Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions and generally just wrap up my week.

You Make Me Smile – November 15 2015

Meagan and Merlin said, “My fave pic of Merlin is of him sleeping with his back end on the couch and his front end on the floor.”

Hahaha I call that the Jabba the Hutt pose. For some reason when Sampson does that it reminds me of Jabba the Hutt, only I call it Jabba the Mutt. 😉

Cupcake said, “Mom usually smiles at me in my sleep because I’m on my back, shaped like an S, with one leg sticking straight up, my lip is caught on my teeth, my ear is inside out, and I’m snoring the word, “Woof. Woof.””

I’m sure mom laughs quite a bit at you Cupcake. 😉

Emma asked, “Did she used to fear the vacuum?”

No, she has never been afraid of it, in fact she sits there while you vacuum, almost like she’s playing chicken with the vacuum. LOL

Jan K said, “She looks completely and totally relaxed and content and that would make me smile too… I often do the same…just seeing them happy makes me happy!”

I’m with you on that one sister! I love seeing them happy.

Jan said, “When you think of the awful sounds dogs hear from the vacuum that we don’t, this is even more remarkable.”

Neither one of them ‘hate’ the noise, but Sampson doesn’t care for it getting to close to him.

Jackie Bouchard said, “I love when a dog sleeps in a position that shows they’re totally secure. :-)As for Rita, it makes me smile when she falls asleep on the couch with her head hanging off the edge. How can that be comfortable? Doesn’t the blood run to a dog’s head like it would with a human??”

Yes, that is what this picture said to me. She feels safe and secure. It’s been a long road. I’m with you on that head hanging over the edge thing, I can’t see how it doesn’t make them light headed, but maybe it doesn’t bother them?

Blueberry’s Human said, “I wonder if our dogs ever stare at us when we are sleeping and if they do, what are they thinking? I doubt we look all that cute with our mouths hanging open and drool dripping onto the pillow, hair smooshed in an unattractive manner.”

Believe it or not, I’ve actually woken up to find Sampson staring at me, I’m not sure he’s thinking about the drool or the hair, but maybe “Hey biotch, I have to pee, wake your ass up.”

Rebekah said, “That would make me smile too. After 4.5 years, my Bruce still sleeps with his back to the wall.”

It takes a LONG time Rebekah, Delilah has been with us 8 years and I’ve only really noticed her relaxing more (not all the time though) in the past 1 1/2 to 2 years.

Natural Stride Joint Supplement

Jan K said, “We used Natural Stride for quite a while with Sheba too, and she did very well on it. But she started to be fussy about the powder on her food, so we decided to try something different.
I think it’s great that there are so many quality options to choose from out there. I don’t think it hurts to switch around every so often anyway. Each seems to have at least one unique ingredient and I think that’s a good thing. Certain ingredients might work better with some dogs than others too, or sometimes just a change can get something working better.”

I agree, I think it’s good to switch things up once in a while and I really like the convenience of these as chews. Especially if you’re traveling.

Blueberry’s Human said, ” He really got the short end of the stick as far as that surgery working, didn’t he?”

He sure did. I think part of it might be my fault, I was so strict and so careful with him, I think too much so. But I feel like there wasn’t much of a choice with a fully torn cruciate, still, I feel awful about how it turned out.

Emma said, “We are all on the supplement you told us about last winter and it has been a miracle for Katie.”

It’s been amazing for Sampson too, I just think it never hurts to try something new. 🙂

Jan said, “I’ve been taking glucosamine for many years and I think it helped to start early. I wonder if the same is true of dogs, taking it before it is really needed.”

I think it probably does. I wish I’d started Sampson on it sooner, I think it might have helped.

2 Brown Dawgs asked, “So do you change out supplements? I have always been hesitant to do that once we found one that worked well for the dogs.”

Typically, no. But after speaking with the rep, I was told there was one ingredient in this supplement that had helped mice with arthritis. The rep was upfront in saying that it typically works when the arthritis is caught early and it might not help Sampson. It certainly didn’t hurt him though.

The State of the Dog – Barks and Bytes

Honestly you guys are so amazing and have so many wonderful ideas. I just couldn’t add them all to this post, or you’d all still be reading on Monday. 🙂

I will respond to those comments directly, so if you left a comment or asked a question, please go back and check it out. 

BUT before I go, I wanted to tell you that that crazy woman who calls herself Blueberry’s Human took the challenge I threw out to her in last Friday’s post and is attempting to teach Blueberry to use her human’s back as a stepping stool. If you want to read something funny, head over and check out her progress. 🙂

Well that’s it for me folks, thank you all so much for the love, support and suggestions, I know we’ll find a way to help my poor guy feel better.

Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions and generally just wrap up my week.

Happy Friday the 13th!

You Make Me Smile – November 8, 2015

Cupcake said, “I used to get car sick when I first came here. Mom practiced with me. We played with toys in the parked car and had treats in there. Then we practiced taking short rides to fun places. Now I LOVE the car!”

What a good mom you have Cupcake, I’m passing this trick along to my sister, her little guy does not like the car at all.

Julie said, “Cocoa loves the car and will go crazy when we tell her she can ride. We want to take her this morning but the issue with her is chewing things up inside the car!!”

Oh my goodness. What does she eat? I took training class with a woman whose dog ate the seat of the car on the ride to class. 🙁

Sand Spring Chesapeakes said, “My dogs are super excited to jump in the car too whenever the doors are open and don’t understand why I tell them to get the heck out we are not going anywhere.

Probably think they are going on some fun adventure. You gotta admit, you have some pretty amazing adventures.

Lauranne said, “I love her subtly approach to tell you she wants to go.”

LOL there isn’t a subtle bone in her body. 😉

Blueberry’s Human said, “Blueberry likes rides now but I have to put her home-made step stool down and put my foot on it to make sure it doesn’t move around and then throw a treat into the car before she will get in. Every. Single. Time. ”

She’s got you wrapped. 😉

Taryn said, “My guys are very happy to ride in the car. Of course, being corgis, they need a boost in both directions. The only time they don’t like it is when they feel the turns that they know mean we have just driven to the vet’s office. Amazing how they figure that out!”

Isn’t it funny? Mine will lie down the whole way, but as soon as we get within home, they are up and anticipating.

2 Brown Dawgs said, “Of course mine love the car. It might mean they are going training or hunting. :-)”

I bet they do, and I bet that’s why JoAnn’s love the car so much too. 🙂

Monika said, “Sam ‘loves’ the idea of going in the car and he excitedly barks waiting for me to open a door. He sits proudly in the back sit and as soon as I turn the ignition, he turns into Flat Stanley not to be seen again until the keys are removed. Having had 2 fat-headed Old English Sheepdogs who loved nothing more than blocking the rear-view mirror when not drooling on the windows, this doesn’t seem so bad. Still I wished he actually enjoyed it rather than be traumatized by it (he usually pants like a mad-dog or shakes uncontrollably till we arrive).”

I’m sorry, I didn’t want to laugh because poor Sam is traumatized, but the image of him flattening himself, it just made me chuckle.

Treasure Hunters

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “Mom and I saved the bread for the ducks on the pond a town away from us; but we tore it into bite-size pieces for them. That was eons ago, long before anyone knew that day-old (or 2-day-old) bread wasn’t good for any of our feathered friends…Love your storybook-style post!”

Yes I don’t know why more people don’t know about the bread. And thank you for commenting on the style, I was a bit nervous about trying it, but figured, why not? The words had been rolling about in my head for two days.

Mary Ann said, “One time Lila got away from me and ventured into the woods. I have no idea what she got into, but my carpet was never the same after that.”

Bah ha ha, I bet it was some kind of animal poop. Mine particularly love to roll in deer poop.

Blueberry’s Human said, “I challenge you to clear a space and then make the leaves spell out “STOP LEAVING HUNKS OF BREAD OUT FOR THE BIRDS MORON – YOU AREN’T DON’T NATURE ANY FAVORS”.

Are you kidding? Do you KNOW how MANY leaves there are? That would be almost impossible. Funny as hell, but impossible. Maybe I should just get some spray paint…

Margaret said, “When Abby was young my Mom took her for a walk in the fall & Abby ran through the leaves & turned up a $50.00 bill! Another time she found a $1.00 bill while visiting my Dad’s apartment & running through leaves on the lawn off his patio. I thought WOW she’s helping pay for her keep but by the end of the year & two ER visits (for eating a pill my Mom dropped (for her heart) & for getting a round bone stuck on her lower jaw & needing to be sedated so that it could be sawed off) more money has gone out for her than she has brought i : )–I mean— : (”

Wow, that’s pretty dang impressive. My dog pulled out bread, but it was the real kind, I’d rather have the kind Abby finds. 🙂 Sorry she had such a hard time after that.

Hailey and Zaphod said, “This morning there was coffee spilt on the road my dogs tried to lick up . . . . people leave food stuff everywhere!”

I don’t understand why people do that. Delilah found a cracked egg and I had to stop her from licking the curb. 🙂

Rebekah said, “Bruce once found some donuts hidden in leaves. He was a VERY happy dog. I wasn’t too happy, given he has a yeast allergy…”

Good lord, was he okay? Why do people do that?

Jan K said, “I suppose it could have been something worse they found in those leaves? (just trying to look on the bright side). I used to throw out bread for the birds, and our beagle Kobi would watch me and remember. Then next time we were out around the yard, he’d go get it! He also ate bird seed….so I couldn’t win. :-)”

You are right on that. You wouldn’t believe some of the things we find on our walks….Oh Kobi, and who says dogs have no memory? LOL

How Lazy is too Lazy – Barks and Bytes

Emma said, “That is one reason we never got a ramp, Mom would be too lazy to use it. We have all been lifted in and out since day one so we stick with it… When Katie was 11 weeks old Mom slammed the hatch down on one of her paws. It was nasty! I guess she screamed like forever and limped for about a week. It was only bruised, thankfully, but after that she started using a command before shutting the hatch. Scary stuff!”

Ouch poor Katie! I’m glad it wasn’t something more serious. If Sampson and Delilah weighed less, I would just lift them into the car, but I can’t lift these two. 

Taryn said, “I have a ramp too! Corgis, due to their long backs and dwarfed legs, really, really, really should not be allowed to jump in and out of a high car. You are tempting fate…..So I eventually got a ramp when my back was complaining about picking up/down those heavy buggers. (Cardigans aren’t those light weight little Pemmies, Wilson weighs over 40 lbs!) In the beginning, I used it to load up and get out of the car. Then I would put it in the car to use at our destination……over time, I just used it at home, and now I only use it to un-load at home……So I totally get this post!”

Thank you! It’s more awkward for me than anything else and then I get lazy…LOL 

Jan K said, “Oh, I’m guilty as well, I’ve gotten lazy about using the ramp lately. Thanks for the heads up that I’d better stop that! One of our blog friends, I think it’s SlimDoggy, uses stairs instead of a ramp. That almost seems like it might be easier, though they’d probably still have to step over that latch…I use the excuse that I’m not lazy, just always pressed for time. :-)”

I like that, pressed for time. 🙂 We have stairs in the bedroom, but he hates using them. He will when I stand there and enforce the rule, but given his choice, he’d rather jump. 🙁

Blueberry’s Human said, “Don’t feel bad. I have that homemade step for Blueberry for getting in and out of the car and a year or so ago, I got too lazy to put it down for her and she ended up hurting herself and had to be on restricted movement and pain meds for a few days. So now I suck it up and put the step down for her every single time (well, except for maybe once or twice when I knew she was jumping down onto a more forgiving surface than asphalt). I may grumble and moan and groan while I do it – but at least it gets done!….Hey! Maybe you can just kneel down on all fours and have Sampson use your back as a step to get into the vehicle! Sometimes brilliant ideas just come to me.”

Boo about Blueberry’s back, that totally stinks when they are hurting. As for your ‘brilliant’ idea, maybe you and Blueberry could master that first, make a video about it and then I’ll work on it. 😉

Lexy said, “Poor Sampson. They always look at you so accusingly too, when they get injured.”

He did too! He looked back at me like, what did you do that for?

AND Jan said, “They always give the look that says, “I trusted you to take better care of me, you lazy lout,””

LOL yes, that’s me, the lazy lout. Maybe I should rename this post. 🙂

Hawk aka Brown Dog said, “Gee golly, poor Sampson! Glad it wasn’t more serious. As for lazy…no you’re just busy and in a hurry…not lazy.”

Thank you Hawk, I appreciate that! I sometimes feel like I’m always in a hurry.

Jackie Bouchard said, “Anyway we had a ramp when we had 3-legged Abby. Used it once or twice and then it was just way too much trouble. I’d just pick her up to put in her/get her out – unless she beat me to it and jumped. Even on 3 legs she was no invalid!”

Even with his bad leg and his arthritis that little stinker STILL jumps! Did it used to horrify you to see her do that?

That’s it for me folks, have a great weekend!

Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday. The post where I highlight awesome comments, answer questions and generally just wrap up my week.

Follow-Up Friday

I don’t typically respond to FUF posts, but Jan had a question that made me laugh. “Will you still be our humble Jodi when you are a rich and successful author?”

Bah haha, Jan, you have far more faith than I do. 🙂

You Make Me Laugh – November 1, 2015

Julie said, ” Cocoa will talk non stop until we get her what she wants and until that happens there is no coffee drinking in peace!!”

Typically the dogs will nap for a bit after our morning walk, but sometimes….they have no patience.

Jan said, “My dogs push their bowls around the kitchen. Too much noise to ignore.”

Oh yes, that would make me get up and feed them, but let’s keep that between us, okay? 🙂 Actually I pick their bowls up after every meal, wash and dry them and keep them out of reach. 

Jackie Bouchard said, “Rita is the least demanding dog I’ve ever had. She’s spoiling us. She never ever demands her breakfast, but sometimes she’ll harrumph at me if I’m late with her dinner. She’s such a funny thing.”

LOL Delilah harrumphs too. Or she whines ever so slightly or does a really deep sigh. It makes me laugh. Once upon a time Sampson didn’t demand breakfast either. 🙂

Rebekah said, “Bruce screams. Daylight Saving did not go over well with him on Sunday…”

Oh goodness, I’m not sure I could deal with that. Daylight savings hasn’t gone over so well here either. The morning hasn’t been too bad, but night time? She starts dancing around like a lunatic around 6:00 pm and it will finally dawn on me that she thinks it’s 7:00 and dinner time.

Blueberry’s Human said, “I think we should have a Blogville Dog Death Stare contest. Delilah is definitely in the running, but I think Blueberry and many other dogs have a shot at winning too.”

Oooh, intriguing. How would we go about doing that?

The Thrill of Victory

Emma said, “Mom says this is just more proof, training one dog is a snap, but if you have more than one to train at the same time, it is really tough and almost impossible.”

It is SO hard and I feel very inadequate most days. In order to really work them I’d have to walk them separately and I just don’t have that kind of time.

Jan said, “I remember the agony of defeat ended painfully in the snow.”

Been there, done that, bought the tee-shirt to prove it. 😉

Julie said, “Awesome!! Walking in the dark is a whole different ball game, lol. With the time change we are not taking our nightly walk in the dark and yesterday was the first time so I feel ya. There was a dog in front of us that we didn’t see but Cocoa surely did and she goes into “I need to go play with that dog right now lets go come on hurry” mode!! In the daylight I can see what I need to prepare her for, lol.”

It’s way easier during the day. Luckily for me the lady had a light on, if she hadn’t, it would have been a totally different post. 🙁

Lexy said, “Congrats I love the victory of catching the threat before it’s even on your dog’s radar!”

That is KEY. If you can see it before the dog, then you have a fighting chance.

Genevieve said, “It’s the early catch that matters, and you caught it. I love a happy ending. Although an ending with you being dragged down the street on your butt was fun, too.”

LOL yes, those are sometimes entertaining, but usually well after the fact for me. 😉

Saved by Dogs asked, “Was there a time in your life when you would have hesitated to have a hand full of lung – fascinating the things we do for our dogs that we might not otherwise try.”

OMG for sure! I would have never DREAMED of having a handful of lung. LOL times sure have changed. 

2 Brown Dawgs said, “I am not a fan of the flexileads for walking. They are great if you are airing a dog but not for walking and people give too much lead with them.”

I’m not a fan of them at all, but definitely not for walking your dogs. If you could see these dogs walking, they zigzag all over the road, first on one side, then the other, she absolutely has NO control of those dogs.

Blueberry’s Human said, “If you lived near a nuclear power plant, maybe you could grow a couple extra arms so you could distract both dogs at the same time, plus keep hold of their leashes, etc. That is way too much drama during a walk for me – I don’t think my heart could take it.”

Yeah, I can barely coordinate the two arms I have. LOL No idea what I’d do with two more. And yes, it’s a lot of drama which is why I get up so early, in hopes avoiding it.

Jen Gabbard said, “Awesome timing, and way to go Delilah. I know they’re not “our” roads but I’d be pretty pissed if I was out walking that early only to encounter someone else with yippy dogs on retractable leashes. Oy. But what can you do?”

I’m with you. It’s not so much I that I mind sharing the road with them, I just wish they put some thought into what they’re doing and pay attention, you know? Rein your dog in when you see other dogs approach. Don’t assume all dogs are friendly or want to greet your dog.

Jackie Bouchard said, “That’s great! Hooray for victory! (And I do remember that saying – it was at the beginning of the “Wide World of Sports” wasn’t it?? And they’d show that skier wiping out every time they said “agony of defeat.”) Anyway… I can manage to have similar victories if I manage to get the cheese out in time. And, yes, I shove it in Rita’s face too! But if a dog comes on us too quick, and is snarky at her, well, then it’s that skier wiping out all over again…”

LOL I’m always just a slip up away from the agony of defeat. And yes, you are right it was Wide World of Sports.

Autumn Is My Favorite Color – Barks and Bytes

Genevieve said, “The acorns are driving me crazy here, too. Where the heck are the squirrels?? In the cartoons they’re always collecting those things and hiding them. Slackers! Cupcake tries to eat them. I was told they’re delicious food for donkeys. I don’t know much about Cupcake’s DNA makeup, so maybe……”

Bah ha ha, I’m pretty sure there is NO donkey in Cupcake’s DNA. I wonder how my neighbors would feel about a donkey…

Meagan and Merlin said, “Here in the land down under right now its spring. Lots of pretty colours and hayfever season. In winter my boyfriends friend judges the weather on how many dogs he would need to keep him warm at night. For example he might say “its a 3 dog night tonight” lol. I love your pictures of the forest.”

I love that expression!! No matter WHAT the temperature is here, it’s always a ‘2 dog night’ for me. 🙂 Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos.

Daisy said, “It’s been a gorgeous autumn here too – some trees actually have four colors at once, which is stunning. We’ve also got tons more acorns than usual, and I’ve heard the same from people in many different states. Doesn’t that mean a tough winter? Yet they’re predicting a mild one. I guess we’ll have to wait and see!”

I bet those trees are beautiful!! So we aren’t the only ones with an influx of acorns? I’m not sure about the winter thing, I think it just means the squirrels are lazy. 😉

That’s it for me folks, have a wonderful weekend!