Human attire

Well we finally have had the opportunity to assess the the skills of our new plow driver.  He needed to come last week - for the first time this winter, and Wednesday night as well.  Wednesday was a typical Halifax area winter day.  Snow all day. Followed by freezing rain, then some rain and then some freezing again.  Which made the snow crusty and hard on the top and wet and soft underneath.  And where Russell had plowed (I'll call him Russell since that's his name...) the driveway was icy.  Needless to say we didn't get to go for suer long walks on Thursday morning, and we were less than thrilled with the whole walking-on-crusty-and-falling-through thing on the lawn.  At least we PONs didn't care for it.  We went out, did our business, watched our poop roll along on the crusty surface and wanted to go right back in the house - to eat.  The FG on the other hand had a "leaping technique" were he basically bounced his way around the lawn, breaking through the crust and burying his nose in the snow.  He thought it was great fun. The photo you see is the pre-crusty stage.

Given the current state of winter weather, I would like to share several essential pieces  of human dog-walking attire.  If you live in a warm climate without snow (lucky you!) you can ignore the next few paragraphs...

First we have the boots with the cleats that are removable - they flip around back into the sole of the boot.  They work great in icy conditions - although if the surface is really hard and sheer ice, they could actually be slippery. But in crusty ice, they are PERFECT.

Next we have the mittens with  string. Now most people probably associate these with kids - but if you are owned by a dog, they are indispensable.  Because when you have to remove your mitten to get the poop bag out of your pocket, and you still have to hold onto two leashes and balance on the ice, you don't need to worry about dropping your mitts!  

Then of course, we have the trusty headlamp.  Because it gets dark at supper time and doesn't get light out until breakfast.  Don't leave home without it.



My human could do commercials for dog walking attire.

It's FRIDAY and it's also January 19 - and according to the crazy calendar, it's Good Memory Day.  And let me tell you something, we PONs have EXCELLENT memories..  And really, so does Picky Picard.  For example, we remember where treats are stored (and for that matter, if they have been left on the counter).   When we play the "find it" games, we often go to places that the hedgehog or bunny have been hidden in the past - before we start using our noses.  Some studies argue that we dogs don't have a a short term memory that lasts more than 2-5 minutes - because we live in the here and now.  Our long term memory  is obviously longer - because we can recall commands and places we have been in the past.   They say our long term memory depends on our associative memory.  For example, we hear the treat jar being opened so we associate the sound with getting something yummy.  

One thing I know for sure, unlike my human who goes into a room and can't remember why she went in, I NEVER forget.  Because I'm always going in for the same reason - to hunt for food.  And trust me, I NEVER forget where I found it before...

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up!

Seizure-free days: 7