Viktorsviews. The Next Chapter.

An Apple a day….

November 6, 2015Leave a Comment

Oh my. We had problems in our house for the past two days. And for a change, it wasn’t us dogs who were in trouble. It was our computer. Now I don’t know a whole lot about computers. I know that there are two “kinds” of humans – the PC humans and the Mac humans. It’s kind of like political parties. Just like in politics, humans switch parties. Years ago, before my time, my human was a religious PC human. Then just about the time Frodo was born she became a Mac human. And she got our computer who I call MacTavish Macintosh.

Anyway, it’s a LONG, complicated story – something about a 23 hour software download. As I understand it, computers have to get nourishment every now and then – it’s the stuff that makes them run. Kind of like dog food. Food makes us work well. And TREATS REALLY make us work well. So these downloads make the computer work well.

But our download did NOT go well. Combine download problems AND a server problem and we had a HUGE mess. The server thing is kind of like the delivery guy. He brings the food. But our server ALSO had a problem, and his delivery truck was running WAY below the speed limit. And the two problems made our computer unusable. Which would NOT have been a total tragedy. EXCEPT, my human had a lecture on MacTavish – that she was presenting Thursday afternoon.

Anyway, after many hours of anguish for my human, two hours before the lecture, MacTavish was again working. Oh and yes, she does have a backup for MacTavish – it’s kind of like having a spare bag of dog food on the shelf. BUT, the dog food on the shelf was an old version of the lecture – so she was VERY happy to see MacTavish working again. And so were we. The stress was just too much. Cough. Cough.

Anyway, when it comes to apples, I’d rather have the edible kind. I’m not REALLY a computer dog. But then again, if I wasn’t into computers, you wouldn’t be reading this story, would you?

Have a great Friday!

Coyotes

November 5, 2015Leave a Comment

So. It seems we have new company in the neighborhood. My human got a text from a neighbor that a coyote was spotted on our road twice on Tuesday. Someone spotted one in the early morning hours, and someone else saw one in the early evening hours. Apparently rumor also has it that a fox was killed by “something” too on the golf course. Spooky.

Coyotes seem to be popping up in the news more and more. As humans take over more and more of their habitat, they become more accustomed to and brave around humans. Sadly, here in Nova Scotia, in 2009, a 19 year old woman was KILLED by coyotes. That’s a pretty RARE occurrence – but it happened and raised awareness about wildlife – and being careful around wildlife. Hence the name WILDlife. Sometimes humans just don’t get it – but sadly in the case of this young woman – there was not much she could do. She was hiking in a National Park.

Some scientists are actually claiming that there is a new species – a coywolf – who is part coyote, part wolf AND part dog. I’m thinking the dog part is not a toy poodle. The range of this new species is spreading throughout the Northeast US and Canada. They are even showing up in CITIES like New York and Boston! They’ll be riding the subways next!

Of course, my human got the text about the coyote sightings at 5:30 AM – just before we went out for our morning constitutional. In the dark. And of course, as SOON as we walked out the door, I started to pull and stare at the woods. I was on full alert. There was nothing there – I just did it to tease my human. Good one.

But I WILL be on the lookout for any new “canines” in the ‘hood. And of course I’m ALWAYS on the lookout for the neighbor’s cat (who had better be careful. If that cat thought I was trouble, he may be in for a BIGGER surprise if he meets a coyote!). Come to think of it, maybe I should be going with Paxton on walks in the future. I mean what coyote in his right mind would go after Bucket Head. The coyote would probably think he’s a bear! Mind you, Frodo is able to keep me in line QUITE well – so no coyote wants to tangle with him either!

Coyotes, porcupines, raccoons, foxes – quite the menagerie in our neighborhood. Not to mention two crazy PONs and a Berner. Who, in my human’s mind, are often scarier than all the others combined!

King Tut Day. Honestly.

November 4, 2015Leave a Comment

November 4. It’s King Tut day. I have no idea who celebrates King Tut Day, but obviously someone does. But I decided to see if there was ANY connection between King Tut and dogs. And of course, there is. In fact, I found three different Tut-dog connections…

1. Apparently King Tut, the boy king, did have a dog of his own. There were even dog related items that came out of his tomb. I’m not sure what they were – likely a tennis ball for fetching. Also, the walls of tombs in Ancient Egypt often show dogs – that look kind of like Pharaoh Hounds. I didn’t see evidence of PONs or Bernese. But it’s cool to see evidence of canine buddies way back then. Probably about when my human was born.

2. In 1953, the mascot for the sports teams for Southern Illinois University was a Saluki called King Tut. He was quite the star until he was hit by a car a year later. Years later, a fraternity marked his grave with a pyramid, and in 2010 when the old stadium was torn down, they put up a big Saluki statue in his honor and they moved his pyramid to the stadium entrance. That King Tut had a pretty short reign – but they sure did honor him. Wonder if I could become a team mascot?

3. The last King Tut was a Belgian Shepherd – who was owned by Herbert Hoover, the 31^st President of the US. While King Tut used to patrol the grounds of the White House, apparently the job became too much for him and he had to be moved to a different home. He never quite got over the stress of being a Presidential pet (no wonder) and he died at 8 years of age. Politics will do that to you.

So those are MY stories for King Tut Day. Hope your day is golden!

Cliche’ Day

November 3, 2015Leave a Comment

November 3. Cliché Day. Cliches are overused phrases or expressions, that have lost their original intent or power. For example, here’s a short story with several clichés: The PON, who was fast as lightning and clever as a fox, frightened his human to death when he disappeared into the woods. But he returned in the nick of time, before she went to search for him. And they all lived happily ever after. I like clichés, but they can’t be used in “serious” writing. I decided to see if I could find any dog clichés – and as luck would have it (there’s another one!) I found several. I don’t know about the original intent for these sayings – but I do have my own definitions now:

· It’s raining cats and dogs: typical Nova Scotia weather

· Dog tired: how my human feels at 5 AM when she gets to take us for our morning walk!

· Let sleeping dogs lie: LET me stay on the human bed at night. I’m comfortable. I deserve to be there.

· You can’t teach an old dog new tricks: No point in training us -unless you have REALLY, REALLY good treats.

· Sick as a dog: gastrointestinal issues seen after eating grass. Or in Paxton’s case, anything Inedible.

· Once in a dog’s age: what I WISH our grooming routine would be.

· It’s a dog-eat-dog world: Vying for the closest spot so I can be the FIRST to get a treat. Which never works. Since I am the youngest…

· In the doghouse: where I usually am.

· It’s a dog’s life: what you humans WISH you could have!

So read between the lines for those clichés today, and have a nice day!

We LOVE you…..

November 2, 2015Leave a Comment

So my human found more of “those” websites that tell you about your dog and your dog’s behaviors. These sites explained the things that we dogs do to tell you we love you. Some of them made complete sense to me – and I am a pro at them – like wagging my tail, sleeping with my human and smiling. But some traits – well let’s see…

Another trait is to follow your human. Frodo is the one who follows her around. EVERYWHERE. He waits outside the bathroom door for her. He waits if she goes in the garage. He waits if she goes in a closet. He HAS to be where she is.

Another trait was leaning. That one belongs to Paxton. He leans on her. ALL THE TIME. They didn’t mention sitting on your feet. Paxton does that WHILE he is leaning on her. Such PERFECT behaviors for a 100 lb dog.

Another trait that says we love you is to take care of you when you are feeling sick. I’m SURE there ARE dogs who do this – but the nursing gene is not really strong in this household. I mean Paxton would eat any tissues if my human had a cold, and I would jump on her if she was lying in bed. We need to work on this one.

Face licking is supposed to be another loving behavior. My human doesn’t REALLY encourage this – because we are also good at licking our brothers. And licking the floor. And certain anatomical parts.

Another trait that was kind of weird was “peeing in front of you.” It supposedly means a dog respects you as a leader – and I guess that is a loving behavior? Try to convince THAT to my human when we pee on the pumpkin, or the solar lights, or the statue of Rocky the dog, or the NEW bush she JUST planted…Or the BBQ…..I think my human would debate this one. That’s the same site that said jumping on you is another loving behavior. Now I AGREE with this – but my human – well, again it’s one of those adorable loving gestures that is NOT encouraged. Especially with Bucket Head.

The last trait or behavior that is supposed to show that we love you is…errrrr…well I might as well just say what the article said. It’s crotch sniffing. Trust me. My human would NOT consider that to be an acceptable, loving gesture. We don’t even TRY that here.

So none of us exhibits ALL the loving traits, but each of us has our way of demonstrating that we DO adore our human. The article neglected to mention jumping for joy when she comes home. Or going through her legs. Like Paxton does. Rather dangerously. Or staring at her lovingly. OK, maybe that one doesn’t count- since we usually do it when she has food.

But we DO love her very much and we are so glad we picked her. I think we’ll keep her. And we know, that even when we are bad….she loves us too!

Shower Barking

November 1, 2015Leave a Comment

November 1. All Saints Day. Clearly this is NOT a day that refers to the dogs in THIS household.

Yesterday we were ever-vigilant for all the kids who were Trick or Treating. All one of them. Yup. That was it. But not to worry – we were prepared with enough treats for 50. So if we have a horrible storm and we are stranded, we have enough junk food to keep us alive for a month. Well at least they will keep my human alive. We can’t have the chocolates. But those fake cheese snacks could probably keep us going for a few days….

Although our Halloween adventures were pretty darn boring, Frodo did manage yesterday to keep things interesting by further perfecting an excellent canine skill. You see, Frodo is a MASTER at the art of Shower Barking. What is Shower Barking? It is a skill where a dog waits patiently until his/her human either steps INTO the shower, or is just about to step OUT of the shower – and he barks. A LOT. Like someone is either breaking into the house or at very least is waiting at the front door. It is an exact skill. If one barks TOO soon, before the human is actually wet, the human wins. BUT. If the dog waits JUST until the human is wet – and/or is ready to get OUT of the shower, the dog wins. It is SO much fun. I must say, Frodo is outstanding in this game. He doesn’t do it ALL the time. If he did, our human would know he was faking. But instead, he does it intermittently – kind of like the intermittent reinforcement humans give us dogs when training us. Or when they THINK they are training us.

Yesterday was Saturday and Frodo KNEW it. So, he figured a good game of Shower Barking was in order. He was also doing it because PAXTON got to go for a run with Jackson yesterday. Paxton. Not me. Not Frodo. Paxton.

So. My human got in the shower. Frodo listened carefully for the shower door to close. And he waited. And waited. And then he started. Shower Barking. He’s really good. He can even get Paxton and I to join in. So my human jumped out of the shower, threw on some clothes and dashed into the kitchen– only to find three dogs staring at her. There was no one at the door. SCORE. Dogs 1. Human 0. Remember – it was ME who had to wear the devil horns for Halloween. I guess Frodo won’t be wearing that angel costume for Christmas after all. Oh and by the way. NO ONE told us about the clock going back – so we were EVER helpful in getting our human up nice and early to take us out this morning. Dogs 2. Human 0.

We are SO helpful We really ARE saints…

Boo humbug

October 31, 2015Leave a Comment

OK. Ha ha. Very funny. By now you have seen the dreaded Halloween attire. Trust me – it was assigned and NOT self-selected. But I’m a good sport. However I must say that I now feel the urge to live up to my Halloween persona. So look out…..

I suppose after two days of rather heavy blogs, you did need some comic relief. Allow me to be your clown.

So my human has already been making her way through the Halloween snacks. I kid you NOT. CLEARLY she purchased things to HER liking – in the (likely) event that no kids ever show up at our house. Seriously, what kid wants to come to a dark house down a long driveway that when the doorbell rings, sounds like something out of a dog horror film. I also noticed that my human didn’t buy dog treats to give away. What’s up with that? I mean we COULD get some brave kid who trudges to the door with his dog in tow. And THEN what will my human do? She had better not even CONSIDER giving away OUR treats.

The outdoor solar pumpkin lights she bought at the Dollar Store are as appealing as our costumes. I mean if you stand within 6 inches of them you can tell that they ARE pumpkins and that they ARE lit. More money well spent. My human didn’t notice that I already peed on them. Maybe THAT’S why they don’t light up….

Anyway. Have a Happy Halloween. Now we get to look forward to the Christmas reindeer antlers and Santa hats. Oh joy. Oh happiness. Mind you, I suppose Frodo can actually wear the SAME costume for Christmas. Lucky him.

Boo humbug.

Breeders. Owners. The Blame Game.

October 30, 20152 Comments

The Blame Game. I’m not talking about some song title by some rapper. I’m talking about a less-than-admirable human trait that makes me SO happy I am a dog.

My human was reading a thread on Facebook the other day and what started as an innocent conversation about dogs and health, quickly escalated to a round of the Blame Game. The Blame Game occurs when a dog is hurt or worse dies, and everyone is feeling horrid. We dogs do that to you humans. You love us SO much – you cannot bear to see us sick and when we must leave you, you feel your heart is shreaded and will never be the same. So in lots of cases, the Blame Game begins. Humans must blame someone else for WHY they are feeling horrid – usually when the hurt or death occurs in a young dog. But what humans seem to forget is that the world is made up of average people. Average people who LOVE dogs. And those average people do NOT want to see dogs hurt. Or see dogs die.

Yes, there ARE humans who don’t really LOVE dogs – and they abuse them, or breed them PURELY for profit. But thankfully, those humans seem to be in the minority. Most people are AVERAGE. They do the BEST job they know to love and care for their dogs or to breed dogs. Most people do NOT want to see a dog hurt or to see a dog suffer. Keep reminding yourselves that. Yes – a breeder CAN breed two dogs KNOWING that there is some health risk in the dogs she/he has selected. Those are the gamblers. And it doesn’t mean it’s the “right” thing to do. But do they REALLY want to see a dog suffer? I don’t think so. But they think they can beat the odds. Can an owner contribute to a dog’s health problems by feeding poor quality food or exposing the dog to a toxic environment – like pesticides on their lawn? Yes. But do they do it so their dog will suffer? Doubtful.

Keep in mind that the Blame Game is NOT limited to breeders and owners. In fact, breeders also blame other breeders. If a litter has a problem, the owner of the dam blames the stud dog. And vice versa…But remember – they BOTH love their dogs!

Humans also suffer from guilt. In fact they are even better at it than we dogs. Sure – I can LOOK guilty right after I do something bad – like when I steal something from the counter. But 30 seconds later, my guilt is gone. But you humans carry around guilt. Did I feed the dog the wrong food? Is that why he has cancer? Did I walk him too far as a young puppy? Is that why he has joint problems? Did I not expose him enough to people and dogs when he was little? Is that why he is fearful? Should I have used this dog in my breeding program, even though his hips were mildly dysplastic? Should I have run the latest DNA test? Did I get my puppy from the BEST breeder? Did I sell my puppy to the BEST owner? Humans are experts in guilt and then it’s a slippery slope to blame if things do not go well…. Even though – the bottom line – they ALL DO love their dogs!!!!

Good dog ownership and dog breeding boil down to knowledge. The more you know, the more LIKELY you can have healthy dogs who live long happy lives. Knowledge IS critical. But even then – the reality? You can take a dog in PERFECT home, with PERFECT owners, who feed PERFECT food and who was bred by a PERFECT breeder who did 100 health checks, and studied 100 pedigrees and guess what? The dog can still have problems. And that’s the truth. It’s called nature. You can blame God – but then remember who gave you dogs in the first place!

Humans need to work together – owners and breeders. Remember you BOTH love dogs. Share knowledge. Prevent problems together. And continue to do the BEST you can do. Blaming is not helpful. It just hurts an already-hurting situation.

So that’s my rant for today. My human was going to actually write this in that thread the other day, but then she decided I should do it. She figures if people don’t like this message and complain – she can BLAME me! After all, I AM just a dog!

For Molly

October 29, 2015Leave a Comment

Well, we had sad news on our road this week. The canine matriarch of the road, Molly, a 13.5 year old yellow Labrador, and “sister” to my buddy Jackson, went to the Rainbow Bridge. Molly’s humans are understandably VERY sad so I sent them my blog about Compartments of the Heart….

http://viktorsviews.blogspot.ca/2015/02/compartments-of-heart.html

Molly was living on this road when my human moved here. Molly had another canine brother at the time – Remington, who I’m sure was waiting to meet her at the Bridge when she arrived. Molly saw a number of dogs go before her to the Bridge – including three dogs that owned my human – Guinness, a Bernese, Beamish, a yellow Lab and Harper, another Bernese. And throughout their lives, Molly was clear at establishing the fact that “girls rule.” She put more than one boy in his place if he bugged her too much! Including me!

Molly had a fabulous life in a fabulous home. In the past year, her walks had slowed down – but she was always anxious to go out and join the crowd. Her tail was ever-wagging – unless of course she was putting one of us young things in our proper place!

I’m sure Jackson will miss her. We are the same age. I’ll have to go and visit him. In fact, I think we’ll have to go for a run this weekend. OK. Maybe Jackson can run and I can walk on a leash. My human still has not forgotten about my little wandering adventure the one day we went out with Jackson. The last time Jackson went for a run with my human, Paxton got to go. Pax and Jacks went out on the golf course and went in just about EVERY pond they passed. I just don’t get that whole water thing…

So today we give cheers to a lovely blonde Lab lady who is running faster and swimming in every pond she sees. Jackson has big pawprints to fill – but I know he will do his best…

We know that humans can never replace one dog with another. The memories are always there in those compartments in your heart. Forever. Just remember, you have the key to open the compartments and look inside…and you’ll be so happy with what you find.

Plush Animal Lover’s Day. Not.

October 28, 20151 Comment

Well I had a fabulous birthday. Thanks to all who sent me best wishes! My human was a bit jealous – she said I got more birthday greetings than she did on her birthday! I didn’t want to tell her it’s no surprise – I mean I AM more entertaining than she is. And her “adventures” pale in comparison to mine. And I didn’t want to remind her that I’m the reason she has as many friends as she does. She’s so lucky I picked her.

Anyway, I had an extra long game of fetch yesterday AND we had special new dog treats made of Greek yogurt , veggies and berries. They are supposed to be an “anti-oxidant” blend. Who cares. We’ll eat anything. But they did taste good. In the .0025 seconds it took to eat one.

And we all got ANOTHER treat! A scoop of tuna fish in our meal. Now tuna for dogs is not supposed to be all that good –if eaten on a regular basis. But a treat every now and then (like for a special birthday) is FINE. The canned tuna packed in water is better than the tuna packed in oil. We LOVED it. My human sang Happy Birthday and everything.

And THEN she decided to “try” something with us. We all know how we LOVE a game of “find the bunny.” That stuffed bunny is beginning to look a bit ratty – but we still love him. What we didn’t know, was that my human had looked at the calendar – and today is “Plush Animal Lover’s Day,” so she wanted to surprise us. You see, once upon a time, my human used to collect old Teddy bears, AND for some God-forsaken reason she ALSO used to collect stuffed Bernese Mountain Dogs. Now let’s be clear here – not the taxidermy version – that would be creepy – but toy stuffed Berners. And she has several that are almost life sized. BUT they have been packed away in a closet for years. And that’s where her “idea” came in….

I always get to play “find the bunny” first while my brothers are sequestered, squeaking and moaning in another room. So my human hid the bunny, and I went to find it – three different times. I raced into the bedroom, and the bathroom and proudly came back with my find. Then my human hid the bunny downstairs. What I didn’t know was that she had taken a couple of stuffed Bernese, and put them in the middle of the room… Well I raced downstairs and glanced over and nearly DIED. What the HECK were THOSE?!!!!!! I dropped the bunny. And I was suspended. My human came down and asked me what was wrong. What’s WRONG?! Paxton has called in reinforcements!!!!!!!!! I would NOT go near those things. My human moved one and I nearly passed out. I RACED away. Then I played hide and seek with one – as long as the couch was between us. Finally my human had to sit on the floor next to the stuffed dogs and toss treats so I would come closer and closer. It took QUITE a while before I got up the courage to actually SNIFF one. And yes, I am the same dog who was willing to get up close and personal with a porcupine! After about 15 minutes, I FINALLY agreed to sit next to the beasts to take a photo. At which point I was a BIT embarrassed by my earlier fear. To top it off, when Frodo and Paxton played the same game, they looked at the Bernese and came right back with the bunny. They could not have cared LESS about the cotton-hearted-creatures.

So that was my birthday. Great treats, fun fetching, lots of great wishes and a bit of humble pie thrown in for good measure. And today, I’m hoping I can meet those plush Bernese again. THIS time, I’ll be prepared. We’ll just SEE who wins the game now…