Spoiled dogs

Yesterday morning, we decided to get up early.  Well, I did – and so my human kindly joined me.  At 4:45.  She got dressed and went to take Einstein and me out for our morning constitutional.  It was still dark out, so my human was sporting her trusty headlamp.  And it was very peaceful and quiet.  We walked all the way down the road, but didn’t go on the trail as it was still dark.   We did our thing and my human scooped and carried our deposits back home. We were just approaching our driveway, and both of us stopped in the middle of the road.  And we were sniffing something.  My human had not noticed anything in the road on the way down, but clearly there was something there now.  So she began to pull us away.  And that’s when she realized what we were SO interested in.  A frog. A BIG frog.  About the size of my human’s fist.  So she pulled us back.  And at that point, the frog began to hop.  And that’s when Einstein went cray cray.  Barking and growling and pulling.  Like he just saw a bear.  Seriously.  It was a FROG.  And although I didn’t join the chorus, I was certainly pulling like mad as well.  My human had to hold on to the two of us with all her might.  And drag us down the driveway.  While the frog made his way across the road, not even realizing what a ruckus he had caused.  And which everyone within a 5 km radius probably heard – at 5:15 in the morning… Yup.  Never a dull (or quiet) moment.

I looked at the Crazy Calendar, and guess what today is? It is National Spoil your Dog Day.  My human burst out laughing when she saw that.  She says EVERY day is Spoil your Dog Day in this house.  I beg to differ – not on those days where we have to be groomed.   But otherwise, I must confess, we ARE just a little tiny bit spoiled.  Guess what she bought us now?  Big huge awesome marrow bones.  Yes.  We ARE spoiled.  And we sure are enjoying her vacation time.  

Anyway -  canines - stay spoiled and have a good one! Peace and paws up!

Audiobooks

So here's a new tidbit in the world of dog news.  This one came from Cesar Millan.  Now before some of you start shaking your heads, because you are not a Cesar fan - THIS stuff IS interesting. It seems that Cesar did some research at his Dog Psychology Center.  They wanted to see if dogs left alone were more calm and relaxed if music was left on for us - or if we preferred listening to audiobooks. And guess what?  We enjoyed listening to audiobooks more than music. When it comes to the audiobooks, sound level as well as the gender of the audiobook reader apparently can make a difference.  We dogs tend to prefer narrators that are the same gender as our primary owner.  

If you have the Audible app, you can download info about dog audiobooks for free:
https://mobile.audible.com/dogs/apc.htm

My human usually leaves a radio on for us when she goes to work.  But she hasn't tried any audiobooks.  I wonder if talk radio would work the same way.  I guess it depends on the topic.  Politics could cause us to become MORE excited.   

And the specific audiobook would certainly make a difference too.  I wouldn't want to listen to anything really scary.  That COULD result in barking.  And please - no Harlequin Romance stories for us.  Or sci-fi.   And no dog training or self help books.  B-O-R-I-N-G.  Maybe a good drama.  Or biography.  Sure.  Lassie's biography.  That would work for me.  The FG says he would like to listen to Because of Winn-Dixie.  And we know why - it stars a Picard.   OK - I'll give it a go.  I'll let you know how these audiobooks go.  And if any of your canines HAVE been listening to audiobooks, I'm open to recommendations!

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up!

Dog news and extreme grooming

So do you recognize the name Abbie Girl?  You should if you follow dog news.  Abbie Girl is an Australian Kelpie, and on Saturday she won the 2nd Annual World Dog Surfing Championships in Pacifica, California.  And Abbie Girl also won last year.  Apparently dozens of dogs showed up for the competition.  Three judges decide who wins and dogs are judged on two things - whether they stay on the board and whether they look happy.   Abbie Girl competed solo on her own custom board.  Dogs can compete solo, with another dog, or with a human.

I think Einstein would be PERFECT for this competition.  HE hates the water and he will do ANYTHING to even avoid a puddle.  Which, in my mind, means that he would stay on that board no matter WHAT.  There are people who surf here in Nova Scotia, although the water would no doubt be a bit cooler than California.  I'll have to take Einstein out to one of the popular surfing beaches and get him started.  Just have to get him a wet suit.

In other dog news, the last bath victim met his tub on Sunday night.  Einstein, like me, thought he was just going into the torture palace for a brushing.  Wrongo.  After the brushing came the bath. And the jet engine dryer.  And while he wasn't THRILLED with the whole fiasco, my human showed him the following article and threatened that grooming could be SO much worse. Honestly, these dogs MUST have to undergo therapy after having this done to them.  And I thought having to wear a clip in my hair, or the dreaded Easter Bunny ears was bad!!!!  Sorry folks - but this REALLY is TOO TOO much. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4767464/Photographer-captures-dogs-extreme-grooming.html

My human is still off - and we have actually been allowing her to sleep in until 5:30.  Yes, we can be thoughtful.  And the multiple games of fetch have been marvelous.  For those of us not on a long line.

Have a good one!  Peace and paws up!

Training. Picard 1. Human 0.

So you know how humans use this system of intermittent reinforcement to train us canines.  Or they THINK they are training us – but we know better.  Well let me tell you – we dogs do the same thing.  We give you a behaviour.  Like a good behaviour.  And so you humans THINK we will continue to give you that good behaviour.  Yeah – well don’t count on it…

So my human has been training the FG to fetch those orange bumpers – while on a long line.  And for quite a few nights now, he has been great at retrieving.  Well…maybe the word “great” is a stretch.  Pretty good is more like it.  He doesn’t ALWAYS bring it right back, but for the past little while he has not run off with it.  No disappearing act in the woods. No dashing down to the lake.  No escaping to the neighbours’ place.  He has been  good.  So Saturday night, he was watching me play fetch in the backyard.  He and Einstein were on the deck and watched as I crazily ran out and back NUMEROUS times to bring back the bumper.  I will play fetch until I am ready to drop from exhaustion.  My human has to be careful with me if it is warm out – we can’t play for very long.  But Saturday night it had begun to cool off, and it was perfect fetch weather.  The FG watched me and squeaked for his turn.  So after I was done, my human took me inside and took the FG out.  But this time, she decided NOT to put on the long line.  He’s been so well- behaved.  She figured she had “trained” him.  So she threw the toy.  And he ran out to get it.  And raced around to the backyard.  My human followed him and tossed the other toy.  ( We have two the same, so the game is continuous – bring one back and the other is thrown). And the FG raced off to get it.  And then,  something happened.  I honestly think he realized he was completely FREE.  No long line. And within .063 seconds, he headed for the trail to the lake.  My human futilely called his name, in that fake sweet voice that attempts to hide the the panic she is really feeling.  But no point – he was G-O-N-E.   With my human in hot pursuit.  She saw him stop to poop so she ran faster to try to catch up to him.  He started running mid-poop. There was no way he was going to be caught.  So down he raced to the lake.  And on the way, my human picked up some rocks.  As he approached the water, she tossed one in, thinking he would stop to look at what it was, and she could grab him. Wrongo.  She made a big splash with the rock and instead of him standing on shore to look at it, he went in the water to get a closer look. And that was it.  No getting him out.  Every time he got within reach of my human, he would back up in the water.  At one point he came out – but wet dogs have an unusual “super speed” that is extra hard to control.  He dashed. And darted.  And she could not get near him.  And when she almost did, he ran back into the water.  And then he decided to wade in the water along the shore. Further along, past our place, the shoreline grasses are pretty tall, and my human had visions of ticks waiting to jump onto her legs. Not that she has seen any – but one never knows.  So at that point she stomped back to the house – to get rubber boots and a leash.  She no sooner came out the door with leash in hand, and around the corner of the house came a wet, scary looking creature, who had clearly run through a swampy area.  He immediately changed direction as soon as he saw her. This time he was headed up toward the neighbors’.  She opened the garage door and jumped in the car. And she wasn’t forty feet from the door when she saw him hiding in the bushes.  She stopped the car and he ran around it.  She got out and calmly opened the rear hatch, and he raced around to get in.  Busted.  She grabbed his collar and matched him back to the garage where he was put in the tub and the swamp remnants were thoroughly rinsed off.. And then he faced the airplane jet engine dryer.  He didn’t care – he loves the thing.  He stands there with his hair blowing and his head held high – like he’s in some kind of shampoo commercial.  In his mind, it was a GREAT time all around.  

For my human, this is not exactly the relaxing evening she had planned.   I’m thinking that the FG will once again be playing fetch on the long line.  Until he again trains my human to let him loose….

Have a good one!  Peace and paws up!

A herding test...

Well my human has done it again.  We'll see what happens THIS time.  Sometimes I think she is just a glutton for punishment.  What has she done?  She has entered the FG in a herding instinct test at the end of the month.   

We know that for Einstein and I, the instinct test fee was not exactly money well spent.  Remember?  First Einstein went in the pen for the test and just glared at my human.  He's not really one to enjoy a fenced-in muddy pen.  And yet he HAD been with sheep when he was younger - so my human THOUGHT he would be interested.   He kind of liked sheep.  "Kind of" being the operative words.  My human actually found video footage of his first encounter.  And it really wasn't all THAT exciting.  But after he was given some time - and was walked around the sheep - he DID catch on.  These photos show those results.

But for the test?  Nope.  Maybe it was performance anxiety.  After he failed the test, she then brought ME in.  And she had really high hopes for me.  My performance?  Ditto.  I sat in the middle of the pen like a stuffed PON.

So then remember how she decided that maybe if I went without Einstein to a test that MAYBE I would do better?  So several weeks later she entered me in another test.  And she drove over an hour again to get there.  And she was all excited.  And the result was EXACTLY the same.  I sat in the pen and stared at her.  We didn't even get our allotted 15 minutes of test time.  The judges, for some reason, remembered me from my previous performance.  They said to take me home and love me.  But don't bother buying any sheep. 

So now it's the FG's turn.  And while we know his mother was great with sheep, we are not holding out any high hopes.  My human can't bear to have her dreams dashed yet again.  So she says she is going in with absolutely NO expectations.  Good plan.  I mean I'm not suggesting she should aim low - but the reality is that either we WANT to chase the sheep.  Or we don't.   My human's excuse was that we had obedience training - so we didn't like to work away from her.  Bwhahahahaha.  I don't think anyone bought it - but it made HER feel better.  

In the meantime, I suggest she start playing some sheepherding videos on the TV.  Maybe he'll get the idea.  Honestly, I think she should sell tickets to watch him.  She will DEFINITELY need to have someone take some video.  Finally a chance for a viral video.  I can hardly wait...

Have a good one!  Peace and paws up!

Outsmarting picky Picards. For now.

OK so I just don't get this Picky Picard thing.   Being picky about food is SO foreign to the PONs in this house - it's like saying grooming is a FUN thing to do.  My human THOUGHT she had outsmarted the FG by doing things like adding parmesan to his food.  Or adding other tasty treats like bits of dried liver.  Or by feeding him by hand.  Or by changing his food.  And all of those tactics DID work.  For a day or two.  But on Thursday, I honestly thought my human was going to cry.   None of the tactics worked - and he refused to eat.  Yes - she knows you can put his food down and take it away after 10-15 minutes.  But the problem is, I then OBSESS over that food bowl.  It's put in the garage - but honestly, I KNOW it is in there.  So I stand and stare at the garage door.  Constantly.  And I squeak.  And moan. 

Sometimes if the FG doesn't eat his breakfast, my human puts his bowl in his run with him if she goes out, and he generally eats it while she is out.   But Thursday he picked out the dried liver and spread the rest of his kibble around his run.  And neither the hand feeding or parmesan worked when she returned.  Even begging did not work.  And not to worry - he is NOT sick.  He has tons of energy and WILL eat treats.  Or garbage along the side of the road if my human isn't paying attention while they walk.

So she didn't know WHAT to do. One thing she did notice was that when she takes him on his walks, he is always happy to be rewarded for good walking with a piece or two of kibble.  So she tried something yesterday morning... She basically FILLED her pockets with the amount of food the FG would usually get for breakfast.  And every now and then, on the walk, she would stop and offer him some.  Which he happily ate.  So my clever human was able to feed him his entire meal, as they walked along.  BINGO.  She has outsmarted him again.  But we'll see how long THIS lasts.

Never a dull moment.  Ever....

Happy Saturday!!!!!

Peace and paws up!

Guide to canine photgraphy

So every now and then, after my human manages to snap a halfway decent photo of us canines, someone will ask her how she does it.  I decided to share with you her ingredients for canine photography.

1.  First you need a dog. Or two. Or in our case three.  The higher the number, the higher degree of #2.

2.  Patience.  Which ironically is not my human's forte.  But she must have some, or the recipe would not work out.  If patience is really lacking, alcohol consumption may or may not help.  That's optional.

3.  Treats.  Really GOOD treats.  Not a piece of the same old kibble we may get for meals.  That is way too boring.  We are talking something extraordinary.  Like dried liver.  Or cheese.  Or sirloin steak.  And we must get a whiff before you begin.

4.  Noise makers.  If you want the "ears up" attentive expression, you must use SOMETHING to gain our attention.  A squeaker may work.  Or a whistle.  Or you can try any variety of human noises.  But keep in mind, they only work once.  After that, you need a new one.

5.  Pocket rocks.  When my human attempts outdoor photos, she picks up rocks and loads her pockets with them.  Rocks are perfect.  For throwing in the bushes to get attention.  Or in the water.  Or behind her.  Just do NOT throw them straight up - as you can end up with a minor head injury. 

These are the basic ingredients for taking canine photos.  Oh and you need a camera.  Or in my human's case, a smart phone.  Like her iPhone.  Which always seems to turn off JUST as she has managed to position all of us. And as SOON as she is all set, one of us has moved.  It's kind of like an interesting game of canine chess.  You never know where the next move will be.

So there you have it.  No doubt our neighbors have heard some rather interesting noises during our photo shoots.  And no doubt a FEW colorful words as well.  And although we may grumble about her pup-arazzi  routine, we DO enjoy the treats!  Did you say "cheese?!"

Peace and paws up!