Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

No, My Dog Can’t Meet Your Dog. No.

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It’s been a while since I shared a dog encounter story.  Ya’ll know where I live, it’s not like they haven’t been happening, believe me, they have. It’s just sometimes I have to ‘percolate’ them for a bit. 🙂

DADO Capital of Connecticut

There’s a woman who lives on the street behind my house. She has a mini Schnauzer, “Bumper.” This dog barks like crazy when we pass the house, and when we pass her on a walk, she’s at the end of her leash, dragging her owner, and making all kinds of noises.

They live across the street from a house with two dogs in an e-fence and these dogs bark and run the yard, every time we pass. Every. Time.  One day this woman complimented me on Delilah, because the two fools were barking like crazy, and Delilah sailed by like nothing was happening. During that conversation, the woman told me she had chosen her dog because it was a ‘guard dog,’ and would warn her if someone was around. I can attest to the fact the dog barks, whether it’s on a lead outside, or sitting in the window. I can also verify, that the woman never checks to see what the dog is barking at. Not sure what the purpose of getting a dog that barks is, if you are not, in fact, going to check on that barking dog….but I digress.

Last week, Delilah and I were taking our afternoon walk, when I saw the woman coming out of her yard with her dog.

I immediately stopped, so I could determine which way she was headed. If she had gone the way we were heading, I would have hung back and let her get ahead of me, then continued on our way. But, instead, she came out of the yard and headed straight towards us, so I turned around and popped into a side street.

As she passed the entrance to the street, she thought it would be a good opportunity to talk to me. I kept Delilah at a safe distance, while Bumper huffed, and puffed, and pulled on the leash, and the woman spoke about the storm we’d just had, and it looks like one of her Arborvitae took a hit, and the first thing she did after getting power back on was make a cup of coffee, and her dog just wanted to meet my dog, and on and on and on.

Dear dog, Make. It. Stop.

Finally, she went on her way.  I knew we were going to end up meeting again, and now my priority became, getting us to a ‘safe’ house, while we waited for them to pass.

Lucky for us, we made it our neighbor’s house, and Delilah and I popped into their driveway to wait for Bumper and his mom to pass.

Except they didn’t.

No, no, Bumper’s mom decided (once again) that she’d stop and chat with me. Mind, Delilah is being SO good throughout both encounters. While Bumper, is still on the end of her leash, only this time, she’s dragging her mom closer and closer to us.

Then the mom says, “Can they meet?”

My response was strong and firm, “No.”

Then I went on to explain that sometimes Delilah is snarky, especially on leash. (Side not, why? Why do I feel like I have to explain to someone why my dog can’t meet theirs? Why?)

Now, if someone told me no, I’d be like, “Okay. See ya,” and I’d be on  my way.

But not this woman, no she kept right on chatting, and then, when she finally started walking away from us, she saw a HUGE snowman the kids next door had made, and had to shout back at me to see if I had seen it, and to ooh and ahh over it.

Chatty Cathy.

I wanted a diaper. Then I wanted to poop it.

How do you handle such encounters?

Premium Real Estate

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This past Wednesday, we were hit with a Nor’easter. I thought it had perfect timing. The bulk of the snow fell in my area late in the afternoon, and was finished by the next morning. All told, we got about 8 to 10 inches of snow. This doesn’t bother me in the least, I love winter, and I love snow.

I know this can be a very unpopular opinion with some people. But what can you do? Haters gonna hate.

The last big snowfall we had, was light and fluffy snow. This snow is dense and heavy, and when you add snow removal into the mix, the sides of the road can get very deep. In most areas, the snow is well above my knees.

Thanks to my neighbor who clears an area around the hydrant. It’s a great place to check p-mail.

This means, potty real estate is at a premium right now. 

I’ve said many times before, my dogs are as opposite as two dogs can be.

One dog, Sampson, is a particular pottier. He only likes to go on grass, and he prefers his privacy. When he was younger and went to daycare, he would hold his poop all day. (They had a gravel area for the dogs to relieve themselves.) The first thing he would do when he got home? Run into the back and poop. When we are walking in the woods, he will push his way through bushes so he can have a little privacy.

On the other end of the spectrum, Delilah goes where Delilah wants to go. She routinely pees in the road, has peed on a dead frog, a newspaper left in a driveway, fresh paint on the road, etc. She will channel her inner Elsa and climb a snowbank to drop deuce on the top.

On top of all this snow, the daytime temperature has been in the upper thirties to the lower forties, with a temperature this warm, the snow hasn’t been able to freeze. This means, the dogs sink into it when they try to climb it.

This basically leaves the dogs with very limited options for relieving themselves.

You put both feet up, you set your bottom down, you look at the snow, then…go to town.

Delilah of course is fine, she has two ways of handling the snow for peeing purposes. 1) she faces the snow, puts her two front paws on the snowbank and pees in the road.  Or 2) she has mastered the sideswipe technique, of lifting her leg.

This is my signature move. You just sidle up to the snow, and lift your leg.

For pooping, she just goes in the road. (I left the photo small so you didn’t have to stare at it.) You’re welcome.

Sampson on the other hand, will walk and walk, trying to find a spot where there is a bit of grass so he can pee or poop. It kind of worries me, because I feel like he’s not emptying his bladder enough, and since he really only goes out twice a day, it is super important to me that he pees properly.

I give up! Where’s a dog supposed to go?

On those rare occasions where he does lift his leg to pee on a snowbank, it sure does make me smile.

You make me smile (or laugh.) The sweet, funny, loving things my dogs do, that brings a smile to my face, or a laugh to my lips.

What did your pet(s) do this week that made YOU smile or laugh?

Age Brings Challenges

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Living with a dog who is slowly losing her sight has its challenges.

Hubby and I have always suspected Delilah didn’t see well, but since being diagnosed with Endothelial Decompensation, we’ve noticed even more of a decrease in sight. We suspect it is the main reason she tends to take fingers along with treats.

It’s so sad to me when I see her staring blankly, but intently at the wrong spot. But even with my sadness, I can still find humor in certain situations.

I’ve said it many times, some of the funniest things my dogs do, happen when there is no camera around. Like one night last week.

Most of Delilah’s night walks are still in the dark. I do bring a strong light, but I find it easier for me to adjust eyes to the dark, and easier for Delilah when the light isn’t shining in her eyes. I use the light when a car is heading our way, or for when she stops to poop.

This particular night she decided to stop near a fence. It was what I believe is called a rail fence. There are wooden posts in the ground, and then two wooden posts about two to three feet apart, that insert into the posts forming a type of fence.

As I said, Delilah was very close to the fence, and I was just standing there with my light on, waiting for her to finish (she’s also a ‘kicker’ and she’s hit me with grass or dirt on more than one occasion, so it’s just best to wait until she’s done.)  When she finished, she turned to her right, (instead of her left) and whacked her head on the fence, and then stepped in her own poop.

Like you’ve never misjudged distance!! Give me a break, Mama!

 

 

I related the story to Hubby and we got a good chuckle  out of it, because really, what else can you do?

You make me laugh (or smile), the sweet, funny, loving things my dogs do that make me laugh or smile.

What did your pet do to make you smile or laugh this past week?

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