Interior Designer

A couple of years ago, Guinness started removing the three seat cushions on our living room leather sofa when we were away.  [Refer to December 19, 2009 -- http://dogsofourlives.blogspot.ca/2009/12/new-trick.html]  I guess, it was his way of saying he didn't appreciate being left home alone.  He did it enough that there were paw scratches on the center cushion which I needed to have professionally repaired.  After the restoration, when I remembered, I would tip all three cushions off the couch before leaving the house.

Now that our house is for sale, and we have done some removing and rearranging to make the house look more spacious, we removed the sofa from the living room.  The fabric loveseat has a fitted slipcover to protect it from Guinness's naps or any other activity.  Recently, he has started moving it across the hardwood floor.  Apparently, he is trying to rearrange the furniture.

I told our vet about this new "trick."  He said, "That proves he is a very smart dog!  His mind is always at work trying to find something to do."

Roaming Woods

Guinness and I drove to my hometown today to be with cousins and sister-in-law.  The purpose of the trip was to decorate our parents' graves for Memorial Day. 

While at their cabin, I let Guinness run free.  There were no fences, only woods surrounding us.  He stayed within the large area of woods with mowed grass and did not venture beyond.  We decided to take a hike up the hill where we used to play as kids.  I have not gone up there in years as there are now bears in them thar woods!  I felt safe with my husky cousin along, and my cousins thought Guinness would be just fine in the woods off leash as labs usually do not go out of sight.  I had never really tested Guinness, so we tried.  I panicked a few times initially, because he would run until he was out of sight, but, after a few seconds, he would reappear.  Whew!  He was a very good boy!  

Chocolate Hound

Melanie had invited me to dinner tonight and I was bringing dessert.  But. . .  Guinness found a 70% cocao chocolate bar I had left within reach and gobbled it up.  It was Saturday late afternoon.  I couldn't call my vet, and didn't want to pay for the emergency animal clinic.  So I called my vet nephew.  He said I MUST make him vomit.  Chocolate can cause liver damage.  He told me to give him a dropper of Hydrogen Peroxide.  I called Melanie to say I couldn't come.  I had to stay home and wait for Guinness to vomit.  She INSISTED I come.  We could leave him in her fenced backyard to vomit.  Besides, I didn't have a child's medicine dropper and she did.  So, I succumbed to her invitation and brought Guinness to her backyard. 

I have not put this on the blog before, so I must insert it here.  Guinness LOVES, I mean LOVES Melanie.  He knows the sound of her engine!!!!  When she drives up behind my condo, he KNOWS it is her before she ever gets out of her car!  And he KNOWS where she lives and how to get there.  As soon as I get off the highway, he knows he is either going to the vet (whom he also LOVES) or to Melanie's.  Once we pass the vet's office, he knows the destination and goes ballistic.  I mean BALLISTIC!!!!!  There is NO keeping him in the car once we pull into her driveway.  He is OUT of the car like a shot from a gun.  Oh my. . .   Even though they have a big labradoodle, her boys are intimidated by Guinness's wild exuberance.  So. . .  we gave him his "medicine," and put him in her back yard.  Of course, he needed company, so we were spent much of the evening outside too.  By 9:00, it had been three hours, and he still had not vomited.  I took him home.  And I closed him in a bathroom where it would be easy to clean up.  He finally vomited around 11pm. 

Dogs Have Emotions

Daddy asked to come today to pick up some summer clothes.  I told him I did not want to see him, would place them in the garage, and leave the garage door opener with the neighbors.  He asked me to leave the opener outside.  To avoid being vulnerable, I had other ideas.  I zipped up all of his clothes into suit bags and hung them on a clothes rack purchased for the purpose. I left the clothes rack outside the garage door under the overhang.

He arrived in a rental convertible with top down and classical music blaring for all the neighbors to hear.  Normally, Guinness begins barking at someone behind our house, particularly someone making such a splashy entrance.  He totally ignored someone was out there.  Daddy even walked up on the deck when he was finished, and Guinness did not react!  If someone comes on the deck, Guinness is super excited!  How could he know it was Daddy and purposely ignore him???  The answer has to be - he is VERY smart.  He watched me pack the clothes into suit bags.  He watched me put them on the rack in the garage.  He watched me push the rack outside the door that morning.

I love the book, Dogs Never Lie About Love: reflections on the emotional world of dogs by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson.  The author verifies dogs do have an emotional life and exhibit a variety of emotions.  Guinness is feeling insulted from abandonment.

Now That He Is Seven. . .

The biggest change I have seen in Guinness at his new age: 
When he sees a dog he knows, he ignores the dog, but says "hello" to the owner. 
When he encounters a new dog, he insists on meeting the dog, but then does not want to play.  He then turns his attention to the owner.  Sometimes, he may demand attention from the owner before introducing himself to the dog.