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!