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So every now and then, after my human manages to snap a halfway decent photo of us canines, someone will ask her how she does it.  I decided to share with you her ingredients for canine photography.

1.  First you need a dog. Or two. Or in our case three.  The higher the number, the higher degree of #2.

2.  Patience.  Which ironically is not my human’s forte.  But she must have some, or the recipe would not work out.  If patience is really lacking, alcohol consumption may or may not help.  That’s optional.

3.  Treats.  Really GOOD treats.  Not a piece of the same old kibble we may get for meals.  That is way too boring.  We are talking something extraordinary.  Like dried liver.  Or cheese.  Or sirloin steak.  And we must get a whiff before you begin.

4.  Noise makers.  If you want the “ears up” attentive expression, you must use SOMETHING to gain our attention.  A squeaker may work.  Or a whistle.  Or you can try any variety of human noises.  But keep in mind, they only work once.  After that, you need a new one.

5.  Pocket rocks.  When my human attempts outdoor photos, she picks up rocks and loads her pockets with them.  Rocks are perfect.  For throwing in the bushes to get attention.  Or in the water.  Or behind her.  Just do NOT throw them straight up – as you can end up with a minor head injury. 

These are the basic ingredients for taking canine photos.  Oh and you need a camera.  Or in my human’s case, a smart phone.  Like her iPhone.  Which always seems to turn off JUST as she has managed to position all of us. And as SOON as she is all set, one of us has moved.  It’s kind of like an interesting game of canine chess.  You never know where the next move will be.

So there you have it.  No doubt our neighbors have heard some rather interesting noises during our photo shoots.  And no doubt a FEW colorful words as well.  And although we may grumble about her pup-arazzi  routine, we DO enjoy the treats!  Did you say “cheese?!”

Peace and paws up!

You know, I’ve always thought I had a pretty good life.  Food in my bowl, roof over my head, toys to fetch, a human bed on which to sleep,  fun “siblings” to play with (should the urge arise), a pretty well-behaved human – yup I thought life was pretty sweet. But now my perfect life is even MORE perfect.  I was introduced to something I never had before.  And frankly, I can’t believe I have waited for 5 years to discover this.  The amazing discovery?  Bones.  Real, honest to goodness non-vegan, non-vegetarian meaty rib bones.  Where has my human been hiding these all my life?

It started when she went to the pet store to get our food.  She has decided the antlers are obviously not for us – or at least not for Mr. Brittle Teeth Einstein.  Now we DO chew on those hard nylon-type bones, but the idea of us ingesting plastic isn’t a great concept either.  There are vegetable chews that SEEM really hard – but my human remembers buying them once and within MINUTES we had eaten large chunks.  So she decided to buy some REAL frozen bones at the pet store.  Yeah – I KNOW she can get them cheaper at the grocery store, but the salesguy was good.  So she happily came home with 5 lbs of frozen bones – which actually cost less than one nylon-type bone.  Go figure.

It was a gorgeous day, so she took us all out on the deck.  And each of us got a BIG rib bone.  And our heads just about exploded.  Well, mine did.  And so did Einstein’s.  Mr. Dainty Chew – the FG, took his over to a corner and politely nibbled.  We PONs on the other hand, attacked the things.  Einstein was so excited, he didn’t even want to lie down.  My human sat and watched us like a hawk about to swoop down on a mouse.  If it appeared we were getting TOO excited and breaking off TOO big a piece, she was prepared to take it away.  She watched as we pawed and gnawed and chewed.  Honestly, I now know what dog heaven looks like.  The path is lined with REAL bones.

Anyway, after about 10 minutes, the FG had had enough.  But we PONs were FAR from finished.  My human watched us a while longer and then went in the house to get some biscuits.  She traded a biscuit for each bone, collected them and put them in a bag back in the freezer.  By this point we were huffing and puffing as if we had just completed a marathon.  And then I had to lick and remnants off my paws.

I think the key in giving these things to us IS to watch us.  The LAST thing we need is one of us swallowing a bone.  Now THAT would be bad.

Anyway,  I always knew I had a pretty wonderful life – and who KNEW it could even get better?!  Peace and paws up!

So Monday morning, I got my human up at our usual time of 4:45.  She kept mumbling about vacation as she rolled off the bed – I FORGOT she was off!  Just as well – who wants to waste precious vacation time relaxing.  Mind you – I didn’t get to relax much on Sunday night.  First she tricked me into thinking I was getting a brushing.  Which I did.  And which I needed.  And then, when I thought she was finished – she quickly whisked me into the TUB!  Up until this point, while I was being brushed, Einstein had been wanting to come into the grooming torture room aka garage, because he knew I was getting lots of treats.  But as soon as he heard the water running, he ran.  I must confess, that although I’m not a huge bath fan, I do smell and look quite marvelous now. Not to mention the fact that between the airplane jet engine dryer and numerous fans going in the room, I was dry within seconds.  OK make that minutes.  Well, in less than an hour.  But seriously, it didn’t take long at all.

Monday, the FG was the next victim.  But if there’s one thing he has not learned from us PONs, it’s how to be wiggly and difficult to handle during brushing.  He just stands there rather stoically – and he doesn’t even WANT treats. He smelled quite wonderful when he was finished too. 

We KNOW who is next.  My human is going to have quite the time trying to find him when she decides to bathe him.  He keeps watching her whenever she moves toward the garage door.  And he runs.  She saved the worst for last.

But even BEFORE the FG had his bath, my humans decided she “needed” a new photo of the three of us.  As IF 694 photos that she already has of the Trouble Trio isn’t enough.  And she managed to snap this one -she gets SO excited when after 592 attempts she gets a photo she likes.  Seriously.  She needs to get a life.  And I hope she isn’t planning on an entire month of baths and photos.  Her dream is our nightmare.

BUT the good news – GUESS what she found at the store yesterday?!!!  A BUNNY!!!!!  No – not a real one.  A stuffed one.  Remember the stuffed one that I decapitated?  And the replacement bunny that she bought at Crufts – which quickly became an amputee?  Well she FOUND another bunny!  He’s not EXACTLY like the last two – but he’s pretty close.  She says he is a “rainy day” toy – for playing with inside when we can’t go out.  Bla bla bla.  Humans and their rules.  

Well – time to get her moving. Hope your day is bath and photo-free.  Have a good one!

Peace and paws up!

OK. I am ANNOYED.  REALLY annoyed.  Since July 29 and until today, there has been a big event  in Halifax.  It was the Tall Ships regatta – and 30 huge masted vessels from 10 countries were in the harbor for all to see.  The waterfront was bustling with crowds who came to see the ships, listen to music, eat some great food and possibly have a beverage.  Or two.  Every few years a gathering of ships like this takes place – and at the end of the festivities, there will be a giant Parade of Sail.  Which happens today.

So all weekend I was hoping to go.  But no.  My human was “busy.”  Then suddenly, last night, she started feeling badly that she had not driven into the city to see the ships. So after supper, she got ready and looked at each of us.  She knew if she took me and not Einstein, he would bark until we came home.  And ditto if she took him and not me.  And if she took BOTH of us, the FG would go crazy. And taking all three of us would be suicidal.  So that left one choice.  The FG got to go.  

My human gave me and Einstein some special treats and off she and the FG went to the big city.  Now keep in mind that the Halifax waterfront, which boasts one of the world’s longest boardwalks, was TEEMING with people.  MOBS of people.  She parked far away and started walking toward the ships and all the action.  And the FG IMMEDIATELY pooped.  She figured that would happen – that’s why she parked so far away.  She S & D’d (scooped and disposed) and off they went. 

So the VERY first people they passed had to stop and pet the FG.  And of course ask what he was.  He was timid for .0008 seconds and then wanted to jump all over them.  And that set the stage for walking through the crowd…

Mr. Sociable wanted to say hello to EVERYONE.  My human wished she had a T-shirt saying “He’s a Berger Picard.”  Everyone was asking what he was.  At one point he saw another dog and my human said you could see the thought bubble over his head:  “One of my kind!”  Of course he wanted to greet every dog too.

But in the end, he really WAS pretty well behaved.  My human did not end up in the harbor and no small child lost an ice cream cone.  Came close.  But didn’t.

As my human was headed back to the car, and the less populated area, she passed a couple sitting on a bench.  The woman asked you know what.  And just as my human replied, the man, who had an accent said his brother has one.  “Where?”  my human asked him.  “In POLAND” the man replied.  Poland?! Seriously?!  What’s his brother doing with a Picard in POLAND?!  His brother should have a PON!!!!!!  I think he just said that.

The FG came home and went right to sleep.  He was exhausted.  And Einstein and I got MORE treats.  So we were happy.  But I STILL would have liked to have seen the ships….Next time.

Peace and paws up!

Well well well.  Exactly one year ago year ago today, my human met a special guy.  It was actually the result of some on-line “dating”.  She  remembers the instant she saw him. She had driven for hours and hours to meet him with her good friend, Glenda and it was a beautiful day. 

He had dark eyes and sandy colored hair.  And the most enticing expression.  He won her over within nanoseconds of their meeting.  And life in our house would never be the same. Yup. A year ago today my human met Elroy for the first time. 

So did you know that as early as the 17th century, humans began to describe the barking sounds that we dogs make?  Back then, our barking sound was described as “waff”.  By the 19th century, it appears that our barking changed to “woof”.

And of course, there are other sounds to describe the sounds we dogs make.  Like yip and yap and arf, and bow wow and grrrrrr…

And here’s a site to tell you how to woof in a variety of languages:
http://stories.barkpost.com/woof-other-languages/

This whole topic began because yesterday I described the FG’s boof.  Now in our house,  a boof is not a bark – or a “woowoowoo”.  It is not a full out “get the heck off my property” kind of sound.  And it’s not a “rowf” which means hurry up and get my supper- that’s Einstein favorite.  And then we have the “mmmmmmm” with a melodic tone that rises and falls when we are bored or want a treat.  And then we have Einstein’s rarawwwwww when he yawns in the morning.  No a boof is none of these.  A boof is quieter than a woowoowoo.  And one makes a single boof at a time.  It’s not done in sequence.  It’s a “I’m bold but scared” kind of sound.  It’s a boof.

Now you may be reading this and thinking that my human has lost her mind since her vacation started.  But there are scientists who actually study the acoustic properties of dog barks in response to different situations. And they have found that we dogs interpret the sounds of other dogs and humans can also tell the differences in our sounds as well.  And like humans, if we have a high-pitched bark in response to something, it usually signifies something happy.  Whereas a low-pitched bark signifies warning, or that we are not happy.  Just like humans!  And did you know the longest recorded barks (for a Cocker Spaniel) in a 10 minute period was 907 – or more than 90 a minute.  That’s even more annoying than Einstein.  Clearly that dog had a LOT to say.  Now HE could have run for politics…

So no new critter sightings when we got my human up at 5:30 yesterday.  I got her up – I wanted her to make THE most of her first day off.  She was not impressed.  She took me out, waited for me to pee – and then pretended she was going to get dressed to take us for our walks.  So she went in the bedroom and closed the door.  But she TRICKED us – she went back to bed.  We actually let her sleep until 6.  And then Einstein began to rowf.  He had enough sleep.

Have a super Sunday!  Peace and paws up!  May all your rowfs today be happy – and rewarded with good treats!

Holy moly.  You humans are sure interesting.  I learned something yesterday – if you want to get ‘hits” to your blog – put the word “cannabis” in the blog title for the day.   Whoa. 

Well –  my human isn’t feeling so great.  She took Einstein to the Vet yesterday.  Remember how I said she would soon be on vacation?  Well she’ll probably be looking for another job during that time – to pay for Einstein’s dental bill.  Looks like old snaggletooth has ANOTHER cracked tooth as well. And it looks like they BOTH have to come out. And the projected bill?  Just under $2000.  She is NOT a happy camper.  Plus I’m thinking that the deer antlers that we LOVE so much may be disappearing.  They must be the culprits.  She immediately came home and examined my teeth.  And the FG’s.  But they look fine.  Completely fine.  Poor old snaggle.  The date isn’t booked yet – probably some time next week when my human is off. My human was so depressed.  I suggested she take a swig from my cannabis stuff.  I THOUGHT I saw her put some in her coffee – but I’m not sure….

In much more pleasant news – it seems the FG really IS growing up.  Are you ready for this?  He played fetch in the yard – AND DIDN’T RUN AWAY.  Usually his brain explodes during fetch and he suddenly takes off into the woods – dropping the fetch toy.  Somewhere.  But he played the other night and never ran off ONCE.  Now he WAS wearing a long line – but he was loose – and my human wasn’t holding on to it.  Mind you,  he did not always come BACK with the toy.  BUT he never disappeared.  You may not think this is a big deal, but trust me – this is progress. MAJOR progress.

Today is Thursday – and if all goes well at my human’s work and she finishes ALL her reports, tomorrow will be her LAST day until September.  Paws crossed.  Mind you she will be searching for that second job… Clearly it won’t be in the field of dog training….

Have a good one! Peace and paws up.

So here’s the third part of the blue day….

I haven’t written about my health in the last little bit – but unfortunately, I have continued to have seizures.  Like every two weeks.  Last Friday I had one and then on Sunday night (post blueberries) I actually had another one.  The seizure lasts about a minute or two- and I don’t remember much about it.  It’s the “after seizure” part that is particularly challenging. I go into a bit of a disoriented frenzy and I become completely RAVENOUS.  I mean REALLY ravenous.  More than typical PON hungry.  I squeak, moan and bark at the garage door.  Where the dog food is stored.  Take me outside for a walk and I could strangle myself trying to get back home because I want to EAT.  I am in a real frenzy.  And even after I am fed – I want MORE.  The frenzy lasts anywhere from 1-2 hours.  Sometimes my human will put me in a crate, just to help me settle down.  But it doesn’t always work – as I just bark to be let out.  My medications have been adjusted numerous times – and while that seems frustrating, the adjustment process is apparently very common for some dogs.  It’s finding the RIGHT medication and dose.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago after yet another seizure and frenzy, my human started surfing the net.  And she started reading about the use of medical marijuana and pets.  And there is some evidence that it CAN be helpful in controlling seizures.  So my human sent away for some cannabis for me.  On-line.  But WAIT.  Before you have visions of me sitting around on a beanbag chair, wearing a psychedelic t-shirt and smoking a joint – you need to understand something.  What I am taking is actually hemp terpenes oil – which contains little to none of the THC mind-bending properties of cannabis .  Think of what I am taking as non-alcoholic beer – with health benefits. 

So my human bought the “stuff” and it arrived in a plain brown box.  But THEN she chickened out about giving it to me – because she didn’t know if it would interact with my medications.  Perhaps she SHOULD have thought of that BEFORE she bought the stuff.  Anyway, she decided to e-mail one of my Vets.  Now the Vets in the practice are quite used to my human.  Heaven help them.  I can picture the discussion in the Vet office:  “check out the latest e-mail from Linda! You answer this one!”  Anyway, the Vet e-mailed her back and said, “go ahead” – there was no evidence it would interact with my meds.  So I tried the first dose Monday night.  Now I have no idea IF this stuff will work – but I can tell you I sure slept well Monday night – and never bugged my human even ONCE.

Please note -you need to keep in mind that REAL marijuana can be harmful to pets – which is no laughing matter.  So don’t try THAT with your dog.

If you want to see what I am using – it’s the hemp terpene oils:
https://www.apawthecarypets.com/

Anyway, we’ll see what happens.  I have officially gone from being a PONhead to being a POThead.  

Excuse me now – I have this desire to go and watch some YouTube videos about Woodstock.  And I’m feeling like I need a snack.  But then – I always have the munchies.  Peace brothers and sisters!

Have a good one!