Pat and Traveler's Blog (40)

Mom said our walk this morning was ‘the walk from hell,’ and we have to get back to some ‘serious training.’ Jeez, I just wanted to romp around and then lie down and wait for that little dog I could see coming. I was going to leap up at the last minute and play with her, but her mom turned around and went the other way. Mom says I look scary when I just lie down with my head on the grass and stare intently at whoever or whatever is coming our way, and that isn’t the proper way to greet…

I know this is an awful photo, but I think of it as a crime scene photo taken by a bystander.  On the counter is a plate featuring green beans and steak.  The perp is carefully planning his assault, not knowing that his actions are being observed and recorded by Mommy Eyes.

His defense:  You can't go to jail for what you're thinkin'.  The offender got neither beans nor steak, and appeared to have no remorse regarding his suspicious actions.

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When Traveler got shaved, November 18, I was wondering how long it would take for 'naked dog' to get his fuzzy on.  I think he's fuzzy enough now, so thought I would post before and after shots, for the doodle parents who are just now getting their first glimpes of their pup au naturel.  There are other great before and after shots on DK, so this is just one to add to the album.  :)  Does he look like the same dog?

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I thought this was a cute illustration of training 'sit.'  The pup is is a mini Australian Shepherd and the hand is my granddaughter's.

This is a photo of a web cam image at my favorite doggie day care.  There are always people with the dogs, it's clean and friendly, the dogs are temperment screened before they can join--just a great place.  Trav loves to go there, but I've watched him on the web cam and he just plays with the other dogs for a short time, then finds a vantage point and simply waits for me.  That's him on the table.  I wish he would play--that's why I take him there, so he can have some good socialization and…

In the early 1800's a man called John Gray, a gardener, arrived in Edinburgh with his wife and son looking for work. The weather was cold, however, and the ground was hard, so there were no gardening jobs available. He took what work he could find, and became a member of the Edinburgh Police Force - a Constable.

As a condition of his job, John Gray was required to have a dog. He bought a Skye Terrier and named him Bobby (Bobby was the nickname for Constables in the Police Force).…

I'm so glad Traveler is finally getting some coat back after he was shaved a couple of months ago!  Maybe his face was trimmed into a 'poodle cut,' but he just looked naked and miserable to me. 

Four times now, in the early morning, over about the last couple of weeks, Trav has just stood hunched, tail tucked, obviously in pain.  This lasts for maybe 10 minutes, then he licks his urethra for maybe five minutes.  Then he's fine--his usual playful, bouncing self.  He's eating fine and doesn't seem to have any problems with pee and poop.  His food hasn't changed recently.  He was at the vet's office yesterday for a Bordetella booster and his temperature was fine.  I asked the vet tech…

Sort of like pulling out an album of grandkid photos... :)

A while back I noticed and blogged about Traveler playing 'find the fox,' and how impressed I was at not only his ability to find a hidden toy, but also his dedication in searching for it.  We've continued to play this game off and on, with no particular consistency.  The game is:  he waits in one room while I hide the stuffed fox in a different room, then tell him to 'find the fox.'  His search behavior is so…

Dogs 101 did a show about designer dogs, and said that labradoodles just needed a 'little brushing, a little bathing' and they'd be good to go. Yikes! They haven't checked the DK grooming group, or spent time with Traveler! As for goldendoodles, they were a bit more cautious, saying the the grooming would 'take time.'

It’s only been two days, but I can’t find any fleas on Traveler or on my socks after the ‘white sock test.’ This is the first time in several months that I haven’t been able to find a single flea, and I’ve tried Frontline Plus, Advantix, Nature’s Guardian, flea powder and comb and a flea bath. Some of these have definitely lowered the flea population, but that’s the best result I could get. I could always find a few fleas.

This time I used Comfortis (a beef-flavored tablet)…

When Traveler wants to lie down on the bed, he does that doggie getting-ready-for-bed thing, turning round and round, nose down, butting the covers with his head, sometimes pouncing a couple of times on some suspect spot. Then he just sort of drops, and curls. My daughter was watching him do this and said he was ‘stompin’ out the snakes.’ I had to laugh. Not only was that a funny description, it sounded like an even more reasonable explanation for the behavior that just making the bed-place…

and look at the First Snow. I’m not too thrilled about this. It’s cold out there, and with the door open, it gets cold in here. Trav is acting like the snow is some dangerous white beast that appeared overnight and laid down all over his territory. He wants to look at it without having to walk on its back. He did venture out for a quick pee, but hurried back inside, whirling around at the door to make sure it wasn’t following him. It’s going to be a long day.

In just a couple of quick sessions, I managed to turn my usually quiet dog into a manically barking, whirling dervish that bounces off me and the walls and the furniture. And how was I able to accomplish such an interesting feat? It was simple, really. I decided to try to scare the squirrels out of the attic by making lots of noise, like shouting, banging pan lids, using a whistle and thumping a newspaper against the walls. This horrendous din hasn’t bothered the intruders one little bit,…

When I retired a couple of years ago, I decided it was time to fulfill a life-long desire to get a dog. My previous experience with dogs consisted mostly of wonderful child-hood memories of ranch dogs in Montana–loveable, smart, working dogs. If those dogs had any issues with food, fleas, ticks, illnesses or grooming, I’d certainly never heard about them.

It didn’t take too long (okay, several weeks of poring over pictures and descriptions) to settle on either a goldendoodle…

A couple of evenings ago Trav was sound asleep and I was deeply involved in a project. I sort of registered that I was hearing him whining, but thought he was having a dream. Finally realized that the whining was still going on, and found the poor little guy practically dancing by the door, wanting OUT!! Once the door was open, he bolted and barely made it to the grass before having a diarrhetic episode. I felt so bad for making him wait when his need was so urgent! The next morning he was…

Traveler got a new toy, a plush fox, and just for fun I put it under his blanket. He dug it out, dropped it on top of the blanket and looked expectantly at me. So I did it again. And again. He loved digging around in the blanket and finding the fox! So I expanded the game. Had him wait in one room and put the fox in another room. He could see where I put it. Then I told him to 'find the fox,' which he did. Next I put it just a little bit out of his sight-line. Then he was finding the fox…

She left me with my buddy Grendel, a pit bull/mastiff kind of guy, and his humans. I missed her a lot for a while after she left, but hey--I'm a year old now and Gren would think I was a wimp if I just kept whining and moping, even though I'd never been away from her overnight since I chose her to be my human when I was eight weeks old. Anyhow, Mom called Gren's humans every day to see how I was doing, and sounded a little surprised when she heard I was just fine. Sheesh! I think SHE was one…