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Greetings blog readers. Frodo here. Also known as Father Goose. My bout with canine COVID is improving – just more slowly than the young lads. But not to worry – my appetite and energy are fine. And my imitation honking goose call has evolved to a less deep, more dry quack. The Beatnik still has the odd honk, but not much. And the Shark seems to be over his round. Patience. Patience.

According to our odd calendar, today is something called National Defy Superstition Day. Aptly chosen for the 13th of the month. I suppose it is a day when one should walk under a ladder, or ignore the black cat crossing their path. That would be a difficult one for the canines in this household.

I have investigated superstitions having to do with dogs and I found a few – most of which I have never heard of. Probably because I am not the superstitious type. But here they are, according to Rover.com.

– A howling dog is supposed to be an omen of death. There is some truth to this. We have no doubt killed Her Highness’ previously normal hearing with our barking and howling. To defy this one, she needs ear plugs.

– Dogs who stare or growl at nothing are actually seeing ghosts. We’ll have to keep the Beatnik off the deck tonight. He definitely “sees” and hears something. Mind you – it probably much more likely to be a chipmunk than a ghost. But he DOES tend to do it more at night. In the dark. Spooky.

– If you meet a stray dog and it follows you home, it is good luck. Personally, I don’t think so if you then need to share your treats. What could be lucky about that?

– One of my favorites- if you step in dog poop with your left foot, you will have good luck. Is that not a bit counterintuitive? I wonder what happens if you step in it with your right foot? It seems either foot is not exactly pleasant. Particularly in sandals. Or flip flops.

Not much else new here as we are in quarantine. We do go for short walks on our road, wearing masks and staying clear of any other dogs. I jest about the masks – you KNOW we would try to shred them.

It is time for our constitutional. I bid you a pleasant day and I’m certain it will be. Knock on wood.

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

Hey everybody- it’s Squirmy. Spreader of joy, happiness and kennel cough. Yup it’s official. We have a trifecta. The Coyote now sounds like a goose too. The good news? We’ll all be over it! So we’ll be invincible! Unless another strain comes along…

Today I have to tell you about my new talent. Guess what new skill I learned from the Boss? Escape artist! Yup- call me PONdini Junior.

When My Enforcer goes out – like to the grocery store for our yogurt or the pet store for our food (note it’s all about us dogs), she leaves me in an ex-pen in the downstairs rec room, and the Boss is stuck down there with me because she latches a gate at the bottom of the stairs. The Coyote is on his own upstairs.

So yesterday, when My Enforcer went to the grocery store, she carefully latched the door on the ex pen and gave both me and the Boss frozen Kongs to keep us busy.

She wasn’t gone too too long, and we heard her return- as she unloaded the groceries in the kitchen. She claims it’s easier to unpack without having two PONs in the refrigerator “helping.” We both of course, shouted out our “welcome homes.”

When she was done, she walked around the house outside- to enter through the patio. Well. Imagine her surprise when I greeted her at the patio door. She opened the door and the Boss and I ran out. She tentatively walked inside to examine the room. It was pretty evident there had been a party going on. Throw pillows all over the floor. TV remote controls also on the floor. Toys scattered everywhere. Yup it was a real party. She doubted the Boss was responsible for the mess because he’s always free down there- and never touches anything. So yours truly became the prime suspect. But guess what? No camera- no proof!!!! She’ll never know how long I was out – OR how I got out. It’s our little secret. Yee haw! PONdini Junior! I like it!

Hey – speaking of frozen Kongs- I have another story!! So we’ve told you how those yogurt and kibble-filled wonderful rubber toys provide necessary peace while my Enforcer is having breakfast. She says she truly cannot live without them. And here’s proof. The other night, she woke up at 4AM and realized she had not stuffed and frozen our Kongs. She broke out in a sweat. She realized the PONdemonium that would happen without Kongs to entertain us for 20 minutes. So what did she do? She got up at 4AM, went into the kitchen and stuffed Kongs. Really. In this house, if those Kongs were stolen, she would pay a ransom to get them back. Then again, maybe she’d just go and get new ones. She said she wishes she had like 20 so she could stuff and freeze loads of them at once. We told her to put it on her Christmas wish list.

Hey and speaking of holidays, what’s this Halloween thing at the end of October. The other guys said not to speak of it. They said something about the pandemic and maybe the Dollar store doesn’t have “any special things”. What’s THAT all about? Why are those guys so afraid of a Dollar Store? I have to investigate this further.

Time for my joyful walk. You know what? I’m joyful EVERY morning when I get up!!! What’s not to be joyful? You have a day full of potential- and you never know what might happen! And besides that – it’s Friday!

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

Hey everybody- Squirmy here! Livin and lovin large.

Well I have some good news and bad news. I’m almost finished honking like a goose. I feel much better. That’s the good news. The bad news….I passed on my cough to the Boss guy. Yup. He started coughing yesterday. So now HE sounds like a goose. My Enforcer was worried – because he is older ( mind you everybody I meet is older than me!) – and he was sounding like a GIANT goose. So my Enforcer called the vet, and got some special medication for his cough. Which smells an awful lot like the stuff she bought for me at the drug store. Anyway, it will hopefully make him feel better quickly. He’s still hungry, and he wants to go on his walks, but he sounds a lot like me the first night I started coughing. I keep sitting right next to him to make him feel better. So far the Coyote seems OK.

In the meantime, I continue to terrify my Enforcer with my imitation of a Crash Test Puppy. I seriously love to climb up and jump off things. Here she is carrying me up and down stairs and I get outside and now jump up on the garden bed in the middle of the driveway (which is like 3 feet high) and up the retaining wall that I talked about the other day. Of course I also fly OFF those walls as well. AND I can now easily jump on my Enforcer’s bed!!!! Which is great because it makes it much easier to steal her pillows!!!!

Oh plus I have a favorite new toy which will probably not be around very long. It’s a huge inflatable rubber ball with a fabric cover. I think it’s for horses. All I know is that when I first saw it sitting in the yard, I didn’t want to go near it. And when it rolled, well I thought it was out to get me!!! But within minutes, I was fine with my new rolly friend and I attacked it. I quickly figured out that if I could grab the cover, I can control the ball. In this video, you see me grabbing the cover and at one point I somehow manage to pull the plug on the ball. I stop because I hear the air coming out. But not for long…

There is actually a dog sport called Treibball where dogs move balls like this around a field – following specific directions. Think herding without the sheep. Here’s a sample video:

https://youtu.be/QBJ9DVp9dyM

And here’s an explanation of the sport:

https://www.k9ofmine.com/treibball/

I’m thinking my attack strategy is NOT advisable in playing the game. For now, I just get some exercise – since I still can’t play with the Coyote. He screams from the deck sometimes when he watches me play with it. I think he likes the big ball too.

So that’s my news today. I can’t go on any adventures or to any classes until my cough is 100% gone – probably for at least 1-2 weeks. So we’re back into quarantine again. Just keep your paws crossed that the Coyote manages to evade it. Heck, he’s already damaged with his muscle sprain. We have to keep my Enforcer in good health because the rest of us are currently on the injured list. And I guess I better be careful jumping off those walls. And the bed….

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

Yo. Readers. Elroy here again! Happy Labor Day from three very hard working guard dogs. We take our jobs seriously. We guard against intruders – like the guy who delivers oil- and other interlopers like bunnies, birds, moths and the ever-dangerous falling leaves. We are particularly vigilant and quick to bark when it’s dark out or when Her Highness is in the shower. One can never be too careful…So Happy Labor Day to all workers – and all retirees!!!

Now I must tell you about my excellent adventure to the beach yesterday. It is THE best story.

Her Highness and I picked up our friend Marg, and off we went yesterday morning. I was so excited. Mind you, I didn’t really know where we were going.

We took the “scenic” route to our destination, which from a crate in the back of Ludwig is not all that exciting. But the two leggeds appeared to enjoy the coastal views.

We finally arrived at the beach, and what was the FIRST thing we saw? Come on. Guess. Beach bathers? Surfers? Beach umbrellas? Beach balls? Children building sand castles? Nope. In perfect blog story fashion the FIRST thing we saw was…….a llama. Sounds like some kind of children’s story book, doesn’t it. But I’m not joking. And here’s the proof:

The llama people parked right next to us. Her Highness didn’t quite know what to say, so instead of mentioning the llama, said something about dogs. Talk about the “llama in the room.” The guy said something about their dog too and off they went. For a walk on the beach road. I hadn’t been to this beach before, so I was thinking this just must be common here. I couldn’t wait to get over the dune to see if I would find a zebra.

Anyway, when I got in the water, the only thing I was interested in doing was drinking it. Here’s a tip for people who have never taken their dogs to salt water before. It’s not advisable to drink ocean water. Because it will “return” like a wave, from different ends of your body if you drink too much. Needless to say, Her Highness wouldn’t let me drink the water.

We had a fabulous long walk – which in the packed sand was good for my muscle. Her Highness tried to get me to walk in the water- but that was rather futile as all I did was stop and try to drink. Despite the fact that I also drank water that Her Highness brought for me.

It’s a long beach- and home to some shore birds called Piping Plovers. I saw no signs of their bagpipes, but lots of them running and flying along the shore.

Dogs are supposed to be on leash so as not to scare the birds. That’s why I couldn’t run free. That’s my idea of a joke. As if the birds were the reason I couldn’t be off leash. But that’s my story.

I had a good time walking, watching people and their dogs- and listening to the sound of the waves. As usual, Her Highness tried to get photos of me – and I refused to give her ears up. Still, I don’t look too bad.

All in all it was a great adventure. A wonderful day. All was right with the world. Despite the fact that I DID have the poops when I got home. Precipitating a call to the Emergency clinic because Her Highness Googled salt water poisoning ( which is a very serious condition) and she just wanted to be SURE I didn’t have it. Thankfully I didn’t.

Really. What would our house be without at least one call to the Emergency Clinic each week. We’re at two for this week. The other night it was to check which over-the-counter meds she could give to the goose in the house. The goose is the shark with his kennel cough. Her Highness knew he didn’t need to be seen by a vet as he was happy, hungry, and energetic- but he did sound like a goose. Long story short – she found out through her “dog village” that he could take human cough medicine. A certain type – WITHOUT any xylitol. He slept better that night, and already seems to be on the mend. And last night not even one cough!

So that’s the story of our weekend. Llamas, plovers, a goose sound-alike and no emergency room visits. Life is good. Very good indeed.

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

Howdy there blogees. Elroy here. Remember me? The handsome guy who injured himself during an exuberant interlude with the Shaggy Shark?! Well I’m here to tell you – muscle strains are NOT fun. I am tired of not being allowed to run around. But the good news – it IS getting better.

I went to see my therapist Liz yesterday. And although I’m still not back to my Olympic body, she could see and feel a difference in me. The last time I was there, she even had a difficult time manipulating some of my muscles. I was compensating on my good side – which was tense – and I was very sore on my bad side. But this time she could really massage the muscles on both sides, and could push those muscles deep in my groin area. I was quite cooperative. Now there are two words you rarely see together to describe me – in the same sentence: “quite” and “cooperative”. Let’s face it – I do, and times, tend to march to my own drum – which only I can hear! Anyway I was great with Liz- and still even kissed her good-bye – even though she said I STILL can’t run around yet. I go back to see Liz in 3 weeks again. I was told CAN go for a beach walk – which I think I may be doing tomorrow. Without the PONs. But don’t tell them – they’ll get all barky and loud. It’s only fair I get to do SOMETHING fun. I’ve had to watch them running around the backyard- and it does make me jealous. So time for some “me” time.

It was because of my jealousy and boredom that I led the troops on that walk about the other day. The one where Her Highness probably permanently scarred her vocal cords from screaming at us to return. Look – I didn’t know the other guys were going to follow me. I just needed to stretch my legs a bit.

The Shark didn’t go to his handling class yesterday- something about Her Highness snoozing on the sign up sheet. And he was supposed to go back to obedience tomorrow night. Unfortunately, just yesterday, Her Highness read that someone who attended handling class last week had kennel cough. And like clockwork, last night the shark began coughing. Yup. It appears he got the bug. He was up on and off through the night. He seems fine otherwise. Kennel cough is one of those things where you can be vaccinated, and because there are so many strains of it, you can still end up with it. There’s not much to do medically for it. Just try not to over exert. Tell that to the shark. Now we wait to see if the Boss and I get it. Paws crossed we don’t.

Her Highness is bummed that they now won’t be able to go to obedience tomorrow. They’ve been practicing- AND the Boss likes to join in. Those PONs will do anything for food. You should see the two of them doing synchronized spins and twists. I feel like I’m watching the circus. I’m always invited to participate in their sessions but I say “Meh.” Food is overrated. I’m content to watch. Although when they do practice “down stays” – that’s one exercise I like. You don’t have to do a THING, just act like a log, and you get a treat. My kind of exercise. The Shark is surprisingly better at sit stays than down stays. He has his own quirks too.

Well time for our morning constitutional. We’ve actually been letting Her Highness sleep in until 6:30 lately – and one day we let her sleep in until 7AM!!! The sunrises are getting later and later. Yup. Fall is in the air. Must be almost time to pee on a pumpkin. Good times!

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

Greetings blog readers. Frodo here. Finally. That wiggling, wild Annelid seems to be taking over lately. Mind you, his juvenile, innocent view of the world can be rather delightful. I must admit, I have really begun to like the imp. He follows me like a shadow, and does everything I do. He even likes to snuggle with me, which I find rather endearing. Sometimes.

While I was initially the Grump when he arrived, and the Beatnik welcomed him with open paws, our roles have actually reversed. Probably because the Beatnik views the shark as a dangerous being, even though his biting HAS improved. Or at least some of his needle teeth have fallen out. Either that or we are all growing thicker skin.

I must say, he is a smart, and rather DETERMINED young fella. Take the following drawing, which he did, to explain a recent escapade:

If it looks wild and confusing, it should. It describes him and his actions to a tee. Allow me to explain it. In the diagram you see a gate – which goes to our newly fenced back yard. Sometimes we enter and exit the fenced yard from the house (through a door not on the drawing), and other times we actually enter and exit from around the house. In this instance, we were leaving the fenced yard, going around the side of the house and to the front door. There is a three foot garden wall just about ten feet from the gate, because the land slopes. The gate was opened, and yours truly ran out and easily jumped up the wall. Meanwhile, my miniature sidekick tried the same trick. But he had walked up to the wall, and it was too high for him to jump. Her Highness told him to come around the wall, which he did. That is the green line in the drawing . He went around the wall and made it almost to the front door of the house. But not to be beaten by a wall, he changed his mind and ran back down around the wall and this time took a running leap at the wall and made it up. This was a wild spontaneous action, performed completely independently. It happened so quickly, Her Highness didn’t know where he was going when he raced back past her toward the gate. He was quite proud of himself that he scaled that wall.

In other news, he has pretty much decimated the vegetable garden. Between an obnoxious chipmunk who keeps eating the tomatoes, and the shark who keeps trampling them, the crop this year will be sad. Here you will see the shark doing excavation work, followed by a frenzied zoomie and a brief veggie garden stampede. Her Highness is trying hard not to laugh…

The Beatnik seems to be feeling better, but Her Highness will not allow him to run free until at least after his therapy appointment tomorrow. He’s still not 100%, but seems to be almost back to normal. He is just itching to play in the yard again. But I have a feeling Her Highness May want to wait another week or so – just to be sure his muscle is all better.

Now excuse me while I go and hide. It’s almost time for our walk, and if it’s not raining now, it did last night. And we all know how I despise wet feet. Wish me luck.

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

Howdy doody – Squirmy Wormy here again. I was going to start off telling you that according to the crazy calendar, today is Ginger Cat Day. But I don’t know much about cats or much about the fact that it’s National Tofu Day in the UK. Sure we dogs can eat a little tofu- but give me meat any day! Instead, I just HAVE to tell you about my Fun Obedience class. Guess what?! It was fun!!!!

So when I got there I was a bit in awe with all the new dogs to see. There were 7 of us in total. Or was it 8? My Enforcer was so busy watching me there could have been 50 there and she wouldn’t have even noticed. I think I was the youngest guy there.

We did a bunch of things to help us work on our bond with our humans. No problem there for me – My Enforcer basically had my supper in her pockets – AND some yummy dried beef lung. AND cheese. So I really didn’t care a whole lot about the other dogs or people. I was starving. Forget the fact that I had both breakfast and lunch. I’m a PON. Food makes our world go round.

So as a direct result of my starvation, I was extremely well behaved. Seriously. My enforcer said I could have definitely taken home a prize because a) I didn’t pee or poop inside the facility; b) I didn’t rip any of my Enforcer’s attire ; and c) no one left wearing bandaids because of moi. How do you spell WINNER?!

I liked the teacher very much and I even let her pet me without removing a digit. She is owned by Pyrenean Shepherds – and one was the demo dog for the various exercises. Holy hotdog, he was GOOD. He’s my idol.

I came home and the other guys smelled me all over. Probably because I smelled like cheesy beef lung. Don’t worry – they got some too – and they didn’t have to do 10% of the stuff I had to do. That’s ok. They deserve a prize for putting up with me!

So last night we each got to do some one-on-one obedience training outside. My Enforcer had to dig out and dust off all the obedience training props in the garage. Like the orange cones. I was initially fine with them, but having the current attention span like that of a bee in an Amsterdam tulip farm, I quickly tired of the cones and simply decided to see if they made good chew toys. That idea was quickly discouraged.

I can’t wait to go back next week! My Enforcer is hoping it wasn’t beginner’s luck. No problem- just bring good treats! And no tofu.

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

Hey you! It’s me! Squirmy!!!! Yup. I get to write again. Probably because I’m little and babies get lots of attention. And I’m soaking it up!

So what did I do THIS time? Well….. I went for my first handling class. And I think I won – because I was a handful!!!! It was me, 6 Australian Shepherds and a Corgi in the class. And guess who was the only one who tried to bite the instructor?! Yup. ME! I mean not totally attack vicious – but let’s just say I take a few minutes to warm up to folks. Well maybe not even that. I go up to people and actually jump on them! But touch my head before I feel I know you and well there’s a reason I’m called the Shaggy Shark. I was quite in awe of the other dogs and wanted to play desperately with the Corgi who was ahead of me in the line up- but I quickly learned that handling class does not include play time. Yawn. I haven’t been expelled- but I do have some homework. Nobody told me there would be after school assignments.

I forgot to tell you that the other day, my Enforcer had some dog friends pop in. Heather and Allan. They have – dogs and know all about dog behavior. Because I tend to be aloof with new people (unless I have my backup brothers), my Enforcer decided to let JUST me out to meet our guests. Well. I have learned from the Boss that you bark at new people. So I did that. IMAGINE my shock when Allan sat right down on the driveway to say hello. I didn’t quite know what to make of him. In the meantime, Heather “ran away” from me. And didn’t pay attention to me. What a strange couple. BUT, when I realized they were no threat, I quickly went over to both of them – and it was NO time before I was wrestling with Allan and attempting to ricochet myself off Heather. Good times.

Meanwhile, the Coyote went to his therapy appointment yesterday. Poor guy – he had to endure the pre-public bath just like I did before I went to my class! What’s up with that? Just because other people will see us we have to be fluffed? I like the at-home rugged look. Anyway, he endured the bath – only to go there and find out that the girl at the desk messed up his appointment. The therapist had left for the day. So no therapy for the big guy. Both he and my Enforcer were unhappy. I think they deserved a free biscuit for the mix up. Good thing my Enforcer had picked up our prize from Crazy Dogs. She could still give him a treat. He will go on Friday for his appointment.

Tonight I go for my Fun Obedience class. Not sure how those two words go together, but we’ll see. I think my Enforcer should just take the Boss and pretend he’s new to obedience. He’d look like a genius!!! Not so sure I’ll be quite that good. Mind you, I’m a pretty quick study. As long as you don’t try to touch me on the head….Good thing I’m adorable….

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

Hey everybody- it’s Squirmy here!!! And have I got stories for you today!

The first one isn’t really good news. In fact, Her Highness’ blood pressure goes up if she just THINKS about it. It involves an unfortunate jail break for a Picard we know – which entailed a race out the front door, up the driveway and over to two neighbors’ homes. That’s bad enough. BUT we PON boys had to follow the leader – and went with him. All the while Her Highness was screaming our names so loudly, she thought she could rupture her vocal cords. I won’t go into all the gritty details – suffice to say that I, 4 month old Squirmy – headed back home on my own, while the other two escapees were caught and dragged down the driveway. The story is NOT funny in the least bit. Frodo and I were heading out the front door for a quick pee – and for some reason we thought someone was there – so we started barking. The Beatnik had been in the other room – so Her Highness was shocked when he literally pushed his way past her and through the door. I thought it was great fun to chase them and thankfully the Beatnik – the ringleader – came to Her Highness instead of heading for the road. We all got the cold shoulder from her when we got back. She said nothing. Probably because she couldn’t breathe. Anyway – the story thankfully ended OK.

Now for some better news. I won a prize!!!! OK – all of us boys won it. There is a company called Crazy Dog Dehydrated Treats – here in Nova Scotia and they make SUPER yummy stuff. Anyway, for National Dog Day they asked people to post photos of their dog(s). Little did we know they were randomly picking a photo from those posted – and the winner got some cool goodies!!!! So you guessed it – WE WON!!!!

Here’s the link to our prizes:

https://www.facebook.com/CrazyDogDehydratedTreats/photos/a.562491733833982/3343520482397746/?type=3

Her Highness thought it very fitting that we get a prize from a company called “Crazy Dog”. I’m not sure why.

In other news – I am going to a “handling class” tonight. I guess they teach you how to handle stuff like stuffed toys, bones and fetch toys. I can handle those things really well – so we’ll see what else we’ll do. I guess they’ll also teach me how to “handle” Her Highness. That will be a bit more challenging. Paws crossed it goes well!!!

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

Hey everybody. Elroy here. Also known as Gimpy. Yes, my muscle is still sore. And I must say, I’m a bit tired of not being able to run around. I know it will get better more quickly if I take it easy, but it’s hard for an agile, fast guy like me to sit out and watch everyone else racing around the yard. I go back to my therapist on Saturday and I’m looking forward to it.

So besides my medical status, what interesting news can I share? Ah – I know. Did you know that today is National Dog Day? Yup- it’s a real holiday. Although clearly humans don’t get the day off, there are no parades and no special meals. Her Highness laughed when she saw this – she said EVERY day is Dog Day in this house. And it really is true. I mean while we do have our jobs as protectors and overall love machines who, when we are behaving, can provide unconditional comfort and support, we DO have it pretty good. I mean we have our meals prepared and provided, we are kept clean and brushed, we live indoors yet go outdoors to do our business- which is cleaned up for us, we have toys, beds and sometimes even attire!!! We are taken to the vet if we don’t feel well. When ya think about it, we kind of live like royalty – everything is at our paw tips.

Now I know that not all dogs have it so good- there are dogs who live on the streets and some dogs up needing to be rescued. But once they get a home, as a general rule, most enjoy a pretty decent lifestyle. There are a lot of people who say to Her Highness: “when I die I want to come back as one of your dogs.”

In honor of Dog Day, if your dog gives you a few minutes of freedom, you can try some of these dog trivia questions. There are loads of questions- see how much you know about us canines:

https://www.usefultrivia.com/science_trivia/dog_trivia_index.html

In other news, Joanie visited us the other day and believe or not- went home without any bandaids! Squirmy never bit her once. Well – not hard anyway. There WAS one slight incident when Her Highness and Joanie were standing and chatting in the yard, and the Squirmster ran full speed at Joanie and ricocheted off her stomach. Thank goodness he didn’t hurt her – neither she nor Her Highness were prepared for that move.

Joanie was able to get some good photos of us four. Her Highness supplied her with treats and a good toy – so she was able to keep our attention. Which is not easy with the little guy. Who is getting bigger by the minute. I don’t think he’s a PON. I think he’s a Romanian Miortic Shepherd. They look like a PON on steroids. That’s what I think Squirmy is. I mean the guy just celebrated his 4 month birthday yesterday – so we know he has more growing ahead….I just hope he won’t be bigger than me!!!!

Well time for my walk with the Boss. Be sure to give your dog something extra special today. And you can have a little treat for yourself too. Because really – where would we be without you?! But just remember – we’re still in charge….

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