Blog Feed

Sometimes there is just one word to describe a day.  Poopy.  And that was the figurative and LITERAL description of our Monday morning.

Preamble:  On Sunday, we had rain most of the day.  Frodo went outside, but VERY reluctantly.  He performed the funeral march while on our morning constitutional.  And any time during the rest of the day, when my human TRIED to get him to go out, he flat out refused.  He had pooped in the morning, thank you very much, so he was NOT going out again.

So fast forward to Monday morning.  It was NOT raining, but the road was wet.  He remained unhappy about the damp conditions.  We were walking at 5AM .  In the dark.  With my human wearing her shocking pink reflective jacket and her trusty headlamp.  But the batteries were starting to go – so the beam was not QUITE as bright as normal.  Frodo stopped (in the middle of the road of course) to poop.  And he did.  And then he took a few steps.  And pooped again.  I’m sorry for the graphic description  but most likely if you are reading a blog by a dog, you probably own or have owned a dog – so talk about poop behavior is NOT unfamiliar.  Anyway, he APPEARED to be having some problems.    But after several futile attempts, he made another deposit and was good to proceed.  Or so it seemed.  This is one of the dangers of walking a fuzzy dog in the dark.

He trotted along and was anxious to get in the house to get some banana – part of our usual routine.  And that’s when the squealing and moaning and spinning suddenly happened.  Frodo looked and sounded as if he was in agony.  My human spun around from the kitchen sink where she was washing her hands and she IMMEDIATELY KNEW what the problem must be – a CLING-ON.  She raced to grab him before he dragged his butt across the dining room carpet.  But he didn’t want her to catch him – he knew what would come next.  So he raced around the table in a crouched position, as fast as he could.  So around and around they went – with my human chanting “Just be Calm” and trying to grab him under the table.  She finally did – and whisked him into the garage AKA grooming room and into the tub.  Good thing.  This was a record breaking cling-on.  Despite Frodo’s initial protests,  he was QUITE happy when the emergency cling-on-ectomy was completed.  Elroy and I just watched the procedure with awe.   Or should that be “Awwwwwwwwww.”

When the surgery was completed, and we finally had our bananas, my human went into the hall closet for something.  And she glanced down at the carpet – with the assortment of leaves we had brought in that morning.  “That’s a strange shaped leaf,” she thought and went to move it with her slipper.  You guessed it.  That was no leaf.  “Just be calm” she muttered, “just be calm.” It seems not all cling-ons cling.

And so the week began….

So on Sunday, my human FINALLY conceded defeat in the nail clipper battle with Elroy.  She’s been trying for weeks, with positive methods, to get him to allow HER to cut his nails.  And really, he DOES comply.  He lets her hold his paw.  She can tap the clipper on his nail.  BUT, every time she actually TRIES to cut a nail, SHE gets nervous.  And she hesitates.  And he figures, “Hey – if SHE’S scared, I should be scared.”  So he pulls away.  I have NO idea WHY she’s scared – she does my nails and Frodo’s nails all the time.   But she does get nervous with Jaws.  And his nails continue to grow. 

So last week she pulled out the Dog Dremel.  Only to find the battery dead.  And, of COURSE, she couldn’t find the charger.  So scrap THAT idea.  

So on Sunday, she loaded Jaws in the vehicle and drove about 45 minutes to see “Auntie” Glenda.  Auntie Glenda has a “way” with dogs.  Heck – she showed me in conformation while my human was showing Frodo – and she got all my points with me!!!  So you KNOW she must be good with dogs.  Auntie Glenda is also a groomer.  On the drive there, my human had visions of her wrestling with Elroy while Glenda clipped away – much like the scene at the Vet’s office the first time.  Her fears were TOTALLY unfounded – this is Auntie GLENDA after all –  the REAL Dog Whisperer.  She put Elroy on the grooming table and told my human to release her death grip.  She simply kept repeating “Just be calm.”  I think the message is more for the human owner than the dog.  Well.  Jaws stood there, and put up NO fight as Glenda used a dremel on his nails.  Within MINUTES they were done.  

THEN – he got to go for a walk in a park near Auntie Glenda.  Now ordinarily I would be TOTALLY jealous.  HOWEVER – it WAS raining – and we all know what Frodo and I think about rain.  In this particular instance, better Elroy than me – he loves the rain!

So.  IF you humans are feeling stressed  – OR if your dog is feeling stressed, simply repeat Auntie Glenda’s magic mantra:  “Just be calm”.   My human was shouting it out this morning as we began our day – while Jaws was tearing another hole in the carpet, Frodo was barking his morning “wake up” song and I was counter surfing.  I think Auntie Glenda needs to come and stay with us for a week…or more…

October 3. According to the crazy Calendar, today is Look at the Leaves Day.  And here in Nova Scotia, the leaves are turning more and more each day.  In another week or so, they will be approaching their peak.  My human loves this time of the year – the brilliant colors, the sweet but pungent smell of the earth as it gets ready to nap for the winter, the odor of wood burning fires – and the never ending trail of leaves that she must sweep up every day as we track them into the house.  OK – maybe she doesn’t love that part of Fall.

While the leaves DO hide our poop – which I discussed the other day, the variety of crimson and yellow forms really IS pretty.  At least to humans.  To us dogs, it’s all the same – although Jaws thinks that every falling leaf is manna from heaven – so he chews every one he can find.  If he’s not busy chasing them in the wind!

My human has been trying to get more puparazzi shots of the three of us.  She had a BIT of success the other day – although Jaws does find it hard to sit still for more than a nanosecond.  But he’s getting better!

Just in case the leaves don’t change where you live,  let me share some older photos taken here in Nova Scotia – just to show you what you’re missing.  But I won’t include a photo of the hallway floor!  

                                              

                                              

Sometimes, don’t you just WISH you were me?!  Have a good one!

Well we saw some pretty horrible news in the world of dogs this week.  The city of Montreal just instituted a new law banning people from owning “pit bulls” – or really any dog that even resembles one.  It’s an archaic, ridiculous piece of legislation, based on unfounded, misleading studies and stereotypes about the behavior of particular breeds.  Those poor pit bulls presently sitting in shelters, will be put to death and owners of pit bulls will be required to have them muzzled at all times.  And what makes the law even MORE scary is that the list of banned breeds can be easily expanded.

Perhaps Montreal should be looking at the animal control laws in Calgary – where instead of banning breeds – the municipality went to a “responsible owner model”.  Owners are required to license their dogs and there are strict fines if a dog is found not licensed.  Owners must have dogs identified by tags or microchips, they are encouraged to spay or neuter their pets and are encouraged to train their dogs.  The city says if people follow the rules, they can have as MANY pets as they want.  90% of the dogs in the city are licensed and the fees from licensing go back into public education about responsible ownership. Since the programs began, the incidence of dog attacks has decreased markedly.

It’s sad to know that such legislation as breed banning can easily be introduced.  Given the HUGE number of dog owners in the world – I’m not sure why people don’t band together more to protest such movements.  It’s kind of sad that some people who don’t own pit bulls – or pit bull type dogs think that this doesn’t affect them.  But the reality?  It’s a slippery slope – and one can never tell what breeds could be added to the list.  Imagine a world with ONLY pocket sized toothless dogs…

Some people are saying they will boycott visiting Montreal.  Some people say they will extend that boycott to the entire province of Quebec.  Good thing my human got Elroy before all of this started!    Some crazy politician in Quebec would have been banning Jaws for sure.  

So say a little prayer for those dogs who are victims of canine profiling.  Let’s hope that many of them can find homes in other provinces ……  And be grateful if you live in a place where breeds are NOT banned.  But don’t be complacent – dog clubs and owners need to be PRO-active instead of reactive.  Because if you are having to be REactive, it may be too late…

Today is October 1 – and according to the Crazy Calendar, it is National Walk your Dog Day.  Actually, one website said it is the start of Walk your Dog Week.  Apparently it started because according to the American Veterinary Association, 40% of dogs in the US are overweight.  Which is apparently over 17 MILLION dogs.  The idea is to get people moving and walking their dogs more.  No doubt many humans would benefit from the walks as well!  They say that 30 minutes of walking your dog three times a week will lower your weight by 5%, and your dog’s weight by 15%!  Not to mention the fact that it is SUPPOSED to lower your blood pressure and reduce your stress.  Clearly the people who wrote this didn’t walk the dogs in THIS household.  ESPECIALLY if we spot a bunny while out on our jaunt.  Trust me, my human’s blood pressure does NOT go down!

They also say that a well-exercised dog is a happier, more content dog, who will have fewer behavioral problems.  We blow that theory out the window too.  I mean my human is up with us at 5 AM, we go for AT LEAST 30 minutes of walking – for our FIRST walk of the day – come home and continue to torment my human.  Heck, it was after a morning constitutional that Jaws ate the carpet.  So I’m thinking we need to extend those morning walks to 2 hours.  Seriously, she uses a head lamp at 5 AM, so why not get up at 3?  Just think how content and well-behaved we would be….

Speaking of walks – it’s time to get her moving. The start of the weekend, the start of a new month – let’s SEE what adventures we can have.  And MAYBE for a change, we’ll TRY to lower our human’s blood pressure.  Suuuuuuuuuuure we will…..

Picard 2.  Human 0.  You know I have always thought that my human was relatively intelligent. But it seems one Picard puppy has her beat.

She is a very diligent person when it comes to puppies.  If we are out of our crates when we are little, we are watched EVERY minute.  But of course, as we get older, she begins to be a BIT more lax about watching our EVERY move.  She will trust us while she goes to get something from the other room.  She will trust us if two of us are playing together.  And the older we get, the more trust we get. So if Velcro dog and Jaws are wrestling on the deck and my human is in the dining room with the deck door open and she can hear them, she trusts them.  Not that she doesn’t check every few minutes to see if Frodo still has hair, but she doesn’t have to stare at them constantly.  And yesterday morning when she went to dash off a quick email, she assumed we would all be fine together- as morning wrestle-mania was going on. She was gone for less than 2 minutes.  But as she approached the dining room, she noted that we were all silent.  And she saw me contently lying in the middle of the kitchen floor.  And Frodo near the door.  She came around the corner and there was Jaws.  Lying under the dining room table.  Surrounded by chew toys.  But what was he doing?  Chewing a two inch hole in the middle of the carpet.  Well, not really chewing – he was plucking the wool fibers out one by one.  QUICKLY. So you could see the woven burlap-like base which holds the fibers underneath.  “Hey” she said.  Jaws just looked at her as if to say, “What’s your problem.”  She quickly ran for the poor-substitute bottle of Bitter Apple wanna be.  And she sprayed it on the hole.  Clearly a bit too late.

Then last night, when she got home from work, after she walked us, fed us, and played ball with each of us, she opened the deck door to get some fresh air.  And she went out to survey the deck.  It had been painted last summer – and it held up VERY well.  But she knows there are a few TINY flakes of paint coming off in some areas, and she figured she had better touch them up this weekend before the weather gets too cold.  And that’s when she noted a fairly LARGE – 4 inch round chip.  How did that happen, she wondered.  Well her question was quickly answered as Jaws dove onto the spot.  “Hey” she said.  And again he looked at her as if to say “What’s your problem?”  Deja vu.

He ALMOST could have had three points yesterday – if he had joined me in the woods on my bunny hunt too. I was hot on the trail, barking and darting back and forth.  He BEGAN to follow me, dragging his long line, but my human shouted his name – and go figure, he came back.  I did too, but after a few minutes.  PON 0.  Bunny 1.

The key to puppy monitoring is silence.  If it’s too quiet, with Elroy, you can pretty much assume he is into something.  The guy isn’t big on sleeping.  

We have actually started to chase each other a bit outside.  And he DID try and pull the hair on MY butt – and I didn’t go ballistic.  Things are settling in.  Let the noisy weekend begin!

You know those cartoons, Where’s Waldo?  You look at a busy, complex picture and have to find the character?  You have to carefully search and scan for him?  Well my human has a similar activity that is equally challenging.  It’s called Where’s Poop?  It’s a challenging task here in the northern climates when the leaves begin to fall.  You THINK you know where we just pooped, but if you turn your head for a split second,  and don’t watch EXACTLY where the poop dropped – well good luck.  And THEN, just TRY to do it in the dark!  And Elroy makes the game even MORE of a challenge with his poop trail.  You would THINK it might be easy – just follow the trail.  But they are not exactly evenly spaced…nor in a straight line.   Oh the fun we dogs have in watching the search….

On Monday night, we had a major breakthrough here.  Elroy began to RETRIEVE the Jolly Ball.  He did it SEVERAL times.  My human was shocked – she kept giving him copious amounts of treats every time he came back.  And THEN he did his obedience class exercises.  She was even heard to remark “Hey – when did those brain cells start working?!” He was beginning to exhibit real moments of brilliance.  She was SO excited.  And while she was working with him in the front yard of the house, Frodo and I were in the back of the house, on the deck.  And all of a sudden, all heck broke loose.  We started barking like CRAZY.  My human was curious as to why we sounded like a scene from the Hounds of the Baskervilles, so she brought Elroy around the side of the house.  And she quickly spotted the reason for our crazed chorus.  A big fat bunny.  And there he was.  Not 20 feet from her and Elroy.  She was CERTAIN he would spot the bunny.  How could he not?!  She stopped dead and he stopped at the end of the leash.  He was standing but trying to move forward so he could look around the corner of the house to see us on the deck.  He never even SAW the bunny.  My human even pointed him in the direction – but he was so obsessed about the fact that we were obviously warning of some grave danger, that he turned around and bolted on the leash to go back to the front door.  He raced in the house and onto the deck to see what all the commotion was.  So much for those moments of brilliance.  I have much to teach this boy…

Looking for the long gone bunny…

 Happy poop hunting!

So as you may recall, it was right around this time last year that Velcro Dog and I had our first herding experience.  Actually, it wasn’t Frodo’s first – he was exposed to sheep years ago.  And at that time he thought they were kind of cool.  But last year, with a more “formal” instinct test, both of us failed.  Miserably.  We both sat like stuffed dogs in the center of the ring and never even LOOKED at the sheep. Much less tried to herd them.  But undaunted, my human even took me AGAIN a few weeks later.  With the same results.  Let’s face it – sheep are not like rabbits.  Maybe I’m a hound dog underneath all this hair.

But my human is wondering if MAYBE, Jaws might have the instinct.  He has this curious behavior – and she’s not sure if it is a herding thing, a Picard thing or just an Elroy thing.  When my human throws a toy, like the Jol Ball, he will race out to it and then when he gets within a few feet of it, he comes to a screeching halt- and just stares at it. Like he has never seen the thing before. Then he SLOWLY approaches it and pounces on it. He does this frequently.  In fact much more often than not.  He is also notorious for grabbing at Frodo’s butt from behind. Usually ending up with a mouthful of hair. Frodo is QUITE adamant about him stopping – if he has pulled off an extra large sample.  I have no idea if these are herding “things” but my human will be curious to see what happens if he is introduced to sheep.  So far, he hasn’t attempted any bunny chasing although the other day there was a bunny not 10 feet from him – and he never even noticed him! He’s too busy eating grass, and branches and chasing bugs to notice a bunny.

And speaking of interesting behavior…on Sunday, the three of us went OFF leash down to the lake.  I was sporting a bell – so I can be heard if I take off in the woods.  Velcro dog doesn’t need a bell or a leash – because he is Velcro dog.  And Jaws was sporting his long line.  Usually when my human takes him down the trail to the lake, she holds onto the line, but on Sunday, she let him free.  And let me tell you, I have NEVER seen anything like it.  He went CRAZY.  I mean C-R-A-Z-Y.  He BOLTED down the trail, disappeared for 5 seconds in the woods, raced out, came racing back past us, spun around, went off in the woods, came out again – raced down the trail….it was like someone stuck a pin in a helium balloon.  We just stood and watched as he raced by.  And heaven forbid you should get in his way – he’ll either leap over you (if you are a dog) or he will simply bash into you.  He should probably be wearing some kind of siren warning.   And a padded suit.

Elroy has a new “victim.”  Actually I should say victim-s.  The latest focus of his attention?  My human’s slippers.

The telltale sign of fall came out of storage the other day. The cozy slippers with the fake fur around the ankles.  They are my human’s favorite footwear – but they are obviously too warm for the summer months.  But now that the nights are getting cooler, it was time to bring them out.

Well. You would think Elroy had just died and gone to fuzzy prey heaven.  Those feet with those slippers are TOO much to resist.  Every chance he gets, he tries to rip the fur off.  If she is sitting at the table, he sneaks up and quickly grabs a bite.  And when he gets in one of his “crazy puppy” moods – look out.  She cannot get away from him.  She was going to spray Bitter Apple on them – and then realized – horror of horrors – we have RUN out!  At this point, all Jaws needs to do is see the bottle and he assumes whatever he is munching on will soon become a BIT less desirable.  I wonder how long before he realizes the bottle is empty?  

It’s the start of a new work week.  Wishing you a good one!

Seriously – someone should create a reality TV show about our household.  It would be TRULY entertaining.

So my human went to our favorite destination the other day – the Pet Store – to get food for Jaws.  He eats more than Frodo and I combined – he’s a GROWING boy.  And of course, she can NEVER walk out with JUST food – she spotted something that she thought would be awesome.  A Jolly Ball.  For those who don’t know what they are – they are a firm rubbery ball, with a rubbery handle. Legend has it that a Jolly Ball was previously in our home – but Paxton ate the handle off, so the ball became the Unjolly Ball.  It was eventually thrown away.  But my human thought we could try a new one – and knowing how Jaws LOVES balls, it would be perfect.

So Friday she got home from work and after our walks and meals, decided she would try it out.  It was raining out – so she wanted to have some inside play time to tire us out.  She took us down to the the rec room, sequestered Frodo and I to watch at first, and excitedly introduced the ball to Jaws.  He just stared at it.  Then he did a play bow and barked at it.  Then he raced around it.  My human tossed it across the room and he ran.  The other direction.  She went and got it, and showed it to him again.  She encouraged him to touch it.  Which he eventually did.  He even attempted to hold it.  But after about 15 minutes, my human gave up trying to get him to play with it – he was MUCH more interested in the treats she had in her pocket.  So she had an idea.  Get US to show him how to play.  So she put Jaws in an X-pen and brought Frodo and I out to play.  Each of us took turns getting the ball and bringing it back for a tasty treat.  We thought it was a jolly old time indeed.  Jaws watched with great interest.  Back and forth we went.  After multiple repetitions, and our tongues were hanging out, she again sequestered us and brought Jaws back out.  He couldn’t WAIT to get out.  So my human showed him the ball and with great enthusiasm, tossed it across the room.  Jaws raced out looked at it and ran back to her.  She walked across the room and tried again.   She repeated this numerous times – it was actually kind of fun to watch HER retrieving.  And after about her 63rd try, she happily tossed it out and he went after it.  This time he picked it up!  And carried it about 3 steps, lay down and started to chew the handle.  My human rushed over, did the “trade thing” and once again tossed the ball across the room.  Repeat performance – and this time Jaws REALLY started to chew in earnest.  My human sadly did the “trade” and said “OK, that’s good for now, and gave up.   

The next day, we got to play with it outdoors.  And it was a command performance – with my human running back and forth across the lawn.  Sometimes Jaws WOULD go after it, but he never brought it back.   Frodo and I clearly like the ball, but Jaws obviously just doesn’t have that “retrieving” concept down quite yet.  And he would much rather chew it.  So I’m renaming it the Jol Ball – it’s not COMPLETELY jolly.  I’m sure he’ll learn how to play with it…someday.  Mind you- he IS a lot like Paxton….