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 – January 3, 2016

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom asked, “Aw, Sampson did you miss your bed at home? There’s no place like home after time away, is there buddy?”

I’m not sure if it was his bed he missed, or the quiet routine of a two-dog household. 🙂

Emma asked, “Did he sleep a lot when you got home to recover from the fun time?

I don’t think he slept anymore than usual, but remember he had a 3 1/2 hour car ride to sleep through!

Jackie Bouchard said, “When we are packing up to go home from someplace, she is always extremely worried that we’ll leave her behind (as if) so she’ll run out and leap into the car the first chance she gets.”

Awe, sweet Rita. I wonder if maybe Sampson was worried about that. Personally I think he just wanted a break from the other dogs. 🙂

Taryn said, “Wilson doesn’t even bother to tell us, he just goes upstairs to bed. He’s done that ever since he was a little pup. Jimmy gets itchy and grunts a lot and if you say “Jimmy, are you ready for bed?” He shoots up in the air, and hauls for the steps.”

Sampson usually just puts himself to bed too. One of us will say, “Where’s Sampson?” and he’s usually in bed. LOL Awe Jimmy, he’s just trying to tell you he wants to go to bed. 🙂

What’s In Her Mouth?

Kathleen Pirro said, “On one walk one of the collies grabbed a fried chicken bone! Some idiot in a car had tossed it out onto the sidewalk! Fortunately I fished it out if her mouth in time.”

In today’s world you have to be so diligent in watching the ground. People can be very thoughtless. I see it all the time in the woods near our house. Kids breaking glass bottles and leaving them all over the place! What about the poor wild animals that could hurt themselves?

Denise Straulea said, “Years ago I had a dobie/Dane all black named Bijou! He came in from the yard and handed me a LIVE mouse in the house! Hahahaha Right into my hand!”

OH. MY. GOSH! What did you do? Did you drop it then watch the antics ensue?

Lauren Miller said, ” I try really hard to not allow them to grab things off the ground. We work on that training a lot because I worry they will ingest poison.”

I do my best too, because I also worry about that.  If I don’t see it first…

Taryn said, “The absolute weirdest (and grossest) thing I got was a dead rabbit head. Jimmy was rooting around under a bush a bit too long so I pulled him back. Something was sticking out of his mouth….bunny ears. When I finally got his mouth pried open (and it wasn’t easy!) a whole head fell out! “Drop it” wasn’t working on this morsel!”

Oh. Dear. Lord. I think one of THE grossest things I ever pulled out of Delilah’s mouth was the rib cage of a deer. I can’t even imagine pulling a head of anything out of her mouth, unless it was lettuce. I’d definitely pull a head of lettuce out. LOL

Sherri said, “A mostly eaten chicken leg, wrapped in aluminum foil and thrown into the woods (instead of a garbage can!). ”

What the hell is wrong with people? Why can’t they wait until they are near a bin?

Mary said, “The other day on the beach I turned around to look at Roxy, and she was scarfing down a long slimy looking yellow thing.”

Oh gross. Thank goodness she didn’t get sick on it!

Jan asked, “So you’re saying that Delilah can’t walk and chew a banana at the same time?”

LOL yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying. 🙂

Mary Ann said, “Most of the time, I don’t even know what Lila is putting in her mouth – she’s so quick about it.”

Exactly! Delilah is the same way. My clue should be when her nose is down. She will be sniffing along and then DIVE and up she comes with something.

Jan K said, “The worst thing I remember is when our beagle Kobi had a dead mouse. He didn’t want to give it up, and I didn’t want to reach in his mouth to pull it out. I think I had to gently pry his mouth open and get him to drop it (“leave it” was not in his vocabulary unfortunately)!”

Ugh…most times I just pry her mouth open and move her head from side to side until it comes out. I hate sticking my hand in there. 🙂 Lately I’ve been using “ICK” and so far it seems to be working, except I have to see the ICK first. It’s more my problem than hers.

Maggie said, “With Cooper, probably when he found a $1 bill! Not crazy but certainly rare. Emmett, the worst thing EVER, was he found a used… something very, very gross… in some bushes in the park. We screamed so loudly that he backed off of it before he could put it in his mouth.”

Ugh, I think I vomited a little in my mouth. That is so freaking gross. Thank goodness he didn’t pick it up. I found one of those in the field once, I was tempted to pick it up in the poop bag and send it off to check for DNA. LOL

Funny and Sad…Life with Older Dogs – Barks and Bytes

All Things Collie said, “I have two senior girls now, and yes, seeing the changes that come with old age makes me sad. But it also reminds me to treasure every day I have with them. It’s one of the reasons I feel so angry when I read about yet another senior dog dumped at a shelter.”

I hear you. They really bring so much joy, I can’t understand how anyone could possibly dispose of them so easily. Heartless bastards.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom said, “It is sad when our pups start feeling the effects of aging. All we can do is help them when they need it and reassure them that they are still and always loved.”

Always Sue. Always.

Genevieve asked, “Old dogs have such zen moments. Has your husband tried changing the ring tone on his phone?”

Yes he has. I think it’s because his phone is a droid, while mine is an iPhone. I think they have different frequencies.

Emma said, “My mom has tears in her eyes at some point almost every day with Katie. She falls down or doesn’t hear things and it breaks mom’s heart. She also will stay sleeping with a big fat, juicy, smelly treat right under her nose. It is life but it is hard to watch from the front row. Our Gramma has also had many health issues over the past 15 months, in and out of the hospital. Between Gramma and Katie, Mom can get pretty sad, but she has Bailie and I to cheer her up. It is important to remember how happy the senior pups are, and the humans are really the ones with the problem of aging, not so much the dogs.”

You’re so right Emma. Of course it’s us, dogs are just so much more accepting than us humans.

2 Brown Dawgs said, “All of ours are like that after a long weekend home with us. I think they miss a lot of sleep when they spend time supervising us.”

My guys get pooped out on the holidays when we have people over. Their sleep schedule gets terribly disrupted. 🙂

Hailey and Zaphod said, “I have not been blessed to have a dog live to be a senior. I admit I am looking forward to it.”

That’s very sad. I had a little beagle that lived until 13, sadly I don’t think I appreciated her as much as I should have.

Clowie said, “Ooh, I’d hate to be stuck with a smoke alarm going. The bipeds say it hurts their ears, so imagine what it’s like for us dogs!”

I can’t imagine. It’s so horrible.

Jan K said “So much about that reminds me of our beagle Kobi. He would sleep SO soundly when he got older, that it scared us sometimes. The smoke alarm was also his enemy…to the point that if we turned the fan on over the cooktop he would shake and shake…because he knew that the fan was used sometimes when the smoke alarm went off (ours is stupidly too close to our oven). Kobi was not scared of one thing in life except for that.”

Didn’t it just break your heart? We worked so hard with Sampson to help him have confidence and not be afraid and then to something happens and he’s afraid. It makes me so sad.

Taryn said, “Wilson is 12 (13 at the end of May) and his hearing is going. He misses so much and it makes me sad. We make a point of going to get him if he doesn’t know what’s going on. His nose still works just fine though! He has slowed down considerably on our walks and you can watch Jimmy stop and look back for him. I wonder if Jimmy wonders why Wilson isn’t keeping up anymore? I remind myself to be patient when the walks take a bit too long and yet go a much shorter distance.

Sampson starts out with the pep in his step, but by the end of the walk he’s slowing down too. I try and be patient too, because I know it’s not his fault. Watching them age and struggle with age related issues is very hard.

That’s it for me folks, tune in tomorrow when I take the 6th Annual Pet Blogger Challenge hosted by Go Pet Friendly.

 

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 Laugh – December 13, 2015

Cupcake said, “Gah, S. That’s an accomplishment. I have managed to get caught in the soccer net in the field by my house TWICE! I’m like a trout in that thing! Mom takes my picture and THEN gets me untangled before I strangle to death. #takeyourtime”

I was going to say have your mom post a picture, but I visited your blog today and see that she already has. LOL

Jan K said, “Didn’t you say Sampson doesn’t like to wear clothes? It looks like he was trying to get into that vest! LOL”

He got into the vest. He actually had his head through one of the arm holes and the rest of it wrapped around him! LOL

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom said, “Shadow used to figure out ways to get out of the kitchen, even when we had her barricaded! She would climb up and over the baby gates. (We didn’t have puppy gates. We had the actual baby gates with the criss-cross plastic “bars”.) It was frustrating, but it was funny, too. My nickname for her back then was Houdini.”

They’re pretty clever when they want to be. LOL

She Makes

Thank you all for the great birthday wishes. She had a good day, she got a new toy and then destuffed the toy Sampson got. LOL

2 Brown Dawgs said, “Happy birthday Delilah. You made it to 10. Sometimes I worried…lol…just kidding.”

You and me both! I sometimes wondered if she would make it. LOL

PebbleSmart Doggie Doorbell

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “Ducky barks her fool head off at us until we figure out what she wants (to go out or play). Shadow just sits quietly at the door until we notice, unless she REALLY has to go out – then she kind of whimpers and barks at the same time, or comes to find me wherever I am in the house.”

Neither one of mine bark to go out, but man, Delilah barks her fool head off to come in.

Genevieve said, “My little meatball doesn’t even know enough to go by the door. She just waits for me to say it’s time to go out. No sense of urgency whatsoever. I’m not complaining, by the way. This works fine for me!”

Wow, and she never wants to go out and bark at stuff?

Sue said, “I love your video demonstration of training. With two dogs with different learning curves it gives a better idea of how it might go at my house. (Rosie is also food obsessed.)

Thanks Sue! I’m glad you liked it.

Emma said, “This is one of our very favorite products of all time and we also use it to come in! Katie never learned to use it because she didn’t like the bell either, but she was fine with it if I would be the ringer. We’ve had ours for a couple years and it even works when it is -20F out! I love it because if Mom tries to ignore me ringing, I just keep ringing and she has to let me in! ”

Oh I’m so glad you love it. How does mom like you ringing the heck out of the bell? LOL Delilah is similar to Katie, she is totally not digging on the bell right now. I was chatting with Keith about Delilah’s lack of interest and he suggested putting some peanut butter on the paddle to encourage Delilah to lick it. Although I’m not sure I want her ringing the hell out of the bell. 🙂

2 Brown Dawgs said, “Do they use it if you are not standing there giving them treats? If wanting to come in (or go out is the object) why wouldn’t you reward them with that rather than food? Touch go out (or come in) rather than adding food to the equation. I hope this makes sense.”

We’ve only just started training on it, so no, they haven’t figured that part out yet. My goal is to wean them off the treats. I think the idea is to put the treat behind the paddle and the smell of the treat lures them to touch the paddle. Once they are comfortable with doing that, you work with them ringing the bell and having someone open the door. (And yes, it made perfect sense.)

Blueberry’s Human said, “God bless whoever was responsible for inventing the dog door. The invention of the dog door has probably saved countless people (including me) from going insane opening the door for their dog(s) multiple times throughout the day…Aren’t you glad at least Sampson understood what you wanted so you didn’t feel like a complete failure? 😉”

Sampson ALWAYS has my back. 😉 And I would have a doggie door IF my door wasn’t glass.

Elaine said, “When my parent’s watched Haley not too long ago, they asked how she tells me when she needs to go outside. I said, “She’ll just give you a look and tell you”. As you can imagine, that wasn’t very helpful to them, lol.”

LOL what, they can’t read her looks? 😉

Maybe It’s Me – Barks and Bytes

Well who’s the dumb ass? That should say “Capital City of DADO!” LMAO

Emma said, “Luckily, our house is located quite a distance from the capital city of DADA. We also rarely see any other dogs, let alone off leash. We did encounter one of those morons about two weeks ago and it tried to bit Bailie in the butt, but somehow the injury was narrowly avoided and this person we have never seen before and her wild dog disappeared into outer space. We love where we live…have you considered a move to our neighborhood?”

No I haven’t. Honestly, I’m thinking somewhere a little warmer…

Sue said, “I’m still laughing at your map of DADA. Luckily, we don’t live near you. Emma may be right: you might need to move! It is so rare that we meet other dogs out on our walks here that I can’t remember the last time. Unfortunately for you, I don’t think people really listen to others any more and many are missing the common sense gene .:-(”

If I EVER come into money, I plan on buying a huge piece of land (maybe 100 acres) and fence the whole thing in. Or an island, and island would be nice. 😉

Taryn said, “My Jimmy is reactive so I feel your pain. Of course, he’s not the size of a Lab so he doesn’t have as much power to pull me off my feet. But if he is really amped, he will turn on Wilson if he can’t get to the dog that got him going. That’s really awful because then I’m yelling and screaming at Jimmy as well as trying to fend off the oncoming dog. And it doesn’t happen with every encounter, just some, so it’s a Russian Roulette of dog fury!…When I see someone coming, I immediately say my black dog is not friendly and will snark. If they still allow their dog to interact, they get what they get!”

I’m sorry, that must be so difficult. Most of the times if I say they can be snarky people keep their distance, I just couldn’t believe the way she crowded us.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom said, “People like that do not listen and learn; they turn into brick walls with heads to match.”

Yup and dogs are not the only issue where this happens!

Blueberry’s Human said, “I don’t expect other people accommodate me and/or Blueberry. She’s not unfriendly, but most dogs can be rude with her….  I also check behind me about every 500 feet to make sure no one is about to come up behind us – and the funny thing is, B does this too! I don’t know exactly what she is doing it for, but I know we are like two peas in a pod when it comes to watching our six!”

See, I don’t feel like it’s accommodating, I feel like it’s courteous to not assume it’s okay for you to yank up on my six. And like you, I typically do look behind me when we’re walking on the street, but in the woods, it never dawned on me, but I’ll be doing it now!

Jan K said, “It’s not you, it’s your neighborhood. Hey – do you want to buy my house? You’d be closer to your sister! :-)…My experience has been when on hikes to places where everyone thinks their dogs can run loose is that with at least 50% of the people, if you tell them your dog is not good with other dogs, they would ask which way you are going so they can go the opposite. Why would you want your dogs going anywhere near other dogs that might be an issue? That’s what I don’t get. I wonder what it’s like to live in oblivion where you think nothing bad is ever going to happen?”

It must be nice to live in oblivion! And thanks for the house offer, I actually own 3.2 acres of land in the town right next to my sister. 🙂 We just haven’t decided if we’ll build on it or not. 

Mary said, “If you are living in the midwest capital, then I am currently in the west coast capital. Everybody brings their dogs here and leaves them off leash. I never know what exactly we are going to encounter when coming and going with the dogs. Plus none of them pick up their dog shit, which really pisses me off because I’m out there with a shovel doing it so I don’t walk in it. I can’t walk down the lane that goes to the main highway because there are 2 dogs, one who is a pitbull, that bark like crazy and don’t let us pass. So no, I don’t think it’s you. It’s those DADA, and they are EVERYWHERE!”

Oh I hear you sister. It’s a damn epidemic! And I’m with you on the dog shit, how hard is it to pick it up? We have a bag dispenser AND a waste bucket just inside the park and just beyond that…dog shit. It makes me want to find out who they are and fling the shit at them.

Jan asked, “Have you thought about publishing “Jodi’s Book on Dog Walking Etiquette” and passing them out to the DADOs? Although their reading comprehension must be pretty low. Maybe a video.”

How about, “You might be a DADO”, sort of along the “Here’s your sign” theme. 🙂

Lauren Miller said, “I also had a similar situation the other day where we were hiking in the woods and a lady with a pack of dogs came up behind me. One of her dogs was incredibly sketchy. The dog came up behind me and poked me with her nose in the back of the knee, when I turned around the dog started doing a “fear bark” at me and I swear, I thought I was definitely going to get bitten.. The dog kept following me, poking me and barking. The lady didn’t do anything! We also ended up off the trail going through a bunch of brush, etc. to get away from her and she hardly even tried to call her dog off.”

It makes you wonder if they even care for their dog? How can you put your dog into that sort of risky situation?

Ann Cluck said, “There are definitely an over abundance of DADOs in this world!!”

There sure is Ann, there sure is!

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

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 Laugh – December 6, 2015

Sue said, “Definitely a super cute photo! Now tell the truth, did she get a little taste?”

Honestly, I can’t remember, but I think they each got a bit of something. 😀

Alexa88 said, “Delilah drooling on flannel shirt, sniffing and snuffling in dads ear. was she also talking?

Not this time. Sometimes she does harrumph us, or sigh deeply, but this time she was just focused on that sandwich. And by the way, thank you for pointing out your avatar, I totally missed it. Your Lily is a beauty!

Blueberry’s Human said, “Wow – I am truly amazed at Delilah’s restraint…I do not eat in the car if I have B with me. I’m fairly certain the next day’s headline would read, “WOMAN INJURED IN CAR WRECK CAUSED BY HER DOG HIJACKING HER CHEESEBURGER; DOG UNHARMED. LEGISTLATION SOON TO PASS PROHIBITING DOG OWNERS FROM EATING IN THEIR VEHICLES IF THEIR DOGS ARE ACCOMPANYING THEM.””

BAH HA HA, I could see you wrestling Blue with one hand and trying to keep control of the wheel with your other.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom said, “When I was a little girl – 5 or 6 – and we would drive to Newport, Vermont, to spend our summer vacation with my grandparents, I would rest my chin on my dad’s shoulder and ask “are we there yet?” at least a dozen times. My nose isn’t as long as Delilah’s, but the look on my face was probably similar”

Aw, that’s so cute. And I’m laughing at you pointing out that your nose isn’t as long as a Labradors!  You have a perfect nose for you, Sue.

There Goes Delilah

Sue said, “LOL See… fresh blog fodder courtesy of Delilah! She is really something with that food focus!”

Her food focus is incredible and when she’s GETTING food, she loses her shit.

Lauren Miller said, “That’s nice you have a neighbor you like! We haven’t met any nice ones yet!”

What’s up with that? Do you remember when people used to be neighborly? I sure do.

Cupcake says, “Gah! No, D. You’re supposed to wait till the disabled person gets OUT first. THEN hop in and eat the groceries. Jeez. Have some manners….”

Right!

Emma said, “How embarrassing, yet funny…well, since it didn’t happen to us! LOL!”

Oh it’s always funnier when it’s not happening to you. LOL

Blueberry’s Human said, ” That reminds me of when Blueberry almost knocked down the sweet old hot dog carrying lady (with a bad hip, mind you) in the park and ripped the bag from the old lady’s hands so she could help herself.”

Nice Blueberry, real nice. How red was your face? 😉

Monika said, “When Puck my sheepdog was still alive, we were on a walk when she climbed onto a bench at a store in the small shopping square of restaurants and boutiques near the house. Before I could even wraggle her lard a$$ off, she laid in a lady’s lap.”

I can’t stop laughing at this one. If Sampson could figure out how to climb in people’s laps, I could totes see him doing this.

Jan K said, “We knew Delilah would come through with a good story for you! As long as your very nice neighbor was not hurt or anything, we can laugh, right?
Not every dog is cut out to be a therapy dog but maybe Delilah could do nose work or something? ”

Yes, I’m so glad she wasn’t hurt! When I called her to check on her she said, “What are you worrying about? I let her by and she did it so smoothly. She would never hurt me.” She is such a sweet woman.

Delilah has done nose work, but we stopped that when all the medical stuff cropped up. The almighty dollar only stretches just so far. 🙂

Four Gifts for Pets Blog Hop

Cupcake said, “I NEED longer legs so I can reach the table to get the foods I WANT to EAT – like pizza and cookies and grilled cheese.”

I can only imagine what your mom’s life would be like if you had longer legs!

Emma said, “We would like to read your book in print…when will that be???”

That’s a damn good question Emma. I’m currently going through and doing the first edit. I’m finding some gaps, so I’m filling those in. Once they’re filled in, I will reread taking notes and making sure it all flows. Then I will assess what more needs to be done. I’d really like to get cracking on it, but right now I still have no idea.

Sue said, “LOL I really want to see Delilah with a sausage link necklace. She would go out of her mind!”

She sure would. I’m working on her with a new video and she’s out of control when there’s food. It’s funny and sad, and it’s really hard to train her, because she loses her freaking mind.

Blueberry’s Human said, “Blueberry isn’t into reading and frowns upon it when I do. She would, however, like to trade places with me for a day and EAT everything I usually do and dole out tiny morsels from the good stuff to me so I know what it is like for her when I am stingy.”

Can you imagine what our dogs would dole out to us? I’m glad they can’t trade places!

Jan K said, “This was just hysterical….the two dogs…I don’t think they’d argue that you hit the nail on the head with them!… It took me so long to do the 4 pets, I never even thought to do myself, but I think dog trainer is on my list too! I try to work with Luke myself, but I think I might need help in order to really make progress… Can’t wait for your book! I told someone else that I also NEED time to read books though!”

Thanks Jan! I appreciate that. I was shooting for funny. 🙂 Someone gave me the contact of a good trainer that doesn’t use treats, he uses praise. Considering how slow I am with the clicker and the treats, this might be a good option for me. 🙂

Do you know when I read? I shut my computer and TV off around 10:00 pm and that’s when I read. It helps my mind de-stress and calm down for sleep, PLUS I get the bonus of reading something!

Get Your Sh*t Together – Barks and Bytes

Mary said, “I don’t plan my blog posts. I do have certain days I do things, like the photo prompts. But I pretty much fly by the seat of my pants.”

I used to fly that way too Mary, but I’m finding it harder and harder to focus and having a plan really helps.

Julie said, “I make lists all.the.time. And still forget things all.the.time!! So, yeah, I need to be more organized. More organization=less stress, right??”

I would say, the more organized you are the easier it is to prioritize, especially if you have a list. BUT here’s what happens to me. I make the list (say for the grocery store) then I go to the store and forget the list. LOL

Jenna, Mark “Husky-Crazed” Drady said, “I think i would die without my online calendar planner! I am SOOOOOOO forgetful, when I come up with a blog idea, if I don’t jot it down right away, I will never think of it again!!”

I have to jot it down too! Most times I think of it while I’m out walking and if I don’t make a phone note….pffft, it’s gone!

Jan said, “I make lists and even lists of lists, but I am still paper person. I’m glad there are a few of us left.”

My phone works in a pinch, but I’m with you, I really love the paper.

Genevieve said, “All my writing ideas, all my appointments, and my to-do list are on my phone. I use them religiously. If my phone eats it, I’m screwed. Not really. They’re also in the cloud which puts them on my iPad. If the cloud eats it, I’m screwed, but that would be the end of the world, so we’ll all be screwed. I hope I can still check my email after Armageddon…”

Who knows if they’ll even BE email after Armageddon?

Pamela said, “I keep a simple notebook and pen with me at all times. I write everything in it–grocery lists, to do lists, blog topics, business ideas, quotes, etc.”

You’re very wise Pamela, very wise. I should start carrying a small pad myself.

Jan K said, ” I used to be so organized when I was younger but I seem to have lost that lately. I do have a few lists on “post-its” on my computer but for the most part I still like good old fashioned paper for lists. I also have a blog binder with some semi-organized note pages. But I also at most times have at least two different lists on scrap paper next to my computer, that I periodically re-write once I have a few things crossed off. I’m not sure it’s the greatest system but it kind of works for me right now.”

I used to be organized too!  I wonder how we lost that?

All I’m saying is whatever works for you, use it!

Hailey and Zaphod said, “I use a paper planner for work and appointments. I tried a digital one, but I like to see a whole month or week and didn’t find one I liked. I am the queen of lists, digital for work, paper for home. I am fairly organized but still forget a thing or two!”

I like the digital calendar for the reminder, but I love to see a full month too! I think that’s why I like making my own paper one, put everything I want in it.

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