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Monday morning greetings dear readers. Frodo here. I sincerely hope you had an enjoyable weekend- as we celebrated one of the few remaining weekends of the summer. Personally, I prefer the cooler temperatures of the Fall, but we all know what follows that – so let us enjoy summer while it lasts.

Let’s see what is new here at the circus… The Shaggy Shark continues to wreak havoc – especially when he is having one of his frenzy outbursts. When Her Highness lets him out of his crate, (as we have mentioned before), if she has no stuffed toy to shove into his mouth, her arms are left scratched and sometimes bloodied. And no – he is not intentionally aggressive- he simply goes berserk. She can tell him to sit, which he does and when she releases him- he leaps at her in his Schutzhund moves. She honestly needs those padded arm things. If anyone knows where we can get them cheap, please send the link.

Her Highness has finally learned that to wear white pants with the Shark is an absolutely futile wardrobe decision. The other day she was getting ready to go out to see a friend but made the mistake of putting on white pants before she got the Shark situated in his ex pen. She took him out for a pee- and you guessed it – despite her attempts to keep those pants clean, she ended up with paw prints on her butt before she left. She had to change.

Yesterday, she played it smart and put her pants in the garage so she could change just before she got in the car to go out. She’s learning. Although REALLY – white pants and most dogs are NOT a good combo. You would think Her Highness would know that given all the dogs she has lived with. The Beatnik loves to wipe his face in white pants. The Bernese liked to make sure they left black hair on white pants. With the Shark, it’s footprints. She really should be doing laundry detergent commercials.

Her Highness has come to depend on yours truly to help with the Shark at certain times. For example, yesterday he was having one of his “moments” when he raced through the bushes and plants in front of our house as he was coming inside. Her Highness couldn’t see him – as the foliage is quite dense – but she could see the bushes moving as he raced through. Unfortunately, when he emerged (covered in leaves and sticks) he came out minus one stuffed toy that he had been holding when he went in. She told him to “find it” but she might as well have asked him to bake a cake – he had no idea what she wanted. So she brought him in the house, and took yours truly out. She instructed me to “find it” and I disappeared in the dense brush and emerged with the stuffed dinosaur in no time. I was rewarded with whatever she had in her pocket – which partly included tiny bits of a crumpled tissue. That was a bit of a mistake, but given all the treat crumbs in her pocket, it still tasted fine.

Meanwhile, the Beatnik walks around forlorn and depressed because he is still not allowed to run around in the yard. He seems a bit better, but his muscle pull is still evident. He goes back to his therapist on Saturday for a recheck.

Today we are excited because Joanie is in town. Her Highness has not seen her good friend since January! Joanie has of course not yet met the Shark. I noticed the bandaids are already sitting on the counter….

Time for our constitutional. Have a joyful Monday.

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

It’s Squirmy here again!!!! I think I’m liking this blog thing! I get to tell people all around the world about my exciting life! And let’s face it, when you’re just under 4 months old – EVERYTHING is exciting! I mean you can take me on the same walk – and I see and smell different things every day. And I get excited! Pull out a biscuit and I get excited! See a moth fly by – and I get excited! And I try to eat him. Let me run around the yard – and it’s an excellent adventure.

Now sometimes there is work involved. The Boss and I are continuing our excavation project. I’m not quite sure what the final result is supposed to be – I didn’t see the blueprints. Here you see the Boss checking the hole and I take over. The hole is getting deeper. I use that black stick as a measuring tool. I work quickly. It was my second shift as evidenced by my brown feet.

I’ve also learned that tomatoes are yummy. So I have started to pick my own. However, I am NOT supposed to pick the green ones. They can be quite toxic to dogs. I grab a tomato and I run. The enforcer yells “trade” which means she has something that I CAN eat – so I need to trade my bounty for what she has. So far so good.

My enforcer had a wonderful birthday and she told me to thank everyone for all the lovely birthday wishes. Her friend Marg came over to help my enforcer celebrate and she was our first overnight guest since I’ve been here. And guess what?! She went home with NO bandaids! I was an honest to goodness “good boy!” Shocking – I know!!!!

According to the crazy calendar, today is something called Be An Angel Day. I guess it’s about doing random acts of kindness, and being nice to others. Seems like humans sometimes need to be reminded of this. Mind you….SOMETIMES we dogs need to be reminded of it too. Especially like the other guys. They’re old enough to know how to behave. I still have this age thing on my side. You know what I mean – the “he’s just a puppy” excuse. So when you drag shoes out of the closet or pillows off the bed, you can kind of get away with those less than angelic antics. I figure I’ve got at LEAST another 8 months of the puppy excuse. Right? Please be an angel and just nod “yes.”

Now excuse me – I think the closet door is open…

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

It’s Squirmy here!!! Living large and living my best life!!!! Holy moly I had quite the day yesterday!

It began in the morning- when I went for my little walk on the road. And I was walking along, checking out the view when all of a sudden- a DOG appeared. It was Jackson AKA Pig Pen going for a walk with his human. I saw him coming and stopped in my tracks. Other dogs on our road?! Who knew?! Well I guess everybody but me. Anyway, I went right over to the big guy and gave him a sniff, while I wiggled my butt. And I jumped on his human to say hello. Then after all the formal introductions, we went for a little walk with them! I thought that was pretty cool. And I didn’t even bite them.

Then later in the morning, I went with my enforcer on a little road trip back to Peggy’s Cove. I climbed on the rocks and watched people. My enforcer also took my photo. Like I was a movie star. You can see I’m getting bigger!! I also learned that some dogs own not-so-bright humans. We were just about back to our car, and another dog came walking right toward me. He was a little poodle-like guy. Really little. We stopped and my enforcer said I’m just a puppy. The man said, “oh he’s three years old and he’s probably going to lunge at your puppy any second.” Yikes! My enforcer pulled me back just as the mini fluffy bullet did lunge at me. He didn’t get me – but my enforcer would never have stopped if the man didn’t stop too. Um hello? If you KNOW your mini fluffy bullet is going to bite, why not just avoid other dogs? I just looked at him and kept walking.

I came home and was exhausted. Which my enforcer always loves.

Today the guys told me that I need to really behave. Because it’s my enforcer’s birthday!!!!! She’s ancient in dog years.

She tried to get a photo of us last night with a birthday streamer wrapped around us. The Boss said it was an epic fail – whatever that means. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I kept trying to rip it – so in the end we had birthday confetti. This is the best shot she got.

We DO love her. And we’ll be extra good for her special day. I might even share a biscuit with her!

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

Salutations blog readers. Frodo here. Also affectionately known the Fun Police. And I take my job very seriously. Unless I’m busy chewing on a Kong. But, truthfully, I must monitor what goes on around here because someone must be in charge and sometimes, well Her Highness doesn’t always make the best decisions….

I know that the injured Beatnik (who appears to be slowly recovering) is not allowed to roughhouse with the Shaggy Shark. And yet if left to their own devices – they would do just that. It often begins with the Shark sauntering rather nonchalantly past the lounging Beatnik. The Shark often carries a toy which he then attempts to hurl or simply drag past the Beatnik. The next thing one knows, PONdemonium erupts and it is up to yours truly to shout out a warning to cease and desist. If my loud shouting doesn’t work, it is usually at that point that Her Highness steps in and separates the two offenders.

Her Highness noted the other day that our household has two dangerous noise levels. One is during a PONdemonium outbreak which involves incessant PON barking – often for no particular reason. I should add that of late, the Picard has also begun to partake in these bark fests. The danger at this level is in potential cause for hearing loss. No doubt her Highness will soon need hearing aids.

The other dangerous noise level is no noise at all. Total silence with the Shark generally means he is up to something. If he is not attempting to break into closets, he is chewing the corners off the already damaged carpet in the dining room. Or he is attempting to chew the rubber base off his food bowl. Or- in an action so reminiscent of brother Viktor, he is attempting to steal pillows off Her Highness’ bed. He was quite proud of himself when he emerged from the bedroom yesterday carrying a pillow larger than himself. It was rather amazing given that he can’t get on the bed. He is quite the lad…

Meanwhile, Her Highness made a huge error in judgment last night. We had a rainy day all day – so even though it was evening, the Sharks’s batteries were still well charged – as he had not done his version of the Indy 500 around the yard in the rain. He was barking at Her Highness to DO something. The Beatnik was on his bed – and I had no intention of entertaining him, so Her Highness decided to sit on the floor to play with him. How does one spell colossal mistake. It began with a frenzied game of fetch. Which would have been reasonably easy to control (despite his occasional attempts to bite her hands)- until the Beatnik and I decided to join in. The Beatnik attempted to sit on Her Highness’ lap, while I was attempting to chew the treats out of her pocket. Which further incited the Shark who decided to “attack” Her Highness from behind, grabbing her head. She shouted and attempted to scramble to her feet – with a bloody indentation in her head. All four of us were huffing and puffing by the end. It was at that point that Her Highness announced “break time for Wojtek” which signals a visit to his ex pen. He promptly fell asleep.

I expect the producers to be contacting us any day now about our reality tv series. The Kardashians have nothing on this household. Let’s be frank – nobody would buy it because they would think it’s made up. If they only knew…

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

It’s me again -Squirmy!!!! You’ll know what? I’m starting to answer to Squirmy! It’s such an appropriate name for me!

My enforcer thinks I’m pretty funny. Sometimes. Other times she threatens to put me on a bus to New Jersey. And I just laugh – because everybody knows the border is still closed!

We know that we puppies go through various stages as we grow. Like the teething stage and various fear periods. And I have entered into the Kleptomaniac period. I am obsessed with getting in that closet – or mini warehouse that my enforcer has. That thing is chockablock full of cool stuff. The BEST thing is a basket full of…are you ready…..SHOES!!!! I am RARELY ever unsupervised- but IF she goes into the bathroom for just a minute, and I’m left out with the other guys, the first thing I now do is push that door open and go exploring. Of course, like all the doors in this house, it squeaks, so my enforcer immediately comes to see what I’m doing. By the time she comes out, I usually have a new piece of foot ware that I have stolen. I wait for her to see that I have it- and as soon as she says “hey what have you got?” I hightail it for the dining room. As FAST as I can possibly go. Now my enforcer KNOWS that she shouldn’t laugh AND she shouldn’t chase me – so she tries to keep a straight face while she offers the Boss some super yummy treat. And you know I have to see what he’s getting. So far, the value of those treats has outweighed the foot ware value – so I abandon my stolen foot ware. So far.

My enforcer was trying to see if ALL puppies go through the Kleptomaniac period. It was interesting to see that hunting breeds particularly like to steal. And busy breeds like Border Collies may do it just to burn off energy. I think that’s me. I’m like the Energizer Bunny. It takes a LOT to tire me out. Anyway, here’s and article about us klepto-canines:

https://wagwalking.com/behavior/why-do-dogs-take-things-and-run

Besides my new role as a robber, I also have started to become very serious about my role as a guard dog. If I hear something out of the ordinary, I bark a really serious big dog bark. Again my enforcer tries to keep a straight face. I guess my sweet looking shaggy appearance doesn’t really go with the Cujo mode.

Well time to go for my morning walk up the driveway. Then I come back and the other guys go out for their walk. And I bark the entire time they are gone. And even with the windows shut, my enforcer can hear me. Any suggestions on how to get me to be quiet are most welcome! Don’t bother suggesting something yummy to eat or chew. Doesn’t work. Although I DID actually eat a couple of biscuits yesterday- but not everything. I’m a chatty guy – what can I say? And I’m lovin’ life and have to tell the world that I do!!! I think I’m precious. Sometimes.

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

It’s Squirmy here again. The other two guys are finding this weather too hot – so they didn’t feel like writing. I gladly volunteered!

So what’s new with me. Well I met another neighbor the other day. The nice guy from across the road was putting out his garbage, so my enforcer asked if he had a minute to meet me. He said “sure” so my enforcer went on to tell him that he should just ignore me – and not put his hands out unless he wanted to lose a finger. Just kidding. Sort of. She did say to not make a fuss about me – as I can be aloof with strangers. Yeah – well that was last week. I’m over the aloof stuff. I walked right over and jumped on him. And I didn’t rip off his fingers as he went on to pet me. My enforcer needs to chill – I’m a sociable guy. Sure I don’t love people getting in my face – but what dog does? OK – maybe a Lab or Golden – those guys are pretty laid back. Mind you, even they might not appreciate super closeness with strangers in the first 2 minutes. My enforcer read an article on Wastebook the other day – and it said that people who meet a dog for the first time shouldn’t do the one thing that most people do – put their hand out for the dog to sniff. This article said that we dogs have superpower noses – so no need to stick a hand into our personal space for us to smell you. We already have smelled you. Just stand and wait for US to come over – and then don’t pat us on the head – but rather a few slow pats on the back. If we’re all happy and waggy-tailed, then you can get less reserved with your pats. I mean I’m not suggesting you now slap us on the side, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, I was a polite neighbor and no bandaids were required.

My enforcer tries so hard to be sure I’m safe all the time – and because my bones and joints are still growing, she doesn’t want me racing up and down stairs or jumping off high surfaces. Well – she can control my access to the stairs with a gate – so she has that covered. BUT – outside is a whole other story. You see she had this little vegetable garden and it’s on a little wall. The wall is about 2 feet high. And do you know what? When I get my crazy zoomies, my favorite thing to do is fly off that wall. Up and down. And my enforcer cannot catch me – I’m so fast. So yesterday, she thought she would be clever and she put a row of lawn chairs blocking me from going up and down that wall. So what did I do instead? I PLOWED through that vegetable garden. Lettuce went flying and tomatoes went rolling. The ONE pumpkin came close to being severed from the vine and it’s not nearly finished growing. When I got myself tangled up in the tomato cages, my enforcer had to release me from my bondage – all the time I was in frenzy mode – snapping like a crazed shark. I was exhausted by the time I got out of there. Why do tomatoes need cages anyway? Are they going to take off and go to another part of the garden?!

That’s all my news for today. The coyote is still in quarantine- although he seems a tiny bit better. Still, we’re not allowed to wrestle yet. So I guess it will be me and the tomato cages for the foreseeable future.

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

Hey everybody! It’s me- Squirmy!!!!! How’s your large life today? Mine is just the biscuits.

I must say though, that it’s hard work being a puppy. Here I am working to dig some new holes for planting some shrubs. I’m following the moves of my mentor – who you’ll also see in the video.

Here I have to really put my heart into it -so I add some vocals.

And if it’s not bad enough that I have to work in the garden – I now ALSO have to work for my lunch!!!

My enforcer bought these intellectual toys for my brothers a couple of years ago – and they have been sitting in their boxes gathering dust. So – she got this bright idea to try them out with me. Here is one.

See those little black handles? When you pull them, there is a little drawer where treats are placed. So you pull each one and voila – you get a treat! Or in my case – my LUNCH! You can smell the food through the hole in the top. Once you figure out the drawer thing, you can make the game more difficult by putting a peg in the hole – so then you need to pull out the peg before you can open the drawer. I have the drawer thing down – although I do get into a bit of a frenzy opening those things. And I’m actually starting to figure out how to pull out the peg – BUT I get so excited with the peg that I just take off with that -and would like to chew it! So I’m not really ready for the peg part yet. Here’s a quick video of me at lunch time. This is my second time around. I already emptied it once with half my lunch. You see the idea. I didn’t pull the peg out in this one – but I did the first time around.

So that’s me working for my meal. I need to see if there is such a thing as Puppy Labor Laws. I think I’m a bit young to be working for my meals, don’t you?

I think I’m due for some socializing today. We were home ALL day yesterday- so I need to do something today. I can’t play with the coyote which is killing both of us. So time for a road trip. My choice is somewhere that they sell food or toys. But not the educational ones. Or maybe someplace that sells shrubs…..

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

Howdy readers. Elroy again. I’m figuring you might want to know how I did with my Massage Therapy. So I get to write again. Mind you – I SHOULD be the one writing as it’s like quarantine all over again for moi. I can’t do much of anything else! I’m happy, but not happy.

So here’s the story. I loved the whole massage gig. The therapist, Liz, met me and I was happy to make her acquaintance. Although at first I thought it a bit odd that she just let me walk around the room, while she stared at me. That was a bit spooky. But I then realized she was trying to see where my problem was – and it took her about .05 seconds to figure out which leg was bothering me. So right from the start, I knew she had good eyes.

Then, she started to touch me all over. At first I thought it a bit odd – I would rather be giving her kisses and just jumping around. But after a few minutes, I figured out this whole Zen massage thing – and I let her fingers do the walking. When she would find a tender spot, she would do something magical, because while I initially responded with a jump the first few times she touched the sore area – after she massaged it, I was no longer jumping when she touched it. Her Highness witnessed the whole thing – and could SEE how my muscles relaxed.

Liz thought that my problem was a bit with the iliopsoas muscle – but she felt the REAL problem was actually my pectineus muscle. That’s deeper in the groin. Same general area. Same symptoms though. She showed Her Highness some exercises to do with me daily. I’m not allowed to rough house with the shark and all my walks must be on leash. I can go for a walk up to 20 minutes, but no jumping and acting like a gymnast. She said to continue with the meds my vet gave me – and to add some Omega 3 to my diet. Looks like fish oil will be on the menu. She wants to see me again in 3 weeks.

Her Highness was relieved to hear the same observations from the therapist that we got from our vet. As well as several friends who have watched my videos and have ALL said it was a muscle strain – and not a joint injury. We are aware that this doesn’t necessarily speed up my recovery time, but we’re thankful I’m not looking at surgery.

Meanwhile, the shark is having to entertain himself. The Boss almost lets him play with him – but not like I do. And Her Highness is forever saying “No bite” and stuffing toys in his mouth to take the place of her arm or leg – so she doesn’t play like I do either. The Shark looks longingly at me – and does try to instigate play when I’m out of my crate. Even I try to play with him – by shoving a toy in his face. But Her Highness – the original Fun Police, will not let us have ANY fun. She keeps trying to entertain him and tire him out – and sometimes he does it himself. He runs FULL speed like a balloon with the air escaping – around the yard, under the deck stairs, into the house, out of the house, around the yard, into the vegetable garden, around the yard – and then like a deflated balloon, he collapses. The worst time of day is the morning. It’s like his batteries have been charging overnight, and he’s all juiced up. Her Highness was seriously think about sending a thank you letter to the makers of those Kong things that you stuff with goodies. They have been a godsend. The Boss gets one too – otherwise he stares at the Shark waiting for him to drop it (if he’s not in his crate or ex pen). If the Boss has one, they are both busy. I have been offered one numerous times – but no thanks. Chewing rubber is just not my thing – no matter what it’s stuffed with.

So that’s my story. Patience. Patience. And more patience is what I need. And so does Her Highness. I figure I’ll be all recovered by Christmas, and then she’ll be worried about me on ice. Yup that bubble wrap suit is looking better all the time.

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

Howdy everyone. Elroy here. Also known as Gimpy. I must tell you, being injured is not fun.

So I went back to the vet yesterday, and Her Highness was armed with more videos. The vet moved my legs all around – and I was the perfect patient. She concluded I have NO joint issues – she did numerous tests on my joints and everything was fine. The only time I was not comfortable was when she started probing my iliopsoas muscle. That bothered me. I never heard about an iliopsoas before. It almost sounds like some kind of dinosaur. Here’s some info about it:

https://criticalcaredvm.com/iliopsoas-muscle-injury-dogs/

Sooooo…..today I have an appointment with a Canine Massage Therapist who works with dogs who have soft tissue injuries. My vet said if that doesn’t work out well, she will refer us to someone else. Her Highness is very hopeful that we may get some help today with that therapy. Time will tell. I just need to relax. But it’s hard to be a relaxed canine when you have a new fenced yard where you can run and play – AND you have a Shaggy Shark brother who WANTS to play. I’m just worried that once I’m all better, Her Highness is going to want to wrap me in bubble wrap. Mind you, that might save me from the Shaggy Shark….

Meanwhile, although the snapper is smart, he still hasn’t figured out that mud equals bath. He continues to dig – and continues to get baths. At least he smells nice. After.

But the funniest shark story came in the mail yesterday. It all started because Her Highness has a dear friend who was on a little holiday last weekend. Actually, you might remember her – she is Mighty Milo’s human. We haven’t seen them since the Great Pause. We miss them both!

Anyway, Mighty Milo’s human saw this item in a gift shop while on her holiday- and had to send a photo to Her Highness. Well – you KNOW Her Highness HAD to get this – and both the Boss and I agreed that it was a good purchase. It’s a good warning system for the unsuspecting public. Check it out…

It was perfect timing because the Shaggy Shark is just about to outgrow his second collar. Even putting a collar on the Shark is not a simple task- wrestling with sharp teeth is not easy. But Her Highness did manage to somehow get it on him. Now to get him to stay still long enough for a photo. And before the collar gets all muddy.

I think he’s the guy who should be going for massage and relaxation therapy. If the therapist is willing to take the risk….

Anyway – wish me luck!

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

Greetings blog readers. Frodo here. I’ll begin my blog today with a Jeopardy answer. See if you can figure out the question…

Dogs do this behavior if they are seeking entertainment, comfort, or attention, or they are planning an escape or hunting prey.

And the question? Why do dogs dig?

In our household, we are all lately displaying varying degrees of this behavior. Personally, when I dig, I am trying to find a cool, comfortable spot – and dug up earth provides the perfect bed. Mind you, I also dig at the tile floor in the kitchen as well. My efforts in doing so do not really result in a more comfortable bed, but it doesn’t stop me from trying.

Thus far, none of us has dug anywhere near the fence so clearly we haven’t yet begun to plan our escapes. Note I said “yet.”

As well, none of us have begun to hunt for the chipmunk who has a little hole in our dog yard. In fact, I haven’t seen much of him since the fence was completed. Guess he didn’t want to play fetch. And be the fetch toy.

Now my other two “brothers” dig for both entertainment and for attention. Digging for entertainment is simply a way to burn off energy – or even to potentially bury toys. And when digging occurs just AFTER one has been brushed – and has then headed for the mud hole when Her Highness shouts “no” – that’s for attention. This behavior is demonstrated perfectly by the Shaggy Shark.

On a different topic, the Beatnik was feeling in tip top condition when he visited the vet the other day. Her Highness could not accompany him in yet – so she described his problem to the technician who came out to gather him. Complete with video footage. However, the vet saw no evidence of a problem when she examined him and said he could return to normal activities. Oh – he DID have one rather embarrassing problem having to do with his ummm…anal glands. They were – how can I say this, rather enlarged – and needed “attention.” Her Highness had discovered that in the morning, before his appointment- so she had mentioned it. She had actually found a site on the internet which said that “uncomfortable” glands could even result in lameness in some cases. She wondered if this could have attributed to his rather unusual soreness.

Anyway, his glands were attended to – and all seemed right with the world. That is until he began running and wrestling with the shark again – and guess what? He was sore again. So he will be returning to the vet – AND I believe I also heard about a visit to a Canine Rehab specialist. More on that to follow.

I understand the Shaggy Shark has a special package that will be arriving in the post any day now. Perhaps when we next write, we will be able to share the mystery parcel. My bets are on shampoo….But we’ll see…

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