Blog Feed

Frodo here. I spoke the other day about humans – and their unpredictable habit of not always communicating accurately when it comes to us dogs. Sometimes they even lie – like when her highness goes out and she announces “I’m just going to get groceries.” I am fully aware that her “grocery visit” may also include a stop at the local second hand store to look for “treasures”, as well as stops at the gas station, the book store and Starbucks. So she lies. And we know it. But not much we can do about it – except perhaps chew on the corner of a carpet.

But there are two words that humans DO communicate very clearly. And they are generally conveyed in a rapid, rather frantic manner. The words? “Drop it!” And her highness uttered them twice the other day. At moi. AND at the beatnik.

On our morning walk, we went up to the public trail. And at the trailhead, there is a garbage can. Unfortunately, not all humans have good hand eye coordination, and they sometimes “miss” the can. And this time, someone missed depositing a pizza crust.

I spotted it, but her highness did too, so she steered me in the opposite direction. The beatnik was too busy sniffing the ground for canine greeting deposits. So we started up the trail but discovered it was icy. VERY icy. And her highness had not worn her boots with the cleats. So she announced that we had to go back. We trudged along and we were just about past the garbage can. Suddenly, the picky Picard, who spits out bananas and still occasionally stares at his food bowl as if waiting for it to miraculously turn into a sirloin steak, grabbed the pizza crust. Her highness yelled out the magic words “drop it!!!” but of course, the beatnik did no such thing . In an unbelievably swift move, her highness had his mouth open and she yanked out the pizza crust from the back of his throat before he even knew what happened. She ceremoniously tossed the soggy remnant in the garbage, and wiped her hand in her attractive dog walking pants. I just watched the whole episode with fascination. He just stared in shock.

So not to be outdone, we had another incident requiring the “drop it” battle cry in the afternoon. Yes, this time it was aimed at yours truly. In the afternoon we went down to the lake. I was free and the beatnik was on leash. One wonders if he will ever be allowed to be free on our trails. Perhaps when he is 15.

Anyway, on our way down to the lake, both of us discovered the remains of some animal’s poop. And let’s just say, whoever it was had digestive issues. But that didn’t deter us from a careful examination and even a slight taste. At which point her highness screamed “noooooo.” To appease her, I went and ate some snow. Frankly, the appetizer wasn’t all that tasty.

We went to the lake and she took the 4000th photo in the same spot. She’s so predictable. We then headed back to the house, at which point, yours truly left the trail and went into the woods. Her highness could see me – but could not reach me without tree trimming equipment. The brush and branches were thick. So she could see me – and she noticed that yours truly was not only inspecting something, I was having a good chomping. She shouted the magic words “drop it.” To no avail. She repeated the words in a louder voice. As if I hadn’t heard her the first time. I wasn’t finished with my snack. By the time I came back on the trail, her face was flushed. I quickly raced on ahead of her as she shouted something about “no snacks for me.” No matter. I had already had my treat. Whatever it was.

Yes. I do know dogs who take the “drop it” command very seriously. As we should. But not the beatnik and I. Although I DO think that the effectiveness of the command is directly related to the proximity from the speaker. I HAVE been known to follow the request if her highness is within grabbing distance. But obviously, the other day, she was juuuust far enough away.

Ah yes. We like to keep her thinking and alert. No wonder she likes to take an afternoon nap. If we let her.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Yo. Elroy here. So guess who I had another play date with? Yup. My gal Willow. And this time she brought along her Labrador friend, Echo. Both girls gave me a run for my biscuits. Her highness didn’t bring the Boss along, because the snow was kind of wet and when we had gone for our morning walk, he repeatedly had to stop to remove snowballs. That makes him pretty grumpy. So he enjoyed some extra treats at home, while I took the girls on tour of the golf course. The ENTIRE golf course. We walked for over 1.5 hours. Well, the girls didn’t walk. Especially Willow. She loves to run. And sometimes I just gave up trying to catch them.

My favorite thing to do was to lie down on frozen ponds. And either attempt to swim on ice…

Or I would just lie there and watch Willow run around.

I DID have my moments of playing with the girls…

And sometimes I got a little TOO playful with poor Echo – who happens to be 10 years old. So her highness had to remind me to watch my manners. I was told to leave her alone – so I would just do my own thing for a bit.

And then I would return to my relaxing dog yoga position for a bit.

Willow and I did some rock climbing together , because we Picards like to get a good vantage point to check out our surroundings.

In the next photo, you see me encouraging her to climb higher. To see if the view is good. No point of both of us going up if the view is lousy.

And here’s a shot of Willow and I on patrol…

And a shot that her highness caught of Willow and her human…

At one point, her highness realized that she had left her mittens on the ground when she had stopped to take some photos. As she went back to get her mittens, Willow’s human caught this shot of me – watching where her highness was going…

As soon as her highness was out of my sight, behind the huge pile of rocks you saw in the other photos, I left this vantage point and raced to see where she was.

Of course, we had to gather for the obligatory attempt at a trio photo – which is NOT easy to get!

All in all, it was a wonderful walk! And probably THE most miraculous part? Did you happen to notice NO long line on me? AND I never took off! OK. I guess that’s not entirely true. I did have the odd moment when I pulled a Houdini disappearing act. BUT I always came back! Maybe I’m maturing. Or maybe I just preferred the company of those two lovely canine ladies.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

It is Frodo here. It is March 1st. Hurray. Winter will soon be over. We hope. And today I have the privilege of reminding all of you about a special birthday. It’s Frederic’s birthday. Frederic who you might ask? Why Frederic Chopin – a famous composer who some have referred to as “one of music’s earliest superstars.” And why would I be interested in a famous classical composer? Because, of course, he is Polish. Or should I say was. He died in 1849 at the young age of 39. But he sure did a lot of things in his short life.

And why, besides the fact that he was Polish, would I be interested in him? Well. Because he wrote a famous piece of music called the Minute Waltz. But it takes more than a minute to play. That part I don’t understand. BUT – the music is also known as the Waltz of the Little Dog. Because Chopin liked dogs. Apparently, Chopin had a friend who owned a little dog by the name of Marquis. And Chopin really liked that little dog. And as he was composing one day, Marquis was running around chasing his tail. Somewhere in the middle section of the waltz there are a series of notes that are supposed to represent the little bell that Marquis was wearing and ringing, as he raced around in circles. The dog was the inspiration for the piece.

Here is a short video where you can listen to the music. And see some crazy tail-chasing dogs…

https://youtu.be/BlB3DFH2oWY

That piece is great fun. But sadly, Marquis was also said to be the inspiration for the last section of Chopin’s Funeral March – when poor Marquis died. I guess Chopin really DID like that dog.

So today we HAVE to celebrate Chopin’s birthday. How could we NOT celebrate a famous Polish guy who liked dogs and even was inspired to write about one? I think this calls for pierogies all around.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

• 

Frodo here. You humans. You DO require a LOT of training. Yesterday it was a case of training her highness to say the correct words…

Yesterday morning was notable. We all slept in until 7:30. 7:30! Half the day was over. Anyway, we got up and her highness looked outdoors because by now it was fully light outside. It was windy. And grey. But the temperature was above freezing. Which meant that the public trail would be one big muddy trench. It was a bit like that the day before, combined with icy patches. A perfect recipe for much grumbling on the part of her highness. I, personally, try to avoid water and mud – as I know the combination will later result in a trip to the tub. So I stay on any snowy patches I can find. Meanwhile, the beatnik forges through anything. He doesn’t care. I suppose that is one of the advantages to his easy care coat. Lucky him.

But I digress. So yesterday, given the late launch time and the grey day, her highness announced we would go down to the lake instead. It’s a shorter walk and frankly that was fine by me as I knew I would get breakfast sooner. So off we went. We made our “deposits,” looked at the lake, and headed back to the house. Yours truly was off leash – but the potential escapee was on leash. We went in the house and her highness announced that she needed to go up to the road to get the paper. I immediately went to the door. I quite enjoy the paper routine. She feeds me treats if I heel alongside, and when she tells me to sit and stay half way up the driveway while she goes to the road, I am happy to comply. It means more treats when she returns. So yesterday as I was sitting and watching her, I noticed her looking down into the ditch at the side of the road. It appears we have a new paper delivery person who does not bother to put the paper in the box, but rather tosses it on the driveway. And if it’s windy, as it was yesterday, it easily lands up in the ditch. I could see her highness trying to figure out how to get down into the ditch. Do to do without actually climbing down would require her to walk back down the driveway and walk down where the slope is less steep. But then she had an idea. She thought she would attempt a “Lassie” move. She called yours truly to come to her aid.

I, of course, raced to her knowing her pocket was loaded with treats. She rewarded me for my recall. Then she pointed at the paper, wrapped in plastic, down in the ditch and said “Get it.” I looked at the paper and ran right down into the ditch. Stepping on the paper as I went. I went right past it. Her highness said “get it. Get it.” I raced around in circles. And I raced back up to her. Without the paper. She tried again- saying “get it,” and yours truly did the same thing- as if I didn’t even see the paper. Her highness figured she would just have to go down herself, so she looked around to see if she could actually try to climb down. She called me back to her. And then, in a moment of brilliance, which she doesn’t always display, she thought she would try the Lassie move one more time. But this time, she told me what to do, with different words. THIS TIME, she said “take it” which is what she would say when training me in obedience to retrieve a dumbbell. And, of course, I went right down and got the paper. She showered me with treats. It was a joyful reunion. Why didn’t she simply say that in the first place? Humans. They can be quite entertaining- once you have them well trained…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Frodo here. Well. I have now witnessed another example of strange Picard behavior. The beatnik never ceases to intrigue me.

In her highness’ bedroom there is a crate. A crate that is large enough to house a small pony. Actually- a large pony. The door is always open – in fact it should just be taken off. The beatnik LOVES that crate – and if you can’t find him, that’s where he is. Outstretched with his feet in the air. He thinks it’s his condo.

At night, if he isn’t on her highness’ bed, he is in the condo. And one might think that is all good and cozy. And it would be – if it weren’t for his unpredictable thrashing about in his sleep. He moves around and sometimes make such a loud racket, that he can awaken her highness from a sound sleep. Bam. Boom.

Because his nocturnal crate moves can be quite loud, her highness decided some time ago that perhaps she should get a padded crate mat to damper the sounds. And of course, it would be more comfortable for him. She had been looking at a particular mat that is sold at a big box store. Every week she watches the flyers to see if it is on sale. But alas, the one she wanted never seemed to be a bargain.

The other day when she was at the store, an employee saw her looking at the mats and asked if she needed assistance. Her highness bemoaned the fact that the mat she wanted never seemed to be on sale. The woman said “let me see what I can do.” Her highness was quite surprised as she didn’t think a big box store would offer a possible deal on an item not marked as a sale item. But low and behold, the woman returned and said she could give her highness a 30% discount. Her highness said “sold.” She paid for the mat and couldn’t wait to get home.

When she came home she held out the mat for us to see. She was SO excited. She put the mat in the pony condo. The beatnik and I watched with great interest. She then invited him to go in. He stood at the door and looked in like one of those home makeover TV shows where the people return to see their newly decorated abode. She told him to go in. He ran in. And then he ran out. He did it again. He looked as thrilled as those makeover people.

So a wonderful happy story. Correct? Alas, not so much. You know how the beatnik will do things like stare into the distance- at nothing. Or he will stare at his food bowl like it is the first time he has been fed from that bowl? Well. That night he stared into his condo. But he wouldn’t go in. Her highness told him to go in and told him to lie down. He did. But as soon as she walked away, out he came. He refused all night to go in the crate. Same routine last night. He would sleep on her highness’ bed or on the floor. But he had NO interest in going in his condo. Not with that new mat in there.

Her highness was SO disappointed. We can only hope that he will get used to it and will return to condo living. I wish he would – he takes up a lot of space on the bed.

He’s an interesting fellow. Oh and he gives me an excellent haircut….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Frodo here. Yesterday morning her highness had some errands to run, but she was home early in the afternoon. The beatnik and I were rather bored, even though she had taken us for a long walk early in the morning. Because we are bored, we deliberately do things to irritate her. We lick each other. And we chew on each other. Despite her pleading that we stop.

Finally, when she could no longer tolerate the chew fest, she announced that WE were going out. She opened the door to the garage and opened the rear hatch on Ludwig. The beatnik and I flew in.

We initially thought we might be headed to the public trail, but she drove past the parking lot as we shmeered olfactory art all over the side window. When we got to the end of the road, we fully expected her to turn right, to take us to the fenced ball diamond. Well – I thought that’s where we were going. The beatnik didn’t have a clue. As he sat there squeaking. But much to my surprise, she turned left. The last time I turned left, I was going to the vet. But given that it was Sunday, and I know the vet is not open on Sundays, I calmed my fear.

We drove for hours. Hours in dog time. Ten minutes in human time. And the next thing you know, she was pulling into the parking lot of a pet store where she gets some of our food. Now we WOULD have been allowed inside, but she knew what a gong show it would be to take both of us in. So she opened the windows a crack and abandoned us. Of course, yours truly immediately climbed into the driver’s seat. Proper thing. We all know who is in the driver’s seat in our house.

She returned after what seemed again like hours, and at a point where yours truly was trying to figure out how to open the door. She returned like a hunter with her game- a large bag of food AND some treats. In order to extricate me from the driver’s seat, she pulls this “trick” which, I am embarrassed to admit, I fall for every time. She “pretends” she is going to open the rear hatch – so I jump into the back. At which point she races to the driver’s side and opens that door. Clever move. When she sat down, both of us had to inspect her bounty. Imagine our delight when she opened the bag of dried sweet potato crisps. Well. My delight. The beatnik was disappointed we weren’t getting out so he spit out his crisps. Pity for him, good for me. I immediately inhaled his portions.

After that “excitement” we returned home. Big deal. She could see the disappointment on my face, so she agreed we could take a walk to the lake. We stepped out onto the lake and although we had again seen snowmobiles on the lake the day before, we all agreed with the temperature well above freezing, that the lake ice will soon be breaking up. The beatnik stood on the ice and looked around. And then he looked down. And listened. As if he could hear something below his feet. Her highness reeled him in. But of course, he proceeded to do the same thing standing in the snow. He listens. Like he hears something. The snow is not so deep that it could be a rabbit below him. Maybe a mouse? Sometimes I think he does it just to make her highness wonder. And it works.

As we walked back to the house, we were both on bunny alert. I had seen one during our morning walk – and I had attempted to catch him. Mind you, I didn’t try THAT hard, and I didn’t go far. But on my way back to the house, I would stop every 20 feet, and bark a single warning bark to alert any rabbits in the vicinity. I did that repeatedly.

Sometimes her highness just shakes her head. If I wasn’t doing that, I was rolling. Every single walk is a new adventure. One must make the most of all opportunities. To live large.

I hope YOU live a large Monday.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Yo. Elroy here. You know, we got to thinking that it’s been pretty quiet since the wild grey whirlwind is gone. I mean not that he ALONE was the “naughty” dog. I’ve had my own share of carpet eating and “illegal escapes.” But let’s face it- we’ve been pretty well behaved the last couple of weeks. But that was bound to change…

Yesterday morning we had short walks because the temperature was very, very cold. Her highness announced that we were to go “quick, quick, quick” – which means poop fast. I wonder how she would feel if someone said that to her? Mind you, the Boss still continues to bark probably every second or third day when she goes into the bathroom. So that’s his own way of saying “quick, quick, quick.” He doesn’t do it EVERY time – that would be too predictable. He believes in intermittent barking – so you never REALLY know if he’s faking.

Anyway, we were a bit annoyed with the short walk. We were bored after breakfast. And after our daily yogurt container licking and our banana bites. Her highness had her breakfast while yours truly walked around squeaking and the Boss tried to hide behind a table leg so he could lick his feet in peace. Licking drives her highness crazy – and he did it partly in retaliation for the short walk.

After she had her breakfast, she announced that she was having her shower. She tells us everything she is going to do. It’s not like we are going to respond with a commentary, but she does it anyway.

We followed her into the bedroom, but she closed the bathroom door. After she was in there for a few minutes, the Boss tried his barking trick. This time she didn’t come running out but she shouted “Frodo if I come out there and there is no one there I am going to kill you.” He fell silent – knowing full well she wouldn’t “kill” him but also recognizing that when he barked the day before, and she DID come running out, he didn’t get any extra treats during the day.

So all was quiet. She took her shower and got dressed. She came out and I was curled up on the bed, near the foot. The Boss jumped off the bed and was suddenly headed out of the bedroom. She thought that odd, but as she walked by the bed she saw the reason for his hasty retreat. A giant hole in her pillowcase. I mean giant. Like baseball sized. AND a smaller hole in the duvet. And yo – what magic words did she say? “What did you do?” I never picked up my head – and she knows I’m a carpet chewer and not a bedding chewer – so she held the pillow up and ceremoniously showed it to the Boss, who was standing by the bedroom door. He turned and walked away.

She announced that she was going to meet some friends for coffee and then “maybe she would go pillowcase shopping.” She looked at the Boss when she made that announcement. Still, she DID give us treats when she left. She always does. SHE’S so predictable.

I think that was the last set of intact pillowcases – except for the ones in the guest bedrooms. Any wonder why those bedroom doors are always closed?

I guess it’s clear that the Boss’ teeth aren’t bothering him. Yup. Good times have returned.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Greetings blog readers. Frodo here. Well it has been quite the turn of events here. As you may recall, yours truly had an unfortunate dental incident last week. I broke my canine tooth. It now matched the other canine tooth which I broke several years ago.

In the aftermath of the “explosion” as the beatnik would call it, I felt a bit odd. I could tell that something was “different” in my mouth, but I didn’t know why. It literally left me speechless. I was silent. I would not bark – even when encouraged to do so. Which signaled a problem to her highness. Much as she is continually telling me to keep my opinions to myself – or at least to whisper when I do so, she interestingly became concerned when I was suddenly silent. So off we went to the vet.

Our vet looked at my tooth and suggested we remove it. Well, not WE – she would be the one doing the removal. And her highness agreed. The appointment was made for today.

Since then, of course, I have felt much better and the tooth is no longer bothering me. I have returned to my previously chatty persona. I eat anything (although that was never really a problem) – but I did also start chewing on toys again.

As a result of my miraculous recovery, her highness began to worry about my surgery. You see, in dogs such as myself who have cardiac issues, a different type of anesthetic is used. Now I had it for my unfortunate testicular surgery and my subsequent surgery for necrosis- but her highness was still concerned. No surgery is without risk. And perhaps she is still feeling overly worried – given the passing of my brother. As a result, she decided to consult with our vet to see if we could take a “wait and see” approach. Our vet felt that since it is not bothering me, and it did not appear to be infected or swollen in any way, that it was reasonable to wait. She teased her highness by saying she knew her highness wouldn’t miss any signs of a possible problem. Is that not the truth? So my surgery was canceled.

So there you have it. No canned food or ice cream for yours truly today. I’m not certain I would have actually had ice cream – but I like to think it would have been possible. If her highness sees ANY signs that I am bothered by the tooth, or I am behaving oddly, we will be right back at the vet’s office. Now much as I like our vet, I would prefer not to go back. Frankly, after the “orb ordeal”, I now “put on the brakes” when I have to go through the door of the clinic. That ordeal was not pleasant. And we PONs do NOT forget…

Well, time for our constitutional. And I will savor my nonsurgical freedom AND I will enjoy my breakfast – which I would not have been able to have. Yes. Thank goodness for small miracles. Oh and I do enjoy the name White Fang…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Elroy here. So on Sunday we were all relaxing in the DFZ. It’s true. Her highness has been letting us in. More and more. But ONLY when she is in the room.

She was working on this rug hooking thing. The Boss was next to the fireplace and yours truly was lying on one of the rugs her highness made a long time ago. I learned the other day that one way to be quickly evicted from the DFZ is to pull fabric out of the rug that took her 27 years to make. I won’t do THAT again. You would have thought I peed on the sofa or something. Jeepers. It’s not like she couldn’t fix it.

Anyway, on Sunday I was NOT doing any rug reconstruction and we were all nice and quiet. And suddenly we heard a strange sound. The Boss and I got up at ran to the other room. It was the sound of snowmobiles. On the lake. There must have been a dozen. Her highness shook her head. Because remember how she put her foot through the ice the other day? Well she did a repeat performance on Saturday after we had a super cold snap. She figured it would be frozen again. And she tried to get a photo of the Boss. There’s this saying about doing the same thing over again and expecting different results. Well guess her highness doesn’t learn. She stepped in the same spot. And ploosh. With a different pair of boots. Not too bright if you ask me.

Anyway, when we saw those snowmobiles, we wondered how safe it is. Ya sure wouldn’t catch me out there on one. Now admittedly we did step out on the lake yesterday- but her highness is careful not to step near the hole in the ice. And we don’t go far out. Good plan. But I still wouldn’t ride a snowmobile out there.

Meanwhile besides the dangers of thin ice, we also have to be on the lookout for coyotes! Apparently at this time of year, they are looking for girlfriends. And they can get pretty nasty. About 30 km from here, two beagles were attacked in their own yard! They will be OK – but they were both injured. Of course her highness read that posting late at night- just before our last pee of the night. We ALWAYS go out with her on a leash. Anyway, I decided to play a little trick on her. We went out – and I stared and barked at the woods. I barely got to pee as she dragged me in the house. I was just JOKING!

The Boss seems to be back to himself since the great tooth explosion. He’s barking again. At everything- just like normal. He doesn’t seem to be making any strange faces. He’s eating anything and everything like normal- mind you that never stopped. So NOW her highness is second guessing whether the tooth should come out after all. I think she’ll need to call the vet today. Or tomorrow at the latest as the surgery is booked for Thursday. Oh what to do. What to do… Dr Google can give you a bunch of things that can go wrong with surgery – so now she’s worried. I guess our recent veterinary track record with rare and unique conditions has made her a bit gun shy. If anyone has experience with tooth extraction in a 10+ year old dog who is on cardiac medication, feel free to message her. She would love to know your experience.

Well time to go for our morning constitutional. Yesterday we had a dusting of snow – so it was very pretty. We’ll see what adventures today holds.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Yo everybody. Elroy here to tell you about an awesome time I had yesterday. No. I didn’t see any sheep. No herding this weekend. But this is my next favorite thing. A date with my girlfriend, Willow. Except this date was different because there was a third wheel. Nope- it wasn’t Farley. This time the Boss came along. So that made for an interesting date.

The Boss had met Willow before, so after barking his greetings it was time to get some exercise. She and I did our play bows and then we took off. Well SHE took off. The Boss and I concede that we cannot catch up to her. Here’s a shot of how things start out…

And then she would take off…

She can turn on a dime…

Here’s a shot of the Picardy speedway being monitored by the PON police…

But she’s way too fast for me and I lose her every single time..

Even the Boss tried to chase her. Here you see her egging him on and he takes the bait…

But he can’t catch her either…

Even when he tried to direct her toward me (you can see me watching the proceedings in the distance)- I still couldn’t catch her…

So the Boss and I spent a lot of time forlornly watching her in the distance…She was zooming all around.

One time I tried to pounce and catch her when she wasn’t prepared.. (thanks to her human for the first photo)…

But she still got away…

There’s just no catching that girl.

Sometimes the Boss and I just ran around in our own circles. Chasing no one.

When she got a bit tired after running circles around us, she did take a break.

We came together and posed for a photo together…

Then she let me stare into her eyes…

She DID give me a little kiss…and you’ll note the Boss is ignoring us because her highness took out some treats. So much for the romantic moment – turns out she was more interested in the liver bites than she was in me (thanks to her human for these trio shots!)

All in all, despite the fact that she ran circles around us, we all had a great time. Even the 10 year old guy with the “heart issue” had a blast. I think we both have a crush on her! Can’t wait for the next time!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.