Last Day of Fun

Today is their last day to play before Lucy and Ellen take a vacation from the snow. Guinness got my mitten (a daily ritual), and they had great fun playing tug (another daily ritual).

Fun in the Snow

Our daily morning playtime in the backyard is working so well for Ellen and me as well as for the dogs! They just love it and so do we. Here they are being patient schoolboy and girl waiting for their almond treat.

The Pill

We have decided to upgrade our kitchen and baths with granite counter tops. Tomorrow, our new range is being delivered plus the carpenter is coming to unhook our current sinks and remove the current countertops so that the granite template man can come on Wednesday to measure for the granite. That means that today I have to remove everything from the countertops, from the cabinets beneath the sinks, and from the current range drawer. Where does all of it go? On the dining room table and in the two bathtubs! Guinness loves the potholders, and I left them too close to the edge of the dining room table.

Playmates Redux

Some chase shots. Can you see Guinness’s face taunting Lucy to steal the ball?

Playmates

For nearly two weeks, Lucy and Guinness have met in the backyard each morning, plus many afternoons, instead of trekking off to the ballfield through deep snow and ice, bitter winds, and frigid temps. They are so cute together – chasing, wrestling, playing tug, and the game of can-you-snitch-what-is-in-my-mouth is the funniest of all. The perpetrator uses canine wiles to keep the object. Lucy can maneuver better and run faster than Guinness, but Guinness has his own cunning when he has the opportunity of being the perpetrator. Once he ran into a snowbank, stopped, and backed up escaping with the toy still firmly clenched. They both pose in stances keeping their moms laughing. Their mugs mimic coy, playful, teasing mannerisms.

One morning, when they had no toys, Guinness ran into Lucy’s garage and returned with the tug toy!

Yesterday, Lucy’s mom set the ball on the backyard patio table. Lucy jumped up on the table to retrieve it! I tried to catch a photo of her up there, but didn’t get my camera out fast enough. Then we tried to replicate the scene, and Guinness jumped up too. While playing the jump-on-the-table game, I snapped a few shots. Guinness has the green collar.

The Boy Grows Up

Guinness still plays his Gingerbread Boy games, but he rarely ruins anything. He is just playing a game. He will lie with the object and caress it if we do not retrieve it from him. We decided to try leaving him loose in the house when we are away. We were at a friend’s house for dinner last night for five hours. Today, we were downtown for lunch and a play from 10 AM to 6 PM. He behaved perfectly with no problems, so he has won new freedom plus the honor of serving as our brutal security sentinel.

This is Lucy

Isn't she cute?

We are being pounded with snowstorm after snowstorm this winter with melts and major icing in between. They don’t plow my doggie park parking lot frequently and it is too dangerous for Ellen to take her long walks with Lucy in the morning, so we have agreed to meet in our backyard at 7 AM. Lucy is a runner and keeps Guinness chasing her. It is great exercise for both of them.

I must be constantly vigilant to keep Guinness from stealing my mitten. He manages to foil me daily. Today, Lucy wanted a part of the game and chased Guinness to get my mitten from him. Fortunately, Guinness was clever enough to keep the mitten to himself until I was able to retrieve it.

Strange Day at Doggie Park

Guinness and I arrived as a man we know was crossing the field with his unfriendly Wheaten Terrier. Guinness couldn’t wait to get out of the car. I told him that was an unfriendly dog, but he took off racing to meet the dog. Within 20 feet or so, he “remembered” and stopped in his tracks. The owner encouraged him, so he came for pets while the dog barked at him. We crossed the field together where we encountered Frank and mad-dog Mattie. Guinny did his business in the leaves a distance from us. By the time I got there, the leaves were camaflouge and Guinness managed to clean it up himself. Yuck!

After everyone had gathered, Guinness decided to chew sticks rather than play. Today was very cold, -17 F with no snow. My plan was to chase him to give him exercise plus remove the stick. I have a tradition of falling at least once every winter. Even the winter we lived in San Diego: while walking Hershey on the uneven sidewalk, I tripped and ripped my jeans. Again today, no ice; no snow, yet Uggs are not meant to be running shoes. I think they caused me to trip on the flat frosty field sending me skidding diagonally until I finally touched down. No one saw it happen. Too bad, because I think it would have been a comical sight. I’m not sure what happened to Guinness’s stick, but I never saw it again.

With me engaged in chatter, I missed Guinness following Frank out of the park. Once I realized it, Guinness ignored my calls. I didn’t feel like running again, besides my knee was beginning to feel “wet.” My thoughts were – if he gets run over, he gets run over, and I won’t have to deal with his nonsense. As Frank reached the street, Guinness decided to heed my command. I snapped on his leash intending to leave, but Burton came racing to play, so I released him. Once they stopped running, I picked up his leash and headed home to check out my leg and throw my outer clothes into the wash.

This has nothing to do with Guinness (or does it?)

My daughter Karin put a link on her blog today to a comical blog titled “Waking up on the wrong side,” written by a friend who is also adopting from Vietnam. She began by asking if you have ever had one of “those dreams…You know, one of those dreams that just ruins your whole day from the moment you wake up? One of those dreams that manages to evoke emotions which then carry over into your waking hours, and, even though you know it was just a dream, you can’t shake the feeling with which it left you.” Her dream/nightmare caused her to lose her Vietnamese adoption because she had blogged about elves (which she had not done in wakeful life). I also had a nightmare last week that resulted in losing the adoptions. It went on and on all night, carried on through the day, and I am still thinking about it a week later. Here it is –

Karin and Kevin vanished. Someone had an inkling that relatives who are not in contact with the family had kidnapped them. No one knew where they lived exactly, but someone suspected that they were near Ottawa in a rural area. Since there was no mother in the Faulkner home, the Vietnamese adoptions were lost. Out of loneliness and grief, Steve had to leave their house for his sanity and moved in with friends as a boarder.

After we had been mourning for eight long months, Grant and I decided to try to find these elusive relatives who might know of Karin and Kevin’s whereabouts. We drove through the countryside and eventually found a remote house which seemed deserted. The door was open. The house had a sense of being a commune. It was a decent home, yet, where a fireplace had been, there was a gaping hole in the wall.

Karin and Kevin were there. They were zombies. The joy had been sucked out of them. I wasn’t sure they even recognized us. Amazingly, Steve showed up minutes after we had arrived! Simultaneously, we had all decided to begin searching on our own. The expression on Steve’s face from receiving no reaction from his loved ones was heartbreaking. Eventually, they warmed up enough to show us the room where they spent most of their days – a closet with a table and two chairs. There were forced to study philosophy in this room day after day.

Eventually, their captors appeared. We did not have much conversation with them, and I was unsure how we were going to persuade Karin and Kevin to leave with us. That was the waking up point which I came to repeatedly throughout the night. Each time, there was Guinness snuggled up to me seemingly trying to offer comfort.

The Beat Goes On

Today was another jackpot: all eight dogs were there at one time! Guinness has now discovered that he can play the mitten game with all the humans at doggie park. He attempted to pull off Ellen’s, Susan’s, and Douglas’s gloves. He succeeded with Susan. She asked if he would ruin them. “No, he will just slime them.” With Cheerios in pocket, it was a quick retrieve.

Guinness followed Frank as he left to go home, hoping for one more treat from the Candyman. I had to run across the entire field as Guinness totally ignored my commands. Frank turned around to keep Guinness from running farther towards the street. I decided that I would tell him my seismic decision, as he loves to harass me about my nationality and political views. I have decided that all the Republican frontrunners are too liberal for me, so I am thinking of voting for Obama. AND I read last night that Rush is saying the same thing! If we have to have a liberal in office, Obama is my choice. Instead of badgering me for turning my back on conservatives, he harangued on why anyone would listen to what Rush has to say.

This afternoon, I went to the grocery store for several non-grocery items. While there, I thought, I decided to buy Grant more of his favorite cheese – extra old and not cheap. I placed my groceries on the floor of the front seat. Since the cheese and some bananas were the only appealing items, I thought they would be safe for five minutes while I ran into the drugstore. NOT! When I returned, Guinness was playing with a plastic wrap. I knew it had come from the cheese which was certainly gone.

Grant walked in the door tonight, poured a glass of wine, and asked if I had bought any more cheese for him. I looked at Guinness who was sitting politely on the kitchen floor looking back and forth from me on his right to Grant on his left with his right eyebrow raised while looking at me and the left one raised while looking at Grant. I think he understood the conversation.

Later, we were talking to Kevin on the phone. Grampy told him that Guinness had eaten his cheese. Kevin said, “But that isn’t on the blog.” Well, it is now.

Waggish Rapscallion

This morning, everyone showed up: Riley, Marley, Mattie, Brin, Smartie, Lucy, Burton, and Guinness, of course. Lucy and Burton are the running instigators. When they are present, Guinness runs with them as if they are in a horse race. Burton’s Dad is very strict and has Burton very well trained. Guinness had the insolence to grab his glove and run. He has never been cheeky enough to steal someone’s mitten other than mine! And of all people to choose to tease! He even tried a second time which earned him a deserved pop on the nose!

Happy Dog

Guinness was delighted to return to his playgroup this morning. It was cute to watch him. His joy was obvious in spite of the frigid temperatures hovering just above 0 F with the wind chill below that. Mattie is always on leash giving her a disagreeable temperament, so no one ever plays with her. If a dog comes too close, she may attempt to take a chunk out of them. She tried to take a nip out of Guinness today, so he taunted her mercilessly at the end of her leash. He would run back and forth just out of her reach making her chase him. That is the first that he (or anyone) has ever played a game with her.

Dog Walk

Today was in the 70’s, the only nice day of my stay. The kids and I took the dogs for a walk.

I wanted to get a closer look at the oil rig that has popped up within sight of their house. This is Texas!

The Texas Granddogs

I am in Texas with son’s family including his two boxers. Duke is now 10. He lived his first weeks as a Walsh in our house in Chicagoland. He loves me and always sleeps with me.

Daisy was rescued a couple of years ago. She says that any friend of Duke’s is a friend of hers, so she sleeps with me too (or on me).

Duke is an inveterate food scavenger. I had some snacks in the side pocket of my carry-on bag. When we were out of the house, he dragged it into the living room and ruined the pocket zipper to eat my snacks. Bad dog!

Just Being Helpful, Mom

Epiphany has come and gone. Today I started removing Christmas – always a sad thing to do. The stairways have been festooned with garland, ribbons, beads, and gold silk roses for about 6 weeks. Guinness has not tampered with any of it or any other Christmas decorations at all. Although, I did not line the stairs with stuffed animals this year. That would have been too much of a temptation. In fact, I think he has enjoyed the decorations. I had not even started to remove the stair decorations. Apparently, he wanted to help, so he started undoing the stairs by pulling a silk rose out of the garland! He definitely did not want me to take it from him. He put up a chase in spite of offered treats. Then he did what he rarely does – played the part of the flower dog that he used to be and pulled the leaves off the stem!

SOCK

This sock has become a permanent toy. He doesn’t harm it (as he does not harm most of the objects he steals). He just doesn’t want me to take it from him. If it is on the floor and I approach the sock, he races to protect his possession.

Just our Average Morning

This morning, he had a string of thefts within a short period of time beginning with arriving home from doggie park. First, he grabbed a shoe in the garage. Next, it was an Ugg in the coat closet. Christmas placemats were spread out in the laundry room to dry. He took one of those which now has to be rewashed. He wanted to read a letter on Grant’s desk. He took the clean Christmas tea towels I had left on the kitchen counter to carry upstairs.

The sock is now on the bedroom floor. Perhaps it is joining his stash of toys. I am waiting for an opportunity to take a picture of it.

Socks

I keep the bathroom waste can on top of the clothes hamper in Grant’s bathroom. Otherwise, he will pull out the dirty clothes and run around the house with them.

I threw away a stack of old socks in the laundry room. Guinness opened the lid and pulled out a few. That was a new trick. Apparently, he has never been attracted to anything in that waste can before. I am letting him keep one sock just to see what he does. Whenever I come near him, he grabs it and runs away. Eventually, he took it upstairs to lay on our bed with it. It was still there at bedtime.

Scalawag

Grant was up and gone before I was out of bed. Guinness awakened me at 6:47 to get me up for playtime. I waited 10 minutes before rolling out of bed. Getting into the car was a challenge again. He wanted to run around the car before jumping in but it was pulled up too closely at the front. I had to back the car up slightly to make room for him to make a loop of the car, then he jumped in.

Doggie park was a frigid 12 degrees! Mattie and Riley both arrived about 10 minutes after us. Venus and the moon were beautiful in the clear pre-dawn sky.

Guinness was particularly persistent upon grabbing my mittens off my hands this morning. After the game became weary and my hands were freezing, I walked around like I a robbery victim with my hands in the air. He made one more swipe for a mitten as he jumped in the car, then took off, mitten in mouth. As I drove home, he tugged on my neck scarf! Fortunately, he did not become aggressive in this pursuit and choke me. As I took off my layers of outer clothing, he repeatedly tried to grab my Uggs. I finally was getting the message that perhaps this boy had not had his breakfast. Grant was unavailable for verification, so I gave him a partial bowl of food. Later I learned that that was his second breakfast of the morning.

Gifts

Of course, Guinness was ecstatic to see us. He immediately found his fuzzy bone toy from Kevin on the floor inside the door. When Grant dropped him off a week ago, the kennel gave him a Christmas stocking stuffed with toys and treats. I don’t know why Grant didn’t leave it in his villa, but it came home and I set it beside the fireplace. He found it right away too and loved all his gifts!

Lonely House

Even though we arrived home today, we will be away from the house for long hours each day until the weekend, so we will pick up Guinness from his pet hotel on Saturday. It is a lonely house without him bouncing around. However, it is a bit of a relief to unpack our suitcases and NOT have his “help”!

Molly

Yep! He did it again today. One lap around the car, and he was ready to jump in.

We had to leave doggie park early today, because Molly, a little Bishon, came to play for the day. Immediately, they were good friends. Guinness was so happy to have a playmate and was so gentle! What a grownup, well-mannered boy he was. He made Mommy proud! I think he would love to have a little dog sibling! Should we get one?

Guinness readily submitted so that Molly could check him out thoroughly.
Molly had not shown interest in eating her breakfast for the first hour, so I put Guinness away with a Xmas treat and got out her food.
True to form, she placed her meal on the rug, piece by piece, before eating it.
After leaving a little puddle on the carpet, I thought that perhaps it was time for a potty break. Guinness immediately demonstrated what you were to do outside, but Molly was already done. I assumed that she would not want to go near the deep snow, but, she is so small that she walks on top of the snow – whether deep or a skiff. After coming inside, she got a little “bitchy,” so Guinness snuggled at my feet between the desk and the chair (not his usual spot).
She decided that his soft mat was comfy.
When she left it, he decided to move there. Molly let him know that it was now her mat, but he held his ground. Just look at her forlorn expression!
Their next activity was for Molly to get under his body or to try nipping his tail or hind flanks.
Guinness decided that his crate might be a safe place. Molly peeked in his door at him. I shut him in so that Molly could have a drink of her water and perhaps go inside her crate, if she wished. She did have some water but was not ready for a nap.
When I let Guinness out, he thoroughly licked her bowl, making sure it was clean. Then he stuck his head into her crate to see if he might like it. When he managed to pull her blankie out, it was time to close it up again.

Solution

Yesterday, I had to let him in the side door to get to doggie park. This morning, he started running to the front of the car when I wanted him to jump in. I called him back and told him to jump. Again, he ran to the front, then all the way around the car, then jumped in! That’s it! He has to run around in a circle before he can jump – at least, when he is frightened. That is a doggie rule in the book somewhere.

Scaredy Cat

Over the past 36 hours, we had a raging snowstorm leaving at least a foot of snow. Doggie park would be challenge this morning. The parking lot would not be plowed and it would be deep walking, but I could envision Guinness prancing and leaping through the snow having a high old time.

Earlier this fall, when it started being fairly dark when we left for doggie playtime, Guinness tried to jump into the back of the car before it was open. Ever since, if he cannot see well, he is frightened and will not jump in. Usually, when that happens, Grant’s car has already left, so that I can open a side door, and he will readily jump in. This morning was very dark, and Grant’s car was still in the garage. He absolutely refused to jump in. I tried twice to pick him up, but he fought me and got hurt both times. I gave up in disgust (since I had gone to all the effort of bundling up for the wintry day), and took him back inside.

Later in the morning, I was going out to run errands and planned to let him ride along. Even in broad daylight, he would not come near the back of the car. I refused to give in to his fears by letting him in the side door, so he had to stay home alone.

I'm not sure how we are going to conquer this...

What Next?

Cathi asked me this week if Guinness is slowing down with his Gingerbread Boy games. NOT! I know he would drive their household absolutely bonkers! Greg would not have any patience for these puppy games.

This morning was a little out of hand. Every day at doggie park, I have to fight to keep my mittens on as Guinness tries to pull them right off my hands and often does succeed. He sent me on a chase a couple of times this morning. As we walked in the door from the garage, he grabbed a sneaker off the garage shoe rack. As I put my boots away, he grabbed one of Grant’s toe rubbers. (BTW, due to the weather reports, Grant took two toe rubbers with him on his business trip this week. When he pulled them on, he had two right rubbers.) Then we went upstairs to change into workout clothes. He grabbed a shoe from my closet. The Christmas wrappings are out in our bedroom, so he found an interesting fabric gift bag to steal. Finally, he settled on the bed while I did yoga. This is how he looked yesterday while I worked out. So sweet.

Today, half way through my program, he decided that he wanted to do yoga too and laid on top of me while I was in a floor position. Ugh! He found himself shut in the bathroom until I finished.

While typing this, he “discovered” that there are containers of treats in the spa bathtub. It has been a safe hiding place for over a year. No more.

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!”