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Hey everybody!!! Special blog today!!! Because…….it’s my birthday!!!! Can you believe it? I’m TWO YEARS OLD?! The Boss says the Terrible Twos cannot be worse than the Wild Ones. He thinks he’s funny.

So let’s see what I have done since my last birthday…

I have continued my classes – and I earned my first title – Rally Novice. I even got one leg of Advanced too!

I have also become a golf ball retriever extraordinaire. We’re hoping this paves the way for some Scentwork or Tracking. As long as the intended goal is finding a golf ball, I’m good.

I’ve had a great year with my “brothers” – respectfully wrestling with the Boss and disrespectfully wresting with the Coyote. It’s every dog for himself in our wrestlemania. And of course it’s all in good fun. Usually.

I’ve become used to grooming and I’m starting to get the hang of photo shoots. I did some awesome Where’s Wojtek shots this year – and we are saving some for a surprise later in the year.

My love bites and ricochets have slowed down. A bit.

I enjoy outings to stores. As long as nobody wants to pet me. I take the aloof description in the PON Standard very seriously.

I still haven’t figured out how to open the carabiners on my crate, but I’m working on it. I’m hoping that my jumping up and down in the crate might cause it to implode. It’s a good possibility.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the past year…

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The Warden said I get to go to the pet store today to get a free treat. I’m hoping I get to pick out a toy too. She said no snuffle balls though.

Anyway – all canines reading this get an extra treat today – on me!!!

Have a good one! Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Hello blog readers. Elroy here. On this – the last Sunday in April – better known as National Pet Parents Day. A day to honor those two leggeds who share their homes with a pet – whether it be a dog, a cat or a Sugar Glider.

Should you wish to know the origins of this day, or how to celebrate it, the following article provides some information.

https://www.nationaldaystoday.com/national-pet-parents-day/

Interesting that all of the “things to do” on this holiday rightfully involve us pets: spend time with your pet (as if you don’t already); gift a pet parent with accessories for your pet (for example, buy you chew toys to keep us pets occupied so you can have time to vacuum our pet hair) ; post on social media (because most pet parents never post pictures of your pets – he said sarcastically) and finally encourage pet parents with kind words like “that training you are doing is really paying off – he only pulls you on leash 50% of the time now!”

In our house we boys have decided that Her Highness should have an extra special day. Instead of getting her up at 6:30, we shall allow her to sleep in until 6:35. The mops have agreed to tone down their incessant barking at meal time, and I have agreed to actually eat my entire breakfast. We MAY allow her to take an afternoon nap, if it is raining. The forecast is calling for sun, so there is no guarantee on that one. We will each share a biscuit with her – assuming she enjoys Fish and sweet potato. We will happily give her a day off from grooming us. The Boss suggested that one. The Imp and I will not wrestle while she is eating so she can actually sit through an entire meal. The Imp has agreed to not ricochet off her for the day, and I will not squeak continually in my begging to play with him. In short, we will treat her like a princess.

Well, we had better start this festive day. I hope all of you pet parents reading this have a fantastic holiday. And I hope you do know just how much we love you…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Howdy blogaroos! Squirmy here on another fantastic Friday. Even though we are supposed to get some rain today. But the rest of the weekend is looking all bright and sun shiny, so we’ll take a few showers today. Well – I will – but the Boss, as usual will be walking like he’s in a funeral procession, zig zagging around puddles.

Speaking of the Boss, we are both certifiable. Yup we got our official CKC certificates for our new titles. I got my nursing certificate – my RN and he got his National Tire Distributors certificate – his NTD. Just joking. I got my Rally Novice and he got his Novice Trick Dog AND his Versatility Novice. We had a huge party to celebrate. Well – maybe more like a couple of treats. Now on to more competitions.

And speaking of competitions – anybody watch Jeopardy lately? Well if you haven’t- you need to know that a Nova Scotia native – Mattea Roach has been winning big time. They say she’s from Toronto, because that’s where she lives now – BUT her hometown is Halifax. The 23 year old has moved into the Top 10 list for most consecutive regular season wins. Last night she won her 13th game! We keep cheering her on – she’s a smarty.

So in honor of Mattea’s winning streak – here are some dog related Jeopardy questions. Good luck!

https://stacker.com/stories/3121/can-you-answer-these-real-jeopardy-questions-about-dogs

I bet Mattea would get most of them correct. The Warden did pretty good, and she thinks if she was on Jeopardy, it would be her best category. Better than the categories of Ancient Egyptian Recipes or Automotive Repair or Children’s Operas or Underwater Physics. I’m not sure those are for real – but I do know she would do OK with dogs. Not so much with cats. Or Sugar Gliders either.

OK. That’s it for now. School this afternoon, so I need to get fluffed up. If you don’t behave well, at least you can look good.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Hey blogaroos. Squirmy here on a wonderful Wednesday. The Warden says that if it wasn’t for me, she wouldn’t know what day it was. She’s a card carrying, perfect example of a retired person. Good thing we get her up early every morning- or she might start to sleep in too.

Yesterday, we almost drove her to the point to looking for a job – just so she could get out of the house…

She was on the phone with a friend, and so the Coyote and I decided to go outside. It was morning, so the grass/mud was still kinda damp.

The Warden was chatting, when she happened to look out the back window. There she saw the Coyote and yours truly doing a jump, chase, dig and roll game. She knocked on the window, and we both raced inside. The moist lawn, combined with tiny pieces of mulched leaves from last fall, mixed with shaggy coats, resulted in two big hairy beasts who looked like camouflaged hunters in a duck blind. We were COVERED in leaf bits. And my feet in particular, were brown from digging. ( NOTE: The photo you see does not depict the extent of the problem because this was taken before the full on roll-a-thon.)

As soon as we ran in the house, huffing and puffing, we both shook ourselves off- sending a shower of leaf bits around the room. Anything that didn’t immediately fly off was either tracked around the room or stuck deep in our coats. I think the Warden may have shed a tear. Likely because the sight of us was so endearing. It brought tears to her eyes.

The Warden didn’t know where to begin. No point in vacuuming first. She had to go to the source first.

She whisked yours truly into the salon in the garage. She heaved me up and plopped me in the tub. She proceeded to rinse my feet, leaving a brown stained tub. Then she lifted me out and plopped me on the grooming table. She set the jet force engine dryer on rocket speed, and blew out bits of leaves. And any grooming bottles standing in the way. Who knew how deep those little bits could go in one’s coat?!

Next it was the Coyote’s turn. He hid. But standing behind a dining room chair isn’t very secretive. The Warden lassoed him and invited him into the salon.

His feet weren’t too muddy, because it was yours truly doing the lion’s share of the excavation work. So he just got the blow out job. And then, just for good measure, she dremeled his nails.

Next on the agenda was vacuuming. But where to put us? She feared if she put us outside, we would again do the drop and roll game. So that was out of the question. She sequestered us in the front hall. She used her almighty stick vacuum- and had to empty it three times. Three times!!! It was a new leaf rolling record. Score!

It wasn’t long after that that the rain started. Combined with high winds. We had no desire to go out and get into the leaves again. At least not in the rain.

There’s sunshine in the forecast today. The Watden has mixed feelings about it. She’s just hoping the high winds from yesterday blew all the leaf bits away, A girl can always dream.

Time for morning constitutionals. Let’s see what I can get into today…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Howdy blogaroos! Happy Dyngus Day! Also known as Easter Monday. And Post-Sugar Overload Day. OK I made up the last one.

We’ve talked about Dyngus Day before – but if you’re new here, and you’re not Polish – here’s what you’re missing:

https://www.dyngusday.com/our-story

The Warden grew up in Buffalo – so she likes to give her hometown a plug for this dancing, singing, eating, alcohol-infused celebration. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the pussywillow, squirt gun tradition thing. To me, a squirt gun doesn’t symbolize Dyngus Day. Here it’s an ever-ready munition to stop over-the-top, beyond normal, incessant PON barking. Things have to be pretty bad for the squirt gun to be brought out – but trust me- it works. For me anyway.

Meanwhile here at the homestead, we had a quiet Easter Day. And guess what? The Easter bunny brought us surprises! Which we had for less than 5 minutes…

Yup – another epic toy failure. So the Warden knows that we like our snuffle mats at meal time. It’s a way to get us PONs to actually eat our meals a bit more slowly. Sometimes she uses one with the Coyote but the success rate is 50-50. I mean getting him to eat from a bowl is accomplishment enough. No point in making the task more challenging.

Anyway, with the success of the mats, the Warden thought MAYBE we might enjoy snuffle balls. Same concept as the mat, but in round shape. The treats are hidden in the folds of the fabric. Snuffle balls are touted as “enrichment tools” for us canines – by making us use our noses to find the treats. Brilliant. And even more brilliant, a local Service Dog Training organization was selling them to support their work:

https://k9pad.ca/

Perfect – the “Easter bunny” could bring each of us a ball for Easter.

The Warden was so excited yesterday morning. She loaded the balls with treats and after some wrangling, managed to get the above photo before we could check out our Easter surprise. When she got the photo, she said “free” and all heck broke loose. Well – with us PONs anyway. The Boss grabbed one and proudly walked laps around the dining room table with it. Yours truly grabbed two balls and took off. The Warden took one away from me and gave it to the Coyote, who just stared at it. He had zero interest in it. The Boss continued his proud march, while yours truly immediately figured that the fastest way to get those treats was to put two paws on that ball and simply shred the fabric. “No” the Warden shouted!!!!!! Which made me pull faster.

At the same time, the Boss finally figured out there were treats in there – and he saw my technique. He was just about to do the same, when the Warden wooshed through grabbing snuffle balls as quickly as possible. What WAS she thinking when she purchased them? She knows stuffed toys and items with fabric don’t stand a chance in this house. Sure the mats work, but she does have to put them away after mealtime or there have been attempts to shred them as well. After she took them, she shook hard to get some of the treats out and we immediately grabbed the free treasures.

I’m sure there are civilized dogs who enjoy and can use snuffle balls in a non-destructive way. If you happen to know any, we have two for sale – at a discounted price. We have a third one, but it’s clearly been used. Or maybe the correct word is abused. We’ll keep that one as a reminder about destructible toys.

Good thing I’m cute.

Happy Dyngus Day!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Howdy blogaroos! Happy Easter! OK I’m a day early – but I just couldn’t WAIT to share our Easter photos with you! Because….. we got new ears- and they are SO lifelike. Cough. Cough. I mean don’t they just look like our very own ears? Except on the Coyote. And no matter WHAT color his ears are, he’s not happy. The Warden was able to get him to smile when he did his solo shots, although I’m thinking maybe she drugged him or something….

He started off with the pitiful-call-Animal-Control-abused-dog photo…

But then he suddenly got kinda spooky happy…Remember that character in the movie the Shining. He had a weird smile too…

He also kinda looks like someone at a party who doesn’t get the joke someone tells, but he smiles anyway.

Then he got bored…

And then he smiled again….I’m telling ya, he must have been drugged.

As for yours truly, I wasn’t really in a bunny ear mood…

First I was half cranky-half sleepy…

Then I gave The Warden the side eye look…

Here’s a total eye roll…

Then we have this one as I whipped my ears off…

And finally a not bad one…

It’s hard to find a bad shot of the Boss – he even looks cute in his serious one…

The group shot was the typical gong show. I’m sure everyone in a 5km radius could hear the Warden making loud weird noises and repeating 500 times “WOJTEK SIT!!!” When it comes to these group things, every ounce of obedience training that I have goes right out the window. It’s the combo of the enticing toys and treats and the weird noises topped off with stupid headgear that winds me up like a terrier at a barn hunt. Where the rats are loose…

The first photo is always a winner…

I’m trying to figure out how to escape, the Coyote is looking his total joyful self, and even the poser dog is looking the wrong way.

Here I’m getting into the drill, the Coyote is still refusing to look at the camera and the Boss clearly likes the treats that are being freely distributed.

Here’s me removing my ears…

Annnnnd attempting to eat them…

This one would have been OK, but the Boss is still enjoying the treats. Too much. Plus I think his ears are shifting forward. That’s common during these shoots. Meanwhile the Coyote won’t even take a treat so I try to get his too…prompting another round of “WOJTEK SIT.”

Out of 583 taken, this is probably the best.

The Coyote ALMOST looks like he’s smirking. Better than the depressed look. And kinda better than the spooky smile. That one still has me kinda freaked out…

Anyway, those are our ear shots for this year. Have a very Happy Easter- canines don’t eat any chocolate. But bunny balls you find in the lawn are fine.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Hey. Blog people. Elroy here for a change. The chill guy in the household. Unless I’m off leash…

So I have a story about wildlife, and possibly why the dogs in this household are often a bit more scrambled than eggs in an omelet. It’s because of the woman we live with.

So the other morning, Her Highness and I took a walk to the lake. The mops meanwhile were throwing themselves at the door and screaming- even though they had both already been out for walks. Nuttier than squirrels who ate some fermented peanuts. Assuming peanuts ferment.

Anyway as we were walking through the woods and approaching the water, we could hear the telltale sound of the giant avian poop machines. Geese. When we got to the water, we could actually see them quite a distance away. And they’re making their honking gonking racket shouting out for comrades to join them. They were hanging out at the edge of the water where you see the red lines. If you look closely, you can see them swimming toward the camera.

And the reason they are swimming toward the camera? For some unknown reason, Her Highness decided to try her attempt at a goose call. No she didn’t have an actual call device. She just starts honking. This was my reaction…

I thought she lost it. However, the geese must have thought otherwise- because they got all quiet and swam toward the sound of the goose wannabe. They literally came to her call. Unlike yours truly. Hey. I’m no goose.

It’s sorta hard to see them, but I think in this photo they are discussing whether the mysterious hidden goose has some vocal disorder. She sounds kinda hoarse.

Her Highness wanted to entice them closer but then wondered if they might get angry. Geese can get cranky apparently. Personally, I doubt they were much of a threat, but this is the same woman who worried that diving loons would go under her kayak and tip her over. She has an overly weird respect for wildlife.

Meanwhile, the wildlife in the house clearly recognized that the weird goose sound was Her Highness and they were going nutso. She probably has used the sound during one of our photo shoots to get our ears up. Note it still didn’t work in my photo.

Anyway, Her Highness had an appointment, so we didn’t get to see if the honkers would go over that little bit of land to come closer.

Yesterday they weren’t around at all. Probably flying around looking for the weird goose thinking it sent out a distress call.

Otherwise, life is cool. Walks, digging holes, wrestling with the shark, eating the odd biscuit, lounging….can’t complain about my world. Although….Easter IS this Sunday….which usually spells rabbit ears….Can anyone pick me up for a few days? I won’t even eat much. I never do.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Howdy blogaroos. Squirmy here on another terrific Tuesday. I actually missed writing yesterday- which was National Pet Day. Not sure how I missed it. We didn’t even have a cake. The Warden is getting slack.

Anyway, while I was reading about National Pet Day, I decided to see what kinds of pets people have if they’re not owned by THE best pet- a dog. OK. OK. I know I’m biased. And yes, cats are pets too. It looks like dogs outnumber cats in the US – but not by a huge percentage. I’m not sure about worldwide statistics. But my big question was, if someone doesn’t have a dog or cat, what do they have? USA Today got some info from Google looking at the pets that were searched for most often in each state. The most common pets searched for (if we don’t count dogs and cats) were chinchillas (like in Maine and New Hampshire where it’s understandable because of the climate), Guinea pigs (which were searched for across the country), and Bearded Dragons (which were searched for primarily in the South). Like what does one DO with a Bearded Dragon? Do they fetch? Act as guards? Like to cuddle? Right up there with snakes for me. Although snakes didn’t make the list. Or fish. Which is weird. One state and only one state searched for Hamsters- New Mexico. I have no idea why. But the most interesting- in my mind was the most searched for pets in Colorado and Montana. Elk? Bison? Cattle? Nope. Guess what people searched for the most. A Sugar Glider. Yup. Don’t know what it is? I didn’t. It’s a nocturnal gliding possum- in the marsupial family . They can’t be housebroken, need to live in a cage, and are frequently frightened- and when that happens, they bite. Sweet little things. I’ve met my match. Where can I get one?

So what else is new? Oh yeah – my beauty pageant class. The good news – I looked great. My coat was perfect. The bad news? I don’t appreciate someone touching my privates. And I showed a little teeny weeny bit of lip while I was being examined. Seriously. Who wants a stranger touching my orbs? And who knew one was not supposed to show my opinion about the probe. It was JUST a little lip. OK and maybe a bit of a grumble. Anyway, the Warden has decided we need a LOT more work before we go into any beauty pageant ring. I thought you just needed to LOOK nice. Nobody said I had to ACT nice too. Hey, I’m shy. What can I say? I bet most two leggeds would grumble if a stranger touched their private parts. Just keep that in mind.

Otherwise, I jumped on the judge happily when I was supposed to stop and look pretty, I didn’t bug the other dogs, and I stood like a statue – except for the probe part. So it wasn’t a total disaster. I’ll stick with obedience and rally for the time being.

So that’s the news from our corner of the world. Oh wait – I got my first ever paycheck !!! Yup. The Warden gave some of my hard hunted golf balls to a friend- and I was rewarded with a bag of treats! Yee haw! Payday!

Speaking of which – almost time to go hunting!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Happy Sunday blogaroos. Squirmy here for your entertainment today. Do you know what day it is? Why it’s National Hug Your Dog Day. But WAIT! Before you begin putting a bear hug on your canine kid, you might want to read the following:

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/should-you-give-your-dog-hugs/

Yeah- not all of us canines like hugs. I’m OK with it. But obviously only hugs from the Warden. The Boss is OK, but he’s not a super huggy kinda guy. And again – only with the Warden. The Coyote doesn’t mind hugging at all. And honestly, probably anybody could hug him. He’s so often paying attention to something else, he probably wouldn’t notice someone hugging him.

I had class on Friday and I was OK. Didn’t bark at, bite or ricochet off anyone- canine or human so that’s always a good thing. I even stood still for the “stand for exam” exercise- and let another human pat me on the head. Three times. First time I never moved my feet. It may not sound like a big deal – but trust me – it is.

Today the Warden is getting together with some of her dog show peeps, and I’m going along. Apparently we are going to practice beauty pageant stuff. I haven’t done that stuff in a LONG time. We’ll see if all my obedience training carries over to beauty pageant stuff. In theory, it’s easier because you basically run around a ring and stand for treats. You also need to let a judge examine you. The Warden said that in my case, the exam should include a psychological test. She thinks she’s funny. We’ll see how this goes…

What else… Oh. The Boss is currently suffering from a goopy ear – thanks to yours truly. I just cannot resist licking his ears. Well- one in particular. So then it gets all goopy and red and he scratches it and makes it worse and the Warden has to clean it out and put in drops while wrestling with him while he’s acting like a caffeinated eel. I know. I know. I shouldn’t lick his ears. But I actually don’t limit my licking to his ears. I do his whole head. I consider my actions a sign of respect. The Warden says I’m a pest. She needs to lighten up. Says the guy who doesn’t need to put ear drops in a wild animal…

OK. Time to get some brushing before we head to beauty pageant practice. All I care about is that she brings good treats.

Oh – and go hug your dog. If your dog wants you to. If not, treats are always appreciated….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.

Hi blogaroos! Squirmy here on another fabulous Friday. Friday is my favorite day of the week because I go to school on Fridays. And that means treat-a-thon for an hour. Yee haw. When we practice at home, we do short little lessons of 20 minutes. Sometimes more than once a day. Well…actually the Warden asks me to do stuff all day long, like sit stays while waiting for a meal, recalls outside and even some heelwork while out on our constitutionals. But I do enjoy our concentrated class time. Plus we learn new stuff each week.

And speaking of learning things, the Warden took a little video yesterday to show you my hunting skills. Keep in mind that I wasn’t taught this – I picked it up on my own. And when I come back from the hunt, I sit and get a bunch of treats. Is it any wonder I love this game? You won’t be able to see me at first – but you’ll be able to hear me – my cow bell gives me away. I’m busy sniffing around. You’ll also hear another noise – the Warden accidentally dropped the bag of 8 balls I had already found.

https://youtube.com/shorts/z-KB3hT246Q?feature=share

Now that the course is open for the season, there are LOTS of balls in the woods. The Warden has to keep me on leash for at least half of our walk, because I keep running back into the woods to find more balls! Did I mention that I LOVE this game!

Hey – do you know what “holiday” it is today? Why it’s Dog Farting Awareness Day. Like you’re not aware of the problem when it happens. Anyway, we decided not to share any farting dog videos, but rather a more informative video about how to treat this problem if it frequently happens with your dog.

https://youtu.be/YWR4Et8Ufj8

So stay out of the beans and lentils today and eat your meals slowly. And no eating rotten garbage. Unless you prefer your time alone.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.