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And so it continues…

Dear Santa.

I have just a few more questions and a few notes to share, before I actually get to my list.

I understand that you “know when we are sleeping, and you know when we are awake,”  but in the off chance that you were distracted or busy, I wanted share with you the above photo.  As you no doubt know, I have a new “brother” and it has been a rather large adjustment for me – getting used to not being the baby in the household any more.  BUT – I am getting used to Astro (his REAL name is Elroy – but he doesn’t answer to anything right now, so you can call him whatever you like.)  The depicted event happened the other day while my human was wrapping Christmas gifts.  She was on her way to get more wrapping paper – and she suddenly noticed the scene.  She actually gasped when she saw me and Astro together on the bed.  She had to casually move in closer to take the photo – for fear we would see her and scatter. So I am hoping that this “nice” behavior may cancel out some of my occasional indiscretions.

So a few more questions.  If one pees on the Christmas decorations outdoors, does it count as naughty?

And what do you get Baby Jesus for his birthday?  I mean this whole Christmas thing is REALLY his birthday celebration, so what do you get him?  He already has gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Mind you, I’m not sure what he DOES with those things.  I’m sure he would much rather have an iPad.  Or peace on earth. Or a PUPPY!!!

Have you ever considered changing your wardrobe?  I mean the red and white suit – which I THINK goes back to your Polish roots, is nice and all, but maybe something a bit more trendy.  By the way, I am assuming the “fur” on your suit is fake.  I’d hate to see the animal rights people spray painting your sled.  

Do your elves make ALL the gifts?  Or do you source out to other countries?  And are your elves unionized?  Not that it REALLY matters to me where my presents come from – but I’m just a curious dog.

And one more question for today- if at LEAST half of the kids around the world leave a treat for you, that’s a LOT of treats.  Do you share them with your reindeer?  Yet another reason to have a dog – and take him with you on the trip. If you need a volunteer, I’m available.

To be continued…

 

 

Frenzy.  (n) a state or period of uncontrolled excitement or wild behavior. When you Google the word “frenzy” that is the definition you get.  The only thing missing?  A photo of us three musketeers – when my human gets home from work.
Now I realize most dogs probably get excited when their humans come home.  Heck, we get excited when she comes out of the bathroom.  But when she returns from work – especially on a FRIDAY, we all lose total control.  And don’t kid yourself – we KNOW it is Friday.

The problem with the frenzy at this time of the year, is the fact that it now gets dark out by 5PM.  When my human gets home, she usually opens the door and let’s us all run outside.  And she has to do so rather quickly, because as SOON as she lets Astro out of his kennel, he jumps on her and begins to pee.  He just cannot contain his excitement – and he well…he dribbles.  So she rushes him out the door.  At which point we ALL race around barking at each other.  Like we have not seen each other in years.  

My human usually puts a leash on Mr Dribbles, but on Friday,  he pushed open the door and bolted out.  Which usually would be FINE – but now that it is dark, my human doesn’t want us taking off into the woods…

As soon as he went out, she followed.  And he had a big pee.  At which point, yours truly started heading for the woods.  And of course, my sidekick followed.  Immediately my human starts desperately shouting “Supper time.  Time to eat.   Mmmmmm.  Who’s hungry?”  Like in the frenzy state we listen to anything.  We never really listen at any time, come to think of it – but the frenzy state is even worse.  So she raced back into the house and grabbed her trusty headlamp and a flashlight.  And back outside she went.  

Of course Velcro dog was right there by the door.  We KNOW he’s first on Santa’s NICE list.  And as she headed around toward the back of the house, I came racing back.  Minus Astro.  

When one of us goes AWOL – even for less than a minute, my human panics.  As she came around the side of the house, armed with her headlamp and flashlight – who did she see peeing on the big tree in the backyard but Astro.  And now she had to sound all joyful and happy so he would actually COME BACK instead of doing the zoomies in the woods.  She did the old “pretend I’m running – come and chase me” trick.  And it worked.  He came racing toward her and then went past her and proceeded to “attack” Frodo – his favorite prey.  Really, just Frodo’s tail.  Then he grabbed his long line which was lying on the ground.  My human basically reeled him in – so she could put the leash on him.  AND then she breathed a sigh of relief.  

My human is thinking she really NEEDS to start uttering the mantra “Just be calm,” when she gets home.  She can try that – but we all quite enjoy the adrenaline rush.  And it looks like Astro is responding well to training.  My training.

Have a good one!

So today is December 3 – and it’s “Let’s Hug Day” according to the crazy calendar.  Now I did a blog in the past talking about some “research” that indicated that dogs do not, in fact, like to be hugged.  Well.  It turns out that the research was based on a series of casual observations, and not REAL scientific findings.  So forget those “results.”  Humans.  It’s all in how you twist, I mean “interpret” the data.

The bottom line – just like people – some dogs like to be hugged – and others, not so much.  Now while some research in humans has shown that hugs have health benefits – like reducing blood pressure, I suppose it depends on the hug.  If Aunt Bertha who loves to eat loads of garlic, squeeezes the life out of you when you are 7 years old, you may not be so happy with a hug.  And actually, some countries and cultures don’t view hugging as a sign of affection at all.  

In our house, we PONs are not huge huggers.  I mean we don’t MIND – but we don’t seek out hugs.  My human IS a hugger.  She hugs people she doesn’t even know well.  Not total STRANGERS but people she has met before.  At least once.  But not dogs she doesn’t know.  

And then we have Astro.  I’m wondering if hugging is a Picard “thing.”  I think so.  In fact, when my human went to visit the only other two Picards that she could find in the province, the boy dog stood on his hind legs, put his paws on her shoulders and gave her a BIG hug.  And Astro LOVES to hug.  My human doesn’t really mind him jumping on her and giving a big hug- but it could be an issue with visitors.  So he needs to learn to curb his hugability until invited.  Good luck with that!

Anyway – today is a day of hugs – so if you like ’em, go out and give ’em – but be sure the hugee is ready! And if you’re looking for a dog to hug – find a Picard!

Have a good one!

So it seems that a pet sitting company – Dog Vacay, published a list of the most popular dog names of 2016.  For boys it was Max, Charlie, Buddy, Cooper, Jack, Rocky, Toby, Tucker, Oliver and Tyler. For the girls it was Bella, Lucy, Daisy, Lola, Molly, Sadie, Sophie, Maggie, Bailey and Chloe.  My human knows dogs by many of those names. Note though, that Frodo, Viktor and Elroy were not included.  I’m SURE there are lots out there – we just have not yet become the most popular.  That’s OK – we like being unique.  Although it’s funny – there IS a name  in the list that my human calls each of us at any given time – Buddy.  Buddy is kind of a catch all name in Nova Scotia.  Not JUST for dogs – but people as well.   For example, you might hear a human say, “Did Buddy come to fix your plumbing?” or “Buddy delivered the paper late this morning.” or “Buddy was driving too fast.”  Everybody is a Buddy.  And so are we.  So we hear “Come on Buddy – we need to speed it up, I have to go to work.”  or “Awwwww come on Buddy – why did you do that?” And of course we are all also called the following at any given time:  “No-no”, “Stop-it” and “Knock-it-off.”

People ask my human where she got our names.  For Frodo, well, our treasurer had been calling him Frodo – and my human thought it was cute so she kept the name.  If you haven’t heard my use of the  word treasurer – it stems from the fact that I don’t like the  word “litter” for a family of puppies.  Puppies are not garbage – so I prefer a “treasury of puppies.”  So of course a breeder would be a treasurer!  But I digress.

As for my name – my human’s grandfather’s name was Victor.  With a “c'”.  So my human changed the spelling so as not to offend relatives…

And Elroy…it probably goes back to that old cartoon the Jetsons which really old people like my human would remember. Although the dog in the cartoon was actually called Astro, she liked Elroy, which was the son’s name.  She thought of it – and just thought Elroy looks like an Elroy.   I must agree…  But I do like Astro too -as he often seems to be in outer space and the name reminds me of asteroids…I think I may start calling him that…

I just need to be sure we have the right names on the Christmas stockings.   Mind you, each one COULD say Buddy…

Have a good one – all my buddies….

So Monday my human was off. Which meant extra long morning walks.  The FG went first.  He has the smallest bladder.  Mind you maybe not when you look at the size of him.  Anyway, he was wearing his trusty “Freedom” harness.  Which I have talked about before.  He walks quite nicely with that harness – it has been a miracle. However, sometimes miracles come to an end…

So when they headed out at the crack of dawn it was still not fully light out – the sun wasn’t all the way up.  AND, as often happens at this time of the year, the driveway had a THIN coat of misty ice on it.  Which obviously can be slippery.  Now my human is EXTRA cautious in such conditions – remember the broken wrist two years ago.  So she walked along slowly, and the FG was walking just great with his harness.  Once they got up to the road, the walking was actually easier – so off they went.  They took the trail through the woods and then decided to go for a walk on the golf course.  And that’s when all heck broke loose.  Suddenly, the FG decided that he wanted freedom from the Freedom harness.  So he started biting his leash.  And pulling on his leash.  My human instructed him to stop and gave him a treat.  After which he started again.  And again.  And AGAIN.  My human could NOT walk two feet without him yanking and biting on the leash.  She could instruct him to sit – which he would do, she would give him a treat and say “let’s go”, and the biting again began.  He was leaping and spinning – like some kind of strange circus routine.  Gone bad.  And THEN he decided he WANTED her mittens.  Honestly – it was like he was possessed. My human just stood there, exasperated and not sure how to move.  It was a LONG slow walk home.  Stop.  Sit. Treat.  Step. Walk. Sit.  Treat.   They finally got back to our driveway and my human breathed a sigh of relief.  But the best was yet to come.  You see, the FG gets to carry the newspaper to the house every day.  And keep in mind that he was STILL feeling possessed.  AND the driveway was still slippery.  So here he is – flipping the paper in the air,  sliding to get it, while my human is walking on the gravel along the side of the driveway.  He had never flipped that paper the way he did that day. Grab. Toss. Slide.  Grab.  Shake. Toss.  Slide.   With a woman who was moving like she had lead shoes.

By the time she got back to the house, she looked at Frodo and I and said “You HAVE to be good.”  And of course WE were.  Even posing to take photos.  

Well – the dog tree is up.  Yes.  We have a dog tree.  Among other trees.  This one has all dog ornaments.  It has dog leashes from the dreaded Dollar Store for garland, and it is also bedecked in dog show ribbons.  My human has a big box of ribbons – but these are just a few – from Frodo, me and some of the dogs who came before us.  The FG doesn’t have any ribbons.  Yet.

The dog tree started as a little tree that my human would cut on our property.  A Charlie Brown type tree.  But as the collection grew, the Charlie Brown trees couldn’t hold the ornaments – so the artificial tree is now used.  We have ornaments for lots of different breeds – we don’t discriminate.  But we didn’t have a Picard before – so you KNOW my human had to get one this year.  

So we are all on the tree.  

The only thing that would complete the dog tree would be if one of us peed on it.  But something tells me that may not be a bright idea.  Besides, if we are going to pee on a tree, might as well wait until she gets the real one.  Probably next weekend.  So that means another weekend of being sequestered for periods of time while she lugs boxes into the DFZ.  I’m the lucky one who was able to get into the DFZ to take the photo.  And the first thing I did?  Tried to pull that terrier off the tree.  And trust me – if I get in the DFZ – he’s coming down.

Time to get back my Santa letter(s).  ‘Tis the season!  Stay tuned!

It has begun.  We got our first taste of winter weather yesterday.  My human thought it odd that we allowed her to sleep in until ALMOST 7 AM.  And when she got up – she realized why.  There was a cold, wet snow coming down.  The heavy wet kind that that is actually good for making snowmen – but that’s about it.

When the FG saw the stuff his brain exploded.  WHAT the heck was THIS???  My human couldn’t get a photo – as her phone would have gotten all wet – so she just watched the sense of amazement on the FG’s face.  They went for a walk and he came back in, wet but energized.

As opposed to the Polish Lowland Fair Weather Dogs.  My human opened the door, Frodo took one look and put on the brakes.  I wasn’t THAT bad.  But I could hear Frodo grumbling something about spending winters in Florida.  He walked as if he was 693 years old.  In dog years.  And of course, he refused to poop.  I did MY thing, but Frodo needed an extra long walk – which only made him even MORE grumpy.  When he FINALLY made his deposit, he shook himself off and THEN happily trotted back to the house.

So if the snow wasn’t enough of a novelty for the FG, my human had to add something ELSE new.  She hadn’t done our grocery shopping yet, and we were out of bananas.  So she gave us pieces of Asian pear.  A new treat.  Which meant he had to do the chew and spit routine.  It took him forever to eat it.  While Frodo and I munched away.

She has begun the marathon Christmas decorating explosion.  Which mean the DFZ (dog free zone) will be well secured so no one can take ornaments off the tree and destroy them.  Like last year…

Tis the season!  Enjoy!

 

So I think someone from the Washington Post must be reading my blog.  Remember how I’ve been saying that President-Elect Trump should get a dog?  Well – they said the same thing!!  It appears that this is the first time in 150 years that the President will not have some type of pet.  I’ve talked before about the variety of pets that have been owned by Presidents – even back to George Washington – who had dogs, horses, a donkey and a parrot.  There have been more unusual pets -like Thomas Jefferson’s bear cubs, John Adam’s alligator, Benjamin Harrison’s opossums, Teddy Roosevelt’s pig, garter snake and hyena, Calvin Coolidge’s pygmy hippopotamus and raccoons.  Coolidge and Roosevelt seemed to have the longest lists of pets.  In more recent times, the typical pets were dogs and cats.

If Trump WERE to get a pet, I’m not sure what I would pick for him. If it was a cat…hmmmm…..what kind of cat is Grumpy Cat?  There IS a resemblance there – and they do say that pets look like the humans they own..  Google Grumpy Cat and you’ll see what I mean…

As for a dog breed.  Geez – I have to be extra careful with this one.  But if looking for resemblance – Chinese Crested wins hands down.  The hair does it.  Can’t you just see the President-Elect walking one around the grounds of the White House?!  Those Belgian Malinois security dogs wouldn’t know WHAT to do.  They would have to build a wall just to keep the Crested protected…

It’s Sunday – time to get my human moving.  Have a great one!

Well. It’s that time of year.  The Halloween costumes have been put in storage, and we KNOW what comes next.  Thankfully, we didn‘t dress as turkeys or pilgrims for the US Thanksgiving.  But you KNOW what she is going to drag out.  Those dreaded antlers.  And if that’s not bad enough – she went to the Dollar Store the other day…

She attempted to take some preliminary holiday photos on Monday.  Let’s just put it this way, Elroy IS Paxton reincarnated.  Paxton detested holiday photo shoots.  My human had to do everything she could to get his attention.  And guess who is following in his pawprints?  My human didn’t even TRY to put holiday attire on him.  It was no use.  Frodo and I sat like stuffed toys while the FG raced around the yard like a deflated Jolly Ball.  Here is a photo of us watching him race by…. 

Frodo and I posed.  But we refused to smile.  And no matter how hard she tried, my human could NOT get us to smile.  We preferred the serious holiday pose.  Truth be told – we just didn’t FEEL like posing.  She didn’t have exciting treats, and hey – if the FG didn’t have to stay still, why did we?  The first photo you see is without holiday attire – during a RARE stationary moment with the FG.  It didn’t last long. I think my human managed to get two shots with the three of us that were not blurry.  Here are a few bloopers courtesy of guess who.

After she finally gave up, we headed back to go in the house.  And Frodo and I BOTH displayed our feelings about having holiday photo shoots with crappy treats – we peed on the Christmas floral display my human had arranged by the front door.  “Hey” – she shouted at Frodo.  “Don’t pee there!!!”  At which point I walked over and did the same thing.  

That’s what she gets for starting this puparazzi routine before December.  I suppose I had better be careful though – I soon have to start my letter – make that LETTER-S to Santa, and we all know about this naughty and nice thing.  Time to start making nice.  This is going to be difficult…

Today is a day of thanks in the US.  A day to be happy and grateful.  Unless you are a turkey.  Did you know more than 46 MILLION turkeys will be eaten today?! And the average weight of one of those birds is 15 lbs.  One source said that the largest turkey ever raised was 86 lbs.  That’s more than me and Frodo put together.  Turkeys can supposedly see movement at 100 yards away and while wild turkeys can run 20 MPH, it’s obviously not fast enough to get away on Thanksgiving.  We dogs can eat turkey – but keep the helping light and hold the gravy -or we COULD end up with stomach upset.

There are dogs that hunt for turkeys.  Apparently the dogs go in and break up a flock of turkeys, giving the hunter the chance to call and shoot one of them.  While some spaniels are trained for this type of hunting there is some breed called an Appalachian turkey dog- which is a mix of an English pointer, English setter and plot hound and they are specifically bred for turkey hunting.  Better them than me.

So today is the big day.  Of course, I have much to be thankful for…like a home and a bed and full dog food bowl and fresh water and treats and toys and bunnies to chase and of course my blog!  But the two biggest things I’m thankful for today?  That I’m not a turkey AND that they don’t sell turkey suits at the Dollar Store.  

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American family and friends!  Have a good one!