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!

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.

I don’t know about you, but I’m glad this week is over. What a horribly sad week it’s been in Blogville. First Sue and the Talking Dogs lost their Jeffie, then Maggie lost Lucas and I also read that Tillman the skate boarding dog passed.  Enough already!

On a something not so depressing note, you may have noticed I’ve not been visiting your blogs a whole lot, that’s because I’m finally back at work on my book. Thanks to the encouragement of friends and fellow bloggers along with so many of you who told me they want to read it, I’ve been invigorated!

You Make Me Laugh – October 25, 2015

Earl Lover asked, “Bless him! Is he hoping you bring back some food?”

I’m not sure, I think he’s just making sure I don’t leave him. (Like there is a chance of that!)

Meagan & Merlin said, “Merlin was in the drivers seat and as he turned around he beeped the horn with his butt lol.”

Hahaha, Sampson’s done that once or twice himself, and then he startles himself with the beep! Did Merlin startle himself?

Emma said, ” Mom wants a mini ring camera she can wear 24/7 that is also weather/water proof for those times she needs a photo but has no camera or phone on her. She so wants a photo of Bailie in bed with all her paws in the air, but has no camera…she could bring on up to the bedroom, but no, she always forgets!”

That’s a great idea!! I never seem to have the camera handy when I want it! Maybe we should start leaving cameras in every room. LOL

Jan K said, “I love it when they sit in the driver’s seat! I also love it when I see dogs and they just stare intently at the place where their human disappeared to. Our beagle Kobi used to whine every time he saw a person, even when the car was moving. It was like he just wanted to meet every person he saw!”

Sampson is the same way except he does it on our walks. He gets a little jaunt in his step and barks at the person, if I tell him no, he’ll whine. It makes me laugh, he’s so social.

Julie said, “Oh my goodness, our windows are covered in dog nose prints 🙂 Cocoa loves to ride and we try and bring her as much as possible. She gets into everything though, even in the car, so we have to make sure we get everything out and she will turn on the windshield wipers, the lights and once she had the rearview mirror off. Luckily it popped back on easily!!

LMAO that’s funny!  I don’t think mine have ever knocked the mirror off!! Did you laugh?

Jackie Bouchard said, “The funny thing about Rita in the car is that she will never get in the front seat. I mean NEVER. I can leave an open bag of treats (and I have done) sitting in the front console and she won’t even touch it, because she’s afraid to come up front (for some bizarre reason).”

Wow, that’s impressive. I might be able to do that with Sampson if I told him to leave it, but Delilah would literally wedge herself between the floor board and the gas pedal if she thought she could score some food. It’s kind of sad actually.

We’re Trick Training So You Can Win Treats

I apologize for those of you who tried to use the rafflecopter, we had a little SNAFU with it, but it is working now!

So, in retrospect I’m thinking maybe I should have found the video of Lady BEFORE I started trying to train my dogs. And truthfully, it’s been about two years since I’ve really worked on trick training with Delilah. I should have thought it through a little bit more. Ah well, you live and learn. Next time I’ll be better prepared.

Emma said, “Well, don’t feel bad, I’m not a trick dog either! We have learned a lot about rewards lately which has been one big reason Bailie nailed her title yesterday. Never be stingy, pay big and with high value treats, but not always. Random no treat or lower value mixed in with huge reward, and not even for big accomplishments keep us dogs in the game making it fun with the unknown. It’s working great for us right now.”

That’s pretty brilliant Emma, I never thought of that. I’m going to start doing that. Usually I save the big value treats for the BIG things, but I can see the benefit in it working that way.

Does anyone else use this method? If so, how does it work for you?

Jan said, “My first impression is that your dogs must not have eaten for days, but then I remembered what breed they are. Loved your video.”

ROTFL Well truthfully it WAS just before breakfast…and technically they hadn’t eaten in about 10 hours…but yes, that is definitely Labrador in that video! I’m glad you enjoyed it.

Jan K said, “Sorry that I had to chuckle quite a bit at your video! That’s what the two girls are like when I try to train them. Cricket is totally focused on the treat, and Sheba swats me with her paw if she doesn’t know what else to do.”

I wanted you to laugh, so thank you. I started looking at the videos I’d shot and I thought, there’s only one way to go with this thing. 🙂 It is HARD to train a dog that is intensely treat motivated!

Carolyn said, “I don’t think my dog could learn to turn out the lights now matter how hard we train – unless I called in an electrician to add some low light switches! She is a Bichon & has such short legs.”

Carolyn, is she comfortable on kitchen chair? Can she jump on one? If you really wanted to, you might be able to train her using a chair.

Two French Bulldogs said, “Oh my dawg you are going to learn to turn the light off!! Mom wants to teach me to vacuum.”

You make sure your Mom gets a video of that! If she can train you to vacuum, she can make millions teaching others the same thing. 🙂

Elizabeth Keene said, “I don’t give 2 rips whether your dog can turn off the lights (actually, I do; I’m glad they can’t. Because now I don’t have to be jealous since my corgis cannot reach the light switch, and you’re getting to lie in bed while I have to get up in the cold to turn the lights off myself). 😉 What’s most important are your training tips! Nothing worse than a frustrated human trying to train a tired/bored/frustrated dog. Also, that video ROCKS! I’m running to subscribe to your YouTube now!”

Thank you Elizabeth, I was really reminded of a lot of things during those training sessions and I have to tell you, you will probably be disappointed in my channel because I don’t post a lot to it. 

Oh, and I’m not giving up on training that. 😉

Blueberry’s Human said, “Are you SURE training Delilah how to turn the lights off and on is a good idea? I personally think it would be awesome because I am quite certain there would be some hilarious posts in the future once she learns how to do that…”

My original thought involved the refrigerator, which I instantly had to rethink. I was too worried once she figured out how to SHUT the door, her next trick might be opening. 😉

Let Loose the Sailor – Barks and Bytes

Lauren Miller said, “The photo of the Great Dane and the kid irritated me too! I can’t believe that people think that’s an okay thing to do. The second post about the kitty really hurts my heart, too.. It’s a really good way to teach a cat to use it’s weapons.. So sad! :-(”

It really kills me when I read stuff like that. The worse part is how this lady thinks this is okay and the correct way to interact with a kitten.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom said, “It never ceases to amaze me how absolutely stupid people can be at times.”

Yup. We’re on the same bus Sue.

2 Brown Dawgs said, “I think photos depend on context. If that Great Dane photo was part of an ad for for a product, I think people would have said, huh cute and not much more. Or maybe they would have been offended. I do not know. I personally dislike videos of kids and photos when it is clear that one or both are uncomfortable but a photo is but a moment in time and may not tell the story.”

You’re absolutely right. Context is important. I do think people would still be upset even if it was an ad and I’ll tell you why. That kid might have been on that dog for less than 5 seconds, the dog might have been totally comfortable being dressed up with a kid on its back, the owner might have been right there making sure the dog was okay. BUT some kid can see that and think it’s a good idea to ride their dog and the result could be horrific. The same with some idiot putting their baby on a dog. People constantly do stupid things and the dog always pays for it.

I feel as a dog owner, it is my responsibility to make sure I don’t set my dog up for something that endangers him/her.

Jan said, “I was amazed at how many people thought the kid riding dog was funny, but I’ve seen so many videos that made me want to take the kid and the pet into protective custody.”

I have to stop reading comments because I want to reach through the computer and punch people in the face. Or scream, “Take your head out of your ass.” 🙁

DZ Dogs said, “Ugh….stuff like that makes my blood boil!! I keep thinking about just unhooking from the evil FB and closing my account entirely but just haven’t done it yet.”

I was actually thinking of just going on to post my stuff and stop scrolling around. It’s not worth getting that pissed off. And when you try and educate people they turn into assholes. Who needs that?

Well that’s it for me folks, thanks for sticking with me.