Viktorsviews. The Next Chapter.

Behaving…

January 14, 2015Leave a Comment

Well our human’s little holiday is more than half over – and so far no one has eaten anything bad, destroyed anything, demonstrated any majorly raucous behavior, or caused the dogsitter to have a nervous breakdown. Our human called last night and the sitter said everything was GREAT. Yes. We CAN be good.

Like my photo? It’s a shot of me after rolling around on the new dog bed. I think it’s a good look for me. I like to call it my Woofstock look. I gave Frodo a similar look a few weeks ago. He was not as fond of it. I like to style his hair right after my human has groomed him.

Hope everyone is having a good week! We are! And can’t wait to see our guilt gifts in a few days!

Miracles DO happen….

January 14, 20152 Comments

While my human is away, I want to share a little story that happened at Christmas time – a little Christmas miracle. This story isn’t really about us canines. But we were witnesses – so I can tell it. And it is a TRUE story. I meant to share it before – but I got so caught up with all of our gifts – I forgot to tell you this story… so better late than never!

My human has this old watch that belonged to her grandmother. The band is not the original band, and the watch doesn’t even work. It doesn’t wind. It doesn’t tick. She has thought about having it fixed – but never gets around to it. Her mother gave it to her – it was just lying in her mother’s dresser drawer – and her mother said it had been broken forever.

My human wears the watch anyway. She has for years. She thinks it’s pretty, so she puts it on with other jewelry, and doesn’t care that it doesn’t tell time. It has the initials of her grandparents on the back – so she thinks it’s special.

The week before Christmas, she went out with her sister and mother to dinner, and afterward they went for a drive see Christmas lights around the city. She even got out and took photos. Several times. She was wearing the watch.

The next day, she was going out and decided to wear the watch. When she went to put it on, she noticed uh-oh – the crown was missing. Oh no. She looked around the jewelry box, looked on the floor – but realized it could have fallen off ANYWHERE. So now the broken watch was also missing a piece.

On Christmas Eve, her sister and mother picked her up to go to church. As she went to get into the back seat of her sister’s car, she saw something on the seat. The CROWN!!!!! Seriously! What kind of Christmas miracle was THAT?!!!! She was soooo excited. That crown could have been lost anywhere – but there it was – right in front of her. But the miracle didn’t end there…

On Christmas day, my human took the crown and carefully screwed it back onto the watch. Ah. It was all together again. And for some reason, she tried to wind it. The watch could never be wound before. It had been stuck. Well. It wound. There is no second hand on the watch, so my human laughed and thought she would have to look at it in a minute or two and see if the hands moved. You guessed it. They did. The watch is working…

You see Frodo in the picture with the watch, because I tried to eat it. Now THAT would have given the story a VERY different ending!

So that was our little Christmas miracle. It’s not a BIG miracle. And it’s not earth shattering. But it IS cool.

Sometimes miracles happen even when we’re not even asking for them!

And a good news story is always nice to hear – even when it comes a little late!

You catch more flies….

January 12, 2015Leave a Comment

OK. So maybe the bad behavior pictures yesterday WERE a bit much. I think I have been watching too much human TV news. It’s usually pretty negative. I don’t want to TOTALLY scare off my human – so maybe I had better try another strategy…how about some adorable photos. Probably a better idea….


Fun in the sun. Note who got the chair…and who is under it…

Guarding against bunnies…

Helping in the garden

Grooming fun…sort of

Academic shot…

Just plain cute…after I ate something disgusting in the garden…

Obligatory Frodo close-up

Obligatory Paxton close-up…missing our human

The three amigos…being GOOD

So far, we are all behaving pretty well – and the dogsitter has not walked out. So I’m sending the photos to my human to remind her just how wonderful we CAN be. Admittedly, most of the shots are of ME. But then this IS MY blog…All this behavior management and my vacillating between decisions. I TOLD you I would make a good politician!

@ 2015 Linda Wozniak

Enticement…

January 12, 2015Leave a Comment

Haha. Very funny. Oh that human of ours just LOVES to tease us. Well – I guess “tease” isn’t exactly the right word. I guess “entice” might be better. She is trying to entice us to be good while she is away – by sending us photos like the following:

In return, I sent her THESE pictures – of our less-than-desirable behavior.


Making our own opening in the screen door.


Making myself comfortable on the human bed – uninvited

Digging in the mud

Paxton swimming in a pond on the golf course…during golf season…

Illegally relaxing on a wingback chair in the DFZ

Dog bed destruction

Human comforter destruction

We WILL find the bunny while you are away- and you will never see him again…

You can call these photos blackmail. I call it reverse psychology. So, bring us some good guilt gifts…or LOOK what we COULD do. Yup. We canines ARE smart : )

© 2015 Linda Wozniak

Travel guilt

January 11, 2015Leave a Comment

Well. It seems that my human is missing us already. Everywhere she goes she sees dog things- and thinks of us. Look at the photos she sent to me.

Perfect. These are obvious signs of guilt. Which means more guilt presents. Life is good. She’s not here but we still love our sitter. And presents await us when our human gets back. Sweet.

WHERE are you going?

January 10, 2015Leave a Comment

Well. Well. I can’t believe it. My human is going on a little vacation – leaving us canines at home. Seriously. I didn’t see this one coming. Thankfully, though, we DO adore our dogsitter and she loves us soooo much she doesn’t even leave us to go to work! We ARE her work. I don’t think she gets paid enough to look after us. I mean, we are not exactly your average canines. Between Frodo’s incessant barking, Paxton’s kleptomania, and my attitude, she has her work cut out for her. If I Skype with my human, I MAY be able to dash off a blog while she is away– but it would have to be on the OLD laptop since my human is taking the good one with her. So my blog may be quiet for a few days… No doubt I will have lots to tell you about when she gets back. Like about all the great guilt presents she will bring back for us…Hint. Hint.

Have a good week blogettes. I WILL be back!

Work…

January 9, 2015Leave a Comment

This week was our human’s first week back at work after the Christmas holidays. Someone has to work to pay for our dog food. And our toys. And our bed. And our raincoats and boots and bones….Anyway, that’s what she tells us. I wonder what kind of job I could be paid to do….Security guard? Nah. Frodo could do that one. He’s always giving out warning barks. Mind you – he barks for EVERYTHING…. Construction worker? Nah. Again Frodo could do that – he is great at digging. … Truck driver? Nah. Paxton can haul a cart – so he could no doubt drive a truck and do that job. But don’t ask him to drive a taxi. He would always be taking crazy routes. Hmmmmm. What could I do????? Newspaper delivery man? Maybe. I do like to carry the paper. But then I shred it – so that won’t work… Advertising or sales? Maybe. People have been following my suggestions on dog related things to buy so that’s a start…. Model? Maybe. I AM pretty cute. …Clown? Another possibility – for obvious reasons. …Story teller? That would work…but what’s the salary? And does it include a company car? I doubt it. Therapy dog? No – my human says she NEEDS therapy because of me…. Sheep herder? ABSOLUTELY! If I could convince my human to get some sheep…I guess I’ll just continue to lead my life of leisure and allow my human to bring home the cash. WAIT! I have it! Taste tester at a dog treat company!!!!!!!!!!! Now wouldn’t THAT be sweet?! Either that – or I have another one that would be PERFECT for me….a job that totally fits me. I could be a politician!!!! Seriously – I AM sooooo good at telling stories…..now to start my campaign…..

Another Vik-Advisor – the dog bed wins!

January 8, 2015Leave a Comment

So. I guess that money WAS well spent. Yes, I have begun to use the new dog bed. AND – I have NOT been ripping the fleece. I kinda like it! Mind you – I am the ONLY dog using it.

Frodo likes to lie next to it. If he could, he would squish himself UNDER it. It’s that whole hiding thing.

And Paxton – well he hasn’t even attempted to go on it yet. I THINK it’s because he heard some words like “stripped screw” when it was being assembled. Now it wouldn’t be a long fall for him – but I think he just doesn’t want to take the chance if the whole thing collapses. Which is fine by me. I get to keep it all for myself

The bed is a Kuranda bed. kuranda.com We got the aluminum version. Without the fleece covering, the thing would be VERY hard to destroy. My human ordered the fleece covering – which was extra – and my FIRST instinct was to shred it – as Pax and I have done in the past. Actually, if you will recall, the last bed we had lasted less than an hour and it was FRODO who did that job. But after the first day and after the first warning NOT to shred it, we haven’t been tempted. So far.

The bed does take assembly which my human found a BIT of a challenge – but after much tugging and shoving – it is together – and it is VERY sturdy (despite the fact that I joke it isn’t). A size large would be fine for one PON – but we got the Extra Large for two of us. So far it’s like I have my very own King Size Bed. But I know that Frodo will eventually join me. How can he not?

I see that the company has other beds and other covers. Some of those look cool too. The ONLY things I didn’t like: when we put in our postal code, there was no where within a million miles that we could buy one. Well. Maybe not THAT far. But they DID ship to us – and the service was reasonable and quick. The OTHER thing – in the drop down menu that helps you to pick the right size for your breed – there are no PONs listed! The nerve. I need to write to them about this. Seriously.

But despite those two “issues”, this bed is VERY sturdy and APPEARS pretty tough to destroy. So given that – and the fact that I AM using it – I am giving this item 5 PAWS!!!!! Well… maybe 4.5. Since they didn’t list PONs….

New Olympic Sport

January 7, 20151 Comment

I have to tell you, my human is not the most coordinated human on earth. Honestly, it’s a miracle she can walk two of us on leashes at the same time – and stay upright. Mind you there WAS that incident last winter when she DIDN’T stay upright and ended up with a broken wrist – but in general – she can walk two of us. Three dogs is the ultimate challenge. But despite her lack of coordination, I must say, at times, she IS a pretty good acrobat and juggler. Even yesterday…

-29 degrees windchill. Let me tell you – that’s pretty cold. It was dark – 6AM. As Frodo and I walked with our human up the driveway to the road – she BEGGED us to poop quickly. We looked at each other and agreed we SHOULD probably go quickly – that wind was cold even for us. So I pooped first – across the road. And here the real acrobatics begin. Here are Frodo and I, with our noses in the air – smelling and listening for ANY possibility of wildlife. To pick up my poop, my human must remove one of her GIANT mittens and get one of those flimsy poop bags out of her pocket. All while she is still holding onto the two leashes (Frodo and I who are not exactly standing still), holding onto the giant mitten and battling the gale force winds – trying not to lose the poop bag. In the dark. Using a headlamp. Poop number one finally scooped. Mitten is returned to freezing hand. Now. We need for Frodo to do his thing – so she just needs to juggle two leashes and the full poop bag.

Frodo decides it IS cold. So he poops. In the meantime, I have spotted SOMETHING down the road. It could be a rabbit!! Or a fox!! Or a leaf. My human keeps saying over and over again: “Leave it.” She repeats the poop pick-up process, leaving the first full bag on the ground. As she fumbles to tie the second bag, which is blowing in the wind, with her now frozen hand, while still holding onto the leashes one of which I am pulling, Frodo decides to poop again. Aggghhhh. Finally. All poop picked up. Mitten returned to hand. Leashes secured. Full poop bags in hand as well. Let’s head home.

As we turn to go back down the driveway, my human stops to grab the newspaper out of the box. At which point Frodo and I SEE SOMETHING down our driveway. So NOW the REAL juggling begins. Two full poop bags, two leashes which are horizontal because we are PULLING to see what scary creature is in our driveway, one newspaper – all being held by hands with giant mittens. My human keeps repeating over and over: “Stop. Leave it. Stop. Leave it.” As we inch our way down the dark driveway, with our human repeating her mantra, we can now see clearly what the scary creature is. The neighbor’s garbage can. Which we had earlier passed on our way UP the driveway.

After that we trotted peacefully for the door. And now my human got to take Paxton out for his walk. What an invigorating way to start her day! You know, the coordination involved in winter poop pick-up could probably be an Olympic sport . Who do I talk to about it?

Copycat

January 6, 2015Leave a Comment

Just like humans, every one of us canines has our own unique personality and our own way of doing things. Frodo and I have the same parents, but we could not be more different. He’s the loud but reliable guy. I’m the quiet but crazy guy – I’m kind of like a stealth bomber – you don’t see me coming and then I cause explosions!

But also like humans, we canines like to copy each other. We do have our own way of doing things – but every now and then we see another canine doing something, and we start to copy that behavior. And here are a few examples:

· Paxton has always been a quiet guy in the morning. He is happy when he gets up – and is anxious to get the day going – but he has always done so, quietly. Frodo, on the other hand, begins the day by letting the WORLD know he is awake. He barks. And barks. As he waits for our human while she gets dressed and ready to take us out, he barks. He barks while she is getting our food ready. He barks while she is putting on our leashes. And now, Paxton has decided he should copy Frodo – so he also barks. We now have a chorus. It’s CRAZY!!! I just innocently watch the proceedings.

· Frodo, as I have talked about before, likes to “hide” in obscure places – where he THINKS he is not visible – but he clearly IS. He wedges himself in THE most uncomfortable spots – behind tables…chairs…. And now, guess what?! Yours truly has begun to do the same thing! I have copied Frodo and I will try to get to his favorite spots before he does. I’m not sure why I do it. I just saw him doing it – so I do it too.

I just realized that in these examples, both Paxton and I have copied Frodo. Isn’t THAT interesting. Well you know what they say – Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!! Just don’t tell him that I said so. And I guess it’s a good thing that we are copying HIM – IMAGINE our household if everybody copied me….Now THAT would be interesting…