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Saturday it rained. Pretty much all day.  So yesterday morning, when we headed out for our walk, my human was not going to take us on the public trail, as she knew it would be wet and muddy. But we ended up running into Pig Pen.  That is going to be my new name for Jackson.  Now please don’t interpret that as a mean name- because we all LOVE Jackson.  He’s the PERFECT dog.  He comes when called. Can be walked off a leash.  He is SUPER friendly.  He’s VERY handsome.  As I said, he’s the PERFECT dog.  But as I mentioned when I talked about the deer flies – he can LOOK like the cartoon character when they fly around him.  Oh and I SHOULD mention Jackson’s ONE vice.  And only ONE.  He likes swamp water.  Not to drink – but to wander in.  The more green and muddy – the better.  So really, the name Pig Pen DOES fit  – at least at times. But I don’t want to offend him – so let’s call him Perfect Pig Pen.  That’s better.

So we ran into Perfect Pig Pen and his human, and they were headed down the trail, so we said we would join them.  Well – my HUMAN said we would.  I was happy to go – but Einstein was mortified.  Mud and puddles.  His worst nightmare.  He didn’t know WHERE to walk.  It was like watching a slow moving bag of potatoes – trying to calculate which direction to walk so he would not get wet.  OR dirty.  You know, my human sees pictures and videos of PONs who love mud, and puddles.  So they do exist.  But somehow Einstein is in a different league. Maybe he anticipates having a bath or a rinse after getting muddy – which frankly does NOT happen every time.  Who knows.  It was pretty embarrassing to watch him.  The one good thing – the flies must have still been asleep – they were no problem.  Perfect Pig Pen is able to walk off leash – but at one point, his human put him on a leash as we were approaching a VERY mucky, swampy area.  His human KNEW what would happen – so Perfect Pig Pen was  restrained for a short time.   And then he was again set free. Because he DOES behave.  Unlike some PONs and a Picard we know.

Looks like the weather ahead is going to be great.   Wonder what my human has planned for us.  You know, I JUST realized I have not given HER a nickname.  She suggested Saint.  I don’t think so.  I have to think about this….give me some time….

Have a good one!  Peace and paws up!

So sometimes I REALLY wonder about the FG.  He seems to be VERY smart sometimes.  And then other times…

It’s August.  And with August comes the arrival of some unwelcome guests.  In May it was the dreaded black flies.  Those guys are tiny, but love to bite – humans and animals alike. They have pretty much disappeared and NOW the dive bombing,  triangular-shaped flying piranhas have arrived.  The deer flies.  Google them if you’re not familiar with them.  And yes – they are as ugly as they look.  On a calm, hot sunny day, they can be a menace in wooded areas.  In fact, this week my human refused to take us on the public trail down the road certain mornings, because she can’t stand the idea of being swarmed.  As she walks, she watches them fly over her head like a group of aircraft, and quickly descend on us canines.  And it’s interesting – they prefer dark colors.  So between me and Einstein, I have more following me.  And heaven forbid our friend Jackson, the black Lab is out with us.  Ever see that character, Pig Pen in the Charlie Brown cartoons?   Where he is surrounded by particles of dirt?  Picture those particles being deer flies – all around poor Jackson.  The same used to be true for Paxton.  

The deer flies also LOVE to attack humans too.  Especially their heads.  So in the past few weeks, my human has been sporting a white hooded sweatshirt during our morning walks.  Now I don’t want to imply that these cannibals are EVERYWHERE – they seem to like certain areas along the public trail.   The swampy areas.  When my human does take us on the trail, she quickly pulls us along through those areas where they seem to be worse.  And of course, you KNOW that’s when we want to poop.  So she stands there with her hood up, praying that we go quickly, while trying to bat off any one that lands on us.

Anyway, this week, my human took the FG out for his walk.  They were walking along the paths at the golf course.  Suddenly, they reached an area where there were some flies.  So my human put up her hood.  So here we have Mr. Observant.  The guy who carefully watches every bird in the heavens.  Who studies blowing leaves.  And notices things like a garbage can placed in a new location.  They are happily walking along and my human puts up her hood.   He glances up, looks at her and jumps backward with his ears back and tail between his legs like he was meeting a burglar in a dark alley.  Seriously.  So my human puts down her hood – and keep in mind that her face was NOT covered, and he is all happy again.  I mean it’s not like he hasn’t seen her wearing a jacket with a hood.  Or a hat!  Honestly, this guy never ceases to interest me… Ya gotta love him… Maybe he was doing it just to be funny?  Suuuuuuuure he was…

Well another day of fetching ahead.  Hopefully my human can keep the fetch toy off the roof today… yup.  Never a dull moment!

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up!

August 12.  And did you know that on this day in 1883,  the last quagga died at a zoo in the Netherlands.  Don’t know what a quagga is?  Well no wonder.  They became extinct.  They were from Africa – and they looked kind of like zebras – except they were only striped on the front half of their bodies – and the rest of them was a solid brownish color.  Yup – today was the day they disappeared.  BUT – some good news.  Scientists are working with DNA and trying to “bring back” the quagga.  Now some argue that you can’t bring back the same species – but with some fancy selective zebra breeding, they are breeding animals that certainly LOOK like quaggas.   They are actually called Rau Quaggas – named after one of the scientists working on the project.  I guess they are quasi quaggas.

I’ve talked before about the fact that there are currently some dog breeds on the verge of extinction – and it’s a topic of relevance in our household because both Polish Lowland Sheepdogs AND Berger Picards were close to becoming extinct after WW II.  I think that’s probably the case with many rare breeds.  But a committed group of enthusiasts who love a breed, start looking at what they can do to save it.   And voila – because of the efforts of those early breeders, you are able read about the antics of two of these crazy rare breeds every day.  Sometimes my human understands why we nearly became extinct…

But the bottom line with purebred dogs – ALL purebred dogs, rare or not, is that people need to work together to save breeds from extinction.  Dog show ribbons are pretty – but beneath it all, health is what counts.  People have to be open,  and honest and breeders need to be selective – and KNOW what happens to their puppies.  Otherwise, we could go the way of the quagga…

OK. Time to get off my soapbox and go for a walk. Or play another game of fetch.  And TRY to stay  out of trouble, so I don’t become extinct.  Today.

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up!

So do you recognize the name Abbie Girl?  You should if you follow dog news.  Abbie Girl is an Australian Kelpie, and on Saturday she won the 2nd Annual World Dog Surfing Championships in Pacifica, California.  And Abbie Girl also won last year.  Apparently dozens of dogs showed up for the competition.  Three judges decide who wins and dogs are judged on two things – whether they stay on the board and whether they look happy.   Abbie Girl competed solo on her own custom board.  Dogs can compete solo, with another dog, or with a human.

I think Einstein would be PERFECT for this competition.  HE hates the water and he will do ANYTHING to even avoid a puddle.  Which, in my mind, means that he would stay on that board no matter WHAT.  There are people who surf here in Nova Scotia, although the water would no doubt be a bit cooler than California.  I’ll have to take Einstein out to one of the popular surfing beaches and get him started.  Just have to get him a wet suit.

In other dog news, the last bath victim met his tub on Sunday night.  Einstein, like me, thought he was just going into the torture palace for a brushing.  Wrongo.  After the brushing came the bath. And the jet engine dryer.  And while he wasn’t THRILLED with the whole fiasco, my human showed him the following article and threatened that grooming could be SO much worse. Honestly, these dogs MUST have to undergo therapy after having this done to them.  And I thought having to wear a clip in my hair, or the dreaded Easter Bunny ears was bad!!!!  Sorry folks – but this REALLY is TOO TOO much. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4767464/Photographer-captures-dogs-extreme-grooming.html

My human is still off – and we have actually been allowing her to sleep in until 5:30.  Yes, we can be thoughtful.  And the multiple games of fetch have been marvelous.  For those of us not on a long line.

Have a good one!  Peace and paws up!

Well my human has done it again.  We’ll see what happens THIS time.  Sometimes I think she is just a glutton for punishment.  What has she done?  She has entered the FG in a herding instinct test at the end of the month.   

We know that for Einstein and I, the instinct test fee was not exactly money well spent.  Remember?  First Einstein went in the pen for the test and just glared at my human.  He’s not really one to enjoy a fenced-in muddy pen.  And yet he HAD been with sheep when he was younger – so my human THOUGHT he would be interested.   He kind of liked sheep.  “Kind of” being the operative words.  My human actually found video footage of his first encounter.  And it really wasn’t all THAT exciting.  But after he was given some time – and was walked around the sheep – he DID catch on.  These photos show those results.

But for the test?  Nope.  Maybe it was performance anxiety.  After he failed the test, she then brought ME in.  And she had really high hopes for me.  My performance?  Ditto.  I sat in the middle of the pen like a stuffed PON.

So then remember how she decided that maybe if I went without Einstein to a test that MAYBE I would do better?  So several weeks later she entered me in another test.  And she drove over an hour again to get there.  And she was all excited.  And the result was EXACTLY the same.  I sat in the pen and stared at her.  We didn’t even get our allotted 15 minutes of test time.  The judges, for some reason, remembered me from my previous performance.  They said to take me home and love me.  But don’t bother buying any sheep. 

So now it’s the FG’s turn.  And while we know his mother was great with sheep, we are not holding out any high hopes.  My human can’t bear to have her dreams dashed yet again.  So she says she is going in with absolutely NO expectations.  Good plan.  I mean I’m not suggesting she should aim low – but the reality is that either we WANT to chase the sheep.  Or we don’t.   My human’s excuse was that we had obedience training – so we didn’t like to work away from her.  Bwhahahahaha.  I don’t think anyone bought it – but it made HER feel better.  

In the meantime, I suggest she start playing some sheepherding videos on the TV.  Maybe he’ll get the idea.  Honestly, I think she should sell tickets to watch him.  She will DEFINITELY need to have someone take some video.  Finally a chance for a viral video.  I can hardly wait…

Have a good one!  Peace and paws up!

OK so I just don’t get this Picky Picard thing.   Being picky about food is SO foreign to the PONs in this house – it’s like saying grooming is a FUN thing to do.  My human THOUGHT she had outsmarted the FG by doing things like adding parmesan to his food.  Or adding other tasty treats like bits of dried liver.  Or by feeding him by hand.  Or by changing his food.  And all of those tactics DID work.  For a day or two.  But on Thursday, I honestly thought my human was going to cry.   None of the tactics worked – and he refused to eat.  Yes – she knows you can put his food down and take it away after 10-15 minutes.  But the problem is, I then OBSESS over that food bowl.  It’s put in the garage – but honestly, I KNOW it is in there.  So I stand and stare at the garage door.  Constantly.  And I squeak.  And moan. 

Sometimes if the FG doesn’t eat his breakfast, my human puts his bowl in his run with him if she goes out, and he generally eats it while she is out.   But Thursday he picked out the dried liver and spread the rest of his kibble around his run.  And neither the hand feeding or parmesan worked when she returned.  Even begging did not work.  And not to worry – he is NOT sick.  He has tons of energy and WILL eat treats.  Or garbage along the side of the road if my human isn’t paying attention while they walk.

So she didn’t know WHAT to do. One thing she did notice was that when she takes him on his walks, he is always happy to be rewarded for good walking with a piece or two of kibble.  So she tried something yesterday morning… She basically FILLED her pockets with the amount of food the FG would usually get for breakfast.  And every now and then, on the walk, she would stop and offer him some.  Which he happily ate.  So my clever human was able to feed him his entire meal, as they walked along.  BINGO.  She has outsmarted him again.  But we’ll see how long THIS lasts.

Never a dull moment.  Ever….

Happy Saturday!!!!!

Peace and paws up!