Blog Feed

Howdy blogaroos! Squirmy Wormy here. And it’s a sad day in Wormiville. Our company is going home to Nouveauland. Yes. The party is over.

They were here for almost 3 weeks. And that’s pretty miraculous because I’m sure by Day 2 they had had enough of me. But they persevered.

And what did I learn about having guests? OK – they weren’t really guests – they are family, but still, since they were visiting, so I’ll call them guests. Here’s my list about what I learned….

1. Some guests like to sleep in after 6AM. Really. I tried to be quiet in the morning so they could sleep. But Frodo didn’t care. He felt it was critical to sing his good morning song – and to encourage them to get up early and to make the most of the day. Who am I kidding? I sang along…

2. Guests do not REALLY appreciate you ricocheting off them. Although by the end of their stay I had trained them to turn sideways when they saw me coming. They got pretty good at it!

3. Guests do not really want you to take their shoes and run away with them. Especially outside.

4. It is easy to make guests laugh by running repeatedly around the dining room table while holding a toy and grunting like a pig. Some humans are easily entertained. And I LOVE entertaining.

5. If guests are athletic, you get to go for EXTRA walks. And you can help them work on their bicep muscles by pulling like crazy. Especially when you spot a deer before they do…

6. If you stare at guests long enough, they will pet you and sometimes will give you treats. Who can resist our longing, starving expressions?

7. If they work on projects, we canines make EXCELLENT supervisors. Unless the projects involve ladders, or sharp tools. Then we must supervise from the confines of our crate. At least I have to….

8. Guests prefer NOT to be bit while playing. They are not dogs. They don’t appreciate roughhousing. So carry a toy when you feel the need to bite a guest.

9. Guests can be taught to play fetch. Simply keep poking them with a fetch toy, and they’ll play!

We are going to miss Susan and Keith – LOTS. It was great having other humans to torment besides My Enforcer. Plus now My Enforcer will be telling US stories again. And we’ll have to listen and appear interested. We do hope they come back again – soon.

We wish them safe travels – and good luck catching that fairy. Yeah – I know that’s not how you spell it – but I like the image of catching a fairy better than catching a big boat.

Until they come back again, we’ll send them them off with big licks and waggy tails. And lots of love…

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

Salutations blog readers. Frodo here today. It only makes sense that yours truly should be writing the blog today, on this – Museum Lover’s Day. Why should I be writing on a rather educationally based “holiday?” The alternative writer would be a dog whose primary interest is in running in circles or ricocheting off inanimate objects AND animate beings. The other dog would rather stare at nothing or eat grass than partake in a cultural activity. So I rest my case as to why I am the designated author today.

Given the current COVID restrictions in many places which do not allow museum visits, I thought that a few virtual options would be more apropos.

For anyone who loves canines, the obvious first choice in museums would be the American Museum of the Dog, now located (once again) in New York City. Relax and take a few minutes to do a virtual visit:

https://museumofthedog.org/uploads/pdfs/Permanent_collection_virtual_tour.pdf

If you prefer to visit a museum that does not JUST feature canine art (I don’t know why, but some might), you may wish to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art – also in the Big Apple. I have done a search of dog paintings in that famous landmark, and have come up with a few hundred works. Now as you scroll through, you will note that the search yielded a few paintings without dogs. Their error. But the majority DO feature my canine cousins.

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search#!?q=dog&offset=0&perPage=100&sortBy=Relevance&material=Paintings

I must confess, I’m not a fan of the painting The Dog Killer, for obvious reasons. I prefer works like Baby with Rattle and Dog. I also enjoy many of the pastoral landscapes depicting us canines at work and play. And I was surprised to see the MANY religious paintings in which we appear. Take some time to scroll through the variety of works. I think you shall find it interesting.

I was able to search for dog paintings in the National Gallery in London, with over 100 results and I also searched the Louvre in Paris. Should you find interesting examples at a favorite museum, please feel free to share them. I’m a museum aficionado.

Meanwhile, here the humans continue to do home projects. As if the screen debacle wasn’t enough. Yesterday saw a plumbing “incident” that resulted in a geyser. The entertainment is ongoing. Yet despite the unique approaches toward some of their tasks, a number of projects have been completed successfully. Meanwhile , we canines watch and roll our eyes. Or try to help out…

The imp is particularly intrigued by all these projects. We didn’t include the photo where he had to be lifted out of the worksite because he refused to move….

Well we’ll see what they have planned for today. While I do virtual museum tours….

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

Hey bloggers. Elroy here. Finally I get to write something. The imp, also known as the DOC (Director of Chaos), is busy running around the dining room table. Making these weird medium pitched grunting sounds as he does so. He’s something else. One day we counted him going around more than 10 times. And then we lost count. We got dizzy just from watching him.

He and Her Highness and her sister took him for a walk on the golf course yesterday morning. They let him off leash for a short while, in the hopes that he would run off some energy. That guy would have to run to Vancouver, and he still wouldn’t be tired. For those not familiar with Canadian geography, Vancouver is clear across the country. Like almost 5800km. Or around 3600 miles. Anyway at one point, he disappeared into the trees. Her Highness called him and he didn’t immediately come. Which is surprisingly odd for him. She called again. No DOC. And just as she was about to walk toward the area where he disappeared, he raced out of the woods. Smiling. And with something very evident in his mouth. He was proudly racing toward Her Highness with his prize – a bright pink golf ball he found in the woods. Which he promptly deposited at her feet. He’s a smart DOC.

Meanwhile, yours truly had a surprise on the course the other morning as well. But in my case, I wasn’t off leash. I’m never off leash…

Anyway, Sue thought she saw something in the distance but it disappeared. She saw movement, but didn’t know what it was. We all kept walking. And then suddenly, behind a hill , two heads popped up…

She snapped the shot while Her Highness held onto yours truly with an iron grip. I was pretty intrigued. We watched them and they watched us for about 2 minutes. Then they took off in the woods. I would have been very interested to join them, if I wasn’t on a leash. Still – it was fun to see them.

So that’s the major news here from our morning constitutionals. We can now add deer to our growing list of wildlife which so far includes ducks, geese, porcupine, lots of birds including woodpeckers, and LOADS of bunnies. I want to rename our road Noah’s place. Get it? I crack myself up. OK. Gotta motor.

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

Hey hey hey everybody! Squirmy here! With another installment of dogs gone crazy. Welcome.

So. What’s new here? Oh. Oh. I know. A human project! You know those projects that you look at and say should take 30 minutes? And they are SO simple? But they end up involving three people, two trips to Home Depot, an assortment of tools and parts none of which exactly work for your project, and HOURS OF FRUSTRATION? Yup. That was our house on Thursday. And the project? The replacement of the screen in our patio door because yours truly took an already torn screen (that was made by other canines into a “dog door”) and TOTALLY shredded it so it looked like wire spaghetti. Now the original door renovation by “other dogs” was not totally bad as it actually flapped in and out and it DID keep the bugs out. But the handiwork, make that paw-diwork, of yours truly, left a screen that would essentially allow an eagle to fly in our house. Yup. I made a mess. And we know that the blackflies will soon be here – so we needed to fix the problem.

So. My Enforcer, Sue and Keith decided to replace the screen. A simple task. Right? Yeah not so much. One side of the screen frame came off the track and the other was STUCK. They pulled. They tugged. They used an assortment of tools to get the door off the track. They watched YouTube videos. Nothing worked. Meanwhile, the Boss and the Coyote just watched- while yours truly was sequestered in my crate. Probably because the combo of me and humans on ladders would not be a good idea. Anyway, at some point they got the door off. There was much rejoicing. They replaced the screen material and left part unattached so we canines would still have a dog door. How thoughtful of them. The Coyote decided to check it out before the door went back up.

But then they tried to get the thing back up. Well. The same part that would not come off in the beginning, would now not go on. After many interesting words- they basically propped the thing up partly in the track and gave up for the night.

The next morning, My Enforcer opened the glass door, not thinking about the precarious screen. Yours truly marched in and out before she could stop me. I pushed the screen material in and out – just the way it was intended. My Enforcer knew they needed to totally secure the door in track, but was happy to see me using it the way it was intended. Great. Except after about the 6th round trip, I decided to grab the screen material. She shouted “noooooo” as I attempted to take out a hunk of screen and again create my spaghetti screen art. Thankfully she stopped me before I did any damage and she sprayed that dreadful pepper spray stuff on the screen – the stuff that keeps me from chewing.

So we’re still waiting for the door to work right on the track. It won’t slide. So right now we canines can go in and out but the humans can’t. Not without bending over and going through the part that’s been left open for us dogs. How funny is THAT?

The other news is that today is National Purebred Dog Day. Now let me begin by saying that ANY dog can be a wonderful companion and family member and dogs in shelters deserve great homes too. There is nothing wrong with adopting. Just as there is nothing wrong with getting a well-bred purebred, and supporting heritage breeders. Here’s a link that talks about some of the benefits of living with a purebred dog….

https://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/1094363/why-i-choose-purebred-dogs/amp/

That’s a great article from a personal view. And this article goes even more deeply into why purebred dogs are so very important, and why heritage breeding is critical in preventing the extinction of dog breeds:

https://www.instituteofcaninebiology.org/blog/a-call-for-preservation-breeding

So today we celebrate us purebreds. It is our day. Mind you, in this house, every day is our day. But today is extra special. Because we are real treasures. Even when we destroy screen doors….

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

Howdy blogaroos. Squirmy here. In our home bound but still active household. The humans are staying close to home which results in more walks for us canines every day! Gotta like that!

So today I wasn’t sure what to write about, but Frodo gave me an idea. He’s a chatty guy – and he always has an opinion and something to say. Always. Like I mean ALL the time. He shouts out orders and it’s pretty clear what he wants. At meal time, he repeatedly tells My Enforcer to speed things up. Every meal. Every day. He also barks and shouts at me if I’m bugging him too much. And his message is loud and clear.

So he thinks it’s pretty funny that people have started experimenting with these talking board things, where a dog pushes buttons to say words aloud in order to form basic sentences. I think we may have even written a blog about it before. Frodo sees no point in it. Why take the time to press words when his point is already well made?

My Enforcer is a bit skeptical about it and it appears that there are others who also question our canine ability to use language with these devices. It’s pretty clear that we canines DO communicate in a variety of ways – for example with the use of different kinds of barks. I mean I have a very different “come on Coyote let’s play” bark than my “it’s a delivery guy and I must protect our home at all costs” bark. And we DO understand many words. The dog who was a master at that was Chaser, a border collie who knew like a thousand words. But do we want to put words into sentences to communicate? My Enforcer says she is doubtful. We dogs can be trained to do lots of things – and we can certainly learn patterns – but whether we have the intent to use the words in the same way as humans is the big question.

This article examines the “sentence talking dog” idea. It has links to some videos of Bunny, a sheepdog cross who reportedly uses her device to communicate needs and wants…

https://neurosciencenews.com/animal-communication-18280/

So the jury is out on whether we communicate in sentences like humans. YES – we absolutely communicate. But in grammatical sentences? Not so sure.

After watching the videos we got to thinking. We know how stubborn…er…determined we PONs can be. So can you imagine what it would be like if we were using one of these devices AND we did use language in the same way as humans? It would probably sound like this: “I want out. Now. Throw the ball. Now. Isn’t it time for supper? Now. The treat jar is getting low. Get away from me with that brush. Time for another walk. Now. I hear birds. Time to get up. Now. Somebody stole the bread off the counter. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me…”

On the flip side, we have the Coyote, whose comments would be more like this: “Sit? What’s that? Hey – a bird. Hey- a bunny. Hey – a leaf. Can I hug you? Put the camera away. Treat? Nah I’m good.”

What a nightmare it could be if we did have one of those things. My Enforcer said we are NOT getting one. To begin with, it’s highly likely that we (or at least yours truly) would try to rip the buttons right off the board anyway.

So those are my thoughts for the day. If anyone is using one of those things, let us know. And we’re curious about what you think. One very good thing about the device would be how it does stimulate our minds – and does involve lots of work with our humans. And really, that alone may be reason enough to use one. Mind you, I think I would rather play fetch….

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

Howdy doody blogaroos! Squirmy Wormy here. I survived my first birthday celebration with treats and cake and dancing and drinking and games and a band and…OK. Some of that is a bit of an exaggeration. But it still was fun! And thank you for all the great birthday messages!!! I heard from people all over the world! How COOL is that?! I can’t wait to be 2!

What else is new? Oh yeah. Wildlife. It seems Spring has sprung in full force and all the woodland creatures are emerging. The bunnies have changed from white back to brown – and I hate to admit this, but sometimes I don’t even see them! Like here where I am literally less than 10 feet from Peter Cottontail, and I didn’t even notice him!! Can you see him?!

My Enforcer was pretty surprised that I missed him.

On the other hand, she was VERY, VERY happy that I missed a different critter the other day. While I was busy sniffing around (on leash) trying to find THE best place to poop, My Enforcer and her sister saw something crossing the road not far from us at all. A smallish, weird prickly fella. They are called porcupines. I never even saw him, because I was in poop exploring mode. And I didn’t notice him when he walked right down our driveway. My Enforcer said he was a young guy – the adult porcupines are much bigger. She said it would NOT be a good idea to meet up with him. So no more running around our property off leash early in the morning or at dusk. I guess that’s when those guys usually like to get out. Hey – do porcupines get ticks? Just wondering. Here’s some basic porcupine info, in case you’re ever on Jeopardy and the topic is the walking pincushions.

https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/animal-facts-porcupine

So I didn’t chase the porcupine BUT – and here’s a big but- I DID attempt to be a sporting dog the other morning by flushing a pheasant!!! I was actually off leash and went in the bush and kaboom- out came a big pheasant who caused both My Enforcer and her sister to jump. That was pretty cool. I’ve also learned to chase geese off the golf course , but I’m only allowed to do it if there are two or less. They always fly away. I try it with robins too – but they also fly away. Once they take flight, I give up. And I DO run back to My Enforcer when called. I know that’s hard to believe. Although, sometimes I do attempt to grab goose poop on the way back. It’s almost as good as bunny poop.

Other than that, I’ve been busy ricocheting off our guests, The Coyote and My Enforcer. Good times. Because of the COVID, the humans can’t travel around much which suits us canines just fine.

Time to get everybody up for walks…and another episode of Wild Kingdom. Inside and outside our home.

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

Hey hey hey blogaroos! Squirmy here! Happy Sunday! And happy April 25!! Which is a BIG day!!!! It’s my first birthday!!! Yippeeee! I’m a big boy now!

The other guys said I’m no longer a puppy. Although that’s somewhat debatable as I still ACT like a puppy. And believe it or not, I still come by the nickname Shaggy Shark quite honestly. Yup. I still haven’t grown out of my nipping and attack mode – which I have pretty much been doing since I was a little guy. The only difference now is that my teeth are less sharp….

So it’s been quite a year. I left my mother and moved to a whole other country! So I speak and understand both American and Canadian. I came to Canada’s Ocean Playground and met my two canine siblings – who tolerate my crazy behavior VERY well. And I’ve learned a lot from both of them. Frodo (The Boss) has taught me how to bark incessantly. He has also shown me how to get LOTS of treats when My Enforcer is trying to “train” me. Pretend you don’t understand. You get more treats that way. Elroy (The Coyote) has shown me how to watch birds, and bunnies and blowing leaves. He’s fun to play with and he’s pretty tolerant of my biting. Although he does let me know when he’s had enough. Even he has his limits.

What else have I learned… oh- if you sit and wait while your food is being served, you get it more quickly than if you jump around. I’ve learned how to behave in my rally classes – because that’s where you get the REALLY good treats. I’ve learned to play fetch and Find The Bunny – and I’m good at both. At least I think so. I’ve learned to come when called because you get really good treats. I’ve learned to attack the vacuum cleaner, and to hide when I see bags from the Dollar Store. Which usually mean some kind of weird attire. That being said, I AM following the Boss’s lead on posing. It’s an easy gig – look at the camera and you get a treat. I’m getting prettying good at it.

What else have I learned…oh – I’m good at countersurfing AND I can ricochet off inanimate objects as well as living beings like humans and other dogs. Now mind you, neither of these skills are highly rewarded. But still – I can do stuff. Oh. And I’m pretty easy to groom.

I still don’t lift my leg to pee, but I like to sniff pee -AND I have found that bunny balls are delectable.

I can escape from a crate with three latches – but I still haven’t figured out carabiners. Yet.

I’ll eat almost anything- but I’m still not fussy about lettuce. But new grass – that’s awesome!!!

I’m officially a Pandemic Puppy. That explains some of my wild behavior. At least that’s my excuse!

Oh … oh….and one more thing – I love to do Zoomies around the dining room table EVERY single morning. Because I wake up in a joyful mood each day – and I’m just SO excited to see what the day will hold! It’s a fun way to start the day!

So I’ve had a great first year. Thanks for reading about my adventures- I look forward to sharing more with you – hopefully for many years to come!! Here are some highlights from my first year!

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

Greetings readers. Frodo here on this the 23rd of April – which according to my calendar, is an occasion called World Book Night. It is, according to my sources, a day to encourage and inspire others to read more. Sounds like a brilliant idea.

I found this link to inspire you with a host of dog books. See how many you have read:

https://www.rover.com/blog/best-new-dog-books-novels/?amp

Her Highness refuses to read any books where the canine protagonist dies. She just cannot do it. I feel the same way when I read books about humans.

In other news, none of our guests has needed to visit an Emergency Room because of the imp. Yet. They are learning to hold their stance when the freight train is about to ricochet off of them. We have all enjoyed the extra walks we have had since they have been here.

Her Highness survived her COVID vaccine, and despite a sore arm, had no noticeable side effects. While that is good COVID news, our happy hamlet has had an increase in cases which is not good news. The uptick in cases has resulted in a significant lockdown in a variety of human activities. Again.

And speaking of ticks, the little parasitic arachnids have awakened from their winter slumber and are out in full force. The imp had a live bloodsucker crawling on his coat the other day, promoting a swift removal by Her Highness. The tick went to tick heaven, if there is such a place, after meeting his demise with a large mallet in the garage. I believe the word is overkill, but there is no question that the tick was dead.

Until Her Highness decides whether she is brave enough to give us one of the tick medications, we are all sporting bandannas when we go out, sprayed with a natural repellent. We all smell like walking citronella candles. So far, the aroma therapy appears to be working. Time will tell…

Speaking of walks, it is about that time. We must get our charges moving. Good thing they are not allergic to citronella…

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

Hey blogees. Elroy here today to update you on our household news and to provide you with a history lesson. Yeah. I know when you hear history and academia, you don’t think of yours truly. But this is an interesting story – so I’m happy to share it.

First- news on the home front. Guests are still here – and yours truly actually has the official title of “good dog.” I know. I know. Hard to believe. But the Ricocheting Ranger has rightfully earned the “bad dog” title. It feels good to have passed that moniker on to him. He’s nutso. And I look like a saint. Lovin’ my new status.

All three of us canines actually went for a walk the other night – because we have three humans. I actually got to do some running – and didn’t pull my charge into the ditch. How cool was that?!

We’re getting lots of good exercise- and so are the humans. It’s a win-win all around.

In other news, today is the birthday of John Muir. Not the news anchor from ABC news – the OTHER John Muir. The guy who was a Scottish-American conservationist and naturalist – who co-founded the Sierra Club, and is called by some the “Father of the National Parks.” He lived from 1838-1914, and was an environmentalist who loved the wilderness and sought to preserve wild spaces. And that’s all nice, but what I found interesting was a story he wrote about an adventure in Alaska – with a dog. And the dog wasn’t even his! Here’s a summary of the story which is considered a true dog classic. I hope you’ll enjoy the story of Stickeen as much as we did. Sounds like Stickeen was one smart dog. Must have been part Picard. Stop laughing.

https://americacomesalive.com/john-muirs-dog-stickeen/

Today Her Highness goes to get her Rabies shot. Wait. The Boss said it’s not RABIES. It’s her first COVID shot. Thank goodness. Although she still has to wear a mask when she goes out, she can stop wearing it with us canines at home. Just kidding. That was my attempt at humor. I’m clearly hilarious.

OK. Time to take the humans for their walks. Hope y’all have a super duper day.

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

Hey blogaroos!!! Squirmy here. And guess what?! You give up! We have COMPANY!!!! My Enforcer’s sister, Susan and her beau, Keith are here!!!! All the way from Nouveauland. Wait. The Boss said I’m wrong. Make that Newfoundland. Close enough.

Anyway, they drove and saw mooses and drove and saw washed out roads and drove and took a fairy (I’m not sure how they caught one – but that’s what they said) and they drove some more. And they finally got here just after My Enforcer put the vacuum away. For the third time.

Wait. The Boss said I have some things wrong again. He said it’s not mooses. So it must be meese. It’s not mice. A moose is way bigger than a mouse. Plus the Coyote said that’s not the kind of fairy they caught. Like not like Tinkerbell. No. It’s a ferry boat. Good thing it wasn’t the Titanic.

Anyway, I gave them my big dog ferocious bark when they arrived. I was in my kennel, the Coyote was sequestered behind a gate in the bedroom- and get this- The Boss was FREE. I have a feeling that it MAY have something to do with behavior. I mean the Coyote does get excited and jumps on people when they first arrive. And I ricochet off them. So My Enforcer kept us sequestered just for while they were first coming in and bringing in their suitcases. After that they were fair game. Here the Coyote and I are tag teaming. He had jumped on Susan from behind and then I jumped on her lap. She was squished. It was great fun. For us anyway.

We really like having them here – and it has nothing to do with the fact that they brought us some super yummy treats. Yesterday, Susan went on the morning walks with us – and get this one – I went with the Coyote for a change. We got to show Susan how we both enjoy climbing on rocks. Note we are both on leash….

Then The Boss and I showed them around our property. Well – with My Enforcer. It’s not like they haven’t been here before – but it’s been awhile. We were off leash. We don’t run away. Usually. You’ll note the Coyote is not in the photo. Because he does run away. BUT he was left in the house with super yummy treats. I almost didn’t go for the walk….Treats or walk are a tough call.

Anyway, we love having them here – and we promise we’ll be on our best behavior. Well – the Boss and the Coyote promise. All bets are off with yours truly. I’ll TRY. But wildness is just who I am! They were kind of amazed to watch me do my laps around the dining room table. It kind of goes like this – do a lap, ricochet off a human, do a lap, ricochet off another human, do a lap, ricochet off the Coyote, do a lap, ricochet off a human, do a lap, jump over the Boss….(he doesn’t appreciate the ricochet moves), do another lap… You get the picture…

BUT I did go to rally class last night – and I was good! The only screw up (as usual) was because of my human. Go figure.

Well time to do my good morning song and get those guests moving. I’m sure they want to make the most of their vacation- and don’t REALLY want to sleep in after 6:15.

Let us know if you’re interested in staying with us in the future! We’re taking reservations. And we pay YOU!

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