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The second part in a documentary will be released this week – it’s called the Secret Life of Dogs.  The series is all about the unique bond that we canines have with you humans.  I found a web news story from the UK in the Mirror, about the new show – and they published some interesting dog facts. Here are a few that I found cool:

• Shih Tzus are one of the breeds most closely related to the wolf. Really. I’m not joking.  I just have visions of a pack of wild Shih Tzus hunting deer in the woods.  Pretty scary vision…
• The Dandie Dinmont Terrier is now considered rarer than the giant panda.   That’s a sad fact.  Dog breeders better get together and WORK together – or more breeds will be experiencing this fate.
• Dogs understand fairness, and will refuse to play ball when asked to carry out a trick if they are not offered the same reward as a fellow dog for equal work.  Well this fact is no surprise.  I know EXACTLY whose turn it is to get a treat and I COUNT how many each of us gets.  
• Dogs can shake 70% of the water out of their fur in four seconds, generating more G-force than F1 drivers experience in sharp corners.  While this is true – it doesn’t explain WHY we try to shake ourselves off while we are IN the rain or still IN the bathtub.  I must confess, that is not one of our most intelligent behaviors…
• Research shows that dogs are more confident exploring the world when they have their owner, rather than anyone else, by their side.  Unless we are off chasing rabbits.  We would rather NOT have our human by our side – because she could NEVER keep up.

I have two interesting facts to add to this list:

• PONs are magicians.  They make food disappear before you can even BLINK. 
• Picards fly.  And here is proof:

 I hope my human can find that series – we love watching dog movies.  Sure beats sappy human love stories.  Mind you, we do enjoy a good adventure film every now and again.

Oh and before I close – speaking of movies – remember all the hoopla about the dog abuse and the filming of the movie, A Dog’s Purpose?  Seems an independent investigation revealed NO abuse – the clip that was shown was significantly edited to make the scene look abusive.  The dog in that scene was NOT hurt.  Remember who was behind the whole fiasco…  All that being said, I don’t think I want to watch that movie with my human – she’ll be all sad and crying.  I like happy endings.  Or movies and TV shows about cooking.  My kind of entertainment.

Have a good one!

So what is it with Frodo’s obsession with getting in the DFZ lately?  He is truly obsessed.  The BEST part is when he sneaks in there while my human is taking her shower in the morning.  We all know the drill when she is going to work.  She puts the FG in his kennel – as he is obsessed with the already ruined dining room carpet – so he is put in solitary confinement for the sake of the remaining carpet  and his own safety.  And Einstein and I are free to roam.  Anyway, when she comes out of the shower and is ready to go to work, lately she has been finding Einstein IN the DFZ.  He squeezes his way in around the bungee cords holding the gate and then, as if to say “Nah nah nah nah nah.  I’m in,”  he lies JUST inside the gate.  At which point my human pulls open the gate and he saunters out.  This photo was NOT staged.  This is how my human found him the other morning….

In other dog news, the FG went to another “handling class” the other day.  He had not been for a 4 hour run before class – so he was NOT tired and raring to go.    I’m joking about a FOUR hour run – but he DOES benefit if he has has exercise before he goes to class.  Or should I say, my HUMAN benefits.  When is is “overly” excited – his feet go every which way – not exactly an elegant “dog show” gait.  He really needs to get some practice – as rumor has it, he MAY be in a dog show at the end of the month.  There is sure to be some material for Funniest Videos if the two of them show up!

Well time to get ready for guard duty while my human goes to work.  I’ll be on high alert all day.  Suuuuuuure I will.  I just want to get a comfy spot on the dog bed – before Einstein hogs the whole thing…

Have a good one!

Before I begin my story, I must mention that Yowie’s winning streak on predicting football games came to a close yesterday.  Oh well. Good thing I didn’t have money on the Falcons.

Well we had two new arrivals the other day.  Two NEW puppies!!!  And they are gorgeous….  The story of these pups actually begins several years ago – when my human purchased two paintings on Ebay – of Paxton and Frodo…If you have been reading my blog since the beginning, you may recall this story….

http://viktorsviews.blogspot.ca/2014/11/stuff.html

Prints of those paintings of Frodo and Paxton have become popular – AND this artist sells prints of MANY different dog breeds.  You can see her work here:

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/lee-ann-shepard.html?tab=artworkgalleries

Anyway, my human had the two great paintings of Frodo and Paxton.  So…..she started thinking that she REALLY should have a puppy painting of me – and Elroy.  So she contacted the artist and asked her if she does custom work – because much of what she now sells seems to be prints.  My human got a lovely note from Lee Ann and found out she indeed does custom work.  So my human picked out two of her favorite puppy pictures of me and Elroy and sent them to her.

And the new puppy portraits arrived the other day.  And they have joined Frodo and Paxton on the wall. Check. Them. Out.

I think Lee Ann did a great job of capturing our spirit on canvas.  That’s about the ONLY way to capture Elroy.  Let him loose outside lately and he has NO idea what his name is.  My human has to come up with ways to trick him to get him to come inside.  I think at 8 months, he is definitely going through his teenage period.  And boy oh boy is he FAST.  It’s actually fun to watch my human try to capture him.  Treats do not work.  Toys don’t work – unless you toss them and hope you can get to them before he does.  He has figured out how to stay JUST out of arms length for her to grab him.  I’m thinking his time off leash is now going to be VERY limited.  That sweet puppy on canvas has become a wild thing in real life.  I love it.

Anyway, my human is off today and we have lots of plans for her.  Good thing we got her up nice and early so she can enjoy the WHOLE day!

Have a good one!

Well it’s Superbowl Sunday.  A day when humans sit around, eat junk food, drink beer and scream at the TV screen – watching guys bash into each other causing concussions.  Oh and they watch commercials.  It’s the one time during the year that humans are excited about commercial breaks.  Great fun.   This year, I understand that the big game is between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons.  So who to pick?  My human grew up in Buffalo, New York – which means, of course, she grew up being a Buffalo Bills fan.  She is well versed in knowing what it feels like to LOSE a Superbowl.  Numerous Superbowls.  And being a Bills fan, one knows that along with the Miami Dolphins, the arch rivals to the Bills are the Patriots.  So my human should be rooting for the Falcons.  HOWEVER – in Nova Scotia, almost everyone seems to root for the Patriots.  What a dilemma (as if selecting a team to root for is THAT important!).  So what to do?  Well I have the answer – ask a dog!  And who knew there was a dog who has been selecting football playoff winners all season – and has an accuracy rate of 100%?  Yowie is an Australian Cattle Dog and apparently a YouTube star.  And Yowie chose the Falcons for the win. 
 http://www.today.com/video/youtube-star-yowie-the-dog-s-super-bowl-prediction-is-869406275609

Now for those who are naysayers about dogs making predictions – I hate to remind you that before the US election, dogs in Cleveland selected Trump.  Really.  And if an overgrown chipmunk can predict the weather, why can’t a dog predict a Superbowl win?  We’ll see tomorrow if Yowie was right.

Actually, I am quite good at making predictions myself.  I predict with 100% accuracy that if you put food in my bowl, it will disappear.  And if the front door is left open, and Frodo refuses to step out, I predict that it is raining.  Hey.  I’m pretty good at this stuff.  How do I get on a TV show?!

Anyway, have a super day!  Even if you don’t watch football!

So I mentioned the other day that the big dog show – Westminster – is scheduled soon.  And as happens every year, there will be new breeds introduced that have recently been recognized by the AKC.  As you may recall, last year one of the new breeds was the Berger Picard!  And that became a new breed in our household as well.  This year there are three new breeds – the Sloughi, also known as the Arabian greyhound, which was originally bred for hunting big game; the American hairless terrier – great for those with allergies -IF you like the look of a naked dog and the oh-so-cute Pumi, the Hungarian herding terrier – with a curly coat and stand-up ears that bend at the tips.  And lest anyone think that another rare breed is coming to this house – the answer is NO.  PONs and Picards are all the rarity we need.

But the REAL news is the “other” addition at Westminster.  I’m not talking about agility – that’s been happening for a few years now. Nope – I’m talking about something that shocked me. There will be 40 breeds of CATS at the show.  Yup.  Cats.  After 141 years of an all dog competition, cats will join in this year.  The cats will be on exhibition and will even have their own agility display.  I vote that they put the cats and dogs TOGETHER for the agility part.  Can’t you just see some sighthound racing through a tunnel after Mr. Pretty Kitty.  Now THAT would be entertaining. 

I was initially not sure if I liked the idea of cats at Westminster.  I mean – it’s breaking with tradition.  But you know, in this day and age of “biases” against certain groups of people, I’m thinking maybe putting us cats and dogs together would be a good lesson for humans.  Think about it.  If WE can get along – shouldn’t humans be able to get along?  So I say, bring on the cats!  And heck – throw in some bunnies too!

Have a good one!

February 3.  The big day after Rodent Prognostication Day.  So here in Nova Scotia, we watched Schubenacadie Sam, a local groundhog make his prediction.  Sam lives about an hour from us – at a wildlife park – so we watched him on-line.  There was much fanfare about the oversized chipmunk’s emergence from his den.  With typical Nova Scotian flare,  he was greeted by a bagpiper and the Town Crier.  Amazing he stuck his head out at all.  You know, I’m really thinking that the Town Crier thing would be PERFECT for Frodo.  He’s ALWAYS shouting out information… “Get my food.  Hurry up.  I WANT that bunny.  Give me a treat…”   He would be an excellent candidate for that position. 

Anyway, along with the piper and the crier, there was the obligatory presentation by a local politician.  Of course there was.  And then it was time to open the door to Sam’s den.  It was kind of fun to watch the politician who seemed just a little bit leary of Sam.  No wonder – the chunky beaver-wanna-be has pretty big teeth.   Anyway, Sam came out and ran around.  And I did note that the park official closed the door to his den – perhaps influencing his prognostication.  But who am I to complain.  He didn’t see his shadow – so great news – it will be an early spring!  I should also add that while there are other rodents in North America who make their predictions – SAM is the FIRST in North America.  Apparently some of his relatives – like Punxsutawney Phil,  Dunkirk Dave, and General Beauregarad Lee predicted just the opposite.  They said there would be 6 more weeks of winter.  So I’m glad I don’t live in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Dunkirk, New York or Stone Mountain, GA.   

So we can soon start planting those spring flowers.  Sure we can. And Elroy will definitely be able to help.  Digger is his middle name.  Here is an example of 2.7 minutes worth of work on the front lawn.

He and the groundhog could be best buddies. Wonder if the groundhog likes to chew carpets too….

Have a good one!

February 2.  It’s Groundhog Day.  And I see it is also Hedgehog Day and Marmot Day in Alaska.  It seems all of these “holidays” are related somehow to a rodent’s ability to forecast the weather.  In North America, if the groundhog comes out of his den and he sees his shadow, he’ll get scared and will retreat back to his den and there will be 6 more weeks of winter.  So we are hoping for a cloudy day so the little bugger stays outdoors – and we’ll have an early spring.  Wonder if the mole colony in our lawn can prognosticate anything?  Besides a challenge in mowing when spring arrives.

Want to know how to awaken even the most soundly sleeping human in the middle of the night?  Do the urky gurkies.  Nope that’s not a dance.  It’s the telltale sound that a dog is about to throw up.  It happened the other night.  And although my human QUICKLY was roused by the sound – it was too late.  Frodo puked.  On the bed.  Ewwwwww.  And there was a logical explanation for his stomach upset….You see for SOME reason, Frodo has been OBSESSED with getting into the DFZ lately.  He will push the gate open that is held by bungee cords and will SQUEEZE himself through.  AND when my human put chairs in front of the entry and attached MORE bungee cords, he simply started chewing his way through the plastic gate.  Which did not sit well in his stomach.   So at 3AM my human ended up cleaning and throwing bedding in the laundry.  Luckily she managed to get to the “product” before Frodo and I could help ourselves.  Humans think that behavior is gross.  We dogs call it recycling.  But not to worry about Frodo – he’s fine – and he had a healthy appetite the next morning.  

Well another hour before daybreak.  I must go on-line to see if our local Nova Scotian groundhog, Shubenacadie Sam, sees his shadow.  Fingers crossed he doesn’t….

Have a cloudy day!

It’s February 1.  Already.  And according to the Crazy Calendar, today is Change your Password Day.  I heard my human mumbling the other day – because she couldn’t remember which of the 56 passwords that she uses was the correct one for a particular website.  And then she has to press that “FORGOT PASSWORD” button and WAIT for a new password.  And then they sent her a temporary password so she could go in and change her password.  And the first one she tried said she couldn’t USE that password because she already used it.  Too bad she didn’t remember it in the first place.  And all of this inevitably happens when she is in a hurry to do something.  

Here are some interesting password facts that I found on the net:

• 66% of people use only one or two passwords for all of their accounts.  Clearly that is NOT my human.   
• Women tend to use personal names for passwords, while men use hobbies.
• The following are examples of BAD passwords – that lots of people apparently use:  123456; abc123; qwerty; 111111; and letmein.    I like the last one.  That’s what my human is usually shouting when she forgets her password.
• I read on-line that lots of humans like to use their dog’s name as a password.  I also read it’s not such a good idea, because if someone figures out your password, you then have to rename your dog. Really.  I read that.

I started thinking what MY passwords would be.  And here are a few:

• PONsRULE
• Treats4ME
• 123FETCH
• NONOBADdog
• FINDtheBUNNY
• K9King
•  DOGSRUS
• HEDIDIT

If you need suggestions on how to create a strong password – check out the advice of this bright canine:
 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeC_KzgPNk0

Anyway, I have a feeling my human will be changing some of her  passwords.  She’s on to me and my on-line shopping after that credit card fiasco….

Over&OUT.   Have a good one.

 

So what are Rajapalayams, Kombais and Chippiparais?  Nope.  Not some kind of East Indian spice.  They are actually dogs – native to India.  And while India does, in some areas, have a horrid practice of eating dogs (I cannot believe I am even typing this!),  they apparently do have many people who LOVE dogs and and they even have championship dog shows.  There was one last weekend featuring 209 dogs from 40 different breeds – and a large number of the competing breeds were native breeds like those  I just listed.  The Rajapalayam is a white colored sight hound – initially bred for hunting boar.  They are apparently VERY good guard dogs. They were almost extinct – but efforts by the Kennel Club in India have worked to save the breed.  The Kombai is also another boar hound.  They are supposed to be intelligent and very loyal pets – but they are also guard dogs.  They say that in demanding circumstances they will fight to the death.  Yikes.  And the  Chippiparai is another sighthound believed to have come from Salukis.  They say they look a bit like the Sloughi. They are also rare, but efforts, again, are being made to save them.

And speaking of dog shows, the big show in New York city is soon coming up – the Westminster Kennel Club show – February 13 and 14.  While people in the US can watch the show on TV, it can be tricky to get the show here in Canada.  Last year my human had to add a channel to our cable subscription to see it.  And this year, she had to add a different channel.  It is being shown on a Car Racing channel.  Seriously.  She was a bit suspect that it was the correct channel – but apparently it is.  We will all be watching for the PONs and the Picards.  And any other dogs friends who may be at the show.  We can hardly wait – I hope she makes popcorn. And you KNOW after it is over, we will all have to practice “dog show standing” together.  We do it to humor her.  And of course, for the treats.

Have a good one!

To begin with today, Frodo would like to thank everyone who sent him birthday wishes.  My human said he got even more wishes than SHE did when it was her birthday. Hey – he’s a popular guy.   And he got LOTS of extra goodies yesterday!

And the FG had quite the day yesterday, too – he got to go to his first ever conformation fun match.  For those not familiar withe  the show dog world – a match is basically like a real dog show – but it’s for practice.  And no points are awarded toward a championship.  But it gives humans an opportunity to practice with their dogs – before a REAL show. 

The match was about an hour from our house, and Elroy knew something was up when my human started fluffing and puffing him on the grooming table in the garage – first thing in the morning.  He was good in the car – quiet and well behaved in his crate.  He was saving his energy for the show.  And boy did he have energy when he arrived.  He’s never been in a venue with so many dogs, people, crates, grooming tables and noise.  Of course he peed 54 times before they even got IN the door.  And once in, his head exploded.  He wanted to meet every dog and human in the place.  Several times my human had visions of broken fingers as she was holding on to him with all her might.  She put him in his crate and of course, he HAD to do the Picard “squeak” – which he excels at.  In general, most the dogs there were quiet.  Except for Squeaky. 

Dogs are shown in groups – and there are 7 groups.  And the Herding group of which he, Frodo and I are members, is Group 7.  The LAST group to be judged yesterday – as they went in order.  My human actually had him out of his crate for a good amount of time and on the grooming table.  He thought he was pretty special – and was happy to greet anyone who came over to ask what breed he was.  My human joked the old “half coyote, half wolfhound” explanation.  A couple of people knew what he was – but they had never met a Picard before.  A couple of people asked if he needed lots of grooming – like a terrier – because his coat is quite coarse.  My human joked that his grooming was like this – and she quickly blew on him once and said “there – he’s ready.”  It’s not EXACTLY that simple –  you do brush him – but let’s just say when you compare him to a PON,  he’s pretty easy to groom. 

When it was his turn to be judged, he was actually fairly well behaved.  He didn’t drag my human on her knees and only jumped on her shoulders once.

As for results – let’s just say he won the “congeniality” award.  OK, there IS no congeniality award, but if there had been – he would have won. The BIG winner was his buddy, Conner, the Old English Sheepdog.  Not ONLY did he win the group – he won Best In Match!!!  Talk about grooming – now THAT’S grooming.  Plus someone joked that Conner’s human doesn’t have OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), he has OGD – Obsessive grooming disorder.   And it apparently happens quite frequently at home, according to his wife – especially when it is time to do household chores.  Well, one thing for sure, all that grooming is paying off – and Conner is one handsome dude.  Wouldn’t I just LOVE to chew on his ears a bit…I could definitely help with his grooming…