attire on all three of us, her highness conceded defeat and took some photos without attire. In the one above, it looks like the FG’s head is photoshopped in. Or it looks like he was buried in leaves. Which he wasn’t.

Here are the best shots she could get.

The following are less impressive shots…

She actually DID manage to get a few photos with obligatory headgear. You’ll have to wait a few more days to see the results.

I wonder if the neighbors could hear the pleading, the weird sounds and the eventual off color language throughout the exercise. I think I saw her checking her blood pressure when it was over….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Here it is. After 6PM and I am finally getting her highness to type my blog. The day is almost over – and between a Halloween party, out of town company, oh and a few vet visits- her highness FORGOT to look at the calendar. And what DAY is it? Why it’s my BIRTHDAY.

It wasn’t until she saw a posting by one of the more perceptive humans who happens to be owned by two of my brothers, that she REALIZED what day it was. I was NOT impressed. She apologized repeatedly and then, in an effort to make things better, rushed off to the pet store to buy me some extra special treats. But not before stopping at some party store to get me a new party hat. Oh joy. The only good thing is that the day is all most over so I don’t have to wear it long. And of course she doled out multiple treats to get the photo. She felt so guilty. Seriously- HOW could she forget the date. I’m looking for a new home.

A home where I get plenty to eat. Where all my medications are available and delivered on time. A place where I can chase the occasional bunny. A place where I can sleep in a human bed. A place where there are other dogs for company. A place where the human takes me for multiple walks each day. A place where there is minimal grooming….

OK. OK. I guess I already HAVE most of that. I could go for less grooming, but then again, I guess a stinky matted coat really wouldn’t be all that great.

I’ll forgive her this time. Because she DID buy me sweet potato chews…and some other biscuits. I’ll cut her some slack. Besides, Christmas is coming…

Happy number 8 to me!!!!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Einstein had his vet appointment yesterday. Her highness left him in the car while she waited for the vet to be available. She watched the zombies in the waiting area, and held her breath on several occasions when there were uncontrolled “dog greetings.” She was glad Einstein was in the car. She figured he would not appreciate other dogs staring at his cone.

The vet was very pleased with the fact that his incision looked so good – given that he had only had surgery four days before. It was still a challenge to look at “the area” – and he remains “sensitive” about having the area touched. But all in all, the vet was pleased and said in another week to ten days they could either come in again, or her highness could email the vet a photo. Good luck getting THAT shot.

He continues to milk this whole thing as best he can. He has managed to convince her highness that he MUST come in the DFZ if she is in there. He has never pawed at the gate before – but since she let him in the other day, he now feels it is his RIGHT to stay in there.

Her highness has been cleaning the house for two days so we figured something is up. We heard through the grapevine that many of the neighbors on our road are doing a house to house kind of party tonight- and our place is on the circuit. I was hoping the other dogs on the road would come too – but apparently this is a human party. Trust me – Einstein will be sure to remind everyone that dogs should have been included. Wonder if we will have free range. Unlikely as I hear there will be food – and let’s face it, our begging manners are not our most appealing traits.

Well time for another walk with you know who. I’m used to walking with Einstein – and I know the drill. When one of us poops – we all need to wait during the pick up. The FG is used to walking on his own – so he’s not used to waiting for another dog’s pick up. I must have heard her highness say “WAIT” at least 26 times yesterday. Maybe he’ll figure it out today. Nah. I doubt it. He’s too busy zig zagging….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

It’s Friday and today Einstein has his recheck appointment at the vet. Good luck with that. It was a challenge to get him in the door the last time – imagine what he’ll think about this visit. Her highness had better be packing some really good treats.

He still has his “moments” but overall he is doing well. He is looking forward to going coneless. I told him he should pretend he is dressed up for Halloween as a lamp. He wasn’t impressed.

Meanwhile, the FG and I are adapting to our walks together. It’s pretty dark in the morning right now – so her highness keeps us on tight leads as she doesn’t want either of us to run into any visitors. Twice in the past 2 weeks, she has spotted a porcupine on the side of the driveway. Luckily, we didn’t see him. That’s ALL we need is another vet visit. As it is, Ludwig goes there on autopilot. Her highness could close her eyes to get there. I don’t advocate that though.

It looks like the clocks will be going back next weekend – November 3. Which means her highness has a mathematical algorithm to figure out my pill schedule. This happens every time the clocks change. You would think she would have it figured out by now. Mind you, right now between me and Einstein, we are taking 9 medications. We were at 10 – but I finished one. Some are taken every 8 hours, some every 12 hours and some every 24 hours. It is nothing short of a miracle that she has kept them straight the past 2 weeks. She’s also been on major pill pocket production. She has changed the recipe. Now it’s just organic peanut butter, organic coconut flour and water. She still makes balls – just for convenience. And she’s getting faster and faster at making them. She knows we’re not picky.

Well time for my constitutional with the zig zag machine. Sometimes I just look at him and wonder WHAT is going through his mind. And I thought I was busy…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.