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.

Give Thanks...Tuckered Out

 This afternoon, I woke up from a nap, a nap well-deserved after having family over. I glanced over at Bec the dog and this is what I saw...

A dog, tuckered out.

Boy, I understood how he felt.

For the first time in several weeks, we had the family over, son, daughter-in-law, daughter, son-in-law, boys, mother-in-law, and grandson. Our house grows smaller with each person who walks in door, but at the same time, it expands as each personality adds to the fabric of family.

As the door closes on the final visitor, the house once again resumes to a sense of normalcy. It becomes larger, quieter, but sadder as well. Such is life...we can only appreciate the good when faced with the bad, the companionship when it's gone.

I am a blessed man...of that there is no doubt. I'm thankful for the time with family, thankful that we all live (relatively...) close and that we're able to gather, break bread, and share/create memories.

Yes, when I look at the dog, tired and resting, I know how he feels for I feel the same...

And it's so worth it.

See That Look...?

 I work at home, something millions of people now do and something I love. Being home means that there's always someone home with the pets. Of course, I don't spend all day with the dog--he's usually lounging on his doggy bed--but it's nice to be home so an animal is not alone for long stretches at a time.

I have a son that also works at home. He's a graphic designer and video game creator. Our dog has been lucky to have someone almost his entire live.

Once in a while, though, the pet's owner needs to leave.

And when that happens, the dog knows he's gone.

Yesterday, my son had errands to run so he left. Even though I was home, the dog was sad. That sad dog wondered into my office looking for a little attention. I snapped a picture of him as he sat and looked at me. 

I wished I could take the rest of the day off work, or at least, take time off until my son returned. I'd play with the puppy, go outside and get some fresh air into my lungs. But, I couldn't. He was telling me with his eyes what he wanted. I doubt I conveyed my thoughts through my eyes. I hope he understood I wanted to help, but he would just have to be sad just a little longer.

Dogs...it's been said we don't deserve them. I believe that to be true. Our dog is totally dedicated to his owner. Even though I was in the house, he still missed his owner.

See that look? It's the look of love.

Oh, The Sad Puppy...

 Oh yes, we have ourselves a sad puppy on our hands. A few weeks ago while playing fetch, he came up limping. We took him to the vet and he might have some arthritis affecting him. He's not an old dog, but--like all of us--he's getting older with each passing year.

The remedy is basically bed rest for a dog...not jumping, no getting up on couches (hence the cardboard boxes on the couch...), avoiding stairs (more than necessary...), and no playing fetch. Right now, the snow would make that even more difficult than normal...just one more thing puppy can't do.

What makes matters worse is our puppy is a poodle and poodles are high-energy. almost every day after work, I would take the dog out for fetch. Our dog is smart. He knows when it's getting close to log-off time so I'll hear him coming down the hall to wait for my work day to end. He knows, after that, it's fetch time.

The dog loves to run. 

We were so happy to finally get a fenced yard so Bec, the dog, could run and run. Since Bec's been on bed rest, he still wants to run. He'll pick up a ball and bring it over to us letting us know what he wants. It brings up the question, do dogs know they're sick?

I'm sure dogs know when they don't feel well. But, does a dog who loves to run realize he may re-injure a leg? We're not letting him run around yet, but I'll bet he'd love to play fetch right now if we'd let him.

I've owned three dogs in my life, two little dogs--a shih tzu, a shih tzu mix, and the poodle. Both little dogs were spared the problems that come with the larger breeds. I don't have a lot of experience with bigger dogs. I'm hoping the medicine and the bed rest will help. I'd hate to see a dog that loves to be physical restricted from those activities. 

As with almost all things, time will tell.

Everyone Needs A Bed...

 We have a standard poodle. Because I'm fortunate enough to work at home, I get to see our dog many times throughout the day. There are times when I'm the only one upstairs. During those times, he's not allowed into the main room or the kitchen, which means he's denied access to a favorite resting place...

Our couch.

Or, as I call it, his upstairs dog bed.

On those days, the dog makes his way into my office and lays down on the carpeted floor. It's not a bed, but I figured, the floor is soft so he should enjoy my office. But, it wasn't his upstairs dog bed. That's when I got an idea. I took one of the couch cushions and put it on the floor in my office. I wasn't sure if he'd like it or even us it.

Turns out, he did both.

Because of that, we decided to buy him another bed so there'd be one on each floor. Of course, that meant we had to go shopping. We did not take the dog with us, even though we could have. I had my son hold up a few models so we could send the pictures home to see if they were acceptable. We decided on one that had sides. Our dog loves sides.

Everyone needs a bed. Our dog now has two.

Five Years...Half A Decade And Our Lives Have Never Been The Same Since

 Another memory popped up on my social media feed this morning. I find them amusing, sometimes surprising. This morning, the memory melted my heart.

Five years ago today, my son and I drove to Sandy, Utah and picked up a puppy, a rescued poodle puppy that was available for adoption. He was so little, and with most puppies, we fell in love with him immediately. This was to be my son's dog. He found the puppy online and we arranged to meet the handler at the PetSmart a few miles south of us.

My son fell in love instantly. I made a call to my wife because the puppy was a little more than we expected, cost-wise. We discussed it and agreed it was worth the cost. I went back to the handler and said we wanted to get him. She said there were several people waiting for us to make a decision because if we passed, they'd take him.

It was one of the best decisions we've made.

It's not our dog's birthday, but it's a day of celebration for our family. Since we brought the puppy home, he's grown, both in size and in intelligence. Today, he's as much a part of our family as anyone. He entertains us, he tests us, he comforts us, he annoys us, and most of all, he loves us...

And we love him.

It's been five years. Here's to hopefully many many more.

Before...And After

 Since we had such a long winter this year, one thing we put off was setting up a time to get our dog's hair cut. Because we have a poodle and because we don't know how to cut our dog's hair ourselves, we need to set something up from a groomer. 

If you have a dog that needs a hair cut, there's a good chance if you can find a groomer, they're weeks, sometimes months out for their next open appointment. That's what happened to us this spring, but since it was still on the cooler side, having long hair wasn't the worst thing for the dog.

Then, things got warmer.

For years we've taken Bec the dog to a groomer where we used to live. We love using her--she does a great job and loves Bec. When we called for an appointment, she was booked solid for weeks. It would be sometime in June before we could get the dog in. We couldn't do that to the dog. We asked our neighbors who they use and they suggested someone only about fifteen minutes away.

We tried her out and the experience was good for us, good for Bec, and hopefully, good for the groomer.

Normally, when the dog returns home, we almost never recognize him...such a difference. This time, because we waited longer than normal, the difference between before and after was stark, as the pictures prove.

Glad we could get him groomed...it's going to get warm soon.

Come On, Boy...It's Too Darn Cold!

We have a smart dog. I know many people believe they too have a smart dog. It's natural to feel that way. I have some statistics to back up part of my claim. According to TheSmartCanine.Com, Poodles rank as the second smartest dog breed.

So, there's some science. To see for yourself, you can visit the webpage by clicking: HERE.

Last spring we put in a backyard fence. A big reason for doing this was the dog. Poodles are not only smart, but they need exercise. They could run and run all day long. Putting in the fence was one of those things we wanted to do ever since we got the dog years ago. And because we have a fence, I started to play fetch with him after my work day ended. I've blogged about it several times, mostly because I have a blast doing it (probably not as much as him, but, you know...). 

The dog and I played fetch almost every day. In the summer, it worked out perfectly. There was still sunshine after I logged off the computer. Except for the mosquitos, summer was great. As the seasons changed, the days became shorter and shorter. Our dog, not knowing how to tell time (as far as we can tell...) would use the sun's location to get antsy when he felt it was time to go outside and play fetch...either that, or he could tell the time to fetch was drawing close by our actions.

Either way, the dog knew when it was time for us to go outside. I trained him well.

Even though the summer has issues, it's nothing compared to winter, especially this last week when temperatures dropped to below 0 degrees. Throw in several inches of snow and you have some undesirable conditions for fetch playing.

The dog doesn't care.

Between 4pm and 5pm the dog leaves his warm and comfortable couch and hangs out outside my office door. As 5pm gets closer, he sometimes scratches at the door with his paws. Even though I know he's disappointed, we've not played during those cold days. It's really for his own good.  

Yesterday, I thought it was warm enough to return to the backyard. We didn't stay out long, but the dog loved chasing that ball and throwing up snow. Yes, I've trained him too darn well.

Our Non-Costumed Dog...

 Many of us have animals and some owners like to dress them up. I'll bet clothes accessories is a multi-million (if not billion...) dollar industry. It has to be. We love our pets so much, we'll do just about anything for them, which includes buying costumes and clothes for the animals we love so much.

Luckily for us, we have a dog that is not a fan of getting dressed up.

And luckily for our dog, we're not fans of doing the dressing.

Even though we're not fans, we did buy some clothes for our first dog, a small Shih Tzu named Patch. She was getting old and we thought we'd do her a favor by buying a dog sweater to keep her warm in the winter. We put on the sweater and we thought it helped. Shortly after, Patch started having trouble walking. We thought it was because she was old and her limbs were starting give out. It got so bad she couldn't walk. 

We took off the sweater and her legs began to work again. Turns out it was the sweater that caused the issue. Since then we've bought zero animal clothes or costumes.

Our current dog, Bec has never had clothes or costumes. We thought we'd try something. We came across some reindeer antlers and we thought it would be cute to see how the dog looked sporting the antlers. Turns out, our dog was not a willing participant. Just as well.

Millions of animals out there are dressed in fun and functional outfits. I wonder if they like it. I imagine many do, but I know at least one dog that doesn't.

He Can Do This All Day Long...

One of the things we wanted when we moved was a fenced yard. The reason...a young standard poodle. If you're not familiar with poodles, they're not just fru-fru dogs in dog shows. They are extremely intelligent and they have energy in buckets. 

In other words, they'll run and run and run.

In the summer, something we loved doing was going out at dusk and playing fetch with the dog. We'd take out several of his toys and spend time throwing the balls around the yard. He'd chase them down and bring them back. We noticed if we brought out more than one ball, he'd drop the one in order to track down the other. With one ball, it many times turned into a "game of wills" for him to drop it so we could throw it.

Seasons change, as they do, and since this is the first autumn and winter with our fence, we didn't know how the dog would act once the weather turned told and the days became shorter.

Turns out, the colder and shorter days didn't stop the dog from going outside and playing fetch at all.

In fact, because it's getting darker earlier, the dog has been going to my office door and scratching because he wants to go outside. The problem is, I'm still working. We've got three more weeks of reduced daylight, then the days will get longer. I hope the dog doesn't keep scratching at my door earlier and earlier the next couple of weeks. But, he probably will.

Still, it's been so much fun having a fenced yard and I love tossing the ball to him and having him run and run and run. He could do it all day long.

National Dog Day...2022

 I'm one day late. If you spent any time on social media yesterday, you may have seen posts with the #NationalDogDay tag. I usually don't pay attention to National Days because there's so many of them. Pick something and there's a national day for it.

But, I decided to add my post to the others.

Dogs are just that important.

We've got a good one. I'm sure millions of others can say the same thing. Our dog is a standard poodle and a rescue. We got him four years ago and our family's not been the same since...in a good way. He's actually my son's dog, a companion animal for him, and for us, I suppose. Our first family dog was a shih tzu, much different than a poodle. Each have their strengths and weaknesses.

After having a small dog, we couldn't imagine having a large dog. A poodle is by no means the largest of dogs, but it's big for us. He's big enough to steal food from the counter and socks from our closet. He loves our yard now that we've installed a fence and he's loyal beyond my understanding.

Just as I cant't imagine our family without our dog, I can't imagine this world without dogs. They are our protectors, our companions, our confidants, our therapists, and our friends. They will seek the approval and love of people who abuse them. They seem to live only to serve. I'm speaking in generalities, of course, but it feels that way.

Humans have, at least in our society, set aside one day to honor dogs. I believe they deserve much more than a day.

Clean Shaven...With An Added Touch

 It was time. It needed doing, so last week we got the dog groomed. The first dog we had was a Shih Tzu and due to her having hair and not fur, she needed to be groomed. The second dog also needs grooming, only he's quite a lot bigger.

We dropped him off, then came back a few hours later to pick him up. We did not expect that added touch from the groomer. I guess life is like that, sometimes.

I've often wondered what would happen to fur-less dogs if humans weren't around. All the other dogs would be okay, I suppose. But, Shih Tzus and Poodles, and the others, they'd be in trouble. We have bred dogs that are completely reliant on humans for their survival. It's sort of a strange thought.

The groomer said she picked up the ties as a fun thing to do for her clientele (and their dogs...). It was a nice surprise.

I guess life is like that, sometimes.

All Those Little Brilliant Ideas...

Yeah, so my great idea didn't work. Oh, I had visions that I would not only work but I would be called a genius by my wife and children. And, if I marketed it well, by others, too.

But, no...

The dog had other plans.

We have grown children living with us. It is a sign of the times, but we also love having them close. The oldest has a room directly under the kitchen. When we gather as a family, sometimes our oldest does not hear us.. Being a media content producer he is, many times, involved in a project and is wearing headphones. Sure, we could go downstairs and ask him to come up, but I had another idea.

In our house, we also have a poodle. The dog is very intelligent. We'll tell him to go get our son. The dog will look at us, then down the stairs, then back at us, then he'll run down the stairs to our son's room. He might even do this a couple of times. The problem is, my son sometimes doesn't see the dog when he goes into his room.

Thus, my idea.

I took a piece of paper, wrote a message to my son, and attached it to the dog's collar. I'm thinking this great idea can't miss. Turns out, it can. The dog has pretty much the run of the house, except for the bathrooms, some bedrooms, and where the cat lives. The problem was he doesn't go into my son's room that much so even though the message stayed attached to the collar, my son never saw it. I suppose we could train the dog to not only go into the room, but go up to my son so the collared message would be seen and acknowledged. 

We could train him to do that, but we're too lazy. And laziness was the main reason I came up with the idea in the first place. Maybe a lot of "great" ideas could be overcome by just not being lazy. If only I could come up with a great idea for that.

Puppy LOVES The New Back Yard...

 There are many reasons to put up a fence to separate your yard from those around you...economic, privacy, esthetics, and many many more. But, to our dog, none of those reasons mean anything. All he knows is for the first time in his relatively short life, he can leave the house without a leash. 

Freedom.

It's wonderful.

Almost twenty years ago, we welcomed into our family our first dog...a shih tzu we named Patch. Patch was a great dog. She did not need a fence, however. Patch has gone the way of all the earth and now we have a different dog--a standard poodle. This guy, well...he has a lot of energy. We didn't need a fence with the shih tzu, but with the poodle, that's a different story.

We've had the fence for a short time. Now, every time we go outside via the back door, the dog is up and running to see if he can go outside, too. Last weekend we threw some of that newly-acquired firewood into the fire pit and enjoyed the backyard.

No one more so than the puppy.

I took out my phone and shot a slo-mo video of the fun.

Yes, there's many reasons to put up a fence...we think to make our puppy's life immensely better, is a darn good one.

I Guess It Was Their Time...

 Dogs...are funny creatures.

I suppose all creatures have their moments and because so many of us have dogs, we notice their oddities. We have a poodle. This, by itself doesn't make it unusual, no more than other breeds. If I judge all poodles by ours, then I'd say they are great dogs, incredibly intelligent and full of energy.

Also, our dog has a pretty good life. Since I work at home, there is almost always someone home with him. I can count on two hands the times he's been left alone in the past couple of years. Because he's with someone, we've been lucky enough to not have him destroy many things. I've heard from other dog owners that their dogs like to chew things...books, furniture, and especially shoes. I can understand shoes because of the leather found in many shoes. Luckily, he'd never destroyed any of our shoes.

The same cannot be said for his toys. We buy him toys so he can destroy his stuff and now ours. The past couple of weeks, the dog has gone after a softball and a baseball. They're trashed, so much so, we had to toss them away.

Which, makes me wonder...why did he choose to destroy them now and not months and months before, when we first bought them? When we first game him the balls, he would gnaw on them, but he never ripped them apart. I thought maybe they'd last forever and that they would be a good toy for him. Then, when we were downstairs playing cards as a family, I noticed the dog. He chose the baseball and proceeded to rip off the covering. He made quick work of it, too. A few days later, the softball met the same fate.

I hope he hasn't obtained a taste for leather and that a forgotten shoe may be the next victim. Of course, time will tell. Maybe he had that softball/baseball killer instinct in him all along. Wonder what made him snap.

Oh...The Carnage

 All things of man are doomed...

That goes for dog toys, too.

It seems our dog's owner--my son--picks the best toys for his best friend. My son once again proved this point with something he picked up as a doggie Christmas present last winter. This little fuzzy hedgehog turned out to be the dog's favorite toy. We all loved it because it didn't squeak...it honked.

It was a great dog toy.

Tonight, after so many tries, the dog finally split it open and that was the end of that. He raced downstairs with the toy's inners in mouth and finished it off. We gathered the remains so the dog didn't digest them. Now, the honking hedgehog will end up in a landfill.

Sure, our dog has other toys and I'm sure the dog will find another to play with and to annoy us with. I wonder if he'll miss the hedgehog...I think we will.

That's One Smart Puppy...

 Dogs can't build airplanes or do our taxes, but they're incredibly smart in other ways. Case in point--our dog knows when we open the refrigerator drawer where the cheese is stored.

Every time.

Our fridge has four ways to retrieve stuff, two doors and two drawers. The bottom drawer gains access to the freezer and the other drawer is where we place our "sandwich materials." Today, I conducted a little test since I decided to make a sandwich for lunch. The dog was downstairs. It's not a large house and there wasn't much going on so with the animal's elevated sense of hearing, I thought the dog could hear what I was doing even though he wasn't in the room.

I started my test by first opening the doors.

Nothing.

Then--I opened up the cheese drawer.

Instantly, I heard the metal licenses hanging on the dog's collar clink, then, the familiar sound of four paws running up the stairs filled the room. The dog knew exactly which drawer I opened because he knows when that door opens, more than not someone will be bringing out the cheese and there's a great chance he'll get a little bit of that to eat.

No, our puppy can't put together a 1000 piece puzzle or sing any of the parts to any of the songs found in Frederic Handel's Messiah, but when there's a chance for a tasty snack, he's all over it.

A Dog And His Toy...

You probably can't see from these pictures, but this dog is smiling...

Smiling Big.

Ah...a dog's life.

And another thing you can't see (or hear...) from these pictures is the sound made by the big pink bone that happens to be our dog's favorite toy. Around the same time every evening, the dog will pick up the bone, hold it in his mouth and and start chewing. When he chews, the high pitch screech emanating from the toy echoes throughout the house and bounces around in all our heads.

It's adorable, and terrible.

But, what can we do? The dog loves that toy.

There's another interesting annoyance when it comes to that toy. It's rubber and covered with rubber spikes. It's so big that if you happen to bump it when walking, it won't move...won't budge, be it on carpet or hardwood floors. It's so big that it freaks you out because you think you've hit the edge of the coffee table or a couch. 

The other alternative is if you step on it directly, it screams. Imaging giving a two-year old a recorder or a set of cymbals. There's a reason you don't do that. But we give these toys to our pets. Of course, you can't "test drive" a dog toy in the store so you never know if the animal will like it. Turns out in our case, he did...a lot.

Yes, it's a dog's life. With his toy he's the happiest puppy in the world. 

Dog Jail...

 A few years ago, we were visiting my cousin's house and I was impressed by their dog. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to  hang out with him while we were there...he didn't like visitors, but just before we left, they commanded the dog to go to his kennel. 

And immediately, the dog went up the stairs and went into his kennel.

Impressive.

Now, it's been a couple of years since that happened and my memory is a little fuzzy, but I believe it happened that way. I was reminded of that memory the other day when I passed by our stairs and our dog was behind the gate. This happens when we need to dog to stay out of the kitchen, or when someone comes to the door. He's just so excited to meet the visitors that he loses control. He'll bark and jump up on the people--not to attack them, but to someone who doesn't know the dog, it could appear that way.

To remedy the problem, we tell the dog to go "down" and we put up the gate. He's such a well-trained dog that he knows when someone comes to the door, he needs to go downstairs. He's also such a well-trained dog that even though he could jump over the gate in one bound or simply push it over with his nose, he doesn't. Being afraid of the sound the gate makes as it smashes on the floor is the main reason he doesn't do that.

Dogs are amazing creatures. My cousin's dog, our dog--as far as those commands go--they're great. Of course, this isn't always the case. And on those occasions, our dog sometimes goes to dog jail.

We're just glad he's so good at obeying. But, oh that look he gives us when he's in jail...classic "Please let me out" look.

The Well-Groomed Puppy...

 If you have an hypoallergenic dog, you know the drill. The benefits of a non-shedding dog are replaced by the need to get those dogs groomed. We have a standard poodle, or my son has a standard poodle and he lives with us in our house. We love him and we believe the feeling is mutual. But, every couple of months we take him to the groomer and he comes back looking like a completely different animal.

That's when the craziness starts.

If you have one of these dogs and get them groomed, you know what I'm talking about. Personally, I can't imagine the feeling he is going through--having all the hair on your body cut to the shortest length possible after having long soft curly hair for so long. It's got to be tough, and we think this because for several days after the grooming, the dog runs around, shakes, rubs up against the furniture, and tries to dig holes in our chairs and couches.

The scratching and itchiness must be driving him crazy.

Thankfully, this is temporary. He'll get used to it, and if he could talk, I'll be he would thank us for the grooming because having all that long hair during the hottest part of the year (and he's a black dog, to boot...), the shorter hair has got to be a blessing.

But, today as he sat on one of his favorite chairs, he looked up at me with a look that said, "you did this to me." I know we did, buddy, and once the itchiness wears off, you'll be so much more comfortable.

Trust us.