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It’s January 28 and according to the crazy calendar, it’s Pop Art Day.  Pop Art is a style of painting that became popular in the mid to late 1950’s in the US and the UK.  It took images from popular culture and advertising ( like comic strips or signs) and incorporated them into works of art.  An example is Andy Warhol’s famous painting of Campbell Soup cans. Pop art often used bold and bright colors.

https://youtu.be/yS4mJQM-TGw

According to my survey, it appears that slightly more than 50% of dogs have the ability to treeverse.   Which is better than the stats in this house.  Someone suggested that the skill can be trained easily with a clicker.  We’ll have to give it a try.  Thanks to all who responded!

And speaking of training, the FG is still not catching anything. Neither toys nor cheese popcorn – and  certainly not the cornflakes.   The whistle thing IS getting better.  But far from reliable enough to be tested outdoors.   Training is hard work.  We DO remain good at countersurfing though.  In fact, I am starting to like the FG more and more – partly because he has better reach than I do.  The other day, my human took him out first for his walk.  And then she took Einstein and me next.  And when we walked in the door, she discovered that a multi-page flyer that had come in the mail was now multi-piece confetti.  And she said the breath-wasting statement: “what did you do?”  At which point the FG walked away, wagging his tail.  

My human was again sleeping on the sofa the past few days.  And it had nothing to do with the FG.  After his unsuccessful attempts to sleep free in the bedroom,  she was allowing just me and Einstein in, while he was sleeping on the dog bed in the other room.  But unfortunatley, my comfy sleeping arrangements didn’t last long.  As I did once before, I jumped off the bed while I was half alseep, and awoke the next morning – limping on one of my front legs.   So for the next couple of nights my human slept back on the sofa – because she didn’t want me jumping on and off the bed.  So why not simply block the door – and leave us with the FG?  Because Einstein won’t let her.  He stands at the bedroom door and barks.  And barks.  To be let in.  So the only option was to go BACK to the sofa – because for some odd reason he doesn’t bark at her in the DFZ.  He’ll stare – and look longingly at her, but he doesn’t bark.  Have I ever mentioned how very well trained we have her?

Today is Saturday.  Have to get my human up early – no point in wasting the day.

Have a  good one!  Peace and paws up!

Seizure-free days: 15

So I am doing a study.  Well, it’s actually a survey.  And I don’t have any grant funding to carry out this survey, so I will rely on my blog readers to help me out.  And I realize that this subject pool would be a select group – but it’s a place to start.  So here is my research question…what percentage of dogs have the ability to treeverse?  As you may recall, the term “treeverse” comes from my own Viktionary.  I define it as “the ability of some dogs to reverse themselves when they are on a leash and have gone around a tree.”  In this household, we are looking at 33% who are able to perform this movement.  And you can probably guess who that is – Einstein.  We don’t call him that for nothing.

Last night when my human got home from work, she took each of us on leash in the backyard to “do our thing.”  In the process, Einstein went around a tree, while my human and I were on the other side.  My human simply said to Einstein “go around” and he reversed himself and we continued on.  On the other hand, the FG went out and somehow managed to wrap himself around not just any tree – but a pine tree – with low branches.  He bounced around while my human worked to untangle him and set him free.  She clearly needs shorter leashes.  I didn’t actually get tangled last night – but based on past performance, my human is counting me as one of the non-treeversers. 

I think that treeversing can be trained – and agility dogs can probably figure out this move pretty easily.  But I’m not entirely sure.  And herding dogs MIGHT also be able to figure out the move too – but obviously the FG and I  aren’t in that group. I should also note that this doesn’t just apply to trees – poles count as well.  Poles as in structural columns – not the people.  Although, I suppose some dogs can get humans tangled in leashes too…But that’s for another research study.

It’s FRIDAY.  Thank goodness. The temperatures sound perfect for good long walks – although I did see a forecast for rain on Sunday.  What a crazy winter!!

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.  And watch out for trees. And don’t forget to respond to my survey….

Seizure-free days: 14

Well the FG sure learned how to tease a couple of PONs yesterday.  He was like the Pied Piper luring us from room to room.  My human bought these new treats for us – they are called Cod Bits.  They are made from “Wild Alaskan Cod Skins” and they are “Hand twisted and slowly dried in Canada.”  I sure would like that job. Anyway, they are basically dried cod – and they are light and crunchy.  And the aroma when you open the bag is scrumptious – to us dogs anyway.  And probably cats too.  My human gave each of us a piece.  Of course, Einstein and I simply grabbed it, crunched a few times and it was gone before we even realized what we ate.  The FG stood staring at the strange thing in my human’s hand, and wasn’t going to touch it until he realized that Einstein and I were about to grab it.  So he took it gently in his teeth. Now as I said, these things are pretty light and crunchy and they break apart pretty easily.  So here he was, carrying around his delicate cargo, but unwilling to drop it because he KNEW a PON would quickly get it.  He wasn’t even sure if he really liked the thing, but he knew that he liked it enough to not want one of us to have it.  So he walked around the dining room table.  Carrying his cargo.  And careful not to drop it – although it was starting to break up just as he held it.  He walked faster.  And two shadows walked faster.  My human said “hey – let him enjoy that.”  We glanced at her and kept following the Pied Piper. Into the kitchen.  Back into the dining room.  Around the table again.  By this point he had taken a few tentative bites and decided he definitely wanted it.  So he took the plunge and ate the whole thing, without dropping it to examine it – like he does with any new food item.  Safe to say, the Cod Bits were a hit with everyone.  Mind you, I don’t know if there has EVER been a treat that we PONs didn’t like…

The FG is actually feeling like a celebrity these days.  Remember my story about Toto?  Or Terry.  Well I also mentioned that there were a couple of Picards who starred in the movie, Because of Winn Dixie.  Well I came to find out from one of my readers that there were 5 Picards in the film.  The two that were well known were Laiko and Scott.  And I quote Betsy Gilardi Richards:”… Laiko was a proven stud dog and had fathered 8 litters in France before he was leased by the production company Birds and Animals. The other dog Scot went on to star in at least 2 movies in Europe after he went back home.” These two dogs were used for the close-up shots, while the others were used for distance shots.  So of course, my human had to see if the dogs were related to the FG.  And sure enough, Laiko is the great-great-great-great grandfather of the FG!!!!!!  So clearly, he comes from a “trainable” ancestry. There’s hope for him yet.  Next things you know, he’ll be giving out paw-tographs…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up!

Seizure free days: 13

So in looking for news in the world of dogs, I saw an article about a man “crossing Canada with his sled dogs.” So of course I had to check it out.  It seems a guy who calls New Brunswick, Canada his home (which is north of Nova Scotia if you are not sure of Canadian geography.  From Halifax, Nova Scotia you can cross the border into New Brunsick in about 2.5 hours.   Unless you have LOTS of pee stops).  ANYWAY, he is starting his journey from Churchill, Manitoba and traveling by dog sled to his home in New Brunswick.  Churchill, Manitoba is an interesting place, because it holds the title as “Polar Bear Capital of the World.”  Tourism and ecotourism to see the bears is a big industry in Churchill. It’s on my human’s bucket list.  But she said we are not allowed to come along.  Because although you MAY have seen a video like this…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE-Nyt4Bmi8

These same polar bears have been known to EAT dogs as well.  So we’re not going to Churchill.

I should point out that while the sled dog story describes the man as “crossing Canada” – if you look at a map, Churchill is about half way across Canada.  Still, the journey is about 3000km or 1900 miles.  I checked out the names of the sled dogs going on this journey and there were some interesting names – like Alpine, Juniper and Tamarack.  And of course, there was a Bella.  Seriously.  There HAD to be.  If you want to follow their progress or find out more about this adventure, here is their website:
https://www.bossdogexpeditions.com/

Given that Einstein and I don’t like to get wet, and we quite enjoy the comforts of sleeping on my human’s bed, I don’t think we are cut out for this kind of work.  I think the FG could do it, because he certainly has the energy and he LOVES to run.  Mind you, he doesn’t follow directions well – so they could end up in Florida instead of New Brunswick…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up!!

Seizure-free days:  12

I bit my human.  Yup.  I did it.  But it was an accident – so I don’t think I’m really guilty…Am I????

My human was off yesterday.  And we were sure to get her up nice and early to make the most of the day.   Sunday night was a repeat performance of Saturday night with the FG.  She attempted to allow him in the bedroom again.  But like the night before, he preferred to spin, chew, lick and basically NOT settle down.  But this time, he went on his own into the other room to sleep. And then we ALL were able to sleep.

My human had several “projects” planned for Monday, including cleaning out the tool closet in the garage.  Somehow, it had exploded – and she couldn’t find a thing in it.  Nails were mixed with screws, hammers were buried under rope – it basically was a disaster.  So she had been to the infamous Dollar Store to purchase a variety of containers to help her organize.  But she ALSO bought some other things at the Dollar Store…So before she began her organizing, she “invited me” in to the garage to take some photos.  And although I don’t mind the picture-taking thing, wearing assorted holiday attire – because I DO get lots of treats – I was in a serious modelling mood.  And try as hard as she could – my human could not get me to smile.  I would sit and look seriously at the camera.  So she figured I needed some play time first.  So she got out the hedgehog.  And she tossed it for me.  And I ran around with it.  And we played tug with it.  And she somehow managed to get it away from me and tossed it again.  We were having a grand time. And then she attempted to pull the hedgehog.  And I went to grab him to get a better grip and bam – I grabbed her finger.  “Yow” she said.  And she grabbed a towel because, well let’s just say I got her good.  I quickly realized I had dome something because our playing came to a halt while she tried to stop the bleeding.  “Aw buddy” she said.  “game over.”

After she got herself bandaged up, she figured she should start her organizing project.  So she put all three of us in the run in the garage while she was working.  In the run there were assorted toys that dispense treats – so we quickly emptied those.  But Einstein wanted more treats.  So he kept batting around the now empty “Pyramid” while barking.  Incessantly.  So it was like bam-crash-bark-bark-bam-crash-bark-crash-bam-bark-bark-bark-bam-crash.  After about 15 minutes, my human couldn’t take the noise any more, so we were all ushered back into the house, leaving her with her bandaged finger to clean the disaster closet in peace and quiet.

We DID get to play games when she was finished and had a good run around outside.  Although I must say the snow is really not very much fun right now.  It still has that crusty surface.  So it’s slippery and then all of a sudden you fall through.  Einstein and I tend to keep to the areas that have already been walked on.  Even the FG finds it hard. And today, we have rain in the forecast.  Great fun.

Well time to go on guard duty. Oh and I forgot to mention – I really AM sorry about that bite….

Have a good one!  Peace and paws up.

Seizure-free days: 11

If at first you don’t succeed….

January 21. And on this day in 1903, the musical, The Wizard of Oz premiered in New York City. Interestingly, Toto did not appear in that early stage version, but obviously had an important presence in the famous 1939 movie classic.  And here are some interesting facts about the dog who played in that movie role:

Now here is some fasciniating research in the area of dogs.  Just don’t read the following while you are eating.  The topic is about eating.  But about that wonderful canine habit that some dogs have of eating poop.  Remember, I warned you.

It seems some researchers in California decided to try and figure out why we dogs eat poop.  No offense, but I wonder how much funding they got to do this research.  And who funded it – the poop bag companies?  Anyway, seems that they surveyed 3,000 dog owners.  And they found no evidence to suggest any coorelations with age, specific diet, or obsessive behaviors like tail-chasing.  But here’s the interesting part.  We poop aficionados won’t eat stale poop.  We like our poop less than 2 days old.  They say it goes back to our wolf-ancestors – who would essentially clean-up poop that was left too close to the den, to avoid the infection of parasites that hatch on poop after a few days.  I’m not kidding.  This is what they said. They also found that most poop eaters tend to be greedy eaters.  So it might suggest some dietary motivation.  Given that not all of our food may be fully digested, we see the poop as a secondary food source.  I call it recycling.   And we poop eaters also like to eat dirt.  And cat poop.  Personally I’m not a BIG fan of dirt, but if given the chance to sample some feline products, I’m thinking I would give it a shot.  I certainly liked sheep poop.

Oh and you know those “solutions” like putting pepper or chilis on the poop to discourage us from eating it?  And those products that are supposed to make our poop taste bad?  I hate to tell you – but the success rate is pretty poopy at less than 2%.

But the good news, the next phase of the research will be looking at solutions.   Thank goodness.   In the big scheme of world problems, this IS a big one.

So that’s the poop on poop.  And lest you shake you heads and think that we dogs have some disgusting habits, perhaps I should remind you that on this day in 1982, Ozzy Osbourne, the heavy metal musician, ate the head off a bat on stage in Iowa.  Really.  And you are disgusted by a little poop eating…

Have a good one!  Peace a paws up!

Seizure -free days: 8

Well we finally have had the opportunity to assess the the skills of our new plow driver.  He needed to come last week – for the first time this winter, and Wednesday night as well.  Wednesday was a typical Halifax area winter day.  Snow all day. Followed by freezing rain, then some rain and then some freezing again.  Which made the snow crusty and hard on the top and wet and soft underneath.  And where Russell had plowed (I’ll call him Russell since that’s his name…) the driveway was icy.  Needless to say we didn’t get to go for suer long walks on Thursday morning, and we were less than thrilled with the whole walking-on-crusty-and-falling-through thing on the lawn.  At least we PONs didn’t care for it.  We went out, did our business, watched our poop roll along on the crusty surface and wanted to go right back in the house – to eat.  The FG on the other hand had a “leaping technique” were he basically bounced his way around the lawn, breaking through the crust and burying his nose in the snow.  He thought it was great fun. The photo you see is the pre-crusty stage.

Given the current state of winter weather, I would like to share several essential pieces  of human dog-walking attire.  If you live in a warm climate without snow (lucky you!) you can ignore the next few paragraphs…

First we have the boots with the cleats that are removable – they flip around back into the sole of the boot.  They work great in icy conditions – although if the surface is really hard and sheer ice, they could actually be slippery. But in crusty ice, they are PERFECT.

Next we have the mittens with  string. Now most people probably associate these with kids – but if you are owned by a dog, they are indispensable.  Because when you have to remove your mitten to get the poop bag out of your pocket, and you still have to hold onto two leashes and balance on the ice, you don’t need to worry about dropping your mitts!  

Then of course, we have the trusty headlamp.  Because it gets dark at supper time and doesn’t get light out until breakfast.  Don’t leave home without it.

My human could do commercials for dog walking attire.

It’s FRIDAY and it’s also January 19 – and according to the crazy calendar, it’s Good Memory Day.  And let me tell you something, we PONs have EXCELLENT memories..  And really, so does Picky Picard.  For example, we remember where treats are stored (and for that matter, if they have been left on the counter).   When we play the “find it” games, we often go to places that the hedgehog or bunny have been hidden in the past – before we start using our noses.  Some studies argue that we dogs don’t have a a short term memory that lasts more than 2-5 minutes – because we live in the here and now.  Our long term memory  is obviously longer – because we can recall commands and places we have been in the past.   They say our long term memory depends on our associative memory.  For example, we hear the treat jar being opened so we associate the sound with getting something yummy.  

One thing I know for sure, unlike my human who goes into a room and can’t remember why she went in, I NEVER forget.  Because I’m always going in for the same reason – to hunt for food.  And trust me, I NEVER forget where I found it before…

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up!