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Follow-Up Friday – August 12, 2016

August 12, 2016 By Jodi

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 – August 5, 2016

Chocolate lab rests head on knee

Taryn Tipton said, ” I like it best when Jimmy rests his head on Wilson or vice versa.”

My dogs never do. In fact, they rarely, if ever touch when they are sleeping. I think I would smile at that myself. 🙂

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom said, “Shadow will rest her head on my knee at times when she’s looking for attention. And Ducky will rest her head on her daddy’s stomach when she’s laying between his legs on the recliner. That always makes me smile. Callie used to sleep on the living room floor with her head resting on the dog bed. I used to laugh at her when she did that.”

Sampson sometimes rests his head on his bed too and I find it so adorable.

Emma said, “Life is full of places to rest heads, but humans don’t seem to take advantage of it like dogs do.”

Right! What’s up with that Emma?

DogDaz said, “Sofie loves to put her head on feet and the coffee table, Lulu loves your knee when your sitting.”

Do you take pictures of that? That sounds so cute!

Monika and Sam said, “Sam will do that on my knee or thigh, to which I instinctively reach down to pet him. I think he’s actually put 2 and 2 together and figured out if he does it, he’ll get the attention he wants.”

Sampson will put his head on one of our knees with a similar result. They really have us trained. 😉

Cupcake said, “My head is surprisingly heavy considering that my brain is so tiny. So, yes, I need to rest it – on Mom, the arm of the chair, the side of my bed, or anything on the floor at my level.”

Oh Cupcake, you always make me laugh.

Delilah gets a Birdie

Labrador Retriever Sees bird

Meagan Maher said, “My last dog dropped a baby pigeon in front of me once unscathed and Merlin, well birds could be splashing in his water bowl (which they do) and he wouldn’t care (which he doesn’t). He likes to hunt and eat moths though.”

OMG a baby pigeon! That’s amazing that it wasn’t hurt! These past couple of mornings we’ve had birds hopping in front of us. I haven’t a clue what that’s about, but if those birds went into their water bowls, I’m pretty sure my dogs would take issue with it.

Taryn Tipton said, “One time when I was walking with my friend and her chocolate lab, we were along the edge of the big lake in our neighborhood. Mousse (the lab) was walking along in the shallow water when a HUGE bull frog jumped up in INTO his mouth. Yes, right in his mouth! It took quite an effort to get him to drop it. And ever after that happening, he was obsessed with hunting bull frogs!”

See a person would be freaked out by that, but a dog, no. A dog would be like, “Bring that shit on!”

Beth Patterson said, “When I was a teenager we had a Bullmastiff named Angel. One day we were in the back yard and a baby bird was taking its first flight. Unfortunately, he flew right in front of Angel who just opened her mouth and swallowed it in one gulp. It was very sad and unexpected.”

Oh my gosh. How horrible. I had a dog many years ago that could pluck low flying birds right out of the air. It makes you feel so sad.

Cupcake said, “Once I ate a butterfly. Mom saw it flying and then it was gone and I was chewing. She said, “Oh no you didn’t.” But oh yes I did. Maybe that was an accident….”

Ha ha ha, I took a picture once of Sampson with a moth right near his nose, as soon as I snapped that picture….Delilah ate that moth. 

Sue said, “Living in the country with a huge backyard we frequently have whole huge flocks of birds come in, especially in the fall and spring as they’re migrating. Years ago there was a day when a huge flock of meadowlarks came in. I let Lucy and Tucker out to “clear the yard” and they stormed out of the house. They reached the back fence and Lucy turned around to look at me… and had a meadowlark in her mouth. She looked wide eyed and shocked (just like me). And dropped the bird. After that she wasn’t as keen on “clearing the yard.” LOL”

Oh poor Lucy! They probably haven’t thought what would actually happen if they caught one!

Two French Bulldogs said, “Oh the poor birdie. We don’t go after them but we would like some tree rat stew.”

You and most of the dogs I know. 😉 Mine would like some chippies with that stew! Haha

Jan K said, “Oh, poor birdie! It probably was a young one. We had a lot of birds nesting around our yard. One day I came home and as I was letting the dogs out one flew right into me! Of course at first I didn’t even know what it was so put my hands up to protect myself, and I’m not sure if I hit him or if he just kept going the other way. He landed a little ways away from me, and luckily when I checked on him he seemed to be OK.”

Dear lord, I scream like a girl when shit like that happens. I’m glad you were both okay!

Sand Spring Chesapeakes said, “Preacher is trampling birds all the time and bunnies and moles and and and…..”

Oh Preacher! 

Anonymous said, “Send D over to my house, I’ve got an effing woodpecker pecking the crap out of my house! He goes from one end of the house after I chase him away, to the next! Peck off you bloody woodpecker!!!!”

I had a woodpecker too, I hung a wind sock type of thing made of metal which seems to have kept it away.

Peace of Mind

I'm tickled pink to see Emily.

I’m tickled pink to see Emily.

Pamela Lucas said, “I get your every word and feelings. Brodie deserves the best handling that fits him. I am lucky that my dog walker, who has a huge amount of clients, understands what I want and what Brodie needs.”

That’s amazing! You really have to feel comfortable with the person you entrust with your baby.

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “I know how you feel, when I go away and I can’t take all the dogs with me I call and check in on them everyday. Now mind you I don’t have a stranger or someone taking care of them, it is my own family that live with me and the dogs and I am still nervous about it lol…It is just no one takes care of them like I do!”

Amen sister. Don’t think I won’t be calling my husband and reminding him to read the list I left him. 😉

Genevieve said, “When I had knee surgery 3 years ago, ALL of my friends (and some acquaintances I don’t even consider friends) wanted to take care of Cupcake for the 8 days I’d be gone. I had to say no to all of them and picked the dogmom of Cupcake’s friend Lila. I knew Lila had the run of the house, was allowed on the beds and furniture, and went everywhere with her mom in the car. That’s what Cupcake needed, so that’s where she stayed. She did great. (And that dogma went on to become a trainer at The Seeing Eye – with my recommendation!)”

I totally get that. I could never leave my guys somewhere where they couldn’t sleep on the bed. I think if Hubby and I ever went away at the same time, I would pay someone to stay with the dogs. 

Emma said, “Oh boy, my mom is a nervous Nellie too! The only one she ever lets walk us besides herself is her cousin and in a pinch the neighbor. Mom is afraid we will get loose, or dart out after a squirrel and knock a person over, she is just plain afraid to let anyone else go out with us.”

It’s hard not to worry about that. Trust me, they will be with my HUSBAND and I will be worrying!

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, ” You’ve known Emily for quite some time; and you trust her with Sampson’s and Delilah’s lives at the hospital. She is the right person.”

Plus she LOVES Sampson, LOVES him, and he LOVES her.  I will have a post next week about Emily, she did the sweetest thing for him at the vet yesterday.

Two French Bulldogs said, “Our last dog walker payed more attention to her cell phone than us.”

Um…I’d have a problem with that and I’m assuming your mom did as well.

Jan K said, “I was the same way in finding a groomer for Sheba. I wouldn’t trust anyone with her until the vet tech at our vet’s office starting doing it. Sheba knew and loved her, the feeling was mutual, and I could feel comfortable leaving her in her care.”

It’s so hard. And the worse part is that they can’t talk and tell you if something is wrong. I’m glad you found someone for Sheba.

Taryn said, “LOL! I think lots of us share your angst! I have not taken a vacation without our dogs since we got Jimmy nine years ago! Wilson is a sweety and anyone could take care of him. But adding Jimmy to the mix is where things get dicey. He is what I call a 50/50 dog. He snarks at other dogs who get too close (or, heaven forbid, sniff his butt), but it isn’t every dog. So I can never trust him. I can’t expect someone else to be as cautious as me.”

Can I tell you a secret? We take separate vacations. IF we have to be somewhere together, I make sure we fly on different flights.  And Delilah is similar to Jimmy. I’ve worked really hard with her, but if a dog surprises her with a nose in her ass, she’s going to give him a face full of chocolate he won’t soon forget!

Monika and Sam said, “I think that little assistant that resides in each of us was trying to tell you something by making you feel uneasy about the original walker. Sadly those ‘helpers’ have no volume button that can be turned up-they just make you question yourself. Good thing too since they always seem to know what’s on the up and up.”

Sometimes I wonder if it’s really my assistant or just my paranoia. 😉 Either way, I usually listen. 

Jackie Bouchard said, “Oh, I feel your worries! I was recently in a very similar situation! I went away for a week, leaving the hubby and the dog alone for the first time (well, the first time where it was more than just one night). The hubs had time to take her for a quick walk each morning, but we knew it was going to be a crazy week for him at work (he’s often gone more than 12 hours) so couldn’t leave Rita home along that long. It took me a long time to find a place that I felt okay with – and I scheduled both a walk and training session with them ahead of time to make sure I’d be okay with them. Still… it was worrisome…The place I used would send me photos and texts each day, so I was able to see/hear how Rita was doing.”

Ugh, it’s so hard. Especially if you’ve never done it before! I’m hoping I can convince Emily to send me pictures. 🙂

Well that’s it for me folks! Have a fabulous weekend!

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Peace of Mind

August 11, 2016 By Jodi

For the first time in my life I found myself watching a stranger walk my dog and I didn’t like it one bit.

It wasn't as bad as wearing boots and a sweatshirt on a walk.

It wasn’t as bad as wearing boots and a sweatshirt on a walk.

Let me back track.

In a couple of weeks I’m going away on vacation. Truth, I do almost all of the dog walking/care giving in this house. Now, Hubby is capable of walking the dogs, but for whatever reason, he just doesn’t like it. When I do manage to squeeze a day or two away, he will walk the dogs. Reluctantly and not the way I would walk them, but he does walk them.

Weekends of course are easier for him. But weekdays are hard, because he starts work at 7:00 am and leaves the house by 6:30. THEN about three weeks ago, he was offered over-time (and who can pass that shit up with my hours cut in half at work?) Because it’s so dang hot, he starts work at 6:00 AM and leaves the house at 5:30. In order for him to be able to walk both dogs, he’d have to get up at 3:30 AM, and I can’t ask him to do that.

So I went to my old trainer and asked her and she recommended someone. We spoke on the phone for about 1/2 an hour and she is a  really nice lady.  We set up a meet and greet and she came over to the house yesterday. The dogs both loved her and we sat and chatted for a bit, then she said, “So how about we walk the dogs?”

Since Sampson’s walks are timed, she started out with him, while I took the D-Dog. Once we turned around, we switched dogs.

So maybe it’s just me being a Nervous Nellie, but here’s what I observed:

Sampson was practically in the middle of the road, with cars coming, I said, “Buddy, what are you doing, there are cars coming.” And she brought him in. (When I walk my dogs, they are on the inside of me, closest to the curb.)

Delilah’s leash was too tight. So I waited a minute and then I said, “You can loosen up on her leash,” as nicely as I could.

Of course, we WERE talking while we walked which could have had a bearing on it.

Afterward we chatted a little bit more and we talked about her payment, and her coming over again before I leave, and her meeting Hubby etc.

She had shared with me on the phone that she is insured AND she uses the same Vet I do.

We talked about encounters with other dogs, and I asked her if she’d ever had an incidents and she said, “No.”

She left me with her business cards and a contract.

Since Delilah’s walk had been shortened (because we walked with Sampson) I took Delilah out for a few more minutes.

While we were walking, I was thinking about the dog walker and I started getting really freaked out. Almost like panic attack freaked out.

I’m leaving in two weeks, and I need a dog walker, but suddenly I wasn’t 100% comfortable with the person I’d chosen.

So I started thinking. Where do you find a good dog walker? I thought of the websites that offer that service, but honestly, time is short now.

Then I remembered hearing you should ask your vet, as many times the vet techs, also do dog walking/pet sitting. And I thought of the lady up the street who has a vet tech stop by in the mornings and walk her GSD.

I thought about Sampson’s favorite vet tech who loves him as much as he loves her. So I called my vet and asked if Emily did any dog walking. As luck would have it, Emily was there and would be available to walk my dogs on the days I needed.

Of course, I told Emily everything and advised her I might not like the way she walked my dogs any better. 🙂 And she totally understood that.

It made me feel so much better, because Emily knows both of my dogs really, really well and both my dogs adore her.

I feel really badly that I’m going to have to tell the original dog walker that I’m going with someone else, but I feel, for my own peace of mind that it’s the right thing for me and my dogs.

I'm tickled pink to see Emily.

I’m tickled pink to see Emily.

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Filed Under: Dogs Tagged With: Life With Sampson And Delilah, sampson and delilah

Delilah Gets a Birdie

August 9, 2016 By Jodi

For those of you who tuned in thinking Delilah took up golf, think again. No, it wasn’t badminton either, and disc golf is out as well.

It was a real bird.

Here’s how it went down.

It was July 30th, Sampson’s birthday. I started the morning with a walk with the Birthday Boy. In our travels Sampson discovered a little bird, tucked away in some landscaping. Naturally, he was captivated by it, but the bird just sat there, very still.

I got as close as I dared with Lunatic on a Leash, but the bird didn’t move. I figured it was stunned, or hurt, so it was best to leave it alone.

On our return trip, I checked for the bird and it was gone! Yay, I thought, the bird recovered and went on its way. Sort of like that squirrel I knocked out that one time…

I got home and swapped out the dogs and took Delilah for her walk, it was a nice, quiet walk and she took the long route, which was fine with me.

My dogs are funny when they walk. Sampson has a tendency to walk in the grass, while Delilah prefers the blacktop.

So there we were about five houses from home. I was basking in the beauty of early morning and thinking what a nice, peaceful walk it had been. Delilah was walking beside me, thinking, Dog only knows what.

Suddenly, the bird was there. It must have flown across the street from where it originally was, and settled down in the grass. In our obliviousness, we hadn’t seen it.

The bird flew out right in front of Delilah, startling her.  And in her surprise, she pumped her feet up and down, (much like a person flailing their arms) and bit at it. (She might have looked like me swatting at those damn bugs, except I try not to bite

At first, I couldn’t see what was happening, I just heard the noise, saw her distress, and her feet stamping up and down, so I quickly urged her closer to me. Once we were a short distance away, I saw the bird.

We both just stood there and stared at it.

Labrador Retriever Sees bird

The poor little bird, its little leg shook for a moment and then I’m pretty sure it was gone, if not, it went quickly afterwards. I felt horrible. If I’d seen it, I would have avoided it.

We’ve seen lots of crazy things on our walks, but we’ve never trampled a bird before. Have you ever had anything like this happen to you?

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About Jodi

jodiHi, my name is Jodi. Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog! I have all kinds of fun writing about my two crazy pups, Sampson and Delilah. Find out more!

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