Morning at Doggie Park

Now that it is dark at 7 AM, Guinness and I are usually the first to arrive (by car).

Next comes Dennis with Riley. Then, before they can be seen, we can hear Frank's Mattie barking. Riley and Guinness prick up their ears, then race in the direction of barks for their morning treats. Mattie is “beastly,” and tries to nip the other dogs if she can get near, but Frank is the candyman. He throws dog biscuits, so they are attracted to Frank in spite of Mattie.

Once we were gathered, this was nature’s treat -- a glorious sunrise adorned with a sliver of an old moon plus brilliant Venus above that (not seen here).

Brin and Guinness hoping that Frank will throw another treat.

Both Goldens who are occasional club members, Marley and Brin, joined us this morning rounding out our motley crew.

Smartie has a smart mother who sleeps in on these dark mornings. They now arrive as everyone else is leaving, but Guinness stays to play.

Keiko and I were awed by an unusual pink pillar over the sun. Not sure what caused that, and the photo does not do it justice.

After they left, I focused my attention on taking more pictures of the pillar. I knew Guinness was at the fence, but, when I was finished, there was no Guinness. He did not respond to “Come!” calls. Then I tried to track him in the snow, but was unsuccessful. Finally, he came bounding to me before panic mode struck. He had gone around the end of the fence and behind the park building.

Persistence

Last night, Guinness was driving me crazy with his reverse retrieves.

• Grant left a large envelope at home to be picked up by someone today. Guinness took it off his desk which was totally unexpected. He rarely steals something of that size. It now is slightly wrinkled on one corner with teeth scratches – just a friendly touch.
• I had just scanned the instructions for my Christmas ice lantern, as water splashes are deteriorating the paper with each lantern I make. I placed it on the kitchen counter before taking it downstairs. Guinness helped me to decide to put it away immediately.
• A Tupperware bowl from the sink took a trip around the house.
• He found one of Grant’s shoes somewhere. Not sure where it came from.
• But he knew, and was running around with the mate to it.
• From the bar, he pulled off a pretty package from Grant’s sister of holiday wine bottle corks. I can’t blame him for wanting that.
• I tried setting out Christmas fingertip towels in the powder room for guests. That isn’t going to work. I have already decided that there will be no stuffed holiday animals lining the stairway this year.
• I left a pair of Crocs at the garage door. Foolish.

This morning, after an hour of running around with other dogs, and constant ploys to grab my mittens off my hands plus Marley’s mother’s mittens, he came home and scooched under the garage door as it was closing. He ran out of sight. I called for him to come before deciding which way to go. He reappeared, running out of the neighbor’s garage with a recyclable container in his mouth.

No sooner had we come in the house than I heard a crackling noise from the kitchen. I had bought some potpourri yesterday. I realized last night that I was not sure where I had placed it after bringing my purchases into the house. He found it still in its bag in the basket on the kitchen counter where I thought it would be unobtrusive to him. He must have smelled it out, and he really liked it. With treats in hand, it is pretty easy to regain his stolen object. Not this time. He had to be chased around the house a couple of times. Since he was playing hard to get, I grabbed my camera to record the moment. He easily relented.

Next, I heard him prancing around and knew he had found another treasure: my boot which had been drying in the bathroom. I had forgotten to close the door. Once I appeared, he jumped on my bed and readily relinquished it, then settled for a nap – finally.

Fun at Doggie Park

Marley, a large golden retriever, doesn’t come often, but when he does, Riley and Guinness LOVE him. They wrestle and wrestle and wrestle some more. Sometimes Marley stands trying to keep them from toppling him. Other times, he succumbs and just lies there allowing Riley and Guinness to wallow all over him.

Exhibiting Protection

While on the bike path a couple of days ago, we met an owner with a Yorkshire Terrier off leash who ran to meet Guinness – obviously not afraid of a big dog at all. They sniffed and played together, with Guinness being quite gentle.

This morning, the same Yorky came along during playgroup time. Again the Yorky ran to meet the five big dogs assembled. When Guinness saw his little friend approaching, he ran to greet him. They sniffed, then the other dogs came to meet this new little fellow. All were gentle with this brave creature. Smartie, one of Guinness’s daily playgroup friends, began running with the Yorkie. Guinness was not close by, but saw what was happening, raced to Smartie and chased her away with growls. He did not want anyone playing with HIS new friend!

Still Mischievious

Just yesterday, Grant and I discussed that we think Guinness is ready to be left alone with access to the entire house, not shut into the den. We decided that we would test him with more freedom when we are away for only a few minutes. This morning, we went out for coffee. Before leaving, I left my indoor shoes on the floor at the door as I ran out with Guinny for a potty break. He stole one of the shoes as soon as he was in the door. That incident deterred me from giving him excess freedom, so, after bribing him with treats, he returned to the den, relinquished my shoe, and I left him there.

This is what I found when I returned:

Now that winter is approaching, gloves are stashed in my coat pocket. Obviously, he knows where they are. He pulled a glove out of the pocket of my hanging jacket and tipped over the coat tree. Now I will have to keep my gloves in a drawer.

Pet University

Not what I would call a pleasant morning!

It ended with a bath.

It started with a nightmare.

I was dreaming about visiting Greg at his house in TX. I noted that the windows of Greg’s truck were smoggy due to the extensive grass fires in the area. As we were talking about the smoke, I spied a flame in the distance moving in our direction. His house stood alone, surrounded by acres of empty land. He wasn’t worried and we went inside. Cathi said, “We will smell the smoke before the fire becomes threatening to us.” She proceeded to prepare a meat casserole, then pulled out some of the kids’ artwork for them to sort through to put away. I thought I should check on the fire and went out the back door to the porch and peeked around the end in the direction of the fire. It was right up to the splitrail fence a few feet from the house. I screamed for everyone to get out of the house and woke up.

It was past time to leave for doggie park. As I hurried to gather our things, Guinness pranced around the driveway, so I called him to come. It is so dark at 7:15 AM these days that it is hard to see. He apparently thought the back of the Lexus was open for him, and crashed into the closed tailgate! Poor boy! Then he was afraid to jump in. I opened a side door, and he leaped in. We were late for play time, and the others had to leave soon to go to work. I usually walk Smartie’s mom part way home to give Guinness more exercise, but, in my rush, I had not picked up his leash.

We drove home, donned the leash, and walked back to doggie park to extend our workout. I had not done sit/stay/recall homework with him in a long time, so we worked on that. Initially, he had forgotten that exercise but caught on again quickly. Then Frank came along. He had slept in this morning and was an hour late for playtime. A man with a German shepherd and a pug came along too. While I stood chatting with Frank, Guinness found something yucky to roll in! Guinness had his leash clipped on him, and we took off for home.

Now it’s time for my nap.

Howl-O-Ween

PetSmart had a party tonight. A photographer was available for photos, then a costume party began at 7:00. We went early to try to get the heebie-geebies out of Guinness first. He is soooo crazy when we go to a pet store. He just LOVES the shopping experience with so many friends to give him attention! He leaps and yelps and appears to want to trample everyone in the store. We walked around the store for several minutes to get him calmed down a bit. The store manager spoke to us and asked if a treat would help. I said, “No! That would make it worse!” Then he queried if I had considered training. “Yes, he has passed Advanced Obedience at PetSmart! He is perfect in the classroom.” I knew that we could not stand in line to wait for his turn for a picture like every other sane dog in the world. When the line was very short, we took our chances waiting. He did OK. Then when it was his turn for a photo shot, look how professional he was as a model! I am sure he did a much better job of posing than most.

Then we continued our walk around the store. Since I knew their shot did not focus on his costume, I took one.

Do you know what he is? He is a glass of Guinness – complete with a foam head on top! I can’t believe it, but he did not win the contest. What were they thinking???

Squirrel

There are some signs that Guinness is maturing. One of them is that he can be trusted to jump out of the back of the vehicle and not run away. Today, as Guinness and I drove into our driveway, a black squirrel with a white tipped tail was in the drive several townhouses down from ours, then ran off into the grass. Once we were parked in the garage, as soon as I opened the tailgate, Guinness shot out of the car and ran to find the squirrel. But the squirrel had skunked Guinness.

That squirrel has a history. He was here when we moved in eight years ago! Often, out of the corner of my eye, I would see something black and white running along the top of the fence outside our den window. Thinking skunk, it would catch my attention. It is actually amazing how many times my eyes were diverted by his coloring. I am used to him now and no longer jerk to look when he runs past. Recently, I have thought how sad it will be when I see a dead squirrel with a white tipped tail. I wonder how long a squirrel lives. He has become a familiar crony. One of these days, I will catch a picture of him to lionize him.

Tricks

My brother, wife, and little Yorkshire Terrier Sam came to visit overnight two weekends in a row. Sam is the proverbial controlling little dog who keeps big dogs at bay, though he was not unfriendly to Guinness. But Guinness learned quickly to give Sam his space.

Gary has taught Sam about a dozen tricks. Every morning, they go through their routine of tricks. It is hysterical. When Hershey was around, I would have Hershey do the same tricks through obedience commands or just silliness, and give him treats too. Guinness, of course, wants treats if Sam is getting them, but I am not going to pick up his front paws to dance with him or go through the antics required to get him to roll over, etc. Gary came up with a good plan: he threw a treat for Guinness into the hallway. While Guinness retrieved his treat, Sam could do a trick.

Here is Uncle Gary getting ready to throw a treat into the hall for Guinness.

This is a trick that both of them can do: Leave It.

Here is Sam playing dead.

Grant demonstrated that Guinness is just a lap dog.

He's at It Again!

Since hand towels are now moved out of his reach, he has to become more inventive in seeking his treasures. He lifted the lid of the laundry hamper again and pulled out another towel. Fortunately, his plan is not to destroy the towel (though he might put a tooth hole in it). He simply wants to cuddle it and hope that I will chase him to retrieve it. Or if he is offered a treat, he will readily relinquish his prize. It’s all about fun and games.

This is Too Much!

Guinness is still up to his tricks of pulling hand towels off towel racks. We can no longer expect a hand towel to stay on a rack in Grant’s bathroom. It has to be hung over the shower rod. If I push mine back to the mirror, it might stay there. Last week, he managed to steal a pretty, new, plush, pink hand towel from my bathroom. After retrieving it, it went in the laundry hamper. Today I sorted things in that hamper, and that towel rose to the top. This afternoon, I found Guinness lying on his bed snuggling with that towel! He had LIFTED THE LID of the laundry hamper and pulled it out!!!

Revitalized by Vitamins

When eating away from home, I take my supply of vitamins in a snack baggie. On our trip this weekend, I neglected to take my vitamins. I removed them from my purse and set them down to take upstairs with me, but they never made it. This evening, I discovered a torn baggie all over the floor, then realized that my vitamin bag was missing. I hope they don’t give him supernormal energy!

Life At Camp

When I pulled into the pet hotel to pick up Guinness this morning, he was in the play yard having his tummy rubbed by his personal camp counselor. By the time I pulled out my camera and rolled down the window, he was standing staring at me. What a happy boy!

Dog Cotton Candy

Guinness appeared at my side with a plastic bag in his mouth. I recognized the bag as one I had filled with styrofoam peanuts from a recently received box. I went downstairs to see what kind of mess we had. It wasn’t too bad – just peanuts everywhere. He came with me and immediately filled his mouth with peanuts. I took one to a sink to test if it would dissolve in water, which it did. So no worries as they are cornstarch peanuts, not styrofoam.

Several years ago, Hershey did a similar thing. I panicked. I assumed that all packing peanuts were styrofoam and that they were going to expand in his stomach and possibly kill him. After calling the Emergency Animal Clinic, they told me to test the peanuts to see if they would dissolve under running water. They did! He was only filling his stomach with benign cornstarch.

Another Test

A friend of Grant’s came to the house today. He did not stand at a wall, but he ignored Guinness. It worked pretty well. Guinness was not as obnoxious as he could have been.

Training Test

Here is Angela at Greg's wedding last weekend.

She arrived willing, in doggie clothes with short sleeves, but, I am sure, not very eager. Guinness was overboard in friendliness, as usual. She moved to a wall, put her face into her arms, and we allowed Guinness to jump at her. (Next time, I will tell our guinea pig to wear long sleeves!) It may have taken a full minute; I’m not sure. It wasn’t an awfully long time before he stopped, walked to a window to look out, then returned to her, sniffing and jumping maybe one or two more times. Then he was calm. I suggested that she try moving to the sofa. He ran to the sofa and jumped on it before she could get there. He was just goofy, so I put him away, and we went out to dinner.

When we returned, he did not jump on her! He sniffed, but none of his craziness! Yay!

Training Evaluation

Tonight I took Guinness to meet a trainer at Petsmart. He tested Guinness by watching me with him and by putting him through some paces himself. He pronounced that Guinness is a “great dog. Very well trained. You have no problems with this dog.”

“Yes, I do! When someone comes to our house, he goes bonkers! He jumps on them and won’t leave them alone. We give up and put him in his crate.”

So he gave me multiple suggestions. After explaining a few exercises, I said, “I need a notebook and pen to remember all of this.” He assured me I would remember. Not! Here is all that I could recall upon returning home:

1. Prepare someone to come to our house.
1. Tell them they will be ignored.
2. Enter; do not speak and will not be spoken to.
3. Ignore Guinness
4. Turn and face the wall with hands on wall so that Guinness cannot lick hands. Ignore Guinness.
5. When he is calm, proceed to living room without speaking.
6. Do not have eye contact with Guinness.
2. Have a family member ring the doorbell.
1. Put Guinness on a sit/stay.
2. Open door / close door
3. Take Guinness outside the door, but do not go anywhere.

I called two people to see if they would help me with # 1 tomorrow. My neighbor cannot, but Grant’s cousin can! I told her to wear “doggie clothes!”

Gentle Dog!

As we were walking through the mowed grass to reach the sidewalk this morning, a mourning dove flew out about three feet in front of us, squawking. As soon as she flew away, we were on top of the spot where she had been. A baby that couldn’t fly was there! Guinness sniffed it all over while I yelled, “No! Leave it!” pulling on his leash. He willingly left the baby and started sniffing around a nearby tree.

Last year, when we had a mourning dove build a nest in the lower branches of a blue spruce, I read that they build their nests near or on the ground. When we returned I wondered if the baby would still be there or if the mother would have moved it. At first I couldn’t find the exact spot where they had been, then I saw the mother sitting on TOP of the baby! Again, she flew away in a dither leaving her defenseless chick. Guinny didn’t get to sniff the baby this time, but I know he would have been gentle. I left him at home and went back with my camera. The mother had not returned yet, so I got a shot of the baby.

Brilliant Dog!

My daughter-in-law-to-be was telling me what her kids had been doing all afternoon with new friends: surfing the Webkinz site. As she was explaining to me what Webkinz is, I went to the site and clicked on “catalog.” There I saw the list of animals available including a chocolate lab! I read to her the description:
“Chocolate Labs are every bit as sweet as their name. This awesome dog is so energetic!" [understatement!] "Chocolate Labs love to swim, jump on trampolines, and ride on skateboards and scooters – pretty much anything that involves moving around! When your pup needs a break, pick up some Carob Chip Cookies!
Special Item: Cocoa Basket bed
Special Food: Carob Chip Cookies"

As I was reading, Guinness came over to me nudging me with his wet nose, begging for pets. He KNEW I was talking about him! He KNOWS that he is a chocolate lab! He actually KNOWS those words!!!! What a smart dog! I have always been convinced that dogs know when they meet a dog of their breed! He has heard me say “chocolate lab” enough that he knows it pertains to him! He has one up on Hershey with this revelation!

The Big Goof

As soon as we near the vet’s office, Guinness goes into hysterics. He is way too happy to be there. After dragging me into the building, he attacks the closest people with jumps and licks, then hops on his hind legs at the counter to say “hello” to the staff on the other side. The owner of our clinic is always a riot. He used to say that Hershey didn’t seem to know he wasn’t supposed to like him. But I would tell him that Hershey adored him and was thrilled to see everyone at the vet’s office including the mean doctors. “Thrilled” does not begin to describe Guinness’s ecstasy. Overzealously euphoric is more like it. They are his long lost best friends whom he thinks are as excited to see him as he is to see them. This elder vet comes off with one-liners about Guinness which I can never remember two minutes later. The only ones that stuck with me are the ones he repeated frequently: “goofy” and “clown” plus his original term for him – “the Al Qaeda Terrorist.” He also characterized him as “a flea on a hot brick.” He told Guinness that he is nothing like his predecessor. I chimed in that Hershey was a gentleman. He totally agreed, then added, “Guinness doesn’t know when he has poo in his mouth.” That’s for sure! He managed to wrestle him to a non-jumping position in order to weigh him – 78.6 pounds. Being the most adept of the vets, he gave bouncing Guinny a shot and checked out his orifices in record time. As we left, he commented that Guinness might be slightly calmer in a year.

This pose was taken before one final leap to lick doc's face.

Bird Day

We were the first to arrive at the ballpark for playtime this morning and found the field littered with seagulls. Guinness felt it was his obligation to clear the field for his friends. On the way home, he had his usual 26 foot lead to give him room to meander at will. A bird was on the ground. Of course, he ran up to it expecting it to fly away. It fluttered a couple of inches in the air but didn’t fly away. So he ran towards it again. It flapped its wings and hopped a foot or two. Then I realized – this must be a baby bird that hasn’t conquered the art of flying yet. I moved closer and saw that it was a baby robin. After two tries to chase it away, Guinness ignored it. He must have recognized that it was a baby and chose to not disturb it. What a gentle dog!

A few hours later, I was working at my computer with Guinny sacked out at my feet. Eight feet away from me on our neighbor’s deck, a Kingfisher landed momentarily, then chattered and flew away. What a beautiful, large bird up close!

It's Over!

The workmen are gone and the floors are looking great! Now we can begin unpacking and resettling our lives. Guinness is glad to have his house back but will miss his new friends. He spent many days over the last two weeks tied to a tree to be out of the way of the workmen. Fortunately, most of them loved him and would play as they passed by him in the yard. One morning, I was in the kitchen with the dishwasher running. I could hear some loud scurrying noises, so I turned off the dishwasher and asked, “Are you playing with Guinness or working?” Guess what they were doing. I had to remove Guinness from them so that these adult men could get to work.

I took a few pictures, over the past few days, of Guinness being very patient in the yard.

Look at that face! But the angle of this shot makes his body look too small for his head -- like a cartoon character. ha! Well, he definitely is a funny caricature with a handsome body in real life.

The Maze

Do you think you could find your way through this maze to lie beside your master's feet? This is our den. The hardwood is done in this room, but the quarter round is not down. The furniture includes den and living room large pieces plus the base to the china cabinet. My desk is on the far side of what you see below.

Below you can see where my computer desk is. And you can see Guinness's opening to reach me -- between the arms of two sofas. Then he weaves around the desk chair seen above.
This photo is a birds' eye view (I am standing on my desk chair to take it. The corner of my desk is in the lower left of the photo) of where he wants to be at my feet. To reach his goal, he has to weave to the left around the hutch sitting on the floor.
My path is much simpler. I couldn't fit his way, and he cannot fit my way. I squeeze straight in between two chests. Isn't he a smart boy to have figured this out!

Playtime!

A neighbor told me that several owners with dogs meet daily at 7 AM at the ballfield on the nearby bike path. I am not a morning person, so the chances of me ever going were slim. However, we are in a reflooring project for a couple of weeks. Workmen begin arriving at 8:30, meaning that Guinness is either confined to his crate or tied up outside. Not good for a high energy dog! Plus I shouldn’t be running out for dog walks while the workmen are here.

Thus, at 7 AM, you can find Guinness and me with our new best friends at doggie play group. It is a godsend for these construction days. I suspect that both of us are going to become addicted and will have to maintain this early morning schedule.

Here are some shots with our new friends:

Guinness is chewing a stick which he shared with his buddies.

Labs having a romp.
There are 3 chocolates and 1 black lab that are regulars. Today, we are missing Lucy (our neighbor), but Bailey and Riley (black) are having some fun. I am convinced that dogs recognize their own breed.
The non-lab is Smartie, an Australian Shepherd - Border Collie mix.

Calming down after the fun.

Backyard Dining Guests

This morning at 6:30 AM, I walked out on the deck with Guinness and heard something in the tree to my left. There were three raccoons (two small and one larger) walking down the arched branch of a mulberry tree! I called to Guinness in a whisper and took him back inside, grabbed my camera and tried to capture some photos. The lighting wasn’t perfect, I had to zoom to capture them, and, with a digital camera, I can never capture THE moment I want. They were having a feast of berries. Birds and squirrels love the annual harvest. Now we know raccoons love to dine on that tree too. At first, I thought there were only three, but then it seemed like there must be more, though I could only see three at a time. Eventually, Guinny needed his morning potty break. When he appeared, the raccoons scurried up the trunk of the large basswood tree next to their breakfast branches. Three stared down at us from a high crook in the tree. I wish I could have captured that darling shot; instead, the scene is emblazoned in my memory. Then we noted that two more raccoons were lower on the tree, so it was a family of five!

Wildlife Intrigue

A couple of days ago, I watered the garden near the deck and three baby bunnies tumbled out onto the driveway!

We seem to have a prolific pair of rabbits in our yard. When the girls were planting our flowers a month ago, they discovered a nest near our deck with five babies! The gestation period is 31 days, so the mommy and daddy wasted no time in expanding their family!

Yesterday, we saw two darling bunnies snuggled together at the curb.

Today we were cleaning out the garage and tied Guinny to a post outside the garage. A while later, we noted that one of our baby bunnies was on the curb at the edge of the deck not even two feet from the post where Guinny was tied. Guinny did not seem to be paying any attention to the bunny, when, normally, he can smell a bunny a mile away and delights in chasing them. It seemed like Guinny was trying to be kind to his little friend and ignored him to not frighten him.

This evening while Grant was BBQing, he saw a hawk dive out of the sky and grab a baby bunny that had ventured out into the driveway. All the little birds in the trees made a ruckus forcing the hawk to drop the bunny! Here you can see some blood on the driveway and the scratch of two talons in the asphalt.

Grant set him on the curb beside the deck, where they like to hang out. The next time we looked, another bunny was sitting there with him. It is the sibling that is nestled down into the crack. You can see a spot of ruffled fur on back this bunny who is lucky to be alive. Maybe we should name him Peter Rabbit because he is audacious.

I read on the Internet that they are weaned after three or four weeks, then they venture out of the nest. At night, they return to the nest to sleep with their mother. The family unit remains together for four or five weeks.

After dinner, we saw the mother on our steps, though we didn’t venture out to see where the babies were. She kept a close eye on us.

Later as dusk was falling, I checked again and found her with one baby directly behind our garage door. Sleep tight, bunnies!

I Can Feel It in My Bones

As usual, I was allowing him to have “free” reign on a long lead. He saw a dog on the other side of a fence, and both were crazy to meet each other. Guinness started running in circles like a whacko dog. When he is about to reach the end of his leash, I yell, “Easy!” which usually has an effect on him before pinching his neck with a jerk as he reaches the end of the line. Eventually he shot off next to the fence in a straight line looking for a way to get through, almost yanking my arm out of the socket and pretty nearly pulling me flat on my face. Some day Guinness is going to pull me to the ground and drag me. Today was almost the day.

He Still Has His Own Language

Guinness wanted a walk today. I knew he did, but I was too busy. I took him out for a potty break; he refused to go potty even though it had been hours. He stood looking at the stairs leading to the driveway. So I decided to give him a mini-prom around the property. We had not gone far when he went potty. Then I turned around to come home. He kept jumping at me and trying to grab the leash out of my hand. In other words, “No, Mom! I do not want to go home! Take me for a walk!” Poor boy…

Hotel Stay, June 24 - 26

We had Cousin Camp with four couples gathering to have a gabbing good time! Gary and Ruth brought little Sam, a Yorkie, and Guinness came with us since the Microtel allowed pets. At 11:30 Saturday night, Grant was in bed, I was getting ready for bed when the room phone rang. It was the front desk saying that the people in the room under us were complaining of thumping on the floor. I said, “That is strange. My husband is in bed and I am washing my face and cleaning my contacts, but I am not thumping my foot.” After I hung up, I considered that perhaps Guinness jumping off the bed could make a thump beneath us.

The next morning, I asked at the desk if the people beneath us were still there. “No, they checked out this morning.”

“I wonder if the thumping they heard was pipes in the wall.”

“I don’t know what they heard, but, when they checked out, they said that they heard thumping at 1:30, 4:30, and 6:30.”

I said, “Maybe it was ghosts!” but I was thinking … uh-oh… Every time Guinness heard something in the night, he jumped off the bed and ran to the door barking. And the timing was about the same as when they heard thumps.

The second night, Guinness was used to the hotel situation and never jumped off the bed to bark at exterior noises. It was somewhat of a treat for us to sleep in a queen size bed instead of a double with a 78 pound dog.

Learning Guinny's Language

Guinny has not had a walk for a couple of days. This morning, after Grant left the house just before 7:00, Guinny would not let me stay in bed any longer. Then he played his Chase Game repeatedly – one thing after another – my handtowel off the rack, an item from an open drawer, and envelope off a desk. I realized that he was telling me in no uncertain terms, “Mom, I NEED a walk!” So we went for a big walk.

Where is Mommy Supposed to Sit?

Guinness likes our new lawn chairs...

Life Almost Ended

Guinny and I almost died today. I was crossing the street beside our house where the highway ramp comes down to our street. A woman had NO intention of stopping for her red light. We were crossing on a white walk light. She hit her brakes and slide sideways to miss us. I got her license no. and called 911. They are SOOO annoying. They ask the most asinine questions that have no bearing on the situation. After I told her I was walking, she asked what street I was driving on. I finally said, "Can I just tell you what happened?" And, of course, the answer is no. They wanted to know what make, color, year, etc. of car. As if I cared!!! I was panicked and focusing on catching her license no.! It sure makes you think about your life ending at any time!

Lots of Company

Guinny enjoyed the activity and people in our yard today! I enjoyed it as well. I love work. I could sit and watch it for hours!

Improvement

When Emmett and Daddy arrived home late afternoon and we all stood around the driveway, Guinness was enormously good. He tried very hard to not jump on Emmett. When it was more than he could take, he jumped on me instead. He looked down the driveway as if he was considering going to see what or who could be down there, but, with my reminder, stayed where he was. Before Emmett left, he did his “happy dance” of running in circles as fast as he could go around Emmett’s car. He certainly had the freedom and opportunity to run away, but he did not! In fact, it almost seemed like he was a bit skittish about running on the far side of the car as that was approaching the barrier line.

Good Morning, Mom!

This morning I was awakened at 6 AM by something warm and furry with stiff, somewhat prickly things mashing into my face. It happened twice before I opened my eyes and jumped up. At least, he didn’t lick me. He simply pressed his face into mine.

Bark Busters

www.barkbusters.com

Scored Survey Results Survey Score: 75

OK... He needs some training... (surprise, surprise)

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A Score Of:	Means:
19 - 27 = A	This dog is extremely well-behaved. Congratulations!
28 - 50 = B	Dogs in this category are typically wonderful family dogs with a few rough edges. This dog could easily move to the "A" grade with some training.
51 - 85 = C	While these dogs need training, frequently they don't receive it because their annoying behaviors are "just not bad enough". It's unfortunate because "C" dogs can improve quickly and bring great joy and happiness to families. And, with training, the owner can be assured the behaviors will only get better -- not worse.
86 - 139 = D	This category of dogs has issues that can be serious if not addressed soon. Owners of these dogs are constantly being annoyed and irritated by their behavior and are beginning to think "Something has got to be done." Fortunately, dogs can change their behavior quite easily, so these owners should seek help immediately.
140 - 200 = F	Most people with dogs that rate an "F" are desperate for change, but many don't know what to do. These dogs are out of control and serious problems can arise if they are not trained. Owners of these dogs sometimes consider putting them down. However, the vast majority of dogs can be saved with training, eliminating the owner's grief and guilt.

Bunny

There seems to be a growing population of rabbits in our area. When we first moved here, we rarely saw a rabbit. Now there often is one in our yard when we go outside. While I was cleaning up sticks in the yard, Guinness was chasing a rabbit. I was standing in the garden, behind the plantings, next to the wooden fence tossing sticks into the woods on the other side. The rabbit was trying to escape by running the perimeter of the yard next to the fence. He tore past me brushing my foot!!! He obviously was less frightened of me than of the big brown dog. Guinness seemed to be confused about where the rabbit had gone. He probably did not expect the rabbit to have run past me either. Clever rabbit.

Crazy Boy

I went to pick up Guinness from Holly’s Pride this morning. He has been there for 10 days. While we were away, I found a golf outlet store and shopped for a left golfer’s glove with open fingers to wear in the summer while walking Guinny. It is pink leather with a mesh back to avert suntan lines. Hopefully, wearing such a glove will prevent me from losing layers of skin again. I put it on when I arrived at the pet hotel, because my finger is not healed up yet, and I certainly cannot handle Guinness without some protection on that wound.

As I entered the office, two couples were waiting to pick up their dogs. First, two great danes came out for the one couple. They were very excited to see their masters AND me! There were jumping on me too. After they left, while we were waiting for the other couple’s two Goldens to appear, I mentioned that the great danes were just as excitable as Guinness. The girl at the desk said, “Well… no one is as excitable as Guinness. He wins the prize for being the craziest.” What?! After paying out bill, I asked if the “mattress” we had improvised is still working well. She said that it was a fabulous idea to do that. “He doesn’t lie on it until bedtime, though. He spends his day lying at the door watching everyone go by. Then after 6:00, he will get up on his bed and lie down.”

Before bringing him home, I had unpacked most of my suitcase, sorted piles of laundry, and had stacked things in different places to be put away. First he found a washcloth in a laundry pile. Next he took some tissue paper that had been wrapped around new clothes. The third thing he stole was a shocker: my blue jeans!!! They were folded up into a neat square; he grabbed them and ran.

The crazy boy was exhausted! This is how he spent his day. We did go for a promenade around the property late in the afternoon. The glove works like a charm! I let him run loose dragging his leash in the yard while I cleaned up some things. I neglected to check if the landscapers had left my jerry-rigged fence intact when they mowed last week. Without warning, he dashed through the fence, as it was not all put together, to get to the street sidewalk! A man was walking his labradoodle. By the time I caught up with him, they were happily dancing around each other and the man was holding Guinness’s leash.

I have been contemplating finding a personal trainer, and now I need to call fence companies tomorrow to see if we can do something more sturdy than my flimsy fence.

Paint Swatches

A painter came today to give an estimate on doing our 3 levels of hallway and foyer. She left a ring of paint swatches for us to decide on the color. When she gave it to me, I set it on the kitchen counter and forgot about it after she left. Yep! You know what happened. I had to chase him around the house. By the time I removed the slimy pages from his mouth, he had managed to mangle one of the swatches and several others were bent a bit. I wiped off the pages and set the blender on top of the book to make the damp pages lie flat. It worked! They looked pretty good after it was all dry. In fact, the painter said that it was fine and I did not need to give her $30 to replace the book.

Near Disaster

My normal way to walk Guinny is to put him on a 20 foot cotton web lead connected to a heavy leather leash which I loop over my right wrist and use my left hand to control him. Since he is pretty good about “leash respect,” this system works well to allow him maximum room to roam on his own and have some fun rather than have to walk at old Mommy’s pace. Tonight we did a prom on the long lead in the back of the property, but, when we come to the front on the sidewalk near the road, I have to loop up the long lead and hold the cotton lead in my left hand with no room to roam. He must have seen a bunny or something, because he uncharacteristically bolted from the sidewalk towards the road. I screamed and tried to hold the cotton leash, but it was cutting through the skin of a finger on my left hand. He stopped short of the road, and I felt like my index finger had been sawed off at the second joint. Many layers of skin were gone, yet it did not bleed. Fortunately, we are going to FL for a week and he goes to the pet hotel tomorrow, which will give that wound time to heal before we venture out on a walk again.

Maturing

Yesterday and today, our walks along the bike path proved that Guinness is growing up and developing some sensibilities. It is almost like reaching age 2 was a magical turning point. Yesterday, we encountered the older man and elderly dog. Today we met a year old Havachon and the blind dog, Winnie, that we have met before. Guinness was very gentle with both dogs.

Later, we were out on our property and met up with a neighbor and her teensy Yorkshire Terrier granddog. We have never allowed Guinness close to Toby, because he is just too rambunctious, but he was calm, and gave Toby a chance to bark at him.

The Gingerbread Man game is slowing a bit and he readily gives up his prize – usually. Grant ordered new business cards for Emmett and himself. Guinness grabbed the unopened pack of Emmett’s cards leaving some teeth marks in the plastic packaging and denting the top and bottom cards. Emmett will love that, because he says that he and Guinness are soul-mates.

Surprises never end

Guinness found a surprise rubber soccer ball on our back driveway. It must have blown there from a neighbor's grandchild. He had a ball with his ball until it popped. But then it was fun to rip apart.
We went for a walk along the bike path today. Along our walk, we met up with an older man and his 14 year old dog. Obviously, a 14 year old does not want to play. BUT Guinness was surprisingly calm around the older dog and older man! He is definitely learning to discern less able dogs and people! The man and I chatted as we walked along, and Guinness slowed his pace to ours (I let him roam on a long lead on the path). He never tugged on me. Sometimes the two dogs would sniff the same interesting spot together. When we reached the ballfield area, I released Guinness to run where ever he wanted. He didn’t run. He stayed with us. He was enjoying having a companion even though it was not a playmate. After we circled the field and headed back down the path, Guinness became his Guinny self and ran like a crazy man in circles around us. He didn’t jump on us, but just raced as fast as he could go. It suddenly stuck me what he was “saying!” He did not want us to leave the ballfield! He wanted to wander around some more with the nice man and congenial dog.

This afternoon, I screwed up the monitor for a new thermometer on the deck. Guinness was extra good while I worked. He wandered the yard, then stood near me until I was done. I patted his head as we walked inside as I told him, “Good boy.” After I put my tools away, I wanted to go out through the garage to clean up leaves that had accumulated there. I called to Guinness to come. No response. I called again and again. No response. So I went looking for him, assuming that he had something he shouldn’t and was refusing to come to me. He was no where to be found. Then I started to worry… did I leave him outside? Before I went to look, I did one more sweep of the house. He was not in the house. As I went outside, and no Guinness in sight, I recalled that he DID walk in with me like a perfect Hershey would have. Is it possible that he followed me into the tiny furnace room when I put the tools away and that I closed him in there? YES!!! Poor baby! And he didn’t even cry! Hershey would have done the same thing.

TWO YEARS OLD!!!

Guinness was treated to special frosted birthday bones. After dinner, Daddy brought home a real veal bone!

Guinness spent the day outside watching us set up our new patio furniture, then using it to share a drink with our neighbors. While he plays with a new toy, a neighbor obliges him with a tummy rub.

Guinness is bad for Mommy's well-being

A year ago, I lost use of my left thumb for a few months. I eventually deduced that it was from Guinness’s leash yanking on it. I am damaged again. When I am away, he doesn’t get a good walk. Daddy takes him on promenades around the property, and the pet hotel takes him on 15 min. walks daily. So he was wild my first time out with him, yanking on the long lead and jerking my ligaments. I was sore for the week before going to NC where I began to recuperate. Now I am home again for him to jerk my sore muscles around again. Not good! My left thumb is close to useless again. Will this Wildman ever calm down?!

Paper Thief

He has become very creative with the items he steals. Today, he enjoyed the papers from the recycle pile. Later I noted paper napkins on the floor, then found him with his mouth full of them!

No more Rawhides

Grant kept him in his crate for the first two nights I was away after eating the bread and egg. He vomited both nights. Then he had diarrhea on the Oriental in the kitchen and the dining room. Yesterday (the day before I came home), he was in pain when trying to have a BM, so Grant had to take him to the vet. The diagnosis: rawhide-itis. His colon was inflamed. He is on Metronidazole for a week and will not be able to have a rawhide at the pet hotel over the next week.