Viktorsviews. The Next Chapter.

Thumbs up!

March 3, 2016Leave a Comment

March 3. According to the Crazy Calendar, today is What if Cats and Dogs had Opposable Thumbs Day. Who makes these things up? Anyway, opposable thumbs allow primates – like humans and apes to use their fingers to grasp and handle objects. It’s pretty obvious what that would mean for us dogs. No door would be an obstacle. I mean if you think Frodo is Pondini now, imagine if he had opposable thumbs. Let’s face it, the dog food would have to be put in a safe with a combination lock. Mind you, Frodo could probably figure out the combination. We could also hold our own leashes. Which could be interesting…And hitchhike. Another interesting vision…

In the news – a Maremma Sheepdog broke the record for the largest litter of puppies in California and the largest recorded litter of Maremma Sheepdogs anywhere. Ever. Remember – I don’t like that word “litter” to describe puppies. I still think we should be called a “treasury.” Anyway, there were 11 boys and 6 girls. These guys were bred to protect livestock and they are all going to homes on farms. IMAGINE 17 puppies. How much FUN would that be. ESPECIALLY when they start running around and biting and pooping everywhere. PURE joy. My human says someone should bottle the smell of puppy breath. She says there’s nothing like it.

On this day in 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes was sworn in as the 19^th US President. He apparently won by ONE vote. But he still won. And of course, I am only mentioning him because he was another dog guy. He had many dogs, including a popular Greyhound by the name of Grim. Sadly, Grim’s name was aptly chosen as he was hit and killed by a train. Reportedly many people sent condolence letters to the White House when he died. Moral of the story – be careful what name you pick for us dogs! Clearly MY name was aptly chosen. I am ALWAYS “victor”ious in THIS house.

Tomorrow I’ll fill you in on OUR news. Did you know Bernese Mountain Dogs could be terrified of mice? Paxton. Paxton. Paxton….

Have a good one!

Old stuff

March 2, 2016Leave a Comment

Well I had my last scent class in this set. And THANKFULLY, there was no exam. We did something called “blind searches” for the first time – where our HUMANS didn’t know where the treats were hidden. And I found it. Every time. This game is fun, although I DID have a moment where I completely forgot what I was doing. When I spotted some dog toys on the floor. We weren’t actually working with “distractions” yet – but clearly THAT is going to be a challenge for yours truly. Toys? That could mean fetching. And let’s face it, it is a tie between what I like more – treats or fetching. Seriously.

We had a great walk with my buddy, Jackson, the other morning. Well – FRODO had a great walk. He was off leash. And I was in chains. OK, maybe not CHAINS, but I was not allowed off the leash. My human had visions of me disappearing on a bunny or fox chase. I put my nose to the ground – and OFF I go. She is starting to wonder if this scent class thing was such a good idea after all. Getting me to use my nose MORE could be counter-productive!

March 2 is National Old Stuff day. I thought it was a holiday about my human. She did not find that analogy amusing. She likes old stuff. And she has lots of old dog stuff. So in honor of this day, here’s an old dog. He’s not THAT old and he’s not a PON – but he’s close. He was made between 1936 and 1973 in England. Mind you, he COULD be older than my human – which means he is ANCIENT. He looks like he needs a good grooming. Better him than me.

Have a great old day!

K9 WAGN

March 1, 2016Leave a Comment

March 1. On this day in 1937, the first permanent car license plates were issued in the U.S. Back then, they gave you a number – and that is what you put on your vehicle. Today, you can create your OWN license plate – and of course, MANY humans have plates having to do with us dogs. Here’s a SMALL sampling of some of the plates I found on-line:

DOGZ or DAWGZ

DOGSRUS

LKYDOGS (My human should have this one!)

PAWZUP

WUF-WUF or WOOF or RUF RUF

MYK9S

DOG PEN

DOG LVR or LUV K9S or K9 LVR

K9 WAGN or K9 BUS or WAG WAGN or K9 LIMO or WAGGIN

OMYDOG

K9MAMA (Another one my human could have!)

And then of course, lots of people put the type of dog they are owned by on the plates as well – like BERNESE, or MY PONS or LV LABS. Some people include the types of activities they do with their dogs – like DRFTDOG, AGIL K9S, CLNRUN, GNDOGS, RALLY ON or SHOWDOG.

Our vehicle, Harold, has one of those things that go around the license plate – and it reads “Love my Polish Lowland Sheepdog”. ( Note: It SHOULD say DOGS. ) And not to worry – Paxton is included too – the plate on the front of the vehicle has the picture of a Bernese head.

And speaking of Harold, my human got a very depressing phone message last week. VERY depressing. Brian, Harold’s doctor aka mechanic is RETIRING. WHO will look after Harold? We were all saddened by this news – Brian has performed many successful surgeries on old Harold. My human is on a mission to find a new mechanic – but it won’t be easy. It has to be someone who doesn’t mind working on a vehicle that has olfactory art on the windows, and sometimes MIGHT have a slight odor of K9s. Oh the drama.

I hope you have a fabulous day. I know I will!

Leap Day!

February 29, 2016Leave a Comment

February 29. It’s Leap Day. The day that occurs once every 4 years. Personally, I don’t get it. It has something to so with the calendar and the fact that if they didn’t add this day every four years it would somehow mess up dates. Adding a day keeps our calendar in sync with the earth’s revolutions around the sun. I guess if they didn’t do it, we could have Christmas in June. I’m not really sure about that fact– I just made that part up. But to us dogs, every day is like the next. We don’t really LOOK at the calendar. Mind you, if my birthday occurred every four years, that would NOT make me happy. Apparently the chances of being born on a Leap Day are 1 in 1500. Poor buggers. And there is even a name for people born on Leap day. They are called “leaplings” or “leapers.” And NO – I did not make that up.

I read that in honor of Leap Day, the Associated Press did some research on Leaping Dogs. And not “leaping” in a good way. Leaping as in jumping so that they hurt themselves. According to a Pet Insurance company, since the last Leap year, there were 107,502 claims submitted for soft tissue trauma. And that’s just the dogs whose humans have insurance! They wrote about a Lab in California who in his over-exuberance, accidentally leaped over a balcony and down two stories onto a car. Yikes! Luckily for him, his only injury was a broken toenail.

Personally, I love to leap. It’s my MO. In this photo, you can see me leaping when I was a puppy:

You have seen video of me leaping when I want to go out. I DO need to be careful as I could end up being on that list of injured dogs. But it’s VERY hard for me. I think I was a rabbit in another life. Maybe THAT’S why I like them so much.

Anyway – Hoppy Birthday to all leaplings today! Enjoy your day – you won’t have another one for 4 years!

Meet the Professor/Politician

February 28, 2016Leave a Comment

So it’s Sunday. The day AFTER my human and FRODO went to participate in Meet the Breed at the Halifax Kennel Club Show. And of course, the professor was well behaved. He and my human got there early – before their “shift” so while they were waiting, they practiced a bit of obedience. REPORTEDLY, several people stopped to watch and told my human how well behaved he was. Of course he was. She had a pocket full of treats! And then it was his turn to shake paws with the public and he REPORTEDLY did a great job. Among the THRONG of visitors, they met a Beardie owner who had never met a PON before, lots of kids, and an Airedale owner who was so smitten with Frodo that she was SUPPOSEDLY thinking that she would like a PON. Holy moly, he sure did a good sell job. Maybe he is the one who should run for politics.

While my human and Frodo were at the show, I totally restyled Paxton’s hair. He looks wonderful – like a tri-colored poodle.

Today my human has nothing major on the agenda – which means MULTIPLE walks, playing with us and giving us loads of treats. She mentioned something about washing the kitchen floor, but I ask WHY? I mean we will mess it up in less than 24 hours. It’s a LOSING battle. Concede defeat. And just take us out again.

˙Have a super Sunday!!!

˙© Linda Wozniak

False Advertising

February 27, 2016Leave a Comment

Well I am VERY disappointed. This weekend, the Halifax Kennel Club is holding one of their dog shows. And my human volunteered to bring a PON to the Meet the Breed booth today. And GUESS who is getting to go AGAIN?! Frodo! It’s not fair. It’s SUPPOSED to be MY turn. I never get to do anything. Now mind you, I am the one going to scent class….But I really think that taking Frodo to Meet the Breed is a bit of false advertising. With Frodo, it should be called Meet the Well-Behaved-Somewhat-Obedient Example of the Breed. Taking ME would give people a more realistic example of what the breed can be like. And you KNOW, Frodo won’t even bark while he is there. People will think we are quiet and that we are all obedient. It’s false advertising I tell ya.

Paxton and I will have to pine away at home. All by ourselves. I’ll be sure to lick his ears over and over again. He doesn’t mind. My human on the other hand does not appreciate my hair salon services.

The ONLY good thing about NOT going to the show – I didn’t have to endure the obligatory bath! Ha. Ha. In FACT, as soon as my human finished the marathon wash-a-thon with Frodo, and she went in the bathroom and left us alone, I started my own styling on him. My human came out and shouted “NO!” – I had completely rearranged all the hair on his face and his ears. He was ALL wet – after she had just spent an hour drying him. I should also mention that SHE RUINED the asymmetrical look I had given him on his ears – by trimming the longer ear. I was just working to give him that trendy look again. She just doesn’t appreciate my creative abilities.

Well- excuse me while I go and bug Paxton. And see what trouble we can cause while my human and the professor are out shaking paws with the public.

RATS!!!!!!!

February 26, 2016Leave a Comment

Well. After all my talking about dogs and our wonderful ability to be trained for scent detection – I JUST heard about another animal who is trying to steal our jobs! Are you ready for THIS one? It’s rats! I’m not joking. Apparently, the African giant pouched rat has been trained to detect explosives inside buried land mines. They wear little harnesses and leashes and when they detect TNT, they halt and scratch the ground. They say they are cheaper to acquire and transport than us dogs, and unlike dogs, do not become attached to their handlers. They are also too light to actually detonate pressure activated mines – although most dogs are trained to stay far enough away from the explosives they find.

OK. But rats will NEVER be guides for the visually impaired. And I just can’t see them herding sheep. Or acting as guarding animals. Mind you, if my human ever saw one, she would run the other direction.

And speaking of scent work, my human set up a “scent detection course” for me the other night. She had a series of boxes and a shoe and a glove and a bowl. She would hide the treats and I had to find them – just like we do in class. When she first started – she had also placed a stuffed octopus on the course. THAT was not a bright idea. Much as I LOVE treats, the temptation of grabbing that octopus was too much. The octopus was QUICKLY removed – and the game was PERFECT after that. The hard part was waiting every time she put the treats under something new. Frodo and Paxton watched my ace ability from the other room. Frodo screamed bloody murder for quite a while and then settled down until it was his turn. He and Paxton got to search for the octopus in various rooms. A good time was had by all.

Hey – and there is another things those rats can’t do – they wouldn’t be able to retrieve. So duck hunting would be out. And schutzhund would be out. Although, it COULD be interesting to watch.

I think my human will stick with us canines – because remember – those rats don’t bond with humans the way we dogs do. We have a truly special bond. We provide unconditional love, joy, and entertainment. Mind you, sometimes when I have done something bad – my human shouts out “RATS!” Or something along those lines. I wonder if rats like to chase bunnies….

In the money

February 25, 2016Leave a Comment

February 25.

On this day in 1862, my old buddy, Abraham Lincoln is said to have introduced paper currency – the greenback – in the US. So out of curiosity, I decided to see if I could find paper currency that depicts dogs. Well. Good luck with THAT task. I found coins that had dogs – for example, in Canada in 1997, a series of coins called the Best Friends series – was released. Clever name. It depicted Canadian breeds – the Labrador, Nova Scotia Duck Toller, Eskimo Dog, and Newfoundland. Canada also had a dog coins in 2006 for the Year of the Dog. I found Norwegian and Irish coins with the Elkhound and the Wolfhound. And I bet there are other dog coins. But finding dogs on paper money was tougher. I’m SURE SOME country has dogs on their paper currency – but I wasn’t successful in finding them. I mean the Queen is on lots of money – SURELY one of the pictures has her holding a corgi?! There MUST be some out there somewhere!

Probably a bit more interesting though, and is quite timely given my current enrollment in my scent class, is the role of the CDD – or Currency Detection Dog. They are trained to detect large amounts of hidden cash – like at border crossings or airports. I’m thinking I would be a bit more interested in that line – rather than being an Explosive Detection Dog. Not that I don’t admire the work that those dogs do – but well, I’m thinking the money hunting is probably a bit safer. I’m going to check with my instructor next week how I go about doing that. And where we get the huge stash of cash to practice with.

We dogs have our own type of “currency.” We like to be paid in things like treats and toys. Paper currency isn’t nearly as interesting, although Paxton has been known to take a bite out of some. The key is to NOT consume the serial number. My human learned that with a FIFTY dollar bill one time. Paxton was L-U-C-K-Y.

Anyway, time for me to “cash in” on the break in the rain – and go for a walk. If I wait too long, it may start up again, and I’ll have to “pay for” my tardiness by wearing a raincoat. Ugh. You can “credit” my human for the bad puns. Honestly, the things I put up with!

Have a great day – I’m banking on it!

Making sense of scents

February 24, 2016Leave a Comment

So my excellent behavior at scent class continues. OK. Maybe “excellent” is stretching things a bit – but I have been pretty well behaved. It was cool this week – because the instructor tried to TRICK us. And it worked for a few minutes – and then we all figured out what he was doing.

So far, we have been searching for treats in big plastic boxes. First the boxes were open, then the boxes had big holes in the lid, and then little holes. But this week, he put the treats under some OTHER objects – like small purses. He also had tin cans in the line up too. My human could have told him that purses shouldn’t be a big problem for me – I’m ALWAYS trying to see if she has treats in her purse. But I must confess, the first time he put treats under the purse, we all ignored it! We were so used to finding treats in the boxes – we went to the boxes first. We couldn’t BELIEVE there were no treats in there. THEN we figured out we really needed to USE our noses and we all caught on. Because I have a good memory, I also tend to go to the last place I found a treat. In that case I’m not really using my nose. Just my brain. I have to remember to use BOTH. It makes sense that class is getting harder. Pun intended.

We have one more week in this set of classes. I hope there is no final exam. I get stressed for tests. Just kidding. Nothing really stresses me. Except when I lose the bunny’s scent on the trail…

Rabbit -1. PON- 0.

February 23, 2016Leave a Comment

OK. I didn’t want to tell this story, but my human said I had to tell it. So here goes. This actually happened Sunday morning – but George Washington upstaged me yesterday so now you have my tale.

On Saturday night it POURED rain. Except for the piles left by the plow guy, our snow is gone. Pretty different from last winter – when I look back at my blog. THANK goodness. We know winter isn’t over – but the forecast for the next week looks OK, so every week without a blizzard is a week closer to Spring! But I digress…

So Sunday morning, although the rain had stopped, it was VERY wet outside. My human decided that instead of a walk up the road, we would all go for a quick run on our trail. Frodo looked at her as if she had two heads because it meant he had to walk on some wet grass. He begrudgingly trudged along. Paxton was on a leash – he has not been allowed freedom since that late night trip to the emergency clinic last week. Poor bugger. That’s what he gets for eating dead grass.

So we all headed out and within 2 minutes, I had dashed off in the woods. Followed by Frodo. My human could hear me running around – I was the only one wearing a bell. My human and Paxton came to a cross-path and waited for Frodo and me. Frodo QUICKLY appeared – he realized it was extra wet in the woods, and he wanted NOTHING of my game. So the three of them stood waiting for me. They could hear where I was – my bell was ringing and ringing. And as they stood there waiting, out of the woods and onto the path hopped a small white rabbit. They watched him come out, slowly hop across the path and into the woods on the other side. My human quickly said to Frodo “LEAVE it” – as she knew he had seen the bunny. He took two steps forward and stopped. He wasn’t going back into those wet woods.

My human fully expected me to come dashing out after the bunny. Nope. I was still following his round-about trail in the woods. I finally emerged, wet, and with a coat full of sticks and dirt. I had lost the scent – and my human quickly redirected me down the path – away from the bunny trail.

Now keep in mind, I never SAW the bunny – so it’s the other three who are claiming this happened. If I were telling the story, I would say he jumped into a deep hole, and I just decided to leave him there. And maybe that DID happen. Seriously – there COULD have been two bunnies. As if I EVER would have left that hole.

Anyway. The bunny won THIS time. Of course, my human HAD to take a photo of wet me. I sat for the photo and this was my only moment of gloating. I sat for the photo and so did Paxton. Frodo refused. The grass was wet. So only two of us got treats. Mind you, Frodo got a whole handful when he DIDN’T go after the bunny.

And speaking of bunnies…good heavens – it’s almost time for those horrid rabbit ears again. Unless we can find them first…

Have a great day!