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More Paxisms.  I know I have talked before about how Jaws has a number of behaviors that are very reminiscent of Paxton – but I can’t help notice that there are even more.  The latest?  The food bowl thing.  Paxton had this habit of finishing his meal and racing off with his metal food dish – to savor any last licks in privacy under the dining  room table.  And Jaws has decided to do the same.  He LOVES carrying around the bowl, and he also throws in a quick game of bowl hockey on the tile floor when he is done.  Frodo has been known to push the bowl around, but neither of us will actually carry it around.  The dent marks are still evident from Pax – and now Jaws is adding his own dental signature.

Another weird one.  We have this ancient cupboard in the dining room.  It’s like over 150 years old – like my human.  Anyway, because it’s old, one of the doors doesn’t stay closed very well.  So my human puts a tiny piece of cardboard or folded paper at the top of the door – to keep it closed.  Frodo and I know the paper is there, and we couldn’t care less.  But JUST like Paxton, Jaws has noticed it, and like to pull it out.  I’m not even sure how he first found it – but like Pax, he is a paper magnet.  Search and destroy.  His motto.

And lastly, is my human’s FAVORITE behavior.  After having a huge drink, he MUST go and wipe his wet face in my human’s pants.  Heck – her clothing in general.  It’s not so bad if it’s the ugly dog sweat pants, but the behavior is not exactly appreciated if she is  ready for work.

It is EXTREMELY difficult to get a photo of the three of us.  You will note in the above photo that he is again holding a stick.  It’s the ONLY way to keep him still for 3.6 seconds.   Notice also the SIZE difference from our previous shots with him.  His counter surfing skills are a joy to behold. 

Well it’s Saturday – so that means LOTS of walks and play time.  We deserve it after our hard week of “working.”

Have a good one!

Today is September 23, and according to the Crazy Calendar, it is National Dogs in Politics Day.  It’s also known as Checkers Day.  And why is it called that?  Well on this day in 1952, Vice Presidential candidate, Richard Nixon gave a famous speech – during which he mentioned his dog Checkers.  It seems Nixon was embroiled in some campaign spending controversy (sound familiar?), so he gave a speech to defend his spending.  And some say that what MAY have actually saved his campaign was the fact that in his speech he mentioned that no matter what happened as a result of the controversy,  his daughters were keeping a black and white Cocker Spaniel puppy that was a gift from a campaign supporter in Texas.  After the speech, he stayed on the ticket and he and Eisenhower won the election – with Nixon serving as Vice President.  Obviously there were a LOT of dog loving voters.  Checkers never actually got to live at the White House because he went to the Rainbow Bridge 4 years before Nixon became President himself.  Tricky Dicky DID have dogs in the White House, though, including an Irish Setter named Timbone, a Yorkie named Pasha and a Poodle named Vicky.  So there you have it.  Whether you liked Nixon or not, he couldn’t have been ALL bad – he OBVIOUSLY liked dogs.

I’ve decided to abandon my own Presidential campaign.  I realize I have a pretty good chance of winning as it seems nobody is truly enamored by either candidate.  But it’ s SUCH a circus, I really don’t want to get into it.  Plus I like living where I do, and I’m not sure the White House would be ready for Elroy.  IMAGINE how much Bitter Apple we would need in THAT place.  

Some humans say they won’t even bother voting this year.  But that’s not a good idea – it’s a right if you are a citizen.  And if you can’t decide…check to see which candidate owns a dog.  That might help.

Happy Friday everyone!  Let the weekend begin!

Today is September 22 – and I just realized I missed a big anniversary on September 20.  It marked  TWO years of writing  my blog! Two years of writing about my life and my reflections – almost every day. It’s hard to believe that one dog (well three dogs) can have so much to say.  Mind you, I AM a PON.  And what have I learned in the past two years?  I have learned a LOT about humans – and how DIFFERENT they are from us dogs.  Here are a few observations:

• Humans  get a license.  It allows them to drive.  It allows them to drink.  But not at the same time.  We dogs get a license.  It doesn’t allow us to drive OR drink.  Seems a bit unfair to me.
• For some reason, many humans love Fridays.  To us dogs, every day is Friday.
• Humans like to bathe and shower.  Every day.  Most of us dogs would be content with an annual cleansing.  You might think that given our superior sense of smell, we would want to be fresh smelling.  But our preferences in the odor department are much more “earthy” than those of humans.  So bathing and smelling like lavender is just NOT a goal for us.
• Humans generally like to eat different things for each meal.  While variety is nice, most of us dogs are content to eat the same thing.  For every meal. 
• Humans will spend significant amounts of money on toys for us.  The reality?  Most of us would be content with the cardboard from a roll of paper towel or toilet paper.
• Humans do not need to circle, dig or ball up bedding before going to sleep. They are content to just lie down.  Very odd.
• Humans agonize trying to think of a name for us when we are puppies.  Then they call us a variety of “other” names.  Like me.  I’m Viktor.  Viktorino.  Vik.  And even Trino.  And then they wonder why we don’t come when called.
• Humans set “rules.”  Like no dogs on the furniture.  Or in the DFZ.  With patience and persistence, we dogs can generally have any rule changed.  We have the “power.”
• Dog people are all alike whether they own a chihuahua or an Irish Wolfhound.  They all like to share stories and pictures of us.  And they also do this thing where they gravitate toward other people who own the SAME breed of dog.  I guess misery loves company – in some cases…

Overall though, I do think humans ARE pretty cool and when they are well trained, they can be a pleasure to own… 

I enjoy sharing my stories about owning a human, and news about the dog world in general.  Thank you for stopping in – and thank you for sharing your comments and feedback.  It’s been an interesting two years – some not-so-good times, but overall I think life is pretty PONtastic.  Have a good one!

Every time you turn around, someone is inventing something for us pets.  Like the Petcube.  A friend of my human’s told her about it.  It’s a remote interactive pet wifi camera.  So you can set it up and watch us all day long.  Big brother pet style.  My human’s friend says it is a great way to see what is happening at home when you are not there.  My human at first thought it was a terrific idea.  And then she started thinking about watching us from work and she began to have visions of a nightmare.  I mean imagine one of us is about to do something….naughty.  Like chew the carpet.  And she can see us.  And she can even interact with us.  Telling us “no”.  But seriously – we don’t listen when she’s 3 feet away – so you THINK we’ll listen to a box?  Doubtful.  She hasn’t put in an order.  Yet.

And speaking of pet inventions, I have one.  The Bitter Apple holster.  So you can carry your Bitter Apple wherever you go.  I mean she is constantly following Jaws around, spraying his next wannabe chew toy.  Furniture.  The carpet.  The dog bed.  Drawer pulls. The outside of his pony-sized crate.  Doors.  Frodo.   You name it.  It has probably been sprayed at least once.  She really needs to start buying bigger containers of the stuff.

She started the dreaded vehicle shopping the other day.  She makes the salespeople look at pictures of us.  If they don’t do back flips, she goes elsewhere.  She finds the whole adventure rather unsettling.  Probably because she REALLY doesn’t know what she wants.  And while WE think Harold is priceless, his trade-in value is understandably not high.  It’s times like this that I am SO grateful I’m a dog and not a human.  I just get to RIDE in the car.

Anyway it’s hump day.  I hope you have a great one!

So last week we tried to imagine what thoughts would look like in Elroy’s brain.  And let’s face it – it was pretty erratic.

And speaking of erratic, I decided to do a language sample analysis on my human.  I collected her  speech sample for a 30 minute period.  And here is what it sounds like in the morning as we begin our day…I described the scene the other day – and here is the accompanying transcript.

“Elroy.  Time to go pee.  Elroy.  EL-ROY.  Elroy, let go of Frodo’s ear.  No Viktor -wait.  Elroy.  Let’s go.  Elroy.  GET up.  Elroy.  Treats.  OK.  Here we go.   Frodo and Viktor next.  Good pee Elroy!  Frodo.  Frodo.  Shhhhhhhhhh.  Frodo stop.  Frodo quiet.  (this is being said from outdoors while Frodo is barking inside. As IF he will comply).  Elroy – you are leaving a trail.  STAND STILL. Elroy I think you are writing a message.  But it’s in Chinese.  OK.  Now it’s Viktor’s turn. Viktor let’s go.  Good boy Viktor.  Excellent boy Viktor. (Hard to believe I am the good dog for a change!) FRO-DO SHHHHHHHHHHHH. (He’s still at it). NOW it’s Frodo’s turn.  Excellent pooping Frodo.  Looking good.

Now it’s banana time.  Frodo.  Viktor.  Elroy.  Frodo.  Viktor.  Elroy either you eat it and stop rolling on it or you miss your turn.  Frodo.  Viktor.  Frodo.  Viktor.  Welcome back Elroy.  Frodo.  Viktor.  Elroy. 

Now I would like to eat MY breakfast.  Viktor – get out of my pocket.   Elroy and Frodo – ENOUGH wrestling.  LOOK at your hair Frodo.  OK Elroy – that’s Frodo’s bone.  Elroy he’s chewing it.  Elroy you are about to tick him off.  Elroy – you have ONE dog buddy out of two in this house right now – and if you grab that bone you’ll be down to zero out of two.  OK.  Break time for Elroy.

Elroy, let’s go check out those treat balls in the garage.  Frodo and Viktor – I’m going to shower.  Actually, I’m going to just hide in the bathroom for a bit…”

And so another day begins…

 

Uh…excuse me.  I THINK I messed up the hair on your nose..

OK.  I must admit, Jaws really DOES entertain me.  AND I discovered something VERY cool about him.  Because he is becoming a giant, he can EASILY take things off the counter.  JUST like Paxton!  

The other morning, my human had juuuuuuust finished buttering her English Muffin, and she turned her back for .087 seconds and in that flash, Jaws managed to put his two paws on the counter and just about started to lick her muffin.  My human swung around and quickly pulled him off.  But not to worry – she didn’t throw out the muffin.  You humans would NEVER take a drink from a dirty glass, but you’ll eat the food we just licked.  Go figure.  

He’s so huge that he’s even taller than our buddy Jackson, the Lab from down the road.  He and Jackson had a great play fest the other morning. My human was hopeful that the wrestle-mania chase fest would result in one tired Picard.  Nope.  It just revved him up to chew on Frodo more when he came home. 

The other cool thing he does is distract my human.  He walks to the door and paws on it – like he wants to go out.  AND he often does it while she is eating a meal.  So I watch carefully – because if she is not paying attention, I can help her finish her meal while they go out.  I must confess, she IS starting to catch on.

He went to another performance puppy class last week. He still can’t juggle – but his performance at being class clown is really improving.  He actually IS learning – despite having my human at the other end of the leash.  They make an excellent klutzy pair.  The Terrific Tracy and her assistants, Wonderful Wendy and Nice No Nonsense Norma, are VERY patient people.  VERY.  My human is always so busy trying to multitask with Jaws, that she doesn’t always “hear” the instructions.  So when it comes time to try a task, she hasn’t a CLUE what the heck she is doing.  Not to mention her innate klutziness.   But Terrific Tracy is used to it.  Did I mention that she is patient?!

I am ALMOST willing to play with him outdoors.  But not totally yet.  But I have to hand it to him, he keeps trying.

Well time to see what’s on my human’s breakfast menu.  Jaws may need to go out for a pee….

Have a good one!

So yesterday was Responsible Dog Ownership Day.  And I am proclaiming today as Responsible Human Ownership Day.  Because really, that’s the way it is if you have a dog in your household.  So  all you dogs, here are the things that you need to do to be a responsible owner.

1. Protect your human, home and property.  Alert your human to anything unusual.  Like a delivery person, the neighbor’s kid selling cookies, rabbits, or blowing leaves.  You MUST be a responsible guardian.  At all times.  Even in the middle of the night – which is a perfect time to practice your security skills. With lots of barking.
2. Eat anything and everything your human provides for you.  Don’t be fussy.  Your human has supposedly worked hard to make the money to buy you your food and treats so ALWAYS take them and be grateful.  We are VERY responsible in this area.
3. Behave when being walked.  No pulling or acting wild.  Unless you see a rabbit.  Or blowing leaves.
4. Greet your human with excitement and exuberance EVERY single time they return from somewhere.  Even the bathroom.  
5. ALLOW your human to groom you.  Let’s face it, we dogs don’t REALLY worry about our appearance – or how we smell, but humor the humans and let them make you look and smell the way THEY want you to look.
6. Allow them to sleep on “their” bed with you.  You don’t have to give them a LOT of space- it’s OK if they are hanging off the edge.  But allow them their rest.  They need it to take us on our 34 walks each day.
7. Help your human to stay in shape by making them go on those 34 walks each day.  You are looking after their health – it is YOUR responsibility to ensure they get enough exercise.
8. Make SURE you stay underfoot in the kitchen.  While they may say that you are a hazard, we know that we are there to act as cleaners in the event that something should drop on the floor.  It is our responsibility to be good custodians.  And the same is true for leftover food items on the counters.  
9. When they are trying to “train” you to do a new behavior, like “sit” or “heel” – follow the commands – but do so sporadically.   It’s called  intermittent reinforcement.  It allows you to get more of those treats that they worked so hard to pay for.
10. And lastly, it is your responsibility to love your human and let them know how much you love them.  Wag your tail.  Cuddle with them.  And just “be there” when you see that they need you. Provide that UNCONDITIONAL love that we canines do so well.  That is really your biggest responsibility of all…

Have a good one!

September 17. According to the crazy calendar, today is Responsible Dog Ownership Day.  It’s a day for humans to celebrate owning canine companions, and a day to increase positive canine awareness in the public.

And how does one become a responsible dog owner?  First off – train your dog to be a good canine neighbor – with good manners.  No jumping on people, no biting, and no chasing children or other animals (except rabbits).  Provide exercise and a healthy environment for your dog. Tying a dog to a rope and leaving him out in the yard on his own day and night is NOT an example of responsible ownership.  As a responsible owner, you must also look after the health of us dogs.  You must feed us the best food you can afford, AND if we are in need of veterinary care, you should take us in for medical care. You must also make sure that you clean up after us dogs.  And be respectful of those areas that do NOT allow dogs – like baseball diamonds in the summer or playgrounds. The point is that you should set an example that living with dogs is FUN, and AMAZING but it should not interfere with the lives of others who may not like dogs.  Hard to BELIEVE that there are such people who exist, but rumor has it that there ARE a few.  Those poor people need to see he positive virtues of owning us canine companions – whether we are therapy dogs, military working dogs, working dogs or household pets. 

If your area has licensing for dogs, you SHOULD register your dog.  Let’s face it – all of us dogs like to be licensed – we never know when we might need to borrow the car.  Or have a drink.

So cheers today to all of those good dog owners.  And although the humans are the designated “owners” – let’s face the truth – it’s REALLY the other way around.  But we’ll LET them THINK they are in charge.  At least for today.

Have a good one!

 

September 16. According to the crazy calendar, today is National Collect Rocks Day.  A day when all you human rock collectors celebrate your need to search for pebbles, stones, minerals and gemstones.   My human was a rock collector when she was a kid.  Her sister always said she had rocks in her head.  It’s a fairly cheap hobby.  You don’t need much equipment – maybe a hammer if you want to break up large rocks and something to carry home your treasures.  Some people call it rockhounding – and it has nothing to do with dogs.

But, interestingly enough, there ARE dogs who like to collect rocks.  But not for the purpose of displaying them on a shelf.  Some dogs EAT rocks.  I mean REALLY eat rocks.  It’s a condition called Pica – where dogs eat non-food items.  Most sources say it is a behavioral thing and dogs CAN be trained NOT to do this.  It can be a dangerous behavior – if a dog eats too many rocks, he might have to have surgery.  I found a story about a pug who ate (and pooped) 100 rocks.  Now THAT is crazy.

Jaws likes to grab the odd rock – and the behavior is often seen in puppies.  But he is quite happy to trade a rock for a treat.  Unlike a shoe.  That’s not as exciting a trade for a treat. 

So I hope you will have a rockin’ and rollin’ kind of day.  And how can you not – it’s FRIDAY!!  Let the weekend begin!

So we’ve had lots of drama in our household the last little while – between my human’s mother being ill, and ME being ill and Jaws working hard to learn how to train my human – we have been just a tad busy.  And now that things are settling down, my human has decided to add more drama to the mix.  She has decided that Harold must go.

Harold, as some of you may recall is our vehicle.  Our trusty 2006 Subaru Forester.  Harold is the ONLY vehicle I have known.  And while Harold is running well, and he did pass his safety inspection, he does have some “issues.”  Besides the canine olfactory art on the back window and the dog hair stuck to the ceiling.  For example, you know how when large vehicles like trucks back up you can hear a beep beep sound?  Well, when Harold backs up, you hear a screeching sound.  It’s not good.  It’s fine when you go forward, but in reverse, well everyone does get out of our way.  He also has a problem with his rear struts.  I know when my human says “strut” to me, it means I should heel briskly alongside her.  Harold’s struts are another issue.  And so are his brake pads.  Whatever that means.  So while these are not HUGE issues, my human doesn’t know if she wants to invest more money in Harold.  

So the big debate.  WHAT vehicle to get?  I want to go along when my human car shops.  I mean it is critical that we canines LIKE the vehicle.  And it must be big enough to handle at LEAST one crate.  Mind you, if the crate is to hold Jaws, we are going to need to buy a tractor trailer.  When one looks up best All Wheel Drive SUVs for dogs, a number of options come up.   We need an AWD vehicle because of our luge run driveway in the winter.  And living in the semi-boonies, an AWD vehicle is pretty handy.  This summer, my human was collecting stickers from this gas station because they had a big contest and one of the prizes was a vehicle.  That would have solved the problem.  But I hate to say this – she didn’t win.  Hard to believe.  I mean the chances of winning were about the same as me being well behaved for a week.  Or Jaws NOT chewing on something.  Slim.

My human isn’t thrilled about the negotiating that goes on when buying a vehicle.  Kind of like “trading” a treat for something we dogs have stolen.   You THINK you might get what you want,  but you never know. She doesn’t really enjoy the “pricing game.”  I suggest she take all three of us along.  Let us loose in the show room and say she won’t collect us until they give her the best price they can.  Mind you,  that may not work in her favor…