Viktorsviews. The Next Chapter.

Blog-cation

August 6, 2015Leave a Comment

Summer. The good things? Playing ball. Going for long walks. Staring longingly at the food on the barbecue. Having my human home all day.

The bad things? Muggy heat. And for Paxton…bugs. Big bugs.

We go through phases of bugs in Nova Scotia. The spring begins with the dreaded black flies. Tiny dark things that like to take CHUNKS out of skin. They are VERY nasty. They last for a few weeks. And then the mosquitoes come out. They don’t bother us canines all that much – but humans – look out after dark. And now, as we have the full on heat of summer we have the arrival of the dreaded deer flies. Pesky mid sized creatures that love humans AND dark colored dogs. Frodo and I are not really bothered by them too much – but poor Paxton – they dive bomb him in DROVES. When he walks down the trail it is like he has a cloud around him. My human sprays him with a natural repellant – so he smells like a giant citronella candle after a walk. Actually, he doesn’t really get a walk – it’s more like a FAST trot – in an effort to keep the bugs off of him. But the “buggers” are smart – they still follow him. I wonder if he would wear a light colored coat if he could fool the flies. But then, I suppose wearing a coat on a hot day is not exactly a great idea. Poor Pax. Short walks for him for a little while.

Otherwise, we are enjoying time with our human. We even let her sleep in until 6AM!!!!! Thoughtful, or what? OK. It was raining. But still – we COULD have woken her.

And since we are having some lazy days, I think it is just about time for a bit of a blog-cation. Today marks my 316^th blog entry. What began as a little idea about sharing occasional views on my life with humans, has somehow developed into a daily PONtification about all kinds of topics! And every time I think I will take a break, something new happens – that I just MUST share. But to keep things interesting – and to keep people from getting bored with some of my more mundane adventures, I think I’ll take a break until September. UNLESS of course something terribly newsworthy occurs – then I’ll be sure to post my thoughts. You can count on it!

In the meantime – enjoy August!!! And all you canines – keep training those humans. I know it’s hard work, but they really are worth the effort!

Work Like A Dog Day

August 5, 2015Leave a Comment

August 5. Today is Work Like A Dog Day. The saying “work like a dog” apparently came from the fact that once upon a time, we dogs used to work . A LOT. Besides herding and guarding and hunting, in the olden days dogs also used to do things like draft work. For example, Bernese Mountain dogs reportedly pulled carts to the market. Paxton CAN pull a cart. And he’s actually not that bad. My human has never entered him a test, though, because he DOES have a mind of his own – and he IS a bit friendly – so she’s fairly certain he would “take his own route” on a test course. My human failed enough tests with her previous Bernese to know that it is NOT easy. That Bernese FINALLY did pass the test – and that was her “easy” Bernese. Paxton is not easy. I think it’s my influence. I have trained him well to think for himself.

Along with the saying “work like a dog” – comes the saying “dog tired”. It was only 150 years ago (which my human can no doubt remember) that we canines assumed a more sedentary role as pampered pets. Thank GOODNESS I didn’t live back then. I QUITE enjoy lying on my dog bed, under the fan that my human has running these past few days. Just for me. OK. For me and my “brothers”. Yes, we quite enjoy our creature comforts…

Excuse me while I go chew a bone and then ask to play fetch. And I must beg for more treats. And then I’ll go on bunny patrol – such a full “working” day…

Herding. The anticipation…

August 4, 2015Leave a Comment

Well folks. Life is great in Nova Scotia. My human is OFFICIALLY on vacation. Which means extra long walks, and lots of attention. Which I command. Yesterday I got to go for a run with my buddy Jackson, the Labrador from up the road. Frodo got to go the last couple of times – and I didn’t – all because of those few “incidents” where I took off on my own – and my human didn’t trust me to behave. But humans have short memories, so I got to go yesterday – sans leash.

We were just headed up the driveway to meet Jackson and he came around the bend. I didn’t expect him – so when I saw him, I HIT the ground. I guess it’s a flock-protecting-herding-instinct thing. I watched him as he approached. And when I recognized it was him – I jumped up. My human’s friend asked how my human trained me to do that. My human just laughed. She is very interested to see how I am going to do at something called a Herding Instinct Test next month. She figures that the entertainment I provide will be worth the entry fee. She entered Frodo too – but she’s not sure she will take both of us. Juggling double trouble could be a bit challenging. She says “we’ll see.” Frodo has seen sheep before. He thought they were OK. He DID inform me that they leave delectable morsels as they move around – so I’m curious to see what that will be like. Frodo had an interesting herding technique. He would lie in the middle of the round pen and simply “eye” the sheep. And they would move around the pen as he moved his head. He WOULD round them up physically if instructed to do so – but he preferred a more serious sedentary approach. My human thinks I will be just the opposite. No matter what – it WILL be interesting. If you want to purchase tickets to my performance, let me know! : )

OK. I have to go. It’s time to bug my human to play ball. Again. Come on – it’s vacation. That’s what we do!

Assistance Dog Day

August 3, 2015Leave a Comment

August 3. Today is Assistance Dog Day. Now these guys are pretty special dogs. I mean these are the real working dogs. According to some sources, assistance dogs can be divided into two groups – service dogs who help individuals with physical and medical challenges, and facility dogs – who work in healthcare and educational facilities. No matter what you call them, they all help humans – in a variety of ways – from hearing ear dogs, to seeing eye dogs, to dogs who alert people in the event of a medical emergency. They help people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and can provide peace and comfort to people in nursing homes.

These dogs are super smart. And they obviously love their humans. But we can’t forget those humans who train them – and foster them as young puppies. Those humans are pretty special too.

It’s clear, that none of the dogs in this household could have passed the service dog test. My human envisions that Paxton would walk a visually impaired individual into a wall, or off a pier, and people would NEED treatment for PTSD after spending a day with me or Frodo. But we DO provide service too – comic relief. On a daily basis.

Congrats to all the special dogs who work so hard and do us canines proud. Let’s face it – you would never see a seeing eye cat. Canine helpers – we salute you.

Continuing renovations

August 2, 2015Leave a Comment

Well the bathroom renovations continue. And of course, we dogs are not allowed in the construction zone. So, as you imagine, we want more than ever to get in there. It’s kind of like the DFZ. For those who don’t recall – the DFZ is the Dog Free Zone. It’s the only room in the house where we canines do not have free roaming rights. There is a baby gate, which has bungee cords securing the entry. But of course, it’s no match for a PON. It was no time before Frodo figured out how to wedge his way in. And yours truly followed. So now I delight in sneaking my way in there – usually when I know my human is getting ready to go out somewhere. And I make myself comfortable. Just on the other side of the gate. As if to say “here I am. I’m IN.” When my human leaves us to go out somewhere, she has to put ANOTHER gate in front of the “secured” baby gate. So far that has worked to keep us out when she’s not there. Or she THINKS it works.

We are VERY anxious to see the final results in the bathroom. ALTHOUGH – I hear that the new shower will be larger – and easy for us dogs to walk in. Which is a BIT concerning. Why would we ever WANT to walk into a shower? PONs and showers do not go in the same sentence. I certainly hope this whole renovation thing was not done with ulterior motives…

Play Ball Day

August 1, 2015Leave a Comment

August 1. Today is Play Ball Day. A fabulous day for a PON. My human remembers the first time she went to my “creator’s” home and she met my relatives. There she witnessed a group of PONs – most of whom were OBSESSED with retrieving a tennis ball. COMPLETELY OBSESSED. So it’s in my genes. I will retrieve and play ball until I am ready to collapse. But we can’t use tennis balls in our house. It is likely Bucket Head will either take one big bite and ruin it – or more likely, he would swallow the thing whole. So we use retrieving toys instead. Which can also be problematic because my human has THE worst throw anywhere. I mean she TRIES hard – but a toy inevitably ends up in a tree – or on the roof. And I run around frantically trying to find the missing toy. The things I have to put up with.

You know, I actually have a nickname – which also happen to be the name of a professional Baseball player. His name is Shane Victorino, and even though my human is not really a baseball fan, I have somehow adopted his name. It’s that thing that human’s do – they create a series of names for us – and then wonder why we never come when they call us. We don’t KNOW which name to respond to. Anyway, I am FREQUENTLY called Viktorino. And get this – Trino for short. And I answer to both. If treats are involved. So between the ball loving relatives and the shared name with a baseball pro, no wonder I love playing ball games.

Anyway, it’s a great day for us canines. We don’t need fancy iPawds or video games – just give us a ball, and we’re happy. But then, we’re almost always happy! Have a good one or should I say, have a ball today!!

Hear me ROAR

July 31, 2015Leave a Comment

OK. Sometimes I just don’t GET humans. First we have a DENTIST who goes to Africa and shoots a lion. Just because he can. Proof that getting a degree doesn’t mean you are smart. Shooting animals on a compound is kind of like fishing in an aquarium. I just hope he doesn’t have any pets – because he is clearly not respectful of the animal kingdom. I wish I could have a few minutes with him. I would….I would….I would…..pee on his leg. That would show him.

THEN we have an ACTRESS – Jennifer Beals, who was in Vancouver and guess what SHE reportedly did? She left her dog in a hot car. Now admittedly we don’t have ALL the details here and the dog was OK– but haven’t we ALL heard about the dangers of pets and kids overheating in hot cars? I don’t need to post the temperatures here – but suffice to say a car in the summer can QUICKLY become like a hot oven. In minutes. COME ON people.

So that’s my rant for today. The only good thing about this all this bad news – it takes the spotlight off my buddy Donald for a bit! You humans! We have so much training to do with you!

International Day of Friendship.

July 30, 2015Leave a Comment

July 30. International Day of Friendship. Once upon a time – back in the days of my human’s childhood – like 200 years ago – it was possible to have “international friends” through travel and things like Scouts. You could have pen pals in far off lands – but the average person, who didn’t travel, or didn’t have family in other countries, probably didn’t have THAT many international friends.

Today, with the advent of this thing called the “internet” and this thing called Facebook, I have LOTS of international friends! I’m amazed to see where people live who read my blog…France, England, Wales, Spain, Sweden, Greece, Belgium, Finland, Japan, the United States and of course, my “motherland” – Poland. These are some of the countries. It’s wonderful to see your comments and to know that I’m not the only crazy PON – there are PONs like me all over the world! Well – maybe not as crazy as me – maybe more are like Frodo – the “serious” but non-stop barking type of PON – but still – we PONs DO share lots of similarities. And really – we dogs in general share similarities. Although, I’m not so sure I’m like a poodle. That grooming stuff is NOT my thing! Anyway, the internet is a great way for us to connect– and share our techniques for training humans. We canines need to stick together.

So happy International Friendship Day to my friends all over the world! High paw!

Rain.

July 29, 2015Leave a Comment

Rain Day. Again. Remember that forecast thing on Saint Swithun’s Day? The thing about if it rains on Swith’s Day it will rain for 40 more days? Well. On that day, we had sun. AND showers. More showers than sun. Typical Nova Scotia weather. But since then, the forecast seems to be right. One day of sun. Two days of rain. It is getting just a BIT tiring. The other morning, we actually had sun. But the day before it had rained. So when my human walked us up the road, and went to go on the trail in the woods, Frodo put on the brakes. I mean, it was like trying to get him into the bathtub. He LEANED back and would NOT go on the trail. I mean, would NOT go. Why? With all the rain, the trail was wet. It had lots of puddles. It didn’t matter that the sun was shining that morning. He KNEW his feet would get wet. My human tried to coax him – and even tried to entice him with treats. He was having nothing of it. The brakes were ON. And a gentle tug resulted in the bucking bronco routine. We turned around and went back home – with Frodo happily trotting – and me staring longingly back at the trail.

Then yesterday morning, as we got ¾ way up the road and we saw lightning – and a minute later, heard the thunder. If you ever wanted to see two PONs and a human moving at breakneck speed, you should have seen us. We got in the house JUST before the skies opened and puppies and kittens came raining down.

ENOUGH rain. Please Saint Swithun. Have mercy!

Trick me?

July 28, 2015Leave a Comment

You know – humans can be “tricky”. Sometimes they try to outsmart us. And we let them think they have. They need that reinforcement.

For example – on Sunday, my human decided I needed a bath. I don’t know why – I think I smelled earthy and nice. But she wanted me smelling like some kind of flower. Or fruit. Anyway, she “tricked” me into coming in the garage. I actually like the garage. It is where the dog food and all the retrieving toys are stored. I LONG to get in there- on the off chance that I could eat the 40 lb bag of dog food. All by myself. BUT – the garage ALSO has the dog bathtub. Yes. We have a bathtub JUST for us dogs. And a grooming table. And a dryer that has a motor like a jet engine. If that dryer was used with a chihuahua, the poor dog would be thrown across the room.

So my human opened the door to the garage and I happily rushed in. Only to discover that she had towels on the grooming table. The next thing I knew, I was being lifted up and placed in the tub. Uh oh. Imagine my disbelief and disappointment. So I stood there, with “indignation”, as the soaking and scrubbing began. And then the marathon drying.

By the end, I felt totally refreshed. And I should ALSO mention that I was given copious amounts of treats throughout the “agonizing” affair. So the whole thing really wasn’t bad. My human thinks she tricked me into the whole bath thing. But did she?