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We had an eventful day yesterday – starting at 2:40 AM.  I will write all about it tomorrow – once I can tell the whole story.  The whole story will include my own visit to the Vet today… Paws crossed it all works out well.

In the meantime, my human has found an inexpensive way to entertain Jaws.  We know how one of his favorite forms of entertainment is to put his feet in the water bowl.  And splash it everywhere.  Well.  Yesterday my human put some ice cubes in the bowl.  WHAT a spectacle THAT was.  Ever hear of Bobbing for Apples at Halloween?  This was Bobbing for Cubes.  Picard style.  And was he EVER good.  He could grab those cubes and then he would happily take his treasure under the dining room table.  He must have repeated this 6 times.  He would dip his nose right in the water to grab those frosty squares.  Frodo and I looked at him with fascination.  You would NEVER catch one of us playing in water that way.  EVER.  He made quite the mess in the process. But since it kept Mr. Busy quiet for a few minutes,  my human didn’t mind one bit.  

The Hulk returned to far off lands yesterday but my human is still off work.  She took Jaws out every time he went to door – which was about 296 times.  Sometimes he doesn’t even NEED to go out.  Velcro dog and I each had our own walks (several of them) and thankfully no grooming.  We’ll see what today holds.  I vote for lots of games of fetch…LOTS. And maybe Jaws can bob for cubes.  Just another day in paradise.  Oh.  And then there is that visit to the Vet…Stay tuned.

So my human read this flawed research study on the internet.  At least I think it is flawed.  According to the study, a neuroscientist at Emory University wanted to see what we dogs prefer for a reward – a verbal “Well done” or a treat.  They selected dogs who would lie still in an MRI for 30 minutes.  Dogs were shown a hairbush,  a toy car or  a toy horse.  When they selected one of the objects, they would get a food reward, if they selected another they would receive verbal praise, and with the last object they would receive nothing.  The results of the brain scans showed that the dogs’ brains were stimulated by praise as much as, if not more than, the treat.  They did some other studies and came to the same conclusion – the dogs in their experiments were happy with social rewards and praise – and food did not matter as much. 

So here’s the flaw in my opinion.  They explained that “high-energy” canines were not included in the study.  Hello?  So all of us working, herding, ratting dogs who are NOT couch potatoes were the dogs being tested?!  That’s a LOT of dogs who were excluded!  Not all of us like to lounge around all day reading.  Well.  Maybe Frodo does – but that certainly does NOT include me.  Or Jaws.  Treats make the world go round for us.  Mind you – as we know even the intellectual among us – Frodo – is still driven by food.  Now some of us are also motivated by toys and play – I’m a perfect example of that.  I MIGHT even choose my fetch toys over a treat.  But a verbal “That was brilliant” is all “bla bla bla” to me.

There isn’t a pocket in any attire owned by my human that does not have treat crumbs in it.  Not a pocket.  And my human has learned if you want to get Jaws to move somewhere, you had better have treats on your person.  At ALL times.  When he flops down somewhere and doesn’t want to move, he is like a sack of potatoes.  And that sack is getting heavier and heavier to move. 

So I think those scientists need to look at this further.  And this time – make SURE you include some PONs and Picards!  I’ll volunteer.  If treats are included!

We have a gnawing problem here.  Literally and figuratively.  It seems that there are two kinds of chew toys.  Puppy toys and adult dog toys.  And while Jaws is happy to chew on ANYTHING – there are certain puppy toys that Velcro dog and I are NOT supposed to chew.  But of course, we are OBSESSED about getting our teeth on them.  And if left alone with them for more than 1.6 minutes, we will totally annihilate them.  Case in point: a brand new non-toxic, chew toy for Jaws in the shape of a …hmmmmm….dog that looks like a cross between a bull terrier and a dachshund.   My human took the cardboard info off the little fella – gave it to Jaws, whose attention is .36 seconds and within 1.6 minutes, Velcro dog had somehow already chewed the tail off the critter.  And the top on the hard rubber carrot that is supposed to be perfect for puppies – well – adult dogs can rip those apart too.  

It’s truly a dilemma.  If left out for Jaws, we destroy them.  And if not left out, Jaws destroys non-chewable things.  Like carpet.  And give us something that is soft enough for puppies – and hard enough for adult dogs – and nobody likes them.  Tsk. Tsk.

Tomorrow the Hulk returns to his home in the United States.  I’m sure he’ll be back – especially if Trump is elected.  But now who will we beg for treats?  397 times a day.  I think I have put on 10lbs since he came to visit.  Good thing my human is still off this week – she can take us on LOTS of walks so we can work off this treat belly.  She could do with some walking herself – but don’t say I mentioned it.

I must say, we were all VERY well behaved for my human’s birthday.  I even let her groom me – without protesting.  Much.  She was a bit overwhelmed with all the birthday greetings she received from around the globe.  She sure has “met” some great people because of this crazy blog!  Thanks to all to read who about our adventures.  And you know, it was just the other day that she was thinking we never seem to run out of material.   This blog is like an accident on the highway – you don’t REALLY want to look for fear that something awful has happened – but at the same time – who can resist?  Plus you get to say “Better them than me!”

Have a great day!!!  You KNOW I will!  And thanks again for stopping by!

It’s the one day a year I HAVE to be good to my human.  OK – maybe one of two – the other being Christmas.  It’s my human’s birthday.  I figure she deserves a break from my devilish behavior.  That’s my gift to her.  

She’s over 400 years old in dog years.  I’m pretty sure she knew Adam and Eve.  I wonder if they had a dog?

Humans are funny.  When they are young, they want to be older.  And when they are old, they want to be younger.  And they usually celebrate the day they came into this world with greetings, cake and sometimes gifts. I was thinking about getting her some liver cake for her special day.  But apparently she prefers a vanilla version.  

We dogs don’t think about aging or birthdays.  It’s all the same to us.  I’ve said it before – to us, every day is our birthday.  Mind you, if you humans want to give us extra treats to mark the day we were born, who are we to complain? 

Happy birthday to my human today.  We promise to behave.  Just for today.  Otherwise things around here would be pretty boring, right?

Frodo and I were naughty yesterday.  VERY naughty.   But we witnessed a miracle.  

It was lunch time.  We don’t usually get lunch – we are usually fed just two meals each day – breakfast and supper.  But Jaws gets three meals a day, so to make us feel like we are not missing something, my human puts a few kibbles in our bowls at lunchtime too.  Which is inhaled in 125th of a second – but hey – it’s free food.  Anyway, while she was preparing lunch for Jaws, she opened his new bag of puppy food – and it was on the counter.  She filled his bowl and sequestered him safely in the hallway to have his meal.  Frodo and I  had our paltry ration  and quickly came back to check out the kitchen counter – before the bag of food was put away.  My human had her back to us as she had noticed a voicemail message on the phone.  As she went to listen to the message, ONE of us – I’m not saying who, jumped up to get a better whiff of Jaws’ bag of puppy food.  And the next thing you know – it was raining dog food.  The whole OPEN bag came crashing down on the kitchen floor. Frodo thought it was a miracle.  An absolute miracle.  And he DOVE in.  And of course yours truly did as well.  My human spun around and shouted “NO!!!!”  At which point Frodo and I got into a rumble about who could grab the most food as we were being dragged away from the pile spread across the kitchen floor.  We were biting and growling and snapping at each other.  Frodo was actually moaning as his biggest dream had come true for .8 seconds – and here he was being dragged away.

I was sequestered in the bedroom while Frodo was taken downstairs.  All the while, Elroy was obliviously munching on his meal in the other room.

My human and the Hulk cleaned up the food and my human made sure no pieces went under the dishwasher – as Frodo would have personally moved the appliance to get any.

When all was cleaned up, we were released from our bondage to inspect the floor for any possibility of a missing  kibble.  No such luck.  Frodo and I looked at each other with disappointment.

So, my friends… this is proof that miracles DO come true…even if for a few short moments. 

Excuse me – do I have spinach in my teeth?

We have a new arrival.  And it is an unwelcome visitor…

Tuesday morning, while my human was entertaining Jaws, the Hulk let Velcro dog and I out onto the deck.  And Velcro dog immediately noticed that something was wrong.  He stared down at the lawn and he began to bark and growl.  Right in the middle of the lawn was something odd.  A big brown mound of something.  The Hulk and my human went to investigate while we canines were sequestered in the house. And what was that brown mound?  Dirt.  A big pile of dirt.  SOMETHING had been digging.  And with a bit of Google searching and after talking to a neighbor, it appears we have MOLES.  And according to just about every website that my human visited, these guys are NOT easy to get rid of.  Every non-poinsonous method for deterring the fuzzy earthworm-like creatures is not proven successful.  Of course my human doesn’t want to use poison as she wants NO chance for us dogs to get any.  And it doesn’t appear that traps are all that successful either.  So what to do?  I say time for a cat.  My human says no.  Time to call the guy from Critter Ridder.

Speaking of neighbors, Jaws went for a visit to meet one of the kids on our road.  She’s a lovely little girl who is VERY interested in dogs and she wanted to meet him.  Jaws needs more socializing – he hasn’t yet met the 936 people he is supposed to before he turns 16 weeks – so it was good for him, too.  He was overall, quite well behaved.  He obeyed her commands to “down” and happily, and gently took treats.  Not ONLY did he get dog treats – but he also got to sample some blackberries and watermelon.  Lucky guy.  He DID have a few moments of puppy wildness, but all in all was a good puppy.  Clearly he did not learn that from me.

It’s interesting that Jaws ate that fruit so quickly.  At home he prefers to play with pieces of banana, and he gums and spits out spinach.  I have learned to follow him around when he gets a treat – as there are always leftovers.

Well it’s Wednesday and it is supposed to be a rainy day.  Time for some indoor entertainment.  We haven’t played Find the Bunny since I ate the leg off the large rabbit.  But maybe we can use the other bunny that still has all four limbs.  Paws crossed.

Have a great day! Oh – but before I close – I have a favor to ask.  My human added a “Followers” button to my blog site.  She knows that many of you regularly follow my antics via Facebook – but she was wondering if you would mind clicking on my “Followers” button – just so she has idea about how many people actually read about our wild world.  She’s just curious!  Thanks. Have a good one!

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So here’s a question – how does one BEGIN to tire out a Picard puppy?  I thought I had energy – I’m like a sloth compared to this guy.  You can take him for a 15 minute walk, play ball with him, take him out for 16 pee breaks and he is STILL raring to go.

My human has learned that if our household is quiet, it is quite likely one of us is getting in trouble.  Lately,  Jaws has been leading the way.  If he is silent, it means he has discovered something – and is probably chewing it.  Like the dining room carpet.  There are an assortment of chew toys spread throughout the house – and many under the dining room table.  And after a long morning walk, we all hang out under the table.  And if suddenly Jaws stops chewing a toy – you can bet he is chewing the carpet.  At first my human thought that he was the first dog to have such a carpet obsession.  And then she recalled that the reason she has this current oval shaped carpet was because we PONs (and one Berner) had chewed the corners on the last carpet.  It only takes SECONDS for us to work our fabric artistry.

One of the things I really love about Jaws is that he is a master at deflecting attention.  Which allows ME to move in and do things.  Like steal food.  For example, when he went wandering into the bedroom and was gone for a long time (16 seconds), my human went to see what he was up to – leaving her English Muffin on the counter.  I ALMOST had it – if it had only been a bit closer to the edge of the counter.

Jaws and Velcro dog have become really good buddies.  Velcro dog barks at Jaws when he pulls his ears or his tail, but they really are getting along great.  Jaws will follow him and lie down next to him.  I’m STILL not sure around him.  One minute I think I’ll play with him and then I scowl and walk away.  This adjustment is taking some time.  But I’ll get there.  Especially if he keeps deflecting attention…I really like that about him!

So while I have been behaving as best I can, guess who was on the naughty list the other day? None other than Velcro dog!   My human took Jaws out for one of his 483rd pees of the day, and she didn’t let me out with them – as I had been barking at something out the window – and she suspected a squirrel or bunny was in the vacintity.   But Velcro dog doesn’t usually care about such things – so she let him out with them for the pee-a-thon.  Velcro dog went out and stared at the woods.  She told him “no” and he calmly went to walk around the island we have in the middle of our driveway.  While she was waiting for Jaws to pee, she didn’t notice that Velcro dog went around the island and started trotting up the driveway – away from the house.  He was totally sneaky about it.  She shouted to him- and he basically ignored her, hurrying up the driveway and off into the woods.  She came in the house, and told the Hulk we had an escapee.  He took a leash and calmly went after Velcro dog, while Jaws and I waited in the house with my human.  Sure enough, in less than 3 minutes, Velcro dog was happily trotting back down the driveway, followed by the Hulk.  My human opened the door and he happily pranced in. I have to hand it to him – he is such a cool dude.  When I take off – usually after wildlife, I make a huge spectacle thrashing through the woods, barking like mad.  But not Velcro dog – he is quiet in his wandering – in fact it is one of the ONLY times he is quiet.  Who knows – maybe he wasn’t even going after wildlife – he may have gone up to the neighbor’s place to check out their new cat.   But he came back and was quite pleased with himself. Score one for Velcro dog.

Paxisms.  That’s what we call the crazy behaviors that Elroy displays – that are reminiscent of the big tri-colored fluffy boy.   And it starts early in the morning.  After we finish our walk, we pass by our paper box at the end of our driveway.  And the very first time we did our walk, my human jokingly gave Jaws the paper. Well.  Now every morning he wants to carry the paper – just like Paxton did.  And just like Paxton, he will usually carry it for a short distance, and will then attempt to destroy it.  I suppose it’s just as well he eats the latest news about Trump – but still, we do like to get those dog toy ads.

Paxton was a fuzzaholic.  From the first night my human brought him home she discovered that he LOVED to find fuzz.  And eat it.  And if he couldn’t find any, he would just rip some off his own tail.  Jaws thankfully hasn’t started the tail thing – but he is QUITE happy to pull fuzz off Frodo.  He bites his ears and his tail.  And because Frodo IS very patient – he lets him get away with it.  He doesn’t do it with me because I am NOT that patient.  I did do the zoomies around him outside yesterday – so I AM warming up.  SLOWLY.  

So while Jaws is unique in his own way, he certainly does have behaviors that are very unlike us PONs – but very similar to one special Berner.  He reminds us of those every day.  And as much as it is taking me some adjustment time, I must confess I DO think Jaws IS special.  Very special indeed. And I think one special Berner is looking down and wagging that funny looking tail…