Temperamental. And strange.

I'm SURE I have talked about this before - but it bears repeating.  Picards are temperamental.  You never quite know what kind of mood the FG will wake up in.  Really.  Some days he is all rolled up in his crate (which has no door on it) and doesn't even move a MUSCLE when my human gets up and goes to take us out.  He opens one eye, looks at us PONs who are spinning like tops - and rolls over.  That means he is in a "mood."  He takes his time getting up on those days.  Mind you - once he is UP and hits the fresh air,  well it's like when my human gets that cup of coffee.  He is suddenly ALIVE.  So I guess, first off, he is not a morning  dog.  But he can also be temperamental, as we know, with eating.  The other morning when my human put his breakfast down, he looked at it and said no thanks.  She is used to that.  So at supper time, she added some raw food.  He wouldn't touch it.  His third chance was right before bed.   We always get a snack (so I can get my CBD dose).  He STILL didn't want to eat.   He would eat biscuits - but his own food - nope.  So that bowl of raw went in the compost.   Now the next morning, he was STARVING and ate everything down to the last tiny bit.  Just watching him not eating for a day is like watching a horror film to me.  I cannot IMAGINE why he does that.  HOW he does that.

He is also inconsistent in his delivery skills.  Delivery skills?  The newspaper.  He and my human go up to the road each morning to get the paper.  Now keep in mind the following: It is dark out.  It is icy out.  My human is dressed like she is going on a polar expedition - so her mobility is rather restricted.  She is also super cautious about not falling.

When she picks up the paper, it is often in a plastic bag.  And the FG wants it.  She CANNOT give it to him if there is no bag, because he takes it, drops it and then tears it up.  So no bag, no game.  And the game is pretty much played by his rules.  Although sometimes my human calls the shots. 

So if it IS in a bag, he wants it.  She gives it to him and instructs him to “be a good boy and hold it.”  He takes two steps and drops it. And then STARES at it like it is some kind of meteor that just dropped from the sky. She tells him “take it.” He stares at it.  She bends over, and picks it up. And of course he wants it.  She gives him the same instructions. This time he prances and throws the paper in the air. Which lands on the ice at the side of the driveway and slides down into the ditch.  Unhappy ditties come from my human.  She knows that the likelihood that he will go down in the ditch and get it are pretty slim.  Which means she has to find a non-icy vantage point where she can climb down.  As she is scanning for her climbing point, the FG decides to jump down into the ditch. Back before my time, my human had a Labrador,  who could be instructed to retrieve the paper from the ditch - and he was 100% reliable in getting it.  He could even retrieve garbage can lids. But I digress.  And we’re talking about the FG.

Anyway, much to my human’s amazement, he gets  it!!! And jumps back up onto the driveway.  Score!  My human is telling him how brilliant he is as he proudly carries his prize.  For 4 feet.  Then he drops it. And stares at it.

It is at this point that my humam announces the “three strikes and you’re out” rule,  she bends over, picks up the paper and tucks it under her arm.  The FG shrugs his shoulders and begins to tug on the leash . At which point the announcement is made that “ALL GAMES ARE OVER.”

He trots happily down the driveway. Where he is headed in to stare at his food dish.

Yes.  These Picards are a VERY interesting breed....

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days: 2