Sorry Bud...The Guilting Hour Began Early Tonight

 If you know poodles, you know they're smart dogs...sometimes too smart. Take our dog Bec, for example. We've made it a point to take the dog out at certain intervals during the day. My son (who is the dog's owner...) takes the dog out when he gets up and at noon before he has lunch. I take the dog out after I finish my shift at work, then my son takes him out at 6pm.

My wife and I have started a tradition of taking the dog out when we water the backyard gardens, usually around 8pm, mountain time. We do this basically during good weather and when the secondary water is turned on. 

But, one thing the dog doesn't understand is how to read a clock. To us humans, we look at a clock and do things based on the time, at least, my wife and I do. We wait for it to be 8pm, then we give signals to the dog that tells him it's time to go outside and play fetch.

But, one thing humans don't understand is as the seasons change, 8pm isn't 8pm as the days become shorter and shorter. Without doing any research, I'm guessing the dog knows what time it is based on where the sun is in the sky. I could be wrong about this, but I think that's what he does.

What does all this mean? It means that our dog begins his "Guilting Hour" earlier and earlier as the days get shorter and shorter. If you're unfamiliar with what the Guilting Hour is, that's not surprising, basically, because I just made it up. The Guilting Hour is when our dog Bec comes up to my wife and I had tries to communicate in as many ways possible that he's ready to go out. These aren't "need to go outside to use the bathroom" looks, but "I want to go play fetch and you should, too" looks.

We're about to go outside now...

The Guilting Hour is finally here.