Author: frodopon

YouTube

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April 23. On this day in 2005, the very first YouTube video was uploaded.  So here’s a trivia question – what animal did it feature: a cat, a dog, an elephant, or a monkey? If you guessed dog….you were….unfortunately wrong.  It was an elephant. The video was called “Me at the zoo,” and it featured Jawed Karin, one of the site’s co-founders.  Here is that quick video, if you have never seen it:

Not exactly a profound piece of cinematography- but who knew that after only 18 months, this fun little site would be sold to Google for $1.65 billion.   I read that over 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute. People in 89 countries view YouTube which is available in 76 languages.  800 million people visit YouTube monthly.  
Apparently the most searched for video topic on YouTube is “How to kiss,” followed by “How to tie a tie.” Today people are more likely to turn to a YouTube video that they are to the instruction manual for a product.   Ask my human – we have all watched the YouTube video on how to start the Weed Wacker probably a dozen times.  
When it comes to us canines, there are NO shortage of dog videos on everything from training tips, to dog history videos, to veterinary information to grooming tips…you name it, you can find it.
And of course, there are the classic funny dog videos.  Here are some of the best:
And we have videos for us dogs to watch, like this one – with hours of entertainment. Yawn. 
I found out that the oldest cat video on YouTube is footage that dates from 1894.  With some boxing cats.
Now I couldn’t find anything that was specified as being the oldest dog video on YouTube, but I did find this footage by Birt Acres, an American/British film pioneeer from 1895.  Don’t ask me what kind of dog it is…it made me dizzy to watch it!
Anyway, if you are stranded on a desert island and you happen to have WiFi, and no new videos are added, it would take 60,000 years to watch all the YouTube videos that are there. It will take me a bit less, because I’ll be skipping all the dog training and grooming videos. 
Before I close on this topic, let’s take one last look at two of my favorite videos – which you have seen before.  They highlight the eating differences between Picards and PONs…
Now excuse me while I go and watch that squirrel video….
Have a good one. Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 20

Dyngus Day. And sad news….well. Not THAT sad.

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It’s Dyngus Day!  The day after Easter – and I just read that it is also called Wet Easter Monday.  It’s that famous Polish holiday where boys douse girls with water and hit them with pussy willows.  In a romantic gesture.  No.  I didn’t make this up. What Marci Gras is to the beginning of Lent, Dyngus Day is to the end.  When you think St. Patrick’s Day you think Irish.  On Dyngus Day, everybody is Polish.  You can read my previous Dyngus Day posts or Google it – and you will see it’s true.  It’s also a BIG holiday in my human’s hometown of Buffalo, NY. 

The only problem….I have scrolled through LOTS of Dyngus Day websites and videos from the festivities in Buffalo.  I saw lots of perogies, kielbasa, and golumpki, and heard lots of polka music.  I saw traditional polish costumes.  And I saw the odd glass of vodka.  BUT – come on Buffalo – I did not see ONE PON!  If anyone has seen one in a Buffalo parade, let me know.   Otherwise, I’m going next year.
The only reason I didn’t go THIS year is because…sad news.   My human is going back to work today.  OK.  It’s not forever.  Just until the end of May.  She PROMISES that she will be officially DONE with work at the end of May.   Completely, entirely DONE.  It seems there were some people who needed some help – and she just could not say no.  Funny – she can say no to me.  Like when I beg for more treats.   Anyway, she will have a week off mid May, then work the last week of May, and May 31 will be OUR Dyngus Day celebration!
Crank up the accordion!  And warm up the kielbasa! Happy Dyngus Day!
Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 19

Easter tidings

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I told you how she could only find two pairs of rabbit ears.   One pair went mysteriously missing….So I THOUGHT we would not have to go through the dreaded trio photo.  But no.  She had to go shopping for groceries the other day – and just so happened to be passing by the Dollar Store.  I kid you not.  Which reminds me – I forgot to tell you that when my human retired – one of her old friends and colleagues got her, as part of her retirement gift – a gift card to the Dollar Store.  Clearly that woman is NOT a friend of ours.

Instead of the GIANT ears, which are problematic because they do bear a resemblance to those old fashioned TV antennas, and they tend to fall down –  she bought ears that are much more proportional. Oh goody.

After 769 shots – she got the one you see above.  But not before the following…

To get our attention, she throws a ball.  Instead of landing behind her – it goes to our left…

She tries again.  Remember, she is NOT what you would call coordinated. It goes to our right…

Now the FG starts sliding down.  He doesn’t feel like sitting through this.  At the same time, Einstein is showing his opinion.  I, on the other hand, look adorable…

Now the FG and I are starting to look sad.  But Einstein is looking good.

She throws the ball again.  To our left.  Einstein ignores it. 

You need to keep in mind that we are getting treats in between shots.  But DO NOT drop a treat.   Because even if you pick it up, I STILL need to check to make sure there are no more on the floor. 

Now Einstein starts barking “For the love of heaven can we PLEASE get this over with!!!!”  Meanwhile, the FG looks like a rabbit in headlights.  But that’s the best expression we can get from him.

Anyway, we survived and she finally got a photo she liked.   Oh – and there is one more….

Have a Happy Easter!   And all canines – stay out of the chocloate!

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up!
Seizure free days: 18

It rained. I poured.

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Well I’m afraid I took the word “good” out of Good Friday.  

Yesterday my human got up early. Her old friend Joanie was in town and they had arranged to meet for breakfast.  We canines were a bit slow to get up because it was pouring rain.  And we know that sound.
First the FG was taken out. Then it was our turn.  We know when my human says “we are going quick, quick, quick” that it means we are not going for a walk up the road, but rather in the back yard instead to make our deposits.
She took me on a leash and Einstein was free.  She figured she would need to keep me out there to go – I would just want to head back in the house.  
Much to her surprise, I actually made a beautiful deposit.  Quickly.  Happy dance in the rain.  She let me off my leash and I ran around to the front door to stay dry.  Meanwhile, Einstein was standing there looking forlorn and like a drowned rat.  She instructed him to “hurry up” which he slowly did. 
We came back in the house and had our breakfasts.  My human then went into the bathroom to take her shower. 
When she came out, she took us through the garage to the side yard to let us have a quick pee before she left us. While we were outside, she went in the house to hide some kibble for us, so we would be entertained for 3.2 seconds when she left.  We find the kibble pretty quickly.  And that’s when she discovered a huge pee spot on the dining room carpet.  She froze. We know that if she is out and finds a pee spot on her return- it is a sign I have had a seizure. She began to panic.  Did I have a seizure when she was in the shower?! But I didn’t have my post-seizure crazy starved look.  I appeared FINE.
As she rushed to clean up the pee, she began to quickly watch a rerun on Big Brother to see if I had indeed had a seizure.  She scanned through and didn’t think anything looked strange, but had to go because she was already late to meet Joanie.
She looked at me, and I looked completely fine. Completely.  So who peed?
She arrived late at the restaurant- explaining to Joanie about the last minute unexpected clean up.  And being the great friend that she is, she didn’t mind reviewing the footage on Big Brother – before they even ate.  I mean who wants to watch film footage of dogs not doing much.  Like waiting for a giraffe to give birth.  Weeks before the due date.
They scrolled through to the part where my human would have left us alone while she showered.  They saw me chewing on a bone, and then rolling on the carpet.  NOT because I was having a seizure- but because I was damp from the rain – and post-rain rolls are fun.  Then they watched me as I stood up, shook myself off, walked around the table, stretched and then STOOD THERE and had a big pee.  Busted.  
You see, when I went out in the rain and I pooped, I was SO anxious to get back in the house, that I never bothered to pee.  And let’s face it, when a guy has gotta go, a guy has gotta go.  I’m blaming it on my medication.
The good news – my human was SO relieved I didn’t have a seizure, she wasn’t angry that I peed.   I mean she wasn’t HAPPY, but at least she knew we didn’t have to reset my counter.  Yup – always gotta look at the bright side of things!  
More rain in the forecast for today….I’m thinking though, that I had better not push my luck- so I had better pee outside.  Not to mention the fact that she will be WATCHING me…
Of course….some COULD surmise that this whole incident was payback for the Easter attire…. I’ll just continue to blame it on my medication…
Have a good one. Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 17

Bloopers…

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 Well we know what is coming on Sunday.  Easter. And we know what that means…
But guess what?  A set of bunny ears has gone missing!   My human searched through the big bin of Dollar Strore props and attire – and she could only find two pairs of ears. Now I wonder what could have happened to the third set (insert mysterious music.). Perhaps a burglar came in during the night while we were all sound asleep….(spooky music gets louder.  Add howling of coyotes.  Make that a howling PON).  It would be pretty tough to get past all three canines, but could it have happened?  Did someone PAY off the burglar to steal the ears…
Or …Did someone happen to see an odd shape in the garbage bag going out to the street? (Stop the music). 
Or…(start music again), did anyone happen to notice a strange blue piece of fabric in the poop that has emerged in the yard since the snow melted?  (Really loud music – with lots of cellos).  Whose poop was it? (Camera pans all three innocent faces)…
This could seriously make a great movie in cinemas. Or at least a Hallmark TV movie. 
So since we didn’t find that extra set, oh darn, we still haven’t taken the trio shot.  We did though, do all of our individual photos.   
And since I KNOW that you love these things- I am happy to share a few of our favorite bloopers.  I KNOW you have been waiting for these…

Now before anybody calls PETA to protest abuse, given our sad expressions and my insistence on sticking out my tongue- you need to know that my human had a hard time actually selecting bloopers!  You will see in the final selection- that we are happy and smiling!   We are given LOTS of treats. And the FG gets to play fetch between every second shot, because he doesn’t care about the treats!   Getting him to smile, whether he is wearing attire or not is a whole other issue.  He’s a pouty, temperamental model!

Anyway, part one Easter photos is done.  And if those ears don’t materialize (trust me – they won’t) , I’m not so sure that there will be a trio photo.  Mind you, she still has time to go to the Dollar Store.  Yikes.  Don’t tell her I said that…
Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 15

Haiku

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April 17. And according to the crazy calendar it is International Haiku Poetry Day.  

Haiku is a Japanese poetry form, made up of three lines.  The first and third lines have 5 syllables and the second has 7 syllables.  And they don’t need to rhyme.
OK.  I’m not great at this poetry thing, but here we go…
PONs
Polish Lowland pup
So stubborn, funny, brilliant 
A shaggy angel.
Picards
The Berger Picard
Oh so happy go lucky
Yet ever alert.
Bunnies 
 I smelled the rabbit 
And off I went to find him.
In trouble again.
Eating 
He stares at his food
And we stare at him and groan
Meal time every day.
Grooming 
We must quickly hide
She is coming for us now.
It is torture time.
The constitutional
Inconspicuous 
As a parade of bagpipes
Walking us three dogs.
Poop
Three dogs had good poops,
There was rejoicing today
Humans are so weird.
OK that is it.
Enough of this feeble try
To be poetic.
Time to WALK!
Have a good one! Peace and paws up 
Seizure free days: 14

Birds. And ticks.

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Spring has definitely arrived – especially with regard to the birds. The FG is in his glory because he is the ultimate bird watching dog.   I mentioned the geese the other day.  He takes his role in scaring geese off the golf course very seriously.   My human has to keep him on leash – she’s not sure how far he might chase them. 

We also heard the loons on the weekend – the real sign of spring for us.

We hear lots of birds around home – woodpeckers (who have been known to make quite the racket when they peck on the metal chimney cap), ducks, chickadees, owls, mourning doves, crows – and all kinds of song birds.  And within the past year,  we started hearing a bird call that was kind of new in our area.   Pheasants.   
The other morning when we were coming back from our walk, my human let Einstein and I off leash as we came down the driveway.   We ran into a bed of plants at the side of the driveway, and immediately flushed two pheasants.   Honestly, I don’t think we meant to do it.  We’re not bird dogs.  We scared my human, but we just kept running around.  My human was glad it wasn’t the FG.  His brain would have exploded.
My human was telling a friend on the weekend about the pheasants who have taken up residency in the neighborhood.  And my friend mentioned an advantage to the birds (besides being a dinner item).  They apparently like to eat ticks.   My human tried to confirm this through her good friend Google.   She could find lots of info about guinea fowl and turkeys and some anecdotal info about pheasants.   Some sources say that the birds carry the ticks. Other sources say they eat them. So their benefit is probably good – kind of 50-50.
We’ve talked about guinea fowl before.  They are tick aficionados.   But – I understand that they are not without challenges – they are LOUD, they tend to roam, and they are not particularly bright.  Given our disinterest in herding (well my disinterest and Einstein’s) we would have to leave the work to the FG to round them up. And then my human would have to round HIM up.
We know that just as the birds have arrived – so have the ticks. A friend of my human has already picked numerous ticks off her dogs – and the snow JUST melted.   Time to start doing regular tick checks… I have this fear that my human might make us start wearing our Lycra suits.  All the time…..
Before I close, if you have a bird loving dog, here’s the perfect video for you.  Check it out – hours of entertainment!
Well, I hear the mourning doves calling – time to get my human moving!  
Have a good one. Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 13

McDonald’s

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April 15.  And it’s McDonald’s Day.  On this day in 1955, Ray Kroc opened the first restaurant in his franchise. Not his first restaurant- but the first of what would become a world wide chain.

Now whether or not you have ever had a McDonald’s hamburger (and my guess is that most people have crossed beneath the Golden Arches at least once), you are probably familiar with the McDonald’s spokesperson.  Or is he a mascot…. Anyway, most people probably recognize Ronald McDonald – the clown who appears in ads and in commercials.  (If you ever see my human, ask her about the time Ronald McDonald approached her sister).  Let’s just say, not all kids are happy to see a clown.  
Over the years – McDonald’s had a series of “characters” in McDonaldland – like the Hamburglar – a villain who appeared in commercials in 1971.  
But here is a REALLY TOUGH trivia question…. what was the name of Ronald’s dog?   He hated ticks (who doesn’t!) and spoke in a monotone voice.  Give up?  If you know the answer – you have eaten too much junk food.  His name was Sundae.   Here is a very short clip of him – and I’m sorry it gets cut off – but it’s the best I could find:
I also found this commercial- with a different dog and Ronald….
Hokey.  But cute.
And our last McDonald dog connection.  This is a recent news story about a dog in Oklahoma.   It seems the clever dog would somehow escape her home at night, go to the local McDonald’s, and pretend she was a stray.  So that people would feed her.
I’m not 100% sure I believe this story. I mean how did the dog get out of the house?!  Now if it was a PON, I would believe it.  I’m surprised Einstein aka Houdini hasn’t tried this yet.  Mind you,  it would be a pretty long walk to a McDonald’s from our house.
So there you have the canine connection to the fast food chain.  I knew you would be wondering as you had your Big Mac today.  Or your Keep Calm Caesar salad. 
Today my human is getting the snow tires off Ludwig. Blizzard in the forecast tomorrow!!! Just kidding.  I hope!
Have a good one. Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 12

Uncle Steven

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Uncle Steven has passed away.  No – he wasn’t my human’s uncle, nor was he mine.  Although we are definitely distantly related.  Uncle Steven was a Basset Hound, who spent the first 7 years of his life in a a puppy mill- as a stud dog.  He was finally surrendered to an animal shelter and then fostered  by a young woman. She had to do a lot of socializing with him – he was reportedly very fearful.  He received the name Uncle Steven because of a resemblance to a family member.  When the woman’s home situation changed, she had to find a permanent home for the dog  – and he was adopted by a man and his wife. They worked with him and within a year, he became a certified therapy dog. 

Uncle Steven became the first therapy dog at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada to regularly visit the library.  Here’s a short clip, made by a student:
Uncle Steven shared his calm, happy demeanor with students at Carleton for two years.  Sadly his work was done this week – and more than just the humans in his family, mourned the loss of this canine ambassador.
The positive effects of using therapy dogs with university students has actually been researched.  Results have shown that stress levels are reduced.  In many places, dogs are used exclusively during exam time to help reduce stress and worry.  
In addition, some universities see the positive effects of having pets all the time  – so some allow pets even in residence!   Here’s an article about the most pet friendly colleges and universities: 
Many restrict things like type of pet or the size of your dog.  But it’s wonderful to see that these institutions of higher learning are recognizing and supporting the positive role that we canines play.
But I don’t need to tell YOU that!
Uncle Steven- thanks for being so kind to humans – even though the humans were not so kind to you in your early days.   May you find peace and lots of massaging at the Rainbow Bridge.  Well done…
Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 11

A spring walk.

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Thursday night, Einstein got his stitches out.  Everything looked good, but the vet said he still needs to wear his shirt for another week.  And no rolling on the ground outside…

At the same time Einstein was getting his stitches out, Pig Pen was at his vet getting his stitches out on his ear.  His vet was happy that they were able to remove all traces of his tumor.  Good news.
We haven’t seen Pig Pen since the two surgical patients went under the knife. So when Pig Pen’s human texted in the morning to go for a walk, we thought it was a splendid idea. The FG had just completed his 45 minute constitutional, so it was our turn. 
The snow was still on the golf course, but large patches of grass were also visible. It was a perfect morning.  No wind.  Temperature just at feeezing, so the ground was hard and not yet muddy. The sun was shining .  The sky was a brilliant blue.The robins were singing and the ducks were on the pond.  Perfect. And we were all off leash.
But slowly, one by one we had to be put in bondage.  First it was the good dog, Pig Pen.  The ponds are all ice free.  So you know what that means to him.  Water is like a magnet and he is like a paper clip. Fwump.  It draws him in.  He eyed the pond from the edge- and his human shouted “no!!!!” His incision healed but he did have to have some fluid taken off – so he shouldn’t get it wet. Busted. Back on leash.
Einstein and I ran along, taunting poor Pig Pen a bit.  Then, as my human should have expected, Einstein hit the snow rolling.  He was wearing his stylish shirt – but my human raced over to stop him.  Ever try to stop a rolling PON?  It’s not easy.  At all.  She had to offer treats so he stopped.  We continued on and not 10 feet later, he was back at it.  Dog #2 leashed.
I was all proud that I was the last dog standing.  Free. And then I discovered something.  Spring has definitely returned.  And so have the geese.  And you know what THAT means.  Free appetizers!!!  Goose poop.  I had a few good sausage shaped treats before my human grabbed me.  I of course looked at her and smacked my lips.  Dog #3 on leash.
All in all though, a perfect Spring morning.  But don’t put those shovels away just yet. My human is getting the snow tires off Ludwig on Monday.  So you can expect we’ll be getting a blizzard on Tuesday….
Have a good one. Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 10